THE VEDAS, Harmony, Meditation and Fulfilment
Foreword by Jan Gonds

The subject of meditation is attracting more and more attention, not only as a brake to an over-hectic way of life but also as a key to a better understanding of the human mind. For true meditation allows the human being to penetrate into the deeper recesses of his consciousness resulting in greater self-knowledge and self-renewal.

Much has been written of the meditative systems derived from later philosophies such as Hinduism and Buddhism. But Miss Miller has looked into the original scriptures of India, the Vedas, from which all later philosophies derive. Her enquiry shows beyond doubt that the ancient Vedic riches (spiritual leaders, prophets, teachers) were masters of meditation. They used the techniques of visualisation and chanting as preliminary steps in a meditation that could deepen into a realm of being out of ordinary experience, even beyond the mind, into a state of pure consciousness.

Every thought and tale, every myth and symbol in the Vedas was conceived and expressed as a result of meditative absorption, and it is the author’s purpose to explore this aspect of Vedic religious life.

The Vedic rishis were pioneers in their own times, over 3,500 years ago. Their legacy to the whole of Asia, and now to the West, is a profound insight into the human mind and a concept of psychology of which meditation is but one aspect.

Dr Jan Gonda is Professor of Sanskrit at the state University of Utrecht, and the leading authority on the Vedas.

The Vedas   click to read online, ctrl-click (Mac) or right-click (PC) to download