Category:Followers of the Vedas
Theme Analysis
The concept of being a "follower of the Vedas" is deeply analyzed in Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings, revealing a stark contrast between superficial adherence and genuine spiritual realization. Historically, all civilized human beings (Aryans) followed the Vedic principles of varṇāśrama-dharma. However, in the modern era, many who identify as Hindus or Vedic followers merely pay lip service to the scriptures. The Bhagavad-gītā refers to such people as veda-vāda-ratāḥ—blind followers who are only interested in the karma-kāṇḍa (fruitive) sections of the Vedas to achieve material elevation, economic development, and sense gratification. They miss the entire point of the scriptures. Śrīla Prabhupāda asserts that the true, strict followers of the Vedas are the pure devotees (Vaiṣṇavas), because the ultimate conclusion of all Vedic literature is to understand and worship Lord Kṛṣṇa or Viṣṇu. Furthermore, the category addresses the historical complexity of Lord Buddha; because he rejected the authority of the Vedas to stop the misapplication of animal sacrifice, strict Vedic followers classified his philosophy as atheistic, while still accepting him as a divine incarnation. Ultimately, the so-called followers who formally accept the Vedas but practically disobey them (such as the impersonalist Māyāvādīs) are considered more dangerous than direct atheists.
- Nominal vs. True Followers: Many claim to follow the Vedas but only seek material rewards through rituals (karma-kāṇḍa), ignoring the ultimate goal of understanding God.
- The Pure Devotees as the Ultimate Followers: Because the Vedas are meant solely for understanding Viṣṇu, only pure Vaiṣṇavas who practice bhakti-yoga are the true, perfect followers of Vedic culture.
- The Buddhist Distinction: Strict followers of the Vedas rejected Lord Buddha's philosophy as atheistic because it denied Vedic authority, even though it was necessary at the time to stop animal slaughter.
- The Danger of Hypocrisy: So-called followers who formally accept the Vedas but twist their meanings (like impersonalists) are more harmful than those who honestly reject the scriptures entirely.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: The True Followers of the Vedas - Moving Beyond Ritual to Devotion.
Pages in category "Followers of the Vedas"
The following 113 pages are in this category, out of 113 total.
A
- According to the opinion of expert followers of Vedic rites, there are different types of benedictions in terms of religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and liberation. These four principles are known as catur-vargas
- According to Vedic civilization, it is imperative to give up the family at a certain stage, by force if necessary. Unfortunately, so-called followers of Vedic life do not give up their family even at the end of life, unless they are forced by death
- Actual knowledge of transcendental bliss can be bestowed upon anybody by a pure devotee. One cannot attain the perfection of spiritual life simply by following the directions of the Vedas. One has to approach a pure devotee
- Actually those who are followers of Vedas, they worship Krsna, only Krsna or Visnu. Tad visnoh paramam padam (Rg Veda 1.22.20). Rg mantra
- After his son grew up, Kardama Muni, being a strict follower of the Vedas, left home and put his wife in the charge of his grown son, Kapiladeva
- After realizing the glories of human life. such people (the followers of Vedic literature) should take up the mission to spread the importance of human life throughout the whole world. This is the mission of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
- All strict followers of the Vedic religion stand up in the water throughout the whole period of the eclipse and chant the Hare Krsna maha-mantra
- All these learned scholars (Angira Muni, Romaharsana etc.), in their turn, rendered their entrusted Vedas unto their many disciples, grand-disciples and great grand-disciples, and thus the respective branches of the followers of the Vedas came into being
- Although they (the brahmanas) were impartial by nature, those followers of the Vedanta blessed me (Narada Muni) with their causeless mercy
- Among human beings, those who are followers of the Vedic principles are considered civilized. Among these, almost half simply give lip service while committing all kinds of sinful activities against these principles
- Among the followers of the Vedic way, the salagrama-sila, the vigraha of Narayana, is worshiped in the form of a stone ball. In India, every brahmana still worships the salagrama-sila in his home
- Angira Muni was the leader of the followers of the Atharva Vedas
- Another function was observed by Yasoda and Nanda Maharaja: Krsna’s first birthday. They arranged for Krsna’s birthday ceremony, which is still observed by all followers of the Vedic principles
- Any scripture, any literature, transcendental literature, whose aim is to understand God, that is Veda. Therefore, anyone who is searching after the Supreme Lord, he is following the Vedic religion. This is another conclusion
- At least those who are Vedic followers, they take cow dung as pure. Anywhere impure, they smear with cow dung. And that is fact also. Cow dung is full of antiseptic properties. It has been analyzed
B
- Because cow dung and conch shells are considered pure by the Vedas, they are accepted as pure by the followers of the Vedas, without argument
- Because there is so much word jugglery in logic, one can never come to the real conclusion about the Absolute Truth by argument. The followers of the Vedic principles understand this
- Beef is forbidden in the scriptures, and the bulls and cows are offered special protection by followers of the Vedas
- Bhrgu Muni continued: Since you (the followers of Lord Siva) blaspheme the Vedas and the brahmanas, who are followers of the Vedic principles, it is understood that you have already taken shelter of the doctrine of atheism
- Buddha religion is different from Vedic religion, because he rejected Vedas. And the Vedic followers, because he rejected Vedic principles, Vedic followers said that he, "You are nastika." Nastika means unbeliever
- Buddha was obliged to deny the authority of the Vedas. And because he did not accept the authority of the Vedas, the Vedantists and the followers of Vedas, they called the Buddhist philosophy as atheistic
- By following the Vedic culture, by performing great sacrifices and by becoming a strict follower of the Vedic instructions, one may become a brahmana, a sannyasi or an Aryan
C
- Caitanya Mahaprabhu had to lead a civil disobedience movement against the propaganda of the so-called followers of Vedic principles. These people are described as karma jada-smartas, which indicates that they are priests engaged in ritualistic ceremonies
- Caitanya Mahaprabhu is hinting (in CC Madhya 19.69) to Vallabha Bhattacarya that an exalted brahmana who makes sacrifices and follows Vedic principles should not neglect a person who is engaged in devotional service by chanting the holy name of the Lord
D
- Dhruva Maharaja, the son of Suniti, who was devoted to her husband, acquired an exalted position not possible to attain even for the so-called Vedantists or strict followers of the Vedic principles, not to speak of ordinary human beings
- Different people claim to follow different sections of the Vedas, but in fact for the most part they are not followers of the Vedas because they do not follow the rules and regulations of the Vedas
- During this age of Kali, people are more inclined to irreligious systems. Consequently these people will naturally deride Vedic authority, the followers of Vedic authority, the brahmanas, the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the devotees
E
- Even among this small (followers of Vedas), exclusive number, most are addicted to the processes described in the Vedas' karma-kanda section, by which one can elevate oneself to the perfectional stage of economic development
- Even those who cannot follow the Vedic injunctions may adopt the principles of Krsna consciousness, and that will take the place of performance of Vedic yajnas, or karmas. BG 1972 purports
- Every human being is the followers of Veda because the history of all other religions, they are all recent - one thousand year, two thousand years, three thousand years - but you cannot trace out the history of the Vedic religion
F
- For a Sanatanist (a follower of Vedic principles) it is the duty of every householder to have cows and bulls as household paraphernalia, not only for drinking milk, but also for deriving religious principles
- For this fortunate man (the Krsna conscious man) there is no need to follow the Vedic rituals, because in direct Krsna consciousness one can have all the results simply by following the prescribed duties of a particular person. BG 1972 purports
H
- He (Lord Caitanya) taught him (Rupa Gosvami) about the human species. Out of them He selected the followers of the Vedic principles, out of them the fruitive workers, out of them the empiric philosophers, and out of them the liberated souls
- He (Yamaraja) is the authority, and he says that the religious principles consist of the codes and laws given by God. No one can manufacture religion, and therefore manufactured religious systems are rejected by the followers of the Vedic principles
I
- If you follow the Vedic knowledge, then you have come to this world for enjoyment, so your regulated enjoyment will satisfy your senses; at the same time, you will be able to go back to home, back to Godhead, again
- In His instructions to Rupa Gosvami, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu described the so-called followers of Vedic religion in this way (CC Madhya 19.146): veda-nistha-madhye ardheka veda ‘mukhe’ mane, veda-nisiddha papa kare, dharma nahi gane
- In prehistoric days all of the members of the Aryan family followed the Vedic principles, and therefore they became spiritually advanced
- In the Bhagavad-gita such people are described as veda-vada-ratah, supposed followers of the Vedas. They do not understand the real purport of the Vedas, yet they think of themselves as Vedic authorities
- In the line of devotional service, those who are initiated are strict followers of the Vedic scriptural injunctions
- In the sruti-mantras also it is stated that Angira Muni, who strictly followed the rigid principles of the Atharva Vedas, was the leader of the followers of the Atharva Vedas
- In this age of Kali a community has sprung up known as the arya-samaja, which is ignorant of the import of the Vedas in the parampara system. Their leaders decry all bona fide acaryas, and they pose themselves as the real followers of the Vedic principles
- In this life such a person (a man who follows the Vedic principles) gets all kinds of material opulences, such as sons and grandsons, because he is always engaged in various religious functions
- Indian Vedic civilization is guided by the acaryas, not by the rascals and fools. Anyone who is not under the guidance of this acarya, he is not accepted as bona fide follower of Veda. You cannot create
- It (following the Vedic directions) is a chance for the conditioned souls to attain liberation; therefore the conditioned souls must try to follow the process of yajna by becoming Krsna conscious. BG 1972 purports
- It appears that from the aggression of Baktiyar Khiliji in Bengal until the time of Chand Kazi, Hindus, or the followers of the Vedic principles, were greatly suppressed
- It is customary in India that all the followers of the Vedic scriptures bathe in the Ganges or the sea as soon as there is a lunar or solar eclipse
K
- Krsna continued, "Such requests by a ksatriya king have been deliberately forbidden by the learned Vedic followers. If a ksatriya breaks this regulation, his action is condemned by learned scholars"
- Kuruksetra is a place which is still a place of pilgrimage. The Hindus, those who are followers of Vedic rites, they go there. They perform religious rituals. And there is Vedic injunction, kuru-ksetre dharmam acaret, dharma yajet
L
- Lord Buddha directly denied the authority of the Vedas, and he established his own religion. Only for this reason, the Buddhist religion was not accepted by the strict followers of the Vedas
- Lord Buddha wanted to stop completely animal-killing; so therefore he adopted a new type of religion. But those who were followers of Vedic religion, they did not accept because that is not religion because it is against the Vedas
- Lord Caitanya says that since the so-called followers of the Vedas perform all kinds of sinful activities, the number of actual followers of the Vedas is very small
S
- Since Hiranyakasipu was the oppressor of all the demigods, the followers of the Vedas, the cows, the brahmanas and the religious, saintly persons, and since he was envious of the Supreme Lord, he would naturally be killed very soon
- So far Krsna is concerned, there is no two opinions about His authority throughout the whole world. And so far we are concerned, Hindus, or the followers of the Vedic religion, there is no difference of opinion so far Krsna's authority is concerned
- So-called followers of Vedic principles simply accept the Vedas formally, but they act against Vedic principles. This is symptomatic of this Age of Kali
- Some followers of Vedic principles offer everything to the Absolute Truth and do not aspire to enjoy the results of their pious actions. These are also considered among the karma-nisthas
- Some of the conditioned souls, who follow the transcendental sound in the form of Vedic literatures and are thus able to go back to Godhead, attain spiritual and original bodies after quitting the conditional gross and subtle material bodies
- Some of the followers of the Vedas are attached to karma-kanda, the fruitive activities of the Vedas, in order to be promoted to a higher standard of life. Others argue that this is not the purpose of the Vedas
- Sraddha is a ritualistic performance observed by the followers of the Vedas. There is a yearly occasion of fifteen days when ritualistic religionists follow the principle of offering oblations to departed souls
- Strict followers of the Vedas who despise the eternal forms of the Lord may know from Srimad-Bhagavatam that such incarnations are personified forms of the Vedas
T
- The authentic scriptures are compiled by personalities like Vyasadeva, Narada, Asita and Parasara, who are not ordinary men. All the followers of the Vedic way of life have accepted these famous personalities
- The brahmanas from these places (Kanyakubja, Sarasvata, Gauda, Maithila, Andhra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Dravida and Maharashtra) are considered to be very strict followers of the Vedic principles, and they are accepted as pure brahmanas
- The brahmanas, however, were followers of the Vedic rituals and were not able to have an intimate connection with Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
- The Buddhists have the courage to deny the Vedas directly, but the so-called followers of the Vedas have no courage to deny the Vedas, although indirectly they disobey all the injunctions of the Vedas. Lord Caitanya condemned this
- The Buddhists plainly declare that they do not accept the authority of the Vedas, but the impersonalists masquerade themselves as followers of Vedas, but actually they are hidden Buddhists
- The Christian have got your sacred place. The Muhammadans they have got their sacred place, Medina, Mecca. You have got your Jerusalem. Similarly, these, those who are followers of Vedic principles, they have got their several places, sacred places
- The followers of the Vedas do not support the atheistic Kapila, because the Kapila mentioned in the Vedas is a different Kapila, the son of Kardama and Devahuti
- The followers of the Vedas have a different method of acquiring knowledge. They accept the statements of the Vedic literatures as authority in toto, as we have already discussed in Canto One
- The followers of the Vedas unanimously accept the authority of Manu and Parasara in the disciplic succession
- The followers of the Vedic injunctions take their information from Vedic statements, such as the verses from the Katha Upanisad and Srimad-Bhagavatam
- The followers of the Vedic instructions cannot accept the Darwinian theory of evolution, for it is marred by imperfect knowledge
- The followers of the Vedic principles understand this (no one can attain the Absolute Truth by argument). However, it is seen here (in CC Madhya 9.49) that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu defeated the Buddhist philosophy by argument
- The followers of Vedic literature understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His different incarnations, and they are privileged to glorify the Lord by following the directions of Vedic literature
- The followers of Vedic wisdom are fully aware of various planets inhabited by varieties of living entities such as the demigods, the sages, the Pitas, the Gandharvas, the Pannagas, the Kinnaras, the Caranas, the Siddhas and the Apsaras
- The gopis who were gathered there had almost all been followers of the Vedas. In their previous births, during Lord Ramacandra’s advent, they had been Vedic scholars who desired the association of Lord Ramacandra in conjugal love
- The great workers of distinction, the great philosophers & mystics, the great chanters of the Vedic hymns & the great followers of Vedic principles cannot achieve any fruitful result without dedication of such great qualities to the service of the Lord
- The Hindus call themselves followers of the Vedas. Some say they follow the Sama Veda, and some say they follow the Rg Veda
- The king of Kosala province was called Nagnajit. He was very pious and was a follower of the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies. His most beautiful daughter was named Satya
- The smrti, the scriptures following the principles of Vedic knowledge, are considered the evidence of Vedic principles
- The so-called followers of the Vedas deny the existence of God, as in the darkness of a cloudy evening the glowworms deny the existence of the moon and stars
- The so-called followers of the Vedic injunctions make their own interpretations of the Vedic injunctions, and thus they establish different parties and sects of the Vedic religion
- The supposed followers of the Vedas say that there is nothing beyond the Vedic ceremonies. Indeed, there is a group of men in India who are very fond of the Vedic rituals, not understanding the meaning of these rituals
- The veda-vada followers of the Vedas are generally inclined to karma-kanda, the performance of sacrifice according to the Vedic injunctions. They are thereby promoted to higher planetary systems. They generally practice the Caturmasya system
- The Vedas contain nothing besides the instructions of Visnu, and one who follows the Vedic principles is a Vaisnava
- The Vedic principles are the injunctions given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Aryans are civilized human beings who have been following the Vedic principles since time immemorial
- The word sruti jatam indicates that in the Vedas animal sacrifice is recommended, but Lord Buddha directly denied Vedic authority in order to stop animal sacrifice. Consequently Lord Buddha is not accepted by the followers of the Vedas
- There are seven kinds of routine yajnas performed by all followers of the Vedic rituals, and they are called agnistoma, atyagnistoma, uktha, sodasi, vajapeya, atiratra and aptoryama
- There is a class of miscreants who are known in the words of Bhagavad-gita as veda-vadi, or so-called strict followers of the Vedas. They do not believe in the incarnation of the Lord, what to speak of the Lord's incarnation as the worshipable hog
- They (the followers of the Vedas) have full and reasonable knowledge of God and demigods and of their different residential planets situated within the compass of the material world and beyond the limit of the material sky
- They (Vedic regulations, Vedic culture, scriptures) are meant for human society. Because they have got developed consciousness they can accept it, they can follow it. If a man wants to become very good man, he can become; he has got the capacity
- This (SB 10.9.11) shows the position of a pure devotee, in contrast with others, like jnanis, yogis and the followers of Vedic ritualistic ceremonies, in regarding the transcendental nature of the Absolute Truth
- Those who are engaged in fruitive activities are described by the Vedas personified as andha-parampara, or blind followers of the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies
- Those who are followers of the Vedas, they are accepting. Is it not, cow dung, pure? Cow dung pure, is it not accepted by the followers of Vedas
- Those who are followers of the Vedic rituals, as well as those who are followers of fruitive activities, are unable to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- Those who are so-called followers of the Vedas are more harmful than the Buddhists. The Buddhists have the courage to deny the Vedas directly, but the so-called followers of the Vedas have no courage to deny the Vedas
- Those who do not follow the Vedic principle, they are called pancamal, or sometimes, if they do not follow the rules and regulation, then they are called mlecchas and yavanas
- Through the sastra the perception is better than direct perception. Therefore our knowledge, those who are following the Vedic principles, their knowledge is derived from the Vedas. They do not manufacture any knowledge
V
- Veda means you have to approach acarya. He knows everything - unless he is not followers of the Vedas, sruti, he's a rascal. What is the use of going there
- Veda-vada-ratah partha nanyad astiti vadinah (BG 2.42), Bhagavad-gita, you'll find. People are very much attracted by these ritualistic ceremony. Not only the followers of the Vedas, in every religion
- Vedanta-vadis, or the followers of the Vedanta, indicate the pure devotees of the Personality of Godhead
- Vedic culture was lost, or put into difficulty, simply for this reason, when the Vedic followers in India, they made these classification of brahmin, ksatriya, as hereditary
W
- We are interested - those who are followers of real Vedanta - to see the result. Phalena pariciyate. Phalena means - by the result
- We, the followers of Vedic culture, accept both Lord Buddha and Lord Caitanya as incarnations of God, as both of them are stated to be so in the authorized Vedic scriptures
- When Lord Buddha preached his theory of nonviolence, he was obliged to deny the authority of the Vedas, and for this reason he was considered by the followers of the Vedas to be a nastika
- When one comes to the platform of visnor aradhanam, or bhakti-yoga, one has attained the perfection of life. Otherwise, as indicated in Bhagavad-gita, one is not a tattva-vadi but a veda-vadi, a blind follower of the Vedic injunctions
- When the Vedic followers, the brahmanas, inspire rich men like kings and members of the wealthy mercantile community to give charity in the performance of great sacrifices, the distribution of such wealth is also nectarean