I would say that Vedanta is a solution to the problem of taking myself to be a mortal, imperfect, and subject to various limitations. These are the conclusions to every Individual. Vedanta is the teaching which solves this problem. In its vision, you are the solution to the very problem from which you suffer. “I am Brahman, the whole” is Vedanta. Therefore, Vedanta is the solution. Vedanta does not offer a solution. The solution is Vedanta.
Wherever there is a solution,
that solution is Vedanta. A solution can only be in the form of “I am the
whole. I am free.” Anything that unfolds this particular piece of knowledge is
Vedanta, whatever else it may be called.
Because Vedanta is the knowledge
found at the end of the Veda, it is called
Vedanta (anta, meaning
end). The Veda is a body of knowledge handed down from one generation to
another. It has no authorship in that it has not been authored by any given
individual. It is a body of knowledge said to have been revealed to the ancient
sages who, in turn, handed it over to the next generation, which handed it over
to the next one, and so on, right down to our own time.
This lineage is called karna-parampara
in Sanskrit, meaning “ear to ear.” The knowledge is heard through one pair
of ears and, having been retained, is passed on to another pair of ears. In
this way, the whole Veda is maintained intact.
The Veda is divided into four – Rig
Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda, and Atharva Veda. These
four Vedas are again divided into two parts according to subject matter. The
first part of each of the four Vedas is called karma-kanda and the last
portion is called jnana-kanda. Karma-kanda
is the section dealing with rituals and prayers, whereas the jnana-kanda deals with only with
realities – the nature of the self, the world, and God; how these three are
interconnected; and whether there is a difference between them or not. This
knowledge of realities liberates the person because Vedic vision is that you
are the whole and there is no difference whatsoever between you, the world, and
God.
The teaching is generally in the
form of dialogues between a teacher and a student. One particular dialogue or a
few dialogues together makes up one Upanishad.
Therefore, Vedanta, otherwise known as the upanishad, forms the body of knowledge which is the solution to the
fundamental human problem. This is why we do not say Vedanta offers the
solution. We say the solution is Vedanta because the solution is in the form of
knowledge, which is Vedanta.
