The Secret of the Veda: Introduction and Overview Chapters 1-5 by Sri Aurobindo

Sri Aurobindo's  The Secret of the Veda holds that there is a secret spiritual and psychological sense to the Rig Veda which gave the language a dual sense, an outer sense for the uninitiated and an inner, psychological meaning for those focusing on spiritual development.  The first 5 chapters focus on introductory concepts including Chapter 1: The Problem and Its Solution; Chapter 2: A Retrospect of Vedic Theory; Chapter 3: Modern Theories; Chapter 4: The Foundations of the Psychological Theory and Chapter 5: The Philological Method of the Veda.  These five chapters set the stage for the much deeper detailed examination that follows in the rest of the treatise.

The current episode provides an overview and introduction to these first 5 chapters.  All references are to the USA edition of The Secret of the Veda, pp. 1-53.  The commentary is by Sri Aurobindo, and is recited by Santosh Krinsky.  The production took place in 1973 at Sri Aurobindo Ashram.

Other episodes explore the remaining sections of the text, including review of individual Gods of the Rig Veda, a series of Selected Hymns, and focus areas of Hymns to Agni and Hymns to Indra.    While examination of the entire text was not completed, this introduction, together with the sections that were completed, provide the interested listener with an entry-point into the "secret of the Veda."