vedas

Secret Knowledge: Traditional Levels of Vedic Interpretation   How do we approach cryptic mantras from ancient cultures, which are said to require special initiations in order to understand them? Can we assume that their evident meaning according to our present mindset of several thousand years later should be accurate? So far, that has been the [...]

It is commonly believed that caste, i.e. the division of society in endogamous groups, is an exclusively Hindu institution. Thus, after briefly describing the system of the four varnas, Ambedkar writes: “This is called by the Hindus the Varna Vyavasthâ. It is the very soul of Hinduism. Without Varna Vyavasthâ there is nothing else in [...]

Professor of physics at the University of Oregon’s Institute of Theoretical Science for over 30 years, (now retired) Dr. Goswami is a revolutionary in a growing body of renegade scientists who in recent years have ventured into the domain of the spiritual in an attempt both to interpret the seemingly inexplicable findings of their experiments… [...]

The Role of Buddhism The name “Veda” literally means “knowledge”, and derives from the root vid, “to know”. Thus, when we speak of Vedic culture, we refer to a tradition that honors knowledge as the very foundation of everything and the solution to all problems and needs. Until rather recently – in the times of [...]

“The statue symbolises values that parallel key principles of Indonesia-U.S. relations” Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, has gifted an imposing 16-foot-high statue of Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of education and wisdom, to Washington DC. The goddess’ statue, on top of a lotus, stands tall a block away from the [...]

We have drunk of the soma; we have become immortal, we have seen the light; we have found the Gods… Rig Veda 8.48.3 The search for the elixir of life, the quest for the Holy Grail has been since time immemorial the preoccupation of every arcane mystery religion. From the Chinese to the Greco-Egyptian, to [...]

Aditi (Mother of the Universe, the Primal Being) is all the Heaven, Aditi is the space, Aditi is Mother, Father and Children. Aditi is all the Gods and Goddesses, Aditi is the five bases of creation. Aditi is all that has been and all that will take birth. Rig Veda 1.89.10 [...]

 During the Satya Yuga, Sage Kashyap and one of his wife Diti had two sons – Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakasipu. Hiranyaksha troubled the humans and the Devas alike. The humans and the Devas unable to take it any more prayed to Lord Vishnu to protect them. Lord Vishnu being the Preserver incarnated as a Boar to [...]

The sexual symbolism of Tantra, like the subject of sexuality in general, has always engaged the human mind. The modern mind seems to be obsessed with it as well. Many people into Tantra, as well as most of the scholars who write on it, seem unable to move beyond the physical suggestions of these symbols [...]

In these last centuries the world has changed remarkably, and today we are facing even deeper and wider changes than ever – changes we cannot avoid, because human society is becoming increasingly globalized.The history of Vedic tradition teaches us that as human beings, we have the power to participate in this change responsibly, by directing [...]