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The Veda and Images
The Veda and Images: Revisiting an Arya Samaj perspective
By Ved Kovid, Durgadas.
(c) Ved Kovid, Durgadas. All Rights Reserved.
(c) Ved Kovid, Durgadas. All Rights Reserved.
Naturally in the Arya Samaj, there is a tendency to state that all names (proper nouns) for the Devatas (when invoked, not as common nouns - the Rishis are never proper nouns) denote simply the One Brahman alone, which although true, does not simply ring true alone, with regards to the One Formless Brahman alone.
This tradition of Nirankaris however is popular in Northern India - such Jnanis from Guru Nanak and others in the bhakti-oriented Sant-sampradaya practiced this as also Totapuri, the Advaitaguru of Sri Ramakrishna. This system was based on the Nirguna Brahman Jnanis who simply even devote themselves to the formless aspects of Godhead, rather than the Saguna Brahman, or Brahman with attributes.
Now, simply for argument's sake, if we were to state that Brahman is formless and the Devatas and worlds of the Devas, Gandharvas and others did not exist, there is no harm, as I see it, in ascribing personified forms to the attributes or the names themselves of the One Brahman - clearly themselves denoting the Ishwara or Saguna Brahman, for they become, as it were, simply symbolic tools in helping the sadhak progress from the form to the formless. We ourselves dwell in the sphere of the formed and we are not beings of light or fire with such subtle bodies that exist on the levels of the Sun or the atmosphere for example, thus, a bridge is required, such as a physical Deity with human-like qualities, so long as one comprehends the deeper symbolic nature of this "dhyanamurthi" or meditational image.
As an example, let us take the goddess Chinnamasta. She is headless and has three streams of blood flowing from her neck. She represents the vidyut-shakti or the power of atmospheric electrical current (lightening) and also the destruction of one's own Ahamkara or ego, which denotes negative impediments in the path of Yoga, such as raga (desire), rajas (passion), lobha (greed), bhoga (material pursuits), kama (lust) etc. Her three streams of blood are consumed by her head and also those of her attendants, Dakini and Varnini, representing the negation of the sadhak's three gunas of sattvas (purity), rajas (action) and tamas (darkness). The three streams and her body and her two Dakinis also represent the proper (purified and unobstructed) flow of the three nadis or meridians in Yoga - Ida, Pingala and Sushumna. It is the inner awakening of higher perception, however we may, in our Vedic paths, see it as.
In the Rig Veda (I.117.22), the term Dadhichi, which is later taken as a Rishi's name, appears which refers to one who upholds dharma. He loses his head and it is replaced instead with an "ashwa-shira" or a head of prana or breath, which represents that he must first loose his head (ego), abandoning all material attachments before he can truly uphold dharma itself. The two companions are the Ashwin twins - Ida and Pingala or the Yamas and Niyamas which assist dharma in being upheld in the body, as also the regulation of Udana and Apana, which become united as "Twins" in Samana, the equalising state of breath, where all things come to a standstill and the mind's vrittis or movements and thought-waves are arrested. The Ashwins here who brings this "pranic head" to dharma (dadhichi) are hence the stabalising of Udana and Apana currents as Samana (Rig Veda, X.191.3-4, making the body (chariot), which the mind as swift-moving (manojava), well controlled through Yoga (sayuja - Rig Veda.I.117.15, I.121.12). This is also the value of Chinnamasta's imagery also, derived from the Yogic symbolism of the Veda.
One who speaks the four Vedas is also one who is Chaturamukha or has four mouths - or has four heads (Chaturanika - Rig Veda V.48.5). Yet, I also see no issue with making a physical representative of this and worshipping it, imbibing therefore, the qualities of this symbolic personality for the formless Brahman who knows and first revealed them to the Rishis. In fact, it would help the sadhak unite better or connect better with such a deeper level of Brahman, in the initial stages at least. We must also embrace the psychological angle of this practice also and realise how even poojas represent the elements, their transformation and also helping the sadhak calm their minds, offer their negative qualities and transform them through this unique practice, which is rather beautiful in a sense. A Pooja helps the spiritual aspirant to renounce attachments to things such as milk, water, leaves, foods etc. and offer them to the Deity and also cultivates feelings not only of vairagya (detachment), but also cultivates feelings of prema (love) and kindness towards the Deity and thus calms their more aggressive traits. It helps instill sattvas in their minds, just as for example, the use of fairy-tales and moralistic stories for children or anecdotes help shape their minds and instill good qualities of conduct in them. This does not mean we simply must give up the performance of Agni-Hotra, but in fact, incorporate these elements in our daily sadhanas along with it, to help better still, settle and transform our mind and energies (pranas).
Thus, even if we dismiss the spiritual aspect of the Devas as possessing realm forms and realms of existence or being, we can at least acknowledge the usefulness of the tools of Pooja etc. than Tantra provides in "training the mind", just as study of the shastras does, or taking of Ayurvedic herbs and sattvic foods has such an effect, We need not reject it due to some aggressive culture determined on ruining it.
My own conviction however is that murthis or images were not used in earlier Yugas, except by lesser castes and more asuric peoples removed from spiritual insight, as the human realm then was more subtle and causal and the Brahmins would, at various sacred tirthas and through the Homa, invoke the form of the Devata to manifest itself and worship them physically, just as one would a king. As time went on and this declined, murthis became more the common practice even for Brahmins, although Yogis it seemed still retained the inner divine link. This is also where the idea of Prana-pratishtha (instilling life-force into the Deity) derives as well.
Thus, even if we dismiss the spiritual aspect of the Devas as possessing realm forms and realms of existence or being, we can at least acknowledge the usefulness of the tools of Pooja etc. than Tantra provides in "training the mind", just as study of the shastras does, or taking of Ayurvedic herbs and sattvic foods has such an effect, We need not reject it due to some aggressive culture determined on ruining it.
My own conviction however is that murthis or images were not used in earlier Yugas, except by lesser castes and more asuric peoples removed from spiritual insight, as the human realm then was more subtle and causal and the Brahmins would, at various sacred tirthas and through the Homa, invoke the form of the Devata to manifest itself and worship them physically, just as one would a king. As time went on and this declined, murthis became more the common practice even for Brahmins, although Yogis it seemed still retained the inner divine link. This is also where the idea of Prana-pratishtha (instilling life-force into the Deity) derives as well.
Now, several Arya Samajis have scoffed at this practice and questioned it's validity. If Brahman is in all, then why do we have images? Well, Brahman is in all - but why do we perform Agni-Hotras and recite the Vedic hymns or contemplate OM and the Gayatri? Answer - simply as they are spiritual aides over non-spiritual ones, lest even contemplating a brick would connect us to Brahman rather than OM or the sacred Gayatri, would it not? Similarly, Hindus believe that it gives it life, just as our human bodies require Prana or life-force, the Jivatman (individual soul) in order for it to be animated. Without a Soul, the body dies, the Prana leaves. Take another example - we have a telephone receiver, but the device is not connected to the telephone line or satellite. So, there is no connection, no bridge or median to connect us with others. This connection is what the Prana-pratishtha of the Hindus is for!
Naturally, advanced Yogis, those born with deeper Yogic samskaras and such can dismiss these - just as one, upon learning how to swim well, can cross a difficult channel without any issues. Others however, drown in their attempts trying in vain, which is, to a large degree, what has occurred with Jnana-Yoga and Advaita-Vedanta since the great Yogi and Jnani, Sri Ramana Maharishi. I have noted that Maharishi Dayananda himself was once also tied to form - he was a Shaivite until preaching at Jaipur, which appears to be where the idea of the Shivaratri tale derives, though he contemplated that the Supreme was indeed formless from the beginning, due to his stronger (and higher) sense of Yogic insight. But again I stress, this is not the same for one and all. Even in the Arya Samaj we have "murthis" in a sense - don't we revere the Satyarth Prakash, hang pictures of Maharishi Dayananda, Sri Rama, Sri Krishna and others to remember them as also liberally use the "OM" symbol on logos, books and literature, contemplate it, as also the sacred Fire and the Gayatri mantra? Are these all not symbols - murthis or representatives of some kind? Are not even OM and the Gayatri symbols of our formless Brahman to better connect with him?
It is true, the Rig Veda contains more symbolism and the Yajur Veda and such are more exoteric - yet that is just it! The Agni-Hotra itself is a labourous devotional system and social system, like the Poojas that compliment them. Mantras are still offered and the symbolism of the Rig Vedic Yoga, contemplation inwardly and inner Yogic metaphors in the hymns are also not lost in later times, but are transformed into the Tantric system, which adapted them. And not all Tantra is bad, either - the majority of India's Pandits follow the symbolic and ritualistic right-handed (Dakshinamarga) path, known as Divya or celestial, the way of light and illumination. Only the corrupt Kshatriya and Vaishya forms, such as Viramarga and Pashumarga are more literal in approach, involve meat, wine and sexual rituals, symbolically and ritualistically, which the Divyamarga does not. We should hence not simply confuse these systems nor try and taint the greater Tantric system with the corrupted forms, just as we would not take Sayanacharya's commentary on the Veda as authoritative over the tradition of Yaskacharya and his lineage and those as Uddalaka, Yajnavalkya etc.
We also cannot deny, try as we might, that the Rig Veda does not contain poetic imagery also, directly and indirectly. Sometimes indeed, the deities and even demons are called by name, using them as proper nouns, but symbolically meaning something deeper (the Purana literature confused many by mixing these spiritual metaphors with history, along with true historical accounts of which Tantra was much better at decoding the symbolism of, relative to both the Deities and their mythological tales attached). Vritra for example stands as an obstruction in man's path of spiritual progress and realisation and also stands for the thunder-cloud as also the eclipse or Rahu-factor as well, depending upon which level one translates it as, inwardly (Yogic) or expressed in terms of cosmological and logic (Samkhya and Nyaya-Vaisheshika), or even Vedantically, as representing the veiling power of avidya or spiritual ignorance, the avarana-shakti! Vritra as the snake is the proverbial dangerous 'snake' confused with the 'rope' of Shankaracharya (Vivekachudamani, 110). Thus, are these points also not valid of a Vedic interpretation also, according to such levels - again, without contradicting the sanatani (eternal) and apaurusheya (non-human) origin of the Vedas?
I am also not certain we can charge Adi Shankaracharya (c.500BCE) with all the distortions that appear in the traditions of interpretation of Advaita in their own literal sense, as opposed to that implied (i.e. in Atmabhava). I have a great respect for Sri Ramana Maharishi and also Narayana Guru of the south who, in accordance with the lineage of Shankaracharya, both spoke from a heightened stated of the Self or what we may call as "Brahman-consciousness", far removed or aloof from the human norm and cannot be applied to the physical world and certainly not even the religious, philosophical nor social structures and constructs, which remain, as it were, far more physical and in the world obscured by vikshipta (projecting) and avarana (obscuring) powers of the (dormant) Self! Shankara himself stated "brahma satyam" (Brahman is Truth) "jagat mithya" (the world is false) but also complimented it with older Vedantic statements such as "sarvam khalvidam brahma" (all is Brahman) and "jivo brahmaiva napara" (the soul and Brahman are the same), I would add to this, as Shaiva Siddhanta does - "in essence (rasa)". All is Brahman, even the world, but there are differences in Brahman - just as the pot of Gold Brahman is quite different from the usage of say, the Ghee-Brahman which is liquid. Saying all is Brahman is just like saying that paramanus (subatomic particles) compose the substratum of all things in creation - which indeed we know to be true, but still, the wooden table composed of primal atomic structures is quite different from say, how we wouldn't rest our cup of tea on a Lion! The composition is different, hence the difference between the higher worlds composed of satya (truth), or as Sri Ramakrishna stated - vidyamaya and the lower worlds of,avarana-shakti or veiling power and avidyamaya!
This aside, we come to the realisation here that both Dayananda and Shankara spoke of a formless Brahman together, ultimately, as their highest goal. Dayananda's way was through inner shuddhi or purification as was Shankaracharya's, which also implemented the system of Bhakti and the elaborate system of worship of the Six Deities. This is also no different than one also choosing Six Names of Brahman and using one for himself as his favourite, for example, Ishwara, Vishnu or Rudra! It still evokes emotions of attachment, gunas (qualities or traits) and such for the sadhak to relate to, does it not? Does not Vishnu, the all-pervading Godhead make us contemplate the Supreme in all things and does not the supreme as Rudra - he who causes tears, remind us of the idea of the invisible doctrine of karma in place for rewards and punishments through samsara or rebirth? There is then, nothing wrong with portraying this character or quality in the form of a deity - Yamaraja or Varuna, taking upon characteristics of the human Judge or Dharmapati (administrator of justice), as his own laws themselves derive from the Supreme Brahman and cosmic laws at any rate, as per the traditions of the Rishis (via Manu etc.).
Many Arya Samajis have also translated "moksha" as salvation, which conjures up ideas of the Christian salvation also and noted the mythical Puranic realms. Yet again, in Advaita traditions, moksha or liberation itself matches the description given by Maharishi Dayananda, as apart from the worlds of the Gods (existing in Saguna Brahman); the period of Moksha is 311 Trillion years or a Lifetime of Brahma, as in Mundaka Upanishad ("parantakala", III.2.6). Shankaracharya in his commentaries on Chandogya and Brihadaranyaka Upanishad also states that in moksha one is not reborn in the current Kalpa (311 trillion years), one can be reborn after that time is over, however.
Quoting the four main Pramanas or authorities for evidences of the Vedic path - viz. Pratyaksha (direct perception), Anumana (inference), Upamana (comparison) and Shabda (shastras or textual and traditions), we cannot simply dismiss the validity of Murthi-pooja in the Vedas nor its place in Hinduism, without a valid means of doing so, beyond simply he "shabda" or scriptural testimony of our Guru, Maharishi Dayananda, who we must remember, did so purely for political reasons, if we are to be honest about our origins, as also his own turn from Shaivism proper when preaching in Jaipur in 1866, as per his own Autobiographical accounts, as it appears, he was obsessed with not only confronting Islam and Christianity, but also Vaishnavism and the distortions about Sri Krishna in the Bhagavata Purana (which missionaries were using to denounce Krishna).
I see no reason, therefore, to dismiss or even ridicule murthi-pooja and see in fact, that we should research more with regards to it's positive (and healing) effects upon the mind for promotion of sattvas, creation and awakening of bhakti, as also their origin, usage and significance in Vedic times also, relative also to the higher psycho-physical effects and powers the Devatas and murthis personify, which Tantra-shastra itself appears to reveal with a great deal of richness in tradition and clues to their Vedic discoveries!
I see no reason, therefore, to dismiss or even ridicule murthi-pooja and see in fact, that we should research more with regards to it's positive (and healing) effects upon the mind for promotion of sattvas, creation and awakening of bhakti, as also their origin, usage and significance in Vedic times also, relative also to the higher psycho-physical effects and powers the Devatas and murthis personify, which Tantra-shastra itself appears to reveal with a great deal of richness in tradition and clues to their Vedic discoveries!
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Bishopdale
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New Zealand
ph: +64 3 359 6015
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