Synopsis
The present compilation of Vedic scriptures is attributed to Veda Vyasa, who was born about 5000 years ago, son of Satyavati and Parasara Muni. The name Vyasa means "one who divides", because Vyasa compiled four separate collections, dividing the various texts that composed the original Veda and elaborating on its meanings according to different perspectives, to facilitate their understanding for the people of this age.This volume illustrates how this division was structured in the four main Vedas, comprising Samhitas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads.The Vedic scriptures are composed in Sanskrit, a language that is also called devanagari (“of the Devas' cities”) because it is considered the universal language also used on other planets. The word Sanskrit derives from the Sanskrit word samskrita, that literally means "perfect, highly evolved".The four divisions of the Vedic texts are called Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva; in each of these, the parts called Samhitas contain hymns of deep symbolic meaning, that are subsequently explained at various levels in the commentaries called Brahmanas (for the ritualistic application), Aranyakas (for the metaphysical application) and Upanishads (for the application of philosophy in daily life).
About the Author
Mataji Parama Karuna Devi is the founder and director of the Jagannatha Vallabha Vedic Research Center, an Institute for the preservation and the propagation of Vedic knowledge in India and at global level. A sannyasini, a writer, a teacher and a social worker, she has been studying and practicing Vedic philosophy and sadhana since 1970. In 1978 she moved into an ashram to engage exclusively in the study and practice of Vedic spirituality. She has actively worked at the translation and publication of the literary works of the founder or the movement, as well as at the personal service of the Deities in the temple and in preaching especially through radio programs at Radio Krishna Centrale. Subsequently, she traveled around the Indian subcontinent, from the Himalayan foothills to the extreme south, visiting Vrindavana, Mathura, Dvaraka, Gujarat and Rajasthan, Herakhan, Ayodhya, Varanasi, Prayaga, Calcutta, West Bengal, Tripura, Manipur, Orissa and especially Jagannatha Puri, Tirupati, Kanchipuram and Tamil Nadu, Madras, Madurai, Kanyakumari, Trishur, Udupi, Guruvayur, Mangalore, Bangalore and Bombay. In a cultural and spiritual full immersion, she lived as a local person among the local people, attending the traditional Hindu temples and meeting many extraordinary personalities at a very high level in the religious field. In 1994 she moved to Jagannatha Puri in Orissa, where she establishes the Jagannatha Vallabha Vedic Research Center. In 1996 she is appointed as member of the Organizing Committee for the Gopala Utsava at the orthodox Hindu temple of Sakshi Gopala, and subsequently she is invited to many conferences, congresses and other cultural and academic events, by Bharatiya Itihasa Sankalana Samiti, Academy of Yoga and Oriental Studies, Utkala University, Jagannatha Sanskrit Vidyalaya andKarma Kanda Vedic Gurukula. After the tutelage of Bhagavan Mishra (deula purohita of Sri Jagannatha Puri Mandir), Jagannatha Mahapatra (mukti mandapa brahmana ofl Sri Jagannatha Puri Mandir) and other prominent personalities of the orthodox Hindu community in Puri, she enters the traditional purification ceremonies called suddhi, prayaschitta, vratyastoma and diksha, which officialize her affiliation to orthodox Vedic Hinduism. She has translated and compiled many religious and spiritual texts, regularly publishes articles and discussions on Internet and corresponds with her students from various nationalities.
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