Any summary of veda ?

[arjun2826]

Hi all,

I am interested in vedic literature. Do you know where I can found some of them and read them easily ?

Thanks

[bhaktajan]

 

• The timeless wisdom of India is expressed in the ancient Sanskrit Vedas. Originally preserved through oral tradition, the Vedas were first put into writing five thousand years ago by Srila Vyasadeva, “the literary incarnation of God.” After compiling the Vedas, Vyasadeva set forth their essence in the aphorisms known as Vedanta-sutras.

From Isopanisad Introdution: But five thousand years ago Vyasadeva put the Vedas in writing for the people in this age, Kali-yuga. He divided the Vedas into four: Rig, Sama, Atharva and Yajur. Then he gave the charge of these Vedas to his different disciples. Then Vyasadeva summarized all Vedic knowledge for scholars and philosophers in what is called the Vedanta-sutra. This is the last word of the Vedas. Vyasadeva was not very satisfied even after compiling many Puranas and Upanisads, and even after writing the Vedanta-sutra. Then his spiritual master, Narada, instructed him, “Explain the Vedanta-sutra.” Vedanta means “ultimate knowledge,” and the ultimate knowledge is Krsna. Krsna says that throughout all the Vedas one has to understand Him: vedanta-krd veda-vid eva caham. Krsna says, “I am the compiler of the Vedanta-sutra, and I am the knower of the Vedas.” Therefore the ultimate objective is Krsna. The Vedanta-sutra simply hints at what is Brahman, the Absolute Truth: “The Absolute Truth is that from whom everything emanates.” This is a summary, but it is explained in detail in Srimad-Bhagavatam. If everything is emanating from the Absolute Truth, then what is the nature of the Absolute Truth? That is explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam. The Absolute Truth must be consciousness. He is self-effulgent (svarat). We develop our consciousness and knowledge by receiving knowledge from others, but for Him it is said that He is self-effulgent. The whole summary of Vedic knowledge is the Vedanta-sutra, and the Vedanta-sutra is explained by the writer himself in Srimad-Bhagavatam. We finally request those who are actually after Vedic knowledge to try to understand the explanation of all Vedic knowledge from Srimad-Bhagavatam and the Bhagavad-gita.

 

• Srimad-Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana) is Vyasadeva’s commentary on his own Vedanta-sutras.

 

• After compiling the Bhagavatam, Vyasa imparted it to his son, Sukadeva Gosvami.

 

• Sukadeva Gosvami later recited the entire Bhagavatam to Maharaja Pariksit in an assembly of learned saints on the banks of the Ganges at Hastinapura (now Delhi).

 

• Maharaja Pariksit was the emperor of the world and was a great rajarsi (saintly king). Having received a curse that he would die within the seven days, he renounced his entire kingdom and retired to the bank of the Ganges River to fast until death and received spiritual enlightenment.

 

• The Bhagavatam begins with Emperor Pariksit’s inquiry to Sukadeva: Maharaja Pariksit: “You are the spiritual master of great saints and devotees. I am therefore begging you to show the way of perfection for all persons, and especially for one who is about to die. Please let me know what a man should hear, chant, remember and worship, and what he should not do. Please explain all this to me.”

 

• Sukadeva often relates historical episodes and give accounts of lengthy philosophical discussions between such great souls as Narada Muni and Vasudeva.

 

• At a later date, the sage Suta Goswami, [who was present at the Ganges River assembly] repeated the Bhagavatam before a gathering of Sages in the forest of Naimisaranya. [These sages, concerned about the spiritual welfare of the people in general, gathered to perform a long, continuous chain of penances to counteract the degrading influence of the oncoming age of Kali.] In response to the sages’ request Suta Gosvami repeated from memory the entire Srimad-Bhagavatam, as spoken by Sukadeva to Pariksit.

 

• Also,

 

• Suta Goswami sometimes responds directly to questions put by Saunaka Rsi, the spokesman for the sages gathered at Naimisaranya.

 

• One therefore simultaneously hears two dialogues: 1) between Maharaja Pariksit and Sukadeva Goswami on the bank of the Ganges, and, 2) between the Suta Goswami and Saunaka Rsi, the spokesman for the sages gathered at Naimisaranya.

 

• With this understanding of the history of the Bhagavatam, the reader will easily be able to follow its intermingling of dialogues, and events from various sources.

 

ys.

 

 

[bhaktajan]

Does anyone know If this book is available in print or even Web PDF?:

 

 

 

 

"Readings in Vedic Literature"

A book by Satsvarupa das Goswami --pub. cir. 1977?

 

This book is the best I ever read that provided an overviewed of the Vedas entoto.

 

 

 

 

Hey!Hey!Hey!

 

Hey! I found it!:

 

http://www.floridavediccollege.edu/Readings_in_Vedic_Literature_Book.htm

[bhaktajan]

http://www.floridavediccollege.edu/library.htm

[bhaktajan]

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!

 

TLC 19:

. . . According to Mayavadi philosophers, Vedanta refers to the Sariraka commentary of Sankaracarya. When impersonal philosophers refer to Vedanta and the Upanisads, they are actually referring to the commentaries of Sankaracarya, the greatest teacher of Mayavadi philosophy.

 

After Sankaracarya came Sadananda-yogi, who claimed that the Vedanta and Upanisads should be understood through the commentaries of Sankaracarya. Factually, this is not so.

 

There are many commentaries on Vedanta and the Upanisads made by the Vaisnava acaryas, and these are preferred to those of Sankaracarya. However, the Mayavadi philosophers influenced by Sankaracarya do not attribute any importance to the Vaisnava understandings.

 

There are four different sects of Vaisnava acaryas—the Suddhadvaita, ViSistadvaita, Dvaitadvaita and Acintya-bhedabheda. All the Vaisnava acaryas in these schools have written commentaries on the Vedanta-sutra, but the Mayavadi philosophers do not recognize them.

 

The Mayavadis distinguish between Krsna and Krsna’s body, and therefore they do not recognize the worship of Krsna by the Vaisnava philosophers.

 

Thus when the Mayavadi sannyasis asked Lord Caitanya why He did not study the Vedanta-sutra, the Lord replied, “Dear sirs, you have asked why I do not study Vedanta, and in answer to this I would speak something, but I am afraid that you would be sorry to hear it.”

 

“We shall be very much pleased to hear You,” all the sannyasis replied. “You appear just like Narayana, and Your speeches are so nice that we are taking great pleasure in them. We are very much obliged to see and hear You. Therefore we shall be very glad to hear patiently and accept whatever You say.”

 

The Lord then began to speak on Vedanta philosophy as follows: Vedanta-sutra is spoken by the Supreme Lord Himself. The Supreme Lord, in His incarnation as Vyasadeva, has compiled this great philosophical treatise.

 

Since Vyasadeva is an incarnation of the Supreme Lord, he cannot be likened to an ordinary person, who has the four defects which arise due to contact with material existence.

 

The defects of a conditioned soul are: (1) he must commit mistakes; (2) he must be illusioned; (3) he must possess the tendency to cheat others; and (4) all his senses must be imperfect. We must understand that the incarnation of God is transcendental to all these defects.

 

Thus whatever has been spoken and written by Vyasadeva is considered to be perfect. The Upanisads and Vedanta-sutra aim at the same goal: the Supreme Absolute Truth. When we accept the import of Vedanta-sutra and the Upanisads directly as they are stated, we become glorified.

 

The commentaries made by Sankaracarya, however, are indirect and are very dangerous for the common man to read, for by understanding the import of the Upanisads in such an indirect, disruptive way, one practically bars himself from spiritual realization.

When PrakaSananda Sarasvati saw this, he also admitted the fault of Sankaracarya and said, “Because Sankaracarya wanted to establish the doctrine of monism, he had no alternative but to interpret the Vedanta-sutra in a different way. Once one accepts the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the doctrine of monism cannot be established. Therefore by mundane scholarship Sankaracarya has tried to obscure the actual meaning of the Vedanta-sutra. Not only has Sankaracarya done this, but all authors who attempt to give their own views of necessity misinterpret Vedanta-sutra.”

 

Thus Lord Caitanya gave the direct meaning of Vedanta-sutra. No Vedic scripture should be used for indirect speculation. In addition to Sankaracarya, other materialistic philosophers like Kapila, Gautama, Astavakra and Patanjali have put forward philosophical speculation in various ways. Indeed, the philosopher Jaimini and his followers, who are all more or less logicians, have abandoned the real meaning of the Vedas (devotional service) and have tried to establish the Absolute Truth as subject to the material world.

 

It is their opinion that if there is a God, He will be pleased with man and give man all desired results if man simply performs his material activities nicely. Similarly, the atheist Kapila tried to establish that there is no God who created the material world. Kapila has even tried to establish that a combination of material elements caused creation.

 

Similarly, Gautama and Kanada have given stress to this theory that the creation resulted from a fortunate combination of material elements, and they have tried to establish that atomic energy is the origin of creation. Similarly, impersonalists and monists like Astavakra have tried to establish the impersonal effulgence (brahmajyoti) as the Supreme. And Patanjali, one of the greatest authorities on the yoga system, has tried to conceive an imaginary form of the Supreme Lord.

 

In summary it should be understood that all these materialistic philosophers have tried to avoid the Supreme Personality of Godhead by putting forward their own mentally concocted philosophies.

 

However, Vyasadeva, the great sage and incarnation of God head, has thoroughly studied all these philosophical speculations and in answer has compiled the Vedanta-sutra, which establishes the relationship between the living entity and the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the importance of devotional service in ultimately achieving love of Godhead.

 

The verse janmady asya yatah [sB 1.1.1], which appears in the very beginning of Vedanta-sutra, is explained in Vyasadeva’s Srimad-Bhagavatam. In Srimad-Bhagavatam Vyasadeva establishes from the very beginning that the supreme source of everything is a cognizant, transcendental person.

[bhaktajan]

Sripada Sankaracarya, being very eager to establish his philosophy of monism, took shelter of the Vedanta philosophy and tried to explain it in his own way. The fact is, however, that if one accepts the existence of God, one certainly cannot establish the theory of monism.

 

For this reason Sankaracarya refuted all kinds of Vedic literature that establishes the supremacy of the Personality of Godhead. In various ways, Sankaracarya has tried to refute the Vedic literature. Throughout the world, ninety-nine percent of the philosophers following in the footsteps of Sankaracarya refuse to accept the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Instead they try to establish their own opinions.

 

It is typical of mundane philosophers to want to establish their own opinions and refute those of others.

 

Therefore:

 

(1) The Mimamsaka philosophers, following the principles of Jaimini, stress fruitive activity and say that if there is a God, He must be under the laws of fruitive activity. In other words, if one performs his duties very nicely in the material world, God is obliged to give one the desired result.

 

According to these philosophers, there is no need to become a devotee of God. If one strictly follows moral principles, one will be recognized by the Lord, who will give the desired reward.

 

Such philosophers do not accept the Vedic principle of bhakti-yoga. Instead, they give stress to following one’s prescribed duty.

 

(2) Atheistic Sankhya philosophers like Kapila analyze the material elements very scrutinizingly and thereby come to the conclusion that material nature is the cause of everything. They do not accept the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the cause of all causes.

 

(3) Nyaya philosophers like Gautama and Kanada have accepted a combination of atoms as the original cause of the creation.

 

(4) Mayavadi philosophers say that everything is an illusion. Headed by philosophers like Astavakra, they stress the impersonal Brahman effulgence as the cause of everything.

 

(5) Philosophers following the precepts of Patanjali practice raja-yoga. They imagine a form of the Absolute Truth within many forms. That is their process of self-realization.

All five of these philosophies completely reject the predominance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and strive to establish their own philosophical theories. However, Srila Vyasadeva wrote the Vedanta-sutra and, taking the essence of all Vedic literature, established the supremacy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

 

All five kinds of philosophers mentioned above understand that impersonal Brahman is without material qualities, and they believe that when the Personality of Godhead appears, He is contaminated and covered by the material qualities. The technical term used is saguna.

 

They speak of saguna Brahman and nirguna Brahman. For them, nirguna Brahman means “the impersonal Absolute Truth without any material qualities” and saguna Brahman means “the Absolute Truth that accepts the contamination of material qualities.” More or less, this kind of philosophical speculation is called Mayavada philosophy.

 

The fact is, however, that the Absolute Truth never has anything to do with material qualities because He is transcendental. He is always complete with full spiritual qualities.

 

The five philosophers mentioned above do not accept Lord Visnu as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but they are very busy refuting the philosophies of other schools. There are six kinds of philosophical processes in India.

 

Because Vyasadeva is the Vedic authority, he is known as Vedavyasa. His philosophical explanation of the Vedanta-sutra is accepted by the devotees. As Krsna confirms in the Bhagavad-gita

[bhaktajan]

The history of the Vedas, from the Sri Isopanisad Introduction:

 

About five thousand years ago Vyasadeva put the Vedas in writing for the people in this age, Kali-yuga.

He divided the Vedas into four: Rig, Sama, Atharva and Yajur. Then he gave the charge of these Vedas to his different disciples.

 

Then Vyasadeva summarized all Vedic knowledge for scholars and philosophers in what is called the Vedanta-sutra. This is the last word of the Vedas.

 

Vyasadeva was not very satisfied even after compiling many Puranas and Upanisads, and even after writing the Vedanta-sutra.

 

Then his spiritual master, Narada, instructed him, “Explain the Vedanta-sutra.” Vedanta means “ultimate knowledge,” and the ultimate knowledge is Krsna.

 

Krsna says that throughout all the Vedas one has to understand Him: vedanta-krd veda-vid eva caham. Krsna says, “I am the compiler of the Vedanta-sutra, and I am the knower of the Vedas.”

 

Therefore the ultimate objective is Krsna. The Vedanta-sutra simply hints at what is Brahman, the Absolute Truth: “The Absolute Truth is that from whom everything emanates.”

 

This is a summary, but it is explained in detail in Srimad-Bhagavatam. If everything is emanating from the Absolute Truth, then what is the nature of the Absolute Truth? That is explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam.

 

The Absolute Truth must be consciousness. He is self-effulgent (svarat). We develop our consciousness and knowledge by receiving knowledge from others, but for Him it is said that He is self-effulgent.

 

The whole summary of Vedic knowledge is the Vedanta-sutra, and the Vedanta-sutra is explained by the writer himself in Srimad-Bhagavatam.

We finally request those who are actually after Vedic knowledge to try to understand the explanation of all Vedic knowledge from Srimad-Bhagavatam and the Bhagavad-gita.

 

--excepted from the book, "Sri Isopanisad" [aka, 'Isha-Upanisad'] as translated with commentary by Bhaktivedanta Swami.

 

 

[Kali_Upasaka]

You can get the original Vedas and translations here.

 

http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/

 

A collection of sites about Vedas.

 

http://www.dmoz.org/Society/Religion_and_Spirituality/Hinduism/Religious_Texts/Vedas/

[arjun2826]

ok, thanks for all your answer.

 

I started to read some links, but it seems to be really difficult to understand (for example the link sent by Kali_Upasaka : sacred-texts.com/hin/

 

The chapter named "The history of the Vedas, from the Sri Isopanisad Introduction: " of bhaktajan is very interesting, but I need some further information.

 

I am trying to find some summary (the summary + the link between Rig, Sama, Atharva and Yajur) so that to understand the main guide lines easily and rapidely.

I know, it is not a correct way to learn a religion, but I need to have a overview.

 

Thanks

[Kali_Upasaka]

I can understand your problem. These articles may help you.

 

http://www.vedanet.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=1&id=33&Itemid=2

 

This is the site of the American Institute of Vedic studies founded by Dr. David Frawley (Pandit Vamadeva Shastri). He is a well known Vedic scholar widely respected in India.

 

He has written a number of books on Vedas. Please try with amazon.com.

[chandu_69]

 

You can get the original Vedas and translations here.

 

http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/

 

A collection of sites about Vedas.

 

http://www.dmoz.org/Society/Religion_and_Spirituality/Hinduism/Religious_Texts/Vedas/

The translations are faulty and sometimes highly misleading.Having said that there is still no authoritative translations available.

 

Your own signature is the best illustration of a translation gone awry(rigveda Rg Veda I-89-1)

[Kali_Upasaka]

An excellent list of sources of Vedic documents.

 

http://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_veda/doc_veda.html

[arjun2826]

Hi kali,

Thanks for these links.

I still didn't read them yet.

I saw lots of name of documents during my readings since my last message as : smirti, shruti, vedanta, rigveda, upanishad, ramayana, manudharma.. Mabharatha and I will try to understand how these documents connect between themselves and when they were written and by whom.

And then only I'll try to read one of this document.