adminLAST week we found that the mythical story of the purported miraculous conception of Yahoshua the Nazarene was in Rome. This week, we go to India, an older civilisation. We seek to establish if a similar myth is found there.
Two major religions have origins in India — Hinduism and Buddhism. For now, we focus on Hinduism.
The origins of Hinduism are in Indus River Valley civilisation or Harappan civilisation (c2200-1700 BCE). Indus Valley is the area occupied today by India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and some regions of northeast Afghanistan.
As an organised religion, Hinduism is the modern descendent of early Brahmanism, the religion of the priestly class or Brahamans who performed the Vedic sacrifices.
The teachings of Hinduism arose from anonymous ancient sages, seers of thought or “rishis” who transmitted knowledge orally. With time, the oral teachings were committed to numerous writings, the Vedas.
The Sanskrit word ‘Veda’ means “knowledge” or wisdom. Literally, Vedas means the Books of Knowledge.
There are four Vedas: Rig-Veda (ritual knowledge), Yajur-Veda (ceremony and sacrificial formulas knowledge), Sama-Veda (melodious and singing knowledge) and Atharva-Veda (medicinal and magical knowledge).
Hinduism is generally understood to be a polytheistic religion because some say that it has multiple devas (divinities). This arises from the misinformation of our Christian-oriented education system.
Hinduism acknowledges the Divine as a single and absolute force without form and attributes.
Such a Divine is considered to exist in everything and everywhere. It often incarnates as a human being for special purposes.
Vedic Hinduism refers to the Divine as “Brahman” or Para-Brahmanas being an unchanging, infinite, immanent, transcendent and genderless reality.
Such a Divine is the component of all matter, energy, time, space, being and everything beyond and within the universe.
The Divine is the Cosmic Breath or Absolute Reality. It is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. “There is only one Divine, not the second; not at all, not in the least bit.” (Brahman Sutra).
In the “Taittariya Upanishad II.1”, Brahman is described thus: “Brahman is of the nature of truth, knowledge and infinity.”
“Brahman is the one, indivisible, silent basis that is all-existent, ever-aware consciousness. Because of its all-pervasive presence it is wholly complete and its fullness is always abiding as a silent presence.” – Jane Cleary, “OM: Its Purpose and Meaning,” Quest 100.1 (Winter 2012): 21-24.
“Brahman itself constitutes the essential building material of all reality, being the antecedent primeval ontological substance from whence all things proceed.
“There is no (Hebraic) ex nihilo creation in Hinduism. Brahman does not create from nothing, but from the reality of Its’ own being.” — www.hinduism.about.com<http://www.hinduism.about.com>
The “Shiv Purana” says Brahman, the Divine, created Brahma (the Creator), who in turn created Vishnu (the Preserver/Protector) representing sustenance of life through the principles of order, righteousness and truth.
Vishnu ultimately created Shiva (the Destroyer) and represents death and dissolution.
Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are the Hindu Trinity or “Trimurti” respectively standing for natural principles of Creation, Preservation and Regeneration as a collective expression of Brahman.
This represents the triune/three-fold nature of the pervading and unifying cosmic force or energy, Brahman.
At human level, there are central figures or important divinities called “avatars”.
Avatar means “one who descends,” as being the descendent or incarnations of the preserver, protector and overseer of the entire life process, Vishnu.
Avatars are primarily concerned with the tasks of protection and salvation in this world.
It is through the avatars, i.e human incarnations, that Vishnu re-establishes dharma/righteousness and destroys tyranny and injustice on Earth.
Vishnu is worshipped and works through ten avatars, of which the most popular is the eighth one, Krishna.
“You have been born of the divine Devaki and Vasudeva for the protection of Brahma on Earth.” – Mahabharata Epic Book 12, Section 48.
The mythical Krishna was born of Princess Devaki, after a voice from Heaven announced to the girl: “In thy delivery O favoured among women, all nations shall have cause to rejoice.”
Krishna was born of a married woman Devaki who was considered to have had a miraculous conception.
He was miraculously placed in the womb of Devaki as a “full descent” of the great deity Vishnu to rid Earth of evil. His foster father was Nanda and is said to have lived about 1 200 BCE. He is seen as a divine sage identical in power and wisdom to Vishnu.
The basic source of Krishna’s mythology is a part of Mahabharata Epic and is called Bhagavata Gita (Song of the Blessed One), written between 400 BCE and 200 CE. Krishnite theology has its point of reference when the Divine takes human form for the purposes of defending the underlying moral order in the universe.
Next, we search for the concept in Indian Buddhism.
Resources: various texts from www.sacred-texts.com and www.gnostics.com/brahman.html
For feedback contact [email protected]. A gallery of his previous articles can be sourced from www.sundaymail.co.zw///?author=266.
Online Reporter