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The Esoteric Teaching is an integral part—in fact it is the core—of the Vedic literature. The Vedic literatures are not an expression of a particular sectarian religion or academic school of thought, but the living tradition of an ancient sacred civilization—a civilization complete with a highly developed system of technology, thought and lifestyle centered on spiritual realization.

Vedic culture is extremely broad, providing a rich social context inclusive of all kinds of people, and supporting all types of human endeavor and levels of intelligence, ability and spiritual advancement. The various Vedic literatures form a whole much greater than the sum of its parts. This is because authentic Vedic knowledge is not handed down by uninspired academic study, but by personal apprenticeship to accomplished masters of the Vedic arts and sciences.

One should gain a broad understanding of the entire Vedic context before attempting to study or practice any of the specialized Vedic arts, what to speak of teaching them. The best and most accessible introduction to Vedic thought is Bhagavad-gita, the most widely known and devotedly adored volume of Vedic literature.

Bhagavad-gita is also known as Gitopanisad, since it addresses and answers all the most important questions discussed in the Upanisads. However, one should be careful to study a translation and commentary on the Gita by a representative of one of the four authorized Vedic lineages. Ideally, one should study the Gita personally with an authorized representative of the Vedic lineage; otherwise one is certain to misunderstand the esoteric mystery of the Gita.

The specific qualification of transcendental Vedic wisdom is that when the teacher and student are both properly qualified, the narrations of Vedic spiritual truth are so pleasing to the soul that the more one hears, the more one’s appetite to hear increases. For example, Bhagavad-gita may be heard or read many times, but under the proper conditions, each hearing or reading reveals newer insights into spiritual reality and inundates the hearts of both hearer and speaker with fresh waves of transcendental pleasure. This is not true of ordinary mundane literature, which upon repeated reading simply becomes stale and boring. This is because the Gita is transcendental knowledge of the Absolute Truth.

As stated in an ancient Vedic mantra, “O compassionate Lord, guide us from darkness unto light, from fear to fearlessness, from hatred to love, from conflict to peace, from ignorance to Absolute Truth. Peace, peace, peace.” Providing this empathetic spiritual guidance to all human beings without distinction is the fundamental purpose of the entire Vedic civilization. And to receive this divinely inspired guidance and open the path to eternal peace, all we need to do is accept the divine instructions of the great Vedic literature without any whimsical editing, modification or speculation. This is the complete solution for all the pressing problems of contemporary life.

The Vedic literature is written in elegant Sanskrit poetry, using strict rules of grammar and syntax—including a sophisticated checksum system similar to that used in computer data transmission—to preserve its integrity as a reference. But Vedic knowledge is far more than intellectual, academic or book learning. The Vedic arts and sciences are personally passed down from teacher to student by the strict system of parampara or disciplic lineage.

Teachers of Vedic arts and sciences must be accomplished practitioners of the specialized knowledge of their lineage, and also must be approved by the previous teacher before being authorized to represent the Vedic wisdom. Therefore, students of Vedic arts such as Yoga and Tantra must be sure to verify prospective teachers’ credentials according to the parampara system before accepting any instruction from them. Otherwise you are certain to be cheated.

Like the fundamental works of any great civilization, the Vedas have several schools of interpretation, of which four are prominent, being authorized in the Vedas themselves. These four are:

• The Brahma-sampradaya descended from Lord Brahma through Madhvacarya (of which I am an Initate)
• The Rudra-sampradaya descended from Lord Siva through Ramanujacarya
• The Laksmi-sampradaya or Sri-sampradaya, descended from Goddess Laksmi through Visnuswami
• The Sanaka-sampradaya or Kumara-sampradaya, descended from the four Kumaras through Nimbarka Acarya

Each of these four authorized Vedic lineages has a distinctive style of interpretation and a complete library of commentaries upon the Vedic literature. Other more recent schools, such as Sankaracarya and his followers, are considered spurious, unauthorized, and are best avoided by the sincere student who seriously wishes to understand the esoteric meaning of the Vedas.

In summary, anyone who seriously desires to understand the Absolute Truth and realize the Esoteric Teaching by means of the Vedas must approach a spiritual Master Teacher situated in one of the four authorized Vedic lineages, and earn acceptance into a bona fide Vedic esoteric school. Otherwise there is no possibility of understanding the Vedic path properly.

If you want to study Yoga, Tantra or any of the Vedic arts, the first thing you should ask your teacher is if they have taken initiation from any of the four Vedic disciplic lineages—and if so, which one. Without this initiation—and the years of strict training required to earn it—they cannot possibly represent the Vedic conclusion accurately. The four Vedic authentic lineages go back thousands of years to Vyasadeva. Others are of recent invention, and are not authorized by the Vedas themselves.

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