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The druid said: “Do Your Best” The Mechanics of Excellence, The
Essential Vedic Rule The Vedas, often buried under millennia of ritualistic
"Brahmin spin" and religious complexification, ultimately describe
a mechanical universe governed by a single, inescapable rule. When we strip
away the deities and the liturgy, we are left with Rita—the cosmic
rhythm, elsewhere renamed Universal Procedure. The fundamental imperative
for any emergent entity within this rhythm is simple: “Do your best.” In the Vedic worldview, this is not a moral suggestion;
it is the functional law of existence. 1. The Rule of Inherent Function An
"emergent" is anything that arises out of the cosmic fabric—a star,
a storm, a blade of grass, or a human being. The Vedas posit that existence
is not a passive state but an active performance. To be is to act. The
quality of that action determines the stability of the whole. This is the
rawest form of Dharma: the "characteristic function" of a
thing. ·
The Sun’s "Best": It must
burn with total intensity to sustain the gravity and life of its system. ·
The Water’s "Best": It must
seek the lowest point with absolute fluidity to complete the hydrologic
cycle. If an
emergent fails to "do its best", and which means to complete
its function to perfection —if the sun diminished its heat or water
refused to flow—the Rita (Order) would fracture. Chaos (Anrita) is simply the name for what happens when
the parts of the whole become inefficient or "lazy" in their
essence. They leave their business/function unfinished, inc0omplete and for
which the dysphemism is karmic residue. 2. Action as an Equivalent Exchange The Vedas
describe the universe as a "Sacrifice" (Yajna), but in an
abstracted sense, this is the Law of Reciprocity. Every emergent
consumes energy from the system to exist. To maintain equilibrium, it must
output energy of equal or greater value. "From
food are born all creatures; from rain is born food; from sacrifice comes
rain." (Bhagavad Gita 3.14, summarizing the earlier Vedic
cycle). The
"sacrifice" mentioned here is the act of giving one's best.
When a plant does its best to grow, it "gives back" oxygen and
food. When a human does their best, they contribute to the social and cosmic
order. "Doing
your best" is the currency that pays your debt to existence,
hence releases, liberates (as in moksha). 3. The Consequences: The Mechanics of Feedback The
"religious trip" of Karma (i.e.
unfinished business) and
Rebirth (i.e. another attempt to finish it) is actually a logical
extension of this mechanical rule. If the universe is a closed-loop system,
every action must have a proportionate reaction. ·
Success (Sattva): When an
emergent does its best, it is in "alignment." Friction disappears.
This is the root of the concept of Ananda (Bliss)—the smoothness of a
machine running at peak efficiency. ·
Friction (Tamas/Rajas, indeed, failure to complete): When an
emergent underperforms or acts against its nature (which is to complete its function, whatever it is), it
creates heat, resistance, and disorder (signalled
with pain). The
consequence of not doing one's best is not "punishment" in the
legal sense, but effectively dissolution. The system eventually
recycles or "re-processes" (Rebirths, i.e. tries again) any emergent that fails to
fulfil its functional necessity until that function is perfected. Conclusion: The Single Directive If you
were to send an offspring into this Vedic universe, the only advice they
would need is to maximize their specific frequency. The essential
message of the Veda is that the universe is a symphony. You are a note. If
you play your note as clearly and as loudly as your nature allows—if you "do your best"—the
symphony continues. If you falter, the music breaks. Excellence is the
only true worship; efficiency is the only true ritual. Ṛta as Universal Generating Machine |