“Seeing Sita, like trying to decipher knowledge from the Vedas which has become barely perceptible after lack of use, his mind became doubtful. As Sita was not decorated, with difficulty Hanuman could recognize her, like understanding a text which has gotten a different meaning due to a lack of purity.” (Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara Kand, 15.38-39)

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तस्य संदिदिहे बुद्धिर्मुहुः सीतां निरीक्ष्य तु।
आम्नायानामयोगेन विद्यां प्रशिथिलामिव।।
दुःखेन बुबुधे सीतां हनुमाननलङ्कृताम्।
संस्कारेण यथा हीनां वाचमर्थान्तरं गताम्।।

tasya saṃdidihe buddhirmuhuḥ sītāṃ nirīkṣya tu।
āmnāyānāmayogena vidyāṃ praśithilāmiva।।
duḥkhena bubudhe sītāṃ hanumānanalaṅkṛtām।
saṃskāreṇa yathā hīnāṃ vācamarthāntaraṃ gatām।।

Within the landscape of religious literature or works focusing on spirituality, the Vedas are unique in that the original script flows forward to the modern day. We can access the exact same symbols, patterns, and words that were put down to paper hundreds and thousands of years ago.

To understand the original language is not easy. There is the formal presentation of Sanskrit, whose script refers to the city of the celestials, Devanagari. Then there are the languages local to the subject areas, such as Vraja, Mathura, Ayodhya, Janakpur, and Bengal, to name a few.

Therefore, in accessing these works today we often go through a translation. The original language is there, but the writer also presents a translation for the people reading. English, Spanish, Hindi, German, and so forth.

This bridges a significant gap in time and understanding, but there is also the often added purports. For instance, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada presents Bhagavad-gita As It Is. The original Bhagavad-gita is in the Sanskrit language. It is a small section within a much larger work known as Mahabharata.

Prabhupada includes purports to the verses. These are essentially explanations. For those who follow the culture of Vedanta, following in the disciplic succession, the purports are more important than the actual translations.

A person may object to the insertion of thoughts and ideas. They may see it as a sort of polluting of the original material.

“Why should anyone add purports? Are not the verses sufficient? Why does anything need to be added? If the content was originally presented in short-form verses, shlokas, why cannot people today absorb the information in the same way?”

1. Context

The most obvious reason for the purports is context. For instance, Bhagavad-gita has lengthy content that precedes the event of the war at the battlefield of Kurukshetra. If a person picks up the book for the first time and reads about the characters named Arjuna and Krishna, they may not be familiar with the setting.

“Who is Krishna? Who is Arjuna? Why is Arjuna afraid to proceed? Who are these people he is fighting against? Why is war an option? Should not disagreements be settled in a peaceful manner? Could not the parties reach an amicable decision, a mutual understanding for how the dispute could be settled?”

The purports provide the necessary context. This allows for someone accessing the material thousands of years after the fact to get up to speed. They can understand the cause that led to the effect, as there is always an original cause, karana.

2. Culture

Culture can change significantly in the passing of a single generation. For example, if we watch a football game recorded thirty years ago, there are noticeable differences. The players do not dance nearly as often. They do not celebrate the paltriest of achievements, such as advancing ten yards. There are no distracting images dispersed across the screen for the duration of the presentation.

Such change is more noticeable over one hundred years. Imagine, then, the culture that existed thousands of years in the past. Men and women marrying through family arrangement. Children expecting a mostly safe and secure childhood, without constant attacks from needles. No fear and dread at the idea of getting pregnant. Extended family to help raise the children, to maintain the wholesomeness of the community.

The purports to the verses help to give an idea of the culture that existed at the time. For instance, at one point Krishna refers to the presentation of Arjuna as anarya. This is lacking culture, not knowing how things should be done. Today, practically the entire world is anarya, but during that time Krishna was surprised to see a brief moment of unintelligence from His friend.

श्री-भगवान् उवाच
कुतस् त्वा कश्मलम् इदं
विषमे समुपस्थितम्
अनार्य-जुष्टम् अस्वर्ग्यम्
अकीर्ति-करम् अर्जुन

śrī-bhagavān uvāca
kutas tvā kaśmalam idaṁ
viṣame samupasthitam
anārya-juṣṭam asvargyam
akīrti-karam arjuna

“The Supreme Person [Bhagavan] said: My dear Arjuna, how have these impurities come upon you? They are not at all befitting a man who knows the progressive values of life. They do not lead to higher planets, but to infamy.” (Bhagavad-gita, 2.2)

3. Clarity

The purports help to expand upon the individual words that make up the shlokas. A basic Sanskrit word like atma can have different meanings based on the context. Also, Arjuna addresses Krishna by different names. A person may be confused as to who Arjuna is speaking to. Why not just use the same name all the time? The purports bring clarity to dispel the potential confusion.

4. Condition

I am living in a specific condition. In most cases when picking up Vedic literature for the first time, that condition is confusion. It is bewilderment. It is not understanding the meaning to an existence. It is not reconciling the forced nature of death and the subsequent torture it brings to the person who has taken birth.

जातस्य हि ध्रुवो मृत्युर्
ध्रुवं जन्म मृतस्य च
तस्माद् अपरिहार्ये ऽर्थे
न त्वं शोचितुम् अर्हसि

jātasya hi dhruvo mṛtyur
dhruvaṁ janma mṛtasya ca
tasmād aparihārye ‘rthe
na tvaṁ śocitum arhasi

“For one who has taken his birth, death is certain; and for one who is dead, birth is certain. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you should not lament.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.27)

The purports from the acharya target such conditions. The words attack my ignorance. They are like knowledge to cut down the tree of illusion. My condition binds me to the miserable material world, and knowledge is my way out.

5. Cohesiveness

The purports should align with previous teachers and their teachings. The purports can be presented in a manner suitable to the present condition, to appeal to the prevailing culture, but the meanings should always be the same as the original purpose.

For instance, if Shri Krishna says that He is the source of everything, that all truths rest in Him, there should be no ambiguity. We should learn this teaching in the same manner that Arjuna first accepted it.

मत्तः परतरं नान्यत्
किञ्चिद् अस्ति धनञ्जय
मयि सर्वम् इदं प्रोतं
सूत्रे मणि-गणा इव

mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat
kiñcid asti dhanañjaya
mayi sarvam idaṁ protaṁ
sūtre maṇi-gaṇā iva

“O conquerer of wealth [Arjuna], there is no Truth superior to Me. Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 7.7)

We are fortunate to have the purports, as with the passage of time it is difficult to decipher the original meanings to words and sayings. There are such references when Hanuman observed Sita Devi after a long and difficult search.

She was in a distressed condition due to separation from her husband, Shri Rama. Hanuman could still recognize her, though. Like the acharya understanding the original meaning and helping others, Hanuman identified the truth and knew how to properly proceed.

In Closing:

After strength and effort profuse,
Obstacle due to lack of use.

Like the knowledge of Vedas coming,
Through time distant becoming.

But Hanuman still could see,
That wife of Shri Rama was she.

An authority for offering clarity,
A bridge to gap culture disparity.

Categories: the five

Tags: hare krishna, poem, poems, poetry, ramayana, sanskrit, vedas