A brief history of the Vedas, the mother of all scriptures

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The Vedas are a collection of sacred books containing the oldest scriptures of Hinduism and the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature in the form of poems and hymns. The books contain knowledge that encompasses all aspects of life. They are the basis of Sanatana Dharma, the universal religion or sacred order, and have influenced other religions such as Buddhism Sikhism, and Jainism, which is why they are often called the mother of all scriptures.

The Vedas are thought to have been composed during the first to second millennium BCE. Believers say that man did not write them, but taught by the gods to sages and seers and passed down through oral tradition.

The Vedas are divided into four: Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda, and Atharvaveda. Rigveda is considered the main Veda and is the oldest among the four. It is a collection of hymns and songs, many of which are still recited as Hindu prayers today. The Yajurveda provides information for priests on how to perform rituals and sacrifices and includes mantras to be used during their execution of these rituals. The Samaveda is a collection of songs, hymns, melodies, and verses, drawn from the Rigveda. The Rigveda, Yajurveda, and Samaveda are collectively known as trayi-vidya, or “threefold knowledge.” The fourth Veda, Atharvaveda, contains numerous spells and charms, such as harmonious family relationships or finding a husband. It contains about 760 hymns, some of which were taken from the Rigveda. The Atharvaveda provides insights on numerous aspects of Vedic culture. However, some scholars do not consider the Atharvaveda as part of the Vedas at all.

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The Vedas praised a full pantheon of gods, such as Indra, the leader of the gods and lord of heaven, Surya, a solar deity, and Soma, a lunar deity.

Scholars estimate that at about 900 BCE, the Brahmanas, a collection of texts that provided commentaries on the Vedas were composed. The Brahmanas provided more detail on rituals, explained symbols and contained many more myths. The Brahmanas were followed by the Aranyakas and the Upanishads. Together, the Samhitas or collection of hymns of the Vedas, the Brahmanas, the theologies of the Aranyakas, and the philosophies of the Upanishads create a body of ancient texts called Shruti, which comprise the tenets of Hinduism.

 

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For more discussions on the history and importance of the Vedas, follow this Michael Mamas Twitter account. 

~Excerpt from article, Veda, Right-handed Tantra, Left-handed Tantra: In the spiritual arena, it’s important to clearly distinguish between three terms: Veda, right-handed tantra, and left-handed tantra. Simply stated, Veda correlates to physics, right-handed tantra correlates to engineering, and left-handed tantra correlates to hot-wiring a car.~

 

What is Mount Soma?

A number of people who have come to visit Mount Soma have all had the same question: What is this place? They see a Shiva temple up on the hill, they see a community where people are living, and they just wonder what it is all about.

To understand what Mount Soma is all about, first you need to understand what the Veda is, and I’ve done videos on that in the past. Also, you need to understand what it is to be human, and I’ve done a video on that. Mount Soma is being built as a Gurushala. The Knowledge of a Gurushala comes right out of the Veda, you could say, the technology of how to build an Enlightened City. And, that’s what we are doing. We are building an Enlightened City. What is an Enlightened City? An Enlightened City is a place that acts as a beacon light. It takes the intelligence, the harmony, the creativity, and the wisdom inherent in the underlying basis of all existence. The quantum mechanical level, the unified field, the Veda. It takes that value and radiates it out to the environment.

Now, human beings, as individuals, have the ability to do that. As you purify your physiology, you awaken to your divine essence, live life from that level, and you act like a beacon light that radiates that value of harmony out to the whole environment. There is a technology whereby you build a Vedic temple. It’s a building; it’s a structure. And there is a complete system of how to maintain it, how to work with it on a day-to-day basis, so that whole building radiates that value to a great extent. And you can feel it. When you are around one, if you are in one, you can tell that something really powerful is happening.

What we are doing is taking it to the next step, the next level, building a Gurushala, a whole Enlightened City. An entire city that resonates, vibrates, thrills with that value of harmony and intelligence that dwells within every individual, that dwells within everything, but remains hidden. It enlivens it and brings it out and radiates it forth as a beacon light to the whole planet, to the whole world, to all levels of life.

You see, it is not enough to sit in a cave and meditate, and radiate out that value. Because, there are different levels of life. And we can touch all those different levels simultaneously with a Gurushala, an Enlightened City. It’s a city that brings forth and lives on a daily basis business on an enlightened level, family units on an enlightened level, community on an enlightened level, the temples on an enlightened level. Everything, all different levels of life. Through that, we interface with all the different levels of life throughout the world and it acts, kind of like, fiber optics with cords that carry forth that value and bring it to all corners of the earth. It’s called a Gurushala. The knowledge is there in the Veda.

Now you may ask, if there knowledge is there, why aren’t there Gurushalas all over the place? Now, that’s a very interesting question and a very profound question. It speaks to the nature of time. The Knowledge isn’t a cookbook. It’s not simple. It’s abstract. It’s profound. It’s highly, highly elusive. So, there are time periods in the history of our planet where that Knowledge becomes lost and there are time periods where it becomes revealed. Even the ancient seers and some people say the Mayans have said that we are living in a time now when that knowledge will come forth again. And it seems to be the case. It’s happening. And, that is what we are dedicated to here at Mount Soma, is to create a perfect Gurushala, a city that radiates that value.

But there has to be a tremendous amount of humility in that. You see? It can’t become just another dogma. It can’t just become another fanaticism: “Oh, we have the answer and here it is.” The Knowledge is profoundly abstract. It is profoundly elusive. So, we do it with great humility, dedicated to it because we understand the basic nature of life, but also with the humility of understanding that it is a very fine tuning, a very delicate thing. And the slightest amount of distortion can throw the whole thing off. Also, we have to understand that it is as much a science as it is an art. Just as there is a science as to how to make the violin. But there is also the art of playing it. You see? We need to cultivate both. And that is what Mount Soma is dedicated to. That’s what we are doing here.

~Excerpt from Look Deeper Live Better:

Self-improvement

generally focuses on your personality.

However, personality is superficial.

True self-improvement

frees something deeper,

a central source of harmony that emanates,

transforming you personality,

your body,

and your soul.

It is the natural process of

harmonizing with your true nature.~