Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (SP)

Mangalore, Jun 3: Vedic knowledge is universal in nature and it does not contain adulteration or contradictions like the religious texts, said senior Vedic scholar and Arya Samaj activist Sudhakar Sharma.

Delivering a talk on ‘Vedas and its tenets’ at Arya Samaj centre here recently, he said these oldest texts of the world contain guidance to lead happy, harmonious and prosperous life for the entire humankind. Hence it is wrong to maintain that only certain sections of the society have the right to read and study the Vedas, he said.

Sharma, who was critical about the theocracy misleading the society on matters of Vedas, said true nature of the knowledge hidden in these texts can be realized if one takes up their studies with open mind and without prejudices. 

Referring to the cast system, he said the caste system in its present form, has no Vedic sanctions. Further, it was not correct to the tag word ‘Jaathi’ with the Vedic word, ‘Varna’ or the English word, ‘caste’. Quoting from the Vedas, he said the Vedas have used the word ‘Jaathi’ to identify different species in the university instead of different human denominations. Hence, human beings, who are one among different species of the world, come under one ‘Jaathi’ and there was no scope for any upper-lower discrimination among the human beings, he stressed. Unfortunately, misinterpretation of Vedas by certain self-proclaimed scholars in later days paved the way for the birth of the caste system, which continues to haunt our society and has come in the way of its progress, he said.

Arya Samaj Mangalore president K Bhavanishankar presided over the programme. Secretary Lokananda welcomed the gathering.