The 4 Surprising Tenets of a Vedic Society by Saiisha l Vedic Society l Hindu l Hinduism l Tenets of Vedism

The Vedas are ancient scriptures that were written over 8,000 years ago, at a time when India was enjoying wealth, prosperity, and democracy. The Rig-Veda, the first (known) written record of mankind, gives us a picture of a people who were well settled into a life of agriculture, art, and sophisticated society. They had leisure, energy and passion for poetry, philosophy, and transcendence. However, the Vedic culture was not other-worldly. Transcendence may be its characteristic feature, but at the base of it, the Vedic society had a zest for life, expression of life, and practicality. So the following four tenets are what the Vedas decreed as beneficial to lead a balanced life - for man as an individual, and man as part of society. This is to support continuity of life on the planet, as well as to provide meaning to his personal life.

Dharma (Duty)

Dharma in Sanskrit can be loosely defined as the duty of an individual; however, the real meaning is not easy to translate. Dharma refers to the inner guidance of man that prompts him to use his talents, express himself in the noblest ways, to serve the society, and to fulfill his purpose. To uphold the Dharma of the society, each individual must learn to let go of his base instincts of anger, jealousy, and greed, and follow his inner wisdom that guides him towards higher intelligence, reasoning and discrimination. As an individual evolves into a Dharmic human being, he will support and sustain a Dharmic society and planet. Dharma is the cornerstone for a Vedic society to run smoothly, so it may not be a surprise to see it on this list.

Moksha (Liberation)

Moksha loosely translates to liberation through self-realization, which is again surprising to see as a tenet for society. The Vedas understood that once man has experienced duty, wealth, and desire, he would then be ready to detach himself from the material world, and would want to seek freedom from it. If this were not a supported tenet, he would feel obligated to continue supporting society through doing his duty. However, for a person to transform himself from his 'human' side to his 'being' nature, he needs to be able to detach himself from the delusion of the material world, and transcend his mundane life. Only then can he attain liberation from human bondage, and seek Moksha, or Self-realization.