A Deep Dive on Vedic and Puranic Spirituality

Much of Hindu spirituality, religion, and way of life is drawn from the spirituality encoded in the Vedas. The word Veda means wisdom, knowledge or vision served to manifest the language of the Gods, or higher consciousness, into human speech. Put simply, we could interpret the Vedas as a source of supreme knowledge, consciousness and mindfulness. This gave birth to an entire world of vedic and puranic spirituality.

Vedic and Puranic texts

To facilitate the transfer of Vedic knowledge, sages and scholars popularised its teaching into stories, anecdotes and legends. The Puranas, or Puranic Texts, are thus simply an amalgamation of Vedic knowledge aimed to simplify the morals and meanings of spirituality. 

The Puranas were written to popularise the religion of the Vedas and they contain the essence of the Vedas. The aim of the Puranas is to simplify the teachings of the Vedas through concrete examples, myths, stories, and legends. 

The Puranas were meant not for the scholars, rather for ordinary people who could not understand the complex philosophy of the Vedas. While at first glance, its outer body is made up of rituals and prayers, a deeper dive reveals the Vedas’ subtle inner form: the radiance of spiritual bliss. 

Vedic Spirituality

So what is Vedic knowledge?

The true treasure of the Vedas is hidden beneath a layer of archetypal symbolism. The cardinal aim of Vedic spirituality is to transcend the soul without being bound to any religion by addressing the root cause of everything: consciousness. 

If we deal properly with consciousness, then we can substantially and realistically deal with the problems of this world.

The Puranas are mythological in nature and are an intrinsic part of Indian culture. In Puranic stories, the deities, heroes and the personified forces of nature, strike a delicate balance between the spiritual and carnal aspects. 

These stories serve a twofold purpose: On the one hand, ages chronicled  great historical events to illustrate the virtuous principles such as truth, justice…etc so ordinary people could understand thematic concepts at face value. On a deeper level, Vedic stories represent inner challenges that transcend space and time. Herein lies the true spiritual nature of the Vedas as interpretation is open to the reader. The core purpose of the stories and ritual is to help connect the individual with a higher state of knowledge and understanding.

The Purpose of Life Through Vedic Lens

The purpose of the Vedic way of life is to learn how to be content and satisfied with simple things. Vedic spirituality teaches us that the outer world is a reflection of our inner world so if we lack peace in the inner world then we will lack peace in the outer world.

The Vedic observance (Niyama) of contentment (Santosha) teaches us to seek joy and serenity in life by being grateful for our health and our loved ones. Instead of complaining about what we do not possess, it teaches us to view life as an opportunity for constant spiritual growth.

One can perceive the message of tolerance and love resonating throughout the Vedas and the Puranas. Our inherent nature is to love God and in loving God we see every living being as part of God, we naturally love every living being. That brings contentment. Sensual and mental pleasures do not touch the heart and fulfilment is not felt by the mind, it’s not felt by the flesh, it’s felt by the heart.