The Rig Veda Blog
Journeys into Vedic Thought
Long-form, researched essays on the deities, language, ritual and history of the Rig Veda. All free to read.
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The Word That Became Zen Appears Once in the Rigveda
The ancestor of dhyāna, jhāna and zen turns up exactly one time in the Rigveda, and not where anyone expects: in a workshop, describing craftsmen who built a chariot out of their minds. What the oldest Indian poetry actually says about attention is stranger, and more useful, than the version on the meditation app.
Yoke First, Posture Later: What the Rigveda Actually Says About Yoga
The oldest surviving use of the word yoga has nothing to do with mats or breathing. It means backing two horses under a wooden crossbar before dawn. Following that word from a Bronze Age harness to Patanjali reveals a stranger and better story than the one on the studio wall.