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All knowledge of universe and human being has been condensed in
Vedas. The Vedas are the basic scriptures of Sanathana Dharma,
the real name of the so-called Hindu religion. Every subsequent
book that has been written on this Religion is based on the
Vedas which are considered the pure truth and unchallengable.
The Vedas are considered Apaurusheya i.e. without author or
creator. They have been seen by seers in the form of light,
heat, vibrations, pressure and various other scientific forms of
energy. These forms had transformed into words before the seers
automatically. The seers gave such words to their disciples
orally and this tradition has been maintained from the time of
transformation till now. No time can be prescribed for these
chapters and verses of the Vedas. The transformation has
happened over a number of years and hence the compilation cannot
be dated to a certain era, simply by going through the language
of the texts.
Ultimately, around 2500 years back, the School of
Krishna-Dwaipayana (also called Vyasa) was responsible for
editing the various verses and codifying them into four Vedas.
The main Veda is called Rig Veda in which Agni, Vayu and Indra
are the three main deities. There are many other smaller deities
who are praised in various poems.
Agni in the form heat is responsible for the conduct of
bodily functions. Vayu in the form of air (Prana) and pressure
is responsible for the functions of various organs and Indra as
light and sound is responsible for the activity of man on the
mental plane. Other gods are responsible for various other
functions but are not within the scope of our present article.
What was the object of the transformation of the Vedas by
seers? Why have the Vedas been given an oral tradition? We have
to delve deep to satisfy our curiosity.
Man was suffering and mind was vacillating. Pleasure and Pain
could not be controlled. What are the reasons behind for the
Pain and the Pleasure? Who was responsible for these? Why were
they happening? Was there any remedy? These were the questions
that daunted the olden day seers. The seers set themselves in
meditation for endless years. Many of them found real truths and
when they were given the form of letters and words, these were
called Mantras.
For the purpose of annihilating all pains of the human being,
it was ultimately found that one has to combine energy with the
soul. Ultimately energy had to be brought from uncontrolled to
controlled stage. To achieve this many methods were devised and
all these methods are called Yoga.
The different types of Yoga are classified as follows:
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