AJIT DAMLE was born and raised in Pune, India. After qualifying as a surgeon, he pursued advanced training in England and Canada, achieving the highest certification in cardiothoracic and vascular (open-heart) surgery. He then built a highly successful career as a heart surgeon in the United States, where he practiced for over 30 years. Damle has been active in clinical research, with several publications in scientific journals.
His family is full of surgeons; both his sons and their wives are practicing surgeons.
Damle studied the ancient Indian philosophies of the Vedas and Shastras independently, which ultimately led to this book.
His passion is reading and studying a wide range of topics, from science to history, with a critical outlook. His special interests include the Renaissance, World War I, the East India Company, the philosophy and history of science, and the command and control of nuclear weapons deployment.
Like all Indians, well, almost all, I knew very little about Vedas, except that we Hindus greatly respect and revere them, they are regarded as final authority.
But that is all in the name only. Whoever reads Vedas! And why!!
Well, once I came across a poem in RugVed, the Nasadiya Suktam नासदिय सूक्त. It tells us how the Universe, everything, was created. Hauntingly beautiful, it has profound philosophy and honest confession of ignorance. I fell in love with it. It was then that I looked up Vedas. Almost all the Vedic literature is available on the internet. It is complex and difficult to understand. Not easy reading, it took me working on them a few hours most days for good four to five years.
But what a treasure! Vedas have poetic beauty and complex philosophy. They tell us what they regard as divine truths. They have plenty mantras and suktas for rituals, prayers asking blessings, good life, and victory in wars. And yes, this is most of it. On the other hand, they also discuss abstract topics like who are we? Where did we come from? What is the meaning of life? What is true knowledge? On the flip side, they have routine, boring stuff also. Vedic texts sometimes repeat each other, sometime contradict each other, and sometime leave you confused. At times it all seems strange, even funny.
These authors of Vedas are clearly of the highest caliber. Just the same, it came as a shock to me to find how different Vedas are from the Hinduism I was familiar with! And you know what, it does not matter if you are religious or not. In fact, some parts of Vedas do not even seem to be concerned with God, not in a religious way.
If you are religious or spiritual, in Vedas you will find deep, everlasting meaning. And if you are not, you might enjoy them even more!
Vedas (1289)
Upanishads (480)
Puranas (609)
Ramayana (832)
Mahabharata (330)
Dharmasastras (163)
Goddess (472)
Bhakti (241)
Saints (1285)
Gods (1274)
Shiva (341)
Journal (143)
Fiction (48)
Vedanta (324)
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