[Advaita-l] {भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्} Question on why "vedadhyayana"?

[Raghav K]

The simple answer is Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita - sahajam karma
kaunteya sa dosham api *na tyajet,  *and, Taittiriya Upanishad specifically
calls out *svAdhyAya-pravachanAbhyAm na pramaditavyam,
deva-pitru-kAryAbhyAm na pramaditavyam*. This person saying this is similar
to villagers giving up their traditional avocations, arts, skills that are
unique to them, and modernizing themselves. We have lost so many arts as a
result of this, and we will lose these too this way. There was once a
tradition of people doing agni-karyam. The concept of nityagnihotris is
almost extinct today. Irrespective of Krishna or the Upanishad or the
rishis saying , if I were him, I would feel it my responsibility more than
a burden to do it, preserve it, and pass it down to the next generation.
There is only so much time you could give with modern occupations - I get
it. But still, you have to try your best. That sincerity is what pleases
God. sa yat pramANam kurute lokas tad-anuvartate. For this sloka, there are
very interesting commentaries - and they all ask you not to give up your
duties loka sangraham eva api sampashyan kartum arhasi. If he feels it is a
burden, his child will certainly feel it so and give it up, and in a couple
of generations, the practice will be abandoned!

On Thu, Jun 20, 2024 at 8:59 PM Krishna Kashyap <kkashyap2011 at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Namaste,
>
> I found some answers to this question on the internet:
>
> Why do vedadhyayana?
>
> the answers I found were:
>
> 1) Oral tradition was the only way these Vedas could be preserved. The
> lack of printing technology made it inevitable for the older Vedic pundits
> to establish oral tradition.
>
> 2) One had to be ready with all the mantra portions for Vedic karmas.
> Hence they only practiced the portions used for yajnas and yagas. Now,
> other than for 16 karmas like jata karma, upanayana, and so on, there is no
> need to learn Vedas. most people do not do any yagas anyway.
>
> In general, I get the idea that because of a lack of technology, the
> ancient lineage of Rshis developed the oral tradition to protect the Vedas.
> Now, we have good technology and AI to preserve these Vedas. Hence there is
> no need to commit to memory the Vedas.
>
> Now, why should we do Vedadhyana?
>
> this question was asked by a young person who has completed 95 percent of
> vedadhyayana of Yajurveda and he is 20 years old. (ie. he has completed 74
> khandas out of 82 (ashiti-dvaya)) Yajurveda. He practices it every day in
> addition to doing a bachelors degree in finance)
>
> What should I tell him?
>
> *Krishna Kashyap*
>
>
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