User:Jaykul72/mysite/Vedas

Literature on Vedas
The Holy Vedas : Bibek Debroy; Hardcover;Special Order

Secret of the Veda, New U.S. Edition : Sri Aurobindo; Paperback

The Wisdom of the Vedas (Theosophical Heritage Classics): Jagadish Chandra Chatterji; Paperback

The Secret Teachings of the Vedas: The Eastern Answers to the Mysteries of Life : Stephen Knapp; Paperback

The Rig Veda: An Anthology: One Hundred and Eight Hymns, Selected, Translated and Annotated (Classic) : Wendy Doniger; Paperback

Meditations Through the Rig Veda: Four-Dimensional Man : Antonio T. de Nicolas; Paperback;

Proof of Vedic Culture's Global Existence: Stephen Knapp; Paperback;

Samuel Adams: Patriot (Revolutionary War Leaders) : Veda Boyd Jones; Paperback;

The Light of Ten Thousand Suns : Swami Veda Bharati; Paperback;

Commentaries on the Vedas, the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita: The Three Branches of India's Life-Tree : Sri Chinmoy; Paperback;

The Book of the Vedas: Timeless Wisdom from Indian Tradition : Virender Kumar Arya; Hardcover;

The Vernacular Veda: Revelation, Recitation, and Ritual Vasudha Narayanan; Hardcover;

Hymns from the Rig-Veda Jean Le Mee; Hardcover;Out of Print--Limited Availability;

Veda and Torah: Transcending the Textuality of Scripture Barbara A. Holdrege; Paperback;

The Book of the Vedas: Timeless Wisdom from Indian Tradition Eric Chaline; Hardcover;

Wisdom of the Ancient Seers: Mantras of the Rig Veda David, Dr. Frawley; Paperback

Wisdom of the Vedas by J. C. Chatterji

Chronology and transmission of Vedas
Brahmānanda Sarasvatī, Lb Shriver and Cynthia Ann Humes (2013). The sweet teachings of the blessed Śaṅkrācārya Swami Brahmananda Saraswati. Fairfield, Ia: Lbs Imprints., ISBN 1304662004


 * The Vedic tradition is regarded as unique not only for the antiquity of its roots also for the fact that it is a living tradition with continuous, unbroken, links to the past. It has been transmitted across the centuries through the teachings of an illustrious lineage of masters, none of whom is more generally revered than Adi Shankara […] who by the age of 16 had completed commentaries on the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras, and the Bhagavad Gita. pg xxi
 * According to Shriver and Humes, The Vedic tradition has been transmitted through centuries because of commentaries written on the Vedas and the teachings by a lineage of masters like Adi Shankara.

‌ The Samhitas have been handed down from teacher (guru) to student (shisya) for over three thousand years in an unbroken chain of oral transmission known as sampradaaya. Holdrege, B., 1996. Veda And Torah. Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press, p.344.

The Vedic Samhitas have been recited generation after generation in strictly accurate, unaltered form, syllable for syllable, accent for accent, since perhaps as early as second millennium BCE. This unbroken chain of oral transmission, known as sampradaya, is traditionally believed to have been initiated by Vedic Rsis, the ancestors of the brahminical lineages, who originally saw and heard the primordial impulses of speech emanating forth from Transcedent. Hananya Goodman (1997). Between Jerusalem and Benares : comparative studies in Judaism and Hinduism. SUNY Press. ISBN 9781438404370 pg 165

The term sampradaya enjoys a high place in Hindu life, from schools of philosophy to music and fine arts where it refers to a specific “teaching tradition” (a philosophical orientation or a mode of practice) orally passed down from teacher to student. Upon reading this section, Giridhara Shastry bought my attention to Shankara’s words in Bhagavad-Gita Bhasya 13-2: Asampradavit sarvasastravidapi murkhavadeva upiksaniyah “One who is ignorant of the tradition has to be ignored like a fool, even though versatile in all the shastras”. Giridhara shastry added this explanation, “Tradition is the education obtained from any experienced teacher. Interpreting the text based only on one’s intelligence is asampradaya — non-tradition. Any anubhava shastras — shastras related to experience — gives special prominence to tradition”. According to Shankara, the “correct tradition” has as much authority as the written shastras because it too takes root in the vedas — specifically Vedanta — which can be interpreted and transmitted by a guru. The teacher becomes embodiment of knowledge that is considered sacrosanct, and thus sampradaya “tradition” bears the authority to clarify and provide direction in the application of knowledge. Leela Prasad (2007). Poetics of conduct : oral narrative and moral being in a South Indian town. New York: Columbia University Press. pg 125

Leela Prasad mentions that in the Bhagavad-Gita Bhasya, Adi Shankara says “Asampradavit sarvasastravidapi murkhavadeva upiksaniyah” which means that “Interpreting the text based only on one’s intelligence is asampradya - non-tradition.” Following the tradition of learning from a master “has as much authority as the written Shastra”. She further notes that instead of considering Vedas as a “singular manual”, the transmission from teacher to student makes it a “physical and spiritual continuum” that gains “reverence in the community”. Leela Prasad (2007). Poetics of conduct : oral narrative and moral being in a South Indian town. New York: Columbia University Press. pg 125

‌ The tradition of Vaidika Sampradaya, expounders of Vedic wisdom, has played an important role in the oral transmission of Vedas, for several thousand years the Samhitas have been transferred from teacher (guru) to the student (shishya) through this tradition. According to historians, the Vedic tradition, initiated by the Vedic Rishis who heard the primordial sounds, has been transmitted through centuries because of commentaries written on the Vedas and the teachings by a lineage of masters like Adi Shankara. Leela Prasad mentions that in the Bhagavad-Gita Bhasya, Adi Shankara says “Asampradavit sarvasastravidapi murkhavadeva upiksaniyah” which means that “Interpreting the text based only on one’s intelligence is asampradya - non-tradition” following the tradition of learning from a master “has as much authority as the written Shastra”.

Every sound and syllable of the Samhitas has been meticulously maintained with absolute fidelity by male brahmin reciters known as srotriyas known as masters of sruti. Holdrege, B., 1996. Veda And Torah. Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press, p.345.

However, in the traditional brahmanical perspective, as expressed both in mythological speculations and in the philosophical formulations of the Mimamsakas and Advaitins, the fact that the discursive meaning of the mantras is not emphasised does not necessarily imply that they are meaningless. The preoccupation in the Vedic tradition with phonology over semantics is linked to the view of the special status of the Vedic language as a natural language in which the sound is held to constitute its own meaning. …. We may term this type of meaning “constitutive meaning” in contrast to discursive meaning. Holdrege, B., 1996. Veda And Torah. Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press, p.347.