In the previous post, some examples were given of Agni verses from the Rig Veda, that were in simple and non-cryptic language. These clearly showed that the sages conceived of Agni as the Supreme Unity of Existence, Consciousness and Bliss. The proportion of such simple and straightforward statements are few and far between. Even as it was demonstrated in Trita Āptya's hymn RV 10.5, use of intricate and cryptic symbolism is the norm. Although it is impossible to unravel every bit of symbolism in the Rig Veda, some linked verses and some explanations from the Brāhmaṇa literature help reveal the deep metaphysics behind some of the topics.
Here is one example that requires a little more explanation than the simple verses.
Here is one example that requires a little more explanation than the simple verses.
1. Vāmadeva Gautama, RV 4.40.5
हंसः शुचिषद्वसुरन्तरिक्षसद्धोता वेदिषदतिथिर्दुरोणसत् ।
नृषद्वरसदृतसद्व्योमसदब्जा गोजा ऋतजा अद्रिजा ऋतम् ॥
haṁsaḥ śuciṣad vasur antarikṣasad-dhotā vediṣad atithir duroṇasat |
nṛṣad varasad ṛtasad vyomasad abjā gojā ṛtajā adrijā ṛtam ||
"The Swan present in the waters (or light), as Vasu in the atmosphere, as the priest in the altar, as the guest in houses. In men he is present, in gods, in Cosmic Order, in space - he is born from the waters, from the earth, from the Cosmic Order, from the mountains. He is Cosmic Order."
Although this verse is attributed to Sūrya, it is obvious that most of the epithets are those of Agni - not that there is any real difference between Agni and Sūrya in the highest level. However, when dealing with the hymns attributed to individual gods, it is consistent to observe what epithets are used for each god.
Now, Hamsa is the swan, which although not an aquatic animal, still spends most of its life on water. It breathes air, can fly and walk on land, but chooses to sit in water. As such, the swan is a beautiful and apt symbol for the Supreme One, which chooses to express itself in manifestation of the world. In the Rig Veda, waters (plural) are the symbol of the universe with its potentialities. The universe is infinitely capable of producing and reproducing forms and life-forms. Hence, the Supreme One by choice, for play, has come into the universe as consciousness in living creatures. The Swan is the Samsārī, the Eternal Migrant, who is always on the move, in the form of space and time.
The only other occurrence of a single swan in the Rig Veda is in Parāśara Śāktya, RV 1.65.9:
श्वसित्यप्सु हंसो न सीदन् क्रत्वा चेतिष्ठो विशामुषर्भुत्
śvasityapsu haṁso na sīdan kratvā cetiṣṭho viśāmuṣarbhut
Agni "breathes sitting in the waters like a swan, by his power he is omniscient, waking at dawn for men." Clearly the Swan is Agni.
'Priest of the altar' and 'Guest in the home' are well-known descriptions of Agni. "Amṛto martyeṣu - the immortal within mortals" as Agni is described (e,g., RV 4.2.1) matches "nṛṣad - in men". Three terms are related: ṛtasad, ṛtajā, ṛtam. The first one means "is present in Cosmic Order", the second "born of Cosmic Order", the third "is the Cosmic Order". These three terms coming together in this verse demonstrate the very core of Vedic philosophy. In a majority of hymns the gods are described as born from Cosmic Order, adhering to Cosmic Order, keepers of Cosmic Order, etc., resulting in a popular (especially among Western Indology specialists) notion that the gods are somehow subservient to, and are "governed" by, Cosmic Order. The image that these Western scholars create is that of a rowdy bunch who are kept in discipline by this matronly Cosmic Order. However, in this verse, Agni is the Supreme All-in-One. He is the Cosmic Order, he is the soul of Cosmic Order, he embodies it, and is the child of Cosmic Order. By extension, all the gods are an embodiment of Cosmic Order, which is an expression of their essential nature.
Moreover, this triple epithet of Agni only reflects the consistent metaphysics that we will see below.
Supreme singularity, or reconciliation of opposites
A supreme, all-encompassing, spiritual principle which is the material and efficient cause of the universe is expected, not surprisingly, to be described in terms of opposites. This supreme "singularity" would be the state of neutralization of worldly opposites, a state of existence where the manifested opposites of worldly existence have no meaning, or from which state the opposites emerge to form the structures of the world. This state of singularity is the supreme, self-luminous Observer who knows his own existence, and who exists both before the universe comes into being and after the universe is dissolved.
The Upanishads and Vedanta declare this non-dual state of existence as the ultimate reality. Not surprisingly, the Rig Veda is already full of such descriptions with regard to Agni. Comparing this to the Big Bang theory of modern physics, the energy is the state of singularity when there was no space, time or matter. The total energy content cannot increase or decrease, so it will always exist regardless of the specific structure of matter, space or time. However, the one missing piece in this theory is an absolute observer that validates the existence of this state.
Here we will see some specific ways in which Agni is described as a unity of opposites or dualities.
1. Energy and Matter, or Eater and Eaten, or Consumer and Consumed
This duality is perhaps the most fundamental in the universe. In fact, this duality is the basis for the separate existence of things that make up the structure of the universe. If everything was one, then what would eat what? Then there would be no grass, no deer, no tigers, no separate entities, no protons, neutrons or electrons or atoms or molecules. However, because there is evidence of recycling of things in the universe, there must be a single source of all opposites. This is what the sage Viśvāmitra Gāthina (RV 3.26.7) realized as his identity with Agni:
अग्निरस्मि जन्मना जातवेदाः घृतं मे चक्षुरमृतं म आसन् ।
Supreme singularity, or reconciliation of opposites
A supreme, all-encompassing, spiritual principle which is the material and efficient cause of the universe is expected, not surprisingly, to be described in terms of opposites. This supreme "singularity" would be the state of neutralization of worldly opposites, a state of existence where the manifested opposites of worldly existence have no meaning, or from which state the opposites emerge to form the structures of the world. This state of singularity is the supreme, self-luminous Observer who knows his own existence, and who exists both before the universe comes into being and after the universe is dissolved.
The Upanishads and Vedanta declare this non-dual state of existence as the ultimate reality. Not surprisingly, the Rig Veda is already full of such descriptions with regard to Agni. Comparing this to the Big Bang theory of modern physics, the energy is the state of singularity when there was no space, time or matter. The total energy content cannot increase or decrease, so it will always exist regardless of the specific structure of matter, space or time. However, the one missing piece in this theory is an absolute observer that validates the existence of this state.
Here we will see some specific ways in which Agni is described as a unity of opposites or dualities.
1. Energy and Matter, or Eater and Eaten, or Consumer and Consumed
This duality is perhaps the most fundamental in the universe. In fact, this duality is the basis for the separate existence of things that make up the structure of the universe. If everything was one, then what would eat what? Then there would be no grass, no deer, no tigers, no separate entities, no protons, neutrons or electrons or atoms or molecules. However, because there is evidence of recycling of things in the universe, there must be a single source of all opposites. This is what the sage Viśvāmitra Gāthina (RV 3.26.7) realized as his identity with Agni:
अग्निरस्मि जन्मना जातवेदाः घृतं मे चक्षुरमृतं म आसन् ।
अर्कस्त्रिधातू रजसो विमानो अजस्रो घर्मो हविरस्मि नाम ॥
agnirasmi janmanā jātavēdāḥ ghṛtaṁ me cakṣuramṛtaṁ ma āsan|
arkastridhātū rajaso vimāno ajasro gharmo havirasmi nāma||
"agnirasmi janmanā jātavēdāḥ I am Agni, omniscient by birth" - here the sage has a flash of illuminating realization that he and the universal observer are one and the same. "ajasro gharmo havirasmi nāma I am Eternal heat, as well as the sacred food offering." - here the symbols of the sacrificial ritual are used to denote the universal opposites of energy and matter, eater and eaten. He is both of them. This is the realization of the oneness behind all forms that recycle interchangeably.
2. Male and Female
This duality is another fundamental aspect of the manifested universe. Mythologies of all ancient cultures have a creation myth that has a first male and first female that produce the world. Even modern genetics expounds two fundamental types of chromosomes in DNA, X and Y that are gender-related. And yet, when the ultimate origins are questioned, logically there would have had to be a gender-neutral state from which the duality emerged, because neither a male nor a female by itself could produce the universe - by their very definition, they need to come together for any production or reproduction. Here by 'male' and 'female' we should understand 'donor' and 'recipient' or 'force' and 'potential', which denote more universal metaphysical ideas than mere sexual identity in mammals.
To recognize and realize the state of gender-neutrality requires insight into the deeper reality of all things, which is an absolute, universal observer. This is what the sage Trita Āptya (RV 10.5) realized as Agni:
असच्च सच्च परमे व्योमन् दक्षस्य जन्मन्नदितेरुपस्थे ।
"pūrva āyuni vṛṣabhaśca dhenuḥ Before creation, he was both Bull and Cow" - here the very culturally universal symbols of bull and cow are used for male and female. Before the manifestation of the universe, the potentialities of maleness and femaleness were undifferentiated in Agni, but then came forth as concrete forms in the manifested universe.
Another observation in the hymns to Agni is that although he is a male deity for all practical purposes, he is identified with all the female deities as well. For example:
Vāmadeva Gautama (RV 4.1.20)
"विश्वेषामदितिर्यज्ञियानाम् - viśveṣām aditir yajniyānām - Of all gods, he is Aditi" It is well-known that Aditi is the mother of all gods.
Gṛtsamada Bhārgava (RV 2.1.11)
"You, Agni, are the goddesses Aditi, Bhārati, Iḍā and Sarasvati."
3. Father and Son; Father and Daughter
Another fundamental duality in relationships is that of progenitor and offspring. In the universe, for all practical purposes, the father of a creature cannot be the creature's son. Nor is it logical to say that a father is his daughter's son. This generational differentiation is a linear progression that is a natural outcome of reproduction.
However, after realizing the non-duality of existence, there is no escape from the knowledge that such relationships of the universe have no meaning behind or beyond the universe. Or, from the perspective of first origins, the son cannot have been without the existence of a father, but the father would have to be someone's son. So the ideas of 'father' and 'son' are of mutual origin from a source where there is neither father nor son. This is the realization of the sage Parāśara Śāktya (RV 1.69.2) regarding Agni:
"परि प्रजातः क्रत्वा बभूथ भुवो देवानां पिता पुत्रः सन् "
"pari prajātaḥ kratvā babhūtha bhuvo devānām pitā putraḥ san"
"Manifested everywhere by your power, you have become the father of the gods, being already their son."
So the sage is reiterating the realization that Agni is all and all is Agni.
Moreover, from the Trita Āptya verse quoted above, it is seen that Agni's primeval state of non-duality implies that Dakṣa is born from Aditi, who is his daughter. As observed above, this is due to the metaphysical need for a first origin. This same Dakṣa-Aditi symbolism is elaborated in another hymn RV 10.72.4:
"अदितेर्दक्षो अजायत दक्षाद्वदितिः परि"
"aditer dakṣo ajāyata dakṣād u aditiḥ pari"
"From Aditi was born Dakṣa and from Dakṣa was Aditi born"
4. Unmanifest and Manifest, or Non-existence and Existence, or Non-being and Being
This duality is a rather subtle subject of metaphysics and philosophy, but no doubt it is much closer to the question of first origin and to the absolute non-dual reality. In all of Indian philosophy, this duality has two words: Asat and Sat. However, these same two words are used in slightly different meanings in different contexts in the Rig Veda and Upanishads, hence the three different pairs of dualities in the heading.
Subtle distinctions need to be made between the three pairs of dualities. 'Non-being' is a null, an absolute nothing. 'Being' is the opposite - a 'something', a final, irreducible absolute state of "is-ness". When this 'Being' has not taken on a specific mode, it is 'Non-existence', whereas 'Existence' is a mode of 'Being'. 'Unmanifest' is the state of 'Existence' that is imperceptible to a set of mind and senses, whereas 'Manifest' can be perceived by a mind and a group of senses.
For sure, neither Rig Veda nor Upanishads teach a state of pure nothing or null as it goes against all spiritual experience. So undifferentiated 'Being' is the ground zero or absolute reality of the Rig Veda and Upanishads. From this clarity, we can understand that in chapter 6 of Chandogya Upanishad, Sat means 'Being', which is why it is asked, "How can Being arise from Non-being? It cannot be so. Hence Being alone was in the beginning." Similarly, in Rig Veda 1.164.46, Sat could mean 'Being' or 'Existence', "There is one Being or Existence, though sages describe it in many ways."
Harking back to the Trita Āptya verse quoted above, Agni is said to be "Asat and Sat at the highest level (parame vyoman - literally "highest heaven" or "highest space", meaning the highest state or sphere of existence, above and beyond the mundane world)". In the next line, Agni is called "the first-born of Cosmic Order". We have to reconcile these two descriptions. Since Cosmic Order implies a fully functional universe, Agni is here the "first ray of the light of consciousness" in a specific universe. In other words, he is the personal God. However, in the highest state, far removed from the universe, where there is no notion of Cosmic Order due to the absence of a Cosmos, Agni is "both Existence and Non-existence", in other words, he is undifferentiated Being. This line of thought is confirmed by the last quarter of the verse "before creation, both Bull and Cow". So, what will become the gender duality of bull and cow within the Cosmos, is undifferentiated Bull-Cow before creation, i.e. before Cosmos, i.e. both Existence and Non-existence, i.e. Pure Being in the highest state, i.e. the state of non-dual singularity. This same concept is also found in the famous Nasadiya hymn, RV 10.129: "There was neither non-existence nor existence then", "That One breathed without breath on its own."
5. Moving and Stationary; Moving and Unmoving
Aristotle is pretty famous for the concept of the "unmoved mover" as a first principle. However, this concept was nothing new. Thousands of years before Aristotle, the Rig Veda is full of such descriptions of the Supreme Unity, the Absolute Singularity of Existence and Consciousness in terms of opposites.
Viśvāmitra Gāthina (RV 3.55.7) describes Agni as:
द्विमाता होता विदथेषु सम्राडन्वग्रं चरति क्षेति बुध्नः।
"dvimātā hotā vidatheṣu samrāṭ anvagraṁ carati kṣeti budhnaḥ"
"The one who has two mothers (heaven and earth), or the one who is the creator of two (heaven and earth), who is the sovereign in spiritual conferences, he moves ahead even while he rests as foundation."
First, the description of Agni as "son of two or creator of two" shows again the fundamental concept of Agni as the unifying "bridge" who transcends opposites and yet from whom opposites emerge. Then he is said to move even as he sits. This is an exact paraphrase of Īśopaniṣad, "तदेजति तन्नेजति", "It moves, it moves not".
Also, Trita Āptya (RV 10.5.3) says, "विश्वस्य नाभिं चरतो ध्रुवस्य - viśvasya nābhiṁ carato dhruvasya - He is the center or origin of all that moves and all that is stationary." In other words, Agni is the single source of opposites created in the universe. Or rather, Agni is the state of Existence-Consciousness that transcends worldly opposites.
Any genuine metaphysical description of the ultimate reality can only use negations of worldly opposites, as the state of ultimate reality is one of uniform, undifferentiated, "non-lumpy" existence as well as pure awareness of the existence. Existence and knowledge of existence are inseparable because if I don't know I exist, then I am a null, a non-existent. These ideas lead to the root of all knowledge and experience, and to the deepest truth of all, which we shall see in the next post.
We have explored some deep spiritual (or, more accurately, metaphysical - which means "beyond physical" - which actually represents the idea of "spiritual" in the sense of non-corporeal) conception of Agni in the Rig Veda that correspond perfectly with the teachings of the Upanishads. Agni is realized and recognized by the sages as the non-dual singularity and the absolute observer that is the Brahman of Upanishads. In the next post, we shall see a much deeper level of meaning in some of the Rig Vedic verses that are only rarely seen in the Upanishads.
I must mention Ananda K. Coomaraswamy here as my inspiration and indirect teacher. He is a true sage in the likeness of the Vedic sages in his deep insight into the meaning of Vedic and Upanishadic texts, and his profound wisdom in connecting all texts into a systematic whole. His collected writings on the Vedas are published as "Perception of the Vedas" by Manohar Publishers, and is available on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Perception-Indira-Gandhi-National-Centre/dp/8173042543/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1433056188&sr=8-1&keywords=perception+of+the+vedas
AKC completely rejects the methods of modern Western oriental scholars who look at the Rig Veda as a document of history devoid of metaphysical and spiritual content. He considers the Rig Veda as just the opposite - as dealing with eternal matters and not of any historical events, and this is also the traditional view. He shows with scholarly rigor and precision that each of the terms in the Rig Veda have a specific interpretation in metaphysics and that the Vedic verses were composed with the intention of expressing these metaphysics. The sages of the Rig Veda took the underlying metaphysical theory for granted when composing the verses so that there is no systematic exposition of the doctrine, but AKC recovers it by consolidating scattered verses throughout the text. He also shows the complete equivalence of the Vedic verses with the later Upanishads excepting linguistic changes in modes of expression. Another important discussion is on the real meaning and purpose of Vedic yajna (sacrifice) which is always an emulation of the "First Primal Sacrifice" done by the Gods to create the universe.
In summary, these essays are an insightful presentation of the theory of Vedic metaphysics on universal and individual Consciousness, God and the source of God, and other topics of spiritual significance.
This book is a must-have, if you are a lover of metaphysics and like to ponder deeply on questions about the nature of "God" and the universe, and the relation of individual multiplicities of existence to the single unity of undivided existence, and how different traditional systems are set up to lead to enlightenment.
2. Male and Female
This duality is another fundamental aspect of the manifested universe. Mythologies of all ancient cultures have a creation myth that has a first male and first female that produce the world. Even modern genetics expounds two fundamental types of chromosomes in DNA, X and Y that are gender-related. And yet, when the ultimate origins are questioned, logically there would have had to be a gender-neutral state from which the duality emerged, because neither a male nor a female by itself could produce the universe - by their very definition, they need to come together for any production or reproduction. Here by 'male' and 'female' we should understand 'donor' and 'recipient' or 'force' and 'potential', which denote more universal metaphysical ideas than mere sexual identity in mammals.
To recognize and realize the state of gender-neutrality requires insight into the deeper reality of all things, which is an absolute, universal observer. This is what the sage Trita Āptya (RV 10.5) realized as Agni:
असच्च सच्च परमे व्योमन् दक्षस्य जन्मन्नदितेरुपस्थे ।
अग्निर्ह नः प्रथमजा ऋतस्य पूर्व आयुनि वृषभश्च धेनुः ॥ 7
asacca sacca parame vyoman dakṣasya janmannaditerupasthe |
agnirha naḥ prathamajā ṛtasya pūrva āyuni vṛṣabhaśca dhenuḥ ||
"pūrva āyuni vṛṣabhaśca dhenuḥ Before creation, he was both Bull and Cow" - here the very culturally universal symbols of bull and cow are used for male and female. Before the manifestation of the universe, the potentialities of maleness and femaleness were undifferentiated in Agni, but then came forth as concrete forms in the manifested universe.
Another observation in the hymns to Agni is that although he is a male deity for all practical purposes, he is identified with all the female deities as well. For example:
Vāmadeva Gautama (RV 4.1.20)
"विश्वेषामदितिर्यज्ञियानाम् - viśveṣām aditir yajniyānām - Of all gods, he is Aditi" It is well-known that Aditi is the mother of all gods.
Gṛtsamada Bhārgava (RV 2.1.11)
"You, Agni, are the goddesses Aditi, Bhārati, Iḍā and Sarasvati."
3. Father and Son; Father and Daughter
Another fundamental duality in relationships is that of progenitor and offspring. In the universe, for all practical purposes, the father of a creature cannot be the creature's son. Nor is it logical to say that a father is his daughter's son. This generational differentiation is a linear progression that is a natural outcome of reproduction.
However, after realizing the non-duality of existence, there is no escape from the knowledge that such relationships of the universe have no meaning behind or beyond the universe. Or, from the perspective of first origins, the son cannot have been without the existence of a father, but the father would have to be someone's son. So the ideas of 'father' and 'son' are of mutual origin from a source where there is neither father nor son. This is the realization of the sage Parāśara Śāktya (RV 1.69.2) regarding Agni:
"परि प्रजातः क्रत्वा बभूथ भुवो देवानां पिता पुत्रः सन् "
"pari prajātaḥ kratvā babhūtha bhuvo devānām pitā putraḥ san"
"Manifested everywhere by your power, you have become the father of the gods, being already their son."
So the sage is reiterating the realization that Agni is all and all is Agni.
Moreover, from the Trita Āptya verse quoted above, it is seen that Agni's primeval state of non-duality implies that Dakṣa is born from Aditi, who is his daughter. As observed above, this is due to the metaphysical need for a first origin. This same Dakṣa-Aditi symbolism is elaborated in another hymn RV 10.72.4:
"अदितेर्दक्षो अजायत दक्षाद्वदितिः परि"
"aditer dakṣo ajāyata dakṣād u aditiḥ pari"
"From Aditi was born Dakṣa and from Dakṣa was Aditi born"
4. Unmanifest and Manifest, or Non-existence and Existence, or Non-being and Being
This duality is a rather subtle subject of metaphysics and philosophy, but no doubt it is much closer to the question of first origin and to the absolute non-dual reality. In all of Indian philosophy, this duality has two words: Asat and Sat. However, these same two words are used in slightly different meanings in different contexts in the Rig Veda and Upanishads, hence the three different pairs of dualities in the heading.
Subtle distinctions need to be made between the three pairs of dualities. 'Non-being' is a null, an absolute nothing. 'Being' is the opposite - a 'something', a final, irreducible absolute state of "is-ness". When this 'Being' has not taken on a specific mode, it is 'Non-existence', whereas 'Existence' is a mode of 'Being'. 'Unmanifest' is the state of 'Existence' that is imperceptible to a set of mind and senses, whereas 'Manifest' can be perceived by a mind and a group of senses.
For sure, neither Rig Veda nor Upanishads teach a state of pure nothing or null as it goes against all spiritual experience. So undifferentiated 'Being' is the ground zero or absolute reality of the Rig Veda and Upanishads. From this clarity, we can understand that in chapter 6 of Chandogya Upanishad, Sat means 'Being', which is why it is asked, "How can Being arise from Non-being? It cannot be so. Hence Being alone was in the beginning." Similarly, in Rig Veda 1.164.46, Sat could mean 'Being' or 'Existence', "There is one Being or Existence, though sages describe it in many ways."
Harking back to the Trita Āptya verse quoted above, Agni is said to be "Asat and Sat at the highest level (parame vyoman - literally "highest heaven" or "highest space", meaning the highest state or sphere of existence, above and beyond the mundane world)". In the next line, Agni is called "the first-born of Cosmic Order". We have to reconcile these two descriptions. Since Cosmic Order implies a fully functional universe, Agni is here the "first ray of the light of consciousness" in a specific universe. In other words, he is the personal God. However, in the highest state, far removed from the universe, where there is no notion of Cosmic Order due to the absence of a Cosmos, Agni is "both Existence and Non-existence", in other words, he is undifferentiated Being. This line of thought is confirmed by the last quarter of the verse "before creation, both Bull and Cow". So, what will become the gender duality of bull and cow within the Cosmos, is undifferentiated Bull-Cow before creation, i.e. before Cosmos, i.e. both Existence and Non-existence, i.e. Pure Being in the highest state, i.e. the state of non-dual singularity. This same concept is also found in the famous Nasadiya hymn, RV 10.129: "There was neither non-existence nor existence then", "That One breathed without breath on its own."
5. Moving and Stationary; Moving and Unmoving
Aristotle is pretty famous for the concept of the "unmoved mover" as a first principle. However, this concept was nothing new. Thousands of years before Aristotle, the Rig Veda is full of such descriptions of the Supreme Unity, the Absolute Singularity of Existence and Consciousness in terms of opposites.
Viśvāmitra Gāthina (RV 3.55.7) describes Agni as:
द्विमाता होता विदथेषु सम्राडन्वग्रं चरति क्षेति बुध्नः।
"dvimātā hotā vidatheṣu samrāṭ anvagraṁ carati kṣeti budhnaḥ"
"The one who has two mothers (heaven and earth), or the one who is the creator of two (heaven and earth), who is the sovereign in spiritual conferences, he moves ahead even while he rests as foundation."
First, the description of Agni as "son of two or creator of two" shows again the fundamental concept of Agni as the unifying "bridge" who transcends opposites and yet from whom opposites emerge. Then he is said to move even as he sits. This is an exact paraphrase of Īśopaniṣad, "तदेजति तन्नेजति", "It moves, it moves not".
Also, Trita Āptya (RV 10.5.3) says, "विश्वस्य नाभिं चरतो ध्रुवस्य - viśvasya nābhiṁ carato dhruvasya - He is the center or origin of all that moves and all that is stationary." In other words, Agni is the single source of opposites created in the universe. Or rather, Agni is the state of Existence-Consciousness that transcends worldly opposites.
Any genuine metaphysical description of the ultimate reality can only use negations of worldly opposites, as the state of ultimate reality is one of uniform, undifferentiated, "non-lumpy" existence as well as pure awareness of the existence. Existence and knowledge of existence are inseparable because if I don't know I exist, then I am a null, a non-existent. These ideas lead to the root of all knowledge and experience, and to the deepest truth of all, which we shall see in the next post.
We have explored some deep spiritual (or, more accurately, metaphysical - which means "beyond physical" - which actually represents the idea of "spiritual" in the sense of non-corporeal) conception of Agni in the Rig Veda that correspond perfectly with the teachings of the Upanishads. Agni is realized and recognized by the sages as the non-dual singularity and the absolute observer that is the Brahman of Upanishads. In the next post, we shall see a much deeper level of meaning in some of the Rig Vedic verses that are only rarely seen in the Upanishads.
I must mention Ananda K. Coomaraswamy here as my inspiration and indirect teacher. He is a true sage in the likeness of the Vedic sages in his deep insight into the meaning of Vedic and Upanishadic texts, and his profound wisdom in connecting all texts into a systematic whole. His collected writings on the Vedas are published as "Perception of the Vedas" by Manohar Publishers, and is available on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Perception-Indira-Gandhi-National-Centre/dp/8173042543/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1433056188&sr=8-1&keywords=perception+of+the+vedas
AKC completely rejects the methods of modern Western oriental scholars who look at the Rig Veda as a document of history devoid of metaphysical and spiritual content. He considers the Rig Veda as just the opposite - as dealing with eternal matters and not of any historical events, and this is also the traditional view. He shows with scholarly rigor and precision that each of the terms in the Rig Veda have a specific interpretation in metaphysics and that the Vedic verses were composed with the intention of expressing these metaphysics. The sages of the Rig Veda took the underlying metaphysical theory for granted when composing the verses so that there is no systematic exposition of the doctrine, but AKC recovers it by consolidating scattered verses throughout the text. He also shows the complete equivalence of the Vedic verses with the later Upanishads excepting linguistic changes in modes of expression. Another important discussion is on the real meaning and purpose of Vedic yajna (sacrifice) which is always an emulation of the "First Primal Sacrifice" done by the Gods to create the universe.
In summary, these essays are an insightful presentation of the theory of Vedic metaphysics on universal and individual Consciousness, God and the source of God, and other topics of spiritual significance.
This book is a must-have, if you are a lover of metaphysics and like to ponder deeply on questions about the nature of "God" and the universe, and the relation of individual multiplicities of existence to the single unity of undivided existence, and how different traditional systems are set up to lead to enlightenment.
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