The RIG VEDA - Part of the Four Vedas

SANATANA DHARMA

HINDUISM: Part-4

SRCIPTURES: Part-1

A BRIEF HISTORY

Indian heritage and culture is as old as history itself. The finest example of it are the Vedas. There are numerable scriptures in Sanatana Dharma. 

Maha-Rishi Ved Vyasa
महर्षि  वेद  व्यास 

Firstly, we must bear in mind that at the time when ‘Sanatana Dharma’ was being practiced during the Indus valley civilization  (सिन्धु घाटी सभ्यता), and the Sindhu-Sarasvati civilization (सिंधु-सरस्वत सभ्यता), no other religions existed. For millennia Sanatana Dharma (सनातन धर्म) was the only way of life for the people of the world; other pagan/primitive religions which existed in the intermediate time span, have faded and disappeared, till the arrival of Judaism, Christianity and Islam (I did not mention Buddhism or Jainism which were established around 500bce, are incorrectly called religion; these are sects of Sanatana Dharma-Hinduism). Sanatana Dharma therefore, could be termed as a way of life since the time of its ancient origin to present day. Religions have dogmas and edicts, tenets and rules. The Sanatana Dharma however, does not; it gives liberty to all individuals to follow/pursue their spiritual goals through his/her own will and path. The scriptures are philosophical guidance to one’s own goals through several routes.

मैक्स म्यूलर
Max Mueller

Early Indologists intentionally misinterpreted the Sanskrit texts to make them look primitive. There was a systematic attempt to make the Indians feel ashamed of their culture and history. (Surprisingly, they succeeded to a very large extent; the effects can be felt to this day among many Indians). Thomas McColley, an Indologist, said that India should be transformed and that the Indians should be ’Indian in blood and colour, and English in taste, opinion, morals and intellect.”  When Max Mueller first read the Sanskrit scriptures, he had stated, “Vedas are worse than savage. India must be conquered again by education. Its religion is doomed.’ However, as he read more and understood the depth and beauty, the philosophy and spirituality of these scriptures Max Mueller became the greatest glorifier of the Sanskrit scriptures, its philosophy and unparalleled spirituality. The same Max Mueller, when he read the scriptures more and in depth, and became more knowledgeable about the beauty and richness of its content, in science, spirituality, philosophy and immense knowledge it provided, stated, "The Vedic literature opens to us a chamber in the education of human race to which we can find no parallel anywhere else. Whoever cares for the historical growth of our language and thought... whoever cares for the first intelligent development of religion and mythology... whoever cares for the first foundation of Science, Astronomy, Metronomy, Grammar and Etymology... whoever cares for the first intimation of the first philosophical thoughts, for the first attempt at regulating family life, village life and state life as founded on religion, ceremonials, traditions and contact must in future pay full attention to the study of Vedic literature."

Sanskrit Texts-संस्कृत ग्रंथ 

Before we begin to understand about the Hindu scriptures, we need to clearly understand the concept and basics of the Hindu philosophy and its ‘way of life’. In every religion there is a principle text which spells the philosophy and provides the edicts of that particular religion. Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism) however, on the other hand, believes in spiritual democracy. Hinduism is not founded by any historical or divine personality like virtually all other religions. Hinduism has evolved with times but the core philosophy and spirituality has remained unchanged despite influences of various religions and numerous invaders like Nadir Shah and the Mughals who brought with them Islam, and occupants and colonizers such as the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British, who brought Christianity into India. The Hindu religion believes in infinity, in every way. Sanatana Dharma has no founder. Instead, the Vedas are considered 'the divine scriptures' with divine expression received by the great Rishis during their meditations and these are revelations.

All through this period of occupation of India, its oppression and cultural ravaging, Hinduism retained its identity, spirituality and originality through the horrors of massive forced conversions, and thrived despite mass dis-information and derogation of the scriptures by the vested interests of the early Indologists.

The Guru-Desciple Traditionगुरु शिष्य परम्परा 
How the early knowledge was handed
down orally, through memories
these are known as the 'Smriti'

The influence of Hindu spiritualism was such that religions which came into India embraced and merged with the local culture and its philosophy, and created their own variations of the principle religion. Sufism, a sect of Islam, which originated and thrived in India, has a great Indian influence in its arts and literature, philosophy and spiritualism. The spread of Islam in the Indian sub-continent is greatly credited to Sufism.

The Hindu scriptures, The Rig-Veda and the Srimad Bhagvatam (The Bhagvad Geeta), in particular, are the most revered texts for their spiritual and philosophical contents.

What is Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism)? If I were to put it in one sentence and over simplify it, I would say it is the way to finding one’s spiritual identity and follow one’s eternal duty.

Sanatana Dharma is spiritual liberation and spiritual democracy!

A classic example of Architecture
as defined in the VEDAS

These texts help us to understand who we are and what is our purpose of life. Hinduism does not force any individual to do daily prayers or follow dogmatic guidelines. It is not rigid. The Sanskrit literatures guide us to how to optimize our ability and capacity through our daily Karma and Dharma. Santana Dharma never ceases or relents in pursuit of knowledge in any form. This un-quenching thirst for acquiring knowledge has resulted in the great Rishis and Seers being able to acquire knowledge and thus write scriptures which cover every aspect of human life. The four Vedas, (Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Artharva Veda and Yajur Veda-(ऋग्वेद, समवेद, यजुर्वेद & अथर्ववेद), within them provide us vast knowledge in philosophy- and spirituality-आध्यात्म, physics-भौतिक विज्ञान  (the word atom comes from the Sanskrit word ‘Anu’-अणु), biology-जीव विज्ञान, cosmology and astronomy-अन्तरिक्ष विज्ञान, medicine-औषधि विज्ञान  and surgery-शल्य चिकित्सा (The Charak Samhita -चरक सम्हिता describes even the most complex surgical procedures like brain surgery), architectural sciences-वास्तू शिल्प विज्ञान, mathematics-गणित शास्त्र , economics-अर्थशास्त्र, politics-राजनीति, astrology-ज्योतिष शास्त्र, and even speaks of conservation of nature and ecology-पर्यावरण संरक्षण और विज्ञान .and virtually every other subjects we can think of including .

Through their vast knowledge, the scriptures guide us to live a life of a good human being.

To give an example, here is a little story which shows how a man should live his life.

THE HERMIT AND THE POTTER

There was once a hermit who used to wake up at dawn, cleanse himself and set about singing hymns and chanting God’s name and wandering around, accepting alms or any food stuff which people would offer him. He would return to his little thatched hut in the evening, have his meal and retire for the night.

Adjacent to his hut was a shack where lived a potter with his parents, wife and two children. The potter was a devoted son, an ideal husband and a wonderful father. He would chant God’s name only when he did his work.

Bhagwan Shri Krishna
भगवान श्री कृष्ण 

When the hermit died his soul reached the gates of the heaven. God Krishna - कृष्ण sent for him and he was presented in front of Krishna. Krishna asked the hermit to wait and went away. A little while later Krishna returns with the potter in tow. The hermit was surprised. He asked why God had sent an angel to fetch him while God Himself had gone to fetch the potter. The hermit argued that the potter hardly ever chanted God’s name while he had done it all his life.

A sage standing next to the hermit explained that God is immanent and ever glorious. By chanting God’s name, or singing hymns or praises God’s Divinity or status can not be enhanced any further. If one does not sing God’s praises God’s divinity cannot be diminished either. God is omnipresent -सर्वव्यापी, and immanent (Ananta - अनंत) God is God!

The sage continued to explain that the hermit was presented before God because the hermit had never harmed anyone nor had he ever sinned. The only virtuous act that the hermit had done was to chant God’s name. The potter on the other hand had lived the life of a good human being and not wasted his life. The potter had taken good care of his parents, married a girl from a poor family and given her a good happy life full of love and he had raised his children, provided them a good life, educated them and taught them to be good human beings. He earned his living by means of honest labour and hard work. Yet, when he had time he used to chant God’s hymns. The potter had made good the life he was gifted as a human being. The potter, through his Karma was thus a greater human being than the hermit.

Moral of the story: Rarely does a soul get a human life form so the humans should strive to live this life by doing their Karma, following their Dharma and at the same time never forget God who has bestowed them the life of a human being. Only a perfect human being can achieve ‘Moksha’, which is the ultimate goal for any human being. Moksha is the freedom from the cycle of death and re-birth. It is here when our soul ‘Aatma’, merges with the Supreme soul, ‘Parmatma’ (Brahman).

Thence comes the equation in its in true essence: AATMA=BRAHMAN (Soul = Supreme Being/God)

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No other living tradition can claim scriptures as numerous or as ancient as Hinduism; none of them can boast of an unbroken tradition as faithfully preserved as the Hindu tradition. Hindu literature is the most ancient and extensive religious writings in the world. Sanatana Dharma is not derived from a single book. It has many sacred writings which serve as a source of doctrine. The most important texts include the Vedas-वेद, Upanishads-उपनिषद्, the Puranas-पुराण,  the Epics (महाकाव्य) -Ramayana-रामायण , Mahabharata-महाभारत and the Bhagavad Gita-भगवद गीता. 

Under water ruins of KHAMBHAT,
off the coast of Gujarat, west coast of
India, in the Arabian Sea. (Bay of 
Khambhat was earlier known as
the Bay of Cambay)

The under water ruins of the city of
DWARKA, (the capital city of 
Lord KRISHNA)

The modern Krishna Temple
of Dwarkadheesh in Dwarka

Sanatana Dharma is very much a religion of revelation. Hindu scriptures and literatures are characterized by constant concern with humanity's spiritual destiny. In response to this concern they have created elaborate philosophical concepts and written great epic poems, narrative literature and fiction. These vast epics, and the four 'books' of the Vedas, were originally transmitted by a phenomenal human chain of memory, and only written down centuries after their actual compilation. This oral tradition still exists in India today. The early phase of the Vedic tradition in India is dated between 15,000 - 7,000 BCE. Going by the excavations in various parts of the 'Sindhu-Sarasvat' river belt, the Indus valley civilization and more importantly also in the Arabian sea, off the coast of west Gujarat, in modern India, the dates can be pre-dated by up another 20,000 years (pre-ice age). [This is not an exaggerated number. It is based on scientific proves from archaeological evidences and simple logical reasoning]

The list of Hindu scriptures is phenomenal. Its is an exhaustive list so here some of the most important ones which are read, recited and sung in modern times.

THE MOST IMPORTANT SCRIPTURES:

As mentioned above, the Hindu scriptures have numerous and voluminous scriptures. There are over one hundred Upanishads and many hundreds of other well renowned texts. In many religious scriptures there are huge some sections which are so important that these are known as separate texts. For example, in the the 'MahaBharat', the greatest epic in the number of verses or word contents, has probably the most important part in it than any, as used in modern times - 'The Bhagvad Gita'.

All Sanskrit texts/scriptures are divided into two categories: The SHRUTIs (श्रुति) and the SMRITIs (स्मृति).
(see below)

The Scriptures of Hinduism Classification

Distinction between Shruti and Smriti: Both Shruti and Smriti represent categories of texts that are used to encapsulate Hindu Philosophy. Each reflect a different kind of relationship that can be had with this material. Shruti is considered solely of divine origin. Because of the divine origin, it is preserved as a whole, instead of verse by verse. Smriti on the other hand may include all the knowledge that has been derived and inculcated 'after' Shruti had already been received by the great seers or Rishis. The Smritis are scriptures which were memorized and handed down from the Gurus to their Shishyas.

The VEDAS-Manuscript (18th Century)

The Vedas are a prime example of Shrutis. The Vedas had been in existence for thousands of years and te knowledge was handed down from Guru to Shishya (student), in the Guru-shishya tradition-(गुरु-शिष्य परम्परा). These were written down about four to five thousand years ago. (For further details, like read the section ‘Vedas’, below. There were other scriptures like some of the Upanishads which were also written much later than their origins (some as late as the 18^th century CE.)

Following are some of the most important scriptures:

THE FOUR VEDAS:

The word ‘Veda’ in Sanskrit means 'vision', ‘knowledge’ and ‘wisdom’

There are four Vedas: Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda & Yajur Veda

A satellite image of the dried bed
of the Sarasvati river

At this instance, I wish to point out that contrary to common belief or how history is being taught today, it is said that the Aryans invaded India and occupied the northern lands, along the Sindhu, Indus, Sarawati and the Ganga rivers. It is also taught and commonly believed that these 'nomads' who settled down in India brought vedic knowledge with them and that the Vedas are the result of their knowledge. The contradiction lies there in. Firstly, the Aryans were not 'nomads'. Aryans were highly skilled and knowledgeable, so much so that they created great civilization prior to the dates given for the 'invasion' by the Aryans. I would like to point out there that 'not one' archaeological evidence has been found to support the theory of Aryan invasion of India. This idea was implanted falsely by early Indologists and historians without any evidence. Contrary to what is taught that Aryans arrived from foreign lands, the Vedas do not mention any place as their land of origin or about their migration into India (or Bharat Varsha, at they called India).  Instead, every Veda sings gloriously about he mighty Sarasvati river as their 'ancestral' land and place of the 'divine' demi gods (these are the lands on the banks of the above mentioned rivers). There are irrefutable archaeological evidences that Aryans (the word 'Arya' is a Sanskrit word form where 'Aryan' comes - has various meanings 'noble', 'excellent', 'truthful' and 'great') were of Indian origin and they migrated east/westwards when the Saraswati river dried up and then returned to India and occupying the banks of the Ganges and Yamuna. Presently, there are over 2100 archaeological sites in the Sindhu-Saravat region which confirm this theory.
Sanskrit language is indigenous to India and it was the language used by the Rishis, seers, priests and sages of the Vedic era. All the religious scriptures are in Sanskrit. Sanskrit is now considered to be the mother language to virtually all widely spoken modern languages in the world like Latin, Germanic and all the Indian langauges. Aryans were of Indian origin.
Historian and novelist Bhagwan S. Gidwani presents compelling evidences in his books, 'The March of the Aryans' and 'The Return of the Aryans'.

Each Veda has four sections or divisions: Samhitas सम्हिता, Brahamanas ब्राह्मण, Aranyakas अरन्यक  and The Upanishads उपनिषद्. A section believes that the Upanishads are parts of the Aranyaka. Also, it is a common, and  false belief that the Upanishads are distinctly separate texts altogether. These Vedas are considered 'Apaurusheya' अपौरुषेय (not of human creation - literally meaning, 'of divine creation').

The philosophical and mystical depth of this hymn is unsurpassed.

Paul William Robert has written: "The Bible begins with the Creation. Before the Creation, however, there was the Creator, but does even He know what was there before He existed ? Long before such philosophical questions occurred to other historical peoples, Vedism posited the existence of something more ultimate than the one God. Whatever must have created Him. That is presuming the absolute and basic reality. Or is it?

This is mysticism that is simultaneously metalogic and the kind of thing those bardic sages living some twenty-five thousand years ago thought about a great deal, according to Hindu tradition. The Vedas are the very first compositions mankind produced dating back at least twenty thousand years. Most orthodox historians and anthropologists strongly dispute such a view. They confuse writing with civilization and deny meaningful history to any people who did not leave a written record. A rich culture does not necessarily depend on writing, as the Celtic civilization proves.  The hymns are the most sophisticated, most profoundly beautiful, and most complete presentations of what Aldous Huxley termed the “perennial philosophy” that is at the core of all religions. In modern academia, of course, there is not supposed to be any “ancient wisdom”.  The Vedas go much further in outlining the nature of reality than any other religious texts still in use. Some Vedic hymns paint the exquisite glories of the natural world: the preternatural beauty of predawn light, its rosy fingers holding the iridescent steel-blue sky; some celebrate the welcome cool of evening the scented breeze of a calm and refreshing night, its basalt dome studded with shimmering pearls and diamonds. Beauty permeates them, a reflection of Truth. The Vedas hold within them enough information to rebuild human civilization from scratch, if necessary. I think someone did believe that might be necessary one day.  

1: THE RIG VEDA

The Rig-Veda-ऋग वेद means 'Book of Knowledge'; it is the Fountainhead of Sanatana Dharma-सनातन धर्म. It is also the oldest scripture anywhere in the world and the first Veda. Rig Veda is a compilation of 10,520 veres and hymns in 1028 'Suktas'-सुक्त (a Sukta is a collection of hymns- and 'mantras'-मन्त्र). This Veda is a compilation of hymns dedicated to  many Demi-Gods, called 'Devas' देव, but primarily to Lord Indra (इन्द्र देव) and Lord Agni (अग्नि देव). The hymns are to invoke (aavahan)-आवाहन to these demi gods.

The Rig Veda is the also the primary and perennial philosophy of Sanatana Dharma. Today the present day it is considered as the holiest book on philosophy, practice and culture of Sanatana Dharma. Only the Srimad Bhagvatam is considered to be at par with the Rig Veda.

This Veda, like other three Vedas has four 'khands' (sections); The Samhita, The Aranayak, The Brahmana and the Upanishad. Each of these have great importance and relevance because it discusses almost every aspect of human life; from Creation of the Universe and Astronomy to bhakti (devotion), from medicine to mathematics, from biology to liturgy, etc.,
It is worth mentioning that though this book is thousands of years old and the hymns of this book are much much older, modern scientists are amazed at the precision of the astronomical definitions contained in this book.
Here are some examples:
-In this Veda we find the sages discussing issues like the creation of the universe and through divine   knowledge they state that the universe originated from a 'Golden Embryo' (Brahm-and~ब्रह्म-अंड), 'Hiranya Garbha'-हिरण्य-गर्भ, from 'Tapas'-तपस- or 'extreme heat', almost mentioning the grand explosion (Big bang). The 'Hymn of Creation', which is the oldest surviving record of the philosophical speculation on the origin of the universe, describes a mysterious chaos before creation.

-Shape of Earth is like an Oblate Spheroid. (the Greeks thought that the earth was flat)

-‘Earth is flattened at the poles’ (until late 18th century the scientists believed that the earth was a perfect sphere)

- It asserted that the 'Gurutva-aakarshan'-गुरुत्वाकर्षण (force of gravity) holds the universe together (thousands of years before Isaac Newton [discovered] it for modern science)

- This Veda mentions the earth's age as 4.3 billion years old (which the scientists today believe to be true), whereas the British scientists of 19th century were convinced it was only 100 million years old.

There numerous such facts mentioned.... which I will be mentioning in another specially dedicated post.

It is not common knowledge that two of most important 'mantras' very commonly recited today come from the Rig-Veda; the' Gayatri Mantra' गायत्री मंत्र and the 'Maha-Mrityunjaya Mantra' महा-मृत्युंजय मंत्र. The Gayatri Mantra is recited by many people as a daily chant (जाप). No puja-पूजा ceremonial offerings is considered complete without this mantra.
The Maha-Mrityunjaya mantra is considered a very powerful mantra which has powers to ward off death. It is normally chanted by many Shiva bhaktas and other people when their loved one is in on death bed.

A manuscript of
the RIG VEDA

Most importantly, The Rig Veda describes the divine 'Brahman'. Brahman is the supreme soul, the all beautiful, all knowledgeable, the immanent and the omnipresent, and exists in all living beings and non-living entities. He is the God Almighty! This has been reiterated by God Krishna, when He showed His Divine form, (the 'Vishwa-Roop') विश्वरूप, during His speech to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kuruskshetra-कुरुक्षेत्र, in the 'MahaBharat'-महा-भारत.

The Rigveda points out that 'sat' (the real) or 'Brahma' is the supreme god who is sexless and formless, and is known by various names such as Varuna, Indra, Agni, etc. God is one but he has several manifestations. This philosophy led to the concept of 'One Absolute' which served as the basis of Vedanta.

From the Rig Veda, we get the most important symbol of Santana Dharma; 'OM' ॐ 

Some 'Shlokas'-श्लोक (verses) from Rig Veda have been used to compile the 'Purush Shuktam' -पुरुष शुकतम, a venerable and widely chanted verses, for it's philosophy.

The Rig-Veda also has great mentions about the creation and present state of our Solar system and Universe.
The procession of the equinoxes was known, and calculated with some accuracy by medieval astronomers, as were the lengths of the year, the lunar month, and other astronomical constants. These calculations were reliable for most practical purposes, and in many cases more accurate than those of the Greco-Roman world. Eclipses were forecast with accuracy and their true cause understood.

These were achieved without the help of a telescope. Accurate measurement was made possible by the decimal system of numerals, invented by the Indians. 

It is certain that the Vedic Indians knew something of astronomy and that it had a high utilitarian value for them as it did for all peoples of antiquity. The Vedic priests had to make careful calculations of times for their rituals and sacrifices, and also had to determine the time of sowing and harvest. Moreover, astronomical periods played an important role in Vedic thought for they were considered to be successive parts of the ever returning cosmic cycle.

The Rig Veda lists a number of stars and mentions twelve divisions of the sun's yearly path (rashis) and also 360 divisions of the circle. Thus, the year of 360 days is divided into twelve months. The sun's annual course was described as a wheel with twelve spokes, which correspond to the twelve signs of the zodiac. 

The theory of the great cycles of the universe and the ages of the world is of older origin than either Greek or Babylonian speculations about the "great year," the period within which all the stars make a round number of complete revolutions. But there is remarkably close numerical concordance in these theories. The Indian concept of the great year (mahayuga) developed from the idea of a lunisolar period of five years, combined with the four ages of the world (yugas) which were thought to be of unequal perfection and duration, succeeding one another and lasting in the ration of 4:3:2:1.

The last, the Kaliyuga, was one-tenth of the mahayga or 432,000 years. This figure was calculated not only from rough estimates of planetary and stellar cycles, but also from the 10,800 stanzas of the Rig Veda, consisting of 432,000 syllables. The classical astronomers calculated the great period as one of 4,320,000 years, the basic element of which was a number of sidereal solar years, 1,080,000 a multiple of 10,800. According to Berossus, the Babylonian great year was a period of 432,000 years, comprising 120 "saroi" of 3,600 years apiece. 

The Rig Veda talks about the annual motion of the earth. The diurnal motion is described in the Yajur Veda. The Aiteriya Brahmana explains that "the sun neither sets nor rises, that when the earth, owing to the rotation on its axis is lighted up, it is called day" and so on. 

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In this blog I only write about RIG-VEDA.

In my next I will be writing about the SAMA-VEDA.

If any reader has any comment and added information, I will be glad to receive them and respond.

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Siddharth S. Sinha

सिद्धार्थ स सिन्हा 

ssselan@yahoo.in