What is Veda?

Veda means knowledge; knowledge of the eternal, omnipresent, unmanifest and absolute level of life—the Unified Field of all the Laws of Nature—and of its expressed values, all the diverse fields of knowledge.

Veda, Total Knowledge, is the inner reality of everyone’s life. Veda is the totality of Natural Law, and it is the source of all branches of knowledge, of all sciences, of all religions. Vedic wisdom is independent of time and can never be lost, because it has its holistic basis in the eternal unmanifest transcendental field of life.

What are Vedic Recitations?

Vedic recitations are the eternal sounds of the Unified Field of all the Laws of Nature—the field of Pure Consciousness. In that ocean of Pure Consciousness, there is memory. Memory is the eternal flow of Pure Consciousness within that field. Because there is flow or motion, naturally sound arises, just as a wave arises in the enormous unbounded ocean. Those sounds are the sounds of the Veda which are listened to in Vedic recitations.

Whenever these sounds are heard, those fundamental Laws of Nature also begin to pulsate in the human body, enlivening all its various parts and aligning the whole physiology with Total Natural Law. This brings balance, peace, harmony and joy in individual life, and brings support to the individual from those fundamental Laws of Nature, the different aspects of the Veda—the Vedic Devata.

What are Vedic Devata?

Vedic Devata—aspects of the totality of Natural Law contained in the Veda—are the Laws of Nature that administer the entire universe and maintain it in perfect order.

They are the impulses of Creative Intelligence responsible for the creation, maintenance, and evolution of everything in the universe. Cosmic in dimension, they permeate the whole creation. The Vedic Devata are not religious, philosophical, or poetical concepts, but a scientific reality.

The Vedic Devata are lively in every grain of creation. In the same way that the law of gravity exercises its ‘rulership’ over the attraction between masses, the Vedic Devata exercise their administrative role over every form and function in creation. For example, the Vedic Devata that administers silence is called Shiva, and the Vedic Devata that administers dynamism is Vishnu.

The Vedic Devata are not separate from the ultimate reality of the Self (Atma in the Vedic language) which is the Unified Field of Natural Law. Every point of creation—manifest or unmanifest, animate or inanimate, microscopic or cosmic in dimension—in its ultimate reality is nothing but the Unified Field, in the same way that any wave is essentially inseparable from the unbounded ocean.

The Vedic Devata in the Human Physiology

The Vedic Devata are integral aspects of our own human physiology. They are embodied in every human being and have the same forms and functions as described in the Vedic literature.

The Vedic Devata are present in everyone, irrespective of one’s background or place of birth. Listening to the Vedic recitations enlivens the connection between the qualities of the Vedic Devata in our individual physiologies with their cosmic counterparts.

Many values of the structure and function of the cosmic Vedic Devata in the sequence of different Vedic texts have been exactly correlated to structures, systems, and functions of different aspects of the human physiology. For more information, please refer to this monumental work by Dr Tony Nader, MD, PhD, MARR, under Maharishi’s guidance.

What is the Value of Listening to Vedic Recitations?

The sounds of the Veda are the fundamental Laws of Nature responsible for the creation and evolution of manifest existence—including mind, body and the entire physical universe. Listening to these sounds helps connect individual awareness with this cosmic awareness, profoundly enlivening the evolutionary impulses of Natural Law for the health, balance, success and joy of individual and collective life.

How to listen to the Vedic Recitations

It is best to sit comfortably, completely easy, not minding anything and if comfortable, with eyes closed. It is important not to strain to try to understand the meaning of the recitations. The value of the recitation is not on the intellectual level. In that easy, simplest form of awareness we innocently allow our awareness to float in the sounds.

It is alright to have a Vedic recitation of your choice playing in the background. However, if you are engaging in any other activity while the recitations are playing, please note whether you feel any strain at all from dividing your attention—if so, it is best not to continue.

Listening while driving a car is not advised.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi – TM & Vedic Science and Their Application for Peace

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is renowned for teaching the Transcendental Meditation technique, a simple mental technique to reduce stress and increase calmness, creativity, energy, clarity of mind, and happiness. Meditation and the path to enlightenment had been misunderstood for centuries, including in India. They were considered largely the domain of religion or philosophy, most often associated with renunciation. Maharishi brought to light again the Vedic truth that meditation is not based on effort and concentration, and can be practiced by anyone, regardless of age, lifestyle, or religion. He laid out a systematic path for development of higher states of consciousness with the practice of daily meditation at its core.

Inspired by Maharishi, researchers began to investigate the benefits of Transcendental Meditation. Since 1970 when the first research was published, over 600 scientific studies conducted at more than 200 independent research institutions in 35 countries have documented the benefits of Transcendental Meditation for the mind, body, and society as a whole. Many of these studies have been published in leading peer-reviewed scientific, medical, and professional journals. A published meta-analysis of 42 scientific studies reported that, “The effect size of TM on overall self-actualization was approximately 3 times as large as that of other forms of meditation and relaxation.”

Importantly, those practicing TM learn how to effortlessly transcend — to go beyond the surface level of awareness. In this way, they increasingly gain familiarity with the silent, inner, unbounded level of life—The Unified Field of all the Laws of Nature—which is the basis of knowledge of Veda.

Maharishi is widely recognized as the world’s foremost Vedic scholar and scientist of consciousness of the modern era. At the heart of Maharishi Vedic Science is his rediscovery that the vibrations or sounds of Veda—directly heard or cognized by the Vedic seers in their deep meditation—are in fact the fluctuations of the Unified Field of Natural Law.

Maharishi has brought out a complete revival of this understanding and its application including the Vedic approach to health, Maharishi Ayur Ved; the Vedic approach to construction and design, Maharishi Sthapatya Veda; and Consciousness Based Education. The practical programs that he developed in these areas offer everyone everywhere the full promise of life — life in enlightenment, peace, affluence and good health.

Among Maharishi’s greatest accomplishments was the creation of large groups of Vedic Pandits to create and maintain world peace permanently. For this, he designed the Global Peace Initiative. The Global Peace Initiative is establishing a large group of specially trained Vedic Pandits whose daily practice of Transcendental Meditation (Yoga) along with their performance of Vedic Recitations (Yagya) can create a profound and measurable influence of peace for the world.

In 2008, Maharishi founded the Brahmananda Saraswati Foundation to support this group of professional peacekeepers in perpetuity.

All proceeds from this app go to support this Foundation.

Who are the Maharishi Vedic Pandits?

Maharishi Vedic Pandits are at the core of the ancient Vedic wisdom for creating peace through their daily practice of meditation (Yoga) and Vedic recitations (Yagya). To ensure their effectiveness, Maharishi recognized the necessity of restoring their training to its original purity and completeness. From a young age, students from the traditional Vedic families of India follow systematic training to become peace professionals – Maharishi Vedic Pandits.

From the age of 10 to 20 they follow a special program of study designed by Maharishi. It includes learning the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program as well as Yogic Flying, studying Sanskrit, and gaining proficiency in performing Yagyas, the traditional Vedic performances that bestow good fortune and peace. Their daily studies earn credits towards Bachelor, Masters and Ph.D. programs conferred by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Vedic Vishwavidyalaya, a statutory university established by the State Government of Madhya Pradesh in 1995.

For several hours each day, the Maharishi Vedic Pandits at the Brahmasthan practice the essence of Yoga – the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program. As the Pandits grow in the capacity to act from subtler levels of consciousness, they become highly effective in performing their daily Vedic performances for world peace.

By introducing the Transcendental Meditation and the Transcendental Meditation Sidhi program, Maharishi gave the world a technology through which even a very small proportion of the population can create a peaceful, coherent influence throughout society, reliably reducing crime, sickness and accident rates. When applied on a global scale, the group practice of this program offers the first scientifically validated method to create world peace.

What is Classical Indian Music or Gandharva Veda?

As an aspect of Vedic knowledge, Gandharva Veda is traditional musical performance that replicates the vibrations of Nature at different times of day and night, and during different seasons of the year. It is the rhythms and melodies of nature expressed as music. Maharishi revived this eternal music of Nature and inspired many of the most renowned musicians of India to bless the world with Maharishi Gandharva Veda music.

Gandharva Veda is used to create balance in nature and peace in the world. It utilizes sound, melody, and rhythm to restore balance and harmony in mind, body, behaviour, and environment. These beautiful melodies on the Maharishi Veda App have been recorded by some of the finest Gandharva Veda musicians in India.

As the great Gandharvan, Devabrata Chaudhuri explained:
“If you could hear the changing frequencies present at the first awakening of the dawn, in the dynamics of midday, or in the deep silence of midnight, you would be hearing the frequencies of Gandharva-Veda music. These sublime melodies neutralize stress and disharmony in the environment, and gently restore biological rhythms by attuning the physiology to the cycles of nature that underlie each hour of the day and each season of the year.”

When to listen to different Gandharva Veda tracks?

The knowledge of when to play each melody is based on three-hour periods called Praharas which correspond to the changing frequencies of nature throughout the day. Maharishi Gandharva-Ved provides music to create balance in the environment throughout the eight Praharas of the day—Sunrise, Morning, Midday, Afternoon, Sunset, Evening, Midnight and Late Night. In addition, there are certain ragas (melodies) which can be played at any time of day or night. Each part of the day, or Prahara, is associated with different benefits.

The following chart lists these benefits:

Praharas of the day	Benefits
Sandhi Prakash (Transition of Light) 4-7 a.m.	Tenderness, Refinement of the Subtlest Feeling Level, Peace, Mental Clarity, Integration of All Levels of Life, Greater Support of Nature.
Morning 7-10 a.m.	Joy, Compassion, Love & Devotion, Patience, Nourishment & Support of the Heart.
Midday 10 a.m. -1 p.m.	Strength in Action, Greater Energy, Success in Activity, Knowledge & Wisdom.
Afternoon 1-4 p.m.	Achievement, Success, Creativity, Wealth & Prosperity, Fulfilment of Desire.
Sandhi Prakash (Transition of Light) 4-7 p.m.	Harmony, Coherent Functioning of the Nervous System, Peace, Mental Clarity, Integration of All Levels of Life, Greater Support of Nature.
Evening 7-10 p.m.	Celebration, Expansion, Serenity, Settling Down in Preparation for Sleep.
Midnight 10 p.m.-1 a.m.	Deep Rest & Relaxation, Better Sleep, Purification, Renewal & Rejuvenation.
Late Night 1-4 a.m.	Calmness Tranquility, Inner Strength, Healthy Mind & Body.