The Vedas were composed by the seers when they were in a state of inspiration. He who inspires them is a God. Truth is impersonal, “apaurushaiya” and eternal, “nitya”. Inspiration is a joint activity of which man’s contemplation and God’s revelation are two sides. The Svetasvatara Upanishad says that the sage Svetasvatra saw the truth owing to his power of contemplation “tapah- prabhava” and the grace of god, “deva-prasada”. The dual significance of revelation, its subjective and objective character, is suggested here.
The Upanishads are vehicles more of spiritual illumination than of systematic reflection. They reveal to us a world of rich and varied spiritual experience rather than a world of abstract philosophical categories. Their truths are verified not only by logical reason, but by personal experience. Their aim is practical rather than speculative. Knowledge is a means to freedom. Philosophy, “Brahma-vidya” is the pursuit of wisdom by a way of life.
