Vishnu Prakash: Namasthe ji. In uttara khanda of Ramayana, it is mentioned that Shri Ram killed a person named Sumbhak because he was a SHUDRA and should not have pennace. Sumbhak was slain (by Rama)because he was making penance which was forbidden to him by Vedas as he was a “Shudra”. (Uttara Kandam, Chapter 76).Can you please explain if this is true? If yes, what does it mean?
Swami Ram Swarup: Namasteji. Sri Ram never killed any innocent person like Sumbhak.
Sri Ram was a follower of Vedas and in Vedas Caste system does not exist or difference between rich and poor etc. All Vedas like Yajurveda mantra 26/2 authorize all human including daughters and ladies to equally worship the God. The real story of Sri Ram has been written by Rishi Valmikiji in his Valmiki Ramayan wherein such storieswhich are against Vedas, are not mentioned.
Anish: Swamji,I want to read authentic version of vedas in Hindi. Where can I get them? Also, I have a wish to learn Sanskrit once I complete my studies. Is there any place in Jammu where I can learn Sanskrit?
Swami Ram Swarup: You are advised to make contact with M/S Vijay Kumar Hassanand,
Nai Sadak, Delhi-110006. The website of M/S Vijay Kumar Hassanand is – www.vedicbooks.com
You may make contact with Panchbakhtar Mandir (Rupaiyan wala Mandir) wherein Sanskrit language is taught.
Vishnu Prakash: Swamiji, Pranaam. Generally we consider there are 4 yugas from
Satyayuga to Kaliyuga. And essence of dharma keeps on diminishing as we move through these yugas. This is predetermined and it continuously occur as a cycle. So why should this be so? I mean… Why did God made it so? Why can’t the dharma and righteousness be kept intact?
Swami Ram Swarup: My blessings to you. Yes, there are four Yugas, period of each
yug is as under-
About Yugas
Manusmriti gives the proof in its chapter one that present time of the earth is 7th Manvantar. Uptil now 6 manvantar have passed. Those are Swayambhuva, Swarochish, Auttami, Tamas, Raivat and Chaakshush, now it is 7th manvantar, called Vaivasvat. 71 chaturyugi = 1 manvantar.
There are four yug – Satyug, Treta, Dwapur and Kaliyug.
Satyug = 17 lakhs 28 thousands years
Treta = 12 lakhs 96 thousands years
Dwapur = 8 lakhs 64 thousands years
Kaliyug = 4 lakhs 32 thousands years
The total of four Yugas comes to be 43 lakhs and 20 thousands years which is equal to one Chaturyugi. 71 Chaturyugi i.e., 30 crore 67 lakhs and 20 thousands years equal to one Manvantar and 6 Manvantar have yet passed whose calculation comes to one Arab 84 crore 30 lakhs and 20 thousands years. This is 7th Manvantar and 28 Chaturyugi and the present Kaliyug has passed its time of 5002 years. So, uptil now the age of the earth and Vedas is one Arab 96 crore 8 lakhs 53
thousands one hundred and eleven years. Bhagwad Geeta shlok 8/17 also says about this fact.
14 Manvantar= 1 Kalp.
Aesa koi vidhaan nahin nahin hai ki kalyug mein paapi hee janam leitey hain. Kitnee hee mahaan atmaon nein kalyug mein bhi janam liya hai aur weh ved-shastron, Ashtang Yog vidya ke gyata hue hain. Kalyug kya kisi bhi yug ka arth hai ek Nishchit samay ki avadhi. Kalyug ki avadhi four lakh, thirty two thousand varsh hai. Pichchle janamon ka lekha jokha koi bhi nahin jaan sakta. Hamein kewal present ka dhyan rakhna chahiye ki hum present mein manushya shareer paye hue hain isliye achchey vedic karma karke moksh prapt karein.
In the Vedas, definition of dharma is ‘deeds’ i.e., to discharge moral duties preached in Vedas. Present sects made by humans are not considered dharma in vedic philosophy. So, diminishing of dharma means that due to lack of Vedas’ knowledge, people mostly do not know the pious deeds (duties) to be done. You see, mostly young generation does not serve parents and elders to their entire satisfaction, serving parents/elders is stated to be pious deed in Vedas. No one listens
Vedas, does not perform Yajyen/Havan, does not do practice of Ashtang Yog while discharging all moral duties towards family, society, nation and living beings. I have already stated that due to lack of Vedas’ knowledge, dharma and righteousness are not being kept intact. I would also like to paste my article below for your information, please-
REVERT BACK TO VEDAS
It is the essence of Vedic spiritualism that whenever an aspirant enters into it then learned acharya preaches him that Vedas are the divine voice of God, which by the power of God, are originated in the heart of four Rishis, at the beginning of each creation. Learneds who indulge in deep study of Vedas know that Vedas are alive knowledge which emanate directly from God and hence they have not been written by anyone on the earth, in the shape of a book. Since, the said knowledge is applicable to all humans right from the beginning of earth hence Vedas are not sects.
Infact, Kapil Muni, after traditionally studying Vedas and realising the truth after hard practice of Ashtang Yog, also states the said truth in his Sankhya shastra sutra 5/51 that Vedas are alive knowledge hence ved mantras wield the power and self-capability to make such faithful aspirants, who are involved in deep and sincere study of Vedas, to understand the meaning and idea of ved mantras. This is the reason that Kapil Muni states that Vedas are self-proof to justify the truth. To elaborate, knowledge given in ved mantra or any fact stated through ved mantras does not require to be validated/authenticated by other shastras or any other book [but like our Rishi-Munis, Rajrishis
and their public used to study Vedas traditionally with faith and sincere efforts, process being the Vedic order of Almighty God, for all human-beings, the said practice is not in vogue at present
times].God knows when inhabitants of India would be able to adopt the said moral duties, entrusted by God, of studying and following the Vedas, which destroys all the effects of sorrows and makes our future bright with long life and also spreads international brotherhood along with other unlimited benefits.
Secondly, universe has been created about one Arab, ninety six crore, eight lakhs, fifty three thousand and one hundred and thirteen years ago.
So, logically, Vedas have also been created at this time-period. Rishi-Munis acquired Vedas’ knowledge by listening to Vedas traditionally from acharya and did agnihotra/yajyen, name jaap of God and Ashtang yog practice as preached in Vedas. In turn, they realised God and got the knowledge by doing pious deeds while leading the family life, making their future happy and bright, according to Vedas. Then they further educated people about the same because it has been
the benevolent nature of every learned person, who gains Vedic knowledge and experiences, divine pleasure, to share it with others. About five-six thousand years ago, Rishis wrote six shastras,
upnishads, Mahabharat (including Bhagwad Geeta) and Valmiki Ramayan much before all these books, based on the knowledge of Vedas. All these great writers – the Rishis, have eulogised Vedas in their literary works and based on their experience have admitted that Vedas are the divine voice of God.
That is why, Kapil Muni in his Sankhya shastra sutra 1/66 and Patanjali Rishi in his Yog shastra sutra 1/7 have shared their experience to educate us that the preach of any Rishi (Mantradrishta
Rishi) is also considered as a proof to reach at truth. And also the holy books written by the Rishis based on Vedic culture are also considered as proof called ‘Partah Pramann’, Vedas being Swatah
Pramann. Is it not our bad luck that the said secrets of Vedas are now mostly unknown to people and at this juncture, so called preach of any modern saint (sant who is against the Vedas) which does not tally with Vedic culture and which is definitely considered by learned of Vedas as totally false/unauthentic, is being accepted happily by the innocent public? If we consider impartially then we would find that the said matter is definitely harmful to the society, being against the Vedas because it does not come within the parameter of Vedic authenticity. Now, question is that who will bell the cat?
Duly indulged in illusion and mostly intention being after the materialistic articles etc., hardly anybody spares the time to study the literary works of Rishis like Upnishads, Shastras, Nighantu,
Ashtadhyayee, Shatpath Brahmin Granth and above quoted holy books which contain abundant proofs of ved mantras. Hence, when one will fail to study these great literary works of Rishis, under the guidance of learned acharya of Vedas. Then naturally anyone will cast doubt over the Vedas which implies non-awareness of Vedic knowledge. Nowadays, people study the so-called spiritual books written by ordinary people but not those written by Rishis. It shall not out of place to mention here that Atharvaveda mantra 7/105/1 preaches us to study Vedas or to study the spiritual books written by Rishi-Munis. The mantra strongly stresses not to study such books which are written by ordinary people. This secret has been made unknown to the public by several saints, that Vedas, Yajyen and yogabhyas are difficult and need not to be studied/performed. People do not know that God states to study Vedas and perform daily agnihotra/Yajyen, name jaap of God and practice of Ashtang yog under the expert guidance of learned acharya.
Due to ignorance of the same, people are not able to understand that they are doing sins by not obeying the God’s order of studying Vedas and doing yajyen etc. On the other hand, they are accepting the juicy lecture of saints, who are against the Vedas and who are mostly professional. Moreover, all the present sects along with their pious books have emerged about two thousand to two thousand and five hundred years ago. As compared to this, Vedas have been on this earth since
One Arab, ninety six crore, eight lakhs, fifty three thousand and one hundred and thirteen years ago. As mentioned above, Vedas are not a book. That is why, it has become difficult to repose faith in Vedas, in the absence of deep study under guidance of learned acharya of Vedas and Ashtang Yog.
Yet, it is a well-known fact spread by the tapasvis, Rishis-Munis by their preach and above quoted spiritual books that Vedas are eternal and immortal knowledge which emanate directly from God. This fact is even supported by renowned scientists like Maxmuller and many others who believe in authenticity of Vedas. It is further a well-known fact that Vedas have been preserved in world libraries with respect and honour, accepting Vedas as first and the most ancient literature. I mean to say that Vedas are the first knowledge which came on the earth. It was spread orally through the tradition of acharya and disciple, right from the beginning of the earth, as mentioned above.
So, Vedas were remembered by heart by everyone. About five thousand three hundred years ago, for the first time, Vyas Muniji, who himself remembered the Vedas by heart traditionally, wrote them on Bhojpatra for the benefit of mankind. He completed the said pious task on the day of poornnima, about five thousand three hundred years ago. Since, then the poornnima has been named and remembered as Vyas Poornnima. Further, when printing press came into existence in sixteenth century, the Vedas written on Bhoj patra by Vyas Muniji were printed in the form of book which is called “Samhita” and not ved. Samhita means collection of ved mantras which has been printed. Half of the intellectuals of the world believe Vedas to be the divine voice of God and yet half of the intellectuals believe that Vedas have been written by some great scientist who has no parallel to himself in the entire world. But learned of Vedas know that God is the scientist of all scientists and no one is born even equivalent to such God nor shall be born in future. Then what to talk about being above the God. It is also pertinent to mention here that eighteen chapters of Bheeshma parv of Mahabharat have been secluded, named and printed as Bhagwad Geeta. Infact, Yogeshwar Sri Krishna Maharaj has praised and eulogised Vedas in Bhagwad Geeta. The above stated facts are known only to learned of Vedas. The saints who are ignorant of the knowledge of Vedas are naturally ignorant of the Vedas’ knowledge contained in Bhagwad Geeta and are therefore compelled not to explain the shloka of Bhagwad Geeta, briefly and truly wherein the reference and truth of Ved mantras exists. Why? Because they have not studied Vedas.
However, most of the present literary works and most of the saints are reiterating the fact that Vedas are divine voice of God. In this connection, Almighty, omnipresent, formless God has already stated in Atharvaveda mantra 12/5/40 that those who do not study Vedas but take a piecemeal (portion) of Ved mantras, only which suits them, by means of studying other books etc., or listening from anywhere else [not based on traditional study of Vedas] will be punished by me (God). Isn’t it surprising that yet no one is taking the initiative to study Vedas. On the contrary, those deeds which are against the Vedas and promote blind faith are being done on large scale. To experience the truth, we will have to revert back to Vedas.
