The Great Sages of India - Vasudeva Kudumbam - Part 5

We all belong to a large Universal family, (Vasudeva Kudumbam) - not just the living beings in this planet but every animate and inanimate thing in this universe.

• We will see that we all belong to lineages of one Sage or the other - Not just in India but across the planet.

• All the Sages from which the lineages have originated are all sons of Lord Brahma. We will see that Brahma has created sons from his body, mind etc and hence we should be clear that we all belong to a large family in this universe and not just in planet earth. Remember, Sages are there as stars in the universe.

• Lord Brahma is born from the navel of Lord Maha Vishnu. The lineage of the origin of this universe is linked to Lord Vishnu at the source. Hence the most apt name to call ourselves is "Vasudeva Kudumbam" (வசுதேவ குடும்பம்). 

• Lets dwell a little in etymology. "Vas" means "Inside", "thing", "radiance" etc. Now we may think that all the three are different meanings and wonder how to reconcile it. But i want to emphasize that all the three are different attributes of the same thing. There is no word (not even vedas) that can explain "God" but can define only his attributes.

• Let me explain it, "Vastu"(வஸ்து) means the "in-thing", that which is within everything, that which is radiant and of course this is the subtlest of all things. "Vaastu" (வாஸ்து), is the manifested gross material form of this Vastu, which is seen by the eye and which has a specific vibration depending upon its constituents viz the proportion of 5 elements.

• "Vaastu Sastra", is the study of this vibration and its alignment to a harmonious living. Lord Vishnu is also called as "Vaastu Purusha", and all the animate and inanimate things have evolved from the 5 elements and the source of these 5 elements is the "Vastu".

• Vasudevan is the Indwelling, radiant lord that is within every element of this universe and not just living beings in this planet. The correct pronunciation is Vasu and not Vaasu. Now you can also associate as to why god is also called as "Antaryami", who resides within us (Antar - Inside). 

So by the above logic the following can be understood:

1. The concept of "Aliens" does not really exist in Hinduism since everyone is related to each other, all of us belong to a large universal family and what is within me is what is within you.

2. The concept of Ahimsa, Vegetarianism are easily explained in the above context. If you hurt, kill, or abuse some other living being for your pleasures then you are hurting yourself in the long run. It does not matter where the bodily pain is, the heart feels the ache and the eyes cry, so would it be, in the universal scheme of things the pain of hurting others would manifest in our hearts - may be with a time delay. This is the essence of Karmic theory and it applies to killing trees and plants too. We would see these in the subsequent chapters.

3. Any fight that claims that their faith is superior be it sectarian, religious or cultural is stupid and has either ignored or not understood the universal nature of relationships.

To sum up, if we can understand that:

• this Universal Vision of being a single family without any aliens, 
• if we can think of not few million years as the origin of the universe but recognize the cyclical nature of evolution and dissolution in billions of years, 
• if we agree with the concept of divinity of soul and karmic theory and the unmanifested inter-connections between every living and non-living being, 
• if we agree that we shall reap what we sow, and there is no way we can escape from this and this code is superior to even the trimurthis in Hinduism,

Only then we can appreciate the SANATANA DHARMA philosophy and its way of living. The quotes in Part 1 of this series are from some of the leaders, scientists and artists, who  

have understood this concept.

We will see glimpses of these Sages who gave us all this wisdom in the subsequent sections. May they guide us all with the right sense of purpose.

Happy reading!