I find that a number of us Hindus who go about our rituals do not really know anything much about our religion and philosophy. I feel we should at least know the basic elements on which our religion is built. I am making a very brief write up on it below. The Vedas are pure nature worship in the Samhitas which later proceed deeper in thinking with the Upanishads.
A layman of philosophy considers
the Vedas to be one but that is not the case. In fact each Veda consists of 4
parts.
They are:
1. SAMHITA,
2. BRAHMANA, 3. ARANYAKA &, 4. UPANISHADS.
There are 4 Samhitas which you
are well aware of and they are the
1. RIK,
2. SAMA 3. YAJUR and 4. ATHARVA .
A Vedic sacrifice needs 4
priests:
1. HOTA- Who addresses hymns in
praise of the gods to invoke their presence and participation in the sacrifice.
2. UDGATA- Who sings the hymns to
entertain and please the gods.
3. ADHVARYU- Who performs the
sacrifice according to the strict ritualistic code and gives the offerings to
the gods.
4. BRAHMA- The general supervisor
well versed in all the Vedas.
RIK is for the HOTA,
SAMA is for the UDGATA,
YAJUR is for the ADHVARYU and
ATHARVA is for the BRAHMA.
The SAMHITA’s are in poetry and
consist of hymns to various Gods.
The BRAHMANA’s are written in prose. They are the elaboration
of the complicated ritualism of the Vedas. They deal with the rules and
regulations laid down for the performance of the rites and the sacrifices. There
is little philosophy in the Brahmana’s and the Samhitas.
The appendages to the Brahmana’s
are the ARANYAKA’s. They mark the transition from ritualistic to philosophic
thought. There is a mystic interpretation of the Vedic sacrifices in them.
The concluding portions of the
Aranyakas are the UPANISHAD’s. These are intensely philosophical and spiritual.
There are said to be 108
Upanishads in all. However, most of them have repetition in thought and only 10
on which Sankaracharya has commented are taken as important. They are
1. ISHA,
2. KENA,
3. KATHA,
4. PRASHNA,
5. MUNDAKA,
6. MANDUKYA,
7. AITAREYA,
8. TAITTIRIYA,
9. CHANDOGYA,
10 BRIHADARANAYAKA.
FUNDAMENTALS OF THE PHILOSOPHY IN THE VEDAS
ATMAN: The individual self is the nearest approach to the Absolute,
and it is the highest thing we know. It is called the ultimate witness or
SAKSHI and as such is one with the ABSOLUTE. All other things like mind,
feeling, body etc. Are all products of AVIDYA. All these surround the
individual self and constitute its individuality. The self is one with Brahman.
The self is immortal, self-proved and self-luminous.
BRAHMAN: In the CHANDOGYA, it is described as TAJJALAN-as that from
which the world arises, into which it returns and by which it is supported and
lives. In the TAITTIRIYA, Brahman is defined as that from which all the beings
are born, by which they live, and into which they are absorbed. All beings, all
Gods, all Worlds, and all organs are contained in the Universal Self that is
Brahman.
BRAHMAN & ATMAN: The same reality is called from the subjective
side as ATMAN, and from the objective side as BRAHMAN. The ABSOLUTE of the
Upanishads manifests itself as the subject as well as the object and transcends
them both. The ABSOLUTE is Pure Existence, Pure Knowledge, and Pure Bliss all
in one. It is called SATCHIDANANADA.
Brahman is described in two ways
in the Upanishads. It is called COSMIC BRAHMAN or SAPRAPANCHA which means all
comprehensive, SAGUNA which means full of Good Qualities and SAVISESHA which
means full of good attributes.
And it is also called ACOSMIC BRAHMAN or NISPRAPANCHA which means not limited
by space, NIRGUNA which means quality less, NIRVISESHA which means without any attributes, and ANIRVACHANIYA
which means indescribable.
The former is called the lower
Brahman (APARA BRAHMA) or ISHWARA, and the latter is called the higher Brahman
(PARA BRAHMA) or the ABSOLUTE.
Saprapancha, Savisesha, Saguna
Brahman-------APARA BRAHMA or ISHWARA.
Nisprapancha, Nirvisesha, Nirguna
Brahman---- PARA BRAHMA or the ABSOLUTE.
The COSMIC BRAHMAN or APARA
BRAHMA is regarded as the cause of production, maintenance and destruction of
the Universe. The ACSOMIC BRAHMAN or the PARA BRAHMA or the ABSOLUTE cannot be
known and can only be described by saying he is not that, he is not that
because the moment one brings Brahman into the intellect it becomes ISWARA and
not the Absolute.
He who knows BRAHMAN becomes BRAHMAN.
Only by knowing it one can cross the ocean of birth and death. There is no
other way for liberation.
