LITERATURE OF INDIAN CULTURE

Rig Veda is a collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns counted among the four Hindu religious texts known as the Vedas. Its date is debatable. Many great Yogis and scholars who have understood the astronomical references in the hymns, date the Rig Veda as before 4000 B.C.perhaps as early as 12,000. Modern western scholars tend to date it around 1500 B.C., though recent archaeological finds in India now appear to require a much earlier date. While the term Vedic is often given to any layer of the Vedic teachings including the Bhagavad Gita, technically it applies primarily to the Rig Veda.The Rig Veda is the book of Mantra. It contains the oldest form of all the Sanskrit mantras. It is built around a science of sound which comprehends the meaning and power of each letter.Most aspects of Vedic science like the practice of yoga, meditation, mantra and Ayurveda can be found in the Rig Veda and still use many terms that come from it.

The Sama Veda is the Yoga of Song. It consists of various hymns of the Rig Veda put to a different and more musical chant. Sama Veda represents the totality of the sensory systems and perceptual apparatus, including receptors, channels, pathways, and the structures involved in organizing, maintaining balance, and identifying and decoding inputs and information. It consists of various hymns of the Rig Veda put to a different and more musical chant. Hence the text of the Sama Veda is a reduced version of the Rig Veda.

YajurVeda mainly deals with mode of conduct, human psychology, activity and ways and means for infinite improvement in order to achieve the highest goal of Moksha. The Yajur Veda seen by the outer vision is the Veda of ritual. On an inner level, it sets forth a yogic practice for purifying the mind and awakening the inner consciousness.  Several versions of the Yajur Veda exist, which differ in a number of respects.  It was the main Veda used by the priests in ancient India and has much in common with the Egyptian Book of the Dead.

Atharva Veda is the fourth Veda in the usual order of enumeration after Rig Veda, Yajur Veda and Sama Veda. This aspect of the physiology makes the totality of Veda move. This is the value of reverberating wholeness. The Atharva Veda is the last of the Vedas. It has not always been accepted as a Veda, which are often spoken of as three.  It still contains many hymns from the Rig Veda but also has some more popular magic spells which are outside of the strictly ritual-knowledge orientation of the other Vedas.

Historians believe that the Atharveda was included among the Vedas after the Vedic civilization matured and incorporated many traditions and practices of other groups and cultures. The Veda contains many mystic chants, spells and prayers meant to either heal or harm or seek protection against harmful forces.

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