Vedas

 श्री  गणेश  मंदिर   -  शिक्षा वाणी   :: Vol - 22

Sri Ganesh mandir - Serene Sunday Reflections

29^th  September 2019 :

Vedas

KEYWORDS:: Vedas, apaurusheya, Sruti, Smriti, Vedism, Hinduism,  rites, sacrifies, Panchabhoothas

 

After Upanishads, now we shall reflect on Vedas.

Vid means to know. Veda means knowledge, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism. Veda is apauruṣeya (impersonal, authorless). Vedas are called Maṛai or Vaymoli in parts of South India, particularly in Tamil. Marai literally means hidden (a secret, mystery). The Vedas are a large body of knowledge / spiritual texts (not religious) composed in Vedic Sanskrit. The Vedas are the oldest written text on our planet. They date back to the beginning of Indian civilization and are the earliest literary records of the whole Aryan race. They are supposed to have been passed through oral tradition (Sruti) for over 100,000 years. Other Hindu texts usually attributed to an author, traditionally written are many and are called Smriti (that which is remembered).

Vedas are considered revelations seen by ancient sages after intense meditation, and texts that have been more carefully preserved since ancient times, may be came to us in written form between 4-6,000 years ago. Religion study groups and researchers called the religion of the ancient Indo-European-speaking peoples who entered India about 1500 BCE from the region of present-day Iran in West or Mangolia to North; Vedic religion / Vedism. Vedic materials are the texts known as the Vedas, which were composed and handed down orally over a period of about 10 centuries, from about the 1500 to the 500 BCE. This vedic religious activity in BHARATH tradition is what is shaped Hinduism in India. The earliest Vedic religious beliefs had a mix of Indo-European-Iranians systems. It is hard to know when Vedism eventually gave way to classical Hinduism. Vedic schools from the 5th century BCE onward turned more into Hindu character.

Vedism is a system connected with the natural phenomena thus is a polytheistic religion involving the worship of numerous male and female divinities as representatives of natural forces.  Vedic ceremonies are the ritual sacrifice rites performed by offering havis (sanctified materials) to a sacred fire, which was itself deified as Agni and which carried the oblations to the gods. Agni and Soma were at the same time material elements of the ritual offering: Agni was the fire of the sun, of lightning, and of burning wood; Soma was the deified aspect of the liquid poured in the oblation. Another great deity was Varuna, who was the upholder of the cosmic and moral laws. Vedism had many other deities, among whom were gods, goddesses, demigods, and demons.

Every sacrifice was performed on behalf of an individual, the patron or yajamana (“sacrificer”), who bore the expenses. All the rites are related to Panchabhoothas (primary forces - Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space). The domestic rites were observed by the householder himself or with the help of a single priest and were performed over the domestic hearth fire. It is daily or monthly, and others accompanied a particular event, such as the samskaras, sacraments marking each stage of life, from conception to death.

 

After reflecting on Vedas in general and more on Vedism, next week we shall see Four Vedas.

 

----- Next Week 6^th October 2019 – Four Vedas ------

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190929   - 2019 September 29

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