Secret of the Veda, New U.S. Edition (Guidance from Sri Aurobindo) Paperback – 1 Jun. 1999

While I do not agree with Sri Aurobindo’s theories of evolution, I do find his analysis of the Rig Veda compelling. He evaluates the Rig Veda from the inner esoteric perspective, what he terms 'psychological' - term more general in the era he initially wrote this study, 1914-17.For example, Sri Aurobindo understands the term yajña to be symbolic: “We find in the Gita the word yajña, sacrifice, used in a symbolic sense for all action, whether internal or external, that is consecrated to the gods or to the Supreme [the One]. …If these words could be interpreted symbolically, I [Sri Aurobindo] found that the progression of thought became more perfect, more luminous, more coherent…I felt therefore justified…in pursuing my hypothesis…the symbolic sense of the Vedic ritual.”The gods in the Rig Veda, which is the earliest Sanskrit text and said to be the source of all the other texts, are Agni, Surya, Varuna, Mitra, the Ashvin Twins, Sarasvati, Usha, Vayu, and Indra.Aurobindo says that the gods in the external sense are the “universal powers of physical Nature personified; in any inner sense they must be universal powers of Nature in her subjective activities, Will, Mind, etc.” By the inner sacrifice to the gods, man can reach immortality. Agni for example represents the fire of the divine Will and Wisdom. Surya is not only the Sun as centre of our solar system, but [Surya] symbolizes “the superconscient Truth.”Usha is not merely a physical dawn, she is “of a luminous movement, vast with the Truth, supreme in (or in possession of) the Truth, bringing with her Svar [heaven].” RV.V.801. “The Dawn is the inner dawn which brings to man all the varied fullness of his widest being, force, consciousness, joy…” Aurobindo concludes that, “The sacrifice is the giving by man of what he possesses in his being to the higher or divine nature…the outer sacrifice itself can be nothing but the symbol of an inner giving.”R.L. Kashyap's translation of the Rig Veda is the result of this initial research. The first volume and/or full set is available on amazon. R.L. Kashyap has published many smaller books examining themes in the Rig Veda, one of which "Semantics of the Rig Veda" is an excellent introduction to his work. For those who are serious about understanding the mystery and enigma of the Rig Veda.