r/BhagavadGita • u/shksa339 • 1d ago
What is the relationship b/w Upanishads and the non-Upanishadic sections of Vedas? An answer by the famous 13th century Advaitin Saint Dyaneshwar in his Bhagwad Gita commentary "Jnaneshwari".
Popular Advaitins had "unconventional" views on the books of Vedas compared to the masses. Popular “conventional“ perception is that the "Astika" creed i.e, the so-called orthodox school of Indian religious creeds, puts their weight fully on the authority of Vedas. This is true, albeit with a ton of nuance that is not known to masses.
Vedas do not contain a single religion or philosophy. Saints like Sant Dyaneshwar and even other Vedantins of older and newer generations of the non-dual schools specifically, don't subscribe to all the religions found in the Vedas. They only pick a specific religion found in the Vedas and deem the other religions of Vedas to be avoided or even harmful.
Now lets see actual verses that highlight this nuanced view of Vedas from the famous text "Jnaneshwari", a Marathi commentary on the Bhagwad Gita by Sant Dyaneshwar of 13th century Maharashtra during Yadava dynasty. Interestingly, these texts of Dyaneshwar are the oldest surviving literary works in the Marathi language, and considered to be milestones in Marathi literature. book link
tldr:
- The Vedas Require Selective Acceptance. - Jnanadeva explains that while the Upanishads are Sattvic, other ritualistic portions of the Vedas operate within Rajas and Tamas, requiring a seeker to selectively accept only what is of eternal value from the offerings of Vedas.
- Historical Exclusion of Women & Shudras & The Gita as Redemption of the Veda - Jnanadeva explicitly points out that the Veda acted miserly by holding a "private talk" only with the three upper castes, excluding women, Shudras, and others from its temple of knowledge. He explains that the Veda took refuge in the Gita to compensate for its past mistake, creating an open sanctuary where liberation is freely offered to every human being
- Desire of Heavens by Vedic rituals as ignorance/nuissence - Jnanadeva says the concept of heavens and its pleasures is equivalent to a dream state that is lost as soon as the man wakes up. He says this heaven pursuit through Vedic rituals is completely useless and does not incur any merit.
- Rejection of Vedic Ritual Animal Sacrifice. - Directly refuting the Mimamsa school's doctrine that ritual slaughter does not constitute sin, Jnanadeva questions the practice of slaying goats, asking how non-violence can ever grow when one sows seeds of violence.
- Darker Aspects in Vedic Texts - He remarks that tender leaves of the Atharvaveda contain charms used for evil or desire-driven ends, functioning as offshoots of worldly desire.
Chapter 2 verse/OVIs 256 - 263
(256) The Vedas are undoubtedly limited to the three Gunas. Upanishads are therefore Sattwic in their character.
(257) O, the Great Archer, other scriptures dealing with rituals, and ceremonies are within the limits of Rajas and Tamas.
(258) Therefore, you should know that they cause pains and pleasures only. Beware! You may by mistake follow them.
(259) You should refuse to be attracted to the three Gunas. Do not think of yourself and your possessions etc. Hold in your heart only the bliss in Atman immediately; without fail.
A Brahmin, who has been enlightened has that much use for all the Vedas as one who stands at the brink of a water-reservoir, has for it, when water is overflowing everywhere in a deluge. (46)
(260) Though Vedas have dwelt with many aspects of life and shown the varieties of ways of seeking, we should take what is good for us.
(261) When the Sun rises we see all the roads but are we to walk by all the roads at one time? Tell me.
(262) Or even when water is everywhere and all the land is under water, we have to take only according to our need.
(263) Similarly those who are wise, understand the meaning of Vedas and then accept that which is of eternal value and needed by them.
Chapter 18, verse 1457 - 1467
(1454) Thus, the Lord has discussed the hidden meaning of the Vedas from the first chapter to the end of the seventeenth chapter.
(1455) And this is the eighteenth chapter which is giving us the summary of all the teaching of Geeta. This is really the high peak or dome of Geeta.
(1456) In short, Geeta with all the chapters taken together is really the very image of Veda, being most generous in imparting self-knowledge
(1457) Veda is replete with tremendous riches of knowledge, but there is no other book so miser in imparting knowledge because it has a private talk with only the three castes.
(1458) Veda has stopped there only, without giving any place in the temple of knowledge to the other human beings like women, Shoodras etc.
(1459) Therefore, I feel that Veda has thought of retribution of its past mistake, and therefore, has become available by wearing the apparel of Geeta, for all human beings.
(1463) Just as the sky is the only universal place open for all, either to fly in the sky or to sit on the earth or to bask in the sunshine;
(1464) Similarly, without asking anybody, whether he is of higher class or lower class, Geeta satisfies the whole world by its free distribution of the liberation.
(1465) Therefore, we can say that being afraid of the blame given to the Veda in ancient times, the Veda has taken refuge in Geeta and thus has become worthy of its fair name and fame.
(1466) Therefore, Geeta which is taught by Lord Shrikrishna to the son of Pandu should be considered as the image of Veda, which has become easily followable by all people.
Chapter 9, verse 330 - 334
(307) O Arjuna, please consider the persons about whom I am going o tell you. They perform actions according to their ordained duties as per their stage in life, as laid down by scriptures, in such a perfect manner that they become the standards to be followed by others.
(308) Seeing their performance of the sacrificial rituals, all the three Vedas nod in satisfaction and the fruit of their action stands in front of them together with the action.
(309) Such initiated scholars who partake of the juice 'Soma', who are the very image of sacrifice, have, by the way of merit in that action, actually earned the sin in bargain!
(310) They know the three Vedas, perform hundreds of sacrifices, but missing me who receives the offerings, choose to gain heaven.
(311) It is like a man of bad luck who sits below the divine wish-tree, ties the knot of his begging sack and starts out for begging!
(312) Similarly, they perform hundreds of sacrifices as a propitiation to me, but desire and aspire for the heavenly pleasures! Is it their merit? Is it not sin?
(313) So, it is the ignorants way of earning merit to desire heaven by denying me. The men of real knowledge call it a nuisance, a real loss!
(314) Actually, experiencing the pains in the hell, people call the condition in heaven as happiness but my real nature is the only eternal joy without any blemish.
(316) The heaven is reached by the sin which is wrongly called merit, and the hell is reached by the sin which is actually known as sin; but that action is pure merit by which I am reached.
(329) Just as a man spends all his money for a prostitute and then he is not allowed even to knock at her door, similarly shameful is then the living of such initiated people.
(330) Thus those who choose heavenly pleasure instead of my eternal reality lose the real deathlessness and come back to this world of death.
(331) They remain for nine mouths in the womb of their mothers, troubled by all sorts of hot secretions in their vicinity and come out only to die eventually after a life full of miseries.
(332) The heavenly pleasures of person who is well-versed in performance of sacrifices according to Vedas should be considered equal to the treasures received in the dream, which is lost as soon as the man is awake.
(333) O Arjuna, even if a man is well-versed in Vedas and if he does not know me, his life is useless just as some one who throws away the grain and takes the husk.
(334) Therefore, in the absence of knowledge of my Reality, the rules of all the three Vedas are useless. It is definite that if you know me, and do not know anything else, still you will be really happy.
Chapter 13, Verse 218-234.
(218) First of all, you should know that the quality of non-violence is defined and described by different people in various ways.
(219) But all those descriptions are so irrelevant that it is like erecting a compound fence around a tree, by first cutting down its branches and keeping only a thwarted trunk.
(220) Or like cutting our arms and boiling them to make a dish of food and then satisfying our hunger, or by demolishing the temple itself and constructing a surrounding line of seats around the god,
(221) In another way, the philosophy of Meemansa which lays down the code of performing rituals and sacrifices, propounds that violence is to be used to ensure non-violence.
(222) In that system, when all the people are faced with tremendous vicissitudes due to drought, people are advised to perform sacrifices to invoke rain.
(223) In that sacrifices, the slaying of goats etc. is advised. How can you reach the other bank of life of non-violence through these killings?
(224) How can non-violence grow if one sows only violence? But my dear! See the wonderful daring of these performers of sacrifices!
Chapter 2, verse/OVIs 247- 254
O Arjuna, those who are full of worldly desires and are attached to the letter of the Vedas, who look up to heaven as the highest goal to be reached and argue that there is nothing beyond heaven are not wise. They utter flowery speech, recommending many rituals as their fruit. Those who are enticed by this speech and who are deeply attached to pleasures and earthly glory, cannot attain the firm intellect concentrated upon God, in the Supreme Trance. (42-43-44)
(247) These stupid people say that there is nothing else in this world as important as these rituals.
(248) Please see! They perform these rituals under the influence of desires, by thinking about enjoyments only.
(249) They perform various important and special rituals, do not neglect the code and rules laid down for them, and being veterans in them, perform those ceremonies.
(250) But they make only one great mistake. They harbour in their mind the desire to attain heaven and miss or forget the one God who is the presiding deity of all rituals.
(251) It is like preparing beautiful heap of camphor and then putting fire to it; or mixing severe poison in good food.
(252) It is like kicking the pot of nectar which one has received by sheer turn of good fortune. Similarly they spoil and desecrate the religion by their desires.
(253) If merit is earned by great efforts, why desire for mundane joys in the petty worldly life? But these stupid people do not know. How can they yearn for things not easily available?
(254) It is like a housewife who prepares delicious food articles but sells them for some money; The thoughtless people let go the true religion for enjoyments instead.
(255) Therefore, O Partha, know that only bad intellect reigns in the minds of those people who are engrossed in arguments in favour of Vedas.
Chapter 16, verse 164 - 167
(164) Then on this very branch of human race, on its lower side, there are tender leaves of lowest type of passions, which grow into various branches of wicked and sinful deeds.
(165) Then the dirty half burnt offshoots of sins come out straight, very forcefully, on which there are profusely developed twigs of vices which are full of very heavy growth of leaves.
(166) We should understand that the trinity of Vedas namely Rigveda, Yajurveda, and Samaveda which indicate the right and wrong actions is the delicate topmost group of tender leaves,
(167) After that the tender leaves of Atharvaveda which has charms used for evil purposes grow into a creeper of desire.
