Chapter 2 verse 46
“To the Brahmana who has known the Self, all the Vedas are
of as much use as is a reservoir of water in a place where there is flood
everywhere”
I want to dwell on 2 things in this sloka. Who is Brahmana? In my opinion, “Brahman Jaanathi ithi Brahmanaha”- He who knows the
Self is a Brahmana. So is the 1st stanza redundant saying a Brahmana
who knows the Self? I don’t think so. It is like saying God is omnipresent.
Omnipresence is God but how will you address a person who is Omnipresent? If
Krishna had not said the 1st stanza this way, he would have needed
to use a longer sentence and say that “he who knows self would be Brahmana and
that person who is a Brahmana does not need…”.
The 2nd concept I wanted to address is the use of
Vedas for someone who knows the Self. I understand what Krishna is saying about
not needing Vedas for someone who knows the Self but who can drink the flood
water, we all need the reservoir water which is purer compared to the flood
water. Likewise, if Vedas were not documented, it would have got morphed like
all the other recent documents of history in Bharat. So I think Krishna is
pointing out that Vedas are not necessary for someone who already understands
the Self but I am sure he extols the foundation of the Vedas as the “Pramana”
or the authentic source of all knowledge!
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