Question concerning Vedas

I see a lot of people referring to the Indian Vedas, and I know many theories involve them. I was wondering if anyone knew if the Indian Vedas are entirely "channeled" documents, or if any are actual ancient surviving copies.

Originally posted by BlaznRob
I see a lot of people referring to the Indian Vedas, and I know many theories involve them. I was wondering if anyone knew if the Indian Vedas are entirely "channeled" documents, or if any are actual ancient surviving copies.

BlaznRob,

There's a couple of very long threads here about the Vedas. As far as I know, most of them are genuine. The Vymanika Shastra is channelled.

From what I've heard, there's more untranslated Sanskrit scrolls that there are translated. Very few to none (of the translated ones) actually mention what has been claimed for them though.

Also, as far as I know, none of them are "ancient" anyway. I could be wrong, but I believe the vast majority of these writings were first penned in the first millenium A.D. (now called "C.E.")

Harte

The oldest Rigvedas were passed down orally for 5000 years, or more, before they where "penned". Some have argued that they have been sung as far back as 10,000bce. "Myth" has the origin of the "Rig" in the "vibration" of the universe and has exsisted since creation. Holy Men (seers), as well as all living things, can feel the "truth" . So, in short, yes you can say that the Vedas were "channeled".

I'd say that a group of "wise"men made them up, just like every other social constructions to organize/controll/manage thier society. So made up or channeled call it what you want, there purpose was/is to give structure/ritual/identity to a society.

They are very cool to read, great stories and allow an insight into the mind of ancient man.

Originally posted by CasualOne
The oldest Rigvedas were passed down orally for 5000 years, or more, before they where "penned". Some have argued that they have been sung as far back as 10,000bce. "Myth" has the origin of the "Rig" in the "vibration" of the universe and has exsisted since creation. Holy Men (seers), as well as all living things, can feel the "truth" . So, in short, yes you can say that the Vedas were "channeled".

I'd say that a group of "wise"men made them up, just like every other social constructions to organize/controll/manage thier society. So made up or channeled call it what you want, there purpose was/is to give structure/ritual/identity to a society.

They are very cool to read, great stories and allow an insight into the mind of ancient man.

Um, what Casual One said.

The Vedas were most assuradly passed down through oral tradition long before they were written down, much the way The Iliad and other ancient works of literature around the world.

I've always been intrigued by the parts of the Vedas called the Upanishads. (At least I think they're part of the Vedas.) They offer an almost direct, philosophical discourse on the nature of the soul, the world, reincarnation, that the more ritualized parts of the Vedas get at. I guess you could call the method of writing for the Vedas "channeling" as much as any work of literature. Rilke, the German poet, said he fell into a trance once, and out sprung twelve almost perfectly written sonnets, The Sonnets to Orpheus. Whether you call it a trance, chanelling, direct insight into reality, mind, God, nature...there's probably a number of ways of describing the sometimes mystical ways that writers can produce their work. (Most of the time I suspect it's through good old fashion elbow grease.)

[edit on 8/16/2006 by Toromos]

The Upanishads are probably one of the few works I have read that I can honestly say had a lasting and profound impact on my life, HIGHLY reccomended reading for anyone interested in Eastern Philosophy.

Thanks for responding, guys. You basically backed up what I suspected. I've read many of the Vedas, and really enjoyed them, but couldn't find many websites debating their authenticity.

I spoke with this man, David Pingree in epth (or as deep as I could go) about ancient mathematics and astronomy in india. According to him, some of the most accurate astronomical observations were made in ancient India, dating back to 4,000 bc. as a matter of fact, some of the charts and predictions made by these ancient astronomers are still in use today, and as accurate as anything we currently use.

Though we don't have a definite origin to these texts, they are definitely oder than most others in the world, and accurate as well.

YOu may also want to check out the laws of Manu. He was an ancient Vedic sage who explained the origin of the universe. It's a very interesting read, and the beginning mimics quantum mechanics surprisingly well. However, others may disagree.