Wisdom From the Vedas
Translated and Commented upon By Shri Siddhartha Krishna

OM VEDAPURUSHAYA NAMAH OM
Tamaso maa jyotir gamaya = Deliver me from darkness into Light
OM, Our Prostrations to the Divine Prophet Parashara, the Son of Shakti and the seer of the following hymn:

OM vanema puurviir aryo maniishaa agnih sushoko vishvaany ashyaah.
aa daivyaani vrataa cikitvaan aa maanushasya janasya janma OM

Rig-veda (1-70-1)

Word-to-word translation of the Mantra:

vanema = we should gain, acquire / we wish, we desire; puurviih = eternal wealth; aryah = which can be obtained; maniishaa = through intelligence or prayer; agnih = fire, i.e. Light, the Visible Divine Symbol of the Supreme God; sushokah = having a beautiful glow; vishvaani = the entire universe; ashyaah = pervades; daivyaani = divine; vrataa = deeds; aa cikitvaan = he knows; maanushasya = descendents of Manu (the first Human) or those who act thoughtfully, i.e. humans; janasya = people; janma = birth.

Translation:

Light, having the most beautiful glow, permeates the entire universe, i.e. it is omnipresent. We should acquire the divine eternal wealth which can only be obtained through prayer to such Light or through realization of its true form. That Light knows the divine deeds and it also knows the birth of humans, i.e. it is omniscient.

Commentary:

Light permeates the entire universe. These tiny little photons seem to be existing everywhere. Darkness is not the total absence of these tiny little particles, but it is simply a less number of them. Because they are everywhere. It is just that we don't have enough receptivity that is why we are unable to see them, an owl has a greater receptivity therefore it can see them. But Light is everywhere. It is lying dormant in everything, in every object of the world, that is why the great prophet of Persia Zarathustra (Zoroaster) in Avesta says:
"Fire is latent everywhere. It can, easily, be produced by striking one piece of stick or stone against another."

It is existing dormant in the nucleus of each and every atom. Therefore there is not a single moment, place or substance in this entire creation, where Light ceases to exist. That is why it is omnipresent.

Eternal wealth is the divine wisdom that dawns upon us when we realize the true nature of that Light and when we pray. That is why the Holy Prophet Zarathustra says:
"Fire teaches many a lesson to all who contemplate its beams with an inquiring mind."
When we meditate upon Light as a symbol of that Supreme Truth, it enlightens our life with divine wisdom. Wisdom is nothing more than a more sublime and subtle form of Light that destroys the darkness of ignorance existing in our hearts. That is why in ancient Vedic traditions the physical Light was worshipped in order to kindle the internal/eternal spiritual Light of wisdom.
Attaining this divine wisdom, i.e. universal consciousness, as described in the words of the Holy Prophet Zarathustra, "just as fire is broad-based at the bottom but pointed at the top, all differences and diversities at lower levels become resolved into unity and universality at the highest level, i.e. of divinity", is the ultimate goal of human existence.
All the actions that are performed in this universe are due to the power of Light. That is why no act is unknown to the God of Light. Each and every creature needs some warmth to develop from an embryo into a fully developed physical body. Therefore no birth is unknown to the God of Light.

Teachings of the Mantra:

There is no place in this universe where there is no light. Light is one, it can never be two. Even if it manifests at two different places or in two different periods of time, it is the same. There is nothing that can differentiate Light from Light. In the same way that Supreme God, the Supreme Light which enlightens the entire universe, is omnipresent. IT IS ONE, it can NEVER be two. It manifests itself in the form of all creatures, it is existing in their heart in the form of the Spirit, but still it is the same everywhere. Indeed, there is nothing that can differentiate God from Bhagavan, or from Allah, or from Ahura Mazda, or from Yahweh. All are the same. We have to understand this fact, otherwise we are never ever going to stop to fight with each other on such useless issues. When we don't understand these simple universal facts, religion becomes the most dangerous thing on earth, though it ought to be the most beautiful thing. In fact a true religion is a mixture of the sublimity of poetry, the tunes of music, the ecstasy of dance and the beauty of a painting. It is all arts in one.

I have heard that there was a great master who loved to tell the story of the prophet who carried a flaming torch through the streets, saying he was going to set fire to the temple so that people would concern themselves more with the Lord than with the temple. In the end the Master would add: "Someday I shall carry a flaming torch myself to set fire to both the temple and the Lord!" No, no, don't laugh! Neither think it to be a sort of blasphemy! There is a deep spiritual significance hiding in the words of the Master. Contemplate and you will discover it for yourself!

The most ancient and at the same time the most rational path to attain that Universal consciousness is by worshipping the light and by realizing its amazing properties. Albert Einstein used to say, "for the rest of my life all I want to do is contemplate light." Even science can't tell us what light really is. It can only describe to us behaviour of light. But it can't tell us what it is. That can only be understood by worshipping the light.

We are the children of that immortal light. It is our cause of existence. Therefore let our hearts be filled with that Light, our Supreme Father. By becoming one with Light, we become one with the entire universe. Unity, Union, Yoga, is obtained. The imaginary divisions are thrown down. It is darkness that divides, and it is light that unites.

Worship the omnipresent Light! Acquire the divine eternal wealth!
SIDDHARTHA KRISHNA