Songs of the Vedas

May 31, 2000

Dear All,

Please find below an interesting article. Sri Kaheswaran, a member of this

list, has forwarded this and asked me to share it with the list.

I remain yours,

Madhava

INTERVIEW

SONGS OF THE VEDAS

Emanating as marvels of obscure authorship, the

Vedas, as

divine revelation to man, have had an epic tradition of

verbal

bequest, much preceding their codifications by the

Indo-Aryans. In a bid to salvage the near-extinct art of

Vedic

recitation, Guni Hesting Kirchheiner, a writer and scholar

of

Oriental studies from Denmark, embarked upon recording of

these recitations for posterity. At the fruition of her

marathon enterprise, spanning more than 15 years of

painstaking commitment, she spoke about this `most

fulfilling

experience of her life' to Harsh Kabra.

Tell us about the run-up to this ambitious project ?

The reason I came to India in 1971 was to get over the

trauma

of losing my seven-year old son, who succumbed to

leukemia.

But I had substantial knowledge about India beforehand. I

had

studied `History of Religion' at the Copenhagen

university. My

decision to start afresh in a new country paid off as I

soon

started identifying with the culture here. Initially I

studied

more about medicine, in particular Ayurveda, and enjoyed

close

connection with the Nanals in Pune. Subsequently, I met

Karambelkar Shastri and was immensely fascinated by his

recitation of the oldest of the four Vedas -- the Rig

Veda.

The sound of the Vedas attracted me. These scriptures have

survived down thousands of years through recitation alone

and

were documented much later. For me, the recitation meant

music.

What substantiated the concept of Vedic recordings ?

I understood from Karambelkar Shastri that the tradition

of

Vedic recitation was disappearing rapidly with the old

priests

and scholars. Incidentally, of the eight priests who

recited

the Vedas for this project, only two are alive today. Many

exalted traditions of India have aged and died off. I

found it

of indisputable importance to preserve this art so that

the

new generation of students and scholars, Indian and

foreign,

will benefit from it. Indians are indeed very enthusiastic

and

technologically evolved. Regardless of whether they

sustain an

interest in Vedas, religion will continue to be the

cherished

basis of life. Afterwards, I went to Denmark and

approached

the Danish Research Council for Humanities soliciting

funds to

start recording of the Vedas and they were granted. Then I

came to India and through a friend of mine, Dr Ashok

Marathe,

met Prof. S S Bahulkar, who has been a great help in

finding

the right people. I am not a Sanskrit scholar, but I

learnt

things faster in the erudite company of scholars I enjoyed

in

Pune.

What is the nature of these recordings?

These recordings comprise 224 tapes and around 332 hours

of

recorded recitations. Rigveda Samhita was recited here in

Pune

by Kinjavadekar Shastri, Krishna Yajurveda by Gokhale

Shastri,

Sukla Yajurveda Kanva Shakha by Kavishwar Shastri, Sukla

Yajurveda Madhyadin by Bhate Shastri. Later, I went to

Karnataka and recorded Rigveda Brahman from Keshav

Joglekar

Shastri in Gokarna. I got the Atharvaveda recorded in the

voice of Pancholi Shastri in Sinor in Gujarat. In Kerala,

Samaveda, the Jaimini tradition was recited by Ittervai

Namboodiri and Narayan Namboodiri. I started the work in

1983

and on October 14 this year, the recordings were handed

over

to the Danish Royal Library in Copenhagen and another set

was

presented to the Pune-based Ved Shastrotejak Sabha a

fortnight

later. Given the fact that the Danish Royal Library has a

voluminous Sanskrit collection already, probably one of

the

biggest outside India, this patronage for the Vedic

recordings

is not very hard to explain. I now plan to transfer these

recordings on compact discs for better preservation.

How were you accepted as a Danish woman in a

diligent pursuit

of conserving the cultural heritage of India?

Luckily, I had no problems getting absorbed into the

society

here. But I was recurrently asked about my passion. Though

one

can understand the significance of this work from the

angle

pertaining to my academic background, I cannot quite

explain

the inspiration behind this pursuit or my liking for Vedic

recitations. We all have our destiny, and I believe, this

is

mine. If we try to be one with our inner self, in balance,

in

harmony, then we will also be one with the power, with

God,

who inspires us. When we approach God, we always demand.

But

instead of demanding relentlessly, if we try to listen to

him,

we will realise that he guides us to do things for which

we

were created. Some higher power was a part of the plan.

The

inspiration from God, I believe, is my answer. We are

merely

tools in his hands. The work also speaks of the collective

effort of several other people. The best part of it was

that

no one asked for any money.

What does India mean to you?

I have received so much in India, and I hope by this work,

I

have given a little in return for the incomparable and

limitless help and kindness I enjoyed. India has such a

great

culture and an unparalleled corpus of knowledge. It is

important that the world knows more about that. Take Vedas

for

instance. From what I know, it is difficult to interpret

these

scriptures in their entirety. That keeps so many scholars

engaged and is a worthy endeavour. We are all keenly

connected

to India. Sanskrit is the basic Indo- European language.

In

this way, we can as well deem India to be our mother.

The thinking and working capacities of the Indians are

enviable and it is simply fantastic to see what they can

do.

The general life here has not changed much down the years

though many things have been added. People are very warm

and

helpful to each other. This is not the same in the west.

People there are very reserved. In India the middle and

the

lower classes are in majority. The problems concerning

poverty

cannot be solved by India alone. But what is being

overlooked

is the tremendous potential of the middle class here, who

are

doing an ineffable work, not just for themselves, but for

the

society at large. This mutuality alone is India's driving

impetus.

Does the conventional western attitude towards India echo

these sentiments ?

In my opinion, the western world is having a completely

wrong

understanding about India and they are not being given

authentic information. Scholars come to India for cultural

studies, tourists come here to enjoy an exotic country and

many others travel to India with spiritual intentions. But

India is much more than this. I believe it is high time

this

image of India was revamped and the real greatness of the

country acknowledged and brought to the fore. If one has

stayed in India for long, like I have, it is realised that

India is a very rich country in several aspects and there

is

no need to nurse any inferiority complex vis-a-vis the

western

world.

SOURCE : TIMES OF INDIA : 21.12.1999

May 31, 2000

I am sorry, Please read the name as Sri Kameshwaran. He sent us this

article. Sorry again. Thank you.

Madhava K. Turumella [madhava]

Wednesday, May 31, 2000 10:07 AM

advaitin

Songs of the Vedas

Dear All,

Please find below an interesting article. Sri Kaheswaran, a member of this

list, has forwarded this and asked me to share it with the list.

I remain yours,

Madhava

p_shripad · July 21, 2009

Hi Madhava,

My name is Shripad Patwardhan and i am staying in India. I know Guni very well. She had received most of the help from Govind (Dada) Gokhale ( My Grandfather) from Pune. I am very sorry to inform you that Guni Hesting is no more, she passed away on 12 April 2007 at 11.20.

I am very glad to see something about her on this web and this is available on Google.

Guni Hensting has published a book on " Sury Namaskar" for which my grandfather Govind A Gokhale (Pune Maharashtra India) has helped by providing his pictures for all "Sury Namaskar " and Other "Yoga" positions.

He is now running 86 and staying in Pune.

I was the only one, who was continuously in touch with Guni and her family.

Regards

Patwardhan Shripad

Edited July 22, 2009 by p_shripad
more update....