The Rig Veda is the earliest text written by the Vedic people with a number of different texts like the Upanishads and Puranas written after that. So although the Rig Veda is still an important manuscript that defines various Hindu practices even now, it cannot be said that all the ideas in the Rig Veda are followed even now.
Hinduism and Hindu practices as we know them today have been shaped a lot by the later texts, which contained ideas sometimes greatly differing from the Rig Veda; Stories were modified, existing religious practices were updated and new ones introduced, and a lot of changes were blended into the ever-changing fabric of our culture. Each such age, of which there can be considered as three major, brought about some changes in the practices that Hinduism stated and although many remained, it cannot be said that the guidelines/practices referred to in the Rig Veda are the ones being followed today, or, even, followed in the years following the composition of the Rig Veda.
Take, for example, the caste system : in the Rig Veda, the caste system of later times comprising the four Varnas was non-existent. The Rig Veda only speaks of two classes - the Aryas and the Dasas; Aryas apparently referred to the Vedic people and Dasas to the non-vedic ones which may include migrants from the south or people whose lands they might have captured, or possibly prisoners of war.
But as we all know, the later texts defined 4 classes - Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra;
This is not the only case, however, and many such ideas from the Rig Veda are furthered or updated in later texts and are the ones being followed today. So basically, the Rig Veda cannot be said to 'dominate' Hindu (not Indian, by the way) society today.
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Vedic deities like Indra and Agni and Ashwin brothers have been replaced by deities such as Krishna, Rama, even Hanuman. But these are seen as the incarnation of the supreme trinity, so in a way Hinduism has matured over the years from worshipping pagan dieties to trying to comprehend the forces that create, maintain and destroy the universe (not that the ancient sages didnt... For example see vedanta) Furthermore we don't have the saraswati river or the soma ras... These things had a very high importance in the vedic age. Nobody performs yagnas anymore. So while its ending part is relevant (as Vedanta) I'd say the beginning part, not so much. One last point is Sanskrit changed from vedic to classical too, and that means not everybody who can read Sanskrit can read rig Veda.
Take, for example, the caste system : in the Rig Veda, the caste system of later times comprising the four Varnas was non-existent. The Rig Veda only speaks of two classes - the Aryas and the Dasas; Aryas apparently referred to the Vedic people and Dasas to the non-vedic ones which may include migrants from the south or people whose lands they might have captured, or possibly prisoners of war.
But as we all know, the later texts defined 4 classes - Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra;
This is not the only case, however, and many such ideas from the Rig Veda are furthered or updated in later texts and are the ones being followed today. So basically, the Rig Veda cannot be said to 'dominate' Hindu (not Indian, by the way) society today.
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Vedic deities like Indra and Agni and Ashwin brothers have been replaced by deities such as Krishna, Rama, even Hanuman. But these are seen as the incarnation of the supreme trinity, so in a way Hinduism has matured over the years from worshipping pagan dieties to trying to comprehend the forces that create, maintain and destroy the universe (not that the ancient sages didnt... For example see vedanta) Furthermore we don't have the saraswati river or the soma ras... These things had a very high importance in the vedic age. Nobody performs yagnas anymore. So while its ending part is relevant (as Vedanta) I'd say the beginning part, not so much. One last point is Sanskrit changed from vedic to classical too, and that means not everybody who can read Sanskrit can read rig Veda.
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