A veda is one of the oldest religious writings of mankind. The collection of these writings, the Vedas, are the source of the spirituality and cultural heritage of India. For the Hindus, the Vedas form the origin of their philosophical, cultural and social values.
The message of the Vedas is related to yoga, natural medicine, gastronomy, music and all the traditions of India. The word veda in Sanskrit means precisely to know.
Significant aspects of the Veda texts
The Vedas are sacred texts that were elaborated during the Vedic period, approximately 1500 years before Christ.
These texts are basically religious hymns dedicated to all deities and grouped in stanzas, also known as mandalas. Each one was written by a group of priests, poets or sages who were inspired by different divinities.
There are four modalities of vedas: the Rig-Veda (hymns dedicated to the god of lightning and the god of fire, as well as the exaltation of nature), the Sama-Veda (a kind of practical guide for the udgatar or priest) , the Yajur-Veda (prayers related to sacrifices and rituals) and the Atharva-Veda (containing spells and guidelines related to daily life, love or family).
The Vedas have a very specific objective: to address the gods so that humans obtain security and wisdom from them.
Vedic religion
The various Veda texts are the foundation of the Vedic religion. This religion is polytheistic. Thus, Agni is the god of fire, Surya symbolizes the Sun, Vayu is identified with the wind, etc. The divinities are in control of nature, an issue that forces men to seek a good personal relationship with all gods and goddesses.
In the Vedic religion, human life depends on an established cosmic order. In this way, everything that exists (the cosmos) is governed by an order and a balance. This idea is explained metaphorically from the belief in the sacred cow (the cow is the symbol of the generosity of nature as a whole).
The human being must respect the order and balance of the universe and this harmony is known with one word: rita
Believers maintain that rita must be maintained above all else and for this to be possible it is necessary to perform a series of sacrifices and rituals (currently one of the current rituals in India is the cremation of the dead, a practice whose origin is found in Vedic texts).
The Vedic religion (also known as Vedism) is considered the root of Hinduism, the most widespread religious belief in India and Nepal.
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