Vedas and Upanishads - Dr. Sheela Daga - Veda
Veda
Importance of Vedas
Ancient texts of India, including the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Smriti literature, philosophical texts, and ideological literature, all praise the Vedas. The Vedas are considered the origin of religion –'Vedo akhilo Dharmamoolam'. A person who does not believe in the Vedas is called nastika – 'Nastiko Veda Nindakah'. It is said in the Mahabharata that all the types of work in this world started from the Vedas. The priceless cultural treasure of our society is preserved in the Vedas and thousands of years of history. For Hindus, the Vedas are self-evident and final proof.
Vedic literature has inspired Indian masses according to the country's circumstances and time. Even today, any pundit, scholar, or other ordinary person who has to prove his point regarding the religious or social tradition, says “it is said in the Vedas”. Austrian scholar Winternitz accepts the Vedas as a base for an introduction to the civilisation and culture of India and ancient human communities. One Western scholar said, “The Rigveda scripture of the Hindus is the world's oldest text.” In ‘The Bible in India’, Jacolliot states, “the Vedas are the only scriptures whose views are found in present science.” French scholar Voltaire said, “The Vedas were the most precious gift for which the West has ever been indebted to the East.”
Since the Vedas is one of the oldest available collection of texts in the world, its language is also the oldest. When acquainted with Sanskrit in the nineteenth century, Western scholars found an authentic means of knowing the history of the world, based on language. Readers should also know that Sanskrit has two parts. One is Vedic Sanskrit, and the second is Classical Sanskrit. There is a substantial variation in their grammar. Many words and verbs of Vedic Sanskrit are not found in the other. There are also differences in syntax. But still, the languages of Vedic Sanskrit are more like Classical Sanskrit than the languages of Europe and Asia. In fact, Western scholars have accepted Sanskrit as the elder sister of Indo-European languages; whereas the Indian tradition considers Sanskrit to be the mother of all languages. Due to the diversity of Vedic languages and subjects, they have special significance for scholars outside India.
According to Panini, Sanskrit linguist of ancient India, the word ‘Veda’ is created from the root of the verb ‘Vid’ and ending ‘Ghan’, giving meanings like knowledge, power, profit, thought, consciousness, narration and abode. Thus, it can be said that studying the Vedas gives all these benefits.
Many names of Vedas
The Vedas are also known by these names: Shruti, Samhita, Chhandas and Mantras. Shruti because, for many centuries, the Vedas were memorised only after listening to the mantras. It was only by the tradition of remembering that the Vedic mantras stayed safe. Several branches of the Vedas, known as Samhitas, came into existence in different Rishikuls, due to the difference in traditions of memorising them. Their number was many/vast, but today only a few Samhitas remain with us; all others were lost or destroyed under different circumstances. There is no significant difference between these Samhitas, except for the order of mantras or some minor changes in the mantras. Being composed in verses, the Vedas were also called Chhandas. The Vedas are also called Mantras because the verses of Vedas are called mantras.
The divinity of Vedas
The Vedas are considered divine knowledge according to the ancient Indian tradition. It is said that God gave this knowledge to the four sages, Rishis Agni, Vayu, Aditya and Angira, at the beginning of creation. As a poet is a revolutionary, he is also a sage. God gives poetic talent at birth. Without talent, nobody can compose poetry, even if one wants to. One can do only rhymes. At the same time, it is also true that not all poet's works are profound and of the highest level. Some poems of a superior-level poet are also of a moderate level. We can see many examples of this in the compositions of poets considered the best today. The poems of Shri Rabindranath Tagore are an excellent example of this.
The Vedic mantras are poems derived from the genius of the ancient sage poets. Every poet or artist has certain perceptions at particular moments, creating serious ideological and philosophical works and various branches of knowledge. With the coordination of innate talent and ideology, they created such mantras, which became the basis of the development of Indian religion, philosophy, knowledge, science, art, culture, and literature and remain today. Due to these characteristics of the Vedas, they are considered to be divine knowledge. But it seems that due to the natural development of the language, Vedic Sanskrit was left behind so much so that, although mantras were used in Indian public life, understanding of their meaning gradually disappeared. Till now, the reading of Vedas has been limited to the pronunciation of mantras only. It is to be noted here that particular emphasis has been laid on the pure pronunciation of Veda mantras. It is said in the Panini Shiksha Granth, that if a single letter or vowel is uttered wrongly, the purpose of the mantra is not achieved. This can also destroy the practitioner. As this mantra warns: “Mantro hīnaḥ svarato varṇato vā mithyāprayukto na tamarthamāha. Sa vāgvajro yajamānaṃ hinasti …” Don't use mantras for selfish or false intentions.
Some scholars have the opinion that the tradition of considering Vedas as divine started due to the inability to understand the meaning of mantras and because ancient texts praised the Vedas and called them authentic.
One thing about the Vedas makes one wonder how these thousands of Vedic mantras composed such a long time ago were kept safe by memorising them. We are not talking about a small amount of literature. It also shows the importance of the Vedas.
The Vedas have been much admired in ancient Indian texts. In the book titled ‘Shatapatha Brahmana’, it is said that “the study of the Vedas has three times the material benefits to the human than the donation of the Earth with all its wealth; he also attains the indestructible Akshaya Loka.” It is said in the Mahabharata that the Veda is the divine voice of the eternal God, through which all the deeds of this world are performed. Due to the importance of the Vedas not only in ancient Indian literature but in daily life, too, the attention of scholars in the modern era went towards understanding the language of the Vedas.