Vedic Rituals - an essential subject

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The Vedas contain an immense treasure of knowledge from all aspects of life. The Vedas are guide books on how to prosper within this material world. With this knowledge one can attain material as well as spiritual benefit. The whole purpose is to gradually uplift every human being to higher levels according to his or her nature. The Vedas are divided to different parts for different sorts of people.

One part of Vedic scriptures is dedicated to the Vedic rituals and sacrifices which are to be performed especially by brahmanas (intellectual class) who are accepted as the intellectual head of society. Bhagavad-gita says that sacrifice is the means through which everything can be attained. Vedic rituals can purify each aspect of human existence. If however they are not aimed towards serving God, Vedic rituals can not give people ultimate liberation.

Vedic rituals are usually very complicated, and they have to be performed perfectly in order to bring the desired results. In this age it is very hard to perform the classical Vedic rituals since qualified brahmanas are very rare. Thus for this age a much easier form of sacrifice is recommended - the chanting of the Holy names, the Hare Krishna mantra.

Srila Prabhupada's books, lectures, conversations and letters offer a comprehensive presentation of this essential subject as seen in the Vaniquotes Vedic Rituals category. An introduction from his books is given below in the following 15 quotes.

Quotes from Srila Prabhupada's books


vanipedia.org 		By performance of Vedic rituals, discussion of the Vedic philosophy and worship of the Lord in devotional service, He is attained. Therefore the purpose of the Vedas is to understand Kṛṣṇa. The Vedas give us direction by which to understand Kṛṣṇa and the process of realizing Him. (Bhagavad-gītā 15.15)



vanipedia.org 		"After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me (Krishna), knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare." It can thus be seen that all Vedic rituals and different types of worship and philosophical speculation ultimately aim at Kṛṣṇa. (Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 5)



vanipedia.org 		As professional activities or business profits cannot help one in spiritual advancement but are a source of material entanglement, the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies cannot help anyone who is not a devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.15.29)



vanipedia.org 		A devotee, however, does not indulge in unnecessary talks of politics or economics. Nor is a devotee very strict in following ritualistic rules and regulations mentioned in the Vedas. Becoming enamored of these rituals is the next impediment, called niyamāgraha. Because a devotee fully engages in the supreme service of the Lord, he automatically fulfills all other obligations and doesn't have to execute all the details of Vedic rituals. (Nārada-bhakti-sūtra, 5)



vanipedia.org 		Those devotees who are householders accept Vedic ritualistic performances as well as the prescribed duties of devotional service, because both are meant for satisfying Kṛṣṇa. When householder devotees perform some Vedic ritualistic duties, they do so to satisfy Kṛṣṇa. (Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 11)



vanipedia.org 		Unless one adopts the path of devotional service, he cannot be one-hundred-percent clean from all the reactions of sinful activities. By performing Vedic ritualistic activities, by giving money in charity and by undergoing austerity, one can temporarily become free from the reactions of sinful activities, but at the next moment he must again become engaged in sinful activities. (Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 1)



vanipedia.org 		What cannot be achieved through the performance of Vedic rituals can be easily achieved through the chanting of the Lord's holy name. To chant the holy name and dance in ecstasy is so easy and sublime that one can achieve all the benefits of spiritual life simply by following this process. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.2.11)



vanipedia.org 		One may sometimes chant with offenses and sometimes without offenses, but if one seriously adopts this process, he will achieve perfection, which cannot be achieved through Vedic ritualistic ceremonies of atonement. Persons who are attached to the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies, but do not believe in devotional service, who advise atonement, but do not appreciate the chanting of the Lord's holy name, fail to achieve the highest perfection. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.3.33)



vanipedia.org 		The very word gṛṇanti, which is used in this verse, means to be already established in the perfectional stage of ritualistic performances. If one is seated on the bench of a high-court and is giving judgment on cases, it means that he has already passed all legal exams and is better than those who are engaged in the study of law or those expecting to study law in the future. In a similar way, persons who are chanting the holy name are transcendental to those who are factually performing the Vedic rituals and those who expect to be qualified. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.33.7)



vanipedia.org 		O my Lord, a person who is chanting Your holy name, although born of a low family like that of a caṇḍāla (dog-eater), is situated on the highest platform of self-realization. Such a person must have performed all kinds of penances and sacrifices according to Vedic rituals and studied the Vedic literatures many, many times after taking his bath in all the holy places of pilgrimage. Such a person is considered to be the best of the Āryan family. (Bhagavad-gītā 2.46)



vanipedia.org 		He must also be expert in worshiping different deities and in performing the Vedic rituals (yajana). On account of this yajana, the brāhmaṇa, being the head of society, performs all the Vedic rituals for kṣatriyas, vaiśyas and śūdras. This is called yājana, assisting others in performing ceremonies. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 4.87)



vanipedia.org 		The birth of a human being is a great science, and therefore reformation of the act of impregnation according to the Vedic ritual called Garbhādhāna-saṁskāra is very important for generating good population. The problem is not to check the growth of the population, but to generate good population. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.5.19)



vanipedia.org 		The word puraḥ means "family," and hita means "benefit." Thus the word purohita indicates that the priest is the well-wisher of the family. Another meaning of the word puraḥ is "first." A priest's first duty is to see that his disciples benefit spiritually and materially by all means. Then he is satisfied. A priest should never be interested in performing Vedic rituals for his personal benefit. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.7.38)



vanipedia.org 		The Vedic ritualistic ceremonies, the knowledge thereof, and the person who agrees to perform them are inspired by the Supreme Soul. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā, (BG 15.15) from the Lord come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. The Supersoul is situated in everyone's heart (BG 18.61)), and when one is advanced in Vedic knowledge, the Supersoul gives him directions. Acting as Supersoul, the Lord gives inspiration to a suitable person to perform the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.3.30)



vanipedia.org 		When a person performs Vedic rituals and sacrifices, he does so to elevate himself to the heavenly planets. No one can become qualified to go back home, back to Godhead, by means of such sacrifices. But the Lord is so kind that He accepts a little insignificant service, and therefore it is stated in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa that by following the principles of varṇāśrama-dharma one can satisfy the Supreme Lord. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.40.28)



Vedic Rituals - explore more within this category.

Vanipedia has now over 903 introductory articles compiled from Srila Prabhupada's books under the series titled Essential Subjects. All these articles can be seen in the Table of Content on the right side of this article and also here in this Umbrella Category. Browse through them to relish the breadth and depth of Srila Prabhupada's teachings - There is a subject for everyone.


   
 

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