Essays on the Gita - Track 305

As I said in the sense of relationships the whole world can be regarded as nothing but a network of relationships. The knowledge of this network is what we may call the 'cosmic knowledge'. If you know the network of all the knots in the world, all the threads, how they are related, interrelated, it is a cosmic knowledge. And in fact there is a kind of a consciousness which is called `cosmic consciousness', and if you enter into that consciousness you don't need to learn little by little as we now learn: to be in that state of consciousness automatically brings you the perception of cosmic harmonies, and enables you also, to work on this cosmic harmony. So what may seem to be extremely difficult now at a mental level, may seem to be simple and straightforward once you enter into that consciousness. If somebody were to describe to you how a huge landscape appears, and you read separate descriptions of all these landscapes, you find it so complex, so baffling, you may not understand the complexity of so many descriptions put together. But the moment you rise to the top of the hill and you look around, in a few seconds you know the whole. Then no more things look so difficult. Similarly today if we are to be told, "Look Indra has such and such threads of consciousness and such and such powers of relationships, Ashwins have got another, and Varuna has another, Mitra, Bhaga, have another", we become so intrigued. But once you realise that cosmic consciousness everything becomes so simple.

This is the knowledge that we find in the Veda; this is the greatness of the Veda. The Veda discovered varieties of complexities of gods, goddesses, human beings and all the creation, entire interrelationship, entire network and this network is not to be found anywhere in the world. Therefore you might say that if you want to know the network, Veda is supreme. That is a scientific fact; and let us see if any other book gives you, you will salute it, there is no question! It is not as if we are dogmatic and say, "Oh, no, it's my Veda, therefore it must be the best and the highest." It's not that. In the Veda, you find this knowledge, if any other book happens to be there, we'd be very happy. Let us read that also. So our attitude is not that this is `the' only thing and the best and the highest, and now nothing more! It's not that attitude at all. But if you find this knowledge in the Veda, you have got to say that there is no other book in the world which gives you these descriptions, so what can you do about it? You have got to say that it is the best and the highest!

But as far as this network of the cosmos is concerned, you can say that the Veda gives you the most complex knowledge and also tells you the secret by which you can come into contact with various gods, with various important centres of network and how you can relate yourself with them, and how you can derive the power from that network. And it says there are two ways by which you can relate - that secret is given, very simple, in words, although difficult to implement.

The first word is that each god can be invoked; there is a secret of invocation. Now, what is that invocation? They found it’s very simple actually. These gods have given names to themselves, these gods have names of their own: if I want to meet Sarita, I can say Sarita and immediately I can get into contact with her. This secret is only to call the name to establish the contact. It's so simple as that basically. It is true even in the human world. If you know the name of somebody, it's easy to contact. Even supposing, for example, I want to deal with a certain Ministry of Foreign Relations, I want my visa very quickly, then normally I say, "Whom shall I contact?". Then if you find the name of the person, it's a great gain; you can more easily contact him. Now similarly in the Vedas, you have the names. For example, the word "Indra” is not an arbitrary name: it has a sound. Sound has vibrations; these vibrations are of such a nature that they really bring Indra himself connected with this name. The powers or the capacities that Indra possesses have a vibration, and this vibration in terms of sound, is Indra. The very word Indra is therefore a significant name.

Now this was the discovery of the Vedic Rishis. They did not arbitrarily decide that this is Indra, this is Varuna, this is Bhaga. No! The words themselves have sound notations, and sound power and when you utter those words, they immediately bring you into contact with the corresponding god. Therefore, Veda is called a book of `secret knowledge'. Today because we don't believe, we all throw it out, in our modern arrogance and pride. It's only at our price actually. But if you really want to come into contact, the Veda gives us those mantras which are addressed to Indra. Similarly, if you really want to come into contact with Agni, the word "Agni" itself is an invocatory word. The Vedic Rishis were so great that they found out, what are the sound vibrations of these powers and having got the sound vibrations, they gave the names, accordingly. So the Vedic gods do not have arbitrary names. They have got real names, you might say, that they are the real sounds. That is the first secret of the Veda.

The second is that every god demands a `sacrifice'. This is another method – not only `invocation' but also `sacrifice'. Actually sacrifice is not properly understood. Sometimes it is said the sacrifice is a kind of a bribe – which is an anthropomorphic interpretation of sacrifice. It is said that if you make a sacrifice then God will be pleased and will give you in return something that is `his province'. But actually, it is not true. Sacrifice means the loosening of our threads of connections. If you want to connect yourself with Indra, for example, – Indra is the power of Light, just as Agni is the power of aspiration, just as Varuna is the power of wideness, so if you are in search of Light, then the threads which are in me, which are so confusedly set in my being, which prevent the entry of Light, that even if Indra wants to enter into you, you will prevent his entry into you, because of the threads which are in a very confuse network in your own being. So sacrifice means that you loosen your cobwebs and your present limitations and simply expand them out, and as you go on expanding them out, the higher force should be able to enter into you. It's not a bribery that you give, "Oh God, I'm giving you this kind of sacrifice; I'll take five cows and give you in." It's not that sort of thing! It may have a symbolic meaning but that is not the `real' sacrifice.