A Bird's eye view on Vedas-X

On Single Rita (The Ritualistic Factor)

(Copy right protected by Dr. G.S. Tripathy)

It is in keeping with Advaita Character the Ritualistic factor is the vedic gagna, without any special applicability to the deity worshipped it is one uniform ceremonial unlike the Polytheistic or fetishistic ritual of course , as a rule. The ritual is the same whatever the deity be. In accompanying the prayer, the same oblation or libation is offered to one or many gods which may be mentioned.

From the ritualistic point of view between the vedic advaita and polytheism there is one important difference which is as follows. Polytheism has used plastic arts including sculpture where as Vedas have made music and poetry alone their media of expression. That the logical anomaly of identifying one deity with another becomes a formidable difficulty with the sculpture so thoroughly particularise as a deity.

Take for an instance: - the masculine Surya and Agni and the feminine USHAS are spoken of as EKAM – ONE in the neuter. Such identification can not be effected in visual arts. Hence vedic advaita identifies all deities with one essence in the neuter gender in as much as it substitutes one deity for another, can not possibly fixes the deities in to definite plastic forms. In the poetry of Vedas, vedic deities are visions but they are formless and they have received embodiment only. Concealed somewhere in the sky the female figure of a deity is imagined which is no other than USHA – the daughter of the sky. Like the bride decked by her mother who appears on occasions to mortals whom she favours. This is polytheism to which vedic advaita differs.

In accordance with the principle of unity in diversity the social grouping of Vedas takes place. The division of society in to four types is recognized by it (a) Brahmin (the man of knowledge), (b) the man of warfare and politics (kshyatriya), the man of industry and trade (vaisya) and the serving and working man (sudra). They are all the limbs of the cosmic being as it is said. They are the mouths, arms, thighs, and feet, of purusha respectively. They are all the same in spirit all though they are all separated by quality and occupation in philosophical language. It is social advaita which is another example of the many in one.

In respect of members of other religion, equally interesting is the social application of the principle of vedic advaita.

The Hymn recognizes the variety of man and the creeds on the earth. With various religious rites the earth bears people of speaking varied languages according to the places of abode.

Between Arya and Dasa or Dasyu in the Vedas we find the anti thesis which is started as one between enlightenment and ignorance, goodness and wickedness, lawful life and lawlessness. Unlike Buddhism the veda preaches open battle against all forces of evil.

As a fighter, Indra is the supreme being against evil. It is described as VRITRAHANTAMA. In other words, he is the supreme among killers of vritra, the power of darkness. By the idea no question of the infidel is raised as `yet. It is stated, on the other hand, whether our kin or a foreigner should be valiantly opposed. From the ranks of the foreward marching people the evil door must be eliminated. God is the god of Dasa as well as of Arya it is said. For the forgiveness of sins against the foreigner there is a prayer.

God is as much of the foreign land as of our own land. Hence unity in diversity covers all human relations according to the principle. Till at last we come to a grand conception of universal peace and serenity, there are mantras which extend the principle to all living beings.

That vedic advaita is not a casual creed thus it will be found. In its application to life, it is comprehensive. The deities had been worshipped by people of their own. With of course qualitative differences in which every deity was recognized as divine, polytheism synthesized them into a pluralistic pantheon. Hence greek was absorbed by roman polytheism and within its religious creed and Egyptian gods were absorbed.

Different kinds of gods and goddesses of different sects and tribes were absorbed by Hindu polytheism. But by vedic Aryans something different and subtler and grandeur had been done ages before them.

All the different deities that were worshiped had been accepted by them. As manifestation of one divinity had been synthesized by them also. Hence any one of them could be identified with any other or all the rest. Accustomed to mystical apprehension of reality, a mind of the highest subtlety could be conceived to be capable of this.

In the beginning of the second cycle of Rig Veda an ideal of religious synthesis was set up as per the following verses to which the greatest saints and sages of the universe had been found to contemplate for long. The deity Agni is worshipped by poet through verses. But there are other deities both male and female, like Indra, Varuna and Aditi and so on who are worshiped by other sages and saints has been recognized.

“then O Agni I art Indra, the Hero of heroes

X x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

“thou O Agni I art king Varuna whose laws stand fast

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Thou, God Agni! and Aditi to the offerer of oblation”

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There is really nothing like henotheism in the Vedas have been told by some orientalists. To them it is simply Polytheism.

Every deity is flattered as the supreme deity only owing to the peculiar primitive mentality of the worshipers. All the deities with the abstract divine essence in the neuter form we find in the Vedas, not only henotheism but also the identification of one deity with another or of one deity with all the rest with the description of every deity as the supreme deity. In polytheism is there anything like this? of the one in the many and the many in one, never has polytheism spoken in the manner of the veda, ancient or modern.

In post vedic Ages how was vedic henotheism?

Though a speciality of the Vedas, the Advait theism is found in later ages also. In their own way we find a number of medieval sages in india preaching this idea that the god is one, though by different names in different ways.
Ordinarily it is a mutual toleration of the gods of different people belonging to different religion. But the attitudes of the vedic sages is much above this principle. For them it is not only simply one of toleration, but of acceptance also. With the hospitality of polytheism it is not only the acceptance of another’s god, but acceptance of all gods imagined by all other sages as identical with ones own the one deity without a second.