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PURANAS AND THEIR CONTRIBUTION

PART 3 page 3 of 3 pages

Text of discourses by Dr. E. Krishnamachaya, originally published in MY LIGHT, the magazine of the World Teacher Trust, India

The text begins with a short introduction by the compiler, Suta by name. Suta is a disciple of Veda Vyasa. He compiled all the books of Vyasa as far as the Puranic literature is concerned along with his explanatory notes. First the text begins with a salutation to Nara, Narayana and Saraswathi. Nara is the Man consciousness, Narayana is the God consciousness and Saraswathi is the under current of Wisdom in us before it is uttered forth as self expression. Then Suta starts the narrative with the syllable of the universal breath which we call OM.

The sage Parasara one day finished his morning ritual when his disciple Maitreya bowed down to him and said: O Guru! I have learnt the Veda and its practice along with the science of the law and the keys in the prescribed order. By your grace no one can say that I am not conversant with them. Now I want to know from you how the universe came into existence and how it will be. What is this made up of and from where all this moving and stable universe came? Where was it once concealed and wherein it merges again? What are the measures of these elements and beings? How did the birth of the creative intelligence called Devas etc. take place? Please explain the origin and place of the oceans, mountains, Sun and Stars; the lineage of Devas, Manus, Manvantaras, Kalpas and their sub-divisions which culminate in the units of four Yugas and the shape of things in other Kalpas with their features. The story of the Devas, Seers and the Kings on earth I want to know. I also want to know the magnitude of the various branches of the universal and impersonal wisdom (Veda) as it is authoritatively edited and handed down to Vyasa; also the duties of the four classes and the four Ashrams. All these things I want to know from you, O grand son of Vasista. Favour me that I know the core of these things by your grace.

The answer to these questions is the content of Vishnu Purana. Maitreya is among the foremost disciples of Parasara besides being a great Sage himself. We see him as an important character in many Puranas. This is the same Maitreya who received the grandest of initiations from Lord Krishna at the time of The Lords departure from his physical body. Krishna imparted the same initiation to Vidura after His departure. We find this event described in Sri Bhagavatam. Also the Lord Krishna entered into Maitreya to live through the Kali age and establish the Law repeatedly. The word Mitra denotes a particular ray which governs the wisdom on this earth in the form of constant measures of creation. It is also the ray of the consciousness which governs the principle of friendship. Maitreya is born out of that ray and he guides the beings of Kali Yuga through the action of that ray.

The knowledge of the Universes as is demanded by Maitreya is a formulated branch of Knowledge derived from the Vedic and the Brahmana tradition. Before we proceed further let us have a lucid explanation of some terms used by Maitreya.

1. The Science of Law

This is called Dharma which includes the ethical, spiritual and social code of conducts. Each Manu prescribes his own code to be followed during his Manvantara. The present Vaivaswatha Manu has his code from which the present Manu Smriti (a recollection of Manu s Law) is composed by the later scholars, of course with some distortions. Parasara, the author of Vishnu Purana, is himself a Law giver. His Law is compiled in his Purana, and holds good for those who live in Kali Yuga.

2. Devas

These are the creative intelligences at work in the making of the cosmic and microcosmic beings. They are constant in number in each unit of creation. They have no death since they recede into the cosmic consciousness when the unit creation goes into dissolution. They are of thirty-three groups which will be subsequently explained.

3. Manus

The Manus are also a class of Devas that are born of the cosmic mind. They are fourteen in number and preside over the vast units of time which are called Manvantaras. They rule over the mental set-up of the Solar, Planetary and individual mind of the beings and each of them provides its own mental set-up. We can find an epitome of the fourteen Manus in the increasing and decreasing moon between a Full Moon and a New Moon.

4. Kalpa (one day of the Creator):

Kalpa is the period of time from the beginning of one creation on this earth to its merging. Each Kalpa is divided into Manvantaras. Each Manvantara is divided into Maha Yugas which are sub-divided into four Yugas. Each Yuga has its own distinct features that are given as prophesies in the Puranas.

5. Veda

The term Veda is used not to denote a book but for the wisdom concealed in Nature. The whole plan of creation on the macro-cosmic and micro-cosmic levels finds its unfolding according to the Veda that exists in Nature. Incidentally any book dealing with this subject is called a Vedic text. The Vedic texts teach us about the Vedas that exist eternally. The Vedas are four in number and have six keys (Angas) which unlock the secrets.

6. Four classes of People

The ancients divide the whole society as a state into four classes according to the four natural qualities with which the living beings respond on this earth. They are: perception, protection, transaction and execution. They are respectively called Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaisya and Sudra. In the human being they are identified respectively with the functions of the face, arms, thighs and limbs (here limbs means particularly also the feet). The society is divided after this fashion into its four classes. These classes are decided according to the ability and the type of work allotted to the individual in the society. They have nothing to do with the present system of caste.

7. Four Ashrams

They are the duties of an individual towards himself and others, and are to be performed according to his age. They are: Brahmacharya (student life), Grihastha (married life), Vanaprastha (living in a hermitage) and Sanyasa (ascetic life).

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