The Origin of Vedas ( The Very Breath of God )

You must have been to temples or experience a homa ( fire sacrifice ). If so, you must have heard the priests reciting a series of mantras which are staccato and non-melodious. These are the very Vedas. No, they are not 'mantras' from the Vedas. They are verily the VEDAS themselves.

              
Let me ask another question.

How familiar are you with these verses? :

'' yo'pāṁ puṣhpaṁ veda puṣhpavān prajāvān paśumān bhavati ..''

'' namaḥ śivāya ''

'' tatpuruṣāya vidmahe mahādevāya dhīmahi tanno rudraḥ pracodayāt''

'' tryambakaṁ yajāmahe ..."

" tat savitur vareṇyam ...."

Well, these are some portions of the ocean of Vedas. Most of the common mantras you recite are also portions from the Vedas - just that most are not aware of what they recite - The Vedas, which is the very soul of Sanātana Dharma.

Rule 1: The Vedas are not books you read overnight and understand the entire depth of it.

So what are Vedas? Where did they originate from?

Vedas are the cosmic sounds (Śabda Brahman). Cosmos is the Universe in its totality.

When there is a movement or motion, there is vibration. Sound is the energy of vibration.

The entire universe is a composite of vibrations. This means sound energy is the framework of the Universe. Every sound has a geometry to it. This geometry gives existence its form. In other words, the forms that we perceive in the Universe are produced by the underlying vibrations.

Image: Geometry ( crude shape ) formed through sound vibrations. Various sound frequencies give rise to a diverse geometry of the Universe. Whatever you perceive as the cosmos is simply a reflection to this underlying vibration - which serves as the very skeleton of the body called the cosmos.

Video: Illustration on how sound creates geometry which creates forms we perceive.

Video courtesy : Youtube: Inner Worlds, Outer Worlds - Part 1 - Akasha

The cosmic vibrations exists as one of the 5 elements, the ākāśa ( ether ). Ether is often misterpreted as 'sky'. An ordinary human cannot perceive all these vibrations ( as sounds ) due to limitations. Humans can only hear sounds within the range of 20 hertz to 20 000 hertz. You might be able to hear the rotation of the fan in your room. Yet you are unaware of the foot-drop sound of an ant in the same room.

However, some advanced beings could tap into the entire spectrum of the sound-form: the ṛṣi-s.

The ancient sages of India through intense penance activated superhuman abilities.

As the Ṛṣis achieved a paramount state of meditativeness and penance, they received and downloaded these sound-structures. Various knowledge and truths were experienced parallel to these sounds. Sound and knowledge are like eyes and sight.

Just cognize: a pen drive can be used to transfer data. Likewise, mantras - sound energy is a medium to transfer the universal data - the truths of the cosmos. This is why the Vedas are said to be the very breath of God.

Many, many Ṛṣis received various mantras from the cosmos. The compilation of these mantras is what we refer to as the 'VEDAS'.

Vedas are NOT Sanskrit!

Sanskrit as a language came from the refinement of the crude cosmic reverberation. Strictly speaking, the Vedas are NOT Sanskrit. The language of the Vedas is referred to as Vaidika Bhāṣā.

To put it simply, the ancient Ṛṣis literally envisioned the universal knowledge as sounds - which they received in a series.

The Ṛṣis are referred to as mantra-draṣṭā-s (One who 'sees the mantra'). This occurs in a different dimension altogether.

This is why recitation of the Vedas is the only way to learn them! You have to imbibe the very sound frequency to precisely tune to the particular knowledge to realise it.

Portions of the Vedas have an associated Ṛṣi to them. For example, the Ṛṣi for the mantras that occur in the middle part of Yajur Veda is King Aghora - A Rāja Ṛṣi. The king foresaw a calamity that would befall his kingdom. He went into penance, seeking a solution - to which he received the mantras which are recited as Rudram today.

The Ṛṣis are not the composers. The Vedas do not have an author!

They are merely the instruments who have received these truths.

A Vedic seer is someone who has perceived the Vedas and experienced it wholly with his entire being. He becomes ONE with the truth.

Each radio station emits radio waves across the country. But we cannot listen to the waves or sounds ( music ) played on the radio stations. We need to use a device and tune it to the particular frequency - only then can we hear the songs played on the desired radio station.

Ancient sages were like these radios - who acted as an instrument to transmit these Vedas. They then taught these Vedas orally to disciples, in a guru-śiṣya system.

The Vedas were and are learnt only through recitation. The Vedas were realised through recitation. By sound we gain and by sound again we attain.

How can one realise knowledge through sound alone?

Here is an analogy. Imagine yourself crossing the road. A car honks at you. Immediately, your fight and flight response gets triggered. Your body is introduced to the knowledge that you are in a possibility of trauma and danger from a vehicle.

Just by the mere sound of the honk; the information about an existing car and danger is realised within you. Even your body realises this truth and reacts to it. Your intellect does not even process the stimulus. You don't even mentally dissect anything here. Logic is nullified here.

Such immense transformation happens just through a honk, which is nothing but sound energy.

The 4 Vedas

This is why, the Vedas are called 'Śrutis' (that which was heard ). The ocean of Vedas (downloaded by countless Ṛṣis) was compiled and arranged into four divisions - namely the Ṛg Veda, Sāma Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda by Veda Vyāsa. Yajur Veda was then subdivided into two parts - Kṛṣṇa Yajur Veda and Śukla Yajur Veda. Each Veda further branched into many subdivisions.

Samhitās refer to a collection of mantras (mantra bhāga). Brāhmaṇa refer to the application of the mantra bhāga. Āraṇyaka refer to the Vedas learnt in the forest region. Upaniṣads serve as an essence to the Vedic truths.

The first verse in this article - yo'paṁ puṣhpaṁ veda, is part of the Āraṇyakam of Yajur Veda.

Video: Śukla Yajur Veda recitation by my student Kum. Śrāvanthī. The Śukla Yajur Veda has unique portions, not found in the Kṛṣṇa Yajur Veda. The Śukla Yajur Veda contains the knowledge which was revealed by Lord Sūrya to Yājñavalkya.

The Vedas were only scripted down not more than a few thousand years back. This was because people stopped reciting the Vedas with discipline.

Veda Vyāsa was the first person to script down the audio form of Vedas.

List of Women Ṛṣika-s of the Rig Veda

Modern scientists as Ṛṣi-s

Even today, with modern instruments, scientists have been able to identify certain sounds that constitute the Vedas. For example, the vibration of the Sun has been identified as the very Praṇava 'OM' by NASA.

Video above: Sound from the Sun recorded as "OM"

Signals obtained from a neutron Star - converted into audible sound only to be discovered as the sound of ḍamaru. 

The Power of Vedas

The Vedas when learnt and recited, can intensely raise the collective consciousness of the planet. The Vedas hold all forms of knowledge, both spiritual and material. They include the entire wavelength - from the creation of the Universe to instructions related to societal discipline in the Vedic culture.

In fact, in ancient times, Ṛṣis and sages used to move to forests and recite these powerful Vedas. The immensely powerful cosmic vibrations produced purified the entire world. In fact, a subdivision of the Yajur Veda - the Āraṇyakas were originally taught in the forest.

Video: Experiment by Dr. Avinash demonstrating the highest amount of energy ever recorded by mankind which was produced from a mass recitation of Śrī Rudram of Yajur Veda in Praśānti Nilayam, Puttaparthi.

The vibrations produced by the Vedas spreads across the world and purifies everything. It purifies all the elements polluted by low consciousness. Even today, if we learn the Vedas, we are doing a great service by killing harmful microorganisms, destroying harmful electromagnetic waves in the ether, besides raising the universal consciousness.

In the past, the Vedas were used elaborately as technology. There are mantras which can cause changes in the weather, create living beings and even palaces.

Manipulation of the way a particular Veda mantra was recited was also possibly used to cause destructive effects, in great wars like in Kurukshetra.

In short, the Ṛṣis perceived higher knowledge upon receiving the Vedas. Vice versa, you too, can perceive this knowledge when you recite the Vedas. This is the science behind recitation and learning.

We have lost more than 90 % of Vedas

Traditionally, each person only learnt one branch of a particular Veda. Each of the Vedas had many branches. Learning the entire Vedas was a superhuman task. Hence, by sticking to one branch (śākhā), the Vedas were preserved on this planet. This made things efficient as well. In the past, people only recited the Vedas of their familial śākhā or branch.

Over time, more than 90 % of the Veda śākhās got lost as the tradition did not meet the required discipline. We have barely a few śākhās alive from each Veda today.

Even then, the available Vedas are powerful beyond imagination. Imagine the frequency at which our planet would vibrate if the entirety of the Vedas were preserved.

The Vedas are still declining in use. This is a great gift from our culture, which is not very well recognised today. Everyone can and should practice the Vedas.

Video above: Bhagavan Shri Sathya Sai Baba emphasising the importance of Vedas - particularly Rudram of Yajur Veda.

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* Veda recitation has been acknowledged as one of the oldest traditions by UNESCO*

 Also Read :                

(1) Yagas - The technology used to amplify the power of Vedas                     

(2) Amount of Vedas lost

(3) All articles on Vedas 

(4) Branching of the Vedas - How the Vedas became 4