The word ‘Veda’ means knowledge. The real source of all knowledge is God. With their one-pointed minds, the rishis (seers) ‘saw’ or ‘heard’ truths that emanated from God as name and form. They in turn transmitted that knowledge to their disciples. Therefore, the eternal truths that arose from the Supreme Self and which the rishis perceived are what we mean by the Vedas. Because the Vedas were heard and then verbally transmitted to the disciples, they are also known as shruti. The rishis who ‘saw’ the mantras are also known as mantradrshtas.
The Vedas are the experience of the rishis who realised the Supreme Truth. Suppose there was a murder. If someone has witnessed it, the court will accept his or her words as proof. It doesn’t matter if a thousand people did not see the murder. The Vedas are not the experience of just a single rishi. They are the experience of countless rishis who realised the truth. To reject the Vedas, saying that we have no experience of them, is foolish. Those who are intelligent should walk along the path prescribed by the rishis and strive to experience that eternal truth.
The Vedas contain all the eternal principles pertaining to God and the universe. They are not the creation of any individual. It is the timeless truth that originated from the Supreme Self. That is why the Vedas are considered apaurusheya—that is, they are not man-made. They are the supreme scriptures of Hindus and the cornerstone of all dharma. The Vedas are the basis of all scriptures and branches of learning in Sanatana Dharma.
The Vedic truths do good to all beings in the world. They aim at bringing about the spiritual and material uplift of everyone. Sectarianism has no place in it. The Vedas contain principles that impart peace and contentment to the whole world. ‘Lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu (May all beings in all the worlds be happy)’—this was the message of the rishis. We are not blindly accepting anything, saying that the Vedas are apaurusheya. Instead, because the Vedas uphold eternal and universal principles such as truth, righteousness, austerity, compassion, love, sacrifice and non-violence, Hindus embrace them as supremely sacred and as the highest scriptures.
The important tenets of the Vedas can be understood through the Upanishads. Take the Bhagavad Gita. It encapsulates the essence of all the Upanishads. It is a holy writ that all of humanity can accept and apply in their lives. Moreover, through the Puranas, the rishis have illuminated Vedic principles through the backdrop of stories and chronicles of historical events so that common people can understand those principles easily.
In addition, avatars who incarnated in every age and mahatmas have also interpreted the Vedic principles in accordance with the times and reinstated Vedic rites. The advice of mahatmas is also simple and easily grasped by the common person.
The Vedas are like an ocean. When water from the ocean evaporates as a result of the sun’s heat, and falls as rain, it benefits humanity in all kinds of ways. In a similar way, mahatmas abide in the truth and convey the essence of the Vedas in a way that is easy for ordinary people to grasp and practice in their lives, and in keeping with the times. Therefore, it’s enough for those who cannot understand the Vedas directly to follow the words of mahatmas.
The writer is a world-renowned spiritual leader and humanitarian.