The Vedas
The Rig Veda (“Rigveda”) (~1350 BC) is
primarily composed of hymns to Lord Indra, the god of thunder, lightning, and
rain who we can think of as a clean-shaven version of Zeus, and other deities
who are no longer around today.
The Sama Deva (“Samaveda”) (~1000 BC)
mainly contains hymns to deities, Soma (Intoxication) and Agni (Fire) figuring
prominently.
The Yajur Veda (“Yajurveda”) (~1000 BC)
exists in two versions, Black (“Krishna”) and White (“Shukla”), their core
content being the same and the main difference being that the Krishna version
commingles shlokas and commentary, while the Shukla does not. This Veda contains
detailed instructions for prayers, rituals, and ceremonies, and as mentioned at
the top, is loved by Shaivites because it houses the Sri Rudram.
The Atharva Veda (“Atharvaveda”) (~900
BCE) is mainly a pseudo-medical text with a deity focus on Indra, Agni, and
Surya (known as “Rohita” in the Vedas). It contains mainly astrological,
prayer, plant, gem and jewel remedies for the day-to-day travails of mankind,
much of which has been subsequently determined to be questionably effective at
best by modern science. I like to experiment with some of these remedies as I
have found that it makes me feel more connected to my ancient ancestors. As part
of the Shukla clan, it is likely that these same ancestors had a hand in the
compilation of the Vedas themselves.
That said, most of the deities
worshipped in the Vedas are no longer worshipped. The Vedas themselves stating
that deities’ power comes from their worship (find quote), and the fact that
most of the Vedas focuses on rites, prayers, and rituals to propitiate these
deities, combine to tell us that although the Vedas may be the earliest text in
Hinduism, it is not necessarily the most useful today, and the vast majority of
the text is useless. We will skip the fluff and get to the important
information.
The main value of the Vedas today
The main benefit of the Vedas for
devotees today is to establish the supremacy of Lord Shiva, as He alone is
described as the Lord Supreme from the earliest Hindu writings until today.
Furthermore, Vedic writing, like the Upanishads, contains many passages engineer
to motivate and bolster the determination of the devotee practicing raja yoga,
as it can be very difficult to stick to, especially while an active participant
in modern society.
Lord Vishnu (Rigveda 1.22.20), and Lord
Shiva (Rigveda 2.33), are in the Rig Veda, the very first of the four Vedas,
and they did a switcheroo, being less important in the Vedas and of course
going on to become the Supreme Gods as we know Them today. Their supremacy came
to be clearly enumerated in the Puranas, the Ramayan, the Mahabharat and many
other popular texts. I am very attached to Them, so I would not like to see
Them supplanted in the future similar to Indra. Bramha as we know him does not
appear in the Vedas.
Many principles driven home in the Vedas
are also prominent in Upanishads, such as the supreme importance of the truth,
the acceptance of sufferance and penance that leads to spiritual success, and
fixed resolve to run on the spiritual path until the destination has been
reached. If you are interested in these topics, please see the Upanishads
episode.
Now, on to our quotes and commentary.
Evidence for Authority
“The sun has tied Earth and other
planets through attraction and moves them around itself as if a trainer moves
newly trained horses around itself holding their reins." - Rig Veda
1.164.2
Aside from providing the first written
documentation of constellations and other astronomical matters, the Vedas (now
famously) stated that the planets revolve around the sun through the operation
of gravity thousands of years before both Copernicus (1543) and Newton (1687).
Motivation and Resolve
“The one who has faith and trust in the
Lord invariably conquers adverse circumstances and emerges the winner, rich
with bounty in the struggle of life.” – Rigveda 4.23.4
“Make me immortal in the world of
boundless ecstasy, where all things longed for are attained. Move fast, mind of
mine, and unite with the source of eternal bliss.” – Rigveda 9.113.9
In many places the Vedas are a
motivational text, helping seekers to find assurance of the Lord’s grace,
solidify their faith, and face life’s ups and down.
Hindus Love Gold
Apparently, the Hindu love of gold goes
back to ancient times:
“This gold is my immortal light.” - Atharvaveda 11.1.28
Be Independent and Work Hard
“Live a life of self-respect without
being a burden to anyone. Bless that I be a tree, not a creeper.” – Shukla Yajurveda
36.24
In modern Western society there is a
belief that all life is sacred, and so societies often force people in the
world to continue to live, or to bring them into the world, when they are
doomed to be a burden to others or lead a life characterized by almost pure
suffering, and so in those cases there is no necessity to save them. In my
experience this concept is hardest to understand for people who have lived a
relatively happy and comfortable life. I think they truly mean well, but they
are unintentionally creating a great deal of bad karma by enabling suffering
that nature has orchestrated a close to. On the other hand, people who have
wrestled with a great deal of trauma and uncontrollable sadness in their lives
understand this principle intuitively and immediately. Life can be great, it
can be terrible, but not all life is sacred. This principle is reinforced by
Sri Krishna himself in the Uddhava Gita.
“Not without toil are Gods inclined to
friendship.” – Rigveda 4.33.11
I am sure I have said this elsewhere,
but the core principles of the Sanatan Dharma are in direct opposition to the
popular understanding of the “law of attraction” or the “secret” as defined by
Rhonda Byrnes. Pop motivation will have you believing that you can get what you
want quickly and easily through confident and positive thought alone. While
such thought is laudable, the Vedas reinforce to us that we cannot gather the
favor of the heavens without doing the requisite work, and there is no way around
it, so rather than pout about it, it behooves us to work hard for the Lord. The
ancient celestials worked very hard in setting up the initial societies and
civilizations, as described in this passage, so They are not asking for
anything they have not demonstrated a willingness to do for us.
Promote Harmony
“Assemble, speak together, let your
minds be of one accord, just as the ancient gods unanimously sit down to their
appointed share. The location, assembly, and the mind are the same, so be their
thought united. We come before you, Agni, to worship you with united oblations.
May all of our thoughts be united, and may we exist in happy agreement.” –
Rigveda 10.191.2
Much of what is written in the Vedas is
engineered to help a group a people who are no stranger to war. Aside from the
writings that direct aspirants to rituals, mindsets, and medicines that will
increase their chance of victory, here we see something driven home throughout
as equality important – unity. One Hindu praying to Lord Shiva, is wonderful,
but if we can successfully harmonize with each other and worship together, our
efforts will be exponentially more powerful.
In today’s world, brown people that
self-evidently have a lot of common ancestors are fighting against each other
instead of unifying and growing their influence, and I believe this is a
lasting legacy of the divide-and-conquer strategies that invaders such as the
Mughals and the British inflicted on our people. Now free, if we continue to
fight each other over trifles, we have no one to blame but ourselves.
North v. South. Hindu v. Sikh v. Muslim.
Indian v. West Indian Hindus. People have found so many things to hate each
other over, while our enemies are laughing at us. I think a good place to start
is to politely ask people why they are doing what they are doing, and, beyond
that, just mind your own business. South Indians did a lot to preserve the
Sanatan Dharma when India was invaded by outsiders so they deserve a lot of
respect and credibility for that. A lot of Muslims and Sikhs were being
mistreated within Hinduism, and that is why they left. There is blame to go all
the way around, and I personally think that the time for healing and unity has
come.
I cringe when I see what SOME Muslim
(called “Fulla” in Guyana) leaders have done to restrict the freedoms and
education of their women, but I don’t know exactly how the women in these
regions feel about it, and I have eyes and ears, so I know that the vast
majority of Muslim folks are ethical, hardworking people just like everyone
else. We should focus on specific bad actors and not cast a pall over broad
groups. Bad actors who are hurting innocent women and children should be
punished forcefully and immediately, no matter what side they are on, because
not only as good Hindus but simply as human beings we all feel this to be
against our collective morality.
Conversely, we should actively find
things to appreciate about our brown brothers and sisters who are not in the
exact same tribe. For example, I find that many Middle Eastern folks are very
good looking, have a light complexion and exotic eye colors, their food and fragrances
are excellent, and their music, in the states where they allow it, is
beautiful. With this mindset, romance can bloom instead of war, and all of
those who have abandoned the Sanatan Dharma will come back into the fold. This
is an objective that will be accomplished based on one principle: love. As the
Vedas remind us, divided we fall, and united we stand.
“Let the fortunate rich person fulfill
the needs of the poor. Let his eye see into the distance of his life path,
where the wheel of fortune is ever rolling. Riches come today to one, tomorrow
to another; let all realize that one day they need to help of someone.” –
Rigveda 10.117.5
This is a concept reinforced by the
character of Vito Corleone in the Godfather, where, though he was rich and
powerful in his community, he made an active effort to give to the less
fortunate. Many throughout history received a beatdown when they lost their
wealth because they were stepping on the necks of those beneath them. Don’t be
like them. Be like Vito. Help those less fortunate without expecting anything
in return, not only because it’s the right thing to do, but also because, in
the long term, it’s the strategically sound thing to do as well.
My heart breaks every time I hear a
story about a woman being stoned, maimed, or otherwise violated for doing
something as simple as not wearing a head covering in certain Fulla parts of
the world. Yet, decade after decade, these practices continue, and many people
say that they don’t seem to be substantively complaining or advocating for
change in these regions, and furthermore that it is none of our business, all
of which I feel are also valid points.
What can we do? Well, one of the reasons
such evil continues today is because there is no separation of church and state
in these areas, and so leaders are able to force harmful laws on their people
without adequate justification. If church and state we separated and democracy
was adhered to, if the women of these nations desired change, their voting
power would make it happen, and it is the principal reason why we do not see
the same level of crime against women in nations with both substantive (a)
separation of church and state and (b) democracy. We should look inwardly as
well. If we were really doing such a good job of taking care of our women
relative to the Fulla folks, Fulla women would be running into our arms en
masse. This has not happened yet, as is part of what I am here to spur you
onto. Only then will the crime of Fulla folks who repeatedly destroyed our
sacred Somnath Jyotirlingam in Middle Age Gujurat be adequately addressed and
rectified. Nobody should be laying a finger on a Shivlingam without the proper
love and reverence, much less destroying them, and we are all considered to be
in deep shit until we rain revenge fully upon our enemies. After their
destruction, not by killing but by conversion to other more loving and peaceful
faiths, humanity will be ready for the next step in its intellectual,
emotional, and spiritual evolution.
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