Action and Knowledge - Insights from Rigveda and Puranas

The first mantra of the Rigveda is:

Om Agnimeele purohitam…

The Vedic corpus was segregated and assembled into four parts by Sage Veda Vyasa for convenience—specifically, the convenience of learning and performing yajnas. Our ancients believed that man is more easily and better purified through action, or sadhana, rather than simply by assimilating knowledge. In knowledge, there is always the possibility that what you get is adulterated, modified, or corrupt, especially in today's time. It is said that in Kali-yuga, original knowledge does not exist; what we have are interpretations of interpretations of interpretations of interpretations.

It is obvious: for something as simple and straightforward as the Bhagavad Gita, you can see the interpretation of Shankara and the modern interpretations we have today. I believe they all must have started from Shankara Bhashya or similar authentic Bhashyas and, after going through several hands, have ended up in the sad state of the Gita's interpretation that most of us have heard today.

This risk is less in action-based purification. Here, there is not much importance placed on one’s own knowledge, intelligence, or power of discretion. In Jnana Marga, these are very important. I may say something, and you may end up understanding something else. Again, the limitations of words also come into play here.

In action-based sadhana, a procedure is set. You simply follow it without any modifications. You can follow it as if you are dumb. You have no liberty to apply your own intelligence. The target is achieved. These are two different methods to achieve the same goal: Jnana Marga, which is full of risks, and Karma Marga, with fewer risks but requiring a lot of hard work. You can’t sit in a chair and do it. You can’t do it online.

So, this division of the Vedic corpus into Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda, and Atharvaveda was to facilitate this Sadhana Marga, Karma Marga, or Upasana Marga. The branding of Upasana Marga as something inferior or meant for less intellectual, underprivileged souls by some modern Jnanis is incorrect.

The first mantra of the Rigveda is Agnimeele Purohitam. Rigveda mantras are divided into eight Ashtakas or ten Mandalas. There are two kinds of divisions. There is also another kind of arrangement into Vargas. Mantras are assembled as Suktas comprising a number of mantras—some have five, some have sixteen, and so on. Agnimeele Purohitam is the first mantra, Rik or Richa, with which the Rigveda starts.

ॐ अ॒ग्निम् । ई॒ळे॒ । पु॒रःऽहि॑तम् । य॒ज्ञस्य॑ । दे॒वम् । ऋ॒त्विज॑म् । होता॑रम् । र॒त्न॒ऽधात॑मम् ।।

As usual, the mantra starts with Pranava added at its beginning. I praise Agni, who is the Purohita of the yajna, who is a deva, who is ritwik, who is hota, and who is Ratna Dhatama.

Who is Agni? This is very important. In the Puranas, the nature of a particular deity or divinity is revealed and understood through stories, incidents, and narratives. The Vedic term itself reveals or conveys most or all about the divinity. The Vedic term denotes and contains all about that deity. This is the relation between the Vedas and Puranas. Purana is a lucid and easy-to-understand interpretation of this term or the interpretation of this term. A single term can contain everything, maybe a whole story, or the whole Purana itself narrates. But this may not occur to everyone. For our ease of understanding, the Puranas have been written.

Some modern Jnanis say that when the Puranas came, the Vedic gods were replaced by Puranic gods. They argue that there is no Krishna in the Veda, no Shiva in the Vedas, and no Kali in the Vedas. These arguments are all foolish. Vedas are like seeds. Brahma created the universe from the Vedas. Everything that exists in the universe is in the Vedas in seed form. A mango tree will not look like the seed it came from. They need not look alike. When Shabda in Veda develops and unfolds, they manifest as the events in the Puranas. There is no contradiction.

Some say Indra is ridiculed in the Vedas as a drunkard and an arrogant snob. This is not correct. The Puranas describe one aspect of power and position. What is Indra? Indra is the highest position—the king of Devas. When sitting in that position, one is susceptible to all these traits. It is only a description, not a judgment or conclusion. Indra’s importance is not underplayed; Indra's position is not derided. But when such things happen, the balance and equilibrium are established, as narrated in the Puranas. Krishna teaching Indra a lesson does not mean that Indra is a lowly being. It only tells how all these checks and balances are present in the Almighty’s system, showing what happens when power and position are misused.