The Importance of Veda in the Contemporary Society (II): Jurisdiction of the Veda

Saurav Sarmah

CEAS, SIS, JNU

In the previous issue, the validity of Veda was conclusively established. Since the Veda is unauthored and self-evident, its authority does not depend on any other source of knowledge. Indeed, only the assertions issued by the agencies recognized by the Veda can be accepted as authoritative. The recognized agencies are ‘sastra’ (scriptures: Veda, Pancharatra, Purana, Ramayana and Mahabharata), ‘sadhu’ (statements of the bona fide teachers affiliated to or honaoured by any of the four traditions: Sri, Brahma, Rudra and Kumara) and ‘guru’ (the bona fide teacher or spiritual master who initiates or instructs an individual subject). The mechanism of sastra-sadhu-guru (together known as ‘sabda pramana’) is fine-tuned to resolve all contradictions inherent in the process of knowledge acquisition.

The Vedic authority is not limited to any geographical, temporal or cultural co-ordinates. It is applicable in all circumstances. So, it is improper to refer to the Veda as Hindu or Indian scripture. In fact, societies paying allegiance to Vedic authority existed throughout the entire planet Earth about 5000 years ago (corroborated by Purana, archaeology and local traditions). Of course, misinterpretations (Nyaya, Vaisesika, Sankhya, Yoga, Mimamsa, etc.) and deviations (Pasupata, Shakta, Jaina, Lokayata, sophism, paganism, animism, etc.) also prevailed in many places. The core of this knowledge-based civilization remained within the territory bound by the Himalayas in the north and the ocean in the south. On February 18, 3102 BC, the Earth entered a temporal phase known as Kali-yuga, in which quarrel and hypocrisy are the pre-dominant qualities among human species. Since then, the true import of the Veda, gradually, faded from the collective memories of several societies, reducing them to uncivilized (non Aryan) status.

The first major split within the core of the Aryan civilization occurred in the vicinity of the great river known as Sindhu. A philosopher known as Zarathustra (Zoroaster) rejected the conclusion of the Veda that God is the singular cause of material creation and preached the doctrine of two separate and antagonistic causes. He thus introduced a rival to God (later referred to as Satan within the Semitic tradition) and rejected His omnipotence. This doctrine became popular within the Persian Empire and assumed the status of state religion. The Persians (from Cyrus the Great to Nadir Shah) invaded the Sindhu valley and beyond several times. They used to pronounce Sindhu as Hindu (because the Vedic sound S is pronounced as H in the Avestan language), which in the course of time, became the name for the entire civilization beyond the river. Later, when the Greeks (under Alexander the Great) overran Persia and intruded into the Sindhu/Hindu valley, they began to refer to the river as Indus (dropping the H), from which the name Indika/India is derived. Hence, both the terms Hindu and Indian are based on limiting co-ordinates and are foreign to the Veda.