Wisdom of the Ancient Seers: Mantras of the Rig Veda

By David Frawley

Book Overview

"The Rig Veda is not only one of the oldest sacred scriptures of the world, but also one of the most misunderstood. Past scholarship has dismissed the hymns of the Rig Veda as being expressions of a primitive animistic mentality that only rarely rose to true spiritual and philosophical heights. David Frawley's book demonstrates that this judgmental view is ill-founded. His fine renderings of select Vedic hymns bear witness to the fact that their composers were sages and seers--powerful poets who knew the art of symbolic and metaphoric communication. The Vedic hymns give us a unique glimpse not into a primitive mentality but a mentality and culture that revolved around the highest spirtual values and visions. This is an important and riveting book, ushering in a new and sounder tradition of Vedic interpretation and scholarship." Georg Feuerstein

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1878423169
• ISBN13: 9781878423160
• Release Date: January 1993
• Publisher: Morson Publishing
• Length: 275 Pages
• Weight: 0.72 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Dr. Frawley is like a burning star

Reading this book is like main-lining a burning star deep in the void. Pure intelligence, pure love, in the form of liquid light, dripping into my skull. Dr. Frawley is a star in that sense. Like the boyle film sunshine. Keep the tinted windows on, or your body may just disintegrate in an overload of wisdom/bliss.

An extraordinary piece of work!

Dr. Frawley has captured the deep spiritual meaning of the Rig Veda with a clarity that can only come from the heart. Exquisitely written, each sentence is rich with deep spiritual insight into the profound meaning of the Rig and our human spiritual journey. This work is truly a gift, in that the author gives us a clear but strong foundation on which we can begin to understand the meaning behind this ancient scripture. Each chapter of the book introduces hymns about a major power or force which permeates the universe. Dr. Frawley then discusses how that power is at work around us and through us to help us in our own unfolding. His insights create an allegorical mind-set that opens windows of perception not normally accessible to the average reader. Such a foundation lets the hymns come alive with meaning when one studies the deep metaphors in the Rig itself. This is definitely a "must read" for those to whom the ancient scriptures are calling. ~Donna Miesbach ~ www.donnamiesbach.com ~

an awe-inspiring look into our spiritual roots

Since I do not read ancient Sanskrit it is very hard for me to judge the quality of this book. Frawley offers us a completely new [as far as I know] look at the Rigveda, an ancient collection of hymns that form the core of Sanatana Dharma (the eternal tradition - also called Hinduism). The hymns are not often read nowadays because they are very difficult to understand. Frawley interprets the hymns in a more spiritual way than has been done before. Reading this book I am often struck by the wealth of divine ideas and the complexity of the hymns. The book is not easy to read and requires ones full attention. Yet this is one of the most inspiring books that I've read in a long time. The Rig Veda takes one back to a time when humanity was still one with the world. Where everything was sacred, profound, happy and clear. The book made me want to study Sanskrit and investigate the original; who knows, perhaps some day I will.