Ancient Sages of India

By Venkataraman M

The foundations of Hinduism are the eternal and super sensuous truths discovered by ancient Indian sages. Most of them are unknown. The truths discovered by them are known as the Vedas.

Sages are the great souls who have found out the truth and devoted their life, energy and experience for the welfare of the people. They are extraordinary human beings having great wisdom, vast experience and character worthy of imitation. They gifted everything to the world without seeking fame or any kind of gain. Welfare of the world was their sole objective.

According to Hindu chronology, the period of the ancient sages is till the end of Dwapara Yuga, which is about 5000 years back. The penetration of these sages in the subjects they dealt with is very profound and clear. The later generation just interpreted their work and followed their footsteps.

India has been blessed from time immemorial by the advent of innumerable sages. In this book you can read the stories of some of these known sages.

• Language: English
• Publisher: M. VENKATARAMAN
• Release date: Jul 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201893477

Book preview

Introduction

The foundations of Hinduism are the eternal and super sensuous truths discovered by ancient Indian sages. Hinduism has no known founder and we do not know anything about most of those sages who discovered these truths. These revealed Divine Truths are called the Vedas. Being the revealed scriptures, the Vedas are considered the most authentic.

The deeper truths of the Vedas and the scriptures are difficult to comprehend. Therefore, in order to present those in an interesting and easily understandable manner, the sages of India created a special type of literature, called the Puranas. In the Puranas, the scriptural teachings have been presented through stories and parables. The Hindu way of life is deeply influenced by the lives of these great sages.

India has been blessed from time immemorial by the advent of innumerable sages. Many of them are unknown. Most of the sages who discovered the truths contained in the Vedas are not known. But there are other sages about whom we have information. The epic Ramayana, for example, has been presented by Sage Valmiki. The other well-known epic known as Mahabharata and the various puranas are given by Sage Veda Vyasa. Ramayana and Mahabharata contain stories of many sages and their lives. The epics and other religious literatures indicate the contribution of these sages towards uplifting of human ethical, moral and religious standards.

Sages are the great souls who have devoted their life, energy and experience for the welfare of the people. They are extraordinary human beings having character worthy of imitation. They gifted everything to the world without seeking fame or any kind of gain. Welfare of the world was their sole objective. When they were young boys, they received education in places known as gurukulas. When they came of age, they led a family life. In old age, they retired to forests and lived there with their spouses exercising strict control over their senses. While living in forests, the sages with their spouses were engaged in meditation and thinking in the peaceful environs of forests. They engaged in teaching those who came seeking knowledge. They also provided such people with food and shelter.

Thus, the sage couple used to play the dual role of teachers and parents at the same time. As a result of their constant and hard meditation they could grapple with the problems and see the truth in their pure inner selves. They spoke out what they experienced and taught the same to their disciples.

A sage is a poet, a visionary, a seer, a philosopher and a genius with many other traits. The sages are respected in the households of common man. They are also respected by the courts of kings. When a sage who lived in forest for most part of his life enters a kingdom, the King usually comes down from his throne and welcomes him with devotion. The kings were ready to give anything for the sages and the educational centres run by them.

There are a number of such instances which can be seen from the scriptures. For example, in the Valmiki Ramayana the Emperor Dasaratha was considering the proposal for the coronation of Sri Rama to succeed him to the throne. At that time, Sage Viswamitra arrives at the palace to meet Emperor Dasaratha. He orders the gatekeepers to inform the emperor.

The sage orders the gate keepers and the gate keepers rush to inform the emperor.

That was the command and respect that the sages like Viswamitra got in the courts of the kings. And what is the reaction of Emperor Dasaratha. He rushes to the gate to receive the great sage.

Emperor Dasaratha says:

‘Oh, great sage, in your arrival to my place, I feel as though I have obtained nectar. If I can do anything for you then I will consider myself as a fortunate person. You need not entertain any doubt about the success of your mission. I will fully accomplish your objective.’

The period of the ancient sages, according to Hindu chronology, is till the end of Dwapara Yuga, which is about 5000 years back. The penetration of these sages in the subjects they dealt with is very clear and profound. Their intuitive power did not stand against reason. Their exposition of thought was thorough and penetrating. The Puranas project the sages to be more than a live figure and give them a life span of thousands of years.