There is an interesting Upanishad story. The Rishi
Bharadwaj wanted to study all the four Vedas and so he started
Vedaadhyana and continued it for many years, when he realized that
his life may end, he prayed for Indra. Indra appeared before him
and wanted know his wish. Rishi Bharadwaj asked for one hundred
years of more longevity. Indra before granting the wish wanted to
know what the Rishi would do with one hundred years of Ayush. The
Rishi replied that he would pursue Vedaadhyana. Indra disappeared
and Rishi continued with his Vedaadhyana and finally could realize
that even extra one hundred years were also coming to an end. So,
he prayed for Indra. Indra again appeared and the Rishi again
wished for one more hundred years of longevity. Indra again wanted
to know what the Rishi would do with one more hundred years of
Ayush. The Rishi replied that his Vedaadhyana was incomplete and so
would pursue the Vedaadhyana and Indra again granted one more
hundred years of Ayush to the Rishi. Like this Rishi Bharadwaj
continued Vedaadhyana for three hundred years. But yet the Rishi
was not content with Vedaadhyana and was unhappy. Indra appeared
before him without praying and enquired why the Rishi was unhappy,
even after 300 years of Vedaadhyana. The Rishi informed Indra, he
could not complete Vedaadhyana, despite deeply studying them. Then
Indra created three great mountains in front of him and enquired
whether the Rishi knew anything about them. The Rishi pleaded his
ignorance. Then Indra told him that they are the symbolic
representation of knowledge contained in three Vedas. Indra took one
fistful of sand from each one of the mountains and explained to the
Rishi that after three hundred years of strenuous efforts the Rishi
could attain only fistful of knowledge out of great mountains of
Knowledge from Vedas. Then Rishi Bharadwaj realized that it was
totally impossible to completely study the Vedas and assimilate them.
For a Rishi like Bharadwaj after three hundred years of
strenuous efforts, he could attain only very little of knowledge,
then what of common man.
The Almighty is full of mercy, so he started reciting
the Vedas for trillions and trillions of times. Then out of his
Avruttas, (Repetitions) , three Matras viz., OM BHUVUH, OM BHUVAH, OM
SUVAH, have come out. The Lord directed the humans to recite them
to acquire the supreme knowledge from Vedas. We were ingnorant to
accept them from the Lord. So again the Almighty has done Avruttas
trillions and trillions of times, and then AA, VU, MA has come out
of His Avruttas. Still we were reluctant to accept the Lord's
directions, he combined them AA+VU+MA into one Matra making it OM.
Thus Omkara is the gist of all Vedas. The Upanishad story concludes
by giving us a direction to recite Omkara in every moment of our
life, so as to attain the supreme knowledge.
It is not one's own capacity to recite the Vedas and its Mantras from
out of memory, but it is his conduct of life according to the directions
of Vedas, which tells whether he is a scholar / Dharamata or not.
============ ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ========
