R. Narayanaswami
Active member
Vedas 105 discussed six key teachings of the Vedas. This post, Vedas106, will discuss the first 2 teachings in greater detail.
The Vedas declare the existence of the Supreme Spirit or Person, referred to as Purusha, in Rig Veda, Sukta #90 of the 10th Mandala (RV 10.90) and also as ‘tat ēkam’ (meaning, That One) in many other RV mantras. The Supreme Spirit or Person or Purusha or ‘tat ekam’ is aided by ‘devas’, from the Sanskrit word, ‘div’ to shine or to throw light, hence ‘devas’ are powers of light (and Truth), who are also known as ‘angas’ or ‘limbs’ of the Purusha, if Supreme Spirit is considered as a Purusha. Or, as ‘cosmic energies’ if ‘tat ekam’ is treated as Supreme Energy. ‘devas’ are translated as gods in the English language. Names like Agni, Indra, Soma, Surya, Aditi, Saraswathi are used to refer to these devas. Analogous to powers of light or devas, there are also ‘dasyus’ or powers of darkness (and falsehood) with names like Vrtra, Vala, Pani etc. who try to prevent the help devas and tat ekam want to provide to all beings from reaching them. The Vedas describe the devas engaging the dasyus in symbolic battles, overpowering them and releasing to the human beings the energies hidden or prevented from reaching the human beings by the dasyus.
The Purusha or That One is both transcendent and immanent. Both these words are difficult to define but the following expanded discussion of the terms will help understand these terms correctly: transcendent: knowledge beyond the limits of human experiences, or, transcends or exceeds whatever imagined or extrapolated using one’s senses etc.
immanent: existing or remaining within, hence will also be stated as permeates all aspects of manifestation since the Purusha or That One exists within every being and aspect of manifestation.
The Vedas say furthermore that there is nothing else in this universe except the Purusha, or That One (‘tat ēkam’) or the Supreme Spirit (or Supreme Person). Since Purusha is immanent, and permeates all aspects of manifestation, it can also be stated differently as Purusha or That One desired to become many, by entering into the inner beings of each and every one of the many. Thus, the Vedas do not deny the existence of the Many because the One has become the Many. They give equal importance to the One and the Many.
That One serves as the creator and Controller, aided by the devas, of the myriad events going on in the Cosmos with clockwork precision and accuracy.
Each deva has a specific function and an associated personality endowed with certain powers to carry out the function. These devas act harmoniously. Rishis regarded these devas as their friends and associates.
Sri Aurobindo explains that the deva Agni in the esoteric sense stands for the principle of aspiration in human beings to achieve higher things than their present state. Progress is not possible without aspiring for it. Hence only if Agni is active in the individuals, such persons will have successes in their aspirations; also, as is usually the case, Agni recognizes which other deva power is also required for the person’s aspiration to succeed and brings those devas also to the worshipper of Agni.
One can establish a conscious relationship with each cosmic power by chanting the Veda Mantras for the deva. Consequently, that power enters the human being and grows in him/her like a plant. There are no strong barriers between devas. They are all aspects of ‘tat ēkam’. One can establish conscious relationships with as many devas as one wishes. They all work together and help the human beings.
Each of the gods (or devas) mentioned above, such as Agni, Indra, Vayu, Surya, Saraswathi, has a unique psychological power and personality which helps the human being develop that power. Since all these gods work harmoniously, human beings can seek the help of all these gods if they so choose. The two major deities of Rig Veda are Agni and Indra (with 2,000 and 2,500 mantras, respectively, for them out of the total of 10,552 mantras in Rig Veda). Agni and Indra and their ‘psychological powers’ are:
Agni: Divine Will: Aspiration and Will Power; Strength, Calmness, Happiness.
Indra: Divine Mind: Intelligence & Clarity of thinking; Correct Actions Achiever
‘Dasyus’: Analogous to devas is another group of powers, known as dasyus, or powers of darkness and falsehood or demons or negative energies who try to dissuade the flow of positive energies coming down from above from reaching the human beings. Devas battle the dasyus and recover the hidden energies in the cavities of the human being and make these energies available to the human beings. Rig Veda describes these battles that are not physical battles but symbolic battles that go on in the subtle bodies of the human beings. One can visualize the presence of dasyus in all of us as the ‘shad ripus’ ( the six negative traits of ‘kama, krodha, lobha, moha, mada, matsarya’) in ourselves. Without inviting devas to our inner beings, our working hard to remove our ‘shad ripus’ are not likely to meet with success because the dasyus are very strong and the shad ripus will not leave us. The purpose of studying the Vedas and chant the Veda mantras for the devas is to invite the devas into our inner being so that devas will fight the dasyus in us and help us move away from our ‘shad ripus’, the life of darkness (of dasyus) to life of ‘light’ of devas and start the process of divinizing our life.
The Vedas declare the existence of the Supreme Spirit or Person, referred to as Purusha, in Rig Veda, Sukta #90 of the 10th Mandala (RV 10.90) and also as ‘tat ēkam’ (meaning, That One) in many other RV mantras. The Supreme Spirit or Person or Purusha or ‘tat ekam’ is aided by ‘devas’, from the Sanskrit word, ‘div’ to shine or to throw light, hence ‘devas’ are powers of light (and Truth), who are also known as ‘angas’ or ‘limbs’ of the Purusha, if Supreme Spirit is considered as a Purusha. Or, as ‘cosmic energies’ if ‘tat ekam’ is treated as Supreme Energy. ‘devas’ are translated as gods in the English language. Names like Agni, Indra, Soma, Surya, Aditi, Saraswathi are used to refer to these devas. Analogous to powers of light or devas, there are also ‘dasyus’ or powers of darkness (and falsehood) with names like Vrtra, Vala, Pani etc. who try to prevent the help devas and tat ekam want to provide to all beings from reaching them. The Vedas describe the devas engaging the dasyus in symbolic battles, overpowering them and releasing to the human beings the energies hidden or prevented from reaching the human beings by the dasyus.
The Purusha or That One is both transcendent and immanent. Both these words are difficult to define but the following expanded discussion of the terms will help understand these terms correctly: transcendent: knowledge beyond the limits of human experiences, or, transcends or exceeds whatever imagined or extrapolated using one’s senses etc.
immanent: existing or remaining within, hence will also be stated as permeates all aspects of manifestation since the Purusha or That One exists within every being and aspect of manifestation.
The Vedas say furthermore that there is nothing else in this universe except the Purusha, or That One (‘tat ēkam’) or the Supreme Spirit (or Supreme Person). Since Purusha is immanent, and permeates all aspects of manifestation, it can also be stated differently as Purusha or That One desired to become many, by entering into the inner beings of each and every one of the many. Thus, the Vedas do not deny the existence of the Many because the One has become the Many. They give equal importance to the One and the Many.
That One serves as the creator and Controller, aided by the devas, of the myriad events going on in the Cosmos with clockwork precision and accuracy.
Each deva has a specific function and an associated personality endowed with certain powers to carry out the function. These devas act harmoniously. Rishis regarded these devas as their friends and associates.
Sri Aurobindo explains that the deva Agni in the esoteric sense stands for the principle of aspiration in human beings to achieve higher things than their present state. Progress is not possible without aspiring for it. Hence only if Agni is active in the individuals, such persons will have successes in their aspirations; also, as is usually the case, Agni recognizes which other deva power is also required for the person’s aspiration to succeed and brings those devas also to the worshipper of Agni.
One can establish a conscious relationship with each cosmic power by chanting the Veda Mantras for the deva. Consequently, that power enters the human being and grows in him/her like a plant. There are no strong barriers between devas. They are all aspects of ‘tat ēkam’. One can establish conscious relationships with as many devas as one wishes. They all work together and help the human beings.
Each of the gods (or devas) mentioned above, such as Agni, Indra, Vayu, Surya, Saraswathi, has a unique psychological power and personality which helps the human being develop that power. Since all these gods work harmoniously, human beings can seek the help of all these gods if they so choose. The two major deities of Rig Veda are Agni and Indra (with 2,000 and 2,500 mantras, respectively, for them out of the total of 10,552 mantras in Rig Veda). Agni and Indra and their ‘psychological powers’ are:
Agni: Divine Will: Aspiration and Will Power; Strength, Calmness, Happiness.
Indra: Divine Mind: Intelligence & Clarity of thinking; Correct Actions Achiever
‘Dasyus’: Analogous to devas is another group of powers, known as dasyus, or powers of darkness and falsehood or demons or negative energies who try to dissuade the flow of positive energies coming down from above from reaching the human beings. Devas battle the dasyus and recover the hidden energies in the cavities of the human being and make these energies available to the human beings. Rig Veda describes these battles that are not physical battles but symbolic battles that go on in the subtle bodies of the human beings. One can visualize the presence of dasyus in all of us as the ‘shad ripus’ ( the six negative traits of ‘kama, krodha, lobha, moha, mada, matsarya’) in ourselves. Without inviting devas to our inner beings, our working hard to remove our ‘shad ripus’ are not likely to meet with success because the dasyus are very strong and the shad ripus will not leave us. The purpose of studying the Vedas and chant the Veda mantras for the devas is to invite the devas into our inner being so that devas will fight the dasyus in us and help us move away from our ‘shad ripus’, the life of darkness (of dasyus) to life of ‘light’ of devas and start the process of divinizing our life.