Centuries have passed (read lifetimes) on these manmade crutches

[Guest guest]

>

> ssahaji, you have a very loving husband who follows another guru and

> probably worships some deity, just like your many friends and

> relatives. Surprisingly you never mentioned idol-worship and i

> believe you fully accept it, as most Hindus do (despite the fact

> that, just like vegetarianism, there is not a single verse in all

> their scriptures to support that). i may be wrong but that is the

> impression i get as it is not dissimilar to worshipping Shri

> Mataji’s photograph. Hindus say such external aids are temporarily

> needed, but somehow centuries have passed (read lifetimes) on these

> manmade crutches.

>

> But what you truly lack--along with your husband, friends, relatives

> and most Hindus--is Self-realization. Had you realized IT then you

> would have no questions, and definitely no fears. On the contrary,

> you would tower above the pandits in Sat Chit Anand, and bestow the

> gift of moksa on your husband. You have more to learn, and much to

> discard, my ssahaji sister.

>

 

 

" Vedanta, one of the world's most ancient philosophies,

is based on the Vedas and Upanishads, which are the earliest and most

sacred scriptures of India. Regarded by many historians as the oldest

surviving texts of humanity, these scriptures were said to be

revealed by God rather than created by humans.

 

The word veda means knowledge, and the Vedas are considered to have

existed since the beginning of creation. Centuries before they were

written, the Vedas were passed on orally from teacher to student in

the form of exact verses chanted in precise patterns of a three-note

scale.

 

Vedanta tells us that our true nature is divine. The divine Self is

the underlying reality and source of all that exists, and to realize

this truth experientially is the goal of Vedanta. Revered for its

enduring wisdom, Vedanta is a timeless philosophy that expresses the

heart of all religions and spiritual doctrines. "

 

Deepak Chopra: Power, Freedom and Grace, page 219

Hardcover: 232 pages

Publisher: Amber-Allen Publishing (July 31, 2006)

ISBN-10: 1878424815

ISBN-13: 978-1878424815

 

 

Main Entry: experiential

relating to, derived from, or providing experience : empirical

 

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

 

 

Main Entry: empirical

1 : originating in or based on observation or experience

2 : relying on experience or observation alone often without due

regard for system and theory 3 : capable of being verified or

disproved by observation or experiment

 

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

 

 

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" At the core of Hinduism is the synthesis of sat (existence), chit

(consciousness) and anant (infinity) as found in the texts of the

Vedas and the Upanishads said to date back to 2500 B.C. These truths

known as shruti (heard) were revealed to sages in an inspired state

of mind, and were handed down for centuries from teacher to pupil by

word of mouth. The techniques of transmitting the shruti verse were

so accurate and precise that when they were finally written down,

manuscripts composed independently were found to agree syllable by

syllable, Rukamani (Ph.D) said. "

 

The Gazette (Montreal, Canada), April 23, 1996

 

 

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THE VEDAS

By SRI SWAMI SIVANANDA

 

 

SANSKRIT LITERATURE

 

Sanskrit literature can be classified under six orthodox heads and

four secular heads. The six orthodox sections form the authoritative

scriptures of the Hindus. The four secular sections embody the latter

developments in classical Sanskrit literature.

 

The six scriptures are: (i) Srutis, (ii) Smritis, (iii) Itihasas,

(iv) Puranas, (v) Agamas and (vi) Darsanas.

 

The four secular writings are: (i) Subhashitas, (ii) Kavyas, (iii)

Natakas and (iv) Alankaras.

 

VEDA-THE REVEALED WISDOM

 

The Srutis are called the Vedas, or the Amnaya. The Hindus have

received their religion through revelation, the Vedas. These are

direct intuitional revelations and are held to be Apaurusheya or

entirely superhuman, without any author in particular. The Veda is

the glorious pride of the Hindus, nay, of the whole world!

 

The term Veda comes from the root 'Vid', to know. The word Veda means

knowledge. When it is applied to scripture, it signifies a book of

knowledge. The Vedas are the foundational scriptures of the Hindus.

The Veda is the source of the other five sets of scriptures, why,

even of the secular and the materialistic. The Veda is the storehouse

of Indian wisdom and is a memorable glory which man can never forget

till eternity.

 

The Vedas are the eternal truths revealed by God to the great ancient

Rishis of India. The word Rishi means a Seer, from dris, to see. He

is the Mantra-Drashta, seer of Mantra or thought. The thought was not

his own. The Rishis saw the truths or heard them. Therefore, the

Vedas are what are heard (Sruti). The Rishi did not write. He did not

create it out of his mind. He was the seer of thought which existed

already. He was only the spiritual discoverer of the thought. He is

not the inventor of the Veda.

 

THE UNIQUE GLORY OF THE VEDAS

 

The Vedas represent the spiritual experiences of the Rishis of yore.

The Rishi is only a medium or an agent to transmit to people the

intuitional experiences which he received. The truths of the Vedas

are revelations. All the other religions of the world claim their

authority as being delivered by special messengers of God to certain

persons, but the Vedas do not owe their authority to any one. They

are themselves the authority as they are eternal, as they are the

Knowledge of the Lord.

 

Lord Brahma, the Creator, imparted the divine knowledge to the Rishis

or Seers. The Rishis disseminated the knowledge. The Vedic Rishis

were great realised persons who had direct intuitive perception of

Brahman or the Truth. They were inspired writers. They built a

simple, grand and perfect system of religion and philosophy from

which the founders and teachers of all other religions have drawn

their inspiration.

 

The Vedas are the oldest books in the library of man. The truths

contained in all religions are derived from the Vedas and are

ultimately traceable to the Vedas. The Vedas are the fountain-head of

religion. The Vedas are the ultimate source to which all religious

knowledge can be traced. Religion is of divine origin. It was

revealed by God to man in the earliest times. It is embodied in the

Vedas.

 

The Vedas are eternal. They are without beginning and end. An

ignorant man, may say how a book can be without beginning or end. By

the Vedas, no books are meant. Vedas came out of the breath of the

Lord. They are not the composition of any human mind. They were never

written, never created. They are eternal and impersonal. The date of

the Vedas has never been fixed. It can never be fixed. Vedas are

eternal spiritual truths. Vedas are an embodiment of divine

knowledge. The books may be destroyed, but the knowledge cannot be

destroyed. Knowledge is eternal. In that sense, the Vedas are

eternal.

 

DIVISIONS OF THE VEDAS

 

The Veda is divided into four great books: the Rig-Veda, the Yajur-

Veda, the Sama-Veda and the Atharva-Veda. The Yajur-Veda is again

divided into two parts, the Sukla and the Krishna. The Krishna or the

Taittiriya is the older book and the Sukla or the Vajasaneya is a

later revelation to sage Yajnavalkya from the resplendent Sun-God.

 

The Rig-Veda is divided into twenty-one sections, the Yajur-Veda into

one hundred and nine sections, the Sama-Veda into one thousand

sections and the Atharva-Veda into fifty sections. In all, the whole

Veda is thus divided into one thousand one hundred and eighty

recensions.

 

Each Veda consists of four parts: the Mantra-Samhitas or hymns, the

Brahmanas or explanations of Mantras or rituals, the Aranyakas, and

the Upanishads. The division of the Vedas into four parts is to suit

the four stages in a man's life.

 

The Mantra-Samhitas are hymns in praise of the Vedic God for

attaining material prosperity here and happiness hereafter. They are

metrical poems comprising prayers, hymns and incantations addressed

to various deities, both subjective and objective. The Mantra portion

of the Vedas is useful for the Brahmacharins.

 

The Rig-Veda Samhita is the grandest book of the Hindus, the oldest

and the best. It is the Great Indian Bible, which no Hindu would

forget to adore from the core of his heart. Its style, the language

and the tone are most beautiful and mysterious. Its immortal Mantras

embody the greatest truths of existence, and it is perhaps the

greatest treasure in all the scriptural literature of the world. Its

priest is called the Hotri.

 

The Yajur-Veda Samhita is mostly in prose and is meant to be used by

the Adhvaryu, the Yajur-Vedic priest, for superfluous explanations of

the rites in sacrifices, supplementing the Rig-Vedic Mantras.

 

The Sama-Veda Samhita is mostly borrowed from the Rig-Vedic Samhita,

and is meant to be sung by the Udgatri, the Sama Vedic priest, in

sacrifices.

 

The Atharva-Veda Samhita is meant to be used by the Brahma, the

Atharva-Vedic priest, to correct the mispronunciations and wrong

performances that may accidentally be committed by the other three

priests of the sacrifice.

 

The Brahmana portions guide people to perform sacrificial rites. They

are prose explanations of the method of using the Mantras in the

Yajna or the sacrifice. The Brahmana portion is suitable for the

householders.

 

There are two Brahmanas to the Rig-Veda-the Aitareya and the

Sankhayana. " The Rig-Veda " , says Max Muller, " is the most ancient

book of the world. The sacred hymns of the Brahmanas stand

unparalleled in the literature of the whole world; and their

preservation might well be called miraculous. "

 

The Satapatha Brahmana belongs to the Sukla-Yajur-Veda. The Krishna-

Yajur-Veda has the Taittiriya and the Maitrayana Brahmanas. The

Tandya or Panchavimsa, the Shadvimsa, the Chhandogya, the Adbhuta,

the Arsheya and the Upanishad Brahmanas belong to the Sama-Veda. The

Brahmana of the Atharva-Veda is called the Gopatha. Each of the

Brahmanas has got an Aranyaka.

 

The Aranyakas are the forest books, the mystical sylvan texts which

give philosophical interpretations of the rituals. The Aranyakas are

intended for the Vanaprasthas or hermits who prepare themselves for

taking Sannyasa.

 

The Upanishads are the most important portion of the Vedas. The

Upanishads contain the essence or the knowledge portion of the Vedas.

The philosophy of the Upanishads is sublime, profound, lofty and soul-

stirring. The Upanishads speak of the identity of the individual soul

and the Supreme Soul. They reveal the most subtle and deep spiritual

truths. The Upanishads are useful for the Sannyasins.

 

The subject matter of the whole Veda is divided into Karma- Kanda,

Upasana-Kanda and Jnana-Kanda. The Karma-Kanda or Ritualistic Section

deals with various sacrifices and rituals. The Upasana-Kanda or

Worship-Section deals with various kinds of worship or meditation.

The Jnana-Kanda or Knowledge-Section deals with the highest knowledge

of Nirguna Brahman. The Mantras and the Brahmanas constitute Karma-

Kanda; the Aranyakas Upasana-Kanda; and the Upanishads Jnana-Kanda.

 

THE ESSENCE OF THE VEDAS

 

Live in the spirit of the teachings of the Vedas. Learn to

discriminate between the permanent and the impermanent. Behold the

Self in all beings, in all objects. Names and forms are illusory.

Therefore sublate them. Feel that there is nothing but the Self.

Share what you have,-physical, mental, moral or spiritual,-with all.

Serve the Self in all. Feel when you serve others, that you are

serving your own Self. Love thy neighbour as thyself. Melt all

illusory differences. Remove all barriers that separate man from man.

Mix with all. Embrace all. Destroy the sex-idea and body-idea by

constantly thinking of the Self or the sexless, bodiless Atman. Fix

the mind on the Self when you work. This is the essence of the

teachings of the Vedas and sages of yore. This is real, eternal life

in Atman. Put these things in practice in the daily battle of life.

You will shine as a dynamic Yogi or a Jivanmukta. There is no doubt

of this.

 

THE VEDAS

By SRI SWAMI SIVANANDA