India owes its hoary spiritual heritage to the Vedas. They are the storehouse of Indian wisdom and a great source of inspiration to mankind for several millions of years. The concepts of Viswaneedam (global family) and Vasudhaivakutumbakam (the whole world as one family) are emanations of this Vedic heritage.

           It is true that the Vedas have their main thrust on spiritual knowledge. But at the same time they have extensively dealt with several aspects of materialism also in a balanced way, resulting in blossoming of arts and sciences, capable of crafting a "perfect man".

          Sage Veda Vyasa grouped the mantras into four Vedas as Rik, Yajus, Sama and Atharva and propagated through his disciples Paila, Vaisampayana, Jaimini and Sumantu, respectively. The four Vedas were said to have 1131 branches earlier. But now only 13 branches are traceable (viz., 1% only).Out of these 13 branches also, only 7 are being chanted at different parts of the country. The remaining are traceable in script form only. Even these branches may disappear if immediate steps are not taken to preserve them.