Compiler of Vedas and author of the Mahabharata, Bhagavatam, and Brahma sutra. (Glossary for the Vahinis)

Vyasa was a great sage. He was also known to be an embodiment of Lord Narayana. He was the great grandson of Arundhati, the great lady known for her chastity and virtue. He was born on Purnima (full moon day) in the month of Ashadha as per Hindu calendar. That is the reason why the day was named after him as Vyasa Purnima. It is said, ‘Vyasa Narayana Harih’ (Vyasa is Lord Narayana, verily). He took the vow of spreading the Avatar Tattva (the philosophy underlying the descent of God) and leelas (divine acts of grace) of God in the world.He did that seva to the best of his ability through his works of Brahma Sutra, Mahabharata, Bhagawatam and eighteen Puranas and thereby sanctified his life. Just as the Radio receivers receive the sound waves spread in the air and transmit them for the benefit of people, so also Sage Vyasa through his sacred texts handed down the omnipresent and unfathomable Paramatma-tattva (Nature of the Supreme Godhead) to the human beings. He spread the sacred inner meanings of the Vedas in the world. Sage Vyasa propagated the omnipresent formless and attributeless Godhead in the form of beautiful stories as ideals for the human beings. Among the Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshvara. Vyasa was more attached to the Vishnu aspect and propagated it. Considering his services in this regard, people worship him as Adi Guru (the first Preceptor) and Loka Guru (World Teacher) on the occasion of Vyasa Purnima.

Vyasa was a knowledgeable person. Since the human beings with limited span of life cannot undertake the study of infinite Vedas in a specific period, he undertook the task of separating ‘Riks’ in all the Vedas into a section and called it ‘Rigveda’.It is full of mantras. Similarly, he separated ‘Yajus’ in all the Vedas into a section and name it ‘Yajur Veda’. This section deals with the conducting of Yajnas and Yagas .Another section consisted of ‘Sama Veda’ containing all the ‘Samas’ in all the Vedas. The ‘Sama Veda’ deals with section deals with the science of music and literature. Yet another section deals with the mantras concerning the Astra and Shastras used in the warfare as also the health of the people. It is called ‘Atharvana Veda’. Since he divided the Vedas for the benefit of the people thus, he was referred to as Veda Vyasa. (Beacons of Divine Wisdom Part 2, pp.64-66)

When Mahabharata war was going on, Sage Vyasa was walking in the rear side of the battle ground lost in his own thoughts, since both the sides that in the Kauravas and the Pandavas belonged to him. He saw a spider running fast on the way and enquired, ‘why so much haste? The spider replied, ‘Don’t you know? The chariot of Arjuna is coming this way. Will I not be trampled under it?’ Vyasa smiled jokingly and said ‘So what? Does the world lose anything by your death? Do you have any relation to mourn your death?’ The spider became very angry and explained, ‘You think there will be no loss if I die? I too have a family wiyh wife and children. I too have a house and property. I too value my life. hunger, thirst, pleasure and pain, happiness and sorrow are common to all living beings, there may be differences in nature and forms, but vishaya ananda (bliss derived from sensory objrcts) is the same for all beings. Sage Vyasa then pronounced the following shloka spontaneously:

Ahara Nidra Bhaya Maithunam Cha

samanyam etat pasubhir naranam

dharmo Hi Tesham Adhiko Visheshaha

dharmena hinah pasubhih samanah.

(Food, sleep, fear and cohabitation are common to both animals and human beings. Wisdom is the only extra quality that is exclusive to human beings. Devoid of wisdom, a human being is equal to an animal). With the unique quality of wisdom endowed on human beings, man can visualise God who is the In-dweller of all living beings. Having realised the truth. ‘Sarvam Vishnumayam Jagat’ (The entire universe is pervaded by Lord Vishnu), such a realised soul can experience bliss) (Beaxcons of Divine Wisdom Part 2, pp.68-69)

You toil day and night for this Loka (world); how many minutes do you devote for Lokesha (the Master of the world)? The Lokesha is the witness of all the world; He is to be remembered with gratitude and reverence and wonder. Vyasa spread the glory of Lokesha and made man aware of the debt they owed to God. His day is fixed as a holy day, on the full moon day, for he fills the dark heart with cool, comforting light, the light that is transmitted from God. It does not emanate direct from him. So, it is moonlight and his day on a full moon day. (SSS Vol.6, p.49)

This day is a day when mankind pays homage to the greatest of the spiritual doctors, Vyasa. Vyasa is the greatest such doctors; for he put together the Vedas and composed the Puranas and Mahabharata and gave the humanity Bhagavatam. He is the primal Guru for all who walk in the path of God. He planted the seed of theism and nurtured it, through Sruti, Smriti, Shastra and the Mahabharata. He gave the world The Gita and Brahma sutra, the idea of the Immanent Atma, the Story of the Divine Leela, the secret of the changeable Creation. He belonged to about 3800 B.C.; he was the grandson of the sage Vashistha, the son of Parashara and the father of that celebrated gem among Rishis Suka. He came from Vasudeva, announced the Leelas of Vasudeva to all and finally, got merged in Vasudeva. He established the Namaparayana and made all aware of the sweetness of the Name of the Lord, which evokes His Form and His Grace. Vyasa first revealed to man the secret of making the Manas as clear and as full of cool rays as the moon on a full moon night; that is why this Pournnima is associated with him and with all Gurus. (SSS Vol.2, pp.70-71)

Vyasa helped mankind to earn peace

Vyasa is the first Guru who demarcated the path and the goal. Vyasa means the person who has elaborated and expanded knowledge of truth, that is to say, the universal eternal energy. Vyasa helped mankind to earn peace and happiness, and to learn ways of fruitful adoration of God. Vyasa has also narrated stories of the human incarnations of Godhead. The three Gunas---Sattva, rajas and Tamas (purity, passionately active and ignorant)---have differentiated all beings into divine, human and demonic persons. Men are intelligent, curious and full of wonder, full of awe and the attitude of reverence. They are the only beings who have the longing to know themselves and to succeed in that effort.

There is a legend about the Truth. The Gods approached Ishvara and pleaded with Him to keep the knowledge of Truth away from men and demons, for it would make them irresistible. So, itwas hidden in the unreachable heights of the Akasha (the sky). The demons lost interest in this kind of knowledge but men suffered agony in its absence. So, Ishvara hid it in the Ocean and finally, when human yearning became overwhelming, Ishvara planted it in the heart of every human being. But even there, it was not easily available for man. He had to penetrate through the evils of the five elements that comprise the gross body, the sheaths of the subtle body and the causal body, to have a vision of the indwelling Atma.

Vyasa and Narada Are like Man and God

                                  (Narada and Vyasa came to stop Brahmasironamakastra used by Aswatthama and Arjuna)

Vyasa wrote the sacred Bhagavad Gita which is often referred to as the fifth Veda. Vyasa was a great individual who could overcome all human weaknesses like anger, greed and lust; and so, he could write, this great text. Vyasa was given to yogic practice in life, and one day he was sitting on the banks of a river and was in a very depressed mood. He was thinking about time which was fleeting away and was feeling that his life span was melting away like a block of ice without any worthwhile achievement. He was trying to understand how he should lead his life. Although he had studied and understood all the Vedas and Puranas, he was worried that his writings and teachings were not giving peace and happiness to the people in the world. He realised that all his knowledge should have been used to give peace and prosperity to the world, and he felt unhappy that it was not being utilised for this purpose. At that moment, Narada entered the scene. Narada was the son of Saraswati, and Vyasa was sitting on the banks of river Saraswati and thinking of these problems. Saraswati signifies the form of the latent unspoken word. This Saraswati is like the traditional river which is believed to be flowing in an un-manifested form. Narada as an individual was representing Saraswati.

There is an inseparable connection between the manifested and the un-manifested aspect of Saraswati. Ordinarily, in the mind of a human being, thought processes are generated and he then speaks out. The words that we hear are the manifested words representing the un-manifested Saraswati. The streams of thoughts that arise in his mind are given the shape and form of the spoken word. Bhagavad Gita has been proclaiming the inseparable connection between the manifested and the un-manifested forms. The two aspects, namely the manifested and un-manifested are closely related like the object and its image.

Narada taught Vyasa that all the texts and scriptures which do not contain a praise of the leelas of the Lord are hollow and have no life in them. They will not attract people at all. Acquaintance with all the books and the scholarship that one might possess are meant for attracting the world, but they will not be able to attract and purify your own mind. If what one writes can give him purity of thought and liberation from worldly attachments, that can be regarded as a proper text.

Sweetness is a natural quality of sugar; but if we just have knowledge of this fact, we will not know that sugar is indeed sweet. This experience relates only to the palate, and your tongue alone can identify the sweetness of sugar. The sweetness of sugar is not known to sugar itself. It is only when there is an individual who, through his palate, has experienced the sweetness of sugar, can the sweetness of sugar be realised. As in the analogy, the ananda or bliss associated with God will be known only to the individual who seeks such ananda and bliss.

It is the devotee who seeks and enjoys the experience of ananda and not God. Narada told Vyasa that he had only written about such happiness, but he had not experienced it. Narada then told Vyasa that from that day he would have the capacity to sing the glory of God and advised that Vyasa should do this and derive bliss and joy. (SSB 1978, pp. 19-20)

Singing of a bhajan is usually associated with singing with a rhythm. In reality, if we can give a form to what is contained in Sama Veda, that itself can be described as bhajan. All types of tunes have their origin in Sama Veda. Narada also told Vyasa that if such a sacred song is sung with proper feeling and devotion, then the significance of the song will also be clear. The sacredness of divine nature that is present in each individual can be experienced in the form of a song. There is a small example for this. When two individuals are talking with each other, one individual enters the other in the form of sound. This concept of an individual entering another in the form of sound is not clearly understood today. When you are face to face with God and think of His name and glory, the form of God will enter you. It is in this context that the Shastras and Puranas advise you to spend all your time in the thought of God and in singing His glory. We are, therefore, told that God is present in all living things, and that all living things in their turn are present in the divine. If several people gather and sing the glory of God in a congregation, then Prajnana, or knowledge of God, will come to everyone in the gathering.

The sacred work of Vyasa was such that it demonstrated the unity amidst all the diversity in creation. Narada used the word ambhoja in the present context and that means a thing that is born in water. Not only man, but all living things are born from water. All trees and everything else is born from water. Even if we have a small seed, it can sprout only if it is in contact with water. If there is no water, even this seed will perish. In this context, Narada said that the human body must be regarded as a lotus. All texts and writings in relation to God will consist of a lotus implying that such a text is a lotus coming out of a lake.

The state of our mind is compared to a lake that contains two swans represented by the aspects of Soham. This sound of Soham proclaims ‘I am That’ and demonstrates the oneness of all creation. The swan always symbolises purity in our tradition; and when we compare this aspect to that of Soham, we wish to bring out the purity in all creation. This implies that in the Manasarovar or the mind of man, which is like a lake, the identity between man and God should be promoted. Because of such sacred teachings from Narada, there was a divine feeling in Vyasa which enabled him to write the sacred text of Bhagavad Gita.

Because Narada removed all the doubts from the mind of Vyasa, Narada was taken as guru and that day has since been referred to as Guru Purnima. As the role of the guru is to remove ignorance from the dark minds, it is also referred to as the coming of Purnima or brightness. The Vedas have compared the mind to the moon and the eye to the sun.

What we see directly and readily is the moon or the reflection of our own mind. With the help of a guru, the mind can be cleansed and the spots and blemishes removed, and so this day is to be referred to as Guru Purnima.

We generally use the word heart to signify the physical heart and the life force that is responsible for all action, but this is not so. The heart should not be interpreted as something which is localised at one spot in the body. The totality of the life force in a human being is to be referred to as the heart. If we talk of America, does it mean that my heart has travelled as far as America? In total reality, the life force in you can be compared to the heart. This has been called Maha Prajnana and has been demonstrated to us as the form of Brahma. In one of the Maha vakyas ‘prajnanam Brahma,’ Prajnana has in fact been identified with Brahma. Narada took the position of a guru and used Vyasa to explain the function of a guru and in this context, this day is also referred to as Vyasa Purnima.

Today there is also another event of exceptional significance. From the authority we can get from the Vedas, we believe that buddhi is superior to all other sensory organs.

Compared to buddhi, the Atma is in a higher position. Buddhi and Atma are so close to each other that buddhi gets its illumination from the Atma. The mind is in a higher position than the sensory organs. Buddhi is in a higher position than the mind.

The effulgence of Atma falls directly on the Buddhi; and therefore, if we follow the dictates of our Buddhi, we can control our sensory organs. In this context, this day is also described as Buddha Jayanti. Thus Guru Purnima, Buddha Jayanti, and Vyasa Purnima are like the confluence of the three sacred rivers. It is in this context that in the Purusha Sukta, it has been said that we must bring these three aspects together and offer it to Lord Shiva. Because of these sacred teachings of Narada, Vyasa undertook a pledge that from that day, he would write the story of Krishna and his divine leelas. He was occasionally asking Krishna, ‘Are you not satisfied with the excellent scholarship that I have achieved and the manner in which I am praising you?’ Vyasa asked such questions because he was still proud of his scholarship and his achievements. The arrogance of his intellectual achievement was responsible for this ego. The ego that has its origin in anything else can be removed; but if the ego is acquired because of one’s scholarship, it cannot be easily removed. Education and scholarship should enable you to get rid of your ego; but if the same education and scholarship generate the ego in you, how can this be removed?

The ego that one gets by thinking that he is a very learned person is the biggest obstacle in the way of his getting divine enlightenment. However, this has a welcome aspect because only when such obstacles arise can man attempt to remove his faults. Out of happiness, we will never get happiness. It is only out of troubles that we get happiness. Even if you want to make good ornaments from gold, you will have to put it into fire and subject it to a high temperature. In a similar manner, God creates several difficulties for people and subjects them to many tests before letting them realise His sacred and divine aspects. This is particularly so with people who suffer from an intellectual ego. We have to note here that Vyasa wrote the Bhagavad Gita and all the Puranas, but he never put any of the things about which he wrote into practice. He attained great efficiency in communicating his ideas to others, but he did not attempt to put them into practice. Vyasa, who recognised this fault in himself, prayed thus to Krishna, ‘Can we find out your divine nature, Oh Krishna? You are smaller than the smallest and bigger than the biggest. How can we describe your greatness?’

He further wrote, ‘It is said that you reside in the hearts of all the 84 lakhs of jivas in creation without being separated from them.’ Here, we should notice that while he pronounces his knowledge about some aspects of God, he also expresses his doubts in other aspects. At this stage, Narada told Vyasa that there should never be a doubt in one’s mind about any aspect of the divine. It is not without reason that I have spent so much time telling you about Vyasa today. It is only when you have confidence in the speaker, will you have confidence in what he says. Only when you understand the thinking on the part of those who wrote the Bhagavad Gita and on the part of those who figure in the text of the Bhagavad Gita can you understand the sacred text itself. It is in this context that I have given you the full life story of Vyasa and of Narada. Vyasa and Narada are like man and God. Vyasa is asking the questions and Narada is answering them. If we understand this relationship between Vyasa and Narada, we can appreciate the inner meaning of the Bhagavad Gita. (SSS Vol.18, pp. 20-24)