Open Letter

Need for Establishing a Center for Vedic Studies

Every one of us is agreed that we Indians are the product of a very rich culture which is more ancient than what most of the other civilized groups of human beings in the world can boast of. In spite of the highly heterogeneous structure of our society, as a nation we are still united. If we carefully analyze the reasons for this we are led to conclude that what binds all of us together in spite of differences is "Veda". We belong to a religion called Vedic religion which is essentially a way of life applicable to the entire mankind. It aims at building a healthy and prosperous society in which achievements of excellence on a large scale becomes possible. It has all the potentialities of uniting the entire mankind if understood and conveyed to the people in a proper way. To define it in a single sentence we may say that Vedic religion aims at understanding Nature and its relation to the individual and the society in all its aspects and recommends a way of life to every individual in the light of such understanding. In this sense Vedic religion constitutes Vedic science and is based on some scientific principles. The essence or sole aim of this religion is to find out ways and means by which human beings individually and collectively evolve into human beings of a higher order and put them into practice throughout one's life. In other words Vedic religion teaches us the art of acquiring the right type of knowledge and the art of choosing the right type of activities in which the individual has to engage himself in order that he can have a glorious and prosperous life and at the same time contribute to the glory and prosperity of all the people around him.

It is in this context the works of Vidyavachaspati Madhusudan Ojha are extremely relevant to us. I therefore ventured to present to the readers the major works of Madhusudan Ojha in various fields of ancient knowledge in five volume series entitled "Madhusudanavagamrutam". I have just now completed all the volumes and have sent them to Rajasthan Patrika for publication. The Managing Director of this organization Dr. Gulab Kothari was kind enough to give financial support to this project.

I am sure that in these works readers will find lot of new light thrown by Ojhaji on the contents of our ancient Sanskrit literature.

Though I planned to follow this series with a number of essays on specific topics pertaining to Vedic religion, I am not in a position to carry out this work due to my old age and failing health. However I have listed one hundred topics in the last volume of the series on which these essays can easily be prepared based on the writings of Ojha. If these essays are prepared in a scientific way, then it can easily be established and declared that Vedic religion is nothing but Vedic science which is very relevant to all the civilized people of the world.

In view of the great importance of this knowledge to the entire mankind, the results of the studies carried out should be propagated throughout the world for the benefit of the interested scholars. Therefore I feel that a central organization for advanced studies in Vedic Sciences should be established in one of the principal cities in India and should be financed by a private trust interested in promoting such studies.

The essays which should be given top priority are the following:

1. The true svaroopa of Bharatiya Hindu Manava.

2. A detailed exposition of the meaning of Samskriti and Sabhyata.

3. The Vedic way of forming a people's Government.

4. Vedic method of Human Resources Development.

5. Scientific basis of Vedic religion in all its aspects.

6. The four National festivals viz. Rakshabandhan, Dassehra, Divali and Holi and their Vedic origin.

7. The Unified Theory of the Vedic seers.

8. An elaborate exposition of the answer to the question "Ko Aham?" (who am I?)

9. Scientific exposition of the concept of Mahaa Purusha and the theory of incarnation.

10. The concept of God in Vedic Religion.

11. Ideal Temples for God worship and the positive aspects of Keertans and Bhajans.

12. The concept of "Veerya" in Vedic literature.

13. The original home of the Hindus and their connection to the people of Indo Iranian and Indo European groups.

14. Establish that the verses of Bhagavad Gita have the support of parallel statements in the one hundred and eight Upanishads.

15. Formation of a modified scheme for Sanskrit education incorporating scientific aspects of Vedic literature.

16. Linguistic studies to prove that all major languages of the world have originated from one language and that is most probably Vedabhasha.Some U.K. experts are already engaged in such a study.

One can add many more top priority projects to be taken up but I would stop here and appeal to all the scholars to take up this work which will go a long way in understanding Vedic religion. As for my part I would gladly offer guidance to any scholar who approaches me for help.

A.S.Ramanathan, December 2007