Vedic Philosophy summarized in three Axioms

“Vedic Philosophy – Finding meaning and purpose in our daily life!”
is a series of short videos in a playlist on YouTube. Links for the latest segments 6 and 7, are given below:

It is my amateur attempt to document the practical nature of Vedic Philosophy as well as its tangible relevance to daily life. I hope the videos get better as I am improving on my delivery and recording skills! This recording is a solo effort, working off a script and the slides in parallel! 🙂

Yes. All temples, missions and all other venues should be sources for engaging our minds – young and old – on the practical significance and relevance of Vedic Philosophy.  In my humble opinion it is a set of three simple – self-evident truths (Axioms). They are outlined as noted below. This is essential for all our children and the next generation. They should become inherent part of their knowledge and way of life. That will promote peace and harmony within their life as well as in all their interactions with others and also in every aspect of their life!

1000s of years of contributions by intellectuals and their inputs have added substantially to these simple, self-evident truths (Axiom). When I say or write these, I share them with modesty. I do not claim to be a “scholar” or better than anyone else. I believe that our ancient seers also saw the same Axioms. They also proclaimed them as messages without a source and without a beginning! As time went along, it would appear that these messages became codified under various lineages and pathways, forms of worship, temples, Sastra, Purana, …… Now, like a library full of information or like the internet rich with information, we have all the sources and resources. Yet, the simple message buried deep inside, like the diamond in the mine needs to be brought out for use, like a well cut and polished diamond, the jewel crown of human knowledge and understanding.
The need is now, more than ever, in our world of polarised views, unequal distribution of wealth in the hands of a few, the many wars, indiscriminate cutting of safety net and support for the needy and religious fervor seen all across the globe!

Vedic Philosophy summarized in three self-evident truths (Axioms).

1. Nature exists. You, I and everything is part of “Nature” – Tat Thwam Asi. It cannot be described except through our mind and its ability to perceive, feel and think. This ability is also part of nature! The entirety of nature and its description by the human mind, our mind itself and its capabilities are all represented through a single common noun “Brahman”. Such Brahman is indescribable, without features or characteristics assigned by the human mind. Hence Brahman is “Nirgunathvam” – without association or connection with anything. It remains in its own accord.
2. You, I or anyone exist thanks to the connections (Guna) with nature, created by our mind through our Knowledge, Bias and Ignorance. Hence, we exist and live a life of Tranquility, Turbulence and Inertia (known as the three Guna). These three co-exist all the time and create a spectrum depending on the time, place, context, circumstances, etc. It is this pattern – the spectrum or wave like constant variations – that we call as life and its experiences. One can understand his/her own connections (Guna) as precisely as one can – at an instant, in an event or as part of a course of events – through Objectivity (equal regard for all evidence of K, B and I) and looking at the evidence by stepping away from them (Non-attachment). It is described as Sagunathvam. This leads to equal treatment or equal response to all happenings around us. The ideal person is in the state of Sagunathvam. Hence God, defined as the “ideal” is described as being Sagunathvam.
3. Nirgunathvam (Nature) and Gunathvam (Being a human with all our life experiences) are like two sides of a coin, always co-existing. They are also like the coexistence of deep ocean (Enabler) or Consciousness – an aspect of Brahman – that enables everything AND all surface level waves (enabled) or our constantly changing experiences and perturbations, also described as our “life”.

It is also like the rider and his bicycle, driver and his car, Charioteer and his Chariot.

Be aware of these three self-evident truths (Axioms). Learn to manage, practice and use your mind (your chariot, your bicycle, your car):

• As an integral part of nature, you, I and anyone or anything exist without division and distinctions. We are all cogs, parts of the same wheel.
• Enabled by our mind, we are required to live a life of our own identity – different from others, different from nature. Manage this identity (life) with minimum of perturbations in your spectrum (behavior), by managing your awareness of the prevailing K, B and I, at any moment (mindfulness) and all the time (life of a Yogi).
• The above two approaches to life are symbiotic, each facilitating the other.

Hari Om.

Dr. Krishnamoorthy (Subbu) Subramanian

July, 2025.

Hari Om.