What are Vedas?

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What are Vedas?

The Vedas are a collection of religious texts that form the foundation of Hinduism.
The word Veda is Sanskrit for "knowledge".

Hindus believe that after intense meditations, sages heard
intuitive revelations of sacred sounds from God.
Various components were heard over a period of time & not composed by any human on any day.
They were only realized by the seers and passed on to the disciples.

The Vedic Version states that all creation evolves from sound.
First there is sound and sound produces space or ether and then all elements that constitute matter.
• The sense of space is sound
• The sense of air is feeling
• The sense of fire is form
• The sense of water is taste
• The sense of earth is smell

The ancient Rishis knew how to manipulate sound to create energy, which modern scientists discovered much later that you can shatter glass by certain sound frequencies.

These mantras have to be heard in order to get the knowledge of exact science. The Shruti mantras are to be pronounced exactly precise, in order for them to work.

Thus the term, śruti ("what is heard") refers to them. For thousands of years, the texts were passed on orally.
The Hindu belief that the Brahman or universal spirit is eternal; was not created and will always exist, also applies to the Hindu view of the Vedas.

The Vedas is the eternal divine knowledge that is "heard" by humans and are "not of human agency". Nice. The word is for not human is ‘Apaurusheya’
The Vedas are integrated into the life of all Hindus, though many Hindus have never read it.
Vedic mantras are recited at all Hindu prayers, religious functions and other auspicious occasions.

Contents of the Vedas
The four Vedas are called Shruti.
The Vedas are made up of four compositions, and each Veda in turn has four parts which are arranged chronologically.
• The Samhitas are the most ancient part of the Vedas, consisting of hymns of praise to God.
• The Brahmanas are a guide to the priests on rituals, ceremonies and sacrifices
• The Aranyakas: texts which give philosophical interpretations to the Brahmanas
• The Upanishads discuss meditation, philosophy & spiritual knowledge.
The Samhitas
• Rig-Veda Samhita (c. 1200 BCE) is the oldest of the four Vedas and consists of 1028 hymns, organised in 10 books, praising the ancient gods.
• Yajur-Veda Samhita is used as a handbook by priests performing the Vedic sacrifices & rituals.
• Sama-Veda Samhita consists of 1549 stanzas of chants and tunes for singing at the sacrifices.
• Atharva-Veda Samhita 760 mantras consists of spells & charms to cure diseases for a long life & protection against disaster. It also contains philosophical hymns

Vedas have 6 supporting branches called Vedangas (meaning the limbs of the vedas). They are taught in many Vedic/Sanskrit school in India.
They are :
• Siksha (intonation)
• Vyakarana (grammar)
• Jyotisha (astrology)
• Nirukta (meaning of words)
• Chandas (meter) and
• Kalpa (rules)

According to the Puranic tradition, Ved Vyasa compiled all the four Vedas, along with the Mahabharata and the Puranas.
Vyasa then taught to Paila, who started the oral tradition.

The original Vedas are preserved in the minds of Brahmins who have learned them by heart and transmitted them in perfect form to their students for over 7000 years. There are still gurukulas in India today in which young students learn to recite the entire text by heart.

In contrast, smiriti, means “what is remembered” is a book of law, for example the one narrated by Manu to sages, called Manu smiriti, covers:

1. Creation of the world
2. Source of dharma
3. The dharma of the four social classes
4. Law of karma, rebirth and final liberation

The Shruti mantras are to be pronounced exactly precise, in order for them to work.
They were created by God & revealed to sages.

The Smriti mantras are human works, based on Vedic knowledge e.g. Philosophy, theology & religion, which have to be remembered.

Vedanta
Vedanta is an orthodox approach to Hinduism that reduces the emphasis on ritualism and re-interprets the notion of "Veda".
It forms the basis of modern Hinduism with its ideas on the nature of Atma (soul) and Brahma (absolute).
It is the study of the Upanishads and the subsequent commentary on the correct way to interpret them.