Table Of Contents
- 1. Why Veda is Called Divine Knowledge?
- 2. The Ancient Wisdom of the Vedas
- 3. Hindu Vedas – Vedangas And The Great Sages Associated With Vedas
Why Veda is Called Divine Knowledge?
However, here another question could be raised that why only the veda is called the divine knowledge or God’s constitution? In addition, why is not Jindavesta-Quran-Puran-Bible etc.? In the answer of the question, we can say in very short that there are some parameters for the Divine Knowledge. The first one is that the Divine Knowledge should be in the beginning of the Universe. The second that it should be complete one and not incomplete one, the third that it should be based on reasoning and wisdom, the fourth that it should be commiserated with universal rules and science. The fifth one that it should not have contains the geography of a particular country. The sixth one that it should not related with any local history. The seventh one is that it should not be written in a language of a particular country. The eighth one is that it should contain all the true knowledge.
Friends! On these parameters, only and the only Vedas stands true. The knowledge of Veda is universal and omniscience. It has all these qualities. The Vedas are the oldest book of world library. Other all the books belong to only four thousand and five hundred years before the period of Mahabharat, whereas the creation of universe goes to two Arab years back. Now on proving that the Vedas are the only Divine Knowledge, we will discuss some other points relating to Vedas.
The creator of all the four Vedas is God.
-The Creator of All the Four Vedas is God.
-The Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samveda and Atharvveda-God created all the four Vedas.
-He who revealed the Rig Veda, Yaujurveda and Atharvveda is the basis of the whole world.
To whom did the Knowledge of Veda Reveal?
In the beginning, God revealed the four Vedas, Rig, Yaju, Sama and Atharva to Agni, Vayu, Aditya and Angira, respectively for the benefit of human beings.
Why Are Vedas considered as Self-Cognisance?
The Vedas are creation of God and God is Omniscience, All-pervading, and Omnipotent, therefore, his declaration is beyond any doubt and qualified for evidence, and the books created by other creatures are not qualified for self evidence, because other creatures are not omniscience and omnipotent. Thus, their statements cannot be considered as self-evidence.
The Knowledge of Vedas is Immortal
As in the present world, the Words, letters and relations are there in the Vedas, the were there in the past and the same will remain in the in the future also the Divine Knowledge is not subject to any change, it remains the same always i.e. not a single word of it subject to alter. In this way, the knowledge of Vedas is immortal being Divine knowledge.
Whether the Vedas are History?
My friends! He whose history is written, that is to be done after his birth. Because, the creation of Vedas was made at the beginning of the World, therefore, the question of whether Veda is a history does not arise.
Why the name of Rishi is written Along with every hymns?
The Rishi who revealed the Mantra or hymn for the first time, their name was mentioned with that Mantra at the appropriate place, from the beginning to the end as a token of remembrance of that Rishi. The meaning of which was never published before and he had done so and taught others, therefore his name is mentioned. Whosoever quotes the name of the Rishi as a creator of that hymn, treat them false, he is only the illuminator of the meaning of that hymn.
The Ancient Wisdom of the Vedas
The Vedas are amongst the oldest literature in the world. Their exact date and authorship is unknown. The ancient Seers wrote in anonymity merely writing down their profound spiritual experiences and spiritual realisations.
The Vedas are an extensive collection of scriptures and philosophical discourses, relating primarily to matters of spirituality and worship. However, some Vedas also delve deeply into scientific matters. The Vedas also contain many elaborate rituals and sacrifices. These often involve the fire God Agni who acts as an intermediary between humans and God. In our modern age some of these rituals appear outdated and incomprehensible. Many scholars have criticised the Vedas for their emphasis on ritual and the Caste system.
However often Indian culture and religious practises diverged from the purity of the initial Vedic injunctions. We cannot judge a sacred text by the human imperfection and ignorance, which have been added to Vedic science. At the heart of the Vedas is the revelation man can and must seek a direct communion with Brahman, the Absolute indivisible being. Sri Chinmoy says of the Vedas.
“Unlike other scriptures, the Vedas have the sincere and brave heart to say that they are not indispensable; nay, not even important. They say that what is really important and supremely indispensable is the realisation of Brahman, the One without a second.”
When studying the Vedas many historians analyse most the lesser truths such as the Caste system and ancient rituals. However by focusing on these they often miss the overriding inner message. The guiding principles of the Vedas are truthfulness in the mind, without speaking and acting in accordance with truth a seeker will never be able to reach the highest spirituality. India’s great philosophy of non-violence or ahimsa has its roots firmly in the Vedas. This live loving philosophy instructed and inspired notable saints such as Lord Buddha, Lord Mahavir and the Jains, in the 20th Century Mahatma Gandhi lived faithfully to this ancient ideal of the Vedas. Finally the Vedas exhort seekers to follow the path of love and self sacrifice. Here love means pure love focused on devotion to the Absolute Supreme. Self sacrifice actually means sacrifice of a seekers lower nature so that he can enter into a higher life. In the Vedas the horse is used as symbol of the sacrifice, because of its faithfulness, speed and willing sacrifice. But these rituals are there to remind an aspirant that the real sacrifice comes from one’s inner attitude.
The Vedas are timeless and universal. They do not belong to any culture. The great German philosopher Schopenhauer considered the Upanishads to be “the consolation and illumination of his life.”
Despite being coming from an ancient culture the Vedas have been widely appreciated by scholars around the world. Max Muller stated of the Vedas
“I maintain that everybody who cares for himself, for his ancestors, for his history, for his intellectual development, a study of Vedic literature is indispensable.”
Sri Chinmoy says of the Vedas
“The Vedas do not embody depression, repression, self-mortification, sin-awareness or hell-conscious-ness. The Vedas embody the divine duty of the earthly life and the ever-increasing beauty of the heavenly life. The Vedic seers accepted the heart of life to found the ultimate Reality upon earth.
The Vedic seers accepted the body of death to carry it into the land of Immortality. Inspiration of the clear mind they liked. Aspiration of the pure heart they loved. Realisation of the sure soul they became.”
Hindu Vedas – Vedangas And The Great Sages Associated With Vedas
Vedas are countless and one can not master it completely.
An interesting story regarding mastering of Vedas is worth reading.
The great sage Bharadwaja started studying the Vedas. He completed one purusha ayus (meaning a full span of life for human which is one hundred years). Still he has yet to learn a lot. He prayed Indra for another purusha ayus. Indra granted. One more hundred years passed. But Bharadwaja found that he has still to learn more. He again prayed and Indra again granted another 100 years. Thus 300 years passed. After 300 years Indra appeared and Bharadwaja was proud that he completed Vedas fully. Indra made three huge mountains before him. He took a handful of the earth from each of the mountains and told the sage, “Oh, Bharadwaja, what you have learnt so far is equivalent to these three handfuls of the earth only and whatever Vedas you are yet to learn are equivalent to these three huge mountains.” Thus Vedas are endless.
Sage Vaisampayana, the disciple of Ved Vyas has compiled twenty seven branches of Yajur Veda.
Sukarna was the son of Sumanthu and the grand son of sage Jaimini; they have studied one branch of Sama Veda. Sumanthu divided Sama Veda samhitha into one thousand branches. Kaysaly, Hiranyanabha, Pauspincha are his disciples. Hiranyanabha had 500 disciples for himself. One disciple Kruthi has studied twenty four Samhithas of Sama Veda.
Maharishi Maunchakesh have compiled Nakhyatra, Veda kalpa, Samhitha kalpa, Agnirakshya kalpa and Santi kalpa. These five bikalpas are the important parts of Atharva Veda Samhitha.
The Vedas are also called as Veda purusha. He has got six different organs or limbs namely 1) Shiksha 2) Vyakaranam (meaning Grammar) 3) Chandas (meaning Sconce of Prosody) 4) Niruktam (Science of etymology) 5) Jyotisham (Astronomy and Astrology) 6) Kalpam
These six are called as Vedangas.
Shiksha is that work which helps us to obtain the full results of Vedas. It is found that there are 35 of them. Shiksha tells us about the various aspects of letters. Details are not enumerated here.
Vyakarana helps us in understanding the Vedas by analyzing the words and their meanings.
Chandas tells us about the various meters such as Gayatri, Trishtub etc.
Niruktam gives a detailed exposition about the Vedic words and their meanings.
Jyotisha is based on Jyothis Lord namely the sun. This tells us the proper timings for the performance of various Vedic rituals.
Kalpa means the performance or practice of something. It tells us the method of practicing the various sacrifices and other karmas (or duties) mentioned in the Vedas.
