Collated by Tusar Nath Mohapatra
Just released Veda for Gen Z at JLF, Boulder CO instagram.com/stories/jlfint…
https://x.com/AmazingVedas/status/2102540707873558576
The Literary Genius of the Bhagavad Gita
The Gita follows the literary tradition of the Veda. It uses the seed sounds and plays with Nirukta, the mantrik intonation of its shlokas has the same approach to a vibrational backdrop of sound, but there is no Siksa or Vedic chanting here. The chhanda too is only anushtup or trishtup in the Gita
The Gita is designed in a kaleidoscopic manner too like the Veda but by necessity it has to deliver a clear and pragmatic message while allowing the disciple enough consideration and space to gain a larger outlook for life and his actions
While being Vedic in niyojana and substance, the Gita nonetheless creates its own tropes. The most powerful among them, though hidden, is the visual sleight; we see the whole episode through the eyes of Sanjaya and that changes the whole psychology of the story
And yet, the Gita gives us the essence of the Veda in its shorter span and compact dialogic pedagogic engagement. It is, in its own place, a masterpiece of literature and art though Vedic Vedantic in lineage
https://x.com/AmazingVedas/status/2101319830108283176
The Literary Genius of the Bhagavad Gita: The Meta Narrative
Imagine a work of literature which is full of action, exciting characters, an epic scale and enormous stakes and the author suddenly stops all action right at the edge of a most cataclysmic moment to sit back and meditate! What would you think? That would be absurd, right!
Well, the Gita pulls it off with flair. In fact, so well does it accomplish this as literature that there are few works in the history of mankind that have had such an impact
The most curious thing is that narrative collapses completely for those 700 shlokas. And yet, without the Gita, the Mahabharata itself would be of minor significance
How was this made possible? Some commentators theorize that the Gita was inserted into the epic later. It doesn’t matter! If it was then this was the greatest interpolation in the history of world literature. If it wasn’t this was the greatest meta narrative freezing a narrative as it is beginning to build up into a seismic event. Either way it is a masterly trope in one of the greatest epics in world literature that we accept as a fact, a reality, accessible even today in its spiritual realization
https://x.com/AmazingVedas/status/2102256752246825180
A Literary Approach to the Veda
Why a literary approach? Because it allows me complete freedom. It seems to me that at present there are two kinds of tyranny blocking the fullest or most open appreciation of the Veda.
The first is the western tendency or insistence to take the Veda as only external ritual. And to restrict it from the thousands of years of living traditions of interpretation and experience that it has meant for the Indigenous cultures
The second is the Indic insistence again to see it as karma kanda only. To be fair, this insistence is not universal nor as closed as the west. And the multiple meanings of the Veda can be unveiled, in my experience, more easily in India than in the west. For India is still in touch with its spirituality in many forms including the Upanishads which are a part of the Veda
Great teachers have valiantly tried in the last 150 years or so to bring out the multiple dimensions of the Veda. A literary approach allows me to consider all the various commentaries and interpretations of the Veda and to present them to the world and let the reader consider them independently and decide on their own. I am even allowed to present my own thoughts without any attempt to hide them. I have attempted the same with the Bhagavad Gita and found that a multidimensional approach to the Gita was critical to my own development. I find the same with the Veda
https://x.com/AmazingVedas/status/2097648893227860083
Vedic Sahitya
What are the grand literary achievements of the Veda?
1) The first exploration of seed sounds or Beeja Dhvanis in literature
2) The use of the mantra as the basis for meter
3) The unique holographic organization of verse along with the designing of experience
4) A theory of cosmology, sound, prosody and linguistics in action and explanation
5) Unique experiments and figures of speech that still feel modern and fresh
6) The establishment of the bases of meter such as accent, stress, quantity etc and combining them in the enunciation, an experiment that has not been repeated since
7) The use of the most sophisticated human alphabet and grammar to date
Feel free to add more please if I missed any
Veda is not our first poetry. It is the first poetry we have. How were they created remains a mystery? Historical explanations don’t suffice. In no other human field do we see this. An appearance of perfection at the very inception of the field. How? Why? We don’t really know.
https://x.com/AmazingVedas/status/2101284690426486824
Vedic Chhanda: Holograms
Because the Veda is composed of units that are independent, complete, organic, and self sufficient, we can take any section of the Veda and discover the Poornam there
This wholeness is not just a wholeness of sound or prosody but it is also a complete formation of energy, meaning, realization and experience
We can move backward and forward, or in other complex patterns. The purnata of each section remains and moves in sync as a kaleidoscope even as the permutations are changed
Thus, the various paathas of the Veda are not just exercises in memory but a combination of various meanings and experiences in different orders, resetting the consciousness of the seeker in new ways. We will experiment with the two anuvakas here to see how we can touch spirituality at any point, in any order
https://x.com/AmazingVedas/status/2100446733482242100
Vedic Chhanda: The Mantra
The Mantra, to paraphrase Sri Aurobindo, is the highest perfection, poornta, of Vision, Style and Rhythm. It is the music that rises beyond the words and reverberates through the Universe.
That which liberates through meditation is mantra मननात् त्रायते इति मंत्र:
But there is more. The mantra can transform not just the mind but also the praana and the body. For it is alchemic, a process of heightened energy and resonance
But most seekers do not know how to unleash its power. When chanting the mantra remember these fundamentals: श्रद्धा, भाव, ध्यान, ग्राह्य क्षमता, समर्पण
The whole being must be laser sharp in reciting it, pronunciation must be clear, exact, smooth and melodious, and one must allow the vibration to become one’s DNA. Then something might happen. In the meantime listen quietly to the sound behind the sound, the string that reverberates from worlds hidden to your inmost depths
https://x.com/AmazingVedas/status/2099297947275997324
Vedic Matrix
The entire Veda and the Bhagavad Gita may be seen as a matrix of seed sounds. Suddenly, their prosody assumes a musical and mathematical substructure with this perspective
We have seen how the music of these masterly creations is a play of Varna, svara, bala, matra, sandhi and Sanatana. Each Chhanda brings in elements of upward and downward movements that we later see in music (आरोह and अवरोह), each chhanda plays within its own restrictions or बंदिश, and other elements such as आलाप and तान too are hinted here
Mathematically, I believe, the possibilities created by Vedic have not been fully exhausted but that remains a subject of future research and exploration. The great accomplishments of Pingala may yet be extended with a better understanding of seed sounds and their matrix
https://x.com/AmazingVedas/status/2098340033899970711
Vedic History
I am not a historian. But I know literature
This is clear to me, and I believe to most historians, that the Veda is great literature
And this is where the contradiction appears
If the Veda is great literature then it must have come out of a living tradition. For it is extremely sophisticated and refined in its use of language. The Veda couldn’t have appeared out of nowhere
Remember, according to our present textbooks, the Veda is our first poetry. Those of us who write know that a great literature stands on a living culture and civilization. That would mean that our timeline of the Veda is extremely restricted. Nomadic traditions could not have created the Veda
Then the language. Vedic is a highly advanced language with an alphabet and inherent linguistics that too must have taken centuries or millennia to develop
Our present history has not a serious understanding of great literature, art or spirituality. Veda is not AI. It can’t be churned out to order
So, history contradicts itself. The present timeline has an inherent flaw. It doesn’t account for its own greatest achievements
Whom should I believe? My own testimony or their word? The shoe doesn’t fit
And I have tried to write this without any bias for the Indic culture which I adore. Feel free to critique
https://x.com/AmazingVedas/status/2098756402873250278
Vedic Concept: Bandhu
This is one of the most important aspects of Vedic worldview. The bandhu is a kinsman, friend, brother, someone who is related
In the Vedic paradigm everything is related to the other intimately. And this close connection is inherent and not dependent on any external factor
The term bandhu appears in the Veda in RV 6.57.4, 7.67.9 and 10.10.9. And it becomes clarified in the Vedantic and Buddhist concepts of Pratitya Samutpada
All the devas are related to each other in the unity of Vishvedeva and Ritam, Satyam and in the Vast expanse of the Universe, Brihat. All the fields and disciplines are connected in one vast realization of Ekam Sat
https://x.com/AmazingVedas/status/2098188077558558775
Kashmir Shaivism: Prakaasah Prakaasate
Great realizations are described in the most concentrated manner here
How can this sutra even be translated! Any attempt will be a failure!
The Light Reflects
Or
The Light Enlightens
Or
The Radiance Radiates
Each translation is limited because the self-awareness and vimarsha are an integral part of this sutra. Vast, comprehensive and nondual, what a powerful revelation of Shiva from one of the greatest polymaths of all time, Abhinavagupta! Simply brilliant!
https://x.com/AmazingVedas/status/2099724777766224369
The structure of this verse is significant. It first invokes the welfare of society, then righteous governance according to justice, and thereafter the protection of cows and Brahmanas—symbols within the Hindu civilisational framework representing sustenance, sacred learning, preservation of Vedic knowledge, and continuity of dharmic institutions. Only after invoking these conditions does the verse conclude with the aspiration that all worlds or beings may be happy.
Universal well-being is therefore not presented as an isolated sentimental ideal detached from Hindu religious order. Rather, it is presented as the natural consequence of a society governed according to Sanātana Dharma and sustained by institutions that preserve Hindu religious and civilisational continuity.
Therefore, Hindu universalism is fundamentally dharmic rather than indiscriminate. These prayers express the aspiration that the order of Sanātana Dharma should prevail widely so that human beings may live ethically, recognise what is righteous, and reduce suffering. Consequently, they cannot be interpreted as affirming religions, doctrines, forces, or systems that reject, attack, or seek to destroy Sanātana Dharma itself, for a prayer seeking the flourishing of dharma cannot simultaneously affirm its negation.
https://x.com/MNageswarRaoIPS/status/2100775518253822464
Should Shiva Need Schrodinger?
Dr. Mrittunjoy Guha Majumdar's "From Shiva to Schrodinger: Unravelling Cosmic Secrets with Trika Shaivism & Quantum Insights" belongs to a growing body of literature that seeks to place Hindu philosophy in conversation with modern physics, particularly quantum mechanics. The author seeks to place a metaphysical tradition in dialogue with a scientific theory by exploring their apparent convergences on questions of consciousness, reality and non-duality.
To his credit, the author is aware of the methodological difficulties involved. Chapter 15 explicitly recognises that Trika Shaivism and quantum mechanics arise from different historical, cultural and epistemological contexts. He cautions against reductionism, superficial analogies and conceptual misrepresentation, urging readers to respect the integrity of both traditions and to seek common themes rather than direct equivalences. These qualifications are thoughtful and philosophically responsible.
Yet the book simultaneously aspires to "bridge spirituality and physics." The Chapter 11 title Quantrika itself symbolically fuses quantum mechanics and Trika Shaivism into a single conceptual enterprise. Throughout the later chapters, parallels accumulate between quantum concepts and Trika metaphysics. The difficulty is not that such comparisons are attempted. The problem is that the book never explains why such comparisons are epistemically necessary.
Physics empirically investigates the physical world through observation, experiment and mathematical theory. Trika Shaivism experientially explores consciousness, ultimate reality and liberation through its own pramāṇas and metaphysical disciplines. They ask different questions, pursue different ends and justify their conclusions differently. Before attempting to bridge these domains, one must first explain why such a bridge is philosophically required. What deficiency in physics is completed by Trika Shaivism? Conversely, what deficiency in Trika Shaivism requires confirmation from quantum mechanics? The book assumes the desirability of integration without first establishing its necessity.
This omission has important consequences. If the proposed parallels are merely illustrative, they neither strengthen nor weaken the truth of either discipline. They remain intellectually interesting but establish nothing about the truth of either. If, however, they are intended to establish a deeper convergence or lend credibility to Trika metaphysics through modern physics, then the project tacitly elevates empirical science into the final authority on religious truth. The question then becomes unavoidable: why should a religious tradition seek validation through an empirical science?
The implications are more serious than they first appear. A tradition that claims independent pramāṇas, a sophisticated metaphysics and millennia of philosophical reflection should not require external certification from a discipline investigating a different order of reality. If scientific compatibility becomes the criterion of legitimacy, then the final epistemic authority quietly shifts from Vyasa, Sankara and Abhinavagupta to Planck, Schrodinger and Heisenberg. In attempting to defend Sanātana Dharma, the project inadvertently places it before the tribunal of modern science. Far from strengthening the tradition, it compromises its epistemic independence.
Indeed, the argument leads to an uncomfortable reductio ad absurdum. If the credibility of Trika Shaivism ultimately depends upon its compatibility with quantum mechanics, then quantum mechanics—not Trika Shaivism—becomes the decisive source of epistemic authority. Once scientific validation becomes the criterion of legitimacy, the independent authority of the religious tradition is no longer primary but derivative. The very attempt to defend the religion thus risks subordinating it to the discipline from which it seeks validation.
The philosophical difficulty is compounded by a series of category errors. Similarity is not identity; resonance is not evidence; analogy is not confirmation. The non-duality of Brahman is not the equivalence of mass and energy. One is a metaphysical claim concerning the ontological ground of existence; the other is a scientific claim concerning measurable physical entities. Their shared language of "unity" does not establish conceptual equivalence. The same methodological difficulty recurs throughout the book whenever quantum concepts are juxtaposed with Trika metaphysical concepts. Because the comparisons remain merely analogical, the result is that superficial resemblance is mistaken for conceptual equivalence.
Ironically, the very religious tradition invoked throughout the book offers the resources to resist this confusion. Hindu philosophy consistently emphasises viveka—the disciplined discrimination between distinct pramāṇas, distinct levels of reality and distinct domains of inquiry. The enthusiasm to discover modern physics within Sanātana Dharma risks dissolving precisely those distinctions. In seeking common ground, the book blurs the very boundaries it rightly urges us to preserve.
These observations extend beyond this particular volume. They point to a broader intellectual tendency within modern Hindu writing that seeks scientific legitimacy for ancient metaphysical doctrines and religious traditions. Works such as "Maya in Physics" by Dr. N. C. Panda, together with numerous books and popular lectures drawing parallels between quantum mechanics and Vedanta, Yoga or Tantra, illustrate the persistence of this apologetic impulse. The issue, therefore, is not this book alone but the philosophical assumption underlying an entire genre: that Hindu religious truth becomes more credible when it resembles contemporary science. Yet science and religion are not rival claimants to the same territory. They belong to different epistemic orders and pursue different purposes. Neither requires the other for its legitimacy.
The search for scientific validation neither strengthens Sanātana Dharma nor enriches science. It obscures the distinction between two fundamentally different orders of inquiry: religion and science. Each has its own methods, standards of truth, epistemic foundations and purposes. Neither requires the other's endorsement.
https://x.com/MNageswarRaoIPS/status/2078128238929527143
Meera Nanda makes a similar argument for why the indian left let hindufascists appropriate and champion postmodernist woo among the left; they were marxists that didn't think ideas could change material and political conditions, so the stakes of bad discourse or rhetoric among the left was nil.
https://bsky.app/profile/rechelon.bsky.social/post/3lw2qo2wa4s2r
Oh yeah, Meera Nanda is big on explaining which Western pomo leftie academics were sucked in to affirming Hindutva nonsense
https://bsky.app/profile/daphnelawless.com/post/3m4capbczyc27
Book review: When Postcolonial Left and the Hindu Right turned bedfellows
It was said about Bertrand Russell that it was impossible to paraphrase his prose; it was so precise and succinct. This is true of Meera Nanda, too...
A distinctive Hindu sensibility is innate in the political unconscious of Indian postcolonial theorists. The gods they invoke, the mythic mode they use to understand history, and the holistic modes of knowing they speak about are all Hindu...
Together, they take the reader through every corner of the philosophy of science and sociology of knowledge, apart from probing relevant ideas in the political and ideological areas of thought. This book is even more elaborate than her solid Prophets Facing Backward (2006). All her other books are slim, but substantial in terms of content. So much has passed since the publication of Prophets that this book had to be thicker and contain her views on the innumerable ideas that have cropped up in the areas she focuses on.
The quarter century since that book was published has been turbulent and Nanda has been alert to every development since, both the gross and the subtle. The main story is about the coming together of two apparently incompatible groups, the Postcolonial Left and the Hindu Right.
Some more gems follow—here, Nanda takes up her cudgel against Partha Chatterjee's "Nationalist Thought and the Colonial World: A Derivative Discourse?" (Zed for the United Nations University; 1986). This is the most bizarre stuff I have read in a really long time. (10/n)
https://x.com/PhilipPanass/status/2015486519776260457
Absolutely. I am v embarassed about the bullcrap I wrote about "scientific absolutes" and what not, when I didn't in fact have any understanding of quantum physics or the advances in modern biology or, you know, maths.
https://x.com/swatiatrest/status/2016121738955010213
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