What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
Creation tales have been recounted as mythological accounts as well as accepted truths among all of the world’s great religious traditions. These creation stories guide our views and outlooks regarding how the universe and our world came to be, as well as provide reasons for all that happens to us during this period we call life, which ultimately concludes with death. With the compilation of religions came rules and laws that grounded society, and dogma was established that, among most religious traditions, must never be challenged or confronted.
This is particularly true among the Abrahamic and monotheistic faiths, where the supreme being speaks through prophets and messengers, whose lives set examples for future believers to aspire to, as well as securing the faith and firm belief in that religion’s principles. God creates the universe and man, then sets about guiding humanity through the religion he supposedly approves of. This single supreme being is a king, an all-powerful ruler who can be both compassionate and cruel, a lord of lords, and an irresistible warrior.
Yes, there is room for discussion and debate among these religions, and there were developments of mystical systems to further examine the stories encoded within the religious sects and scriptures that define these faiths, but the limitation is evident and obvious—the word of the supreme deity cannot be challenged or debated. God created the universe and the world and all within it. Once a dedicated believer accepts this, he or she can discuss and debate the nature of all that has been created and revealed, but to question the creation narrative is tantamount to blasphemy.
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In the past, such doubters, even the most dedicated believers who simply voiced an idea or thought that threatened the status quo, were indeed jailed, punished, tortured, or put to death. In our own secularized, intellectual, and freer time, some might be looked at as weird or out of line with commonly accepted beliefs. This is why mystical traditions developed among the monotheistic faiths, to examine the mysteries that have remained unanswered, and these mystical traditions have been incorporated into the fold of any said religion. But the hold of the creation myth is so strong that even the most scientifically prone religious minds seek to balance physics and faith in the light of this creator deity’s supposed work.
In the religious tradition of India, however, there is a different approach toward understanding divinity. While Hinduism—a name mistakenly used by non-Deshis, who themselves prefer Sanatan Dharma or the Dharmic Path—is replete with ritual and tradition that affects every aspect of life, from the most personal intimate doings to social status and position in society, the creation tale from the scriptures of this spiritual tradition provides a source for arguing against tradition. Yes, there is social pressure on those who are seen as going out of line with accepted tradition, and society can be intolerant or cruel.
However, a glance at the scriptures reveals something unique and, frankly, very liberating. Among the many scriptures of India’s civilization, the Rig Veda defines much of the dharmic path. Ralph Waldo Emerson thought the Rig Veda to be the most beautiful of scriptures that mankind ever produced, not to mention the most pertinent, directly affecting human actions and thought. Organized in suktas or hymns, literally every aspect of existence, life, and death is examined in these ancient texts, including ritual practice and social tradition that define lifestyles for hundreds of millions of people.
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What I have discovered as impressively unique in this collection of books, however, that which stands out from all religious texts of the world’s great religions, is the Nasadiya Sukta, or Creation Hymn, Rig Veda 10:129. The hymn is unique among world scriptures because it is accepted among Hindus that it was humans who wrote it—spiritually inspired rishis and gurus in India who authored books over the centuries, their numbers rivaling ancient Greece in the production of philosophers seeking to explain our reason for being. One reading of the Nasadiya Sukta will explain why such an open-minded approach to religion came about in India, for unlike most religious texts which demand allegiance to the word of a supreme being, the hymn suggests possibilities by asking questions about how the universe came about. There is the usual miraculous event that all creation tales contain, but here we read a human touch that is honest and heartfelt.
The Sukta concludes with a commentary: “Perhaps it all happened this way, or maybe it didn’t.” These are not the words of God, but rather the honest opinion of a spiritually inspired and inquiring individual who is writing as if he or she were the spokesperson for every human being alive. These are questions we all have, questions we all contemplate: How did we come about and why? The conclusion is that in Indian society, despite all the rituals, traditions, and strict social rules, the Rig Veda offers the possibility to think and contemplate without the fear of retribution from an angry deity. Even the gods, according to the author or authors of the Nasadiya Sukta, came about later. At the core of our existence, Indian philosophy shares the belief of the ancient Greeks that humans are at the centre of the universe. What is without is within. Maybe it is like this, maybe not. Food for stimulating thought has always historically been the means for a society to attain enlightenment.
Text of the Nasadiya Sukta, 10:129:
Then was not non-existent nor existent: there was no realm of air, no sky beyond it. What covered it in, and where? and what gave shelter? Was water there, an unfathomed depth of water? Death was not then, nor was there aught immortal: no sign was there, the day’s and night’s divider. That One Thing, breathless, breathed by its nature: apart from it was nothing whatsoever. Darkness there was: at first concealed in darkness this All was indiscriminate chaos. All that existed then was void and formless: by the great power of Warmth was born that Unit. Thereafter rose Desire in the beginning, Desire, the primal seed and germ of Spirit. Sages who searched with their heart’s thought discovered the existent’s kinship in the non-existent. Transversely was their severing line extended: what was above it then, and what was below it? There were begetters, there were mighty forces, free action here and energy up yonder. Who verily knows and who can here declare it, whence it was born and whence comes this creation? The Gods are later than this world’s production. Who knows then whence it first came into being? He, the first origin of this creation, whether he formed it all or did not form it, whose eye controls this world in the highest heaven, he verily knows it…or perhaps he knows not.
Ismail Butera is a lifelong musician and historian, exploring the intertwining threads of ancient history, mythology, and world cultures through his project ‘Echoes Of Antiquity,’ blending composed recitations and traditional music from diverse civilizations.
