Karma is really speaking the practice of Dharma. The Upanishads give us guidance on what has to be done and what has to be avoided, in the spiritual journey. They direct us to revere the mother as God, revere the father as God, revere the preceptor as God, revere the guest as God and also, warn us that truth shall not be neglected, Dharma shall not be neglected. So, there are both positive and negative instructions - follow these counsels not others. Whatever conduces to your progress in goodness, accept; avoid other counsels - thus do the Upanishads instruct.

In those centuries, the King himself studied in hermitages at the feet of the Upanishadic sages, and helped others to study by granting economic aid profusely to the centres of learning which shone as repositories of Vedic lore. As the king, so the subjects. Fostering the Vedas meant fostering the Vedic scholars and practitioners, the Vedavidis. At the present time, encouragement is afforded and scholarship is honoured in other branches of learning. The Vedic scholars are not given similar encouragement and emoluments, but, this is an important aspect that has to be attended to.

Dharmo rakshati rakshitah; Dharma protects those who protect it, says the Sruthi. If people come forward to foster the sources of Dharma, that good act, by itself, will help foster those who do it. The study of the Vedas has become today the task of the economically weak. People have reconciled themselves to this situation. They associate the study with such a sad and pitiable picture. Vedic studies have come down to this deplorable pass. The very pundits who have attained scholarship in the Vedas are using it as a commercial item that can be sold. They do not demonstrate the value of Vedic study in the peace and harmony of their lives and thus win reverence for the Vedas by personal example. The Vedas are being misused by them for earning a pittance, rather than liberation and peace. This is the reason why Dharma is receiving a set-back and anxiety and fear are spreading among men. The World can win back peace and harmony only when such persons are persuaded to practise the ideals laid down in the Vedas, and thereby serve as beacon-lights to guide mankind aright. Else, downfall is inevitable.

The Bharathiya spiritual stream has until the present times fertilised Vedic learning and practice. Its message has been always, 'Journey forward along the Vedic Path.' One may dilate on Vedanta and Vedas, but, unless one holds forth the value of these ideals on the basis of his own experience and practice, it is a waste. This truth has been forgotten by these personages. Let them awake in time and save the traditions and values of the ageless Vedic culture.