[world-vedic] Vedic period

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Kailash Srivastava wrote:

>When did vedic period start and end?

>This may look a primitive and stupid question but I need to know. I guess

it

>ended with the demise of Lord Krishna but I do not know when it started.

 

First lets establish what is is Vedas.

Vedas means *Knowledge*. So if we can trace out the history of when

knowledge began we can then say when vedic period began. But can we

actually? Lets have a look.

 

Srimad Bhagavatam purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Prabhupada.

SB 4.2.31 P

In the Bhagavad-gita the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, has

claimed that He is the father of all living entities, regardless of form.

There are 8,400,000 different species of life forms, and Lord Krsna claims

that He is the father of all. Because the living entities are parts and

parcels of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they are all sons of the

Lord, and for their benefit, because they are hovering under the impression

that they can lord it over material nature, the Vedas are given to them for

their guidance. Therefore the Vedas are called apauruseya, for they are not

written by any man or demigod, including the first living creature, Brahma.

Brahma is not the creator or author of the Vedas. He is also one of the

living beings in this material world; therefore he does not have the power

to write or speak the Vedas independently. Every living entity within this

material world is subject to four deficiencies: he commits mistakes, he

accepts one thing for another, he cheats, and he has imperfect senses. The

Vedas, however, are not written by any living creature within this material

world. Therefore they are said to be apauruseya. No one can trace out the

history of the Vedas. Of course, modern human civilization has no

chronological history of the world or the universe, and it cannot present

actual historical facts older than three thousand years. But no one has

traced out when the Vedas were written, because they were never written by

any living being within this material world. All other systems of knowledge

are defective because they have been written or spoken by men or demigods

who are products of this material creation, but Bhagavad-gita is apauruseya,

for it was not spoken by any human being or any demigod of this material

creation; it was spoken by Lord Krsna, who is beyond the material creation.

That is accepted by such stalwart scholars as Sankaracarya, not to speak of

other acaryas such as Ramanujacarya and Madhvacarya. Sankaracarya has

accepted that Narayana and Krsna are transcendental, and in Bhagavad-gita

also Lord Krsna has established, aham sarvasya prabhavo mattah sarvam

pravartate: "I am the origin of everything; everything emanates from Me."

This material creation, including Brahma and Siva and all the demigods, has

been created by Him, for everything has emanated from Him. He also says that

the purpose of all the Vedas is to understand Him (vedais ca sarvair aham

eva vedyah). He is the original veda-vit, or knower of the Vedas, and

vedanta-krt, or compiler of Vedanta. Brahma is not the compiler of the

Vedas.

 

Srila Prabhupada make it clear that Vedas (knowledge) are *apauruseya* so

they originate from Krishna. Now the question when did vedic period end? It

has not ended(we can *still* receive transcendental knowledge).Although we

are in Kali-yuga the 4th cycle, the parampara (Disciplic succession) of the

Acaryas who transmit this knowledge continues.

 

For ANY of any of us who actually want DIKSA (transmission of

transcendental knowledge) from Srila Prabhupada although he appears to be no

longer to be "physically" present:can STILL receive diksa from him as he is

the current acarya in the disciplic succession of acaryas. So the vedic

period has NOT ended. This is a mistaken idea.

 

SB 3.29.17 P

In Bhagavad-gita, Thirteenth Chapter, it is clearly stated that one

should execute devotional service and advance on the path of **spiritual

knowledge** by accepting the acarya. **Acaryopasanam**: one should worship

an acarya, a spiritual master who knows things as they are. The spiritual

master must be in the disciplic succession from Krsna. The predecessors of

the spiritual master are his spiritual master, his grand spiritual master,

his great-grand spiritual master and so on, who form the **disciplic

succession of acaryas**.

 

In the concluding words of:

the Bhaktivedanta purports to Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, Twentieth

chapter.

Vani of the spiritual master is given more importance. "Therefore we must

take advantage of the vani, not the physical presence."

 

Concluding Words

Today, Sunday, November 10, 1974--corresponding to the 10th of Kartikka,

Caitanya Era 488, the eleventh day of the dark fortnight, the

Rama-ekadasi--we have now finished the English translation of Sri Krsnadasa

Kaviraja Gosvami' s Sri Caitanya-caritamrta in accordance with the

authorised order of His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur

Gosvami Maharaja, my beloved eternal spiritual master, guide and friend.

Although according to material vision His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta

Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada passed away from this material world on the

last day of December, 1936, I still consider His Divine Grace to be always

present with me by his vani, his words. There are two ways of

association--by vani and by vapu. Vani means words, and vapu means physical

presence. Physical presence is sometimes appreciable and sometimes not, but

vani continues to exist eternally. Therefore we must take advantage of the

vani, not the physical presence. Bhagavad-gita, for example, is the vani of

Lord Krsna. Although Krsna was personally present five thousand years ago

and is no longer physically present from the materialistic point of view,

Bhagavad-gita continues.

 

The point about Krishna's "demise" is also a mistaken idea because Lord

Krishna

is simply bewildering the athiestic demons---so as they can go to

hell--thinking Krishna is an ordinary human being.

 

Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya 23.117-118

Some of Lord Krsna's pastimes are mentioned in the Mahabharata as

mausala-lila. These include the stories of the destruction of the Yadu

dynasty, Krsna's disappearance, His being pierced by a hunter's arrow, the

story of Krsna's being an incarnation of a piece of hair (kesa-avatara) as

well as mahisi-harana, the kidnapping of Krsna's queens. Actually these are

not factual but are related for the bewilderment of the asuras who want to

prove that Krsna is an ordinary human being. They are false in the sense

that these pastimes are not eternal, nor are they transcendental or

spiritual. There are many people who are by nature averse to the supremacy

of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Visnu. Such people are called asuras.

They have mistaken ideas about Krsna. As stated in Bhagavad-gita, the asuras

are given a chance to forget Krsna more and more, birth after birth. Thus

they make their appearance in a family of asuras and continue this process,

being kept in bewilderment about Krsna. Asuras *in the dress of sannyasis*

even explain Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam in different ways according

to their own imaginations. Thus they continue to remain asuras birth after

birth.

 

731202SB.LA Lectures

So things take place like that. The queens of Krsna, they could not be

touched. But it is a play only. Similarly, Yadu dynasty, the descendants of

Krsna, they also could not be killed. But... Just like Krsna was killed by

the arrow of a hunter. How Krsna can be killed? But it is for the persons,

for the demons, to demonstrate like that, who thinks Krsna as ordinary human

being. So for them it is a jugglery. They will still know that "Here your

Krsna is killed." Yes. They will say like that. So tan aham dvisatah kruran

ksipamy ajasram asura-yonisu. The demons, as they want to forget Krsna, or

they do not like to understand Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead,

Krsna plays something like that so that they will be more convinced that

Krsna is not God, Krsna is ordinary human being. Tan aham dvisatah kruran.

They will remain in darkness forever. Krsna gives chance to everyone. If you

want to forget Krsna, Krsna will give you such intelligence, you will talk

so intelligently that "Krsna is not God." Ye yatha mam prapadyante. And if

you want to know Krsna, then He will give you such intelligence, you will

know that "Here is Supreme Personality of Godhead." This is Krsna's busin...

If you want to forget Krsna, Krsna will give you chance to forget Him

forever. And you suffer. Because forgetting Krsna, one is not benefited. By

knowing Krsna is one benefited. But the demons, raksasas, they suffer, and

still they want to forget Krsna. This is their business.

 

Hare Krishna!

Hope this has answered your question.

Mahesh Raja