WHAT ARE VEDAS?

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WHAT ARE VEDAS?

The Vedas

are the recordings of sages to whom the mantras

were revealed. They proclaim the transcendental Truth, which is not changed by

time or place. They indicate the means to prosperity and security for the

denizens of the three worlds. Veda

is derived from the root " Vid " ,

which means, " to know " . The Veda

teaches how to achieve purity of heart, getting rid of impurities.

The Vedas

have been declared to be infinite and hence beyond the comprehension of common

people. In the beginning there was only one Veda.

To study it considerable time and effort were needed. Vyasa divided it into

different parts to enable people to study as well as practice the teachings of

the Veda. Out of the countless

number of hymns, Vyasa gathered some Rks

and compiled them in the Rg Veda,

collected some yajus to form the Yajur Veda and some Samans to make up the Sama Veda.

The Rg Veda

is mainly devoted to hymns in praise of various deities. The Yajur Veda

consists of mantras for

worshipping the deities. The mantras

of the Yajur Veda are used in the performance of yagas and yajnas

and in doing acts of charity. Each Veda

has three sections: Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads.

The Vedic

mantras were utilized in yagas

and yajnas (ritual sacrifices)

for promoting the well being of society and the world. They were intended to

secure timely rains so that the crops may be good and there may be prosperity

all round. The mantras, which

form part of the Karma Kanda (the

path of rituals), were regarded as conducive to the promotion of general well

being and happiness.

The great sages who listened to these mantras as revelations from the Divine

found the key to them in eight basic letters. All the Vedic mantras

with their musical rendering were remembered by reflecting on the eight

letters: " A, Ka, Cha,

Ta, Tha, Pa,

Ya, Sa. " The great seers fostered the Vedas by the use of these letters.

Each of the Vedas

had several saakhas (branches)

and upasaakhas (sub-branches).

Out of the 20 branches and 21 sub-branches of the Rg Veda, only three have survived today. Likewise out of 96

branches of Yajur Veda only two

have survived the ravages of time. Sama Veda,

which had 1000 branches, retains today only three branches.

What is meant by Veda? One meaning is eruka

(awareness). Another is thelivi

(intelligence). A third meaning is viveka

(discrimination). All those who wish to develop discrimination should be deeply

interested in the Vedas.

The Vedas

have emphasized that man will be truly human only when he lives up to human

values and practices the good life. The Vedas

have a universal outlook, embracing all that is noble and sacred. They have

taught the principle of samatwa

(equality) in respect of everything. They have proclaimed the concept of

oneness. They taught men to face joy and sorrow with equal serenity.

The Vedas

have been mainly concerned with the Pravritti

Marga (the Path of Action). All the different branches of

knowledge--physics, chemistry, botany, economics, music, etc.--are covered by

the Vedas. These are concerned

with the external world. Hence the Vedas

have been considered dualistic. Only the Upanishads

have taught the Nirvritti Marga

(the Path of Knowledge) by going within oneself. This means that, of the four Purusharthas, the four main goals of man- Dharma, Artha,

Kama and Moksha--the Vedas have been concerned with only the first three.

The Upanishads

declared that the nature of the Supreme can be grasped only by the Path of

Knowledge. That knowledge is found in Vedanta.

The Upanishads come at the end of

the Vedas. The essence of all the

Vedas is to be found in them.

While Veda is dualistic, Vedanta is Advaita (nondualistic). It is only when you understand the

essence of the Vedas as expounded

in the Upanishads and put into

practice the message of the Vedanta,

you will realize the true meaning of Advaita

(Non-dualism).