Back of the Book Very few people really know about Rig Veda, the oldest extant book, which is the basis of a multitude of scriptures that came as time rolled by. People are, indeed, somewhat familiar with works like Srimad Bhagwad Gita. However, Gita itself avers that its teachings are based on the Vedas. This book deals with the basics of the text, that is Rig Veda. The book deals with various aspects, viz: What is the authority of the Rig Veda; how the Vedas came into being; the Vedangas; the other three Vedas; the Smritis; and much more. This book aims to answer many questions that may arise in the reader's mind from time to time regarding the Vedas.
"It is common knowledge that Rigveda is the oldest extant text in the world, on which all the scriptural texts are based. This has been clearly brought out in the book supported by strong evidence. All Hindus in India and abroad will surely benefit by this work as most of them do not know the answer due to the multiplicity of scriptural texts available on the subject in the market. I, therefore, strongly recommend this book."
Preface The Abrahamic religions have holy books which The are very rigid in nature. But change is fundamental in life-that is progress or evolution. The word evolution itself implies change. So, reform or change is absolutely necessary in life. Everything changes as is evident from the atom to life itself. We have seen that the atom was considered as the smallest particle in the world some seventy years ago. Now we know that there are many more particles smaller than the atom like protons, electrons, neutrons, quarks and now the Higgs Boson. Life is also not the way people lived in ancient times. It is clear, therefore, that there cannot be rigidity in religions. They have to keep changing from time to time by suitable reforms. Richard Dawkins in his The God Delusion called religions as corrosive. This is quite true. In this sense, The Rig Veda, the oldest extant text in the world, has given us the foundation to a tradition globally known as the Eternal Tradition or Sanatana Dharma.
Introduction The author owes the idea of writing this book to The Late Paramacharya Sri Chandrasekhara Sarasvati of Kanchi. Spanning more than seventy years of his active monkhood, he had given innumerable talks to his devotees on the subject of Hindu Dharma, which have been compiled in six volumes in Tamil by Ra. Ganapathy, titled Deivattin Kural or God's Voice. Two of the volumes have also been translated in English and published by the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. Both these have been sold in millions, requiring many editions. The Paramacharya was a living saint and is still considered as an incarnation of Lord Siva.
**Contents and Sample Pages**
