Veda Knowledge In The Modern Context

This text presents an overview of Indian spiritual tradition and its relevance to the modern mind. It introduces Vedic knowledge as the root of many mystical traditions and as a complete system of spiritual science, including the practice of yoga as part of a field of spiritual culture.

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.

Rig Veda is the oldest book of knowledge in the whole world. How many thousands of years ago it was compiled is still a matter of surmise. It is compiled in Sanskrit, a language which is considered as highly refined even by modern standards. The contents of Rig Veda was an enigma for scholars from the time of the original compilation till today. Astonishingly, modern science throws considerable light on the contents of Rig Veda, so much so that we may safely draw the conclusion that the book dealt with scientific issues in a very original way. Perhaps, for the first time I am exploring Rig book wholly from this angle.

Contains a full description of Ayurveda on all levels from diet and herbs to yoga and meditation, explaining both Ayurvedic diagnostic and treatment methods.

This book provides an excellent introduction to the essence of Hindu Tantrism, discussing all the major concepts and correcting many existing misconceptions.

The answers to several questions which are baffling scientists and philosophers today are contained within the treasure-house of the Vedas, as well as the solutions to several daunting problems threatening human society. Access to these answers would open up the possibility of a quantum leap into a world of new truths and new experiences, and a study of the knowledge contained in these texts should also help in understanding the founding principles of one of the most ancient civilisations in human history. Together these could indicate to us the road to the establishment of an enduring harmony and happiness on our planet. The current work attempts to Introduce the reader to the unexplored treasury of humankind’s ancient insights. The discovery opens fascinating vistas and offers glimpses of the origins of the universe. It transports us to a forgotten era when the human mind had attained dazzling heights and delved deep into the mysteries of existence. Our supreme concern is to offer a glimpse of these insights of the Vedas in a manner which makes sense to the modern mind and yet does not distort, but only translates, the insights of the seer-scientists who composed the Vedas. We shall endeavour to avoid the pitfall of merely expressing our own ideas in the language of a foreign culture. To investigate the Vedas fully is a lifetime’s work for someone possessed of a superior intelligence. This book of necessity is a brief exploration of Vedic knowledge, written in the hope that the essence of this fount of wisdom may be conveyed to the reader in an unadulterated form. This work is offered to the reading public in the belief that its subject contains much that is valuable for today’s troubled global society. We follow this with an exploration of Vedic spirituality in its pure form, uncovering the real meaning of the terms falsely interpreted by Western scholars as ‘gods’ and ‘goddesses’. We include extracts from the ‘ancient texts, liberally endowed with poetry and metaphor, to illustrate the truths of the cosmic view revealed to humankind through the Vedas.