The Sanskrit Tradition
The oldest piece of literature available in any language is the Rigveda, which was composed and recorded in Sanskrit. The Rigveda contains stanzas describing astronomical events that occurred more than eleven thousand years ago. The entire text is not necessarily that old, but certainly its oldest layers are.
But let’s go back to the very beginning. In the traditional view, all knowledge existed in an eternal and uncreated state in the intellect of the Supreme Being before the advent of time. According to the Rishi Yajnavalkya (as recorded in the oldest and most important Upanishad, the Brhad Aranyaka Upanishad), the Infinite Being breathed forth, like the smoke from a fire that penetrates everywhere, the Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda, and Atharvaveda; the Itihasas (Ramayana and Mahabharata); the Puranas; the sciences (Vidyas); the Upanishads; the Sanskrit grammar (shloka); and the sutras and commentaries.5 At the same time, in order to give this knowledge form, the Supreme Being (in the form of Lord Shiva) produced the fifty letters of the Sanskrit language from the primordial sound Om. Then from these fifty letters, the Lord Shiva created the first Sanskrit grammar as a manifestation of that which was already eternal and perfect.
The Sanskrit language came forth in two different forms, now called Vedic and Classic Sanskrit. Western scholars claim that Classic Sanskrit evolved from Vedic,6 but according to tradition the Supreme Being authored both forms at the same time, each for a different purpose.7 Vedic Sanskrit was to be used for recording mantras, chanting, and mystical communion. Classical Sanskrit was to be used to record philosophical teachings and to stimulate intellectual discussion.
Because all the knowledge contained within the various scriptures (shastras) was not created by a single human mind but seen only by those who were open to perceiving it in each historical phase, it is called the eternal teaching, Sanatana Dharma. Even at the end of this world cycle, this teaching will not be destroyed but will be breathed forth again in the next world cycle and again be seen by liberated ones.
Despite the eternal perfection of Sanskrit, we are losing more and more ancient treatises as time progresses. We have lost most Ayurvedic texts, more than twenty ancient grammar treatises, and even the founding text on philosophy, Kapila’s Shashti Tantra. This loss of knowledge is due to the fact that entropy (disorder) increases as the universe gets older (we look at this phenomenon in detail in the next section of the chapter).
Sanskrit is not only the language in which the entire body of Vedic science, the eternal teaching, was composed; it is also a defining adjunct of the Veda itself. There are six so-called Vedangas (limbs or adjuncts) of the Veda. They are Vyakarana (grammar), Jyotisha (astrology), Nirukta (etymology), Shiksha (phonetics), Chandas (meter), and Kalpa (ritual). Of these a staggering four relate directly to the Sanskrit language.
Vyakarana is Sanskrit grammar. Since the first twenty treatises have been lost, we use now the grammar of sage Panini, called Ashtadhyayi. Panini lived prior to Patanjali, and Patanjali wrote his great commentary (Mahabhashya) on the sutras of Panini’s grammar.
Nirukta is etymology. With its help, the exact meaning of each Sanskrit term can be arrived at. Nirukta is used to deconstruct words and trace them back to their original roots. From the verb root, which was used by the ancients to construct the word in the first place, the word’s original meaning can still be derived. Vyakarana and Nirukta together facilitate Jnana (divine knowledge).
Shiksha, the next limb of the Veda, constitutes phonetics. It is the science of proper pronunciation of the Sanskrit words. Vedic teaching considers the whole world to be made up of sound (shabda). All knowledge is also expressed through sound. When mantras and stanzas are pronounced properly, the knowledge encrypted in them is transmitted. Again, many treatises of Shiksha have been lost and with them a great deal of precious knowledge.
Chandas is the section of the Vedangas that explains meter. The Chandas Sutra was authored by the Rishi Pingala. Meters are divided into either three or four lines called pada. Each pada is divided into eight to twelve syllables (aksharas). The well-known gayatri meter has three padas of eight aksharas each. The most common meter is the trishtubh meter, which has four padas of eleven aksharas each. Chandas and Shiksha are the Vedangas that facilitate bhakti (divine devotion).
The remaining two Vedangas, Jyotisha (astrology) and Kalpa (ritual), are related to karma yoga (divine action). See Table 1 for a summary of the relationships between limbs of the Vedanga and the forms of yoga.
Reading Shastra
Recall Rishi Yajnavalkya’s description of the Brahman breathing forth the Vedas, the Upanishads, the epics, the Puranas, all sutras, commentaries, and sciences and with them the Sanskrit language. This statement implies a unity of the many classes of shastras (scriptures) and their vehicle or carrier, the Sanskrit language. In other words, Sanskrit is inseparable from true knowledge (vidya) of yoga and the scriptures. It follows, then, that an understanding of Sanskrit will give you the ability not only to practice mantra correctly but also to interpret shastra. With some knowledge of Sanskrit, you will be able to determine when English translations of Sanskrit texts are erroneous, which is very often the case because the translators are not mystics and yogis but scholars. You will also be able to determine when “twilight language” is used in scriptures — when a superficial meaning is used to hide a deeper meaning from non-yogis. In this way your understanding of yogic technique will be vastly improved.
Shastra is important because it preserves much more accurately than modern texts and teachers the original knowledge of Vedic teaching. The original teaching of yoga was and is contained as divine intention in the state of shabda Brahman. From there it was brought forth as the mantra Om, which can be heard in meditation. The sacred syllable then broke up into the fifty Sanskrit letters, which you can still experience when meditating on the chakras. The fifty letters were also used to compose the many shastras. After that many more languages arose, and with them greater confusion about the true meaning of the original knowledge.
The history of the universe and the history of human civilizations can easily be understood when we apply to them the second law of thermodynamics. This law states that with the passage of time, the amount of entropy (disorder) in the universe increases. With the amount of disorder increasing, available energy slowly decreases until the system becomes defunct and breaks down. This tendency can be observed in all entities, including the universe as a whole, galaxies, stars and planets, civilizations, empires, religions, companies, plants, animals, and the human body. Over thousands of years, Indian thought and spiritual culture have evolved according to this law.
In line with this principle, Indians believe that Vedic civilization (and human society in general) started from an ideal, noble, and spiritual ideal and from there it slowly descended into disorder. (Certainly in spiritual matters humankind has gone downhill since the time of the Vedas. We may have invented science and technology, but with accelerating environmental destruction it is yet to be seen whether coming generations will view our presumed progress as a blessing or as a scourge.) Accordingly, we are now in the grip of the dark age called Kali Yuga. Kali Yuga can be recognized by three facts: there