Jagadguru Shankaracharya Sri Sri Bharati Tirtha Mahaswamiji on the authority of Vedas

When you abandon or neglect to practice Virtue, your downfall begins. There cannot be another senseless person than one who neglects #Dharma and feels that being virtuous is not essential for good living. The height of foolishness is abandoning dharma in favour of the so-called advancement of Scientific knowledge. It is dharma and dharma alone which is the Saviour of man in this world and the other worlds. Dharma alone can give him peace and happiness, Many people do not know what exactly Dharma and practice of Dharma means. Many ask whether there is a precise equivalent of dharma in the English language. Dharma has been defined by the ancient seers in the following words:- वेदेन प्रयोजन मुद्दिश्य विधीयमानोऽर्थो धर्मः Let us try to understand it well. That which gives us eternal peace and happiness is Dharma. All actions which contribute towards that end, comprise Dharma. In other words, it is #Veda and Veda alone, which lays down what is dharma and what is not. We belong to #SanatanDharma. It is our well-established tradition. Our guiding force in the dharma is Veda. That is why, this is also referred to as #Vaidika Dharma" It is "Sanatana Dharma", because it is the earliest known dharma. There is none before. It is "Vaidikam because it is enunciated by the Vedas. That is why we honour and give Vedas such a high respect. #Acharya #Shankara #Bhagavatpada says:- वेदस्य हि निरपेक्षं स्वार्थे प्रामाण्यम् , रवेरिव रूपविषये । Veda has unchallenged and unequalled authority in deciding the nature of dharma. Bright sunlight is enough to see any object clearly and no other light is necessary. The authority of Veda is similar to that. No one else should try to usurp that authority. It will be disastrous if individuals start setting up standards and giving their own versions and explanations of Dharma. The situation will get confounded and no one will be able to clearly understand or follow the principles of dharma. There will be confusion and contradictions galore!

Bhagavatpada cautions that If such a situation develops, disaster follows. Therefore, no one should transgress this limit and go beyond Veda's authority to interpret the subtleties of Dharma.

#Sringeri #Shankaracharya #SriSri #Hinduism #Philosophy #Spirituality