Holistic Approach of The Vedas

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Editor: Prof. Vachaspati Upadhyaya

The Brahmana texts are known for the obscurity of their philosophical expositions. It is not easy to decipher the recondite thoughts enshrined in them but what is heartening is that Prof. Dayanand Bhargava has not only fathomed their depths by delving deep into these primary sources but has also presented his findings in a style which is at once fascinating and illuminating. Many western scholars like Fritof Capra have written copiously on these line but their writings are normally shorn of reference to the primary sources. Viewed from this standpoint Prof. Dayanand Bhargava’s work is a significant contribution to the cause of interpreting the Vedic obscurity in a modern idiom which scholars all over the world will find useful and interesting.

Needless to say that this work is very much relevant to the modern times as it propounds a holistic paradigm which is eco-friendly based on concept of sustainable development which combines peace with prosperity for the whole humanity.

I am confident that this work will prove to be a welcome addition to the existing identical literature of the East and the West.

• Reader Department of Sanskrit University of Delhi.

• Principal Kendriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth Jammu & Allahabad

• Professor & Head Department of Sanskrit University of Jodhpur
• Dean Faculty of Arts, Education & Social Sciences University of Jodhpure.
• Department of Jainolgy and Comparative Religion & Philosophy Jain Vishva Bharati Institute (Deemed University) Ladnun

• Chairman Veda Vachaspati Pandit Madusudan Ojha (Veda Vijnana) Peeth Jagadguru Ramananda charya Sanskrit vishvavidyalaya Jaipur.

Notwithstanding the difference of opinion regarding the date of the Vedas and the entitlement of the Brahmana-texts to the status of the Veda, the Vedas represent the oldest literature of the world and the Brahmana-texts represent the earliest attempt to interpret that literature. Admittedly the interpretation of the Brähmana-texts is ritual- oriented but the latest researches have shown it beyond doubt that the Vedic rituals have a strong spiritual foundation. The Brãhmana-texts thus form a bridge between the karmakanda of the Vedas and jnanakanda of the Upanisads. This approach of the Brahmana-texts, providing a formidable bridge between the active and the spiritual life, is defined by the term vijnana by the Taittiriya Aranyaka Yajna, which is a Vedic ritual, is amplified by vijnana so as to bring out its hidden spiritual significance. The Brahmanas do it by means of art havada-vakyas, which explain the logic of a vidhi or prescription of the Vedic ritual.

It was on the basis of this vijnana aspect of the Brahmana-texts, that an eminent scholar of Jaipur, Pandit Madhusudan Ojha, wrote about a hundred works in chaste Sanskrit during the last century. Some of his important works, along with some other works written on the same line, have been surveyed in the present work. Not only did traditional stalwarts like Mahamahopadhyaya Pandit Giridhar Sharma Chaturvedi, Pandit Motilal Shastri and Svãmi Suijana Dass expressed their views following this line of approach, but modem scholars like Dr. V.S. Agrawal also devoted a large part of their scholarly works to the development of this school of thought.

In recent times Shri K.C. Kulish, the founder-editor of Rajasthan Patrika, a Hindi Daily, did a lot to propagate the above mentioned literature. Professor Dayanand Bhargava, an old friend of mine, came into contact with Shri K.C. Kulish and felt the need of presenting the essence of the vijnãna aspect of the Brahmana-texts through modern scientific research methodology. The present work embodies the result of his rigorously followed studies of the last two decades.

Dr. Bhargava has also been following the latest researches in the field of science along with his Vedic studies. Only the other day, he was talking about the efficacy of mantra by support of the scientific researches carried by a Japanese scholar, Masaru Emoto who wrote four volumes under the title the Hidden Messages of the water in which it has been shown how water responds to our words of praise and condemnation. If we speak in terms of praise to water it forms beautiful crystals when frozen but it we condemn it, it forms ugly crystals in a haphazard manner. It means that water, air, fire etc., which are profusely addressed in the Vedas are not blind to our prayers. Vedic mantras assume a new significance in the light of such findings.

In the present work such parallels as that of the famous formula with the definition of yajna as the process of inter change of consciousness and matter into each other have been frequently drawn. This and many other finding well documented with about 1000 quotations from the Vedic literature make the present work valuable not only for the orient lists but also the scientists who are interested such problems as tracing the origin of the universe.

The Brahmana texts are known for the obscurity of their philosophical expositions. It is not easy to decipher the recondite thoughts enshrined in them but what is heartening is that Prof. Dayanand Bhargava Bhargava’s has not only fathomed their depths by delving deep into these primary sources but has also presented his findings in a style which is at once fascinating and illuminating. Many western scholars like Fritof Capra have written copiously on these line but their writings are normally shorn of reference to the primary sources. Viewed from this standpoint Prof. Dayanand Bhargava’s work is a significant contribution to the cause of interpreting the Vedic thought in a modern idiom which scholars all over the world will find useful and interesting.

Needless to say that this work is very much relevant to the modern times as it propounds a holistic paradigm which is eco friendly based on concept of sustainable development which combines peace with prosperity for the whole humanity at a global level.

I am confident that this work will prove to be a welcome addition to the already existing literature of the East and the West on the Vedas.