Vedas are the most ancient body of knowledge known to man. At the time of creation Vedas were revealed by Almighty to the Rishis (seers) who only heard them. Hence they are sometimes designated Shruti (i.e. that which was heard). The revelation was in Almighty’s own words (there is no human authorship) and the language used was Sanskrit. Sanskrit was never the mother tongue of any race or group of people, at least on this planet. Western scholars call Sanskrit the mother of Indo-European languages. All Indo-European languages have words which derive from Sanskrit, but there is not a single word in Sanskrit which comes from any other earthly language. Sanskrit has the capacity to supply vocabulary to all modem sciences and can provide language for advanced sciences which were known before but are lost now. The word Vedas literally means knowledge, coming from the Sanskrit root Vid which means “to know”. The English word “wit” comes from the same root. Vedas are the ancientmost word combinations known to man.
The Rishis later codified this knowledge in four parts for convenience of posterity. They each then selected families to whom they gave this knowledge with instructions to hand it down from one generation to the next by word of mouth. Nothing should be lost. There was a betrayal of that trust and now much of that vast knowledge has been lost. It is now being resuscitated to get us out of the polluted conditions in which we find ourselves today.
The new world will be made up of small self-sufficient communities. A certain part of Vedas will be assigned to each one. So, together we can share and utilise this ancient knowledge amongst the one culture which lives Satya Sanátanah Dharma – the true and eternal principles of religion. It is interesting that the word, “religion,” comes from the Latin word meaning “to tie, to bind (us to God).” Healthy, non-polluted atmosphere makes it easier to be balanced, feel love, that is, ‘tie us to god.’ Organized religion may or may not serve this purpose depending on how closely the followers of the religion remained consistent with the teachings of Jesus, Mohammed, Zoroaster, Moses, etc.
Vedas give man the blueprint for happy life on the planet and are therefore the common inheritance of all mankind and not just the exclusive legacy of any single community or country. (At some comparatively recent point in history the community known as Hindus came to be wrongly identified as sole inheritors of Vedic knowledge).
Vedas contain knowledge pertaining to all branches of science including astronomy, agriculture, medicine, bioenergy, biogenetics, psychotherapy, climate engineering and inter-planetary communication. They shed light on all aspects of human endeavour, social, political, philosophical, etc. As far as matters of the spirit are concerned, Vedas give direct commands and declare what duties and observances are ordained for man. Yajnya (fire sacrifice for purification) holds first place among these religious ordinances. The first word of the Rig Veda is Agni (fire) an indication of the importance of fire in man’s search for a fulfilling and happy life on the planet.