Joanne,

The generally accepted, Western orthodox view of the Rg Veda can be found here. Dr. Michael Witzel could be, if I may be permitted an indulgence, termed the 'Zahi Hawass/Mark Lehner' of Hindu studies. Your knowledge of the Vedas might be wrong by reading these works, but no one in Western academia will dare criticize you if you cite the translations from this source.

From a less orthodox view, I would suggest looking at works by Dr. Subash Kak or Dr. Raja Mohan Roy. Both these authors are scientists with strong academic credentials and point out the mathematical and astronomical insights of the Vedas. Dr. Witzel, of course, sees no such knowledge.

For something truly heterodox, I would suggest reading works by B. G. Tilak. Nealry 100 years before Messrs. Hancock and Bauval, Mr. Tilak wrote of a lost civilization from the polar regions (albeit from the Arctic not Antarctica) and the constellation Orion.

Also, Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer has translated portions fo the Rg Veda (but these are exceedingly hard to locate). Dr. Oppenheimer's translations also hint, though in a much more circumspect fashion than Drs. Kak and Roy, at the curious similarity between certain verses from the Rg Veda and physics.

For the record, it should be noted that Dr. Oppenheimer was, of course, denounced as Communist in the 1950s and stripped of his security clearances and Mr. Tilak was convicted by the British of treason and sedition against the Crown.


Barry