Surrender to the Holy Feet

Rendering of the Holy Feet of Lord Balaji at Tirumala. Materials used: Pencil and charcoal. 

चरणं पवित्रं विततं पुराणं येन पूतस्तरति दुष्कृतानि ।

तेन पवित्रेण शुद्धेन पूता अति पाप्मानमरातिं तरेम ॥

charaṇam pavitram vitatam purāṇam yena pūtastarati duShkṛtAni |
tena pavitreṇa shuddhena pūtā ati pāpmānamarātin tarema ||

charaṇam – Feet (virtuous conduct/ Carana Devata, Vishnu/ Narayana)
pavitram – Pure  
vitatam – Pervasive
purāṇam – Ancient (eternal / having no past)
yena – By which
pūta:– One who is made holy
tarati – Crosses over
duShkṛtAni – Effects of evil deeds

tena – By that
pavitreṇa – By what is purifying
shuddhena – What is intrinsically pure
pūtā – Made holy
pāpmānam – Sin
arātim – Enemy
ati tarema – Overcome

This is a mantra specified in Mahanarayanopanishad.

Meaning:

“Being purified by the all-pervading and the Eternal Being’s feet (also, virtuous conduct/character), man gets rid of the effects of evil deeds. 

By that which is intrinsically pure, may we too become purified, and overcome the sins, which is our enemy, and be freed from impurity.” 

The ‘Being’ which is referred to here, with all virtues and perfect conduct is Lord Vishnu, in line with the phrase, Purusheshu Vishnu:

The implied meaning of the feet referred here is the feet of Lord Vishnu. 

In traditional practice, the mantra is recited while elderly Brahmanas’ feet are ceremoniously washed, or even when prostrating to Guru or elderly Brahmanas treating them as the Holy Feet of Lord Vishnu Himself. 

Philosophically, it implies the Charanagathi Tattva: 

The word charanagathi means that one seeks refuge at the holy feet of the Almighty. By surrendering ourselves, the ego/individuality is destroyed making us one with the Supreme. 

By a simple act of falling at the feet of the Guru or Elderly Brahmanas, considering them as the Eternally Pure Being (that is, Vishnu Himself), one’s ego (which is the cause of all the sins) is shrunk and ultimately destroyed, freeing oneself from the bondage of Samsara - cycles of birth and death. 

Let us also completely surrender at the holy feet of the Lord, which is eternal, pure, and all-pervasive. 

Secret to Happiness

Should Vedas be considered seriously?

The Vedas are the most ancient texts in the world whose origin is still under speculation. There is no doubt that they have been in practice for over four millennia, if not more. For the very same reason, it is obvious to think that they are simply old religious texts, even more so overrated. After all, the Vedas talk about mystic divine beings and sacrifices that would please them to yield material benefits. Thus a question arises as to whether one should take Vedas seriously into consideration. In other words, what use is the Vedas to the modern world, where the latter seems to have a solution for everything through science and technology?

When literally translated, the Vedas does seem to just be a praise of the deities and gives an impression of superstitious practices. But, there are many hidden treasures in the Vedas that trigger a second thought. Here are a few instances where Vedas prove to be far more advanced than they seem. 

Languages and Religions:

The phonetics used in the Vedic Sanskrit has fundamentally contributed to comparative philology. From its vocabulary, and by analyzing the root words and their usage, it has been accepted that the language used in the Vedas, namely the Proto-Indo-Iranian language as addressed by the western schools is the root of the vast majority of the modern languages of the present-day [*][*]. For instance, let us take the Vedic name for teeth, Danta (दन्त). There are three syllables used here, da, n,  and ta. The word is named so because the pronunciation of this purely depends on the usage of the teeth, and without teeth, this cannot be pronounced right. The word in English, Dental, has its root in the Vedic word Danta. Similarly, the words 'mother' from mātṛ, 'father' from pitṛ, 'brother' from bhrā́tṛ, and 'daughter' from Duhitṛ have evolved thus. Not only in English but also all other European and Iranian languages have this connection to the Vedic Sanskrit. Another instance is the word 'know', which has to be pronounced as 'nō', and not as 'k-nō'. This is because the word is derived from the Sanskrit root word Jñāna (ज्ञान, IPA:ɡjɑ́ː.n̪ɐ) which means knowledge.

It is quite common in most of the Western languages to have the letter 'j' in words and have that silent. For instance, the word 'Jesus' is pronounced 'hay-soos' in Spanish. The Siksha Śāstras allow the Śukla Yajur Veda to interchangeably use ja (ज) and ya (य). It can also be seen people use the name of the river Yamuna and Jamuna interchangeably. 'Jehovah' (also pronounced 'Yehowah'/ 'Yahweh') is the name of the God mentioned in the Old Testament. Interestingly the Vedas mention a deity called Yahvan. Similarly, a deity named Dyau-Pitar (Dyāvā-Prithivi) is morphed into 'Yau-Pitar' and becomes 'Jupiter'. Few more similarities of the Vedas with other world religions were discussed in an earlier post. It is quite fascinating to see how the Vedas have been widely in practice in ancient times, and how it has influenced modern languages and religions [1].

 

Logical thinking:

Vedas are not merely grandiose poems. There is a significant portion of them emphasizing the importance of logic and thinking. Nyāya and Tarka Sāstras deal with a systematic development of the theory of logic, methodology, and treatises on epistemology. The epistemology accepts four Pramānas (means of knowledge) – Pratyakṣa (perception), Anumāṇa (inference), Upamāṇa (comparison and analogy) and Śabda (testimony of past or present reliable experts) [*].

Apart from this, in Rg Veda hymn 1.24, there are many questions posed, such as "these stars, which are set on high, and appear at night, whither do they go in the daytime?" and hymn 10.88 wonders, "how many fires are there, how many suns, how many dawns, how many waters? I am not posing an awkward question for you fathers; I ask you, poets, only to find out?". The Vedas present a diversity of thoughts to answer these open-ended questions [*].

Moral and Universal Peace:

The primary purpose of the Vedas is to bring harmony to society. Vedas present fundamental ethical rules called the Yamas [*]. There are ten Yamas specified in Shāndilya Upanishad [*]. They are, Ahiṃsā (Nonviolence), Satya (Truthfulness), Asteya (Not stealing), Brahmacharya (Chastity/sexual restraint), Aparigraha (Non-avarice), Kṣamā (Forgiveness), Dhrti (Perseverance with the aim to reach the goal), Dayā (Compassion), Ārjava (Non-hypocrisy), and Mitāhāra (Measured diet).

The Upanishads have several Shānti mantras that pray for universal peace [*]. Other than this there are several mantras that emphasize universal oneness. The Gāyatrī mantra of the Rg Veda, which is one of the highly revered mantras pray to the Deity of Wisdom,  Savitṛ - the Sun deity, is used in meditation. Even though the mantra is meant to be meditated by an individual, the meaning of the mantra is to bring enlightenment in the plural form [*]. 

Medicine: 

Ayurveda is one of the most popular medical schools that were prevalent in ancient India [*]. Ayurveda is considered as an upa-Veda, which means it is a supplementary subject. The roots of Ayurveda goes to the much older Atharva Veda, one of the four primary Vedas. There are hymns in Atharva Veda bestowing longevity through specific herbs. It also mentions about physicians and elaborate pharmacopeia for treating the diseases. There is a hymn that praises the physician, Atharvan par excellence, superior to all medicines prescribed by other physicians, which implies the existence of at least one other parallel system of medicine [2]. 

Astronomy:

Cosmological concepts such as the movement of heavenly bodies and the course of the year have been discussed in the Vedas. Mathematical models to calculate the position of the stars, the day of the year, the phase of the moon with high precision were used to perform the Vedic rituals [*].  

Quite a few scientific observations have been touched upon by the Vedas. For instance, there is a commentary of Sāyana on the Rg Veda, where he puts forth that the sun (light) traverses 2,202 yojanas in half a nimesha. The great epic Mahabharata defines 1 nimesha to be equal to 16/75.3 seconds, and 1 yojana to be about 9 miles. Substituting in Sayana’s statement we get 186,536 miles per second, as compared against the modern science's estimate of 186,282 miles per second (in a vacuum) [*]. Unsurprisingly, western skepticism has struck yet again, quickly taking them down by calling these as mere guesses and coincidences [*]. 

Mathematics: 

The religious texts of the Vedic Period provide evidence on the use of large numbers. In Yajur Veda, numbers as high as 10¹² were being included in the texts. Solution to partial fractions is mentioned in Rg Veda (Purusha Sukta - RV 10.90.4). The Satapatha Brahmana and Sulba Sutras contain rules for geometric constructions. Sulba Sutras, in fact, mention Pythagorean theorem, and Pythagorean triplets, in addition to the formulas for computing squares and square roots. Vedas also mention constructing Pascal's triangle (Meru prastāra lit. the staircase to Mount Meru), binomial coefficients, and even Fibonacci numbers (called Mātrāmeru)[*]. 

It must also be noted that different scales of metrics were used for the measurement of length, mass, temperature, and time. For instance, the smallest unit of time, Truti is as small as 33,750^th fraction of a second, and the largest unit of time is Maha Kalpa or Brahma Āyu (Lifespan of Lord Brahma), which equals 311,040,000,000,000 (Three hundred trillion, and forty billion) solar years were in practice [*].

The creation and the age of the universe:

The most popular creation theory in the Vedas is the one mentioned in the Rg Veda, where it is said that Hiranyagarbha - a Golden Womb is the source of the creation of the Universe, from which everything else sprang[*][*]. There are yet other references to the creation in different contexts mentioned in the Vedas. One such instance is mentioned in the second chapter of Taittrīya Upanishad [*], namely Brahmānandavalli, which is quite interesting.

Here it defines Atma as "The Truth, The Knowledge, and The Infinite". "From this Atma came space.  From space came the gases, from gases came the waters, from waters came the earth (land). Then the plants, and in turn, the food came into being, The food is transformed into individual beings". The chronology of the evolution in the creation mentioned in these verses is aptly in accordance with the accepted theories of modern science.

The second part is the age of the universe. Until a few centuries ago, the rest of the world believed that the world, and thus the universe was only a few thousand years old. In sharp contrast, the Vedas had always stated the universe has no absolute start point, and that it is ever-existent and cyclic[*]. The cycles include creation, sustenance, and annihilation at multiple scales. And each cycle lasts billions of years. Modern science acknowledged the much older age of the Universe through the Big Bang and pulsating/cyclic theories in the early 20th Century CE [*][*][*].

The concept of parallel worlds and relativity of time and space:

Vedas mention multiple planes of parallel worlds, which was briefly mentioned in an earlier post. According to the Vedas, there are fourteen worlds, six heavenly worlds, seven underworlds, and our material world (Earth) in between [*]. These worlds exist parallelly but in a different plane of existence. It has been mentioned how time and space relatively varies between these worlds. For instance, a Kalpa is one day in Brahma/Satya Loka (The topmost heavenly world), which equals 4.32 billion years on Earth [*].

Matter and Energy:

A little over a century ago, it was widely believed by science that there are 72 fundamental elements that constitute the Universe in various forms. Also, it was believed these elements were distinctly different from one another. Later advancements in Science and Technology led to the discovery of atoms and sub-atomic particles. According to the present-day modern science (quantum mechanics), even these sub-atomic particles are just different states of energy, and that energy is what pervades the entire universe. In other words, the matter is fundamentally not different from energy. And that the entire Universe is just energy in different forms [*]. 

The Vedas conclude the same stating that the material world we see as distinct objects is in fact not distinct, but the all-pervading Brahman. It is due to the Māya Shakti (illusory energy) which co-exists with the Brahman, causes the world to appear real and distinct [*] [3]. 

Life:

There is currently no consensus regarding the definition of life as per modern science [*]. In many parts of the Vedas, it has been implied that life is everywhere and is interconnected. For instance, Taittirīya Upanishad asserts that everything and everyone is connected and deeply inter-related to everything and everyone else. It goes on explaining this by stating that everything is (metaphorically) just food (of energy, of material, of knowledge) [*]. 

Self:

The epitome of the Vedas is the philosophy of the Self. That is, simply answering the question "Who am I?". This is explored in-depth and in detail by the principal Upanishads [*]. The reasoning employed in discussing the philosophies is unparalleled even to this day. Ultimately, they all conclude that Self is the only Real Entity. 

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It must be emphasized here that, even by the most conservative estimates, the Vedas were practiced at least 4500 years ago, an age without any technological advancements of the present day. The recorded facts in various fields discussed above are simply astounding, and cannot be ignored. We can agree with the skeptics that the Vedas are definitely not science textbooks, and also were not meant to be. However, many of the observations mentioned in them cannot be simply discarded as mere coincidences or wild guesses. One who is familiar with the Vedas and the ancient Indian traditions would readily confirm that the Vedas are not contradictory to modern science but in fact complementary to it. Undoubtedly, the Vedas which holds the secrets to many unanswered questions, beyond the scientific discoveries, and the nature of the Self, deserve all due respect.

May all of us benefit from that knowledge repository!

References:

[1] Deivathin Kural (Voice of God) Volume 2, Compiled by R.Ganapathy, Vanathi Pathippakam

[2] Narayana, A. "Medical science in ancient Indian culture with special reference to Atharvaveda." Bulletin of the Indian Institute of History of Medicine Hyderabad 25.1-2 (1995): 100-110.

[3] Deivathin Kural (Voice of God) Volume 1, Compiled by R.Ganapathy, Vanathi Pathippakam

Dvaita ÷ Bouddha = Advaita

The Shānti mantra or the 'mantra of peace' in the Iśavāsya Upanishad opens up as follows:

पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पूर्णमुदच्यते ।

पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ॥

The meaning of this is, 

Brahman is complete (full), the world (universe) is also complete. From the complete Brahman did this complete world emerge. Despite taking away the complete world from the complete Brahman,  the Brahman yet remains complete.

Brahman is the ultimate Super-Soul (Super-Consciousness). The above verse conveys that the Brahman is not different from this world. That is, the Brahman did not create this universe from anything outside of it. Nor does it say the Brahman is transformed as this world. It conveys, the Brahman appears as this world.

Let's recollect the rope-snake analogy discussed in one of the earlier posts. 

The rope and the snake analogy - In the dark, you think you have seen a snake when in reality it is only a rope. The rope only appears as the snake. Neither did the rope create the snake, nor did it get transformed. It 'completely' appears as the snake. When it was seen as a snake, it appeared completely as a snake, and when it is seen as a rope it is completely a rope. From this complete rope did this complete snake arose. When the snake appeared in the rope nothing increased. And, when the snake was removed from the rope nothing decreased.

From the analogy, a key question arises. Why did the rope appear as a snake? The answer is due to darkness. Similarly, it is due to our ignorance, we are seeing the world in Brahman. The next question is, what is causing this ignorance? It is Māya. To satisfactorily explain what Māya is, deserves a post by itself. For now, let us briefly see what this Māya is.

Māya literally means 'magic'. That is, which is 'virtual'. In other words, 'that which is not there'. Now, how can something that is 'not there' make something appear differently? This question can be answered using arithmetic.

From the rope-snake analogy, we saw how addition and subtraction worked on Brahman. It requires an analogy using multiplication and division to understand its relation to Māya.

From the basic arithmetic, we know that anything divided by 0 is infinity (∞). 

That is, 

1 ÷ 0 = ∞, 2 ÷ 0 = ∞, and so on.

In other words, 

∞ ✕ 0 = 1, ∞ ✕ 0 = 2,  and so on.

As we saw earlier, Māya is that which is not there, that is 0. And, Brahman is Anantam (that which doesn't have an end), which is nothing but ∞. Just like how ∞ ✕ 0 = 1, 2, ... is just an idea of how the numbers are generated from ∞ with its interaction with 0, and that the idea in itself is questionable, Māya causes an illusion that the duality arose from Brahman. 

According to Advaita, Brahman is the only Truth. Dvaita, on the other hand, specifies this world as it appears is the Truth. However, Bouddha (Buddhism) concludes everything that exists is śūnya (voidness), which is nothing but Māya. 

It was inferred from the above that,

Brahman ✕ Maya = World

It can also be said, 

Advaita ✕ Bouddha = Dvaita

Or

Dvaita ÷ Bouddha = Advaita

Reference:

Deivathin Kural (Voice of God) Volume 1, Compiled by R.Ganapathy, Vanathi Pathippakam

Other religions from the perspective of Hinduism

There have been an innumerable number of religions mankind has witnessed. Especially in the ancient Indian subcontinent regions, there existed a spectrum of religions all the way from completely ritualistic to purely philosophical. Although many of these have gone out of practice, some of them have been included as part of the present-day religions.

It can never be said that any religion is wrong, for a simple reason that there always have been a number of followers under each of them, where people found fulfillment.  A good religion should not be selfish and has to be focussed on the larger society.

During the time of Adi Sankaracharya, there have been references to 72 different religions that were followed in the regions of the Indian subcontinent. Based on their characteristics,  Adi Sankaracharya refined some of them, re-defined some, selectively accepted some, and rejected others.

There were religions with different primary deities, such as:

• Śiva, Vishnu, etc. 
• Brahma - Hiranyagarbha Religion
• Indra - Lord of all the divine beings (Devas) 
• Kubera - Lord of wealth
• Manmatha - God of love
• Yama - God of death
• Pitr - Ancestors
• Bhoota, Vedāla, etc. (Paranormal entities)
• Guna - Attributes
• Kāla - Time

There were another 20-25 with solid philosophies. Some of them are listed below. Most of these have been practiced since time immemorial. However, there have been proponents of these philosophies who are credited for reviving them. According to the Vedic religion, these are incomplete, yet some portions were redefined and accepted to some extent. 

Sānkhya:

The main proponent of this religion is attributed to Sage Kapila. In this religion, Prakṛti and Purusha are two parallel realities. Starting from Prakṛti, twenty-four tattvas (principles) are defined. These are considered the basis of the material world. In some sense, they can be considered as the natural elements that constitute the universe. The creation is the outcome of various combinations of three Gunas or qualities, viz., Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. However, all these are insentient. The only entity that is sentient is the Purusha. The goal of a Jīva (an individual) is to discard all the twenty-four tattvas, balance the three Gunas, and get liberated from Prakṛti to realize the Purusha within.

Although there are quite some similarities to the Vedic religion, there are many objections from the Vedantic standpoint. For instance, Vendanta claims all Ātma are one Parāmātma, which again is the same as the Brahman. In contrast, Sānkhya specifies multiple realities of Purusha. Also, Sānkhya does not accept a universal God, like Īśvara as the Vedic religion does. 

Yoga:

Yoga, popularly known as Ashtānga Yoga, is the religion that emphasizes the control of mind and the senses to attain the state of Samādhi - a state that unites one with the highest reality. As the name Ashtānga suggests, this specifies eight limbs streamlined by Patanjali in his work Yoga Sūtra.

Other than the fact that Yoga accepts a universal God, Īśvara, it resembles Sānkhya in most other aspects. Thus, it suffers the same criticism from the Vedic standpoint as that of Sānkhya.

In the present day, Yoga has become very popular where it has been accepted by modern science to some extent. Although modern Yoga schools teach this in a secular way, yet they do not consider it outside of the Hindu religion.

Nyāya:

Nyāya deals with logic and logical arguments. According to this, the world is real, and the Jīva (souls) are distinct. Its principal text is Nyāya sūtra by Gautama.

Vaiśeshika:

Vaiśeshika founded by Sage Kāshyapa is quite similar to Nyāya, where the special focus is on the distinction between the independent realities and the insentient world. Due to this special focus, known as viśesha, the religion was named thus. According to this, the world is made of undestroyable Anu (Atoms) and Paramānu (sub-atomic particles), whose combination results in the material world, and hence creation. By investigation and logic, one determines whatever is experienced is only due to the insentient Anu, and thus infers the only sentient entity is Ātma and gets liberated.

Mīmāmsa:

Mīmamsa, when mentioned as a religion on its own, refers to those who accept only the karma part of the Vedas and discard the jnāna part. The main distinction between Mīmamsa and the Vedic religion is that in the former, there is no role of Īśvara in this world, while in the latter every single aspect of the creation and the outcome of any action is due to Īśvara. However, Mīmamsa accepts the ritualistic portion of the Vedas stressing on the karma theory - for any action, there is a corresponding outcome. For instance, if one desires rainfall, by doing a specific ritual as mentioned in the Vedas, it gets fulfilled. Since any desired outcome can be obtained by religiously following rituals, it justifies the lack of any role Īśvara plays.

Mīmamsa accepts punya (merits) and pāpa (sins) incurred while doing (or not doing) certain Karmas (actions). The goal of one's life is to accrue as much puya as possible and avoid pāpa. By doing so, one goes to Svarga (Heaven), else doomed to Naraga (Hell). It strongly objects Bhakti (Devotion) or Jnāna (Enlightenment). Interestingly, according to Mīmamsa, ascetics are sinners as they have left their karmas (Vedic rituals). 

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Among other religions, a few were a mix of ritualistic and spiritual practices, such as: 

Pāsupata and Kālāmukha, which are variants of Śaivism. 

Bhāgavata and Pāncharatra, which are variants of Vaishnavism.

Some of the religions with different primary deities were misrepresented. These were refined or re-defined to be accepted by the Vedic schools (see here to learn more). They are:

Gānapatyam - Lord Ganapathy (or Vinayaka)

Kaumāram - Lord Kumara (Muruga, Kārtikeya, or Subrahmanya)

Śaivam - Lord Śiva

Śaktam - Goddess Śakṭi

Vaishnavam - Lord Vishnu

Souram - Lord Sūrya (Sun God)

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There were a few which were anti-Vedic:

Bouddha (Buddhism):

This is one of the most popular religions in the world. The main proponent is Gautama Buddha. Although it accepts the basic attributes of the Dharma Śastras (Righteous path) specified in the Vedas, it strongly condemns many. The main opposition of Buddhism towards the Vedas were its sacrifices, rituals, and the caste system. 

Buddhism does not accept a universal God. The purpose of life is for everyone to attain nirvāna, the enlightenment of the Buddha within, and escape the cycle of birth and death. 

The philosophical view of Buddhism comes very close to that of Advaita, however, the former concludes with voidness, that is there is nothing that is eternally real, while the latter concludes the answer is Brahman/Atman, which is eternal bliss.

Jaina (Jainism):

Although Jainism is believed to have been followed since time immemorial, the main proponent of this religion is attributed to Varthamāna Mahāvīra. Jainism specifies dharma through their religious texts called Āgamas. Similar to Buddhism, Jainism also objects many of the Vedic practices. Non-violence and service are very much emphasized. Unlike Buddhism which is atheistic, Jainism is closer to being transtheistic. According to this, the universe was never created, nor will it cease to exist. The ultimate goal of one's life is the liberation from the birth and death cycle, called Siddha, where the soul reaches the summit of the universe and stays in eternal bliss. 

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Apart from the above, there were also non-spiritual religions. One of them is Chārvaka.

Chārvaka:

Also known as Lokāyata, this religion is purely materialistic. The root word Chāru means sweetness, and vākam means words. Thus Chārvaka means the one that is sweet to hear. There are no rituals, no prayers, no philosophies, and it emphasizes that there is only this one life, enjoy while it lasts. There is no God, no Ātma (soul), nothing metaphysical. It goes by the logic, if you can't observe it, it doesn't exist.  Sounds familiar, isn't it?

This religion was founded by Lord Brihaspati, the Guru (teacher) of all the Devas - the divine beings. For this reason, this is also referred to as Bārhaspatyam. It is said that it was founded to purposefully distract the Asuras, the arch-nemesis of Devas, away from spiritualism.

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Apart from the religions that flourished in the Indian subcontinent, it is worthwhile to briefly mention some religions in the other parts of the world that bears similarities with the Vedic religion. 

They include: 

(only a selected few are listed)

Zoroastrianism:

This is one of the oldest living religions in the world which was dominant in ancient Persia. Founded by Zoroaster (a.k.a. Zarathustra), from whom it is named after, Zoroastrianism reveres Ahura Mazda, Lord of wisdom, as the supreme being. The primary collection of their texts are called Zend Avesta. Interestingly, many similarities are found with the Fire sacrificial rituals specified in Chandogya Avasta. In fact, the word Zoroaster bears similarity with the name Sourastra - A Fire worshipping clan near Gujarat (India), which in turn originated from the root word Souram - the Sun God referred in the Vedas. 

Mitra (or Mithraism):

This religion was followed in Greece and Rome, where the angelic deity Mitra is the primary God of worship. Interestingly, Mitra is also referred to in Zoroastrianism and Vedic texts. 

Ancient Egyptian Religion:

Ancient Egyptians followed a polytheistic religion with many ritualistic practices. The importance of the deities changed over at different times. The historical record, the Treaty of Rameses II with the Hittites bears the phrase "Mitra and Varuna being the witness of this treaty...". Again, Mitra and Varuna are prominent deities mentioned in the Vedas.

Māyan and Aztec Religions:

Both these are referred to as mesoamerican religions, which involved multiple deities, rituals, and sacrifices. Time is one of the most important factors, where cycles of life, death, and regeneration, are emphasized.  The cosmology of Māyan and Aztec religions divide the world into multiple heavens and netherworlds, with the earth in between. This bears similarities to the fourteen worlds mentioned in the Vedas, six heavenly worlds, the earth, and seven netherworlds.

The word Māya is derived from the word by the same name in the Vedas, which means magic. The word Aztec is derived from the morphed form of the word Āstika, which means 'of Gods'.  Evidently, the Aztecs were quite open to including deities borrowed from other religions.

Greek and Roman religions:

It is widely known that the Roman religion borrowed much from the Greek religion. Both these were polytheistic religions involving divinely beings, and a collection of beliefs, rituals, and mythology. There were Gods of the sky, of the water/ocean, the sun, and even the God of love similar to the Vedic deities. Many of the mythological stories bear similarities to that of the Ithihāsas and purānas of Hinduism. It is to be noted that many of the Purānas, including the great epic Mahābhārata, do refer to the Greeks as the people/kingdom of Yavana.

Abrahamic religions:

The major Abrahamic religions include Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Although the Abrahamic religions are known to have independent origins, there are some pieces of evidence to show a connection to the Vedic religion. One such instance is described.

In the Genesis of the Old Testament, there is the story of Adam and Eve, which is widely known. The story involves a 'Tree of Knowledge', a fig tree, whose fruit is forbidden by God to be consumed by Adam or Eve. Adam doesn't eat the fruit while Eve does. 

Mundaka Upanishad of the Vedas describes a symbolic story of two birds sitting on a fig tree, also known as Peepal tree, or Bodhi tree. Bodhi literally translates to knowledge. The story goes on to explain how one bird consumed the fruit, and the other did not, rather it just witnessed. The story concludes by saying, the tree is the body, the bird that ate the fruit is Jīva (a human soul with individuality), and the bird that witnessed is Ātma (The Supreme Soul). It is interesting to note the similarity of characters, Adam with Atma, Eve (pronounced 'Eeva' in Hebrew) with Jīva, and of course the tree of knowledge itself.

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The following table summarizes the views of some of the religions contrasting them through various attributes.

Note: This article is not intended to demean or misrepresent any religion. The sole intention is to bring out the similarities and differences of various religions with respect to Hinduism. 

References:

Deivathin Kural (Voice of God) Volume 4, Compiled by R.Ganapathy, Vanathi Pathippakam
Deivathin Kural (Voice of God) Volume 1, Compiled by R.Ganapathy, Vanathi Pathippakam

What are Vedas?

Vedas are the foundation of Hinduism. They are unarguably the oldest texts of humanity. It is the root from which other supporting texts of Hinduism stem from. They are highly protected texts, so much so that there are several restrictions on its usage. For example, Vedas cannot be either written or read, but can only be transmitted orally. For this reason, it is called Śruti - the one that is heard. It cannot be translated, nor can it be taught to the general audience. It can only be taught to selective people. Also, there is only one way to recite them, with specific intonations and notes.

Background:

There are 14 pramānās, or means of knowledge specified in Hinduism. In some cases, 4 more are added making them 18 in total. They are:

4 Vedas [Rig (Ṛg), Yajur (or Yajus), Sāma, Atharva]

6 Angas [Śikṣā, Candas (pronounced Chandas), Vyākaraṇa, Nirukta, Jyotiṣa, and Kalpa]

4 Upa-angas [Mīmāmsam, Nyāya, Purāna, Dharma Śāśtra]

4 Sa-anga-upa-angas (also called Saangopaanga) [Āyurveda, Arthasāstra, Dhanurveda, Gandharvaveda]

All except the last 4 are directly used for purifying the mind and helps in spiritual uplift. The last 4 relates to worldly affairs, which are only indirectly helpful. Out of them all, the Vedas have the primary authority. All others are only supporting texts.

Origin: 

It has been mentioned that the Vedas are originless, and are not written or composed by anyone. For this reason, they are called Apourusheyam (Not of a human/ impersonal/ authorless). 

How can this be true? Everything must have an origin, isn't it?

All the mantras (hymns) clearly mention a Ṛṣi (pronounced Rishi), to whom it is attributed. These Ṛṣis had the superhuman ability to bring the mantras to human-perceivable form - as sound vibrations. It should be noted that these Ṛṣis are mentioned as mantra dṛṣṭa (meaning, the one who 'saw' the mantras) and not mantra karta (meaning, the one who made/composed the mantras). It has been said that these mantras appeared to them after intense meditation. This is something similar to that of the discovery of America, gravity, or relativity. Although the explorers/scientists are credited for the discoveries, they did exist before.

Does that mean the Vedas originated along with the creation?

Again, if this should be the case, it should still not be claimed as originless, as it clearly originated along with the creation of the universe. Also, it has been mentioned in the scriptures that Lord Brahma created the universe using the Vedas. Thus, the Vedas seem to have been existent even before creation. This implies the existence of Vedas even before time.

There is only one other entity that we know of that is originless. This is none other than Iśvara - The God. This still implies, Iśvara could not have created the Vedas. Thus, there are two entities without origin. Certainly, they must have a relation. It has been said in the Vedas themselves that the Vedas are the breath of Iśvara. Thus, the relationship is as that of life and breath.

Volume:

The Vedas are infinite, similar to the laws of nature, and what we know of them is only a fraction of it. Thus, the Vedas are infinite and timeless.

Bharadwāja was a Ṛṣi who spent three lifetimes in learning and practicing the Vedas. Pleased by his austerity Iśvara appeared before him and granted him another span of a lifetime, and asked him what he was planning to do with it. Bharadwāja Ṛṣi replied that he will continue to learn the Vedas. No matter how many lifespans one takes, it is impossible to learn all the Vedas. To make the Ṛṣi understand this, Iśvara took pity and created three large mountains in the surrounding. He showed him a small mud lump and mentioned that the amount of Vedas he had learned thus far equals to the lump, while what is yet to be learned is as big as the surrounding mountains. 

Out of the fraction that we know, the Vedas have been compiled into four by a Ṛṣi named Bādarāyana, famously known as Veda Vyāsa (Lit. Compiler of the Vedas), who also happens to be the author of the great epic - Mahābhārata. Sri Veda Vyāsa compiled the Vedas into Rig (Ṛg), Yajur, Sāma, and Atharva. All put together, there are over 20,500 mantras, with over 1000 śākās (branches).

Each Veda comprises of several śākās. Each śākā has 3 segments, viz., Samhita, Brāhmana, and Āranyaka. Samhita, which mainly consists of mantras, is considered to be the core part of the Vedas by the mainstream scholars.

Taxonomy of the Vedas

Rig (Ṛg) Veda:

Ṛg (pronounced Rig) means praise. Thus, Ṛg Veda Samhita consists of mantras, each called ṛc, in praise of Devatas or divinely beings. There are 10170 ṛcs spread over 1028 sūktas. Overall, this Veda is subdivided into 10 mandalas or 8 aṣtakas (Similar to cantos or chapters). The Samhita starts with Agni (fire) mantra and ends with another Agni mantra. This has led some to speculate that the subject of the Ṛg Veda is fire worship. Metaphorically, fire also means the light within. The last sūkta in Ṛg Veda is a special one, whose status has been elevated to the level of International Anthem. It states "May all the people unite, be with one mind, have a common goal, and prosper". Being considered the first among the four Vedas when being listed, Ṛg Veda takes a special position among the Vedas.

Yajur Veda:

The word Yajur comes from the root word yaj, which means to worship. Thus, this Veda Samhita comprises of mantras which specifies the worshiping ways and their practical application of the mantras. This Veda specifies all the karmas (Actions/Rituals) for spiritual progress.

Yajur Veda has two versions, namely, Krishna (black) Yajur Veda, and Śukla (white) Yajur Veda. Śukla Yajur Veda came known to us through the famous sage Yājnavalkya. 

The story goes as follows. Due to a misunderstanding between him and his Guru, Vaisampāyana, the former was asked to vomit what was taught till date. Yājnavalkya did so. To avoid the vomit to touch the ground, Vaisampāyana ordered all his other disciples to take the form of Tittiri (Partridge) birds and eat them. Later, after much penance, Yājnavalkya was taught the Śukla Yajur Veda from Surya - the Sun God. Thus the name Śukla (White/Clear) was tagged, and as against this, the one followed till then (through Vaisampāyana) came to be known as Krishna (Black).

Yajur Veda hosts many sacrificial rituals. The popular 'Rudram' that is chanted in praise of Lord Shiva belongs to this Veda. It also boasts the fact that the first and the last of the 10 principal Upanishads are from this Veda. In the present day, the majority of Vedic practitioners belong to this Veda.

Sāma Veda:

The word Sāma means to appease. As mentioned earlier, intonations are particularly important when reciting the Vedas. The Ṛg and Yajur Vedas have 3 notes (pitch), called svaras. Sāma Veda, on the other hand, has 7 musical notes or svaras, also known as Sāma Gāna. The present-day music as we know it is derived from these notes. As the name suggests, the purpose of this Veda is to appease the Devatas with a combination of praise and musical notes. Many of the mantras are the ṛcs from Ṛg Veda. However, there is freedom here to extend the meter along with its associated svara.

There are actually two types of mantras in Sāma Veda. First is called the Archika, which are the ṛcs from Ṛg Veda. The other is called Gāna, which are of four types, 1. Grāma Gāna, 2. Aranya Gāna, 3. Ūha Gāna, and 4. Uhya Gāna.

Sāma Veda is considered the best of the Vedas. Lord Krishna in Bhagavad Gīta (Ch.10, verse 22) has mentioned

वेदानां सामवेदोऽस्मि

vedānām sāma-vedo 'smi

Meaning: Among the Vedas, I am Sāma Veda.

Similarly, in Lalita Sahasranama Stotra (verse 168), Goddess Lalitha (Shakti) is referred to as

सामगानप्रिया 

sāma gāna priyā

Meaning: One who loves Sāma Gāna (Sāma Veda).

Atharva Veda:

Atharva means purohit or priest. There was also a Ṛṣi by the same name. This Veda got its name of this Ṛṣi as it was only through him it was known to this world. This Veda has mantras to free oneself from dangers, destroy enemies, and the like. The mantras here are in both prose and poetry form. Apart from the regular Vedic deities, Atharva Veda hosts many others which are more fierce, including spirits and other paranormal entities. Notorious māntrikas, like voodoos, come from Atharva Veda.

Atharva Veda also comprises of mantras with the highest philosophies. Three out of the ten principal Upanishads belong to Atharva Veda. Lord Brahma being the presiding deity of this Veda adds a special value to this.

Brāhmana:

The above elaborates mainly on the Samhita portion of the Vedas. Apart from those, there are Brāhmanas and Āranyakas. 

Brāhmanas discuss the various karmas (rituals) and their associated procedures. They also discuss the meaning behind the Vedic mantras when associated with rituals. In short, this is the guide-book for putting the Vedas into practice.

Āranyaka:

Aranya means forest. As the name suggests, this part of the Veda must be practiced in the forest. It is also speculated that these were compiled by the Ṛṣis dwelling in forests. In no other part of Vedas, it is mentioned that one must go to the forest, leaving all material life behind. In fact, the majority portion of the Vedas directs us to practice the karmas while still leading a material life. In contrast, Āranyakas discuss philosophies. The philosophical meanings behind the Vedic mantras are explained here. 

Upanishads:

The end of the Āranyakas constitutes the Upanishads. They are hence called Vedānta, meaning the end portion of Vedas. If Samhitas is a tree, Brahmanas are its flowers, Aranyakas is raw (unripe) fruit, and Upanishads is the ripe fruit. In other words, one bears the fruit of the Vedas when one gets the grasp of the Upanishads. The philosophy of the highest form, explaining the non-difference between the knower and the known, is discussed here. Contrary to the other parts of the Vedas, which focus on the rituals (karmas), Upanishads stress to abandon the karmas and elevate oneself to the highest level.

Thus, the Vedas have two portions: Karma Kāndam (Ritualistic part), and Jnana Kāndam (Philosophical part), which are referred to as Pūrva Mīmāmsa and Uttara Mīmāmsa, respectively.

Conclusion:

Vedas are the most ancient and primary source of knowledge. Although the Vedas are many, and the rituals followed by their practitioners are diverse, all of these converge to a unanimous philosophy. As opposed to "this is the only way", Vedas are a practical example of "many ways for one destination".

Reference:

Deivathin Kural (Voice of God) Volume 2, Compiled by R.Ganapathy, Vanathi Pathippakam

Why not call each sect in Hinduism as its own religion?

Sects within religions are not uncommon. Almost all world religions are divided into multiple denominational families, and there are subtle differences in their philosophies. Although this is the case, it is not difficult to infer that they still belong to the same religion, quite simply because of whom they consider as the Supreme Being. Simply put, all sects that believe in the same God comes under the same religion. In the case of Hinduism, the sects do not believe in the same God. For instance, Shaivism accepts Lord Shiva as the only Supreme Being, whereas Vaishnavism believes only in Lord Vishnu. And of course, there are yet others who consider their own Gods as the only Supreme Being. 

Another point is that other world religions follow the same religious text. Again in Hinduism, the texts accepted by one may not be accepted by the other. In fact, there are objections and strong criticisms of these writings by their rivals, not to mention the differences in their philosophies.

Yet, why are they still considered as one religion? Could it be because of geographical reasons? In one of the earlier articles, the origin of the term Hindus and Hinduism being related to River Indus was discussed. Could it be said, any religious belief that had its origin in the Indian sub-continent regions be classified under Hinduism? Interestingly, there were/are several religions that had/have their origin in this region but are clearly defined as their own religions. For example, Buddhism and Jainism are a couple of those, which are still widely practiced in India and around the world, and they do not come under Hindusim.

So the question is, on what basis a religious sect is considered to be under Hinduism?

To answer this, let us consider all the religious sects under Hinduism and analyze. Although these sects have their own religious texts, none of them claim these to be their original book. Neither they claim to have established the philosophy. Invariably every single sect mentions the time-immemorial practice of the said philosophy. Most importantly, they all fundamentally accept the world's oldest scriptures - The Vedas.

Banyan trees are characterized by several aerial prop roots. As years pass by, these prop roots mature into thick, woody trunks, which merge with the primary trunk and become indistinguishable. Just like how the banyan is one tree despite its several props, Hindusim is one religion with many branches, and the Vedas is its primary trunk.

According to the Vedas, the Primordial and Supreme Being is Brahman. With respect to the creation, the same is called Iśwara. Shaivites say Lord Shiva is Iśwara and thus Brahman, while Vaishnavites say that is but Lord Vishnu. In other words, the definition of Iśwara and Brahman is the same and is as specified in the Vedas. Only the name is changed. One says Shiva, the other says Vishnu, yet another says Shakti, and so on.

It is now evident that all the denominational families in Hinduism accept Brahman as the Supreme Being and Vedas as their fundamental text. Thus any religious sect belongs to Hindusim as long as it accepts Brahman and the Vedas.