Soma Veda

byMaj. Gen. G D Bakshi

Physics, Philosophy & Poetry of the Atharva Veda

A general's posting in Kishtwar's Vedic forests prompts a deep inquiry into the Atharva Veda's physics of consciousness and cosmos.

Overview

In the year 2000, Major General G.D. Bakshi was commanding 9 Sector Rashtriya Rifles in Kishtwar, directing counter-terrorist operations through the remote Marwah-Dachin forests. The ancient Marud Vridha river flowing through those mountains is named in the Nadi-Sukta of the Rig Veda. The Pippalad Shakha of the Atharva Veda, the most mystical of the four Vedas, was composed by the Atharvan and Angirasa rishis of these same forests. For a man already privately studying the Atharva Veda's two great mysteries, Soma and the Ashwata tree, the coincidence was too strong to ignore.

What followed was a sustained engagement with a text also called the Brahma Veda and Soma Veda. Bakshi examines its central declaration, Pragyanam Brahma, consciousness is Brahman, and its vision of the cosmos as Agni-Somatmakam Jagat: the universe governed by Agni (expansion, fire) and Soma (gravitation, attraction), antagonistic yet inseparable. He traces the hologramic relationship between Brahman and Atman, the concept of Tantu-tatam, a grid of energies binding all things, and Madhu Vidya, the Vedic science of depth ecology. Padma Shri Dr. Subhash Kak contributes the foreword.

For readers drawn to Vedic philosophy, Indian cosmology, or the convergence of ancient knowledge with modern science, this book offers something rare: an inquiry conducted partly in the landscape where the texts themselves were written.

About the Book:- In the year 2000, Major General (Dr.) G.D. Bakshi, SM, VSM (Retd.), was posted as the Commander of 9 Sector Rashtriya Rifles, for directing intensive Counter-Terrorist Operations in the rugged Himalayan region of Kishtwar. He had to carry out many heliborne operations in the remote Marwah-Dachin forest through which flowed the ancient Marud Vridha river, a river that finds mention in the Nadi-Sukta of the Rig Veda. Coincidentally, the author was then engaged in a personal study of the Atharva Veda to unravel the secret of two most mystic plants-Soma and the Ashwata tree (Kalpa vriksha). He was astonished to learn that the Pippalad Shakha of the Atharva Veda had been composed here by the Atharvan and Angirasa rishis of the forests. This impelled him to deepen his study of the most mystic of the four Vedas, which is also called as the Brahma Veda and as Soma Veda. It deals with the science of Brahman and avers that consciousness itself is Brahman (Pragyanam Brahma). It outlines the amazing hologramic relationship between Brahman and Atman (individual soul) and declares them as one-Ayam Atma Brahma. The Atharva Veda spells out the Physics of the Vedas as Agni-Somatmakam Jagat. The Cosmos is composed of the antagonistic yet complimentary forces of Agni (Expansion-Explosion) and Soma (Gravitation-Attraction). Like Yin-Yang, this forms the very basis of Vedic physics. Agni is the primary deity of the Vedas. It was the miracle of fire that put man on top of the food chain in this planet. The ancient rishis were sages of the forest and their knowledge of psychotropic and medicinal plants was phenomenal. The Atharva Veda foreshadows the Tantras and talks of Tantu-tatam-the grid of energies, which, like the threads of a necklace, tie the infinity of things around us on a single strand of unity. Read Soma Veda for some amazing insights into the Vedic science of Brahman and the Vedic "Mathematics of Beauty." The book also discusses Madhu Vidya-the Vedic science of depth ecology. The book's value is enhanced by leading scientist Padma Shri Dr. Subhash Kak's invaluable foreword for it.

Author

Maj. Gen. G D Bakshi photo
Maj. Gen. G D Bakshi

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:- Major General (Dr.) G. D. Bakshi, SM, VSM (Retd.) is a combat veteran of many skirmishes on the LC and Counter-Terrorist operations in J&K and Punjab. He commanded his battalion in active operations in Kargil and was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal. Later, he commanded a brigade in Counter-Terrorist operations in the very rugged mountains of Kishtwar and was awarded the Sena Medal for his distinguished services. He subsequently commanded the reputed Romeo Force during intensive Counter-Terrorist operations in the Rajouri-Punch Districts of J&K in the wake of Op Sarp Vinash and succeeded in pacifying the area. In these repeated combat tenures, he became something of a turn-around specialist-turning defeat into victory. He has served two tenures at the highly prestigious Directorate General of Military Operations (during Op Pawan and Op Vijay) and was the first BGS (IW) at HQ Northern Command where he dealt with Information Warfare and Psychological Operations. He is a prolific writer-on matters military and non-military-and has published 45 books and over 400 papers in many prestigious research journals. His articles have also been published in various national newspapers. He taught at the Indian Military Academy at Dehradun, and at the Prestigious Defence Services Staff College at Wellington for three years each. He taught at the National Defense College at New Delhi for two years and retired from this prestigious assignment in June 2008. He holds a Masters degree in Defence Science and an M. Phil. in Strategic Studies from the University of Madras. He later completed his Ph.D. from the same University on "Limited Wars in South Asia." Post his retirement, he was a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Strategic Studies and Simulations at the USI and later served as Deputy Director Research at the Vivekananda International Foundation. He is currently the Editor of Indian Military Review. He was Senior Security Advisor (Consultant) to Reliance Industries Limited for five years. His major books include Afghanistan-the First Fault line War, War in the 21st Century, The Indian Art Of War, The Paradox of Pakistan, The Rise of Indian Military Power: Evolution of an Indian Strategic Culture and Limited Wars in South Asia. He has also written many books on Indian Philosophy-in both Hindi and English. He appears regularly on major TV News Channels as an expert on the subjects of terrorism and national security. He lectures frequently at the Army War College, the College of Defense Management, the College of Materials Management, The National Defence Academy and the National Police Academy and also at the IAS Academy Mussorie. He has been featured in innumerable documentaries and talk shows on television on issues of National Security. He is an acknowledged thought leader in this domain. He comes from a military family and his elder brother Capt. S.R. Bakshi was killed in action in the 1965 War. The road in Jabalpur (where their ancestral house is located) is named after his brother.

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