Question : 2
Child : Mom can you please tell me more about the Vedas and
dharma which you just talked about?
Mother : The Vedas are the original scriptures of Hinduism
on which entire Hindu way of life is based. The ethical way
of living as suggested in the Vedas is called dharma.
Dharma is God's divine law for discipline and proper
development of human beings. By Vedas no particular book is
meant. The revelations that the ancient seekers of truth
received through meditations were transferred from
generation to generation through oral teachings. Many of
those spoken concepts have been compiled and are available
in volumes that we now call the Vedas. The Vedas are a
collection of hymns, prayers, rituals, benedictions,
sacrificial formulas and chants There are four distinct
Vedas : Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sam Veda and Atharva Veda.
Rig Veda the oldest among the Vedas mainly consists of hymns
and chants praising God; Yajur Veda contains divine verses
in musical form; and Atharva Veda contains guidelines for
the proper way of living. The four Vedas were revealed to
the sages Agni, Vayu, Aditya and Angira respectively. Later
the Vedas were systemized for human benefit by sage Vyas.
Each of the Vedas contains similar essential detains on how
to lead a life with a sound body, mind, and intellect and
also how to attain a better next life. Each Veda consists
of a ritual part and a philosophical part. The
philosophical part of Vedas is called Upanishad. There are
108 Upanishads in all.
