SATYARTH PRAKASH - THE LIGHT OF TRUTH
Summary of Satyarth Prakash Telephone Sermons
of June 2013
By Acharya Vedshrami, Resident Priest,
Greater Atlanta Vedic Temple
English Translation by Raj Bhalla, PhD (President,
Arya Samaj of Suburban New York)
To join the sermon on phone, every Tuesday, 8 PM
Dial (712) 775 - 7100 Participant Access Code: 972668#
An elephant made of wood is an elephant by name only and is not a real
one. Similarly a deer made of leather is a deer by name only. So is a man
devoid of any knowledge, that is, an uneducated man. [Manu 2:157]
That person who does not gain knowledge, who is not a Tapasvi, who does
not give any donation, who does not accept any donation for the good deeds he
has done, is a burden on the society.
Let a man therefore, gain knowledge and acquire wisdom, lead a virtuous
life, bear malice to none and preach for the well-being of all the people. The
language used in preaching should be soft and sweet. [MANU 2:159].
Yajurveda says, you need to know both Vidya and Avidya. By Avidya is
meant the knowledge of medicine, science and technology. By knowing this you
will get rid of any diseases and sorrows that come in your life and you can
lead a long life. By Vidya is meant spiritual knowledge. By knowing this you
will attain Moksha and get rid of the bondage of life and death permanently.
You need to learn both of these.
Ahimsa means both, to hurt someone and not to hurt someone. As an
example, if a thief enters your home and tries to rob you, then you don’t start
worshipping him but give him the necessary punishment he deserves. On the other
hand, you don’t hurt anyone without a valid reason.
मा नो वधिः पितरं मोत मातरं |
आचार्य्य उपनयमानो ब्रह्मचारिणमिच्छते |
This mantra is really a combination of two separate Atharva Veda
mantras 11/5/3 and 11/5/17.
Meaning of the first line is, don’t kill your father and mother.
Killing here means don’t hurt them. They will feel very hurt if you don’t
respect or serve them and you don’t follow their wishes. When they are old
don’t throw them in nursing homes. That is not our tradition. They should be
kept as part of our family. Remember what ever status or position you have
gained today is by their hard work and sacrifice. We always tend to forget
this. We should serve and respect our parents under all circumstances.
Meaning of the second line: In old times, when children were sent to
the Gurukulas (schools), an Acharya will first perform Upanayan Samskar.
Thereafter in the Gurukula, the child remains in the so called womb of the
Acharya. After which it is said that the child has taken a second birth. (the
first birth is from the mother’s). Here by Acharya’s womb means that the
Acharya protects him (just as a mother protects his child when he is in her
womb), and gives him the necessary instructions for the life in the Gurukula
and teaches him the Vedas and Upnishads. By his own example, the Acharya wishes
the child to live a chaste life in the Gurukula.
मातृदेवो भव | पितृदेवो भव | आचार्यदेवो भव | अतिथिदेवो भव |
[TAITREYA UPANISHAD 7: 11]
The service of father, mother, acharya (preceptor) and atithis (guest)
is called devapujaa or the worship of godly persons.
Atithi is a Sansyasi who used to visit without announcing. Their coming
or going time were not known. They used to preach and leave. Such Atithi should
be served with money, food and clothing.
Now regarding service to the mother and father, Yajenya (Yagna) is of
five kinds. One of them is Pitri Yagna. That means serving the alive parents.
People these days don’t serve their alive parents but perform special worships
after they are gone, which is of no use.
In Chapter 9 we studied one of the Shatak Sampatti, known as Uprati. It
means stay away from a wicked person so that he does not influence our life
style. Also stay away from a person who is an atheist, that is, does not
believe in God and the Vedas. Also stay away from a thief, robber, liar, a
selfish person and a person of a bad character. The idea here is that if you
stay in the company of wicked people, their character will start influencing
yours as well.
To sum it all, thus what is a good conduct. Truthfulness and other
deeds performed in accordance with the doctrines of the Vedas and Samritis is a
good conduct. [MANU 1:108]
As Maharishi has stated in one of his previous chapters, anyone who does
not believe in the Vedas should be banished from the society. Our Dharma is as
old as the Vedas. All the devis and devtas, the Ramayana and Bhagwat Geeta
originated later on. So continue to have faith in the Vedas. This is what our
Maharishi’s like Vashist (Guru of Sri Ram), Sandeepani (Guru of Sri Krishna),
Vyas muni and countless others, followed the Vedas and nothing else.
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