ArticleBiz.com :: Free article content
Authors: Maximum article exposure. Publishers: Reprintable article content.  
BROWSE ARTICLES
ArticleBiz.com Home
Featured Articles
Recently Added Articles
Most Viewed Articles
Article Comments
Advanced Article Search
AUTHORS
Submit Article
Check Article Status
Author TOS
PUBLISHERS
RSS Article Feeds
Terms of Service

The fire within the Atharva Veda
Home :: Social Issues :: Religion
By: Jeff Stats Email Article
Word Count: 2708 Digg it | Del.icio.us it | Google it | StumbleUpon it

  

In a modern world of developing technology and space exploration people are getting used to the notion of "the newer-the better". In reality, this concept may not prove to be true especially if such an important part of most people’s life as religion is taken into consideration. Numerous of the newly emerging religions are based on easy beliefs and comforting philosophies that are easy to manage as an "every Sunday" obligation. Looking back at the old times it becomes clear that people back than were not looking for a simple answer and effortless routine worshipping.

Hindu religion is one of the richest in history and tradition in the world. Its structure is very complex and confusing although throughout all schools one can trace a certain central theme. This theme is derived from a human’s most sacred and important function of earth-the realization of the fire within given to a human by God. The Atharva Veda is a sacred text of Hinduism, part of the four books of the traditional Vedas. It derives from the Indo-Aryan name Atharvan, a term which is usually taken to describe a fire priest in Vedic Sanskrit. More specifically, the Atharva Veda was mainly composed by two clans of fire priests known as the Bhrigus (also called Atharvans) and Angirasas. Additionally, it also includes composition of certain other Indo-Aryan clans such as the Kaushikas, Vasishthas and Kashyapas. The Atharva Veda, although definitely belonging to the Vedic period, is often considered younger than the other three Vedas. In this sense, it is the "Fourth Veda" of the turiya, or the four original sacred texts in the Hindu religion. Judging from its contents, it is clearly intended for "private" ritual, dealing with sickness, love potions, and other domestic issues, such as charms for cattle and security of harmony, as opposed to the "public" rituals described in the Yajur Veda.

The most important feature of the viewed Veda is the first notification of the whole new philosophical trend. "Agni (fire) is in the earth, in the plants, the waters hold Agni, Agni is in the stones; Agni is within men, Agnis (fires) are within cattle, within horses. Agni glows from the sky, to Agni, the god, belongs the broad air. The mortals kindle Agni, the bearer of oblations that loveth ghee", those are the mantras of the Cosmogonic and Theosophic Hymns, of the part XII of the Hymns to Goddess Earth. Those hymns are very important for the comprehend understanding of the whole Atharva Veda philosophy. They are announcing that the "The earth, clothed in Agni, with dark knees, shall make me brilliant and alert!" The entire universe is entitled to obey and to coincide with Agni, the mystic fire, the source of life as it is. Life in everything, from stone, water, and air to complex human souls. In those hymns one can trace the first implication of the unification of all life on earth, nature and humans being a whole entity which is united by one mutual component. Everything in existence is described as conglomerated system encompassing all the smallest to the largest articles. The foundations of Vaishheshika, the highest of the Hindu Darshanas is expressed in the mantra XII.1.26 in which the atoms (Paamsu) are described forming the stone, the stones agglutinating to form the rocks and the rocks held together to form the Earth: "To this golden-breasted earth I have rendered obeisance.", thus hinting on the one common ground that everything sticks too. An early pantheistic thought is seen in the hymn as well and describes the common thread running through all manifest and un-manifest existence as the Skambha. This Skambha element is described as something that poured out of the Hiranyagarbha that was the forerunner of the complex world in a very simple form (X.7.28). This Skambha is Indra and Indra is the Skambha which describes all existence. The hymn also describes the pantheistic nature of the Vedic gods (X.7.38): Skambha is the heat (tapas) that spreads through the universe (Bhuvana) as waves of water. The units of this spreading entity are the gods even as branches of one tree again reminding of the united nature of the universe. This is one particular and central theme that repeatedly presents itself in various interpretations that abounded in later Hindu philosophies and can be considered one of the most fundamental expressions of Vedic thought.

Page 1 of 3 :: First | Last :: Prev | 1 2 3 | Next

Jeff Stats is an expert at Mindrelief.net. Our custom essay writing service is a great chance for you to present an essay of the highest standard to your professor. The assistance of our writers is a priceless input in your professional development. Order college essay or research paper from our writing service.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleBiz.com

This article has been viewed 271 times.

Rate Article
Rating: 0 / 5 stars - 0 vote(s).

Article Comments
There are no comments for this article.

Leave A Reply
 Your Name
 Your Email Address [will not be published]
 Your Website [optional]
 What is three + nine? [tell us you're human]
Notify me of followup comments via email


Related Articles


Copyright © 2009 by ArticleBiz.com. All rights reserved.

Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | Submit Article | Editorial