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Web Publication by Mountain Man Graphics, Australia in the Southern Autumn of 1996
Introduction
There is a certain amount of controversy surrounding the exact history of the Veda, the most ancient of Hindu
scripture, which was first translated into European languages in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth
centuries. At this time, it was the contention of the expanding scientific, philosophical and religious doctrines
of western European culture, that these writings simply could not be more ancient than the classical roots of
European civilisation. Whereas this hypothesis was strongly held by the expanding western educational
regime, in recent times there has been cause to re-examine its claims.
In any event, although further references to this controversy are presented at the conclusion of this document,
there is no doubt that these ancient Hindu scriptures are older than 1000BC. The word "Veda" is a Sanscrit
word which means "knowledge" or "wisdom". There are in fact four Vedas: the Rig Veda" or "Veda of
Hymns", the Sama-Veda or the "Veda of Chants", the Yajur-Veda or the "Veda of sacrifice" and the
Artharva-Veda, which is later in date than the earlier three.
Although the Vedas are the earliest of the Hindu scriptures, they are by no means the only body of writings to
have originated from the ancient sub-continent of India. The Katha Upanishad, is part of a large set of
literature known as the Upanishads, and in the presentation of this you will find some interesting mappings
between the science of the east and that of the west.
The reference work which I have used in the presentation of the following selection of verses from the Rig
Veda is one from the "Everyman's Library" and entitled "The Hindu Scriptures". It is translated and edited
by R.C. Zaehner as recently as 1966.
For a more in-depth research concerning the Rig Veda, I would recommend reviewing Hymns to the Mystic
Fire, an extensive publication in 1946 by Sri Aurobindo - in particular the introductory sections in which he
outlines the Doctrine of the Mystics.
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I wish all research students the optimum of courage and determination concerning the pursuance of their
common goals, and have pleasure in presenting the following texts from the Rig Veda.
Peace,
PRF Brown
BCSLS {Freshwater}
Mountain Man Graphics
Newport Beach, Australia
[2] What was the primal matter (adhisthana)? What the beginning?
How and what manner of thing was that from which
The Maker of All, see-er of all, brought forth
The earth, and by his might the heavens unfolded?
[5] Teach us thy highest dwelling places (dhama), thy lowest too;
[Teach us] these, thy midmost, Maker of All:
Teach thy friends at the oblation, O thou, self-strong;
Offer sacrifice thyself to make thy body grow!
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To Visvakarman
[1] The father of the eye - for wise of mind is he -
Begat these twain [heaven and earth] like sacrificial ghee,
And they bowed to him [in worship].
Not till the ancient bounds were firmly fixed
Were heaven and earth extended.
[7] You will not find him who [all] these begat:
Some other things has stepped between you.
Blinded by fog and [ritual] mutterings
Wander the hymn-reciters, robbers of life!
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A History of India and Hindu Dharma - A clear outline of the New and the Old Models of Indian History,
with very good references, maintained by Ms. Neha K. Desai at the universtiry of Manitoba in Canada.
Ancient India in a New Light - By C.J.S. Wallia, a review of two interesting books: Vedic "Aryans" and
the Origins of Civilization by Navaratna Rajaram and David Frawley, World Heritage Press, 1995 and In
Search of the Cradle of Civilization by Georg Feuesrstein, Subhash Kak, & David Frawley - Wheaton,
Illinois Quest Books, 1995
Sarasvati-Sindhu civilization (c. 3000 B.C.) - A thoroughly researched article by Dr. S. Kalyanaraman of
Mylapore, Madras, India which, in the words of the author, has the objective "to promote an understanding
of and further researches into delineating the courses of the `lost' Sarasvati river from Siwalik ranges to the
Rann of Kutch (sAgara) and to gain deeper insights into an ancient civilization that flourished on the Sarasvati
and Indus river valleys circa 3000 BC."
Demise of Aryan Racial/Invasion Theory - A very interesting article retained during November 1995
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consisting of a post by Dinesh Agrawal, of the State College, PA, USA which provides excellent references,
discussion, bibliography and resource notes for the interested research student. This archive site is worth
exploration, and is managed by the Soc.Religion.Hindu Newsgroup.
Veda - Dharma & Vedic Culture - An extensive compendium and part of the vast SPIRIT-WWW, with
many articles covering Vedic literature, Overviews, Collected articles related to Vedic writings and their
applications to today's times, book extracts and articles discussing world views (Vedic/Western [Refer next
item], Hindu/Christian, Mystic/Scientific, etc).
The Vedic Experience - Hinduism's Contemporary Holy Bible by Professor Raimon Panikkar
BaLitthA Suukta - A detailed presentation of the BaLitthA Suukta of the Rig Veda from the Dvaita Site
and Shrisha Rao.
World Views: Vedic vs. Western - an article by Sadaputa Dasa (Richard L. Thompson) who earned his
Ph.D. in mathematics from Cornell University. He is the author of several books, of which the most recent is
Vedic Cosmography and Astronomy.
Hymns from the Rig Veda - maintained by Paul Brians, Department of English, Washington State
University
The Aryan Pages - are maintained by delash out of Manchester in the UK, and have a number of
interesting references to Vedic History and Literature.
The Creation Hymn - from my UseNet Archive ... a post concerning this most ancient writing.
The Ramayana:: one of the largest epics in the world, comparable to the Illiad and Odyssey.
Global Hindu Electronic Networks: The Hindu Universe - Extensive resource, hosts of the above links for
The Ramayana and Mahabharata and other literature available in many formats and languages.
Soc.Religion.Hindu Newsgroup HomePage - Extensive archived resources of articles, posts and other
information discussed within this newsgroup for quite some time - host to a number of excellent pages.
Alt.Hindu Newsgroup Home Page - A further set of archived articles, posts and other information gathered
back into the dim dark era of 1994.
Web Publication by Mountain Man Graphics, Australia in the Southern Autumn of 1996
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