| There
are devices relating to learning of the Vedas through hearing which
help to preserve them in their original form in the process of oral
transmission through centuries. These relate to the number and
the order of words in every Vedamantra, the time interval between the
sounds, the pitch of voice for each sound and the part of the body
from which it should come.
All this cannot
be learnt from writing, but must be learnt by imitating the manner in which the teacher
utters the mantra. Learning in this manner, imitating the teacher is called Veda-adhyayana. If the Vedas are written, or if they are printed as now, one may
know the words and their meanings; but such knowledge will not help the proper utterance
of the mantras.
When not properly uttered,
they will not be efficacious, and what is worse, they may even be harmful,
producing a
meaning and an effect contrary to what is intended on account of wrong intonation, accent
and emphasis. Therefore, in the Hindu tradition, a person who learns
the Vedas
reading from a book or manuscript is included among the inferior class of learners and he
is also considered to be blame worthy. |
