THE present book is a sequel to an earlier one titled Veda as Word edited by the undersigned and published by D.K. Printworld in association with the Special Centre for Sanskrit Studies, JNU, New Delhi in 2006, which was in turn inspired by a national seminar on the theme "Veda as Knowledge" organized by Dr Kireet Joshi under the auspices of Maharshi Sandipani Rashtriya Vedavidya Pratishthan, Ujjain in collaboration with the Indian Council for Philosophical Research, New Delhi in the year 2004.
The book in hand is an effort to explore the inherent vision of the Vedas and expound the underlying philosophical ideas coupled with appropriate and relevant evidences culled out from the original sources. The fourteen articles contained in this book provide a few glimpses of the lofty vision enshrined in the Vedas, such as God, Man and Nature, Self, Body, Women, Language, Yajna and Bhakti.
The word veda signifies knowledge which is essentially holistic and universal. It is therefore that the Vedic knowledge encompassess all aspects of cosmic existence: gross or subtle, macro or micro, physical or mental, ritual or spiritual. The Taittiriya Brahmaņa aptly proclaims:
anantavai vedäh-3.10.11.4
Vedas are infinite knowledge.
It is not without reason then that the vast range and the deep sense of the Vedic knowledge cannot be duly comprehended by an ordinary human being since it is held to be delivered by the Supreme Divine at the beginning of each creation for the benefit of whole humanity:
यथेमां वाचे कल्याणीमावदानि जनेभ्यः। यजु. २६.२
yathemam vacam kalyānīmāvadani janebhyah - YV 26.2
I am obliged to all those scholars who invited me for participating in the conference/seminars organized by them and assigned me topics for writing several papers compiled in this book. Since these articles were written at different periods of time and for different places, several repetitions were unavoidable, although an endeavour has been made to minimize them.
I am extremely grateful to Professor Lokesh Chandra for his kind message in the Foreword. His words of wisdom will definitely add value to the volume.
Sincere thanks are extended to the Chairman, Member Secretary and the distinguished members of Indian Council of Philosophical Research (ICPR) for agreeing and approving my request for publication of this volume. This will definitely help in disseminating Vedic wisdom among the scholars and students of philosophy and encourage further research in this area.
Shri Susheel K. Mittal of D.K. Printworld deserves credit for bringing out the book in a befitting manner.
I deem it a privilege to be born in a family who not only followed Vedic tradition but also facilitated my study of Vedas by sending me to an oriental institute, Kanya Gurukula Sasni, Hatharas in my formative years. It was there that I got a chance to enter the majestic portals of Vedic wisdom and encounter the flood light of Vedic vision. It was in fact due to the strong influence of Swami Dayananda Saraswati which enabled women and other deprived sections of society to study the Vedas and imbibe the elevating message envisioned in them.
THE present book is an anthology of fourteen papers written and presented by me at various conferences and seminars in India and abroad over the last two decades. A few of these have also been published in reputed journals and volumes. Details are being given at the end of respective chapters. It was felt that not many of these papers could be accessed easily. Therefore, it was suggested by my friends and students that all these papers on Vedas should be made available in a single book so that the integral vision of the Vedas is expressed in a coherent manner.
The Vedas are the ancient most sources of Indian knowledge tradition but are meant for the whole of humanity. They are not the texts of philosophy per se, but the subsequent development of Indian philosophical schools is essentially rooted in them as will be clear from the following pages. Propagation of Vedic vision is a dire need of the hour since India's New Education Policy is based on Vedic knowledge (vide statement of HRD Minister, 11 May 2020).
Vedic vision is not only holistic but also integrates all the levels physical and spiritual, micro and macro, action and devotion, male and female, mortal and immortal, as well as information, knowledge and wisdom. Accordingly, papers incorporated in this volume are aimed at bringing out the inherent Vedic vision which is not limited to any spatio-temporal boundaries, but is broadly relevant for all times and climes. To elaborate:
The first paper "God, Man and Nature in Vedic Vision" expounds the three basic entities propounded in the Vedic world view. The traditional Indian notion of sat, cit and ananda symbolizes these three principles enunciated in the Vedas albeit in the reverse order.
Self or consciousness is the primary concern of all philosophical enterprise across the schools of Indian philosophy - Hindu, Buddhist and Jaina. So, the second paper "Vedic View of Self" provides a foundation to the inner quest for an eternal principle leading to the fulfilment of this aspiration in the nature of self-realization according to the Vedic sources.
The third paper "Vedic Conception of Human Body" focuses upon the significance and exaltation of human body in Vedic view. Vedas depict the human body in different images to illustrate its microcosmic model in the universe. According to Vedic view, human body is not just a physical organism but a divine abode as all the divine powers have chosen to reside in it (vide Aitareya Upaniṣad). It is therefore termed devapüh (divine dwelling); the highest goal of immortality can be realized only through the human body. At the same time, it is just a means and not the end in itself; so the Vedic view is different from modern materialistic conception of human body.
The fourth paper "Rgvedic View of Life" presents a lofty vision of life and is clearly based on preceding three papers. It narrates an inclusive world view as available in the Rgveda, enunciates the inherent aim of human life along with the universal message of gender equality and collective unity. Besides, genuine concern and veneration for all the aspects of Nature like bipeds, quadrupeds as also forests and rivers is expressed through the principles of yajna and rta.
Vedas (1214)
Upanishads (507)
Puranas (634)
Ramayana (762)
Mahabharata (374)
Dharmasastras (167)
Goddess (520)
Bhakti (251)
Saints (1565)
Gods (1309)
Shiva (393)
Journal (181)
Fiction (64)
Vedanta (383)
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