The Book of the Vedas: Timeless Wisdom from Indian Tradition

Rating:
Summary: Basic information in small doses
Review: THE BOOKS OF THE VEDAS is a modern summary of hymns from ancient India, with short chapters that trace the history of practices that still affect our world. I am hardly a practitioner of any of the forms of meditation mentioned in this book, but it is quite convincing that many aspects of the Hindu religious experience have found an important place in the modern world. The index is small but useful. It can be found after the picture of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi with Paul, George, and John of the Beatles on page 125. Designed by an educational publisher in London, it was printed in China and manufactured in Singapore with colorful pictures on slick paper, with pages that are smaller than a typical magazine. The print often appears on portions of a picture that is in a single color, as on page 45, which has a caption: "BACKGROUND Shiva is an ascetic, the only one of the godhead who is forever in deep meditation." The head, with a jewel in the position of the third eye, is above the printed text for that page, but only an arm and naval can be discerned clearly in the area where his body is obscured by the text. On page 15, by fading out where his leg runs into the text, the knee of a Brahmin at a lakeside in Pushkar seems to disappear.

Though the Introduction starts on page 6 with a tiny Chapter 1 designation, there seems to be a new title each time the page is turned. The Quest for Inner Peace (p. 8), The Indus Valley Civilization (p. 10), etc. Holy Writings are described in Chapter 2 with some emphasis on how ancient the sacred hymns were. The Upanishads are called a "slim collection of Sanskrit verses . . . called the Vedanta, meaning `End of the Vedas.'" (p. 25). This page introduces maya, Brahman, atman, karma, and samsara, with simple explanations.

Continued interest in The Mahabharata Epic is indicated by a picture of an Indian television costume drama on page 32. "Like Shakespeare, the Mahabharata is a linguistic storehouse that has been raided by writers and poets. Its plotlines were retold for centuries by traveling storytellers and puppeteers, and now feature in countless television dramas and Bollywood epics." (p. 33).

On the next page, the Bhagavad Gita explains the form of enlightenment offered by Krishna, an incarnation of Vishnu. Later Krishna is shown as a baby on page 50. In Avatars on page 56, Buddha is mentioned as the ninth appearance of Vishnu, before "Kalki, the avatar yet to come." In the first appearance, "As the Fish, Vishnu warned Manu (the equivalent of Noah in Judeo-Christian tradition) that a universal flood was coming, and pulled the boat he built to safety." (pp. 56-57).

The transition from philosophy to practice begins with Subtle Energy on page 70, locating seven chakras "at the points in the astral body where the nadis meet." Basic information is provided about Yoga in the classical form of practicing meditation, and the variations: Hatha Yoga (p. 76), Laya Yoga (p. 78), Mantra Yoga (p. 80), Tantric Yoga (p. 82), Jnana Yoga (p. 84), Karma Yoga (p. 86), Bhakti Yoga (p. 88), and Kundalini Yoga (p. 90). Those who are familiar with a few positions might wish to study the other possibilities and the dangers that this book says are involved in advanced forms before going further.

Chapter 5, on Hindu Society, provides a picture of religious life in India today. Chapter 6, Hinduism in the World, tries to account for the spread of the Hare Krishna movement, founded in the United States in 1966 (p. 120), and the related religions, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism. TM and Sai Baba bring the book to an end.

Rating:
Summary: Basic information in small doses
Review: THE BOOKS OF THE VEDAS is a modern summary of hymns from ancient India, with short chapters that trace the history of practices that still affect our world. I am hardly a practitioner of any of the forms of meditation mentioned in this book, but it is quite convincing that many aspects of the Hindu religious experience have found an important place in the modern world. The index is small but useful. It can be found after the picture of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi with Paul, George, and John of the Beatles on page 125. Designed by an educational publisher in London, it was printed in China and manufactured in Singapore with colorful pictures on slick paper, with pages that are smaller than a typical magazine. The print often appears on portions of a picture that is in a single color, as on page 45, which has a caption: "BACKGROUND Shiva is an ascetic, the only one of the godhead who is forever in deep meditation." The head, with a jewel in the position of the third eye, is above the printed text for that page, but only an arm and naval can be discerned clearly in the area where his body is obscured by the text. On page 15, by fading out where his leg runs into the text, the knee of a Brahmin at a lakeside in Pushkar seems to disappear.

Though the Introduction starts on page 6 with a tiny Chapter 1 designation, there seems to be a new title each time the page is turned. The Quest for Inner Peace (p. 8), The Indus Valley Civilization (p. 10), etc. Holy Writings are described in Chapter 2 with some emphasis on how ancient the sacred hymns were. The Upanishads are called a "slim collection of Sanskrit verses . . . called the Vedanta, meaning `End of the Vedas.'" (p. 25). This page introduces maya, Brahman, atman, karma, and samsara, with simple explanations.

Continued interest in The Mahabharata Epic is indicated by a picture of an Indian television costume drama on page 32. "Like Shakespeare, the Mahabharata is a linguistic storehouse that has been raided by writers and poets. Its plotlines were retold for centuries by traveling storytellers and puppeteers, and now feature in countless television dramas and Bollywood epics." (p. 33).

On the next page, the Bhagavad Gita explains the form of enlightenment offered by Krishna, an incarnation of Vishnu. Later Krishna is shown as a baby on page 50. In Avatars on page 56, Buddha is mentioned as the ninth appearance of Vishnu, before "Kalki, the avatar yet to come." In the first appearance, "As the Fish, Vishnu warned Manu (the equivalent of Noah in Judeo-Christian tradition) that a universal flood was coming, and pulled the boat he built to safety." (pp. 56-57).

The transition from philosophy to practice begins with Subtle Energy on page 70, locating seven chakras "at the points in the astral body where the nadis meet." Basic information is provided about Yoga in the classical form of practicing meditation, and the variations: Hatha Yoga (p. 76), Laya Yoga (p. 78), Mantra Yoga (p. 80), Tantric Yoga (p. 82), Jnana Yoga (p. 84), Karma Yoga (p. 86), Bhakti Yoga (p. 88), and Kundalini Yoga (p. 90). Those who are familiar with a few positions might wish to study the other possibilities and the dangers that this book says are involved in advanced forms before going further.

Chapter 5, on Hindu Society, provides a picture of religious life in India today. Chapter 6, Hinduism in the World, tries to account for the spread of the Hare Krishna movement, founded in the United States in 1966 (p. 120), and the related religions, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism. TM and Sai Baba bring the book to an end.