Ashtottaram 2: OṀ VEḊABHŨMYAI NAMAH, All About Vedas

By Dr. Devakinanda Pasupuleti

Vedas are the oldest scriptural literature in the world. Vedas have universal relevance, and they teach about life and how to live on righteous path.

Ashtottaram 2

2) OṀ VEḊABHŨMYAI NAMAH:

ॐ वेदभूम्यै नमः

OṀ (AUM) – VE'-ḊA-BHOO-MYAI– NA-MA-HA

(Veda: That which brings knowledge)

The Veḋas were the first bundle of knowledge given to mankind by God. In Sanskrit, the root "Viḋ" means- "to know". From this came the word "Veḋa" meaning- "that which provides knowledge". The Veḋas contain universal lessons on humanity, prosperity, progress, protection and peace. The Veḋas are considered as "sriti", that which is heard and is divine. Ṛishis, with their intense austerities and during deep meditation, obtained that knowledge and passed it on to mankind. Shri Veḋavyāsa compiled and codified that knowledge into Ṛg Veḋa, Sāma Veḋa, and Yajur Veḋa. A later addition was the Atharva Veḋa.

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The Veḋas are truth, light and air; they provide a way of life for all of humanity. Because they are heard, they are considered eternal and the mother of all scriptures. The Veḋas are revealed to rishis and don't belong to any one place, person or religion. Vedas are also called Śritis, Āmnayam, Chandhas, Trayi, and Swādhyayam.

There are three meanings for each word in the Veḋas– secular, spiritual and dhārmic meanings. That's why the Vedas are also called Trayi, meaning "three". One who considers the Vedas a means of knowledge is considered a theist. This shows how much respect they have in our daily spiritual lives.

The former part of the Veḋas is the ritual portion and the latter part is knowledge. This portion is called Upanishads, and because it is at the end of the Vedas, it is also called Veḋānta. Each Veda has four parts: 1) mantras for worship; 2) Brāhmaṇās-or ritualistic manuals; 3) araṇyakās, which are forest treatises for the contemplative stage of life; and 4) the Upanishads.

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By a proper reading of the Vedas, we can get a glimpse of the primordial origins going back even before the ending of the ice age roughly 15,000 BCE. The Vedas exist primarily to teach the right way of living (Dharma).

The land which has provided us with the Supreme Knowledge in the form of the Vedas is our "Veda Bhūmi".

Note: All the pictures used in this series are from the internet.