Vedic culture of the Slavic Aryans. Vedic culture Introduction to the Vedic worldview

According to the most modern ideas of scientists, Vedic culture was once spread throughout planet Earth and affected all spheres of human life. The written sources () of those times that have reached us contain information about literally everything. Starting from planting tomatoes and establishing favorable, harmonious conditions, to creating ships capable of navigating the expanses of the galaxy. Even today, eminent scientists are scratching their heads over the monuments of Vedic culture. These are incredibly accurately and expediently built cities, knowledge about the structure of space and celestial bodies that cannot be seen with the naked eye. All this makes the adherents think.

Vedic culture has preserved to this day information about the meaning of performing mystical rites and religious sacraments. It answers questions of natural science, philosophy and metaphysics. Studying the heritage of Vedic culture helps us in finding the answer to one of our main questions “”. The ancient texts of Vedic culture set as their goal to lead a person to understand his own and reveal the true.

At the moment, India can safely be considered the center of Vedic culture, although really powerful echoes still remain in Burma, Thailand (on the state emblem of which is depicted) and Cambodia, where the worship of Vedic Deities continues to this day. There are also people who tend to look for traces of Vedic culture in national patterns and language on the territory of Ukraine and Russia. The impetus for this search is the obvious affinity of the most ancient language and the languages ​​of the Slavic group. (This topic on our website is covered by materials marked with the tag.)

The concept of “Vedic culture” is used in Hinduism not only in relation to the Vedas themselves and adjacent texts compiled in Sanskrit (shruti), but also to other scriptures that complement them. The application of the term "Vedic" is highly dependent on whether the context is Indological, philological or religious. For example, Hindus themselves often call their religion the “Vedic tradition.”

The path of Russia and the Veda

Is Russia still closer to Eastern or Western culture? Interaction of cultures. About globalization. What is the basis for the conflict between East and West? What is yoga? Attitude to spirituality. If you want to change the world, start with yourself. Why is the idea of ​​a better government, a better president, utopian? What is the point of changing yourself? The idea of ​​service in art. Similarities between Vedic culture and samurai culture. Is there any rational grain in what Muldashev writes? What Vedic idea is hidden in the movie Avatar? How to determine which of the predictors is telling the truth? Reasons for intolerance towards other religions. The culture of the East and its influence on Europe. The idea of ​​the project “Etnolife” and “Samurai: Art of War”. The lofty idea of ​​the samurai. Has the East fallen to the West? Where does the evolution of consciousness begin? Russia's potential.

Vedas of the Slavs

Review of the study of paganism of the ancient Slavs. The Vedas and the discovery of Indo-European culture. Hinduslavs. Russian and Sanskrit. Sanskrit and geographical names. Three main words. Monotheism and polytheism in the Vedas. Sanskrit in the names of Slavic gods. Sanskrit in the names of elemental spirits. The ancient history of the Slavs. High technology and superweapons in ancient times. “The Troubled Millennium” and the stages of settlement of the Slavs. Record of the Vedas. Expeditions to the Himalayas. Vedic predictions. Arctic Ancestral Home in the Vedas. Origin of Rus'. Monotheism and the evolution of Slavic worship. Vishnu and Krishna in Slavic culture. The era of Rodoslavia. Phallic cults of ancient Rus'. Perun is the patron of the princely squad. Polytheism and the coming of Christianity. Keys to Russian folk tales. Mudras and mantras among the Slavs. Traditional costume as a talisman.

Introduction to the Vedic worldview

What are the Vedas? Evolution of the soul in many bodies. The main difference between a person and an animal. Spirituality is the basis for the stability of society. Awakening of consciousness. Love is the fifth goal of human life. The whole world is permeated with the consciousness of the Creator. Beauty is the hidden aspect of the Almighty. The unique right of every soul. Preaching as meditation. Why are we not attracted to Krishna? Genuine spirituality is not imposed - one is fascinated by it. Material wealth and spiritual life. Faith is the path to finding divine love. Life should become a meditation. Nothing will ever give birth to something. How to get closer to God? Kali Yuga is the era of degradation. Many people talk about the Vedas, but few understand them. Prayer for knowledge of the Truth. Different levels of spirituality. Spiritual life is real freedom. About the attitude towards women in the temple. Rajneesh is a psychiatrist guru.

Origin, structure and purpose of the Vedas

Origin of the Vedas. Origins. Two aspects of true knowledge. Veda is the primordial vibration in space. Who are the Rishis? The appearance of writing is a sign of degradation. Features of Sanskrit. Four flaws of human nature. The peculiarity of the current era is narrowness of thinking. Merits of Sage Vyasa. The Vedas are authoritative and self-sufficient knowledge. Authoritative statements of the Vedas. Evidence of the authority of the Vedas. External structure of Vedic literature. 1 The first section of the Vedas is shruti. 2. The second section of the Vedas is smriti. 3. The third section of the Vedas is Nyaya. Sri Ishopanishad. Srimad Bhagavatam. Internal structure of the Vedas. 1. Karma-Kanda - a section of the Vedas that describes the material approach to life. 2. Jnana-kanda - a section of the Vedas that describes a philosophical approach to life. 3. Bhakti-Kanda - section of the aesthetic realization of the individual. The purpose and purpose of the Vedas. Parable about the scientist and the boatman. The most important thing is to know the highest science of the soul. Questions - answers. How can you achieve harmony between the spiritual and material sides of life. How to avoid bending in any direction? How necessary is it for a person to go through all these stages of development? Is it possible to immediately move on to spiritual practice?

Eternal wisdom of the Vedas

History of the Vedas and Sanskrit. Vedic scripture system. Six schools of Vedic philosophy. Time scale in Vedic philosophy. Satya Yuga. Treta Yuga. Dvapara Yuga. Kali Yuga. The three periods of each Yuga are Sankhya. Traces of Vedic culture in ancient works. Five levels of consciousness - Pancha Krosha. Anumaya. Pranamaya. Manamaya. Vijnanamaya. Anandamaya. Five stages of purification from lust. Karma-kami. Siddhi-kami. Bhukti-kami. Mukti-kami. Bhakti is yoga. Five types of human activities - Pancha-dharma. Adharma. Asura-dharma. Chala-dharma. Upa-dharma. Varnashrama-Dharma. Levels of perception of knowledge. Shabda. Pratyaksha. Modern discoveries of scientists are just lost knowledge of the Vedas. Three types of suffering. Adhyatmika. Adhibhautika. Adhidaivika. Vedic predictions described in Bhavishya Purana. The coming of Lord Buddha. The coming of Jesus Christ. The arrival of Shiva. The arrival of Mohammed. Arrival of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Advent of Bhakti Vedanta. Other minor predictions. How does the destruction of Vedic roots occur? Similarities between the Russian language and Sanskrit. Speech degradation.

Social structure of Vedic society

Description of the Kashala kingdom from the Ramayana: the ideal life of people, the architecture of the city, temples, warriors of that time, the duties of the trading class, politicians, rulers to society. Examples of the rule of pious royal dynasties and examples of rule in the modern world. About the influence of the qualities of a ruler on the life of society using the examples of kings Chindragupta, Erich Honike, Vapshnai, Vikramaditu, and Queen Lakshmibari. Birth story of Lord Ramachandra. How should a husband and wife behave towards each other? Examples of the attitude of the ruler of the Moon Chandra, Ravana, and Krishna towards their wives. About the importance of the king’s word using the example of King Dasharatha from the Ramayana. On the ideal behavior of a ruler using the example of Lord Ramachandra. Questions and answers. Where is the best place to make an altar in a modern apartment? How to relate to manifestations of ignorance in yourself, laziness, lust. How to react to the statements of some popular psychologists about the benefits of self-satisfaction for women. How to deal with the desire to live separately from your spouse. Should husband and wife have separate bedrooms? Is it harmful for women to engage in spiritual practices? Is it favorable for a man to be present during childbirth? Is it possible to give flowers in pots? Is a gifted flower in a pot useful for any room in the apartment? What time of day is best for children to do their homework? Should I take my children to classes or clubs after school and on weekends? How to properly explain to a child the benefits of vegetarianism and teach them how to properly refuse meat and fish treats. How can you develop more of the moon in a woman through food? What is the best gift to give to parents to celebrate their wedding day if the opinions of the husband and wife are divided.

Vedic ideas about time

The Vedas are primordial knowledge. Where did the Vedic texts come from? Four Vedas. Rig Veda. Veda itself. Yajur Veda. Atharva Veda. The discoveries of modern scientists have long been described in the Vedas. Vedas - practical knowledge. The hidden power of the Vedas. Puranas in the goodness of passion and ignorance. Sutra. Vedic time scale. Maha kalpa. Satya Yuga is the golden era. Tretta Yuga - Silver Age. Dvapara Yuga - Copper Age. Kali Yuga - Iron Age. Confirmations in ancient scriptures. Ancient Greek sources. Indian legends. Scandinavian sagas. Astronomical records. Evidence from the Bible. Kali Yuga Society. The story of Siddhartha Gautama. The story of Isha putra. Levels of consciousness. Level 1 - anomaia. Level 2 - pranamaya. Level 3 - manomaya. Level 4 - vigyanamaya. Level 5 - anandamaya. Different perceptions

What do the Vedas say about ancient civilizations?

How do various sources describe the ancient history of mankind? Four eras: Golden, Silver, Bronze and Iron Ages. Revival of Vedic culture. How will it all end from the point of view of the Vedas? Save by sword or prayer? Spiritual practice in different eras. You guys don’t know what era is coming... Features of the golden age.

Eternal wisdom of the Vedas

Where did the Vedas come from? Cyclic concept of time. Features of Satya Yuga. What is yoga? Paramatma - absolute truth and is it possible to see spirits? Amazing abilities of people in the age of Satya. The cycle of birth and death. Ashtanga yoga, what kind of yoga is it? Asanas, channels in the human body and pranayama. Our abilities have fallen, but our ambitions have remained. Treta-yuga, Dvapara-yuga. Kali Yuga. Vi-karma is activity on one's own whim. How did writing appear and who wrote down the Vedas? What kind of amazing personalities live in the Himalayas? Why can't you tell people about some things? Other civilizations and parallel dimensions. Where do sweet fruits, onions and garlic come from on our land? To whom were mystical mantras available? What is karma? Sama Veda, Yajur Veda, Atharva Veda. What is white and what is black magic? Atharva Veda is practical knowledge for the material world. What do the Vedas contain? Puranas and correct interpretation of folk tales

Unified picture of the world

What is true knowledge? Brief diagram of the structure of the World. Time as a manifestation of the will of God. Karma as the relationship between God and the soul through matter. The task of human life: the development of love for God. What happens to consciousness immersed in matter? Diagram of the elements of living beings in the material world. About the laws of harmony in the environment of the subtle and physical bodies. Laws of harmony in society and living beings. Laws of harmony of the Cosmos and living beings. Four principles that guide us into the mode of goodness. The principle of mercy is “thou shalt not kill.” The principle of sense control is abstinence. The principle of external and internal purity. The principle of truthfulness. It is impossible to exclude the connection between God and the soul from the picture of the world.

Vedic and Vaishnava culture. Lecture 3

What should you do in the morning? People in goodness, passion and ignorance. Good and evil. Are there laws of luck? When and why do people start thinking about the meaning of life? Is it difficult to change your worldview? Mind control. Vedic culture and family. How to pay off all debts? The main responsibility of a person. Big money. Good or bad? The purpose of Vedic culture. Serving God. Dangerous or beneficial? The purpose of Vedic culture. Vaisnavas. What are they? Buddha. Why did he come? Sex. Why is it needed? Sexual relations. Problems. What does Vaishnava culture teach?

Spiritual Ministry of Emergency Situations

What is special about the Krishna Consciousness movement? Initiation into Krishna Consciousness. The task of Vedic culture is the salvation of souls. The mission is accomplished in collaboration. False spiritual attachment. You need to work on humility. Mistakes should become the basis for our successes. The more difficult the service, the more emotions there are. How to overcome difficulties. The story of Radharani.

Common features in Vedic and Slavic culture

Division into classes among the Slavs and in Indian society. Wedding among the Slavs and in the Vedic tradition. Trimurti. Tilaka. Sacred drink. Similarities in music. Worship of cows. Folklore and literature. Bird Gamayun and Mother Swa, Garuda and Mate Riswan. About fashion in Europe for Islam. More about Gamayun or Garuda. Mace. Universal Tree Elm and Banyan. About the exodus from India. Arjuna. Who is Arius? Three great Arias. The common culture of the Slavs and Indians of the state of Punjab. Oseledets, shikha. The question of the arrival of the Aryans from the north. The question is why there are different races on Earth. Summary of the series of lectures. Belonging of Slavic and Indo-European cultures to the culture of Bharata Varsha. The borderline position of the Slavs in the confrontation between spiritual and material cultures. Gradual destruction of roots, replacement of history. About interest in the past, about how Vasily Tushkin conducted research. Why is historical truth not beneficial? The question is why the concept of reincarnation was removed from Christianity. Prediction in the Vedas about the Golden Age. About astrological time periods. About the purpose of Vedic culture. Krishna consciousness is above polarity. About the extent to which degradation comes - “The Sect of Cat Worshippers.” What is the difference in paying respect to cows in India. Results of the seminar. About how V. Tushkin prepared materials.

In the process of searching and realizing our soul and body, we resort to a variety of methods and methods. One of them, today, is an appeal to ancient religions and the origins of our ancestors. The basics of such a concept as Vedic culture may help to get closer to the truth through a complete analysis of the traditions and rituals of the ancient Slavs.

The Vedic culture of the Slavs originated long before such an important event in history as the Baptism of Rus' took place. It is far from new and is also typical for other countries and continents, in particular for the mysterious India. The pagan faith itself, which developed over many years, was called Orthodoxy among the Slavs. The Vedic culture of the ancient Slavs consisted not only of daily routines, traditions and rituals. Its main aspect was the internal desire of the people for spiritual development and enlightenment. With the acceptance of baptism and as faith in Christ developed, tribute to such a faith as the Vedic culture began to fade. Moscow and other cities are still striving to return and revive the habits and ways of the ancient Slavs in order to deal with the problems of the modern world, the methods of our ancestors.

Vedic culture of the ancient Slavs

The ancient Slavic people, who were descendants of the Scythians, called themselves Aryans. Which, translated from Sanskrit, means one who brings good. No wonder this name was chosen. After all, it is light, goodness and goodness that are the main aspects that the Slavic Vedic culture carried. Each of the members of the community of our ancestors lived and died in order to bring good to the world and to each other. Each person was supposed to be useful to the other. All discontent and problems could only be resolved by a council. This means the unanimous agreement of the entire team regarding a particular issue. The Vedic culture of Rus' was distinguished by the fact that in the course of solving the problem, the interests of each of the parties were taken into account. And at the end, by a council decision, a verdict was issued that would suit all those taking part in the dispute. With the help of the same system, trade was carried out, and in general, relationships between people took place.

But the main thing that distinguishes the today’s world from such a concept as Russian Vedic culture is awareness, knowledge and understanding. This is where the word Vedic culture comes from: a knower is one who knows and comprehends the meaning. This is what the ancient Slavs gave their lives to. Filling ourselves, striving for a connection with God - all these are features of the faith of our ancestors, which we would do well to learn.

For most people, Vedic culture is something unknown and exotic. But it is based on principles that are close to each of us in spirit, regardless of religion. This is love, mercy and compassion. It is these three main components that underlie the ancient Vedic culture. "Veda" means "absolute knowledge" in Sanskrit. Accordingly, the Vedas are the oldest Indian scriptures about harmony, peace and life, in which absolute knowledge is concentrated. Vedic cuisine involves not only vegetarianism, but also the dedication of food to God, which makes it not only tasty and healthy, but also contributes to the acquisition of external and internal harmony.

Many people who adhere to vegetarianism and strive for spiritual purification and enlightenment eat food prepared according to Vedic culture. According to their reviews, as well as ancient scriptures, it is able to give true pleasure from food and at the same time cleanse the body on the physical and mental level. What is the Vedic culture of vegetarianism and what is its impact on humans? How to cook Vedic cuisine correctly? You will find answers to all these questions in this article.

Vedic culture and vegetarianism

Historically, Vedic cooking came from India, and many residents of this country still strictly adhere to its principles. Since according to the Vedas all living beings on earth are sacred, people following such a culture do not eat any flesh. This is not only meat, but also poultry, fish, seafood, eggs. It is noteworthy that Vedic culture does not prohibit the consumption of milk and dairy products, as well as honey. These products are believed to be obtained humanely, without causing pain or suffering to living beings. According to these principles, people respect and protect all living beings and do not cause them suffering, and, therefore, cultivate the three most important qualities in their hearts: love, mercy and compassion.

According to Vedic culture, people who feed on the flesh of living beings feel the negative emotions, pain and fear of these animals before death. Therefore, their bodies become sick and weak over time. It is written in the Vedas that man by nature is an eternal and blissful being, however, by deviating from Vedic principles, we lose contact with God.

It is important to know that Vedic cooking is not just about vegetarianism. It involves the preparation and subsequent offering of food to God, who in Sanskrit is called Krishna, that is, “infinitely attractive.” Agree, God needs to prepare so that his hand does not rise, so you need to put your whole soul and love for him into this process. Food should be pure and sacred, prepared with the best intentions. According to the Vedas, this is the kind of food that Krishna tastes, after which people eat it. Without a doubt, food touched by God has truly healing and even mystical properties.

Today, the principles of Vedic cooking are followed not only in India, but throughout the world. Scientists have noticed that people who adhere to the Vedic culture almost never get sick, are not overweight, and live long and happily. Every person who wants to cleanse themselves physically and spiritually, find harmony, and also get satisfaction from life should try to follow the principles of the Vedas.

How to Cook Vedic Cooking

The texts of the ancient Vedas say that every living being is sacred and any unjustified killing goes against God's laws. Similar principles can be found in all religions, including Christianity. However, if Christians are still allowed to eat animal flesh, then people who adhere to the Vedic culture consider this to be detrimental to karma and the body.

Eating eggs is also unacceptable in Vedic cooking, because eggs are unborn chicks and a nutrient medium for them. In Vedic culture, only those who do not eat meat, fish and eggs are considered true vegetarians. The main principle of the Vedas is that products must be karmically pure. Even milk bought in stores is unlikely to be suitable for such nutrition, because on dairy farms cows are kept in poor conditions, and the milking process often causes them pain. It is better to buy dairy products from those cows that live in comfortable conditions, are cared for and milked carefully - such milk will be much healthier and tastier.

However, the most important thing is not even the products from which the food is prepared, but the spiritual attitude of the cook. A Vedic cook should be focused on the process of preparing food for God. It is very important that at this moment your thoughts are not somewhere far from the cooking process, but are completely concentrated on it. Cooking Vedic food is a kind of meditation, because it requires a special mood.

Food prepared according to Vedic rules should be offered to Krishna. By offering food to God, we express our love to him. Food that is worthily prepared and properly offered to God will be tasted by him, after which it will become sacred and spiritual. Eating such food ceases to be a saturation of the body with calories, but turns into an act of communication between a person and the Creator. Such food has an unsurpassed taste, perfectly saturates, and also relieves many diseases.

From all that has been said, we can conclude that from a Vedic point of view, vegetarianism is not only a style of nutrition, but also a way of life, as well as a specific spiritual attitude. By eating Vedic food, you can get closer to spiritual purification, enlightenment, harmony, and also instill in yourself the principles of proper and healthy nutrition.

While receiving theoretical knowledge, we must balance it by applying it in our real life. Every information we receive should become part of either my activity or my meditation. If I apply spiritual knowledge, translate knowledge into practice, jnana into vijnana, then I rise from the platform of goodness to the transcendental level.

It is not enough to be clean, it is not enough to be orderly, you must also be practical, which means looking for solutions to problems. This is what distinguishes gosthi-anandi from bhajan-anandi. Goshthi...

Vedic education system.

Vedic education system We are starting to study Vedic works and therefore, first, we will discuss the Vedic education system itself.

There are different systems and they differ in their assigned tasks.

These tasks are shaped by the worldview that is dominant at a given time in a given country. What is the idea of ​​education now - to give a person a decent salary with the least amount of physical effort. In a word, this idea is the desire to...

First, a few words about the Vedas. The Vedas are the most ancient knowledge, the oldest sacred scriptures, the remains of which have been preserved in India and Russia. Previously, there was only one knowledge on Earth - the Vedas, and only one spiritual culture - Vedic.

The Vedic scriptures have answers to essentially all questions, including questions about the end of the world.

The end of the world is inevitable, since life has its own cycles and moves in circles. It's like day and night in a day - one replaces the other, repeating itself endlessly, or, better...

Let us make a brief overview of the content and core of the Vedic religion.

Nothing could be simpler and grander than this religion, in which deep naturalism merges with transcendental spirituality. Before dawn, the head of the family stands in front of an altar made of earth, on which burns a fire lit with two pieces of dry wood.

In this activity, the head of the family is at the same time the Father, the Priest, and the King of sacrifice. At that time, says the Vedic poet, when dawn...

You may already know some secrets, for example, you have heard the expression that “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” But for many this remains theoretical, and it is not clear how it is applied at all.

The Vedas are not a creation of human wisdom. Vedic knowledge came from the spiritual world, from Lord Krishna. Another name for the Vedas is shruti. The word shruti refers to knowledge that is acquired through hearing. This is not empirical knowledge.

Shruti can be likened to a mother. We learn a lot from our mother. For example, if you want to know who your father is, who can answer you? Only your mother. If your mother says, “Here is your father,” then you will have to agree with it. Determine the identity of the father...

According to Western science, this stage began in the first half of the 1st millennium BC. and lasted until approximately the 7th–6th centuries. BC. According to the Hindus themselves, the religion of the Vedas originated much earlier: 6 thousand years ago (or even 100 thousand years ago - as H. P. Blavatsky writes).

The Vedic period takes its name from the Vedas, which was the main sacred text and religious authority of Hindus not only during the Vedic period, but even to this day. Sometimes this period of Indian religion is called Vedism...

Anyone can choose their place of life, but how?...

In the spiritual worlds, living beings are constantly in a state of caring for everything around them, and therefore in ever-increasing happiness, they do not age and live forever.

In our material Universe, which has the shape of a ball, there is a tendency to first take care of oneself, happiness is limited by the framework of matter, which itself is by its nature limited both in space and in time. Therefore, inveterate materialists, attached exclusively to...

There was a recent post about Vedic cooking and meat eating
(Andrey Ignatiev).

Continuation of his thoughts on the topic “Vedic culture” and Hinduism.
There is an addition to the post “. And about “Vedic astrology.

“I think that everyone knows what a hypnotic effect the adjective “Vedic” has on many lovers of India (this can only be compared with the popularity of everything “Aryan” among specific circles). All you hear is: “Vedic culture”, “Vedic scriptures”, “Vedic astrology”, “Vedic cosmology”, “Vedic cooking”, “Vedic book of death”. And recently I read about the publication of the book “Vedic Rules of Success” (which Vedic yuppies are probably reading).

Let us note right away that in scientific works on Indology in Russian you will not find the word “Vedic” (it is replaced by the more harsh-sounding word “Vedic”, for example “Vedic language”, “Vedic mythology”). Moreover, the vast majority of scientists would consider the very mention of “Vedic scriptures” to be in bad taste.

Let's start with the fact that the “Vedic culture”, as the Hare Krishnas-Prabhupadas and all sorts of “Vedists” imagine it, never existed in nature at all, and all fantasies about it have nothing in common with the culture of the Aryans at the time of the creation of the Vedas.

Usually some elements of the culture of later Hinduism are passed off as “Vedic culture”.

The problem here is that many do not understand the obvious fact that in India there has never been “ancient wisdom” as something frozen and immobile, that religion and culture are always in the process of change.

Here is what the most prominent Indologist of the twentieth century, R.N., wrote about this. Dandekar (1909-2001): “In Indological studies there has clearly been a tendency to exaggerate the importance of the Vedic-Aryan element for the entire complex of Indian culture. Proponents of this point of view argue that the Vedas have a huge contribution to the formation of the Indian way of life and thinking over the centuries. It comes to the point that ancient Indian culture, or more precisely, Hindu culture as a whole, is often called Vedic culture. But even a cursory analysis of the Hindu way of life and thinking reveals the complete inconsistency of such characteristics.

The main gods of the Vedic pantheon, such as Indra and Varuna, are no longer objects of worship, and their place has long been occupied by the folk gods - Vishnu and Rudra-Shiva. Non-Vedic mythology and demonology are introduced into Hinduism, responding to the instinctive need of people to color and decorate religion. Developed and refined during the Brahmana period and revived and reorganized during the Sutra period, the complex system of sacrifices, which was considered perhaps the highest achievement of Vedic religious practice, has by now almost died out.

The deep philosophical speculations of the Upanishads […] either underwent major changes or even gave way to other philosophical systems […].

In other words, the ideals proclaimed in the Vedas have long ceased to be the exclusive driving force of the Indian way of life and thought.
Therefore, the assertion that no literary work has had or is influencing the cultural life of India to the same extent as the Vedas should be considered unfounded.

It is necessary to understand that the Brahmanism of the Vedas has long ceased to exist, and the main force in the socio-religious life of India has become Hinduism, which, although tradition traces it directly to the Vedas, from a historical point of view has absorbed more non-Vedic than Vedic elements.
And the literary works that left an indelible mark on the socio-religious life of Hindus are not so much the Vedas as folk epics.”
(Note that R.N. Dandekar himself by birth belonged to a Brahmin clan, which traces its ancestry to the legendary rishi Vasishtha, the alleged author of several hymns of the Rigveda).

By the way, the “Vedic scriptures” that the Hare Krishna Prabhupadas love to refer to (I don’t even want to talk about the ancestral neo-pagans with their “Book of Veles”), “Bhagavad Gita” and “Bhagavata Purana” (which they call exclusively “Srimad- Bhagavatam") belong, in fact, the first to the epic, and the second to the Puranas.

Among the entire corpus of Prabhupada's literature, only the Isha Upanishad (Sri Isopanishad) can be classified as “Vedic scriptures”. However, not only does this term itself sound comical (like a parody of the “Holy Scripture” among the Orthodox), but its very use indicates a lack of understanding of the specifics of ancient Indian culture in which sacred texts were not written down, but were passed on from mouth to mouth.

The “Vedic cosmology” described in the book of the same name by Airavata Das and Akif Manaf Jabir is also the cosmology of the Puranas, not the Vedas.

The cosmology of the Rig Veda is quite simple. The universe is divided into three lokas (worlds or regions): dyahus (heaven), antariksha (middle world) and prithivi (earth).

In the Puranas, we see a much more complex system, for which the key significance is not the number “three”, but the number “seven”.
Later Hindus imagined the universe in the form of an egg of “Brahmanda”, i.e. "Brahma's egg", which is divided into 21 levels, with the flat earth (divided into seven concentrically located continents, separated by oceans of different substances) occupying the seventh level from the top.

Above the earth there are six heavens of increasing splendor, and below the earth there are seven levels of patala (underworld), and below them there are seven more levels of naraka (hell), and the lower the level, the more woeful is the stay there.

Loka in the Hindu concept is not a planet at all, as Prabhupada’s followers try to imagine, adapting to modern science, but a flat level of being (another term is used to designate a planet - “graha”).

Concerning "Vedic astrology" then there was no trace of it, just like the “Avestan astrology” of the mystifier Pavel Globa.

The Vedic Aryans had some astronomical knowledge, but it was used to calculate the time of sacrifices, and not at all to predict the future. In that early era, the interpretation of dreams and omens, as well as physiognomy, served this purpose.

Traditional Indian astrology appeared only during the time of the Guptas, so it cannot be called “Vedic”.
The question arises as to how Indian it was, because India took much of its astrological and astronomical knowledge from Mesopotamia and the Greeks.

So, from the West, Indians borrowed the signs of the zodiac, the seven-day week, the hour and some other concepts. I refer those who want to get acquainted with real Indian astrology to the famous work of Al-Biruni “India” (M., 1995).

But the most curious term is, perhaps, "Vedic cooking". If the book “Vedic Culinary Art” published by Prabhapadas begins with an article ardently promoting vegetarianism, then the real menu of the Vedic Aryans, sad as it may sound for fans of the herbivorous lifestyle, included meat, including beef, which I already wrote about:
In conclusion, I would like to recommend that those who seriously strive to find out what the Vedic culture was like should get acquainted with serious scientific literature on this issue, and not with the “works” of dreamers and mystifiers.

Was last modified: March 14th, 2019 by consultant