Glimpses of Vedic Literature - Vedic world Knowledge

Vedic world-Knowledge

THE Supreme Reality is, according to the Veda, "That One" spoken of variously by the wise. This Reality came to be described in the Upanishads as Sat-Chit-Ananda (Sachchidananda), the pure conscious and blissful Existent. In the Veda we find that it is described often as Sat. It is also described as blissful. It is again described as conscious, and as Force of concentrated consciousness, Tapas. The Veda also speaks of It as tridhatu, the threefold Substance.

In an intriguing description of the totality of Reality and its manifestation,the Veda speaks of it as one having four horns and three feet (catvari sringa trayo asya padah). Evidently, the four horns symbolise the upper domain of Reality; and three feet symbolise the lower domain of Reality. It is also clear that the three feet would mean the three lower principles of manifestation with which we, living in the lower world, are quite familiar, namely. Matter, Life and Mind. We can also see that of the four horns, three

horns are those of Sat, Chit and Ananda. But what is the fourth horn, which is in the upper domain?

We seem to be getting a reply to this question m the following hymn of the Rigveda, composed by Rishi Aghamarshana. The first line of the first verse of this hymn runs thus:

"From the Tapas (Force of concentrated consciousness) arose the Truth and the Right."

As we saw earlier, the Veda often describes the Supreme Reality as Sat, but also sometimes as Tapas. This Sat or Tapas is the threefold substance, Sat-Chit-Ananda, the three horns of the Upper domain of the Reality. We are now told that out of this Tapas arose the Truth and the Right, which are also described elsewhere as the Great or Mahas. This is the fourth horn of the upper domain of the Reality.

The totality of the Reality is thus sevenfold. The four upper domains are:

These are the seven principles that we find present everywhere. That is why, the Veda also describes the Reality elsewhere as saptahastaso asya, seven-handed. But the Veda tells us something more about the order in which the Reality

has manifested the universe; and this is quite important for AC Vedic science. Let us turn to this account, which is given in the second and subsequent lines of the hymn of the seer Aahamarshana. The second line runs as follows:

ततो॒ रात्र्य॑जायत॒ तत॑: समु॒द्रो अ॑र्ण॒वः (RV.X.190.1)

"Then arose the night, and from it arose the watery ocean."

We may halt a little at this point to ask a question with some bewilderment. The question arises because of the following position: We may recall that in the first line, we were told that from the Reality, which is Tapas, the Truth and the Right arose. Here the emergence of Truth from Tapas or Sat seems quite natural and logical. But in the second line we are told that from the Truth, satyam, what arose was the darkness of the night. And this seems quite surprising or even shocking and illogical. How can darkness arise from the Truth?

We find a hint or even an explicit indication of the answer to this question in the last chapter of the Yajurveda. (This chapter is also well known as the Isha Upanishad).

The relevant mantra is the 15th verse of the Isha Upanishad. The verse reads as follows:

हिरण्मयेन पात्रेण सत्यस्यापिहितं मुखम् ।
तत्त्वं पूषन्नपावृणु सत्यधर्माय दृष्टये ॥ १५ ॥

"The face of the Truth is covered with a brilliant golden lid; that do thou remove, 0 Fosterer, for the law of the Truth, for sight."

This means that the Truth as the first emergent of Tapas can get covered by a brilliant golden lid. This lid is so effective that if the face of the Truth is sought to be seen, that lid needs to be lifted.

But what is that lid? By what means does it get formed?