Philosophy
Vedic philosophy primarily begins with the later part of Rig Veda, which was compiled before 1100 BCE. Most of philosophy of the Rig Veda is contained in the sections Purusha sukta and Nasadiya Sukta.
The Purusha Sukta gives a description of the spiritual unity of the cosmos. It espouses Panentheism by presenting nature of reality as both immanent and transcendent. From this reality the sukta holds that original creative will (later identified with Brahma, Hiranyagarbha or Prajapati) proceeds, by which this vast universe is projected in space and time. The Purusha Sukta, in the seventh verse, proclaims the organic inseparability of the constituents of society. The Nasadiya sukta is thought to be the earliest account of skepticism in India. It holds the Absolute to be both existence and non-existence and beyond all conception. The Śatarudrīya of Yajurveda shatters the extra-cosmic notion of Absolute (Rudra) and identifies it with both the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly, the right and the wrong, the positive and the negative, the high and the low, the conceivable and the inconceivable, the mortal and the immortal, existence and non-existence.
Ethics in the Vedas are based on the concepts of Satya and Rta. Satya is the principle of integration rooted in the Absolute. Whereas, Ṛta is the expression of Satya, which regulates and coordinates the operation of the universe and everything within it. Conformity with Ṛta would enable progress whereas its violation would lead to punishment. Concept of Yajna or sacrifice is also enunciated in the Purusha sukta where reaching Absolute itself is considered a transcendent sacrifice when viewed from the point of view of the individual.
Vedic people believed in the transmigration of the soul and the peepul tree and cow were sanctified by the time of the Atharva Veda. Many of the concepts of Indian philosophy espoused later like Dharma, Karma etc. trace their root to the Vedas. While the term ahimsa is not officially mentioned, one passage in the Rig Veda reads, "Do not harm anything." Major Philosophers of this era were Rishis Narayana, Kanva, Rishaba, Vamadeva, and Angiras. (See also philosophers of Vedic age)
Read more about this topic: Historical Vedic Religion
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—Lawrence Kutner (20th century)
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—Septima Clark (1898–1987)
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—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)