What Are the Vedas?

​The Spiritual Science informs us that there is a God who is the source of everything and the cause of all causes. This world that we live in was indeed created by God through the use of His various energies. We, living spiritual beings, find ourselves in this world of matter and because humans have developed intelligence we ask ourselves who we are, what is this place, and why are we here?

These questions need not be asked in vain because there are answers that are given by God Himself. It is not as though He created this place and placed us here in ignorance to figure it out for ourselves, but He has provided information about this world, how it works, why we are here, and so on. In other words, He has provided an instruction and operating manual for this wonderful machine made of material energy. That set of instructions is called “Knowledge” and the Sanskrit word for knowledge is “Veda.”
​The Vedas are understood to be eternal knowledge established by God and present since the very beginning of creation. They describe themselves as apauruṣeya, meaning that they do not come from any materially conditioned person but from the Supreme (a source transcendental to mundane duality). The Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad (2.4.10) informs us, “The Ṛg Veda, Yajur Veda, Sāma Veda, Atharva Veda, and Itihāsas [histories like the Mahābhārata and Purāṇas] are all breathed out by the Absolute Truth.” According to the Vedic tradition, the Vedas are absolute and self-authoritative. They depend on nothing but themselves for explanation. This very principle comes from the mouth of Sri Krishna in Bhagavad-gītā (3.15): brahmākṣara-samudbhavam: “The Vedas are directly manifested from the infallible Personality of Godhead.” The Atharva Veda states that Krishna who instructed Brahmā in the beginning of the creation, also disseminated Vedic knowledge in the past. Thus the Vedic scriptures delineate their own origin.

The Vedas are meant to answer all of the existential questions of life and to help human beings realize their spiritual existence beyond the material body. The Vedas further are meant to guide human beings how to live happily in this world of matter, and how to properly exercise their free will in such a way that they may enjoy the material experience but at the same time qualify themselves for liberation from this temporary world.

Human life is a journey from the material experience to the spiritual experience that transcends the world of matter. The Vedas are the guidebook for that journey. The human body may be compared to a sturdy boat with which to cross the ocean of spiritual ignorance. The guru, or spiritual guide is the capable captain of that boat, and the Vedic literatures are the favorable breezes that take the boat across the water.

Historically speaking the Vedas are the world’s oldest scriptures, written down some 5,000 years ago according to its own tradition, but predating that by aural (sound) traditions that reach into antiquity. They are comprised of a huge collection of books which includes knowledge of the material world, religious principles and ritualistic performances, as well as spiritual and transcendental knowledge. When we say “the Vedas” we are referring to this entire collection in general, and the word “Vedic” refers to the worldview and knowledge contained therein.

The Vedas are comprised of:
4 original Vedas: The Ṛg Veda, Yajur Veda, Sāma Veda and Atharva Veda
108 Upanisads
18 Puranas
6 Vedangas
8 Sastras
17 Sutras
Additional Itihasas

The Vedas also explain themselves. For example, the Bhaviṣya Purāṇa states:

ṛg-yajuḥ-sāmārtharvāś ca bhārataṁ pañcarātrakam mūla-rāmāyaṇaṁ
caiva veda ity eva śabditaḥ purāṇāni ca yānīha vaiṣṇavāni vido viduḥ

“The Ṛg Veda, Yajur Veda, Sāma Veda, Atharva Veda, Mahābhārata [which includes the Bhagavad-gītā], Pañcarātra, and the original Rāmāyaṇa are all considered Vedic literature…. The Vaishnava supplements and the Purāṇas, are also Vedic literature.”

Also included are corollary literatures like the Saṁhitās, as well as the commentaries of the great teachers who have guided the course of Vedic thought for centuries. Modern scholars say that only the original four Vedas – Ṛg, Atharva, Yajur, and Sāma – are genuine Vedic literatures. The Vedas themselves, however, do not support this view, nor do the most prominent Vedic teachers, including Śaṅkara, Rāmānuja, and Madhva. The Chāndogya Upaniṣad (7.1.4) mentions the Purāṇas and Itihāsas, generally known as histories, as the fifth Veda: itihāsa-purāṇaḥ pañcamaḥ vedānāṁ vedaḥ. And the Bhāgavata Purāṇa (1.4.20) confirms, “The historical facts and authentic stories mentioned in the Purāṇas are called the fifth Veda.”

In any case, to be accepted as Vedic, a literature must maintain the same purpose as the original Vedic texts. The Vedic scriptures (shastras) comprise a harmonious whole with a harmonious conclusion (siddhanta). Consequently, we may accept as a bona fide Vedic writing any work that expands on the Vedic siddhanta without changing its meaning, even if the work is not one of the original scriptures. In fact, the Vedic tradition requires further authoritative works that suitably present the Vedic message at different times and places. However, to be genuine, these extensions of Vedic literature must strictly conform to the doctrines of the Vedas, Purāṇas, and the Vedānta-sūtra.

The Vedic scriptures are vast in scope. The Ṛg Veda alone contains 1,017 hymns, the Mahābhārata consists of 110,000 couplets, and the eighteen chief Purāṇas contain hundreds of thousands of verses. Study of the entire Veda is not possible for most people in today’s world, but the essence of the Vedas can be understood through study of the essential Vaishnava texts: the Bhagavad-gita, Bhagavat Purana, Isopanisad, and Chaitanya-charitamrita.

As its main purpose, the Vedic literature imparts knowledge of self-realization and, therefore, liberation (moksha) from the suffering of this world. For example, the first verse of the Vedānta-sūtra – athāto brahma-jijñāsā – is both a declaration and an invitation to everyone: “Now, therefore, let us inquire into the Absolute Truth.” And like hundreds of similar statements throughout the Vedic literature the Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad advises, “He is a miserly man who does not solve the problems of life as a human and who quits the world like a cat or a dog, not understanding the science of self-realization.”

Beyond the spiritual lessons, the Vedas also contain vast amounts of knowledge dealing with the material experience and offer a complete guide to living a rich and satisfying material life if the spiritual principles are followed. The material or mundane aspects of the Vedas include:

Ayurveda – science of health
Dhanurveda – science of war
Gandharva Veda – science of music
Artha Shastra – science of polity
The Siksha – phonetics
The Nirukta – philosophy or etymology
The Jyotisha – Astronomy and astrology
Vastu Shastra – Architecture

The structure of the Vedic scriptures can be compared to a staircase with many steps, with specific scriptures corresponding to each step. The Vedic scriptures describe both the goal and the steps leading up to this goal. They are non-sectarian because they respect and teach people on each of the steps, and encourage everyone to progress on to the next step. There is no question of converting or “saving” anyone because each of us has to realize the Truth in our own way and own time. As it is said “In a flock of birds, each bird has to fly for itself.”
Beyond simply providing this knowledge the Lord comes Himself in numerous incarnations to explain it all, and those incarnations are both predicted and Their activities described. The Lord also sends many self-realized saints to guide society in spiritual practice and pursuits. This Vedic wisdom has not been available to those outside of India until only recently. With the advent of modern transportation and communication this knowledge is becoming available across the globe. My own guru, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, has been very instrumental in spreading this wisdom all over the earth, and having received it from him I am doing my best to continue to present it as the Spiritual Science.

Modern “Scholars” Diminish the Vedas

There are some that say that the Vedas are the “Hindu scriptures,” but this is incorrect. First of all because the word “Hindu” is a modern word coined by Muslims referring to the people living on the other side of the Sind River. Due to their dialect “Sind” was pronounced as “hind” and thus they referred to the Hindus. But the Vedas vastly predate the creation of that word.

Some modern scholars, or Indologists, are of the opinion that such a thing as “Vedic scripture” doesn’t even exist. They say that the collection of books mentioned earlier are not a consistent body of knowledge but a mere accumulation of texts from different sources, written over a long period of time, dating from only 1000 or 1500 B.C., after the hypothetical “Aryan Invasion” into the Indian Subcontinent. Only then was a “Vedic” culture was formed through the mixture of these tribes. If we believe this scenario, then it is natural to think that the Indian scriptures are nothing but a mass of unsystematic mythological texts.

However as we have pointed out above, the Vedic scriptures themselves maintain a completely different version. They refer to very ancient cultures, timeless revelations and divine incarnations. They also say that the entire body of Vedic knowledge has a systematic structure and a clearly defined goal, being compiled by the great Vedic Rishis (seers and sages), and put into written form by Krishna-dvaipayana Vyasa, and entrusted to his disciples to be protected and disseminated.

More Details

The Four Vedas: The scriptures of this category are generally labeled as the original Vedic scriptures. These four Vedas are known as Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva. Rig means ritual, and it contains mainly hymns and prayers (Mantras) in the worship of the universal forces called the demigods. Yajur means ceremony, and it mainly describes how to perform the rituals. Sama means singing; the scriptures of these categories contain many other mantras as well as strict rules how to chant these mantras according to mystic vibrations. Atharva means a priest who knows the secret lore; these scriptures describe many different kinds of worship and invocations. In a broader sense, many other scriptures of material knowledge are also counted in the Atharva, like the Ayurveda (pharmacological sciences and the means to maintain health.)

Tantric scriptures: Not everybody is inclined to follow the methods of the Vedas which demand strictness, purity, faith and patience. Impatient, ignorant people demand results on the spot, and these can be obtained by magic, ghost worship, etc. By providing such knowledge, the Vedic scriptures encourage the faith of such occult people so that one day, or lifetime, they may develop interest in the higher aspects of the Veda. These literatures are within the modes of passion and ignorance.

The Upanishads: Woven into the four Vedas are different kinds of philosophical discussions, like the Aranyakas and Brahmanas. Most significant are the Upanishads (“sitting beneath,” i.e. knowledge obtained from a spiritual teacher). These texts indicate that all material forms are transient; they are temporary manifestations of an eternal energy, which in itself is beyond material duality. They indicate the oneness behind the variety and inspire people engaged in the rituals of the Vedas to go beyond their short-term goals.

Vedanta-sutra: 560 condensed aphorisms which define the Vedic truths in most general terms in order to provide a common ground of argument to all different kinds of philosophical schools. The commentaries to (explanations of) the Vedanta-sutras, composed by many different saints, are voluminous.
Itihasas: These are the historical works, mainly the Ramayana (the history of the incarnation Rama), the 18 Puranas and 18 Sub-Puranas (universal history of creation and annihilation, the incarnations and the great kings, saints and teachers), and the Mahabharata (the history of ancient India [called Bharata], leading up to the appearance of Krishna five thousand years ago). These scriptures are essential because they expand the understanding of the Absolute beyond the impersonal conception that everything is simply one energy. The Absolute Truth is perfect and complete, and being so includes both impersonal as well as personal features. Actually, the personal aspect is the original source of the subordinate impersonal feature of the Lord, just as we might also have an impersonal representation of ourselves in the form of a letter or written instructions to subordinates. The Itihasas reveal the Lord’s personal feature, gradually introducing and identifying it, culminating in the purely monotheistic revelations of Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam.

Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam: These sacred texts are designated even by the Vedic scriptures themselves as the most important, essential revelations. They directly describe the nature, energy and person of God, who is manifest in various features such as Vishnu, or Krishna. Lord Krishna is the speaker of the Bhagavad-gita and is considered to have actually been living on this earth some 5,000 years ago. Bhagavad-gita (“God’s Song”) is the words spoken by God, and Srimad-Bhagavatam (“Divine Revelation”) are depictions of pastimes about God.

This implicit structure of the Vedic scriptures sheds new light on the entire Vedic tradition and deserves closer examination. Vedic truths cannot be learned simply by study as one would learn mathematics. Spiritual truths are revealed to those who qualify themselves with a proper attitude, service and submission to the Lord. Mere academic study of the Vedic scriptures can be compared to reading a cookbook or a book of musical composition. If we don’t come to the point of actually cooking or playing the instrument, we’ve missed the point. Similarly, the Vedas are meant to teach us how to develop our relationship with the Lord and to one day enter into that relationship as our ultimate reality. Doing so requires both learning, devotion, and effort (service).