Founder's Vision

The Vedas are works of vijnana or 'science'. The Veda vijnana deals with factors, principles and processes which lie behind the natural phenomena.

To comprehend the true meaning of vijnana, we need to first break it down intoits literal connotations. The syllable vi, used as a prefix to the word jnana, iscapable of conveying three meanings–special or visheha knowledge, the varietyor vividham of knowledge and perverted or viruddham knowledge, or more tobe exact, the knowledge of variety.

The knowledge of how this variegated and diverse universe evolves from onesource is jnana and the knowledge of how that one source grows into a diverse,plural world of great variety is the field of vijnana.

Vijnana looks at the universe as an integrated whole unlike the 'modern' view inthe West which sees it as a sum of its numerous parts. The rishis orseer-scientists, in their pursuit of knowledge, did not divorce matter from spirit.They saw these as different dimensions of an integrated, single whole. TheVedas contain this different order of knowledge, namely, knowledge of thesupraphysical world, which is intimately connected with our world because thephysical universe evolves from it, and is an integral part of it.

But the Vedas are not only about metaphysics, philosophy or spirituality. Vedavijnana led to the development of numerous disciplines of study withconsiderable practical importance. These include subjects like anatomy andmedicine, architecture and town planning, meteorology and astronomy,language and linguistics, music and dance, statecraft and economy, socialengineering and jurisprudence, psychology and physiology.

The study of the Vedas, especially of the stream of knowledge unveiled by Pandit Madhusudan Ojha, and continued by Pandit Motilal Shastri, therefore, must begin by cleansing our mind of the debris of misinterpretations about Vedic knowledge accumulated over several centuries.For this, a large number of technical terms need to be understood in order tocomprehend the subtleties and complexities of Veda vijnana. Shastriji devotedhis entire life to keep this tradition alive and take it forward.

I have tried to discharge my debt to my guru to the best of my limited ability.But this is not enough. A lot more work needs to be done; several scholars have to be involved and centres of Vedic learning have to participate.

It is a work of several lifetimes. But it must be done. For the sake of humanity. Shri Shankar Shikshayatan is a step towards this objective. It is set up with the belief that the study of the Vedas, undertaken with humility and with an open mind, can illuminate us about Creation and the profound meaning of life.

Shri Rishi Kumar Mishra
1932-2009