Ritual of ancestor Sacrifice and Social Function in the Veda and Thai People

The objectives of this academic article aimed to 1) to study the ritual of ancestor sacrifice in the Veda and Thai society and 2) to study the theories of folklore influenced toward the way of life of Vedic people and Thai society. The results indicated that the ritual or ceremony is a kind of activity and function in all human beings’ society which related to and arranged by a doctrine, religion, or belief of tradition and culture for alchemy, supernaturalism or good fortune, etc. Ritual of ancestor sacrifice is a kind of belief in the Vedic period which is worshiped, performed, and continued from that time until the present. Vedic people believed in their ancestors’ spirits and so did Thai people. Both people in the two nations believed that the ancestors’ spirits could punish their relatives who had bad behaviors but help those who had good behaviors. Both nations have still believed that ancestors’ spirits can provide them goodness and badness so they usually have to perform the sacrifices to the ancestors. Then, the ritual of ancestor sacrifice has become the deep belief of two cultures, unify, and create people to be a unique and happy society under their belief.

Review of vedic Literature from the Perspective of Physical and Human Geography

Vedas are earliest collection of Hindu scripture. The word Veda was originated from Sanskrit verb ‘Vida’ inane meaning to “to know”. Vedas are collection of knowledge. Literatures, written on the basis of Vedas are called Vedic literature. Itihansas and puranas are also known as Vedic literature. Each and every dimension of geography is expressed in Vedic Literature very strongly. This paper simply tries to present the geographical issue expressed in different Vedic literature. Different research papers written about Vedic geography, books of Vedas and puranas are used as materials for the formation of this paper. Topographic explanation and their classification for regionalization is carefully presented in vedic literature such as Dwipas, Khandas and Barshas. River is praised as mother in Vedas and nature and behavior of river was known by Vedic people. Ricveda is full of praising river. Seasonality month and different weather is explained in different Vedas and vedic literatures. Six seasons and twelve months are explained in vedic literature. Fire, wind, water, earth are taken as different forms of god and praised as human environment interaction. People are discouraged for deforestation means not to destroy home of god. Quantitative and mathematical geography is another great feature of vedic literature. Measurement unit techniques of time and distance are very strong geographical representation of vedic literature. The measurement of time starts from ‘pramanu’ to ‘mahayuga’ and distance starts from ‘pramanu’ to ‘krosha’.

The Policy of Education as Reflected in Siksavalli of the Tattiriopanisad

The modern system of education has been built primarily upon the foundation of ancient educational ideals and the practices of modern education have been largely influenced by past experiences. Vedic views are the root of our civilization, hence we cannot neglect the sphere of those views from which our civilization has developed to its present form. The Upanisads are the most important part of the Vedic literature. Theyguide the students through the valuable advices of the preceptors for choosing the correct path in life. The policy of education described in our Upanisads had some special characteristics and it is to be noted that it could be connected to the modern field of education. In this regard, we may refer to the Siksavalli section of the Taittiriyopanisad where education has been handled as a philosophical policy where the teacher stands at the beginning, the students at the end and the subject of teaching in the middle. Through this paper an attempt is being made to interpret the policy of education reflected in the Siksavalli section and its utilization in modern educational fields. A query of investigation would also made to explain how the Vedic people plunged into the world of unknown only with the help of their powerful intellect and deep insight and managed to explain the happenings of the world through their own perception, without any help of modern science and technology. This paper will try to locate the presence and application of the instructions delivered to the students by the preceptor as prescribed in the Taittiriyopanisad, which can still be implemented successfully in the current educational institutions for a smooth and well managed society. A study of the Vedic texts reminds us of the same procedure to be followed for the smooth functioning of the society.