The Vedas :

In simple terms, ” ‘Veda’ is the sound form of the ‘Universal Self – Parambrahmam‘ “.
To elaborate on this, lets point out few aspects of it and describe the same.

  • It is not a scripture, A scripture is something in written form, but this is always in the form of sound.
  • It has No origin -Anaadhi, and No End -Anantha and it is limitless. Its Existence is Eternal and can’t be fit into measuring limits.
  • It is the Ultimate knowledge of the existence and the Source of every knowledge known.

The Word Veda is derived from word ‘vid‘ in sanskrit, which means ‘to Know‘. We call this Knowledge as ‘Apaurusheya‘. That which is not made by Man(Purusha),but is revealed to man, who is limited by time and space and which by itself explains that it is not a limited knowledge and which cannot be bound to time and space. It is there in Existence and with the Existence.
‘Brhadaranyaka Upanishad‘ refer vedas as ‘nihsvasitam‘ of Isvara, Which means, the ‘life-breath’ of the Paramatman – Eternal Living Reality.

Now, a question may arise, then how did Veda come to us and when? who gave it to the mankind? and what is the purpose of it and all that?

The Vedas are in the form of Mantras. It is revealed to seers by the Paramatman, who are called ‘Mantra–drastas – who “saw” the Mantras’. Those rshis(Sages) passed on the Vedas as oral tradition to the future generation in the form of gurukulam teachings. (old vedic schooling system where the student serve the master and stay at his hermitage for a period of time, to learn the knowledge from him). This Veda, also called as ‘Sruthi – That which is heard’, is thus practised and passed on to generations after generations orally. Now, in the recent past centuries, after the scripts came into practise for recording histories and other purposes, that which is heard and practised orally was put into writing.

In this Era of reciting Vedas by reading from the text, has gradually been the cause of destruction for Vedas to be in its purest or original form.