The Creation Hymn of Rig Veda

There was neither non-existence nor existence then. There was neither the realm of space nor the sky which is beyond. What stirred? Where? In whose protection? Was there water, bottlemlessly deep? There was neither death nor immortality then. There was no distinguishing sign of night nor of day. That One breathed, windless, by its own impulse. Other than that there was nothing beyond. Darkness was hidden by darkness in the beginning, with no distinguishing sign, all this was water. The life force that was covered with emptiness, that One arose through the power of heat. Desire came upon that One in the beginning, that was the first seed of mind. Poets seeking in their heart with wisdom found the bond of existence and non-existence. Their cord was extended across. Was there below? Was there above? There were seed-placers, there were powers. There was impulse beneath, there was giving forth above. Who really knows? Who will here proclaim it? Whence was it produced? Whence is this creation? The gods came afterwards, with the creation of this universe. Who then knows whence it has arisen? Whence this creation has arisen perhaps it formed itself, or perhaps it did not the One who looks down on it,

in the highest heaven, only He knows or perhaps He does not know.

The word VEDA contains the sense of knowing through pure looking. Here are some definitions: Vedic Religion liturgy mantra (wisdom compressed into formulas) Samhitas the four Vedas proper Ritual a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value. Sacrifice to perform sacred rites giving up of some value for deeper aspirations Yajna worship, prayer, praise; offering, oblation, sacrifice longingly seeking (maybe ?) Worship wonder at all that is, at its source, and how it all came about Soma juice seems to bring the wonder of creation uppermost in ones mind Mitra integrity; See Vedic priesthood in Wikipedia for tvij (regularly-sacrificing), vipra (sage) or kavi (seer). The hot was the reciter of invocations and litanies. The adhvaryu was in charge of the physical details of the sacrifice Vedic Dieties Agni fire sacrifice transformation cremation purification the cycle of evaporation and rain results come from giving first service to others realizing the impermanence of it all and giving up all attachment Angira ancient sage ancestor of man wisdom of Agni Vayu the breath wind air life

The Rig Veda: The Book of Mantra The Rig Veda is a collection of inspired songs or hymns and is a main source of information on the Rig Vedic civilization. It is the oldest book in any Indo-European language and contains the earliest form of all Sanskrit mantras that date back to 1500 B.C. - 1000 B.C. Some scholars date the Rig Veda as early as 12000 BC - 4000 B.C. The Rig-Vedic samhita or collection of mantras consists of 1,017 hymns or suktas, covering about 10,600 stanzas, divided into eight astakas each having eight adhayayas or chapters, which are sub-divided into various groups. The hymns are the work of many authors or seers called rishis. There are seven primary seers identified: Atri, Kanwa,Vashistha, Vishwamitra, Jamadagni, Gotama and Bharadwaja. The rig Veda accounts in detail the social, religious, political and economic background of the Rig-Vedic civilization. Even though monotheism characterizes some of the hymns of Rig Veda, naturalistic polytheism and monism can be discerned in the religion of the hymns of Rig Veda. The Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda were compiled after the age of the Rig Veda and are ascribed to the Vedic period. The Sama Veda: The Book of Song The Sama Veda is purely a liturgical collection of melodies (saman). The hymns in the Sama Veda, used as musical notes, were almost completely drawn from the Rig Veda and have no distinctive lessons of their own. Hence, its text is a reduced version of the Rig Veda. As Vedic Scholar David Frawley puts it, if the Rig Veda is the word, Sama Veda is the song or the meaning, if Rig Veda is the knowledge, Sama Veda is its realization, if Rig Veda is the wife, the Sama Veda is her husband. The Yajur Veda: The Book of Ritual The Yajur Veda is also a liturgical collection and was made to meet the demands of a ceremonial religion. The Yajur Veda practically served as a guidebook for the priests who execute sacrificial acts muttering simultaneously the prose prayers and the sacrificial formulae (yajus). It is similar to ancient Egypts Book of the Dead. There are no less than six complete recessions of Yajur Veda Madyandina, Kanva, Taittiriya, Kathaka, Maitrayani and Kapishthala.

The Atharva Veda: The Book of Spell The last of the Vedas, this is completely different from the other three Vedas and is next in importance to Rig-Veda with regard to history and sociology. A different spirit pervades this Veda. Its hymns are of a more diverse character than the Rig Veda and are also simpler in language. In fact, many scholars do not consider it part of the Vedas at all. The Atharva Veda consists of spells and charms prevalent at its time, and portrays a clearer picture of the Vedic society.