Veda is mankind’s oldest extant religious text. It is the core and fundamental religious scripture of Hinduism. It is the very foundation upon which the religion called Hinduism is built. There is not even a single religious scripture in Hinduism that does not make a reference to the Veda. In fact, every other religious scripture attributed to Hinduism is in a way derived from the Veda
The Sanskrit term “veda” is derived from the root word “ved” which means ‘to know’. “veda” means ‘knowledge’. This knowledge is not about astronomy or astrology but the sublime and divine knowledge of how a man must seek the truth about himself to reach the feet of God
The Veda is so ancient that it neither has any authorship nor a date of its origin. The great sages who realized the timeless wisdom and experienced the absolute truth have meticulously passed on this secret to their trusted and qualified disciples who in turn have passed it on in exactly the same form to their disciples and so on. This disciplinic succession of the Veda was only through an oral tradition and no one knows for how long this continued until it was compiled by Sri Veda Vyasa as four Vedas, Rig, Sama, Yajur and Atharva Veda, as we know it today
The age of the Veda is always a debatable question. Indian scholars date it to 3000 BC while the western scholars date it to around 1500 BC. However, everyone agrees to the fact that these dates are when the Veda is committed to written form by Sri Veda Vyasa. Anyone who has read even a single mantra of the Veda (for instance, the famous Gayatri mantra) would feel ecstatic and humbled at the same time because of their intricately constructed linguistics. Such a development not only in linguistics but also the noble thoughts ascribed to the Veda would have taken eons. Hence, the Veda is called “anādi” meaning ‘without a beginning’ and rightly so.
Veda is “apoureshya” meaning “of non-human” origin. The Veda is said to have been the breath (“nishwashitam”) of the Supreme Being and was revealed to Brahma. Hence, the Veda is called ‘revealed text’. The seers who were in deep penance received it in the form of sounds which only they were able to perceive. Hence, the Veda is called “shruti” meaning “that which is heard”.
Veda is “anantha” meaning infinite. What has been given to us by our great teachers and ancestors is only a fraction of the divine knowledge that is wholly available in this universe waiting to be discovered. This signifies that the Veda is eternal – neither having a beginning nor an end
The Veda is in poetic form and not in prose form for very obvious reasons. It is easy for the human brain to remember poems which are in verse form and following a strict metre. A metre is a rhythmic element of poetry where it means the number of lines in a verse, number of syllables in a line, etc. As the primary mode of teaching of the Veda and its communication is through recitation, the metre of the vedic verses becomes extremely important for the students to remember the Veda. To illustrate this point, one can easily sing several tens of songs without missing a word while it is difficult to remember and recite a single page of speech or text. Hence, most of the ancient texts like Veda, Upanishad, Ramayana, Mahabharata, etc are in verse form.
The Vedas are four in number
1. Rig Veda – The term “rig” means ‘hymn in praise’. This Veda contains hymns or mantras extolling the different deities like Indra, Agni, Varuna, etc
2. Yajur Veda – The word “yajur” is derived from the root word “yaj” meaning ‘worship’. “yajna” means “sacrificial worship”. This Veda contains the rites and rituals along with detailed procedures to conduct them for every occasion
3. Sama Veda – “sāma” means ‘peace’. This Veda contains the mantras from the Rig Veda but set to melodious musical tones which when recited brings shanti or peace to the mind. Bhagavad Gita chapter 10, verse 22 alludes to the importance of Sama Veda when Lord Krishna says to Arjuna that “Of all the Vedas, I am the Sāma Veda”
4. Atharva Veda – This Veda contains the mantras extolling deities not found in the other Vedas to ward off evil and hardship and to defeat the enemies.
Each Veda has 3 sections
1. Samhita – This section contains the mantras in verse form. When Vedas are chanted in any religious event, it is the hymns or mantras in the samhita portion that gets sung
2. Brāhmana – This section explains the rituals to be performed when mantras from the samhita portion is being recited. The entire section is in prose form and acts as a guidebook for the proper performance of rites and rituals during a yajna
3. Āranyaka – This section contains the mantras and the tantras for those seeking the truth in the tranquility of the forests. Within this section is the esoteric Upanishads that contains the distilled teachings of the Vedas.
One fascinating aspect of the Veda is that its linguistic construct has remained unaltered for several thousand years despite it being handed down through generations. As the Veda is the revealed to the seers as Divine Sound, there is extraordinary emphasis on the preservation of intonation when reciting the Vedas. To preserve the intonation of this Divine Sound, the seers resorted to communication through recitation rather than written form because it is quite impossible to express the whole gamut of sounds through writing. It is said that a person reciting the Vedas with perfect intonation will receive the benefits of the mantras even if they do not know the meaning of the mantras being recited. To preserve and police the intonation along with other core aspects of the Veda like sacrificial rites, Vedangas came into existence.
Vedanga means “organ or limb of the veda”. There are six of them
1. Siksha – Text that deals with euphony and pronunciation of Vedic mantras. This is the first and most important limb of the Vedas and rightly considered to be ‘nose’ of the Vedas that carries the life breath.
2. Vyākarna – Text that deals with vedic grammar. This is the second limb and is the ‘mouth’ of the Vedas
3. Chandas – Text dealing with meter or rhythmic structure of vedic mantra composition. This is considered to be the ‘feet’ of the Vedas
4. Niruktha – Text dealing with etymology or origin of words. Considered to be ‘ear’ of the Veda
5. Jyotisha – This is the ‘eyes’ of the Vedas and deals with astronomy
6. Kalpa – Text dealing with the vedic procedures of performing rituals. This is the ‘hands’ of the Vedas
Performance of vedic karma is the necessary first step in establishing a connection with the Holy Spirit. But, performance of vedic karma alone cannot lead one to salvation. The path to salvation requires faith in God, patience and perseverance but this path starts with the vedic karma
“anantha vai vedah” – Limitless are the Vedas