The
Four Vedas
Samaveda
Yajurveda
Atharvaveda
Rigveda (Rk = hymn or verse) is the oldest and most important. Dating from at least 1,200 B.C.E. and completed about 900 B.C.E. This veda is divided into ten books (mandalas or "cycles") containing a total of 1,028 hymns addressed to various deities. Most important of whom are Indra, (c. 250 hymns) mighty warrior god and slayer of Vrtra--the demon-serpent who obstructed the fertile flow of the waters; Agni, (c. 200 hymns) god of fire; Soma, god of the intoxicating drink of the gods (=soma) to whom the whole of the ninth book is addressed. These last two are particularly concerned with the domestic sacrificial rituals of Aryan society.) Mitra and Varuna, whose main concern was the protection of rta, the sacred and divine order of the cosmos. Rudra, a fearsome and destructive deity has links with the later Shiva.
Samaveda (saman = chant) a handbook of chants used by one of the Brahman priests who presided at the sacrificial rituals. Largely derived from books eight and nine of the rgveda.
Yajurveda (yajus = spoken ritual formula rather than a chant or verse) the increasing emphasis here is on the mechanics of the sacrifice. Although animal sacrifice was known, especially the hugely elaborate Ashvamedha or horse sacrifice, and the purushamedha or human sacrifice is referred to, sacrifice is usually of vegetable offerings and soma.
Atharvaveda (named for a priestly family, the Atharvans) a later compilation of complete hymns and spells which are less directly attached to the domestic sacrificial rituals.
Each Veda is supplemented by
Brahmanas - prose discussions involving rules for and explanations of rituals, the Brahmana attached to each different Veda is relevant to a different priestly function.
Aranyakas - "forest books" of esoteric learning which form a bridge from ritualism to the
Upanisads - speculative philosophical texts.
These supplements to the Vedas were mainly composed between 700 and 300 B.C.E.
Although less authoritative
traditional texts, the great Sanskrit epic poems are probably
the most influential pieces of literature in the whole Indian
tradition. The Mahabharata tells of the great war between
two royal families, the Pandavas and the Kauravas ending in their
mutual destruction. The enormously influential Bhagavadgita
is a section of this epic. The Ramayana relates the
legend of Prince Rama, usurped from his throne and exiled, his
beautiful wife Sita kidnapped by the demon Ravana, his calm self-control
and noble generosity provides an exemplar of admirable conduct.
They both probably originate in oral traditions of the middle of the first
millennium B.C.E. and were written down between that time
and the 4th century C.E.
See this Mahabharata link
Another important sutra is the Yogasutra of Patanjali, a text of about the 2nd century CE containing 194 aphorisms on yoga which expounds the eight "limbs" of yoga, known as the "royal" yoga, Raja- or even rajadhirajayoga. This is an important influence upon the yoga practiced by most Hindu Sadhus. These eight limbs are:
1. Yama - Restraints (Yogasutra 2.30-31)
"The restraints are nonviolence, truthfulness, honesty, not stealing, celibacy,
and absence of greed. These, universal and unqualified by birth, place, time
or circumstance, are the great vow."
2. Niyama - Observances (Yogasutra 2.32)
"The observances are purity, contentment, ascetic practice, study, and
dedication to the Lord of Yoga" (Yogeshsvara).
3. Asana - Posture (Yogasutra 2.46)
"The posture is steady and easy."
4. Pranayama - Breath control (Yogasutra 2.49)
"Then pranayama is the regulation of breathing out and in."
5. Dharana - Concentration (Yogasutra 2.52-53/3.1)
"Then the curtain is withdrawn and the mind is fit
for concentration. . . . Concentration is binding thought in place."
6. Dhyana - Meditation (Yogasutra 3.2)
"Meditation is the unbroken focus of the mind on its object."
7. Pratyahara - Loss of self/Abstraction/Withdrawal (of the senses)
(Yogasutra 2.54)
"Pratyahara is the withdrawal of the sense organs from their objects..."
8. Samadhi - trance/ecstasy/enstasy (Yogasutra 2.45)
"Samadhi is accomplished through dedication to the Lord of Yoga" (Yogeshsvara) and
the Lord of Yoga is described as "a distinct person (purusha), untouched by
the effects of affliction and action" (Yogasutra 1.24). However, it is worthy
of comment that the god Krishna is refered to as Yogeshvara in the Bhagavad Gita (e.g. 11:4), composed
approximately in the 1st century C.E., that is possibly 100 years before the Yogasutra
There are four major divisions of traditional Hindu society:
Brahmins (priests), Kshatriyas (warrior-aristocrats), Vaishyas (literally "all"; mainly farmers, merchants, tradesmen, artisans), and Sudras (slaves or serfs).
Following initiation into the tradition, a coming-of-age ceremony usually performed only for males of the first three Varnas one enters Brahmashrama, the student stage in which total obedience is given to the Guru. Marriage is the rite of passage which generally marks entry into the Grihastha (householder) stage of marriage, productivity, and the pursuit of social well-being. Usually about the time when one's children are having children of their own one is expected to enter intoVanashrama, the stage of retirement in which one "withdraws into the forest" (vana) and distances oneself from mundane involvements. Lastly one might enter Sanyasa, and seek total dissociation from worldly involvement.
In following this dharma or social order it was accepted that four aims or ends were valid:
Kama, all pleasures of the flesh including sexual gratification was the most obvious and the most superficial. While sensual pleasures are accepted as real and genuinely gratifying and are not at all discouraged by implications of karmic retribution, they are characterized as transient, fleeting, temporary, short-lived and finally disappointing--the pursuit of the unadvanced person. Better than this is Artha, gain, profit, or material advancement, including political and financial power and stability. Although its satisfactions last longer and have greater implications than those of kama they too are finally limited and unsatisfactory, the drive for power is insatiable and, of course, "you can't take it with you." Thirdly one can strive for the pursuit of Dharma; in the words of J. F. K. "ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." Duty, service, honor, loyalty, self-sacrifice, and the pursuit of the traditional ideal constitute a higher and finally more satisfying goal than mere physical or material self-satisfaction. Again, it is possible that this was the original extent of varnashramadharma since this final goal would include the stage of vanaprastha, withdrawal to seek spiritual emancipation. Thus perhaps the fourth goal, Moksha, escape from samsara, was a later addition. Whatever is the case this certainly becomes the highest and ultimate goal of the Hindu religious life. Pleasure, success, and the responsible performance of duty, all these are finally inadequate to the total commitment of the human spirit. The true and undying goals of human being are these--being, awareness, and bliss, without limitation and without end which is characteristic of the godhead (Brahman). This is seen as finally available to the human spirit in Moksha, emancipation, release, escape from the eternal wheel, total and final dissociation from worldly attachment. This, of course, is recognizable as the final end of Buddhism, Nirvana.
