chapter 2 – scriptures

 

Swamiji provides a comprehensive overview of the vast scriptural literature of the tradition, collectively referred to as śāstram. The word śāstram is derived from the root śās, which holds the dual meanings of commanding and teaching. Swamiji compares śāstram to a mother who commands a child in their early, immature stages and gradually shifts to teaching and enlightenment as the child grows. By commanding humanity in grosser stages and enlightening them later, the scriptures protect and save individuals (śāsanāt trāyatē iti śāstram).

To help human beings accomplish their goals (puruṣārthas), the enormous body of śāstram is structured into six distinct, progressive layers:

1. The vedas (The First Layer) The vedas are the primary foundation of the scriptures and consist of over 20,000 mantras. The word veda is derived from the root vid (to know), making it a supreme treasure house of knowledge. These verses are called mantras because they are meant for deep inquiry and reflection, which in turn protects the seeker (mananāt trāyatē iti mantraḥ). The vedas are divided into four groups:

  • ṛg veda: Composed of poetic or metrical verses (padya).
  • yajur veda: Composed of prose (gadya).
  • sāma veda: Composed of musical verses (gīti), which form the foundation of Indian music.
  • atharvaṇa veda: Comprises mantras primarily received by the ṛṣis atharvan and aṅgiras.

The vedas are considered apauruṣēya pramāṇam—a source of knowledge not produced by the human intellect. Rather, bhagavan acts as the transmitting station, and highly evolved beings known as ṛṣis act as the receiving centers. Because they simply “saw” or received these revelations, the ṛṣis are called mantra draṣṭāraḥ (seers of the mantras). Historically, the vedas were not written down but were transmitted purely by hearing (karṇa paramparā rather than hasta paramparā or likhita paramparā). For this reason, this layer is uniquely known as śruti, meaning that which is received by hearing from a teacher.

2. The sūtras (The Second Layer) Because the vedas are overwhelmingly vast and seemingly unorganized, the sūtra literature was created to codify and clarify the teachings. The word sūtra means “thread.” This literature gathers the scattered, unorganized flowers of vedic topics and threads them together into organized garlands of highly condensed, capsule-like aphorisms. They are categorized topically into:

  • dharma sūtrāṇi: Dealing with individual values and growth.
  • gṛhya sūtrāṇi: Covering family responsibilities.
  • śrauta sūtrāṇi: Managing large-scale rituals for societal and universal harmony.

Unlike the vedas, the sūtras are pauruṣēya śāstram. Their composition was done by the human intellects of various ṛṣis (like gautama, āpastamba, and parāśara), though the content itself remains divine.

3. The smṛtis (The Third Layer) The smṛtis, meaning “remembered wisdom,” take the highly compressed, cryptic ideas of the sūtras and expand upon them to make the hidden concepts explicit. Authored by sages in the form of memorizable, chantable poetry, texts like the manu smṛti and yājñavalkya smṛti systematically arrange complex topics ranging from cosmology to the duties of different stages of life. Like the sūtras, this layer is pauruṣēya—composed by humans but preserving divine content.

4. The purāṇas (The Fourth Layer) The purāṇa literature takes the teachings and heavily magnifies them, expanding upon the smṛti literature at a ratio of 1 to 100. The word purāṇa implies that the knowledge is ancient yet remains profoundly relevant and ever fresh (purā api navaḥ). To make abstract philosophical concepts more impactful, the purāṇas use concretization, symbolization, personification, and elaborate storytelling. For example, the bhāgavata purāṇa personifies abstract concepts like anger and ahaṅkāra (ego) as demons. The simple vedic command to speak the truth (satyam vada) is magnified into the massive epic story of Harishchandra. This layer consists primarily of 18 primary and 18 secondary texts attributed to vyāsācārya.

5. The itihāsas (The Fifth Layer) The term itihāsa translates to “thus it definitely occurred,” indicating that these texts are rooted in historical events. The two primary itihāsas are the rāmāyaṇam by vālmīki (24,000 verses presenting Rama’s life as a model) and the mahābhāratam by vyāsācārya (100,000 verses detailing the Bharata lineage). Swamiji emphasizes that documenting pure history is not the primary goal of these texts; rather, history is used as a supportive vehicle to impart vedic teachings. Consequently, facts are heavily mixed with fiction and symbolism—such as Ravana’s 10 heads representing multiple personality disorder—to make the profound philosophy accessible to the masses.

6. The bhāṣyam (The Sixth Layer) The final layer consists of vast commentaries (bhāṣyam) written in Sanskrit on all the preceding layers. Because scriptural literature requires a specific, traditional methodology or key (sampradāya) to be properly unlocked and interpreted, trying to understand it through simple dictionary translations leads to confusion. Traditional masters like śaṅkarācārya dedicated their lives to writing extensive prose and verse commentaries on root texts like the bṛhadāraṇyaka upaniṣad. This layer continuously expanded through sub-commentaries (such as the 12,000 verses by surēśvarācārya) and further layers of sub-sub-commentaries, ensuring the teachings remain flawlessly accessible and correctly understood across generations.