The Absolute Truth is of course knowledge of the True Self, or Ātman, as none other and indistinguishable from God, or Brahman. This was posited by the Ṛṣis in the Great Sayings (Mahāvākya) found in the Vedas, such as “Tat Tvam Asi”, or “That Thou Art”.  This divine revelation, known as Mokṣa, or liberation, is the ultimate culmination of spiritual life, however, in order to realize it many obstacles stand in the way and knowing thus the Ṛṣis also taught mankind Dharma, or the Laws of Nature.

These Dharma teachings were and still are being preserved in a traditional way in India and increasingly more so in other parts of the world, via an oral tradition. This sacred knowledge, known as Veda, has also been preserved in manuscript form to assist in the preservation of the Vedic tradition, called Sampradāya. This is what we now commonly know as the 4 Vedas. In actuality, learned scholars believe that only about 6% of what the Vedic Ṛṣis once cognized in the far distant past is available to us today, and sadly as time passes, more of this knowledge is likely to be lost.  What we still possess today in manuscript form is deep and profound, as many hidden secrets of nature are preserved within the Vedas. Subject matters meant not only for intellectual study but for practical application in the day to day world.

Enlightened Teachers grace us not only with their divine presence, which can reveal to a ripe disciple Mokṣa, but also with the deep knowledge that is contained in the Vedas, giving us practical ways of aligning our life with Dharma and removing all the obstacles on the path to Self-Realization. The Ṛṣis stated that in order to study the Vedas one must have some understanding of a preliminary body of knowledge first. This is what is known as Vedāṇga, or the limbs of the Vedas.  There are 6 Angas, or limbs of the Vedas; Śikṣā, Candas, Vyākaraṇa, Nirukta, Jyotiṣa, and Kalpa.

The first 4 limbs deal primarily with Vedic Mantras and can be understood collectively.  Śikṣā concerns the rules regarding the correct pronunciation and intonation of the Vedic Mantras that are so important to unlocking the hidden power contained within sound. It teaches us about how to create the proper vibration with the mouth, lips and tongue while chanting mantras.

Candas is a meter or a rhythm that the Mantras are chanted in. A certain number of syllables in any given set of Mantras will indicate which Chandas the Mantras are in. This creates the harmony that is so pleasing to listen to when hearing Vedic Mantras chanted in the correct way.

Vyakarana is essentially grammar and the rules that govern how the various sounds of the Sanskrit alphabet join to create this sacred language. Nirukta is what we in the west call etymology, or the study of the implied meaning behind any given sound.  Not only do words have an agreed upon meaning by all of the people that share a common language, but also the building blocks of these words themselves have a more universal meaning .  For example the name Ganesha is made up of two sounds Gana plus Isha. Gana means a group or a category, and Isha means Lord or Perception. Hence Ganesha is really the Lord of Groups or the Perception of Categories. Take the English word Gang and you can see that the same basic sound (Gan) has the same meaning, indicating a group, a gang, or a multitude.  Nirukta is how we can decode the hidden meaning of the Vedic Mantras, to understand the divine feelings and sublime thoughts that the Rishis experienced in the depths of meditation. Together these 4 limbs of the Vedas constitute the reason why Sanskrit is regarded as a sacred language.

The fifth Vedanga is called Jyotisha, or Vedic astronomy and astrology.  It was originally used to ascertain the specific auspicious times that the Vedic Mantras were to be chanted so that the optimal desired effect of the Mantras would yield their intended results.  It is still currently being used for this purpose, as all important spiritual ceremonies should be conducted during their correspondingly auspicious times, to harness the appropriate celestial energies.   Chanting certain Mantras on certain days allows us to reap greater benefit from our sadhana through Jyotisha.

Jyotisha can also be used for a variety of other purposes, as well.  Such as Jataka, or the divination of the events that individuals are likely to experience during their lifetime.  Jataka also helps people understand deeper levels of their psychological nature, and offers remedies like gemstones, donations of certain substances, or the visiting of certain temples to alleviate specific problems we face in our life.  Other uses of Jyotisha involve the seeking of answers to important questions that will help one act in accordance with Dharma.   Answers which are divined through mystical means and cannot be answered by conventional reasoning or logic, or when one’s own intuition is unclear, is called Prashna.  Yet another use of Jyotisha is in the selection of auspicious times to commence important life events, such as marriage, construction, travel, education, business deals etc., this is called Muhurta.  For the celestial influences at the start of any activity determine to a large extend the outcome of the intended action, whether it will succeed, fail or be somewhere in between.

The last limb of the Vedas is called Kalpa.  Kalpa is the ritual actions that are performed in conjunction with the Vedic Mantras at the times of sacred ceremonies such as Pujas or Homas.  These ritual actions, in conjunction with the proper timing of the sacred ceremonies, harness cosmic energy that generates powerful vibrations that benefit not only those present at the ceremonies but also the entire world.

Collectively the 6 Vedangas come together during the Pujas and Homas that are conducted for the benefit of all living beings.  It is during these sacred ceremonies where all the Vedangas blend together to reveal to us their common source, namely Veda, or True Knowledge.  An atmosphere of peace and tranquility develops during the ceremonies that allows us to become more aware of our own divinity and relax deeply into our True Self.

In the same way that our physical bodies (Sthula Sharira) have limbs like hands, feet, head etc.  , that are under the central control of the brain, so too the Rishis envisioned that the spiritual self, or Atman, had a subtle body (Sukshma Sharira) that could be made to act in purposeful ways by its divine will.  The subtle body’s nose is Siksha (Pronunciation), it’s face Vyakarana (Grammar), it’s ears Nirukta (Etymology), it’s legs Chandas (Rhythmic Meter), it’s eyes Jyotisha (Astronomy/Astrology), and it’s hands Kalpa(Ritual Action).

To align the physical body with the subtle body the Rishis advised the study and practice of the Vedangas, as well as meditation and other spiritual practices. When these 2 bodies are aligned, the physical and the subtle, yet another “body” reveals itself to us, what is commonly called the causal body (Karana Sharira). Through deep meditation we can go beyond even this third body to realize the Absolute Knowledge of the Self.  Vedanga facilitates this process.

The vision of the Rishis is that all living beings may learn how to live in harmony with nature by following the eternal ways of Sanatana Dharma, to remove the ignorance that obscures the recognition of the true self, orAtman, which is the very essence of Veda, or true knowledge.