The Four Vedas
The Vedas as we know them today were compiled into books by a Rishi (sage) known as Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa also known as Vyasa or Veda Vyasa, for his magnanimous effort in compiling various texts in Vedas and then structuring it accordingly. He took the wisdom and knowledge of all the sages at the time and those preceding them and structured it into books.
There are four Vedas; namely: Rig Vedas, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharva Veda.
The Rig Veda is the oldest of the four Vedas and presents the key wisdom of the ancient Rishis (Vedic sages). It is the most important Vedic text and from which all other tests are derived from or are based upon. The Yajur Veda presents the Vedic ritual, which inwardly is a practice of Yoga involving speech, breath and mind. About a third of its mantras are from the Rig Veda. The Sama Veda is the Veda of music and song showing the ecstasy of Self-realization. The Atharva Veda provides additional insights and wisdom for particular issues including healing. It contains many mantras from both the Rig and Yajur Vedas, as well as many of its own.
Also, Vedas are not works delivered by God through prophets. They are realized truths by the revered sages also called Rishis and Munis. These sages were the ones who had learned the truths through constant introspection and experience.
The Brahmanas and Aranyakas, Upanishads and Gita
The Brahmanas provide ritualistic interpretations of Vedic knowledge that also reflect yogic practices, much like the Yajur Veda. The Aranyakas extend this knowledge on a meditational level. There are numerous and long Brahmana texts, notably Taittiriya and Satapatha, but only a few Aranyakas, notably Taittiriya and Aitareya.
The Upanishads are clearest and most understandable portion of the mysterious Vedas. They present the spiritual secret of the Vedas, the knowledge of the Atman and Paramatman. They contain many yogic secrets as well. There are over a dozen old Upanishads of the late Vedic period with over a hundred Upanishads from later times.
Upavedas and Ayurveda
There are four Upavedas or Secondary Vedas of which the most important is Ayurveda or Vedic medicine. The others are Dhanur Veda (martial arts), Sthapatya Veda (Architecture) and Gandharva Veda (Music). Ayurveda is not just a medical system but shows us how to find harmony in terms of body, mind and soul, thereby extending into physical, psychological and spiritual wellbeing. Knowing our individual Ayurvedic constitution and the appropriate life-style for it we can maximize the potential of our being and attain a full life. Ayurveda has many classical texts like Charaka Samhita, Sushruta Samhita, and the Ashtanga Hridaya of Vagbhatta.
Yoga
Yoga is the practice of Vedic knowledge that develops our inner faculties through meditation, leading us ultimately to Self-realization. While there are many forms of Yoga, the main classical system is the eightfold or Ashtanga system which constitutes the Raja Yoga of Patanjali. This in turn reflects older traditions found in the Mahabharata, Puranas, Upanishads and Vedas. Raja Yoga is an integral science of asana, pranayama, mantra and meditation based upon dharmic living principles. It is popular as a form of physical exercise in the West today but that is only one of its main aspects.
Vedanta
Vedanta is the practical philosophy that arises from the Upanishads and systematizes their teachings. Its Advaita or non-dualistic form, such as found in the works of Adi Shankaracharya, teaches the unity of the Atman (roughly put – soul) and the Supreme Self (Paramatman) or Absolute (Brahman) beyond time, space and karma. Devotional philosophies of Vedanta, like those of Ramanuja, Madhva and Chaitanya, emphasize the Divine as the Supreme Person (Purushottama).
Itihasa-Purana
These are encyclopaedias of sacred knowledge and stories, covering all aspects of life and culture. There are about twenty Puranas and two Itihasas, the Mahabharata and Ramayana, the stories of Krishna and Rama. The Bhagavad Gita a revered text in itself, is a part of the Mahabharata, and is a discourse on the various forms of Yoga among other topics. Yoga, Vedanta and Ayurveda are common topics in them, often explained in great detail. The Puranas are probably the most extensive and profound yet neglected spiritual literature coming out of India.
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THE TRUE NATURE OF
VEDIC WISDOM
Beyond theist, atheist and agnostic ideas.
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Traditional view on religion divides along the lines of belief into theist, atheist and agnostic. Theists are those who consider God to be a power or presence who is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. There also are some theists who think God is the one who resides in heaven and relays his message(s) through prophets, angels, and good omens from time to time.
Atheists are the people who don’t believe in the idea of God. They believe all things can be explained by scientific thought and rationale - alone. They also have deeper disagreements, resentment and at times, hatred towards Theists. Often these feelings are mutual.
However, theists do have a reverence towards an external source, which here is the scientific principle. The scientific principle could be argued is a doctrine that follows certain principles and relies on experiential truth that is not replicable by all. For example, most high level scientific experiments are done in premier institutions by scientists, whose findings the common man takes for granted as facts. These facts do tend to change with time, context and better experimental methodologies.
Agnostics are those set of people who think atheists and theists, are true as well as false in certain aspects. Refraining from committing to either doctrine, they question the blind faith of theist and the excessive reliance on physical proof of the atheist. For them, just because a supreme being is not knowable does not imply it cannot exist.
But what, or who, is God that forms the bone of contention in the first place? If you go by popular definition (in Christianity and other monotheistic religions) God is presented as the creator and ruler of the universe and source of all moral authority; the Supreme Being. He is in certain other religions such as paganism, a superhuman being or spirit worshiped as having power over nature and /or human fortunes; a deity. What is agreed by both groups is that God is responsible for all occurrences. Strange but true, is that even Atheists have concepts like the ‘God particle’.
If – at all – God exists, he should be the one who is responsible for birth as well as the death of all beings on earth and other planets. He, therefore, would be someone who is neither born nor can die at any time. Gods can’t bleed. An ancient Greek saying further implies that had Gods bled, none would believe in them, after all, of what use are the gods who bleed and suffer like other humans?
Let’s take a while to find out why people want to, or don’t want to believe in the idea of God. People who believe in God are those who have problems which are beyond their understanding and, therefore, a solution to the said problems is outside their reach or capabilities. In their desperate state, they are willing to resort to any means to solve their issues. They, therefore, pray, worship and do penance so as to appease that all-pervading being to get them out of the rut. For some there was nothing to lose with this thinking; unanswered prayer could leave them no worse than they were, if anything the temporary glimmer of hope might even give them the will to exist.
For other people, unanswered prayers left them cynical and jaded. Prayers and penance are propagated by institutions, who claim to have the approval of the god(s). These institutions many a time use coercive force – emotional as well as physical – to ensure that their adherents are following their faith. When people don’t get the desired answers to their prayers; these institutions make (or force?) them to believe that the problem lies in them. When the problem is resolved, the credit is given to the institution of God. So technically, the individual is either the damned or the saved – but never the hero. So, whatever he does is possible only with ‘grace’ of the divine.
Strange as it may sound, these institutions have existed across civilizations for thousands of years. Since they don’t have complete answers
to the questions they have moral or religious policing systems where, sometimes, use of brutal force, too, is authorized by citing prophets, scriptures or ‘holy books’. The scriptures themselves mostly were written and understood by councils who had ‘divine blessings’ – the clergy. Many great wars in human history have been fought in the name of God by those who believe in God. The problem is that their perceptions about God were so different that it was almost impossible for them to prove His superiority except by waging ‘holy’ wars and winning over the heretics, apostates, and/or renegades.
It was mainly owing to the disillusionment with such ‘holy’ wars, which caused the absolute destruction of humanity, that a great many began rethinking on the ideas and ideals of religion. Eventually, they were so disillusioned that they began to disregard the very idea of God. After all, if there really was something, or someone, like God would he allow such dastardly acts like war, rape, and murder in his name? Why doesn’t He intervene when injustice happens? Theists’ ideas and philosophies like ‘test of God’ didn’t go down well with these people giving rise to new age philosophies some of which were extremely hedonist in nature.
Today the world is heavily divided. The division isn’t just between Theists, Atheists, and Agnostics, but also among themselves. Hatred, envy as well as a sense of grudge is phenomenal and is the core reason why the world is on the verge of next world war.
So, is there a way to understand and learn or unlearn this idea and ideal of God? The answer is yes. This answer, however, is found in what could be better understood as Vedic scriptures. Unfortunately, Vedas are today known as Hinduism’s Holy Scriptures. It’s indeed a travesty that not many Hindus understand what Vedas are all about. Although, they take great pride in it; they know very little about it. While it is read, it is probably not always understood. In Hindu temples, Vedic hymns are recited dutifully. They believe that just by recitation their troubles will be eliminated. Vedic literature is in Sanskrit, a language that is by far the most complex in its structure. Those who claim to know Sanskrit don’t have a hold on any other modern day language – especially English. Thus, a significant amount of misinterpretations has crept in thereby eclipsing the understanding of their true wisdom.
Dharma is mistranslated as religion, Karma as destiny and Devas as demi-gods. Arya seems to refer to the Aryan race. Such translations have essentially, not just muddied, but even killed the core Vedic ideas and ideals. Consequently, reducing the Vedas and the Vedic wisdom contained in them to another self-serving religious scripture.
Vedic teachings, knowledge, as well as wisdom, has never sought to divide people. They are probably still the only scripture which at the very beginning say “Let good thoughts comes from all parts of the Universe.” They seldom claim superiority. They wish health, wealth, and prosperity for all the beings – without any mark of distinction or discrimination. Almost all religions in the world propose the idea of good and bad. The good is promised to those who follow them; rest are damned to hell. Vedas does not follow such a principle. Yet, they are called ‘religious scriptures’ or ‘holy book’ and not books of wisdom, science, and works of eternal wellbeing.
Devas of Vedas are not certainly demi-Gods or God. They are elements of Nature. Vedic wisdom has a subtle explanation of human existence. Human bodies are made possible by a combination of five gross elements (Pancha Mahabhootas), namely; Agni (Fire), Prithvi (Earth), Vayu (Air), Toyam (Water) and Akasha (Space). Elements here do not refer to chemical elements but to the intrinsic nature of matter. On a closer look, all these elements are found in the human body in subtle ways.
Agni (Fire) refers to the property of heat, light, the ability of converting substances into finer forms; in humans this can be the ability to digest food as well as ideas. Quite literally, body temperature is an indication of the wellness of the body.
Toyam (Water) refers to the fluidity in thought as well as the property of blood to flow.
Vayu (Air), life forms exist because of the ability to respire. In human bodies there are empty spaces in the digestive tracts, which enable the function of absorption. Interestingly, an aspect of Vayu is the creative thought process, while an excess would lead to ungroundedness or being an “airhead”.
Prithvi (Earth) refers to stability, which can be that of bones or as a personality trait.
Akasha (Space), the most esoteric, can be thought of as the presence of any body. In scientific terms all matter occupies space.
This understanding of all forms of life in terms of the five elements forms the basis of Ayurveda (The knowledge of life or life principle). Ayurveda is a holistic process that defines good health not as the absence of disease but as a state, in which a person is balanced in mind, body, & spirit, is full of cheer and in whom appetite is balanced with all biological systems and natural urges working properly.
Ayurveda and Yoga essentially find their roots in the Vedas.
All these elements (Pancha Mahabhootas) are further associated in the human bodies through Indriyas (sense perceptions) and are under the purview of Indra, who is called King of Devas or Devendra. Without Indra, these elements will disintegrate and cause destruction. Indra is therefore very important for our existence. So, as you see it’s completely wrong to call Devas as deities or demi-gods, let alone ‘gods’. They are merely the elements of human existence. Yes, they are honoured and respected for without them our material existing is naught! But Aradhana, commonly mistaken to be worship, (better translated as a remembrance, respect as well as adoration) is not as same as worship in other religions. Similarly, all material things that are gifted by nature making lives of humans possible are called Deva, Devi (feminine form) or Devatas (plural). They are not gods as suggested by religious ideas.
Ganga, the mightiest of the river of the Indian subcontinent that has nurtured mankind for thousands of years is called Devi. Mountains like Sahyadri, Niligiri as well as Meru are called Deva. Any element of nature is identified as either Devi or Devata in Vedic literature. They are revered as well as respected.
Yet, Vedic wisdom identified all these natural elements as material ones. They too are time bound. All that is born in the world is bound to die. Change is the only constant. So, the Vedic seers and sages made significant efforts to identify that thing which is neither born nor dead. That, which is eternal. And this is how they arrived at the concept of Atman. Atman is yet another word that is often mistranslated as soul. Atman can be better understood as the conscious energy within all living being that allows them to understand, learn, experience and do things. It is, in essence beyond the mind and limitations of thought. It is like any other energy; it can neither be created nor destroyed only converted from one form into another. In the case of Atman, it is reincarnated from one body into body. Body by itself is subject to change, death and decay, the Atman is not.
While Atman is, the conscious energy within an individual – Paramatman is the sum of the all the consciousness energy across the world. Paramatman is often mistranslated as God.
Hinduism is often believed to be polytheistic, with numerous gods. This is not so, in the Vedic philosophy (which is the root of Hindu religion), all gods and goddesses are aspects of that Paramatman. For the lay person revering the consciousness that underlies all creation can be a difficult task. Giving a form to the formless, thus making the Paramatman accessible to all, was the reason for the seemingly endless pantheon of deities. Worship of these deities was then a means by which the devotees could expand their consciousness and inculcate within their personalities aspects of their chosen deities. For example, intellectuals or people in creative pursuits worship Saraswati, the deity of learning and creativity, while one could then make an argument for worshipping any scientist or musician, the said scientist or musician would still have human failings. Saraswati, on the other hand personifies the best of creation, without moral failings, with her worship devotees engage those aspects into themselves. Vedic philosophy at its heart expounds the awareness of gre
ater consciousness. What better way to make it accessible, than to bring aspects of that consciousness and its possibilities into everyday life and also make festivals around it. Mantra (sounds), Tantra (method) and Yantra (object, diagrammatical representations) were the means by which any deity could be brought into the life of the devotee. Deity worship is in itself a study, with the form of the Moorthi (not idol, it is not just a statue), method of worship, and stories surrounding them having an esoteric meaning and specific purpose. The goal of worship was to eventually expand the devotee’s consciousness such that he saw the eternal, omnipotent power in all beings and creation. There is no concept of heaven or hell in the Vedas, instead it is an exposition of the power of the individual to define his own life and create a good life (heaven if you will) and bad life (hell if you prefer). Becoming a god is not the goal, but to expand consciousness such that is one is in communion with the entire existence is the objective.
Following this understanding of God, heaven, hell and other concepts from the Vedic standpoint, we can now look into what the Vedas say about human existence. Are we only a body or is there more to us?
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THE ULTIMATE POWER IS WITHIN
Who are you? Where do you come from? Where will you go from here?
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Vedic teachings emphasize understanding and realizing the Atman also called Purusha (when Atman is in a physical body) While “Soul” could also be a translation of this word, as it is “the spiritual or immaterial part of a human being or animal, regarded as immortal”, the much better word to understand Atman is “Consciousness”. Understanding this consciousness and, harnessing it with wisdom for universal welfare is the supreme objective of Vedic knowledge and practices. Vedic wisdom emphasises the importance of the Atman over the body.
Essentials of Vedic Wisdom for Blissful Living Page 2