Life in ancient India
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 What are the Vedas?
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Posted at 11:00 EST [edit entry] [add image] [delete entry] *NOTE:terms are spelled in english for your convenience! The Rig, Yajur, Sama, Atharva Vedas, Mahabharata[which includes the Bhagavad gita], Pancharatra, and the original Ramayana are all considered Vedic literature....The Vaishnava supplements, the Puranas, are also Vedic literature. We may also include corrolary literatures like the Samhitas, as well as the commentaries of the great teachers who have guided the course of Vedic thought for centuries. Some scholars say that only the original four Vedas-Rig, Atharva, Sama, and Yajur-are genuine Vedic literatures. The Vedas themselves, however, do not support this view, nor do the most prominent Vedic teachers, including Shangkara, Ramanuja, and Madhva. The Chandogya Upanishad (7.1.4) mentions the Puranas and Itihasas, which are generally known as histories, as the fifth Veda: itihasa-puranaha panchamaha vedanang vedaha. And Bhagavata Purana(1.4.20)confirms, "The historical facts and authentic stories mentioned in the Puranas are called the fifth Veda." In any case, to be accepted as Vedic, a literature must maintain the same purpose as the original Vedic texts. The Vedic scriptures (shastras) comprise a harmonious whole with a harmonious conclusion(siddhanta). Consequently, we may accept as a bona fide Vedic writing any work that expands on the Vedic siddhanta without changing it's meaning, even if the work is not one of the original scriptures. In fact, the Vedic tradition necessitates further authoritative works that convey the Vedic message according to time or place. However, to be genuine, these extentions must strictly conform to the doctrines of the Vedas, the Puranas, and the Vedanta-sutra. Vedic literature is neither dead nor archaic. Nevertheless, any literature-be it ancient or modern-must be considered non-Vedic if it deviates from the Vedic siddhanta. Thus Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, though definately outgrowths of Vedic literature, are not considered Vedic. Even the conception of Hinduism is alien to the Vedic conclusion. The Vedic scriptures are vast in scope. The Rig Veda alone contains 1,017 hymns, the Mahabharata consists of 110,000 couplets, and the eighteen chief Puranas contain hundreds of thousands of verses.
THE VEDAS ARE NOT A "HINDU" TEXT
There is a misconception that the Vedic movement represents the "Hindu" religion. In fact, however, Krishna consciousness (which all of the Vedas point directly to) is in no way a faith or religion that seeks to defeat other faiths or religions. Rather, it is an essential cultural movement for the entire human society and does not consider any particular sectarian faith. This cultural movement is especially meant to educate people in how they can love God-Krishna. One will not find the word "Hindu" in the Bhagavad-gita. Indeed, there is no such word as "Hindu" in the entire Vedic literature. This word has been introduced by the Muslims from provinces next to India, such as Afghanistan, Baluchistan, and Persia. There is a river called Sindhu bordering the north-western provinces of India, and since the Muslims there could not pronounce Sindhu properly, they instead called the river "Hindu", and the inhabitants of this tract of land they called "Hindus". In India, according to the Vedic language, the Europeans are called mlecchas or yavanas. Similarly, "Hindu" is a term given by the Muslims. India's actual culture is described in the Bhagavad-gita, where it is stated that according to the different qualities or modes of nature there are different types of men, who are generally classified into four social orders and four spiritual orders. This system of social and spiritual division is known as varnashrama-dharma. The four varnas, or social orders, are brahmana, kshatriya, vaishya, and shudra. The four ashramas, or spiritual orders, are brahmacharya, grihastha, vanaprastha, and sannyasa. The varnashrama system is described in the Vedic scriptures known as the Puranas. the goal of this institution of Vedic culture is to educate every person for advancement in knowledge of Krishna, or God. That is the entire Vedic program. I am not speaking of the present day system of the Hindus, especially those who are under the influence of Shangkaracarya, for he taught that the Absolute Truth is impersonal, and thus he indirectly denied the existence of God. Shangkaracarya's mission was special; he appeared to reestablish the Vedic influence after the influence of Buddhism. Because Buddhism was patronized by Emporer Ashoka, twenty six hundred years ago the Buddhist religion practically pervaded all of India. According to the Vedic literature, Buddha was an incarnation of Krishna who had a special power and who appeared for a special purpose. His system of thought, or faith, was accepted widely, but Buddha rejected the authority of the Vedas. While Buddhism was spreading, the Vedic culture was stopped in India and in other places. Therefore, since Shangkaracarya's only aim was to drive away Buddha's system of philosophy, he introduced a system called Mayavada. Strictly speaking, Mayavada philosophy is atheism, for it is a process in which one imagines that there is God. This Mayavada system of philosophy has been existing since time immemorial. The present Indian system of religion or culture is based on the Mayavada philosophy of Shangkaracarya, which is a compromise with Buddhist philosophy. According to Mayavada philosophy there actually is no God, or if God exists, He is impersonal and all-pervading and can therefore be imagined in any form. This conclusion is not in accord with the Vedic literature. That literature names many demigods, who are worshipped for different purposes, but in every case the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, Vishnu, is accepted as the supreme controller. That is real Vedic culture!
