vedas-Veda is the storehouse of Indian wisdom

4. Vedas
4.1. Introduction
The term Veda comes from the root 'Vid', to know. The word Veda means knowledge. The Veda is the storehouse of Indian wisdom and is a memorable glory which man can never forget till eternity.
The Vedas are the eternal truths revealed by God to the great ancient Rishis of India.
The word Rishi means a Seer, from dris, to see. The thought was not his own. The Rishis saw the truths or heard them.
Therefore, the Vedas are what are heard (Sruti). The Rishi did not write. He did not create it out of his mind. He was the seer of thought that existed already.
He was only the spiritual discoverer of the thought. He is not the inventor of the Veda.
The Vedas represent the spiritual experiences of the Rishis of yore. The Rishi is only a medium or an agent to transmit to people the intuitional experiences that he received.

1. VEDAS

2. 4. Vedas 4.1. Introduction The term Veda comes from the root 'Vid', to know. The word Veda means knowledge. The Veda is the storehouse of Indian wisdom and is a memorable glory which man can never forget till eternity. The Vedas are the eternal truths revealed by God to the great ancient Rishis of India. The word Rishi means a Seer, from dris , to see. The thought was not his own. The Rishis saw the truths or heard them. Therefore, the Vedas are what are heard ( Sruti ). The Rishi did not write. He did not create it out of his mind. He was the seer of thought that existed already. He was only the spiritual discoverer of the thought. He is not the inventor of the Veda. The Vedas represent the spiritual experiences of the Rishis of yore. The Rishi is only a medium or an agent to transmit to people the intuitional experiences that he received.

3. The truths of the Vedas are revelations. All the other religions of the world claim their authority as being delivered by special messengers of God to certain persons, but the Vedas do not owe their authority to anyone. They are themselves the authority as they are eternal, as they are the Knowledge of the Lord. 4.2. Veda is divided into two 1. Karma-Kanda 2. U pasana -Kanda 3. J nana –Kanda The Karma-Kanda or Ritualistic Section deals with various sacrifices and rituals . This constitutes of Mantras and the Brahmanas. The U pasana -Kanda or Worship-Section deals with various kinds of worship or meditation constitutes of Aranyakas .

4. The J nana -Kanda or Knowledge-Section deals with the highest knowledge of Nirguna Brahman. ( Nirguna = without attributes or forms. Brahman = the Supreme Reality) constitutes of Upanishads 4.3. Two parts in the Vedas. Purva mimamsa - is the one that deals with Rituals, Yajnas, Yagas , Hawanas , Homas it may be called as the technology of Vedas. There is a complete prescription of do’s and don’ts. Uttara mimamsa .- The answer for why we should and shouldn’t do will be found here. It may be called as scientific research section. We may call it as Science of Vedas. Upanishads are the essence of the Vedas, therefore called as Vedantas . Veda means knowledge and anta means end. On an exoteric level the term indicates the Upanishads, the texts containing its seed teachings, because they are situated at the end of each Veda.

5. 4.4. Four Vedas 1. Rig Veda - Praising, Agni (fire god), Rudra(storm God), Varuna (rain god) The Rig vedic hymns are dedicated to various deities, chief of whom are Indra, a heroic god praised for having slain his enemy Vritasura ; Agni, the sacrificial fire; and Soma, the sacred potion or the plant it is made from. Equally prominent gods are the Adityas . Adityas are sons of Prajapati Kasyapa and Aditi. 12 Adityas are Mitra, Varuna , Aryaman, Daksha, Bhaga , Amsa , Tvastr , Savitur , Pusan, Sakra , Vivasvat and Visnu . 2. Yajur Veda - Wisdom of sacrifices and sacrificial rites: The Yajur -Veda or the wisdom of sacrifices lays down various sacred invocations which were chanted by a particular sect of priests called adhvaryu (in charge of the physical details of the sacrifice had to measure the ground, to prepare the sacrificial vessels, to fetch wood and water, to light the fire, to bring the animal and immolate it).

6. They performed the sacrificial rites 3. Sama Veda - Emphasis upon sounds of the words of the mantras Sama -Veda about how particular hymns must be sung; to put great emphasis upon sounds of the words of the mantras and the effect they could have on the environment and the person who pronounced them. Samaveda is the earliest known systematic procedure for giving a melody to a chanted verse. Most persons who have heard with devotion the singing of Samaveda verses will attest to the sense of exhilaration or ecstasy experienced by them. It is no wonder that the famous epic poem Bhagavad Gita in the epic Mahabharata declares that the Samaveda is the best among the four Vedas. 4. Atharva Veda - Composition of the Vedas by Atharvana sect Atharvaveda was mainly composed by two groups of rishis known as the Atharvanas and the Angirasa , hence its oldest name is Atharvāṅgirasa .

7. In the Late Vedic Gopatha Brahmana, it is attributed to the Bhrigu and Angirasa . The important contents of Athar Veda Arithmetic: Numbers and decimal system, Assembly & the Council, Ayurvedic concepts, Caste and Professions, Choice of Husband, International Concord, Deities or Gods, Hymn to Earth or bhumi sukta , Education, Vedic Family concord, Foes & Defense, Good sayings or subhashita , Hospitality for strangers, House, Marriage, Wandering monk ( vratya ), Polity and Governance, Sanctity of Atharvaveda, Spiritual and philosophical hymns, Symbolism in Veda: Six Foes, Symbolism: arrow and reed, Tapas, Time or kala, Vak or Speech. 4. 5. Each Veda consists of four parts:- i) Samhitas (mantras or hymns) The Mantra-Samhitas are hymns in praise of the Vedic God for attaining material prosperity here and happiness hereafter.  

8. They are metrical poems comprising prayers, hymns and incantations addressed to various deities, both subjective and objective. The Brahmana portions guide people to perform sacrificial rites. They are prose explanations of the method of using the Mantras in the Yajna or the sacrifice. The Brahmaëä portions guide people to perform sacrificial rites. They are prose explanations of the method of using the Mantras in the Yajna or the sacrifice. It contains mantras dedicated to the deities and description of the offerings of suitable foods during worship. The Brahmanas give examples of the many different kinds of rituals and ceremonies. The second section of the Vedas called the Brahmanas This was the ceremonial phase of religious life, which was elaborate, exotic and dramatic.

9. ii) Brahmanas (explanations of mantras or rituals) But this phase too passed into another to answer the new curiosities of man, the new phase developed as an answer to a new question : what if this elaborate ceremonial life was not possible, then, what path was there for people to follow? iii) Aranyakas (philosophical interpretation of the rituals) The Aranyakas are the forest books, the texts which give philosophical interpretations of the Rituals. The major contents of the Aranyakas are theosophy ( Brahmavidya ), meditation ( Upasana ) and knowledge of breath ( Pranavidya ). They describe the secret meaning of the sacrifice and the concept of Brahma as well. The creation of the universe, the power of the Almighty, Om, the soul and the cycle of birth and death are explained in Brihadaranyaka in a simple manner.

10.   iv) Upanishads (essence of the knowledge) Hence came the last section of the Vedas, the Upanishads. They were called the Vedanta – the completion of the thinking of their authors. In realizing the true nature of the soul lays the fulfillment of man’s life. Towards this realization of the self, contemplation is necessary. And, the contemplation is of knowledge. The Upanishads show us this very direction.