The Vedic Experience

One of the most stupendous manifestations of the Spirit is undoubtedly that which has been handed down to us under the generic name of the Vedas. The Vedas are still too much neglected not only in the world at large but also in their country of origin. this Vedic anthology will make direct and fruitful knowledge of the Vedas available to a wider range of people than the small elite of pandits and Indologists. This anthology collects the most crucial texts of the Indian Sacred Scriptures--in all more than 500--newly translated into contemporary English. Dr. Panikkar`s principle has been to select and place together texts so as to offer a selection of texts that cover the full range of `The Vedic Experience` and at the same time to show how they manifest the universal rhythms of nature, history, and Man. Excerpts are taken from the oldest hymns, such as the Rig Veda; from the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas, or Forest Treatises, and finally the Upanishads, which represent the mystical and philosophical culmination of the Vedas. This is a book for meditation, for reading, public and private, as well as for thorough study at this wellspring of human wisdom. It should, moreover, facilitate that meeting of East and West so long desired and delayed, and now so imperative.

These volumes of the Sacred Books of the East series include translations of all the most important works of the seven non-Christian religions that have exercised a profound influence on the civilisations of the continent of Asia. The Vedic Brahmanic system claims 21 volumes, Buddhism 10, and Jainism 2;8 volumes comprise Sacred Books of the Paris; 2 volumes represent Islam; and 6 the two main indigenous systems of China. Translated by twenty leading authorities intheir respective fields, the volumes, Buddhism 10, and Jainism 2;8 volumes comprise Sacred Books of the Parsis; 2 volumes represent Islam; and 6 the two main indigenous systems of China. Translated by twenty leading authorities in their respective fields, the volumes have been edited by the late F. Max Muller. The inception, publication and the compilation of these books cover almost 34 years.

Himalayan Academy Publishers presents the full text of "The Vedic Experience," written by Raimon Panikkar. The text is a translation of the Vedas, Hindu sacred texts that were originally written in Sanskrit.

The hymns we find here are prayers. To be able to invocate, that is, to call upon something greater than ourselves and so break our own boundaries is the beginning of wisdom, the source of hope and the condition of joy.