What is the Vedas? Why Buddhism does not recognize the Vedas
Watching the performances of magicians, we do not consider them wizards and perceive them as shows as entertainment. But today, many other entertainers have appeared around us, who also demonstrate the outer tinsel of rituals and verbal balancing act, however, they are already a serious danger. Young inquiring minds formatted with a binary computer code are subject to hacker attacks. The result is that parents lose children, families break up, and family goodness migrates to the bottomless pockets of numerous gurus. On the face of psychological terrorism.
Recent events oblige me to draw the serious attention of my friends and all who are interested in ancient history to one fact, somehow imperceptibly falling out of our field of vision. Being engaged in the study of ancient civilizations, we, in one way or another, come into contact with a culture fundamentally different from the modern way of life. At the same time, we are residents of modern technological civilization imperceptibly fall under the influence of the fragments of that ancient spirituality, but today we cannot accept it and live in its environment. Speech about hobbies newfangled doctrines and spiritual practices.
We somehow forgot the horror of the 90s with the web of Ayum Shinrikyo that swept in our country, all the way to the Mayak radio station, we forgot the gas attack of this sect in Tokyo with numerous human victims. Apparently the upstairs will not move until the thunder clap. The thunder of the people is already thundering, and it seems over many families.
I saw at my colleague at work a similar hobby. Hobby almost deprived her mind and physical health literally. A normal type of person with a higher education, and how these orange hooked things went wrong ... The older generation seems to have a protective vaccination against these karmic ohms. What about our young generation. They became the Pepsi generation, now the Hare Krishnas with their Ohmma prayers. This is not harmless for the modern psyche is just awful. Families are breaking up, talented people instead of the benefit of society and spiritual warmth for families, cause tremendous harm with their sectarianism. Rather, it would be understood there at the top, where, it seems, this problem is not seen behind the dust raised in the fields of political battles for power.
Goths destroyed in the past, not only Ruskolan as the center of vedices. They turned the arrows of the development of European civilization on a different path. From the fourth century, the substitution of vedism in Christianity began in Europe. The very fact of a change in the religious worldview gave rise to the beginnings of atheism - “hope for God, but do not commit yourself”. As a result, the religion shown today is half atheism. We are gone from ancient beliefs. They are beautiful, but they are in the past, in past history.
Therefore, studying history, we must treat references to deeds long gone as a story, and not as a type of modern lifestyle. Our body from that time has undergone many changes and a return to the mental structure of the past is fraught with problems of the psyche of modern man.
We do not want a return to the times of the Inquisition, the soul does not perceive the authoritarian management style with its perverted notion of happiness as a state’s right to someone else’s. So why do we allow strangers into our brains?
While catching various rites in the description of the past, we will not restore the past, because it is the past. Taking it as a new-fashioned entertainment, we will bring ourselves to the mental hospital and without democratic bombings.
History is just history and nothing more. Reading the alternative story in the first place, think about it.
Vedic culture is one of the oldest in the world. For centuries, Indian sages have passed from mouth to mouth invaluable knowledge and teachings, which were later recorded on palm leaves and tree bark.
Representatives of the Hindu religion consider the Vedas as uncreated man and claim that they were handed over to people by the god of creation Brahma. But what is the Vedas? Who wrote them and what they tell?
What does the word "Veda" mean?
Veda were written in Sanskrit, so their etymology is associated with this ancient literary language of India, which is characterized by extremely complex and archaic grammar. Translated from the Sanskrit word véda means "knowledge" and is derived from the root vid- (know).
In Sanskrit, the term is commonly used in relation to religion and liturgies, but sometimes it can be found in context with other areas of life, for example, “sashya-veda” means “the science of agriculture”, and “agada-veda” - “medicine”.
What is the Vedas?
In essence, the Vedas are a collection of Indian scriptures in which God's revelations are presented. According to representatives of Hinduism, this knowledge was donated to humanity by Brahma through wise old men (Rish), and those before the advent of writing passed them down from generation to generation in oral form.
In the Puranas (another ancient Hindu texts), it is recorded that Brahma gains Vedic wisdom at the beginning of every cosmic cycle (during the formation of the Universe), and then shares it with humanity.
What are the Vedas?
To date, there are four Vedas, differing in content.
The first is called "Rig Veda" and is the oldest literary work in India. It includes more than a thousand hymns and over 10 thousand texts divided into mandala books.
The second scripture is the Yajur Veda, which includes a collection of mantras. Each text in this book has a deep religious meaning and for a better understanding can be compared with the usual to us psalms and.
The third book is called "Sama Veda" and consists of mantras intended for chants. In Hinduism, there are so-called udgatri (choristers), which during religious ceremonies use the verses from this scripture to praise Brahma and other deities. Atharva Veda is the fourth book of the Vedas, containing hymns for spells in the process of rites and sacrifices.
It is possible to find magical formulas in it, through which Hindus protect themselves from diseases and demons, fulfill desires and prolong life.
When and by whom were the Vedas written?
According to research, the Vedas began to make up in the XVI century BC. The process of their creation lasted for many centuries and ended approximately in the V century BC. Since most of the texts were written on short-lived materials, only manuscripts at the age of several hundred years have survived. The most ancient "Rig Veda" refers to the XI century.
Who exactly recorded the sacred texts, is not reliably established. It is only known that some of them belong to the pen of the ancient sage Vyasa, who, in addition to the Vedas, composed other Indian scriptures - the Puranas, Vedanta, Upanishads. According to legend, Vyasa was the illegitimate son of the Vedic sage Parashara and led an ascetic lifestyle, living on an island on the Jumna River.
What is told in the Vedas?
The Vedas are revealed scriptures and narrate the nature of living beings. They reveal the laws of the universe to humanity, helping to attain Great Knowledge. Many texts are devoted to the pantheon of Indian gods and include prayers to such deities as Vishnu, Indra, Agni.
Separate books focus on ritual traditions and philosophy. The Yajur Veda tells how to perform sacrifices, perform rituals. It also contains the interpretation of many mantras and formulas for spells.
In "Atharva Veda" there are certain aspects of the life of the ancient Hindus, who would not have survived to this day, if not for this scripture. Some of her texts praise the gods, reflect the needs of people, their everyday needs.
“Atharva Vedu” can be called a kind of encyclopedia that reveals the life of Vedic tribes to the smallest details, including the peculiarities of wedding and funeral ceremonies, house building and treatment.
| Hierarchy of the universe | Nature of the Absolute
What is the Vedas?
“What is Veda” - Sripad B. B. Avadhut Maharaj
In antiquity on Earth there was a single civilization with the highest knowledge about the nature of the spiritual and material worlds. This knowledge was called the Vedas and had a divine origin.
About 5,000 years ago, the Kali-yuga (Iron Age) began - the era of degradation, hostility and hatred. People have lost the ability to instantly memorize information. There was a need to use writing.
In order to save and enlighten humanity in the era of ignorance, the Most High Himself, in the form of the sage Vsadeva, recorded the Vedic revelations previously transmitted in oral tradition.
Vedas are written in the ancient language - Sanskrit .. According to scientists, the set of words in Russian coincide with Sanskrit. “Veda” in Sanskrit means divinely revealed knowledge. Among the Slavs, “to know” means “to know,” “to tell” - “to pass on knowledge,” “a righteous one” is a person living according to the laws of the Lord. According to the Vedas, every living being is an eternal soul clothed in a body shell. The Sanskrit soul is jiva. Hence the Russian words "live", "alive".
In Vedic literature one can find both material and spiritual knowledge. There are books describing religious rituals, meditation and yoga, as well as books on topics such as medicine, sociology, mathematics, architecture, politics and philosophy.
However, the highest goal of human life is prema - love of God. Scriptures, such as the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam, consider exclusively this, the most important, principle of the existence of man. From these scriptures we learn that a person will not be fully satisfied until he revives his relationship with the Source.
Overview of Vedic Literature
Kandam classification.
The structure of the Vedic scriptures can be likened to a ladder with many steps, and each definite scripture will correspond to a certain step. The scriptures respect people at all “steps,” encouraging everyone to move higher.
The evolution of personality, according to the Vedas, is not limited to one life. Understanding the principle of reincarnation suggests that the steps of this symbolic ladder can also be considered lives. Therefore, the tolerance of Vedic texts based on philosophical understanding should not be confused with the indifference, or the notion that “everything is one”.
The Vedic texts are divided into three categories (kandas), corresponding to the different stages of spiritual maturity of the soul: karma-kanda, jnana-kanda and upasana-kanda.
Karma Kanda, which includes the four Vedas and related scriptures, is intended for those who are attached to temporary material achievements and are inclined to ritualism.
The jnana-kanda, which includes the Upanishads and the Vedanta-sutra, calls for the liberation of matter from the power by renouncing the world and giving up desires.
The upasana-kanda, which mainly refers to the texts of Srimad-Bhagavatam, Bhagavad-gita, Mahabharata and Ramayana, is intended for those who wish to comprehend the Personality of Godhead and to have a relationship with God.
Four Vedas
Originally, there was one Veda, "Yajur-Veda," and it was passed on orally, from teacher to student. But about 5,000 years ago, the great sage Krishna-Dvaipayana Vyasa (Vyasadeva) recorded the Vedas for the people of this century, Kali-yuga. He divided the Vedas into four parts according to the types of sacrifices: "Rig", "Sama", "Yajur", "Atharva" and entrusted these parts to his disciples.
- "Rig-Veda" - "Veda of praise," consists of hymns collected in ten books. Most of the verses glorify Agni, the god of fire and Indra, the god of rain and the heavenly planets.
- The Yajur Veda, known as the Veda of Sacrifices, contains instructions for the conduct of sacrifices.
- “Sama Veda”, “Veda hymns,” consists of hymns, many of which are found in a different context in the Rig Veda.
- Atharva, Veda spells describes many different types of worship and spells. It is said that all the remnants of the first three Vedas, which were not included in them, were put together and this formed Atharva Veda. She is not used during sacrifices, therefore there is the term "Trived"
The goal of the four Vedas is to convince man that he is not an independent being, but a particle of the universal organism, which depends on higher powers.
Structure of the four Vedas
Each Veda has 4 sections: Samhites, Brahmans, Aranyaks, Upanishads.
- Samhites - a set of all the verses of this Veda. Samhites are mantras or prayers that are usually sung during sacrifices.
- Brahmins set forth the philosophy and the hidden meaning of the various rituals that are performed during the sacrifices.
- Aranyaki - set forth the philosophy and hidden meaning of the various rituals that are performed during the sacrifices.
- Upanishads - the philosophical meaning of poetry and rituals. The word “Upanishads” is translated as “sitting close” and refers to a student who perceives knowledge from a spiritual teacher.
Also, each Veda includes upavedu (applied knowledge):
- "Rig-Veda" - Ayur-Veda (medicine);
- “Sama Veda” - Gandharva-upaveda (singing, dancing, music, theatrical art);
- Yajur-Veda - Dhanur-upaveda (military art, economics, politics);
- "Atharva Veda" - Sthapatya-upaveda (construction, architecture, painting, sculptural sculpture).
Itihasa (Mahabharata and Ramayana)
Itihasy - epic poems that represent the history of the ancient Vedic civilization in different eras. These include “Ramayana”, which is called adi-kavya (“the first poem”), and “Mahabharata”. The author of the Ramayana is the sage Valmiki, and the author of the Mahabharta is the compiler of the Vedas, Vyasadev.
Bhagavad gita
A special place in the Vedic literature is occupied by the Bhagavat-gita - part of the Mahabharata. Bhagavad-gita is a dialogue between the avatar, Lord Krishna, and his friend Arjuna before the battle of Kurukshetra about 5,000 years ago. It describes the essence of Ved philosophy and it is the fundamental Scripture of Eastern spirituality.
Bhagavad-Gita describes all types of yoga (the practice of gaining enlightenment):
- Karma yoga - yoga activities, the laws of action and their consequences
- Ashtanga yoga - the yoga of mystical contemplation, part of which is hatha yoga
- Gyana-yoga is the yoga of renunciation of matter and self-awareness of the soul.
- Bhakti Yoga is the yoga of developing a relationship with God and gaining divine love.
Also in Bhagavad-gita, the principles of the existence of the spiritual and material worlds, the laws of the reincarnation of the soul, the state of matter and their influence on consciousness, and many other hidden topics are described.
Puranas
In the 18 Puranas, the philosophy of the Vedas is presented in the form of conversations and is illustrated by cases from the history of mankind from different eras. Depending on the level of human consciousness, the Puranas are divided into three groups.
There are Puranas for people in sattva-guna (goodness), raja-guna (passion, activity) and tamo-guna (ignorance).
Upanishads
Upanishad means “knowledge gained from a spiritual teacher” (literally “upa-ni-shad” means “to sit down below”). Their texts show that all material forms are only temporary manifestations of eternal energy, which is above material duality of suffering and joy, gain and loss. The 108 Upanishads show unity for diversity, and inspire all the four rites of the Vedas to go beyond their short-term goals.
Vedanta Sutra
Vyasadeva summarized all Vedic knowledge in aphorisms, known as Vedanta-sutra. The 560 capacious conclusions of the Vedanta Sutras define the Vedic truths in the most general terms. But Vyas remained dissatisfied even after he had compiled many Puranas, Upanishads and even the Vedanta-Sutra. Then his spiritual master, Narada Muni, instructed him: - Explain Vedanta.
Srimad-Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana)
After that, Vyasadeva wrote down a commentary on his own Vedanta-sutra in the form of the sacred text Srimad-Bhagavatam, consisting of 18,000 slokas (verses). The Vedas call it “Maha-Purana” (“the greatest Purana”). Four Vedas are compared to a tree, Vedanta is compared to a flower of this tree, and Srimad Bhagavatam is known as the “mature fruit of the tree of Vedic knowledge.” Another name for it is “Bhagavata-Purana” - “Purana, which fully reveals the knowledge of the Absolute (Bhagavan)”.
Srimad-Bhagavatam talks about the structure and creation of the material universe, as well as the science of the spiritual world, the Absolute and its incarnations in different eras. He talks about the principles of the return of the living being to the spiritual world.
The Vedanta Sutra contains only a hint of what Brahman is, the Absolute Truth: “Absolute Truth is that from which everything emanates.” If everything comes from the Absolute Truth, then what is the nature of the Absolute Truth? This is explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam.
Upavedy
Upavedas are auxiliary Vedas that include a variety of material knowledge. For example, Ayur-Veda sets forth medical knowledge, Dkhanur-Veda sets out the principles of martial art, Jyotir-Veda contains astrology, and Manu Samhita sets the laws of the progenitor of humanity, Manu. Knowledge of architecture, logic, astronomy, politics, sociology, psychology, history, etc. can also be found in the Vedas. The civilization of many peoples in antiquity was based on the Vedas, therefore it is also called the Vedic civilization.
Founder-acharya: Srila B. R. Sridhar Maharaj
Sevaite-President-Acarya: Sr. B. S. Govinda Maharaj
Successor Sevaite-President-Acharya: Sr. B. N. Acharya Maharaj
2003–2017 Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math (an active link to the obligatory when using materials)
Currently, there are many sects that speculate on the authority of the Vedas. Even the so-called “Russian Vedas” appeared. Therefore, it makes sense to briefly talk about what the Vedas are in reality.
The Vedas (literally. Knowledge) are the most ancient sacred Indian scriptures, which were formed in the territory of North-West India during the period of the end of the 2nd and the beginning of the first millennium BC. All Vedas are written in Sanskrit, very little is translated into Russian. Vedas, originally written in Russian, are not and have never been. At least, science such texts are unknown.
The Vedas are divided into four parts, it is “Rig Veda”, “Samaveda”, “Yajurveda” and “Artharvaveda”.
The Rig Veda, the “book of hymns,” consists of 1028 hymns, formed during the era of the resettlement of Aryan tribes to northwestern India in about the 15th-10th centuries BC. ancient aryans.
Samaveda - "the book of chants", 1810 poems. The text of this Veda is almost entirely borrowed from the Rigveda. Texts are arranged in accordance with the sequence of execution by its singers in worship.
Yajurveda - "the book of sacrificial sayings." This Veda consists of sayings and prayers to which magical significance is attributed, they are accompanied by sacrifices performed by priests.
Artharvaveda - "book of spells." It consists of spells, which are used mainly not in common rituals, but in home religious rites. This Veda consists of twenty books, depending on the version of Artharvaveda, the number of poems ranges from 6,000 to 6,500 verses.
Vedas are attributed to divine origin. It is believed that the Vedas were transmitted to the people by the gods through the sages (rishis), who acquired them through inner insight. Vedas in an abstract poetic form talk about the creation of the world, about the relationship with the gods, etc. All subsequent philosophical works of orthodox Hindu schools in one degree or another are comments on the Vedas. It is believed that the Vedas are infallible and tell about the whole universe. They are extremely allegorical and therefore almost incomprehensible without comment, and I want to draw the attention of my readers to this. In fact, even in India, there have never been people who would live according to the Vedas, but there were people who laid down certain interpretations of the Vedas as the basis of their spiritual life. In order for my readers to get a better idea of the form of presenting material in the Vedas, I will give a small fragment from the Rigveda, the first mandala, the very beginning.
1. I call Agni - at the head of the set
God of sacrifice (s) priest,
Hotara abundantly treasured.
2. Agni is worthy of the callings of the rishi -
Both past and present:
May he bring the gods here!
3. Agni, through (him) let him attain wealth
And prosperity - day by day -
Shining, manly!
4. O Agni, the sacrifice (s) of the rite,
Which you cover from all sides
It is they who go to the gods. ...
And now imagine many tens of thousands of high-algoric verses - which opens the field for various philosophical speculations on the meaning of the Vedas.
The Vedas in orthodox Hinduism are the highest authority and contain the truth indispensable to a Hindu. Essentially, the Vedas are something that everyone in India respects, but few read.
It should be noted that in modern India no one follows the Vedas. As the famous indologist Dandekar R.N. in his article "From the Lead to Hinduism": "the ideals proclaimed in the Vedas have long ceased to be the exclusive driving force of the Indian way of life and thoughts." One of the reasons for this is that Dandekar continues that “the Vedas, as is well known, are collections of essentially heterogeneous and sometimes internally contradictory texts ... the Vedas allow many interpretations, one of which cannot be said to be absolutely authoritative” .
In Hinduism, there are two large classes of literature - the so-called. Shruti and Smrti. Shruti, literally translated from Sanskrit means “heard”, these are revelations that are considered to be eternal and not created by Hindus, but only “seen” by sages. The Vedas, in particular, refer to the Shruti. The Vedas are not one book, but rather an entire library. As for smriti, in translation from Sanskrit this word is translated as “memory”. The basis of the smriti was considered the tradition, the opinion of other sages, who gave their own interpretation of the letter and spirit of the sacred Knowledge of the Veda. Accordingly, smrti had less authority than Veda itself. In particular, the Mahabharata refers to smrti. It can be said that Shruti or Veda is the Eternal Revelation for a Hindu, and smrti is a set of interpretations that reveal the meaning of this Eternal Revelation.
So, if you meet with a group of people who claim that they are following the Vedas, ask them if your interlocutors know Sanskrit, if not, why do they think that the meaning of the Vedas is correctly conveyed by their gurus? If only a guru knows a Sanskrit in a religious group you meet, and among his followers, the refusal to acquire this knowledge is cultivated, is this not a reason to think, but why would it be so? If the guru of Sanskrit does not know, then you can not waste your time talking with these "experts" in the Vedas. Without knowing Sanskrit, one cannot know the Vedas, more precisely, one cannot be an expert on them, but a real guru in Hinduism cannot but be an expert, otherwise what kind of guru is he.
Further, do not forget that even in India there are no people who would follow the Vedas, but there are those who follow the comments (interpretations) on the Vedas. Ask your interlocutors a question - do you follow the Vedas or certain semantic interpretations on the Vedas? If you are told that the Vedas, ask why you are being offered to get acquainted with the Vedas not from the original source, but from the books commenting on (retelling) them. Do not your interlocutors see the difference between the original source and its interpretation? But even any translation of the text into another language is already its interpretation, it makes no sense to even talk about various interpretations. You may well be told that the original source is complex, its language is inaccessible to you and for your own good you are given its retelling in a simplified form, but even if it is so, it means that you are still getting acquainted with the opinion on the content of the Vedas of one or another guru. Any best retelling is all the same just the interpretation of the text, the expression of its meaning, as this particular guru understood it. Any retelling can not make a distortion in the meaning of the original text, and what degree of this distortion is still a big question. Mark this both for yourself and for your interlocutors. At the same time, note for yourself whether your interlocutors see the difference between the original text and its interpretation. If they do not realize this difference - this is another reason to think about whether to continue communication with them. In any case, remember that the Vedas as they are is only a Sanskrit text; even the Russian translation of the Vedas, made by professional scientists, is already its interpretation, and it is impossible to completely avoid distortion of the text. Such is the nature of any translations.
Ask your interlocutors why in India there are many schools interpreting the Vedas? Often these schools teach mutually exclusive things. It is easy to be convinced of this, for example, having familiarized with the book of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan “Indian Philosophy”. Are they all true, and if not, then why should we trust the interpretation of the Vedas by the very gurus of your interlocutors?
Ask your interlocutors, are there people who believe that they follow the Vedas, but at the same time do not recognize their religious group as true? If so, why? For example, a student of Ramakrishna svami Vivekanada stated: "To date, the Vedas remain the summit achievement of all human experience, speculation, analysis, embodied in books, selected and polished for centuries." However, he denied that God is a Person and believed that God is Brahman, i.e. He is impersonal, and only those who know Brahman truly know God! The followers of swami Prabhupada also recognize the authority of the Vedas for themselves, however they believe that God is a Person and they consider all those who disagree with this statement to be impersonalists who have not grown to understand God as a person. Prabhupada wrote about the impersonalists, commenting on the first chapter of “Bhagavad-Gita as it is”: “... having known the impersonal Brahman, they did not acquire the highest transcendental happiness and therefore were forced to descend to the material level and again engage in worldly activities.” As we can see, based on the Vedas, one can hold diametrically different points of view on God! Not surprisingly, the Vedas are so allegorical that they allow you to do this. There are no objective criteria by which one could declare that one school of Vedv interpretation of Hinduism is more true than another.
Writing something about the so-called "Russian Vedas" does not make much sense, since they are not. Anyone who would dispute this statement can be advised to bring in the original texts of the Russian Vedas, which could be related by dating to the surviving manuscripts in Sanskrit of these Vedas. If the ancient Sanskrit manuscripts of the Vedas are preserved, why are there no ancient manuscripts of the Russian Vedas?
A few words about why the Vedas, more precisely, the appeal to the authority of the Vedas, are popular with modern self-proclaimed gurus. The Vedas have an image of something terribly spiritual, mysterious. Very few people know what the Vedas are, therefore one can carry all sorts of nonsense, declaring it to be Vedic knowledge, not being afraid that they will expose you. Moreover, there are not so many people in the country who know and are able to tell what the real Vedas are, and there are more than enough gullible, religiously ignorant people.
Another good sign that a religious group encountered on your path has nothing to do with the Vedas - this is if they start to assert that the Vedas are the same as the Bible, only in Sanskrit, that the Vedas do not contradict the Bible, but rather , they complement each other. Such statements are not true. Compare the Christian view of the world with Indian philosophy, which is not difficult to do when you become acquainted with the book “Indian Philosophy” by Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, or any other book that objectively reveals Indian philosophy, and you will see how far they are from each other. Hinduism is pantheistic, Christianity is monotheistic; Hinduism proclaims the idea of reincarnation, Christianity asserts that we live only once; Hinduism affirms the idea of karma, Christianity teaches about the Providence of God, etc. Also, if there is no difference between the Vedas and the Bible, would it not be easier to follow the Bible and not the Vedas? After all, even technically, it is easier to get acquainted with the Bible than with the texts of the Vedas. The Bible is fully translated into Russian, and the Vedas are still very far from it. And if you do not plan to learn Sanskrit, then I am afraid you will never read them completely.
Vedas (letters. Knowledge) - These are the most ancient sacred Indian scriptures, which were formed on the territory of North-West India during the period of the end of the II - beginning of the 1st millennium BC All Vedas are written in Sanskrit, very little is translated into Russian. Vedas, originally written in Russian, are not and have never been. At least, science such texts are unknown.
These are the most famous scriptures of Hinduism. It is believed that the Vedas do not have the author, and that they were "clearly heard" by the sages of the distant past, and many millennia later, when due to the spiritual fall of mankind with the onset of Kali-yuga, fewer people tried to study the Vedas and transmit orally ( The tradition demanded from generation to generation, Vedavyasa (“compiled Vedas”) structured the scriptures that remained available at that time and organized their recording by issuing these texts into four Vedas: Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda.
Vedas became widely known in the Western world after A.Ch. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the greatest scholar and religious leader, translated from Sanskrit into English such Vedic texts as Bhagavad Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam, Caitanya Charitamrita, and some others. In fact, before that, there were various translations of Vedic texts, and many famous people were interested in them. So it is known that Einstein specially taught Sanskrit to read in the original sections of the Vedas, which described the general laws of physical nature. Many other famous people, such as Kant, Hegel, Tolstoy, Gandhi, recognized the Vedas as an invaluable source of diverse knowledge. However, the Vedas were widely known after the A.Ch. translations. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
He not only translated the most important Vedic texts, but also provided them with comments, in which he cited many references to other Vedic writings.
Familiarity with these books is amazing. They contain information from almost all areas of modern knowledge, and not just information, but information that allows us to conclude that there used to be a very powerful civilization on our planet, which in many ways surpassed us in terms of its level of development.
What are the Vedas
The Vedas consist of their main text, called samhity, as well as three additional sections, which most of the Pandits (Vedic scholars) do not refer to the actual text of the Vedas:
1) brahmins - hymns and mantras, which are used for Hindu rituals,
2) aranyaki - commandments for forest hermit
3) upanishads - philosophical texts.
It is worth mentioning that such texts as Mahabharata, Srimad Bhagavatam, Ramayana and other Hindu epics and teachings (as well as all Krishna literature) from a completely official scientific point of view of Vedology, both in India and around the world, are not Vedic texts, and they refer to the "Vedic literature" only in a figurative sense, in fact in the desire of Hare Krishna prabhupadovtsa to pass what they want into reality.
The Samhites of the Vedas, on a verbal level, ecstasis the ecstasy of God to the ancient rsis, who realized God with their whole being, with every particle of it. Sanskrit (literally "culture", "refined") in which the Vedas are written is a language as close as possible to the world of the gods, and the sound and vibrations of Sanskrit literally convey the meaning and vibrational essence of things from a subtle plane that any Sanskrit word actually does or a sentence is a mantra (spell), and the Sanskrit alphabet graphically conveys the vibrations of spoken words (the Sanskrit alphabet - Devanagari - literally means "from the abode of the gods"), being something like the Lissajous figures, and this is one of the reasons why it is so complicated by compared with the rest of the more modern alphabets, in creating which the usability of the language has become more important than the accuracy of the transmission of the vibrational essence of things.
Here may be mentioned the long-standing dispute between "naturalists" and "conventionalists", going back to Plato's "Cratil" dialogue. The naturalist Cratil argues that the words reflect a "natural similarity" between the form of the word and the thing depicted by him; the conventionalist Hermogenes, objecting to him, on the contrary, says that “what name of one who has established something is the right one.” Socrates' argument in favor of naturalists is interesting, in particular, because it starts with the thesis about the "instrumental" of the language: "the name is a kind of instrument ... distribution of entities, like, say, a canoe - the instrument of thread distribution." Since language is a tool, and the names serve to distinguish things that they denote, they cannot but reflect the nature of things themselves. And although for modern scholars this dispute is still relevant, the point of view on this question of the holy sages of antiquity, who created Sanskrit, is quite clear. But despite all this, the Vedas are a vivid example of texts in which almost the entire essence of the things described is lost when it is reduced to a verbal level. Even more aggravating the situation is the fact that, due to the huge number of discourses (superphrase unity) contained in the Vedas, multi-level nesting (with the game of synonyms, homonyms, vocabulary and words with partial similarity) it is impossible to translate them into any meaningful translation into one verbal language. And even more aggravates the fact that so many Sanskrit words have three or more (often five) different meanings depending on the level of their use - worldly, associated with subtle worlds or spiritual, and the word meaning on the worldly level may be completely opposite to it. meaning on the spiritual, as, for example, in the case of the word "aghora", and the same verse in Sanskrit, depending on the level of understanding of the reader may have different meanings.
Vedas are attributed to divine origin. It is believed that the Vedas were transmitted to the people by the gods through the sages (rishis), who acquired them through inner insight. Vedas in an abstract poetic form talk about the creation of the world, about the relationship with the gods, etc. All subsequent philosophical works of orthodox Hindu schools in one degree or another are comments on the Vedas. It is believed that the Vedas are infallible and tell about the whole universe. They are extremely allegorical and therefore almost incomprehensible without comment.
In fact, even in India, there have never been people who would live according to the Vedas, but there were people who laid down certain interpretations of the Vedas as the basis of their spiritual life.
The following are examples of typical Vedic text:
Who has surpassed heaven with greatness, -
Mitra far reaching, -
Glory (he) pre (rose) the earth.
We want to meet this welcome
The glitter of the nurse Medic,
Which should encourage our poetic thoughts!
It is noteworthy that the last trinity is the translation of the Gayatri mantra, made in Soviet times to the Order of the Red Banner of Labor of the Institute of Oriental Studies, which allows to conclude that "the quality" of their other translations, "made from Sanskrit". When reading the text of the old Vedas, it is impossible to understand the exalted state that their “author” experienced - the rishi-seer.
The main character of the fifth novel, Pelevin, spoke of this in the following way: “Dead peels of words will remain, and you will think that something is still wrapped in them. All people think so. They seriously believe that they have spiritual treasures and sacred texts ". The faint familiarity of the author of the fifth novel, Pelevin, with other worlds led to the fact that on the pages of this decent Internet project "Spiritual and Sacred Scriptures", dedicated to such a strictly indecent antisocial topic as spirituality, neither the name of the main character of this novel can be mentioned, not even its second name. Yet, after the aforementioned acquaintance of the author of “The Recluse and Six-Finged” * and even despite an attempt to bribe him by 4 (!) Oil giants - KUKIS, YUKIS, YUKSI and PUKS - offers him a bribe in the form of a playground for potential candidates ” The author found the matrix "in the polar Hyperborea (the home of the Vedas) so that it does not bring down (shelled) the humanitarian mission of Coca-Cola, MacDonalds and other offices useful from the point of view of the junta government and commercial medical institutions civil courage yrvatsya of philistine stereotypes and to recognize that "the welfare of the smoker takes a loan from his future and turns it into a health problem."
In fact, any drug from alcohol to heroin acts on the same principle - being an unconscious matter, in which for this reason there is not and cannot be any “independent” enjoyment, the drug turns a part of the potential most subtle energy of the human soul that accepts it into kinetic (only appreciated by rakshasas, the vulgar crowd and hatha yoga athletes) the energy of prana moving along the meridians, which often leads to an artificial sensation of dulled pleasure , in some cases, an insignificant momentary increase in the speed of thinking (although drug addicts and drug-loving weakly-changeable “spiritual” radicals and members of various near-spiritual settlers founded by “spiritual terrorists” (or maybe they don't need quotes?) like to kill mind "and carry other nonsense, including its exclusive spiritual steepness), elusively rapidly changing long-term drug addict stupor.
At the same time, the accumulated merits - meditations, introspection and good deeds - the stock of potential human energy that keeps the soul decreases accordingly. Substances intoxicating substances can really turn off the mind (manomaya-koshu), forcing the “assemblage point” to leave the restless mind, but instead of the coveted transition into the superconscious, which does not occur due to the lack of any Vijnayana-koshi in the radicals and Rakshasas ( not to mention the Anandamaya-Kosh), they descend and find themselves one-on-one with their subconscious and hellish worlds, the gates to which opens the crap.
Regular use of weak drugs such as marijuana will make an intoxication for a dozen or two years more than just a few times, which can be attributed to senility ;-) But with narcotic pollution, unnaturally overloaded with meridians (akin to scum in pipes) and occurring during this lowering of the soul in hell begins to need more energy each time, which leads to a transition to heavier drugs, which, drawing more volume portions of the soul’s potential energy, they will blow all her typical stock and turn an ordinary person into a complete idiot, throwing him back tens of lives in the process of soul development to the animal or vegetable level of existence. In actual meditation, a person also experiences pleasure, but it is due to the movement of energy “upward” and not “downward” (as in the case of drugs), which makes meditation not only pleasant, but also useful for personal development.
The Vedas are beyond any doubt highly praiseworthy. But Dattatreya said the following: "The Vedas are the most beautiful of all. Conducting all kinds of yajn is even better. Chanting mantras (japa) is even better than yajnas. The path of Knowledge (Jnana-marga) is better than japa. But even better is Knowledge (self-exploration ) meditation, in which all sorts of aggregate impurities coloring it (raga, ie, dualism and attachments) disappear. [It is] that in such [meditation] the eternal Achievement-Awareness should be achieved "(" Yoga-rahasya "(" Mystery of Yoga ")) 3.25).
The main character of Pelevin’s fifth novel, in dialogue with her friend, said the following: “Being in a“ bad place ”(the character called this place in one word, which is located in the region of the lowest of the seven chakras, and in this word there are as many letters as there are petals This chakra is symbolic that it is in this "fundamental" or "concrete" chakra that most people’s consciousness is most often located), you can do two things. First, try to understand why you are in it. Second, get out The error of individuals and the whole people think that these two actions are somehow related to each other. And this is not so. And getting out of the "unfortunate place" is much easier than understanding why you are in it. - Why? - Get out of " an unsuccessful place "you need only once, and after that you can forget about it. And in order to understand why you are in it, you need a whole life. Which you will spend in it."
In other words, studying the Vedas without a much more important and beneficial effort to transform the consciousness through meditation and self-analysis is an attempt at the level of the mind to understand the divine state of consciousness of the rishi, which was emasculated by describing it in words. The semantics of the verbal language does not allow the transfer of transcendental concepts (of the author of the site). This task is impossible and doomed to failure.
Without meditation, the scholastic study of the Vedas will not bring the highest good, and that is what Dattatreya said in Yoga-rahasie. Swami Vivekananda said: “Clinging to books only corrupts the mind of a person. Can one imagine blasphemy more terrible than the statement that this or that book contains the knowledge of God? How can a man proclaim the infinity of God and try to squeeze Him between the covers of a skinny little book! Millions people died because they did not believe what was written in the books, because they refused to see God in the book pages. Of course, now they don’t kill because of this, but the world is still confined to book faith. " (Raja Yoga, 1896).
The best description of raja yoga (the best among yogi, which is mainly devoted to working with the mind, not the body; as can be seen from the mention of even sex as a practice in the oldest and almost extinct authoritative Sanskrit text "Yoga Shastra" (there is no sex in yoga! in the present ;-), in antiquity there was one common teaching, which included all possible practices, then Orthodox and dogmatists appeared, and the practices that demanded a higher starting level of development of consciousness were forced to take shape as separate teachings, such as tantra and .) And meditation sadhana this writer met in the English-language book beloved by all the Tibetan Prime Minister Samdhong Rinpoche, Tibet's brilliant "Buddhist meditation," which the author of this article found in the ashram Seshadri Swamigal in Tiruvannamalai and happily moved in 11 days in Russian language in June 2003
One Moscow publishing house took 2 years to publish this 80-page translation, and if the first edition of the translation made the text of the book simply nothing, the second one, which looked “better” (as much better as changing the name of the sorceress in Robin Hood - men in tights "), in the struggle for their editorial at least 30% of the dirty text, in every possible way emasculated and" nailed "the meaning, distorting it in places to the exact opposite, as, for example, on page 34:" Most of us manage our mind, more precisely, part of his fragment mutated and weakened mind. "
In the translator’s version, this phrase (correctly translated from English) reads: “Most of us are controlled by our mind or, to be exact, by some part of our fragmented and weakened mind.” Apparently, even for an instant, the editor did not admit that he, “the man, the king and God of the universe,” could be under any control or conditionality, and when editing, as the editors often do, it was terribly inattentive to meaning in general and the meaning of Russian words in particular in their desire to tarnish the required minimum of 30%, or felt like the main co-author.
It is noteworthy that in India many “specific” monks, scribals of the scriptures (and according to the ashram rules, manuscripts should be copied at least once every 40 years due to the fragility of the carrier textbook) not only made mistakes in rewriting, but also made conscious changes, feeling themselves co-authors of ancient rishis and saints, and now there are many different versions of the classic Hindu scriptures. For example, in the time of Adi Shankaracharya, there were 4 versions of Bhagavad-gita, and it was His commentary, for which He chose the best version of His opinion, allowed the other three to go into oblivion. For such a vulgar crowd that inhabits this world, any teaching would be meaningless enough, be it the Vedas or the gospels, since their teacher is samsara. As it was said in the preface to Avadhuta-gita, "without his own inner transformation, a person can neither understand the Advaitic state nor learn about Him from any books, because It is completely transcendental and beyond all human existence." This applies equally to the Vedas.
In modern India, the Vedas follow no one. As the famous indologist Dandekar R.N. in his article "From the Lead to Hinduism": "the ideals proclaimed in the Vedas have long ceased to be the exclusive driving force of the Indian way of life and thoughts." One of the reasons for this is, - continues Dandekar, - that "the Vedas, as you know, are collections of essentially heterogeneous and sometimes internally contradictory texts, ... the Vedas allow many interpretations, one of which cannot be said to be absolutely authoritative. "
In Hinduism, there are two large classes of literature - the so-called. shruti and smrti. Sruti, literally translated from Sanskrit, means “heard”, these are revelations that are considered to be eternal and not created by Hindus, but merely “seen” by sages. The Vedas, in particular, refer to the Shruti. The Vedas are not one book; rather, it’s an entire library. As for smrti, the word is translated from Sanskrit as “memory”. The basis of the smriti was considered the tradition, the opinion of other sages, who gave their own interpretation of the letter and spirit of the sacred Knowledge of the Veda. Accordingly, smrti possessed less authority than Veda itself. In particular, the Mahabharata refers to smrti. It can be said that Shruti or Veda is the Eternal Revelation for a Hindu, and smrti is a set of interpretations that reveal the meaning of this Eternal Revelation.
Whatever you do, Buddhism or other practitioners, sooner or later you will come to the conclusion that all problems with health, energy, destiny, karma, relationships, etc. they have their roots on several levels at once, physical, psychological and mental. Many practices, exercises and medicine help only for a while, because do not work with the causes of imbalance, trouble, poor health. There is a technique that works not only with the root causes and roots of all problems, but also carries out this work at all levels. Read more about the technique you can read. here .