Publisher's Synopsis
According to the Kalki Purana, a sign of the Kali Yuga, our present age of darkness and ignorance, is the disappearance of the Vedas from society. Indeed, in modern times we have seen the Vedas all but vanish from the earth, read and known by nearly no one. However, like all cycles, the Kali Yuga must come to an end, this wicked age of deceit will fall and the Satya Yuga, the rule of the gods, will return to the earth. The process of the turning of the wheel of the Yuga Cycle is slow and arduous, but we have full-heartedly put ourselves to the task. In our effort to aid the turning of this wheel we have reproduced the English version of Hinduism's oldest scripture, the Rig Veda. In the Rig Veda you will find Hinduism in its purest and most distilled form, a simple and straightforward ethics unbridled from the abstract and complex philosophies of later texts. Being the first knowledge to be put into writing, the Rig Veda became the starting point for all the other scriptures of Hinduism, including the other three Vedas, and thus everything else can honestly be considered a derivative of Rig Veda. The only hurdle the novice student of Hinduism will have to jump by reading this text is becoming familiar with the names of the gods, kings, sages and tribes mention herein. While annotated versions of the Rig Veda are in the works, which will provide you with a better understanding of these names, you will find that most of them can easily be found by using modern searching methods or can be learned by speaking with other students of the Hindu Religion, but you will also see that the characters are defined within the passages themselves. On the point of translation, please note that we had to use the Griffith English version of the Vedas for distribution since at this time it is the only copyright free version of the Rig Veda available. Some may protest that this version of the Veda is not true to form since it was translated by British colonialists with a faulty understanding of the Sanskrit language and with a stated anti-Hindu agenda. This concern is very valid and so the beginning student of Veda is cautioned against reading these Vedas too precisely. Yet, what anyone will notice is that even though the British translations are subpar and may even contain a nuanced destructive agenda, the light of Veda is so bright that even in its diminished form, it shines blazing through any feeble attempts to hide its beauty. We are certain that even in its dilution you will find the Rig Veda to be more resilient than any other scriptures so popularized today which were translated perfectly and with well meaning. Please rest assured, it is not our intention to leave the Vedas in their currently tilted state, but to build up enough love and interest in both these scriptures and the Sanskrit language so as to have the numbers and skills necessary to improve and rectify this knowledge to its former glory. So to that effect we ask you simply allow yourself to read these scriptures and enjoy them. With that, we leave you to the light of Veda, may it fill you with the warmth of the coming Satya Yuga.
