The Vedas: An Introduction for the Common Man

The book seeks to present a brief introduction to the Vedas from the point of view of the common man. People of India are generally aware of the existence of the Vedas and regard them with veneration, but only few of them may have had an occasion to see them, much less read them. This book tries to tell them in brief and in a simple language as to what the Vedas contain and what they do not. It throws light on the various aspects of the Vedas-their authorship, their superb poetry, their various interpretations, scientific and astronomical studies related to them and the truth and spirituality contained in them. It also briefly deals with the Aryan question, i.e., the theory profounded by the old historians that the seers who wrote the Vedas had come from outside India and they demolished the Indus Valley Civilization, forcing the local people to migrate to the Dravid land. The book shows how the Vedas are unnecessarily blamed for the present day evils of the Indian society, like cast rigidity, horrors of hell, too much concern for the other world while denying the present life etc. The Vedic seers, on the other hand, enjoyed life thoroughly, without taboos regarding food and dress and desired to live for a hundred years or more with active mental and bodily faculties, in peace with themselves and with the world.