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    Ancient Wisdom: Modern Viewpoints : Interesting Picks From Ancient Indian Scriptures
    Ancient Wisdom: Modern Viewpoints : Interesting Picks From Ancient Indian Scriptures
    Ancient Wisdom: Modern Viewpoints : Interesting Picks From Ancient Indian Scriptures
    Ebook97 pages58 minutes

    Ancient Wisdom: Modern Viewpoints : Interesting Picks From Ancient Indian Scriptures

    By Dr.King

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    About this ebook

    This book captures the essence of ancient Indian scriptures, analyzing them from today’s point of view. The scriptures selected are mainly the eleven Upanishads (parts of Vedic literature), Bhagavad Geetha (most important book of Indian philosophy) and the Manu Smrthi (one of the most ancient law books by Manu). All these scriptures were composed more than 2500 years ago and influence the Indian way of life even to this day. In addition to these primary scriptures, this book also cross references several other ancient Indian scriptures such as Yoga Sutra of Patanjali, Sänkhya Kärika, Närada Bhakti sutra, and Dammapada.
    Some of the key aspects of each of these three main scriptures – Upanishads, Bhagavad Geetha and Manu Smrthi - are picked and presented in 6 short, crisp articles. While writing these articles, the original Sanskrit texts are relied upon with minimal re-interpretation. Adequate references to the original Sanskrit verses are given in most places, to impart authenticity to the rendering. To help the readers who may not be familiar with Sanskrit, simple English translations of these verses are also provided.
    This is an ideal book for anyone who wants to have a quick overview of most of the ancient Indian scriptures. The book gives a wealth of information and surely a key to the treasure of ancient Indian scriptures.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDr.King
    Release dateNov 5, 2013
    ISBN9781310182785
    Ancient Wisdom: Modern Viewpoints : Interesting Picks From Ancient Indian Scriptures
    Author

    Dr.King

    Dr.King is an avid writer in the nonfictional category. In the past 3 decades he has written several books in the areas of philosophy, Yoga, religious practices, sculpture, gardening, and so on. His books often blend scientific outlook with traditional faiths and practices. His books especially in the area of ancient philosophy succinctly showcase volumes of ancient literature in a condensed form, providing very authentic, insightful and unbiased portrayal. These books are generally characterized as thought provoking, giving an incisive look at the otherwise difficult to understand topics. One can expect to find reliable information, devoid of glorification and hype that is typical in this category.

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      Book preview

      Ancient Wisdom - Dr.King

      F:\my_books\amazon\am_ancient_wisdom\cover_design\cover_logo_old.jpg The volume of ancient Indian scriptures is so vast that one may need to spend an entire lifetime to study them in detail. Since these scriptures are interlinked, one needs multiple readings to get a coherent picture. These were originally written in Sanskrit, making it more difficult for lay readers who may not be familiar with the language. For some of these, English translations do exist. But these translations often do not convey the true essence of these scriptures.

      This book is an attempt to capture the salient points of these ancient scriptures, while analyzing them from today’s point of view. The scriptures we have selected are mainly the Upanishads, Bhagavad Geetha and the Manu Smrthi. Along with these, we have also cross referenced other related scriptures, to give a more coherent view. We pick some of the key aspects of each of these three scriptures and present them in 6 short, crisp articles. While writing these articles, we have relied upon the original Sanskrit texts with minimal re-interpretation. When necessary, we have also consulted commentaries from well known commentators like Šankaräcärya. Adequate references to original Sanskrit verses are given in most places, to impart authenticity to our rendering. To aid the readers who may not be familiar with Sanskrit, we have provided simple English translations of these verses.

      Articles 1 to 3

      First 3 articles are based on the Upanishads, which are parts of the Vedas, believed to be composed at least 4000 years ago. These Upanishads mainly focus on Ätma – the Upanishadic equivalent of God. However, this God is quite different from the concept of God in various religions, including today’s Hinduism. The first article talks more about this concept of God, based on 10 of the most well known Upanishads.

      The origin of the world we live in, has always puzzled both the scientists and the philosophers alike. Modern science has its theories about it. Various religions have their own explanations about this marvelous phenomenon. Upanishads too have their version of the story. The second article gives a glimpse of the views of the Upanishads, based on the ‘visions’ of the sages who recorded them in these Upanishads.

      Even while accepting the inevitability of death, human beings long to live on, eternally if possible. Our concept of death is closely tied to the body. Once the body stops functioning, we take it as the ultimate end of the person. However, Upanishads don’t see death that way. They give an interesting description of what happens after the death of the body and how one can attain a ‘deathless state’. The third article focuses on this topic.

      Article 4

      Bhagavad Geetha is one of the widely referred and translated religious scriptures that are believed to have been composed sometime before 2500 years. Some consider this as the essence of ancient Indian philosophic thought process. For the religious minded Hindus, this scripture is the most sacred of all their scriptures, since it is believed to represent the words of Lord Krishna – the incarnate of God on earth. Many even claim it to be an excellent ancient work on human psychology. The article 4 deals with some important aspects of this composition, while trying to show how it unifies various ancient schools of thought.

      Article 5 and 6

      Ancient Sage-King Manu is considered to be one of the first lawmakers. His work, namely the Manu Smrthi deals with social organization, code of conduct for various classes of people, legal issues and their resolution among other things. One of the darkest black spots on today’s Hinduism, namely the caste system is attributed to Manu. And he is often criticized for the same. Article 5 explains how Manu puts forward his views on this social stratification and how he justifies his stand.

      Manu also presents a well balanced view to living – both as individuals and also as inalienable parts of a society. The ideals he puts forward, are really worth emulating and forces us to reconsider our current approach to life. Probably, even if some of these ideals are implemented, we may ensure a better society free of greed, mistrust and animosity. The last article throws light on these views of Manu.

      Since most of the readers may not be familiar with the scriptures referred to in this book, we begin with a brief overview of these scriptures in the next chapter.

      F:\my_books\amazon\end_of_chapter.jpg

      Historical facts on Indian Scriptures

      Distinct characteristics of Indian philosophy

      Some of the ancient works referred in this book

      Next Chapter

      F:\my_books\amazon\am_ancient_wisdom\cover_design\cover_logo_old.jpg The sea of Indian scriptures is so vast that it is almost impossible to cover all of them in a short chapter. Instead, what we attempt to do in this chapter is to give a ‘shore side view’ of the sea from which we have picked some ‘pearls’ exhibited in subsequent articles. In other words, we briefly cover various scriptures, restricting ourselves to only those that are referred to in the subsequent articles. We neither dive into the sea completely nor provide a close up, but give only a surface picture, so to speak.

      Historical facts on Indian Scriptures

      When one talks about ancient scriptures, the obvious question that comes to one’s mind is how ancient is this ancient? Historical details are needed for various reasons. They not only render authenticity to the scriptures but also help in understanding the period during which they were composed. But unfortunately, when it comes to ancient Indian scriptures, there are hardly any undisputed historical details available about them. Each author, depending on his own reasons, gives the dates, often based more on informed guesses than on any concrete evidence.

      On the other hand, Indian tradition is such that it considers such questions as irrelevant and the answers, if at all one attempts to get, are deeply buried in unquestionable faith. For example, one of the most ancient of the works ever composed by mankind, namely the Vëda is traditionally believed to be anädi (beginning less). The tradition also considers them Apaurushëya meaning ‘not composed by any one’. Various sages who have recorded the verses

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