Hello fellow members,

I have been a Vedic astrologer for 4 years now.

And I have done many rituals, Hawans for many gods specially Surya, Rudra and Vishnu.

Complex rituals which includes 100 diyas, to daily hawans to doing aarti. Have done all.

Now I feel a calling by Devraj Indra dev, I am getting attracted to him, I am feeling emotional listening to his songs.

I want to get closer to him. But I am not able to find a path to start and follow.

To pray to dear God, to worship God Indra and get blessings from Dear God Indra.

Please anyone here have knowledge Please guide me. My dms are also open for it.

Thanks.

Jai Indra.

So i want to understand how the entire society has unfolded in the way telling women to follow all the vrats and pujas and how everything turned out to be patriarchal while people worshipped shakti.

As far as I have knowledge that earlier people used to worship vedic gods and everything was followed according to ved but gradually it shifted to god's we worship today . Tell me if am wrong because I have no knowledge and haven't read much about it.

Where did we go wrong ? When and where in time women were suppressed to get knowlege ? Maybe some sort of authories re written the original text to make women the subject to get married only as her whole life to be dependent on it?

What was there originally ?? People just wrote and erased as they wanted to make women their puppets and restricted so many things in name of what? "Because it's written in our ancient texts "

And most of the things we follow are not even written in ved they are written in what they call smriti ....so what to believe or not

I recently saw a video on hyper quest : why all the rules for women only. That's why I am asking...

Please don't be offended be considerate while answering.

Ingredients

1. Tulsi (तुलसी): Juice extracted from 100 leaves.

2. Giloy (गिलोय): 12 stems.

3. Mulethi (मुलेठी): 9 sticks.

4. Ashwagandha (अश्वगंधा): 18 flowers and leaves.

5. Kalmegh (कालमेघ): Juice extracted from 40 leaves.

6. Brahmi (ब्राह्मी): 23 flowers.

7. Milk: 250 ml.

8. Water: 125 ml (half the quantity of milk).

Preparation

Combine all the ingredients and boil them with the milk and water

Intended serving: One large cup for one person.

Source -( Dream)

I've been reading the Śrī Rudram (Taittirīya Saṃhitā 4.5, with a parallel in Vājasaneyi Saṃhitā 16), and the way it moves from fear to reverence is striking.

The first anuvāka opens by bowing to Rudra's anger and his arrow: "namaste rudra manyava uta ta iṣave namaḥ." A few verses later it asks him to look on the worshippers with his "śivā tanūḥ," his auspicious body that is aghorā (not terrible), instead of the form that strikes. Much of that first section is a request to unstring the bow and put the arrows away.

Then in the eighth anuvāka we get "namaḥ śambhave ca mayobhave ca namaḥ śaṅkarāya ca mayaskarāya ca namaḥ śivāya ca śivatarāya ca." That is where the familiar words "namaḥ śivāya" appear.

What I'm unsure about is how to read "śiva" here. In the Rigveda the word is generally used as an adjective (kind, auspicious, gracious) and it is applied to more than one deity. In the Rudram, śivāya sits in a list next to śambhu, mayobhu, śaṅkara and mayaskara, which all look like descriptive epithets ("source of welfare," "maker of happiness"), and śivatara is a comparative ("more auspicious"), which reads like an adjective. By the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (for example 3.11, "tasmāt sarvagataḥ śivaḥ") it seems much closer to a proper name.

So for those who have studied or recite the text: do you read śiva in TS 4.5.8 as a name, as a description, or is that distinction too modern for how the Vedic hymns treat divine names? And do the traditional commentators (Sāyaṇa, Bhaṭṭa Bhāskara) say anything about it?

The same self consisting of 4 quarters is also "aum", from the POV of the syllables. The Aum is viewed from the standpoint of sound. The quarters are the letters and verily so the letters are the quarters. The letters here are "aaa", "uuu", "mmm"

Context: Part 1: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheVedasAndUpanishads/s/uJoMwqB09I

Vaiśvānara, spanning the waking state, is A on account of its all-pervasiveness, on account of being the first.

One who knows this attains to the fulfilment of all desires and becomes the first (of all).

Vaisvamara - "aaa" - all-pervasive -desire fulfilment

Taijasa, spanning the state of dream and contemplation, is U (उ), the second letter on account of superiority, on account of being in between the two.

He who knows this attains to a superior knowledge, is treated equally by all alike and finds no one in his line who is not a knower of Brahman.

Taijasa - "uuu' - dream/contemplation - way to superior knowledge

Prājña spanning deep sleep is M (म) the third part (letter) of Aum, because it is both the measure and that wherein all become one.

One who knows this identity of Prājña and M is able to measure all, realise the real nature of the world and also comprehends all within himself.

Prājña - "mmm" - undifferentiated deep sleep - comprehension of subtle reality

That which is silence and emptiness, incomprehensible (by senses), the cessation of all phenomena and activity, all bliss and non-dual Aum, is the fourth and verily the same as the Self.

He who knows this merges his self in the Self.

Turiya - silence - Total meeting of self - liberation

Hence ends the Mandukya upanishad.

In the coming year I want to dedicate, devote all my available time to read Upanishadas. Please recommend me the most important Upanishadas in that order.

I am willing to crush my Ahankar, my extra unnecessary attachment to the external world. Will they help me in this endeavour?

The mandukya upanishad starts with the claim that Om, is everything. It spans the past, present, future, it so is beyond time too.

Hence, all this is verily "Brahman". The self too.

The self is composed of 4 quarters.

1. The first quarter is "Vaiśvānara" which spans the waking state, by whom is consciousness of external objects, who has seven limbs and nineteen mouths and whose experience consists of the physical material.

2. The second quarter is the "Taijasa" which spans the dream, by whom is consciousness of internal objects, who has seven limbs and nineteen mouths and who experiences the subtle objects. (This includes day dreaming, deep imagination, contemplation, whatever is not involved with the physical material)

3. Then there is the state of deep sleep wherein the sleeper does not desire any objects nor does he see any dream. This state is undifferentiated and can be considered rather abstract, totally detached from physical material as well as any form of contemplation.

4. The third quarter is the "Prājña" which spans deep sleep, in whom all (experiences) become unified or undifferentiated.

5. This is verily, a mass of consciousness entire, who is full of bliss and who experiences bliss, and who is the path leading to the knowledge (of the two other states). [YES, the state of deep sleep is a path to enlightenment.]

6. THIS is the Lord of all; this is the knower of all; this is the controller within; this is the source of all; and this is that from which all things originate and in which they finally disappear.

Now to the final, 4th quarter which totally completes the self, the "Turīya"

1. Turīya is not that which is conscious of the internal plane of dreams and contemplation, nor that which is conscious of the physical material "objective" reality, nor that which is conscious of both, nor sentinent does it span, nor that which is simple consciousness, nor that which is insentinent.

2. Unseen to the gross sense organs, it bears no relation to anything. It is incomprehensible, cannot be inferred by indirect logic, neither does it be in thought. It can NOT be grasped in/by either of 3 quarters of self.

3. It is the essential nature of consciousness/awareness, (understood) by ruling out all phenomenon of nature and reality, it is the peaceful bliss.

4. THIS is the atman, what you essentially are. The nondual self, which is what everyone is, at the essential core.

5. This "atman", beyond material, contemplative, as well as undifferentiated state of sleep, can be grasped only by the underlying "beyond" quarter. THIS is the "Turiya"

Part 2: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheVedasAndUpanishads/s/SWvGBWTZ3B

Hi

I came across this video with a Samaved verse but I could not find which it is. The voice and the tanpura in the background give it such a primal energy.
It’s like nothing I have heard before.

Does anyone know the verses and the full recording of it exists, maybe a playlist or a full-recording of this.

Thanks 🙏

Got interested in Vedic literature a while ago and wanted to explore it as a Hindu myself, not really for academic or scholarly purposes.

I have read the Bhagavad Gita as an introduction (i know it's not categorised as shruti), Radhakrishnan and then Bibek Debroy. I've also read Bibek Debroy's Upanishads and Olivelle's Upanishads, and for the Vedas I've read Frits Staal and Sri Aurobindo.

So what should I explore next? I mainly want to cover the important parts of the Shruti corpus without going insanely deep into every obscure text. What should I definitely not leave out?

Videos, texts, books, research papers, anything that's unbiased would help.

Namaste everyone, I am looking for some books published by Gita Press and Chaukhamba Publications. Before buying new copies, I thought I would ask here in case someone has these books lying unused at home.

Sometimes we have religious or spiritual books that we no longer read, but we also do not feel comfortable throwing them away. In that case, I would be happy to purchase them from you so that the books can be reused and continue serving their purpose.

I am not asking for the books for free. I am willing to pay a reasonable price for used copies. It would help me save some money compared with buying new books, and at the same time an unused book would find a new reader.

If anyone has Gita Press or Chaukhamba books that they no longer need, please feel free to comment or DM me with the book name, condition, and expected price.

Books I need: Detailed editions of the Puranas and Vedas, books on sadhana, and in-depth editions of the Upanishads. By “in-depth,” I mean books published in multiple volumes or editions that explain the subject properly and in detail, rather than giving only brief or one-line explanations. The books should be in Hindi or translated into Hindi. Books related to Durga Maa.

Books I do not need: Summarised/abridged (sankshipt) editions or books translated into English.

Thank you. 🙏

I’m completely new to the Vedas and Upanishads. Can someone please guide me on where to begin? Book recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Thank You in advance

Learned people of all nations claim the same thing about their own scriptures or gospels, and this is by no means untrue. The word "Veda" means "Wisdom", which is definitely not a book but an impersonal concept which flashed on the human mind before its manifestation in language and script. By Veda the man of wisdom means the import of the Vedic texts, and not the texts themselves.

When the human comprehension is distilled of the refraction of the senses and the mind, it is nothing but a mirror of that which ever exists and that which descends periodically into the creation. The formula and the detail of all this impersonal phenomenon will reflect upon the distilled consciousness of the individual when it is termed Veda or the spell of God.

This is received as an experience by those whom we call the Vedic Seers. It is further recollected into the Buddhic and the Mental planes wherefrom it is translated into the known language of the century and spelt out.

Since it is not characterised by the individual, it is bound to be impersonal. Like the multiplication table, it must be the same whenever and by whomsoever it is received. In this sense it is claimed as the work of God.

Further, these seers are not afraid of attesting their names to the passages of the Vedic hymns composed by them. At the same time they do not claim to be the authors of these Mantras and they class themselves only as the seers of the import. Who can claim authorship of the multiplication table? So too with the universal truths which form the content of the Vedas.

Source: 'Our Heritage' by Dr. Ekkirala Krishnamacharya

https://worldteachertrust.org/en/web/publications/our-heritage

I’ve been working on translating some passages from Sanskrit to English lately. I’ve experimented both ways: 1) adhering to a literal translation, and 2) modifying the original Sanskrit verses to correspond more smoothly in English.

This leads to a number of problems; as you have mentioned, a true to form translation leaves the English rendering rather clunky and awkward, especially with regards to phrasing and word order. Conversely, a less literal, interpretive translation runs the risk of diluting (or imposing another) meaning. Furthermore, Sanskrit is known to have words with MANY different meanings, and some literal phrases can signify different things semantically, which can pass over the heads of the audience, especially western or unfamiliar ones.

I find the optimal strategy to be a balance between the two, paired with a commentary of my own detailing my translative choices and their impact on the overall meaning. Extrapolation through commentary allows for clarity, preserving meaning without compromising the integrity, which of course varies verse by verse. For example, take this verse from the Bhrgu Valli of the Taittiryopanishad:

“pūrva-ndēvēbhyō amṛtasya nā… bhā̠yi̠”

purva- “old”, “east”, “regular” (here it connotes the former, serving as an indicator of age, as in “older”)

deva- “god” (shining one)

bhyo- indicator of relationship (“than”/“of”)

amrtasya- “nectar” or “immortality” (without death)

na- “navel”

bhayi- “radiant”/“resplendent”/“luminous”

This is incredibly tricky without a degree of familiarity with both the semantics and the underlying philosophy that lends its meaning to the passage. Knowing that this comes from the concluding part of an Upanishad which is meant to be a dialogue between student and teacher, it can be inferred that this is meant to be a self affirmation on the student’s (Bhrgu) part, and therefore ought to be in the first person. Studying the other lines in this verse reveals that it’s meant to be nondual and comparative, specifically between the self and the Devas here, so the meaning of Purva can be narrowed to connotate relative age. Amrtam translated too literally is “nondeath”/“without death”, and translated too broadly, can mean nectar; unfamiliar audiences or translators might not be aware of the closely intertwined relationship between immortality and nectar in Hindu cosmology. Na literally means “navel”, but is here best understood as “center” or “source”, and Bhayi is fairly clear. The next problem is fitting the words together in English, which does not read smoothly as laid out above.

Thus, I would translated this line as:

“[I am] older than the gods[, the] resplendent source of immortality”

TLDR: Translation is an arduous, yet exceedingly rewarding- mentally, physically, and spiritually. For context, this is example is one line out of sixteen verses, out of a work containing three chapters. Despite this, translation is the means of preserving and adapting time honored wisdom. In an age of technology and digitization, it’s easy for us to lose our way as purpose is replaced by productivity and profit margins. AI can spit out a blind translation in an instant, but the genuine process, the endeavor of seeking truth, drawing a conclusion, scrutinizingit, refining it, and applying it to our own lives is now threatened. At the end of the day, all things fade- knowledge and culture are no exception- however if we are content to let them disappear, what wisdom is left for the future?