Veda - When It Was One

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namast�

That is, the ved did not start out as 4volumes ( some would argue 3). It is one contiguous fullness of knowledge that always resides, that never parishes, hence it is akṣara - imperishable, unalterable.

How can this be? how can this knowledge have always been? Consider it this way as a simple example.

It is recorded that William Gilbert was first to discover electricity and magnetism ( some say this was done earlier, yet for this example lets stay with Mr. Gilbert).

Now one can ask did Mr. Gilbert invent/create electricity? I think we can agree he did not. He uncovered this law of nature - how nature behaves. That fact of the matter is, electricity had been around dormant for billions of years. Just like every idea or invention, it resides in nature, in consciousness just awaiting to manifest.

Like that the ved has been around forever , and before that forever. Why so? Because it is fundamental knowledge which governs the universe. The ṛṣi's ( some call kavi�) via their pure cognizing abilities were able to view/hear the ved in their pristine levels of awareness.

Some call this ṛtambharā tatra praj�ā - Supreme Truth (ṛtambharā) inner wisdom (praj�ā) that rises, and prevails in that place (tatra).
That is, a level of consciousness that only sees the truth. The wise also call this full of unalloyed Truth.

praṇām




1. kavi - gifted with insight , intelligent , knowing , enlightened , wise ; also a name for a poet.

[Adhvagat]

Yajvan, that's actually a great example to illustrate how creation is in fact self-contained infinite potentiality!

[kd gupta]

VEDHA IS NOT MAN WRITTEN SCRIPTURE

Vedha the authentic Scripture that is known as Aparusheya, is not written by any human or non-human agency, surprisingly, not even by God Himself; it simply existed and it exists like any scientific truth in everyone. This Knowledge of God (truth) is not created, but a default function which needs to be activated so as to experience. Scriptures and teachers are simply mirrors that reflect the truth. Vedha is the result of the experience of the truth seekers (sages) recorded in the form of sound (shruthi) first, then in the form of writing much later. Remember, God doesn�t have a printing press of his own to publish the truth periodically; the saints are his printing unit. In Hindu spiritual technology, God doesn�t select a saint (prophet) as it happened with Abrahamics; the Hindus prepare themselves to become the prophets (truth seekers) of God. Vedic God doesn�t have any message for his people because God created them with a built-in database of Truth Management system, so it is up to the man to use the divine database applications and get tuned to the �TRUTH� accordingly.

Good description in fact .
From vedas itself , it is inferred that hymns or richas वैदिक ऋचाएं were heard as sound and written in the language which was existing that time .
Sanskrit was the language developed much later . Rishi vyasji made four parts as people say . Many important vedamantras therefore appear in seperate vedas more than once .
Only three vedas are mentioned in vedas , manusmriti and gita etc. May be , atharvaveda considered not good for spirituality .
Translation ,of course , differs eg some say 33 crore devas some say 33 devas are there .

[SanathanaDharma]

Dear Friend

Yat Vid iti Veda
Whatever is knowledge is Veda

"The term veda is a huge super set of anything that can be considered as real knowledge[gnaana]"

Subtle types of Veda or subtle categories of knowledge
- Smruthi based knowledge
- Shruthi based knowledge

1: Smruti :" That which is remembered "

This Veda or knowledge database deals with the time bound gnaana[information]. This Veda is a "part of knowledge" learnt in Guru Shishya lineage, which is applicable to that particular time.
The knowledge we gain all thru our life by learning[remembering] different subjects[ones thought in our schools and colleges]..ones we learn from the people we live with...is Smruthi
Smruti is also part of the basic Veda which every individual learns from various Gurus like Prakruti(environment) and people.
Smruthi can also be defined as the materialistic knowledge which is mainly useful to perform ones prescribed duty.
Smruthi always deals with knowledge related to "action and its fruits"...

Action is very much bound by various factors amongst which time is one of the most important one

Every knowledge which deals with "performance of any action which reaps respective fruits" is smrithi vidya and is time bound...
Smruthi keeps changing over time

For example...the computer programming languages learnt and mastered by people in 70's(which is not too long ago)....is almost useless today....
the design of electronic chips which were developed 50 yrs ago (where computers were occupying an entire room) .. is pretty useless today....
the way automobiles were developed(without a single electronic chip in a car)...is almost useless today...
and what we are learning today will be useless in 50 yrs to come...
All such knowledge which are needed to perform the duty at particular time intervals are Smruthi vidya

2: Shruti : "That which is heard(from the Divine)"

This Veda or knowledge database is timeless\transcends over the concept of time.
Shruti is the advanced Veda(transcendental knowledge) which can be applied irrespective of time
Thousands of years ago, information regarding goal of life was Moksha, to gain knowledge about Paramathma, to reach Him was same as we have today and will be same in the future too.
This knowledge is timeless, it can be gained and applied irrespective of the yuga one takes birth in.

One of the best example of Shruti is the Srimad Bhagavad Gita.
In the Gita whatever Sri Krishna has said, was true,is true and will be true, irrespective of time because what He has said is beyond the concept of time as He Himself is Kaala(Time)
Its Shruthi which is actually timeless...that knowledge which teaches us the real meaning of life..the goal of life...that which makes us humble...
that which removes the ego in us ...that which removes the darkness in us and shows that everything in this Universe is Him...every action being performed is due to Him...

that knowledge which shows we are nothing but a small entity in this universe...there is nothing called "I" but everything is "Him"...is surely timeless knowledge...


Coming to the "four Vedas" under current discussion....


Some information is mentioned in various sources
- Shanthi Parva of Mahabharata: Conversation between Bheeshma and Yudishtira
- Vana Parva of Mahabharata: Conversation between Aanjaneya and Bheema
- Almost all Maha Puranas: Vishnu Purana: Conversation between Parashara and Maitreya, Srimad Bhagawatam: Conversation between Shuka and Parikshita, etc
and many other prominent places

Lets summarise the details from various scripts....

NOTE: The terms Manu, Indra, Devatas, Saptha Rishis, etc are all Positions and not names...They are like Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister,Chief minister etc...

A Manwantara is a period of 72 Chatur Yugas
Every Manvantara has a NEW person-in-charge of the positions: Manu, Indra, Devatas, Sapta Rishis, etc[The old position holders need not die after their term, instead make way for new ones]

A Chatur Yuga is made up of 4 Yugas: Krit, Treta, Dwapara, Kali

When: In every Manvantara, at the beginning of every Chatur Yuga, i.e Krit Yuga
Where: On Bhumi Loka,
To Whom: to the successors of Manu[humans],
What: the Vidya or knowledge[approximated in Puranas as 100,000 hymns],
By whom: as a whole is taught by the "respective Manu of that Manvantara" to the rightful persons alive[Rishis, noble persons who will be the king during Krit Yuga]
Why: This is the prescribed duty of every Manu. [Manu does not live on earth[I have not read anywhere regarding His permanent place], but visits it.]


As the Yugas go from Krith to Treta to Dwapara, the knowledge gets adulterated, corrupted and deteriorated due to evil people.

At the end of every Dwapara Yuga, a partial incarnation[Amsha-avatara] of Vishnu comes to rescue...
Knowledge gained and composed by great rishis that are left out, are collected together and
He defragments and divides or categorises [Vyasa] the knowledge into five categories , required for that period of time...

Rig Veda:
Any knowledge[Vidya] or information whose main focus is to honour or praise[Riks or Richs] the Gods and Devatas is pushed into Rig Veda

Yajur Veda:
Any knowledge[Vidya] or information whose main focus is regarding Yajna[rituals which are performed in front of Agni] is pushed into Yajur Veda

Sama Veda:
Most of the prominant hymns taken from Rig and Yajur, combined with the techniques to sing them is Sama[melodious sound or music] Veda

Atharvana Veda:
Any knowledge[Vidya] or information whose main focus is regarding medicines, medical techniques, gaining of techniques to perform actions providing materialistic results is pushed into
Atharvana Veda

Puranas:
Any knowledge[Vidya] or information which gives the details regarding whatever prominent incidents related to Bhakthi that have happened in the past, in the form of both knowledge and stories is pushed into one main Purana
Veda Vyasa: The Amsha-Avatara of Vishnu who does this categorisation in every Dwapara Yuga is popularly referred to as "Veda Vyasa" One who divides or categories the Vidya....
Again Veda Vyasa is a position and not the name...The most recent Veda Vyasa is Krishna Dwaipayana[Belonging to the 28th Chatus Yuga]...

Distribution and Corruption of data: As the categorisation is distributed amongst different disciples, they are further sub divided for convenience of reading and understanding...knowledge spreads out vastly...
different shakas or branches take birth in different directions...one Purana becomes many puranas[though the core part of every purana is same]
Numerous Vedanta Upanishads start branching out...

...and this process is "not adulteration-free"...on the contrary it gets extremely corrupted as time elapses[we can see the live proof today]...
and at the end of every Kali Yuga,
the knowledge which is completely corrupted gets destroyed with the corrupt people...and at the beginning of the next Krit Yuga, Manu again comes
back to give this knowledge as a whole to the deserving Manavas[humans]....

The Shruthi vidya mentioned above again can be sub categorised into two sections
- Smruthi part of Shruthi
- Core Shruthi

- Smruthi part of Shruthi
This is that part of veda which have a longer shelf life compared to the general Srmithi. What does that mean?
Many hymns in Rig veda praise the current holder of Indra-padavi[or position],called Purandara, by praising his the battle with Vrtra, beautifully described...
and after praising the current Indra, these hymns request such an Indra[Purandara] to help humans gain prosperity,to look after welfare of
us, etc..These Hymns are valid only until Purandara is the Indra[that is till the end of this manvantara], as in the next Manvantara its Bali
who will take over the position of Indra and then the Rig veda will have hymns regarding the great deeds of Bali and request him again to look after
our welfare....Again just like regular Smrithi, this knowledge is used for "action and fruits" and is time bound[with relatively longer timeline]

- Core Shruthi
The description of Parabramha..the knowledge of self realisation...renunciation of fruits of action...the meaning of life, its goal, attaining Moksha, etc fall into the category of core shruthi...
These never ever change..not even when a new Universe is formed...this knowledge is not bound by time....the ultimate knowledge...the ultimate
vidya..."The One and Only Real VEDA"....

Note: Veda of vidya [except for core shruthi] is not same for every loka [it does not make sense for the person in Indra's position to praise himself for any beneficiary act]
The Vedas we are left with is only a small chunk of precious data actually available

[charlebs]

my idea about it is that the veda's were written for everyone, while some are just toooooo impatient to deal with the way it is written and to read between the lines.
some just like to skip to the charms, rituals, and positions that are taught in the veda's and just leave the entire lesson out of it.

who knows, maybe narayana foresaw the need for stupid people like me to just disregard everything and read only what is comforted for me. haha, sorry for talking about myself again.

nikola tesla discovered patterns in life through the veda's that no one could have imagined. perhaps tesla was shiva!!!!! he granted us technology so dangerous but so important for us.

sorry, I'm just dreaming on about hinduism like I am doing all day long. I really love shiva and vishnu. (and ofcourse the writer of our story: brahma!) ==)