Vyasa is perhaps the greatest sage in the history of Hindu religion. He edited the four Vedas, wrote the 18 Puranas, the epic Mahabharata and the Srimad Bhagavata and even taught Dattatreya, who is regarded as the ‘Guru of Gurus.’

Vyasa’s Luminary Lineage

Hinduism mentions as many as 28 Vyasas before Maharshi Veda Vyasa was born at the end of Dvapara Yuga. Also known as Krishna Dvaipayana, Vyasa was born of Sage Parashara and mother Satyavati Devi under wonderful circumstances. Parashara was one of the supreme authorities on astrology and his bookParashara Hora is a textbook on astrology even in the modern age. He has also written a scripture known as Parashara Smriti which is held in such high esteem that it is quoted even by modern scholars on sociology and ethics.

How Vyasa was Born

Vyasa’s father, Parashara came to know that a child, conceived at a particular moment of time, would be born as the greatest man of the age as a part of Lord Vishnu himself. On that eventful day, Parashara was travelling in a boat and he spoke to the boatman about the nearing of that auspicious time. The boatman had a daughter who was awaiting marriage. He was impressed with the sanctity and greatness of the sage and offered his daughter in marriage to Parashara. Vyasa was born of this union and his birth is said to be due to the wish of Lord Shiva, who blessed the birth the sage of the highest order.

The Life and Works of Vyasa

At a very tender age Vyasa revealed to his parents the purpose of his life — that he should go to the forest and practice ‘Akhanda Tapas’ or continuous penance. At first, his mother did not agree but later approved on one important condition that he should appear before her whenever she wished for his presence. According to the Puranas, Vyasa took initiation from his guru sage Vasudeva. He studied the Shastras or scriptures under the sages Sanaka and Sanandana and others. He arranged the Vedas for the good of mankind and wrote theBrahma Sutras for the quick and easy understanding of the Shrutis; he also wrote theMahabharata to enable common people to understand the highest knowledge in the easiest way. Vyasa wrote the 18 Puranas and established the system of teaching them through ‘Upakhyanas’ or discourses. In this way, he established the three paths of Karma, Upasana (devotion) and Jnana (knowledge). Vyasa’s last work was the Bhagavata which he undertook at the instigation of Devarshi Narada, the celestial sage, who once came to him and advised him to write it, without which, his goal in life would not be reached.

Significance of Vyasa Purnima

In ancient times, our forefathers in India, went to the forest to meditate during the four months or ‘Chaturmasa’ following Vyasa Purnima—a particular and important day in the Hindu calendar. On this auspicious day, Vyasa began to write his Brahma Sutras. This day is also known as Guru Purnima when, according to the scriptures, Hindus should worship Vyasa and the Brahmavidya Gurus and begin the study of the Brahma Sutras and other ancient books on ‘wisdom’.

Vyasa, Author of the Brahma Sutras

The Brahma Sutras, also known as the Vedanta Sutras is believed to have been written by Vyasa along with Badarayana. They are divided into four chapters, each chapter being subdivided again into four sections. It is interesting to note that they begin and end with Sutras which read together mean “the inquiry into the real nature of Brahman has no return”, pointing to “the way one reaches Immortality and no more returns to the world.” About the authorship of these Sutras, tradition attributes it to Vyasa. Sankaracharya refers to Vyasa as the author of the Gita and the Mahabharata, and to Badarayana as the author of the Brahma Sutras. His followers—Vachaspathi, Anandagiri and others—identify the two as one and the same person, while Ramanuja and others attribute the authorship of all three to Vyasa himself.

The Everlasting Influence of Vyasa

Vyasa is considered by all Hindus as Chiranjivi or immortal, one who is still living and walking the earth for the well-being of his devotees. It is said that he appears to the true and the faithful and that Adi Sankaracharya had his darshan as did many others as well. Vyasa’s life is a unique example of one born for the dissemination of spiritual knowledge. His writings inspire us and the whole world even to this day in innumerable ways.

Reference: This article is based on the writings of Swami Sivananda in the “Lives of Saints” (1941)

– Subhamoy Das

Surdas, the 15th century sightless saint, poet and musician, is known for his devotional songs dedicated to Lord Krishna. Surdas is said to have written and composed a hundred thousand songs in his magnum opus the ‘Sur Sagar’ (Ocean of Melody), out of which only about 8,000 are extant. He is considered a saint and so also known as Sant Surdas, a name which literally means the “slave of melody”.

Early Life of Sant Surdas

The time of Surdas’s birth and death are uncertain and suggest that he lived over a hundred years, which make the facts even murkier. Some say, he was born blind in 1479 in Siri village near Delhi. Many others believe, Surdas was born in Braj, a holy place in northern Indian district of Mathura, associated with the exploits of Lord Krishna. His family was too poor to take good care of him, which led the blind boy to leave home at the tender age of 6 to join a wondering group of religious musicians. According to one legend, one night he dreamt of Krishna, who asked him to go to Vrindavan, and dedicate his life to the praise of the Lord.

Surdas’s Guru – Shri Vallabharachary

A chance meeting with the saint Vallabharacharya at Gau Ghat by the river Yamuna in his teens transformed his life. Shri Vallabhacharya taught Surdas lessons in Hindu philosophy and meditation and put him in the path of spirituality. Since Surdas could recite the entire Srimad Bhagavatam and was musically inclined, his guru advised him to sing the ‘Bhagavad Lila’ – devotional lyrical ballads in praise of Lord Krishna and Radha. Surdas lived in Vrindavan with his guru, who initiated him to his own religious order, and later appointed him as the resident singer at Srinath temple in Govardhan.

Surdas Attains Fame

Surdas’ lilting music and fine poetry attracted many laurels. As his fame spread far and wide, the Mughal emperor Akbar (1542-1605) became his patron. Surdas spent the last years of his life in Braj, the place of his birth and lived on the donations, which he received in return of hisBhajan singing and lecturing on religious topics, until he died in c. 1586.

Philosophy of Surdas

Surdas was profoundly influenced by the Bhakti movement – a religious movement which focused on deep devotion, or ‘bhakti’, for a specific Hindu deity, such as Krishna, Vishnu orShiva that was prevalent in Indian between c 800-1700 AD, and propagated Vaishnavism. Surdas’s compositions also found place in the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs.

The Poetical Works of Surdas

Although Surdas is known for his greatest work – theSur Sagar, he also wrote Sur-Saravali, which is based on the theory of genesis and the festival of Holi, andSahitya-Lahiri, devotional lyrics dedicated to the Supreme Absolute. As if Surdas attained a mystical union with Lord Krishna, which enabled him to compose the verse about Krishna’s romance with Radha almost as he was an eyewitness. Surdas’ verse is also credited as one that lifted the literary value of the Hindi language, transforming it from a crude to a pleasing tongue.

A Lyric by Surdas: ‘The Deeds Of Krishna’

There is no end to the deeds of Krishna:
true to his promise, he tended the cows in Gokula;
Lord of the gods and compassionate to his devotees,
he came as Nrisingha
and tore apart Hiranyakashipa.
When Bali spread his dominion
over the three worlds,
he begged three paces of land from him
to uphold the majesty of the gods,
and stepped over his entire domain:
here too he rescued the captive elephant.
Countless such deeds figure in the Vedas and the Puranas,
hearing which Suradasa
humbly bows before that Lord.