Veda
Veda (IAST)Translation: "Knowledge"
From Mandukya Upanishad (Verse 9, 10, 11, 12)
A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy
Sanskrit: वेद
Transliteration: Veda
Translation: "knowledge; wisdom; revealed scripture"
Definition:
- The sacred scriptures (Śruti) of the Hindu tradition. They are impersonal (Apauruṣeya) and eternal (Nitya). There are four Vedas as arranged by Vyāsa: Ṛg Veda, Yajur Veda, Sāma Veda, and Atharva Veda. These are divided into Mantra, Brāhmana, Āraṇyaka, and Upaniṣad sections. Strictly speaking, the Veda stands for the parts known as Mantra and Brāhmana. The appendages to the Brāhmana are the Āraṇyakas and the concluding portions of the Āraṇyakas are the Upaniṣad.
The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy
"Veda, the earliest Hindu sacred texts. ‘Veda’ literally means a text that contains knowledge, in particular sacred knowledge concerning the nature of ultimate reality and the proper human ways of relating thereto. Passed down orally and then composed over a millennium beginning around 1400 B.C., there are four collections of Vedas: the Ṛg Veda (1,028 sacred songs of praise with some cosmological speculations), the Sama Veda (chants to accompany sacrifices), Yajur Veda (sacrificial formulas and mantras), and Atharva Veda (magical formulas, myths, and legends). The term ‘Veda’ also applies to the Brahmana (ritual and theological commentaries on the prior Vedas); the Āraṇyaka (mainly composed by men who have passed through their householder stage of life and retired to the forest to meditate), and the Upaniṣad, which more fully reflect the idea of theoretical sacred knowledge, while the early Vedas are more practice-oriented, concerned with ritual and sacrifice.
All these texts are regarded as scripture (Śruti), “heard” in an oral tradition believed to be handed down by sages by whom their content was “seen.” The content is held to express a timeless and uncreated wisdom produced by neither God nor human. It contains material ranging from instructions concerning the proper sacrifices to make and how to make them properly, through hymns and mantras, to accounts of the nature of Brahman, humankind, and the cosmos. Śruti contrasts with Smṛti (tradition), which is humanly produced commentary on scripture. The Bhagavad Gītā, perhaps strictly Smṛti, typically has the de facto status of Śruti."
Mundaka and Mandukya Upanishads (Swami Sharvananda)
Sanskrit: वेद
Transliteration: Veda
Translation: "knows"
The Masks of God, Oriental Mythology (Joseph Campbell)
"The word Veda, "knowledge," is from the root vid (compare Latin video, "I see"), which means, "to perceive, to know, to regard, to name, to find out, to acquire, to grant." The Vedic hymns, it was supposed, had not been humanly composed, but "heard" (Śruti), as by revelation, by the great seers (Ṛṣi) of the mythic past. They were therefore a treasury of divine truth, and consequently power, to be studied, analyzed, and contemplated. The works of theology devoted to their interpretation are the so called "Works of the Brahmins" (Brāhmaṇa), the earliest of which may be dated c. 800 B.C. In these the Vedic hymns and rites are treated, not as products of man's thought and action, but as fundamental factors of the universe. In fact, the Vedas, it was now supposed, anteceded the universe; for they contained those potent, creative, eternal syllables out of which the gods and the universe had proceeded. "OM!" we read, for example:
This imperishable Syllable is all this.
That is to say:
All that is Past, Present. and Future is OM;
And what is beyond threefold Time-that, too, is OM.
Through his knowledge and control of the power in the Vedic hymns, the learned Brahmin could bring about, just as he pleased, either benefits to his friends or disaster to his foes, simply by appropriate manipulations of the verses."
Lessons on the Upanishads (Swami Krishnananda)
Ṛg Veda (Samhita)
"The Rig Veda is the primary one and it is the foundation of all Indian thought, philosophy and religious consciousness. It is in poetic form; there are about 10,000 mantras. This part is called the Samhita, which means the mantra portion, in which there is eulogising, an offering of prayer to the gods....the gods of the heavens, the realities behind the cosmos. The worship of these divinities through prayer is the subject of the Samhita section of the Vedas."
Yajur Veda (Brahmana)
"The Yajur Veda is partly in poetry and partly in prose. This section of the Vedas is called the Brahmanas. Here Brahmanas does not mean the Brahmin caste; it is a section of the Vedas that deals with an elaborate system of ritualistic performance, including sacrifices into the holy fire, all which is very elaborate indeed."
Sama Veda (Aranyaka)
"The Sama Veda is comprised of musically set verses, mostly from the Ṛg Veda, and they are sung in a melodious tune. This section is called the Aranyaka. Advanced seekers began to feel that it is not always necessary to have gestures and rituals in order to contemplate on the gods. We need not even offer prayers through words of mouth; the Veda mantras also may not be necessary if the thought is concentrated. A time, a state, a stage arises where we need not utter a mantra or a word of prayer to the god, or show a gesture by way of ritual to satisfy the god; our hearts can well up by contemplation only. I can deeply feel affection for you without any kind of outward demonstration of it and that is enough. That is called dhyana, or meditation. A contemplation in sequestered places, in forest areas, in isolated spots – aranya, as it is called – where meditations are conducted is the subject dealt with in the scriptures called the Aranyaka."
Atharva Veda (Upaniṣad)
"The Atharva Veda is filled with a variety of subjects such as technology, art, and other scientific thoughts with which we are familiar in this world. The Upanishads come last. These are the most difficult part of the Vedas. We can have some idea of what the Veda Samhitas are, what the Brahmanas are, what the Aranyakas are, but it requires deep thinking and a chastening of our psyche before we can enter into the subject of the Upanishads. What do the Upanishads tell us? They tell us the mode, the modus operandi of directly contacting the Spirit of the universe through the Spirit that is inside us – not by word of mouth, not by speaking any word, not by performance of any ritual. There is no need of any temple, church or scripture; we want nothing except our own Self. The last portion, Vedanta, is also the name given to the Upanishads. Anta means the inner secret, the final word of the Veda or the last portion of the Veda. The quintessence, the final word, the last teaching of the Veda is the Upanishad, and beyond that there is nothing to say. When one knows That, one has known everything."
"108 Upanishads are prominent and very well known. One of the Upanishads, which is known as the Muktikopanishad, gives a section-wise list of these 108 Upanishads; but ten of them are the most important. The philosophically important Upanishads are ten out of the 108 and all the remaining ones, apart from these ten, stand almost in the position of expositions, elucidations – a sort of commentary of certain aspects briefly touched upon in the ten Upanishads."
"108 Upanishads are prominent and very well known. One of the Upanishads, which is known as the Muktikopanishad, gives a section-wise list of these 108 Upanishads; but ten of them are the most important. The philosophically important Upanishads are ten out of the 108 and all the remaining ones, apart from these ten, stand almost in the position of expositions, elucidations – a sort of commentary of certain aspects briefly touched upon in the ten Upanishads."
The Upanishads: Volume I (Swami Nikhilananda)
"THE VEDAS are the basic scriptures of the Hindus and their highest authority in all matters pertaining to religion and philosophy. They are, moreover, the earliest extant Indo-Āryan literary monuments. The Hindus regard them as eternal, without beginning, without human authorship. The primary meaning of the name Veda is Knowledge, super-sensuous wisdom. The secondary reference is to the words in which that knowledge is embodied. And so the term Veda denotes not only the orthodox religious and philosophical wisdom of India, but the books in which the earliest utterances of that wisdom are preserved. The Hindus look upon these books with the highest reverence. They are known as the Word-Brahman, the Śabda-Brahma.
Knowledge is of two kinds. The first is derived from the sense-organs and corroborated by various evidences based upon the experiences of the sense-organs. This is the form of knowledge that falls within the scope of the physical sciences. The second, however, is transcendent and is realized through the mental and spiritual discipline of Yoga. This is the subject matter of the Vedas. According to Patanjali, the traditional master of the Yoga doctrine, it is not the words of the Vedas that are eternal, but the Knowledge or ideas conveyed through them. This Knowledge, also called the Sphota, has existed always. At the conclusion of a cycle, both the Sphota and the created universe merge in the undifferentiated causal state, and at the beginning of the new cycle, the two together again become manifest. The Lord brings forth the universe with the help of the Knowledge of the Vedas. He Himself utters the words that express this Knowledge and confers upon them their appropriate meanings. That is to say, it is the Lord, the Creator of the universe, who has determined the precise meaning that is to be attached to every Vedic word. He is the first teacher of Vedic truth. Though the words may be different in different cycles, the ideas conveyed through them remain unalterable: no human intellect can interfere with them. According to Vedānta, the words of the Vedas come from the Lord spontaneously, like a man's breathing."
Knowledge is of two kinds. The first is derived from the sense-organs and corroborated by various evidences based upon the experiences of the sense-organs. This is the form of knowledge that falls within the scope of the physical sciences. The second, however, is transcendent and is realized through the mental and spiritual discipline of Yoga. This is the subject matter of the Vedas. According to Patanjali, the traditional master of the Yoga doctrine, it is not the words of the Vedas that are eternal, but the Knowledge or ideas conveyed through them. This Knowledge, also called the Sphota, has existed always. At the conclusion of a cycle, both the Sphota and the created universe merge in the undifferentiated causal state, and at the beginning of the new cycle, the two together again become manifest. The Lord brings forth the universe with the help of the Knowledge of the Vedas. He Himself utters the words that express this Knowledge and confers upon them their appropriate meanings. That is to say, it is the Lord, the Creator of the universe, who has determined the precise meaning that is to be attached to every Vedic word. He is the first teacher of Vedic truth. Though the words may be different in different cycles, the ideas conveyed through them remain unalterable: no human intellect can interfere with them. According to Vedānta, the words of the Vedas come from the Lord spontaneously, like a man's breathing."
References:
- Grimes, John (1996). A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy: Sanskrit Terms Defined in English. Albany: State University of New York Press
- Audi, Robert (1999). The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, Second Edition. New York: Cambridge University Press
- Sharvananda, Swami (1920). Mundaka and Mandukya Upanishads: With Sanskrit Text; Paraphrase with Word-For-Word Literal Translation, English, Rendering and Comments. Mylapore, Madras: Sri Ramakrishna Math
- Campbell, Joseph (1991). Oriental Mythology (The Masks of God, #2). Penguin Books. p. 189.
- Krishnananda, Swami (1991). Lessons on the Upanishads. Retrieved from https://www.swami-krishnananda.org/upanishad.html. p. 16-21.
- Nikhilananda, Swami (1949). The Upanishads: Volume I—Katha, Iśa, Kena, and Mundaka. New York, New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers. p. 1.
