God and the Personified Vedas - The Prayers of the Śruti-gaṇa
The vast body of Vedic literature is not a collection of mundane historical texts; it is the literary incarnation of God, meant solely to guide humanity toward spiritual perfection. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that these scriptures eternally exist as personified beings who continually offer profound prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
The Purpose of Vedic Knowledge
Academic study alone cannot unlock the mysteries of transcendence. Śrīla Prabhupāda notes that the true objective of all Vedic knowledge is entirely missed if one fails to understand the Supreme Lord and revive their dormant, loving service to Him.
- As stated in the Bhagavad-gita (15.15), the whole purport of all the Vedas is to know the Supreme Personality of Godhead and thus become a transcendental loving servant of the Lord.
- In the Vedas also it is said that a person cannot know the Absolute Truth Personality of Godhead simply by dint of mundane education or intellectual gymnastics.
- The sruti-gana, the personified Vedas, who glorify the Lord.
- This (CC Madhya 19.140) is quoted from the commentary on the portion of Srimad-Bhagavatam wherein the Vedas personified offer their obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
The Glorification by the Śruti-gaṇa
At the dawn of universal creation, the Lord must be awakened from His mystic slumber. Śrīla Prabhupāda describes how the eternal, personified Vedas assemble around the Supreme Lord to awaken Him by chanting His incomparable, unconquerable glories.
- Sanandana said, "The Lord at that time remains asleep for a long, long time, and when there is again necessity of creation, the Vedas personified assemble around the Lord and begin to glorify Him."
- Sanandana said, "The personified Vedas sing, 'O Lord, we fervently pray that You kindly do so. All the living entities, being Your parts and parcels, are naturally joyful, eternal and full of knowledge.'"
- Sanandana said, "The Vedic reciters, or the personified Vedas, sing thus, 'O unconquerable Lord, You are the Supreme Personality. No one is equal to You or greater than You. No one can be more glorious in his activities.'"
- The personified Vedas thus worshiped the Supreme Personality of Godhead in different ways.
The Inconceivable Nature of the Lord
The Supreme Lord cannot be limited by material logic or human calculations. Śrīla Prabhupāda highlights the prayers of the personified Vedas, which beautifully articulate the Lord's contradictory, inconceivable potencies and His boundless mercy in descending to teach spiritual science.
- The personified Vedas continued their prayers, "Dear Lord, Your impersonal feature is explained in the Vedas. You have no hands, but You can accept all sacrifices offered to You. You have no legs, but You can walk more swiftly than anyone else."
- The Vedas personified, prayed to the Lord as follows, "My dear Lord, it is very difficult to understand spiritual knowledge. Your appearance here just as You are, is to explain to us this most difficult subject of knowledge of the spirit."
- The personified Vedas continued, "Dear Lord, it is very difficult to achieve perfect knowledge of the Absolute Truth. Your Lordship is so kind to the fallen souls that You appear in different incarnations and execute different activities."
- The personified Vedas therefore concluded, "O Lord, You are the unlimited eternal (dhruva), and the living entities are the limited eternals."
The Supreme Equality of God
God is completely neutral and perfectly reciprocates with every soul according to their desires. Śrīla Prabhupāda notes that the personified Vedas confirm how mystic yogīs, enemies of the Lord, and pure devotees all achieve spiritual perfection based entirely on their respective absorption in Him.
- The personified Vedas continued, "Even after much laborious austerity, penance and regulation, they (mystic yogis) achieve the same destination as persons inimical toward You (the Lord)."
- The personified Vedas continued, "Your (the Lord's) enemies also concentrate upon You, thinking always of how to kill You, and yogis undertake great penances and austerities just to attain Your impersonal effulgence."
- The personified Vedas continued, "In other words, both the yogis and the great, wise philosophical speculators ultimately attain the impersonal Brahman effulgence, which is automatically attained by the demons who are regular enemies of the Lord."
- The personified Vedas continued, "All these different persons, although concentrating their minds in different ways, achieve spiritual perfection according to their different perspectives because You, O Lord, are equal to all Your devotees."
Conclusion
In conclusion, Śrīla Prabhupāda establishes that the Vedic literatures are not merely lifeless books of historical philosophy; they are the eternal, personified energies of the Lord known as the śruti-gaṇa. These personified Vedas declare unequivocally that the singular purpose of all Vedic knowledge is to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead and surrender in loving devotional service. Through their sublime prayers at the time of cosmic creation, the Vedas perfectly articulate the inconceivable nature of the Absolute Truth. They explain that although the Lord possesses no material form, He has spiritual senses capable of accepting all sacrifices and performing limitless activities. Furthermore, the prayers of the personified Vedas reveal the boundless mercy and supreme neutrality of God. They point out the profound theological reality that while mystic yogīs endure grueling austerities to merge into the Brahman effulgence, the Lord's enemies—who constantly meditate on Him out of fear and hatred—automatically achieve that exact same liberation. Ultimately, the personified Vedas confirm that the Lord mercifully descends into the material world in various incarnations strictly to rescue the fallen souls and freely distribute the highest, most difficult spiritual knowledge.
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