Ved Vyasa, after composing all the Vedas and delivering the ultimate knowledge, became very happy at having accomplished the Herculean task of imparting knowledge of the highest stature, that which is aimed at liberating all bound souls.
Time passed.
One day, Vyasa walked to the banks of Saraswati. Back in the day, Saraswati was accessible unlike the present times when she is not seen. It was sandhya time. The birds had retreated, the sun was about to set and it was beautiful. But Vyasa was sad. He sat on the banks, crying.
Narada happened to pass by. He stopped, and became concerned upon seeing Vyasa in a sorrowful state. Upon inquiry, Vyasa replied, "While it is true that I have written all that is to know, but it is also true that nobody is getting it! Nobody is getting moksha and all the efforts seem wasted! I was so confident but God knows where I fell short."
Narada nodded and smiled knowingly. He said, "I know the problem. It's a small problem but actually it's a big problem! Your rendition of knowledge has no rasa."
Vyasa was confused, "What is rasa?"
Narada continued, "Human actions run on rasa. We think that actions happen due to reason. But in reality, actions are born out of emotions. Knowledge leads to thoughts, not emotions."
Vyasa asked, "So what do I do now?"
Narada replied, "Just one thing. Re-present your knowledge through stories. People will emote with stories and act on the knowledge."
Thus, Vyasa wrote the Puranas. They are filled with stories and more stories. More people attained through stories of love and devotion than through mere knowledge that is dry and unmoving.
So, is there no place for reason? No, that's not true. Reasoning is important but it needs to be preceded and followed by emotions.
The place of a story is before and after reason. For those, whose reason has not fully developed yet, story works. Reason develops through stories. Once reason develops, it tends to take over. Too much of left brain usage leads to dryness. It does not help form a relationship with the self. That is when emotion is required again. Puts knowledge in the context of life and makes it come alive through actions.
- Emotions help build a personal relationship with knowledge
- Knowledge is reasoned, helps build decision-making faculty
- Intellectual knowledge is re-ignited with emotions to lead to desirable action
Recognizing this sequence, Choomantraa aims at bringing alive the magic of rasa through the most powerful stories that the world has ever heard. Let's not deny our children the magic of wisdom!
