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    Key philosophical themes within early Vedic discourse from thecosmogonic hymns of the gveda and theAtharvavedathrough theearly Upaniads(Bhadrayaka, Chandogya, Kautaki, Aitareya,Taittirya).

    Raymond Lam

    Introduction

    This essay identifies and discusses ey philosophical themes

    within early Vedic discourse and the early Upaniads.!

    Thesethemes run through the "cosmogonic# or speculati$e hymns of thegveda (V)%and theAtharvaveda(&V)'and the thought of theBhadrayaka Upaniad (*)+ Chandogya Upaniad (,*)+KautakiUpaniad (K*)+AitareyaUpaniad (&*)+ andTaittirya Upaniad(T*). This paper is di$ided into three sections+ each of whichfeature -road philosophical ru-rics in the rele$ant tets. They arenot chronological+ since assigning specific "phases# to the historyof early Indian thought is not easy. Rather+ these ru-rics progress

    from what seem to ha$e -egun as ideas situated in the Vediccontet of worship (yaja)/ cosmogony+ thought and -eing+ andfinally+ soteriological nowledge. The three themes will encompassmore specific ideas/ for eample+ cosmogony co$ers se$eral

    1The Upaniadsare secret teachings that served as the final sections of the brhmaas(commentarialliterature on the Vedas public rites) before becoming an influential genre in their own right. SeeWitzel, Vedas and Upaniads, !, "rereton, #$panishads%, &'', && * +. rauwallner writes simpl-that the- are the philosophicall- valuable parts of the brhmaas, #separated from them andindependentl- handed down% (rauwallner,History of Indian Philosophy, !).

    /0V &.+/, & * /, &.', &.&/&, &.&/1, &.&/', &.&!. The 0V is an ancient antholog- of spo2enrevelations in the form of poetic ritual h-mns. ritz Staal implicitl- criticizes the methodolog- of pastefforts to anal-se the 0V when he insists that of the Vedas, it is #the earliest, the most venerable,obscure, distant and difficult for moderns to understand * hence is often misinterpreted or worse3 usedas a peg on which to hang an idea or a theor-% (Staal, Discovering the Vedas, &+). Wend- 4lahert-sintroduction to her abridged translation summarizes the st-le in which the supposedl- divinel- spo2enrevelations were communicated to future generations3 #The h-mns are meant to puzzle, to surprise, totrouble the mind5 the gods love riddles, as the ancient sages 2new, and those who would conversewith the gods must learn to live with and thrive upon parado6 and enigma5 the reader becomes awareof the inade7uac- of his certain 2nowledge% (4lahert-,Rig Veda, &1 * ).

    38V .&, .' * &, &.+, &&.9, &&.+.

    &

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    "theories# of creation in Vedic discourse+ while the soteriologicalnowledge of the early Upaniadswill in$ol$e the notions of0ea$en+ re1death (punarm tyu )+ and re-irth+ and the relationship-etween tman and brahman.

    The paper first gi$es an o$er$iew of speculati$e and cosmogonicalthought in the V and &V. 2uch ideas -egan with the ritualscentred on the idea of reciprocity in the sacrifice+ along with mythsof origins that de$eloped according to the needs of theircommunities. 3hile no formal philosophy is glimpsed in the earlydiscourses+ there is a percepti-le su-stratum of such thoughts

    emerging in the hymns a-out creator deities. 4$en as ritualscontinued to -e performed+ speculations of $arious powers in thesu-stance of the echanges -egan to surface.5Related to this wasthe ontological 6uery of -eing itself+ and what it meant to "-e.#7ne important idea was that thought or mind is directly connectedto the uni$erse+ that "eistence and consciousness are consideredsomehow to originate together+ in such a way that onepresupposes the other.#8&ccording to 9oel rereton+ the apophaticV !:.!%; (Nsdyaskta) articulated eactly this+ maring a

    milestone in later Vedic speculation.

    The compiled and edited

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    Upaniadswas the relationship -etween microcosm of theindi$idual and the macrocosm of the uni$erse.>?enetrating intothis nowledge and the possi-ility of transcending re-irthgradually gained precedence. The idea that ignorance of reality

    -inds humanity to the mundane world led to the -elief that thiscould -e countered through insight or soteriological nowledge.The search for this li-erating nowledge would come to en=oyprimacy in Indian philosophy.

    !. ,osmogony

    The V is a collection of mythology+ supplications and praise-rought together as ritual hymns. ut it also contains hymns ofprofound cosmogonical speculation@+ and in later hymnsdemonstrate a genuine curiosity a-out "the one -eing# (ekam sat)underlying all phenomena and the origins of life.;The ritual orreciprocity1-ased world$iew of the V does not seem to ha$elimited the di$ersity of the cosmogonical ideas within.!:The firstphase of Vedic religion seemed to emphasise "sustenance and

    regulation of cosmic phenomena+# which would o-$iously pertainto the affairs of human life.!!In this sense+ philosophy wassu-ordinated to the tas of learning a-out humanitys role inrelation to the gods and acting in a ritualistically correct way.!%Theterm yajadenoted the acts that sustained the uni$erse within thecosmic order of ta. Aaintaining reciprocity -etween humanity and

    7The speculations within the Upaniadswere 7uite diverse in their solutions. ?$ postulates aradicall- different, materialist cosmogon- to the idealist conception provided b- "@$ &.9.

    8Witzel, Vedas and Upaniads, /1, +&.

    9Aohant-, &lassical Indian Philosophy, &.

    10Stella Bramrisch, among others, has demonstrated that several structures of stor-telling can befound in the 0V, all of which denote the separation of abstracts (Bramrisch, #The Triple Structure of?reation in the 0g Veda%, &'/, &9 * /.).

    11Cande2ar, #Dethin2ing Vedic A-tholog-%, &''+, 9.

    !

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    ,hhanda ,hara$arti -elie$es to -e "predominantly proletarian+-reathing a ple-eian atmosphere.#%The possi-ility that non1priests used its mantras -y nomeans ecluded philosophical or esoteric meanings -eneath theritual prescriptions. &V

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    Ce$ertheless+ most of the speculations within the V and &V failto penetrate the deeper 6uestion of what occurred -efore eistenceitself came to -e. Indra is not a ,reator in the sense of creating e#nihi!oF he remo$es that which hides what can -e percei$ed+ such as

    light and water. 7ther hymns posit $arious di$inities+ such asViG$aarmam (V !:.@!+ !:+ @%)+ rahma aspati (V !:.>%)+ ?urua(RV. !:/;:)'%+ and 0iranyagar-haH?r=apati (V !:.!%!).''Thesehymns assume there were two principle forces -efore the e$enttoo place/ one of will+ such as an o$ergod or gods+ the otherwithout will+ upon which the former acts as master and shaper. Inrowns words+ "each hymn merely tries to identify a more remoteacti$e agent than any assumed in other theories.#'5

    It is the Nsdyaskta'8that supersedes e$en the notion of a creatorgod -y simply gi$ing no certain answer. oth the will of a theisticdeity and the power of sacrifice are ignored.'

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    %. Thought and eing

    In the first $olume of his $ast wor $istory o% &ndian 'hi!osophy+4rich Drauwallner puts forward the uni6ue hypothesis that*paniadic thought progressed through three materialist (ornatural science) doctrines/ that of water+ -reath+ and fire+ each ofwhich represent life in all its aspects.'@&ccording to Drauwallner+these doctrines were -ased on Vedic antecedents and match thethree natural phenomena with specific philosophical ideas+progressing in scope and sophistication (with fire -eing the

    culmination). 0ence speculation during the *pani adic era wasinterested not only in cosmogony -ut also in natural processes(such as sleep+ -reath+ et cetera) and how they correlated with thehuman -ody.';Drauwallner contends that the fire doctrine waswhat would gi$e rise to other concepts+ including soteriologicalnowledge. This naturalistic approach signaled a new "rationalist#method to grappling with old 6uestions+ which in$ol$edconnecting the functions of the human -ody and those of thecosmos.5:

    The a-straction of natural elements was crucial to de$elopingmore comple and formal philosophy.5!This esta-lishment ofcorrelations -etween phenomena and ideas also helpedDrauwallner to situate the ideas in the Upaniadsaccording to ane$olutionary scheme/ one of progressing concepts that delineateperiods of inno$ation. Indian thought is too di$erse and completo identify simply one stream of linear progression+ -ut it still

    38rauwallner,History of Indian Philosophy I, ! * 1/.

    39ibid. !1 * !.

    40"rereton provides an anal-sis of the $pani:adic idea of #correlation% in his chapter of #The$pani:ads%inastern &anons- Approaches to the Asian &lassics, &&' * //. This is a techni7ue thatruns throughout ndian thought.

    41rauwallner,History of Indian Philosophy I, 1&.

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    seems that the Nsdyaskta5%can also mar a crucial phase since itmust precede Drauwallners schema of the Upaniads. Jespite-eing a late addition to the g$edic corpus+ and is liely to ha$einfluenced and -een influenced -y an entire range of thought+

    including mysticism+ meditation+ and yoga as well as philosophy.This would ha$e a far1reaching impact on later philosophers+whether or not they agreed with the rahmin ways.

    The Nsdyasktadoes away with the anthropomorphic conceptaltogether+ a-andoning any notions that humans can relatecompletely to the great -eyond+ and recogniBed "genuine

    pro-lems of philosophy at a le$el most religious poetry does note$en touch.#5'It addresses the philosophically deepest 6uestionsof early Vedic discourse to an intentionally unsatisfactory degree.These 6uestions are framed in trou-ling paradoes that wouldseem to hum-le humanitys arrogance in attempting to sol$e the6uestion of creation. uestions include "3hat stirred#+ and"Drom where and in whose protection#55The poems authorcontinues to as+ possi-ly rhetorically+ if anyone really nows andwho can proclaim any such nowledge58+ since the gods are in the

    created order and hence cannot stand outside of it to gi$e asatisfactory answer.5uzzlement3%gveda&.&/' and the $ses of=nigma%, &'''.

    43Staal,Discovering the Vedas, &!.

    440V &.&/'.&c.

    450V &.&/'.a.

    460V &.&/'.c * d.

    470V &.&/'.+a * d.

    '

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    closing is simply a 6uestion that suggests the possi-ility that thiso$erseer might not ha$e the answer either.5@

    3ynn gi$es a good e$aluation of the hymns power when hewrites/ "Drom mysterious -eginnings to an unresol$ed conclusion+it almost seems to -e a riddle posed -y the ancient Vedic poets.#5;The 6uestions within the hymn ha$e some significant implicationsfor cosmogony+ such as the idea that "the process of creationcannot -e formulated into an eact temporal se6uence+#8:or theironic hint that to search for the uni$erses origin is ultimatelyfutile.8!The poem only re$eals its su-=ect+ ekam sat+ in the second

    $erse. 4$en then the 7ne can only -e descri-ed apophatically

    8%

    +although 9urecwiB attri-utes to it the power of possi-ility+ a-ility+and freedom.8'

    9oel rereton offers an original and inno$ati$e contention for thepoems meaning. ased on interconnected o-ser$ations a-out the7ne+ as well as grammatical and linguistic structure of the poem+he proposes that the poems point "is to -e found more in the path

    it follows than the place it arri$es.#85Thoughtitself is whatcharacteriBes the philosophical theme of the poem. 0e argues thatthe hymn was written to stimulate thought in the hearers a-outthe process of thought as creation+ re1creating the timeless past in

    480V &.&/'.+d.

    49W-nn, $he ,rigin of "#ddhist (editation, 1.

    50ibid.

    510V &.&/'.+.

    520V &.&/'./.

    53Gurecwiz, #The%gveda&.&/' * an attempt of interpretation%, &''1, &9!.

    54"rereton, #=dif-ing >uzzlement3%gveda&.&/' and the $ses of =nigma%, &''', /1.

    &

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    the present.88The response of the audience+ "their acti$e mentalengagement+ mirrors the original power of creation+ and theirgradually de$eloping understanding recapitulates the process ofcreation.#8

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    This is a $ery interesting o-ser$ation. It notes that cosmogonicspeculation pro$ided the theoretical -acground to schemes ofmeditation+ -oth -efore and after the Nsdyasktawas composed.3ynn stresses that the act of contemplation was present from

    Vedic times+ for the seers or poets (sis) who were responsi-le forthe re$elation of the Vedas in$ented these $erses through inspiredthining (man). The e$idence is found in $erse 5c1d+ which3ynn argues states that the poem was the wor ofcontemplati$es8;. It would certainly seem liely thatcontemplati$es attri-ute the highest importance to thought andself1cognition+ to the point that it is responsi-le for creation as wellas continuity. 3ynns o-ser$ations ha$e important conse6uences

    -ecause this entails that the Nsdyaskta represents a periodwhen early and later ideas intermingled+ finding epression in theBrhmaasand Upaniadsas well as non1rahmin schools.

    & component that gradually rose in importance as a result of thetransition from con$entional cosmogony to the apophaticcontemplation of the Nsdyaskta was soteriological nowledge+although it had not yet reached its signature primacy in Indian

    thought. Ce$ertheless+ 3ynns o-ser$ation a-out V !:.!%;.5c1dseems to indicate that a new milestone was -eing reached in thephilosophical themes of Vedic discourse. &long with thisconception of soteriological nowledge came new insights andopinions a-out its contents+ importance+ and how it could -eattained. These di$erse ideas all appear in the early Upaniadsandit is to these tets that this paper now turns.

    '. 2oteriological Knowledge

    It would seem that early Vedic cosmogony contri-uted to e$ol$ingphilosophies of ontology+ epistemology+ and language. The oldconcepts of sacrifice and reciprocity were not a-andoned+ -ut theywere challenged. The idea of -ondage would not satisfy later

    59ibid. !.

    &/

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    thiners+ -ecause the implications of their forefathers world$iewled to distur-ing conclusions a-out 0ea$ens impermanence.ecause of these deductions+ soteriological nowledge -ecame aey component in speculation. ,osmogony and thought would

    still ha$e roles to play in crafting new ideas of the uni$erse+ -ut theprimary o-=ecti$e within the early Upaniadswas now li-eration.

    The notions of li-erating nowledge and reincarnation appeareplicitly in the respecti$e segments of *

    62?ohen, $e.t and A#thority, 1.

    63"rereton, #The $pani:ads%, inastern &anons- Approaches to the Asian &lassics, &!/ * !."rereton also observes that the passage points to the classical formulation of /armaas action, whichmeans not onl- action but also the effects of ones actions. Jater $pani:ads (li2e B$ !.+f) too2 rebirth

    and /armafor granted.

    &!

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    ,ohen is implying that there was no idea of re-irth in the Vedasand hence was not part of the Vedic world$iew. It is perhaps notso simple+ gi$en the difficulty of assigning chronological "phases#

    to early Indian philosophy. Richard Eom-rich points out that ifthe notion of re-irth was not present (or at least in a dormantform) in early Vedic discourse+ scholars are forced to maeawward con=ectures as to how the teaching could ha$e suddenlyappeared in the Upani ads + a tet that represents the finalde$elopment of Vedic and rahmin thought. 0e dou-ts thatre-irth within *

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    worlds of here and hereafter. In contrast+ 9urewicB reinterprets it asprayer for &gni to -ring him -ac to re=oin his family

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    relationship to the di$inities as one of ealted "-ondage.#>%3ithout the reciprocity of ritual and worship+ humans would losetheir li$es and gods their power. ut the reward that the gods-estowed after death was realiBed to -e inherently undesira-le+ for

    if one too V !:.!

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    The age1old 6uestions of cosmogony and origins were thereforere$isited with fresh eyes. Jissimilar and di$erse answers to those

    in early Vedic discourse were offered+ and the rahmins relatedthis search for new nowledge to the possi-ility of defeating thecycle of death and re-irth.>;In fact+ cosmogony was $ital topro$iding important presuppositions for the rahminssoteriological nowledge. ,entral to this intellectual and spiritualendea$our were the notions of tmanand brahman.(tman+ or thea-iding self+ plays a central role in * !.5.!+ and seems to allude tothe Nsdyaskta)s idea of the 7ne+ of self1cognition+

    consciousness+ or thought as ey to creation or -eing/

    0e Othe single -ody of tmanP looed around and sawnothing -ut himself. The first thing he said was+ "0ere I amQ#and from that name "I# came into -eing. "Therefore+ e$entoday when you call someone+ he first says+ "Its I+# and thenstates whate$er other name he may ha$e.#@:

    &side from this passage that indicates the tmans "self1recognition+#@!T* %.8 connects thought with creation+ -ut moreimportantly with what pro$ides access to li-eration. This self+ seenas immuta-le and unchanging+ -ecame identified with the2upreme eing brahman. &ccording to the rahma aspaticosmogony+ this word brahmanoriginally denoted the g$edicmantra and not Eod.@%I also noted that &V

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    Nsdyaskta+ and T* %.8 eplicitly unites these philosophicalsu-strata in Vedic discourse with thought and brahman/

    Its perception that conducts the sacrifice.Its perception that performs the rites.Its perception that all the godsVenerate as the foremost brahman."Brahmanis perception# N

    he who nows this+and neglects this not+Lea$ing the e$ils -ehind in his -ody

    0e attains all his wishes.

    @5

    T* %.8 shows that if one nows that his se!% is *odthrough and asthought+ the insight of li-eration will -e attained. * !.5.!! and&* !.% N !' unite this soteriological idea with differingcosmogonical eplanations/ that there was really onlytmanHbrahman+ -ut it di$ided itself in a certain way until thecurrent structure of the world eisted as it is now. To $enerate the

    tmanis therefore to now oneself as brahman+ which will not only-ring li-eration -ut unloc the power of creation itself+ asupernatural gift that was also a preoccupation of rahmins/ "&ndif someone $enerates is self along as his world+ that rite of his willne$er fade away+ -ecause from his $ery self he will producewhate$er he desires.#@8Brahman as tman is also eplained in *!.5.; N !8 and T* %.< as the highest truth+ and to now of thisrelationship helps one to surpass e$en the Vedic gods+ as seen in* !.5.!:/

    83"iardeau observes that brahmandenotes several things3 in the neuter, it is the name of the ritualformula, in the masculine, it is the name of one of the priests in the Vedic sacrificial ritual, who silentl-oversees the entire procedure. ;e further speculates that the difficult role of this priest would give theword brahmandifferent connotations of total 2nowledge of the revelation or content of Vedas("iardeau,Hind#ism, &').

    84T$ /.1.

    85"@$&.9.&1.

    &

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    If a man nows "I am brahman in this way+ he -ecomes thewhole world. Cot e$en the gods are a-le to pre$ent it+ for he

    -ecomes their $ery self (tman). 2o when a man $eneratesanother deity+ thining+ "0e is one+ and I am another+# hedoes not understand. &s li$estoc is for men+ so is he for thegodsM the loss of e$en a single head of li$estoc is painfulMThe gods+ therefore+ are not pleased at the prospect of mencoming to understand this.@This conception of my(illusion) does not match withthe classical description of sasra@@+ and while such a descriptioncannot -e found in the *+ there is e$idence of the idea thathumanity is somehow -eing decei$ed.

    86"@$&.9.&.

    87"rereton, #$panishads%, &'', &&.

    88See

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    i-liography

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    7Dlaherty+ 3endy Joniger (trans.). 1ig +eda An Antho!ogy.London/ ?enguin oos+ !;@!.

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