Invitation to World Religions

The Teachings of Hinduism  119

The Vedas  The term Veda (“knowledge”) is used in two ways when categorizing Hindu texts. In the broader sense, the Vedas refers to all of Vedic literature. These texts are regarded by most Hindus as revealed. That is, they are believed not to have been composed by man but rather “heard” by the rishis , the poet–sages of ancient times who were divinely inspired. Vedic literature thus belongs to the category of Hindu texts known as shruti (“that which is heard”), as opposed to the other cate- gory, smriti (“tradition”). In the more narrow sense of the term, Vedas refers to four collections (Sanskrit, “samhitas”) of texts. Composed in Sanskrit between 1200 and 900 bce and draw- ing on centuries of oral tradition, these are the earliest Hindu texts and are generally considered to be the world’s oldest scriptures. The four Vedas are the Rig Veda, a collection of hymns to the gods; the Sama Veda, melodic renditions of hymns from the Rig Veda; the Yajur Veda, ritual formulas; and the Atharva Veda, hymns, spells, and incantations. Following upon the four samhitas, the Brahmanas set forth instructions for brahmin priests. The next collection of texts, the Aranyakas (or “forest treatises,” so-named because they record esoteric teachings conveyed to students in secret), form a bridge from the samhitas to the Upanishads by exploring the hidden mean- ings of rituals. The Upanishads are speculations with regard to the deeper truths of the samhitas, especially the Rig Veda. The 1,028 hymns of the Rig Veda, the oldest and by far the most important of the samhitas, praise the gods and ask for their blessings. The gods include Indra, god of lightning, thunder, and rain and king of the gods; Agni, god of fire and messenger of the gods; and Varuna, god of law and order (who later becomes god of the sea). New deities emerged in the later portions of the Rig Veda. One deity that has enduring influence is the Purusha , who is praised and described in the famous Vedic hymn known as the Purusha Sukta , which was discussed earlier in connection with the caste system. This later Vedic hymn is also significant for the ways in which it asserts the centrality of sacrifice, and it continues to be re- cited in Hindu rituals even today. The Purusha Sukta describes the sacrifice of a primordial, cosmic man out of whose body the universe is created. As a creation myth, it has parallels in numerous Indo-European traditions. As we have seen, the Purusha Sukta not only details the first sacrifice but also delineates the struc- turing of society.

The Upanishads (900–200 bce )  The Upanishads, also known as Vedanta (“end of the Vedas”), are so distinctive from the earlier Vedic texts and so important as to deserve their own treatment here. The term Upanishad means “sitting down near [a teacher].” The term Vedanta , while identifying these texts as the concluding portion of Vedic literature, implies for some Hindus—for example, followers of the Vedanta philosophical school—that the Upanishads contain the culmination of the wisdom of the Vedas. PROPERTY OF OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS