Holy Vedas- Legends and Analogies

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About the Book It is a compilation form the Vedas -the objective and subjective meditation [saguna and nirguna], strewn throughout the Upanisads Vedas, mainly the ten Upanisads, commented by Śri Sankarācārya - a beautiful garland of wonderful flowers. It is a hand book of Vedic legends and analogies to read again and again, to tell others and quote them appropriately to assimilate in our life style, as the function of the meditation is constant remembrance. Other external preparatory disciplines are only aids to that function. Our scripture promises the desired benefits through this process to the student [sadhaka] and you too are entitled to that.

About the Author Sri Ramanuj Prasad was born in 1936. As a house hold devotee, associated with the spiritual missions like Sri Ramakrishna Mission, Arsha Vidya guru Kula, Narayan guru kula and Yogada Satsanga Society of India.

Has authored number of books on Hindu religion and philosophy, published by Pustak Mahal. He happens to be a writer of technical papers in professional journals and articles in news papers and journals. The author is a blessed academician in the disciplines of Engineering, Economics and Management. Is a retired, from a public sector industry after putting up his best for about forty years as an ecevutive.

Preface This book, unfolds the sacred accounts that are hidden in the depth of the Śruti, for common consumption, being the privilege of human beings. It has devoted purpose and is not mere a description of the events as the very effect of reading it is the worship of Lord, practiced through different altars. At the first plane it is the direct teaching of the scriptures, moulded into stories.

The second is the set up that gives the inference of the values of the teachings through the length and breadth of the exemplary characters in the legends. These legends are not the part of Pauranic values, but of the Śruti. In fact it is like Upanishad, which is the highest religion, simplified for the benefit of the common readers. The legends reveal objective and subjective meditation [upasana]. Šri Krsna calls it by the name 'abhyasa-yoga' - the mental exercise - the Yoga of union.

"With the mind not wandering after anything else, made steadfast in the Yoga of constant practice, he who meditates on the Supreme, Resplendent Purusha, reaches Him O Partha". By meditating on these accounts, one becomes eligible for krama-mukti [Liberation in stages], as the Upasana combined with karma-yoga affords passage to Brahma-loka, through sukla-gati, and then there one has to gain the knowledge for liberation as prescribed by the scriptures.

The author is indebted to Mr. G. Ramamurthy, for his assistance in bringing out this volume, expected to be one of immense value to the common man, who has faith and devotion in our scriptures that were revealed to the sages and then by the sages to the sages, thus to us by our immediate teacher in tradition.

Introduction Dialogue form is best suited to communicate a subtle subject matter. It affords clarification at all stages, thus in this mode, the communication is assimilated and complete. This method alone is perpetuated for the study of Vedas and thus the name Śruti i.e. the process of communication through hearing. [Known as 'karna parampara]. The Veda has no author and it is not the brain work of any individual but it co-exists along with the creation and forms an organ of creation. The Truth contained in the Vedas was revealed through the hearts [heart is the seat of mind] of men and women seers, in their state of deep meditation, who were pure by the practice of self-control and when they were in their super-conscious state.

These seers were not limited to any particular group, class or clan but even house-holders and kings were included and such kings were known as 'Rājaṛṣīs'. Occasionally misunderstanding cropped up about the authorship of Vedas to the great seer, Veda Vyäsa as the word 'Veda' has been pre-fixed to his name. Vyāsācārya has only arranged the divisions of Veda into four groups namely Rg, Yajur, Sāmā, and Atharva Veda, according to the characteristics of the mantras, but he was not the author. The Vedas were there before him.

The essence of the Vedas or the crystallized philosophy is the Upanishads. Study of the Upanishads without the assistance of a competent teacher is difficult, rather it will be misleading. Therefore it is not open to common platform.

**Contents and Sample Pages**