Know the Vedas (At A Glance)

About the Book

The scriptures and classics of a nation are its true heritage, that lay a firm foundation for its people to follow. The Vedas are India's and also the world's oldest scriptures, believed to have been revealed directly by God.

Know the Vedas At a Glance gives a clear and concise account on select aspects of the Vedas, which helps dispel ignorance, superstition and false beliefs. The Vedas are replete with guidelines to solve varied problems - social, economic, political, scientific, mental or any other. The message of the Vedas holds relevance for the layman as well as for the scientists, politicians, educationists, parents and people of every hue. Understanding and following the essence of the Vedas ensures a happy, healthy, peaceful and prosperous life.

About the Author

Dr. Raj Kumar, PhD passed out from Kurukshetra University. He acquired a Law degree from Delhi University and completed certificate courses from Jawaharlal Nehru University in International Politics and from Swami Vivekanand Yoga Research Centre, Bangalore on Yoga research methods. A veteran teacher and researcher, he served Haryana Education Service from 1970 to 1973 and was Deputy Director (Research) in the Indian Council of Historical Research from 1973 to 1999. He is now a member of the Supreme Court Bar Association.

A well-read and widely travelled scholar, he has presented research papers at national and international seminars. Dr Raj Kumar has also authored many books and encyclopedias.

Preface

Pustak Mahal has been endeavouring to provide its readers all the Indian classics, retold in a simple, reader-friendly style. During a casual meeting with my publisher, I was struck by his zeal for undertaking such an assignment in English and readily agreed to his proposal. But when I began the assignment with the help of my scientist wife, we realised just how difficult the task was! We finally decided on a few short essays that any reader would be eager to read on the subject.

No claim is therefore made for a comprehensive and chronological treatment of the subject. We have attempted to collect some interesting and thought-provoking aspects of the Vedas for our readers. We hope these essays will make our readers ponder over the Vedas. We believe there is no problem of the modern world where answers are not available in the Vedas. We shall feel amply rewarded if our readers find this book useful.

Introduction

The Vedas are commandments of the Creator for a happy, healthy and peaceful world. The best minds of Europe and the world have accepted this fact. Nobellaureates in Physics have realised that they cannot further their research without analysing consciousness and the cosmos in scientific terms.

Therefore, over the past few years, there has been a paradigm shift amidst the scientific community from a matter-based approach to a consciousness-based approach. Great scientists like Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein and others such as Deepak Chopra, Amit Goswamy and NR Nagendra are propagating the truth about the universal application of oriental wisdom for a happy, healthy and peaceful world order.

The Vedas have been accepted as the bedrock of human principles all over the world. All the sciences meant for the good of mankind flow from the fountainhead of the Vedas. When God created man, the Vedas were revealed for his guidance. These are eternal truths for mankind. Manu rightly said: 11 All knowledge flows from the Vedas."

The Vedas were, however, treated by some as a code of rituals or babblings of primitive shepherds. Around the 19^th century, Professor Max Mueller (1823-1900) realised that in the history of the world, the Vedas filled a gap that no literary work in any other language could fill. It was deemed as the most sublime conception of humanity. Western scholars considered the Rig Veda more precious than any monument of Greece or Rome. When the Yajur Veda was presented to Voltaire, he considered the Veda as the most precious gift for which the West would ever be indebted to the East.

Swami Dayanand Saraswati has rightly said that the Vedas contain the truth of science as well as the truth of religion. Aurobindo Ghosh confirmed it when he wrote:

"The ancient civilisation did possess secrets of science, some of which modern knowledge has recovered, extended and made precise, but others are even now not recovered."

The subject matter of the Veda is four-fold, Knowledge, Philosophy, Worship and Action, and it contains the essence of all the sciences. The principles of attraction and gravitation, of Arithmetic, Algebra and Geometry, of Astronomy, of shipbuilding, aerial cars and telegraphy etc are all contained in the Vedas. The Vedas are, in fact, replete with gems of Divine wisdom and are definitely not the babblings of primitive shepherds, as some European scholars would have us believe.

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