Prthivi
Samdhya
The whole universe proceeds on its way and we have tried to describe the theanthropocosmic cycle according to the Vedas. The whole of our personal existence also follows its own path and describes a similar cycle, following and reenacting the divine and cosmic ones. There is a correspondence between the celestial and terrestrial spheres. Between these two-- the sphere of the Gods (divine reality) and the sphere of earthly (cosmic) existence-- there is yet a third and intermediate sphere: the antariksha,1 the region between dyu (heaven) and prthivi (earth).2 The third sphere is the realm of Man, the mediator between the two. In other words, the atman is the connecting link between this loka and the brahma-loka.3
Within the intermediate sphere there is an "inner shrine; it is this that we should seek;"4 it is from here that we contemplate both our own existence and the destiny of the entire reality. It is the sphere of prayer, meditation, contemplation, or simply of personal consciousness. We cannot encompass in one single act our own life, much less the whole of reality. Both have to go their way. But they are unfolding before our very eyes; we can be aware of this process, we can become aware of the state of affairs in which the universe and our own selves are involved. Nor is this all. We can be conscious of the overall movement of reality in a way that is not a merely passive reflection but an active inflection in the process itself.
The third sphere is not just an intermediate one; it is rather a mediator between the two. Consciousness does more than simply reflect that which is. It modifies, to say the least, the thing that it "reflects." Man's conscious existence is not a mere copy or a simple mirroring of that which is, but a constitutive factor of reality itself. This is the life of the spirit or the life of prayer. It is not a state of mere passivity, nor is it a disconnected activity. It is the marriage, the union, the maithuna, between the two. We use the traditional name of prayer, because, from time immemorial, when Man was led to pray, there was in the depths of his being, besides immediate motives such as fear, doubt, joy, and gratitude, a still more powerful drive to hold his own life together and to hold it so together with the existence of the entire universe. Prayer can take many forms and we may pray for many immediate reasons, yet the common underlying assumption or implicit belief though it may be worded variously according to different world views--is that in the act of prayer Man is sharing in the central dynamism of reality and penetrating into the heart of the world. Prayer is truly Brahman. We have already taken note of the first meaning of Brahman as holy word, sacred utterance, sacrificial formula.5 This meaning persists as an invisible thread running through the many meanings of the word and providing a connection, the bandhu of which we have also heard,6 between the opposite extremes of reality. Another connection has also since olden times been symbolized in Indian spirituality by the significant word, samdhya. Literally it means a holding together, union, junction, or juncture, and it comes from a prefix sam, denoting cumulation, synthesis, reunion,7 and a root dha, to put, to place; hence sam and dha together denote to unite, combine, reconcile, mend, put together, and similar notions.
We have already seen that samdhya sometimes refers to the intermediate state between this world and the other, the "state of sleep,"8 but it has come to mean almost exclusively the meeting together, the union, the conjunction, of the three divisions of the day: morning, noon, evening. It symbolizes the union and reconciliation of the three times, past, present, future, expressed in the three juncture moments of every day and thus of every life as well as of every time span, for the day is merely an abbreviation of the whole life span and the unifying element of real human temporal life. In a more restricted sense, perhaps because the strains and stresses of active life were already known to ancient times and permitted little noontime leisure, it came to mean the meeting of the two lights at evening and morning, the conjuncture of the two moments not only of time but of all pairs of opposites and conflicting tendencies which constitute human and cosmic realities, of all dvandvas: old and young, man and woman, sun and moon, day and night, good and evil, God and creature, light and darkness. Samdhya refers to the two privileged moments of sunrise, when everything can still become everything, and of sunset, when all has been said and done and there is nothing else to do; or of dawn, when Man can still hope because the whole day lies in front of him, and of dusk, when he can, simply, love because the day is already over and nothing else remains to be done. Samdhya represents that third sphere which encompasses our whole life and destiny as well as the life of the universe. This is the meaning of prayer: it is that human or rather total cosmotheandric act by which Man transcends both time and space and discovers that within his own human heart at least a part of the destiny of the whole universe is being played out and reenacted. No wonder that calmness, attention, and silence are needed. Samdhya is the meeting of the lights, of the morning light, that form of consciousness which like the brilliance of the dawn is shed on things from a heavenly and invisible source, with the evening light, that form of consciousness which springs from the brightness of earthly things when they have been bathed all day long in the beams of the king of the sky.
Samdhya is a theanthropocosmic twilight; it suffuses the three worlds. It expresses the peculiar dual polarity residing in the very heart of the great atman. An astounding distich finishes one of the major Upanishads:
In order to enjoy what is true and what is false
the great atman has a dual nature;
yes, the mahatman has a twofold essence!9
Truth and falsity are here satya and anrta, being and disorder, existence and chaos. All is for the sake of experiencing, enjoying, tasting, the polarity of things. This polarlty is real, but it is a constitutive tension of reality itself which does not destroy the ultimate nonduality of all that is. It is this dual nature that finds its cosmic expression in samdhya, in the twilight of the cosmos, and is reflected and overcome in the meditation of Gods and Men during the crossing of the lights.
In other words, samdhya stands for the meeting of the objective and subjective forms of knowledge, the encounter between human and divine ways of dealing with reality. Anything known by revelation, by hearsay, by external illumination, and by the light of reasoning is as one-sided as merely subjective, private, and experiential knowledge. Only when both meet, when the external and internal revelations coalesce, when the language of things and our own language speak the same idiom, are we beginning to reach the shores of truth where speaking and listening converge. We speak the word we hear, only because we have learned to listen to the not yet spoken word.
Samdhya is both the time of prayer and the prayer of time. It is the early morning time of prayer, the first act of all which will expand into all other human activities; it is also the early evening prayer time when the experience of our limitation is fresh and yet the desire for perfection and for the infinite has not yet subsided. In these two moments Man represents the whole universe; the Gods are with him and the material world is gathered around him. It is the time of prayer, the time of meditation, of concentrating in himself the whole stuff of the world and of condensing in himself all the desires and dynamisms of the entire universe. It is the time of stretching up to the very ends of the world, not by a mere effort of imagination but by the power of the Spirit permeating everywhere, even to the four corners of reality. Were it not for these moments Man would not be Man, but only a moving machine, doing many things but not becoming anything, not condensing in himself the whole of reality, not discovering his unique place and thus the uniqueness of his own mysterious being.
Samdhya is, equally, the prayer of time. When he is at prayer, Man is not performing a private individual act. He is performing a priestly action in the name of the whole of reality; he is the mediator between all possible extremes, the conductor line between all existing and conceivable tensions. Into and through Man at prayer pass the sun, the moon, and the stars; in his heart the Gods have their meeting place and the Spirit is present, inspiring, instilling into the world all the force and energy it needs In order to go on existing. Samdhya is the prayer of time, for the world could not subsist if it were only a series of temporal successions. How would it pass from one instant to the next if there was no link between the two? This link is the Spirit, the spirit of prayer that unfolds in the mind and heart of the enlightened person, of the one who is rejuvenated by the waters and reborn by the rites of a second birth. To be a Man, then, is not only to be a part of the world but to be the universe itself, as we have already heard: "the world is His; the world itself is He!''10
The same message may be transposed into the following terms: To build a bridge or to dig a well is a real act, a fully human act, only if we are building a bridge on which human beings are moving about on their business, are encountering others, exchanging goods and ideas, and thus enhancing life. We dig a well only if it quenches thirst, gives life to plants, allows a more human life, facilitates human conversation and social justice. To build a bridge that nobody would use and that would profit nobody would not be a human act; it would lack its "core," the spiritual dimension, its soul, the accompanying prayer, which is not necessarily a mantra; it can equally well be a desire to contribute to the welfare of our neighbors and the happiness of our fellow beings, or an ideal to enhance the quality of human life around us. When the spirit of prayer does not permeate an action, that act degenerates to the subontic level.
The pages that follow serve as an introduction to that life of prayer which has nurtured for millennia a considerable part of mankind in its quest for happiness and in its search for the ultimate meaning of life.
Two practices should be recommended at this point. The one is utter silence and quiet, emptiness and void, an active removal of all obstacles in order to let the Spirit act unhampered; this is the way of absolute freedom which implies even freedom from being. Here no word is allowed. It would deform the experience and, if formulated, would be objectionable. Here "all words recoil"11 or, as one Upanishad, now lost (and how could it be otherwise?), said, "atman is silence.''12 The other practice is the traditional prayer of morning and evening, built of praise and springing from mingled fear and hope, contemplation and thrust toward action. This prayer is human and concrete. It integrates into itself all aspects of human life on earth. God is a partner of Man, not an aloof, mighty power. God is an accomplice, one could almost say; he is asked to collaborate with Man in all human undertakings, good and even, less good. It is here that the so called incantations and charms have their place and also all efforts at assuring the support of the Gods in battles public or private. In order to offer an organic scheme of prayer we have chosen a simple and easily discernible pattern. The first division is according to the seasons. The seasons constitute one of the marriages between space (or earth) and time (or "heaven"); they have a meaning and a message:13
Where do the half months and the months together
proceed in consultation with the year?
Where do the seasons go, in groups or singly?14
They are related to Men:
Your circling seasons, years, nights succeeding days,
your summer, O Earth, your splashing rains, your autumn,
your winter and frosty season yielding to spring--
may each and all produce for us their milk!15
They are also related to the sun:
But the sun also reflects all the seasons. When he arises, then it is spring. When the cows are driven homeward, then it is summer. When it is noon, then it is the rainy season. When the day declines, then it is autumn and when the sun sets, then winter has come.16
Every season is a new beginning; it brings with it a radical change and thus also a new hope. Yet it also recalls to us, or rather reenacts for us, the mystery of death and new life:
The year, assuredly, is equal to Death; it is he [Prajapati or time] who by means of daytime and night destroys the life of mortal creatures so that they die. So the year is, assuredly, equal to Death; and so he who recognizes the year as Death will not destroy his life, by daytime or at night, before he reaches his full life span at old age.17
Moreover, the cosmic and theological meanings of the seasons are emphasized time and again:
At the end of a year the Father of creatures essayed an utterance: bhuh. This word became the earth, bhuvah became the air, and svah became yonder sky. . . . the five seasons; hence they arose.18
Another text says forcefully, "I am season; I am son of the seasons,''19 which means that I am, insofar as I am in harmony with cosmic order, rita, that is, I am rtu, season. I am, insofar as I embody that part of the cosmos entrusted to me which makes my own "me." If on this ultimate level excommunication were possible, it would mean total annihilation. We are, insofar as we share in the total process of the world and insofar as, being conscious of this fact, we participate willingly in its dynamism and unfolding.
Man is time, this text is saying, but not an empty time or a mere flow of the elements of his being. Man is temporal, "seasonal" (artava), inasmuch as he is a part of the cosmic order (rita) that is manifested in the annual cycle of the seasons (rtu). Man is "seasonal" inasmuch as he is not only waxing and waning like the moon, or being cold and warm, dry and humid, like the seasons, or passing through day and night like the earth, but has his own special rhythms, his peculiar seasonal forms, which belong to the overall dynamism of the universe. Mere reason fails to discover this cosmic connection, but it is here that prayer, rightly understood, performs its proper function.
Agni, the mediator, the God who transforms human gifts into offerings fit for the Gods, the priestly God, is addressed as "Lord of seasons, knower of seasons,"20 and he is asked "to sanctify the seasons.''21
One entire hymn of the Rig Veda is dedicated to rtu, the season, here considered as a deity.22 Its message is clear, despite difficulties of exegesis: time and worship belong together, the seasons and the activity of the Gods are also connected, time is not an abstract value or an empty concept. Liturgy is nothing other than Man's participation in the temporal unfolding of the universe. Just as we can have "portions" of the world according to spatial divisions, so we can have "portions" of the universe according to temporal intervals. But this "temporal" portion is real only insofar as we do not exclude from it the Gods, Men, animals-- all that is and is alive "there." The recognition of all this is the prayer of time.
The other great division is that of the three moments of the day: morning, noon, evening. We have already mentioned them and given some idea of their meaning.
In the arrangement of the texts for each season and also for morning and evening we have tried to follow a certain pattern. Three or four main texts from the Vedas, stressing the fundamental mood of both Man and cosmos according to the particular hour and season, are followed by an Upanisadic text for meditation and contemplation, all being preceded by an antiphon or mantra that gives the tone, as it were, of the whole hour. The twilights of morning and evening, as the prayerful hours of day, embrace the whole of the day and the whole of the night: they bring us a moment of awareness when we reenact the full range of human activity that takes place during both halves of the daily circle; or, as the texts themselves beautifully express it, "from ancient time round heaven and earth they travel, Night with her dark limbs, Dawn so fair and radiant."23 Or again, "Praise we both Night and Dawn who visit us smiling, but differing in the color of their appearance."24 The Brahmanas emphasize also the connection with Man, going so far as to say, "The Day is my father and the Night my mother."25
The seasons in their totality, together with morning and evening, build time, the year, the whole universe, Prajapati, the Lord of all creatures. We may tend, of course, to transcend time, but we can do so only in and through time itself. All this has little to do with either "nature-mysticism" or "pantheistic" trends, which spring out of another quite different fundamental intuition. The word "nature" cannot be used with reference to this attitude because in this context there is no background of the "supernatural" nor is there any separation from the "personal." To superimpose the pair "nature-supernature" or "nature-person" may be interesting from a polemical point of view, but it will not help toward an understanding from within. The same applies to the term "pantheism." Pantheism is an alien conception that cannot be applied without distorting and doing violence to the world view of the Vedic experience.
We are dealing here with one of the fundamental options of mankind: advaita. The use of words is, of course, all the more dangerous because it is unavoidable and in fact we can understand only by incurring the risk of misunderstanding. By referring here to the Advaitic insight in differentiation from any other monistic, dualistic, or pluralistic world view, we do not imply the developed philosophical doctrine of later Indian periods, but rather the incipient awareness, on the one hand, of the inadequacy of any monistic or dualistic vision of reality and the realization, on the other, that it is only by transcending--not denying--the reasoning reason that Man can encompass reality. This approach to reality proceeds neither exclusively from the outside (which would lead to dualism) nor exclusively from the inside (which would lead to monism) but from an atypical awareness that embraces at the same time both the inside and the outside, that is, both the identity and the difference as mirrored in Man's consciousness.26
However we may prefer to state this in philosophical terms, we have here the experience of a life of prayer which expresses something that transcends dialectical assumptions and starts from a dialogical attitude. We are not belittling dialectics; we may be allowed, however, to point out that in addition to and not in opposition to dialectics (otherwise we would already be in the dialectical field) there is the dialogical attitude, which we find foreshadowed in the Vedic experience. In this experience the deity is not "over there," representing a dialectical opposition or a dialectical absolute. The rules of divine-human intercourse are not dialectical; there are no rules of "yes" and "no," whereby each follows his own nature and simply discovers some possible "synthesis" in their antinomic relationships. On the contrary, the Man-God relation is dialogical in character; neither party is bound by a dialectical law or required to be "consistent" in itself; both sides can regret, retract, and even contradict themselves. God is not the "other" or the "self," but the I, an I that postulates a thou and could not exist without it, so that the mutual existence of thou and I is intrinsically related, though the independence of neither is in jeopardy. In other words, Vedic prayer is a constant dialogical--not a dialectical--dialogue with the superior powers. This dialogue is considered to be part of life itself, so that it is not an irrelevant peccadillo to omit to ask a favor from the Gods or to abstain from making a particular sacrifice on the "excuse" that the Gods already "know" what we deserve and, being good, will grant it to us. The Vedic Gods are not philosophical constructions; nor is Vedic prayer philosophical speculation.
Prayer is a real dialogue in which I may succeed in convincing the other, in which the other is really open to me and open to being convinced and won over to my side because he is not fixed or committed to his own nature, that is, to another law outside the dialogical dialogue in which we are engaged. In the same way I may be defeated in prayer and the world is going to be different according to how I fare in this highest human act in which, in and through me, the whole universe is engaged.
This explains also the immediacy and boldness of many Vedic prayers. It would be incorrect to say that they stress only the material and temporal aspects of reality, for the distinction between "material" and "spiritual" is not so well defined as to postulate two independent and separate domains. We have already seen, for instance, the complex meaning of the word rayi, so difficult to translate because it refers to material welfare and temporal values as well as to spiritual gifts and intemporal realities.27 The "treasures," "gifts," "riches," and "graces" with which we have translated rayi are always both material and spiritual, although we tend to divide the single rich and "harmonic" notion of the word into two different elements, whereas in truth rayi is always a holistic value. It is thus not simply the desire for cattle for the sake of cattle or good grain for the sake of grain which constitutes the kernel of Vedic prayer but rather the desire for that life without which both cattle and good grain are no longer meaningful.
Another word may also be relevant here. Much has been written about Vedic polytheism, henotheism (kathenotheism), monotheism, deism, and even atheism. We will refrain from comment upon this list, but we should perhaps say a word regarding the traditional concept of ishta-devata, the deity one chooses for one's own worship and devotional practices. Although this phrase is of later origin, it expresses the original Vedic intuition and formulates in a practical way the existential attitude of the worshiper. We should not make the mistake of interpreting this notion as a whimsical and private choice, as if it were just a matter of subjective and individual taste.28 Anthropology would say that the choice is already conditioned by karman, family, caste, and the particular inspiration of the deity itself, but we must also keep in mind that the notion of ishta-devata is not a kind of sociologica1 compromise designed to further the cause of peace and tolerance or a psychological device to keep everybody happy with his or her own mascot. The notion springs rather from the insight that the act of worship, in spite of being nonfinite as the divine act that it is, is at the same time a concrete human act performed by a finite being in a finite time and in a particular state of mind. The worshiper cannot embrace the whole of the Godhead nor can he insert the whole of his own life into one single act of worship. The first statement is obvious; the second is equally evident, for if we could really make an act of perfect worship, we would not need to perform it over and over again.29 Any repetition would then prove that we have not in truth "perfected" the "perfect adoration" of the previous act of worship; indeed we would need to worship for the second time with a certain sense of guilt, for the very act of repeating and renewing denies the validity of our first declarations.
The notion of ishta-devata takes care of all this, redeems us from any sense of guilt, gives us the right human perspective, and clothes the infinite Godhead in a finite congruent manifestation. It recognizes that a perfect act of worship can be made only if it takes into account our own constitutive limitations, in space and time, of imagination, mood, and intellect. Furthermore, it is in accordance with the truth that a perfect and total disclosure of the infinite is impossible except in the womb of the infinite itself.
The underlying assumption of the ishta-devata is, therefore, that in order to worship the Godhead I have to be concentrated both in my desire and in the representation I make of the Godhead. The Godhead has to take some form for me, even if I think of it as a formless "form." It has to have a name, even if it be "nameless." It has to take place somewhere, even if it is in the cave of the heart. It has to take place within a particular time, even if it touches the eternal. The ishta-devata concretizes without pinning us down.
We have avoided overemphasizing the names of the different Vedic symbols for the divine, just as we have refrained from subscribing to any particular theory regarding the nature of the Vedic Gods. Yet, human prayer is not a mere type of spiritual gymnastics, rational or irrational, nor is it an abstract enterprise. It is all concrete and thus given color, form, name, place, and time. Furthermore, in each sincere and profound act of worship the whole of the human being is involved, to the greatest extent possible in the particular circumstance. In another moment or for another person the act may be different. The ishta-devata allows for this difference. Agni, Indra, Varuna, Soma, Ushas, Vayu, the Ashvins, and other Vedic deities may no longer be our ishta-devatas, yet they may still be windows opening up regions of our own all too closed souls to the refreshing winds that blow from the mountains and the plains of other realms. We are not concerned here with the many regulations regarding the recitation of the Vedas30 or the no less colorful prohibitions cited as obstacles to their recitation.31 We may, instead, try to discover their spirit beneath and beyond the particularities of one culture and the accretions of later periods. We may discover them to be forms of prayer still relevant to our situation. The sense of awe is not predominant, nor is the sense of submission to superhuman powers. It has been said that a spirit of almost legalistic relationships of do ut des is a characteristic of Vedic spirituality. Such an attitude does sometimes seem to prevail, but we affirm that it is not the most genuine or the deepest attitude of the Vedic prayers. They at times sound legalistic precisely because intercourse with the divine is not governed by a dualistically conditioned type of spirituality. The Vedic dialogue with the divine is not one of a totally deprived and powerless creature bowing before an almighty and unconditioned Creator, but rather that of a partner playing his part in the supreme mystery of reality, where indeed there is a hierarchical order but nevertheless a unitarian, or rather a nondualistic, structure. Let us consider, for instance, the following psalm, cornmentary upon which would require many pages. Here we find neither anthropomorphism nor a total abyss between the human and the divine. Here we have neither a succumbing to atheism nor an attitude of indifference vis-a-vis an ineffective God, but rather a consciousness of the different roles to be played and the exciting possibility of an interchange:
O Agni,
Son of strength,
bright Friend
whom we adore,
if you were the mortal
and I the immortal,
I would not deliver you
to evil tongues,
O good One, or to calumnies,
O trustful One.
My devotee would not be
in distress, O Agni,
or in sin or be hated!32
Yet on another occasion the poet can explode: "I the mortal cry unto you the immortal!"33
We all belong together; things, animals, Men, and Gods form together the family of reality, not indeed a democratic assembly, but nevertheless a real community. We are all called upon to drink the Soma. Man is not alone, because he is not "man" alone. Indeed, to be "man" is only a mental abstraction, since "man," truly viewed, is just a "cut" in the complex web of reality. Each being has its own identity, but this is possible precisely because the identity is seen and experienced against the background of a hierarchical differentiation. This is the revelation of the purusha.
When Man rises at morning and proceeds to pray, or when he utters some prayers before retiring at night, he does so not out of a sense of duty or because he is impelled by an urgent love, but for the same "reason" that the waters flow, the sun shines, and the Gods keep the world together--certainly, out of no mechanical compulsion, but out of the deepest performance of his humanness. The shruti puts it in one short sentence, "Truth alone is worship,"34 and to be true to ourselves means also to be truthful to the shaping of the universe just by being, that is, by becoming, what we really are called upon to be.
I hope that the prayers that follow may combine the concreteness of the single tradition with a universality that may enable them to be recited and prayed by people from outside the Vedic phylum. When we have retained proper names for the Vedic Gods, the reader may readily understand them as symbols of the superhuman rather than as particular personages linked exclusively with a single orthodoxy. Perhaps the advantage for today of the Vedic prayers is that, just because most of them have already died, they are ready to rise again in a more universal way. Modern Man may sometimes find difficulty in reading these texts as prayers. We should not consider here the rightness or wrongness of such an attitude, but limit ourselves to observing that these hymns can also be read in a less pietistic frame of mind, as manifestations of the Spirit, as our own internal dialogue, or as the crystallization of a human experience of which we are the heirs. In Part VII we do not intend to distract the reader with Indological notes or to burden him unnecessarily with difficult versions. This is the justification for the absence of the former and for a less literal rendering of the latter.
A. AT SUNRISE
Suryodaya
All that has been said about worship is meant to help us have the proper attitude of heart and mind as we approach the selected texts which, in their turn, are not an end in themselves, but simply companions on the road toward the final station of Man. The texts gathered here for prayer at sunrise follow a simple and natural pattern. Each season of the year presents five texts that contain certain underlying ideas: (1) The Mystery of the Origins; (2) The Awakening to Life and Light; (3) The Shining of the Sun: Prayers for Protection and for the Offering of the Sacrifice; (4) Praise to the Sacred Drink; and (5) The Discovery of the One.
Before we enter into the experience of prayer we wish to summon an invisible guide who will faithfully direct us; it is Gracious Disposition, shivasamkalpa. Without the grace of the Spirit--however we may envisage it--nothing can be properly thought, nothing can be properly done, no correct bearings can be taken, no real prayer can be uttered.
1. THE MYSTERY OF THE ORIGINS
It is still dark, just before the appearance of dawn. Man would like to pierce the obscurity, to understand what it is that overcomes and overwhelms him, to find an answer to the questions that haunt his mind about the beginning of everything, the mystery of beings and of Being. How did Men, the cosmos, come to be, come to life? What, who, is behind the scenes? Groping in the dark, hesitant, never sure which aspect of the reality they are trying to approach, the Vedic seers have made an attempt to describe some insights into these perennial questions. They do not expound metaphysical theories; they only whisper in a poetic murmur something of the mystery of the world.35
Could it be a divine Artificer--here Brahmanaspati the Lord of the Holy Word--who fashioned the universe?36 Or Aditi, the Universal Mother, who gave birth to the earth and then herself came to birth, followed by the Gods? Or the Gods, who produced the earth while dancing? All these cosmogonic conjectures remain hypothetical, while the one clear assertion is that from nonexistence comes existence, or, stated more simply, existence is.
Later on we are told of a divine Architect, vishvakarman.37 Here the whole process is understood as a sacrifice, in which the sacrificer, the priest, is also the victim.38 The universe is declared to be the work of a person, a poet, a seer,39 a sculptor, a smith, a carpenter. What was the primal matter, the substance? The query remains unanswered. Nevertheless behind everything that is visible or tangible, behind any work of craftmanship, is invariably the One, who knows everything and who gave the Gods their names.
In one hymn of the Atharva Veda the "mighty mystery" to be known is that Heaven and Earth are the universal Father and Mother.40 In another it is the Sun, the vivifier and generator, who brings to birth both Heaven and Earth.41
It seems as if all the searchings, speculations, and yearnings of preceding ages are packed into the long, enigmatic, and at times obscure hymn to the Support of the Universe, skambha.42 The main trends of thought here seem to be centered (a) on the Support itself, which holds everything, knows everything, and is the repository of all living beings; (b) on the solar Support, that is, the Sun, which alone remains stable while the generations of Men are destroyed and consumed by Time, the maker of seasons, months, and days, and which marks the time of sacrifice; (c) on the One, Brahman, which is frequently identified with the Sun and which in the compass of one stanza is identified, in rapid succession, with Fire, and with the threefold Swan (v. 17)-- the One that embraces all things and yet is finer than a single hair (v. 25). He is fullness (v. 29), he is near and far, he does not die, he never grows old (v. 32), he is the Unborn (v. 41). The hymn ends on a clear note: the revelation of the atman, wise, immortal, ever young, self-existent (v. 44).
2. THE AWAKENING TO LIFE AND LIGHT
And it is Dawn! The exquisitely graceful and smiling Goddess awakens sleeping mortals to life and joy, for work or worship.43 She is ever radiant, clothed in light, the light that announces a new day and restores vigor, courage, and hope to Men. As soon as Dawn appears, she prompts the worshiper to prayer, to the offering of the sacrifice. Then, having diffused her radiance, she disappears, youthful and immortal, before the splendor and warmth of the Sun.
3. THE SHINING OF THE SUN: PRAYERS FOR PROTECTION AND FOR THE OFFERING OF THE SACRIFICE
At the rising of the Sun a new day starts and Man is caught up in all kinds of activities.44 He has to face once more the unknown, the struggles, difficulties, and evils that await him; he has to take care of his land, his cattle and horses, his goods, his relatives, his varied tasks--and himself. It is Pushan, divine Providence,45 whom he spontaneously implores for protection against the wicked, against robbers, even against the untimely heat. It is to him that he addresses his prayers for green pastures, smooth paths, food in plenty, and spiritual energy.
Now the time has come to sacrifice to Agni, the bringer of peace, the priest who conveys Men's offerings to the Gods in order to renew each day Man's commerce with the divine.46 It is he, pure light, from whom Men implore protection from evil and disease, for he is truly a tower in which all can take refuge and feel secure.
4. PRAISE TO THE SACRED DRINK
The preparation of the Sacred Drink Soma is not, like the agnihotra, a regular ritual; it is not of daily occurrence. It is an offering of the wealthy, the privilege of the rich and noble, an oblation for special occasions. Its sacred character makes it the supreme sacrifice of the Rig Veda with a highly elaborated ritual performance. Though the soma-juice may be prepared three times a day, we confine ourselves to hymns sung in praise of Soma during its purificatory rite. It seemed appropriate to include them in the selection for morning prayers.47 The six hymns given, like all those belonging to Book IX of the Rig Veda, are addressed to pavamana, the self-purifying. They deal with the self-purification of the soma-juice as it passes through the woolen sieve, the most solemn act in the making of the sacred drink. These hymns therefore are extolling the highest qualities of the liquor, its cleansing power. Again and again its purity, clarity, and luminosity are praised. Soma, like Agni, chases away evil, sorrow, darkness, and impurity. He is all-powerful, the life-quickener who imbues his worshipers with vitality, health of mind and body, and noble thoughts. He is the sage par excellence who bestows wisdom and brings with him peace and joy, ecstasy and illumination. He leads to immortality.
Here we are already in a purely spiritual sphere. The early morning praise of the sacred drink awakens in the heart and mind of Man a desire for purity, wholeness, and wisdom; it brings to his awareness the stream of vitality and vigor which flows within him. Soma inspires in him a consciousness also of the immortal within him. It should be added that so sacred is this drink that in Vedic times only Gods and priests were allowed to partake of it. If we include these hymns in a daily prayer, it is because we are bold enough to mix Soma in our everyday bread.
5. THE DISCOVERY OF THE ONE
What is astounding about the Isha Upanishad is that within the compass of only eighteen verses it sets forth a series of intuitions, the more profound for their simplicity, which disclose the mystery underlying all these prayers, praises, and speculations of the Rig Veda and the Atharva Veda given in the sunrise selection.48
The Isha Upanishad reveals the One in his transcendence and immanence, the One who is everywhere and nowhere. The path to him, it declares, is the path of nonduality, of oneness, through which one reaches true liberty, joy, and wisdom. Here is to be found immortality; here is to be found liberation. It is important to stress that the message of this Upanishad is not reserved for hermits, sages, recluses of the forests, monks, and the like. It may not be addressed to the masses, but it is in no way confined to those who have "left the world." It is an error to think that the attitude of nonpossession, first step toward a unity of being, presupposes that one must abandon one's earthly belongings and retire to a lonely spot. Nonpossession is an attitude of heart and mind where the ego, the little self, exists no more. It is complete unselfishness in everything, which makes one lightsome and free as a bird. It is the first existential step, and unless one resolutely enters upon that path, one will never grasp the wisdom revealed by this Upanishad.
The last four verses seem to have no direct link with the rest of the Upanishad. According to tradition they are a prayer for a dying person, followed by prayers to Agni, to the Sun, and to Pushan.
Sivasamkalpa
1
YV XXXIV, 1-6
1. That Divine which soars aloft when Man awakes
and returns to its same place when he is sleeping,
the one Light of lights which travels afar--
may that spirit be graciously disposed toward me!
2. That through which the wise are active in sacrifice,
the understanding perform their duty in assemblies,
that incomparable spirit, interior to all beings--
may that spirit be graciously disposed toward me!
3. That which is wisdom, consciousness, and firmness,
that Light immortal interior to all beings,
without whose will we perform no action--
may that spirit be graciously disposed toward me!
4. That immortal by which this universe is encompassed,
all that was and is and is yet to be,
by which with seven priests the sacrifice is extended--
may that spirit be graciously disposed toward me!
5. That in which the prayers, the songs and formulas
are fixed firm like spokes in the hub of a cartwheel,
in which are interwoven the hearts of all beings,
may that spirit be graciously disposed toward me!
6. That which guides Men as a charioteer drives his powerful horses with the reins, which dwells within the heart, swiftly moving-- may that spirit be graciously disposed toward me!
Vasanta
Agni
RV X, 156, 4-5
Vishvedevah
2
RV X, 72
Ushas
3
RV I, 92
Pushan
4
RV I, 42
Soma
5
RV IX, 4
Ishavasyam
6
IS U 1-3
Grishma
Surya
RV VII, 66, 15
Vishvakarman
7
RV X, 81
Ushas
8
RV I, 124
Agni
9
RV I, 189
Soma
10
RV IX, 31
Ejati tan naijati
11
IS U 4-6
Varsha
Brhaspati
RV X, 68, 1
Vishvakarman
12
RVX,82
Ushas
13
RV III, 61
Agni-Surya
14
RV IV, 14
Soma
15
RV IX, 36
Kavir manishi
16
IS U 7-9
Sharad
Mitra-Varuna
RV VII, 66, 16
Mahadbrahma
17
AV I, 32
Ushas
18
RV VII, 75
Agni
19
RV VII, 10
Soma
20
RV IX, 59
Mrtyum tirtva
21
IS U 10-12
Hemanta
Shyena
AV VII, 41
Savitri
22
AV VII, 14
Ushas
23
RV VII, 78
Mitra-Varuna
24
RV VII, 63
Soma
25
RV IX, 94
Amrta
26
IS U 13-14
Shishira
Mitra
RV III, 59, 1
Skambha
AV X, 8
Ushas
28
RV VII, 79
Pushan
29
AV VII, 9
Soma
30
RV IX, 104
Satyadharmaya drshtaye
31
IS U 15-18
O shining One, cause now the Sun,
that unaging star, to climb the sky,
imparting light to men.
You, O Lord, are mankind's bright sign,
best, most beloved of the people. Awake!
Give strength to the singer!
To the Divine Craftsman
1. With all the pleasing skill we may;
the birth of Gods we now proclaim
in chanted hymns, that Men to come
may know the truth of what befell.
2. The Lord of the Holy Word, like a smith,
blasted and smelted them together.
In erstwhile ages of the Gods
from nonexistence existence came.
3. In earlier ages of the Gods
from nonexistence existence came.
Then came to birth the cardinal points
from within the upward-moving Power.
4. And from the upward-moving Power
sprang earth, from earth the cardinal points.
Daksha was from Aditi born,
from Daksha's bosom Aditi.
5. Then did Aditi issue into being,
she who, O Daksha, was your daughter.
After her the Gods, the blessed ones,
Sharers of immortal life, were born.
6. When at that time you were found in the waters,
O Gods, pressed together, close-clasping one another,
a storm of dust arose from your feet
as from the stamping feet of dancers.
7. When, O Gods, like wonder-workers,
you inflated the worlds and all that is,
you restored to the realm of day the Sun,
who was lying hidden beneath the sea.
8. Eight in number are the sons of Aditi,
who from her body sprang to life.
With seven she joined the ranks of the Gods;
the eighth, the Sun, she thrust to one side.
9. So with her seven sons Aditi
advanced upon the earlier age.
She brought the Sun to earth that he
might bring things to life and then pass to his death.
You Who Shine Forth, Bring Blessings to Men
1. Now the Dawns have made their bright appearance,
unfurling their splendor in the eastern firmament.
Like strong men preparing their weapons,
these mothers, the reddish morning clouds, arise.
2. The rosy morning rays have arisen unhindered,
hitching to their chariot the willing red clouds.
Restoring to all things their erstwhile clarity,
the red-hued Dawns have assumed brilliant splendor.
3. They chant a hymn like women active in worship,
united on the same path, coming from afar.
They convey refreshment to the liberal giver
and bestow all good things on the preparer of oblation.
4. Dawn like a dancer puts on her ornaments;
as a cow yields her udder, so she bares her bosom.
She creates light for all living beings, flinging wide
the gates of darkness, as cows their enclosure.
5. We have beheld the radiance of her shining.
Advancing, she drives away the horror of the night.
Like a colored post, anointed at the sacrificial feast,
so the Dawn, Heaven's daughter, is adorned with wondrous splendor.
6. Now we have crossed to the other shore of darkness.
Dawn, shining forth, brings a limpid clarity.
She smiles like an enchantress, shining in glory.
Her beautiful countenance awakens us for joy.
7. The singing priests have praised radiant Dawn,
the daughter of Heaven, the bringer of graces.
You, O Dawn, strengthen us with offspring and Men;
you make us rich in horses and cattle.
8. O Dawn, grant us renown, stalwart sons and servants,
ample treasure and possession of horses.
You who shine forth in glory and splendor,
impelled by your own powers, bring blessings to Men.
9. Gazing out over all the world
and spreading her light rays westward, Dawn shines.
She wakens to motion all living creatures
and heeds the voice of every worshiper.
10. This ancient of days is continually reborn,
adorning herself with similar colors.
As a bird catcher holds in his power flying creatures,
so this Goddess diminishes the life of mortals.
11. Now she discloses heaven's farthest horizons,
chasing far away her sister the Night.
She reflects the splendor of the Sun, her lover,
and makes the score of days of all creatures to dwindle.
12. Bright Dawn, the blessed One, spreads forth her rays
like grazing cattle or expanding floodwaters;
never infringing divine precepts, she appears
with escorting sunbeams, visible to all.
13. Ample, O Dawn, is your store of treasure.
Grant us your wondrous boons that we
may nourish our children and our children's sons.
14. Your shining evokes sweet sounds of life.
Grant us your favor this day that we
may abound in herds of cattle and in horses.
15. O Dawn, made more splendid by holy worship,
yoke to your car your reddish steeds
and bring to us all felicity.
16. O powerful Spirits, with one mind and will
direct your chariot toward our home
and make it rich in cattle and gold.
17. You who brought down from heaven sweet song,
a light that enlightens the race of Men,
grant to us now, O Spirits, strength.
18. May those who wake at dawn bring hither the Gods,
the givers of refreshment and doers of marvels,
on paths of gold that they may drink Soma.
Lead Us to Pastures Green, O God
1. Shorten our path, O God, remove
all stumbling blocks, Deliverer.
Be at hand to guide.
2. Scare from our road the wicked wolf,
the ill-intentioned one who lies
in wait to harm.
3. The robber lurking round our path,
who cunningly contrives our hurt,
chase far away.
4. Trample beneath your feet the burning
brand of the wicked, whoever he be,
the double-tongued.
5. From you, wise wonder-working God,
we claim today that selfsame aid
you gave our Fathers.
6. So, Giver of favors, you who wield
the golden sword, grant to us riches
easily won.
7. Help us elude pursuers, O God,
and make our path both smooth and fair.
Show us your might.
8. Lead us to pastures green, O God.
Protect us from untimely heat.
Show us your might.
9. Be gracious to us, fill us wholly,
impart to us food and spiritual vigor.
Show us your might.
10. All that God does shall win our praise.
We magnify his name with hymns,
seeking boons from the Mighty.
O Cleansing Drink, Make Us Perfect
1. O cleansing sacred Drink,
conqueror of high renown,
make us perfect.
2. Bring us to light, the light
celestial, and all pure joys,
make us perfect.
3. Enhance our skills and powers
of mind; drive far all foes;
make us perfect.
4. O purifier, prepare
this Drink, a draught for the Lord.
Make us perfect.
5. Give us a share in the Sun
by your wisdom and favor.
Make us perfect.
6. Sustained and helped by you,
long may we see the Sun!
Make us perfect.
7. Almighty God, upon us pour
a double portion of your grace.
Make us perfect.
8. O King ever victorious,
impart to us your wealth.
Make us perfect.
9. Strengthened by Man's worship,
O purifier, you grant gifts.
Make us perfect.
10. Grant us, O God, Life-quickener,
all that this world affords;
make us perfect.
All Is Enveloped by the Lord
That is Fullness, this is Fullness,
from Fullness comes Fullness.
When Fullness is taken from Fullness,
Fullness remains.
Om, peace, peace, peace.
1. This whole universe, all that lives
and moves on earth, is enveloped by the Lord.
Therefore find joy in abandoning the transient.
Do not hanker for another Man's lot.
2. When he performs all actions with integrity,
a Man may desire to live a hundred years.
For you also there is no other way.
A Man's deeds do not cling to him.
3. Infernal are some worlds called, enwrapped
in deepest darkness. Thither at death
go those who try to slay the atman.
b) Summer
Across the expanse of the whole horizon
the seven bay mares draw the Sun on his chariot,
the Lord of each single thing, moving and inert,
to bring us joy.
The Divine Architect
1. The Seer, our father, once offered all these worlds in oblation,
assuming a priestly role, and sought to gain riches
by the power of prayer; he himself entered later creations,
while shrouding in mystery the first creative moment.
2. What was the primal matter, what the substance?
How could it be discerned, how was it made?
From which the Designer of all things, beholding all,
fashioned the Earth and shaped the glory of the Heavens?
3. A myriad eyes are his, a myriad faces,
a myriad arms and feet, turning each way!
When he, sole God, creates the Earth and Heavens,
he welds them together with whirring of arms and wings.
4. What was the timber and what the tree from which
the Heavens and also the Earth were chiseled forth? Ponder, O wise Men. Question in your hearts.
On what did he rely when he formed these worlds?
5. The haunts where you dwell, O Designer ever true to your laws,
on high, in the depths, and in every region between,
disclose to your friends at the hour of oblation. Willingly
offer your body in sacrifice, thus enhancing its vigor.
6. O Designer of all, who enhance your own vigor through oblation,
offer as sacrifice for yourself the Earth and the Sky!
Let others around us wander hither and thither!
May we find a generous patron to offer his bounty!
7. Let us now invoke for our aid the Lord of Speech,
the Designer of all things that are, the inspirer of wisdom!
May he, the ever kindly, be well disposed to our summons,
and may he, whose work is goodness, grant us his blessing!
Dawn Spurns None, Whether Lowly or Mighty
1. Dawn shines forth at the kindling of the fire.
When the Sun rises, light is spread.
The Inspirer God now sends us forth,
both two- and four-legged, each to its own task.
2. Never transgressing the heavenly laws,
marking the passing of human generations,
Dawn shines forth--the last of endless
mornings and the first of dawns to follow.
3. This Daughter of Heaven has revealed herself
in the eastern region, all clothed in light.
Faithfully she follows the path of Cosmic Order;
well understanding, she measures out the regions.
4. Like a wondrous bird she reveals her breast.
She discloses delights like a singer of songs.
She awakens sleeping mortals like a fly,
ever returning, a most faithful apparition.
5. In the eastem half of the sky's firmament
the mother of the cloud-cows has set up her banner.
She goes on diffusing her light far and wide
until she fills the expanse of earth and heaven.
6. The first among many is she to be seen,
debarring from her light neither kinsman nor stranger.
She radiates, proud of her pure appearance,
spurning none, whether great or lowly.
7. As a girl without a brother seeking for men,
ascending the stage as if in search of treasures,
Dawn, like a loving wife for her husband,
fair-robed and smiling, unveils her bosom.
8. Departing like one who will return, sister Night
relinquishes her place to her elder sister,
who, beaming forth with the rays of the Sun,
is adorned, like maidens going to a festival.
9. In the sequence of sisters, in the course of days,
each later one goes behind a former.
May these Dawns radiate abundance as before,
may they now herald for us a good day!
10. Awaken, O Dawn, the generous giver;
let the stingy miser sleep on in his bed!
Shine brightly, O bounteous teller of our days,
on those who now worship and sing their praise.
11. The maiden from the East has shone upon us,
harnessing her team of red-hued oxen.
She shines; the light floods in to rouse us.
May the Fire be present in every dwelling!
12. As birds fly forth from their roosting places,
so men rise at your summons to replenish their store.
Even to the sacrificer who remains in his home
your daily arrival brings much gain.
13. May my prayer confer praise on you, the praiseworthy!
The procession of Dawns has increased our riches.
By your good favor may we be endowed
with riches a hundred, a thousandfold!
Most Loving God, Guard Us from Evil
1. By the right path, O Lord, lead us to plenitude;
lead us, O Lord. You know every path.
Deliver us from the sin that would lead us astray.
We desire to hymn you in myriad ways.
2. By your favors granted enable us, O Lord,
once again to leap over the pitfalls that face us.
Be a high tower, powerful and broad, for both us
and our children. To our people bring well-being and peace.
3. Spare us, O Lord, from all diseases.
Let them strike at those who are bereft of your aid!
May this earth afford us a gracious transit,
thanks to you, O Adorable, and all the immortals!
4. Protect us, O Lord, with your perpetual aid,
so that, now that you shine in your well-loved abode,
O Deity youthful, panic may not strike
your songster either today or tomorrow.
5. Abandon us not, O Lord, to the wicked,
the destroyer, the liar, the hapless wretch.
Do not hand us over to the demon who gnashes
or the toothless one or the man who may despoil us!
6. A God like you, O Lord, born of truth,
will furnish with armor the man who extols him,
preserving him from those who would harm or slander,
for you, O Lord, are the deliverer from ambush.
7. You alone can discern both the opposites.
Before the sacrifice you seize on Man
but during the sacrifice Man seizes you!
Like a racehorse, you let yourself be reined by the priests!
8. To propitiate this God we have uttered these phrases.
I, son of Man, have hailed Agni the strong.
May we, by the help of innumerable seers,
be surrounded on all sides by superabundance!
Lord, We Desire Your Friendship
1. Forth flows the Soma-juice,
pure, beneficent,
producing visible fullness.
2. Increase for us splendor
from earth and heaven.
Be the Lord of all might!
3. For you the winds blow,
full of love; for you
the rivers flow.
They enhance, O Soma, your greatness.
4. Surge, O Soma!
May potent strength
gather from all sides within you!
Be the central point of all power!
5. For you, O brown-hued Soma,
the cows have yielded
on the highest summit
imperishable milk and fatness.
6. O Lord of all,
we desire your friendship,
O Drop, powerful defender.
He Moves and He Moves Not
4. Unmoving, the One is swifter than the mind.
No power can reach him as he speeds on before.
Standing still, he outstrips those who run.
From him life-power thrills through all things.
5. He moves and he moves not; he is far, yet is near;
he is within all that is, yet is also outside.
6. The Man who sees all beings in the Self
and the Self in all beings is free from all fear.
c) Rainy Season
Like the cry of watchful birds swimming in water,
like the loud claps of thundering rain clouds,
like joyful streams gushing from the mountain,
so have our hymns sounded forth to the Lord.
The Divine Creator
1. The Father of vision, the wise in spirit, created
in the manner of ritual oil both these worlds that bow before him.
As soon as the easterr. ends were firmly secured,
the Sky and the Earth were in their turn extended.
2. Exceedingly wise, exceedingly strong is the Designer.
He is Creator, Disposer, Epiphany supreme.
Mortal Men rejoice that their votive offerings are heeded
there where they say the One is, beyond the Seven Seers.
3. He is our Father who begat us, he the Disposer
who knows all situations, every creature.
It was he alone who gave to the Gods their names;
to him come questioning all the other creatures.
4. To him the seers of old offered their substance in sacrifice,
as did also the multitude of singers
who fashioned this whole universe when first the spheres,
both the shadowy realm and the bright, were set in their places.
5. That which the Waters first received, beyond the heavens,
beyond the earth, beyond both Gods and demons--
say, what was that, the first primeval germ,
when all the assembled Gods, and they alone, were watching?
6. He was the primal germ borne by the Waters,
wherein all the Gods were coalesced together;
at the navel of the Nonborn the One and Only is set,
he upon whom depend all created beings.
7. You have no knowledge of him who created these worlds;
some other thing has interposed between you.
The reciters of hymns who ravish life in their ritual
proceed with their muttering, enwrapped in confusion and ignorance.
Dawn, Emblem of the Immortal
1. O Dawn, whose enterprises never fail
and who understands all things, accept our songs.
O ancient yet ever-youthful Goddess, you proceed
in accordance with Law, endowed with wealth and fullness.
2. O immortal Goddess, beam forth your rays.
Let your shining chariot, loaded with gifts,
bring you hither in the company of your docile steeds,
your powerful steeds, O golden Lady!
3. Arising, you turn your face toward all creatures.
You, O Dawn, are the emblem of the Immortal.
You who each day proceed to the same goal,
direct toward us, O Maiden, your chariot.
4. Spinner of light, beautiful Dawn,
you proceed on your way to your wonted haunts.
You bring light to birth, O generous One,
and encompass the confines of Heaven and Earth.
5. I hail you, Goddess, Dawn of light!
To her let us offer the homage of our songs!
She imparts to us sweetness, she steadies the Heaven
and lavishes abroad her radiant splendor.
6. Our songs have awakened this Daughter of Heaven.
Equitable, generous, she has scaled the two worlds.
Toward Dawn, O Fire, when she comes in her brightness,
you advance, eager to share her fair treasures.
7. The Mighty One, firm-based on Order, speeds after
each dawn and makes his debut in the worlds.
Great are the powers of Mitra and Varuna.
Dawn in all directions diffuses her splendor!
The Divine Inspirer Arises
1. At many a dawn of shining splendor
has the Lord presided.
Come on your chariots, far-ranging Spirits,
come to our sacrifice.
2. Suffusing light for every creature,
the Inspirer God rises.
The Sun has filled heaven and earth with his radiance,
disclosing his presence.
3. Rosy Dawn advances, adorned with the brightness
of many a beam.
She pursues her way on her well-equipped chariot,
arousing Men to joy.
4. Come, O twin Spirits, at break of day
on your powerful chariots.
We offer in sacrifice this honey-sweet draught
for your delectation.
5. How is it that, though united and unsupported,
he does not fall down ?
By what inner power moves he? Who has seen? A firm pillar,
he protects heaven's vault.
Inspire Us to Skill of Mind and Hand
1. Like a chariot horse
he speeds through the sieve
and spurts into the cup.
The winner of the race has reached the goal.
2. Become pure, O Soma,
as you flow with due care,
calling on the Gods,
passing through the sieve to the honey-dripping bowl.
3. Foremost Purifier,
let your lights
shine on us now,
inspiring us to skill of mind and hand.
4. His beauty enhanced
by the hands of those faithful
to Sacred Order,
he is purified, as he flows, in the woolen strainer.
5. May Soma bestow
on the offerer all treasures,
both earthly and heavenly,
and those that pertain to the airy spaces!
6. To the height of heaven
you ascend, O Soma,
O Lord of Power,
in search of horses and cattle and heroes!
In Him Dwells All Wisdom
7. When, to a Man who knows, all beings
have become one with his own self,
when furthermore he perceives this oneness,
how then can sorrow or delusion touch him?
8. He is radiant, encompassing all,
incorporeal, devoid of scar or sinew,
invulnerable, pure, unpierced by evil.
He is seer, sage, omnipresent, self-existent.
To everything he has assigned its due place
through ages and ages unending.
9. Into blinding darkness enter those Men
who revere ignorance; into blinder still
go those who pride themselves on knowledge.
d) Autumn
The Eye of Light, established by the Gods,
may we see his rising for a hundred autumns!
Yes, may we live for a hundred autumns!
Know, O People, a Mighty Mystery
1. Know, O people, a mighty mystery,
about to be proclaimed--
that which is not found on earth or in heaven,
that by which the plants breathe.
2. In space is their stay, like a platform for the wearied,
the place of support
for all that is. This the wise know--
or perhaps they do not?
3. That which the trembling worlds and the earth
together created
is now in perpetual movement, like the streams
of the mighty ocean.
4. The one has encompassed all; it is established
upon the other.
To Heaven and to Earth, which possesses all things,
I have offered my worship.
Light Up Our Path . . . Leat Us to Worship
1. From her birthphce in heaven
rosy Dawn is revealed
as ordained by Cosmic Law--
the presage of glory!
She has chased away fiends
and hateful darkness;
she lights up the paths--
most noble of the noble!
2. Arouse us today
to success and good fortune.
To loftier joys
promote us, O Dawn!
Grant to us wealth
of every kind,
O Goddess renowned,
friend of Man!
3. Look! The fair splendors
of Morning approach us,
everlasting, bedecked
with every color.
Filling the region
between earth and heaven,
they mount on high,
eliciting worship.
4. This Daughter of Heaven,
Queen of the world,
yokes her chariot
and goes far away.
She visits all the lands
where the five peoples dwell,
surveying the deeds
and the hearts of mortals.
5. Rich in treasure
beyond all telling,
this bride of the Sun
controls all wealth.
Our youthfulness she steals,
yet the seers extol her!
The priests sing the praises
of radiant Dawn.
6. Here come her steeds
of varying hues,
the red steeds drawing
resplendent Morning.
On her beautiful car
the fair Goddess advances,
bringing much wealth
for her faithful servant.
7. True with the true,
mighty with the mighty,
divine with the divine,
holy with the holy--
she flung down all barriers
and released the sunrays,
who greeted Morning
with shouts of joy!
8. O Dawn, grant us riches
to rejoice our hearts,
cattle and horses
and men of true valor.
Protect from trampling
feet our sacred grass.
Preserve us, O Gods,
evermore with your blessings!
The Priest of All Joy
1. Agni the golden, lover of the Dawn, spreads forth
his far-extending radiance. Brightly he shines,
refulgent, within a halo of pure light.
He has aroused and inspired our eager thoughts.
2. He shines forth at dawn like the sunlight, deploying the sacrifice
in the manner of priests unfolding their prayerful thoughts.
Agni, the God who knows well all the generations,
visits the Gods as a messenger, most efficacious.
3. To Agni are directed our songs and aspirations,
seeking the God and petitioning bounteous favors--
to the pleasant to behold, the handsome one, the mighty,
the mediator, conveyor of Men's oblations.
4. O Agni, bring to us Indra, together with the Vasus,
bring hither the powerful Rudra with all his followers,
Aditi, kindly to all Men, together with her sons,
and longed-for Brhaspati with the singers!
5. At sacrifice the prayerful congregation worships Agni,
the priest of all joy, the ever-youthful deity.
It is he who holds dominion over all treasures,
unwearied envoy to the Gods at the hour of oblation.
Pure and Ever More Pure
1. O Soma, be pure
and ever more pure!
Win cattle and horses and the treasure of children
--all that brings joy!
2. Be pure for the waters,
be pure for the plants,
be pure for the sacrifice and ever more pure,
O you the inviolable!
3. O Soma, be pure
and ever more pure!
Surmounting all dangers you sit as a sage
on the sacrificial straw!
4. Attain, O Purifier,
the heavenly light!
Once born you wax great, O sacred Drop,
surpassing all!
Passing over Death
10. To one result leads knowledge, they say,
to another ignorance. Thus we have heard
from the wise who explained it to us.
11. The Man who understands both knowledge and ignorance,
holding the two in tension together,
by ignorance passes over death
and by knowledge attains immortal life.
12. Into blind darkness enter those Men
who revere the permanent, into blinder still
go those who in the impermanent exult.
e) Winter
Across the wastes,
across the waters,
the solar Falcon, observer of Men, has cleft
an unerring path
to his haven desired.
Transcending all
the lower regions,
may he wing his way hither as harbinger of blessings,
accompanied by Indra!
May this heavenly eagle,
observer of Men,
this thousand-footed Falcon with progeny a hundredfold,
imparter of vigor,
restore to us the treasure that was stolen from us!
May he grant us ample
means of libation,
as he did to our Fathers in days of old!
Grant to Us Life, Power, and Riches
1. I offer a song to this God, Inspirer
of heaven and earth, surpassingly wise,
possessed of real energy, giver of treasure,
dear to all hearts!
2. His splendor extends far and wide, his light
shines brightly in creation. He traverses the sky,
golden-handed, measuring the heaven by his appearance,
full of wisdom!
3. It was you, God, who inspired our father of old,
granting him space above and on all sides.
May we too enjoy day by day your blessings
and life abundant!
4. This Inspirer God, the Friend whom we adore,
has bestowed on our Fathers life, power, and riches.
Let him drink Soma, rejoicing in our offerings.
In his Law walks the pilgrim!
O Dawn, Convey to Us Joy
1. The first rays of Dawn have appeared once again!
Her splendors diffuse their radiance on high.
O Dawn, giver of Light, who draw near
on your lofty chariot, convey to us joy!
2. The well-kindled Fire lifts up its voice loudly;
the singers greet her with hymns of praise.
Goddess Dawn approaches with her light,
driving away all darkness and danger.
3. There in the East the day is appearing;
the lights of morning, increasing, shine brightly,
bringing forth the Sun, Sacrifice, and Fire,
while evil darkness withdraws in the West.
4. Heaven's bounteous Daughter has come once again,
and all eyes behold the Dawn in her shining.
She has mounted her chariot, empowered by its own impulse
and drawn by its team of well-yoked horses.
5. Awaking, we greet you with confident minds,
we and our nobles who furnish the oblations.
Show yourselves favorable, O Dawns, as you arise
and protect us forever with your blessings!
The Inspirer of All Men, Heart's Delight
1. Here comes the Sun beneficent! His gaze
rests upon all Men, on all Men his blessing.
The God, the eye of Mitra and Varuna,
has rolled up darkness like a scroll of parchment.
2. The Inspirer of all Men advances, the Sun,
displaying his mighty shimmering banner.
Now he will turn again the chariot wheel
which, harnessed to the shaft, the sun-horse pulls.
3. Emerging resplendent from the bosom of the mornings,
he ascends, heart's delight of all the singers.
This is the God I hail as Vivifier!
He never infringes the Order's harmony.
4. This bright jewel of the sky rises--limitless his vision!
Far is his goal; he hastens on resplendent.
Now, animated by the Sun, earth's people
can go about their business and perform their tasks.
5. He follows, like an eagle with flight unswerving,
the course designed for him by the Immortals.
Directly the sun rises, Mitra and Varuna, we are eager to serve you with worship and oblations.
6. May Mitra, Varuna, Aryaman, grant us freedom
and space enough for us and for our children!
May we find pleasant pathways, good to travel!
Preserve us evermore, O Gods, with blessings!
Born for Glory, Come Forth for Glory!
1. Like ornaments vying for the neck of a winner,
like the cries of men contending for light,
so our songs strive for Soma who, in accordance with his choice,
is purified by waters as a sage. His wisdom
is like an enclosure for the rearing of cattle.
2. It is he who has revealed the abode of immortality.
All worlds have expanded for him who found the Light.
Our songs, increasing like cows in the pasture,
hail aloud the sacred Drop with deep devotion.
3. Encompassing wisdom on all sides, the Seer,
the Hero, moves through all worlds like a chariot,
preparing for mortals glory among the Gods,
rewards for the skillful, new things among the Gods at their appearing.
4. Born for glory, he has come forth for glory.
He endows the singers with glory and strength.
Robed in glory, they have gone to immortality.
He, measuring his course, is successful in the encounter.
5. Stream for us nourishment, horses, and cattle!
Shed light abroad, give delight to the Gods!
All this for you is easy of achievement,
for you, Soma Purifier, repel all enemies.
Immortality
13. To one result leads the impermanent, they say,
to another the permanent. Thus we have heard
from the wise who explained it to us.
14. The Man who understands both the impermanent and the permanent
holding the two in tension together,
by the impermanent passes over death
and by the permanent attains immortal life.
f) Frosty Season
He who is called Divine Friend brings Men together.
The Divine Friend supports both earth and heaven,
watching over the peoples, never closing an eye.
To the Divine Friend offer an oblation of fatness!
In Whom Dwells All That Lives and Breathes
1. Homage to him who presides over all things,
that which was and that which shall be;
to whom alone belongs the heaven,
to that all-powerful Brahman be homage!
2. It is thanks to Skambha that Heaven and Earth
remain firm-fixed, each in place.
In him dwells all that lives and breathes
and all that opens and shuts the eye.
3. Three generations are past already;
others have followed in the relay of praise.
On high is positioned the measurer of space.
The Golden One has entered the green-gold plants.
4. One is the wheel; the bands are twelve;
three are the hubs--who can understand it?
Three hundred spokes and sixty in addition have been hammered therein and firmly riveted.
5. Take heed, O Savitri. Six are twins;
one is born singly. The twins desire
to unite with one that is born alone.
6. Though manifest, it is yet hidden, secret,
its name the Ancient, a mighty mode of being;
in Skambha is established this whole world;
therein is set fast all that moves and breathes.
7. Advancing in the East, withdrawing in the West,
it turns on one wheel, one rim, a thousand elements.
With a half of itself it begat all creation.
What has become of the half that remained?
8. The five-horsed chariot draws onward all creatures
with fleet-footed side horses pulling from the rear.
One sees of it the not yet vanished portion, not the vanished.
The Beyond appears nearer, the Before more distant.
9. A bowl there is with aperture at side and base upturned;
within it is accumulated every form of glory.
Upon it on their seven thrones are set the Seven Sages,
appointed as protectors of this whole vast sphere.
10. The verse hitched in front and the verse hitched behind,
the verse hitched to each and to every portion,
the verse through which the sacrifice proceeds to consummation--
which is it, I ask you, of all the verses?
11. What moves, what flies, what stands quite still,
what breathes, what breathes not, blinks the eye--
this, concentrated into a single One,
though multiple its forms, sustains the earth.
12. The infinite extends in many places,
the infinite and finite having a common border;
the guardian of the firmament alone can trace
that line, he who knows what has been and shall be.
13. The Lord of creatures stirs within the womb;
unseen himself, he comes to diverse births.
With half of himself he brought forth the whole world.
Of the other half what is the special sign?
14. Like a woman carrying water in a pitcher,
so he conveys the water on high.
All creatures behold him with their eyes,
but all do not know him with the spirit.
15. He dwells far away with that which is full.
Far away is he, free from deficiencies,
a great marvel in the center of the universe.
To him do sovereign rulers bring tribute.
16. That from which the Sun arises,
that into which the Sun subsides--
that I believe to be the Supreme.
There is nothing whatever that goes beyond.
17. Those who know or of old or in times between
refer by word of mouth to the knower of the Veda,
they speak one and all of the Sun in first place,
next, of Fire and also of the threefold Bird.
18. The Sun, the Bird who soars in the sky, s
preading his wings on a thousand-day flight,
pursues his course, gathering all the Gods
in his bosom, surveying all the worlds.
19. By Truth he blazes forth on high,
by Sacred Word he surveys below,
by Breath he breathes across these worlds--
the one in whom resides the Supreme.
20. The Man who knows the two fire sticks
from which by friction wealth is obtained--
it is he whom they call a knower of the Supreme,
it is he who knows the mighty Brahman.
21. In the beginning he came into being, footless.
In the beginning he bore the heavenly light.
Four-footed now, he has become the abode
of delightfulness, assuming [in himself] all delights.
22. In the same way whosoever reveres
the everlasting God who reigns supreme,
will himself become the abode of delights,
will himself receive food in abundance.
23. Men say that he is everlasting,
and yet he is renewed today.
Day and night with different forrns
by turns give birth to one another.
24. A hundred, a thousand, tens of thousands, millions--
innumerable are the forms of the Self entered in him.
They are destroyed; he gazes [imperturbable]!
Thus shines this God; thus is he!
25. The One is finer than a single hair;
the One is utterly invisible;
and yet this Deity, to me so dear,
is vaster than the whole wide universe.
26. Dwelling immortal in the house of mortals
is a fair maiden, never growing old.
The one for whom she was created lies prone
and he who made her has himself grown old.
27. You are woman, you are man,
you are boy and young girl, too.
You are the old man leaning on his staff.
When born, you everywhere reveal your face.
28. He is their father and no less their son,
at once the eldest brother and the youngest.
The One God penetrates within the mind,
the Firstborn--yet even now within the womb.
29. From fullness he pours forth the full;
the full spreads, merging with the full.
We eagerly would know from whence
he thus replenishes himself?
30. She is of ancient days, born in long ages past;
she the primeval has traversed creation.
The great Goddess Dawn, the shining One,
looks out from each being that blinks the eye.
31. The Deity whose name is "Helpful" dwells
encompassed by Cosmic Order.
It is by reason of her color that these trees
are green, and green their garlands of flowers.
32. Behold the marvelous mystery of God.
Near though he is, one cannot leave him!
Near though he is, one cannot see him!
He does not die, nor does he grow old.
33. Words uttered by the One who existed
before all else convey things as they are;
the place to which they go, reverberating,
is called by men great Brahman, the Ultimate.
34. That base on which both Gods and Men
are founded, like spokes set firmly in a hub,
in which the waters' flower by supernatural means
made its appearance--who or what is he?
35. The Gods who set the wind a-blowing,
who hold in relation the five compass points,
who deem themselves to be superior to offerings--
these guides of the Waters, who are they?
36. One among them is clothed with the earth;
another encompasses the airy spaces;
one, the Disposer, holds firm the heaven,
while others protect all the four quarters.
37. Who knows the fine-drawn thread on which
the creatures that we see are spun,
who knows the thread of that same thread
he also knows Brahman, the Ultimate.
38. I know the fine-drawn thread on which
the creatures that we see are spun;
I, even I, the thread know of the thread
and, consequently, Brahman, the Ultimate.
39. When, betwixt heaven and earth, the Fire
sped onward, consuming all things, there
where the wives of a single husband stood afar--
then where was Matarishvan to be found?
40. Matarishvan then had entered the Waters;
the Gods also had passed beneath the waves.
On high was the Sun, the measurer of space.
Soma purified, had entered the golden flames.
41. Loftier even than the lofty Gayatri,
strode he forth toward the Immortal.
Where, I ask, is the Unborn visible?
The knowers of song after song alone know it.
42. He who sends creatures to their rest,
who amasses great wealth, whose laws are as true
as the God Savitri--that One stands firm,
as firm as Indra, in the struggle for riches.
43. Behold now the lotus with nine gates, encircled
by the three strands; within is a great marvel
consisting in the Self. This it is
of which the knowers of Brahman have knowledge.
44. Who knows the Self, wise, youthful, never aging,
will have no fear of death, being free from desire--
immortal, wise, in his own Self resourceful
full of fresh sap, in nothing falling short.
Dawn Has Arisen, Our Welfare Is Assured
1. Arousing the lands where dwell the five peoples,
Dawn has made visible the pathways of Men.
The beautiful dawn clouds convey her radiance.
The light of the Sun has disclosed earth and heaven.
2. The Dawns advance like clans arrayed for battle,
their bright rays tingeing the sky's distant bounds.
The Sun extends his arms; the rose-colored dawn clouds,
imprisoning the darkness, beam forth their luster.
3. Goddess Dawn has arisen, endowed with great wealth,
eliciting homage--our welfare is assured!
Noblest of the noble, this Daughter of Heaven
grants to her worshipers varied treasures.
4. Give to us, Dawn, that copious bounty
with which you have rewarded those who sang your praises!
Loudly they acclaimed you, like the strong bulls that bellowed
as you unbarred the doors of the firm-set mountain.
5. Prevail on each God to give us his bounty!
Now at your appearing impart to us the charm
of pleasant voices and thoughts for our uplift.
Preserve us evermore, O Gods, with your blessings!
May He Who Knows Lead the Way!
1. On distant pathways is the birthplace of the Lord,
remote from Heaven, remote from Earth.
To the two abodes that are dear to his heart
he comes, then departs, knowing each path.
2. He knows and traverses each heavenly realm.
May he guide us in ways that are wholly secure!
Undertaking our welfare, shielding from all harm
may he who knows lead the way with vigilance!
3. We take up our stance, Lord, beneath your law.
May we, who now praise you, incur no harm!
4. May the Lord interpose his right hand to protect us;
may he retrieve for us that which we have lost!
Yes, may we recover that which is lost!
Drive Far All Sorrow!
1. Be seated, O friends;
your songs uplift
for him who is undergoing
purification.
Array him like a child
in festive attire!
Bring him an offering!
2. Unite him to his worshipers
as a calf to its herd--
this bringer of prosperity,
producer of bliss
which delights the Gods,
doubly potent!
3. Purify him
who gives us power--
a banquet, he,
[most blessed One!],
for our Friend and our Protector
and all their attendants!
4. Our songs have followed you
like lowing cows,
O procurer of treasure!
We add to your flow
a stream of milk,
cream-hued to tawny.
5. You, sacred Drop,
are the master of ecstasies,
favorite drink
of the immortal Gods.
Show us the path,
O guide supreme!
6. Drive far away
the rapacious demon,
whoever he may be!
Drive far the godless,
the Man who is false.
Drive far all sorrow!
Unveil Your Face That
I May See the Truth!
15. The face of Truth is covered over
by a golden vessel. Uncover it, O Lord,
that I who love the truth may see.
16. O Lord, sole Seer, Controller, Sun,
son of the Father of beings, shine forth.
Concentrate your splendor that I may behold
your most glorious form. He who is yonder--
the Man yonder--I myself am he!
17. Go, my breath, to the immortal breath.
Then may this body end in ashes!
Remember, O my mind, the deeds of the past,
remember the deeds, remember the deeds!
18. O Lord, lead us along the right path
to prosperity. O God, you know all our deeds.
Take from us our deceitful sin.
To you, then, we shall offer our prayers.
