THE METHOD OF INTERPRETATION (PART-4)

It is necessary to have knowledge to be able to understand the text; and there is a reference to it in a special way. The design of composition is such that each part is closely connected with the other, and there is no lack of words to complete the sense. A "disguise" is a collection of qualities, from which we have to draw our own conclusions; and we can understand these qualities by means of inference. "Seeing through the disguise" consists in our ability to show how things are connected with one another. But this method of division of words into parts applies only to the principal or the most important words.

Method of interpretation: This is the reason for following this method of interpretation. Its result is in conformity with the previous statement of the text; and it is worthy of all honour and praise.

Common and real meaning: What is called the common meaning of the text, current among the people, arises from our allowing its obvious form to continue. But if we pronounce the word correctly, we shall find before long that the real meaning is different. That meaning is determined by means of the very words of the text,- words that serve to fix the meaning of other words too; and it arises from the parts into which they can be divided. It is not possible to draw an irregular or irrelevant conclusion in this way, because there is always a confirmation or explanatory translation of the real meaning in what follows. The different parts of a word hold each other in mutual check, with the result that we can know the exact meaning of the text even as it was conceived in the author's mind.

An Illustration: The meaning of a word should be determined by means of its division into parts which, when put together, are so closely connected that they are like a single name, and can easily be pronounced like the word gou (a cow) uttered by a boy.

Roots: With regard to the roots of words, since that is their norm, their meaning should be determined according to their position in the text; and a root and subsidiary parts of a word are not permitted in one and the same expression.

It follows from this that roots cannot be divided into parts. At the same time we cannot have roots and subdivision of remaining part of a word in the same expression. For instance, if we derive the meaning of the word prshtha from its root "pr", we cannot divide the remaining portion shtha (or stha) into parts. Similarly, we cannot divide the word Krshna into Kr, sh, na, - for that would be a root (kr) and a division of the remaining portion of the word into parts.

The meaning of the word Krshna, has accordingly to be obtained from all the letters composing the name, - K, r, sh, na - when it would be "(K) Prakrti, (r) to reach or obtain, associated with (sh) the mind and (na) the intellect". That is to say, when we believe that Prakrti or Nature is governed by a law that is both good and intelligent, we get the idea of God, that is Krshna; and it would be found that this is the highest conception of God that a man can understand, and Krshna, as the highest "incarnation" of Vishnu, retains this character throughout the range of sacred literature.

In this connection we have explained that the idea of goodness is inherent in desire, which is the special attribute of the mind, and so the association of the mind with the intellect (sh-n) in Krshna gives us the idea of an intimate connection between goodness and intelligence. We get the same in the name Vishnu, - V, i, sh-n, u.

Meaning of "Disguise": The secret of this method of interpretation lies in reducing words to their rudimentary form, by dividing them into parts; and this should be done in all cases where this method is applied. This is indeed the meaning of "seeing through the disguise".

The common meaning: When a word is under a "disguise", but we take it as if it had none, that should be regarded as its common or popular sense.