Author: Rami Sivan, Priest, Dharma teacher, counselor, Gov. Advisor (1998-present)
March 20th, 2020
(Adapted from Introduction to the Upanishads by Dr. Radhakrishnan)
Part 1
Concept of God in the Vedas
The Rig Veda is the root text upon which the other Vedas depend. The Rig consist of hymns to different deities i.e. Agni, Mitra, Varuna, Indra, Soma and so on.
The hymns were used in yajñas (Sacrifices) in which oblations of ghee (clarified butter) and other substances were offered into the sacrificial fire.
These devas were conceived of as the Principalities underlying and governing the different phenomenon of nature, such as fire, sun, wind, rain etc., on which life itself, agriculture, and prosperity depended.
Nature, though presided over by different devas, is subject to the Cosmic Law (called Ṛta), which regulates the whole world, the process of nature and all living beings.
In the sūktas each of these devas was praised and extolled with the same epithets and declared to be ‘the Supreme’.
Although the Vedic religion appears to be polytheistic, there is the peculiarity in that each of the many devas is praised and extolled as the Supreme Being, the Creator of the universe and the Lord of all the Gods etc. The portfolios of cosmic management were also not unique to one deva only as in Greek mythology, but were reallocated according to the devotion of the poet.
Max Muller who was one of the first western scholars to translate the Vedic hymns, coined the term ‘Henotheism’ to differentiate the Vedic theology from simple polytheism. Henotheism means that one god is elevated above all other gods to the post of Supreme Being.
Whether one considers the Vedic religion is polytheism or henotheism, depends largely on the perceived basis of this phenomenon. If praising and exalting of each god to the supreme position is not based on the real belief in his supremacy but only a willful exaggeration and poetic hyperbole, then it is simple polytheism.
If on the other hand, the Vedic seers really believed in what they have said in their hymns, henotheism would be a better name.
In actual fact in Rig Veda we come across many passages where it is clearly stated that the different gods are only manifestations of one Ultimate Reality called by various names such as Agni, Yama etc.
Ekaṁ sad viprā bahudhā vadanti. ….
The Truth is ONE but the wise describe it in various ways
Many scholars have observed a gradually development in Vedic thought.
They have postulated that the idea of God gradually evolved from polytheism through henotheism, to reach its culmination in monotheism.
This hypothesis may be true but henotheism is not merely a transitional phenomenon.
Indian “monotheism” even in its most developed form, retains the belief that though the Godhead is one, it has countless manifestations in the many devas, anyone of which may be worshipped as a form of the Supreme Godhead – unity in diversity.
Even today in India, we have five divergent cults of the Saivism, Vaiṣṇavism, Sāktaism, and the Gānapatya and Saurya cults. All flourishing side by side but all based on a philosophy of one Supreme Godhead.
In Rig Veda, the belief in this fundamental unity of all gods is only a part of a greater theology which can be more clearly learnt from the famous Puruṣa-sūkta.
The Puruṣa-sūkta (Rig Veda 10.90) reveals that all existence i.e. wealth, heavens, planets, gods, living and non-living objects are conceived of as parts of one great Being (Puruṣa), who pervades the perceptible universe, but also extends beyond it. In Him all that is, has been and will be, are united.
The poetic insight of the hymn, not only indicates that the universe is one organic whole, but that the Supreme Reality is both immanent and transcendent (God pervades the world, yet He is not exhausted, thereby, He remains also beyond it). In terms of Western Theology, this concept is called panentheism (pan-all, en-in, theos-God) not pantheism — that is, all is not equal to God, but all is in God, who is greater than all.
This one hymn, reveals a variety of ideals that inspired the Vedic mind; monism, panentheism and organic symbiosis of the world.
In another hymn of Nāsadīya Sūkta (Rig Veda 10.120), we come across the concept of the Impersonal Absolute. Here, the reality underlying all existence the primal One, from which everything originates cannot be described, it says, either as nonexistent or as existent (na asat, no sat). It is the concept of the Indeterminate Absolute, which is the reality underlying all things, but is in itself indescribable.
Both Personal and Impersonal are conceived here as the two aspects of the same Reality.
Part 2
THE Vedānta system of philosophy is the heart of modern Hinduism which is properly known as sanātana dharma — the “Eternal Path”.
This system of philosophy[1] commonly referred to as the Vedānta — composed of Veda = knowledge and Anta = end; literally refers to “the end of the Vedas or final conclusion of knowledge”.
The corpus of the Vedas[2] consist of four major divisions[3] the last sections of each Veda are the texts known as the Upanishads and their central topic of investigation is the Ground of Being, or Ultimate Reality called Brahman[4].
The Rig Veda is the root text upon which the other Vedas depend. The Rig consist of hymns to different deities i.e. Agni, Mitra, Varuna, Indra and so on.
The hymns were used in Sacrifices (yajñas) in which oblations of clarified butter (ghee) and other substances were offered into the sacrificial fire.
These devas were conceived of as the Principalities underlying and governing the different phenomenon of nature, such as fire, sun, wind, rain etc., on which life itself, agriculture, and prosperity depended.
Nature, though presided over by different devas, is subject to the cosmic law (called Rta), which regulates the whole world, the laws and processes of nature and all living beings.
In the hymns of the Veda (sūktas) each of these devas was praised and extolled with the same epithets and declared to be ‘the Supreme’.
Although the Vedic religion appears to be polytheistic in its approach, there is a peculiarity in that each of the many gods is praised and extolled as the Supreme Being, the Creator of the universe and the Lord of all the Gods etc.
The portfolios of cosmic management were also not unique to one deva only as in Greek mythology, but were reallocated according to the devotion of the poet.
Max Muller who was one of the first western scholars to translate the Vedic hymns, coined the term ‘Henotheism’ to differentiate the Vedic attitude from simple polytheism. Henotheism means that one god is elevated above all other gods to the post of Supreme Being.
In the Rig Veda we come across many passages where it is clearly stated that the different devas/gods are only manifestations of one Ultimate Reality called by various names such as Agni, Yama etc.
ekam sad viprā bahudhā vadanti. ….
The Truth is ONE but the wise describe it in various ways
Many scholars have postulated a clear development in Vedic thought.
- The idea of God gradually evolved from simple polytheism through henotheism, to reach its culmination in monotheism.
- This hypothesis may be true but henotheism is not merely a transitional phenomenon.
- Indian monotheism even in its most developed form, retains the belief that though the Godhead is one, it has limitless manifestations in the many devas, anyone of which may be worshipped as a form of the Supreme Godhead.
Even today in India, we have five divergent cults of the Śaivism, Vaiṣṇavism, Śāktaism, and the Gānapatya and Saurya cults. All flourishing side by side but all based on a philosophy of one Supreme Godhead of which all other forms are also manifestations.
Indian monotheism in its living forms, from the Vedic age till now, has always believed in unity of the gods in the Godhead.
In Rig Veda, the belief in this fundamental unity of all gods is only a part of a greater theology which can be more clearly learnt from the famous Puruṣa-sūkta.
The Puruṣa-sūkta (Rig Veda 10.90) reveals that all existence i.e. wealth, heavens, planets, gods, living and non-living objects are the parts of one great Being (Puruṣa), who pervades the perceptible world, but also stands beyond it. In Him all that is, has been and will be, are united.
The poetic insight of the hymn, not only indicates that the universe is one organic whole, but that the Supreme Being is both immanent and transcendent (God pervades the world, yet He is not exhausted, thereby, He remains also beyond it).
In Western Theology, this concept is called panentheism (pan–all, en–in, theos–God) not pantheism — that is, all is not equal to God, but all is in God, who is greater than all. This one hymn, reveals a variety of ideals that inspired the Vedic mind; monism, panentheism and organic symbiosis of the world.
In another hymn of Nāsadīya Sūkta (Rig Veda 10.120), we come across the concept of the Impersonal Absolute. Here, the reality underlying all existence; the primal One, from which everything originates cannot be described it says, either as nonexistent or as existent (na asat, no sat). It is the concept of the Indeterminate Absolute, which is the reality underlying all things, but is in Itself indescribable.
When we try to establish the relationship between the idea of the Ultimate Reality as a Person and the concept of it as an Indeterminate Absolute, we find that even in the description of the Ultimate Reality as a Personal Being, there is mention of its transcendent aspect, which cannot be described in terms of the objects we perceive in the world.
Both Personal and Impersonal are conceived here as the two aspects of the same Reality.
Most of the important foundational principles of the Vedānta are found in Rig Veda but they have been presented through poetry.
The Sanskrit word for a poet — Kavi also means a sage, a seer or a visionary.
The method by which the sages arrived at these views, their reasoning and the arguments put forth in support of them, are not found in the Vedic texts themselves. Thus there is no systematic philosophical methodology to be found in the Samhita portion of the Vedas. All attempts at a systematic philosophical investigation are to be found in the latter sections of the Vedas known as the Upaniṣads, where questions about ātman, Brahman and the cosmos are raised and discussed at length.
Some of the Upaniṣads are written in verse and they follow the pattern of the hymns of the Rig Veda, while others, though written in prose, also lack the support of cogent philosophical reasoning. Some of them are in the form of dialogues where propositions are presented and supported by arguments.
[1] From the outset it is important to note that English terms do not do justice to the Sanskrit terms. “Philosophy” is a poor translation of darshana — which means a view of Reality and includes philosophy, theology and spiritual practice.
[2] The ancient collections of Hymns in Sanskrit dating back more than 5000 years
[3] Samhita, Brāhmaṇa, Araṇyaka and Upaṇiṣad.
[4] Brahman must not be confused with Brahmin which is the priestly caste.
Sanatana Dhara 