Understanding the Vedas: Highlighting the Spirituality and Wisdom in the Vedas

Congratulations and thanks to Dr. R. Narayanaswami for writing this valuable book and sharing his experience, research and wisdom with us.I had the opportunity to attend few Maha Yagnas with him over the last few years and have observed his passion for the vedas, our religious practices and more importantly his keen interest and dedication to share with next generation, his life long experience and the wisdom he has gained by following the vedic traditions. It is no surprise that he has been very successful in his business ventures and also in everything he has taken up like religious, spiritual and cultural activities in his life as his intensions have been very pure and has managed them with the conviction and the wisdom he has gained from the holy scriptures.This book is very unique and a must read. I bought the Kindle version and thoroughly enjoyed reading every chapter. He has not only covered the background well but also has provided practical instructions to bring the benefits of the vedas into everyday life. Dr. Narayanaswami's knowledge is vast and deep. His writing is a product of his life long spiritual and religious experience.The distinguishing features of this book are: (1) Exremely well written keeping both beginner and advanced Sanatana Dharma Sadhakas in mind (2) Vedas explained very concisely - Life long Vedic tradition practice, 20 years of teaching Vedas, more than 10 years of thorough research, consultation with scholars like Prof. R.L. Kashyap and others and thorough reading of works of Sri Kapali Sastry and Sri Aurobindo have gone into this master piece (3) Overview of the Veda practices in present times are nicely captured (4) The book explains how the Rishis of the Vedas from their own experiences shoe the human beings how to invite the devas to their homes by chanting the veda mantras and divinize their lives and (5) Wealth of information is covered in the Appendix section.Dr. Narayanaswami believes that it is our bounden duty to preserve and protect the Vedas by promoting their study and benefit from the Vedic wisdom. This book is another valuable contrinution by him in addition to his various activities to support this divine goal. I hope the Sadhakas will take advantage of this opportunity to read this book and enrich their lives. This book is also a perfect and ideal gift item to your well wishers. Wishing Dr. Narayanaswami continued best health and blissfulness so that he can continue to disseminate Vedic culture in our society.

The author has succeeded in writing a remarkable and very interesting treatise on the most ancient scriptures of mankind. The original quartet of the Vedas: Rig, Yajur, Saama and Atharva, have provided moral and spiritual guidance and solace for Hindus for five or more millennia. The author has challenged the conventional, and perhaps much of the Western and even some Indology scholars’, wisdom that the four Vedas, collectively the Veda Samhitas, do not provide much spiritual or philosophical guidance. The Vedas are casually dismissed as not much more than mere working manuals for the rituals commonly and routinely conducted by Hindus as part of their religious practice. According to this view, the later Vedic extensions such as the Upanishads and the other components of Vedanta literature provide superior philosophical, spiritual and moral guidance than the Veda Samhitas. The author argues that this is an erroneous view and shows a limited understanding of the Vedic texts. He is convincing with extensive examples and support from highly respected, but ignored sources.The conventional view of Vedas lacking spiritual significance arose from translations and expositions provided by some Western scholars who interpreted much of the content of the Vedas too literally and failed to comprehend the nuanced usage of many words and phrases found in the Vedas. It is to be lamented that this view corrupted the modern Hindu’s view of the Vedas to such an extent that the educated and intellectual Hindus do not consider study of the Vedas a worthwhile pursuit. It is unfortunate this attitude extents to even some of the most respected institutions of theological learning and religious scholars who have relegated the status of the Vedas relative to the later scriptural texts, such as the Upanishad. Learning of the Vedas even in the theological institutions devoted to religious lessons was limited to rote memorization of the verses and nothing more. It is hoped that this book will lead to a substantive rethinking and deeper study of the Vedas.The author makes a fervent plea for a new approach to the learning and research of the Vedas focusing on the spiritual and philosophical sense of the content in the Vedic texts. The book also distinguishes itself with an excellent glossary that would be useful for understanding much of the everyday prayers common among Hindus. The book has an exhaustive reference list and will serve as a very useful starting point for anyone interested learning more about the Vedas.

Todos nós que temos qualquer ligação com a Índia sabemos alguma coisa sobre os Vedas, o texto sagrado máximo, mas poucos conhecem sobre sua origem, como foram transmitidos ao longo de gerações e quais as transformações que sofreram ao longo do caminho.É isso que Narayanaswami tem a nos dizer neste livro “Understanding the Vedas” (“Compreendendo os Vedas”). Na primeira parte do livro, Swami inicia com o período Védico de cerca de 6000 AC quando os Vedas foram recebidos pelos Rishis (sábios) na forma de Mantras em versos através da sua divya drishti (visão divina) e passados aos seus discípulos por recitação oral. Em seguida, descreve o período de cerca de 3000 AC, quando houve uma queda no número dos discípulos que buscavam se tornarem Rishi, fazendo com que o foco de ensinamentos dos Vedas mudasse para as orações ritualísticas para atender a população geral.As várias tentativas de interpretação dos textos dos Vedas durante o período de 3000 AC a 1000 AC geraram diversos textos, entre os quais os Puranas e Upanishads são os mais conhecidos. Assim, os Vedas se propagaram mais como práticas de rituais, e foram colocados na forma escrita pela primeira vez por Sayana Acharya, em 1400 DC, contendo somente seu significado em Sânscrito, sem abordar ao seu sentido sutil (significado espiritual ou adhyatmic). Foi neste período que estudiosos de ocidente traduziram os Vedas para o idioma inglês, sem ver nada de sabedoria neles, classificando-os como meras práticas ritualísticas. Assim, os tempos modernos encontram os Veda Mantras com seu sentido espiritual totalmente perdido.Embora Madhavacharya, no século 13, e Raghavendra Swami, no século 17, tivessem comentados sobre o sentido espiritual (adhyatmic) dos Vedas, ninguém seguiu suas ideias. No início do século 20 DC, Sri Aurobindo veio resgatar os Vedas, retomando os sentidos espirituais dos Veda Mantras. Uma vez redescoberto o significado espiritual dos Vedas, vários estudiosos, especialmente Kapali Sastry e R. L. Kashyap, reestabeleceram o lugar apropriado dos Vedas, compilando os significados espirituais (adhyatmic) de todos os Veda Mantras.Na segunda parte do livro, Narayanaswami explica aos leitores, num estilo de fácil compreensão, a espiritualidade e sabedoria nos Vedas e o conteúdo dos quatro Veda Samhitas, e os textos relacionados com ênfase no sentido interno (espiritual) bem como o sentido externo, e também do seu uso nos Pujas e Yajnas. Este livro não é um tratado sobre os Vedas, porém, explica aos leitores sobre os benefícios que o estudo e prática de Veda Mantras podem trazer aos praticantes na forma de prosperidade externa e de iluminação interna.O livro “Understanding the Vedas” pode ser o ponto de partida na jornada de estudos de Vedas, sua história e seu verdadeiro conteúdo. A rica bibliografia no livro ajudaria o leitor na identificação da literatura adequada, em um estudo mais profundo do assunto.

The author Dr. R. Narayanaswamy has tried to present to the readers a treasure of his experiences and studies over more than 5 decades, relating to the sacred Vedas. He has amply explained the various stages of their growth and the translations and explanations/commentaries written by several eminent personalities. Undoubtedly there is a wealth of knowledge contained in this book. The author has clearly stated that his prime aim is to rouse the inquisitiveness in the reader to follow up the ‘understanding’ further. The section ‘What next’ gives a guidance. The author hopes that if, as a result of reading this book, the reader gets an urge to further follow up the study of Vedas, he will feel amply rewarded. It can be confidently stated that the book meets this requirement. Dr. R.Narayanaswamy has, no doubt, succeeded in his attempt and deserves full compliments. The book is strongly recommended to all who are followers of Sanathana Dharma .

Shri Narayanaswami has given a wonderful overview of the Vedas. Whether one looks to understand what Vedas are or one wants to put it to use and incorporate it as part of one’s life the book provides a good path to traverse. Each chapter is a mine of information for the interested ones. One would be advised to study and assimilate this scholarly work articulated in the modern context for the English readers trying to pierce through the veil of the Sanskrit mantras and the sound that the Vedas appear in this world.