Sunday, March 26, 2006

The Divine Scientists & their Research Paper...

It’s a while since I felt religious. May be the hectic work life has drained me of my inquisitiveness about my culture, one that is so vast and amazing that it spans a spectrum that no other culture, mythology or religion can boast of. No I’m not talking of Hinduism… its but a mere reflection of the great phenomenon called Vedic Religion.

VEDAs… The treasure house of knowledge, the treasure house that the scientists (rishis or sages in this case) of yore amassed from observation, analysis and a sacred bridge to the divine. The knowledge that is packed in those 4 Vedas is the pillars of this civilization (which is one of the oldest, still standing religions. It has withstood all the test of time, not withstanding its own innate and inherent flaws).

Here is an excerpt from an article that I found on Vedas (see the whole article here)

“The term Veda comes from the root 'Vid', to know. The Veda is the source of the other five sets of scriptures, why, even of the secular and the materialistic. 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.

He is the Mantra-Drashta, seer of Mantra or thought. 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 only the spiritual discoverer of the thought. He is not the inventor of the Veda. The Rishi is only a medium or an agent to transmit to people the intuitional experiences which he received.
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 any one. They are themselves the authority as they are eternal… and that is their beauty.”

Do I believe in it…? My conclusion is the same but my interpretation of the whole is a different perspective.

I believe that you have to view the rishis as scientists, people who were so inquisitive about finding the ultimate truth about why we are here and who are we and the other entire high sounding questions that theologists usually ask, that they dedicated their lives for it. For some, their research led them to a point of contact with that ultimate storehouse of knowledge.

Each took back something that he wanted to share with the world, a collection of which finally resulted in the Veda Samahita... their ultimate research paper and a collabarative one at that...

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