What Are The Vedas? Unveiling The Birth Of Hinduism

1. What Are The Vedas? Unveiling The Birth OfHinduism Hinduism is a peculiar, and oftentimes mysterious, area ofstudy. With its cornucopia of gods and goddess, its array of colorful rituals and mantras, and it’s unknowable origin, is difficult to understand what exactly Hinduism is, and where it comes from. A running Hinduism definitionis: A major religious and cultural tradition of South Asia, developed from Vedicreligion. But what is this Vedic religion the Hinduism definition speaksof? While many of us have heard of the ancient texts of The Vedas, few of us have an idea of what exactly this mystifying, religion-shaping, fundamental text really is, and who createdit. To best sort out all this confusion, let’s begin with exploring Hinduism’s ancient origin, the Vedic religion, and move forward in time from there.

2. What Is The VedicReligion? India – the land of Vedas, the remarkable works contains not only religious ideas for a perfect life, but also facts which science has proved true. Electricity, radium, electronics, airship, all are known to the seers who founded theVedas. — Ella WheelerWilcox The ancient Vedic religionwasn’t Hindu, nor was it evenIndian… In fact, the religion was actually one of Aryan nomads, considered ―the noble ones,‖ who had made their way to ancient India from the Middle East during the Vedic period(1,500-500 B.C.E.). The Vedic religion existed well before Hinduism, but it’s texts, mantras, rituals, and theology are what inspired and shaped the bedrock ofHinduism. The Vedic religion was based on the (oftentimes sacrificial) worship of a pantheon of gods and goddesses (referred to as deities). It consisted of orally recited chants, hymns, spells, mantras, and stories, referred to as―Vedas.‖

3. The word ―Veda‖ means vision, knowledge, orwisdom. It wasn’t until centuries later (well after the Vedic Period) that these Vedas were written into physical form; they were written into what we now call The Vedas or The VedicTexts. What Are TheVedas? The Veda was the most precious gift for which the West had ever been indebted to theEast. —Voltaire The Vedas are the very basis of not only Hindu religious practices, but their social, legal, and domestic obligations, as well. In fact, many would say that Hinduism is simply an interpretation of TheVedas. It’s important to note, however, that Hinduism and the Vedic religion are separate religions. While many elements are the same, Hinduism has evolved much on its own since the discovery of The Vedas — after all, nothing remains the same after 5,000years. So, exactly what are TheVedas?

4. In Sanskrit, The Vedas definition translates to ―knowledge‖ or ―wisdom.‖ The Vedas are the physical transcription of this wisdom, referred to as ―the language of the gods;‖ they are written, beautifully, in poetry and prose. What feeds the mystic nature of The Vedas is the fact that they have no acclaimed human author. The wisdom was channeled by ancient risis (seers, sages) from the verybreath of Paramātman. Paramātman refers to ―Source,‖ the ―Primordial Self,‖ the ―Self Beyond,‖ or the ―AbsoluteAtman.‖ As eloquently stated by the spiritual master and author of Mindvalley’s Be a Modern Masterprogram Deborah King: Like the Bible, the authorship of these sacred texts is believed to be divinely inspired. The sages who recorded the Vedas had lived the teachings and used the sacred wisdom to awaken their own connections to the Divine, the created world, and their fellowbeings. The sages saw and interpreted The Vedas, but they did not composethem. What Are The 4 SacredTexts?

5. The Vedas contain universal truths that can help you understand and experience your connection to the Divine through study and practice. Sacred study reveals the practice, and practice helps you implement the powerful spiritual truths that can transform yourlife. — DeborahKing With that, our understanding of the Vedas have been written and split into 4 separate sacred texts: The Rig Veda: The Book ofMantra The Sama Veda: The Book of Song The Yajur Veda: The Book of Ritual The Atharva Veda: The Book ofSpell However, oftentimes they are all 4 compiled into one book, the Chathurveda Samhitha. The Chathurveda Samhitha is made up of three words — Chathur: four, Veda: knowledge, and Samhitha:collection. The Rig Veda: The Book ofMantra The Rig Vedais the oldest and most important of the Vedas; it is considered the grounding and basis of all Vedic history andteachings. The Rigveda contains 1,028 hymns (sūktas) dedicated to various deities. These hymns are organized into 10 different books, commonly referred to as ―mandalas‖ or―circles.‖ The older books (#2-#9) are more concerned with the praise gods andgoddesses. The younger books (#1 and #10) are concerned with speculative questions; the Vedic religion was more fond of questioning reality than giving definitive answers; it wanted to free thepeople. They are also concerned with the virtue of dāna (generosity) in society, and other metaphysical and socialissues.

6. The Sama Veda: The Book ofSong The Samaveda is the second most important Veda; it’s a collection of songs and melodies. These songs are simply a more comprehensible, melodic version of the information given in theRigveda. The Rigveda is the word and the Samaveda is the colorfulmeaning. The Yajur Veda: The Book ofRitual The Yajurveda basically serves as a guidebook for priests to carry out sacrificial rituals. In the way that it contains rituals, it is often compared to the Egyptian Book of theDead. The Yajurveda is split into two separate books — the Black Yajurveda(Krishna) holds the unclear, unorganized verses, while the White Yajurveda(Shukla) holds the clear, concise, and well-organized verses. The Atharva Veda: The Book ofSpell The Atharvavedais the most recent of the 4 sacred texts. While it was not considered a Veda for a long time, it is highly valued for it’s simpler, more comprehensiblelanguage. It contains important information regarding ancient Vedic sociology and history, but it’s most revered for its magical spells andincantations. Its spells assist in everything from attracting lovers to calling upon help from the elements, to protecting against disease. Is There A Single Hinduism HolyBook?

7. Hinduism is a relentless pursuit after truth… Hinduism is the religion of truth. Truth isGod. —Ghandi Nope. The Chathurveda Samhitha (the book of the Vedas) is perhaps the most prominent and fundamental Hinduism holy book, but it is certainly not the onlyone. As the Hindu religion has grown and evolved, there are now many greatly adored Hinduism holybooks. The sacred texts of Hinduism are broken down into 2 different categories, and it is important to remember that the division of these two categories is not absolute and is often times contested. Shruti

8. Shruti (Śruti) texts are categorized by ―that which has been heard (orrevealed).‖ • These texts embody the most authoritative of the sacred texts, for they are the revered as unquestionable, eternal knowledge — knowledge revealed not by a human author but channeled and transmitted from Paramātman by thesages. • The Shruti textsinclude: • The Four Vedas • The 108Upanishads • The VedantaSutra • Smriti • Smriti texts are categorized by ―that which has been remembered.‖ • The Smriti texts are supplementary and subject to change; they are authoritative only by conforming to the basis of the Shrutitexts. • Some of the Smriti textsinclude: • The Itihasas (histories orepics) • The Bhagavad-gita (philosophy) • The Puranas (stories andhistories) • The Dharma Shastra (lawbooks) • The six Vedāngas (grammar, phonetics, etymology, astronomy, andrituals) • The texts of proper aims of humanlife • Dharma • Artha • Kama • Including theKamasutra • Moksha • Kāvya (poeticliterature) • Bhasyas(commentaries)