Mantra 36: “ The seed of the universe is made of the seven
sons of the half (ardha). They maintain their functions through Vishnu’s
command. The omnipresent ones, endowed with wisdom, surround us on all sides
through their intelligence and thought.”
What does ardha, or half mean? Most likely, it means
the invisible, the transcendent half. Who are the seven sons? Most likely, they
represent matter with five elements, life and mind. Vishnu, as we know now was not the same in
those days. Vishnu was one of the 12 adityas and may stand for Sun, the
Aditya. Or, is the poet referring to the sapta rishis, sons of Angirasa?
Mantra 37: The poet says: “ I do not know who or what I am”.
Actually, the words can be interpreted to mean “I do not know whether I am the
same as cosmos” (yad idam yeva asmi). The poet goes on to say: “ yet I
am wandering around tied to this mystery (ninnyah samviddho).”
“When the first-born rta reached me, then I obtained
a portion of Vac”. May be, he is saying that “when the consciousness
reached me, or when I got endowed with consciousness, I obtained the power of
speech.”
Rta is universal order. The rishi is recounting the
appearance of human life and the associated powers of consciousness and speech
that makes it possible for him to express his doubts and sense of mystery in
words.
Mantra 38: The meaning of this hymn is straight forward and
refers to the rta.
“ Driven by its own energy, the immortal which shares a
common womb with the mortal, moves rhythmically, ceaselessly. They see the one
but not the other.”
It appears that the rishi is talking about the rhythmic
nature of phenomena such as sun rising and setting, life coming and going
endlessly. He also suggests that life and death are part of the same rhythmic
order. We see this visible world, this impermanent matter. We fail to see the
force behind it – the immortal, the invisible.
Birth and death are parts of individual beings. Life and Consciousness as phenomena are parts of the Cosmos. It is the natural order.
No comments:
Post a Comment