Rigveda – Mandala 1, Sukta – 24 to 25

We shall discuss the hymns, Sukta wise & Mandala wise. Our focus is on the implicit meaning of the various hymns instead of literal translations of the hymns. These purported meanings are based primarily on the English translations by Swami Dharmanand Saraswati of the works done by Swami Dayanand Saraswati.
 
Highlights -
The hymns in these Suktas praise the glory of eternal, immortal, perfect, omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient Supreme Being. The Supreme Being gives fruits of actions done by the souls and send back souls to earth, thus mentions about re-birth system. God give misery to an unrighteous person censuring other unjustly and happiness and knowledge to him who conducts himself according to the injunctions of Dharma. No one's sins can be destroyed without reaping the consequences.
 
Sun, Varuna, Prajapati, Savita and Indra are the attributes of God. Omniscient God is the Innermost Spirit of all and reveals the pure light, dispels the ignorance of the righteous persons.
 
Everyone should adore God and obey the commands of God as given in Vedas. Men should know thoroughly the properties of all the substances created by God and knowing their properties, one should continuously increase his life by taking help from Him.
Haughty persons who are of violent and malicious nature, cannot know the attributes of God and wise men on account of their ignorance. They cannot derive benefit from them. Therefore, men should try to imbibe and follow the merits, actions and nature of God and wise men. It is not possible to know God with the help of the arts and sciences without personal contact in the form of questions and answers with the learned persons of forgiving sweet nature, therefore men should always acquire such knowledge with the assistance of the wise.
         
The hymn wise, purported explanations –
 
Mandala 1 – Sukta – 24

1. Who is that God pervading immortal and eternal emancipated souls and Himself One Eternal Imperishable Supreme Being, the Resplendent Giver of Bliss whose auspicious name we may invoke and always remember? Who will send us-the liberated souls, back to the great earth that we may again behold our parents.
2. O men, we certainly believe in one eternal, Immortal God who is the dispense of the fruit of the good or bad actions done by us and according to Whose laws we get re-birth. You must also know that One God to be the Giver of Re-birth for, none else can do this work (of the dispensation of justice). It is He who gives birth to emancipated persons also through parents at the end of Mahakalpa-a very long period covering several millions of years.
3. Men should always adore God only who is the Illuminator of all, Creator of the whole world and Giver of all Bliss. One cannot get the real fruit of contemplation by worshipping anyone else. Therefore, a man should not worship anyone else in the place of God.
4. As I— God give misery to an unrighteous person censuring other unjustly and happiness and knowledge to him who conducts himself according to the injunctions of Dharma, so you should also behave.
5. Those who obey the commands of God, get His protections and possessing good wealth, become praiseworthy everywhere. Because, it is God alone Who gives fruit of actions done by the souls.
6. Because God is Omnipotent, none can measure or violate Him. These worlds move on, but God does not move for, He is Perfect. No one can attain to inviolable entire dominion by worshipping anyone else except God. Therefore, all should adore only God who is Infinite, Immeasurable and Imperishable. This should be known to all.
7. It is the rays of the sun that are above and below that are the cause of the creation of the cloud. The particles of water in the rays are not visible on account of their subtleness. In the same manner, the subtle particles of the air, fire and earth etc. are not visible, even though they are in the firmament.
8. The God, who has certainly made a big orbit for the journey of the great Sun, who illuminates it with the fuel of the air. All of which have their own peripheries in the public space. No world is associated with any other world, but all, being situated in space, move around on their respective peripheries. All these who are not able to leave their periphery and move here and there due to the attraction and holding power of God and air. Nor does it have any other possessor. Just as the Supreme Lord breaks the heart of an unrighteous speaker, so also the soul breaks the diseased heart. Why shouldn't that God be worthy of worship and to be associated closely, it should be known.
9. Men should associate themselves only with those rulers and subjects who are removers of all sins and diseases, who are upholders of the earth, are givers of good advice, are preventers of the unrighteous by giving support and strength to the righteous. No one's sins can be destroyed without reaping the consequences. But prayers, sermons and exertions are meant for the removal of those sins committed in the past, being committed at present and likely to be committed in the future.
10. In the first half of this Mantra, a question has been raised which has been answered by the latter half. When someone asks a learned person by whom have these constellations been made, who upholds them and where do they go in day time when they are visible at night? then he should answer the question in the following manner: - All these worlds are created and upheld by God who is called by the term of Varuna-the most acceptable and the Best. They have no light of their own, but they shine by the light of the sun. They do not go anywhere, but are not visible in day time being covered by the light of the sun. They are visible at night, illuminated by the rays of the sun. All these wonderful acts are of God.
11.  Human beings should not disrespect the God and knowledge regarding the Sun in the Vedic manner. Always obey the commands of God. Knowing the properties of the substances created by Him, one should continuously increase his life by taking help from Him.
12. All men should thus believe and preach to others. We should keep ourselves away from all sins by accepting what God, the Vedas and the learned persons tell us and which I also determine with pure intellect. You should accept the same.
13. Men should know thoroughly the properties of all the objects made by God and should associate with them action, and knowledge. We must be just as God is. Those sinful acts which cause bondage must be cast aside and meritorious acts should always be performed by everyone.
14. Men should act in such a way that the sinful acts done by them may become loose by the enjoyment of their fruits and by the acquisition of knowledge. Men should also know that the fruits of actions trouble more an ignorant person than a man of wisdom.
15. It is only those persons who obey the commands of God (as given in the Vedas) and being pure keep themselves awa from all bonds of misery, attain abiding happiness and non-else. This hymn has connection with the previous hymn and here Prajapati, Savita and Varuna have been mentioned as the names and attributes of God. Here ends the 15th virga of the 2nd Chapter. Here ends the 24th Hymn of the 6th Anuvaka in the first Mandala.

 
Mandala 1 – Sukta – 25

1. O God! Just as fathers etc., scholars and kings do compassion, justice and education on small, low-witted frantic children, in the same way you too should be our justice, compassion and education every day.
2. God commands. O men, do not indulge in putting an end to the life of a person for committing a fault through ignorance and do not be angry with a man who after committing a mistake, is, ashamed of it.
3. O God! As a charioteer ties his weary horse, so we bind Your knowledge and your love in our hearts with refined words of praises for the attainment of good happiness.
4. As birds when beaten (with stones), go away to distant places, in the same manner, let the persons indulging in anger, keep away from me and I keep away from them, so that let there be no change (for the worse) in our nature or habits and also loss of wealth.
5. Men should properly obey the commands of God and administer the vast Government which brings about the welfare of all, with justice.
6. As two happy players on the musical instruments produce pleasant sound by playing upon their instruments, in the same way, the air and the sun when utilized properly in machines produce nice sound by moving on all sides the oblation given by a learned person or the vehicles like the aero planes etc. manufactured by an expert scientist.
7. The person who is thoroughly well-versed in sciences, arts and industries is able to understand fully and give practical shape to the science of the vehicles that can be useful equally in firmament, earth and ocean as taught a by God through the Vedas.

1. As God being Omniscient knows this cycle of time which is the abode or basis of all, in the same manner, knowing the significance of the worlds and Time, no one should waste even the particle of a moment.
2. The person who knows that the wind is greater in measurement and properties than fire and other objects and is the support of all, knows its origin, the path of its going and coming and all the gross and subtle substances that are on the earth or in the air and after knowing them thoroughly, benefits from them and induces others to do the same, makes his life successful and becomes a distinguished scientist. This fact should be known to all.
3. As God is the Greatest Ruler of all, shining on account of His incomparable virtues, in the same way, a learned and righteous person who obeys the commands of God, being endowed with the strength of body and intellect is alone fit to rule over a vast empire and none else.
4. As God being Omnipresent and Omnipotent performs wonderful acts like the creation, sustenance and dissolution of the world knowing all the acts of men gives them the fruit of actions, in the same manner, he who having known the actions performed by his ancestors is always engaged in doing noble deeds to benefit all, being witness to and having done action, which bring about the welfare of all, can be just to all.
5. (1) May God who is Imperishable, Eternal and Omniscient keep us on the right path all our days and prolong our lives. (2) As God keeps us all our days on right path and prolongs our lives, in the same way, may a wise and just man who is brilliant like the sun keep us all our days in right path and prolong our lives by giving us proper instructions.
6. Omniscient God being the Innermost Spirit of all, revealing the pure light, dispels the sleep or ignorance of the righteous persons. In the same way; the sun dispels the darkness of the night. As God upholds all by His Omnipresence, the sun also sustains all by its attractive power.
7. Those haughty persons who are of violent and malicious nature, cannot know the attributes of God and wise men on account of their ignorance. They cannot derive benefit from them. Therefore, men should try to imbibe and follow the merits, actions and nature of God and wise men.
8. Why should not men always adore that God who has given complete glory and food to mankind and whose glory is manifest in all living and non-living or inanimate objects.
9. Men should know that as the kine running to the best of their power, become tired when they reach their destination, in the same way, when men search after the attributes according to their power and intellect of God, and of the sun etc. and having known to some extent according to their capacity, get tired because the intellect and the power of the body of every man in limited and cannot be unlimited. As birds flying in the sky do not get its end, similarly none can get the end of knowledge.
10. As a priest and the performer of a Yajna (Non-violent sacrifice) accomplish Yajna lovingly and jointly, in the same manner, the teacher and the taught should manifest all sciences jointly and lovingly. All men should endeavour to attain happiness, bearing in mind the idea of increasing their knowledge and wisdom.
11. Because it is not possible to know God with the help of the arts and sciences without personal contact in the form of questions and answers with the learned persons of forgiving sweet nature, therefore men should always acquire such knowledge with the assistance of the wise.
12. As Omniscient God gives true Happiness to His devotees after being glorified by them with true love, learned wise men should also do like that.
13. As God who shiniest over heaven and earth and all the world at all times, listens to our prayers, so O wise man, you should also do and respond to our call.
14. As righteous persons engaging themselves in doing good to others and being enlightened pray to God and He releasing them from all misery and bondage makes them happy, why should we not do also like that?