Book Description

This book presents original translations and a penetrating analysis of hymns from the Rg Veda, the earliest literary document of the Indian tradition. For many years the Rg Veda has been a source of interest and inspiration to Western readers. Composed in the predawn of recorded history it narrates the struggle of the Aryans as they tried to unify the world around them by sharing a common vision. Here, for the first time, is an interpretation of the Rg Veda that allows the reader to enter the Vedic world to appreciate this great work of literature on its own terms. Dr. de Nicolas shows how the world view expressed in the Vedas relates to the insights of modern physics. The author also probes the language of the Rg Veda, which he describes as the language of existence and non-existence, the language of images and sacrifice, and the language of embodied vision. Meditations through the Rg Veda not only analyzes the Vedic hymns, it also illuminates the meaning of sound itself, as revealed in these great Vedic songs.