Resumo de The Vedas - Aswitha sai

The Vedas are the ancient scriptures or revelation (Shruti)
of the Hindu teachings. They manifest the Divine Word in
human speech. They reflect into human language the language
of the Gods, the Divine powers that have created us and
which rule over us.

There are four Vedas, each consisting of four parts. The
primary portion is the mantra or hymn section (samhita). To
this are appended ritualistic teachings (brahmana) and
theological sections (aranyaka). Finally philosophical
sections (upanishads) are included.

The Vedas were compiled around the time of Krishna (c. 3500
B.C.), and even at that time were hardly understood. Hence
they are very ancient and only in recent times has their
spiritual import, like that of the other mystery teachings
of the ancient world, begun to be rediscovered or
appreciated even in India. Like the Egyptian teachings
they are veiled, symbolic and subtle and require a special
vision to understand and use properly.

The great compiler of the Veda and Puranas was Vyasa
Krishna Dwaipayana. He was said to be the twenty-eighth of
the Vyasas or compilers of Vedic knowledge. He was somewhat
older than the Avatar Krishna and his work continued after
the death of Krishna. Perhaps he is symbolic of a whole
Vedic school which flourished at that time, as many such
Vedic schools were once prominent all over India and in
some places beyond.
The Rig Veda is the oldest of the Vedas. All the other
Vedas are based upon it and consist to a large degree of
various hymns from it. It consists of a thousand such hymns
of different seers, each hymn averaging around ten verses.
The Rig Veda is the oldest book in Sanskrit or any Indo-
European language. Its date is debatable. Many great Yogis
and scholars who have understood the astronomical
references in the hymns, date the Rig Veda as before 4000
B.C., perhaps as early as 12,000. Modern western scholars
tend to date it around 1500 B.C., though recent
archeological finds in India (like Dwaraka) now appear to
require a much earlier date. While the term Vedic is often
given to any layer of the Vedic teachings including the
Bhagavad Gita, technically it applies primarily to the Rig
Veda.
The Rig Veda is the book of Mantra. It contains the oldest
form of all the Sanskrit mantras. It is built around a
science of sound which comprehends the meaning and power of
each letter. Most aspects of Vedic science like the
practice of yoga, meditation, mantra and Ayurveda can be
found in the Rig Veda and still use many terms that come
from it.
While originally several different versions or rescensions
of the Rig Veda were said to exist, only one remains. Its
form has been structured in several different ways to
guarantee its authenticity and proper preservation through
time.
The Sama Veda is the Yoga of Song. It consists of various
hymns of the Rig Veda put to a different and more musical
chant. Hence the text of the Sama Veda is a reduced version
of the Rig Veda.

Its secret is in its musical annotation and rendering. The
Sama Veda represents the ecstasy of spiritual knowledge and
the power of devotion. The Rig Veda is the word, the Sama
Veda is the song or the meaning. The Rig Veda is the
knowledge, the Sama Veda its realization. Hence the two
always go together like husband and wife. The Rig Veda is
the wife and the Sama is the husband.
The Yajur Veda seen by the outer vision is the Veda of
ritual. On an inner level, it sets forth a yogic practice
for purifying the mind and awakening the inner
consciousness.

Several versions of the Yajur Veda exist, which differ in a
number of respects. It was the main Veda used by the
priests in ancient India and has much in common with the
Egyptian Book of the Dead.

Its deities are the same as the Rig Veda. The purpose of
the ritual is to put together and recreate within ourselves
the CosmicMan or Indra. The ritual is to recreate the
universe within our own psyche and thereby unite the
individual with the universal. Its series of sacrifices
culminate in the Atmayajna or the self-sacrifice wherein
the ego is offered up to the Divine. While the lesser
sacrifices win the lesser worlds, the Self-sacrifice wins
all the worlds and gains the greatest gift of immortality.
The Atharva Veda is the last of the Vedas. It has not
always been accepted as a Veda, which are often spoken of
as three. It still contains many hymns from the Rig Veda
but also has some more popular magic spells which are
outside of the strictly ritual-knowledge orientation of the
other Vedas.

Like the Rig Veda it is a collection of hymns but of a more
diverse character, some very exalted like the Rig Veda
others of more common nature. As such it gives us a better
idea of the life of common people in Vedic times.

Atharvan is also an important figure in the Zoroastrian
religion. Atar is the Persian name for fire and the
Atharvan is the fire priest. The deities of the Atharva
Veda are also the same as the Rig Veda although Rudra-Shiva
assumes a more visible role. The language is a little
simpler and less variable in its forms

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