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The
Vedas date back to the beginning of Indian civilization and are the
earliest literary records of the whole Aryan race. They are divided
into four groups, Rigveda, Yajurveda,
Samaveda and Atharvaveda.
Each group has an original text (Mantra) and a commentary portion
(Brahmana). The Brahmana again has two portions, one interpreting
ritual and the other the philosophy. The portions interpreting the philosophy
of the original texts constitute the Upanishads. There are also auxiliary texts called Vedangas.
Vedic literature refers to the whole of this vast group of literature.
The whole of Rgveda and most of Atharvaveda are in the
form of poetry, or hymns to the deities and the elements. Samaveda
is in verses that are to be sung and Yajurveda is largely in short prose
passages. Both Samaveda and Yajurveda are concerned with
rituals rather than philosophy. Especially Yajurveda.
What are the Vedas? Read on to know more
The word Veda is from the root 'vid' - to know. Vedas
are thus the repository of knowledge. The four Vedas together
represent ancient Hindu thought at its most beautiful and esoteric and
belong to the period 1500 - 1000 B.C. The magnificent hymns of the Rig
Veda are the source in more ways than one. The other three Vedas
- the Yajur, Sama, and the Atharva - are in varying
degrees a reorganization of the hymns in a manner appropriate to the
purposes of that particular Veda. There are certainly passages
that are individual and independent of the Rig Veda but the pulse
remains that of the above-mentioned text. The Vedanta texts are
the culmination of the sublime journey that first found expression in
the Rig Veda, and it is correctly regarded as the true Veda.
The first three of these four are regarded as having been derived from
the fire, air, and the Sun. All are Sruti - revealed.
Each Veda is divided into the sections Mantra/Sanhita,
Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads. The first
section is the oldest of the four, while the last two were added on
between 800-600BC.
The Mantra or the Sanhita section consists of prayers,
hymns of praise and devotion. This part of the text is in separate books
and the contents are fully metred.
The Brahmanas section is in prose and comprises explanations
and legends associated with various hymns. Sacrifices and their ritualistic
performance were subordinate to the understanding of the mystic significance
of the ritual. Thus, knowledge was of primary importance, and the concern
or the goal focussed on the advantage to be gained - release from the
birth cycle and a place in heaven after death. In the words of the Satpatha
Brahmana 'trir ha vai puruso jayate, etan nueva matus ca adhi
pitus ca agre jayate, atha yam yajnah upanamati sa yad yajate, tad dvitiyam
jayate; atha yatra mritaye yatrainam agnav abhyadadhati sa yat tatas
sambhavati, tat trtiyam jayate.' In other words, a human being has
three births: first, from his parents, the second is achieved through
the sacrifice ceremonies, and the third after death and cremation.
The Aranyakas (from aranyas 'forest') are the writings
of those students who chose to continue their quest for knowledge without
getting married. They lived in hermitages or forests, and the students
themselves came to be known as aranas or aranamanas (forest
dwellers). These texts do not concern themselves with explanations of
sacrifices and rituals, they deal with the more mystical part of such.
Undoubtedly, the distinction between the Brahmanas and the Aranyakas
is not a clear-cut one.
Upanishads, the word, is derived from upa (near), ni
(down), and sad (to sit), i.e. to sit down near. According to
Samkara, the term is derived from sad meaning 'to lose' or 'to
destroy', i.e. to destroy ignorance. Many claim that the word Upanishad
is derived from Upasana (worship or reverence).
As the Vedanta, they represent the fruition of Vedic philosophy
and religion and exhibit a freedom of thought expressed in some of the
greatest hymns of the Rig Veda. The unceasing search for answers,
the quest for the highest truth takes a course through different points
of views and different lives - from the Nachiketas legend in
the Katha Upanishad we learn that true sacrifice is of the self,
i.e. the surrender of the self and the I to the Absolute Being, that
the syllable Aum is the essence of the Vedas and of the
manifest Brahman and the unmanifest Brahman (Param Brahman).
This, as taught by Yama, the Lord of Death. The Chandogya
Upanishad reveals the origins of the Vedas and Aum
- Prajapati 'brooded' upon the worlds and this created the 'three-fold
knowledge' i.e. three Vedas; by brooding on these, he brought
forth the three syllables bhuh (Earth), bhuvah (atmosphere)
and svah (sky); these, brooded upon, led to the creation of Aum.
Thus, Aum is the highest of all sounds.
The Svetasvatara Upanishad speaks of the one God who creates
and rules, and at the end of Time, gathers everything up. This God is
everywhere and yet stands apart - Ya eko jalavan isata isanibhih
sarvan lokan isata isanibhih, ya evaika udbhave sambhave cha, ya etad
vidur amrtas te bhavanti_ pratyan janan tisthati sancukocanta - kale
samsrjya visva bhuvanani gopah __ yasmat param naparam asti kincit yasman
naniyo na jyayo sti kincit. Vrksa iva stabdho divi tisthaty ekas tene"
dam purnam purusena sarvam.
More than the ideology, it is the development and fulfillment of thoughts
and concepts from the Rig Veda that stand apart. The concept
of the Primeval Man (Purusa) in the hymn Purusa Sukta
is echoed in the Svetasvatara Upanishad; the Hiranya garbha
of the Upanishads is the effect Brahman, the karya
Brahman (the World Soul), the one mentioned in the Hymn of Creation
of the Rig Veda, while the unchanging one is Isvara, the
causal Brahman (kirana Brahman) i.e. the eternal God.
In addition to Aum, there is the mystic word tajjalan
used to describe the Brahman - tat = that, ja =
which gives rise to, li = absorbs, an = sustains, the
world. Of course, there is a host of interpretations of each part of
the word, as there is of the phrase, rather, the affirmation tat
tvam asi - That Thou Art. This is understood as an acknowledgment
of God's omnipresence, and contradictorily of his separateness from
the cosmos; of God as the embodiment of all the highest virtues, and
also in its inherent variation Thou Art Me and I Am Thou i.e. that every
human being has a little of the Divine within. Above all, it testifies
to God's absolute nature - unceasing, unchanging and unending.
Different teachers have forwarded their own speculations and views on
the concept of Brahman. The Mandukya Upanishad summarizes
Brahman as catus-pat (four-footed) - Brahman as
the Absolute, Isvara as the Creative Power, Hiranya-garbha
(the golden egg) as the God immanent in the world, and Vraj i.e.
the cosmos. The word Brahman itself is from the root Brh
meaning 'to grow'.
The Upanishads number from 108 to 150, possibly more. Some
of the principal Upanishads and the Vedas of which they
are a part:
Aitreya Upanishad - Rig Veda.
Taittriya Upanishad - Yajur Veda (Black Yajur)
Isa Upanishad, Brihad Aranyaka Upanishad - Yajur Veda
(White Yajur)
Kena Upanishad, Chandogya Upanishad - Sama Veda
Katha Upanishad, Prasna Upanishad, Mundaka Upanishad,
Mandukya Upanishad - Atharva Veda.
Sources:
1. The Principal Upanishads
by Dr. Radhakrishnan
Publishers: INDUS
2. A Vedic Reader for Students
by Arthur Anthony Macdonell
Publishers: Low Price Publications
3. A Classical Dictionary of Hindu
Mythology and Religion
by John Dowson
Publishers: Rupa
Vedanga (Ved = knowledge, anga = part) are the
disciplines necessary to read and understand the Vedas fully.
These are six in number:
a) Siksha, i.e. pronunciation and phonetics;
b) Chhanda, i.e. metre;
c) Vyakarana, i.e. grammar (Panini's rules and views);
d) Nirukta, i.e. etymology (Yaska's writings);
e) Jyotisha, i.e. astronomy;
f) Kalpa, i.e. rules for sacrifices and ceremonies in accordance
with the Vedas. Also known as Kalpa-sutras or Sautra-sutras.
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