Vedic Experience

D. THE LORD

Isha

image The Primal Man is, simply, All: what is and what shall be.

He is the Lord of Immortality.

AV XIX, 6, 4

The Lord is undoubtedly not a proper name of God; it is not a distinctive name. It is a comprehensive term used not only for the different names of the divinities and of God in different religious traditions, but also for many other forms of preeminence in the human world: the pontiff, the king, the ruler, the judge, the husband, and so on, are called “lords” in many a culture, while in a personified way even the powerful natural phenomena are considered to lord it over human beings. Probably no other name is more universal and more appropriate to denote that mystery greater than ourselves which some traditions have called God. Not every tradition agrees in calling the Supreme either Being or Person or Creator or even God. Further, if we use a proper name, if we say Varuna or Siva or Yahweh, we are not only personifying but also limiting our reference to that one cultuie where the word is at home. The name of Lord, on the contrary, seems to be universal and capable, at the same time, of taking on a concrete meaning. It betrays, indeed, a certain personalistic bias, but this bias is not essential to it, as we may see not only if we consult the etymology of the many words standing for it, like bhagavat, ishvara, prabhu, or, in other traditions, ba’al, adon, kyrios, allah (al-ilah), ahura mazda, but also and mainly if we consider that the main import of the name Lord (and all its equivalents) is not that of being an individual or even a particular being, but of being the superior term of a relation. The Lord is probably the most universal symbol for that “other term” of the human-cosmic relation which has received so many different names.

On various occasions in the past and also recently it has been affirmed that the Vedas are both magical and pantheistic. It is not the purpose of this anthology to enter into controversy, but in order to facilitate prayer and understanding of the given texts something must be said on these two points.

First, the magical abuse of a text does not mean that the primordial intention and the primary meaning of a text are in fact such. Second, one must add that almost any description or manifestation of something for which one does not possess the clue is bound from an external viewpoint to look like magic; most of the achievements of science and technology would appear so to a Man from another culture, and this applies also to the utterances and descriptions of the Vedas when they are seen with eyes and felt with feelings alien to those of Vedic Man. 76

Concerning alleged pantheism, one should bear in mind that a process of identification (between worshiper and object of worship), which is bewildering to a rational mind detached from the object of its thought, is an almost obligatory feature of any committed existential attitude. If, when thinking about or desiring one thing or loving one person, we are at the same time thinking about another thing, desiring a different object, and loving a second person, we are bound to say that our acts are far from being perfect, satisfying, and perhaps even authentic. If, when considering one thing, we are being worried by another and are already considering how we are going to integrate this second into a wider picture, our thinking is not only not fully engaged in its primary concern but is already distorting the picture by adopting a double perspective which can only blur the image. When, full of thankfulness for a benefit, full of joy because of a happening, I have to control my feelings or modify my words in order to reserve place and time for another possible happening, I am already calculating, remembering, manipulating, and in the last analysis I am not fully given to what I am saying or doing. Therefore, there is no need to refer to a particular trend of thinking or an epistemological difference in order to explain the Vedic hymns, though this trend or difference may well be pertinent. We need only recall that each text is a prayer, a hymn, a song, or a commitment and that it does not vault outside itself, so to speak, in order to see its own impact on the reader or its compatibility with what has been said before or will be said afterward. Each ultimate attitude is unique and cannot be compared with another. Any comparison presupposes a neutral or a more general “platform” which makes the comparison possible at the price of robbing the particular attitude of its character of ultimacy.

It is easy to recognize that Light is not the same as Life, or Time Eternity, or Indra Agni, or Savitri Vayu. Yet when we receive properly a divine gift (that is, when we accept the visitation of the Lord), in whatever wrappings that gift may be, there is no room left for anything else. The lordship of the Lord, whatever concrete form it may take, is not only overwhelming; it is also in a way absolute and thus unique. Because of our temporal fragmentation, however, owing to the fact that we cannot live a whole life at one time, a second moment may displace the first one and we may be filled with another equally overpowering experience which will find another unique, and thus incomparable, form of expression. It is only from the outer platform of our memory or from the eyes of an outsider that we can relate the two experiences. Memory is a double-edged sword: it allows for continuity once the real continuity is broken, but because it is a temporal human faculty, memory cannot bear witness to the nontemporal. There is no memory in ecstatic moments or in actual consciousness.

It is tempting, and perhaps it would be rewarding, to take a certain evolutionary perspective and speak of the progressive evolution of the concept of Lord in the Indian scene, but we cannot do so here. The nouns Ishvara and Isha are not found in the RigVeda, although the verb form is frequently used to express the power of the Gods. Where the terms occur in the Atharva Veda and Brahmanas, they certainly do not have the connotations of later times. Certain Upanisads begin to put the concept of the Lord in the foreground and the Shvetashvatara Upanisad gives it still greater prominence. The personal Lord is finally fully disclosed in the Bhagavad Gita. On the other hand, if we take into consideration other generic terms such as pati, prabhu, adhipati, and so on, 77 we may certainly say that the concept of the Lord does in fact permeate the whole of the Vedas. In addition to the words denoting Lord we can also say that the concept is present in all the hymns, where it is represented each time by one of the Vedic Gods. Thus, if we are considering the omnipotence and majesty of the Godhead, his sovereignty, it is Indra who springs spontaneously to mind. If we reflect upon the great importance of sacrifice or on the incarnate friendly aspect of God--though without in any way diminishing his divinity--it is to Agni that we turn. Indra, Agni, Varuna, the Master who surveys Men’s deeds, punishes Men, and pities them, Soma, the radiant Lord of Light--each of these will make an appearance according to the place that he has made for himself in the minds and hearts of the Men of the Vedic period.

The different Gods described and worshiped in the Vedas testify to a strong urge in Man toward unity, a longing to arrive at a conception that is both totally divine and totally human. This dynamic process in Man has not yet ceased, and the fascinating evolution discernible in the Indian context from the Vedas through the Bhagavad Gita to modern times can be paralleled elsewhere. Furthermore, the situation presents in our days a new challenge. Is not the serious thrust of modern atheism a new step toward a deeper theandric unity by which God as Other is dethroned and yet Man as individual does not replace him? Not only does the concept of the Lord undergo an enriching process of inner unification, so that the different Gods and attributes or persons are no longer considered in a polytheistic way, but it also acquires a stronger bond of unity with the world, so that the Lord’s relation with the world is no longer considered in either a dualistic or a monistic way: his transcendence does not exclude his immanence or his immanence his transcendence, and thus neither monotheism nor atheism appears satisfactory any longer.

The Vedic Revelation, however, does not need to be interpreted on these lines. Its main message is not to give us a historical picture of the development of human consciousness regarding the divine or to explain to us the evolution of Man’s religiousness, but to lead us toward an ever deeper realization of this continuing universal and ever new mystery. The hymns, chants, injunctions, and prayers are not there mainly to foster an intellectual curiosity but to nourish a personal life. The Lord is not only from yesterday or only for tomorrow; he is also and primarily in today’s life, as the Scriptures remind us.

The hymns that follow are dedicated to Savitri, Agni, Indra, Soma, Varuna, and Visnu. Each of them has a proper face and possesses his own symbolic power. But to those who are outside the atmosphere of the traditional religiousness of India, modern Hindus or others, these names may not convey all the riches crystallized in long centuries of fervent prayer and thoughtful meditation; such people may even feel disturbed by these names, interpreting them as mere mythological figures instead of as living symbols. We suggest, therefore, replacing the proper names on occasion with the widely used name of “Lord” and giving to it the broadest possible interpretation: any power superior to the individual. In later sections, where the role of each God is illustrated, there is a descriptive introduction of each, but we purposely introduce the Gods singly in order to allow each unique personality to shine forth clearly and thus to enhance the meditative use of this anthology.

The different texts may give some idea of the wide range of experience undergirding Vedic “theology.” No merely naturalistic explanation of the worship of the Gods as natural powers will do justice to the texts or to the sophistication of Vedic culture. No supernaturalistic hypothesis should undermine, on the other hand, the realistic and humanistic approach of the texts. The Gods are intrinsically connected with sacrifice and with the idea of cosmic order; they constitute different expressions of the sacrificial act that maintains universal order. Within the cosmic realm the split that is productive of many Gods is not an ultimate one, just as the parallel split in our consciousness among ourselves, the world, and God is not ultimate either; these three are certainly not one, but neither are they many. The mystery of God is the mystery of Man and the mystery of Reality. The Vedic Revelation does not reveal one God; it just unveils a little the mystery of life by assuring us that Reality is neither dead nor blind, that there is a Lord of beings residing in the heart of every being as well as in the core of Being itself, and this affirmation is loudly proclaimed in a festive symphony.

Stotra

RV I, 44, 6

i) O most youthful God!

RV I, 44, 9

ii) God of the sacrifice, O Lord, and envoy of men are you.

RV I, 44, 10

iii) O most radiant One, all-visible!

RV I, 45, 9

iv) Good and bountiful, source of vigor!

RV I, 186, 3

v) I sing the Lord, the guest most dearly loved.

RV IV, 17, 17

vi) Friend and Father, most fatherly of fathers!

RV VI, 37, 5

vii) May our songs glorify God, the most mighty!

RV VII, 18, 1

viii) All is with you, O Lord!

RV X, 188, 3

ix) O All-knowing One, may your flames that convey

oblations to the Gods direct our sacrifice!

i) Agni. Time does not have a hold on him.

ii) Agni.

Envoy: duta, messenger.

iii) Agni. All-visible: vishvadarshatah, visible to all, conspicuous, revealed in all. This obviousiy does not refer to philosophical intelligibility.

iv) Agni.

Source of vigor: sahaskrta, produced by vigor.

v) Agni. Recurrent mystical theme of God’s indwelling in the soul.

vi) Indra. The relationship of friendship is here added to that of fatherhood. Friendship implies not only a certain equality but also a free choice. Does this suggest nature and grace?

vii) Indra. One could say “magnify the mighty” or “glorify the glorious” God, in order to keep the same verbal root as in the original.

viii) Indra.

ix) Agni. All-knowing One: jatavedas.

Direct: inv-, also favor, inspire.

The Refulgent One

Savitri

22 The unique lordship of Savitri the resplendent Sun, the vivifier, is so much a part of everyday life that no one will contest his supremacy. We have already seen that the Sun inspired the most sacred Gayatri mantra, 78 and later on we encounter him as the dispenser of blessings 79 and, under the name of Surya, as the supreme light and dispeller of darkness. 80 The hymn that follows leads us to discover the varied facets of his lordship.

The ocean of golden light in which Savitri dwells is much more conducive to an ecstatic than to an analytic approach, but we can descry some of his main features.

The Lord Savitri is the giver of life and the origin and end of time. 81 From his rising until his setting everything follows the course of the sun: the life of Men, the functioning of the cosmos, and even the rites of sacrifice. Everything on earth depends on his radiant light and warmth. The actions of Men are regulated according to the hours of the day, each moment of which depends on the sun. 82 The life cycle of both animals and plants is under his surveillance, while the hours of the agnihotra sacrifice have been strictly fixed in relation to his appearance; 83 it is in communion with him that, evening and morning, Men pray, meditate, and worship. 84 As the hymn says (v. 5),

All beings, men and creatures, abide

forever in the bosom of Savitri divine.

It is he, Man’s constant companion during the day, who brings him to his rest at night. Savitri, as we have said, is the “golden” Lord. His golden appearance is frequently mentioned in both descriptive and eulogistic hymns. There is no better adjective to convey simultaneously his shining splendor, his bounty, and his inestimable value for Man. He is “golden-eyed” (v. 8) and “gold-handed” (vv. 9, 10); he appears majestically in a “golden chariot” (v. 2) with “poles of gold” and a “golden shaft” (vv. 4, 5).

The Lord Savitri is gracious toward Men. He distributes his favors with magnanimity, repulsing sorrows and dangers (v. 3), conquering sickness (v. 9), and chasing away demons and sorcerers (v. 10). His realm is the realm of light, of beauty and well-being, and it is to him that Men turn when they are afraid of darkness, whether it be the darkness of night or the darkness of suffering, 85 and when they are longing for light, health, and joy. Their trust in Lord Savitri is so strong that they are confident in his power to free them from sin. 86

Lord Savitri abides with us till evening!

Savitri
RV I, 35

1. I call first on Agni for our salvation;

on Mitra and Varuna, that they may help us,

on Night, who lays the world to rest,

and Savitri divine, that he may aid us.

2. God Savitri advances in his golden chariot,

wheeling toward us through the pitch-black void,

conducting to their rest both men and Gods,

directing his gaze upon all created beings.

3. Worthy of worship, he pursues his path,

first up, then down, his horses resplendent.

From the ends of the world God Savitri comes,

repulsing all sorrow and every danger.

4. The God has now mounted his mighty chariot,

ornate, decked with pearls, with poles of gold.

Resplendent, adorable, he exercises

his powerful thrust, dispelling the darkness.

5. Drawing the chariot with the golden shaft,

his two steeds, white-hoofed, have gazed on mankind.

All beings, men and creatures, abide

forever in the bosom of Savitri divine.

6. Three heavens there are: two in the bosom

of Savitri, the third the realm of Yama.

Immortality rests stable as a chariot on its axle.

Let him who understands this now declare it!

7. The Bird in the heavens keeps watchful eye,

the inspired Asura, the perfect guide.

Where now is the sun? Who knows his place?

As far as what heaven has his ray extended?

8. He has surveyed the earth’s eight peaks,

its continents three, its tracts, its seven rivers.

Savitri, the golden-eyed God, has come,

bringing his worshiper wondrous blessings.

9. Savitri, the skillful, gold-handed God

is passing over between Earth and Heaven.

He conquers sickness, directing the sun,

and mounts up to heaven through darksome space.

10. May our gracious God and kind leader, the Asura,

skillful, gold-handed, come now to our aid!

He who chases far both demons and sorcerers,

this God whom we hymn, abides here each evening.

11. Your ancient paths, O Savitri, were dust free

and well established in the vaults of Heaven.

Come to us now by these paths so fair!

Protect us from harm and bless us, O God!

1. Salvation: svasti.

3. Sorrow and danger: durita.

4. The chariot of the night is meant.

The pearls probably refer to the stars.

6. Three heavens: the two in Savitri’s bosom are heaven and earth, and the third one is the world beyond, the realm of the dead. For Yama and the world beyond cf. §§ V 2; 7.

7. Bird: suparnna, the Sun.

Asura: the Sun.

Perfect guide: sunitha.

8. Wondrous blessings: ratna. . . varyani, lit. desired treasures.

9. Here it is clear that Savitri is not necessarily identical with the sun, but is its impelling force. Cf. RV VII, 45, 2 (§ II 3).

The Friend of Man

Agni

23 The most appropriate Vedic symbol for the lordship of the Lord is perhaps the figure of Agni, the friend of Man, the mediator, the sacred and sacrificial fire, and at the same time the fire that is in the sun, in burning things, and in the heart of Man, everywhere the same and yet everywhere different, having varied and even almost contrary effects. The devotion to Agni does not represent nature worship, much less pantheism; it is the recognition of an underlying polymorphic reality that softens wax and honey but hardens mud, dries up plants, may bring life or death, and always transcends all our powers, mental as well as physical. 87

Agni is acclaimed with praise and veneration both evening and morning at the domestic hearth, when the home is not closed in upon itself but is open to the horizons of the earth and of men. Agni is near to Man, kindly disposed, intimately bound up with his life, the guest of his dwelling, the wise Lord who knows all things, the eternally young, the strong and powerful to whom one offers sacrifice and who is able to shower one with blessings. If modern Man does not follow what has been said, let him wait until winter and evening, kindle the hearth, and simply gaze at the live coals, and he will surely understand that the lord is he who breaks his isolation without disturbing his solitude.

This hymn, like many of those addressed to Agni, expresses his lordship in terms of wisdom and foreknowledge. He is powerful and yet accessible to Men, full of goodness and mercy, inspiring devotion in such a way that Man approaches him fearlessly as a friend, not as an abstraction or a distant and formidable deity. The lordship of Agni is not seen as the imposition of a divine will, but as an expression of the normal and beautiful order of reality. If nobody knew “the first word and the last,” all the other human words in between would be utterly meaningless and could only convey despair. If there were no fire to burn what has already dried up, or what has been done wrongly, no renewal and no hope would subsist on earth for a long time.

Agni
RV I, 145

1. Uplift your prayer! He comes! He knows!

His wisdom is implored.

In him are counsels, in him requests,

his Lord of power.

2. Men pray to him, yet he needs no asking;

a his mind has grasped all things. He goes

as one who knows the first word and the last,

with mind composed.

3. To him ascend these hymns, these steed-swift prayers.

He alone hears my words. All-mover, all-conqueror,

conveyer of sacrifice, the Child, ever aiding,

he assumes great power.

4. What he meets he grasps and, newly born,

advances vehemently, darting with his fellows.

He brings to the weary pleasure and great joy,

accepting their gifts.

5. He is a being; of flood and forest

who passes aloft.

Knowing the Law, he inspires to right action,

this wise and true Lord.

1. Counsels and requests: In him are admonitions, advice, instructions, commands; in him are requests, consultations.

Lord of power: vajasya shavasah shusminaspatih, lit. vigorous Lord of strength and might.

2. His mind has grasped all things: dhiro manasa: by means of his own mind he attains to highest insight; having understood by his own mind, he needs no asking.

3. Hymns and steed-swift prayers: lit. ladles and sacrificial mares, being symbols for songs of praise.

All-mover: puru-praisa, spurring, inciting many.

All-conqueror: taturi, overcoming, conquering.

Conveyer of sacrifice: yajna-sadhana, perfect accomplisher of sacrifice.

Ever aiding: acchidra-uti, whose protection is unbroken, everlasting, uti may also mean source of joy.

The Child or “Babe ever young” is Agni, the protector of his devotees.

4. Fire is the symbol of Agni; Agni sets fire to whatever he finds. He creeps onward and when he seems to rest, i.e., ceases to burn, he suddenly springs up again vehemently (sara) with his “kin” (i.e., the flames, the yokefellows), ignites, comes nearer, and grasps all those who fall fascinated into his power, enkindling in them the highest joy. There is a triple metaphor running throughout the hymn: the fascination and consuming power of fire; its function in the purification and salvation of man; its use as a lofty symbol for the divine.

5. Passes aloft: lit. has been set in the highest sky. Cf. RV II, 1, 1, for Agni’s relationship with the waters. There are both celestial and terrestrial waters.

Lord: Agni. In many texts Agni is said to have taken birth in wood (RV VI, 3, 3; X, 79, 7), to be the embryo of trees (RV I, 70, 4) and of plants. For his birth in the sky as lightning cf. RV I, 143, 2; VI, 8, 2.

The Master of the Universe

Indra

24 The facet of Indra most celebrated and extolled in the Rig Veda is his Lordship, his supreme mastery of men and situations. He is Master of the whole world: 88 “He who is Lord of every world that moves and breathes;” 89 “Yourself alone the universal Sovereign.” 90 All the hymns dedicated to him contain an element of near ecstasy as they extol his grandeur and his universal dominion. In each hymn he is Master of the universe. He has conquered it, overcoming all foes. 91

The hymn that follows refers, in the compass of a few concise and beautiful verses, to several of the features of his Lordship: he is Lord of sacrifice (vv. 1, 2, 7) and he is renowned as the drinker of Soma, that energy-giving drink in which he delights. Those who perform the sacrificial rites are at a loss to find words capable of extolling Indra in accordance with his merits. He is always the God-hero, the God of mighty deeds arousing awe and praise. Men are enraptured by the divine display of the Master of the universe.

The second stanza mentions the “two bay steeds” that pull his chariot. The chariot here refers to the Word, that Word whose power is manifested in the performance of the sacrifice. Elsewhere the poet speaks of “his steeds yoked by prayers.” 92 Such metaphors refer no doubt to the invocations that summon Indra to the sacrifice.

Lord of the universe (vv. 3, 6), Lord of hosts, all-powerful in battle (vv. 4, 8), Lord and Friend (v. 5), the one who chases away every evil, Indra is full of compassion for his worshipers. His friends are never done to death or overcome by violence. 93

Indra
RV I, 7

1. Indra the singers,

Indra the reciters,

Indra the choirs

have glorified!

2. Indra the golden,

armed with thunder,

with his two bay steeds

and the Word as his chariot!

3. The Sun is his eye,

raised on high.

Cloud masses he bursts

to release the rain.

4. By your dread power,

Indra, most fearsome,

help us in battle

to win ample spoils.

5. Indra we invoke

in all kinds of contests,

our Friend who hurls

at powers of evil his bolts.

6. Burst open for us

yonder cloud in the sky,

ever bounteous Indra,

irresistible hero!

7. Higher, yet higher,

I raise his praises!

I find no words

worthy of him!

8. He drives on his peoples

with strength irresistible,

even as the bull drives

onward the herds.

9. Sole sovereign is Indra

of men and of Gods

and of the fivefold race

of dwellers on earth.

10. Indra we invoke

from all the peoples.

May Indra be for us

and nobody else.

1. Lit Indra the singers with glory, Indra the reciters with praise (arka).

3. Or else: Indra, to see afar, has raised the sun in the sky: indro dirghaya caksasa a suryam rohayad divi.

4. Fearsome: ugra, inspirer of awe, a typical epithet of Indra.

7. Lit. the praises of Indra with the thunderbolt.

I find no words worthy of him: na vindhe asya sustutim.

9. The fivefold race: probably the five tribes of the Aryans, with whom Indra was most intimately associated.

10. May Indra be for us and nobody else: asmakam astu kevalah, may he be ours alone.

The Heroes of Sundry Exploits

Indra-Soma

25 Indra and Soma are so closely associated that on most occasions the one is not mentioned without explicit or implicit reference to the other. It is indeed after drinking deeply of Soma that Indra is rendered capable of his heroic tasks. 94 Soma is a God, a myth, a plant, and the special juice extracted from it, which is utilized in many sacrificial and other rites. In this hymn it is the celestial drink that is invoked. 95 One of the most important tasks of Indra was the liberation of the world from the dominion of the fearful dragon Vrtra, who was maintaining the universe in drought and gloom; the dragon was slain, the waters flowed, the shadows were dispelled, the sun rose, and the light shone. Thus Indra is hailed as conquering Lord and as Savior and, because of the work of liberation, achieved in partnership, Indra and Soma are said to give life to the world, for water, light, and sunshine are the necessary conditions for life.

Indra and Soma are thus intimately connected with light because they drive away all shadows, all evil. They cooperate in the task of bringing light to the world, and Soma, the sacrificial drink, the all-purifying (pavamana), is often praised as “Lord of Light.” The identification of Soma with light--he is called indu, bright drop--derives no doubt from the appearance of the sacred liquid which is of a yellow-golden hue (hari). The poets highly praise Soma’s luminosity, which may also be connected with his inebriating effect. Soma, the sacred drink drunk by Indra, not only inspires Indra to perform mighty deeds but is himself a God who performs great cosmic actions: he makes the sun and the dawn shine; 96 he is the Father of Heaven and Earth; 97 it is to please him that the winds blow and the rivers flow. 98 He is even praised as possessing the whole universe, including its five regions. 99 He is also, and independently of Indra, a great and heroic warrior who wins all his battles. 100 No evildoer, no wicked person, can withstand his mighty and luminous power, “for you, Soma purifier, repel all enemies. 101

Indra-Soma
RV VI, 72

1. How great, O Indra and Soma, is your power!

It was you who performed those first and mighty exploits.

It was you who subdued the Sun, subdued the Sky,

and chased away all darkness, all the ribald.

2. Indra and Soma, you make the dawn to glow

and cause the Sun to rise in all his splendor.

You have propped up the Sky with a supporting pillar

and spread out Mother Earth in all directions.

3. Indra and Soma, you smote the serpent Vrtra

who sought to obstruct the waters. To you the heavens

yielded their load; you pierced the river torrents

as with a lance and filled full many a sea.

4. Within the cow’s udder, unprepared,

it was you, O Soma and Indra, who placed the milk.

You held the cream-hued unimpeded stream

within the multicolored moving creatures.

5. Great are the riches you grant, O strong Ones,

which free from fear and pass to children’s children.

With manly power you invest the sons of men

that they may be victorious in the battle.

2. Supporting pillar: skambha, cf.§ I 3. In several other passages the same role is attributed to Indra alone. Cf. RV II, 12, 2 (§ II 4); II, 15, 2; II, 21, 4; III, 31, 15; III, 32, 8; III, 49, 4.

3. On the fight with Vrtra, cf. RV I, 32, etc.

4. Unprepared: lit. the raw belly, in contrast with the warm (“cooked”) milk that is prepared in it.

The King of Heaven and Earth

Varuna

26 Varuna, one of the greatest among the Rig-Vedic Gods, represents the Lord in his aspect of kingship; he is the supreme Ruler who controls all things, the cosmos as well as the deeds of Men. The sun is the all-seeing eye of Varuna; nothing escapes his glance, which sees all, penetrates, surveys, examines, and assesses. 102 In order to symbolize this extraordinary power he is said to have “a thousand eyes.” 103 The hymn here given describes the activity of this monarch, thus enhancing our awareness and making us conscious of his presence at all times and in all places. At the beginning of the hymn an invocation implores his mercy after the fashion of nearly all liturgical prayers. He is then depicted as the supreme overseer who has knowledge of all that happens both in heaven and in the ocean.

Varuna follows attentively the working of the cosmos which has been set in motion by him in accordance with well-defined laws, producing a procession of months. By his wisdom he rules also the “beyond” of time, taking into his purview both past and future. He is close to Men in friendship and consorts with them, watching over their activities. His theophany, that is, the manifestation of his presence, is sometimes so palpable that the worshiper can see him vividly in his mind’s eye (v. 18). Men implore this wise Lord, whose gaze they fear, to be well disposed toward them, and they do not ask from him, as they do from other Gods, victory in battle or prosperity, wealth, the gift of children or long life, but to be freed from the fetters of sin and to obtain “true life,” exempt from evil. Varuna is also, after Indra, the most anthropomorphic of the Rig-Vedic Gods and the most humane of all. It has been said that he acted as a bridge that enabled Men to pass from a so-called polytheistic to a more monotheistic world view. 104

Varuna
RV I, 25, 3-21

3. As a charioteer

tethers his steed,

so my songs shall bind

your heart, O Varuna.

4. My desires fly away

searching for happiness,

just as birds

fly to their nest.

5. When shall we move

Varuna to mercy,

the Lord of glorious might

whose eye is far-reaching?

6. Common to both

is the might. Their love

forsakes not the worshiper

faithful to Law.

7. He knows the path

of birds in the heaven;

as Lord of the sea

he knows each ship.

8. True to his Law,

he knows the twelve months

(and the extra month too)

with their offspring the days.

9. The path of the wind--

sweeping, high, powerful--

he knows, and the Gods

who reside in the heavens.

10. He sits among his people,

consistent to Law.

Most wise, he presides

and governs all things.

11. From there, surveying,

he beholds earth’s marvels,

both that which has been

and that which shall be.

12. May the wise Aditya

prepare for us always

fair paths to tread,

prolonging our lives!

13. Varuna, wearing

a golden mantle,

is clothed in bright garments.

His watchmen sit round him.

14. No men of ill will

or evildoers

or those of wrong intention

wish to harm this God--

15. The One who gives consummate

glory to men,

imparting this glory

to these our own bodies.

16. Yearning for him,

wide-seeing Varuna,

my thoughts move onward

as cows to their pasture.

17. Again let us converse!

The nectar has been brought.

You eat, as a priest,

the food that you love.

18. I have seen the One

whom all may behold

and his car passing high!

My songs are accepted!

19. Hear, O Varuna!

Show Us your favor.

Longing for help,

I have cried to you.

20. Supreme Lord,

ruling the spheres,

hear, O wise God,

as you pass on your way.

21. Free Us from fetters

of every sort.

Loosen our bonds

that we may live!

1-2. Cf. § IV 8.

4. Desires: vimanyavah, which can also mean “prayers to avert anger” (manyu).

5. Mercy: mr¬ika.

Of glorious might: ksatrashri lit. who brings glory to power (ksatra).

6. Both: Mitra and Varuna.

Faithful to Law: dhrtavrata (the same term as in vv. 8, 10), of firm resolve, established in law, is applied both to Varuna and to his worshippers.

8. Cosmic as well as moral Order is protected by Mitra and Varuna.

12. The wise Aditya: i.e., Varuna.

17. The priest (hotr) is the first to take from the Soma.

21. Cf. RV I, 24, 15 (§ IV 8), where the same thought is expressed.

Measurer of the Three Worlds

Visnu

27 Visnu, who is so dearly beloved and who has inspired, and indeed still inspires, in his devotees such fervent worship either of his own person or of his earthly manifestations Rama and Krishna, is not a major divinity in the Rig Veda. 105 It is the Sama Veda and Shatapatha Brahmana, where Visnu is constantly identified with sacrifice, which accord him an important place, while at a later date the prolific literature of the Puranas, of which the myths concerning Visnu form the basis, made him immensely popular. 106 This prominence has been maintained and indeed enhanced right up to modern times.

Our hymn mentions the famous strides (pada) of Visnu so frequently featured in later iconography and legend. Two of his strides are visible to Men (those encompassing the earth and the air) and the third is in the heights of heaven (the sky). This third step is like a veil affixed to the sky, the proper abode of Visnu. The sky is his favorite haunt, a place of happiness, where Men go after death and rejoice together with the Gods and where there is to be found a fountain of honey, that is, nectar (hence the allusion to his third step being filled with honey).

His trivikrama, or three strides, have also been interpreted in a temporal way, connected with the sun’s orbit: the rising, the zenith, and the setting of the sun. In any event Visnu, as the sacrificial rituals remind us, is the deity who encompasses both time and space, that is to say, past, present, and future as well as earth, air, and heaven. The power of Vishnu is a disguised one. Time and again he appears as a dwarf, thus hiding his true nature. It is in his dwarf’s form that he deceives the asuras and makes them accept the challenge described in so many texts. 107

The story is delightfully told in the Bhagavata Purana. Bali, king of the asuras and grandson of Prahlada, was performing the ashvamedha or horse sacrifice. Present at the sacrifice was Vamana, that is to say, Visnu in the form of a dwarf, one of his avataras. The king received Vamana and, though reluctantly and against the advice of his guru, adhered to the rules of hospitality to the extent of allowing Vamana to take for his own “as much land as he could cover with three steps.” Thereupon Vamana assumed his divine form and with just two strides covered all the worlds. This he achieved by virtue of the identification mentioned just now, “Visnu is the sacrifice.” 108 Another text affirms in this same connection that “much have they given us, who gave us that which has the same size as the sacrifice.” 109

Without having recourse to erudite theories that have been put forward regarding the origin and nature of Visnu, we may recall a certain pattern to be found in the later Visnuite myth: Visnu (over against Siva, who stands for the moon) is related to the Sun and thus he is a deity of daylight and of gold, whereas Siva is connected with darkness, the night, and silver. Visnu generally is related to the seas (Siva to the mountains), to life, and to the development of Man in history; thus Visnu, unlike Siva, has many incarnations.

In the Rig Veda the lordship of Visnu seems to follow in the wake of Indra. He is regarded as the close and true friend of Lord Indra, 110 one who shares in his exploits, constantly assists him, 111 particularly in his combat with Vrtra, 112 and presses for him the Soma of which he is so fond. 113 So close is their association that in one hymn they seem to be identified and addressed as a dual divinity, Indra-Visnu. 114 In fact, the “realms” of verse 6 of this hymn are understood to be the realms of Indra-Visnu. At a later date, whereas Indra’s lordship suffers diminishment and he is deprived of certain facets of his supremacy, Visnu develops far more clearly defined features and becomes for generations of worshipers the supreme Lord.

Visnu
RV I, 154

1. I will proclaim the mighty deeds of Visnu

who measured out the earthly regions and propped

the heavens above, accomplishing in his course

three mighty strides.

2. For this his prowess Visnu is acclaimed.

He inhabits the mountains, like a savage beast

wandering at will; in his three mighty paces

are set all worlds.

3. Now may my prayer ascend to the far-striding

Visnu, the Bull, who dwells upon the mountains,

to him who unaided measured with threefold step

these far-flung spheres.

4. The marks of his three strides are filled with honey

imperishable; each is cause of joy.

Alone he supports the three spheres--

Earth and Sky and all things living.

5. May I attain to Visnu’s glorious mansion

where the faithful rejoice, where, close beside the Strider,

within his highest footstep springs the well

of purest honey!

6. O for your realms where dwell the tireless oxen

abundantly fumished with horns, whence shine

from the highest step of the widely striding Hero,

his multiple splendors!

3. Unaided: eka, lit. the One, alone. The same important symbolism ot the one and the three (steps and worlds) is found in v. 4.

4. Honey: madhu, may refer to Soma. The third step is transcendent and thus is filled with the nectar of immortality (see also v. 5).

5. The Strider--urukramasya, “of the far-striding one,” one of the oldest epithets of Visnu.

Highest footstep: pada parama, later understood as the transcendent abode of Visnu.

6. Tireless oxen: refers to Indra and Visnu.

Multiple splendors: the stars in the sky (the “highest step”).

The Supreme Lordship

Sarveshvara

28 There are three traditional ways, followed by Men and carefully elaborated in the Indian tradition, by which one can reach human fulfillment, or, in religious terms, salvation: the way of works and action, karma-marga; the way of devotion and love, bhakti-marga; and the way of knowledge and contemplation, jnana-marga. Reflection upon the end and goal of each of the three ways will inevitably yield three different pictures. At the end of the path of action there is a heaven, a bliss, a new and perfect world, for that is what one was striving for in following one’s own dharma or duty. At the end of the path of devotion there cannot but be a loving person, a personal deity, for love is essentially personal. At the end of the path of knowledge there will be total reality, absolute truth. Every human tradition has given different names to these three goals. Yet in one way or another the three goals, or rather that which stands at the end of the pilgrimage, must be ultimately equivalent: heaven is the vision and enjoyment of God, the love of God is communion with him, and God is only another name for absolute truth and supreme reality. God is here used as a universal symbol. But the unity or oneness of the three goals is only a postulate of our thinking and the fact that they somehow seem to coalesce should not be interpreted in the light of any of the three systems. It is here that the discourse on the Lord becomes relevant and the message of the Upanisads important. Let the karmakandins, the men of action even if the action is the performance of sacred rites and the offering of sacrifice--assume that the final goal is the building of a perfect world; let the bhaktas, the devotees of any kind, aver that there is nothing higher than a personal deity, and let the jnanins, the sages of the various schools, claim that God must be transcended in favor of an ineffable Brahman or absolute void. Let them all follow their own paths. At the end they will all find the goal, the aim of thelr efforts, or of their love, or of their thoughts, the Lord who is not a concept or a reality in the sense in which all other things are such; the Lord is at the end of every action, wish, desire, longing, tendency, thought, and will and is the end of them all. He is not necessarily a State or a Person or a Being. He cannot be circumscribed, and there is no discussion on this point, because the discussion has meaning only inside a concrete system. But the Upanisads, which are at the source of so many systems and schools, cannot be interpreted exclusively in favor of any one of them; the Upanisads are the Vedanta, the end of the Vedas, in the double sense of the word: they stand at the end of the Vedas as their culmination but they also represent the end, the surpassing, of them. If we view the Upanisads in this light we may have the clue as to why they seemingly have so many almost contradictory statements. For the Upanisads the Lord is not only Brahman, or exclusively a person, or simply a creator. Their standpoint is different. They would be syncretistic if they were attempting an overall synthesis, but they have never purported to offer a complete and coherent philosophical system. It is true that the Upanisads, emerging out of the Vedas and presupposing them, stress the complementary jnanic perspective, but this must always be seen against the background of the four Vedas, which emphasize the other two paths. It is not our present task to develop these points further or to give an account of the idea of the Lord in the Upanisads. The following points serve as an introduction to our short selection of texts. By the time of the Shvetashvatara Upanisad the Lord has acquired a more “personal” aspect, or rather a more anthropomorphic character. He is called Rudra, which is not the divine personification of the Rig Veda under the same name, but rather Brahman manifesting himself in the One who creates and protects his creatures and who absorbs them at the end of time. He embraces the whole universe, and the Man who recognizes him as sole God is liberated and saved. Salvation is not achieved by human effort alone, nor is it a spontaneous act of divine grace, as later theologies declare, but it is rather a unique act in which “God” and “Man”--for we cannot dispense with these two at this stage--coincide. To recognize the Lord is to be saved, certainly; but, in order to recognize him, not only do I have to be united with him but also he has to disclose himself to me, so that it has little meaning to discuss at this point whence the initiative comes.

This Upanisad sees the Lord in everything while carefully differentiating him from nature. Although the universe is ultimately Brahman, Brahman cannot be said without qualifications to be the universe. 115 The Mahanarayana Upanisad, as its name suggests, extols Narayana, that is, Visnu, as the universal Lord, distinguishing him from Prajapati who is mentioned in the cosmogonic context. Narayana is the one who penetrates everything, including the human heart; he is the object of our worship. He is invoked in terms recalling the Vedic purusa and possesses recognizable features of a personal God. He is also the supreme Word, beyond the sound manifested in the Veda (vv. 233-234, 236). Although the weight of tradition is heavy, we should not forget that Narayana means he who walks the way af Man, of Nara, the original Man 116 He is the Lord of all things, the knower of all things. He controls the thoughts and the most intimate feelings. He is the matrix of all, for he is both the Origin and the End of all beings. So says the Mandukya Upanisad.

The Upanisads constantly remind us that the universe, Men, and the Lord are both united and separate; they are interrelated, but the link, being unique, cannot adequately be expressed by a simile. For the same reason knowledge of Brahman is radically different from any other knowledge. It is truly the only saving realization. The Man eager to learn, the student, the seeker, the one who is humble enough to sit at the feet of the Master, is constantly urged in the Upanisads to turn his eyes inward and to make discoveries for himself, to experience a knowledge that is not communicated in the Upanisads and is indeed not communicable. The Upanisads proffer an invitation to a higher life of contemplation, to the enormous and risky adventure of finding the Lord, who can neither be spoken of nor identified with any objective or subjective reality (which would entail converting him automatically into a deus ex machina or a mere idol).

According to the message of the Upanisads, both the subjective, or purely immanent, interpretation of the divine and the objective, or merely transcendent, interpretation are inadequate. A mere God within is the product of our heart, our weakness, and our desire for consolation and security; a God who is simply outside is the product of our mind which looks for a support and an end to its speculations. The latter amounts to a logical principle, whereas the former amounts to a psychological one. The Upanisads attempt to resolve the dilemma by propounding the way of self-realization, the personal discovery of the hidden treasure. The Lord is within and without, personal and impersonal, moving and unmoving, 117 Being and Nonbeing. 118 He is the Lord precisely because he is not limited by any one pair of opposites.

Sarveshvara
SU III, 3-4

i) 3. On all sides eye, on all sides face,

on all sides arms, on all sides feet,

he, God, the One, creates heaven and earth,

forging them together with arms and wings.

4. He who is source and origin of the Gods,

the Lord of all, Rudra, the mighty sage,

who produced in ancient days the Golden Germ--

may he endow us with purity of mind!

SU V, 13

ii) Without beginning and end is he; in the midst

of chaos he is and brings forth all things.

Creator is he, and sole pervader, of manifold forms.

When a man knows God he is freed from all fetters.

SU VI, 7-9; 16-19

iii) 7. Of lords the Lord Supreme, of kings the King,

of Gods the God, him let us worship--the transcendent

Lord of all worlds and wholly worthy of worship.

8. In him exists neither action nor organ of action;

no one is found his equal or superior to him.

His supreme power is revealed in manifold forms;

inherent to his nature is the working of his strength and wisdom.

9. None in this world is his master, none his cornmander.

He has no distinctive sign; he is the Cause.

Himself unruled, ungenerated, he rules the sense organs.

16. He is the Creator of all, the knower of all things,

the source of the Self, the Knower, the Author of time,

possessor and master of all the qualities, omniscient,

the Lord of both Nature and Spirit, the cause of liberation

from this world’s cycle and the bondage of earthly existence.

17. Identical with it, immortal, by nature the Lord,

omnipresent and wise, the guardian and eternal ruler

of the world is he. No other Ground can be found.

18. In him who in days of old created Brahma

and imparted to him the Veda, in this God, who is illumined

by his own intelligence, I take refuge, longing for liberation,

19. In him who is undivided, inactive, peaceful,

irreproachable, free from blemish, the supreme bridge

to immortality, who resembles a fire whose fuel

is wholly consumed.

MAHANAR U 233-245

iv) 233. The sound that is uttered in the beginning of the Veda,

the sound that is also established at its end,

234. that which is beyond its absorption in Nature--

that is the supreme Lord.

235. [We adore] the God with a thousand heads,

with an all-seeing eye, who grants peace to all,

236. Narayana, universal God,

supreme Word, imperishable,

237. on every side supreme, eternal,

Narayana, universal Lord.

238. All this universe exists

vivified by the Person.

239. [We adorel the Master of all, the Lord

of the soul, eternal, benevolent, immobile,

240. Narayana, the mighty one to be known,

the Self of all, the supreme goal.

241-242. Narayana, Light supreme, the Self,

Narayana the Supreme, Narayana supreme

essence of Brahman, Narayana, the Supreme!

243. Narayana is both the supreme meditator

and meditation itself, Narayana, the Supreme.

244. Whatever moves in this universe,

whatever is either seen or heard,

245. whatever is inside or outside--

all is pervaded by the Lord.

He is therein established.

MAND U 6

v) This is the Lord of all, the Knower of all,

the inner controller. This is the source of all,

the beginning and end of all beings.

i) 2. Cf. § V 18.

3. The creator is a smith: d. RV X, 72, 2 (§ VII 2), X, 81, 3 (§ VII 7); AV XIII, 2, 26; YV XVII, 19.

4. Golden Germ: hiranyagarbha.

With purity of mind: buddhya shubhaya, lit. with a pure mind, with clear insight.

7-21. Cf. § VI 7.

iii) 1-6. Cf.§ II 9.

8. His supreme power: parasya shaktih, cf. the Sivaite conception of shakti.

The working of his strength and wisdom: jnana-bala-kriya.

9. Distinctive sign: linga.

10-13. Cf. § VI 2.

14. The same as KathU V, 15 (§ V 5), and MundU II, 2, 10 (§ III 6).

15. Last two lines the same as SU III, 8 (§ VI 7).

16. Source of the Self: atmayoni, or his own origin.

Lord of both Nature and Spirit: pradhana-ksetrajna-patih, which in classical Samkhya is prakrti and purusa.

17. Identical with it: sa tanmayah, the same as that, consisting of that, becoming that, being all this.

By nature the Lord: isha-samsthah, existing as the Lord, subsistent as the Lord, or established in his own glory.

18. This verse implies a personalistic conception of revelation in contrast with the apauruseya principle.

19. Supreme bridge to immortality: cf. CU III 4, 1 (§ V 27).

Who resembles a fire. . . : cf. MaitU VI, 34 (§ III 28).

20. Cf. § IV A Antiphon.

iv) 233 Sound: svara.

234. Absorption in Nature: prakrtilina

236. Supreme Word: paramam padam, supreme abode.

239. The Lord of the soul: atmeshvara.

242. Supreme essence of Brahman: brahmatattva, or the true Being (nature) of Brahman.

v) Lord of all. sarveshvara. Cf. BU IV, 4, 22 (§ VI 6).

The Knower of all: sarvajna, the all-knowing. Cf. MundU I, 1, 9; II, 2, 7 (§§ II 11; VI 5).

The doctrine of the antaryamin, the internal atman or purusa as inner controller, is of capital importance in Upanisadic spirituality. Cf. BU III, 7 (VI 5; I 14). The dual prabhava-apyayau represents the cosmic movenent of the coming-forth-into-existence and the absorption-into-the-avyakta, the unevolved, unmanifest, the prakrti of certain systems. Cf. its application to yoga in KathU VI, 11 (VI 11).

7. Cf.§ VI 6.

The Savior

Jagannatha

29 Perhaps we can summarize the whole message of the Gita by saying that “this,” “he,” the “absolute,” “Brahman,” the true atman, the tad, and the idam, that which the Vedic sages sought to clarify and which mankind is constantly seeking, is the Lord, whose subtle and lofty lordship can adopt as many forms as there are types of Men, or even Men, here on earth.

The Bhagavad Gita does not contradict either the Vedas, the Brahmanas, or the Upanisads; it can be understood only against the background of all the previous Scriptures, but it does not elaborate on their past insights; rather, it simplifies all that it has to say, affirming that this mystery, about which any word is improper, is the Lord of all and thus the Savior of mankind as well as of the entire universe. It is not an artificial syncretism that the Bhagavad Gita preaches. It is, rather, a masterly simplification which takes into account the different trends both of Indian tradition and of the human spirit and blends them harmoniously in lofty words, words that are all the more striking by virtue of their simplicity. The Lord is the Master of the universe and, equally, the Master of the human heart and mind. His lordship is not only cosmic, political, ontological, or psychological. When it is said that he saves all that come to him in good faith, this is not a plea for mere subjectivism, but for a deep personalistic attitude, which we could perhaps call existential.

The Bhagavad Gita truly brings a message of liberation. It reveals, first of all, that there is a Lord, but it adds immediately that this Lord has many names, presents many faces, and performs many functions. Furthermore, it says that nobody can live without a Lord, a master, an ideal, an ambition, a desire, and that it is He, the Lord, the Savior, disguised in accordance with all the variety of the human imagination, who gathers up and vouchsafes the longings of mankind. Nobody escapes his Lordship which acts gently and, many a time, invisibly. Human maturity consists in discovering the face of the Lord and in accepting this growing revelation, for which there are no fixed patterns. All ways lead to him (even the way of wrath), 119 provided they remain ways and do not become final stopping places. Otherwise there is stagnation.

The Bhagavad Gita uses the same expression, gati, to express both the way toward the goal and the goal itself, often called the parama gati, the supreme goal. As the word itself suggests, gati (from the root gam-, to go, to move) means a going, a movement, motion in general. In the Bhagavad Gita it has the connotation of the pilgrimage that constitutes human life, a connotation that allows the text to say that he who is on the path has, in a certain sense, already reached the end of it, because the end is not another place outside or after the way itself, but is already contained in it. 120 Like other parts of the Vedic Revelation, this truth can be grasped only by personal experience. 121 The pilgrimage that is life may lead us to its goal, which in the Bhagavad Gita is described as union with the Lord. The Lord comes down to earth and manifests himself to Man in order to proclaim his message of love and salvation. The Lord is not only the powerful ruler, the mighty God, the just judge, but also the Savior. This is what Krishna is telling Arjuna, what the Lord is telling Man.

Jagannatha
BG IX, 18; 22; 31-32; 34

18. I am the Way, the supporter; your Lord and your witness,

home, refuge, and friend,

origin and dissolution, foundation and treasure-house,

imperishable seed.

22. On those who meditate on Me and worship

with undivided heart,

I confer attainment of what they have not,

and preserve what they have.

31-32. No devotee of mine is ever lost.

Taking refuge in Me,

lowly born, women, artisans, even servants,

reach the highest goal.

34. Let your mind and your heart, your offerings and worship,

to Me be devoted.

With your self thus controlled you shall strive toward Me and to Me you shall come.

15-16. Cf. § III 29.

18. Way: gati, goal; cf. BG IV, 17; Vl, 37; VII 18; VIII, 26; XII, 5. Cf. CU I, 9, 1, where the question is asked, “What is the gati of this world?”

Foundation: sthana, substratum, maintenance.

19. Cf.§ V 6.

21. Cf.§ V 28.

23-27. Cf. § III 29.

31-32. Devotee: bhakta.

Artisans: vaishya.

Servants: shudra

Highest goal: parama gati, highest way. Cf. BG VI, 45; VIII, 13; XIII, 28; XVI, 22-23.