[Advaita-l] My Questions and My Mails

[Ravi Parimi]

Namaste,

>   But with great hesitation I wud like to put one point before you....
>    I have read various english traslations of VEDAS .(.due to lack of sansrit knowledge). I am afraid to say that I didnt fine much of meaningful stuff in the karma kanda of any vedas except in very few places (Rig only praising agni, vayu, Indra, soma...etc and yajur just talking about rituals, nothing more I want to say) (again not cosidering uanishads as part of vedas)
>   Such being case why Vedas are given such an importance and reverence.
>   May be the original parts are missing..... may be the error in translations (read many translations and almost all are similar)

As already mentioned by some members on this list, most english
translations of the Vedas were done by people who didn't belong to the
Hindu religion. I strongly suggest that you read the book titled "The
Vedas" - a compilation of various discourses by his holiness Sri
Chandrashekhara Saraswati. He clearly explains that the Karma Kaanda
of Vedas are not in conflict with the Jnaana kaanda, and the process
of understanding the Upanishadas finally leading to self-realization
is only possible by following a disciplined course of actions. There
are always exceptions to this rule, and that's probably why we are
fortunate enough to see a few "genuine" mahaatmas in the world today.
For the common man, it is quite impossible to comprehend the depth of
the revelations of the vedas, and one obvious method to reach this
pinnacle is to follow the prescribed course of actions as mentioned in
the Vedas.

Personally, I am irked at these English translations that mislead
people into thinking that the "Vedas are sheer nonsense and only the
Upanishads make sense".