Subject: [world-vedic] Antiquity of the Vedas Date: Tue, 29 Oct 2002 06:39:55 -0800 (PST) From: govindarajan padman Reply-To: vediculture@yahoogroups.com To: vediculture@yahoogroups.com Dear Sir, I am sending herewith an article entitled "Study of Religion-Verdict of Supreme Court" for your kind information. Thanking you, Yours sincerely, P.Govindarajan STUDY OF RELIGION-VERDICT OF SUPREME COURT The Supreme Court of India has recently upheld the Indian Government’s move to revise the school curriculum stating that the teaching of religions is not the same as religious instruction or indoctrination. The future citizens of India have the fundamental right to possess a factually accurate and historically correct account of ancient India free of western bias. Many think that religion has done more harm to humanity than good and since the ancient ideas of primitive minds have outlived their utility, they should not find any place in the scientifically progressive modern society. Some, however, believe that without morality and spirituality, man will be no better than beast and will lead a purposeless life of sheer bodily existence. The greatest problem of modern man is to know how to live well in accordance with the law of his being. The fundamental truths concerning the purpose of existence and goal of life are eternally and universally the same and they cannot undergo any change according to the needs of time or the conditions of life. Religion begins with revelations of Creator disclosing His plan and purpose for creation. The very first paragraph of Gospel of St.John says: "In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God." Explaining the purport of this passage Rev. Voysey says: "If God had made man, if He takes interest in His creature, if He has endowed him with a conscience which tells him he ought to serve God and if men have now existed on this earth many thousands of years, it does not seem probable that the work of forming a religion to teach man how they have to serve God, should have to be undertaken by some private individual of the present day. It seems far more probable that in creating him, God must have made provision of some kind for this great need of man. Reason seems to say that religion in some shape, there must have been from the beginning." Common sense informs that the Creator in His love for man must have revealed to the first-born, His objective for the creation of the world and living beings. No finite intellect can ever know the infinite mind of Creator and the eternally valid and universally relevant truths of life cannot be the innovation of any fallible human being. At the beginning of time, man must have been equipped with necessary knowledge of the purpose of life. The first verse of one of the ten principal Upanishads declares that Brahma the first-born taught to his eldest son the knowledge imparted by Creator, which is the foundation of all knowledge. At its infancy, humanity was without any script for writing and the original message of Creator orally communicated for generations by ancestors to their successors was carefully preserved for posterity in human memory. The Vedas are considered as the earliest extant literature available to mankind. Regarding their antiquity Max Muller says: "Whether the Vedic hymns were composed 1000 or 1500 or 2000 or 3000 B.C. no power on earth will ever determine." Muller’s absolute certainty about the indeterminacy of the age of Vedas springs from the fact that neither carbon 14 nor thermo-luminescence or dendro-chronological methods adopted by archaeologists for dating artifacts can be of any use in the determination of the antiquity of the orally communicated Vedas preserved from the beginning of time in human memory. India and Indus Valley are inseparably connected, as Indian history begins with Indus civilization. In ancient times, foreigners knew India by its river Sindhu, which the Persians pronounced as Hindu and Greeks as Indos. The name India, which stands for Hindustan, is of alien origin. The religion of Hinduism, which is based on Vedas, seems to have been practiced in the pre-historic Indus Valley. Attempts made by experts to decipher the Indus seals have not yielded any results so far. Before script was invented, pictorial symbols seem to have been used widely to communicate what was committed to memory from time immemorial. The pictures on Indus seals are the earliest available evidence about the life and time of Indus people. The reconstruction of history of ancient India should begin with Indus pictorials that provide archaeological support to the orally transmitted Vedas, whose age is still in dispute. Among the nearly 3500 seals, a few are considered as the most important, as they provide conclusive evidence to prove the fact that Indus people knew Vedanta, the end portion of Vedas that summarize their final conclusions. These seals relate to the depiction of yogis in meditation, a standing four-armed deity of Vedic pantheon and pictures of Peepul tree (Ficus religiosa). Yogic meditation finds no place in ritualistic portion of Vedas and is first mentioned in Upanishads and elaborated in Bhagavad Gita. Reference to four-armed deity occurs in the most popular Kathopanishad and this form is vividly portrayed in Gita. Peepul tree, which is considered as the most sacred tree of Life and Divine Knowledge, finds mention in both Kathopanishad and Gita. Archaeologists place Indus civilization around 3100 B.C. According to Indian tradition, Mahabharata war in which Gita was delivered was fought in 3102 B.C. An inscription belonging to seventh century A.D confirms this fact. Indian astronomical tradition says that the Dark Age Called Kali Yuga commenced on 18th February 3102 B.C. The Great War, which is an actual historical event, is reported to have taken place before this date, towards the close of previous age. Based on astronomical and archaeological evidence and keeping in view the literary evidence available in Upanishads and Gita, it can safely be concluded that Indus people practiced the Vedic way of life. Vedas have served as the base for all subsequent philosophical and scientific works embracing astronomy, evolution, grammar, law, mathematics, medicine, music and almost every branch of intellectual activity. Mankind cannot afford to remain ignorant of the profound wisdom contained in Vedas, as their message is the common heritage of entire humanity. They provide clear-cut and definite answers to the fundamental imponderables of life and are the earliest spiritual literature of the world. Vedas are, however, couched in symbolic language rendering the understanding of their highly important message difficult. In fact superficial study of Vedas can result in misinterpretation of their profound wisdom. A core spiritual theme runs as a common thread throughout the seemingly incoherent passages. The correct meaning of archaic Sanskrit words and proper insight into the spiritual significance of the images and symbols used in hymns can enable one to know the inner truths of the highly sacred Vedas. Once the esoteric purport of verses is rightly understood, the coherence of final conclusions of Vedas will become apparent. The physically distressed and psychologically emaciated modern generation can draw immense inspiration and solace from Vedas and lead life rightly and purposefully, provided sincere efforts are made to understand the perennial philosophy of Vedanta.