The systems of philosophy to which the Indian mind has given
birth range from
the ultra-materialistic system
of a Charvaka to the most
sublime ultraspiritual system of the Vedanta. It must, however, be borne in
mind that all these apparently most divergent systems of thought are necessary
steps through which the intellect of man must pass and has passed, marking as
they do the various stages of man's intellectual development. The various
systems have bee intended as the training ground for the
varying intellects of man, one system leading to another, each man honestly
taking to that system of thought which appeals to him most, as best suited to
the grain of his mind, as the system which to him appears to embody rules of
conduct based on a most rational basis. When the different systems are viewed
in this light, when the value of even the most materialistic philosophy of a
Charvaka is recognised as perforce gradually in the course of enquiry leading
the intellect to a less materialistic and more spiritual system, the intellect
finding no rest till it lands upon the most convicting truth, it becomes easy
to understand what the author of the Purana means when he speaks of the
different systems of faith in the following terms:
"Listen with faith, O sages, to what I say as to the
truth of the various paths. Vedas, Dharmasastras, Purana, Bharata, Vedangas and
minor Vedas; Kamika and other agamas; Kapala and Lakula in all their variety;
the Pasupata, Soma, Bhairava and other agamas with their hundred varieties: Vaishnava
and Brahma agamas; the agamas of the Buddhas and the Arhats; Lokayata, and the
Tarkasastras in all their vastness; the profound Mimamsa, as also Sankhya and
Yoga; all these and many more Sastras, the Omniscient Divine Being has made in
brief. It is only by the Grace of Rudra that Devas like Brahma and Vishnu,
Siddhas, Vidyadharas, Yakshas, Rakshasas, Munis and men make the Sastras again,
in brief or in extenso. The wise say that each of these sastras is intended for
a particular class according to the individual qualification, not all for one. These
paths are not to be rudely handled by the learned subjecting them to rigorous
unrelenting logic. As all streams ultimately empty themselves into the ocean, so
all these paths ultimately lead to the Mahesvara Himself. Worshipped in what
form soever by people as ordained in their respective scriptures. He assumes
that form and takes the devotee on to the next higher step, By His Grace man
attains to superior paths. The Divine Being worshipped in the form in which He
is represented in these paths takes the devotee step by step onward to the path
of the Veda. The form which the Divine Being assumes in
the path of the Veda
is the immediate
cause of salvation. Even there
the form of the Divine Being as represented by the ritualistic portion of the
Veda only stimulates a longing for knowledge; while, worshipped in the form
presented in the theosophical portion He leads
the devotee to
moksha through wisdom.
"As the highest salvation is only of one kind, the
knowledge which leads to it must be of one kind and of one kind' only. The
Vedanta treats of Sankara as the non-dual Atman. No other path treats of Him
directly as the Vedanta does. Therefore knowledge produced by the Veda is alone
wisdom. Knowledge obtained by other means is avidya, unwisdom. The other paths
cannot themselves lead to moksha; they are serviceable only as leading to it
through the intervening steps. Mahadeva, as known by the Vedanta, directly
gives moksha; as known and worshipped in the other paths He leads to moksha by
gradually taking the soul on to the direct path. Wherefore he who
treads the path
of the Vedanta
should not change it for any
other. To those who tread the path of the Veda, nothing is hard to attain. There
alone lie the supreme mukti and other enjoyments in plenty.
"Wherefore
the different paths
are useful to
the different individuals for
whom they are specially intended. Whenever other paths are opposed to the
Vedanta in their theories as to the nature of
Isvara, as to the cause of
bondage, as to the cause of
the Universe, as to mukti, and as to what constitutes wisdom, and so on,
those theories, to be sure, have been furnished in accordance with the
prevailing desires of the ignorant whose minds are darkened by the mighty
delusion: not because they are absolutely true in themselves, but because they
serve, by holding out some legitimate pleasures to ultimately bring them round
to the right path when their sins have been washed away in the waters of the
more or less pure morality therein inculcated. As man allures an erratic cow by
holding out grass, so does Mahesvara first hold out some pleasure
and then gives
supreme wisdom as
the mind becomes perfected.
"Thus these paths, laid out as they are by Siva, are
all of them true and serviceable. How can Siva be a deceiver? He is supremely
merciful, omniscient, and altogether stainless. Yet of all the paths, the path
of the Veda
is the best. as conducing
to all good."
(Skanda-Purana, Suta-Samhita,
Yajna-Vaibhava-Khanda, 22nd adhyaya).
This unique attitude of the Purana towards the several
antagonistic systems of religion and philosophy only gives expression to the
consciousness of the fact that mankind, made up as it is of different
individuals who have reached different stages of intellectual and moral
progress, cannot all think to order, in one and the same way
Source: Dakshinamurti Stotra With Manasollasa Of Sureshwaracharya Translated by Alladi Mahadeva Sastri. Pages 35-37
