WHO FOUNDED VEDIC CULTURE
No one individual founded Vedic culture, nor is there any single prophet, holy book or way of worship. The Vedic culture has a library of texts to help establish the nature of the Absolute Truth. Hindus recognize the good and spiritual essence in all religions, so it is easy for them to display respect and tolerance for other spiritual paths.
Through the Puranic stories of the universal creation, we learn that the Vedic knowledge was first given by Lord Vishnu to the secondary creator and first living being known as Brahma. It was Brahma who then disseminated it to other great sages and masters, the Rishis. It is through the continued research and output of these learned Rishis that humanity has learned the various levels of spiritual Truth, as they have been handed down through the generations.
VEDIC CULTURE STARTED BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF TIME
To explain further from the previous point, nobody knows when the Vedic culture started. It goes back to before the beginning of history. If you go by the Vedic legends and histories, Vedic culture is trillions of years old. It is said to have originally been a vibration, an eternal and pure spiritual vibration known as shabda-brahma. This existed eternally before the material creation ever manifested. This spiritual vibration was first articulated to humanity by God. It is said that through this spiritual vibration one can understand the Supreme. This vibration descended from the spiritual domain and pervades the material strata. Thus, those great sages who have become spiritually realized can receive and perceive this spiritual vibration. Then they work to reveal that to others through their writings and descriptions of the path by which one can be spiritually enlightened themselves. This was the start of the Vedic philosophy and its system of knowledge.
According to Vedic scriptures, this revelation of the spiritual vibration started as shruti - that which is heard. It was passed on as a vocal tradition. The great seers of ancient times called Rishis who had perfected themselves have heard in their hearts the eternal truths and taught those truths to disciples by telepathy and talks, and later through writings in books which became known as the Vedas andUpanishads. These are known as the shruti literature The remaining part of the Vedic literature is called smriti, or that which is remembered. All these Vedic scriptures were considered as revealed truths from God.
Even if you accept the conclusions of Max Muller, the German philosopher, Vedic culture and its knowledge is at least 8000 to 9000 years old. However, studying the relics of Mohenjadaro and Harappa excavations, the Indus Valley civilization shows the seeds from which arose many other cultures and concepts. The Indus Valley was home to the largest of the four ancient urban civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, India and China. Harappa and Mohenjodaro were cities in the Indus Valley civilization that flourished around 2,500 B.C. in the western part of South Asia. The roots of Vedic culture can be traced to this civilization and even earlier. That is why you can see Vedic culture in the relics of all other civilizations like Egyptian, Celtic, Mayan, Greek, Roman, etc., which I have analyzed more completely in another book.
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