20 Taittiriya Upanishad JUST as the Kathopanishad belongs to the Krishna (Black) Yajurveda, even so the Taittiriya Upanishad also belongs to the same Veda. Both these Upanishads have internal connection. In particular, the knowledge of the soul, which we find in the Kathopanishad, is confirmed and elucidated in the Taittiriya Upanishad. And it is to this aspect that we may turn at once. The Kathopanishad speaks of three fires and five fires, indicating that the soul that is fire is to be found at three levels, the level of the body, the level of the vital being and the level of the mental being. The Kathopanishad also tells us that the mental being is not

24 Mundaka Upanishad LIKE the Mandukya, Mundaka also belongs to the Atharvaveda. Mundaka is, however, in poetic form and is much longer, consisting of three chapters, each having two sub-sections. It is one of the most popular and favourite Upanishads. In almost every collection of Upanishads, it finds a place. Even Badarayana devotes to it three of the 28 parts in which he has dealt with the doctrine of Brahman. Shankara cites it 129 times in his commentary on the Brahmasutra. This Upanishad contains in its pure form the old Vedanta doctrine. The beauty of its poetry has also contributed a great deal to its pre-eminent position. The first part of the Upanishad

9 Atharva Veda THE Atharvaveda has been looked upon as the Veda of secret and occult knowledge. It contains numerous mantras, which are common to the Rigveda, Yajurveda and Samaveda. The Atharvaveda has 20 Kandas, which have 34 prapathakas, 111 anuvakas, 739 suktas and 54,849 mantras. About 1200 mantras are common with those of the Rigveda. The one-sixth of the Atharvaveda is in prose, while the rest is poetic. There is a legend in Gopatha Brahmana about Atharvan and Angiras, after whom the fourth Veda has been named. According to this legend. Brahman undertook intense tapas for the creation of the universe. Consequently, two streams of sweat began to flow on his

12 Amnyaka Literature ARANYAKA literature is rather small as compared to the Brahmana and Upanishadic literature. It is quite possible that originally the Aranyaka literature was larger,but much of it was lost in course of time. Today only six Aranyakas are available: 1. Aitareya Aranyaka } which belongs to the Rigveda 2. Shankhayana Aranyaka 3.Talavakara Aranyaka which belongs to the Samaveda 4. Taittiriya Aranyaka which belongs to Krishna Yajurveda 5. Brihadaranyaka which belongs to the Shukia Yajurveda 6. Maitrayaniya Aranyaka which belongs to the Charaka recension of the Shukia Yajurved

8 Samaveda AFTER the Rigveda and the Yajurveda, we turn now to the Samaveda. This Veda is shortest of all the four Vedas, and most of its hymns have been taken from the Rigveda. The total number of verses in the Samaveda is 1875. Samaveda has this speciality that its hymns are chanted by the priest called Udgatri (singer). In the ritualistic tradition, these hymns are sung at those important sacrifices in which the juice of the Soma plant, clarified and mixed with milk and other ingredients, was offered in libation to various deities. In the process of chanting or singing, the hymns are prolonged and repeated; some syllables are inserted, and there are prescription

6 Yajurveda MANTRAS of the Rigveda are all in poetic form. But Yajurveda is principally in prose form. The word "Yajus" is derived from the root "Yaj," which means to consecrate, to offer, to sacrifice. The mantras of Yajurveda are, therefore, devoted to acts of sacrifice. Sacrifice is understood primarily in its ritualistic sense, and Yajurveda itself speaks of various kinds of ritualistic sacrifices. Rituals of various sacrifices were laid down in detail and they are expected to be performed with meticulous care. There is a belief among ritualists that the rites, if properly performed, are effective and produce desired results. The important rites are relat

25 The Veda in the Light of Sri Aurobindo I THE Veda or at least the Samhita of the Rigveda appears to be the earliest literary composition of humanity. There might have been earlier or contemporaneous compositions but they seem to have been lost in the tides and ebbs of time and we do not know what thoughts and aspirations they might have expressed. Considering, however, that there was, in the earlier stages, a remarkable tradition of mysteries, Orphic and Eleusinian in Greece, of occult lore and magic in Egypt and Chaldea, of Magi in Persia, and of the Rishis in India, there might have been in them something common but what could have b

5 Vedic world—Knowledge THE Supreme Reality is, according to the Veda, "That One" spoken of variously by the wise. This Reality came to be described in the Upanishads as Sat-Chit-Ananda (Sachchidananda), the pure conscious and blissful Existent. In the Veda we find that it is described often as Sat. It is also described as blissful. It is again described as conscious, and as Force of concentrated consciousness, Tapas. The Veda also speaks of It as tridhatu, the threefold Substance. In an intriguing description of the totality of Reality and its manifestation,the Veda speaks of it as one having four horns and three feet (catvari sringa trayo asya pad

31 Yoga and Knowledge KNOWLEDGE may be regarded as the most fundamental aim of Yoga. Even Hathayoga, which utilises the body as its instrument and aims at its perfection, lays down that the enjoyment of knowledge of our liberated being which brings us into unity or union with the Supreme, is its consummation. A complete mastery of the body and the life and a free and effective use of them established upon a purification of their workings serves as a basis for the more important matter of the psychical and spiritual effects to which that base can be turned. At this stage, Hathayoga takes its stand on the connection between the body and the m

1 The Four Vedas THE term Veda is derived from the Sanskrit root vid, to know. Its Latin cognate video to see, has also the same connotation. The Rishis , who composed the contents of the Veda, were the seers of hymns, which when studied rightly, are found to embody knowledge of eternal value. Veda is, therefore, the Book of Knowledge. Veda is a collective term, indicating the four Vedas, viz.: Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda. The Vedas are called Samhitas because they are collections or anthologies of hymns and mantras. The great sage Vyasa has been regarded as the compiler of these collections. Among the Vedas, the Rigveda Samhita occupies a