The four Vedas are an incomparable source of knowledge. There is clarity and purity in the language they have been written. Not only are the Vedas a spiritual text, they are a form of literature.
- Rig Veda is the most ancient Veda. It is said that these verses supposedly came down from the Arctic zone. They contain the myth of the Aryan gods, descriptions of sacrifices and other rites.
- Yajur Veda contains formulas for the sacrifices, as well as for everything which man does in his daily life.
- Samaveda includes chants and was the origin of music. When the Samaveda was written, there were only three musical notes—sa-pa and sa—the first, fifth and seventh. According to tradition the whole of the Vedas, is always sung, not recited or repeated. There are different ways of singing, but most of the hymns are sung in these three notes.
- Atharvaveda comprises all the sciences. It contains Tantra and Yoga as well as medicine, surgery, herbology, minerals, archery, magic, sexual science and many more topics. At first the rishis did not accept the Atharvaveda as a revelation. They said that only the higher knowledge could be revealed, but ultimately, they had to accept that every kind of knowledge can be a revelation, not only knowledge about Brahman.
The four Vedas deal with hundreds of topics. They discuss everything in life and after life. They refer to the planet we live on and the different constellations beyond our solar system. So, you can find every topic whether it is spirituality, philosophy, politics or sociology. They talk about the soul’s journey after death; the possibility of life in other solar systems; the fight between the divine and demonic forces in man and in society. They do not merely discuss politics and empires; they talk about geography and history as well as the absolute form of creation. The original language of the Vedas was Sanskrit.
Innumerable topics were discussed in the Vedas. So, they had to be further classified into four divisions.
The first division was called Samhitas. This is a collection of mantras and prayers presented to those individuals who practiced ritualistic and symbolic worship. They are used in various ceremonies such as birth, death, marriage, building a house, and other auspicious occasions.
The second division was called the Brahamanas. It is a code of ethics meant to be practiced by householders. It deals with issues related to everything in a family and society.
The third division was called Aranyakas, the forest scriptures, which were intended for those people who having fulfilled their obligations as house holder, are ready to lead a more spiritual life away from family responsibilities.
The fourth division was the Upanishads. They dealt purely with philosophical matters such as Atman, the supreme being, the higher consciousness and how to attain this supreme state in life. This knowledge was revealed to Sannyasins. The Upanishads dealt with only one subject; Brahman, the Absolute, the total reality.
The four divisions of the Vedas have influenced civilizations and cultures for thousands of years. They make it very clear that the purpose of human life is to attain divine consciousness. All beings not only man are related to one another. The different species are one link in a great chain, and according to the Vedas, human birth is considered to be a very important milestone in the evolution of the soul.
As explained by Swami Satyananda Saraswati.
Aim Hrim Klim
Picture by Ms Sarah Welch – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0