Volume 1

Summarised version in English of the author’s 'Rig Bhashya Bhumika', Introduction to the Commentary on the Rig-Samhita.

First published in 1947 and reprinted in 1961 and 1968.

LIGHTS ON THE VEDA

I

AN eminent Indian refuses to accept Sri Aurobindo’s interpretation of the Veda and the doctrine of the mystics chiefly on the ground that it is opposed to the verdict of European scholars as well as to the Indian tradition as propagated by the Mimamsakas. To have a picture of the possible objections before us is, doubtless, an advantage, for that will help us to follow intelligently and with caution and discerning appreciation the lines of thought chalked out in the writings of Sri Aurobindo on the Veda. We shall therefore, start with a succinct statement of the reasons largely in the critic’s own words and then proceed to examine the position, make clear to ourselves and show how far our view is in consonance with the religious and spiritual traditions of India, supported by textual evidence from the Rik Samhita down to the Puranas that are the scriptures of popular religions of our own times. The writer is an Indian of wide renown, a competent exponent of Indian thought and culture, and if we attach value to his objections, it is not because he is an authority in the field of Vedic learning-nor does he claim to be one, and it is not necessary for one to be a specialist to share the views of reputed authors—but because his views are representative of current conceptions about the Vedas among most Indians of modern education. Let us first state the opinions of authors on whom he relies for his ideas of the Rig Veda.

Twofold Objection

“Competent scholars who have made these scriptures their life-study hold these views: they speak of the primeval childlike naive prayer of the Rig Veda and maintain that the Aryans of the Rig Veda possessed a Monotheism however primitive it might be. Roth and Dayananda Saraswati agree with this view. Ram Mohan Roy considers the Vedic gods to be the allegorical representations of the attributes of the supreme deity. According to others, Bloomfield among them, the hymns of Rig Veda are sacrificial compositions of a primitive race which attached a great importance to ceremonial rites. Bergaigne holds that they are all allegorical. Sayana, the famous Indian commentator, adopts the naturalistic interpretations of the Gods of the hymns, which is supported by modern European scholarship. Sayana sometimes interprets the hymns in the spirit of the later Brahmanic religion. These varying opinions need not be looked upon as antagonistic to one another, for the only point to the heterogeneous nature of the Rig Vedic collection.” Equipped with the opinions of these eminent men, our writer drives at a summary rejection of Sri Aurobindo’s view of the Rig Veda. The famous author quotes a passage from “The Secret of the Veda ” in the Arya and recommends the dismissal of the same with an air of hesitancy that adds to the poise of scholarly reserve, at the same time heightening the tone of a persuasive appeal. To " the great Indian scholar-mystic (Sri Aurobindo) ... the Veda ... is a mystery-religion corresponding to the Orphic and Eleusinian creeds of ancient Greece ... when we find this view is opposed not only to the modern views of European scholars but also to the traditional interpretations of Sayana and the system of Purva-Mimamsa, the authority on Vedic interpretation, we must hesitate to follow the lead of Mr. Aravinda Ghose, however ingenious his point of view may be”.

Criticism Examined

The chief point in the objection raised against Sri Aurobindo’s views may be summed up in the words of the same scholar. “It is not likely that the whole progress of Indian thought has been a steady falling away from the highest spiritual truths of the Vedic hymns. It is more in accordance with what is known as the general nature of human development, and easier to concede that the later religions and philosophies rose out of the crude suggestions and elementary moral ideas and spiritual aspirations of the early mind, than that they were a degradation of an original perfection.”

This is how the modern Indian mind at its best has assimilated the historic spirit of Europe, developed the rationalistic outlook of the nineteenth century and grown into a strong, almost stubborn, self-complacent attitude that precludes from its purview the admission of any fresh or neglected fact, new evidence or other view that is likely to unsettle its notions of man’s past history and the course of his psychological and spiritual development. The error in the conception lies in the supposition that man began to develop an inner and spiritual life in a comparatively developed stage of culture and civilisation, at any rate, long after he left behind the fears and fancies of a relatively remote period of primitive life. But Sri Aurobindo has nowhere stated that there was an original perfection of which the later stages were a degradation. To say that the seers of the Rig Veda were mystics who had developed an inner life and self-culture of a high order is not the same thing as to assert that the men of Rig Vedic times had obtained an all-comprehensive perfection, spiritual, moral and intellectual, which was followed by a long course of degradation across the centuries. When we come to state the bases of Sri Aurobindo’s reinterpretation of the Rig Veda these misconceptions will lose their grounds or their semblance to stand on; but it is necessary to point out here that the Vedic age is not at all presumed to be an age of Reason and intellectual development and what we call exact sciences as we know them, but it was undoubtedly one of Intuition, an age of the mystics who had developed certain lines of self-development and culture of the Spirit and had their own technique of the Yogic art, and methodised their system of building the inner life. This does not mean that all men of the Vedic age were mystics and seers or that the latter shared with the populace their profound knowledge of the laws and processes of the workings of the Inner Nature, or of the truths and secrets of the Godhead they communed with. We can take up an illustration from our own times. Ours is an age of high intellectual advancement, an age of Science that daily and hourly continues unravelling the mysteries of Physical Nature and her revelations are pinnacles of wonder. But how many are intellectual in this age of intellectual supremacy? Very few, indeed. How many again among the small proportion of intellectuals are competent to follow the strides of Science and intelligently appreciate her progress? Again, how many are among them qualified and initiates for entry into the secret world of the laws and processes that release vast dimensions of energy lying hidden in the womb of the Atom? Few, few and less than few. But whatever the dominating principle of power be, whether it is spiritual wisdom and occult knowledge, or scientific culture, aesthetic sense and refinement and intellectual ardour, or sheer political skill and military strength, or production and distribution of necessaries or luxuries of life, of wealth answering to the material and vital needs of human groups, always it works itself out through just a few human centres amidst masses of men who receive and benefit and prosper or resist and reject and perish or tolerate and bear with the consequences of the concentrated expressions of a few, by far numerically the inferior few.

The question of perfection in any age or stage of human development in any field does not arise at all. In India, the intellectual philosophies are not a degradation of an original perfection of the Vedic age, but a certain line of development practically cut off from the different lines of spiritual thought and occult knowledge and life developed to a high degree by the mystics of the Vedic age an age far remote and removed from the days of the Brahmanas and the Upanishads. Besides, it is a mistaken conception that spiritual experience, intuitive insight, occult knowledge, inspiration and similar non-rational acquisitions of some of the so-called primitive races are either fancies and therefore not valid, or if valid they belong to a later period when man advanced in general knowledge of himself and his environment and lived in a better civilised state with the comparative comforts of life that economic improvement brings. But some of the ancient prehistoric peoples have had profound knowledge of Nature in certain spheres which our learned critic himself admits in these words: “ The most ancient fancies sometimes startle us by their strikingly modern character, for insight does not depend upon modernity.”

It may be asked: If there had been a great spiritual progress made by the Vedic seers, how did it then come to a close without leaving its impress upon the ages that followed? Whether it left its influence or not and in what way if it did at all forms part of the subject proper to which we shall turn in course. But the language and mentality of the Vedic age certainly underwent a great change; but it is almost a miracle that something of the Vedic tradition was preserved, attempted to be preserved in the Brahmanas and Upanishads in spite of the gulf between the two periods. Somehow the age of the Vedic Mystics came to an end. Nobody could question why; its period was over in India as the age of Mysteries in ancient Greece and Egypt and elsewhere. But on that account we shall not deny that there was an age of the Rishis who had developed a sublime type of spiritual culture whatever the state of civilisation and economic development according to our standards they may have reached. Supposing that our present civilisation practically perishes for the most part, as a consequence of some catastrophe in Nature, or by a cataclysm brought about by Nature’s stupendous work in the monstrous brain of man producing a reasonable number of atom bombs, would it be right for future generations to deny altogether the actual fact of the scientific culture, the intellectual advancement and general progress of civilisation of our times ?

The crux of the whole question of human progress lies in a proper appreciation of the history of human psychology itself from the very beginnings as far as is and can be known to us. The position, as envisaged by Sri Aurobindo, of the Vedic age and its spiritual culture can be summed up in a few lines. “In the age of Veda or in Egypt, the spiritual achievement or the occult knowledge was confined to a few, it was not spread in the whole mass of humanity. The mass of humanity evolves slowly, containing in itself all stages of evolution from the material and the vital man to the mental man. A small minority pushed beyond the barriers, opening the doors to occult and spiritual knowledge and preparing the ascent of the evolution beyond mental man into spiritual and supramental being.” Now let us follow him in the brief survey he takes of the spiritual history of India; it will be clear that it is not at all a matter of degradation of an original perfection but, of a downward curve with a purpose. “Here in India the reign of Intuition came first. Intellectual mind developing afterwards in the later philosophy and science. ... The Vedic age was followed by a great outburst of intellect and philosophy which yet took spiritual truth as its basis and tried to reach it anew, not through a direct Intuition or occult process as did the Vedic seers, but by the power of the mind’s reflective, speculative, logical thought; at the same time processes of Yoga were developed which used the thinking mind as a means of arriving at spiritual realisation, spiritualising this mind itself at the same time. Then followed an era of the development of philosophies and Yoga processes which more and more used the emotional and aesthetic being as the means of spiritual realisation and spiritualised the emotional level in man through the heart and feeling.” Then he continues to show how this was followed by the Tantric and other processes that took up the will in the mind and life and sensations and used them as instruments and fields of spiritualisation. Even the Hatha Yoga later attempts a divinisation of the body; here also is an endeavour to arrive at the same achievement with regard to living matter though this still “ awaits the discovery of the true characteristic method of Spirit in the body.” This is the spiritual history of India from the Vedic age down to recent times always reaching the height, then followed by an attempt to take up “ each lower degree of the already evolved consciousness and link it to the spiritual at the summit”.

It will be thus seen quite reasonable to dismiss the first objection based on the wrong supposition that the Vedic hymns are sheer primitive babblings and poetical fancies of the Aryan peoples just emerging from an original ignorance. We can explain the drawbacks of European Vedic scholarship of the last century if we remember that it started at a time when the materials available to it were scanty, and it tried to theorise upon the religion, history, civilisation, society, and many other things connected with the Aryans of the Vedic age with what little knowledge it then had of the history of other earlier races. Besides, in spite of the scrupulous care associated with all scholarly labours that Europe brought to bear upon its Vedic studies it could not escape the limitations of its temperamental mould which is in fact diametrically opposed to the Indian spirit. It surmounted the difficulties in understanding the texts by partly drawing upon conjectures and partly on certain inexact sciences, very often conjectual — comparative philology, comparative mythology or comparative religion. Today, times, along with them conditions, have changed; fresh facts stare us in the face; new evidences accumulate; modern sociologists revise the old-world opinions of past generations of scholars in regard to human origins, the history, polity, psychology, religion and life in general of at least some of the early races and peoples whom we call primitive. In addition to these, materials available for Vedic studies are much more today than a century ago. It will be thus seen that a thorough revision of opinions among scholars about the Vedic culture and Vedic worship is a desideratum.

Indian students and seekers of knowledge of the Vedas especially in the last century followed the lines of European scholarship and swallowed as gospel truth European opinion because it had gained in prestige by its association in their minds with European science and culture which is a different matter altogether, estimable indeed, based on different, firmer grounds. But today there is no reason whatever to follow the same track which was an unconscious but necessary error in the beginning when the Indian mind had to find and see the light of modern critical methods of scholarship from Europe. Now there is no dearth of critical study or scientific outlook in India and there is plenty of it as evidenced in the fields of science, literature, philosophy and many branches of ancient or modern learning. But, can the same be said about Indian Vedic scholarship? Here it is the same song of the nineteenth-century Europe that is being relayed and sung by Indian writers on the Vedas; though there may be a certain improvement, some alterations in details, some minor discoveries of facts, the fundamental position has remained fixed, well-fashioned and established, not shaken at all. The primitive peoples, nature-worshipping semi-civilised races, poets of childish fancies, simple-minded enough to be wonder-struck daily at the appearance of dawn, fear-ridden at the thought of night — these are still there at the bottom of all their labours in the field of what they call Vedic research. We can take the example of the Vedic Dawn to show the nonsense that is still indulged in seriously by these our Indian admirers of Vedic poetry. It has become a respectable convention with the writers on Veda to follow in the footsteps of their European teachers to extol the Vedic poets of the Dawn, and admiringly quote the same hymn or hymns. But when we hear eulogistic plaudits showered upon these primitive poets for singing the glory of the Dawn and look into the sense of the hymns addressed to Usha as given by them, of course with their own improvement made upon the meaning given by Sayana, we find ourselves face to face with queer people who composed these poems, and indeed we are at a loss to decide who are queer — whether those Rishis or these scholars. Look at the grotesque situation when we follow the scholars who make a convenient use of Sayana to the extent necessary for their theories and explanations. When the Rishi gives vent to his gratitude in a joyous cry "We have crossed over to the other shore of this darkness”, we are called upon to assume that he means literally darkness and that no figure is meant and that he refers to the normal awakening, to the daily sunrise which he hymned with so much ardour. Again these people, the Rishis, sat down to the sacrifice at dawn and prayed for light when it had already come! The height of absurdity and irrationality is reached when these Rishis believed — or more truly, when we are asked to believe —that it was only “by their prayers that the Sun rose in the heavens and the Dawn emerged from the embrace of her sister Night”. But such a belief can certainly be ascribed to the Rishis only on the gratuitous assumption that they were savages overpowered by a “terror of darkness which they peopled with goblins, ignorant of the natural law of succession of day and night". But even here, the difficulty is that that they seem to know it, for they speak of “the undeviating rule of the action of the gods and of dawn following always the path of the eternal law of truths”. So far, for irrational assumptions and uncritical acceptance by most Indian scholars of the imported theories of Vedic origins.

The moment critical acumen is applied to the study of the Vedic hymns in the original with some respect for the most ancient of all traditions concerning the mantras, the Riks and Rishis, at once the Vedic verses cease to be fanciful poetry, and the Vedic seers gradually uncover themselves as seers of Truth. And if we accept what Sri Aurobindo for the purposes of reasoning and intellectual appeal calls his hypothesis, but what in fact is just an intelligible statement of his knowledge born of clear perception of the truths about the Vedic seers, the Vedic hymns and the Vedic gods, the result is a twofold gain. For negatively, most of the incongruities attributed to the Rishis vanish, many dilemmas in the understanding of the Riks in many places are got rid of; and positively, we gain in our knowledge of the spiritual stature of the Seers, of the mystic Wisdom embedded in the hymns, of the true character of the Vedic gods, and many unintelligible portions of the Upanishads become clear as daylight; and last we find justification, satisfactory explanation for the claims of the Agamas (Tantras) of various schools and the later day Puranas and minor scriptures that the Vedas are the repository of spiritual wisdom and Divine knowledge and that they themselves are attempts to represent something of that knowledge in their own way for people of a later age.

Traditional Interpretation

Before we proceed to note briefly the special features of Sri Aurobindo’s exposition of the hymns of the Rig Veda and point out how he unveils the true and inner sense of the Mystics and refer also to the authentic evidence he shows as emerging from the Vedic texts themselves, we shall first dispose of the other objection mentioned earlier that his views on the Vedic hymns could not be accepted because they are opposed to the traditional interpretations of Sayana and the system of Purva-Mimamsa, the authority on Vedic interpretation". Here again is a misconception or an ambiguity concerning what is called the traditional interpretation of Sayana. What is the tradition that was handed down to Sayana which he maintains in his interpretation of the Rig Vedic hymns? Or, is it meant by the term the tradition that he himself started and that has been handed down to us through his commentary on the Riks? Such a question arises because when we go through his Rigbhashya we find him maintaining a variety of traditions coming down from different schools of learning. He maintains mostly the ritualistic tradition that the Mantras are meant for sacrificial purposes, with great zeal, very often at the cost of a straight rendering of the text. But the Brahmanas, the original ritualistic scriptures themselves do not claim to be treated as the Vedas in the main of which the Mantras are a part having their place in the rituals. In scores of places Sayana in his commentary maintains the Vedantic tradition, the Puranic tradition and other Shastraic traditions without making any serious attempt to take notice of the discrepancies in his writings, much less to reconcile them at all. An instance may be cited to show that Sayana while endeavouring to expound the Riks in consonance with the tenets of the ritualist clean forgets that according to the latter there can be no mention of any actual historic occurrence in any portion of the Vedas, since they are eternal — every sentence, every word, every syllable. Again, when Sayana finds certain hymns clearly symbolic or containing allegorical allusions, he explains them in a quite simple way making references to the minutiae of certain rites that are meant and ought to be so understood and avoids to mention any other possible significances of the Riks in question. He was quite aware of the fact that the ritualists were just one of the three main interpreters of the Vedas and this is clear when he occasionally quotes Yaska making references to a threefold interpretation of the hymns of the Rig Veda. When he gives us alternative meanings of words or verses, which he quite often does, it is obvious he does so as a scholar, with a certain indifference to the acceptance of the alternative meaning if it does not fit in with a sacrificial context. What then is the tradition he himself received or he has left behind ? It is a jumble of traditions that we find registered in his commentary, as has been stated already, though of course he started his work with the avowed object of demonstrating that the Riks are ancillary and indispensable to the ceremonial rites of Vedic sacrifice. Certainly he did not follow a particular tradition in interpreting the Riks; for there has been no tradition as such recorded and available in the shape of a commentary on the whole of the Samhita. Sayana himself does not make mention of any commentary on the Rik Samhita as having existed before him. Had there been one or had he even heard of one as having existed and lost, he would certainly have stated it. Does he not refer to Yaska frequently whenever the latter explains the Riks? But he made his choice and sided with the ritualist supporting not fully, but to some extent, the Mimamsakas and wrote the commentary. The ritualistic tradition of Vedic religion was there long before him and he imbibed its spirit. That is not the same as to say — and it will be a travesty of truth — that that was also the tradition in regard to the interpretation of the Riks. If there was any tradition, it was the threefold interpretation of the Riks to which Yaska draws our attention¹

It is not necessary here to make mention of the helpfulness of Sayana, the merits are great, but we can state this much that his commentary represents one phase of the Vedic worship, the external religion, namely, the Vedic sacrifice. Ages intervened between him and the Vedic Rishis. We may draw the reader’s attention to the intelligent guess, to the sensible remarks of Professor Benfey: “Everyone who has carefully studied the Indian interpretations is aware that absolutely no continuous tradition extending from the composition of the Veda to their explanation by Indian scholars can be assumed; that, on the contrary, between the genuine poetic remains of Vedic antiquity and their interpretations a long continued break and tradition must have intervened, out of which, at most, the comprehension of some particulars may have been rescued and handed down to later times by means of liturgical usages and words, formulae, and perhaps also poems connected therewith.” This last work of rescue is exactly what Sayana’s commentary represents. But these scholars lament, and along with them their loyal pupils of India, that Sayana is usually rational but is often deceived by the Brahmanas and misled by Yaska for whom he had a misplaced reverence. This is because though Sayana’s interpretation gives them sufficient material for their rationalistic theories of Vedic gods, Vedic religion and Vedic poetry, it contains many other things, his theological beliefs, his irrational reverence for the gods which are after all none but Nature-Powers, his acceptance and exposition of spiritual ideas — though occasionally — that the Riks conveyed to him which could not be true according to them, considering the remote times of those primitive peoples and therefore adversely affected some of their suppositions and conclusions.

But whatever they may have thought erroneously, all that is but natural and such are always the imperfections that attend the labours of all pioneers in any field. In the galaxy of vanguards in the realm of Vedic studies Max Muller will always shine among those of the first magnitude, if only for his excellent edition of the Rik Samhita with Sayana Bhashya. Whatever notions he may have entertained earlier or later in the progress of his Vedic studies, he had one warning to give to his colleagues of the West; we can take it as a caution to every one who takes to the study of Rig Veda in India also. “What we must guard against in all these studies is rejecting as absurd whatever we cannot understand at once, or what to us seems fanciful or irrational. I know from my own experience how often what seemed to me for a long time unmeaning, nay, absurd, disclosed after a time a far deeper meaning than I should ever have expected”.

The Central Truths

Now let us proceed with the proposition that the Rig Veda, its true and inner meaning, is spiritual and mystic; that is the esoteric aspect of the Vedic worship. And this is the implication that we do not reject Sayana because his interpretation represents the exoteric side, the outer worship of the gods of Vedic pantheons. It may be that he may not be always correct in giving the meaning of verses even for his purpose, the meaning needed for ritualism. It may also be that the meanings he gives to words are not always consistent or always purposeful, but this is a matter to which reference will be made when necessity arises. But all this does not affect our position holding as we do that he represents one phase of the Vedic religion as understood and preserved to some extent by the Hindus of his times. In this connection it will be interesting to note the words of a Western savant, in his prefatory lines to one of the volumes of Wilson’s translations of the Rig Veda. Referring to the work he says, " This work does not pretend to give a complete translation of the Rig Veda, but only a faithful image of that particular phase of its interpretation which the mediaeval Hindus, as represented by Sayana, have preserved. This view is in itself interesting and of a historical value; but far wider and deeper study is needed to pierce to the real meaning of these old hymns. Sayana’s commentary will always retain a value of its own— even its mistakes are interesting – but his explanations must not for a moment bar the progress of scholarship.” We appreciate the balanced and judicial statement of this Western scholar, now a century ago, for uttering these words of caution and wisdom, in taking Sayana’s commentary for a faithful picture of a particular phase of Vedic interpretation. We subscribe to every word of the passage of Professor Cowell quoted above; for, that, indeed, sums up the position of Sayana in relation to Vedic interpretation.

Now let us proceed with a bare statement of the central thought that governs our approach to the study of this most ancient sacred Scripture of India and later see how far we are supported by evidence emerging from the Rig Veda and other scriptures of later times. The Rig Veda represents and embodies the remnants of the Wisdom of ancient seers of a remote age at its close, far anterior to the times of the Brahmanas and the Upanishads. It constitutes the gospel of the Mystics, garbed in a symbolic vesture. The hymns that make the collection called Samhita are not the kind of poetical compositions we are familiar with, but are words of inspiration that reveal the truth-perceptions of the seer, the Rishi. They are called Mantras and carry with them an occult and spiritual power appropriate to their sense and sound and found effective for special purposes by the seer, for himself and for others. They have a double meaning; one is the inner, the true meaning of the Veda Mantra which is psychological and spiritual. This secret is known to the Rishis, to their disciples, in fact, only to the Initiates who have turned to build the inner life, learned to perform the inner sacrifice, offer what they have and what they are to the Gods, and receive from them what in return are bestowed upon them and thus progress towards the attainment of spiritual and Divine Felicity. The other meaning is external, meant for the common men of the times, useful for those who performed the outer sacrifice by which they propitiated the gods and which was the common exoteric religion of the Vedic age. The device of double meanings was a necessity for the preservation of the occult knowledge and spiritual wisdom, confined naturally to the competent few that were the initiates, while it averted the dangers that the common man was usually exposed to through ignorance and abuse, for the ordinary people are unprepared for the reception of uncommon inner truths, unripe for aspiration for higher life, feeble in soul for a stronger resolve and will for a life of the Spirit, for the activity of a godly life.

The device was indeed deliberate, but not laboured, not artificial; it was spontaneous and natural. This may seem a contradiction in terms; it is not so if we remember the real character of the language as it was then in the times of the Vedas; it was not sheer convention as it has come to be with us. Human speech, the word, the voice, Vāk was at once an impelling subtle force and a propelled expression of thought or feeling or sensation in terms of the nervous being in man. It was often a nervous response to the phenomena that from within or without incite the feelings and ideas and sensations. The language of those remote ages was anything but conventional; it was a natural expression of the human organism in terms of vocal sound, reproducing and acting to the stimuli from the environment, the objective universe or as in the case of the Rishi from the Universe within of the higher Powers, of the Spirit, of God. Language was a living growth, a live force. Besides, words of the Vedic age retain their derivative significance, so that when a word is uttered, it not only denotes the object intended, but signifies its characteristic aspect. Even as many words denote a single object to indicate its nature in different particulars, a single word also denotes different things in different contexts and in association with other words. All rhetorical works in Sanskrit language devote a section to this question of significance and suggestion of words in association with others. This literary tradition of the Sanskrit classicist can be traced to the hymns of the Rig Veda where words carry with them their meanings with the special significances proper to them, and in the context. Language then was not a rigid instrument of expression but in a fluidic state; at the same time the meaning of a word was always definite, not vague. Therefore we can say in the language of the Sanskritist that words in the Veda always retained their derivative significance, paugika, while their denotation was fixed and definite and in that sense a certain convention also was established, yogarudha. For instance, Angiras is definitely the name of a Rishi, or an epithet of Agni when it does not mean the Rishi of that name; but it does not lose its significance as a flame-power as illustrated in Angirastama, the most lustrous of flame-powers. Thus the device of double values was easy in the Vedic age and there is nothing artificial, laboured or unnatural there, as it would be in our age when language is conventional.

The thought content of the Riks was set in a system of parallelism through double values of the symbolic language employed to bring out the exoteric meaning which corresponded to its esoteric counterpart. If the gross and the outer meaning referred to mundane objects and things of physical Nature, the inner meaning running parallel to the same was psychological and spiritual and pointed to things of inner and higher Nature. The outer was looked upon as a symbol of the Inner and the elements and the objects of Nature in the outer Universe were seen and felt as symbolic of the truths and principles of the subtle Nature in the Inner existence. As a strong symbolic mentality governed the Vedic peoples—as is always the case with human societies in their earlier Dawns—in their thoughts and customs and social and religious institutions, the Sacrifice, Yajna, the central fact of Vedic worship was arranged as a symbol of the great act of one’s own offering of what one has and is to the gods, — the higher powers of universal Nature both within and without us — within as the psychological and spiritual, without as the forces of physical Nature. If the sacrifice as a whole is symbolic, all its elements, the objects used in the rites, are also symbolic of the elements, the principles and truths of the inner sacrifice which is the true one by which man calls upon the gods to come down to accept his offerings and by their help ascends to their Home, the Heaven, the Swar. Let us first make mention by citing instances of the symbolic value of certain chief features of the sacrifice before we take up the question of the system of the worlds in the Vedic Symbolism and the character and function of the Vedic gods and the ultimate purpose of the Vedic sacrifice.

These are the main features of the Yajna: the sacrificer Yajamana, the persons who help him in the sacrifice, the officiating priests, called Ritwiks, the offerings themselves and the fruits of the offering. The Yajamana is the soul, the human personality that offers the sacrifice; the Ritwiks are those who officiate at the sacrifice, take their part in the right place at the right time; the two parts of the word (rtu and ij from yaj) suggest the function that they perform as their part in the sacrifice in the right season. There are four main orders of the Ritwiks; each one has three assistants and altogether they total sixteen in a Soma sacrifice: these details are not important enough to be taken up here, but it must be noted that the names of these Ritwiks generally signify their functions in the sacrifice and unmistakably in the inner sense. The first in the four orders is the Hota, the summoner, whose part in the officiating priesthood is to call the other priests and he leads the chanting calling upon the gods to be present; he recites the Riks, voices out the revealed Word. In the inner sense he symbolises the God, the first-born in man who calls upon the other gods to come down and be present and accept the offering. He is the messenger of the gods, the Immortal in the mortal. Adhwaryu is the second in order of the officiating priests: he is the active agent, the chief functionary; he takes his stand upon the Yajus; the active part of the Yajna represented by Yajus falls to his lot; he gives directions to other priests; he is, we may say, the executive head of the Adhwara which means sacrifice, but in the inner sense the two parts of the word (adhwa and ra) give the meaning “ taking to or accepting the path”, i.e., pilgrim. For the image of the sacrifice in the Veda is at times journey or voyage. Therefore the Adhwaryu also is a God who is actively engaged in helping the human personality to complete the journey and lead him to the goal of sacrifice. Udgata comes next in the order; he sings, he chants the Saman that delights the gods. In the esoteric meaning, he is the God of the rhythms that heal the imperfections and avert the failures and dangers on the path of the sacrifice and lift up by the music of the gods the human personality, the sacrificer, to the supreme felicity — Truth, Light, Immortality. Last comes the order of the officiating priest, called Brahma; he witnesses, gives his sanction at every stage in the ceremonials of sacrifice; when a crucial step is reached or some mistake is committed in the performance of the rites, he points it out; always he is silent, does not move from his seat, but from his position he gives his approval of the details at every stage and sanctions the procedure by uttering the sacred syllable Om, culminating in the successful close of the Vedic rite. The inner sense is too obvious, the symbol is transparent, and that is the God presiding over the Word, the Causal Material of all Mantra. Just as the names of the officiating priests are symbolic and signify the gods or Higher Powers within, so the offerings of substances in the sacrifice are also symbolic. Ghrta, clarified butter symbolises warm brilliance or clarity of thought; payas or gavya, yield of the Cow of light, hava, calling forth, havis, offering, are a few instances to the point. A closer examination of these and similar symbolic words would confirm the fact of a systematic arrangement of double values devised by the seers of the Vedic hymns. Similarly the fruits of the offering of which cows and horses (go and aśwa) are frequently mentioned and prayed for according to the exoteric interpretation are the results of the inner sacrifice, the occult and spiritual journey undertaken by the soul. Go, cow, is the symbol of Light and illumination of the mind; aśwa, horse, symbolises vital force and all life-energies. If the former represents the power of knowledge Jnāna-śakti, the latter is the power of activity, kriya-śakti, on the lower levels of existence. This much is sufficient for the present to indicate the symbolic character of the sacrifice and point to the direction in which the symbolic sense of its details is to be understood, helped, if not confirmed by the philological significances of these words of the Vedic hymns.

But there are other words which apparently are psychological terms, not easily or consistently applicable in the exoteric interpretation; yet the esoteric sense is the true sense consistently applicable in all contexts. That is so because the exoteric was unimportant with the Rishis as that was intended as an outer cover for guarding the secret knowledge.

Another important aspect of the Vedic Symbolism is the Gods and the system of the worlds. There are three worlds denoted by the three sacred words, called the three vyährtis, Bhuh, Bhuvah, Svah — the Earth, the Middle region (Antariksha), Heaven (Dyauh); a fourth vährti points to a vaster World of Light, Mahas, and still higher there are the eternal three worlds signified by the higher triple vyährti, called Jana, Tapas and Satya. Though the Veda frequently refers to the seven principles of Cosmic Existence, of Cosmic Energy, or Creative Force and Consciousness or Knowledge and Will, using the symbolic seven rivers, seven sisters, seven rays, seven seers, etc., it mostly and more frequently deals with the first three worlds and their gods as it is the lower triple world that immediately matters to us, constituted as our being is at present. That is the reason why more hymns are devoted to Agni, the god presiding over the Earth and most to Indra, the Lord of the gods of this triple world, while the Sun, Surya, undoubtedly the Supreme God of the Veda, above all the gods of the triple world, has received a lesser number of hymns — the Surya, the sublime Light of the Solar World for the winning of which all tapasya was undertaken by the Rishi, all sacrifice was meant to be offered. The three worlds are the three Cosmic divisions of the Vedic Rishis of which the Earth represents and symbolises the Physical consciousness, the Heaven, Dyauh, symbolises the consciousness in the Pure Mind; in between, the middle region symbolises the forces of Life and consciousness as constituted in the cosmic principle of being that links Heaven and Earth, the Mental and the Physical.

The Vedic gods are the Powers of the universal Nature both in the outer and the inner existence. On the exoteric side they are identified with the Nature-powers—Indra the God of Rain, Maruts the Storm-Gods, Surya the Sun, Usha the Dawn, Agni the Fire and other Gods dubiously identified, such as Mitra and Varuna as Day and Night. But on the esoteric side their character and function in the inner worlds are psychological and spiritual and emerge as such from the epithets applied to them. Their activities, the symbolic or allegorical meaning of the legends connected with them, reveal their identities as not merely the many names for different functionings and powers but distinct personalities of the Godhead. Agni, Fire, may mean for the ignorant mind or ordinary worshipper the third element or at best the principle of heat and light in Physical Nature, or it may mean the sacrificial Fire as a superhuman personage, one of the benefactors of the sacrificer, giver of wealth,—cows and horses, gold, offspring, women, food, fame. But the name Agni to the Initiate carries with it at first the philological significance of force and brilliance. But his personality comes to the surface from his activities that the hymns describe. He is the first God to be awakened in man; he is placed in the front, purohita, that he may lead us; the messenger of the Gods, he is often mentioned as their face, mukham, their mouth, asyam. He is in man the flaming force of the Divine Will with wisdom that helps the human personality to offer the elements of its being, its various parts and powers to their Universal correspondences, represented by the Cosmic Powers, the God-personalities of the sole Supreme Godhead. These are Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Soma, Maruts, Ribhus and others, each of whom has his own special Name, specific function, distinct personality. It is enough for our purpose to notice a few important names of the Gods with the principles and powers they embody in carrying out the Cosmic activity of the creative Godhead, the Lord of Truth.

If Agni here is the seven-tongued (saptajihva) power of Divine Will with wisdom, the immortal guest in our mortal being, and his activity is directed towards mediating between Earth and Heaven and therefore he ascends, Indra there above is the great power manifested as the Pure, the Luminous Divine Mind, who descends with his lightnings, showers (Vrishan) the life-giving rains, destroys, as the Hero, all the covering, obscuring and obstructionist forces, makes possible the discovery of illumined truths, and perception and attainment of the Sun of Truth. Surya is the Sun, the Lord of the supreme Truth, the Creator, Savita, of things. Soma represents the Beatitude, the Delight of existence; he is the Lord of Bliss and Immortality. The Gods are immortals because they live by the essential delight of all created existence. In man the immortalising juices (rasa) are hidden and when by tapasyā, disci-pline, and with the help of the higher Powers, chiefly beginning with Agni, the Divine child born to man, these are extracted and offered to the Gods they get the needed nourishment in him, "they increase him by themselves increasing in him”. Again, there is Varuna the God of Vast Purity destructive of all crookedness and sin; Mitra, luminous Power of love harmonising all thoughts and feelings and acts and impulses. There are goddesses also; each god has his Female Energy and is mentioned occasionally and also hymned, such as Indrani, Varunani, Agnayi. Besides there are Devatas who are in their own right Female Powers of whom Aditi the Infinite is the foremost, the Mother of the Gods, Adityas; Mahi or Bharati," the vast word that brings us all things out of the Divine source ", Ila“ the strong primal word of the Truth who gives us its active vision”. “Sarama, the Intuition” and a few other names with their functions are mentioned in “The Doctrine of the Mystics”. The distinction between the Male and Female energies, it must be noted, lies in the fact that the former are “activsing souls” while the latter "passively executive and methodising energies”.

What we have so far stated is just a sketch of the Vedic Symbolism as applied to the sacrifice, the system of the worlds, the Gods and some of the main features connected with them. But this cannot be complete even as a short sketch without stating in clear terms the central teaching of the Mystics as revealed in the hymns of the Rig Veda. We cannot do it better than by registering here the authentic words of Sri Aurobindo, the discoverer of Vedic Symbolism, the teacher who has recovered for us the lost light to illumine the passages of the Veda for intelligent grasp and perception of the truths couched in the hymnal texts of the mystics.

Here are the categorical statements summed up in his words:

This is the first and central teaching: the thought around which all is centred is the seeking after Truth, Light, Immortality. There is a Truth higher and deeper than the truth of outward existence, a Light greater and higher than the light of human understanding which comes by revelation and inspiration, an immortality towards which the soul has to rise. We have to find our way out to that, to get into touch with this Truth and Immortality, sapanta rtam amrtam, to be born into the Truth, to grow in it, to ascend in spirit into the world of Truth and to live in it. To do so is to unite ourselves with the Godhead and to pass from mortality into immortality.

Here is the second mystic doctrine:

There is an inferior truth here of this world mixed as it is with much falsehood and error, anritasya bhureh, and there is a world or home of Truth, sadanam ſtasya, the Truth, the Right, the Vast, satyam įtam brhat, where all is Truth-conscious, Țita-cit. There are many worlds ... but this is the world of the highest Light ... the world of the Sun of Truth, Swar, or the Great Heaven. We have to find the path to this Great Heaven.

And this is the third:

Our life is a battle between the powers of Light and Truth, the Gods who are the Immortals and the powers of Darkness. These are spoken of under various names as Vritra or Vritras, Vala and the Panis, the Dasyus and their kings. We have to call in the aid of the Gods to destroy the opposition of these powers of Darkness who conceal the Light ... we have to invoke the Gods by the inner sacrifice and by the Word call them into us — that is the specific power of the Mantra — to offer to them the gifts of the sacrifice and by that giving secure their gifts so that by this process we may build the way of our ascent to the goal.

Finally, as the summit of the teaching of the Vedic mystics comes the secret of the One Reality, ekam sat, tad ekam which became the central word of the Upanishads.

This is the brief outline of the central thought of the Veda in its esoteric sense. It is given here as expounded in the system of interpretation that Sri Aurobindo has methodised for the use of those who choose to follow the line. It is an invaluable guide to those who are not reasonably satisfied with the meanings of Riks hazarded by European scholars with the help of Sayana to a necessarily limited extent and accepted generally by educated Indians of modern times. It will be at least a finger-post for those who could read the original hymns with the help of Sayana’s commentary and would turn to the road that leads to the riches of occult and spiritual truths treasured, hidden by the coverings of symbolic imagery devised for double values by the ancient mystics of the Rig Veda.

II

Now that we have made an initial statement of the chief features that characterise this re-interpretation of the Riks, we shall proceed to examine our position in the light of indigenous scholarship from the early times beginning with the hymns of the Rig Veda themselves covering the Brahmanas and Upanishads, Nirukta, Brihad Devata, standard works of the Dharma Mimam-sakas, and other texts that have bearing on the subject. Let us at the outset state the questions that arise in regard to the likely objec-tions or possible misconceptions — objections to the basis upon which our enquiry proceeds, and misconceptions of what the symbolic interpretation of Vedic hymns aims at.

How is it that the Rig Veda alone of the four Vedas that have come down to us is taken up for enquiry? Does it imply that the Rig Veda is the only true Veda, as it is indeed so esteemed by the European scholars? If not, how not? Is the whole basis of the Dharma-Mimamsa wrong? How are we to account for the appearance and stronghold of this creed? Is the tradition about the sacredness of the Mantras due to their hoary antiquity alone? Or what precisely is the character of the sacrednesss? What is the subject matter of the Riks? Surely there are many classes of Mantras according to ancient authorities, such as the Nirukta or Brihad Devata; if so, how can it be affirmed that the whole body of the hymnal texts is spiritual and occult in its import? If it is maintained that by piercing the veil of the symbols the so-called heterogeneous character of the hymns proves itself to be a deceptive appearance and disappears, what then are the grounds for resorting to such a line of approach? Is there warrant for such assumptions justified by the language of the Riks themselves ? Rig Vedic hymns apart, is there anywhere else in the Vedic literature in general or other branches of learning subsequent to it the idea of symbolic sense attached to Vedic worship, Vedic hymns or Vedic sacrifice? What is the real character of the gods, the religion and philosophy of the Vedic Rishis stated in terms of modern thought? Are we to dismiss as futile the labours of Indian scholars of recent times who have made a profound study of the Vedas and made researches along Western lines? Between the Vedic Rishis of a dateless past and ourselves today, has there been none who made any attempt to get at the real meaning of the Vedas as we hold it to be, especially of the hymns of the Rik Samhita ? These are the main questions we propose to discuss in order to clarify the position we have taken up in this study.

Rig Veda, the only true Veda?

The Vedas are certainly four in the sense that they are four different collections called Samhitas. But the Veda from imme-morial times has been threefold, and called Trayi. If the former classification is based upon the collections, the latter upon the form and mode of the Veda Mantra. The Mantra in the metrical form is called Rik, that in prose, Yajus and that set to musical chant, Saman; it will be thus clear that the collection of the Riks is the Rig Veda Samhita, that of Yajus, Yajurveda Samhita and that of the Saman, Samaveda Samhita. The fourth set of compila-tion called Atharva Samhita contains Riks most of which form part of the Rik Samhita with a few variants in the readings and also prose Mantras. Whatever be the reasons for making a separate collection of these Mantras which are mostly Riks and some Yajus, it is an undoubted and admitted fact that they too are Mantras and there-fore form part of the Vedas proper. But those Mantras of the Atharva Veda which are not to be found in the Rig Veda or Yajur Veda are not meant for sacrificial purposes which are the spheres of the Trayi collections for application. They are meant for other purposes, it is said, occult and medicinal. There are also, certain hymns in the Atharva Veda which are not in the Rik Samhita but which are sublime, highly advanced in spiritual ideas and occult knowledge. Since the Atharva Samhita is chiefly made up of Rik and Yajus, if we enquire into and grasp the central thought of the Trayi, an enquiry into the meaning of the Atharva Veda will be superfluous and can be dispensed with. Nor is there need to take up Sama Veda for enquiry. For it is just a selection of a thousand Riks and a little more taken from the Rik Samhita, set to chanting regulated by certain musical modes. There are a small number of Riks in the Sama Veda which are not traceable to the Rik Samhita as we have it. Since the language is sufficiently antique and the thought substance is on the same level with the rest, it is quite possible that at the time of the collection of the Saman-Riks they may have been in use by the Saman chanters but not in currency among the reciters of the Riks. Therefore a study of the Rik Samhita includes that of the Sama Veda. But what about Yajur Veda? The Yajur Veda is also a Veda, if we do not take it up for consider-ation, it is not because it is considered inferior to the Rig Veda, but because the Yajur Veda as we have it has an uncertain value for our purpose, which is the purpose of unveiling the Vedic symbolism in order to get the spiritual thought of the Rishis, the inner meaning of the Mantra, the real character of the gods, and the goal of man as envisaged by our forefathers of the race. For the language of the Riks affords a better field of enquiry, it is more systematic and intelligible in its symbolism than Yajus. Besides the difficulty with the Yajur Veda is that the Taittiriya school maintains in the body of its Samhita both the Mantras and Brahmanas as forming the Veda. Our enquiry is related to the Mantras alone and not to the Brahmanas with or without the Upanishads. The Taittiriya Samhita, called Krishna (Black) Yajur Veda contains the Yajur Mantras along with their ritualistic explanations, called Brahmanas. If a Samhita means a collection of Mantras as indeed it does in the case of the three other Samhitas, it is certainly questionable to call this collection of the Taittiriyas as a Veda Samhita. There is a story related of Yajnavalkya in connection with the Black Yajus. For some fault of his as a Vedic pupil of Vaishampayana, when the Guru ordered him to do an appropriate penance he promptly did it and also returned the Veda he learnt from him. How did he return it? It is said the Veda came out of him in the shape of tittiri birds and flew away; that is why the Black Yajus is called Taittiriya. The purport of the story is that the militant Yajna-valkya revolted against the inclusion of the Brahmanas in the body of the Yajus Samhita as is clear from the consequential step he took; for as the fruit of the tapasyā he went through, Aditya in the form of a Horse (Vaji) appeared and revealed to him the Shukla (White) Yajur Veda containing only the Mantras without their ritualistic explanation, the Brahmanas. Therefore the White Yajus is called Vajasaneyi Samhita for which Yajnavalkya is responsible and its crowning chapter is the precious short Ishavasya Upanishad of eighteen verses. If the Taittiriya Samhita includes in it the Brahmana, the Vajasaneyi Samhita, as if in reply to the former, incorporates the Upanishad—the only Upanishad of a Veda Samhita. This shows that Yajnavalkya, himself a Vedist, did not approve of the inclusion of ritualistic doctrines in any collection of the Veda Mantras.

But the fact must be made clear that we do not deny the Yajur Veda, even the Black one, its place and honour as a Veda, because we do not object to the explanation attempted in the Brahmanas for the purposes of the Sacrifice. But the symbols they freely use in their interpretation of the various elements of the sacrifice are often obscure and leave us in confusion, not always the same as those of the Rig Veda. Besides, the very fact that the White Yajus is a later recantation of the Yajur Mantras as revealed in the story of Yajnavalkya is enough for us to treat it as not useful for our purpose. Even the Black Yajus, the Mantra portion of it, will not in any way help us; that a great Vedist of Yajnavalkya’s stature flung it at the face of the teacher — for in effect it comes to that — shows not his disregard of the Veda Mantra, but certainly points to his aversion for the absolutely gross interpretation of the Mantras indulged in by the ritualist in spite of the frequent symbolic explanation that dubiously refers to higher ideals or points to spiritual gains. The ritualistic interpretation of the Mantras and the sacrifice finding place in the body of a Veda Samhita, as is found in the Black Yajus, has had a far-reaching consequence on the religio-philosophic thought and theology in later day India. For therein is to be found the seed of the later theory and practice that it is the only possible sense of all Veda and therefore the Veda itself is part of the Karma Kanda. If the Yajur Veda is thus given such a treatment, whatever the reason be, is it not questionable that we practically do not take it into account as a Veda at all and in this respect the modern scholars and ourselves are in agreement? That we recognise Yajus as Mantra in prose and the Samhita as we have it is of no avail for our purpose is definitely true; but on that account we do not consider the Yajur Veda, even the Black one, as no Veda at all. On the other hand we recognise the sacred character of the Yajur Mantras, as did the Agamikas before us, who incor-porated in their system the famous five-syllabled (Panchakshara) Shiva Mantra which occurs in the Rudra Adhyaya of the Black Yajus. This is just a famous instance out of a very large number of Mantras used for recital and prayer and for other purposes from the Yajus.

Therefore if we take into consideration the importance of the Rig Veda for the object we have in view, it is not so on the baseless assumption of the scholars that it is the only true Veda; we value it for our enquiry because we aim at a knowledge of the significance of the antique language, of the systematic symbolism employed by the Rishis, of their spiritual stature, of the character of the gods; and all this can be got only from the Rig Veda according to the Vedas themselves. For the Yajus is the Veda for the act of sacrifice, Adhwaryu-shakha, and it is admitted on all hands that even in the case of sacrifice “What is done by the Rik, that alone is firm, strong—yad rca tad dhrdham. Whatever is achieved by Yajus or Saman is loose.” This is what the Taittiriya Samhita itself says. We may note in passing that Yajus and Saman always existed side by side with the Rik. The Trayi is always inseparable; and in the outer sacrifice each has its use, and no Yajna can be performed without all the three. In the inner sense the Triad has its place. There are many hymns in the Rik Samhita making mention of the Yajus and Saman and that is clear evidence for discarding the theory that Yajus came after Rik in point of time; the question of Saman does not arise at all as it is a body of select hymns as already stated. The Nivids are all Yajus, i.e., in prose, they are very ancient, judged by the form of the language. Some modern scholars think they are the prototype of the Yajur Mantras of the Samhita as we have it now; but it is enough for us to note that the Triad — Rik, Yajus and Saman—has been there all along from the beginning. The pre-eminence of the Rig Veda for investigation into the secrets of the sacrifice or the gods or of the goal aimed at by the sacrificer is not only admitted by the Yajur Veda but mentioned reverently by the Brahmanas, Gopatha, Shatapatha, Taittiriya, not to talk of the Upanishads; everywhere we find the same phrase "it is so affirmed by the Rik” (tad rcă abhyuktam).

But the Triad of the Vedas is used as a symbol of the triple power of the three gods Agni, Vayu and Aditya who are said to produce Rik, Yajus and Saman on the three world-planes of the Vedic order, according to the Shatapatha (XI. 5.8) and Aitireya Brahmanas (V. 32.34) and among the Upanishads, notably, the Brihadaranyaka speaks of them as the outbreathing of the Supreme Being. To come to the significance: Agni is the Vicar, whose voice goes forth to the gods. He is the Divine officiating priest, Hota: he is the Lord of Riks, of the Vak; all Rik is the Voice that describes the glory of the gods and unfolds their truths, flames up to them and reaches the abode of Heaven, Swar. Surya is the Lord of Swar, he is the producer of the Saman, the Creator who by the sweet harmonies of the music lulls the soul, the sacrificer amidst the gods into rhythmic ecstasy of the bliss of truth — he is the Udgata. In between the Earth with Agni and Swar with Aditya lies the Mid-region where functions Vayu the Universal Life, the Master of all activity and executive head of all energies needed for the fulfilment of the sacrifice, of the journey, he is the Lord of the Yajus which represents the most active principle of the sacrifice — therefore he is the Adhwaryu priest. We could thus see why the Yajus is considered the most important of all the Vedas for Yajna. If by the Riks, worship by conscious voice (arcana) is effected, and if by Saman, worship by devotional ecstasy (the gāna udgitha) the music of the soul is aimed at, then it is by Yajus, worship by action (yajna) is carried out. These are the three gods, Agni, Vayu and Aditya who are the divine priests officiating at the sacrifice as Hota, Adhwaryu and Udgata active in their re-spective spheres, of Rik, Yajus and Saman for their respective instrumentation in the sacrifice; and that is the true sacrifice which is the inner one whose values are portrayed in the symbols of the exoteric worship by the common and the uninitiated, by the laity.

Dharma Mimamsa

In the earlier section we have stated the symbolic character of the sacrifice including some of its chief elements. Here we have referred to the inner sense of the Vedic Trayi as understood by the Vedists in general and by the Brahmanas in particular. But there is a school of thought represented by the Dharma Mimam-sakas who investigate into the meaning of the Vedas by which term they mean both Mantras and the Brahmanas. They come to certain conclusions which are as unintelligible as their starting assumptions and are diametrically opposed to the basic principles that govern our enquiry into the secret of the Veda. For we carry on our investigation into the inner sense and true spirit of the Veda with special reference to the Rik Samhita. But their labours are directed towards fixing the rules for interpreting the Vedic texts, chiefly the Brahmanas. It is necessary here to state their stand-point and explain it in the light of what we have already stated concerning the Adhwaryu Veda. We are concerned only with the fundamental principle with which they start, that all Veda is the basis of Dharma; for that is also a principle which we accept without reserve, but only in our sense of the term. When they say that the source of Dharma is the Veda, what is meant is that knowledge of Dharma can be got only from the Veda. Now the question is: what is the nature of Dharma that the Veda teaches? It is admitted on all hands that Yajna, sacrifice, is the supreme Vedic Dharma and that consists in offering to the Gods part of one’s possessions and even all that one has, as is done in the viswajit Yaga. The sacrificer reaps the fruit of his Vedic karma; it falls to him spontaneously in the proper time by virtue of an unseen power called apūrva, that the work carries with it. We need not proceed further, nor is it our purpose to deal with their doctrines, their conception of heaven, of the gods, the nature of the Mantras, the eternality of the Veda, the logical necessity of positing a soul in the body, the absence of any necessity for God, the downright and absolute realism of the world as a matter of fact, etc., etc.

Now what precisely is this Dharma, knowledge of which the Veda alone is said to give? If it is the ceremonial sacrifice, Yajna, that is really the truth of Dharma that all Veda reveals, then, it was never applied to all peoples and in all ages, but was confined to a corner of the globe peopled necessarily by a portion of mankind and even then, only by certain sections alone of the community that could perform the sacrifice, follow the Dharma. It is obvious, then, that such a Dharma is not universal, nor is it eternal either. But this much must be said that it is the ritualists of a latter day—the Dharma Sutrakaras — who, drawing upon the Brahmanas for their support for their congregational sessions and community of religious fellowship, systematised the ways and means of guarding the Dharma of their conception and called them the command of the Veda, the vidhi. This conception of yajna as srauta dharma gave rise to many dharmas called smärta, which served the purpose of a standing constitution for social polity, social religion, statecraft and all branches of human activity. All this may have had its utility, but the original error was neither recognised nor rectified and that error lies in that the ritualistic explanation and use of the Mantra was the main purpose of the Veda or the main Veda itself.

We could now clearly see how the inclusion of the Brahmanas in the Krishna Yajus Samhita has gradually ended in eclipsing the true and inner meaning of Yajna which is the real srauta dharma. It has left a legacy, certainly not favourable to later Hindu thought. For all great leaders of spiritual and philosophical thought in later times had to reckon with the conception current in their times as an established fact, that “ the name Veda applies to Mantra and Brahmana” (mantra-brāhmanayor vedanā madheyam, says Apastamba).

But once we look into the inner meaning of Yajna, keeping separately the outer sacrifice as symbolic, then its universal character becomes plain and the fact becomes patent that that is the truth of the Eternal Creative Spirit, the Law of Sacrifice, Yajna-dharma by which the Purusha offered the substance of his own Being for the world-creation. For what else is the meaning of the famous Purusha-sukta? Nor is this a solitary instance in the Rig Veda which gives us the idea of creation by the Purusha-sacrifice, though the language is comparatively easier and the Vedic imagery is still maintained in some form therein. Everywhere in the hymns when the Rishi calls upon the gods to accept his offering, he knows that he is leaving behind the human, the mortal in him to that extent, for that is taken up and displaced by the gods accepting him and his offering. If by the sacrifice the mortal becomes the immortal, the gods of the Veda, the Cosmic Powers also take their second birth in man, dwi-janma. This is the law of interchange, the secret of Yajna, by which the Creation and every part of it subsists. There is everywhere a subtle transaction of give and take. But it is a spiritual commerce that is the essence of the Vedic Yajna known to the Vedic Rishi who is often face to face with the gods, addresses them as his friends and enters into intimate relation with them. It is this true but lost sense of the Yajna that the Gita recovers for us and expresses it in its characteristic way. It will be a perversion of truth to say that the Vedas do not reveal such ideas concerning the sacrifice, but that it is the Gita that develops these ideas and reads this meaning into the Vedic Yajna. It is true that it is a Vedantic scripture that aims at reconciling many systems of spiritual and philosophical thought; and this requires, as the Gita reveals, great wisdom and deep thought and firm grasp of the truth and adherence to it, absolutely free from the questionable tendency of foisting its own or new ideas upon old texts — and that will be either falsehood or wrong understanding from both of which we can claim freedom for the Gita, this world-scripture. We must note that the Gita does not compromise on principles. When it condemns the Vedists who say that there is nothing else than the sacrifice, i.e., the Vedic ceremonials, it boldly condemns ritualism for its claim to be the sole meaning and the true spirit of the Veda (II. 42). Even then, it does not condemn the Karma, the Vedic rites as such, if those who adhere to their religious custom perform it with faith. People to whom knowledge is dangerous shall not be disturbed in their ignorance, it says (III. 26). When it mentions the Veda reverently, it does so for the obvious reason that the Mantras are sacred, revelations of Truth, treasures of spiritual wisdom, of God-knowledge (XV. 15). We may remark in passing that even in the later Dharma Shastras the idea of a symbolic meaning of the Vedic rituals, and of a spiritual sense attached to the sacrifice is not altogether lost. There is an interesting verse in Manu Smriti (XII. 87) which mentioning the rites that one should perform says that all these rites are included and implied totally in the Vedic Karma Yoga. The text calls the Vedic rituals a Karma Yoga in the Gita style. Thus the tradition that the Vedic sacrifice has an inner meaning can be found recorded frequently in the Mahabharata and the Puranas though its origins are to be traced to the Brahmanas themselves. It is only when those who came later claimed for the Brahmanas a supreme place in the Veda and as the Veda, and that the exoteric meaning of the sacrifice was the sole Dharma, the high religion of the Veda, a complete, almost effective departure from the original path of Vedic wisdom was made and the Mantra became a handmaid of the Brahmanas for the purposes of unthinking priestcraft.

We have shown how the Dharma Mimamsa was developed out of the idea that the Vedas are the source of knowledge of Dharma which in its pristine form for the outward mind was nothing but the performance of the sacrifice. As the Veda was understood to mean Brahmanas including the Mantra, the supremacy of Yajna as the sole creed of the Vedas was established in the minds of the people of the age in general and the priests in particular. It was thus that ritualism came to be represented by the Mimamsakas in later times beginning with Jaimini. The Vedic sacrifice was established as the sole Vedic creed, at any rate in theory and in dialectical warfare. “In theory” we have to say because even reputed Mimamsakas did not, because they could not, stick to their position in practice as the ritualistic creed of sacrifice could not satisfy the hunger of the soul for spiritual uplift. So they were Mimamsakas for dialectical professions, but Vedantins in faith, with the apology that Karma (that is Vedic rite) is to be performed without attachment for purposes of one’s own purification as that makes way for competency to enter the path of knowledge. But this is a later reconcilement, or an excuse for it. The orthodox Mimamsaka will not tolerate the idea that there is any knowledge possible or worthy of a Vedist other than that of Dharma which lies in the knowledge of how to perform the sacrifice. Whatever may be the extraordinarily unreasonable position they take up as regards this their creed of ritualism, they are skilled debaters, matter-of-fact realists, ingenious in explaining inconvenient texts for the purpose of maintaining their stand that the Vedas are self-existent, uncreated—every word and syllable. An instance may be cited here before proceeding to the next question. For it is interesting and has a kindred bearing upon our approach to the study of the Veda. When they say that the Vedas are eternal, naturally one would expect that according to them there can be no proper names of persons and places or mention of any actual incidents anywhere in the Vedas. Shabaraswamin, the commentator on Jaimini takes up the question, cites the name Babara Pravahani, son of Pravahana. He says it is not the name of any person at all, it is a common name, a chance coincidence that it resembles a proper name. Babara, he says, is an onomatopoeic word²

The Mantra

The Riks therefore are the Mantras in metrical form to which we look up for a knowledge of what the Rishis thought and lived for and left behind for others prepared to know and follow them. They are certainly poetical compositions, if one would choose to call them so, but it must be clearly understood that they are not literary compositions of the kind we are familiar with, nor are these poets composers such as are quite common everywhere in the world or in our own age. It is not only the age-old tradition that affirms but the hymns themselves proclaim that they are Mantras packed with thoughts related to subtle laws and truths of an inner existence, of the worlds of a different order, larger and wider, governed by the Cosmic godhead to which man could have access if he chooses to enter the path. These Mantras are called seeings, mantra-drsti and he who sees is the seer. Rishi, mantra-drasta. And he not only sees but finds the right word to express his truth-perceptions. Then, he is not merely a Kavi, seer of what transcends the normal understanding, kranta-darsi but hears the revealed word of inspiration; therefore is a satya-śrut. This seeing and hearing of the Rishi are not of the ordinary kind, but of a special order far above and superior to that which is possible for a poet of the highest intellectual mind, or of the intensest emotional vigour and passionate appeal and highly refined aesthetic sense and skill. For this reason it is improper to class the Vedic hymns with the poetry of a literary kind of latter times. Another reason for the high value attached to the Vedic hymn is its mantra character. For it has a power all its own, even when the idea it conveys is in our judgement not too high or the language not highly poetical or deep in feeling and strikingly rhythmic in its diction. It is this faith in the power of the Mantra that has left its impress on and taken deep roots in the soul of the race from the Vedic times to our own days, so strongly that all the teachers of later days and their followers and all systems of philosophy also preserved and revered the tradition of the Mantra-power even to the extent of holding that there was no necessity of enquiring into the meaning of the Mantra for realising its power. For, from the ancient times the Mantra was regarded as an extraordinary means of achieving worldly ends also, not merely the other-worldly or spiritual and inner results. Some of the Vaidiks, Sayana included among them, say that the Veda is an uncommon means of realising what is desired and warding off what is undesirable (ista-prāptianista-pariharayor alaukika upayah vedah). This is because the Vedic mystics who were mainly interested in things spiritual “ were also what we would call occultists, men who believed that by inner means outer as well as inner results could be produced, that thought and word could be so used as to bring about realisations of every kind”. That is why while most of the hymns are used—and according to the Yajnikas all are meant — for sacrificial purposes, there are many which have no place in the sacrifice at all. Thus it is that the Mantras are sacred not because of their mere antiquity but of their intrinsic merit; they are precious for their purifying strength, the potential efficacy and the sublime spirit of the thoughts that they embody — according to some and in a certain sense —for their being the sound-substance and body of the gods they proclaim—Mantramayi Devata. But the real greatness, the secret of the Mantra lies in the fact that the thought substance, the rhythm and sound-body are not created by the human mind, they are there in the supreme akaśa, Space or Ether (paramam vyoma) where dwell the gods (I. 164.31). The Vedic Kavi, the seer-poet catches it, as we may say, and by means of his heart and mind acting in unison carves and fashions it; his effort lies in diving deep into the oceanic being within (antaḥsamudra), and from there, effortless, see and hear and hold the Mantra, bring it out new shaped, made audible to the physical hearing, finding for the superhuman word and rhythm a fuller expression in the form of this human speech. According to the ancient mystics the human speech which is the last and the physical stage here in the downward course taken by the Voice, Vák (I. 164.45) passes through three stations or planes, starting from the parama vyoma before it finds its destination here in the outer human instrument. This is the thought we must note, for we find many references to the Rishis seeing and hearing, composing and carving the Mantras; at the same time we find the Riks mentioned as abiding in a high region along with the gods. This is also the meaning of the traditional belief that the Vedas are not made, but seen by the Rishis who are seers and not authors. And because the paramam vyoma is not a creation of anyone, but was there before the appearance and disappearance of the Rishis, the Veda itself came to be understood as eternal, self-existent. In fact, there is only one Rik of the seer Virupa in the whole of the Rik Samhita which refers to the Vák meaning Mantra as eternal, nitya (VIII. 64.6). It is, indeed, so spoken of in the sense explained above. But it is ludicrous that this single Rik is quoted by the later day ritualist (not the Brahmanas) to show that every word and syllable of the Brahmanas and Mantras is eternal. We may here note in passing the view about the eternality of the Vedas held by the author of the Mahabhashya. Patanjali could not be accused of unorthodoxy, his reverence for the Vedas cannot be questioned as is evident from the first Ahnika of his literary monument. In explaining the sutra (IV. 3.101) he raises an argument and answers that the order of the letters, words and sentences are not at all uncreated or eternal, but that they are made by the Rishis. In effect, he ascribes to the Rishi the authorship of the arrangement of the words etc., while the truth and the ideas referring to them are not created, but seen by the Rishi. That the Rik, i.e., the Mantra is not an ordinary literary composition is evidenced by the hymns of Dirghatamas and Virupa referred to above, and there are other instances which can be multiplied. The meaning of the Rik cannot be perceived by the ordinary mind and this is clearly mentioned by Yaska (II. 11; XIII. 13); he says that the Mantra, called "Brahman” in the Veda presented itself before the Rishi in tapasya and that whoever is not a Rishi cannot understand the meaning of the Rik. The Brihad Devata, a little latter than, almost contemporaneous with, Yaska’s Nirukta tells us the same thing in quite a characteristic way; it sums up in a few verses the power and extraordinary nature of the Mantra, the distinctive insight and mystic knowledge of the Rishi, the special purpose of the Vedic triad, Rik, Yajus and Saman, and the power and the efficacy of the rituals properly performed. As it is interesting and puts briefly all that is necessary for us to know about what the later sages like Shaunaka, to whom the authorship of Brihad Devata is ascribed, say, we shall give the substance of these verses here. These are the dicta:

"The Mantra is not perceptible to one who is not a Rishi" [as it is a known fact that he is a Rishi who sees the Mantra, what is meant here is that only a Rishi can know the real sense or the hidden meaning of the Mantra, cf., Rig Veda, V. 81, 1).

"He knows the gods who knows the Riks. They are to be approached through Yoga with self-control and skill, understanding, general knowledge and above all tapasyā.

"He knows the sacrifice who knows the Yajus."

"He knows the essential truths who knows the Samans."

"The deity does not accept (literally, long for) the libation offered in ignorance.”

"He is like a god worthy of praise in heaven even by the gods who is pure and studies the Veda with knowledge of the gods and Mantra."

"Desiring the attainment of the objects, the Rishis of yore hied towards the deities with the Mantras (Chhandas), so say the great seers themselves in the Veda."⁴

We must now reiterate the fact that though the true sacredness and power of the Veda lies in its inner and spiritual meaning of the revealed word, of the inspired voice of the seer, it has lent itself for other uses which are other than sacrificial. And this fact is the basis of the tradition that common objects in life can be achieved by uncommon means; and this is also the meaning of fairly ancient works dealing with the uses that can be made of the hymns, such as the Rig-vidhana ascribed to Shaunaka. Indeed, even in the earlier times, as Yaska states, the Mantras were not considered to be uniform in their objects. Understood in the exoteric interpretation the Mantras contain ideas which are uneven, high and low (uccavaca), and meant for diverse purposes. This is confirmed by the Brihad Devata. “The Rishi addresses the gods directly in some hymns, refers to them indirectly in others. There is censure, praise, swearing, curse, benediction. There are certain hymns which are clearly spiritual”—so says Yaska and cites instances of Riks to illustrate the same. So does the Brihad Devata also. But all this is true when the outer garb alone is looked at and the inner sense is not known or is ignored. This is also the reason why there has been talk about the heterogeneous character of the Vedic hymns. But once we accept the inner sense and the secret speech, the whole body of the hymns presents a sublime picture, spiritual and mystic in its import and homogeneous in the thought-spirit and the mystic principle that governs methodically the Rishi’s utterance.

The Secret — Internal Evidence

Now we come to what is called the secret speech of the Rishi in which is concealed the thought content of the Mantra. We shall later see that quite often the secret lies in the thought so covered with an image or symbol that to a superficial mind the truth that is symbolised does not rouse the suspicion of its very presence, while the symbols generally make some sense applicable to the sacrifice or to the gross existence around, the working of the forces of Physical Nature; or at best to an extremely ignorant and crude intelligence, the sense conveyed may refer to some invisible Superhuman person or persons who just appear to the mortals in the guise of Fire, Wind, Waters or Ocean, Storm, Lightning, Rains, Sun and other objects he sees around in the physical Universe. Let us see if the Rishis had any secret speech; and when we find sufficient grounds to declare that the seers of the Rig Veda themselves referred to a secret speech used in their inner transaction with the gods, then we can readily turn to the symbols with which they covered the secret.

When we come across words in the Rig Veda which are used to denote whatever is hidden or secret or mysterious, we find a number of instances where what is secret or hidden and therefore not visible happens to be a hostile power or a god, a place, a world or worlds; also quite often the word, the Name, the voice of appeal invoking the presence or favour of a god is spoken of. as secret, concealed or inwardly kept, placed, guarded in the secret cave, guha, the heart, hrt. Ninyam is one of the half a dozen words given by Yaska as synonyms to what is secret or inwardly kept or closed and invisible, antarhitam. We shall take up the word and see the contexts in which it is used and show that the Rishis openly used this word to denote that there was a secret in their speech that was concealed from the outward minds ordinary or profane. Fortunately for us Sayana is unusually consistent in giving the same meaning "lost to appearance" (antarhitam) to the word ninyan wherever it occurs, though whenever possible or necessary he makes out a different sense of the passage in question. It may or may not be warranted even for the purpose of ritualistic interpretation. In one place he has given a different meaning without giving any authority which he usually does for support either from the Nirukta for the word meaning or from the Brahmanas for legends. It will be interesting to note why he gives the meaning "nameless" to the word ninyam in a solitary instance. The seer Hiranyastupa in his hymns to Indra makes mention of Indra’s foe (Vritra) smitten by Indra; as a result Vritra’s body fell, cast to a long sleep-that body of tamas, darkness; it could not be seen, it went deep down and the ceaseless waters flowed over it (I. 32.10). Now, here even if Sayana says "disappeared” it would be enough for the legendary or naturalistic interpretation. For when the clouds received the terriblc stroke from Indra’s thunderbolt, the waters were released, the body of the coverer fell dead, going deep down while the waters were llowing over it. We do not understand why ninyain is interpreted as "nameless” and not as the usual “concealed" or "lost to siglit”. Sayana says that Vritra was so thoroughly dead that his very name as an entity was lost or forgotten and therefore he — no, his body—is nameless. He seems to make a concession to Yaska who says with reference to this Rik (Nirukta, 11.16) ninyam nirnāmam; but the pity is that he left the explanation of the nirnāmam to his commentator Durga who says that it refers to a place where no inore “bending low” was possible (nam to bow or bend low); and the Vritra’s body went so deep down beneath the waters that there was no room for him to go still lower. Sayana thought the nirnāmam of Yaska was the same as nir-nămadheyam and found an explanation for the body to become nameless since it fell dead and the name is known to none. We can clearly see that this far-fetched explanation is unnecessary even for his purpose, but such instances are numerous in Sayana’s cxplanations of the Riks. Ninyam is clearly antarhitam, concealed, not visible, secret. But in Kutsa’s hymn to Agni, Sayana explains the word as secret. There the Rishi asks, “Who among you knows this secret one? The Child by the law of his own being brought forth the Mothers”.5 It is not only when the Asura Vritra’s body sinks down and disappears that ninyam is used to denote the place of secrecy, it is also applied to the God Agni who lives secret in the waters and the forests. A place or world also is described as hidden or secret. Kashyapa addresses the God Soma, "All the gods, the thricc-cleven are lodged in thy secret abode." The soul also is described as kept a secret from the out-going mind. Thus says Dirghatamas, “I know not if I am this (what really I am); a mystery am I, and bound, I move about, with the mind.”? In the hymns of the Vasishthas, the intuitions of the heart or direct perceptions arc mentioned as the means by which one walks towards the Secret which spreads in a thousand branches. In another hymn Vasishtha says, referring to the Maruts, their forms and activities, "Only a seer knows these secrets."⁵

6. IX. 92.4 तव त्वे सोम पवमान निण्य विश्वे देवा अधि सानौ ।।
7. I. 164.37 न विजानामि यदि वेदमस्मि निण्यः सन्नद्धो मनसा चरामि।"
8. VII. 33.9 त इनिण्यं हृदयस्य प्रकेतैः सहस्रवलशमभिसं चरन्ति ।
9. VII. 56.4. "एतानि धीरो निण्या चिकेत पृश्निर्यदूधो मही जभार॥"
10. VII. 61,5 “ अमूरा विश्वा वृषणाविमा वा. . . निण्यानिअचिते अभूवन् ।”
    (सायण:--निण्यानि रहस्यानि स्तोत्राणि)
    11, IV. 3.16 "एता विश्वा विदुषे वेधो नीथानि अग्ने निण्या वचांसि।"
11. IV 16.3 " कविन निण्यं विदथानि साधन् ।"
12. II 35-11 तदस्यानीकं उत चारु नाम अपीच्यं
13. VIII. 41 5 “यो धर्ता भुवनानां . . . अपीच्या वेद नामानि गुह्या।"
14. IX. 75.2 “ऋतस्य जिह्वा पवते . . दधाति पुःत्र पित्रो रपीच्यनाम...
15. VIII 11.5 " मा अमर्त्यस्य ते भूरि नाम मनामहे ।
    विप्रसो जातवेदसः ।।" In addressing Mitra and Varuna he says "Oh, Showerers (of benefits) undeluded are you, and all-pervading, these words of praisc arc for you, there is nothing wondrous in them, nor even worship (the outward sacrifice, yakśam); but the untruthful praises of men serve as offences (or follow and serve the hurters). But our secret words of praise reach your knowledge (i.e., they cannot be concealed from your knowledge).”10 These illustrations of the meaning of ninyam according to Sayana himself go to show beyond doubt that it is used in the sense of anything that is not apparent or visible, anything concealed or mystcrious or knowingly kept secret. And Vasishtha’s Rik just referred to frankly says that his words of praise are secret words which the gods know because they are not and cannot be concealed from the gods, but only from the outward mind, from the common run of men, are they kept secret. Sri Aurobindo draws pointed attention to the praise of Vamadeva, ninyå vacāmsi; the seer says definitely, "Oh Agni, Disposer, to thee who knowest these secret words, fructuous, I have uttered, I have sung, enlightened, with thoughts and prayers.”ll One more reference to ninyam is an interesting passage where the seer Vamadeva comparcs Indra’s drinking of the Soma to a seer discovering in secret the truths or things that are to be known (or the objects of inner knowledge). 12 Now that we have finished with almost all the important rcferences to this word in the Riks, we may invite the reader’s attention to this characteristic feature of the utterances of Vedic seers; and it lies in the idea of the "secret” associated with certain objects—it may pertain to knowledge in general or a god or a hostile power or words or knowledge of things or truths. But there are in the Riks other words also to convey the sense of secret. It is necessary to make mention of a few instances where guhya, guhā, apicya and in some cases praticya are used to describe the secret speech. We know that the Riks have different appellations based on their use which cannot be translated into any other tongue, though most of them can be explained by paraphrasings. These are uktha, śastra, stoma, gir, vāk, vāņi, brahman, mantra etc. But the word Nama is little understood to mean stotra also. There are instances when it is used to denote words of praise addressed to the deity, words in the formula of the secret speech. Nama is undoubtedly name. But the name of a god in the Veda is much more than a means of distinguishing him from other gods. It carries a power of appeal to the god in question. It is a means by which one bows down, offers himself submissively namana-sådhanam in the phrase of Sayana (literally,“means of bending low”), to the gods, evoking their response. Näma therefore in many places is used in the sense of words of submission. At the same time it is often used as placed in the guha, cave, and as concealed, gūdham. Quite often we find it in association with apicya, which like ninyam means secret or covered or mysterious. Let us make mention of a few instances where the secret name or the secret speech is denoted by apicyam nāma. Gritsamada hymns, “They increase the charming face and the secret name of him the Child of Waters."13 Nabhaka, the seer, praises Varuna, "He who is the supporter of the worlds, who knows the Names of the Rays, mysterious, hidden in the cave — he is the seer-poet, he nourishes the poet-wisdoms as Heaven does the manifold form."14 Again in the same hymn there is another verse referring to the mysterious ocean”, samudra apicya. Kavi Bhargava sings, “The Son upholds the secret Name of the Father and the Mother in the luminous Heaven.”15 Sayana distinctly interprets Nāma to mean words of praise, stotra, in VII. 22.5. “Words of thy praise I ever utter”; again in VIII. II. 5. "Mortals, we adore thee for we know the wide Name, stotra."16

Instances are numerous enough to show that the Name is a word of appeal to the particular personality of the godhead and it is also used to denote the Mantra or words of adoration. In both the senses it is often spoken of as secret or concealed or mysterious. Occasionally the word pratici, one of the synonyms of "secret”, is used. But it is a word that can be taken to mean "confronting" or "turned inwards”. In classical Sanskrit in the latter sense this Vedic word is in currency as in the case of pratyag-ātmā, the inner self. Pratyan-mukha and Paranmukha arc common terms meaning "face (i.e., mind) turned inward and outward”. What has been shown is enough to indicate clearly the secret character of the language used by the Vedic Rishis. And this secret lies in the symbolic veil over the thought content of the Riks. We have earlier spoken of the system of double values in which Vedic seers arranged their ideas. Now we may recall to mind that the inner thought is the true and intended sense while the outer is kept as the symbol meant to cover it and at the same time to image it. This does not at all mean that every Rik throughout the Rik Samhita contains symbols for the outcr mcaning to act as a veil over the inner truth. For there are instances where no symbol at all is necessary and yet a double sense is conveyed; and this is because the words used lave often a double mcaning. We may cite, for example, dhi which means first and foremost “thought” in the Veda as in classical Sanskrit; but in the Veda dhiyah is taken in the sense of "works”, karmāņi, also, so that the latter meaning is given to it wherever it is convenient to the ritualist in preference to the former which is naturally adopted in the esoteric interpretation. It is not proposed to exhaust the list of similar words which are psychological terms used as such in the inner sense and which has in some cases, not in all, an appearance of outer meanings used justifiably for the purposes of the exoteric worship of the Vedic times. Ketu, Kratu, Shravas, Ritam are some of the outstanding terms; they denote intellectual judgement or intuitive perception, will with wisdom, or resolve, inspiration or inner audience, Truth or Right respectively, while in the outer garb they are ray, sacrifice, famc (quite often "food”, according to Sayana) and water or sacrifice or any other meaning, not always consistently applied or applicable to all instances and in all contexts. But in the inner sense these and similar terms arc understood invariably in the same sense. And this is the strength of the position taken for discovering the truth of the secret speech of the Vedic seers. But there are other terms which are not psychological but are images and figures of truths, ideas and things of the inner world. Cow (go) in the Veda means both Light and the quadruped and in the esoteric sense always an image of Light. A few of the other figures may be cited here for example: the Horse is the symbol of power, the Waters of life and the energies of cosmic principles; the rivers, the ocean, the hill, the plateau, the cave, guha— these are all, respectively images of the nourishing and creative forces, the infinite substance out of which emerges the Sun of truth, the manifested existence rising from the Physical towards a higher order of being, level or plane of being or consciousness, the secret spot, generally the heart of things and of man in particular. When we look straight at these symbols it would require no effort at all to understand the natural significance of these images taken from their environments by the seer-poets of the Rig Veda. The unsophisticated mind of the age was quite naturally impressed by the immensity of the ocean, by the ceaseless flowing of the rivers that fertilises the soil, by the life-giving principle of water (called jivanam in later Sanskrit), by many another object of the Physical universe and the natural phenomena that corresponded to those of the inner Nature which the Rishi was occupied with cxploring in his spiritual venture. It was a spontaneous choice of these images that the poet made for giving expression to the ideas and truths that he received and held and communicated to others in the course of his soul’s journey towards the Godhead. This is the supreme use of the symbols that they leave the impress of the truths that are contained in them, for they are natural in that no quality or property alien to the object used as a symbol is imposed upon them. Literary progress of later times in spite of the high boast of our intellect or because of it—has not outgrown the use of the images to carry home the thought substance, and feeling of the truth represented by the word. It was a great blessing of the Vedic age that feeling and understanding, what we would call heart and mind, were habitually not at variance with one another, as they later came to be in the age of intellect when the mind began to search for what is called "the abstract" and the heart for the concrete”. We are often possessed of a mistaken notion that there are concrete and abstract truths—this is a sort of intellectual vanity — and that the concrete is the mundane existence and the abstract are merc ideas in the void. The fact is that ideas are always abstract but not the truths they attempt to represent. But truth as an idea may be abstract, and as the mundane existence known to us may be concrete; but it is neither exclusively the concrete of our perception nor the abstract of our conception. But it is in itself substantial of which what we call the concrete is a superficial presentation and the abstract is nothing but a distant shadow of mind without substance. The Rishis, then, had in them a happy blending of thought and feeling and the question of concrete and abstract truths and ideas does not arise at all; the symbol they use is a direct vehicle of thought and feeling more effective than any conventional language. But it must be noted that there are different kinds of symbols, some may be classed together by virtue of their being images provided by nature in the physical universe. It is this group of symbols that we referred to in the examples of ocean and rivers and mountains and the rest, and this also is the kind that we mostly come across in the hymns, and which is fairly sufficient if we care to take the hint to guide us to read their correct significance.

But there are other kinds of images which do not belong to the physical universe but to a different order of cosmic existence, to a subtle plane of being — let us call them supraphysical, but on that account not less concrete quite substantial in their kind, visible to the inner vision of the Rishi; and thesc also he used for self-expression in the Mantra. In such cases these images themselves convey the idea, the truth they carry with them, directly, and no human speech is necessary to interpret the symbolic character of the figures so perceived; for the vehicle of thought and feeling is the symbolic image itself which is there the direct language, as we may say. To such groups belong some of the forms of the Vedic gods, their vehicles, zāhuna, their colours and movements described in the hymns.

We may note in passing that symbols of various kinds were always in vogue in the religious rites and worship of the earlier races in other countries also and not only in India. Certain symbols are geometrical expressions — circle, triangle, square and other figures. We now know that the cross was there as a symbol long before Jesus Christ. But the bases of these symbols, it must be borne in mind, are to be found in the inner and the psychic grounds, they are visions, signifying certain truths to the inner and awakened intelligence of the disciple of the secret path. Symbolism as a device of religious worship continued in India in the post-Vedic age also and still continues to our own days though the symbols and their significances and bases have varied and are absolutely different in some important respects. So much for symbolism with special reference to the hymns of the Rig Veda.

Yaska and others testify

We have had occasions to refer to Yaska, but so far we have not mentioned the kind of help we receive for our way of understanding the hymns. There is a double aspect of the Nirukta which we have to note before proceeding to consider the question of Yaska’s views in so far as they have bearing on our topic. We may state at the outset that Yaska is the author of the Nirukta that is handed down to us but not of the Nighantu — the vocabulary of the Vedic words given classified into certain groups. The latter is a collection of words taken from the Veda arranged under different heads; and the student of the Veda was expected to get this Nighantu by heart as he did the Vedas, though its importance is next only to the Vedic texts themselves. It is called by the sacred name of Sam-āmnāya a word which is applied to those Vedic texts which are learnt by heart, to Brahmanas mostly, or to the Vedas in general. As these words were gathered from the Veda and learnt by heart like the Veda, Yaska begins his work Nirukta with this word saying that "the Nighantu called Sam-ämnaya has been cited and now it is to be explained”. Whether the Nighantu that was handed down to Yaska was as complete as it was before and when the Samhitas were arranged, is a different question altogether. Like the Nighantu that came down to him, there was a school of Vedic interpreters long before Yaska who were Etymologists, Nairuktas, who attached great importance to the Vedic words because of their derivative significance. Yaska belongs to this school of Niruktakaras, some of whom he mentions by name, e.g., Shakapuni, Audumbarayana, Aupamanyava etc. Though the etymology he gives of words is often unreliable and fantastic, the fact that the Vedic words have derivative significance is a creed with them as the very term implies (nir-ukta, nir-vacana). And this served as a strong hint to Swami Dayananda when he started the revival of Vedic learning in our own times. This aspect of the Nirukta, not in details but in principle, is an asset, and invaluable for our guidance. Yaska clearly mentions that no one without tapaszâ can make a successful attempt to know the mcaning of the Mantra. This is a sure pointer to the mystical character of the Vedic language. He says that the language of the Veda is often figurative, and allegorical. "Dawn is said to be his sister—this is stated to convey the idea of association, the language is figurative" (ușasam asya svasäram aha, sähacaryal : (Nirukta Ill. 16). When he explains the Vritra legend as a natural phenomenon of the cloud imprisoning the waters etc., he states, “These battles are described in similes, i.e., allegorically" (Nir. II 16, upamarthe yuddhavarṇaḥ bhavanti). That the language is figurative or the legends allegorical is a fact we can admit but in the inner sense of the figure or the allegory, his interpretation is naturalistic. When modern scholars credit Sayana with being rational for his naturalistic interpretation on many occasions, the credit must really go to the Nairuktas as represented by Yaska. But behind all his naturalism there is a strong belief lurking in him that there is mystery about the Mantra, mystery about the Rishi who communes with the gods, and mystery about the gods themselves who are hymned. This aspect of Yaska is a factor that contributes to the justification of the line of interpretation we adopt. Above all his reference to the gods and their threefold classification based on the three cosmic divisions of the Universe — Earth, Mid-region and Heaven—is interesting and points to certain truths which it is doubtful he himself grasped in their fuller significance. He speaks of the gods who are characterised by a mutuality of birth and mutuality of nature and source (itaretara-janmānah itaretara-prakrtayah). The implication is that the nature and source of the gods and their births are interdependent —they are born, each one of the others, the origin of each is any one or all of the rest. We need not dilate upon this aspect of the truth about the gods since it offers no difficulty whatever in grasping it in our system of Vedic study. Yaska affirms as the supreme Vedic truth about the gods and quotes the relevant Riks that the Sun is the Soul of all that is mobile and immobile and that all the gods are limbs of the Great Self, Mahan Atma. All this stated by Yaska contributes to the help we get from recorded works for the esoteric interpretation, and what is much more, testifies to the need and correctness of our approach to the understanding of the Vedic hymns.

Before we take leave of Yaska, we may point out one characteristic feature of his work. We find a frank admission of ignorance in soine cases or doubts on his part in regard to the meanings of ancient words or of verses or even of matters concerning the gods. Nowhere do we find in his work that the views of Nairuktas whom he represents are the true ones. That the same verse or fact was variously interpreted before and during his time is evident from his references to the Ritualists, Yajnikas, the Etymologists, Nairuktas, the Mythologists, Aitihasikas, etc. He admits the currency of more than one interpretation of the Vedic hymns. It is a fact that he recognises the rights of other schools of thought giving their explanations of the Veda. But he is not uncritical, does not admit, much less follow unquestioningly, even well-known authorities that went before him. Occasionally he points outs when he sees them, errors in established and recognised authorities like Shakalya to whom is ascribed the authorship of the Padapatha of the Rik Samhita. It is interesting to note that the Brihad Devata, which comes immediately after Yaska, points out many errors in Yaska’s splitting of the words, but like the Nirukta it also recognises various schools of thought holding their own views on the interpretation of the Vedic hymns. This work is among the earliest upon which Katyayana and others depended for information on the particular Devatas addressed or spoken of in the hymns concerned. It also testifies to the fact that there was a school which held that the hymns were to be understood in the inner spiritual sense and so also some of the truths or facts which seemingly referred to external things. We may cite the examples of panca janāḥ or the five peoples which are identified by Sayana so often with the four Varnas and the fifth, called Nishada panchama. Here are the relevant views about the panca janāḥ that the Brihad Devata records: “Some say they are the Five Fires, others they are Men, Fathers, Gods, Gandharvas, Uragas or Rakshasas. Shakatayana thinks that they are the four Varnas and the fifth the nişāda. Shakapuni says they are the four main officiating priests, Riwiks, viz., Hota, Adhwaryu, Udgata, Brahma, and the sacrificer, Yajamana. But the Atmavadins (who are for the inner meaning of the Vedas) hold at the panca janāḥ are the Sight, the Audience, the Mind, the Voice, the life."⁶

18. महाभारते अश्वमेधपर्व अध्यायः ११ श्लो० ७-२०
    ततो वृत्रं शरीरस्थं जधान भरतर्षभ ।
    शतक्रतुरदृश्येन वज्रणेतीह नः श्रुतम्" ।।
19. अनुशासनपर्व अध्यायः ८४, श्लो:० ४७-४८
    "अजोऽग्निवरुणो मेषः सूर्योऽश्व इति दर्शनम् ।
    कुंजराश्च मृगा नागा महिषाश्चासुरा इति ।।
    कुककुटाश्च वराहाश्च राक्षसा भृगुनन्दन"।

The fact is now clear to us that both the Nirukta and the Brihad Devata testify to the existence of the tradition that the Vedas have an inner or spiritual meaning, though unfortunately even in their times it was only a tradition and memory of a past, but not a working faith that was in currency among the learned classes. We have already spoken of the Brahmanas which quite often treat the sacrifice in a symbolic way of their own. That again shows that they had some memory of the earlier thought that the hymns they used for sacrificial purposes had an inner meaning, spiritual and occult. The consecration ceremony in which the initiation of the sacrificer takes place is curiously symbolic; for when the sacrificer is made to enter the place for which he is destined, he is supposed to enter his own womb, for it is a new birth he is to take, a re-embodiment among the Gods in Heaven while he is still in the flesh (cf., Ait. Brahm. 1.3). At times in the beginning, in the middle on occasions, and mostly at the close, the Brahmanas which are the literature of the Yajnikas speak of the truth that the Vedic ritual by itself does not help one to ascend to That, it is only when one has Knowledge one can climb to Heaven (Shatapatha Brahm. X. 5.4).

The Puranas, it is stated, were originally meant to amplify the meaning of the Vedas (vedārthasya upab?mhanam) but it would be of little use to us if most of the Puranic legends could be traced to the Vedas; but there are certain portions there and especially of the Mahabharata which announce in unmistakable terms that certain Vedic legends have an inner meaning; also there are other sections which in unambiguous terms speak of the symbolic way in which gods and other Beings are signified. It is so interesting and has bearing on our subject that we may cite here the instance of the Vritra legend. Vyasa narrates to Dharmaputra the meaning of the Vritra legend as he learnt it from the sages. At the close is the verse which says, “Then Indra with his invisible thunderbolt slew Vritra in the body.” Earlier, Vritra is described as Tamas (Ashwamedha Parva XI. 7-20).18 The commentator Nilakantha says that Vajra is knowledge born of discrimination, viveka. Again in another place Goat (aja) is said to be the symbolic form of Agni, Ram (mesa) that of Varuna, Horse that of the Sun; Elephants, Deer, Serpents, Buffaloes are all Asuras; Cocks and Pigs are Rakshasas (Anushasana Parva Ch. 84).19 From these citations it would be clear that in the Mahabharata are incorporated the results of attempts to discover the hidden meaning of legends of the Vedic origins and the significance of symbols. So far we have dealt with the recorded tradition about the Vedic secret that there are behind the allegories and legends and images in the Rig Veda profound ideas of spiritual and occult truths, and that whatever may be their outer meanings and uses, it is the inner and the spiritual that are of supreme importance and that was the main preoccupation of the Rishis of the Rig Veda, the central wisdom of the ancient mystics. But the question remains: if the inner meaning of the Veda is the spiritual and that is the real import, if symbolism and double values are the key to unlock the Vedic secret, has there been none before us and after the Vedic Rishis who ever made attempts to discover the real meaning of the Riks? The answer is simple: there is no record available that goes to show that there was one. Nor has there been any attempt made by scholars to give us a complete commentary on the Vedas even from the standpoint of the Yajnikas, before Sayana. If there has been no attempt to deal with the spiritual interpretation, the reason is plain and history gives the explanation. The original epoch of the Veda was followed after a lapse of perhaps some centuries by an age of intellectual activity which in its turn was succeeded by dearth of vigour, by a certain plunge towards darkness, a decadence or a descent into something short of death. The absence of a commentary in the light of the symbolic and spiritual sense is no more a proof that there is really no secret meaning of the Veda that the absence of a complete commentary on the Vedas before Sayana is a proof that there is no ritualistic meaning possible of the Vedic hymns. As for traditions, both the kinds have been there from the beginning. But there is a disadvantage that certainly tells upon the esoteric interpretation because of the presence and influence of Sayana’s commentary and its having held sway these centuries over the minds of scholars saturated with ritualistic con-. ceptions. Again the tradition that the Vedic hymns are supremely spiritual in their import was recovered and maintained by Anandatirtha, the Dwaita teacher known as Madhwacharya. This shows clearly that there was even before Sayana a school of Vedic interpreters holding that though ritual worship was part of the Vedic religion and as such the Mantras present an aspect favourable to it, yet the inner meaning of the Mantra was spiritual and the highest aim and use of the Veda was God-knowledge and attainment of the supremest end of life possible for man. Madhwacharya’s work is comparatively small in volume, the language simple, but its influence among scholars modern or ancient is not commensurate with its importance and can be judged from the fact that most modern scholars and the Pundits as a class, with the possible exception of some among his followers, are unaware of the very existence of such a work. His follower, the great Yogin Raghavendra Swami (after Sayana) wrote the work Mantrarthamanjari in which he has explained and amplified in necessary places the Rig-bhashya of the great teacher, the founder of the Dwaita school, the Acharya Purna-prajna. He quotes an ancient Puranic text stating that the Vedas have three meanings (trayorthāḥ sarva-vedeșu) and illustrates the fact in the first forty suktas of the Rik Samhita.

It does not form part of our object to explain and discuss the bases of the three ways in which Riks are to be understood according to this commentary. Suffice it to say that Madhwa admits: firstly, there is a ritual use for the Mantra and it bears that meaning accordingly; secondly, the Mantra is addressed to the gods whose glories are sung and each god with his special function is an instrument of the Supreme God Vishnu and has a distinct consciousness of his own as an entity and through him the Upasaka realises some aspect of the greatness and the grace of the Supreme Lord for Moksha; thirdly, the same Mantra directly refers to the Supreme God Vishnu himself when the words of the Mantra are understood against their etymological background, yaugika, and that is the most natural as well as the supreme meaning. This commentary is a very interesting work and invaluable especially to that section of the Pundits who would choose to learn and see more in the Rig Veda than the sacrificial purpose and mythological ideas that are associated in their minds with the hymns of the great mystics. This again is another testimony to the sacred tradition that the Vedas are books of spiritual wisdom and have unfailingly three meanings one of which applies to the Supreme Godhead, applies to Him and Him alone without which the other two meanings are futile whatever may be the utility one may cling to in his ignorance of the high purpose of life. What is important to us is that the Acharya holds that there is an inner and spiritual meaning and that that is the supreme meaning of the Veda.

It is thus remarkable that everywhere we come across the tradition that the Veda is a secret lore. Even in the southernmost corner of the peninsula and in the early centuries of the Christian era we find the Tamil word marai, meaning secret, in currency to denote the Veda.

Now where do we stand in the relation to the labours of Indian scholars of our times? There are two outstanding contributions to the Vedic studies on Western lines in recent times, one of Mr. Tilak and another of Mr. Paramasiva Iyer. The former has propounded the theory of the Arctic Home of the Vedic Aryans, with sufficient internal evidence and in the light of this theory many Riks become intelligible which would otherwise remain inexplicable — in the outer interpretation. But the latter’s thesis requires good deal of proving, and must be supported by internal evidences, by copious illustrations from the hymnal texts. Perhaps Mr. Iyer has hit the mark when he says that Vritra Ahi is Glacier. In any case, the labours of these scholars may stand help to know something of the physical surroundings in which these hymns of the Rig Veda were composed.

Apart from the translations of the numerous hymns he has given us, Sri Aurobindo has illustrated the method followed by commenting upon the “Selected Hymns” in The Secret of the Veda. Sayana in his introduction to the Rig-bhashya says that if one studies the first Adhyaya of Rik Samhita with his Bhashya in accordance with the traditional instruction, the rest of the work the student can read for himself without further help. We may apply the same method to the study of the Rig Veda in its esoteric sense; for if one grasps and ponders over substance of the introduction to the Hymns to the Mystic Fire, he will find no difficulty in understanding the hymns, translated in the inner sense. And Sayana’s simple commentary, its startling imperfections notwithstanding, can be accepted in its outer sense and is also an indispensable help for studying the hymns in their esoteric aspect, once we are familiar with the psychological terms and the symbolic significance of the imagery we meet with in the hymns.

Now that we have done and come to the end, we may state a word about the religion and philosophy of the Rig Veda, so much spoken of by modern scholars. It is wrong, futile, wide of the mark, to think of the Rig Veda, even any portion of it, as a ground of philosophical speculations; nor were the sages of the Veda or Upanishads thinkers of the type that philosophical system-building requires. They were seers and not thinkers; it is a rather bold venture on our part to draw conclusions from a few hymns singled out from the last Mandala of the Rik Samhita and state that here the Sages have learnt to speculate and there they have progressed in advanced thought and views. The exoteric religion of the Vedic times is admitted on all hands to be a sort of Nature-worship or we may call it pantheistic Nature-worship. It is always possible to find hymns in the Rik Samhita from which we can gather that there was Polytheism, Monotheism or Max Muller’s Henotheism or even Monism. But the Rishis do not seem to have concerned themselves much about this sort of systematising. In handling their work we too can with great advantage follow them and let the gods alone separately and distinct from one another—let them subserve the Supreme Godhead of whom they are different names and aspects, or powers and personalities, or let them all combine singling out one to be in front while keeping the rest of themselves at the back, or let them all retire together into their Supreme Source and pass into the Nameless One or to the One who is the upholder and bearer of the names of all of them, yo devānām nāmadha eka eva. There is no reconciliation necessary, for all these are matters of fact with the seers, all these are their perception of the Truth, nay, of the truths.

In all that we have stated here, we have shown that there are sufficient grounds for understanding the Veda in its esoteric sense; we have pointed out the weaknesses in the system of exoteric interpretation of the hymns; we have as a matter of course assumed that the Rishis of the Rig Veda were not unlike other ancient peoples of pre-historic times, but were capable of coherent speech, quite capable of expressing themselves clearly, and were not imbeciles agape wondering all the days of their lives at natural phenomena. Once their language is understood and use made of the clues given in the symbolic interpretation, they present themselves to the eye of wisdom in their truer stature and, in the words of Sri Aurobindo, "the Rig Veda ceases to be an obscure, confused and barbarous hymnal, it becomes the high-aspiring Song of Humanity; its chants are episodes of the lyrical epic of the soul in its immortal ascension. This at least; what more there may be in the Veda of ancient science, lost knowledge, old psycho-physical tradition remains yet to be discovered.”

A sequel to 'Lights on the Veda', this series is based upon Siddhānjana, the author’s commentary on the Rig Veda.

First published in 1951 and reprinted in 1971.

GODHEAD AND THE GODS IN THE RIG VEDA

I

WE propose to consider the question of the Vedic Gods with special reference to Agni in this brief study. If symbolism is the key for the interpretation of the hymns of the Rig Veda in the inner sense as expounded by Sri Aurobindo, then by implication it applies to the discovery of the true character of the Vedic Gods some of whom are identified with the powers of Nature in the physical world, as Sun, Moon, Heaven, Earth, Fire, Wind, Waters and the others who are according to modern scholars personified natural forces at work in the Universe. There is no doubt that in the early ages people worshipped Nature-Gods in many countries, as in India, Greece or Rome. But it is not correct to say that the people of the Vedic times deified or personified the forces of Nature; rather they believed that there were Gods who presided over the Sun and the Moon, the Earth or Heaven, the Fire, the Storm, the sacred Rivers and other visible bodies in the physical universe. When they speak of Surya the Sun-God they have in mind for their object of worship the Deva who presides over the Solar body; the same is true with other Gods in the Veda insofar as they are identified beyond doubt with the workings of the natural forces in the world. But the Gods of the Veda were much more than the physical description given of them whether in the hymns or by the scholars. If the Sun and Storm and Wind and Waters and other objects of Nature were all that sum up the Gods of the Vedic pantheon, albeit with their presiding Deities, then the modern theory about the primitive Vedic people would be perfectly plausible. These ancients, then, had not emerged from the primitive barbarism, were still governed by the crude religious beliefs in the efficacy of sacrifice to their Gods. They believed that their prayers were effective means to bring them all material blessings, rains from heaven, to release the waters from the clouds and help loosen the grip of Night on the Sun. But the true character of the Gods as it emerges from the hymns themselves does not agree with this account hazarded by modern scholarship for which the Brahminical ritualism elucidated by Sayana is to some extent responsible. For the gross and physical aspect of the Vedic worship though applicable in certain hymns does not apply in many, does not at all hold good throughout, but fades away as we proceed from hymn to hymn of sage after sage in all the ten Books of the Samhita. There are whole hymns which in the exoteric sense do not make sense at all. The ritualistic meaning can not be maintained throughout. And in order to achieve the impossible, impossible constructions are invented and with laborious effort we arrive at a result which leaves us wondering at the grotesque mentality of the Vedic bards; or in such places the meanings of the hymns are empty of any worthy idea or presentation of truth, a thought-content commensurate with the repute of Knowledge associated with the Veda. The Herculean effort made to dive deep into the water bears fruit in discovering the potsherd. The necessity of the symbolic interpretation arises from the unsatisfactory results of the labours of modern scholarship with the help of Sayana’s ritualistic commentary. For apart from the poverty of thought and incoherence in the language of the sages assumed without warrant for the purpose of arriving at some sort of a cogent idea conveyed by the hymns, the learning does not take into account the ages-old tradition that the Vedas are the original source of spiritual Wisdom and Divine Knowledge.

When we seize the clues afforded by the deliberate symbolism devised by the Vedic seers in the hymns, we get admitted into the secrets of the Vedic Godhead, to the true character of the Gods, as seen and understood by the Rishis of the Rig Veda. Let us then seek for the truth in the original texts themselves and hear what the Rishis speak of the Gods and leave aside for the time being what others say about the Rishis or the Gods or what the moderns think the Gods must have been to the primitive poets of the Vedic age. A presentation of the Gods in general with their special and general function and nature as described in the Riks will facilitate our enquiry into Agni, the Deity who is usually first hymned by most sages of the Rig Veda.

The question then arises: who are these Gods, Agni, Indra, Surya, Varuna, Mitra, Ashwins and a host of others addressed in the hymns ? Moderns tell us that the Aryans of the Vedic times had susceptible minds, were easily impressionable, thought and believed all natural forces and phenomena to be bristling with life and intelligence and endowed with power to bestow benefits on them in return for the sacrifice and so they offered their prayers to them. What are these natural objects and forces that appeared to these early semi-civilised peoples as figuring and embodying the Gods? They are the blue expanse above, dyauḥ, the earth with her luxuriant vegetation and green meadows below, pithivi, the sun, source of all light and life, sūrya, the lovely dawn, uşas, the flowing rivers, nadyaḥ, and the cool life-giving waters, apaḥ, Maruts, the storms that rush through the sky, Indra who with his thunderbolt, vajra, deals a death-blow to the clouds and sends down rain. Modern learning avers further that in its childhood the Aryan humanity was possessed of a hankering after light and turned away from darkness and naturally could not suppress its wonder at the sight of fire when it was produced by the friction of the churning sticks, arani! Hence next to Indra, Agni is the most important God in the Vedic pantheon.

This account of the Gods is based largely on conjectures and the assumptions that there could not have been real spirituality or sublime conception of the Godhead in those primitive times. The Gods as they reveal themselves in the hymns do not throughout answer to this description, though the Riks in many places torn from the context may lend support to this view because of the external and physical aspect that is generally maintained for the purposes of outer worship and ceremonial rite. But there are many hymns scattered over all the Mandalas of the Rig Veda which not only do not testify to the correctness of this picture but contradict the external sense, overshadow the physical aspect and proclaim the spiritual and psychological functions of the Gods and their Cosmic character. There are a number of instances out of which we shall take up a few to show that the Riks cease to give us any meaning that is applicable to the physical aspect, to the Nature-gods of the naturalistic and ritualistic interpreters.

When the Rik says⁷

Usha is rightly identified with Dawn, but even here her attribute cannot apply always to the physical sunrise. Does she speak sweet and true words, sūnīta — a term which is repeatedly applied to her? Kakshivan addresses her: “Following the course of the Ray of Truth, ſtasya raśmim, bestow on us happy, happy knowledge-will”¹⁸

There are Mitra and Varuna, the Ashwins, other gods and goddesses whose identities are variously surmised and whose physical aspects are less pronounced than those we have referred to and for that reason we need not take up any of them here, as the Riks addressed will bear plain testimony to the psychological and inner significance, and to the Cosmic and spiritual functionings under different names and personalities of the Godhead. It is enough if we remember that the Gods whose identities with the objects and forces of Nature in the physical universe are quite assured are not really and deeply the external things meant as objects of ritual worship, but are much more and are intensely divine in their true form and nature, superb and intimate in their workings as powers of the Godhead in the hidden and occult layers of our being as well as in the Cosmic existence.

II

Now let us see if it is at all a fact that the hymns themselves speak of the Gods with different names and powers of the One supreme Godhead. The oft-quoted Rik of Dirghatamas is too well-known and there are a few others that have the same import that the One is named variously by the sages. And this fact is certainly important, but that is not enough to show the relation of the Gods among themselves or their position individually in relation to the One who is adored through each and all of them. For we can take them as mere names of the One, themselves without substance and form, distinct from one another or from the supreme One whose functions they represent. We shall present here in a general way the fact as emerging from the Riks themselves that the Gods of the Veda are not mere names but are different Powers, have different functions, distinctive signs that mark them out featuring their Personalities, yet not absolutely separate from but closely allied to one another, not apart from the sole Supreme Truth, the Godhead but definite manifestations of That indefinable.

It is advisable to convince ourselves that this our reading of the nature of the Vedic Gods is not an invention of our own but a discovery of the truth which was faintly seen and stated in unmistakable terms by Yaska who was after the Vedic age the first to probe into the secrets of the Gods, and openly acknowledged the impossibility of ordinary minds without tapas, spiritual force, understanding the nature of the Devatas. And we must remember in this connection that he was an etymologist and his interpretations are normally naturalistic. Though he admits the existence of other schools of Vedic interpreters and does not plainly condemn ritualism as such, still occasionally scouts the explanations given by the Brahmanas, the Vedic scripture for Ritualism. Brahmanas speak liberally of many qualities”; often they are extravagant and fanciful in reading into the hymnal texts or into the Vedic Gods many imagined meanings or qualities. According to his commentator, Yaska hesitates to follow the Brahmanas in their explanations as they speak of everything in all possible ways and we ought not to swallow them, but the truth must be sought for.¹⁹

A common dwelling and common enjoyment entitle the objects and beings of a world to be treated as belonging to and part of that world, samsthana-ekatwam, sambhoga-ekatwam. His account of the Vedic Gods and the world-existence may be summed up in a few passages; that will help us to get an idea of the system of thought pertaining to the deities of the Vedic pantheon that prevailed among a section of Vedic interpreters who were not ritualists; but they assumed to depend for their conclusions on the Vedas, the hymns themselves and not on the Brahmanas or Upanishads though the latter seem to have been known to them as could be seen from certain sections, at least the supplement, parishishta of Yaska’s Nirukta. Yaska’s commentator Durgacharya explains the passages of Yaska on the Devatas with their character, abodes and functions in the light of Upanishadic thought. Even though his explanations are quite plausible, we must avoid the suspicion that he read his own thought trained in the Upanishadic lore into the lines of the Nirukta. But Yaska himself gives in one or two short paragraphs what he understood to be the nature, work and place of the Vedic Gods as gathered from the hymns themselves and come down to him through the Nairukta tradition. There are three worlds, Earth, Middle region and the Sky which are the abodes of Agni, Vayu or Indra and Aditya respectively and above them all is the Mahan Atma; all the Gods, whatever their number, have their dwellings with one or other of these three Gods. They are born one of the other, the prakyti or nature of each is so flexible as to be modified into the nature of other Gods, itaretara-prakrtayaḥ; they are born as the fruit of works, karma-janmanaḥ. Because of the magnificent opulence of the Deity, mahābhāgya, the One Self eka åtmå, is lauded in many ways or as many. Of the One Atman other Gods are limbs; they are all born of the Atman; the Atman is their chariot, Atman is their horses, Atman is the weapon, Atman is the arrows, in short, Atman is the everything of the Gods (Nirukta VII.4). If all the Gods of all the worlds, their horses and chariots and weapons are all the One Devata, the One Atman, a misunderstanding may arise, viz., that really there is no difference among the Gods or between them and their vehicles etc. And to remove this possible misconception Yaska adds, because of the majestic power the Gods are endowed with, each Deity has different names and divides itself into different functionings and is accordingly hymned. That the various Vedic Gods have their many functions and names and that they are different Powers is admitted on all hands and there is no doubt or controversy on this point. As for their abodes it is a question that deserves to be considered at some length and that we shall do in determining the true character of the Gods.

Is the idea of the supreme Deity, the sublime Reality, as a fact of spiritual experience indicated, clearly expressed, in the hymns themselves generally or is it only a later bold conjecture or a vague idea ventured in a few later hymns and that it is only in the Upanishads the thought is developed as affirmed by modern scholars? This is the one question on which there have been conflicting views. We shall dispose of this first, for on this point hinges the whole question of the spiritual and true greatness of the Rishis of the Rig Veda. We shall take up a number of pertinent passages from many Mandalas of the Rik Samhita to show that That One, tad ekam, was known to the Rishis and it is That towards which they wend their way in the inner and secret path of the Sacrifice, with the help of the higher Powers, callcd Devas, limbs as it were, of the supreme Godhead functioning in the field of Cosmic action. We shall choose such texts as can be plainly construed and avoid passages which may require the elucidation of symbolic imagery in which the meanings of many hymns are clothed. First there stands the famous Rik of Dirghatamas: “Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Agni, they call him; and he is also the Heavenly Garutman of lovely plumage. The One Existent the illumined ones call variously, call it Agni, Yama, Matarishwa.”²⁰

In the third Mandala we have the idea of the One plainly mentioned as all that is and moves. “ All beings that are born, they both (Earth and Heaven?) keep separate; bearing the great Gods, vexed they are not. The Universal One that rules over the immobile and the fixed (is) what walks, what flies, what is — this manifold birth.”²¹

In the fifth Mandala: “ There is a truth covered by aTruth where they unyoke the horses of the Sun: the ten hundreds stood together, there was that One (or That, the supreme Truth was one). I saw the greatest (best, most glorious) of the embodied gods."²³

Or we can take a hymn from Bharadwaja: “An immortal Light set inward for seeing, a swiftest mind within in men that walk on the way. All the Gods with a single mind, a common Intuition, move aright in their divergent paths towards the One Will.”²⁴

Vasishtha says, " That one, Thy birth, was there when Agastya brought Thee here."²⁵

In the last Book: “ Where they regard the only One beyond the seven Rishis ..."²⁶

"In the navel of the unborn the One was placed and there in that One all the worlds abide."²⁷

Again in another place, “ The One existent, beautiful of plumage, the illumined seers by their words formulate in many ways (or forms)."²⁸

The few references we have given from many Books in the Rig Veda, not only from the last Book, are sufficient to show that the idea of That One, the Sublime Truth which is also the Deity of all deities is not a later development but is there throughout in the Vedic hymns though veiled or kept in the background in some places while in a few others it is plainly stated and quite overt. When we closely appreciate these facts and study the hymns addressed to the Gods, Indra or Soma or even Maruts, not to speak of Agni and Surya we find these Gods derive their support and strength from That One and are themselves that One, and they, cach in his own way, help man in his Heavenward travel of which the goal is the Supreme One. We can take for instance a few examples of Gods adored as and leading man to That One addressing the Maruts, Vasishtha says “Whose Name, resplendent, One alone, widely extended like a sea, for the joy of many like the enduring strength of ancestral heritage.”²⁹

In the Valakhilya Hymns we find a verse: “ The One has become all this.":³⁰

The seer Nema in his communion with Indra says verses 4 and 5 in the hymn of Nema are said to be the words of response from Indra – “O singer, look, here I by my greatness surpass all that is born, the followers of Truth increase mc .... the espousers of Truth ascend and approach me, as I, the One, am seated on the summit of Heaven."³¹

In another hymn, “ The one son born of the three, the conquering, ruddy treasure, they send, the Immortals unassailed look over the happy places (planes) of the mortals."³²

“Held by the seven thought-powers he pleases the unharming rivers who increase the One Eye."³³

“The Might of the great Deva is the great One."³⁴

“Here is one light for thee, there is another: enter close into the third Light. In the union of the body with the Light, grow beautiful, dear to the Gods in their supreme birthplace."³⁵

III

These Gods are quite often spoken of as identical with the Supreme Godhead that has manifested out of its own substance and power and intelligence the many Gods for their functionings in the various spheres of his Cosmic existence. Therefore the Veda mentions Him as One who alone is the holder of the Names of all the Gods (X. 82.3). But the Gods are distinct personalities with their respective activities, while each is important in his place and fulfils his purpose and is indispensable for the governing of the Cosmic order his individual importance or greatness must not be judged by the number of hymns addressed to them. “The importance of the Gods”, says Sri Aurobindo, “has not to be measured by the number of hymns devoted to them or by the extent to which they are invoked in the thoughts of the Rishis, but by the functions which they perform. Agni and Indra to whom the majority of the Vedic hymns are addressed are not greater than Vishnu and Rudra, but the functions which they fulfil in the internal and external world were the most active, dominant, directly effective for the psychological discipline of the ancient mystics. This alone is the reason of their predominance.” The Sun, the glorious symbol of the Truth, the supreme Godhead of the Veda, is referred to as That One, tad ekam, addressed in fewer hymns than Indra or Agni or even Maruts. The Rishis invoke the powers of Agni and Indra because they are of constant and immediate consequence in the psychological and spiritual discipline of these mystics, and hence the importance and not because they are superior to the Sun; similarly Maruts, children of Rudra are not greater than their Father though there are more hymns addressed to them than to Rudra in the Rig Veda. The same may be said of Vishnu and Rudra to whom lesser number of hymns are devoted and yet Indra and Agni are not greater than they.

All the gods have their Cosmic functions in the universe, and their workings as pychological and spiritual powers within man is the central thought with which we are concerned in our reading of the Veda in its esoteric sense. Whatever their province of influence and action be in the external universe, the benefit of their presence and activity is always open to man when he has grown enough to discover the means to enlarge his existence with and to enter into the region of their help and influence. And that means is the same instrumentation by which the supreme One, the Creative Godhead produced, manifested, or created the Universe of Many, the world of creatures out of his own being. It is the giving of Himself, something of His substance for the building of the worlds, their beings and their governing powers in the Cosmic existence. This giving is Sacrifice, Yajna, in the Vedic system. If the Supreme Purusha by self-giving made possible the creation of this world-existence with its countless variety of living beings of which the most grown-up is the human being, man also can by self-giving earn the help of the Gods, of the higher Powers of the Godhead to new-create himself in the Spirit. For Sacrifice is this Law instituted by the creative Godhead, the Purusha for self-extension in the world-existence, it is the Law by which creation is sustained, and it is also the Law by which enlargement and growth into the image of the immortal Godhead is made possible. This secret of the true and inner sacrifice was a common knowledge of the Vedic mystics, while the external Yajna was maintained as a symbol for ceremonial worship for the people in general.

Mortal man, the sages knew, could renew his birth by an interchange with the higher Powers, the cosmic Gods, the Immortals, who are the sons of Aditi, the Mother Infinite. For the supreme Godhead is not only He, but also She, in the infinitude of his calm potency for boundless extension, for ineasuring out his measureless powers in the Cosmic embodiment. This Infinite in the Veda is sometimes imaged as the ocean, samudra. And there is an upper ocean whence the creation and creative powers proceed downwards and over the Earth, while there is an inner ocean, antaḥ samudra, to which the mystic gains access by special discipline, in and through the heart. He thus begins to enter the inner existence and lives the inner life by deepening his existence within and offering his possessions and whatever he is to the Gods who rule over and really own him and his universe of thoughts, feelings and experiences, for their acceptance. They in their turn bestow on him something of themselves, their light, their strength, the riches of the Immortal world to which they belong. He progresses from the depths of his being upwards to the abode of the higher powers leading to the Home of Truth where reigns the Sublime Effulgence. But he does not effect his journey at a stretch and reach the destination, nor does he commence and proceed with this up-hill task by his own strength either. It is with the help, the light and strength of the Gods which he receives in return for his self-giving, he is urged to his upward march in the path of the sacrifice. This offering is so nourishing to the Gods that they are born in him and increase their own substance in him; they are called the twice-born, dwijanmānah, for they are first born in the Cosmos as the higher Powers of the Godhead, and their second birth takes place in man as the fruit of the sacrifice, thereby displacing his mortality, giving him his rightly won lift towards the higher altitudes of his being, to the Home of the Immortals, towards the sole Supreme, That One, for whose attainment all sacrifice is made, all tapasya undertaken, and all life, the whole being, dedicated.

This upward procession, then, is not effected at a stretch, there are many stages, many steps, padāni, many stations, dhamani, through which one has to ascend as one climbs up a hill passing from onc platcau to another, sānoḥ sānum áruhat. The Veda speaks of seven steps or places or worlds, at times of four, chaluspäd, or five orders of being, five births, panca janāḥ. But we meet with three worlds and steps quite commonly which, as is well known, is the triple world of Earth, prthivi, Middle-world, antarikșa, and Heaven, dyauả. These three are located in the outer existence and are used to represent the first three levels of inner existence, toughie there are still higher ranges overtopping this threefold layer of being and reaching out to the vaster and more luminous regions of the Cosmic ladder at the summit of which is the Home of the Eternal Truth, the Immortal Light, the Ineffable Beatitude.

But this Godward journey is not a smooth running, not without vicissitudes; there are the sons of Darkness, forces of Evil, Rakshasas, Asuras, to hinder the progress, even as there arc forces of Good, the sons of Light, the Gods, to help our onward march. “We have to call in the aid of the Gods to destroy the opposition of these powers of Darkness who conceal the Light from us or rob us of it ... we have to invoke the Gods by the inner sacrifice ... the Gods are not simply poetical personifications or abstract ideas or psychological and physical functions of nature ... they are living realities ... the soul of man is a world full of beings, a kingdom in which armies clash to help or hinder a supreme conquest, a house where the Gods arc our guests and which the Demons strive to possess ... the vicissitudes of human soul represent a Cosmic struggle not merely of principles and tendencies but of the Cosmic Powers which support and embody them. These are the Gods and Demons on the world-stage and in the individual Soul the same real drama with the same personages is enacted” [Sri Aurobindo).

The inner sacrifice, the real Yajna, then, is the way to rcach the goal; it is indeed spoken of as a journey or voyagc; it ascends, travels, hence is called adhwa-ra, pilgrim-sacrifice. The principle of sacrifice always exists in the creation; it is a latent power like electricity; to elicit it, the operation of a suitable apparatus is needed as in an electrical machine. Or it is conceived as a rolledup thread of power; once it is unrolled it extends, tantu; it extends from here to Heaven forming a bridge, setu, or ladder by which the sacrificer ascends to the worlds above, communicates with the Gods. We gather such images of the sacrifice from the Brahmanas which explain the symbolic rituals of the Vedic worship. But they are profoundly significant and apply more truly to the inner Yajna. When the sacrifice in the ritual sense is conceived as a machinery in which every part is in its place and properly adjusted to the others and related to the whole or when it is imagcd as a chain in which all the links are properly present and none is allowed to miss or when the Yajna is conceived to be a Purusha, a person with all the features of a human body, their decp and inner meaning becomes transparent to the sacrificer. All the different descriptions and the imagery unfailingly aim at the secret of the sacrifice – that it is at first in man a latent energy and once it is awakened by proper means it takes him up as on a lift to the regions of the higher Consciousness and does all that is necessary for the fulfilment of the Gods’ purpose in him. But the sacrifice must be perfect, all the parts of one’s being have to be willingly offered to the higher Powers, all the elements of the inner sacrifice must be prepared and properly arranged for the offering, so that the Gods may come down and accept his offerings and himself for their own strength and birth and growth in him for the Immortal ascension.

Even as every link has its place in a chain and every limb in a body, even so every one of the Cosmic Gods who has his part in the sacrificial session has his sanctified place in the scheme. Every portion of the Godhead, offered as sacrifice for the Cosmic creation, is entitled to receive its share in the inner sacrifice offered by man and it is indispensable that the entire body of the creative Purusha must be satisfied for the perfect fruition of the great work. It will be evident from what has been stated that the one element common to all the Gods is this that they are all Powers of the same Godhead, Sons of the Infinite and are Immortals, companions in the sacrifice, friends who offer their help to the sacrificer. Because of these general fcatures common to the Gods we find them so addressed in some hymns that on the surface onc is prone to think that cach of the Gods does not differ from the others since he is hymned by the Rishis using the same appellation as the great God or thic most beneficent or the supreme God himself. But this is only one aspect of the truth and does not abrogate the distinctness in their personalities and functions. For their distinguishing signs are clcarly mentioned and in their special functions their individualities are always discernible. This is applicable to a very great majority of hymns while there are a few where the Gods concerned may be of a doubtful character. Apart from the Knowledge one can gather from the meaning of a hymn that a particular God is addressed, there is a technique given to us by which the Gods are distinguished. The colours, vehicles, weapons and the physiognomies of the Gods are mentioned in some hymns and these are symbolical, intimately expressive of the truth and character of the Gods visible to the inner vision of the Rishis. Yaska’s Nirukta mentions the vehicles of Indra, Agni and other Gods. “Indra has two grcen horses, Agni’s ruddy, Aditya’s tawny, Ashwins have two donkeys and Pushan goats; antelopes of Maruts, rosy rays of Ushas and Savitr’s dusky horses along with the vehicle of Brihaspati called Vishwarupa arc mentioned and Vayu’s horses are called Niyuta.”³⁶

It is needless to say that these powers of the Godhead are realities to the Vedic Rishi. He sees them not as a mere form or symbol of an idea with an uncertain visionary eye of mind but as tangible and quite concrete in their own kind, receives their influence and is benefited by their favour; strengthened by their gift he comes into direct contact with them, achieves a scttlcd relationship that continues to the end or leads to the final consummation. Numerous are the hymns in which the many-sided relation cstablished between the Deva and the Rishis is revealed as to us. At times the Deva is realised as the father, guardian and protector and often he is the help, guide and friend; significantly, the God who is the Father becomes the Son of man, and all these relations do not detract from the eternal and immortal rulership of the Deity as the King of the Universe while mortal man, the awakened Rishi emerging from the murky waters of lower life rises in adoration, bows and pays his homage to the supreme Lord of the world and his Powers. This kind of relationship that the Vedic Rishis maintained with the Godhead has continued to exert its influence on later generations and in spite of the gulf between the Vedic times and later ages the tradition has lived down to our own days that man can worship God in that relation which is best suited to his temperament and competence. Or, it is truer to state that God chooses for the soul the kind of relation in which the type of the soul could most naturally commune with him father or mother, king or companion or child beloved.

We have in general terms spoken of the Vedic Gods, their general character as cosmic Powers functioning in the universe as well as in the individual, all having a common abode at the summit of the Creation but extending themselves and their activities over the whole range of Cosmic existence which has many steps or stages or what we may call planes of being: at the same time, they, each in his own way, dominate one plane or other with varying stress for their special functions. For these plancs or levels of being, or steps in the staircase of creation, represent the variously constituted world-existence governed by the cosmic principles of Matter, Life, Mind and other still subtler and higher principles of divine order which arc seven in number according to the Vedic seers. Wc have not here taken up the question of the special characteristics of the several Gods, much less their place and functions in the various stages of the sacrifice. That is a vast subject involving the cxplanation of the symbols employed in the outer sacrifice and then, their corresponding significances in the inner Yajna; and at cvery important stage of the discussion relevant hymns and passages and the ritualistic texts (Brahmanas) have to be mentioned in support of and as internal evidence for the correctness of our interpretation of the symbols in regard to the inner secret of the sacrifice and the true character of the Gods. But what we have stated so far is sufficient to give a general idea of the Gods as great and distinct powers of the supreme Godhead who come down to man when he has increased in stature to abide by the Law of sacrifice for the creation of the Godhead in him, even as the Godhead by sacrifice built the world of which he is a part.

To illustrate this truth we shall consider and confine ourselves to Agni the first God, enquire into the special functions he is associated with and ponder over his general and special attributes we come across in the Vedic hymns. We shall in the light of the hymns themselves deal with the important appellations with which the God is addressed and where necessary unveil the symbols in accordance with Sri Aurobindo’s way of approach to the Vedic study. We choose this God for our enquiry here because he is nearer to us than others, is easily accessible and awakened in us and his immediate importance entitles him to first place in our adoration.

IV

Who is Agni the Fire, the God who is first awakened and adored by the Rishis? Surely it is not the third element, the principle of heat and light that is adored as God though that may be his symbol and form for worship in the physical existence. Nor can it be the sacrificial fire though that was the consecrated symbol for ritualistic worship in ancient times. And that cannot be Agni the God without whom the Immortals are not happy’. For it is said that Agni is the intuitive Knowledge of sacrifice and in him all the Gods take joy. He is the face and mouth of the Gods because the offerings to him he conveys to the Gods and fronts them in their approach to man to partake in the offerings and sacrifice. He is their messenger, for through him first, man communicates with the higher Powers; he is also the leader, Nara, and priest, Hota, of the sacrifice; he guides it and calls upon the Gods to be present and accept the offerings. Of all the Gods he is the first to be born in man; to the Cosmic God this is the second birth as his first is in the Cosmos; he is the Will, Kratu, of the Divine in man and once he is awakened, i.e., produced by Father Heaven and Mother Earth, — the tinders, araņi, that strike out the sacrificial fire in the symbolic rite — he rises and grows heavenward fed by the offerings of the sacrificer, the human soul. This is the Flame whose original home is the great Heaven, but who is born in man, Immortal in the mortal. He is fostered by the seven Sisters, is the child of the seven Mothers, the seven Rivers, the Waters, nourish and support him — these are figures of the cnergies of the seven Cosmic principles. He has seven tongues because he contains in himself the seven essentials of the planes of Cosmic existence so that when he accepts the offerings with the seven tongues they reach and satisfy the needs of the seven planes of being into which the soul is to be born or which are to manifest in the soul of man for the fulfilment of his sacrifice.

Many are the significant Names by which he is addressed in the Veda. He is described as dwelling in the secret Cave, guhā, which is used to denote the heart, hột, the core of one’s being. We shall choose some of the descriptive attributes which throw light on the character and function of Agni as well as the way in which he came to be worshipped in the guise of Skanda Kumara in later ages. We shall also examine some of the important passages of the Rig Veda and show how in the Mahabharata and the Puranas Agni, beyond doubt, is himself the Kumara or the latter is the Son, a manifestation of Agni.

A few references will suffice to show that the reality of Agni as God, the Immortal in the mortal, impressed the Vedic Rishis from the very beginning and is not a later development, nor the things spoken of him are applicable to the fire elemental or ritual with some fanciful deity clothed in it. The Solar powers of the sublime Truth typified by the Bhrigus are said to have brought down and placed Agni in men like a lovely treasure, for the sake of the peoples, easy to invoke. And the seer Nodhas proceeding addresses, “ O Agni, Thee the Priest of the Call, the Guest worthy of choice, blissful Friend, for the Divine birth."³⁷

“How shall we give to Agni? For him what Word accepted by the gods is spoken, for the Lord of the brilliant plane? For him who in mortals Immortal possessed of the Truth, priest of the oblation, strongest for sacrifice, creates the gods."⁴⁵

“He is wide in his light like a seer of the Day; he is the one we must know and founds an adorable joy. In him is Universal life, he is the Immortal in mortals; he is the Waker in the Dawn, our Guest, the Godhead who knows all births that are.”⁴⁶

“When man gives to Thee with the sacrifice and the fuel and with his potent words and his chants of illumination, he becomes. O Immortal, O Son of Force, a mind of knowledge among mortals and shines with the riches and inspiration and light."⁴⁷

“Fire and again Fire set to work with your fuel, chant with your speech, the dear, the beloved guest. Approach and set the immortal Light with your words; a God he enjoys in the Gods our desirable things, – a God, he enjoys our works in the Gods.":⁴⁸

Such a God, the Immortal in us, must necessarily be somewhere in us hidden in the secrecies, in the depths of our being. The sages called it heart, hạt, indicated by the figure of the Cave, guha. Agni’s dwelling place, then, is guha and he is so hymned by many a sage and in many a hymn in the Rig Veda. Let us give a few examples from Parashara, Vamadeva and Vishwamitra.

“He hides himself like a thief with the Cow of Vision in the secret cavern. He takes to himself our adoration and thither he carries it.”⁴⁹

“He who has perceived him when he is in the secret Cave, he who has come to the stream of the Truth, those who touch the things of the Truth and kindle him, — to such a one he gives Word of the riches."’⁵¹

“ Him in the many Mothers linked together, widespread and unapproached in the forest, abiding in the secret cave and rich with many lights, full of knowledge or moving to some unknown goal.”:⁵²

Again in the hymns of Vishwamitra we shall find the same guhā, the secrecy in which he (Agni) moves (III.1.9).

Let us see how he is hymned as containing in himself the sevenfold principles of being, power, light and bliss. “The seven rays are extended in this leader of sacrifice.”:⁵³

“In house and house founding the seven ecstacies the Fire took its session as a priest of the Call strong for sacrifice.”⁵⁴

Or, “For me howso small impart not the heavy burden this thought, О purifying Fire, uphold with the violence this vast profound and mighty sevenfold plane."⁵⁵

Vishwamitra sings: “As thy comrades we choose thee, mortals a God, for protection, Thee the Child of the Waters, the Blessed, Resplendent, the Victorious without comparc. “⁵⁶

“He, Agni, Knower of the Honey, desiring the Sisters Mushing red, raised them for the seeing...."⁵⁷

Him of plenitude, the prime Intuition of the sacrifice, the priest in the front, the seven Gods of the planes adore. ”⁵⁸

Again it is interesting to note that Yaska quotes a passage from the Shukla Yajurveda which plainly says, “ In this body are established the seven Rishis”.⁵⁹

Who are the Rivers, the Waters? They are the streams of the Truth, floods of the Higher Consciousness: they are rich with the radiances of the Superconscient released by Indra, the God-mind, by slaying the Demon, the covering clouds, the obstructionist forces of Vritra that prevent the Truth-powers from entering into the Earth-consciousness. Sri Aurobindo explains the symbolism of the Waters, Rivers and Ocean by copious illustrations from the Vedic hymns. He takes up the hymns of Vasishtha (VII. 47, 49) and Vamadeva’s last hymn and shows that the ocean is the image of the Infinite and eternal existence and the image of the rivers or flowing currents is used to symbolise the currents of Conscious being. And further in order to show that the Waters, the Rivers, are seven representing the seven Cosmic principles or the seven strands of being, he comments upon the first hymn of Vishwamitra to Agni from which we gather the following facts which throw light on the Puranic legends of Kumara Agni, Skanda, son of Agni born and brought up in the growths of the Earth, fostered by the sisters and moving towards his own Home, the Vast Truth.

Let us first note briefly, the relevant points. “The gods discovered Agni visible in the waters, in the workings of the sisters. The seven mighty Ones increased in him who utterly enjoys felicity; white in his birth, he is ruddy when he has grown. They moved and laboured about him, the Mares around the new-born child. The gods gave body to Agni in his birth. Wearing light as a robe about all the life of the waters he formed in himself glories vast and without any deficiency . . . Here the eternal and ever young Goddesses from one womb held the one Child, they, the seven Words. Spread out were the masses of him in universal forms in the womb of the clarity, in the flowings of the sweetnesses; here the fostering rivers stood nourishing themselves. The two mothers of the accomplishing god became vast and harmonised. He discovered at his birth the source of the abundance of the Father and he loosed forth wide his streams and wide his rivers... One, he fed upon his many mothers in their increasing. Great in the unobstructed Vast he increased; many Waters victoriously increased Agni. In the source of the Truth he lay down, there he made his home, Agni in the working of his undivided Sisters. To the visible Birth of the Waters and of the growths of Earth the goddess of Delight now gave birth in many forms, she of the utter felicity. From him increasing in the secret places of existence in his own seat within the shoreless Vast they milked out immortality."

The following extracts from Sri Aurobindo’s comments are given here for the elucidation of these passages.

“These are the sevenfold waters of truth. The Divine Waters brought down from the heights of our being by Indra. It, the Divine power, is secret in the Earth’s growth, oşadhi, the thing that holds her heats and has to be brought out by a sort of force, by a pressure of the two arañis, Earth and Heaven. Therefore it is called the earth’s growths and the child of the earth and heaven; this immortal Force is produced by man with pain and difficulty from the workings of the pure mind upon the physical being. But in the divine waters Agni is found visible and easily born in all his strength and in all his knowledge and in all his enjoyment, entirely white and pure, growing ruddy in his action when he increases. From his very birth the gods give him force and splendour and body; the seven mighty Rivers increase him in joy. The rivers usually named dhenavaḥ, fostering cows, are here described as as vāḥ, Mares, because while the Cow is the symbol of consciousness in the form of knowledge the Horse is the symbol of consciousness in the form of force, Ashva the Horse is the dynamic force of Life, and the rivers labouring over Agni on the earth become the waters of the vital dynamis or kinesis, the prana, which moves and acts and desires and enjoys. Agni himself begins as material heat and power, manifests secondarily as Horse and then only becomes the heavenly fire. The seven-fold waters thus rise upward and become the pure mental activity, the Mighty Ones of Heaven. They have all flowed from the one womb of the superconscient Truth—the seven Words are fundamental creative expressions of the divine Mind, sapta våniḥ. The Father of all things is the Lord and Male; he is hidden in the secret source of things, in the superconscient; Agni with his companion gods and with the seven-fold Waters, enters into the superconscient without therefore disappearing from our conscient existence, finds the source of the honeyed plenty of the father of things and pours them out on our life. He bears and himself becomes the Son, the pure Kumara, the pure Male, the One, the soul in man revealed in its universality.”

V

When we ponder over the substance of these Riks of Vishwamitra with the help of Sri Aurobindo’s explanation given above, it is hardly possible to miss the mystic significance that becomes quite apparent from the transparent symbols employed by the Rishi to convey the profound secrets of the divine Child, the divine Will, his birth and growth and progress to his own home in the Vast Truth. For the Rivers, the flowing Waters, the Cows, the Mares and the Child cannot be physical objects, nor cows and horses the common quadrupeds, nor can they feed a child either; much less by any stretch of imagination can rivers themselves change into fostering cows or act as mares labouring over a child. Any construing of these passages which does not admit of the symbolic imagery does necessarily involve us in imputing an insane incoherence to the mentality of these seer-poets of the ancient Vedas. It is remarkable that some of these symbolic images are preserved in the Puranas. When they say that Vishnu sleeps on the folds of the snake Ananta upon the ocean of sweet Milk, clearly they symbolise the fact that Vishnu the all pervading God rests on the coils of the Infinite in the blissful ocean of Eternal Existence. An objection may be raised that “that cannot be really the meaning of the Purana as the priests or poets who believed that eclipses were caused by a dragon eating the sun and moon would also easily believe that the supreme Deity in a physical body went to sleep on a physical snake, upon a material ocean of real milk and that it is our own ingenuity that seeks for a spiritual meaning in these fables.” Sri Aurobindo’s reply is that there is no need to seek for such meanings, for these very superstitious poets have put them plainly on the surface of the fables for everybody to see who does not choose to be blind. Mark, Vishnu means all-pervading, Ananta infinite, sweet milk a symbol of Bliss, Ananda, and Ocean, immensity of the Eternal Existence.

But the Puranic story of Skanda, Kumara the Child closely follows the Vedic account and almost keeps intact the Vedic symbolism as explained above. In the Puranas, apart from the slightly different versions, the Kumara is an effulgence of the great God, Father Shiva. He is born in the growths of the Earth, śaravana, placed in the Waters, Ganga, who increase him in stature; he is nourished with milk by the fostering Lights of Krittikas — in the Veda they are cows. He reaches the heights of the hill of being, the Mind Divine, called mānasa saila (Mahabharata, Vanaparva, Ch. 222). He gives help to Indra, gives battle to the asuric forces, victorious, cherished and adored by the gods returns to his Father. We need not enter into the details of the story which are at every turn quite significant; but the difference between the Veda and the Purana lies in the number of the Mothers who foster him. The Veda mentions seven sisters or rivers while the Purana does only six mothers, omitting one possibly the highest height of being where fostering is not necessary.

If a doubt is entertained that we are rather ingenious in trading the Puranic Skanda to the Vedic Kumara Agni, it vanishes if we refer to the Mahabharata in which we find a link that connects the Vedic account with that of the Puranas, notably the Skanda, Shankara Samhita among others where shorter accounts are given, as in Ramayana. There is one feature that arrests our attention while perusing the Angirasa legend followed by chapters on the birth of Kumara Skanda in the Vanaparva of the great Epic. While elaborating the story in the later Puranic way, it retains to some extent the Vedic tradition and uses certain Vedic words and names not without significance. The narrative runs from Chapter 222 to 230 in the Vanaparva. We find it plainly stated in the course of the account that Indra—God Mind — stands on the summit of the manasa hill in deep contemplation waiting for the arrival of help, Agni, and that the rivers are the fostering mothers of Agni and other details which support the vicw that the symbolic imagery of the Vedas is maintained in the Mahabharata account of Skanda. But the most important of all is that it refers to many forms or manifestations of Agni and names them and their functions, the last that is mentioned is called “The wonderful, adbhuta” of whom the Child Kumara Skanda is a special manifestation. Here we are most concerned with this term, for there is a line here in the introduction to the story of Skanda’s birth. “The greatness of Adbhuta as sung in the Vedas, I shall tell you” (221-30), says the story-teller. Now who is the Adbhuta whose greatness is praised in the Vedas? If Agni is called Adbhuta in the Vedas, then we accept without hesitation that the narrative of Skanda in the Mahabharata is based on the Vedas themselves; but ordinarily we do not know this name as specially applied to Agni, just as we know him as Purohita, placed in front or Hota, priest of the Call or Jatavedas, knower of all that is born or saptajihva, the seven-tongued, and similar appellations that unmistakably refer to Agni. Nevertheless if we examine the texts of the Veda wherever this word occurs we find it generally applied to Agni and rarely to any other God such as Soma or Indra. Even then, when it is applicd to the latter it is associated with attributes which are recognised terms for Agni. The word occurs about thirty times in the Rig Veda and in four of them in four places it is part of a compound word. Let us first be clear about the meaning of the word as it is differently given by Sayana, and then look into these passages which do not lcave room for any doubt that the term Adbhuta is almost exclusively applied to Agni. Adbhuta in the Veda as in classical Sanskrit means ’wonderful’, but it also means in the Veda, mahat, the great, Supreme, as admitted by Sayana in some places supported by Nirukta. And because it is the Supreme it transcends our comprehension, and therefore it is uscd in the sense of the Transcendent which is the Supreme and the Wonderful. Sri Aurobindo has translated in the sense as explained above. But what it does not and could not mean must also be stated for the sake of precision. For Sayana in some places forces it to mean “what never was” (na bhūta, adhūta); this he does on the basis of the fantastic etymology which is abundant in Yaska’s derivations of words. But the one merit of Yaska in this respect lies in the indifferent value he attaches to his explanations as is clear from the number of alternatives he light-heartedly gives to word-derivations. And Sayana quite seriously, not always, falls back upon him on occasions, when he has to tide over difliculties in explaining some phrases. “ Adbhuta-enasaḥ” is used as an attribute of Maruts; he cxplains that Maruts are Gods who are not sinful, as if other Gods were! According to him, literally, it means “ those in whom there are no sins". Other Gods are nowhere addressed in this curious way. What seems to be the truth is this: the Maruts are known to be violent in their tempestuous action which to the mortal mind would naturally seem at times cruel as violence is and, therefore sinful; but these Maruts are Gods with wonderful sins and that is as much as to say their violence, if sin at all, is not of the ordinary kind, it is wonderful. There is a great advantage in giving the same or similar meaning to the word; it avoids the tantalising position to which we are forced quite often if we accept these unreasonable variations in the meaning. The only rational justification for this meaning of Sayana can be that even though they commit sins they are really sinless.

But our interpretation does not admit the sins at all, it holds that what appears to be violence and therefore "sin" is not of the ordinary kind, hence wonderful, the violent action of the Maruts is wonderful. And there is another instance of a compound of which this word is a part, adbhuta-kratu; it can be straightly rendered “ one who has a wonderful will ". Or in Sunasshepa’s Rik (1.25.1) we can easily see the word means “wonders”; “ He beholds all the wonders that have been and that have to be done."

We shall give a few instances where the Supreme is mcant as the Wonderful, it is really the Transcendent that is referred to by That. “It is not now, nor is It tomorrow. Who knowcth that which is Supreme and Wonderful? It has motion and action in the Consciousness of another, but when It is approached by the thought, It vanishes.”⁶⁰

“For pure understanding, I have come to the Lord of the assembly, the Wonderful, the lovable friend of Indra who gives.”⁶²

“The bright, the purifying, the Wonderful sprinkles the sacrifice with honey.”:⁶³

“God among Gods, Thou art friend, the Wonderful.”⁶⁴

"The King of the peoples, the Wonderful, this Agni who presides over the law I adore: may he give ear."⁶⁵

"O Flame, Thou Suprcme and Wonderful, it is Thou who by force of Will becomest in us the greatness of this discerning power; in Thee, the all-harmonising friend in the sacrifice accomplishes the work and climbs to divine mastery.”⁶⁶

“O Flame, O Might, that rich felicity bring which shall violently overpower the armies that are embattled against us; for thou art the true in being; the Transcendent and Wonderful who gives to man the luminous plenitude.”⁶⁷

This is the eater of the Tree for whom is poured the running butter of the Light; this is the desirable, the ancient priest of the Call, the Wonderful, the Son of Force.”⁶⁸

“The Wonderful, the Friend propped up Earth and Heaven and made the darkness a disappearing thing by the light. He rolled out the two minds like skins; the Universal assumed every masculine might.”⁶⁹

The Bhrigus set in the Tree the Godhead of our aspiration with his high Flame of light like a friend well-confirmed in his place. And now, O Wonderful, well pleased in him who has cast to thee the offering, Thou art magnified by workings of thy power from day to day."⁷⁰

We have given those passages in which adbhuta is specially applied to Agni and so identified with the Supreme or said to lead to the Supreme. Even when it is occasionally used to refer to Indra the adjectives used are well-known to apply to Agni; this is cvident in the Rik: “When the worshipper following the Law and in season holds to his words of prayer he (Indra) is called the Bright, the Purifier, the Wonderful.”⁷¹

We have exhaustively given the important references to Agni as Adbhuta, an appellation which has been almost exclusively applied to him. There are solitary instances where it is applied to Indra and Soma or some other God. But this does not detract from the importance of the word mainly intended to indicate the Supreme as Agni. For it is a well-known fact that in the Veda cach major God is worshipped as the Supreme, therefore the exclusive epithets of one God occasionally extend themselves to others as well. We may take the instance of hymns to Agni Vaishwanara; they always refer to the Universal Purusha, the supreme Godhead and in many Riks we find it is the Sun of Truth, Surya, as the plenary Home of Agni that is mentioned. Vaishwanara, however, is primarily applied to Agni. In the light of the Angirasa legend of the Epic which mentions the Adbhuta Agni of the Vedas as the father of Skanda Kumara, and in the light of the Riks quoted above which systematically apply the term to Agni, we are entitled to conclude that the author of the Mahabharata was acquainted with the secrets of Agni as are to be discovered in the Rig Veda. This fact emerges from the unveiling of the symbols in parts in this section of the Vanaparva, identifying the Rivers and Sisters and Cows with the fostering Lights and Mothers and proceeding with its narrative in its own way but always keeping to the symbols significantly at every turn.

The significance then, of the symbolic imagery is preserved in the Puranas also, but there is a larger variation there than in the Mahabharata, at least so far as the legend of Kumara is concerned. And this fact clearly bears testimony to the correctness of our reading the hymns in their inner sense which cnables us to see and appreciate their secret meaning pointing to profound truths which are clothed in the inspired words of the mystics of the Rig Veda. In this study, then, the Gods cease to be allegorical representations of mere attributes of the Godhead, but reveal themselves as substantial Realities, Powers, Personalities of the Supreme One; they are no longer personifications of mere forces of Nature, but Beings at their back and top functioning indeed in the Universe as Cosmic manifestations of the Supreme Godhead; but more intimately they are active in the inner Existence as psychological and spiritual powers with which the awakened soul enters into relation cven as did the Vedic seers of yore: and of them there is One who is first to be born in man, to act as the Divine Messenger, who, while keeping himself in the front, in fact carries all the Gods in him, at the same time takes up the human soul along the path that leads to the Light, to the Truth, to Immortality — and that is the Divine Will, the Immortal in the mortal, the Flame Wonderful, Agni Adbhuta.

THE GODS OF THE APRI HYMNS

THE POWERS THAT FILL

The Master, in providing us with the clues to unravel the mysteries of the Gods of the Rig Veda and of their functionings in the Universe, external and internal, has warned that the importance of a God is not to be judged by the number of hymns addressed to him, nor even by the extent of expressed invocation in the thought of the sages. This fact we have to bear in mind when we study the hymns and ponder over the functionings of the Vedic Gods. For the prominence of a God – which is not the same as the superiority of one over the others — is to be understood by such functionings of his as are immediate, direct and effective in the psychological discipline of the ancient Mystics. Looked at from this point of view, Agni, the Mystic Fire is more important than any other God of the Rig Veda, though the hymns addressed to him are less in number than those to Indra, the Lord of the Luminous Mind, the Divine Mind, the God of the third World, Swar.

Agni takes a prominent, first place among the Gods of the Vedic pantheon in the outer worship and indeed plays a predominant part in the inner worship, in the Yajna. His dominance is due to his function from the very beginning in the inner being of the Rishi; for he progressively unfolds his powers assuming the forms of the other Gods or bringing their Presence to the doors of the sacrificial chamber in the inner mansions, at the altar of the awakened soul of the human being. The special character of Agni in his various functions in the inner and mystic sacrifice is nowhere so clearly and unmistakably brought to light in a concise manner as in what are called the “ Apri Hymns". In this short study, we propose to think out the full implications of the term “āpri” and the significance of the Riks of the hymns that has bearing on the advent of other Gods or their manifestation in the progression of the well-kindled Agni in the onward march of the Aryan soul in the inner sacrifice.

Before proceeding to consider the nature of the Apri hymns, let us briefly recount the All-inclusive functions of Agni in the Rig Veda. Agni is the principle of heat and light in the external nature, a principle by which all developments of forms and renewal of forms, and purification in a general way are made possible. But Agni, in the spiritual and psychological discipline of the Vedic mystic, while not excluded from his external functioning in the world, takes an intimate place in the inner life that leads to the Light supernal, the Immortal Life, the supreme Truth-Consciousness above. For though the Highest Truth, the Supreme Consciousness is present everywhere in the universe, its plenary Home is above and beyond the triple world of ours, termed in the Vedic parlance, bhūḥ, represented by Matter, the gross physical, bhuva, the mid-air region dominated by the principle of Life-force and swar, the luminious pure mind of the higher Consciousness. Agni’s function is of course varied in the outer universe but is not confined to that, it continues in the inner universe of man to build it up and cffect the development of the Cosmic Powers in him for the perfection that makes for his competency to attain the Truth-Light and Iminortality. The fundamental nature of Agni is that he is the Divine Will that is at work in the Universe. Since he is the Divine Will, his true Home is the Home of Truth above the Mind-world in the Swar. Since Creation proceeds from above downwards he comes down to Earth and functions in the gross existence as the fire that assimilates the rasa, the sap in things, that is to say, the essence of their substantial being, he is also the Will in the dynamic life-energy, prāņa. Thus gradually his function advances from the physical to the psychological and spiritual nature of human existence. For Agni is born in man and ascends, he transfigures his powers into the energics of mind. And when Agni burns, “our passions and emotions are the smoke of his burning. Our nervous forces are assured of their action only by the support of this mystic Fire, Agni.

Now we can appreciate without difficult the prime place occupied by Agni in the Godward path of the Vedic sages. For when human aspiration rises towards the utmost possible perfection, when man strives for a divine birth and divine fulfilment, when the human soul has developed itself to such an extent as to give itself willingly to the Great In-dweller and with trust in the Divine Will and when to do this he is ripe and gets the strength and courage, when he is thus definitely on the way through devotion and arduous discipline, tapasya, and a confident knowledge of and faith in the higher Powers that transcend his many-sided limitation, then is the hour for the awakening of the human soul to the active presence of Agni, the Divine Will at work within him; then is he fit to perform the self-giving, the sacrifice called Yajna, the truc worship.

When Agni, the Seer-Will, kavikralu, is awakened in the human being, when he is well-kindled, fostered and enabled to increase in volume and intensity, many developments take place until finally and fully the Divine flame takes charge of the whole being of man in his journey upwards to the regions of the Gods above that border on the Home of the Eternal Truth, the undying Light. But this charge of Agni is effective and takes place when the utter self-giving symbolised by the ritual of animal sacrifice, pašumedha, is accomplished. And for this achievement of the truc sacrifice of self-giving, many Higher powers have to extend their help to the sacrificer, yajamāna, through the summonings of Agni who is already awakened and interested, though not yet in full charge of the task for the fulfilment of the work. This preliminary stage is a definite step to come face to face with the higher powers of Agni himself or through his intervention to commune with the Cosmic Powers of a higher existence. It is at this point that the Rishi prays for the help of the higher Powers manifested in Agni who devclops out of his own body of Divine Truth and substance thic Gods of the higher realms or calls them down to be present in him, for the effective march of the sacrifice, for assisting the Rishi to give his full support to tle workings so that in this sense they may be born in him, and he be taken up into them.

These prayers are called Apri hymns. The term can be interpreted in two ways. Ordinarily, it is taken to mean that they propitiate and are pleasing to the Gods, à-priņayantyaḥ, otherwise termed technically yajyāḥ, stutayaḥ, laudatory verses. But apriyaḥ is justly derived from pri to fill, as Sayana himself does in (11.6.8): cikitvaḥ sa vidwan a ca piprayaḥ, “such art Thou the Conscious Fire, fill us ". And in this case especially in the inner worship or sacrifice these higher Powers of Agni, i.e., the Gods, are addressed to come down and fill the Rishi. While the Apri hymns are used in the ritual as a preliminary to the animal sacrifice, its significance in the inner life of the Rishi is quite clear in that it invokes the help and presence of the Gods whose advent is vouchsafed to the Rishi by the progressive unfoldment of the powers of Agni himself. In every Mandala of the Rig Veda we have Apri hymns, except in the fourth, sixth and eighth. There has been a systematic arrangement of the verses of these hymns and usually they are eleven or twelve, occasionally thirteen verses in an Apri hymn. The Powers, devatās, addressed are all of Agni origin; therefore they are included in the hymns to Agni. In ancient times, as Yaska remarks, there was divergence of opinion in regard to the Devatas of these hymns. Some held that Yajna itself as a Person, purușa, is the Deity and they gave their reasons; some held Agni himself to be the Deity with sufficient reason. But the real difficulty in determining the Devata of some of the verses is that, Indra, Twashtr, the three Goddesses, lla, Saraswati and Bharati and others are mentioned in these hymns. Ordinarily their functions differ from those of Agni. But the difficulty is not very rcal; for Agni himself, in his progress in the inner life of the Rishi, assumes the forms of the other Gods. This development is a special feature of Agni. For it is characteristic of him to become in his heavenward activity endowed with attributes that distinguish severally, the other Gods of the Vedic system, while retaining his distinguishing feature of the Divine Will that is initially born as the Flame of human aspiration to the Sublime. This description of Agni appearing as different Gods is a general feature of the Vedic hymns and it is so expressed in clear terms in certain Riks also. When Agni is born, there is an encompassing wideness, that is because of his Varuna aspect. When he is well-kindled, he becomes the Lord of love and friendship. So says Rishi Vasushruta of the Atri house. Let us quote here two of the verses from Sri Aurobindo’s translation of a hymn which brings to the fore the truth of what we have stated in regard to the multiple Divine Personality of Agni.

“Thou art he of the Wideness, O Will, when thou art born; thou becomest the Lord of Love when thou art entirely kindled. In thee are all the gods, O Son of Force; thou art the Power-in-Mind for the mortal who gives the offering.

“O thou who possessest self-ordering Nature, thou becomest the might of the Aspirer when thou bearest the secret Name of the Virgins. They brighten thee with the Light in her rays as Love perfectly founded when thou makest of one mind the Lord and his Spouse in their mansion." (Rig Veda V.3, 1-2)

Such is the magnificent character of the Divine Will when it is awakened and set to work in the system of the human being. But here a difference must be noted between Agni as Varuna, Mitra, Aryaman and others as mentioned in the verses quoted above, and Agni as bringing about the advent of his higher powers from above for the fulfilment of the Rishi’s aspiration. There it is shown in a general way that Agni is in reality and ultimately all the other gods. Here in the Apri hymns, the powers of Agni are invoked, step by step, for certain functions direct and limited and immediate; some of them are Gods of the higher worlds and planes of Consciousness, while others are a sort of personification, so to say, of the manifestations of Agni himself here on the earth-plane, in the inner consciousness of the Rishi. Thus we find in these hymns the Doors that are called upon to open heavenwards are addressed as deities. The offerings of small pieces of wood that feed the flame to grow, are called deities; also there are other well-known Gods and Goddesses whose functions are clearly defined and recognised; and they too are included in the Apri for the simple reason that their functioning is indispensable for the fulfilment of the preliminary step, the step that immediately precedes the consummation of the inner worship, the sacrifice by which Agni himself takes the full responsibility and charge of the entire task of the human soul embarking on the heavenward voyage. We shall presently take up a short Apri hymn for example in which reference to these manifestations of Agni is made unmistakably, using the same appellation for the Deity concerned; and all the Rishis who sing the Apri hymns are of one voice and the order and arrangement of the deities are generally the same with very few variations. For the Rishis of these Apri hymns come from different houses and while adopting the technique common to all of them—for the principle was recognised and received universal acceptance among the mystics — they varied slightly the formula of including certain deities which are otherwise done by the Rishis of different houses. Thus, for instance, in the place of tanūnapat which means child of the body, they address narāśamsa, one who speaks out the Gods. Some Apris include both of them. Another small difference among the Apris is that the major Gods like Indra are mentioned in some and left out in others. But everywhere the same important Powers or deities are invoked which throw a flood of light on the mystic passage that led the Rishi from here on Earth while living in the physical body to the heavenward road in which communion with the higher Cosmic Powers was made possible while arriving at the ultimate goal of the Supreme Truth, the sole Godhead.

Let us take a hymn in a short metre, illustrative of the character of the Apri hymn, choosing from the Apris which are ten in all, found in the various books of the Rik Samhita.

The Apri of Medhatithi Kanwa (RV. 1.13) contains twelve Riks in Gayatri metre and is enough for our purpose which is to show how the Flame of the Divine Will is invoked to effect step by step the advent of his own higher Powers and those of the high existence for the uplift of the aspiring soul through the means of utter self-offering — the consummate worship, the true sacrifice — Yajna.

1. Well-kindled, O Agni, do thou bring the Gods for me, equipped with sacred offerings. O Summoner, Purifier, perform the worship.⁷²

The Rishi addresses Agni. He is already awakened from his slumber by the single-willed aspiration of the Rishi, by proper initiation, by tapasya and mystic discipline. This awakening is the birth in man of the Divine Will as distinct from the human will. But it has to be tended and fostered with care and vigilance. The Flame is to be fed by the fuel, the samit of devotional prayers backed by an exclusive choice of the Divine by the human will. Thus, well-kindled, susamiddha, he, the Divine Flame is enabled to rise high enough to bring the Gods of the higher realms for the sacrifice. But he will not and cannot bring them for one who keeps to himself what belongs to the Gods and therefore to be offered to them. Therefore for me, for one who has kept ready the offerings to make, havishmate, bring the Gods, it is said. Agni, the Divine Flame is also the Divine Voice, therefore he is the Summoner who calls the Gods and his Call is effective there where the human cry and call do not reach. He is thus addressed as hotar, Caller. Still he has to function in the human vessel, which in the best among men retains elements of impurity that clogs and limits and disfigures the higher functionings of the new-born Flame. Purification, then, is necessary, and this Agni himself effects in the human being. For only to a tolerably pure Adhar, the human vessel, the Gods can be expected to come. So, he is pāvaka, purifier. When the Gods come, worship is to be offered to them. The human being does not know how to receive and respect and use a language that can please the Gods. So Agni himself is called upon to do the worship. As sacrifice was the ceremonial form that congregational worship in the ancient times assumed, pajna came to mean sacrifice. Therefore we shall translate Yajna equivocally as true worship or sacrifice which does not mean in our sense of the word in the context, goat-immolation or any other animal slaughter.

2. Child of the Body, O Seer, do perform this our sacrifice to the Gods, fraught with the Honey of Soma-Wine, for the purpose of their advent.⁷³

The Rishi now calls upon Agni, Child of the body to give form to the sacrifice, i.e., to accomplish the worship to the Gods on his behalf. Tanūnapat, can mean child born of the body of Agni which is the Flame in which case he is a manifestation, a special form of the Divine Flame as it increases in volume, stature and intensity. So the term is a recognised appellation to Agni even in classical Sanskrit. But it can mean child born of the body of the sacrificer, yajamāna, in whom the Flame of the Divine Will is born and thus the taninapat is none other than the well-kindled Agni referred to in the first Rik, but the appellation here is significant in that it brings out the close relation, the intimacy that is developed between the Divine flame and the earnest worshipper. Because he is so intimate, the Rishi implores that he may be pleased to formulate the sacrifice, to give a definite shape to it among the Gods, yajnam krņuhi deveșu. And he is addressed as Kavi, seer; for he sees and knows the way to reach the worshipper’s offerings to the Gods. And the sacrifice, the Yajna, is fraught with the Honey, the honey of the Soma-Wine which represents the outflowing of the principle of Delight in things.

The human being that has launched upon the sublime worship of utter sacrifice, the giving of itself and all that belongs to it, offers the Soma, the rasa, the sap of all experiences of Delight in things and thus Soma is, indeed, the soul of all Yajna, madhumantam ; it is for the offering of this rasa, all preparations are made, all the preliminary steps are taken with great care. The Yajna, then, is filled with this honey for the acceptance of the Gods who are to come down at the fervent call of tanūnapät on behalf of the worshipper. Without the madhu, this honey, there is no purpose in calling the Higher Powers for the sacrifice. When the madhu is there, the advent of the Gods is assured, vitaye. It must be noted that viti means at once eating, bhakşaņa, as well as coming down, agamana. In the ceremonial worship, it means they are called to eat the honey. In the inner worship, they are invoked for their advent or manifestation at the sacrifice.

3. Beloved Narashamsa, sweet-tongued, who prepares the sacred offering, I call upon in this sacrifice. ⁷⁴

Narāśamsa is Agni who voices the Godhead. For Nara in the Veda means the Gods, though it may mean men also; strength is the element that is common to both. The strong male Gods are leaders, called naraḥ. Now the Divine Child born in the sacrificer has endeared himself to him, and is ready and willing to do the needful; he is beloved, priya. He is sweet-tongued, madhu-jihva; the rising flame is the tongue of Agni; when it goes up high enough it touches and reaches the Gods, carrying with it as it does, something of the taste, the agreeable sweet of the sacrifice that draws the Gods to it who respond to the offering naturally with a spontaneity that is characteristic of Divine response to the fervent prayers of man. And the offering itself is well prepared and accomplished by Agni, narāśamsa himself; for however arduous may be the discipline followed by the ardent worshipper, whatever the care and zeal and the human wisdom at its best that attend the human perfection, it can not equal the wisdom of the Divine flame when it is allowed to undertake the task of preparing the offering itself in order to carry it to perfection. Thus he is havişkſt. Such is the Divine flame who voices the Godhead and he is invoked now to come close and be present at the Yajna. Thus it will be seen that he is quite a natural aspect of Agni, not a special manifestation or any of the other Gods.

4. Agni, aspired to (by us), on thy most happy car bring the Gods hither; Manu has fixed thee as the Summoner. ⁷⁵

Agni is now invoked in his central aspect of idita or ilita, one who is aspired to and invoked to be the officiant appointed with due respect to conduct the sacrifice. Id or II, the root means, according to ancient authorities like Yaska, to praise, to worship, or to beg. And in this last sense, the sense of aspiration is implied and is so translated by Sri Aurobindo. And in Sanskrit it is adhyesană which technically means an act in which a God or a respected person is called upon with due reverence to fulfil a function. Now idita Agni has to appear and when he so does, it is not a quiet seeing or raising his voice to the Gods, he comes in a happy movement; dynamic is he and his advent in the car brings a most rapid and happy movement, sukhatama ratha, in which he is to bring the Gods. It is his car, his rapid movement that is charged with the advent of the Higher Powers.

How or why does he do it? Here the third foot of the Rik gives the answer; at the same time it reveals a secret which has much to do with the mystic discipline of the Vedic seers. He is the hotā, the summoning priest who calls the Gods, and to this position he is appointed, that is to say, he is fixed to this function by Manu, manurhitaḥ. Manu, says Sayana, is Mantra, though he gives an alternative meaning of manusya, man, who is the sacrificer. Though both are intelligible in the context, the first meaning, i.e. the mantra is more appropriate and reveals the fact that the mantra the inspired and revelatory Word has gone forth from the supreme Ether, paramam vyoma, to fix the Divine Flame in the Rishi, to carry out the great work of sacrifice and it is that sublime Voice, the vāk, the Mantra that the Initiate employed in establishing the Flame in him and keeping the entire task to the trust and care of the Divine Caller. This is the gist of the last line of the Rik.

It may be mentioned here that the word manu is employed to denote mantra in the Tantra Shastra and is a technical term, so understood even today.

The alternate meaning as suggested by Sayana is harmless and does not require elucidation, as the sacrificer is supposed to employ Agni in the ceremonial rite to officiate as the priest who calls upon the Gods to be present and accept the offerings at the sacrifice.

5. O Ye Wise Ones, spread the seat of sacred grass of bright surface, in unbroken order where the Immortal is beheld.⁷⁶

It is usual with the hymnodists of the Rig Veda to resort quite often to address themselves i.e. to the inner self, or to call upon comrades who are engaged in the Yajna. It is a general way of expressing themselves as to what they are persuaded to do or persuade their following to observe. Here the Rishi addresses the wise ones, manișinaḥ. The next step to be proceeded upon is to keep ready the seat for the Gods of whom Agni is the first in order to take his place at the altar. The sacred grass, bathiḥ, is the symbol used in the ritual to prepare the seat. It is to be spread, střnita, in due form, in unbroken order, anuşak, well-prepared and close so that every part of the seat will reveal its relation to the whole to be occupied by the Gods in regular order that starts with Agni. The seat is indeed within the inner being of man. It must not be supposed that it is a point or some imagined spot or heart in the physical frame of the human being. The seat for the Gods is indeed within, in the inner being which is wider and far greater and subtler, and supple and enlightened and distinguished from the physical being. We have to speak of it as within because the outer self and the outgoing mind and vital activities are all but a modicum of that larger being behind and even encompassing them. Once the initiation into the secret path that leads to the inner chamber takes effect, the outer normal self of man with all its thinkings and doings dwindles into a nothing before the wideness at the threshold of the vast Self within in which the sacred seat of Gods is arranged for the welcome of the Higher Powers.

But the seat must be kept pure and bright; this is effected by the clarities of the mind and heart of the Rishi, so that at first sight, on the very surface it is splendid enough to be god-inviting, ghrta-priștủa. Such a state of purity in the inner apartment glittering with the clarity of clear perception of the heart, is adorable and is the right condition for the Godhead to reveal himself. So, the Rishi says, there in that holy seat, the Immortal is beheld, amrtasya caksaņam. Here the Immortal is Agni himself; he can be clearly seen as the Immortal Godhead himself. He, the Rishi, may have felt him as the Divine Will different from his willings and strivings; he may have received from him the necessary guidance and help in his disciplinary exertions; he may have even had an assured contact of some kind in his laudable enterprise. but to behold him as the Immortal is different from all these things, Now in the sacred hall at the altar, in the Vast field of the inner being bright with the brightness of clarity, he, the Immortal is beheld. Such is the sanctity of the seat of sacred grass arranged and regulated in position, in uninterrupted sequence.

Till now, the Rishi invoked Agni himself as one Well-kindled, susamiddha, as child born of the body, tanūnapät, as one who voices the Godhead, nará śamsa, and as the very seat sacred for the advent of the Gods, barhiḥ. For, the ancient tradition that Barhih is a name worn by Agni, has meaning for us in the esoteric interpretation for the simple reason that the barhiḥ as described in this Rik can be nothing else but the result of the workings of Agni, an indispensable manifestation of the Divine Flame in the human being.

6. May the splendorous (or Divine) Doors truth-increasing, swing open, that do not stick up close, for the sacrifice now and sure.⁷⁷

Now the next step, mentioned in this Rik, is a revelation of the character of Yajna as also of the ancients’ mastery of the intricacies that beset the passage of the Vedic Yoga. The Rishi now calls upon the Doors to open that ordinarily are closed to mortals in their ignorant strivings. What are these doors that are called upon to open and what for? The Yajna, in the common conception of the Rishis, is to be treated as something definite and well-shaped, and it proceeds upwards; yajnam urdhwam kuruta, is a phrase we often meet with in the Rik Samhita itself, not to speak of the Brahmanas and kindred literature. Now the Yajna has to rise and travel heavenward to reach ultimately the Godhead; but as it goes up it reaches the realms of the Gods who come down to the sacrificer’s chamber; thus the passage is to be made clear, the Doors that lead upwards which are usually closed, must open for the sacrifice and therefore for the sacrificer. These doors are not obscure or somewhere vaguely above, elsewhere in the dark; when there is so much preparation and fitness on the part of the human aspirant and the seat within him for the Gods is made ready for the Gods, and he can behold the undying Flame within him, he is fully qualified to see the Doors that open upwards; for they too are shining, splendorous, devir dvårah. They are not there always to remain closed to all; they are there to swing wide open for the mortal who is qualified and seeks the Immortal. Viśrayantām, may they swing open, says the Rik. When they open, they increase the truth to the vision of the seer and to that extent it increases in him, ṛtāvṛdhā. The very appearance of the doors shining is an assurance that there are higher truths and their Powers beyond which are visible when the doors open. Thus they are incrcasers of Truth, in the sense that the Truth begins to grow larger and larger to the vision of the sceker at the sight of the opening of the Divine Doors, not that the Doors in any way aſſcct the Truth as it is; and increasing the Truth in any other sense is an absurdity. They are not hard to open themselves, for they are not close stuck up and obstinate, asascataḥ, but ever waiting to makc way and show the passage for the Sacrifice, for the sacrificer, for the Divine Flame, for all the higher Powers of the ultimate Godhead —and all this through the intervention of the new-born Immortal child in the mortal man. Let the Doors be open for passage of the sacrifice, yaṣtave.⁷⁸

7. Night and Dawn of auspicious form, I invoke to scat them on the sacred grass at this our solcmn worship (sacrifice).⁷⁹

In the mystic discipline of these ancient sages, there are alternations of Day and Night both of which are cqually important for thic perfect fulfilment of the purpose of sacrifice. It must be noted that the Day and Night are symbols in the esoteric system of the Vedic sages, of the alternations of the Divinc and human consciousness in us. The Night of our ordinary Consciousness, says Sri Aurobindo, holds and prepares all that the Dawn brings out into conscious being. Day also in another way represents broad open light, the light of Consciousness in which the worlds and plancs and their Powers are beheld severally and in toto, while Night represents a concentration and self-absorption in the consciousness, an intensity of self-gathering in what we may call the immobile, static existence in which there is nothing else to be seen, but in which the all is absorbed; the Truths, the planes and their Powers and the Gods and all beings and things lie latent and hidden and seem to be non-existent, as it were. Such alternation in the consciousness was a necessity in the mystic discipline of the Rishis for the perfection towards Immortality that was their aim. Hence Day and Night, nakta-ușăs, of distinct auspicious forms, supeçasă, are called upon to be present. Though this seems to be a personification of day and night as deities, the idea is clear in the mind of the Rishi that both the states must be made possible for him in his endeavour. The Day-consciousness shall not dazzle him and make him forgetful of the Night in whose womb lies the Day. The significance of invoking both together which are apparently of different hues, white and black, and can never co-exist lies in the fact that in the Vedic Yoga both are equally important and be made familiar to the being of the Rishi in whom both the forms, the twin sisters, Day and Night—can abide. It is this twin aspect of the Consciousness with necessary variation in its connotation that is the origin and support of the dictum of the Upanishad that both “Knowledge and Ignorance ” must be known together. “He who knows That as both in one, the Knowledge and the Ignorance, by the Ignorance crosses beyond death and by the Knowledge enjoys Immortality.” We may note in passing that this concept of Day and Night is expressed figuratively in the famous passage of the Gita that what is day to the Wise is night to the common man and vice versa. The Isha Upanishad text quoted above clearly says with reference to the Knowledge and Ignorance and Birth and non-birth, to be known together, that "we have heard it from the Wise ones of yore”. Who else could these Wise ones be but the mystics of the Vedic Wisdom, dhiraḥ?

This, then, is the significance of the Rishi’s invocation to the Day and the Night to be present at the sacrifice and take their places in the seat made ready for the advent of the Gods to the sacrificial Hall in the inner Mansion of the larger and wider being of the Rishi.

8. I invite the twin Divine Priests of the Call, sweet-tongued, Scers; let them conduct the worship at the sacrifice.⁸⁰

Hitherto the Agni Powers were invoked, and the Divine Doors were addressed to swing open wide and with so much of equipment, the Rishi addresses himself to settle in a position in which both the Divine Consciousness and human consciousness can be held together, or the static and dynamic aspects of the Consciousness as described in the note on the previous Rik can be contained in his being. The next step, then, is to invite the help of the Powers above the Earth-plane, though they have been at work in a general way all along without palpable distinction. Now the Rishi calls upon the two Divine Priests of the Call, daivya hotāra, who are Cosmic Powers on the Plane of the mid-air regions, of the world of Life-powers. They are seers, kavi. Now they are called upon to conduct the sacrifice. It is true that Agni as a matter of fact is in entire charge of the Sacrifice and that is a general function, but the distinct Powers are to manifest themselves and take their places and play their parts. And who are these Divine Priests of the Call? What is our authority to state with certainty or even to suppose that they dwell in the bhuvarloka, the world of Vayu or Prana, the Life-World? There is nothing in this Rik to show that they are so, although we are entitled to surmise that their normal place is just above the Earth-plane, mentioned as they are after the invocation to the Divine Doors that swing open upon the Higher worlds through which the Yajna is to journey towards the Realm of the Ultimate Reality — the Supreme Godhead, the Sun of Truth. There is authority, not mere surmise. For in other Apri hymns, they are described as the two Divine Priests of the Call for our humanity, mănușo daivyā hotārā, and are called upon to come on the paths of the Life-breath, vayoḥ patmānā. They are the first prathamā, full in wisdom and stature, viduștarā vapușțară. They are divine by nature, divine in stature and have a happy tongue, sujihvā, that speaks what is good and auspicious to man; they are the God-appointed heralds whose voice is pleasing to the Gods when it functions for the rise of humanity.

But we have no clues here in this hymn or in other Apris to discover the significance of the two. Here we have to fall back upon what may appear to be conjecture. The two may represent the upward movement that reaches the subtle higher planes of the Gods and the downward movement that brings down the higher powers and something of the substance of the higher worlds to the human being engaged in the sacrifice. Since thiy are always addressed in twain, it can also be the twin powers of Light and Life fixed in the mid-world to call upon the Gods to come down for the sake of humanity of which they are the appointed priests of the Call.

9. Ila, Saraswati, Mali, three Goddesses, delight-producers—may they be scated, unassailed, on the sacred grass-seat.⁸¹

We have now reached a step where there is a direct reference in unmistakable terms to three distinct Powers that are open to the aspiring soul. They afford an indispensable basis, quite tangible to the developing human consciousness that is released from the crampings and closings of crowded thoughts and feelings in the ignorance and darkness that stamp the common run of life; for the ordinary man is not turned Godwards, not wedded to the giving of himself to the Gods, Intelligent Powers of the Cosmic Godhead. What are these three Powers? They are, of course, the three well-known Goddesses of the Vedic Yoga; they are Shaktis, powers from the Home of the Vast, the Sun of Truth, rtam jyotir bıhat. Their names are sufficiently indicative of their functions; for lla is the Goddess of the vision of Knowledge; Saraswati is she of its flowing Inspiration; Bharati is the Goddess of its Vastness, the vastness of the Truth. Here in this Rik, Bharati is not mentioned by name, but referred to by an attribute which means the great mahi, which is the same as mahati or byhati and Bharati means she of the Bharata, Aditya, the Sun of Truth. Indeed she is the Power of vastness who takes the first place in the trinity of Goddesses though mentioned last in the order; and when she appears and removes the narrowness of the little human stuff, a wideness and vastness in, around and above opens upon man, accompanied by the vision of Knowledge, Ila, and Saraswati, the Inspiration that expresses the truth-knowledge and truth-vision in vocal terms. These three Powers are inestimable for the Rishi who has launched the great ship of Sacrifice in the charted sea of the hierarchy of Planes, of the rising tier of level after level of being, so that it may not flounder anywhere losing the way. Once they bestow their favour upon the Rishi at the opening of the Divine Doors, he feels a happiness, has the joy of bliss on the way, for they give birth to delight, mayo-bhuvaḥ. There is no fear of fall or failing in the midway, for they are not attacked by Ignorance and darkness, asridhaḥ, to which are due all human sorrows and suſſerings. The vision and inspiration and presence of the Vast are unfailing and the steps to be taken forward are assured of their rectitude and are straight and effective throughout the passage.

It is these threc Goddesses that are called upon to take their seats at the altar, strewn of Grass, the symbolic character of which has been explained in the note on an earlier Rik.

10. I invoke Twashtr, the excellent (or the foremost), the author of all forms. May he be our sole (adored God).⁸²

Now Twashtr is addressed. For he is the fashioner of all things in creation; as such he is the foremost agriya in giving shape to things and forms of beings in the Cosmos. Therefore his are all forms, vişwa-rūpa. Twashtr therefore has to confer upon the aspiring Aryan in the Yajna, his favours which build the new life, give new shape to the old material in the human being, remove the elements that are obstinate or change them to suit his purpose for the fashioning of the substance in the human being that could answer to the demands of the higher laws, the laws of the Divine Powers; for it is their manifestation in the human being that requires adequate response and a fit condition in the mortal frame of man for utilisation and proper adjustment. Here the importance of Twashtr in the new construction or resuscitation of the old structure of the human being cannot be cxaggerated. Therefore to stress the function of Twashtr, the Rik adds, “may he be our Absolute,” kevalaḥ. It means, in other words, the solc and adored God.

11. O Lord of the Earth’s growths, thou art God and to the Gods offer this our oblation. May there be the tangible Knowledge to the giver.⁸³

Then there is the invocation to Soma. He is addressed as the Lord of Plants, of the Earth’s growths, vanaspati. He is called upon to offer the oblation to the Gods. The significance of Soma, the lord of delight in things, being called upon to offer the oblation lies in the fact that the outflowing of rasa, the principle of delight in the human being, is absolutely essential in all worship to the Gods; a dry heart, a creature in depression can never rise above the common human level at its lowest, and whatever offering is made and prayers are offered, cannot reach the Gods; they go to feed and fatten the wrong elements, the adverse forces, the Pishacha, and the Rakshasa. It is only a glad heart and joyous feeling that can nourish a happy trust backing the offerings and prayers leading to self-giving. Thus Soma is mentioned for the purpose of making sure to one’s self the joyous element in the offering. When such a holy gift is made in the proper way, the result cannot be mistaken and the Rishi makes bold to say, “Let the giver be blessed with tangible Knowledge," cetanam. Hitherto there has been invocation to the Powers. Now the essential thing asked for is consciousness. It is not a mental thought, however illumined it may be or a sort of knowledge based upon it; but an indubitable knowledge, a consciousness in which what is known is felt and tangible and cetana means, as the root even in classical Sanskrit is understood, sam-jnana, contactual knowledge i.e., higher consciousness that is in close contact with the senses and sense-mind. The Rishi prays for such a substantial knowledge in which doubt has no place and certitude is dominant.

12. With Swaha offer the sacrifice to Indra in the house of the worshipper, I call the Gods thither.⁸⁴

Now the closing Rik of the hymn mentions the purpose of the Sacrifice. Here there is no invocation to any God, but there is a call to the friends, others engaged in the sacred toil, as in an earlier Rik. It must be borne in mind that all sacrifice is undertaken to arrive at the Lord of Swar, Indra, the Divine Mind. For he is the Lord of the triple world of ours, and the King of Gods devarāja; above him, i.e., beyond the triple world is the Sun of Truth with which as a matter of course he is in touch and he himself is a sublime manifestation of That,—the Truth which is not directly related to this triple world in the Ignorance. Therefore Indra is the chief God to whom the Soma is offered. Swaha is a sacred utterance used to appeal to the Gods when offerings are given and request made for their acceptance. “To Indra offer the sacrifice with Swaha,” says the Rik.

Where is the sacrifice conducted? In the house of the sacrificer yajvano grihe. Certainly this house of the yajvan is his own body with life and mind alive to their functions. The Rishi proclaims with confidence that he would call the other Gods there; for the King of the Gods is not to come alone; others, his assistants, the Powers are necessarily to attend upon him, tatra devān upahvaye.

Thus closes the Apri hymn of Medhatithi Kanva. This is the simplest of Apri hymns chosen here to show that there has been a methodical arrangement of the Riks in these hymns which are employed in the rite preliminary to the main sacrifice. But in the inner sacrifice, as has been shown, they are addressed to the Powers that come down and fill, ápūrayitryaḥ, the Rishi, the sacrificer, making him fit to execute the utter self-giving that is the meaning of Yajna. Even a casual reading of these hymns, without much scrutiny or close study will make it clear to the intelligent mind that on the very surface the Powers that are invoked, and accompanied by others are always the one well-kindled, the child born of the body or the one that voices the Godhead, the scat at the Altar, the Doors Divine, the two Divine Priests of the Call, the three Goddesses — and these are all systematically mentioned and their functionings are unequivocal in their order, while the other Powers that are mentioned may vary with the hymns; and this variance is negligible and does not alter the character of the Apri. The Apri, thus, is a clear indication of the mysteries of the Vedic Yoga followed by the seers of ancient times, marked by ordered steps with definite purpose at each stage in their journey towards the Home of Utter Bliss, the Immortal Life, the Truth Eternal.

ANJAH-SAVA OR THE RAPID RITE OF A SEER-PRIEST

As we follow in the footsteps of the Master in our studies of the hymns of the Rig Veda, we get more and more convinced not merely of the straightforwardness of the approach that leads us to discover the inner and true sense of the Riks, but of another fact. It is the conviction growing upon us that this is the only true way, that the inner meaning is the substance which is the trcasure of spiritual wisdom and Knowledge of the Gods and the Godhead. It is not that there is nothing else, any more or less than this, it may contain within it concealed other knowledge that pertains to the domain of many branches of Science. Therc may be and is room for other line or lines of approach affording fields of thought, for those interested in Astronomy, Geology, Biology or Ayurveda. But the one inner meaning that runs consistently through the whole body of the hymnal text is the main issue of the Veda and that is the spiritual and occult knowledge and Divine Wisdom which certainly justifies the hoary tradition of India among all religions and sects and saints that the Veda is Revelation and Divine Scripture. It may throw light on other objects of Knowledge, but they are side-issues, not the main spirit and substance which is knowledge of truths about the Godhead and the Gods who are Powers and Personalities of the Godhead and about their status and manifestation in the Cosmos as well as in man.

Apart from this sacred tradition which is based upon the secret and inner sense of the Veda, there runs a parallel tradition that the Veda is a book of Works, karma kāņda, rituals and sacrifice, and this is true in the external and gross sense, so ably and with great industry and diligence worked out and brought forth in the great commentary of Sayana. Leaving aside the question of discrepancies and quite often the incongruous and poverty-stricken thought that run through this commentary on a large body of the hymns — and after all this is a matter of detail — Sayana’s work is consistent in giving us the external and ritualistic meaning of the hymns. And this is a great asset for us, for those who attempt to get into the inner secret through the outer garb that is provided in this monumental work of extraordinary grossness and crudities often bordering on incoherences; it provokes our thought and invites our attention to seek for the secret behind the apparent. But though Sayana gives us the outer and apparent meanings of Riks, though the Gods are treated as Nature-powers, though very often his interpretation with the occasional help of Yaska lends support to the Naturalistic interpretation of modern scholarship he does not reject, as Sri Aurobindo points out, the spiritual authority of the Veda or "deny that there is a higher truth concealed in the Riks.” Nor does he affirm that the Vedic hymns are sacrificial compositions of priests, even though his interpretation constitutes a colossal support for ritualism.

But it may be asked: is it a baseless assumption on the part of scholars that the hymns are compositions of the priests for use in the sacrifices? Such a doubt naturally arises in the absence of a correct understanding of the position of the priest in the Vedic society, as well as the real character of the hymns used and chanted in the public sacrifices. For it is the seer, Rishi, who was the priest officiating at the ceremonies and the Riks were used for the rituals. The seers were certainly singers and their chants were sung at public sacrifices referring "constantly to the customary ritual and seem to call for the outward object of these ceremonies, wealth, prosperity, victory over enemies." While the Riks in their inner sense are profoundly spiritual and the exoteric sense was a mask which alone was perceptible to the outward mind, it was not and need not be merely a mask. Again as the Master points out, they were " words of power, powerful not only for internal but external things." The ancient mystics were concerned first and foremost with things of the Spirit, but they were also possessed of Knowledge of occult truths and "believed that by inner means outer as well as inner results could be produced, that thought and words could be so used as to bring about realisations of every kind, both the human and the divine” daivam mánuşam.

But a question may arise. How can we say that the seer of profound spiritual knowledge was also the priest for public worship? Of course in the Puranic legends many Rishis are mentioned as priests, purohits, and some of them are Rig Vedic names of renown, Vasishtha for example. Is it safe to build and base such a theory on later stories? This difficulty vanishes, once we study the hymns closely, note the tradition in regard to their outer applications also and take the help of the Brahmanas in the context in spite of their obscure symbolism. When we scrutinise, we find not only that the Rishi officiated as the Purohit at the Yajna, but also that the Riks he used are deliberately ritualistic to outward appearance mentioning the implements, external objects, and other things used in the sacrifice, as symbols covering an inner secret known to the Rishi and the initiates. I propose to illustrate this point by citing the example of a well-known Seer who consented to officiate at a Soma sacrifice without the customary goat-immolation. This ritual is entitled anjah-sava. which, Sayana explains, means a rapid direct straight-way offering of libation without the admixture of the sacrificial animal, anjasā rjunā márgena isți-pașu sānkaryam antarena. The seer-priest is the renowned Shunah-shepa and the hymn for the Anjah-sava is the fifth of the seven Hymns ascribed to him in the First Mandala of the Rik Samhita. It is 1.28, containing nine Riks in which external things like the pressing stones for the extraction of the Soma juice, the platters to receive the juice, the pestle and the mortar, the wooden vessel and other outer things are so plainly mentioned that on the face of it one can conclude that it is a sacrificial composition. When we consider the ideas expressly stated, it is rather childish, devoid of any deep thought, or significance. But when we look deeper into it and ponder over the terms used and the application of the whole hymn in the ritual as explained in the Brahmanas and also take into account the interesting explanation given by the Brahmanas for certain terms used according to themselves as symbolism, we find ourselves no longer studying the babblings of primitive people deceiving themselves and deceived by an avaricious and cunning priestcraft, but enter into the mysteries of the profound Vedic Yoga of which the seer in question was a notable votary and indeed he embodies one of the types of spiritual victories recorded in the Rig Veda that crowned the toil and ascension of the Aryan soul.

Sayana in his commentary on the 28th hymn of the First Mandala refers to Anjah-Sava as the title of the rapid rite of Soma libation seen by the Rishi Shunahshepa in response to the request of other sages and priests that the former must officiate on that day, the day of sacramental bath that is the close of the ceremony. Here mention is made of Aitareya Brahmana 33-5 which narrates the story in brief. The point to be noted in this connection is this that Shunahshepa was unanimously chosen to officiate because he was recognised as one who was the recipient of the grace of the Gods, devata-anugraha-sampanna, whose favours helped him to get released from the bonds to which reference for the first time is made in 1.24.

And these bonds are not fastenings with ropes on three parts of the body — the head and the waist and the feet—in spite of the later stories. There is nothing in the 24th hymn, in the text itself to support the extraordinarily gross meaning read into the hymn to the effect that he was sold to be immolated in a sacrifice. The legend started slowly with the Aitareya Brahmana in a moderate form, but assumed huge proportions in the Puranas. But a close reading of the hymn itself shows beyond a shadow of doubt that these fastenings refer to the upper, the lower and the middle regions; uttama, adhama, madhyama are the words used in the Rik. And certainly they point to the parts of the being; the upper is the knowledge part represented by the mind and spirit, the lower the material basis, the physical, while the middle refers to the link between Matter and mind, the vital nexus the life-principle. The profound sense of the whole hymn reveals the spiritual significance of every line and word in the Riks of that entire hymn. It is not our purpose here to take up the question of Shunahshepa and explain the meaning of the hymn around which so much crust has collected. That has been done elsewhere. It is sufficient to note here that such was the seer whom the priests honoured to officiate at the ceremony.

The Rishi readily consented to conduct the rite and saw, "dadarsha”, the method of a rapid rite for the straightway offering of the Soma libation. And the 28th hymn of nine Riks is used for the ritual. We shall first give a close rendering of the Riks which are apparently meant for the rite and make mention of the materials connected with the ceremony and then show how these very things are used as symbols for the inner sacrifice and signify subtle and deep truths pertaining to the Vedic Yoga. And in unveiling the symbols we shall as a matter of course take into account ancient authorities who looked upon these materials as symbols, though not exactly in the way we do, but still were familiar with a general knowledge of symbolism.

Of the nine Riks, in the first four Indra is invoked to come down and drink the Soma; the next four relate to the extraction of the Soma juice and the part of the pestle and mortar, while the last refers to the wooden vessel in which the Soma juice is poured and preserved and the cow-hide in which the dregs are kept.

Here is the English rendering of the hymn, verse by verse.

1. There where the broad-based Stone is high above to press (the Soma juice out), O Indra, drink with eagerness the pourings of the mortar.⁸⁵

Note. Yatra "where” means "in the ritual”, in this action; it can be applied to the outer rite as well as the inner Yaga. Sayana takes the preposition ava in the second half to mean avagatya, recognise. This is unwarranted even for the exoteric meaning. The sense of the Rik is this: Indra is above, he is called upon to come down, ava, to drink jalgulaḥ the drippings of the Soma juice from the mortar. In the ritualistic interpretation, grārā, stone is taken to be the pestle. Now there is a discrepancy. It is clearly the pressing stone and not pestle. The scholiast calls it pestle because there is the mortar, ulūkhala in the second line. Pestle and mortar are of wood and used in the Vedic rites to separate the chaff from the grain, they are not used to extract the Soma juice. Gråvá is stone used to crush the Soma creeper, so that it becomes soft and pressed, yields the juice which is received in the platters. Here in the very first Rik of the hymn the seer significantly refers to the "stone above” urdhva; he does not say it is raised, though for the external rite it can be so interpreted. This stone which is above is Indra’s weapon, the vajra. Indra is above, his weapon is above; by the blow dealt by the vajra even as Vritra, the darkened ’cloud of adverse forces and ignorance and inertia vanishes, so also the hard matter of body loses its hardness, becomes plastic, free from tamas, inertia and its brood of adverse conditions and forces that oppose the release of Rasa, the delight of all experiences to be offered to the Gods, the Cosmic powers of the Godhead. Here the mortar is the material body, and it must be noted that earth and every product of it such as the tree, and anything made of wood is symbolic of the physical body and even life and mind as products of the body are very often treated symbolically as of earth and earthern material; of this again later on. This then is the gist of the first Rik. Here this body symbolised by the mortar, "ulukhala ”, has yielded the Soma, the rasa, its sap, the essence and essential delight for the acceptance of Indra, the Divine mind, the God of the luminous mind, the higher consciousness in the pure mind of heaven, the ruler of this triple world of Matter, Life and Mind. The Rishi addresses Indra invoking his presence to come down and drink the Rasa whose extraction was possible because of the benign blows of the grava, the Vajra weapon of Indra himself. Note that this stone is the Vajra weapon, not the gross thunderbolt which is meaningless in the inner sacrifice, but the Vak, the Word wide-based in the Vast above, ürdhva-budhna, prthu-budhna, as can be gathered from repeated reference to it as such in many lines of the hymns of the Rig Veda, and so explained in the Brahmanas in their moods of symbolic interpretation of the Vedic rituals and Vedic mantras. This Vak, the Word or speech whose source is the Vast above is really that of the luminous mind of heaven, of the higher consciousness and when it functions, its vibrations rush forth and blow off the din and dust of the lower triple body of mind, life and matter, it illumines the mind, energises the life-force, drives out the inertia from the physical body and softens it so that it releases the rasa of the all experiences it earned through the life and heart and mind. This, then, is the real character and function of the gräva that it is the Word of power issuing forth from the higher consciousness which is the domain of Indra, pregnant with the light of knowledge, but dynamic in its vibrant movement that renoves all kinds of coverings and effects with the blow it deals out to the being of the worshipper, yajamāna, the release of the essence of all delight lying latent and hidden in the vessel, ādhara, of the human being which is indicated by the symbol of the wooden mortar, ulūkhala.

2. There where the two platters (to hold the juice), like broad-hips, are laid, O Indra, drink with eagerness the effusions of the mortar.⁸⁶

Now in the external rite of Soma extraction pressing stones are used to crush the creeper, squeeze and make it soft and release the sap. This extraction is called abhishava. But the juice is received in two platters, called " adhi-savaņa phalaka". They are two shallow dishes, one to receive and and the other to cover. They are broad and likened to broad hips to denote that they are broad and always two, never one without the other.

In the inner sacrifice, these two platters are symbols of Earth and Heaven according to Brahmanic symbology in which case they are the lower physical consciousness and the higher consciousness of the luminous mind. But we do not follow the Brahmanas in unveiling the symbols as they are very often at variance with the many alternatives they themselves suggest or with other Brahmanic interpretations with the result that they become obscure to us. But they shed light on the truth that the stone, platters, mortar, wooden cup or pot, camasa and kalaša are all symbolic and should not be taken in their literal sense as unthinking priestcraft would do. The two platters are the mind and life in the body which represent the principles of knowledge and activity. These two are together engaged in receiving the rasa yielded by the mortar of the material body and are conjointly there to receive and preserve the juice, the substantial element in all experience for offering to the Gods. In fact it is the twin aspect of knowledge and action, mind and life quite in accord and proper adjustment that makes it possible to receive and preserve the extracted rasa which is their common aim and true function. This is in brief the inner meaning of the second verse. It must be noted here that the implements used in the ritual are all mentioned here one by one, at the same time used as symbols which are avowedly said to be symbols, as has been pointed out, and not our invention or the result of ingenious speculation. Now let us pass on to the third Rik.

3. Where (in the rite) the woman learns (or practises) the egress and ingress, O, Indra, drink with eagerness the effusions of the mortar.⁸⁷

This is an interesting Rik. The woman goes out of and comes into the sacrificial hall. The woman is the sacrificer’s wife. This is Sayana’s explanation of the terms, nāri, apacyava and upacyava. The point to be noted here is that no Vedic rite could be performed by any one without a wife. The idea is that the woman, as the Shakti of man, shares the act and its fruit with him whose Shakti she is. I have given egress and ingress as the English equivalents of apacyava and upacyava; it is not quite accurate and may even mislead, but it has the advantage of leaning more towards the ritualistic interpretation which is best represented in Sayana’s commentary. There other commentators, for instance, Skandaswami, giving a very ludicrous and vulgar meaning which does not merit notice here. Some modern scholars think that it is rise and fall of the pestle that the woman, the sacrificer’s wife marks and learns. But there is no actual mention of pestle at all as has been shown already. In this verse also the words used are significant pointing definitely to the true and inner meaning.

As the action of the Vedic Yoga proceeds, the rasa of the whole being of the Yogin the sacrificer, Yajamana, is pressed out and received in the two platters of life and mind in the body and this was stated in the second verse. In the third it is stated that the Shakti of the Purusha, the sacrificer constantly watches and observes and learns the Yogic process in which the higher Force comes down into the being, upacyava, and the force from the being goes up or out, apacyava, making way for the entry of the higher force into the being. Nari is Nara-Shakti and Nara is either man or God in the Veda denoting one of strength. The power, the Conscious Power of the powerful Soul, nara, watches the yogic process of the force of getting in from above and rising up from below, and thus learns, siksate, the secret of the yogic action which is fulfilled in pressing out the juice, the delight of all experiences of the being to be offered to the Higher Powers of the Godhead, the Gods. Thus an intimate knowledge of the secret of the upward and downward movement of the Yoga-force becomes a natural possession under the control of the conscious power of the strong soul that has the strength to give its all to the Gods and receive in return what comes from the Godhead.

4. Where, they fasten the churning staff with a rope as with reins to control (a horse), O, Indra, drink with eagerness the effusions of the mortar.⁸⁸

In the external rite of Soma extraction when the juice is pressed out, it is mixed with milk or curds or corn, yava. They are called the three infusions, gavā sira, dadhyasira and yavā sira respectively. When the Soma juice is to be mixed with this infusion, it is churned; the churning stick is moved by a rope placed round the handle and round a post planted in the ground as a pivot. When the ends of the rope are drawn backwards and forwards, it gives the stick a rotatory motion and the component parts are separated. Thus they tie the churning stick with cords for churning and steadying the vessel, just as with reins one restrains a horse.

In the inner sacrifice, from the play of the Yoga-force of knowledge and action through the concord of mind and life, the rasa, the flow of delight that is pressed out has to be retained in the body-vessel and not split; and for this purpose, the body must be made firm and strong and steady and this object is achieved by the spinal column, made steady charged with the vibrations of the higher consciousness brought by the favours and workings of the Higher Powers. Thus in the first four verses, the pressing out of Soma in the Yajamana’s being and the instruments used in the process are mentioned, and the Rishi calls upon Indra to come down and accept the offering of Soma that has been extracted with so much skill and toil and devotion.

The next four Riks are used in the act of straining the Soma juice received in the platters.

5. O, Mortar, if in truih thou art set in every house, here, give forth thy resplendent sound, like the victor’s drum.⁸⁹

Here is a pronounced difficulty in the gross sense. Now, the mortar is addressed and called upon to give a loud sound like the drum of the conquerors. Mortar never makes noise without the rapid rise and fall of the pestle which is nowhere mentioned in the whole hymn though grāva in the first verse is pressed to yield that meaning in the ritualistic interpretation as it has to be somehow managed. Now in the inner interpretation, the idea is quite clear. Mortar is of course the physical being. In every house, in cvcry man, there is a mortar, there is a material body but every body does not shed the precious juice. But, the Rishi says, you are splendid and have given out the essence of all the experiences for offering even though you are jada matter, thick with inertia and darkness. You have trained yourself to respond to the touches and influence of the higher Powers that are invoked by the Yajamana and have yielded the rasa of your being. Therefore you can loudly proclaim your victory over the tamasic forces that oppose the release of the rasa. Hence like the drum of the conqueror you can proclaim; it is not every mortar, the material body of every onc, that is so successful as you.

6. O, Lord of the Forest, the wind blows fast in front of thee, O Mortar, for Indra that he may drink, press forth the Soma juice.⁹⁰

Vanaspati, literally lord of the forest is used to indicate any tree or plant or part and product of the forest. Mortar being made of wood is addressed here Vanaspati. The mortar is called upon to press out the juice, and the wind blows fiercely, vivāli! How does the wind blowing fast or fiercely help the mortar to yield the juice? Sayana says the wind blows fast in front of the mortar because of the speed of the pestle’s constant blow! Where is the pestle in the Rik? Here again, the Rik is seemingly ritualistic, but really reveals secrets of the action of Yoga-force in the inner sacrifice. Mortar is indeed the material body; Vayu is the life-force which is stimulated and by far strengthened at this stage, thus helping the body to give out the rasa. Without a strong lifc-force awake and active nothing can be done in the body whatever may be the light of knowledge that may fall upon it; the light does not enter a feeble frame, and even if it enters the weak material cannot hold it without a strong vital support. Only when it is endowed with a strong and well-poised life-force in action, can the body be willing to give itself joyfully i.e., the rasa for Indra’s drink.

7. Implements of sacrifice, best of strength-givers, sport high on like the two bay-horses of Indra munching noisily.⁹¹

Here again, the dual number is used in the address. Who are addressed is left to be understood and in the ritualist’s interpretation, they are the inevitable pestle and mortar and they give food, vāja. They are the implements of sacrifice ayaji. Because of the movement of the pestle in the mortar, they give loud sound; uchcha is thus interpreted without warrant. The straight meaning is uchchaih vihara; they sport high on like the two horses of Indra champing grain.

In the esoteric interpretation, the implements are really the two platters; they are of the forest, vanaspati, as the next verse confirms by stating so expressly. They are the procurers of strength in its plenitude, vājasātamam. They sport high above, like Indra’s horses. Because of their conjoint action and movement in the upper regions of the being of the Yogin, the Yajamana, they procure strength increasingly and receive the rasa of the being for offering. Indra’s two horses are used as a simile here for their capacity for enjoyment. It is much more than a simile. Life and mind themselves representing force of action and light of knowledge are the twin vehicles of the Divine Mind, the ruler of the triple words and king of the Gods, Indra.

8. O, Lords of the forest, mighty with the mighty pressors, press out today the most sweet Soma juice for Indra’s drink.⁹²

Ṛṣhwā means great or mighty; to press out the juice strength is necessary; hence with the help of other priests present in the sacrifice the juice is to be pressed out of the platters.

But in the inner ritual, the Rishi calls upon the platters of Life and Mind to press out the Rasa with the help of the mighty Powers of Knowledge and Power who are ever ready to render assistance to the aspiring soul that has consecrated itself for the Godward life; and this demands the giving up of all one is and has for the acceptance and enjoyment of the higher Powers of the Universal Purusha to whom all that one is and has really belongs.

9. What remains, hold in the two chamasa vessels, pour the Soma on the filter and set the residue on the cow-hide.⁹³

In the ritual we know the juice is purified and strained and then poured into a large wooden cup or vessel called the drona-kalasha. The dregs are set in the cow-hide.

Thus the outer rite was rapidly performed straightway offering the beverage to Indra who is invoked to come down to drink in the first four Riks.

In the inner sacrifice, when we take into consideration the context, the chamu or the camasa is a bowl and the two bowls are nothing else but the cups of the vital body and the mental body which were referred to by the symbolic platters, when they were used for the extraction of the rasa. But now, when the process is complete they are referred to as separate vessels to signify the yogic secret that though life and mind function in the body as part of it, they really are separate entities and are separated by the Yoga-force for readjustment in the new set-up for the consummation of the Yoga. Those who have studied Sri Aurobindo on the Ribhus cannot fail to appreciate the Yogic fact that out of the one bowl, four bowls are made for the Yogin by the Ribhus, who were once human beings, but have become gods by dint of their tapasya and help Indra in a variety of ways; they are indeed “artisans of Immortality”. Thus the juice of delight is taken up in the two bowls of Life and Mind. They are then poured into the Kalasha which is the material body. The residue is kept in the hide of cow which is the covering and protection of the Ray of Light in the physical frame of man.

We have stated that symbolism is the key to unlock the secret of the Veda; but the device of symbolism dating back from the age of the Rig Veda has been used in the latter scriptures also, closing with the Epics, Puranas and Tantric works. But it is the Brahmanas following the Vedas that openly gave symbolic explanations of the rituals and necessarily of the hymns used in them and this fact was recognised by later authors in their commentaries on the Brahmanas and on the Upanishads which form parts of them. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad forms the close of the 14th chapter of the Shatapatha Brahmana. Out of a number of examples we shall choose one to show how symbols were interpreted by Acharyas like Shankara, though that does not mean they recognised the close-knit symbolism of the hymns of the Rig Veda rich with deep meaning and profound truths of spiritual wisdom. But it undoubtedly shows that these later teachers of Vedanta know that there are many passages in the Upanishads and the Veda Samhitas which are symbolic, while some others are riddles and puzzles and the like. The passage occurs in Br. Up. 2.2.3. It refers to a bowl camasa with its base or bottom above and opening below. Glory that is the universe of forms or the All-form is laid in it," says the text.⁹⁴

Now in unveiling the symbols of the Riks used in the rapid rite of Soma, we have taken the help of other passages of the Rig Veda and taken into account the Yajurveda, the Veda most important for the ritualist as well as some Brahmana passages that have bearing on the question. We have already spoken of the two platters — adhişavaniya — as symbolic and explained it in a way that fits in with the rest of the symbols in the rite. And the White Yajurveda and the Shatapatha Brahmana (2.9.4) proclaim them to be so, stating that the two platters are symbols of Earth and Heaven. With reference to gräva this Brahmana says it is vajra and the blow it gives destroys what it calls papmā, evil (or sin), the dark and opposing block of forces that prevents the release of the juice of delight, the flow of Soma; it is not the Soma that is destroyed, but the papmā, pāpma hataḥ, na somaḥ. The grava is above, its base is broad, the Vast above; it is the weapon of Indra who is above, it is Vajra in the outer world, but its character in the inner sense is Vak, speech, the Word from the higher heights coming from the region of the Indra. This is clear from many passages of the Rig Veda. The Gods are above and Indra is certainly above, he is invoked to come down to man and to accept his offering. He is there above, and lifts us, mortals that we may live above. We shall cite a few passages here:

1. O, Indra of hundred activities, stay on above for our growth (or protection) in this our toil for plenitude. . . . (1.30.6)

2. Stay on above like the God Savitri for our growth (or protection); Thou, above, bestower of plenitude. . . . (1.36.13)

3. Thou above, guard us from evil, with thy flame of Intuitive vision burn every devouring demon. ... .. (1.36.14)

Urdhva-budhna, uru-budhna, prthu-budhna are in frequent use in the hymns e.g. IV.2.5; 1.169.6; X.47.3. This budhna is the base or foundation which is said to be above, urdhva, extensive and vast, uru, broad and wide, expansive, prthu. It is used as an adjective to grīvā and to some other things that are to come from above, related to the Gods. In a verse Indra is called upon to bestow upon the Rishi the wealth which is at once deep, gabhira, wide and vast, uru, based in the vast, prthu-budhna. It is an interesting Rik which reveals the real nature of the wealth above for which the Rishis prayed and toiled. “Riches, "Riches,—full of powerful Mantras (su-brahmanam) God-possessing, high above, wide and based on vast foundations above, virile with the Rishi’s inspiration, conquering the enemy (that is the opposing force) – such riches, mighty and colourful, vouchsafe to us” (X.47.3). Similar is the Stone, Indra’s grāvā of the lofty heights. It is the Heaven’s bolt of thunder which is indeed a symbol of the voice of Indra above which is invoked to drop down for the destruction of the enemy (I1.30.5). The “Stone” voices with the sound of the singer’s chant (1.83.6). The “Stone” attracts with its voice the mind of Indra (1.84.3). “Go you both (Indra and Vayu) there where the stone voices forth ” (1.135.17). Again, the stones of the lofty heights (III.53.12), voiceful stone laid on the altar” (V.31.4), a variegated stone set in the midst of Heaven (V.47.3). These “stones” are of Heaven and from the heights of being; they are not of earth, not the common stones used to press the creeper Soma. For the Soma is of Heaven and pressed by the symbolic stones for offering to the Gods, tam twām devebhyo grāvābhiḥ sutaḥ (IX.80.4), “pressed by the Stone, O, Soma, you enter the sieve strainer bestowing valiant strength on the chanter” (IX.67.19). These are a few lines out of the hundreds one frequently comes across in the hymns that go to show that the “ Stone” and other objects used in the ritual are symbolic and reveal the inner truths of the Vedic Yoga of which the seers were adepts. We shall close this short study with one last reference to a Rik in Vamadeva’s hymns (IV.27.5) where the kalasha though outwardly a beaker, refers certainly to the body. It is a famous hymn quoted in the Upanishads and as such is admittedly, even according to the ritualistic commentaries, rich with spiritual truths and therefore of inner significance.

“Let Indra accept the white beaker, annointed with the cow’s yield, filled with the luminous liquid etc.” Here the beaker, kalasha, is the drona-kalasha used in the rite. But it is symbolic and indicates the body which is annointed with the Ray of Light, it is “white" i.e., it is pure and filled with the shining rasa, the liquid of Soma, Delight. Here is a fine specimen of a hymn which openly proclaims the spiritual truth of Vamadeva in the womb for Divine birth and his experience in the iron-gated cities etc.; it uses plainly, in the last verse quoted above, ritualistic objects. This would be incongruous in the extreme, if something deeper were not meant, deeper than the beaker and milk and the juice of a creeper.

Such is the character of the Vedic ritual meant for outward worship; such is the nature of the symbolic objects prayed for and the materials used in the sacrificial rite; such also is the nature of the deeper truths of the hymns which keep to the inner sense quite closely and yet maintain to a large extent the outward form and meaning suitable to the understanding and use of the un-initiate. The salient feature that must be noted is this that while the hymns occasionally throw the exoteric sense overboard when so warranted by a necessity for the esoteric pressing overtly for prominence, still in most hymns the outer meaning leaps to the eye and the hymn 1.28 used in the rite of Anjah-sava is a typical example to show that the ritual is no ordinary rite and that the hymn is not an offhand or laboured composition of the priestcraft, that it has a revelatory significance and meaning deeper than what strikes the mind at first thought. And Shunah-shepa is a seer of renown, a seer whose victorious release from the triple bond of mind and life and body has given rise to allegories and impossible legends, whose other hymns, and many Riks in them, rank high among the plainly spiritual passages of lofty ideas and occult truths in the hymnal text. Thus when we study the hymns with the necessary background the secret of the Veda becomes apparent, the inner truth becomes lucid and transparent and we begin to appreciate more fully and intelligently the Master’s words that the Vedic Seer was also a priest who officiated at public sacrifices and chanted the hymns whose real purport, the inner truth of Divine Wisdom was known to him and the initiate.

First published: 1948; reprinted 1966.

SRI AUROBINDO AND THE VEDA

(1)⁹⁶

WHEN we write in a recognised and conventional imagery, Lakshmi and Sarasvati refuse to dwell under one roof”, the European reader may need a note or a translation of the phrase in its plain unfigured thought, “Wealth and learning seldom go together", before he can understand, but every Indian already possesses the sense of the phrase. But if another culture and religion had replaced the Puranic and the Brahmanical and the old books and the Sanskrit language and ceased to be read and understood, this now familiar phrase would have been as meaningless in India as in Europe. Some infallible commentator or ingenious scholar might have been proving to our entire satisfaction that Lakshmi was the Dawn and Sarasvati the Night or that they were two irreconcilable chemical substances — or one knows not what else!

It is something of this kind that has overtaken the ancient clarities of the Veda; the sense is dead and only the obscurity of a forgotten poetic form remains.

Wherever we can seize human society in what to us seem its primitive beginnings, no matter whether the race is cultured or savage or economically advanced or backward, — we do find a strongly symbolic mentality governing its thought, customs and institutions. We find that this social stage is always profoundly religious and imaginative in its religion; symbolism and a widespread imaginative or intuitive religious feeling go together; when man begins to be predominantly intellectual, sceptical, rationcinative, he is already preparing for an individualist society and the age of symbols and the age of conventions have passed. The symbol then is of something which man feels to be present behind himself and his life and his activities — the Divine, the Gods, the vast and deep unnameable, a hidden, living and mysterious nature of things. All this religious and social institutions, all the moments and phases of his life are to him symbols in which he seeks to express what he knows or guesses of the mystic influences which are behind them and shape and govern them.

If we look at the beginnings of Indian society, the far off Vedic age which we no longer understand, for we have lost that mentality, we see that everything is symbolic. The religious institution of Sacrifice governs the whole society and all its hours and moments, and the ritual of the sacrifice is at every turn and every detail, as even a cursory study of the Brahmanas and Upanishads ought to show us, mystically symbolic. The theory that there was nothing in the sacrifice except a propitiation of Nature-gods for the gaining of worldly prosperity and of Paradise, is a misunderstanding by a later humanity which had already become profoundly affected by an intellectual and practical bent of mind, practical even in its religion and even in its own mysticism and symbolism and therefore could no longer enter into the ancient spirit.

Veda, then, is the creation of an age anterior to our intellectual philosophies. In that original epoch thought proceeded by other methods than those of our logical reasoning, and speech accepted modes of expression which in our modern habits would be inadmissible. The wisest then depended on inner experience and the suggestions of the intuitive mind for all knowledge that ranged beyond ordinary perceptions and daily activities. Their aim was illumination, not logical conviction, their ideal, the inspired seer, not the accurate reasoner.

Indian tradition has faithfully preserved this account of the origin of the Vedas. The Rishi was not the individual composer of the hymn, but the seer, drastā, of an eternal truth and an impersonal knowledge. The language of the Veda itself is śruti, a rhythm not composed by the intellect but heard, a divine Word that came vibrating out of the Infinite to the inner audience of the man who had previously made himself fit for the impersonal knowledge. The words themselves, drşți and fruti, sight and hearing, are Vedic expressions; these and cognate words signify in the esoteric terminology of the hymns, revelatory knowledge and the contents of inspiration.

The hymns possess indeed a finished metrical form, a constant subtlety and skill in their technique, great variations of style and poetical personality; they are not the work of crude, barbarous and primitive craftsmen, but the living breath of a supreme and conscious art forming its creations in the puissant but well-governed movement of a self-observing inspiration.

Still all these high gifts have deliberately been exercised within one unvarying framework and always with the same materials. For the art of expression was to the Rishis only a means, not an aim; their principal preoccupation was strenuously practical, almost utilitarian in the highest sense of utility. The hymn was to the Rishi who composed it a means of spiritual progress for himself and for others. It rose out of his soul, it became a power of his mind, it was the vehicle of his self-expression in some important or even critical moment of his life’s inner history.

When we note the invariable fixity of Vedic thought in conjunction with its depth, richness and subtlety, we may reasonably argue that such a fixed form and substance would not easily be possible in the beginnings of thought and psychological experience or even during their early progress and unfolding. The actual Samhita of the Rig Veda, the true and only Veda in the estimation of European scholars, represents the close of a period, not its commencement, nor even some of its successive stages. The whole voluminous mass of its litanies may be only a selection by Veda Vyasa out of a more richly vocal Aryan past. Made, according to the common belief, by Krishna of the isle, Dvaipayana, the great traditional sage, the colossal compiler (Vyasa), with his face turned towards the commencement of the Iron Age, towards the centuries of increasing twilight and final darkness, it is perhaps only the final testament of the Ages of Intuition, the luminous Dawns of the Forefathers to their descendants, to a human race already turning in spirit towards the lower levels and the more easy and secure gains of the physical life and of the intellect and the logical reason.

It is certain that the old tradition of a progressive obscuration and loss of the Veda as the law of the human cycle has been fully justified by the event. The obscuration had already proceeded far before the opening of the next age of Indian spirituality, the Vedantic, which struggled to preserve or recover what it yet could of the ancient knowledge.

The Brahmanas and the Upanishads are the record of a powerful revival which took the sacred text and ritual as a starting point for a new statement of spiritual thought and experience. This movement had two complementary aspects, one, the conservation of the forms, another the revelation of the soul of the Veda, the first represented by the Brahmanas, the second by the Upanishads.

These hymns have been the reputed source not only of some of the world’s richest and profoundest religions, but of some of its subtlest metaphysical philosophies. In the fixed tradition of thousands of years they have been revered as the origin and standard of all that can be held as authoritative and true in Brahmana and Upanishad, in Tantra and Purana, in the doctrines of great philosophical schools and in the teachings of famous saints and sages.

But if we accept the current interpretations and study the hymns of the Rig Veda in the light of Acharya Sayana’s great commentary on which European scholarship mostly depends for its naturalistic theory of the Veda, what do we find ? It is the ritualistic conception that pervades; that is the persistent note in which the old spiritual, philosophic or psychological interpretations of the Shruti which were the true foundation of its sanctity lose themselves. It is the most egoistic and materialistic objects that are proposed as the aim of the sacrifice — possessions, power, children, servants, gold, horses, cows, victory, the slaughter and plunder of enemies, the destruction of rival and malevolent critic.

As one reads hymn after hymn interpreted in this sense, one begins to understand better the passage of the Gita (11.42) censuring the champions of an exclusive Vedism, yet regarding always the Veda as Divine knowledge (XV.15).

The hypothesis on which Sri Aurobindo conducts his enquiry is that the Veda has a double aspect and that the two, though closely related, must be kept apart. The Rishis arranged the substance of their thought in a system of parallelism by which the same deities were at once the internal and external Powers of universal Nature, they managed its expression through a system of double values by which the same language served for their worship in both aspects. But the psychological sense predominates and is more pervading, close-knit and coherent than the physical. The Veda is primarily intended to serve for spiritual enlightenment and self-culture. It is this sense that is restored to the hymns in the writings of Sri Aurobindo on Veda and Vedic symbolism.

The Vedic Deities are Names, Powers, Personalities of the universal Godhead and they represent each some essential puissance of the Divine Being. They manifest the Cosmos and are manifest in it. Children of the Light, Sons of the Infinite, they recognise in the soul of man their brother and ally and desire to help and increase him by themselves increasing in him so as to possess his world with their light, strength and beauty. The Gods call man to a divine companionship and alliance; they attract and uplift him to their fraternity, invite his aid and offer theirs against the Sons of Darkness and Division. Man in return calls the Gods to his sacrifice, offers to them his swiftnesses and his strengths, his clarities and his sweetnesses and receives them into his being and their gifts into his life.

Once we have the key, it is easy to understand the Vedic imagery; but it must not be mistaken for mere imagery. The Gods are not simply poetical personifications of abstract ideas or of psychological and physical functions of Nature. To the Vedic seers they are living realities; the vicissitudes of the human soul represent a cosmic struggle not merely of principles and tendencies but of the cosmic Powers which support and embody them. These are the Gods and the Demons. On the world-stage and in the individual soul the same real drama with the same personages is enacted.

II

We have presented a summary account of Sri Aurobindo’s views on Vedic thought, giving extracts from his writings on the subject, drawing pointed attention to the symbolic character of the Vedic sacrifice, to the double sense and use of the Vedic hymns and to the reality of the Gods addressed by the Vedic seers.

Here we shall give a hymn selected from the translation of Sri Aurobindo as an example out of the hundreds of these ancient litanies which to us are the remnant records of high spiritual discipline followed by the Rishis in the Vedic Yoga. But it is necessary to bear in mind some of the central ideas of Vedic thought for a correct approach to and proper appreciation of the spirit and sense of these Mantras.

The Vedic Gods are not the creations of poetic fancy, nor phantoms floating in the minds of the soma-intoxicated, nor are they abstract ideas of metaphysical seeking. They are names, powers and personalities of the universal Godhead; they manifest the cosmos and are manifest in it. They help the soul of man in his onward march from darkness to light, from disharmony to harmony, from imperfection to perfection, they increase him by themselves increasing in him. To the Vedic seers they are living realities.

Gotama Rahugana is the seer of the hymn of which the translation is given here and the God that is hymned is Agni. This Deva of the Vedic pantheon is the most universal of the Vedic Gods, being the Divine Will at Work in the universe. Though his own home is high above beyond the Mind-world in the Svar, he comes down to Earth (as Creation proceeds from above downwards) and functions as the fire that assimilates and the heat of energy that forms. Next, he is equally the heat of life and creates the sap, the rasa, in things, the essence of their substantial being. Then he is equally the Will in prāņa, the dynamic Life-energy. Ascending still higher as upward development proceeds, he transfigures his powers into the energies of Mind. Our passions and emotions are the smoke of Agni’s burning. All our nervous forces are assured of their action only by his support.

If he is Will in the nervous being and purifies it by action, he is also the Will in the mind and clarifies it by aspiration. When he enters the intellect, he is drawing near his own Home, his divine birth-place. It is thither that he is leading upward the aspiration in humanity, the Soul of the Aryan, the head of the Cosmic Sacrifice.

It is at the point where there is the possibility of transition from Mind to Supermind, at this supreme and crucial point in the Vedic Yoga that the Rishi Gotama seeks in himself for the inspired word.

Agni, the Illumined Will⁹⁷

1. How shall we give to Agni? For him what Word accepted by the Gods is spoken, for the lord of the brilliant flame? for him who in mortals, immortal, possessed of the Truth, priest of the oblation strongest for sacrifice, creates the Gods?

2. He who in the sacrifices is the priest of the offering, full of peace, full of the Truth, him verily form in you by your surrenderings; when Agni manifests for the mortals the gods, he also has perception of them and by the mind offers to them the sacrifice.

3. For he is the will, he is the strength, he is the effecter of perfection, even as Mitra, he becomes the charioteer of the Supreme. To him, the first, in the rich-offerings the people seeking the Godhead utter the word, the Aryan people to the fulfiller.

4. May this strongest of the Powers and devourer of the destroyers manifest by his presence the Words and their understanding, and may they who in their extension are lords of plenitude brightest in energy pour forth their plenty and give their impulsion to the thought.

5. Thus has Agni, possessed of the Truth, been affirmed by the masters of light, the knower of the worlds by clarified minds. He shall foster in them the force of illumination, he too the plenty; he shall attain to increase and to harmony by his perceptions.

SPHOTA AND THE SPOKEN WORD

When we look closely into the original character of human speech and make an attempt to appreciate the potency of linguistic expression, Sanskrit language and standard authors on Sanskrit Grammar lend us a powerful helping hand leading us to deliberate upon the psychological and spiritual element in the very act of human speech. We find that some of the precepts of Sanskrit Grammar are capable of universal application and are based on principles that govern the laws of the origin and development of word-sound. In these ancient and original authorities we are confronted with profound ideas that are thought-stimulants and urge the mind to sound deeper and discover the bases on which they are justifiably conceived. The philosophical implications are often far-reaching when we consider their views on the question of word in relation to its meaning, or on the psychological process involved in the expression of significant sounds, or on the spiritual character at the source as distinguished from the external, the physical and effectual aspect of human speech.

Here in a brief compass we shall consider the question of Sphota, one of those concepts of Sanskrit Grammar which has a deep philosophic background and spiritual significance, and goes a long way to enable us to grasp the characteristic features of the language of a remote past, of an original epoch — the language which has come down to us in the form of mantras, the Riks of the Rig Veda. It would be helpful to start with some of the rudiments of Sanskrit Grammar and note the manner of investigation undertaken by these ancient thinkers. To being with:

In the nineteenth century European scholars made the startling discovery that many thousands of words can be resolved into a smaller number of roots. The guiding light in the endeavour was their knowledge of Sanskrit. But in the very dawn of Aryan history the same result, and much more in the line, was achieved by Sanskrit grammarians of whom Panini is the last notable name — notable for the complete system of Grammar that he has bequeathed to us. For all the originality and skill in devising the technique for building the system on scientific basis, Panini would have remained a sealed casket, had not Patanjali given us the Mahabhashya, the great Commentary on the aphorisms of Ashtadhyayi. With Patanjali Grammar is a regular Science. His work is a monument of critical acumen. It is here that we learn that the rules of Sanskrit Grammar unfold the laws that regulate the growth and formation of word-sounds, of linguistic forms. Here, in these rules as explained by Patanjali with illustrations taken from life, we have concise formulae of the science of human speech itself. In fact, it is the discovery of the Mahabhashya in the last century that gave birth to the Science of language.⁹⁸

Now let us take up the question of prakrti the uninflected state of a word, noun or verb. Though the prakyti is said to be two fold, that of the noun being termed prátipadika and that of the verb, dhātu, strictly speaking, it is reducible to only one, dhătu, since all nouns are generally derived from dhatus. What exactly is the significance of dhātu? In the Mahabhashya (Pan. I.3.1) Patanjali discusses this question and states that dhātu is expressive of krijā, action and that it expresses bhāva. But by bhāva we understand existence, satta, not action. How can we reconcile the two—kriya and bhava? We have to bear in mind that in Grammar when we speak of bhāva we use it to denote the state or condition of a thing; the abstract form of ghața, pot, is ghațatva, potness — the state of being a ghața, which is at the same time the intrinsic quality, the special property by which ghața is distinguished from all that is not ghața; therefore this ghațatva is the jäti, the class element common to all ghațas. But all objects which are signified by words are understood by us to exist; and existence or sattā is jāti or class. Thus bhäva or sattă is expressed by dhatu. But the root is said to be expressive of kriya, action. How can bhāva or sattă be taken for kriya? The grammarians say that there is action involved in all existences. Everything is in a state of flux, na hi kaşcit svasmin åtmani muhūrtam avatişthate (there is nothing that subsists in its form for a moment). Every bhäva undergoes a sixfold change, şadbhavavikärāh, according to the ancient grammarians. It is not the classification of vikära, change, into six divisions that is important. It is the constant change to which bhāva (every thing existent in the world) is subject that is what is to be recognised. In fact the word jagat (world) itself connotes that incessant change is what characterises the world, gacchati iti jagat.

It must be noted that when Patanjali says that dhatu is expressive of bhāva, bhāva-vacano dhātuh, he means “ becoming"; bhāva is bhāvanā, utpadanā kriyā. It is derived from bhū of the tenth conjugation meaning "to produce”.⁹⁹

Now the question arises as to words having definite meanings. Why should Go, cow, signify the particular quadruped known to the speaker and the hearer? Is it not due to an established convention by which meanings of word-sounds are conveyed and understood? The answer lies in understanding the character of the necessity that was the parent of human speech. If speech were primarily an intellectual necessity, men could agree upon a conventional equivalence between sound and sense, and any sound could mean any sense by common consent. But that does not seem to be the case. Sanskrit grammarians hold that śabda, the word, has sakti, an intrinsic power to convey the sense which is inseparably related to it. There are indeed certain words which are sañjñā sabda, technical or proper names that are conventional by consent. Again, there is another class of words, such as Kāka, Kokila, which are vocal reproductions of sounds heard in Nature, śabdanukytiḥ. The mimetic urge in the human creature is a living voice that motivates the kind of nervous response to the stimulus of the environment – a response that translates itself into vocal expression. Intellectual development in the human race may impose itself upon, subordinate or subdue the innate imitative tendency in human nature, but its natural disposition to reproduce is a primal factor which is as much nervous and vital as psychological. Human language itself in the beginning was a natural expression in terms of vocal sound, reacting to the sensations and feelings evoked by the forces of the environment or impelled by subjective phenomena. Apart from the element of mimesis in the primitive vocal expression, the word-sound has a natural power to convey the sense. In the words of Sri Aurobindo, “It started from an indefinable quality or property in the sound to raise certain vibrations in the life-soul of the human creature, in his sensational, emotional, his crude mental being. Words had not only a real and vivid life of their own, but the speaker was more conscious of it than we can possibly be with our mechanised and sophisticated intellects."

The question of word, meaning and their relation is subjected to subtle scrutiny and discussed in great detail by all schools of Indian thought.¹⁰⁰

Let us at the outset state in clear terms what is meant by śabda. In Sanskrit, any sound, the sound of a drum or the sound of a syllable in articulate speech is denoted by śabda, dhvanyātmaka and varnātmaka; it is the latter that is the subject of our enquiry. We use it in the sense of a word, vocal sound, väk. In all things that are expressed by vāk, speech, there are two factors we have to distinguish clearly in order to avoid confusion and arrive at the real character of sabda. There is, first, the external aspect, the audibility, the mere sound; the other factor is the subtler which is the essential sound element, vibrant with the meaning natural to it, not audible to the physical hearing, but clothed in the audible sound through which it expresses itself. The physical and the instrumental aspect is the normal sound dhvani which is a quality of the essential inner sound, śabda, which is itself sensible, carries sense with it, and is manifested every time a word is heard or uttered. The essential factor in speech is the real sabda, called sphoța by the grammarians, and the outwardly audible sound is dhvani,—a quality of the former, sphotah sabdah dhvanih sabdagunah.¹⁰¹

Accordingly, grammarians divide sabda into two kinds, kārya and nitya; kārya is what is produced and nitya is what is not produced, but is permanent, continual, fixed or eternal. It is not unoften that confusion has clouded the import of the statement “ nityah sabdah”. Often nitya is translated "eternal" in the sense of "Indestructible", "immutable", avicali, kūtastha etc. context, Patanjali, in the first Ahnika of the Mahabhashya explains the various senses in which nitya is used and adds that words are not produced by men, just as a potter does a pot.¹⁰²

We have mentioned the two aspects of sabda, dhvani and sphota; but sphota itself has two aspects as stated, above; it is manifested by utterances, and makes known the sense that is inalienable from it. And this fact we have to bear in mind in view of its equation with the Eternal Word Nityā vāk, urged by reputed grammarians to which we would presently refer.

Thus far the position of the grammarians is intelligible, when we look at speech in its psychological aspect. Those who oppose the Sphota theory take their stand on the word in its external aspect and rightly consider sabda in their sense of the word as anitya, as do the Naiyāyikas; or even when it is stated to be eternal"nitya as is done by the Mimamsakas, it is in the sense of eternality of every letter, the most outward form of śabda. They all refute the Sphotavada,¹⁰⁷

It is difficult to determine the philosophic basis of Sphota theory as conceived by Patanjali. Panini perhaps knew it; but there is no mention of it in his work. There is a sutra in the Ashtadhyayi where the word Sphotayana occurs;¹⁰⁸

It is in the Vakyapadiya of Bhartrihari that we find the first section, called Brahmakāņda treating of the subject of Sphota as a grammatical concept with a philosophical background. As the title of the section implies, the world of sound, sabda, is described here as a manifestation of Brahman, sabdatmakam Brahma. Further, the author goes on to say that the world of objects, arthaprapañca itself is a manifestation of sabda, that the universe is born of chandas.¹⁰⁹

These verses look a paraphrase of Vedic passages, such as "The Word itself became all the worlds”, vägeva vișā bhuvanāni jajñe. Linking the Sphota of the grammarian with the soul, he says, “The inner cogniser who abides in the form of the subtle vāk, word, manifests himself as sabda, in order to express his nature (his own form).”¹¹⁰

Bhartrihari states that the whole world of objects is pervaded by Maha-satta which is the All-Existence as well as the Mahan Atma, the great Soul. In his view, the import of every sentence is a vivid or illumined conception of this maha satta (vākyartha eva pratibha). If this be the import of every sentence in human speech it is opposed to our experience, for we do not have or get the sense or feeling of the Mahan Atma on hearing a sentence. For example, devadattaḥ pacati, “Devadatta cooks.” Hari’s explanation is that the sense of every sentence culminates in sattā, that the inner cogniser, already mentioned, who abides in the form of the subtle vāk, manifests his own form svarūpa in the import of every sentence which is sattā, being or existence. It is indeed a hard nut to crack when the world of differentiated existence is reduced to Mahasatta, and the differences in arthas and sabdas are traced to Para Brahman and Sabda Brahman and ultimately negatived. But Hari comes with the illustration of objects seen differently from distances or in darkness, but presenting their real character ultimately when approached in light. This analogy is given to show that sentences are split into words and the latter into their bases and inflectional elements and the process is not real, though necessary to lead to the vākyartha.¹¹²

It is not our purpose to elucidate what all Bhartrihari has stated on Sphota and Vakyartha. It is to illustrate how he has presented the theory of Sphota the above examples were warranted and given. Nor is it necessary to discuss what later authors have added, much less to examine how far are reliable certain statements with reference to sphota, such as “Omkara (Pranava) is the same as Sphota”, “Sphota is audible to the yogin when he concentrates in the heart”, “The Madhyama nāda is the sphota and vaikhari¹¹³

In their zeal to establish the sphota-väda on what they thought to be stronger grounds, later authors have gone the length of identifying the inner sound (that one hears by closing the ears with fingers) with the Sphota, Madhyama Våk which again is the Pranava, the creative word, the śabda Brahman! It is not that we doubt that Náda is heard in Yoga. Let us leave aside the inward sound that is heard by closing the ears, or in ordinary Japa; for this is rather too gross and mechanical to merit notice. It is certainly a fact of yogic experience that näda is heard in certain lines of yogic practice, not one kind of nāda, but many kinds; and the näda that the yogin hears need not be of a short duration, it can continue for a long time, it can be constant also. But is that the Sphota? That is the question. Is that the Sphota of which Patanjali speaks when he distinguishes it from dhvani? Is that the sphota of which Bhartrihari speaks as the inner cogniser, antaro jnātā, who takes on the subtle word-form to manifest himself?

Now we shall turn to the ſabda-brahman with which sphota is equated, or even identified and see how far and in what sense this is reasonable. Brahman is the word for the Mantra in the Vedic language. The Veda is called Brahmakośa, since it is the repository of knowledge in the form of Sabda. The ultimate Truth which is the source and mainstay of world-existence, the supreme Being all-pervasive and beyond and without which there is nothing, is called Brahman in the later portions of the Vedas, the Upani sads. Though, as in the Gita, by śabda-brahman the Vedas are meant, the Agamas (Tantras) and the Puranas with the general support of the Vedic wisdom interpret Para Brahman as the supreme Artha and sabda-brahman as the sakti inherent in it. In other words, if the supreme meaning, paramärtha, of All-Existence is Isvara, Isvari is the sabda, the inseparable sakti, the Power of manifestation. In Creation, it is said, the Sabda-ssyți precedes arthasysți. It is the Creative Word, Vak, the primordial sound that manifests the world of objects, artha. Vak, sabda, is sakti, the dynamic principle of Creation, the Force of the substance which is the Artha. And without artha, Sabda has nothing to manifest and artha is unmanifest without sabda. And this certainly corresponds to the ancient truth that sakti is inseparable from śiva and has no existence without Him, while He has no manifestation without Her. That is why Sanskrit thinkers use the simile of Sun and sunlight, or Fire and heat to explain the character of siva-ſakti union, which, as we have seen, is also the relation of Vag-artha—a profound truth transparent in the poetic utterance of Kalidasa in the invocatory verse of his great Poem.

This view, then, makes it clear that what is called sabda-brahman in the sense of sakti or expressive Force is the efficient cause of world-existence, while the Substance, the material cause is Para Brahman. But when it is used in the sense of Vedas, it is the Primordial Eternal sensible Sound, which is the Immutable repository of Vibrant Intelligence whence spring the Vedas, all words of Wisdom and Works. It is signified by the mystic syllable OM, which is as much a symbol as ’a living word expressive of the “Immutable, supreme Ether or Akāśā” (Aksaram paramam vyoma). Here again, it is not the external aspect of the letter, but the inner sensible sound OM that raises the necessary set of vibrations to manifest the sense of the Supreme Being, Išvara, in the consciousness of the utterer and the hearer. Apart from its inherent potency as the Sound-substance of all sounds, Om is used in the Sanskrit language as a word of affirmation and sanction. The Chandog ya Upanişad calls it anujñakşara the word of sanction or approval. In classical Sanskrit and in conversation, it is a word of agreement or affirmation conveying the sense of “O yes”. How this syllable of sanction is also the name expressive of Isvara is an interesting question which need not be discussed here. It is called pranava, because it is highly praised, prakar şeņa nāyate stūyate iti pranavaḥ.¹¹⁴

Undoubtedly, it is this praṇava, Om that represents the Eternal Word, nitya vak of the Rig Veda. The rșis of that age knew the Word Eternal to which they resorted for the discovery of the Inspired speech to express their truth-visions. Because those words of Inspiration came forth from that Eternal Word, they were not treated as separate from, but adored as identical with that supreme source, the Word of all words. The rșis speak of the Riks as the Eternal Word. The power of the word was a self-evident truth with the rșis of the Rig Veda, a fact of their common experience. There are seers who sing the glory of the mantras carved by the heart, hrda tasțān manträn; Rsi parāśara describes the Power of Word: “Our fathers by their word, the Angiras seers, broke the strong and stubborn places, our fathers burst by their cry the rock of the mountain, made within us the path to the Great Heaven, discovered the Day and the sun-world and thought-vision and the herds of light.”¹¹⁵

Dirghatamas, the seer, known for his enigmatic hymns, is for once quite plain in speaking of the Riks as located in the Immutable, most High, akāśa. Here is the first half of the Rik:

“ṛco akṣare parame vyoman yasmin devā adhi viṣve nisedutḥ.” “The Riks abide in the Immutable, supreme Ether where are seated all the Gods.” (R.V.I. 164.39).

Thus will be seen the sacred character of the Hymns of The Rig Veda. It is because of the internal evidence which is the evidence of the Riks themselves referring to the source of their revelation, great authorities and thinkers of ancient times revered the Vedic texts as sacred. In our own times, to the discerning eye of Sri Aurobindo, it (the hymn) is “a means of spiritual progress for himself (the ?și) and for others. It arose out of his soul, it became a power of his mind, it was the vehicle of his self-expression in some important or even critical moment of his life’s inner history. It helped him express the God in him, to destroy the devourer.” These are not "pastoral songs " nor are they invocations to the mere “forces of Nature” as is supposed by modern scholarship supported to some extent by Sāyanācārya’s ritualistic and one-sided interpretation of the Vedas. The Vedic poets are seers with a spiritual vision and the mantras are inspired words of Truth-vision of these seers who belonged to a remote age, an age of Intuition and direct perception, of living and self-conscious speech when the age of Reason was still far off in the womb of the future.

The character of the age determined the character and function of the language. In that far off epoch,“ The word for the Vedic rșis is still a living thing, a thing of power, creative and formative. It is not yet a conventional symbol of an idea, but itself the parent and former of ideas. It carries within it the memory of its root, is still conscient of its history” (Arya, Vol. I. p. 346). From such illuminating passages we can see that the rșis were not system-builders we are familiar with, not thinkers to whom the realities of subtler existence, of mind and soul are abstractions. To the Vedic seer-poet drastā Kavih, “ All experience is real, vivid, sensible, even concrete.”

This is the story of the śabda-Śakti. Its origins are to be sought in the Vedas, the earliest available records of literary language in the history of mankind. As has been already stated, the felt potency inherent in the word was an experience common to the rșis and therefore a recognised fact. When in later ages the original character of speech changed and became more and more conventional, the speech, Vāk, became a servant of the mind, a conventional sign, vocal symbol of an idea. Thinkers, like the Vaiſeșikas, came with the theory that the convention that particular words shall have particular meanings is God’s Will, Iśvarecchā. In other words, the relation of word to its meaning is conventional, sāñketika. But it is the school of grammarians that did not accept the mechanical character of speech as the real sabda. It upheld the original nature and function of speech, expounded the fakti, the innate power of the word, and laid stress on the psychological and spiritual factor in all speech. And in interpreting this subtler aspect influenced by the Vedic tradition, it propounded what is called the “ Theory of Sphota ". In fact, Sphota is not a theory, though one may call it a justifiable assumption for purposes of dialectics.

Before concluding, let us sum up the position of the sphoțavādin and draw pointed attention to the salient features of the Sphoța that have bearing on language and literature. The Sphotavadin holds that a word, whether it is a single letter or a number of letters, can not by virtue of its being a sound-form convey the intended sense but for the fact that there is a permanent form of the word in the subjective being; that the subjective being, the inner cogniser, as related to the world-existence is a constant vibrant Intelligence that assumes the form of the permanent, impartible word, called Sphota; that the uttered word is formal and qualitative and points to the real and substantial word which is inseparable from its meaning; that the qualitative word of letters in which the order of letters is maintained is called dhvani, while the real word, ſabda, called Sphota to which the former is related is indivisible, has no parts and hence the question of the order of letters does not arise; that it is the dhvani that suggests or manifests the sensible word, sabda ; that what we call synonymous words are, strictly speaking, different words implying minute differences in the meanings conveyed and but for the subtle difference in the senses many words to denote the same idea or object would be without purpose. Broadly, this covers the main conclusions of the grammarians as regards Sphota in its relation to language in general.

But the consequence of the grammarians’ conception of Sphota on Literature and Poetics in particular has been far-reaching. Of all the śāstras the prestige of Vyakarana is great, being a limb of the Vedic studies, Vedāñga. Sanskrit rhetors of high repute have always held the views of Grammarians in reverential esteem. They took the cue from the Sphota behind the veil of dhvani and developed their theory of dhvani (suggestion) as being the soul of Poetry, kavyasya ātmā dhvaniḥ. Whoever may be the originator of the theory, it was Anandavardhana who elaborately dealt with the subject and was supported and followed by powerful critics, from Manmata to Jagannatha. It may not be out of place here to mention that some of their views on Poetry would appear quite modern and deserve to endure as long as Poetry lives and has value for us. These ancient writers on Poetics hold that Poetry need not be in verse and can be in prose as well, that even in verse rhyme is not compulsory. In Sanskrit Poetry where there is indulgence in word-jingling, citrakāvya, while the sonorous word is not commensurate with sense and suggestion, it is considered to be bases tuff (adhama-kāvya), clownish, vulgarising the high office of Poetry by jugglery in verbiage. Suggestive poetry (dhvani-kāvya) is the best form of Poetry. Suggestive of what? Suggestive of truth or idea or fact, of a figure or image, or of rasa, what is inadequately translated as flavour. Suggestive Poetry is excellent and ideal because there it is the suggestion, dhvani, that predominates, while the sound and sense subserve the soul of Poetry. The special function of Poetry is to appeal to the aesthetic soul, rasika, steal into the heart profound truths and ideas or awaken it through higher emotions to the Self-delight of the Spirit, the true Rasa of which the nine rasas are figures in terms of the emotional mind.

Religious scriptures teach us profound truths indeed; they instruct us as to what is and what is not to our good; but they do it as the master commands his servant. Other subordinate texts and sacred legends of ancient times, instruct and advise; but they do it as friend advises friend. But Poetry brings about the same result in her peculiar way; she does not command like a master, as do the Scriptures; she does not advice like a friend, as do the Purāṇas; she accomplishes her object by an intimate appeal, as the beloved wins the heart of her lover, by her charm of address and resonant sense, by a pleasing tact of expression laden with suggestions, finding her way straight to the soul of her lower, for his acceptance and delectation. Such is the value and high purpose of Poetry according to Sanskrit rhetoricians.

Thus it will be seen that the Sphota of the Grammarians has played not a small part in the development of the dhvani school of thought in poetics. If the Sphota has inspired the alñakārikas to discover and describe the character and function of Poetry in the manner stated above, it is itself based upon the great cosmological truth of the Vedic and Tantrik scriptures that it is the Word Eternal and indivisible that creates the world of objects, that all names are varied forms and suggestive signs of the One Name and all forms are different expressions, significant moulds and meanings, of the Sole Supreme Being beyond and behind all names and all forms, śabda and artha. If in regard to world-existence it is the view of the Sanskrit Grammarians that all creation is in a state of perpetual flux, becoming, as has been earlier shown in dealing with the question of dhātus (roots) as bhāva-vacana or kriyā-vacana, their view of the individual soul in its interchange with the world-surrounding is notable in that it is a cognitive being who reflects, represents, and assumes the subtle sensible form of the Creative Word for the purpose of unfolding himself, the powers of his own being in the manifested existence, as has been shown by an examination of the question of Sphota. In the light of this brief discussion on some of the concepts of Sanskrit grammarians, their spiritual value or philsophic appreciation can be safely left to the judgement of the thoughtful reader.

Sphota, then, is the vāk, the subtle voice which is the basis of all speech in mind-form, vāci pratisthitam manaḥ; it is not the vāk, speech, of which mind is the mainstay, manasi pratisthitā vāk. Sphoța is not a fanciful concept, but a fact of psychological experience, a truth of our spiritual being in evolution. It is the expressional aspect of the soul; it receives the vocal sound-vibrations, takes in their sound-essence and sense-values and assimilates them into the subtle sound-stuff of its indivisible being. In its responses, it breaks forth surcharged with intelligence, sphuțati, and raises subtle vibrations that are later vocalised. In short, it is the inner being, not the soul that is immersed in the unspeakable silence, but the soul that is emergent with a purpose — the purpose of discovering its own being in expression, vyaktaye sva-svarūpasya. Here, in the inner depths in the etheric regions of the Heart, it is the āntaro jnātā of Bhartrhari, the one indivisible permanent śabda of Patañjali; there, in the Immutable supreme ākāśa, it is the sabda brahman of the Scriptures, the nityā vāk of the Rig Veda.

APPENDIX

Grammar presupposes the existence of a language which has reached a stage of development quite enough to produce literary records representing a vast field of knowledge. In the case of Sanskrit the origins of Grammar are traced to the earlier. Vedic literature as well as to classical Sanskrit, to popular usage. Patanjali is quite clear about the material he works on — words that are Vedic and those that are found in popular usage, Veda and Loka; for it is these that afford the basis of grammatical speculations. Patanjali holds, as does Yaska, the author of Nirukta, before him, that many grammatical concepts are imbedded in the Mantras. For instance, the principle of sandhi or euphonic change is quite known from early times, as is clear from the fact that the Mantras are recited in samhitā form in all rituals and Vedic worship and prayer, while the padapāțha is taught later for the purpose of fixing the relation of words in the construction of the sentence. A scrutiny of the rules of sandhi in Sanskrit grammar will hardly fail to impress upon us the intimate relation of Phonology to Grammar.

Both Panini and Yaska quote the Rik “cātvāri vāk parimitā padāni” of Dirghatamas (Rig Veda I. 164–45), stating that the catvāri refers to the well-known four parts of speech, namely, Nāma, ākhyāta, Upasarga and Nipāta (noun, verb, preposition and particle). Patanjali quotes the Rik of Vamadeva:

चत्वारि शृङ्गा वयो अस्य पादा द्वे शीर्षे लप्र हस्तासो अस्य । विधाबद्धो वृषभो रोखीति महोदेवो मत्यां आविवेश ।। ऋग्वेद IV. 58.3

“The great God, the Bull (of Speech) has four horns, three feet, two heads, seven hands, fastened thrice (or in three places) roars aloud, possessing, entered into the mortals ”, explaining that the four horns and others are respectively the four parts of speech, the three divisions of time, the two kinds of word (the uncreate and the created), the seven cases, the three places (chest, throat and head) that take part in producing the spoken word. There are indeed, other interpretations of this Rik. Sayana in his commentary on this Rik says that five interpretations are possible as five deities, Yajna-Agni, Surya and others are possibly addressed and that he has taken it to mean as referring to Yajna-Agni. He says that sābdikas, grammarians, interpret it as referring to śabda brahman.

A study of the Mahabhashya will show that the Sanskrit grammarians solved some of the fundamental problems of Philology and discovered certain principles of spontaneous growth followed consciously or otherwise in the utterance of significant speech. Patanjali’s method follows a twofold principle. Discovering a rule by generalisation and finding out special cases and particularising them—this is a principle governing the method, sāmānyena utsargaḥ višeșeņa apavādaḥ; another principle that is complementary to it is that of Agreement and Difference, Anvaya and vyatireka. Let us take a group of similar words—ghataḥ, ghađena, ghațāt, pacati, pacataḥ, apākṣit. By agreement, anvaya, we can find the common element ghāța in the first group and pac in the second. This unaltered element is termed Prakrti. By difference, vyatireka, the uncommon elements ina āt ti taḥ are found; they are liable to variation and are termed Pratyaya. This is the process by which Sanskrit grammarians could successfully resolve the words and fix the recognised correct expressions in the language—Siddham tu anvaya-vyatirekābhyām. The four parts of speech recognised by the grammarians since the Vedic age have been already referred to. Prepositions are always joined to roots and they bring out their hidden meanings, according to some grammarians; there are others who do not concur in this view or among themselves. In the case of particles also divergent views are held. Without dilating on this question we shall pass on to consider the nature of ākhyātas, verbs from which all nouns are generally derived. There are certain names which are not derivable, avyutpădya, according to Panini whom Patanjali follows. All names are derivable, even proper names, according to Sakatayana to whom is ascribed the authorship of uņādi sūtras which somehow manage to derive words that are apparently underivable. Yaska seems to have a partiality for Sakatayana whom he quotes or follows in giving the derivation of words. That is how quite often he looks fantastic in his derivation of words, while his work as a whole is indispensable and of utmost importance for Vedic studies.

First Published in 1954 and Reprinted in 1975.

THE INITIATE AND THE MYSTIC FIRE

"Is it your view that the Yoga of Sri Aurobindo is the same as that of the Rishis of the Rig Veda? Is it your object to establish that the Integral Yoga is based upon the essential truths embedded in the Mantras of the Rik Samhita ?” Thus queried an Indologist, a well-known Vedic scholar and linguist. I sent a suitable brief reply orally through a friend, adding at the same time that he would find the position of the Vedic sages made clear in the Commentary, Siddhanjana, that was under preparation and that Sri Aurobindo’s writings on his Yoga are well-known and nothing is left in doubt. The matter ended there for the time being, so far as the well-meaning questioner was concerned; but it awakened in me a profound feeling for the search of the actual method adopted by the Vedic Rishis that could be gathered from the hymns themselves. It is not that I was unaware of what all the Master has said about the Vedic Mystics and their Doctrine through his translations and commentaries and other essays on the Vedic lore and wisdom. That is indeed a vast subject. The question that occupied me fully in this regard was apparently narrow, precise and limited but consequential and cardinal in importance. The question is simply this: what exactly is the path or key for the Initiation of the mystics? We have, as a matter of course, enough materials in the hymnal texts that give us an idea of the achievements of the seers who were Initiates. But how did they start? What was the key that the novitiate was provided with to open the Gates of the Mystic Chamber? Once the Initiate passes the threshold and enters into the secret Realm, he communes with the Powers that transcend the physical senses or through them advances towards the Godhead. But all this and much more are the wonders that we can glimpse from these utterances of the seers; but how did they gain admission into the Secrecy, what was the process or the mystic formula, if any? That is the question. We can indeed find an authentic answer not from one source, but from many passages scattered over the voluminous writings of Sri Aurobindo. But we have to sift and choose from a number of references to the subject from his works and commentaries, if we wish to have a precise answer to the precise question raised above.

Again, we have to be cautious in our attempt to probe into the secret of the mystic method of initiating and getting initiated into the profundities of the hidden truths of the Godhead, or of the occult presence of the Conscious Powers and their active participation in the functioning of the Cosmic Spirit in the Universe. Removed as we are from the Age of the Mystics for a space of scores of centuries, we must not overstep reasonable limits in our enthusiasm to incarnate into the terms of modern mentality the words of Wisdom that gleam through the figures, images and symbols employed in the verses of these litanies of a hoary past. However conscientious we may be, it is not an easy task to understand and appreciate the full significance of the utterances of the ancient seers without being influenced by the ideas of spirituality we have imbibed from the spirit of our age through the sacred writings of the saints and sages of subsequent times as well as through the post-Vedic scriptures beginning with the Upanishads and the Gita down to the authentic teachings of God-men of our own age in living memory. It is common knowledge that this tendency to read modern ideas into ancient texts, not always consciously, is more pronounced in the spirit of research scholarship to some extent and also in the reverential sentiment actuating pious minds to plumb into the depths of ancient wisdom. At the same time, it must be admitted that the various lines of Godward approach with which we are familiar could all be traced to their source in the Hymns of the Rig Veda.

But how does it help an answer to the question we have posed for ourselves ? Indeed, when we come across Riks which extol truth, truth in speech, and action and truthful move in every way of life, we can affirm without stretching the meaning of the words beyond legitimate bounds that regard for truth and adherence to truth as the governing principle of all action, all life, was among the cardinal teachings of the Vedic seers; but we cannot say with definiteness that that is the same as the Yoga of Works, the disinterested action of the Bhagavad Gita, though perhaps its prototype is there. Similarly when we find verses sung in adoration of the Almighty, of the indescribable One, the Supreme Godhead behind and in all and each of the Gods, we can assuredly say, here is the prototype of what we call the line of Knowledge i.e., Jnana as explicitly affirmed in the Upanishads and the Gita, but we cannot call it the Jnana Yoga popularised in all its details and form, in theory and practice as advocated in our age through the recognised scriptures and canonised utterances of saints and sages of later generations. As for the line of Devotion, Bhakti, a larger proportion of the hymns of the Rik Samhita stands witness to the wisdom of the Rishi in his intimate appeal to the Godhead, to the God of his adoration. And of all the Gods of the Vedic pantheon with their Cosmic functions and distinct aspects of the Supreme One, tad ekam, it is Agni who occupies a prominent position nearest to man, first to be awakened in the mortal, whose intimacy with the Rishi is so pronounced and repeatedly brought to light in the hymns addressed to him. The mystic communion with the Godhead as represented by Agni, the Mystic Fire, is so much in evidence in the Mantras of Agni, that if we study and ponder over them we cannot fail to recognise the fact that the Rishi was not only face to face with him, but was at least in touch with the secret treasures of the mystic realm revealed to him by the Agni himself. If we go one step further it is not difficult to discover the means by which he became first acquainted with this Immortal born in the mortal. For when the Rishi sings: “I have uttered the Word, may he manifest himself”, or lines conveying sense to this effect, it is clear that the word he employed to wake up Agni was the key to unlock the gates of the Divine treasure; for that is the secret truth, the unfailing Guide, the Seer-Will lodged in the heart of men and things, stimulated to activity by a burning passion, by a rising flame of aspiration from the human heart. But, what is this Word? How is it endowed with such a potency to bring about the manifestation of the Immortal in man? Certainly we may say that the word means a fervent prayer to invoke the presence; and there is strong reason to support this view; for prayer can be denoted by the term word and prayer as the chief means of approach to the Godhead is powerful and moving as it contains the element of aspiration of the human heart and a fixed will to achieve the end. If this were all that is meant then we can plainly and straightly conclude that the Vedic seers used prayer as the main means in their adventure into the occult and spiritual realms. That prayer has been resorted to in all climes and ages to win the Grace of the Deity is unexceptionable; and that the term word can refer to prayer also is reasonable. But it is doubtful if that sums up all that is meant by the word whenever it occurs in the hymns and without doubt the word means much more than a mere word or even a prayer in many places such as,
ādid vasūni pra vāvä сāsmai,
to such a one he (Agni) gives word of the riches," or, vilu cid d’lhā pitaro na ukthairadrim rujannangiraso, raveņa,

Our fathers by their words broke the strong and stubborn places, the Angiras seers shattered the mountain rock with their cry....”

Instances are numerous in the hymns where the word signifies a secret utterance, a sacred formula, akin to what we call in modern language a code word by which the God who is adored, the Agni who is awakened and wakeful recognises the adorer and looks into his needs. Such a potent word — say a mantra — is originally generated by the concentrated power of consciousness of the mystic who initiates the would-be-initiate with the sacred formula into the secrecy of the Powers of the Godhead. The word is effective for initiation because it is laden with the condensed energy of Conscious force emanating from the Initiator in the transmission of the influence to the Initiate. We may go further and affirm that the word was quite often instantly effective and so felt by the Initiate that it entered into the conscious stuff of his being and not as it would be generally in our age a sheer sound of mechanical speech with all its regular articulation. To explain it in modern language, we may say further that there was a realisation of the power of sound over matter as well as mind. It must be borne in mind that this sound is not a sheer mechanical effect of friction of the vocal cords in the attempt of thought to find its expression in the word. It is, indeed, sound, but sound that carries conscious vibrations of the thought to complete its movement in the evolution of the word. For although a master initiate could give the initiation with thought alone, generally and especially in the Vedic tradition the culmination of a thought-movement in the word-expression was considered important and indispensable. For without the word thought-movement is incomplete, since it is nothing but word in a subtle, not full-blown, condition. And word without thought, it goes without saying, is meaningless, for it means word mechanically uttered separated from the thought which it is intended to express. The essential factor in the effective use of the word is that it is inextricably united with the thought-vibrations that are the main product of the Tapas-force of the Rishi, the Mystic. The word was thus a conscious power; if on the one hand it brought the Initiate the initial awakening into the presence of Agni, it did on the other hand, prove a live force to call on Agni to come to the forefront and take charge of the Initiate’s life-work and guide him to the destination. It was a force that was used to evoke the powers of intuition and inspiration, to develop the faculties of truth-audition and truth-perception, and thereby to formulate effective forms of prayer, the mantra, to achieve definite ends in the inner as well as the outer life of the Initiate. Such is the character and purpose of the potent Word that fell from the Mystic for the initiation of the Initiate.

Since the Word of initiation is a potent sound churned out by the Tapas – self-gathered conscious power of the Rishi, it continues to live and have a distinct life of its own in the Initiate who always relies on and refers to it for any of the purposes as already mentioned, when the need arises.

What was the actual word of initiation used by the mystic cannot be affirmed with certitude as the choice always depends upon the need and temperament of the Initiate. It may have been any form of the Eternal Word, nitya vak, as mentioned by the Seer Virupa, by which term the Vedic Word, the Word issued from tapas-ſakti is meant. But we may assume on the strength of other Vedic texts and the Upanishads as well as on the hoary tradition that AUM represented the name of the Sole and Supreme Truth and was superbly fitted for the mystic initiation. Here also, it is the actual initiation and the capacity to transmit that is the essence of the matter. But we may note in passing that tradition has preserved the manner of initiation; in spite of the encrustation of heavy forms or rites it points to the secret of initiation. For the Acharya who accepts the disciple takes him alone and they keep themselves aloof from the view of others by closing themselves under a cloth spread over them and he utters the Mantra which the novitiate repeats following the teacher, and later utters the Mantra along with the teacher keeping his voice and tone in close union with the teacher’s. Here lies the essential of the dikṣā, initiation; for later on, when the disciple takes to the name, the Mantra, it is the voice of initiation that dominates the being of the disciple in the act of his use of the Mantra for meditation, prayer or adoration of the Ideal for which he has consecrated his life.

The initiation into the mystic truths was always understood to be a guarded secret and when the initiation takes effect in the Initiate even the Gods come down to greet the new child born in him. We have it explicitly stated in a hymn in the Atharva text (11.5.3) that the Acharya initiating the disciple takes him into his womb and bears him for three nights in his belly and when he is new-born the gods come down together to behold him. This shows beyond a shadow of doubt that the mystic initiation is a self-effectuating process introduced into the system of the disciple who keeps himself under the care of the adept until the new birth, the spiritual birth of the Initiate becomes a settled fact. This spiritual birth is not the end but the beginning; it is the epiphany of the Immortal in the mortal, the Seer-Will coming to the front from beind the veil of darkness, the Flaming Force that burns to ashes all that obscures and obstructs, and brightens the passage of the Gods for the human march.

Once Agni is kindled, born and tended to grow into a firm and fixed, divine and articulate organ occupying the central part of the Initiate, he is always recognised as the new-born and distinct child of the Grace Divine and whatever activity such a mortal is called upon to undertake, he could and has to unburden himself to the Divine Guest to whom he can deliver himself with all his possessions. Thus Agni is not an imaginary figure, or metaphysical concept, but a living presence, the Divine Guide quite recognisable as distinct from all that is human in the Rishi. He is face to face with him, quite intimate, beloved like a father, a son, a friend and nearest of relatives to whom he can always look up for advice and guidance. When we read hymn after hymn addressed to Agni we can always find an unusual striking intimacy of the Rishi with this mystic Fire. We cannot afford to dispose of such hymns as fanciful prayers and pious hopes of credulous men of those ages in the beginnings of time, unless we choose to be perverse or un-reasonable. When the Rishi says, “ Agni, I deem my father, Agni my kinsman, him I deem my brother and friend for ever,” he is not eulogising Agni as conceived in his mind, nor the elemental fire, nor the sanctified fire for sacrificial purposes, but speaks with fervour the Truth of his life that Agni, the purifying flame of the Divine Seer-Will has entered into his life and occupies a central position in his being and that he is so much loved and adored that the Rishi cannot think of any one else nearer to him than Agni. Thus sings Trita Aptya in the tenth Book of the Rik Samhita. Numerous are the Riks that throw light on the Rishi’s intimacy with Agni, an intimacy which emboldens him to address the God in terms of endearment and love, of reverence and adoration, cherishing him in all possible relationship as occasion de nds. The Rishis are of one voice in extolling the birth of Agni, they adopt the same formula in celebrating it with a happy confidence in the marvels that he reveals beginning with and subsequent to his birth. Let us choose from the Hymns to the Mystic Fire a specimen Rik or two at random that reveal the wondrous birth and still more wondrous effect of his advent on the forces that block the way and are opposed to godly life and light of truth. Jamadagni Bhargava sings: “As soon as he was born Fire measured out the shape of the sacrifice and became the leader who goes in front of the Gods. In the speech of this priest of the call which points out by its direction the Truth, may the Gods partake of the oblation made swāhā.” (X.110.11) Note that the sacrifice mentioned here is the inner one which is a live force that proceeds upwards to the regions of the Light and Truth and that it is Agni who determines its course in accordance with the need of the Rishi. And when the passage is made clear the Gods come to accept the offering in response to the Call of which Agni himself is the priest.

In another verse of the same hymn we find that by the good offices of Agni the Divine Doors open and are easy of approach to the Gods. “Widely expanding may they spring apart making themselves beautiful for us as wives for their lords; O divine doors, vast and all-pervading, be easy of approach to the Gods.” (X.110.5)

In another place, Agni is plainly addressed as the builder of the levels (i.e. planes). “All the manifold magic of the lords of magic they have combined in Thee, O all-ruler, O builder of the levels.”

The potency of the Word, the secret Name, or the sacrificial Name, yajniyam nāma, is mentioned a number of times in the hymns. We have already stated that the Rishis valued the Word as a treasure and used it always with effect because of the conscious life that made for its potency. In Rishi Purucchepa’s chant (1.127.7), we find a similar reference to the Word’s marvel. When the Bhrigus “have made obeisance and spoken to him (Agni) the Word, when they have churned him out by their worship, the Fire becomes Master of the riches.”

The Rishi’s trust in the efficacy of the Word, the happy confidence that is manifest in his Call on Agni are often simple, straight, sincere and strike a note of reverential intimacy which leaves its impress on the ardent lover and devotee of the mystic lore. When Gritsamada sings, “O Messenger, O youngest Power, come at our word for him who aspires to thee and craves for thy safeguard; arrive, O Priest of the Call, strong for sacrifice" (II.6.6.), is it possible not to be moved by the faith-laden words of inspiration that steal into us with a stir in the core of our being ? And yet this Agni who is so close to us and accessible to devout hearts is not different from the Sun of Truth. For in the last resort, the Rishi realises him as the force of the Sun of Truth. “I serve thy Vast Fire, his bright and worshipped force of the Sun in heaven." (X.7.3.)

Here we stop for the present and close this short Paper on the character and process of initiation and the advent of the Mystic Fire. And this is the substance of what we have stated so far that the initiation starts with the Word churned out of the tapas-force generally transmitted by an adept to the Initiate or possibly by the Initiate himself discovering the Word of Truth by his tapasya, or by the favour and help of the Divine Powers in response to his intense call and fervent prayer. It is the Word that brings the initial awakening of the soul to the awareness of a higher Power, a deeper presence within him. And when by the Word, by the Name, the Fire within is kindled and the birth of the Divine, the Immortal element becomes settled, the Initiate gradually hands over the charge of his self-discipline to the Mystic Fire who determines the road and steps to be traversed and carries him safe through openings to the radiant realms of Truth-Force, Truth-Consciousness and Truth-Light. He builds the planes of his being, opens the closed centres that are linked to the Cosmic planes, confers on him Truth-vision and Truth-audition, and whatever means is necessary He grants him Knowledge, power or concentration and through all this He reaches him to the immortal Life, the undying Light, to the Sun-World which is the plenary Home of Truth.

CATVĀRI VĀK

A NOTE

Rig Veda I. 164.45
Catvāri vāk parimitā padūni tani vidurbrāhmanā ye manişinaḥ Guha triņi nihitā nengayanti turiyam vāco manus yā vadanti.

Sayana’s commentary:
Vāk (1st case for the 6th case) vācaḥ kṣtsnāyāḥ of the entire speech padāni steps catwāri four parimitā parimitāni are measured out. (Tr. Speech in its entirety is measured out in four steps.) Loke in the world yā vāk asti whatever speech is there sã that caturvidhā into four kinds vibhaktā divided iti arthaḥ this is the meaning (Tr. Whatever speech there is in the world is divided into four kinds or classes.) Tāni padāni these steps brāhmanāḥ vedavidaḥ Brahmanas who know the Veda ye manișiņaḥ manas iṣiṇaḥ who are movers of the mind medhāvinaḥ men of understanding viduḥ jānanti know. (Tr. These steps Brahmans who know the Veda and have understanding know.)

Teṣām madhye of them (the aforesaid division of steps), triņi three guhā (seventh case term is dropped) guhāyām in the secrecy nihitā sthāpitāni established na ingayanti na cestante do not move na prakāśante do not come to light iti arthaḥ this is the meaning. (Tr. Three of the four divisions of steps, established in the secrecy, are not manifested.) Vacaḥ of the speech turiyam the fourth padam step manusyah men, ajñāh those who do not know tad-jñāḥ ca and those who know that vadanti speak vyaktam uccarayanti distinctly pronounce, vyava-haranti use in their dealings). (Tr. The unlearned as well as the wise speak the fourth step of the speech in their dealings).

Kāni tāni catwari ityatra bahavaḥ svasvamatānurodhena bahudhā varnayanti n regard to the question what are these four, many schools) describe in many ways each according to the view of its school. Sarvavaidikavāgjālasya of the collection of all the Vedic words sangra-hrūpā comprehensive or inclusive or summary forms bhūrādayaḥ Bhuh etc. tisro vyāhratayaḥ the 3 Vyahritis (sacred utterances) pranavaḥ ekaḥ one Om iti thus vedatrayasāratvāt tāsām those Vyahritis being the essence of the 3 Vedas vyāhrtināmeva sārasamgrahbhūtatvāt (Pranava being) the summary substance of those Vyahritis, containing the letter A etc. (AUM) — (for this reason) sapraņavāsu vyāhrtișu in the Vyahritis along with Pranava sarvā vāk all speech parimitā is measured out iti thus kecana vedavādino some Vedists vadanti say. (Tr. Some Vedists say that all speech is measured out in the Vyahritis with Pranava which is constituted of the letter A etc. and which itself is the summary substance of the 3 Vyahritis which again are the Bhuh etc. the comprehensive and all inclusive forms of all the collection of the Vedic words. Thus the three Vyahritis and one Pranava make up the four in which all speech is measured out.)

Apare vyākaraṇamatānusāriņo namākhyātopasarganipātabhedena Others, followers of the school of grammarians say (that the four consists of) the division of nāma, ākhyāta, upasarga and nipāta.

Kriyapradhānamākhyātam That is verb ākhyāta in which action is prevalent.

Dravyapradhanam näma Nama (noun) is that in which substance is predominant.

Prāgupasrjyata ākhyātapadasyetyupasargaḥ prādih

The Upasarga pra etc. is so called because it is placed before a verbal word.

Uccāvaceșvartheșu nipatanānnipātaḥ api tu ca ityādiḥ Nipata, a particle api tu ca etc. is so called because it falls down upon (words of) uneven meanings.

Eteşveva sarvā vākparimitā iti (vadanti) In these four alone all speech is measured out — so they say;

akhandāyāḥ kṣtsnāyā vācaḥ caturdha vyākrtattvāt

because the all speech which is indivisible is separated or analysed into four divisions.

Vägvaiparācyavyākītāvadat tāmindromadhyatovakramya vyākarot tasmādiyam vyākṣtā vāgudyata iti śruteh

(This is part of a passage from Taittiriya Samhita quoted by Sayana to support the statement of fourfold differentiation of the Speech which was beyond and undifferentiated.)

Speech verily was beyond and undifferentiated. Indra stepped down into her and spoke, therefore she became differentiated, and this speech is spoken. (This is the quoted part of the Shruti.)

Anye tu yajñikāḥ mantraḥ kalpo brāhmanam caturthi laukikiti Others, votaries of Sacrifice (say) Mantra, Kalpa, Brahman and the fourth ordinary speech in the world.

Yājnikaiḥ samāmnātonuştheyārthaprakāśako vedabhāgo mantrāḥ The Mantras are that division of the Veda that is recited which illumines the meaning of what is performed or observed.

Mantravidhānapratipādako vedabhāga iti mantrāḥ kalpotaḥ ürdhvamityā-dinoktaḥ kalpaḥ (this is a quotation of Sayana from the Kalpa literature) The division of the Veda which teaches the use of mantras, the Kalpa, etc. has been declared in the Sastra).

Mantratātparyārthaprakāśako vedabhāgo brāhmaṇam The Brahmana is the portion of the Veda which throws light on the meaning of the purport of the mantras.

Bhogaviṣayā gāmānayetyadirūpā vyāvahāriki The speech of which worldly enjoyment such as " bring the cow” etc., is the object is vyāvahāriki the speech of common dealings in the world.

Eşveva sarvā vāk niyamiteti yājnikah The votaries of Sacrifice hold that in these (four) all speech is (contained), “ measured out”.

Rgyajuḥsāmānicaturthi vyāvhārikiti nairuktāḥ Those of the Nirukta school say that the rik, yajus, saman and the fourth is the common speech for dealings in the world.

Sarpāņām vāgvayasām kșudrasarīsſpasya ca caturthi vyāvahārikityāitihāsikāḥ The followers of legendary tradition hold the speech of serpents, of birds, of vile reptiles, and the fourth is the speech in dealings in the world.

Pasușu tūņaveșu mrgeșu ātmani ca iti ātmavādinah

The Atmavadins (votaries of Atman) say: in the animals, in musical instruments such as flute in the beasts and in the soul, the fourfold speech is contained.

Apare māntykāḥ prakārāntareņa pratipadāyanti parā paśyanti madhyamā vaikhariti catvāriti Others of the school of Mantra (Tantra) teach in a different way: the four are the Para, Pashyanti, Madhyama, Vaikhari according to them.

Ekaiva nādātmikā vāk mülādhārāduditā sati para ityucyate The speech, only one in the form of Sound, rising from the centre of the Solar plexus is called Para.

Nādasya ca sūkṣmatvena durnirūpatvāt saiva șradyagāmini paśyanti ityucyate yogibhirdrașțum sakyatvāt Being subtle and not demonstrable, the same sound entering the heart is called Pashyanti because of Yogins being able to perceive it.

Saiva buddhim gatā vivakşām prāptā madhyamā ityucyate The entering the buddhi, understanding, and desiring to express (to speak) is called Madhyama.

Madhye hradayākhya udiyamanatvāt madhyamāyāḥ

Same in the centre or middle called Hridaya the Madhyama rises. Atha yadā saiva vaktre stithā tālvoșthādivyāpāreņa bahirnirgacchati tadā vaikhari ityucyate Then when the same Nada comes out for expression through the exertion of the lips, teeth etc. it is called Vaikhari. Evam catvāri vācah padāni parimitāni Thus are the four steps of the Speech measured out.

Maniṣiṇaḥ manasaḥ svaminaḥ svādhinamanaskā brāhmanā vācyasya śabdabrañaņo’dhigantāro yoginaḥ parādicatvāri padāni viduh jānanti Wise men, masters of mind, with mind under their own control, Brahmans, knowers of Shabdabrahman to be expressed, yogins know the steps to be four, Para etc.

Teșu madhye triņi parādini guha nihitāni hrdayāntarvartittvāt Of these, three steps Para etc. are placed in the secrecy because of their being inside of the heart.

Turiyam tu padam vaikharisanjñakam manusyāh sarve vadanti But the fourth step, Vaikhari by name, all men speak.

Vyakaranaprasiddhānāmākhyātādipakse manișino brāhmanāḥ prakrtipra-tyayādivibhāgajñā vāg yogavidastāni padāni jānanti. On the side of Nama, Akhyata etc. celebrated in Grammar, the wise Brahmans, knowers of the divisions of base, suffix etc., knowers of word-arrangement (speech set-up) know those steps.

Avāg yogavidaḥ pāmarā vāco vāngmayasya turiyam caturtham bhāgam vadanti, vyavaharanti Those who do not know the arrangement of speech i.e. the unlearned, speak the fourth part of speech in their dealings.

Arthaprakāśnāya prayunjate They apply it (knowledge) for making the meaning clear.

Ayam mantro nirukte vyākhyātaḥ This mantra is explained in Nirukta. So’trāpyanusandheyaḥ Here also that must be calmly considered.

(Here follows the quotation from Nirukta 13.9)
Athāpi brāhmaṇam bhavati Then there is the Brahmana text in this context),
sā vai vāk systā caturdha vyabhavat that very speech released became manifested into four,
eșveva lokeșu triņi pašușu turiyam in these (three) worlds there are three steps of speech and the fourth is in the creatures.
Yà prthivyām sāgnau să rathantare That which is in earth that is in Agni, that is in Rathantara (name of a Saman).
Yāntarikșe să väyäu sa vamadevye That which is in the mid-air region, that is in the Vayu, that is in Vamadevya. (Saman)
Yā divi sāditye sā brhati sa stanayitnau What is in the Heaven, that is in the Aditya, that is in Brihat (Saman), that is in the lightning.
Atha pasușu Then in the creatures,
tato yā vāgatiricyata tām brāhmaneșvadadhuḥ then whatever speech remains transcended that was placed in the Brahmanas.
Tasmādbrāhmanā ubhayim vācam vadanti ya ca devānām yā ca manusya—nāmiti Therefore the Brahmans speak the twofold speech — that which is the speech of the Devas and that which is the speech of the men.

LIGHTS ON THE UPANISHADS

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(First Published in 1947 and Reprinted in 1959, 1971)

First published in 1954 and reprinted in 1975.

FROM SRI AUROBINDO AND THE KENA UPANISHAD

THE Ishopanishad with Translation and Commentary appeared serially in the Arya and was later revised and enlarged for publication years ago. It has now run to several editions, while the Kenopanishad which also with Translation and Commentary followed the Ishopanishad serially (June-1915-July-1916) in the same Philosophical Review is now for the first time published after the passing away of the Master. This Upanishad second in order, not chronological, but in the traditional list of the Major Upanishads, belongs to the Talavakara Brahmana (talavakāra means musician), otherwise known as Jaiminiya Brahmana of the Sama Vedins and is the ninth chapter of that Book as stated by Shankara in the introduction to his Commentary on this Upanishad. When we find the first word of this Upanishad to be its title, we are reminded of the Vedic tradition (current even today) of referring to a Rig Vedic Sukta by mentioning the opening word of the text, such as “agnim iļe” hymn. This way of mentioning a hymn or a text is Veda-old, avoids an otherwise ponderous and descriptive title, briefly and unmistakably facilitates reference, and thus serves the purpose. And this method Sri Aurobindo adopted in the olden days in naming some of his letters, such as the “Piercing of the veil”.

It is necessary, at the outset, to state in brief the salient features of the Master’s characteristic approach to the study of the Upanishads. It is a general notion in the West that has gained currency in India among the educated moderns, that the Upanishads are the metaphysical speculations of certain bold thinkers who turned away from the Vedic creed of rituals and Nature-worship and arrived at philosophical conclusions about the Whence of Creation and the goal of life through arduous thinkings in their solitary forest abodes. This modern view is a gratuitous conjecture of an alien temperament and is, indeed, foreign to the spirit and tenor of these sacred texts and opposed to the ages-old tradition and internal evidence of these Books of Wisdom. It is an erroneous notion that these Scriptures are the results of revolt, rebel children of the parent religion of a semi-civilised past. They are not the flowers of Reason, or products of speculative labour which, denuded of the euphemistic robe, are in a straight-forward plain language the bold conjectures of the fantastic or the fabrications of the introvert-ideas that have no relation whatever to facts that can be observed, of truths that can be verified.

The sages of the Upanishads have certainly drawn their inspiration and succour from the fountain springs of the Vedas while engaged in developing their self-culture for the realisation of the ultimate Truth, for conforming their lives to the laws of the Spirit, for the attainment of Brahmanhood here while living on Earth. The findings of their explorations in the realm of the Spirit and in the fields of the inner life—the occult and the spiritual gains—are often implicitly, yet in authentic tones expressed in a language that is more intelligible to the mentality of our age and fairly far removed from that of the hymns of the Rig Veda. But they are, in the words of the Master, “the creation of a revelatory and intuitive mind and its illumined experience”. “Nor are they a revolutionary departure from the Vedic mind and its temperament and fundamental ideas, but a continuation and development and to a certain extent an enlarging transformation in the sense of bringing out into open expression all that was held covered in the symbolic Vedic speech as a mystery and a secret."

This background settled, the Upanishads reveal themselves as vehicles of illumination to the seeker who had, broadly speaking, a processed understanding of the general spirit of the Vedic and Vedantic sages and even some personal experience of the truths which are the bases of their structure. Hence they are appropriately styled “Manuals of Sadhana" in which the ideas are implicit, rarely explicit. The reasoning that supports the conclusive statements is suggested by the expressions employed and not expressly communicated to the reasoning mind. The seeker, the hearer, was expected to proceed from Knowledge to Knowledge, verifying by experience and confirming his intuitions or thought-visions of the truths and not treating his ideas to the light of the logical reason and submitting to intellectual judgment.

This Commentary on the Kena Upanishad, then, takes up the ideas, elucidates them in their completeness, draws attention to the suggestions and thus brings to light the reasoning that is always implicit. The subject matter of the Upanishad, as indeed of the Upanishads in general, is Brahma Vidya, the knowledge of Brahman. But they vary in their standpoints, start from different positions, proceed along the lines chosen to lead to the object of their seeking: the winning of the Immortal state, the arrival at the undying Light the attainment of the supreme purpose of Life, the Eternal. But this text, unlike the Isha Upanishad which concerns itself with the whole problem of world and life and knowledge and works and all the fundamental problems of Existence, confines itself to a restricted question, a limited and narrow but precise enquiry, not straying outside the limits of the problem it has set before itself. The problem of the world-existence is not taken into consideration at all; the material world and the physical life are taken for granted; and it straightly puts the questions: What is the mental life that uses the senses? what are these mental instruments? are they the supreme and final power, the last witnesses or is there anything superior to them and more real and abiding that directs the activities of the eye and ear and speech and life—breath and mind itself? The Upanishad gives the answer in the affrmative. We must note here that this Upanishad like other earlier texts keeps close to the Vedic roots, reflects the ancient psychological system of the Vedic sages and “preserves what may be called their spiritual pragmatism”. This is quite apparent in the very opening sentence: “kena îșitam, by who missioned ?" "kena yuktah, by whom yoked ?" The Upanishad proceeds to expound the relation of the mind-consciousness to the Brahman Consciousness by which, it says, the mind thinks, the eye sees, the ear hears, the voice speaks, the life-breath breathes, but which none of these can reach or touch. Thus it indicates and describes what cannot be expressed or actually described by the mind. It affirms and indicates that Brahman is the absolute of all our relatives from which all relatives derive their values and thus in a way it is knowable, and yet not utterly knowable, for it is at the same time the Absolute Beyond which is utterly unknowable.

The Upanishad resolves the seeming contradictions in the two statements that it is knowable and unknowable by the affirmation that it is a vaster and profounder existence behind our surface selves, and is the puissant Consciousness of which mind, life, sense and speech are only inferior modes, imperfect figures and external instruments. The Commentary draws attention to the significance of the words employed in the text, bring to the forefront the subtle suggestions, elaborates the reasonings implied in the successive phrases and arrives at the established conclusions of the profound yogic psychology -call it para-psychology-of this Upanishad. And what we normally think as ourselves, mind, life, sense, speech, in short, the psychology of a mind that is involved in the brain is shown to be the outer fringe of man’s existence which consists in the eidolon of matter along with the nervous energy and its image reproduced in the mindstuff. In the manner that is distinctively his, Sri Aurobindo places before the reader here the fact of spiritual experience that we can always enter into relation with Brahman through these faculties—mind, sense, speech, etc. by tracing them to their source, as these are the outer instruments of the respective aspects of the profound Reality, Brahman, that is behind and directs the mind, sense, speech, etc. as their original truth, source and support. An instance can be given here to exemplify this fact, and the rest left to the reader to find by delving into the pages of the book. In giving a rational explanation of the phrases about Brahman as the "Word behind the speech" and as “That which remains unexpressed by the word, that by which the word is expressed”, the Master looks at the question from two poles, discusses it threadbare and concludes: “ Thus we see the theory of Creation by the Word which is the absolute expression of the Truth, and the theory of the material creation by sound-vibration in the ether correspond and are two logical poles of the same idea" (P. 39).

It is to be noted that the Upanishad starts with a negative statement, “ Not this which men follow after here,” in order to direct the seeker to aim at the discovery of the vaster Truth of which the ordinary human existence is a trifle, a frail figure, not unreal but incomplete.

Thus in the first two of the four sections of the Upanishad, we find that its instruction rests basically on the affirmation of three states of Existence, the first being the human, our mortal; the second, the Brahman-Consciousness which is the absolute of our relatives, yet knowable in a way as related to all this duality as its Lord and the third, the utter Unknowable Beyond. And because of this relation to what we are, it is possible to realise something of Him, of the supreme Truth of our existence and the scripture closes the second section with the emphatic statement, “ If here one comes to that Knowledge, then one truely is; if here one comes not to the knowledge, then great is the perdition. The Wise distinguish that in all kinds of becomings and they pass forward from this world and become Immortal ” (II. 5). The same idea of the necessity of qualifying for Immortality and possessing the Brahmic Knowledge in life here is to be found in some of the other authentic Upanishads e.g. Brihadaranyaka (IV. 4.14), Katha (VI. 4).

In the third section the Upanishad proceeds to point out the means of piercing the veil to enable the subject-consciousness of man to enter into the Master-consciousness of the Lord. This it does by a striking apologue. It is the famous parable of the Gods—Agni, Vayu and Indra—who approach the Yaksha, the Daemon, but fail to impress their prowess on him and return bewildered. While Indra, the highest of the Gods, the Lord of the luminous mind and Light approaches, the Yaksha disappears and there in the empyrean heights of the void ether, ākāśa, appears Uma, Daughter of the Snowy Summits who reveals to him the truth of the Yaksha that it is Brahman. To appreciate the significance of this story it is necessary to have an adequate idea of the Gods of the Upanishads who are the same as those of the Rig Veda except in one important respect. The Vedic Gods are the Cosmic Powers of the One and are conscious of their original source and true identity and the all-powerful One, the Supreme Lord, Brahman. Also in their lesser and lower movements they manifest themselves in man in the form of human faculties and assume the mould of cosmic operations in Nature. The Gods of the Upanishads are not conscious of their source, their identity with Brahman, but they retain the lesser aspect and are indeed psychological powers including the human faculty of speech, sense, mind and the rest. They are as in the Rig Veda, the Powers that "affirm the Good, the Light, the Joy and Beauty, the Strength and Mastery". And when they win the eternal battle with the adverse forces, the Asuras that deny, they think that theirs is the victory won and do not realise that it is the Brahman that stands behind them and conquers for them. Hence the challenge of the Daemon, the Yaksha, hurled at the three main Powers, the Gods of the triple world. Agni is the heat and flame of the conscious force in Matter that builds the universe and makes life and mind possible on the plane of the material world in which he is the greatest Deity, "the impeller of speech of which Vayu is the medium and Indra the Lord”. He accepts the challenge, but is baulked in his attempt to aim his power at the Daemon as the latter is no Birth of the material cosmos. Then Vayu, the Lord of the mid-air, the life-principle who infinitely expands in the mother-element Akasha, returns baffled meeting with the same fate, since the Daemon is no form or force of Cosmic Life of which he is the greatest ruler and God. Then Indra, the Power of the mind, arises and when he approaches It vanishes because It cannot be seized by mind and the sense. But Indra does not turn back from the quest like Agni and Vayu, but moves onward to the sublime ether of the pure mentality and there Uma, the Para Shakti appears; from her he learns that the Yaksha, the Daemon, is Brahman by whom alone the Gods of mind, life and body-Indra, Vayu and Agni—conquer and affirm themselves and who at once is the source and true centre and focus of their greatness.

Uma, the Daughter of Snowy Summits is the Para Prakriti, the Supreme Nature, the highest Power of the Ultimate Truth, the Supreme Consciousness of Brahman. It is from her the whole cosmic action takes its birth, from her the Gods must learn their own truth, for she has the necessary knowledge and consciousness of the One above the lower nature of mind, life and body; and, Creatrix of the Gods, she mediates between the One above and beyond, and Gods and men here in the lower creation. The import, the lesson, then, of the story of the Gods is that all the life-activities and senses and mind, the functionings of the Cosmic Powers in man must learn to surrender consciously to their One true master-consciousness leaving behind the wrong and false notion of independence and self-will and self-ordering which is an egoism of life and mind and body.

We may note that the name Uma for the Supreme Nature, Mahashakti, is used for the first time in this Upanishad; it is a solitary instance of an early Vedantic scripture mentioning Shakti in the ethereal summits above the Gods and we do not find it in any other major Upanishad. The Puranas and Tantras have familiarised us with the truth about Uma, as the Shakti, the inalienable Power of Shiva.

In the closing passages of the Upanishad, the means of attaining the knowledge of Brahman here on earth, and the winning of the immortal status after departure is indicated. But the lines are really obscure; this is partly due to extreme brevity, and also due to the intention in these texts that the seeker has to learn the secret orally from the teacher or learn it from him in silence. The lines in IV. 4-5 are supposed to lead the seeker to meditate by reflection on the Nature of Brahman and achieve the end by repeated practice. Sri Aurobindo explains the passage, "As is this flash of lightning upon us, or as is this falling of the eye-lid, so in that which is of the Gods" and the one that follows in the characteristic way that we associate with him, “ In the Gods the transfiguration is effected by the Superconscient itself visiting their substance and opening their vision with its flashes until it has transformed them; but the mind is capable of another action.... The mind continually remembers that into which it has entered. On this the Self through the mind seizes and repeatedly dwells and so doing it is finally caught up into it and at last able to dwell securely in that transcendence.” Is Transcendence and salvation of the individual, the ultimate goal the Upanishad sets for the seeker? Sri Aurobindo recognises the emphasis in the Upanishads steadily increasing on the individual’s rejection of the lower cosmic life. This note increases in them as time But it does not exist in the earlier Vedic revelation where individual salvation is regarded as a means towards a great Cosmic victory. Fortunately the Kena Upanishad suggests the door of escape from over-emphasis in its own statement. “ The name of That is " That Delight’, and as That Delight one should follow after it. He who knows That, towards him verily all existences yearn (IV. 6). On this verse, the Master’s remarks are noteworthy: “ Here is the clue that we need. The connection with the universe is preserved for the one reason which supremely justifies that connection; it must subsist not from the desire of personal goes earthly joy as with those who are still bound but for help to all creatures. Two then are the objects of the high-reaching soul, to attain the Supreme and to be for ever for the good of all the world even as Brahman Himself; whether here or elsewhere, does not essentially matter, still where the struggle is thickest....”

Before closing, attention may be drawn to an obvious irregularity in the text itself in IV. 2. It is curious how it has escaped, or was overlooked and explained away by the ancient commentators for centuries before Sri Aurobindo. On this the discerning mind of the classical savant remarks in a footnote: “By some mistake of early memorisers or later copyists the rest of the verse has become hopelssly corrupted. It runs, “they he first came to know that it was the Brahman’, which is neither fact nor sense nor grammar. The close of the third verse has crept into and replaced the original close of the second.”

First published in 1971.

SIDELIGHTS ON THE TANTRA

In this brief study we shall make an attempt to appreciate the basic principles that underlie the Agamas, generally called Tantra Shastra. We shall make a general reference to their relation to the Vedic and Vedantic schools of philosophic thought and spiritual discipline. We shall take note of the salient features and evaluate, in the light of Sri Aurobindo’s teachings, the part they have played in the past which has trickled down to the current times. When we look upon the past of India, upon the lines of her cultural history in its meandering course, with all the vicissitudes of such a long life that has few parallels elsewhere, we are struck by a consistent note. It is a note that permeates every successive attempt to revive the ancient spirit and restate in the language and form suited to the conditions of the age the high ideals, the subtle ideas and sublime truths perceived and worked out by the early builders of Indian society in its infancy as well as in its adolescence. What is this perpetual note that arrests our attention ? Certainly, it is the presence of a large synthesis conceived and worked out first by the ancient architects of society, the seers and sages of the Vedic Age and later in its decline taken up by the revivalist attempts of the Brahmanas and the Upanishads. Nowhere is this spirit and vision of synthesis so open and exacting as in the teachings of the Gita which heals up the hiatus or the apparent gulf of the intermediate ages and builds a comprehensive system having for its basis the spirit of the Veda and the substance of the Vedanta, takes up all the accumulated knowledge of the past, assimilates the essentials into the body and spirit of its instructions, and presents a really grand synthesis not as a metaphysical system but as a comprehensive teaching for application under all conditions of life.

But there has been all along another distinctive Synthesis embodied in the teachings of Agamas which, while professing general allegiance to the Vedic systems of philosophy and thought and spiritual discipline, is apparently different in its method of approach and is comprehensive, all-inclusive in its spirit, devoid of the exclusiveness associated with all the religious school and rituals based upon the Smritis and Shrutis of Vedic ceremonialism. It is difficult to plumb exactly into their origins, much less to find the precise period of the beginnings of their teachings, though the extant works of the Agamas can be traced to approximate periods of India’s history. For we must note that the substance of the teachings may have and certainly has come from early ages, though the written texts may have appeared later on at different times which may be ascertained with less difficulty. Let us first be sure of the sense in which the term Agama is used and came, to be called Tantra and then proceed with the main principles of the framework of the Agamas in general and the Shakta Tantras in particular. In dealing with the purposes of the study of vyakarana Sanskrit Grammar, Patanjali uses the word Agama in the sense of Veda or Vedic knowledge; and in the Yoga Sutras he speaks of three criteria of knowledge—Perception (pratyakșa), Inference (anumāna), and Revelation or authentic utterance (agama). Thus we find that because all sacred scriptures were considered to be revealed the Veda was termed Agama; and when another class of literature, viz., Tantra, scriptural in import, appeared and began to hold sway over a vast mass of people, the term Nigama was applied to Veda while Agama though not exclusively but generally came to denote Tantra on the one hand and ensure its sanctity like the Veda on the other. Now it is well-known that the Rishis of the Veda are not authors of the Veda but seers of the Mantra while the Veda is understood to be eternal even as the Divine Wisdom that is embodied in it. The Agamas, whoever may be their writers and whatever their dates be, are held to be essentially Scriptures revealed by the Supreme Shiva or Hari according to the nature and class of the Agamas concerned.¹⁵⁸

A striking feature common to these Agamas is the high reference in which they hold the Vedas. They do not, as is imagined by many, run counter to the spirit of the Veda. On the contrary, they declare that the knowledge in the Veda is high, beyond the reach of common men and claim to hold in themselves the substance and essence of the supreme knowledge embedded in that Scripture. And indeed it is so. For while the Upanishads represent the revivalist attempts for the recovery of the Jnana portions of the Vedas, the practical side of the Vedic teaching, not as related to the ritual —-for that was the care of the Brahmanas—but as concerning the inner life of the seeker, the esoteric teaching as we would put it, was sought to be revived, continued and preserved by these later Yogas and Tantras. As Sri Aurobindo observes: “ The mental images of the Vedic gods figured in the mantras (were replaced) by mental forms of the two great deities, Vishnu and Shiva, and their Shaktis and by corresponding physical images which are made the basis both for external worship and for the Mantras of inward adoration and meditation, while the psychic and spiritual experience which the inner sense of the Vedic hymns expresses finally disappeared into the psycho-spiritual experience of Puranic and Tantric religion and Yoga.” Such knowledge as this— of the building of the inner life—was traditionally handed down from father to son, from Guru to Shishya and the Agamas represent a worthy compilation and preservation of this inheritance from the forefathers. There are many traces of the Vedic influence and outlook in these Agamas. There is, for instance, a monotheism in them. It is now Shiva, now Vishnu or Hari who is the Supreme. There is also, as in the Rig Veda, an apparent polytheism. For many are the deities worshipped and invoked by the aspirant—though their position is one of subordination to, and ultimately identity with the Supreme. There is even a tendency to Monism perceptible in the Shakta scriptures. The devotee worships the deity and finds his glorious culmination in the final act of complete identification and merging in the Higher-eliminating all difference between worshipper and the worshipped.

But these Agamas are not a mere conglomeration of various systems of teachings and past traditions. They work up a large synthesis instead. And synthesis is no collection or heaping up of diverse elements; it is not eclecticism either. The synthesis we meet with in the Agamas is a living whole in which every element of value is preserved and falls into its just position and proportion all together making quite a new and developing system which embraces the entire life in its sweep, the man in the individual and man in the aggregate, man the thinker and the doer, man the soul. This synthesis of the Tantra is in fact more comprehensive than the synthesis of the Gita and in a sense more in consonance with the intention in life. For the ultimate teaching of the Gita comes to this: action is unavoidable, none can subsist without it. So make the best of it, use it-such of it as allows to be so used—first of all for your own moral and spiritual elevation leading to a progressive surrender to the Lord of all so that once you are completely given to Him you may have nothing more to do with this transitory and unhappy world, even though you may continue to do work for the sake of others. Life is a lever for rising upwards and shooting beyond it, not a field to be worked upon and cherished as an enjoyable creation of the Divine Being. The Tantric synthesis however looks upon life with a different and other vision. There is nothing to be rejected from what the Supreme Shakti has created. Even that which the Gita enjoins upon all seekers to reject, the bhoga, need not be given up. After all the world is for the bhoga of the Ishwara or the Ishwari and man at his highest, representing as he does an effective portion of Him or Her must enjoy the bhoga, conscious of his part as the vehicle or centre of the Enjoyer. That this bhoga-mārga, Vamamarga as it is called, later fell into disrepute and degeneracy is quite another matter which could be easily explained and does not detract from the sublime conception at the base, the high standard of purity and sincerity that was expected of man if he was to discharge conscientiously his responsibility as an unsullied channel of the Joy of bhoga. It means a tremendous labour of discipline and self-exceeding, in one’s own personal and inner, and the outer and collective life-a continuous action, tantra, on so many planes.

Let us now turn to a closer view of the Tantric system and scrutinise the four famous parts, pada-which go to make up the whole. Every way of religious and spiritual life has a basis to stand upon, a metaphysical base providing the philosophical Truths underlying the system, its genesis, rationale, the aim. In fact it is the strength and validity of this source of inspiration that determine the course and power of the outflowing manifestation. A systematised presentation in intellectual terms of the underlying Idea, a rational working out of its ways and means of expression, an examination of its fundamentals in the premises and in the conclusions-vis-à-vis other prevailing Idea-truths, is what we would call the metaphysical basis of a system and the Tantra Shastra has doubtless a philosophy, a metaphysics of its own. If the esoteric message of the Vedas is the substance of its practical teaching, the Vedanta with the Sankhya in a modified form provides the background, we may say, even the backbone of the philosophy of the Tantra. The Supreme is one and All is He. Only there it is Brahman, here it is Vishnu, Shiva or Shakti. The psychology of the Tantra is the psychology of the Sankhyas which itself is a side-product of the Upanishadic thought. These teachings are developed and extended so as to apply to a larger and larger part of man; the emphasis is sought to be shifted from the soul and mind to the other parts of the being, the heart and emotions and the will as well. In fact it is a restatement of the Wisdom of the Upanishads in terms suited to the changing conditions in which society was passing with varying stresses on the different elements that go to make up the complex personality of man. But this knowledge-part, jnāna-päda, could not be all. At best it can provide a satisfying and even a compelling understanding of the aim and purpose of life. Beyond that it has to put it into action. And the Tantra has the second pāda, the yoga-pāda for the purpose.

It is certainly not that Yoga was born with the Agamas or the Tantriks or that there were no Yogins before they came. It cannot be said either thateven Raja Yoga was first propounded by Patanjali. The truth is that Yoga is as old as the Vedas at least and the Institution of Sacrifice, yajna, in the Vedas is just a symbol of the one Yoga in which the Rishis were ceaselessly engaged, the Yoga by which they endeavoured, invoked and received in themselves the gods from on high. In the very nature of things there was no set uniformity in every detail of the individual pursuits of the Yoga though in large outlines they always corresponded. Handed down by tradition for centuries, it was perhaps Patanjali who first picked up one line of Yoga, and methodised the system of Raja Yoga in his famous Sutras. But Tantric Yoga goes beyond that, it infuses an inner discipline on the lines marked out by the Guru to the disciple. Life is sought to be purified, uplifted and equipped for effective embodiment and living the truths in accordance with the principles laid out in jnana-pada.

The Tantra Shastra does not stop with the individual. It recognises that for all purposes man is but a member of the larger society around. He influences those around and is influenced by their movements, by their thoughts, aspirations and actions to a greater extent than he normally affects the aggregate. It is not enough to educate and develop one unit. It is indispensable to mould the general environment also on the same lines so that there could be an identity of aspiration, a mutually helpful and congenial intercourse between the individual and the collective. It recognises also that human mind in the mass is less attracted to the abstract and the subtle and goes on to provide significant rituals and ceremonies by which it could be gradually drawn to the inner truth of things. This is the kriyā-pāda. External ceremonies, ritual worship have played a notable part in the awakening of the naturally extrovert consciousness of man to the reality of an Inner Presence; they impinge upon the senses and sense-faculties of man with considerable force and leave impressions which in their cumulative result effect an opening through some part into the larger being of himself. Effort at such social and collective religious practices is encouraged. Congregational worship has a stimulating effect and power of invocation not generally realised by most. The atmosphere created by the pressure of a single Idea, a single mounting aspiration in a multitude of hearts simultaneously striving for the same end gets charged with a force and intensity which the individuals share, consciously or unconsciously, each benefitting by the all, each individual aspiration and realisation contributing to the general but also absorbing and growing on the strength and nourishment received from the total and the general. It is in this light that the elaborate ritual-cum-worship aspect of the Tantra is to be examined. This aspect of the Tantra bears a close resemblance to and recalls the Ritual of the Brahmanas, the Yajna of the Veda. There is no more the full figure of the Yajna; yet an important ritual in the construction of Temple and the installation of the Idol is the kumbhābhişeka, considered to be a yāga. Thus even the tradition of the old ritual ceremony is absorbed and carried forward in a newer form.

And this is not all. The seeker is given a philosophy with which he equips himself intellectually; he is initiated into a Yoga that could yield the truth of the philosophy for his living; he is provided with an environment and an outer scaffolding suited to the growth and outflowering of his faith and realisation. But the spiritual effort, fostered and built up with such an all-round care and eye for detail, is not meant to be bottled up in its results within the limits of the individual frame. Liberation of the soul from the bonds of the lower Prakriti and a release into the heights of the Spirit does not form the end of such a comprehensive endeavour. The ideal individual of the Tantric Yoga has a responsibility to others less forcunate than himself, he is looked upon as a siddha, a perfect individual for the outpouring of the Shakti he is in communion with. He has to have dealings with men and society, he has to discharge all the responsibilities that devolve on him by virtue of the pre-eminent position he has attained, not without some help from the society. He has to guide and lead others. The Shastra lays down the code of conduct, the ways of functioning —the caryā—for these mentors of men. Relations and activities of men on the spiritual path are governed by rules and modes of conduct other than those that are prescribed by the Dharma of the age for the laity. That is because their thoughts and their actions proceed from a different basis; they have another motive-force and other ends in view. Their attitude to life, their outlook on the world, is different from that of common humanity and things do not appear to them in the same hue and light in which they do to others. As a rule man looks only at the surface of things, thinks— when he does at all—with an insufficient faculty called mind—and proceeds as best as he could. But one who has effected a change in his makeup by dint of tapasyā and stationed himself on a deeper basis, necessarily governs his life-movement with different considerations which many at times strike the convention-ridden mind as opposed to reason or morality even as the actions of an adult human being may well appear to be harsh, cruel and stupid—when they are really otherwise-to an infant. The Tantra Shastra recognises and provides for the need of such a higher type of being to proceed from different basis of action in the fourth pāda, the caryā-pāda and enjoins upon him to work out the progressive weal of the rest. Mark the three ways of worship of the Tantriks: the godly way, divya bhava, the way of the hero, vira bhāva, and that of the animal, paśu bhāva, which alone is governed by the ordinary stereotyped rules of conduct.

This in brief is the rationale of the four Padas of the Tantra, the Jnana-pada, Yoga-pada, Kriya-pada and Charya-pada. A Tantra is whole and complete only when it has these four parts. We can now better appreciate the large spirit that has actuated the Tantric sages. But no human institution fashioned by human hands in Time is known to have escaped the decay and disease inevitable with the wear of age and the Tantric system has been no exception. And we need not be surprised when we find votaries of Tantra attaching exclusive importance to the externals of the cult, to the minutiae and formulae, totally forgetful of the or:ginal intention of the system-builders. Thus when it is asserted that what is of utmost importance in the Kriya-pada is strict observance, to the very letter, of the requirements in measurement and design in the construction of the temple and performance of the ritual or when it is sought to enforce uniform rules for all relating to details of daily life as all-sufficing commandments of the Charya-pada, one can only smile if one has enough detachment or sigh at human stupidity which competes with the march of ages in pulling down lofty structures of the ancients.

Before concluding this section on the Tantric synthesis we cannot resist the temptation of drawing attention to the parallel between this and the New Synthesis, the synthesis worked out in the Teachings of Sri Aurobindo. Not that this our system has been modelled after the Tantric, though it is true that the Tantric truths have gone into the making of it even as the Vedantic conceptions have. But they do not, by any means, form the prototypes; they are important elements; we will not go into the question further for the moment but only point out an interesting correspondence between the Tantric-Quartette and the Quartette of writings Sri Aurobindo found necessary to broad-base his vast system, for Metaphysics and Philosophy, for the realisation of the fundamental truths in one’s being, for the development of social psychology in consonance with the principles enunciated and finally for the actual working out of the Unity of man.

II

It is not accurate to describe this ancient religion of India, now current, as Puranic. Neither the Gods of the current religion nor the metaphysics and philosophy—Shastra—are really Puranic in origin. The Puranas are compilations of the legendary lore of the country, giving different accounts of the cosmogony of the universe—accounts of the primary creation, the secondary creation, narrations of the geneology of the progenitors of mankind, cycles of time, rolls of the dynasties of kings, etc.-purūņam panca-lakṣaṇam. The Puranas are more historical—if history they can be called interspersed with philosophical or religious stories for the mental and moral elevation of man and society. The Gods of the Hindu religion are in fact Tantric Gods. And the Gods of the Tantra are not sudden arrivals on the scene. They are really a continuation of the line of the Gods of the Veda. Not in the same form and name, of course, but with necessary modifications inevitable with the incidence of Time on tradition.

The Vedic Gods, as we have noted elsewhere while dealing with the subject in fuller detail, have a twofold aspect to the seers of the Veda. In their exterior aspect they are essentially Nature-powers. Agni is the elemental fire, Indra the rain-god, Surya the solar body, Maruts the storm-gods and so on. But they have another, psychological character also and this was more important to those initiated into the mystery of the Vedic religion. These Gods are powers indeed, but not merely the powers of Nature. They are rather higher Powers, Personalities of the Godhead having the Cosmic field for their action. There are also lower gods who preside over the elemental forces of nature, over movements in the physical world and also movements in the inner world of man. Besides presiding over the Fire element in creation, Agni is looked upon as the deity controlling and promoting the upward flame, the agni in man stationed on the various levels of his being—as the agni in life, prāņa-agni, as the flame of aspiration in the heart, as the consuming quest for knowledge in the mind. He has other functions also. Similarly, Indra is the God governing the higher regions of the luminous mind, the Maruts controlling and contributing to the life-forces and thought-powers of man. Thus the Gods are Cosmic Powers with specific functions in the external world of Nature as well as with more important and significant charge in the inner world that supports it from behind and above. The sages of the Tantras carried on the tradition in the essentials that mattered. The Gods are very much the same here also, only the external functions in their physical aspect which predominate in the common mind of the early times have been appropriately relegated to the background when they are not altogether dispensed with. Thus Agni of the Veda continues in the Tantra, with a change of name certainly, yet with the same functions and even the new name, Kumara, Child, is significant for the Agni-origin it preserves. Agni is Kumara, Child of the Supreme Shiva. In the Rig Veda Agni is in the forefront of the Gods, their guide, their messenger. Here he is their Chief of Powers who leads them to victory, the commander behind whum they line up. In the Veda Agni is regarded by the seers as the all effecting and all-knowing pilot of their journey. Kumara is also looked up to for his immense store of knowledge and wisdom by these seers of later times. Again, the mighty Indra is there, but in the Tantra and the Puranas his part is taken up by Rudra the powerful who brooks no obstacle. The hosts of Indra—the Maruts-continue as the pramathas of Rudra. Indra the marutvān, leader of the hosts of Maruts, the storm-gods or life-powers, continues to play his effective part as Rudra the lord of the pramathas, Pramathanatha. The Sun, the Highest God of the Veda is also here as Vishnu-a name which is applied to the Supreme Sun in the Rig Veda itself. Aditi, the mother of All, is not there under the same nomenclature, but there is the Supreme Shakti called variously Uma, Gouri, etc. All the important Gods are there. The other minor gods with mainly physical functions and less of the psychological have been consigned to the position of the dik-pālakas, guardians of the several quarters or of some other minor importance. Newer Gods have arrived, true, but the older ones have not been altogether supplanted and totally forgotten, they retain their due supremacy though in different form.

We have referred to that interesting feature of the Tantra, namely the recognition of the Supreme Deity as the Highest with a simultaneous adoration of a number of other deities. The sages of the Tantra do not see any inconsistency in the position, for they recognise that this creation is not a unitary system but a gradation of worlds spread over a rising tier of consciousness and planes and the various Gods and Goddesses are higher beings, powers and entities deriving their authority from the Supreme to take their part, and act or preside over their spheres of domain. There is a regular hierarchy of Gods some of whom are far above the highest heavens of human reach. But there are also Gods and Goddesses closer to the human level. They are more readily accessible to those who aspire to them and in some cases the seeker on the Tantric path looks to the aid and lead of these deities in his effort. They are endowed with capacities and powers beyond normal human possibility, but they are not all for that reason divine in nature. There are higher and lower classes of them, ucca and kșudra Devatas. Those that are nearest to the earth-plane, swarming in the vital world overtopping the physical, are usually of the latter type. They respond very readily to the approaches of those who seek their help, but they do so mainly for their own purpose, namely to get hold of the particular human vehicle and convert it into a centre for their activity on the earth. They may and do answer the call of the seeker, in the beginning but in the end they let him down, rather roughly, once their purpose is fulfilled. The seeker is misled, his inner progress comes to a standstill if it does not end in disaster. The Kshudra-devatas mislead the seeker with petty glamorous gifts, induce a false sense of progress and siddhi, prevent the dawn of real Jnana which would expose their whole game and succeed in enslaving the man for their purpose at the cost of his soul which is betrayed into misadventure. It is to eliminate all such chances and possibilities of mishap that orthodox spiritual tradition frowns upon and strongly discourages occult lines of effort in which intercourse with the beings of other worlds is not rare. But we must remember at the same time that all the Devatas or deities are not of this type. There are benevolent deities who answer equally readily to the prayers of the devotee and their help is inestimable for him if only he keeps his Ideal pure and aloft. If he aspires only for the Highest the deity helps him, takes him a long way, not merely with spiritual aid but help of other kinds as well. The Tantra Shastra has done signal service in emphasising that though all the Devatas are of the same divine origin, yet each has a special stress in its character, each is meant to actualise or help to actualise the particular potentiality of the Supreme in creation. Thus certain deities have it within their power to confer wealth, material and spiritual, some to confer health of mind and body, some have an exclusively spiritual function. It is again a fact to be noted that prayer to an indefinite something, to an Impersonal divinity can only evoke as impersonal or indefinite response. If a response is sought to be evoked for a particular need, the prayer could be fruitful when it is addressed to a canalised centre of the Divinity, the Personal form which is active for the purpose in question, and that is precisely what the Devata in its higher sense is in the Tantra. Spiritual progress with the help of deities as these is rendered easy and safe. The sincerity with which the seeker puts himself into their care guarantees safety against the rocks and steeps in the path, the progress is smoother and the growing realisation richer by reason of the happy contribution made and especial gifts conferred on him by these chosen deities, ista-devatās.

The Tantra Shastra develops the means wherewith to commune with the Gods. Man is endowed with faculties all of which are not active or perceptible to the physical mind, but are nonetheless real; and given the necessary touch of awakening and opportunity for development, they function with much more effect and with an infinitely larger range than the usually active sense-organs. The ancients knew this and developed various lines of discipline for the development of his less-cared for and hidden side of man in which lies the means for his deliverance from helpless subjection to the bonds of physical nature. There are many lines of Yoga, including Hatha Yoga, Mantra Yoga, Raja Yoga, Laya Yoga, not to speak of Devotion and Knowledge, each with its own basis, technique and process of functioning and the seeker has to choose in accordance with the aptitude of his nature and demands of his soul the proper way he would commence. Now the Tantriks took over these Yogas, as they were, improved upon with their special knowledge of the occult worlds and applied these means for opening up the inner centres that window upon the supraphysical and still higher regions. But they did not stop with that alone. They developed another Sadhana which also had significant origins with the Vedic Rishis-the mantra. The Mantra-Sadhana has survived to this day as the most significant contribution of the Tantras to the spiritual heritage of mankind. A Mantra, as is well-known, is not a mere letter or collection of letters, with some meaning. It is the sound-body of a Power charged with the intense vibrations of the spiritual personality of the creator or the seer of the Mantra. The Mantra is an ever-living embodiment of the Truth and Power which have found expression in it through the medium of the Rishi or Yogin who has given them that body. And when a Mantra is uttered, under proper conditions, it is not the feeble voice of the reciter that goes forth to evoke the response of the Gods to whom it is addressed, but the flame of tapasyā and realisation that is lying coiled up in the body of that utterance. The vibrations issuing from the Mantra are its own and they create the necessary conditions in and around the reciter appropriate the reception of the response from the deity to whom the address is made. The form of the Mantra may be coherent words or may be single letters arranged in a certain order. The Tantra has thus formulated some seed-letters, Bijaksara, which the seeker uses as the Mantra. These Bijaksharas have been endowed with a perennial store of power by the Tantrik seers and it needs only the living touch of the Guru to set them awake in the disciple. This is true sense in which the use of the Mantras is to be understood. They are not, as at times the superficial mind may be tempted to suppose, just convenient aids for concentration, mechanical devices for keeping the mind from wandering.

These are the essentials of the Tantra Sadhana—the Devata, the Mantra and the Guru. The Devatas are certainly not worshipped in the abstract. They are approached in the form in which they revealed themselves to the inner eye of these seers. For these Gods and Goddesses, though they may not have the physical form of the gross kind, have yet their own characteristic figure and colour. They have their own vehicles, vāhana, their auras of specific colour. Some of them reveal their presence in certain definite symbols. All these are matters of experience with the Tantric seers who proceeded to render these subtle forms and figures in their physical correspondences as close and faithful as possible. Hence the sacredness and importance attached to the images and figures in the Tantric ritual. The image, mūrti, or the diagram, yantra, are the meeting places of the Invisible Presence of the Deity and the sensebound soarings of human aspiration.

The Bijakshara, the Mantra of the seed-letter, is also no construction or invention of the imaginative Tantriks. These letters have an individuality of their own shade and colour and reveal themselves as such. Each seed-letter refers to a certain principle related to the Tattva of the Deity. And it could by itself be a Mantra or form a Mantra in conjunction with other seed-letters or words.

Then there is the Guru, who carries the Tantric tradition in himself, is instinct in some measure with the living presence of the deity invoked and who implants the Mantra along with the activating personal force of his own in the disciple. The Mantra-dynamis is set in motion within the being of the disciple by the Guru and if only he would co-operate by assiduous attention and compliance with the needs of the growing Sadhana the progress is assured and the goal sure of reach. The Guru, the Deity, the Mantra are all equally important. The Shastra goes so far as to combine them in the identity of a single whole, and with reason. For the Guru is present in the Mantra through the influence he puts into it while initiating the disciple. The Devata is present in the Mantra which is indeed the sound-body of the deity. Again the Devata is also present in the person of the Guru. And it is the Mantra which works out the Sadhana. That is why it is said, the Guru, the Devata and the Mantra are one, gurudevatā-manūnām aikyam.

Thus it will be seen that the Tantra Shastra attaches great importance to all the three essentials of the Sadhana. The Guru is much more than the physical appearance he wears; he is looked upon as the embodiment of the Deity sought to be realised or attained; to look upon him as a human being like any other is not merely wrong but also a dangerous delusion. Then there is the image in which the deity is worshipped. The image or the form is the material foundation’ to form the physical nodus’ for the act of external worship. To look upon such an image as mere stone is profane. Again the Mantra has a special character, it is the body of a spiritual truth or deity. The look upon it as mere letters is to blaspheme the sacred character of the Mantra. Thus the Tantriks have a famous dictum which sums up the Tantric position in regard to the Guru, the Image and the Mantra: “To hell he goes who mistakes the Guru for a human, who takes the image for a piece of stone, who looks upon the Mantra as mere letters."¹⁶⁰

III

This, then, is the Tantric system in its fundamentals. We see that there is nothing in it which runs radically counter to the ancient spirit of the Vedic teachings. On the other hand there is much in conformity with it or in continuation of it. It has assimilated the Vedic spirit and revived it in a modified form. If there is a note critical and antagonistic to the Vedas in some of the extreme texts of the Tantra, it is in the nature of a rejoinder provoked by criticism of the later Vedist, the Smritikaras that the Tantra, unlike the Veda, has no sacred character about it because all castes, varñas, including women, have access to it, and such other insinuations. We have referred to the esteem in which they hold the Vedas. The central feature of the Vedic ritual, viz., the Yajna is taken up in the ritual of the Tantra with suitable changes and there is no temple without a yāga-sāla, Sacrificial Hall. The gods of the Veda continue to adorn the Tantric pantheon; their functions continue, but vary in form; the names undergo a change. The same gods are worshipped under different names and, what is remarkable, at times the very same Mantras and gods in the Rig Veda figure in the Tantra in all their grandeur. We shall illustrate this point as it is important to show how the Tantra has worked its way up to adumbrate in it the gods of the Vedic pantheon. We shall take an example from the Prapancastatantra which deals with many deities, Vaishnava, Shaiva, Shakta without distinction of superiority of any one over the other.

Agni in the Rig Veda is a deity of paramount importance without whose help it is impossible for the sacrificer to proceed. Agni is the seer who finds the way, the pāvaka who burns the dross and cleanses the seeker of all sin and impurity, carries him through all obstacles, like a boat over the seas, nāveva, sindhum. In the Shakta Tantra the same Deity is worshipped as Durga, the indomitable, the protectrix who carries the devotee safe across the sea of misery, the ocean of birth and death, bhavasāgara-nauḥ. And what is more important, in one place the exact Mantra addressed to Agni in the Veda is applied here to Durga.

It is in the text referred to above that we come across three Mantras which have been combined together to form a hundred letters and give what is known as the satākṣari vidyā. The first Mantra consisting of 44 letters, in tristup metre, is bodily taken from the 99th Sukta of the first Mandala in the Rig Veda.

Agni is the seer, knower of all. It lies in his power to render us all help as a result of his foreknowledge. Knowledge is a most priceless possession of man and without it he is rudderless in the sea of life. And Agni deprives the enemy of this indispensable possession. To him, says the Rishi, let us offer our choicest gift, the very sap of life, the distilled juice of Ananda, the Soma, so that pleased, he would transport us over all the eddies and whirls, tides and waves of obstruction and misfortune that beset life. “Like a boat across the waters”, is a favourite image of the ancients. It is repeated in the Upanishads, it also finds mention in the Tantric text referred to. Here is the Rik and the English rendering:—

जातवेदसे सुनवाम सोममरातीयतो नि दहाति वेदः ।
स नः पर्षदति दुर्गाणि विश्वा नावेव सिन्धुं दुरितात्यग्निः ।।

“ To the Knower of all Birth (Agni) we press Soma, to him who consumes the knowledge (or wealth) of the enemy. Let Agni carry us across all the obstructions like a boat over the river."

In the Veda the Rik is ascribed to Rishi Kashyapa; in the Tantric text also the Seer of the Mantra is Kashyapa. There the deity is Agni, here it is Durga.

Then follows the second part of the Shatakshari (hundred-lettered Mantra) of 32 letters, in anuştup metre, which again is a verbatim reproduction of the 12th Rik in the 59th Sukta of the seventh Mandala in the Rig Veda. The Rik is addressed to Rudra as Tryambaka, father of the Three (worlds). The Rishi aspires towards immortality for himself and for others who have engaged themselves in the Yajna, the antar-yajna. He has a claim for immortality as a child of the Gods, a position he has attained not merely by his endeavours but by the benign grace of the Gods themselves. But this high status of immortality cannot be won and retained by any one without a certain elevation and strength of purity; the utmost that human effort can build up in the direction is inadequate. Only the Divine can promote and shape the requisite all-round strength and fitness. Again desire, want, greed, lust bring in their train disappointment, grief, unhappiness, disease and ultimately death. And for those that aspire for immortality there should be nothing in them which clings to its opposite, viz. death and agents of death. He that would share in the high status above has necessarily to be aloof and separate from, even while living amidst it, the envelope of ignorance and darkness that characterise the human world, like a cucumber separate from its shell, says the Rishi, like the ripe cocoanut loosened from its shell, say the saints and sages of later times.

त्रयम्बकं यजामहे सुगन्धि पुष्टिवर्धनम् । उर्वारुकमिव बन्धनान्मृत्योर्मक्षीय मामृतात् ।।

“We adore the Father of the three worlds, Tryambaka of auspicious Fame, increaser of fullness and strength. May I be detached from Death like cucumber from the shell (or the stem), not from the Immortal."

In the Rig Veda, this Rik ascribed to Vasishtha is addressed to Rudra, as Tryambaka, father of the three worlds. Here in the Tantra also the deity is Rudra, as Mrityunjaya, conqueror of Death and the Mantra is famous as the Mrityunjaya Mantra.

The third part of 24 letters, in gāyatri metre, is the famous Gayatri from the 62nd Sukta of Rishi Vishwamitra in the third Mandala of the Rig Veda. Savitr is the deity in the Veda; the same supreme deity is invoked here also. Savitr, it must be noted is identified with Vishnu here as in the Rig Veda. Vishwamitra is the seer of the Mantra here also. The Sun, Savitr, is not the physical sun we see in the skies, but the supreme Effulgence in the highest firmament above, beyond the lower triple creation. The physical sun is indeed taken as the image of the Truth-Sun, the Centre of all Knowledge and radiating Power. It is the radiance issuing from the Supreme Source in which is massed all the creative movement of the Uncreate that is the ultimate root of all movements in the creation. Let that Light motivate and energise our thought-movements, says the Rishi.

तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि । धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् ।।

“We meditate upon that excellent splendour of the Lord Savitr. May he activate our thoughts.”

One significant fact shall not escape notice here inasmuch as it illustrates the remarkable facility with which these seers reconcile the claims of the respective votaries of Vishnu, Shiva and Para Shakti for supremacy. Thus here in this single Vidya, there is Durga who stands for the Para Shakti of the Shakta, there is Rudra in place of Shiva and there is Savitr, Surya for Vishnu. All are placed on the same supreme level of adoration, all are simultaneously invoked in the prayer poured forth by the Sadhaka.

Such is the synthesis of the Tantra, broad-based and deep-rooted, catholic and progressive. It does not ignore or overlook any past heritage of spiritual value. Its Jnana-pada, the metaphysical basis, combines in itself the essence of the Vedantic philosophy with all the spirit of pliability and catholicity of the ancient Rishis. The Yoga-pada, the practical side, revives the remnants of past lines of Yoga as far as possible and carries further the esoteric tradition, absorbs and develops the later physico-vital and psychological methods of self-development and self-exceeding. The Kriya-pada, the social and the ceremonial aspect, takes up the institution of community worship and ritual from immemorial times and extends the claim of the Spirit on the entire society. The Charya-pada, bearing upon personal conduct, re-establishes the claim of society on the individual and reconciles.it with the special privileges and responsibilities of the latter issuing from his spiritual transcendence.

THOUGHTS ON TANTRA

We propose to consider certain features of Tantra Shastra with special reference to Chandi, famous as Durga.

Upadhyaya is a Tantrika; he knows the art of propitiating the spirits-deities as he calls them—and averts certain sorts of evil that may otherwise befall his clients. Among other things, he knows and puts into practice with remarkable success a curious He casts a spell over a given area, definite and reasonably limited of course, and goes away, and that becomes a prohibited area for the cobra. This man’s method has nothing to do with the tact of the snake-charmer or the use of any material means to rope in or drive out the venomous reptile. An incident which took place just a few weeks ago would go to point out the character of the genuine magic, or we may add, of the occult significance of the phenomenon we would presently relate.

We may call it superstition, but it is a popular belief, quite often verified and therefore dynamic, that to kill a cobra is fraught with danger to the killer and to the household that is, or promises to become, its home or a resort of its frequent visitation. Now this happened in the house of my young friend’s sister; he returned here a fortnight ago after paying a short visit to his ancestral home. Thus, it is a firsthand report since he was present there at the time and mention of the details would repay the attention paid to it. The family with children has been living in the house for many years; but all on a sudden, one day a cobra was sighted within their lodging, to the annoyance of the inmates. Certainly there was awe, but awe with a dash of an almost religious sentiment. The hooded creature became a frequent visitor, unharmed, naturally unwanted. What was to be done? To their good luck, Upadhyaya in his itinerary had come to the township. When he was approached with the problem, he agreed to take up the question.

He sat for a while and did some ritual, very simple and formal, got up and said "I have done the thing, digbandha; the quarters are closed, the fence is completed, the enclosure is impenetrable." Next day, what took place was indeed amazing. The cobra did not turn up, but that itself may be accounted for somehow, as due to causes other than the magic of the māntrika. But the miracle of a mongoose running about in the house in place of the cobra, solved the problem of the family, while winning laurels for the Upadhyaya.

We can give by all means our own explanation, that the man was in contact with the spirit, kşudra devatā presiding over the cobra group, or some other explanation. The Tantrik says he consulted his goddess, she consented to help him. Whatever way we look at such a phenomenon, it remains a fact and cannot be explained away. Well, this is undoubtedly a Tantric act.

Similar and still more remarkable incidents which are brought about by human agency through unusal powers are within our personal knowledge and enable us to conclude that those who wield such powers are usually ignorant and do not know how they get them, but know the occult formulae, the technique, or even have the influence and capacity transmitted to them by an adept in the field. But all these are generally despised by people whose lives are influenced by religious or moral sentiments. Yet these go by the name of Tantra. Usually, the Tantrik of this sort does not prosper even in the ways of ignorance, lives a miserable life, ends his life in misery.

Such practices in some form or other are not confined to this country. A journalist hailing from England toured this country some years ago and wrote a book in which he devoted sufficient number of pages to Spirituality in India and in illustration of it gave an account of his meeting a genuine famous saint. What he wrote was informative and proved useful to many who were drawn to the subject and to the centres of genuine spiritual Force to which he had made reference. The book made him famous overnight, we might say deservedly, so much that he came to be looked upon as a Guru himself by some good people. But later when he went to search for some genuine magic in Egypt, he saw and learnt many things about cobras and giant scorpions and wrote again; but it was a steep descent from the sublime to the ridiculous, a fine illustration of the contrast between spirituality and spiritualism.

There are certain Tantric books which are indeed abominable; some of them are published and available in the market, but are definitely wicked. The misleading clement lies in the titles of these books such as Siddha Shankara Tantra, Dattatreya Tantra, etc., and quite often in the childish, if not mischievous sham that the subject-matter purports to be all instruction or information that Shiva once upon a time gave to Parvati. But we need not dilate upon this despicable side of Tantra which includes not only transaction with the elemental spirits and other powers of a low order, but also the degradation of high ideals, of true spirituality of the Shakta cult into the “ left-hand worship ” vāmācāra, represented by the five “M”s. But before leaving this lowest aspect of Tantra which in some respects corresponds to the spiritualism or spiritism of the West, and includes in a way the aims of the modern attempts of Mesmerism, Hypnotism and certain sorts of groping occultism, we may remark that the method employed depends upon external devices, uses of certain "occult” drugs which are believed to attract the spirit-force or spirit-being as well as certain figures and diagrams and secret code words.

The Tantra Shastra proper, -leaving aside the lower forms and the baser accretions-is strictly the science of the Mantras. If on one side, it is vulgar and discredited, as briefly noted above, on the other side it is exalted, combines in itself the highest form of Yoga and knowledge and devotion so much so that it might be termed a synthesis on broad lines of practical methods pursued by aspirants of different persuasions. By the use of the Mantra, mystic syllables, powers of concentration are developed to open the centres that are ordinarily closed in the human system. And these centres, when opened, become steps in the staircase, in the rising tier of Consciousness functioning as windows upon a wider and wider existence, of a larger world teeming with forces and beings whom one may contact on the way or ignore and move onward towards the highest reach, the Supreme Consciousness. The Tantric Yoga at its highest aims at the realisation of the highest Consciousness and the powers natural to it. There are certain features that distinguish it from other Yogas of which brief mention here may not be out of place. Certain lines of Yoga can be practised without any serious belief in the existence of God, a higher Intelligence, and one can indeed meet with success if the aim be the usual control of mind, a certain mastery of vital functionings in the body and increase in the vital capacity for holding the will and exercise of the breath control and mind control, and concentration leading to trance. Certainly, Raja Yoga can be practised, not to talk of Hattayoga, without any devotion to or faith in God. Faith in the Guide, the Guru, faith in the efficacy of the line followed, faith in one’s own capacity to achieve the end in view—this threefold faith is enough, but necessary, as indeed it is necessary for the Tantric yoga also, while in the latter the element of devotion with faith in the higher power and grace of the Shakti is sine quo non from the very beginning. And it has an advantage over Jnana Yoga in that it relies and depends upon the guidance of the Shakti for the fruitful course of the discipline followed. We thus see that the Tantra aims very high, and the practice carries within it the essentials of many disciplines.

II

Now that we have briefly noted the two extreme sides of the Tantra Shastra, we shall proceed to consider here a question connected with Mantras that is generally ignored by scholars who deliberate, philosophise and write upon the subject. It is perfectly true that the aim of the Tantra is to achieve the Highest, and the Mantra is used as a means for concentration to open the centres of consciousness for the gradual unfoldment of knowledge and power leading to the ultimate goal. But we must pause here and see if the Mantra is just a mechanical device, means for concentration and nothing else. There is a truth often ignored by philosophers of Tantra, not by those who take to the Mantra Sadhana. It is this that there are many deities with the Supreme Deity at the summit and through any of them, by his or her help, one can get at the Supreme or the Supreme can through any of the deities favour the initiate and give him the necessary lift. The point to be noted here is that the Supreme Deity does not negate or annul the existence of the deities but on the other hand uses them for her (or his) purpose or allows them free scope to deal with the Sadhaka in accordance with the spirit and manner of his approach. And these deities are realities, entities, beings with intelligence and power appropriate to the levels they occupy in the hierarchy of the grades of Cosmic existence. Once we recognise the fact that there are distinct Powers, beings whose influence man can receive, who can be contacted through proper means, we have accepted that the lower the levels they occupy, the easier the contact cffected. It is this fact that accounts for the black magic part of the Tantra to which we referred as degrading and despicable. For there are good as well as evil forces and beings, spirits evil especially on the levels that are nearer the Earth-plane.

But there are higher beings, with a larger field for their activity, with knowledge and power proper to their station and natural to the order they belong to in the Cosmic scale. There are still higher beings, Gods and Goddesses proper, with cosmic functionings and nearer to the Supreme Cosmic Godhcad who presides over the creation. They are, one may say, vehicles, instruments, with distinct characteristics, and therefore individual Gods and Goddesses in that sense; they may be, some of them, in closer touch or conscious union with the Supreme Deity, whose work they carry out. Now the Mantra Sadhana claims to win the favour and grace of any of these, not necessarily for reaching the supreme goal, though there is always that possibility. The Sadhaka aims at first to be in the good graces of the God or Goddess, so that he can get the necessary guidance in life. As he progresses, and finds some measure of success in the Sadhana, if his deity happens to be a being of a lower order he may prosper for a time in the line of his choice, and very likely close his career in failure. If the deity of his choice be of a higher order and his Sadhana proceeds with certain signs of help from his isța devatā, his progress brings about a change in his attitude to life, and his devotion to the dcity grows stronger, stronger than his attractions to the aims of common life with which he may have started the Sadhana for success in life through the favour of a Devata. And in the end, the Sadhana naturally leads the Sadhaka beyond his first aims, either by fulfilling or cancelling them, to the larger and higher aim of life which indeed is the goal of all lines of approach to the Supreme. But if from the very start, the Sadhaka takes to the Mantra of any particular Personality and form of the Supreme Deity with the solc object of realising the highest through the favour of the God or Goddess he worships, and the Sadhana proceeds on proper lines, safe passage is assured and the burden of the Sadhana is taken in hand by the Deity in the long run, through various stages of communion and contact, and unmistakable touches of the Influence or the Presence frequently sensed with certitude.

Mantra Sadhana proceeds on the basis that there are distinct Individualities, Gods, Goddesses with Forces and beings dependent on them and emanating from them, even as they themselves are cmanations and personalities of the Supreme; and this fact will bc evident from a casual perusal of source-books on Tantra Shastra, and some of the standard books like Prapancasāra whose authorship is ascribed to Shankaracharya. But nowhere is it so pronounced and clearly brought to light as in the second and third section of the threefold Episode of the Devimāhātmya to which we would refer later on. Here we shall confine ourselves to one question, the subject of the Mantra. On the basis of the teachings of the Tantra Shastra itself, it is but proper to dismiss as puerile the apparently rational explanation of the use of the Mantra as a device for concentration. For in that case the Mantra becomes just one of the many mechanical devices that can be used,-a kith of crystal-gazing which also is a device. The Tantric claim is different, the Mantra is held to be a powerful instrument; itself is a power clothed in sound-symbol that is potent and lives in its sphere, and is meant to appeal directly to the deity for favour and help and ultimately to reveal the light and power and presence of the deity itself. The Mantra has inherent power, but its manifestation depends upon the fulfilment of one of the two conditions: either the Guru who gives the Mantra must be a Mantra-siddha, an adept, capable of awakening the initiate to the deeper vibrations of the Mantra-consciousness; or the disciple must be ripe enough for awakening the Mantra-power to ring and pulsate with the inner consciousness or the deeper being in him that is the meeting ground for the worshipped deity and worshipping soul. If both the conditions are present, then it goes without saying that success naturally becomes casier. It is certainly true that what is achieved by the Mantra Sadhana can be achieved by other means also, by pure devotion or else by higher forms of Yoga for which all is possible, in principle. But that fact does not detract from the value and characteristic line of Mantra Sadhana as a definite way of approach not only to a particular deity, but even to the Supreme. For it combines in itself devotion and concentration for a life disciplined to commune with the Devata which by itself can confer upon the Sadhaka all knowledge of Yoga and the opening of the inner centres of power and knowledge. This is possible of course when the Mantra-siddhi is accomplished bringing with it what is called sākṣālkūra, the Presence and consciousness of it. Besides, in certain lines of Tantric Sadhana, the Mantra is looked upon as a sound-body of the Devata which fact is particularly stressed in the case of certain Mantras, in this connection Sri Vidya is notable. Also, in the case of certain Devatas, prominence is not given to the repetition of the Mantra, but to the devotional aspect in which reci’ als play a dominant role, reinforcing the aspirational capacity enlightening the faith and will to achieve the end which is the attainment of the anugraha of the adored Deity. Favour or cven grace is not an adequate rendering of this Sanskrit word. For the cxpression denotes an act on the part of the Adored, an action with effect that continues without brcak, a gracious smile or glance that is cast upon the worshipper, who is seized and held in it so closely that time or place could not separate the human and the Divine, Jiva and Deva. This is the significance of the term, anu-graha, (grah to seize and hold, with anu, to pursue or follow i.c. without interruption.)

III

We have just mentioned the importance of recitals—what is called pārāyaṇa—in certain worship and this is specially applicable to the worship of Chandi as advocated in the Saptashati, the famous Devi-māhātmya. It is not that the Mantra-japa is not important or has no place in this cult. It has its place and importance for the purpose of japa, inaudible repetition of the mystic syllables and dhyāna, silent meditation. But the recital of the text assumes a greater importance in this worship because the text itself takes the place of the Mantra treated as sacred utterance of inspiration; it is surcharged with a purifying potency that clears the atmosphere and appeals in supplication and with confidence for the manifestation of the presence of the Devi. A word is necessary here to draw the line of distinction between the Mantra for Japa and Mantra for recital. In the former, inward repetition in silence leading to concentration is the characteristic way, and the Mantra is usually short. It can be even a single syllable, what is called Secd-letter, bijākṣara, and is related to a particular God or Goddess; it has its special feature, even subtle form and colour perceptible to the subtle vision, and in it is centred the gravity of the God or Goddess. Naturally, in such Sadhanas, the yogic element with personal responsibility preponderates until the gracious Presence becomes clear, prasanna, and the Sadhaka receives the grace, prasāda, of the Devata. It is said of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, that when he uttered a mantra, or a seed-sound, say Rum, Agni signified by the sound-symbol appeared to his vision with his occult native colour. But Paramahamsa was an exceptional case, because he was already in the Mother-consciousness and from there he could objectify any subtle truth that is not manifest in the outer existence.

But the Mantra used in pārāyaṇa is audibly recited, it has an effect on the surroundings, in the general atmosphere; it contributes greatly to the development of the devotional element which indeed becomes very effective as it progresses and invokes the Presence to dominate the place of worship and govern and guide the devotce. We may remark in passing that all devotional compositions, vei se or prose or musical texts are not Mantras, nor are Mantras always in verse or in prose form. We must note the fact that the Tantric Mantra is usually short, even a single syllable packed with the force or the symbolic sense related to the particular deity. Occasionally, verses from some inspired poems or scriptural texts like the Saptashati are treated and used as Mantra. But the Vedic hymns are of a different order, they are all Mantras where the meaning is as important as the text, and generally meant for recitals, though a short verse may be selected for Japa and meditation on the meaning of the Mantra with devotion to the Devata, as is done in the case of the famous Gayatri. But usually all Vcdic Mantras are used for recitals while a few selected passages have become famous as texts for Japa.

To return to the Saptashati. This is famous as a sacred text which occupies a special place as a Tantric scripture. There is no other work in the whole of the Tantra Shastra which enjoys such a deserved reputation as an assured and effective means for the worship of the Devi. It is a special line of approach to the Supreme Goddess Durga, “not easy of access" to mortals as is meant by the term. Though Mahakali, Mahalakshmi, Mahasarawati are her special Manifestations as spoken of in the text, they are not the same as those that come under the category of what is called the Ten Grand Sciences (occult and spiritual), Dasha-Mahavidyas. For the latter are different and independent, and each one of them is directly the Supreme Goddess communed with and worshipped in accordance with certain rules and rituals formulated in the respective Tantras. Here in this worship of Durga otherwise called Chandi, recital of the text is much more important than the Japa of the Mantra, not to speak of the rituals, though these have certainly their place in all Tantric worship as they provide for a material basis to form a nodus for the physical and outward act of adoration. So much importance is attached to the sacredness of the text that every verse in it is treated as Mantra in the Katyayani Tantra. And this is done in spite of the fact that all the 700 verses do not describe the glory of the Goddess, as there are many verses which are narratives related to the origin and end of the stories of the Devi. Besides, there has been a tradition that the Chandi worship has a Vedic basis. How far and in what sense it is correct to say that this Durga worship has Vedic basis is a question we shall consider within the brief space we have set for ourselves here. But before doing so it is necessary to have an idea of the subject matter of the Saptashati. It is not necessary here to dwell at length on the details of the story as it is so popular and well-known and could be gathered from the simple and easy, though powerful, text itself or otherwise from translations. Let us then recall the whole story and state it in a few passages.

Two unlucky men meet in a forest, come to know of each other’s pitiable plight, for one had lost his kingdom, and another all his wealth. They consult a sage there, who answers their questions, clears their doubts and at their request gives them instructions in regard to the worship of Durga. They carry out the instructions, engage themselves in worship and austere meditation, tapas, and at the end of three years, they had bestowed upon them the Grace of the Devi who revealed Herself to them and granted their request. Suratha, the Kshatriya, got back his kingdom, while Samadhi, the Vaishya got what he asked for, supreme Knowledge. This is the story. Now, apart from instructions in the secrets of worship (rahasyokta-vidhānena) that the sage Medhas gave the two devotees at the close of their meeting, he first spoke to them of the Glory of the Supreme Goddess, illustrating it in three episodes, caritas, of the Devi—the first related to Mahakali, the terrible Ruler of the Night, the Yoga-nidra of Hari, who is the destroyer of Madhu and Kaitabha; the second to Mahalakshmi, who makes an end of Mahishasura, and to the third to Mahasaraswati, who deals the death-blow to Shumbha and Nishumbha. It is not possible to enter into a discussion of the significance of these exploits of the Goddess; for they must form part of a separate subject for consideration. Suffice it to note these events are happenings on the Earth-plane, or of this age which is the cycle of Vaivasvata Manu. But the description of the battles between the Goddess with her Vibhutis and emanations on one side and the Asuras and their forces on the other are significant and throw light on happenings and activities in a different world and plane which have their bearing on Earth-life and human existence. Another notable fact is that there are truths hidden from our vision, regarding good and evil forces, daivic and ūsuric, contending for supremacy over this world, this Earth whose fate quite often hangs in the balance, but is ultimately decided in her favour by the intervention of the Supreme Power, Mahashakti, of the Lord of the Universe. And this will be evident to any casual reader of the Saptashati; there are memorable passages that often ring in our ears in which the promise of intervention in crises made by the Devi constitutes a scripture-monument to the Divine vigilance over human affairs on Earth. The inspiring verses in which the words of assurance are couched are untranslatable; yet even a ſeeble echo of it in English may convey something of the spirit breathed in these prophetic utterances that the sage-author of the Saptashati communicates to us.

In the first Charita we find the sage affirming “ Though She is eternal, immanent in the whole Universe which is Her embodiment, She takes birth again and again, incarnates Herself in a special form of Her choice for the successful regime of the Gods, Dcvas-for establishing Divine Principles in the world-order that its ſunctionings may increasingly harmonise with the eternal veritics and higher laws of the creative Godhead.” Again in the second Charita when the Gods regain their lost kingdom by the destruction of the Asura by the Devi and adore and sing her glory, the Goddess in Her grandeur, highly pleased, promises to come to the rescue of the Gods whenever there is need and they are put to trouble by the Asuric forces, the Demons. Similarly, in the third and the last Charita, when the task of the Mother is over, the Gods adore Her and chant hymns in praise of Her prowess, of Her manifestations and of Her motherly heart. She is pleased and again gives Her word of assurance to stand by the side of the Gods in times of need and stress, and also declares that she would ever be present in places where these hymns are recited and used in prayers. Finally the Devi speaks of her future incarnations.

It is certainly a fact of religious experience of devotees even today that in such recitals and places of worship something of Her Presence, of Her Grace is felt and it cannot be understood, much less appreciated by those who have no inkling into or not cared to investigate into these aspects of life devoted to higher and godward life. Nor can these stories of Gods and Asuras and their battles be intelligible to those who seriously think that the physical universe and material existence are the sole and fundamental Reality. Here we cannot resist the temptation of quoting Sri Aurobindo. The best way of understanding the meaning of these stories of battles between Gods and Asuras is to ponder over and grasp the sense and spirit of certain passages in his writings in a different connection. We shall quote a passage or two that will be helpful to the thoughful reader to know for himself the import of such episodes.

“The soul of man is a world full of beings, a kingdom in which armies clash to help or hinder a supreme conquest, a house where the gods are our guests and which the demons strive to possess." “ The soul is a battlefield full of helpers and hurters, friends and enemies, all this lives, tecms, is personal, is conscious, is active."

A word more before we proceed to the question of the Vedic basis of the Chandi. This scripture is included in the Markandeya Purana. The Purana purports to be a dialogue between Markandeya and Kroshtuki. Therefore he is the sage, the Rishi, the seer, of the whole scripture. The mystical reverence in which the Devi-Mahatmya is held can be best understood if we remember a tradition that comes down to us through orthodox Vaidiks who are worshippers of Chandi. The Saptashati, they hold, is a great artha śāstra i.e., a Shastra that teaches us the means of realising all ends in life, not artha in the restricted sense of Wealth or Economics. Thus the standard texts for the purposes of life, puruṣārtha, are in order: Manu for Dharma Shastra (which is said to have been originally 700 verses), Devi-Mahatmya for Artha, Vatsayana for Kama (which also is said to have been at first 700 Sutras) and the Bhagavad Gita for Moksha (which is also 700). Whether there is significance in the number 700 or not is not quite material for our consideration here. But the tradition shows that the aim of Saptashati is not in a limited or one-sided direction. It includes the aims of life here and the supreme purpose as well. And this is borne out in the story of Suratha and Samadhi by the Power and Knowledge they were respectively favoured with, for Kingdom represents supreme Power and enjoyment, bhoga, in the world. It is not an exclusive this-worldliness or other-worldliness whose fulfilment is vouchsafed in the Saptashati. Even when Suratha longs for regaining his lost kingdom, it is not the same old self of the miserable man that grabs at the power bestowed on him by the grace of the Goddess. For, before he started the Sadhana in accordance with the instructions he received from the sage, he understood and assimilated the truths about the Devi and the world and the cause of suffering therein, and thus qualified himself for a rigorous life and turned towards the Divine Mother; for only thus is an effective discipline possible to earn and receive her favour and help. And it is necessary to note that the sage laid stress in the very beginning on the fact that all misery owes its origin to mamatā, the sense of " mine ”. Suratha, then, had the added difficulty of having the world-enjoyment by renouncing it as “not minc”, bhoga by tyāga, while the man for Knowledge, Samadhi, the Vaishya, had unburdened himself of worldly cares and joys as well. Both started the same Sadhana, driven by misery; both changed, cach in his own way. A few lines (free rendering in English) from the first Chapter in which the sage expounds the root cause of all suffering and the remedy thereof would go to show the high aim of the worship advocated in the Saptashati.

“All creatures have a consciousness of their own and are instinct with the desire to preserve themselves and their knowledge is spread over the objects of senses. Of the created beings, some are born day-blind, some night-blind, while others are, day and night, of equal vision. The knowledge of man is in no way better than that of birds and beasts which show great skill in preserving themselves and what is theirs. Here again the sense and feeling of mine’ is spread over all creation—man and beast alike; know then, the cause of all this is Ignorance, Avidya, which is not the creation of any being on earth or in heaven. It is a product of the workings of Mahamaya, the great illusory power of Lord Vishnu. She is the power for bondage as well as for liberation, for ignorance and for knowledge. By Her the whole universe is set in motion revolving incessantly and containing in it all that is mobile and immobile. She, in short, is the Power of Hari, the Lord of the Universe—called Yoga Nidra, the Sleep-power of Yoga or the superconscious poise of the Supreme Being."

Now we will turn to the Vedic basis of the “ Chandi”. It is traced to the 125th hymn of the tenth Book of the Rig Veda. We get the clue from a line in the closing verses of the Saptashati where it is stated that the Devi Sukta was being used for Japa, “ devisuktam param japan”. But we do not find anything in the Rig Veda relating to the story, ritual, or forms of worship mentioned in the Saptashati. But if we look into the spirit and substance of the Vedic hymn, we do find for the first time, also for the last time in the Rig Veda, thought and spirit and Mantra-force vying with one another in revealing and making felt the Divine aſfatus in the Riks of Vak, Ambhrini. For the latter name is patronymic, she the seer, Rishika, being the daughter of Ambhrina. Her name itself is Vak. She sees the revealed truths of the Godhead, finds the inspired word to give expression to them in the shape of this hymn of eight verses. There are many hymns in the tenth Book of the Rig Veda where we find that the name of the seer, Rishi, is also the name of the Devata. This can be explained by the fact that in such hymns the seer is one with the Devata, experiences and lives in conscious union with what he adores; and it is such realisations that account for the identity of names as in the hymns of Vaikuntha, Lava and others. But this is not to say that there are not to be found such realisations recorded in the other Mandalas of the Rig Veda. But there quite often the Rishi’s name is addressed in such a way or with a double meaning that it is applicable to the God spoken of in the Rik. There are other seers who speak of their realisations of the supreme Being on the dynamic side and proclaim “I am Manu, I am Surya….”

as is to be found in the hymns of Vamadeva in the fourth Mandala. But there the seer’s name is retained separately.

Here, in the case of the Devi Sukta, though the scer’s rcalisation of identity with the Supreme Vak, the Creative Word, which in the language of the Tantra is Para Shakti, may account for the identity of the name (Vak as applied to the Rishika as well as to the Devata), it will be more correct to say that the Female Energy of the Supreme Godhead, parā-devatā, realising Herself in or choosing the embodiment of Vak Ambhrini, utters the Word, the Mantra. This is at once in consonance with the proclamation made in the Vedic Hymn and the spirit and substance of Sapta-shati. Let us then close the subject with an English rendering of the famous Hymne¹⁶¹

अहं रुद्रेभिर्वसुभिश्चराम्यहमादित्यैरुत विश्वदेवैः । अहं मित्रावरुणोभा विभHहमिन्द्रोयग्नी अहमश्विनोभा ।। २ ।।

1. I walk with the Vasus and Rudras, with the Adityas, as also with the All-gods, Vishva Devah.
   Mitra and Varuna, both I hold aloſt, even so Indra and Agni I do, and the Ashwin-twins too.

अहं सोममाहनसं बिभर्म्यहं त्वष्टारमुत पूपणं भगम् । अहं दधामि द्रविणं हविष्मते सुप्राव्ये ३ यजमानाय सुन्वते ।। २ ।।

2. I uphold and cherish the Soma that is to be pressed out (for the delight of the Gods) and am the supporter of the Divine sculptor Twashtri, and of Bhaga and Pushan. I hold the wealth for the sacrificer who reaches to the Gods the pleasing offerings of Soma and Havis.

अहं राष्ट्री संगमनी वसूनां चिकितुषी प्रथमा यज्ञियानाम् । तां मा देवा व्यदधुः पुरुत्रा भूरिस्थात्रां भूर्यावेशयन्तीम् ।। ३ ।।

3. The Queen, I am the dispenser of wealth; conscious, I am the first among the Gods (for whom the sacrifice is meant). Such am I (the One) and the Gods have found me established in the Many, permeating and taking possession of the Manifold (existence).

मया सो अन्नमत्ति यो विपश्यति यः प्राणिति य ईं श्रृणोत्युक्तम् । अमन्तवो मां त उप क्षियन्ति श्रुधि श्रुत श्रद्धिवं ते वदामि ।। ४ ।।

4. It is by Me (by the sole Power) that onc cats his food, sces, breathes, and hears what is said. They that ignore me (with their thought not turned to me) run to ruin. Hear, I declare to thee, the truth of faith, hearken!

अहमेव स्वयमिदं वदामि जुष्टं देवेभिरुत मानुषेभिः । यं कामये तं तमुग्रं कृणोमि तं ब्रह्माणं तमृषि तं सुमेधाम् ।। ५ ।।

5. Of my own accord, I announce this (truth) which the Gods as well as men strive to reach. Whomsoever I love, I make him mighty, him a Brahman, him a Rishi, him a man of pure understanding.

अहं रुद्राय धनुरा तनोमि ब्रह्मद्विषे शरवे हन्तवा उ । अहं जनाय समदं कृणोम्यहं द्यावापृथिवी आ विवेश ।। ६ ।।

6. For Rudra I stretch the bow-for the destruction of the Veda-hater (brāhma-dvid). On the people I bestow equal joy in battle and I have permeated Heaven and Earth.

अहं सुवे पितरमस्य मूर्धन्मम योनिरप्स्वन्तः समुद्रे । ततो वि तिष्ठे भुवनानु विश्वोतामू द्यां वर्मणोप स्पृशामि ।। ७ ।।

7. I gave birth to the Father (Heaven) at the summit of This (creation, Earth), My origin is in the Waters in the Inner Ocean.¹⁶²

Heaven I closely touch and penetrate with the showering and flowing body of mine, varsmana.

अहमेव वात इव प्र वाम्यारभमाणा भुवनानि विश्वा । परो दिवा पर एना पृथिव्यैतावती महिना सं बभूव ।। ८ ।।

8. Like the winds I blow vehemently, mysell commencing all the worlds; far beyond the heavens, far (beneath) the Earth—so vast by my largeness I have become.

The Worship of Devi

THE UNIVERSAL FESTIVAL

There is no festival other than the Dasara that is annually celebrated for ten days with an unsurpassed grandeur and enthusiasm, with religious sentiment and appeal, with the exhibition of the country’s skill in craftsmanship and aesthetic creation presented in the shape of art productions and artistic designs adorning India’s temples and Mutts and homes in their thousands and millions. All over this subcontinent, over this ancient land of Bharata Varsha, from Kanyakumari to Himachal, from Kamarup to Dwaraka, the several sections of Hindus, whatever their differences in caste, creed or social stratum, share the rejoicings of this country-wide jubilee. They offer their worship in accordance with their domestic practice or communal custom and thus maintain the hoary tradition of laying their offerings at the altar of the Divine Mother, in a temple, in a Mutt or Mandir, in their own homes where a sacred and sanctified quarter is set apart for the purpose or in any other manner in obedience to the promptings of their hearts.

All agree that it is the Divine Mother to whom they pay their homage and offer themselves to Her, invoking Her blessings to shower upon Her children. To the Shaivite, She is Shiva-Shakti, the Consort of Shiva or the ardhānga, the inseparable half, of the very body of the great god, Mahadeva. To the Vaishnavite, She is Sri, the eternal Splendour abiding in the heart of Vishnu, the Supreme Being who maintains the manifestation of this cosmic existence. To the fullblown Shakta¹⁶³

She is the great Goddess, the Mother of all creation, of all the gods and their worlds, who creates, preserves and dissolves, who constitutes and directs all the activities of the Universe. She veils Her own truth-the Absolute Truth beyond—from the vision of Her creatures, gods as well as men, and also by Her own Grace unveils Herself, Her transcendental Truth to their vision and experience for the final beautitude, for crossing the Ignorance, for their liberated and illumined life or for their absorption in Her own Blissful and Absolute Being.

Many are Her names, for many are Her aspects, many Her parts and cosmic functionings. But the one Name by which India has recognised and worshipped Her for untold centuries is Durga—the Goddess whom it is difficult to approach with all the thought-vision, the devotional seeking and yogic efforts of man. She is the Devi whom Arjuna at the bidding of Sri Krishna worshipped on the eve of the Mahabharata war, receiving Her blessing and the boon of victory, confirmed by the assurances of the Lord, as is mentioned in the Bhishma-Parva of the great Epic.

At this distance of time, it is difficult to fix the exact period when the Durga-Puja, the worship of the Divine Mother, began to be celebrated for the first nine nights, navarătra, or ten, dasară, of the lunar month of Ashwin. But there is a tradition that Arjuna took back his gändiva and other weapons that were lying asleep during the life in cognito of the Pandavas, on the tenth day, daśami, of Ashwin at the commencement of Sharat, the autumnal season which, as it progressed, witnessed the great battle of Kurukshetra. Hence, the tenth day that completes the Navaratra Festival of our times is called Vijayadasami, Vijaya being an epithet of Arjuna, the victorious.

Devi-MAHATMYA

The sacred text that is most important and universally used in the Worship of Durga especially during the Dasara is called Devi-Māhātmya, “The Glory of the Goddess”, or Chandi as it is popularly known in Bengal. It covers thirteen chapters of the Markandeya Purana (Chs. 76-88) containing seven hundred verses, Saptašati and is narrated by the sage Markandeya to Kroshtuki. Though it forms part of a Purana, the Tantras recognise its deserved pre-eminence in the field of sacred literature devoted to the worship of Shakti, the Female Energy or Mother of the Worlds; and in fact, the Katyayani Tantra treats each of the seven hundred verses as a mantra mentioning its use in accordance with the formulae prescribed for the elaborate ceremonials in Tantric rites. The Saptašati is held in so much reverence that the very text is worshipped as identical with the Goddess, manifest in its mantras or inspired verses. Even on ordinary days, its pārāyaṇam, sacred chanting, goes on in many households, for the warding off of evil influences, for the invoking of the blessings of the Devi, for the removal of earthly sufferings or for the attainment of higher and lasting happiness. Always it is the initiate alone who is competent to do the pārāyaṇam and others are prohibited.

There are three Charitas or Stories of the Devi contained in these seven hundred verses and the whole Saptašati is read every day, if possible; or one Charita, every day, is read finishing the text in three days, or again in some parts of the country as in Kerala, the reading of the whole text of thirteen chapters is spread over the seven days of the week in the order of 1, 2, 1, 4, 2, 1, 2, chapters beginning every Sunday and completing the text every week; year in and year out this convention is preserved in the code word pa tho yem vi pra ka rah.

The three Charitas of the Goddess in the Devi Māhātmya are indeed illustrations of the Glory of the three outstanding Personalities and Aspects of the Mother, viz. Māhākāli, Mahālakṣmi, Mahasarasvati ; and it is these three that are spoken of respectively in the first, second and third Charitas of the Chandi. The first Charita devoted to Mahakali is complete in the first chapter which commences the story. The second Charita is the story of Mahalakshmi given in the next three Chapters and the third, the story of Mahasarasvati, is given in the remaining chapters of the Saptašati.

THE FIRST CHARITA

Near the hermitage of the sage Medhas in a forest, two persons of ill-luck met, one of whom was a Kshatriya, Suratha by name, and the other Samadhi, a Vaishya. Suratha had lately lost his kingdom as a result of its invasion by another king whose victory was achieved by the intrigue of Suratha’s ministers and the disloyalty of his subjects. The Vaishya had his own tale of woe, for he had been a wealthy merchant and was later abandoned, driven out of the house by the members of his own family-by his wife and sons and relatives from their greed of power, wealth and influence. After an exchange of knowledge of their pitiable plight, both of them decided to approach the sage who was living nearby and place before him their difficulties in which there was a common element. After paying their respects to the hermit, they narrated the story of their misfortune and then put this question to the sage. The king spoke:

“Great sage! Though I have lost my kingdom and have nothing now to do with it, my heart still clings to the sense and feeling of ’mine’, mamatva, in regard to my former associates, in the ministry and military, officers and subjects. Why should this ego-feeling of ’mine ’ still persist while there is no justification or truth for its basis? And here is the merchant (pointing to Samadhi) who is no longer required by his relatives who have abandoned him; still he sails in the same boat as I, with his heart clinging to his wife and daughters, sons and relatives, and past associations. What is the mystery? What is the cause of this incorrigible delusion, moha, to which we are victims? We are not fools unaware of what is wrong and evil; still knowingly we are drawn by a compelling force to this enchantment of mamatva, ’mine’. Is there a cause ? Is there a remedy? Deign to come to our rescue, O sage."

THE Root CAUSE

Medhas, the sage, replied, expounding the root cause of all suffering and pointing out the remedy:

“All creatures have a consciousness of their own and are instinct with the desire to preserve themselves and their knowledge is spread over the objects of senses. Of the created beings, some are born day-blind, some night-blind, while others are, day and night, of equal vision. The knowledge of man is in no way better than that of birds and beasts which show great skill in preserving themselves and what is theirs. Here again, the sense and feeling of ‘mine’ is spread over all creation—man and beast alike. Know then, the cause of all this is ignorance, avidyā, which is not the creation of any being on earth or in heaven. It is a product of the workings of mahāmayā, the great illusory Power of Lord Vishnu. She is the power for bondage as well as for liberation, for ignorance and for knowledge. By Her the whole universe is set in motion revolving incessantly and containing in it all that is mobile and immobile. She, in short, is the Power of Hari, the Lord of the Universe, called yoga-nidrā, the Sleep-Power of Yoga or the superconscious poise of the Supreme Being."

Requested by Suratha to speak more about Her, the sage proceeded:

“Though She is eternal, immanent in the whole universe which is Her embodiment, She takes birth again and again, incarnates Herself in a special form of Her choice for the successful regime of the Gods, Devas-for establishing Divine Principles in the world-order so that its functionings may increasingly harmonise with the eternal verities and higher laws of the creative Godhead.”

At the close of a former cycle when the cosmos was asleep in the Oceanic Being of its own Cause, and Vishnu, the Lord, also was in his supra-cosmic sleep, yoga-nidrā, two Asuras, Madhu and Kaitabha were born of the ear-dirt of the Lord and tried to kill Brahma, the creator residing in the navel-lotus of Hari. Upon this, Brahma sought the grace of the goddess of Sleep lodged in the Lord’s eyes and sang the praises of the Devi. In response, Mahakali, the terrible ruler of the Night, the pitch Dark, tamasi rātri, granted Brahma’s prayer in rousing Vishnu from the sleep and caused the destruction of the two Asuras: this is how she came to be titled Madhu-Kaitabha-Našini. Thus ends the first Charita, the story of Mahakali who is the Goddess presiding over the Divine tamas.

THE SECOND CHARITA

In the second Charita of the Devi, Medhas the sage narrates the story of Mahalakshmi. Mahishasura, the buffalo-faced demon, as a result of his mother Diti’s austerities and penance, was born powerful, growing impetuous and endowed with a world-shaking passion for power over the gods. Conquering the gods, he established his power in heaven. The vanquished gods headed by Brahma approached Shiva and Vishnu for consultation. When the latter learnt of the plight of the gods, they got so much enraged that their wrath emitted fire; powerful lights of splendour emanated from the bodies of Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma, Indra and other gods, forming into a vast mass of Light that took the shape of a woman whose radiant effulgence filled the three worlds. The forceful light of each of the gods formed into a particular limb of the woman—her face was shaped by Shiva, hair by Yama, her rounded breasts by Soma, waist by Indra, shoulders by Vishnu and other limbs similarly by other gods. She was also provided with the respective weapons of the gods. This is the Devi, the Goddess Mahalakshmi, who appeared and challenged the Asura with a thundering roar that shook the three worlds. The gods rejoiced when She slew the Asuras with her weapons and got close to Mahishasura and pressing him under Her feet, thurst the trident, śūla, into his body. The gods regained their lost kingdom, adored the Devi and sang Her glory. Highly pleased, the Goddess promised to come to the rescue of the gods whenever there was need or they were put to trouble by the asuric forces, the demons.

Thus ends the second Charita, the story of Mahişāsuramardini, the title of Mahalakshmi, the Goddess who presides over Rajas, the cosmic quality and power of all action.

THE THIRD CHARITA

Then comes the last or uttama charita, the best story, of the Mother:

Two brothers, Shumbha and Nishumbha, sons of Sunda and Upasunda, the well-known Asuras of the house of the demon Hiranyakashipu, were engaged in severe austerities from their very boyhood and by the sheer force of their tapas, succeeded in getting audience of Brahma, who granted them all their desires in addition to the boon (at their own request) that they would not meet death at the hands of gods or men except at the instance of a kanya, a virgin, who was not born of a mother’s womb, ayonijā. Then puffed up with pride and power, the brothers challenged Indra, took away his rights and privileges enjoyed in yajnas, scarifices, displaced him from his position as king of the gods, established their rule everywhere, enjoying the rights and positions of the Devas. The gods assembled and remembering the promise of the Devi to come to their help when needed, went to the Himalayas and offered their prayers to Her in their distress, invoking Her presence and help.

The Mother was moved. She made Her appearance before them in a very attractive form, at once luminous, charming and graceful. The Asuras were there, the leaders, messengers and the party of the demon king Shumbha; they were infatuated by the melting beauty of Her form and made overtures to Her to become the spouse of their king. Many generals were sent for the purpose, but no one returned with his life. Among the most important generals that were playfully done away with by the Mother, Dhoomralochana was the first. Next came the turn of Chanda and Munda, two generals who met their fate at the hands of the laughing Mother who is therefore called Chamunda. Then came to the field Raktabija who was so called because every drop of his blood touching the ground would produce an Asura, a fighter equal to him. But without allowing a drop of blood to fall on earth, the Mother finished with him. Then last came in person Shumbha and Nishumbha who attacked the Devi in vain, and were struck down by Her.

It is to be noted that Her encounter with Shumbha was preceded by the destruction of his brother Nishumbha, who embraced the fate of millions of the Asura forces that were all dealt with by the "Little Mothers”, mātrikas, who were emanations and vibhūtis of the great Mother who at last called back and gathered all these powers and Mother-Personalities into Her own Body and killed the demon-king Shumbha, taking up his challenge to fight with him single-handed. Virile and vehement in Her attacks, She is referred to as Chandi or Chandika.

The Saptașati is full of descriptions and details, and of names of weapons and of Asuras and Devi-Murtis.

When the work of the Devi was finished, the gods adored Her and chanted many hymns in praise of her prowess, of Her many manifestations and of Her motherly heart. The Goddess was pleased and once again gave Her word of assurance to stand by the side of the gods in times of need and stress, and also declared that She would ever be present in places where these hymns were read and used in prayers. Finally the Devi spoke of Her future incarnations.

This is the story of Mahasarasvati (called Shumbhadamani), the Goddess who presides over sattva, the balancing quality of universal Calm amidst all activity and tribulations of external nature or in the inner existence.

CONCLUSION OF THE DEVI-MAHATMYA

Hearing the greatness of the Divine Mother as expounded by the sage Medhas and revealed in those stories of Her three great perosnalities of Mahakali, Mahalakshmi and Mahasarasvati, the king and the merchant were convinced that nothing was impossible for the Supreme Goddess and decided to worship Her and become the recipients of Her gracious blessing. Receiving instructions from the sage as to the method and secret of worship, they retired to the solitudes of the forest, and lived an austere life for three years, fully engaged in tapas using for japa,¹⁶⁴

the Mantras of the famous Vedic Hymn, the Devi Sukta of the Rig Veda—-devi-sūktam param japan. At the close of the three years, Chandika, the Goddess who is the upholder of the World, Jagaddhatri, appeared before them, expressed Her pleasure to grant them their desired ends. By the boon he got, the king regained his lost kingdom and in the next birth, he became the Sävarņi Manu with his unfailing regime throughout the cycle of time named after him, Savarni Manvāntara.

At his own request Samadhi, the merchant, received from the Divine Mother that knowledge by which real detachment from worldly objects and desires is effected and the sense of “I” and “mine” is dissolved into the ever blissful state of consciousness of the Divine, the Supreme Truth, the Absolute.

This is the gist of Saptaśati, the Devi-Māhātmya, the closing chapter of which recounts the good, worldly and other-worldly, that accrues to the benefit of those that perform the Durga Puja, especially in the beginning of sarat, the Autumn, and chant in their prayers the hymns addressed by the gods in their invocations of Chandi.

PERSONAL FEATURES

An account of the Devi-Māhātmya will be incomplete without mention made of the distinguishing personal features of the three main mürtis of the Divine Mother, for purposes of worship by the devotees. There are ten chapters in the Mārkandeya Purana following the Saptašati (serving the purpose of a supplement to it) in which the sage Medhas gives details of worship and descriptions of the personalities, emanations and vibhūtis of the Mother. The Mantras (mystic syllables), Tantras (rituals), Yantras (diagrams of occult significance) are also spoken of in addition to the account given of the Trinity, trimūrti, both on the Purusha (male) side and on the side of Shakti (Female Energy).

The origin, function and purpose of some of the vibhutis and embodied Powers of the Mother and method of their worship are also described, as also the past and future Avataras or incarnations of the Devi.

Mahakali is distinguished by Her ten faces (three-eyed faces), ten hands and ten feet-She is daśabhujā, Kali, blue stone colour; it is She who was invoked to rouse Mahavishnu to tackle the dark and pervert activities of Madhu and Kaitabha, hostile to the cosmic manifestation of the Lord.

In Her ten hands she holds these-sword, arrows, club, trident, conch, a weapon called bhusundi, bow, a head from which blood is flowing.

Mahalakshmi: She is known by her eighteen arms, asta-daśabhujā. Her eighteen hands hold in each of them the following: rosary, lotus, arrows, sword, thunderbolt, club, the sudarśana discus, trident, hatchet, conch, bell, rope, iron spear, stick, shield, bow, drinking vessel, water-pot. Under Her feet is Mahishasura. She is the Goddess who shaped Herself into being out of the massed light and collective force of all the Devas. Hence She has in Her all the three qualities (Sattva, Rajas, Tamas) that dominate the world-existence, triguņā sā mahālakṣmi sākṣān mahişamardini.

Her face and breast are white, waist and feet are red, her shoulders blue and so on. These colours indicate the aforesaid gunas of the Mother. But generally she is described as pravāla-prabhā, She whose radiance is of the colour of coral. This is to denote that rajas is Hers, even as Kali is tamoguņā. Mahalakshmi is seated on a lotus.

Mahasarasvati: This is the Devi who is recognised by Her eight arms, aștabhujā, which hold in them bow, arrow, conch, discus, bell, plough, pestle, trident. The light of her body is white resembling that of the moon after the rains when the sky is cloud-free, ghanānta-vilasat sitamşu-tulyaprabhā.

These characteristics of the three embodiments, mūrtis, of the Mother (especially the ten, eighteen and eight hands) are enough to enable one to identify the particular Idol that we find installed in temple for the Mother-worship. As has been already noted, this mention is made conforming to the text in the Markandeya Purana which is the great authority for the Chandi school of tantric thought in the matter of Mother-worship. The names of Kali, Lakshmi, Sarasvati of the Chandi-Mahatmya should not be confounded with the same mentioned in the Tantras or Puruans; for the Mantras, Tantras, rituals, the very mūrtis, and their special modes of worship often differ. The Chandi does not come under the category of the well-known Dasa-Mahavidyās-Kali, Tara, Kamala, Tripura-Bhairavi, Chhinna-masta, Bagalamukhi and the rest, each of which is a "great science and art” of approaching the Divine Mother of the Universe for help that She may carry the devotee across the ocean of ignorance and mortality to the supreme Light immortal, the final destination. In the worship of Chandi, great prominence is given to the pārāyaṇam of saptašati which is much more important than the Japa of the Chandi Mantra.

Rituals form such a great part of the tantric worship that accounts for the popular belief that there is no tantric worship without ritual. External worship can never be dissociated from some form of ceremony, whether it is the Vedic worship of sacrifice for the Vedic gods or the Agamic worship of Shiva or Vishnu in the temples. But the Shakti-cult (the tantric) is looked down upon by the other cults as something very despicable. Why? Certain elements feature in its rituals which are undoubtedly the outcome of the moral and spiritual degradation of those who take to the cult with their unregenerated nature fed by intemperance and sexual indulgence. But there is a higher side of the Tantra, of the Mother-cult, which should be sufficient to put the critical mind on guard that it may refrain from condemning the whole method of the tantric worship because of its perversion by the depraved and the degenerate.

As for the murti-pujā, idol-worship, which forms an important part of that “many-sided and synthetic whole which we call Hinduism”, a defence or justification is no longer necessary. A more decisive and weighty pronouncement on the subject is hard to find than a few sentences culled from the old writings of Sri Aurobindo in regard to idol-worship and the forms and colours of the God or Goddess worshipped as mentioned in the Tantras. After stating that the tantric worship and discipline provides for the worship of the formed and the formless and for many stages of the aspirants, he proceeds: “How can the Formless invest Himself with Form, asks the religious rationalist. The universe is there to reply. Hinduism worships Narayana in the stone, the tree, the animal, the human being. That which the intellectual and spiritual pride or severity of other religions scron, it makes its pride and turns into its own form of logical severity. Sticks and stones, the quadruped and the human being, all these are equals in God, our brothers in the Divine, forms that the Omnipresent has not disdained to assume. But beyond the material forms there are others that are ideal and symbolic, but not less, if anything more real, more full of divine power than any actual physical manifestation. These are the mental images in which we worship God.”

Again, “If there is a consciousness in the universe and transcending it which answers to the yearning of these creatures and perhaps Itself yearns towards them, then it is idle to suppose that It would assume or create for Its own pleasure and glory the forms of the universe, but would disdain as an offence to Its dignity or purity those which the love of the worshipper offers to It and which after all Itself has formed in his heart or his imagination. To these mental forms, mental worship may be offered and this is the higher way; or we may give the material foundation, the pratifthā, of a statue or a picture image to form a physical nodus for a physical act of worship."

In the same connection, finally he remarks: “In our human ignorance, with our mental passion for degrees and distinctions, for superiorities and exclusions, we thus grade these things and say that this is superior, that is for ignorant and inferior souls. Do we know? The theist looks down with reprobation on the form-adoring, man worshipping idolator and polytheist; the Advaitin looks down with a calm and tolerant indulgence on the ignorance of the quality-adoring personality-bemused Theist.”

Here is the conclusive statement: “It seems to us that God scorns nothing, that the Soul of all things may take as much delight in the prayer of a little child or the offering of a flower or a leaf before a pictured image as in the philosopher’s leap from the summit of thought into the indefinable and unknowable and that he does best who can rise and widen into the shoreless realisation and yet keep the heart of a little child and the capacity of the seer of forms."

We have come to the end; and here we offer our meed of praises¹⁶⁵

to the Devi in the language of the Tantra:

The cause and Mother of the world,
She whose form is that of the Shabdabrahman,
And whose substance is bliss,

Thou art the primordial One,
Mother of countless creatures,
Creatrix of the bodies of the lotus-born,
Vishnu and Shiva, Who creates, preserves and destroys the worlds.

Although Thou art the primordial cause of the world,
Yet art Thou ever youthful,
Although Thou art the Daughter of the Mountain-King,
Yet art Thou full of tenderness.

Although Thou art the Mother of the Vedas,
Yet they cannot describe Thee,
Although men must meditate upon Thee.
Yet cannot their mind comprehend Thee.

The “opening is full of the supreme meaning of the great Devi symbol, its close is an entire self-abandonment to the adoration of the body of the Mother. This catholicity is typical of the whole tantric system, which is in its aspiration one of the greatest attempts yet made to embrace the whole of God manifested and unmanifested in the adoration, self-discipline and knowledge of a single soul ” (Sri Aurobindo).

PRATISHTHĀ (INSTALLATION)

(In the Light of His Wisdom)

Salutation to Sri Aurobindo, to the Master who has just left the body, but has kept here the light he ensouled in incessant radiation for the fulfilment of his proclaimed mission.

We need not consider here the question of the grand Idea, the sublime Truth, he embodied; nor need we dwell on his achievement in the realm of the Spirit and its sequence that intimately concerns us, or its bearings on the aspiring soul of man in general. That is a subject that directly relates to the core of the Master’s Personality which we keep aside for the present. But there are certain luminous sides of his central grandeur which have found expression in the colossal edifice of his literary products. They shed the same light of wisdom everywhere in the diverse branches of Knowledge handled by him. Whatever the subject, Art or Poetry, Philosophy or Religion, Politics or Social Science, we find the same light illumining contents, the same wisdom elevating us to take a fuller view of the horizons of the concerned realm of the subject and thus enrich ourselves in the mind’s dimensions or regions of the soul. It is in the light of this wisdom that we propose to study one aspect of the tantric path which is an important element, the soul-principle, so to say, of image-worship. We leave aside for the present the synthetic character of the Tantric Yoga and inner worship to which attention has been drawn earlier. Here we confine ourselves to a single limb of the tantric worship and make an attempt at elucidating the underlying principles on which the whole structure of ceremonial owrship is based. Here we must bear in mind the value and necessity that the Tantriks have discovered for the dedication of the whole man to the Godhead, the Mother of the Universe, with the material body for the pedestal. The significance of the body as the temple is quite often stressed, so much in detail that every part is considered to be the abode of particular Gods and Goddesses, the aides of the Supreme, the higher Powers in the Cosmos, while the central spot is the lodgement of the Supreme. Hence an all-round purification of the body as the sacred temple is emphasised and many devices are resorted to, including at times material means for keeping the physique intact and fit for arduous discipline, tapasyā, by which alone one can have control over the forces that are adverse to the progress and success of the Sadhana. Hence also, the Tantra deems it essential to inculcate the doctrine that no worship of the Deity is complete without the worship of the Deity’s body in a material image—an idol or a picture or some symbol in the physical world.

Here it may be stated that the outer symbol of worship is considered an indispensable object of adoration by the tantric devotee to whom it is not a mere symbol. The image, the idol is a consecrated object, vivid in a subtle manner, is charged with the presence or power of the Deity whose Grace is invoked, and this is so especially when properly installed by an adept, or with the help of an expert guide, ācāryā. A fuller expression of devotion involves the worship of the body of the Deity as well as the maintenance of purity and holiness in the body of the worshipper. This is the position of the Tantrik in regard to the external aspect of worship.

An incident may be cited here in this context, which will be of much interest to the seeker and devotee who may discover his own explanation of the matter, as explanations are always conditioned by one’s culture and temperament, general disposition and equipment for understanding things that are supernormal. It is now more than forty years. A young man in his early twenties witnessed an unusual way of worship conducted in the house of an elderly Tantric devotee. The latter was a friend of the youth’s father; so, with due respect he had earlier spoken to him of his doubts about the validity of such worship, bāhya pūjā. The gentleman was a strictly orthodox Vaidik Brahmin, a Sanskrit scholar specialised in Nyaya, a Pundit employed in a Government College and so had a secure means of supporting his small family and keeping it above wants. He had ample leisure as the hours of his teaching work in the college were few. He devoted the rest of his time for religious purposes, with special devotion to the Right-Hand worship, dakşiņa ācāra of the Tantric way. He was no magician of a low sort. This much has to be said in order to enable the reader to get into the spirit of the man’s daily performance of worship.

When the youth had finished what he had to say about the mantrajapa, the Pundit looked at him for a while and then said, “You say that you have done this mantra and that and have observed the rules according to the Shastra and even though you were properly initiated while quite young and did repeat many lakhs of these mantras, you have not found the results as stated in the books. Well, I am sufficiently old, you are my old intimate friend’s son; I take the liberty of speaking to you about certain things in my life, for that may be of some use to you. I too, when young, was like you initiated in Sri Vidyā by my father, and have continued it to this day, and would continue even to the end of my life whether or not I see the result as spoken of in the Shastras. Such has been my faith all along. But something happened a few years ago which gave a definite turn to my line of Sadhana and worship.” Here he paused and then spoke with feeling; “One day I was reciting verses in praise of the Great Goddess and felt intensely, saying to myself, O Mother, I have been Thy worshipper all these years, I know no other God than Thee, Thou hast not vouchsafed to me Thy favour, Thou dost not reveal Thy presence to me in any way.’ This feeling lasted for some time and though the intensity slowly thinned, the attitude was there. But nothing happened in response to my cry. A few days later, one night I had a dream. I could not retain it when I got up; but there was a feeling that it was a curious dream in which someone said, ’ You will see what happens in two or three days. Accept it, worship it.’ There was something more and clear but I could not recollect it, I did not pay to this interesting occurrence as much attention as it deserved. But, two or three days later, quite unexpectedly when one evening a man appeared before me and spoke a few words, .the whole dream came to my vision in a trice. He placed a danda (a rod) covered with a cloth, and said “Now, I go. You will do as directed; all your difficulties vanish from now on.’

“Now it was eventide; I thought I might begin the Puja then itself. Since then I have been doing it, quietly. If you want, you can stay a little longer. I am coming." So saying, he went in and took his bath, and was preparing to start the worship that day. Before the commencement be said: “When the Puja is over, I will be silent for some time. You can receive the prasād and go home. And if you want you can come any other day. You may be struck with wonder and may have to think about what you are going to wintness at the Puja time. I tell you one thing beforehand; the danda is the divine weapon of Subrahmanya, Kumara, Son of Devi; its worship is the worship of its wielder, i.e., Skanda. It is the command of the Devi whom I worshipped all my life that I should worship her child and achieve the fulfilment of my life. I have a reasoning mind, I am a tārkika, logician, I know that learned people in their wisdom ridicule outer worship as a thing meant for the beginners or fools. It is not for others’ good opinion, praise or applause that God has given us life. Inner worship is certainly essential, it leads more to Yoga and Jnana. Outer worship intensifies devotion and is powerful and effective and supplements one’s Sadhana. At present I care more for outer worship, I see the presence of Kumara in the Danda. You too will see now. More about this some other time. It is getting late. I shall start. Remember what I have spoken to you. Do not look down upon external worship. It is effective, when there is the proper Installation, pratisthā. God bless you.” Instantly the Puja began, there were one or two people, assisting him to burn incense and bring the necessary vessels of which a glittering brass or bronze plate was the most important, for in the centre of that plate he was to place the object of his worship with small idols, representing gods and goodesses, parivāras who surround their chief, Kumara, the pradhānā devata. In a low voice uttering mantras he took the Danda and muttered a mantra somewhat inaudibly; he was motionless, holding his breath for a while. The observing youth could make out that it was the mantra usually used for installation, prāņa-pratisthā. The Danda, the rod, was a little less than three feet in height, about half to three-fourths of an inch in diameter at the bottom and more or less the same throughout except at the top where it was a little more thick and circular with a knob at the head on which was engraved some figure. He held the Danda in a perpendicular position with both his hands in the middle, or a little above the middle. He held it in silence with eyes closed for a few minutes and muttered something removing his hands. As he did it, the Danda, to the amazement of the new-comer, instead of falling, without any support, began to swing pendulum-wise with the knob quite often coming almost half-way to the ground. Slowly the swinging stopped, and the Danda stood erect, quite steady and fixed of its own accord. The Puja began, with the sacramental bath, abhișeka, to the deity, the danda, and with other usual ceremonial details. When the worship was over the youth received the prasād in silence and left the house as previously advised by the Shastri.

The youth thought: “Is there any mechanical device which makes the stick stand in the middle of the plate erect without support? Everything was done in my presence. The Shastri is a sincere man, quite genuine in his speech and action. Can it be after all that there is something in the pratisthā mantra which is the means of instilling some force into the inanimate thing? But I have done the same mantra many times before and have experienced nothing of the kind. But the man had earlier spoken of certain preliminaries as requisite to realise the efficacy of these mantras.’ Thus a hundred and one thoughts crossed his mind on his way home. But somehow he did not meet the Tantrik again for he was led to owe allegiance to other worthies until in his middle age an obliging Destiny led him finally to take refuge at the feet of Sri Aurobindo.

To return to the subject of outer worship: even for the external worship in the tantric system, a certain inner purity is considered necessary. Where this is not possible, some one who has it and has achieved and seen some tangible results enabling him to guide the worship, has to do the pratisthā of the Image or yantra, the symbolic mystic Diagram in which the presence of the Devata is invoked to be vivid and felt by the worshipper. Once it is done, it is to be tended in a devotional atmosphere which grows in intensity in the course of time. And this is applicable not only to the personal worship of an individual, but also to centres of public worship, such as temples and other piſhas, seats of spiritual power.

Here it must be noted that there is a distinction to be drawn between the pratisthā of a mūrti, an image, or a yantra for the personal worship of an individual and that for the public worship in a temple. In the former instance according to the Tantra Shastra, a novice is guided by a genuine priest for external worship but the upāsaka, the worshipper himself must prepare in course of time to call down the presence of the deity; for this purpose he has to undergo preliminary disciplines into which many elements enter; of these what is called bhūta-buddhi is the most important and even indispensable both for the outer worship as well as for the mantra-sādhanā which leads to the inner life. The literal meaning of the term is the "purification of the elements"; but its effect is to cleanse the atmosphere in and around the person of the worshipper and clear it of the influences of the elemental forces or beings, the lower spirits, the blind unintelligent forces to which men in their ordinary lives are subject; the weaknesses on the mental or moral plane that pertain to the material body of man are indeed the result of the play of these forces of universal nature. The loosening and ultimate riddance of the tamasic forces of the dense and elemental nature is indeed sine qua non for qualifying oneself for the mantra-sādhana that aims high at contacting the deity in the deeper layers of one’s consciousness or on the higher levels of one’s being that are supra-physical. But it is also necessary and to some extent possible in the case of a beginner preparing for the external worship, bāhya-pājā. For without the bhūta-fuddhi, the prāņa pratisthā could not be done, since the latter is meant to evoke the presence or power of the deity from the spirit of one’s own being which itself is lodged in, and is a portion of the supreme Self parama ātman, the indwelling Godhead in all creatures. In fact, the Tantric works everywhere reiterate the value and necessity of this purification without which the pratisthā, the installing of the power and the presence either within oneself in the inner worship, or instilling the spirit and power into the image or symbol in the outer worship is not possible. The outer worship, as is done commonly by the generality of devotees will be ineffective without the essential pratisthā on which everything else depends.

We shall return to the subject of pratiştha after we have done with one or two points in regard to the bhūta-buddhi. Its basic importance in the mantra-sādhanā cannot be too much emphasised, since in the yogic path of the Tantrik it affords the foundation on which the whole edifice of Yoga is raised, with devotion, knowledge and will as its constituent elements. But even before entering straight into the inner apartments of Yoga where the psychophysical centres are concentrated upon and opened for progress in the Sadhana and building the inner life, the Tantric beginner devoted to his chosen deity is advised to effect the bhūta-śuddhi without which the presence of the deity cannot be felt, and the grace of the deity, even when it comes in response to an ardent call of the upāsaka, worshipper, or a fervent emotional appeal to the deity, cannot be properly received or even when received be adequately held and effectively retained in the vessel, the body. Hence its importance and its value are recognised for any form of serious worship. It must be noted here, that the purification of the various limbs, outer physical and the inner mind-stuff, aims not only at the eradication of the narrowing and obscuring influences of the elemental forces and the universal weakness of the lower Nature, but inviting in their place the opposite good influences of the benign forces, the powers of the supra-physical worlds. That is why in the actual bhūta-buddhi every part is offered to a deity, and the group of deities that are invoked to occupy their places in the body-vessel, ādhāra, constitutes indeed the minor gods who are the parivāras of the chosen Chief, pradhāna. In some Tantric works, instead of the minor gods and the Chief Deity, the tattwas or cosmic principles with the soul, and the Supreme Self for the Chief Deity are mentioned in the culmination of the bhūta-śuddhi. And this is to give a pure spiritual turn with a philosophic basis to the upā sanā. As the space set for this short study precludes the citation of these texts which are numerous and well-known, at least one well-known authority like the Meru Tantra may be mentioned here in this context. Here is an English rendering:

“When the body in its entirety becomes fit to commune with the Devata, one must restore and fix in their proper place the principles, tattwas, hidden in the self. (For this purpose) from the heart-lotus one must bring out the soul from the supreme self. And according to the rule (method) by means of the Hamsa Mantra one has to look upon the body as a luminous form of light and as having become quite competent for the worship of the Deity.”¹⁶⁶

This is just an instance out of many to show that the conception of the Tantrik in regard to the body was so complete and ideal that all the tattwas (or the higher powers) are understood to be lodged in it and the supreme Godhead abides in the centre and depths of one’s being, the heart-lotus. Nor is the purification of the body and preparing it for Divine worship achieved by sheer physical purity and strength to be decided by medical opinion and judged according to hygienic standards. For the purity of the kind in the body is to be accomplished in such a manner that the god or gods could discover in it their actual temple consecrated for their advent or manifestation. And indeed the body is the field of battle between the dark and the luminous forces in the Cosmos, engendering bad will and good will with their brood of feelings and ideas and their consequent subtle effect on the body, nerves and muscles, in the shape of ill-health and good health and general disharmony running riot in the system. Thus the bhūta-buddhi has a double function, the negative and the positive, the former paving the way by the clearance of the disagreeable forces for the positive side, i.e., the filling of the purified parts by the presence of the Powers that are invoked to occupy their right places in the system.

While this suddhi is the real factor that effectuates the mantra-sādhanā and the principle underlying the inner worship of any deity, not to speak of the yogic way leading to the opening of the centres, cakras, it is necessary also for bāhya pūjā to be effective. A word about the chief means employed for this fundamental purification by the Tantrik must be stated here.

Apart from a certain refinement in the course of one’s conduct in life involving the elevation of mental and moral sides which are generally held incumbent on the initiate, the main instrumentation is as a matter of course, the mantra, the sound-symbol of the deity. It is sound-expression of the idea that at once veils to the gross sight and reveals to the inner eye of vision the body of the deity, of the truth to be realised. And this truth, the Devata, dwells in the subtler worlds, in the higher planes, not on the physical level, in the world of the senses. Hence the repetition of the sacred word, the mantra, prepares the being to be collected, composed, and concentrated on the single will to achieve the object of the worship, the Grace of the Deity, to feel and perceive and commune with the Presence. But a mere mechanical repetition runs in a futile circle. For the mantra to be potent, the guide’s help, i.e., the Guru’s initiating capacity counts much. For he awakens the latent faculties in the disciple. This is the secret of the mantra-sādhanā. The Tantric scriptures discourse upon the qualifications of a disciple and the qualities of a competent Guru on which we need not dilato here. Sri Aurobindo expounds the rationale of the mantra-japa in the light of yogic psychology and experience to which attention may be drawn here: “The word is a sound-expression of the idea. In the supra-physical plane when an idea has to be realised, one can by repeating the word-expression of it, produce vibrations which prepare the mind for the realisation of the idea. That is the principle of the mantras and of japa. One repeats the name of the Divine and the vibrations created in the consciousness prepare the realisation of the Divine."

We have stated this much about the mantra as a means for effecting the purification of the elements as a preliminary, most important for the sādhanā and inner worship in the Tantric path, and generally recommended for the outer worship also, though here the worshipper has to rely entirely upon an unshakable faith reinforcing his devotion. As has been already stated, the material object of worship is often an image or occasionally the Yantra, for instance, the famous Sri Cakra or similar symbols of the dwelling place of the Deity. Here, generally, the presence of the Deity is evoked on behalf of the ordinary worshipper, by an adept, an expert in the field. But this practice has in course of time degenerated into a sort of priestcraft-an unaltered and crude purohit muttering the mantras without meaning them, i.e., without caring for a knowledge of the mantra, not to speak of the spirit which he is supposed to instill into the image to be worshipped. This is called prāņa-pratisthā, the infusing of life and soul into the sacred symbol. Here prāņa really connotes, as in the carlier Upan: shads, a conscious-force emanating from the supreme Soul in which the individual being abides. It is an obvious fact that this can be done effectively only by one who is equipped for the task by a successful course of training in the performance of purifying his own being as described earlier. It is only such an adept, a true Acharya who can do the prāņa-prutisthā of the Image for worship on behalf of another individual. The Tantrik attaches importance to worship because he recognises that devotion to God cannot be complete without laying one’s body in full offering at the service of the Deity whose presence is evoked and installed in the image. The famous nine limbs¹⁶⁷

So far about the personal image-worship by an individual devotee the efficacy of which is certainly conditioned by his faith and devotion. Here we may proceed to consider the question of prāņa-pratisthā of the image meant for public worship such as that in temples, and also the subtle and occult principles underlying the traditional belief in worship at what is generally believed to be holy places, not necessarily or invariably temples where images are installed. In this connection we may recall to our mind what Sri Aurobindo states in his usual assured tone in mentioning the prāņa-pratisthā, the essentials of which he puts in a nutshell in the following passage in a letter to a disciple. Let us quote the letter¹⁶⁸

“What you say is no doubt true, but it is better not to take away the support that may still be there for the faith of those who need such supports. These visions and images and ceremonies are meant for that. It is a spiritual principle not to take away any faith or support of faith, unless the persons who have it are able to replace it by something larger and more complete.

“If the prāņa-pratisthābrings down a powerful Presence, that may remain there long after the one who has brought it has left his body. Usually it is maintained by the bhakti of the officiant and the sincerity of belief and worship of those who come to the temple for adoration. If these fail, there is likely to be a withdrawal of the Presence."

The Image installed is just a support for the external worship, for the satisfaction of and a steadying influence upon outer mind and being; the real and substantial element is in the Presence or Power so installed by a great soul. But a Siddha, one who has achieved substantial results in the spiritual path need not install an image for the benefit of others. The very spot he lives or lived in becomes charged with an emanation of the presence and power of his holy soul so much so that anyone susceptible to subtle or occult influences can feel and detect the abidance of something non-physical in the physical surroundings of such a place. This accounts for the holiness of places where great sages and seers have lived, stationed in their Tapas-Force, or have shed their mortal frame and mortality.

There is another important aspect of this question of worship at, and pilgrimage to, holy places which may be mentioned here for the benefit of minds that are inclined to believe that any famous place or temple held to be holy and attracting crowds of people from afar and near need not necessarily be holy or exert benign influence or elevate the spiritual side of man. For it is perfectly true that when a presence or power is brought down where the image is installed, it remains a live force for a long time and continues even after the man passes away. Tradition, indeed, nourishes the faith of the people who visit such places for worship. But there are certain temples and other places of worship without an image installed where the power, the presence is not brought down by any holy man and without any tradition to that effect. Still, such places attract large crowds of persons many of whom are convinced by experience of the active presence of a superior Force granting boons to many a worshipper. Here the truth of the matter is that such places are chosen and occupied by beings of a supra-physical world-let us call them beings of the vital world —who exercise their influences from those centres which afford a physical support for contact with the earth and carthly beings. These beings are quite often spirits of a low order whose workings are more easily and palpably felt and certainly in the end injurious to a healthy mind and a soul that has taken to the spiritual way of life. This accounts for the centres of worship which draw numerous people over whom the spirits have a sufficient sway for their own gratification and enjoyment.¹⁶⁹

Another point must be noted in regard to the matter of holy places. There are certainly holy spots the origin of which could not be traced with any certainty. But it is intelligible on the basis that in the very formation of this globe, there are certain spots which are conducive for meditation and concentration and they engender a spiritual atmosphere which can be sensed and felt by those who are by nature or training sensitive to subtle and occult influences. It is also on this basis that the Tantra Shastra quite often recommends for its votaries a mountain-top or the bank of a holy river etc., þarvatāgre naditire, for mantra-sādhanā in solitude.

Such is the value of a holy atmosphere for purposes of spiritual life. But nothing is holier than the name of the Guru, for it carries laden with it the influence and power and the very presence of the Guru, if he is a competent Guru, one of real stature in the realm of the Spirit, say, a perfected soul, a siddha, a great Vibhuti of high spiritual force. For in such cases the Guru has done the installation, prāņa-pratisthā, of his very presence in the heart of his disciple whose fidelity to his master is enough to nourish it for its growth and fruition in the receptacle that is the devotee, the śisya. If the name of the Guru as stated above is holy for the disciple, what is holy beyond measure for all spiritual aspirants and devotees is the spot where such a siddha or vibhūti or—and this is rare-a Divine Manifestation lives, or lived in tapasyo, and shed the coils of mortality—the "material envelope".

THE VAK OF THE VEDA AND THE THROB OF THE TANTRA

Among the stupendous achievements of the mystics of ancient India stands foremost the Theory of Creation by the Word. The creative Logos of the Greeks does certainly correspond to the vāk (Lat. Vox, Sans. vac, to speak) that is the Creatrix of the World. But the Indian conception is distinguished by the theory and the treatment it has received at the hands of great seers of the Vedic age, the sages and intuitive thinkers of the Upanishads in succession, the philosophers of the Darshanas, the Tantra Shastras and the Puranas. In the long line of sacred and general literature from the Vedas down to our times we find that they have made capital use of the theory of Vak and its practical importance was the one aim towards which all their efforts were directed. The theory of Vak which has permeated the religious literature of the land has influenced to a considerable extent the belles lettres of later ages as exemplified in the utterances of Kalidasa and Bhavabhuti. While the former affirms Vak as Shakti, power, that cannot be alienated from the meaning, its substance, in the opening verse of his Epic Poem, the latter, Bhavabhuti, makes a profound statement in his dictum that is laden with a world of ideas about the original power of Vak and its real nature on the one hand and on the other hand Vak as vehicle of thought at the disposal of the decent-minded. For he says that speech follows the meaning in the case of the sādhus of the world-and they are called sādhus who are of a good, well-bred kind with regard to veracity-in effect it comes to mean that at the best, men in the world give a correct expression to the thought in their minds. In contradistinction to this is the other statement that the meaning follows the word in the case of primeval Seers, the Rishis. The intention of the poet here is unmistakable and the idea about the real nature of Vak as transmitted from age to age from the Vedic times is revealed in the pregnant phrase-vācam artho’nudhavati. The Vak of the Rishis is not a sound-symbol of a mental idea vocally expressed as is done by all developed human beings. What else could it be then? Vak, no doubt, is Voice, word or speech. But it is not the Voice or word depending on the mind to express an idea. It is a voice in a deeper sense of the term which is in its source a power of expression, a force which impels the being to respond to the stimulii which are a demand made on the being by the environment or by the subtle or occult and spiritual forces from the deeper layers or higher levels of being.

It is a voice that proceeds from the depths, or from the heights of one’s being which is not established in mind, but itself being an early and settled movement for expression is the support of the mind which, comparatively speaking, is a subordinate instrument of expression. Here we have to understand the distinction made by the ancients between the Voice which is the support of the mind and the voice which is speech. The word as vocal expression is sound-symbol of an idea in the mind and naturally has mind for its basis, source and support. In this light the poet’s dictum that meaning follows the Rishi’s Vak has to be understood; and indeed it is intelligible that the Voice proceeds from the heights or depths of the conscious substance in which the Rishi is stationed and carries with it the meaning to be realised when it finds its completion in the delivery of the utterance. This is how meaning follows the Word in the case of a seer and in the case of others word is chosen and adapted to convey the intended meaning.

Now let us enquire into the real character of the Vak that creates, the Vak which, in the words of a Vedic poet, became all these worlds, vāgeva visvā bhuvanāni jajñe. We have clues found in the Rig Veda itself which we can follow with great advantage in our attempt to penetrate into the mysteries of the Word. The oft-quoted famous passage of Dirghatamas helps us a great deal to have an adequate idea of the theory of the Word as Mantra and of human speech as understood by the seers of the Rig Veda. For the seer-poet in stating that there are four steps by which the Word of the Mantra unveils itself has revealed a truth which has a large bearing on the source of the Word itself, as being the abode of the Great Cosmic Powers, the Gods as mentioned in another verse of the same hymn. These two Riks (I.164-39,45) announce in plain and unambiguous language as is rarely the wont of these ancient mystics, certain facts of mystic experience which we may reduce to categorical dicta for modern understanding.

1. There is the supernal Ether in the empyrean heights of Being called paramam vyoma.

2. It is the abiding place—imperishable and immutable—of the Riks, i.e., the Mantras.

3. All the Gods, the Cosmic Powers alsreside there.

4. What can any one do with the Rik who does not know That (the Supreme Ether) which is the abode of the Riks as well as of the Gods? That is to say, the Rik has value only when one knows its source, the supreme Ether.

5. There are four steps or planes, padāni, from which the Speech issues, the fourth step is the human speech that is the ordinary word while the other planes are hidden in the secrecy.

6. The Word and the meaning of the Mantra, i.e., the Veda belongs to the higher planes.

7. And the last and important statement is that the Veda is referred to by the Rig Vedic Seers themselves as the Word Eternal, nityā vāk, a phrase the Rishi applies to the Mantra in the urge for laudation to Agni, nityajā zācā codasia (VIII.64.6).

We can now consider how the essential truths in the statements made above formed the basis of the Upanishads and later Scriptures in dealing with instructions on the character of the Eternal Word of which the Sound-symbol is OM. For it is the nearest representative approach in the mental and vocal expression to the inexpressible fountain-source of all original rhythms of the Supreme Ether. This Ether of the Sublime above is the native Home of the primordial sound-substance of which the Mantras are formations hidden in the higher planes and manifest in their descent to the last step which is the human speech. This Supernal ākāśa is the imperishable source and perpetual basis of sonorous rhythms that issue from the heights to form the planes and build the worlds and also to function by casting harmonic spells for their sustenance. It is this Vedic idea and spirit that bristles in the utterance of the Upanishad wherein the Rishi prays to Indra the Lord of Swar, the Divine Power of the Luminous Heaven, whose vibrations of rhythms proceed from that World of the luminous Gods, whose abode, as has been stated, is the self-same Ether, paramam vyoma. "He who is the Bull of the Vedas of the universal form, he who was born in the sacred rhythms from the Immortal-may Indra satisfy me through the intelligence, O God, may I become a vessel of the Immortal. May my body be full of vision.”¹⁷⁰

One more topic about the four steps of Vak requires elucidation. We can translate the term as planes answering to the steps, padāni, used in the Rik. The four steps are taken to be, first, the Material plane, next, the plane of Life-force that penetrates, circumfuses and sustains it, itself remaining above in its station higher than that of the material existence; and the third from here is a plane in which the Mind-principle is dominant and is in relation to the plane of the Life-world, in the same way as the latter is to the world of Matter. If we take the first plane, the material world, as a gross existence, then the second is the subtle and the third is the causal. Giving birth to these three planes, there stands above these three the great Causal, mahākārana, in which reside in an undifferentiated state all rhythms of sound to build the worlds and planes, all play of Light to direct the lines of rhythm which are real creators not only of objects of the world severally and in their totality but also manifestations of the Gods in the Cosmos.

The fourfold division of the gross, the subtle, the causal and the Supreme Causal that transcends the three as envisaged here may correspond to similar divisions of other ways of classification that are suited to the practical lines adopted in the various systems of Yoga and their respective philosophies. Commenting on this Rik, Sayana mentions the names of the four steps of Vak using the terminology of the Tantric Yoga. We can explain the significance of those four steps or states in the light of the fourfold division as envisaged above. The Tantriks while admitting the principle of the division, apply it for practical purposes dealing with the subject from a psycho-physical and psycho-spiritual point of view; naturally therefore, since the subtle centres play a vital part in their Yoga they locate the Vak of the states in the nervous system. They name it parā, paśyanti, madhyamā and vaikhari. The first and the supreme source—the primordial parā-vāk is beyond; it it unmanifest, but turned towards manifestation; it is the great Causal mahā-kāraṇa, and as such its centre is at the bottom of the spinal column that supports the nervous system. This bottom is mūlādhāra, the root-centre of the physical being. Next is the paśyanti vāk, the word that perceives, and this is the causal located in the navel centre; then is the madhyamā vāk, the middle, the Word in the intermediate subtle region between the navel and the throat which last is the region for the express speech called vaikhari vāk.

These four states of what may be called the process of sound-formation may or may not have an exact correspondence to the four steps mentioned by the seer in the Rig Veda or to the other lines of classification that is based upon the practical procedure, Yoga, adopted in the different systems. It is not of much importance to reconcile the corresponding divisions as that would cause confusion and minimise the value and importance of certain classifications in preference to others. But what is of great moment to us and is common to all the systems is the fact that the principle of fourfold division has bearing on the states of consciousness, wherein their vibrations are represented in their dynamic aspect by the vibrant word, the expressive sound. While the Tantric Yoga locates these states in the centres, the Yoga of Sri Aurobindo which takes a Cosmic view of things would consider the four principles as referring not only to the four states of consciousness, but also to the corresponding fields of consciousness and call them the four planes of being. Necessarily then, the Waking consciousness, jāgrat, operates in the world of Matter, the Dream consciousness,-not the subconscious dream, but the superconscious Yogic dream, svapna,-in the field of the Life-world, and above, next to it, the Yogic Sleep consciousness, sușupti, belongs to the third world from here, the world of the Luminous Divine Mind, the Swar. Above the third is the fourth, turiya, that transcends the lower three states of consciousness and planes of being. It is from there the effulgent Rays of the Gods, the Cosmic Powers of the Supreme One, radiate and their rhythms are caught on their way from the Supreme Ether by the seer, one who is endowed with the faculty of the revelatory vision or inspirational audience.

It is clear then, that these are all conscious and superconscious states of which in the normal waking state we are not conscious. That we are not conscious is no proof that they are not conscious. It is too late in the day to question the correctness and veracity of utterances of the seers who have experienced these truths in the mystic field and bequeathed the same to their posterity. These states and planes are the steps by which the rhythms of the Creative Word, the Vak, descend to the level of the human speech which is called the Mantra, the word of inspiration that expresses in rhythm truths of intuitive vision or direct perception. It goes without saying that it does not apply to all human speech most of which is representative in sound-symbol of ideas in the mind. But it applies most eminently to the Mantras of the Vedic age when language was a living organism acting to the emotional pressure and nervous experience, forces of impulsion, inspirational incitement or revelatory visions. It also applies to some extent to genuine Poetry of all times—not all poetry, but Poetry of the kind in which the poet catches the rhythms in the deeper and subtler layers or on the higher altitudes in their less weakened intensity and vigour before ley get much mixed and so thoroughly diluted in the ordinary human level and word-transaction and thought-formation. Indeed it is this fact that accounts for some poets giving utterance to truths of which they themselves were not conscious at the time of their creation and delivery. On this subject of poetical creation and the rhythms, there are precious passages in the writings of Sri Aurobindo and no amount of writing upon it here can touch even a fringe of the matter as dealt with in the authentic utterances of the Master. Whatever the Vedic theory of the Word and the utterances of sages in the literature connected with it including the Brahmanas and the Upanishads be, those who are more familiar only with classical Sanskrit cannot feel quite at home in the earlier scriptures unless they make a special attempt to acquaint themselves with the obsolete words, archaic usage, the thought-content of the hymns in general and the recondite and complex and subtle conception of the graded and Vast existence beyond the material universe expressed in images, figures and symbols. But there is another class of scriptural literature, the Tantric, where the language is easy, the ideas are clearly laid, the substance of the whole matter that is dealt with is given out in a manner that directly goes home to any enquiring mind. Let us see what they state about the true character of the Word reduced to sound, sabda, and its utility in all human endeavour for success in life as well as for liberation from the bonds of ignorance leading to the final beatitude.

They start with the dictum that the word-sound has a power inherent in it, and that this power varies with the letter-sounds and a proper use of these word-sounds enables us to realise the truth in or behind the object it refers to. This theory of Tantriks is based upon their first axiom that the Word or sound-creation precedes the creation of objects—Word-sound, sabda, first and artha, the meaning or object next-artha-srsteh pūrvam sabda-szștiḥ. This śabda takes the place of the Vak of the Vedic scriptures. It is the first śabda, called nāda, rhythmic sound that was the first creation, the primordial throb, ādya spanda, that proceeds to effect the formation of the universe and create the objects of the world. It is the ancient Vedic theory of Creation, Vak, the Voice of the Bull that roars, vrṣabho roraviti, of the Supreme Truth, the Godhead that is translated into the language of the Tantra, as the supreme and primal throb, the vibrant move of an infinitesimal portion of the Infinite Absolute that measures out and forms and manifests all the worlds and this world and its objects. It is the same word, the sound, the rhythm, nāda, that is at work in the formation of tiny things as of colossal objects. The Tantriks discovered and promulgated a series of sound-symbols selected from articulate speech as representing the rhythms that constitute the formations not only of material objects, but of others which are subtle and are of the subtler planes of the Cosmos. Thus the original Word, the Vak, the Voice of Creation which suggests the Eternal syllable of the Veda, OM-or rather AUM-develops in the course of its manifestation into the seed-sounds of the Tantriks, bija-akşaras, which are charged with the principles of things, and in reality they have their own forms made of rhythms which stand behind the revelations and inspirations that greet the developed and higher faculties even as they compel and build the forms in well-ordered vibrations and move into great Cosmic measures.

The development of this seed-sound theory into very minute details by the Tantriks, with an eye to its utility in their explorations in the occult spheres, has had a far-reaching consequence on the practice of mantra-sādhanā for dealing with men and things, the elemental forces, and beings of the supra-physical worlds. For the letters, singly and in conjunction with others, represent in their rhythms not only objects; they express the colours and other qualities, actions of different kinds including attraction and repulsion as well as creation and destruction. It must be borne in mind that there are two sides in the effectual process of these seed-sounds for their respective purposes. One is the radical and psychological aspect which carries with it the spirit and thought-vibrations natural to them and the other is the mechanical side that arouses the vibrations of the material energy that is generated in the effort to vocalise and deliver it for the execution of its natural function. This latter aspect can be easier appreciated if we remember what is a common-place of modern Science—that the vibration of sound has the potency, the effectual power to create or destroy forms; but the other, the psychological and spiritual aspect of the sound-vibration requires a closer consideration, for it is not the sound of a drum or the voice of a brute, but the vocal expression of a self-conscious human being. And if we but go a little deeper behind the spoken word into the undelivered word which resides in the mind and consider its real character as related to the desires, passions, sensations and emotions on one side and the thoughts and ideas that belong to the higher mind or the mind proper on the other side, we discover that daily and hourly we produce by the word-sound within us thought-forms and thought-vibrations which result in corresponding vital and physical vibrations, act upon ourselves and others ending in the indirect creation of action and of formation in the physical world. When we learn to appreciate the relation of sound to speech, and also the action of thought-vibrations which are also sound in subtle tate that incessantly emanate from us, act and react on others and ourselves in the manner stated above, we would find it easier to understand intelligently the power of the seed-sounds, bijākşaras which represent as approximately as possible in terms of human speech-sound the natural sound-vibrations and orderly rhythms that have built the forms and bodies of the created objects as well as of creative forces to which they apply because of being their natural names in their causal state. The Tantras have discovered their utility in the occult lines of thought by fixing the seed-sound chosen for a particular object in some locus or centre in the nervous system and concentrating on it in a stream of uninterrupted flow of the same, i.e., similar vibrations that lead to the realisation of the true meaning in its causal state, or its position and purpose in the scheme of the Cosmic order. Or when this method involves a strenuous yogic effort too much for an ordinary seeker of occult truths, there is another comparatively easier, but none the less effective method that is generally recommended. It is the repetition backed by attention and interest, of the letter or letters to produce the subtle vibrations on the consciousness and thus to prepare it to receive the truth or truths beyond the mind which are evoked by the harmonic rhythms of the letter-sound held in mind through repetition and which are the nearest approaches to the natural rhythms of those truths.

So far we have seen how the mystics of Tantra treat the letters and their sound-rhythms and their real character and value for ends which pertain to life in this world and other worlds. But they do not stop with the occult truths however interesting and useful they may be, they proceed to the Beyond, the Transcendental, for the ultimate goal, the final Beatitude, the Light Eternal which is also the Vedic Ideal. Actuated by a synthetic spirit to include every element of truth that matters and concerns the individual and the universal, pindānda and brahmānda, to use their terminology, they proceed from the subtle meaningful sound-vibrations to their causal and to the great Causal of all causals which issue from the Original Throb which in its native form is Light. That is how they call the Eternal Word of the Veda, AUM as the Radical Light, also as the generator of all seed-sounds sarva-bija-utpadaka, as the source tree of all branches sākhādih, and as the constant, steady and inexhaustible and immutable,dhruva, avyaya and akşara.

Here again the Tantra accepts the theory of Vak in principle, but develops it in its characteristic way for practical purposes.

A word about the Vedic method of using the Vak for purposes of Sadhana is necessary to distinguish it from the Tantric method since we started with the Vedic Vak and entered into some details about the Tantric theory of seed-sounds. It may be asked: how did the Vedic sages apply their theory of Vak to the life of Sadhana, to build the inner life? It is difficult to enter into this question in detail here. But we can safely, without hesitation, say what can be easily gathered from the hymns of the Rig Veda. One outstanding fact in their manner of approach to the Godhead is that while they were tireless in their effort to commune with the Cosmic Powers, the Gods, and aimed at the Highest, they had for their article of faith the one Cosmic Power of the Godhead nearest to the Earth-plane; in fact, the presiding king of this world is Agni, the Divine Flame. And Agni has many functions, as the heat of the conscious Force that effects the formation of things in the world of matter and develops his functions in man— for the Gods function in the cosmos as natural powers, and as psychological and spiritual powers in man; and as the human faculties develop in the self-conscious being, he manifests himself as the flame of aspiration that burns out the smoke of desires and passions and impurities, arriving at his fuller manifestation as the Divine Will. In the Vedic scheme the first function of Agni is to voice forth the aspirational call of man for the acceptance by the higher Gods of his being, in all the parts of his being, so that whatever in man belongs to the Cosmic Powers will go to their rightful owners, the Powers of the Godhead, and man may be delivered to his rightful place among the Gods and abide in the Home of Truth.

But that is a higher function of Agni when the higher faculties of the human being are so developed as to enable man for the divine effort of self-exceeding and mounting the higher steps of the ladder of cosmic existence. Even before that, Agni’s function begins as the voice in man, agnir vāg bhūtaḥ. It is this aspect of Agni that the Vedic sages were initially impressed with and used prayers to evoke him so that he may awake and take up the function of calling the higher Powers. Vak therefore as hymns, prayers addressed to Agni first and to other Gods afterwards, was the main instrument of their spiritual effort. Whatever their personal effort, it was all directed towards the help of the ruling Powers and was subordinate to and aid to self-giving, self-offering of which Vak as prayer was the motor force, rather than concentration and meditation on sacred syllables as is the case with Yogins of later ages including the Tantric way. And the inspired nature of the Vedic Vak tended to attach greater importance to and enhance the value of the sacred utterance and the result was tangible and, comparatively speaking, unfailing as can be seen from a close study of most of the hymns addressed to the Gods in Rig Veda. It is noteworthy that the Seer-poets of the Veda themselves make mention of the efficacy of Vak, the Mantra, quite often expressing their gratitude to the responsive Gods whom they laud with a happy confidence that they are watchful and hear and respond to them in the hour of their need. The potency of the Vedic Vak as prayer lay in the fact that it was an externalised vibrant sound, a perfect reproduction in resonant rhythms of thought-vibrations charged with feelings from the depths of the Seer-poet and others who used it. Vak was the chief means used by the Rishis to awaken the Great God of the Earth, Agni, seated in the heart of man. It is not that the Rishis did not employ means other than prayer, concentration, tapasyā, etc. They were great tapaswins and Yogins with a fund of occult Knowledge and vision of spiritual truths all of which were gifts of the awakened Agni guiding the Rishi in his onward journey towards the Home of the Supernal Light. Agni, then, is Vak, the power of expression, the voice of Call, on the physical plane; in his subtler aspect at the back of the voice he is the psychic fire whose flame throws up the force of Aspiration in the march towards the Godhead; radically he is the Godhead himself, his Will secret in the heart of things and of man.

Now we close: we began with Vak as the creatrix, the throb in the Infinite calm that sets into motion the Creation, the manifestation of the worlds in Cosmic measures. It is the primal root-sound represented by OM, of all seed-sounds which are the basic rhythans for the formation of all things in Creation. The word and sound precede the meaning and objects in creation. The four steps of the words are Cosmic steps in their descent into Manifested Existence. In the Cosmic view these steps are the planes—the great Causal that is above, followed by the causal, the subtle, and the last, gross physical plane. It is the relation of thought-vibration and sound-vibration to speech-subtle or openly expressed-that explains the dynamic character of mantras for formation, dissolution and sustenance. Such is the perception of the mystics of ancient India; such the profound conception behind their utterance about the value and potency of Vak; and such also is the grandeur at once subtle and recondite, yet yielding to utility not only for purposes of life here,-though this is subordinated to higher and pure spiritual aims, but for the highest aim of man endowed with Vak, for his self-exceeding effort 10 arrive at the most sublime, the Immortal Light which is the Eternal home of all lights and all rhythms, all Gods and all measures of this Cosmic Manifestation.

GOSPEL OF THE GITA

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(First Published in 1934 (?) and subsequently reprinted several times)