Essentials of Hinduism

Essentials of Hinduism

Rig Veda

The three Paths to “Moksha” are believed to be those of: Jnyana (Knowledge), Bhakti (Devotion) and Karma (Action). Rig Veda is identified with the Path of Jnyana (Knowledge). To pass on the immense treasurable Knowledge of the Vedas from Generation to Generation, Vedavyasa trained four Rishis – Rig Veda to Paila Rishi, Yajur Veda to Vaisampayana Rishi, Sama Veda to Jaimini Rishi and Atharvana Veda to Sumantu Rishi.

The word “Rig” is from a root meaning “To Worship”. The word “Yajur” from the root “Yaj” means much the same thing. However, since the two texts came to be employed for sacrificial purposes, the two names came to be distinguished, Rig meaning Mantra, and Yajus meaning the sacrificial formula. The Rig Veda is wholly a collection of Mantras intended for recitation and is arranged in books dedicated to different Deities.

In order to make the Rig Veda explicitly clear for a novice, a chart of Rig Veda is displayed on the Page 3 of this Chapter. The Rig Veda is broadly classified into the Karma Kanda (Rituals) and the Jnyana Kanda (Supreme Knowledge of the Brahman). The Karma Kanda has sub-parts of Samhitas, Brahmanas and Aranyakas. The Samhita consist of Mantras and because these Mantras are quite difficult to interpret without commentaries, we have the second sub-part that are known as the Brahmanas. The Brahmanas explain the Mantras, indicate how these Mantras have to be used in the Sacrifices, as well as, provide description of the Sacrifices and how they have to be conducted. The Karma Kanda have subparts of Aranyakas too. The Jnyana Kanda have sub-parts of the Upanishads. The Aranyakas teach the art of certain types of Meditation.

The Upanishads are dealt in exhaustive detail in Chapter 31. The Upanishads are the Philosophical discussions between the Seers and their Pupils. Sometimes they are in dialogue form.

DETAILS

MANDALA 1

1) AGNI (Fire):

Rig Veda’s first Mandala starts with the Sukta Agni Mile Purohitam in Praise of Agni (complete Sukta is stated in the beginning of this Chapter). Agni is the Fire God and according to the Rig Veda - is said to be the first God to have been created among the Devas – bestows a Home for those who cherish Him. Agni is regarded as a Messenger who summons the other Gods to the Sacrifice (Yajna) and carries the offerings from the Bhuloka (from Earth) to the Suvarloka (Heaven). “O Agni! You conduct the Sacrifice with the sound “Svaha” and I will invite the Devas. Basically, Rig Veda speaks about Gods. Agni’s share of Fame and Praise is spoken all the way from the Earth below to the Heaven above. He advances to the front so that he can bring about the welfare of Men. It is Agni who makes the sacrifice a success. He will summon other Gods to the Sacrifice. Agni has been praised by many Sages of earlier times. May Agni bring the Gods to his Sacrifice. Every day, men will obtain nourishment from Agni. They will certainly obtain fame, valor and riches. O Agni! This is a Sacrifice that is being performed. Please make it successful from every direction. May we be able to obtain the proximity of the Gods.

You are the one who will summon the Gods. You are the one who will ensure that the sacrifice is successfully completed. O Agni! Many are your forms and you are always Truthful. You are the radiant one who has performed wonderous deeds. You ensure the welfare of those who give charity. You are the one who is present in every portion of our anatomy. The acts you perform are the ones that are Truly Righteous. We pray to you always. May we use our intellect to come close to you. You are the radiant one. You are the protector of Sacrifices. You are the one who manifests the unchangeable Truth. We bow in respect before Agni and come close to him. He will make our homes prosper. O Agni! You are the famous one. We are like your sons; be like a father unto us. Grant us the Happiness and ensure our Welfare. Aid us in our endeavours. Be with us for our Welfare. Like a boat over the River, take us across for our well-being. Let sins depart from us. At the conclusion of the Yajna, we chant “Agnaye Paramatmane Idam Na mama” that means Agni is considered as Paramatma which will result in total reward for the Yajna performed.”

Read little bit more on Agni (son of Aapah) in Mandala 7.

2) INDRA:

Indra is the Chief God or the Leader of the Devas. He rules over the Atmosphere (Antariksha), the intervening region between the Earth (Prithivi) and the Heaven (Dyuloka). Sing the praise of the great Indra. Indra will certainly grant us an abundance of riches and a lot of Wisdom. He will come to us with an abundant supply of foodgrains. “O Indra! You are the performer of wonderful deeds. You are the great one who drinks the soma juice that is extracted from the soma herbs and then purified. This is the juice that deserves to be drunk.

O Indra! You are one who deserves to be praised. May the soma juice, which is a source of inspiration, be united with you. May it please your heart. O brave one! You are the performer of several wonderful deeds. May these Hymns enhance your greatness and increase your fame. May our words increase your fame.

O Indra! You have the unlimited power to protect. You are the one who deserves to be praised. You are the Lord of all that there is. Please keep the weapons (meant for the enemies) at a distance.”

3) VAYU:

Vayu is the god of the Wind. He presides over the night. Come here. This soma juice has been prepared for you. Drink the soma juice and listen to our Prayers. “O Vayu! The learned Priests are well-versed in the Knowledge of which days are Auspicious and which days are not. The Choristers (Chorus singing members) are singing your Praise through their Hymns. O Vayu! These great words are being addressed to you. You are the great one. You are the one who grants boons. You are the ones with abundance of riches and food grains. Come here quickly. O Vayu! You are always in the forefront. Through your kind Wisdom, may you enable our tasks to be completed. Vayu remains invisible, although the movement of the Wind can be felt.”

4) VARUNA:

Varuna is the Rain god. He is connected with the Truth. He is the one who enhances the Truth. He will use the power of Truth to make the sacrifice a success. Varuna is Omnipresent. He is Learned and Powerful. He will provide us the Strength that will inspire us to Action. Other men commit sin. We are no different, we too commit sin. We violate your commandments every day. Your anger is terrible. But despite the sins we have committed, spare us from your anger. May you look upon us with favor and may you grant us happiness. A bird flies here and there and finally returns to its nest. Like that, my mind and my heart roams here and there in search of the riches (what is left implicit is that the Mind and Heart seek refuge with Varuna after the pursuit of riches is over). Varuna is the source of all Valor. He is the source of all good Fortunes. Varuna is one who sees every thing. We desire to ensure our Happiness. Who can we Pray to but Varuna? Varuna is the God who wish to elevate those who observe Religious Rites. He elevates those who give to Charities. Varuna will partake (participate) in the oblations (religious offerings) we have offered. He will never desert his Devotees. Varuna is the god who follows the proper Rites. He is acquainted with the twelve months that bring prosperity to the subjects. He knows the ways of the great and the fast Winds. He is the performer of excellent deeds and knows how extraordinary deeds are to be performed. He knows what has been done and what remains to be done. He is the one who sees everything. Varuna is the son of Aditi. May Varuna guide us along the Righteous Path. May he increase our Life Expectancy. He is the one who brings fame to Mankind. He is the one who brings fruition to all Actions. He is the one who created our wonderful digestive systems. Varuna is the witness to everything. When our intelligence is elevated, we wish to attain his proximity. “O Varuna! Listen to my Prayers. Make us Happy. We seek your Protection. Grant it to us. You are the one who manifests yourself through Wisdom. You rule over Earth, Heaven and the rest of the Universe. Please listen to our Prayers and grant us our wishes. Remove all the bondage that we suffer from. Free us and grant us long Lives.”

5) SURYA (SUN):

Surya is the Sun God. There are three Brothers: Surya, Vayu and Agni. Surya rules the Devaloka and is the Eldest Brother. Vayu rules the Antariksha (Atmosphere) and is the Middle Brother. Agni rules the Prithivi (Earth) and is the Youngest Brother. Surya’s Chariot has seven Wheels (some say only one Wheel), and seven Horses are harnessed to it. Although there seems to be seven Horses, there is actually only one horse with seven names. The immortal and the constant Wheel has three naves (running lengthwise). It is through this wheel that the entire Universe is established. The seven Horses are the seven rays of the Surya that sit astride (on both sides) the Surya’s Chariot. Seven are the wheels and seven the horses that Surya uses to drive through the Time. The seven Wheels refer to the different Periods into which Time is divided – (i) Ayana (six Months): Uttarayana (Surya traveling from the South towards North) and Dakshinayana (Surya traveling from the North towards South), (ii) Ritu (Season): Summer, Winter, and Monsoon, (iii) Masa (Month): consisting of twelve (12) Months, (iv) Paksha (Fortnight): Suklapaksha from Amavasya (New Moon) to Purnima (Full Moon) and Krishnapaksha from Purnima to Amavasya, (v) Dina (Day), (vi) Ratri (Night), and (vii) Muhurta (roughly equivalent to one Hour); the three (3) Naves have been identified as the three Seasons as Summer, Winter and Monsoon. The Surya is handsome and is always mobile (on the move). The Surya’s Wheel traverses Heaven in the four Directions. The supreme rays of the Surya suck up the Water from the Earth and carries Water up into the Sky. The Water that is borne by the Surya descends from the Atmosphere in the form of Rain on Earth. It is this Water that makes the Earth wet. It is the Surya’s Power of preservation that bear up the Earth. There are two interpretations: (1) the Earth is the Mother and Heaven is the Father; (2) the three Mothers are Heaven, Atmosphere and the Earth; the three Fathers are Surya, Vayu and Agni. It is said Surya has three components: the Heaven, the Atmosphere and the Earth. The Surya is united with the Earth through the medium of Rain. Surya’s rays light up the Universe. “I call upon Surya for the sake of my protection. He is the one who was born in Heaven and He is the one who is always on the move. He is the fulcrum (hinge) of the Water as he ensures that it Rains. He nourishes the herbs and satisfies the Earth. I worship Surya.”

6) PARAMATMA AND JIVATMA:

Example: Two birds with beautiful wings are sitting on the same Tree and are good friends. One of the birds eats the sweet fruit that grows on the tree. The other does not eat the fruit and it merely manifests (stays visible) itself. The two birds are the Divine Soul (Paramatma) and the Human Soul (Jivatma). The Tree is the World. The Paramatma and the Jivatma are intimately connected with each other. The Jivatma enjoys the fruit of the World, that is, the rewards of actions. But the Paramatma does not savor this fruit; instead, it remains as a detached and passive spectator.

Kabirdas provided a beautiful example to explain Jivatma and Paramatma: A small vessel has Water inside it – this is the Jivatma. Now we have the ocean with enormous amount of Water – this is the Paramatma. If there is no Ocean Water, there is no vessel Water too. The Paramatma is as vast as the Sky and as constant as the syllables of the Rigs (Rig Vedas). All the Gods are to be found in the Paramatma. What use are the Mantras of the Vedas to someone who does not understand the nature of the great Brahman? He who knows the Paramatma is the one who is the most learned. He gets to sit on the most elevated of these places. The Gods (Devas) themselves worship the Paramatma. The worship of the Paramatma is the Righteous Path. He who follows the dictum achieves the best of Worlds, where there is perpetual (everlasting) Happiness. It is there that the Gods dwell. I do not know what the Atma (Jivatma) may be compared to. The Atma is constrained inside the Physical Body, but the mind is free to wander. When the Atma is united with the Paramatma and realizes the Truth, it is then that I grasp the significance of these words in a better manner. The Atma is immortal. But it remains with the mortal Body through its own powers. The Atma attains higher births and lower ones. The Physical Body and the Atma are together, but their destinations are different. People can easily see the Physical Body. But it is difficult to visualize the Atma.

7) SARASWATI:

“O Saraswati! You are the one who cleans my mind’s thoughts, who is the stimulator of my intelligence! You are the source of Happiness. Nurture us with all sorts of Riches. You grant the gifts that ensure our Welfare. May you look upon us with favor (Saraswati was a river. It was only later that She came to be identified as the Goddess of Learning).” Speech is also associated with Goddess Saraswati. She is the prompter of pleasing words and instructor of good thoughts. Speech is measured in four divisions. Learned Brahmanas are aware of this division. Three of these divisions remain secret and do not appear. It is the fourth division that Mankind are familiar with. This is obscure (difficult to understand), but the meaning seems to be like this: The first division of speech is its origin. The second division of speech is when it reaches the Heart. The third division of speech is when it reaches the brain. These three divisions cannot be seen. The fourth and the final division of speech is when it reaches the mouth. This is the one that can be seen or felt.”

8) THE ASHVINIS:

Two Ashvinis are Gods whose identities are not very clear. They brought light to the morning Sky. The Goddess of the day break is known as Usha. Dawn removes the darkness and clears the path of Surya for His progress. They were probably two Stars, one identified with the morning and the other with the Evening. They were subsequently characterized as the physicians of the Gods.

9) THE VISHVADEVAS:

The “Vishvadevas” is a general expression which signifies all the gods collectively. Sometimes however, the suggestion is that Vishvadevas are a special group of Gods. In the Hymn that follows, most verses are addressed to the Vishvadevas, although other gods are also mentioned. This Hymn is important as it includes a phrase that is often quoted – Ekam Sud Vipra Vahudha Vadanti - Truth is One, but the learned Speak of it in different ways.

This article is a snippet from the Book Essentials of Hinduism, Authored by G.S Nilakantan. Hinduism for All is available online at www.giri.in and across Giri Trading Agency Private Limited, A chain of Speciality Stores dealing in all kinds of products needed in Indian Culture and Tradition.

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