VOICE OF THE GURU
PUJYASRI CHANDRASEKHARENDRA SARASWATI SWAMI
HINDU DHARMA
The Universal Way of Life
Table of Contents
Foreword 11 Preface 17 Introduction 23 Translator's Note 25 For the Reader's Attention 32 Part 1 RELIGION IN GENERAL 34
Chapter 1 Dharma Alone Protects 35
Chapter 2 Papa and Punya 41
Chapter 3 The Purpose of Religion 44
Chapter 4 Man and Beast 47
Chapter 5 Devotion Common to all Faiths 50 Chapter 6 The Unity of Religions 53
Chapter 7 Qualities of Religious Teachers 56
Part 2 THE VEDIC RELIGION: INTRODUCTORY 61
Chapter 1 The Religion without a Name 62
Chapter 2 The Universal Religion 65
Chapter 3 Distinctive Features of Sanathan Dharama 72 Chapter 4 The Vedas - the Root of All 81
Chapter 5 The Vedas in their Original Form 85
Part 3 THE VEDIC RELIGION AND VARNA DHARMA 88
Chapter 1 Division of Labour 89
Chapter 2 What is Varna Dharma? 93 Chapter 3 Unity in Diversity 98
Chapter 4 Divided by Work but still of One Heart 101
Chapter 5 Why only in this Country 107
Chapter 6 Who is Responsible for the Decay of Varna
Dharma? 113
Chapter 7 The Least Expected of Brahmins 124 Chapter 8 Preserving the Vedas: Why it is a Lifetime Mission 127
Chapter 9 Is Cutting off the Head a Cure for Headache? 146
Chapter 10 My Work 153
Part 4 THE SASTRAS AND MODERN LIFE 165
Chapter 1 The Cure for the Disease called Modern
Civilisation 166
Chapter 2 Religion and Society 169 Chapter 3 Neither too Much Ease nor too Many Comforts 171
Chapter 4 Sastra or Conscience? 173
Part 5 THE VEDAS 175
Chapter 1 The Basic Texts of Hinduism: Our Ignorance of
Them 176 Chapter 2 Why Religion? 183
Chapter 2 The Fourteen Abodes of Knowledge 185
Chapter 4 Past Glory and Present Shame 187
Chapter 5 The Root of our Religion 190 Chapter 6 Eternal 193
Chapter 7 Sound and Creation 200 Chapter 8 Western Vedic Research 206
Chapter 9 Date of the Vedas: Inquiry not Proper 208
Chapter 10 Methods of Chanting 213
Chapter 11 Word of God 216
Chapter 12 The Vedas are Infinite 217
Chapter 13 Mantrayoga 221
Chapter 14 Sound and Meaning 224
Chapter 15 The Glory of the Vedas 226 Chapter 16 Yajna or Sacrifice 229
Chapter 17 Not in Other Religions 230
Chapter 18 The Threefold Purpose of Yajna 233
Chapter 19 The Celestials and Mortals Help Each Other 235
Chapter 20 The Capacity to Work and the Capacity to
Protect 240
Chapter 21 Rites for Celestials and Rites for Fathers 243
Chapter 23 Is Sacrificial Killing Justified? 246
Chapter 24 Animal Sacrifice in the Age of Kali 251
Chapter 25 The One Goal 253 Chapter 26 Those who conduct Sacrifces 254
Chapter 27 The Four Vedas 256
Chapter 28 To Discover The One Truth 263
Chapter 29 Brahmana and Aranyaka 264 Chapter 30 The Upanisads 266
Chapter 31 The Brahmasutra 269
Chapter 32 Veda and Vedanta: Are They Opposed to One
Another? 271
Chapter 33 The Ten Upanasids 285 Chapter 34 What do the Vedas Teach Us? 303
Chapter 35 Essence of the Upanisadic Teaching 318
Chapter 36 Vedic Sakhas 322
Chapter 37 Brahmins and Non-Brahmins 324
Chapter 38 Sakhas now Studied 326
Chapter 39 Duty of Brahmins 333
Chapter 40 Veda-bhasya 336
Chapter 41 My Duty 342
Chapter 42 Greatness of the Vedas 345
Chapter 43 Sadanga: Introductory Discourse The Six Limbs of
the Vedas 348
Part 6 SIKSA 351
Chapter 1 Nose of the Vedapurusa 352
Chapter 2 Yoga and Speech 354
Chapter 3 Root Language - Sanskrit 356
Chapter 4 Pronunciation 358
Chapter 5 Scripts 360
Chapter 6 A Language that has all Phonemes 366
Chapter 8 Languages and Scripts: Indian and Foreign 368
Chapter 8 Aksamala 370
Chapter 9 Importance of Enunciation and Intonation 371
Chapter 10 Versions with Slight Differences 372
Chapter 11 Vedic Vocalisation and the Regional 374
Chapter 12 Impact of Siksa Sastra 383
Chapter 13 Names of Months 385
Chapter 14 Other Notable Aspects of Siksa 388
Part 7 VYAKARANA 389
Chapter 1 Mouth of the Vedapurusa 390 Chapter 2 Grammar and Siva 391
Chapter 3 Works on Grammar 400
Chapter 4 Sanskrit and Tamil Grammar 401
Chapter 5 Sanskrit: The Universal Language 403
Chapter 6 Linguistic Studies and Religion 404
Part 8 CHANDAS 407
Chapter 1 Foot of the Vedapurusa 408
Chapter 2 Pada or Foot 410
Chapter 3 Feet and Syllables 411
Chapte 4 How Poetry was born 413 Chapter 5 Some Metrical Forms 415
Chapter 6 Uses of Chandas Sastra 418
Chapter 7 Foot for the Vedas, Nose for the Mantras 419
Part 9 NIRUKTA 420
Chapter 1 Ear of the Vedapurusa 421
Part 10 JYOTISA 423
Chappter 1 Eye of the Vedapurusa 424
Chapter 2 Astronomy and Astrology 426
Chapter 3 Ancient Mathematical Treatises 427
Chapter 4 Planets, Stars 430
Chapter 5 The Grahas and Human Life 432
Chapter 6 Omens, Signs 434
Chapter 7 Modern Discoveries in Ancient Works 436
Chapter 8 Not Blind Belief. 440
Chapter 9 Empirical Proof 445
Part 11 KALPA 446
Chapter 1 Hand of the Vedapurusa 447
Part 12 MIMAMSA-KARMAMARGA 453
Chapter 1 Explication of Vedic Laws 454
Chapter 2 No Concept of God in Mimamsa 458
Chapter 3 Nyaya and Mimamsa: They brought about the
Decline of Buddhism 460
Chapter 4 Buddhism and Indian Society 462
Chapter 5 Sankara and Non-Vedic Systems 464
Chapter 6 Sankhya 465
Chapter 7 Mimamsa and Adi Sankara 469
Chapter 8 Determining the Meaning of Vedic Texts 471
Chapter 9 Mimamsa Beliefs 472
Chapter 10 Sankaras Reply 480
Chapter 11 Vedanta and Mimamsa 483
Chapter 12 How Mimamsa is Esteemed 484
Part 13 NYAYA 485
Chapter 1 Science of Reasoning 486
Chapter 2 Padarthas 488
Chapter 3 Pramanas 493
Chapter 4 Rational Way to Know God 495
Chapter 5 We Need Al Types of Knowledge 497 Chapter 6 Tarka Treatises 498
Chapter 7 Cause of Creation 500
Chapter 8 Some Stories and Some Arguments 503
Part 14 PURANAS 508
Chapter 1 Magnifying Glass of the Vedas 509
Chapter 2 Puranas and History 511
Chapter 3 Are the Puranas a Lie of Are They Metaphorical? 515
Chapter 4 Meaningful even if Imaginary 522
Chapter 5 Vyasa's Priceless Gift to Us 525
Chapter 6 Upa-puranas and Others 529
Chapter 7 Itihasas and Puranas 530
Chapter 8 The Epics and their Greatness 532
Chapter 9 Why Differences among the Gods? 534 Chapter 10 The One as Many 537
Chapter 11 Many paths to the One Goal 541
Chapter 12 Who Taught the Puranas? 543
Chapter 13 They Speak like a Friend 544 Chapter 14 Puranic Discourses and Films 546
Chapter 15 Sthala Puranas 549
Chapter 16 The Authenticity of Sthala Puranas 551
