Decrypting Vedic Symbolism

Secret Knowledge: Traditional Levels of Vedic Interpretation

How do we approach cryptic mantras from ancient cultures, which are said to require special initiations in order to understand them? Can we assume that their evident meaning according to our present mindset of several thousand years later should be accurate? So far, that has been the case with most who have tried to interpret the Vedas. Yet if we look at the Vedas with a greater poetic and yogic insight, cosmic dimensions emerge in almost every verse of this great compilation of seer wisdom.

One of the most common statements in later Vedic texts extending to the Upanishads is “Parokṣa priya hi devāḥ pratyakṣa dviṣah,” which means “The Gods are fond of indirect statements and dislike the evident.” The Vedic language is a paroksha language, referring to one of implied meanings that dislikes evident statements. This statement in itself should be enough for us to look at the Vedas with a deeper vision.

Good poetry is based upon presenting word and image plays that hold several different levels of meaning, weaving together nature, human experience, and yet deeper connections. A degree of subtlety and multiplicity of indications is the basis of good poetry in the first place. The great scriptures of the world, which reflect a deep poetic vision, similarly claim several levels of meaning – including meanings that are hidden or esoteric, or very different than their literal import. The Vedas as mantric poetry should be looked at in the same way, containing secret implications, in which ordinary objects can take on cosmic connections. The Rigveda itself mentions four levels of speech, three of which are hidden in secrecy.
 Four are the levels of speech that are measured, these the wise sages know. Three hidden in secrecy, they cannot manipulate, only with the fourth level of speech do humans talk.[i]
           
                          Dirghatamas Auchatya, Rigveda I.164.45

Agni as the Vedic sacred fire is commonly identified with the power of speech. He is said to be the child of seven voices or seven forms of speech, which suggests a system of seven levels of interpretation for the Vedic mantras.

 Eternal here the youthful sisters with a common origin, the seven voices conceive a single child.[ii]

            Gathina Vishvamitra, Rigveda III.1.6

The Main Traditional Levels of Vedic Interpretation

As part of such secret meanings, the Vedas have several well-defined traditional levels of interpretation that we find mentioned in later Vedic texts. These reflect such multiple types of meaning that exist simultaneously. Each Vedic deity has different roles and functions according to the level of approached involved. The three most important are:

Adhyatmic – Relating to the Self or the individual being, the psychological level
Adhidaivic – Relating to the Gods, deities or cosmic powers
Adhibhutic – Relating to the Elements of nature

 We can find these three mentioned in many traditional texts of Vedic interpretation from the Brahmanas and Upanishads to the Bhagavad Gita.[iii]

Let us take Agni, which is generally identified with the natural phenomenon of fire to the modern mind. At the Adhyatmic or individual level, Agni is identified primarily with speech  (vak), our main form of expression. At the Adhidaivic or cosmic level, Agni is primarily the Sun, the light of heaven, not merely as a material force but as the Divine light. On the Adhibhutic level, Agni is fire as an element, and the fire we use in our daily lives.

Adhyatmic – Psychological

The Adhyatmic level begins with a recognition of three primary aspects of our individual nature as speech (vak), prana, and mind (manas). In addition to these can be added a fourth level as the Jivatman or embodied soul, and a fifth as Paramatman or the Supreme Self.
The Adhyatmic approach takes us back from our individual powers of speech, breath, and mind to the higher Self that is their true reality: the speech of speech, the mind of mind, the prana of prana as the Upanishads say.[iv] The Adhyatmic level does not reflect just our ordinary faculties. It recognizes the reality of the Divine word, Divine life, and Divine mind and strives to connect us with these.
When Agni is invoked in the Vedas, it is as the Divine speech within us that calls the Gods or cosmic powers. When Indra is invoked, it is as the Divine immortal prana, not our mere creaturely breath. When the Sun is invoked, it is as the illuminating power of Divine consciousness, not simply the outer mind. These inner faculties come into function only when our outer faculties are brought into a silent state, the stillness of Yoga practice.

Adhidaivic – Theological/ Ontological

The Adhidaivic level recognizes three powers of light at the three levels of the cosmos as Agni (fire – earth), Vayu (lightning/air – atmosphere), and Surya (sun – heaven). These are the three forms of Ishvara (the cosmic Lord) who is the fourth factor, with Brahman or Paramatman, the Absolute, as the fifth.

The Adhidaivic approach is concerned with worship of God (Ishvara) to lead us to Brahman. It recognizes the reality of the Divine fire, Divine spirit (wind), and Divine light (Sun). The Adhidaivic approach can be called Adhibrahman as its goal is Brahman or the Absolute. It is a theological approach in which we honor the Divine ruling powers of the universe, which are the forces of Being, Consciousness, and Bliss.
These two levels, Adhyatmic and Adhidaivic, are the most important. Their conjoined purpose is to link the individual Self or Atman (Adhyatmic Satya or individual truth) and the Supreme Being or Brahman (Adhidaivic Satya or cosmic truth).

Adhibhutic – Elemental

The elemental recognizes the five elements as the main factors behind our outer world experience. Earth, Water, and Fire are part of the earth realm ruled by fire or Agni. Air is of the atmosphere belonging to air of Vayu. Ether is heaven ruled by the Sun or Surya. The fourth beyond these three is the higher space of the soul, and the fifth is Brahman or Atman, the Absolute as the supreme space beyond. Atma-Bhuta (Self-nature) or Brahma-Bhuta (Absolute Nature) refer to this highest state of the elements.
The elemental approach means to merge the elements by stages from earth to ether into Brahman, reflecting the chakra system of Tantric Yoga that leads us from the root chakra and Earth element to the crown chakra or thousand petal lotus and the Supreme Self. This elemental approach has spiritual implications and is not merely a recognition of the outer forces of nature in a materialistic sense.

We can equate these three levels with the three worlds. The Adhibhutic or elemental level is that of the earth (nature), the Adhyatmic or individual level that of the atmosphere (the human being), and the Adhidaivic or cosmic level that of heaven (God). There is much crossover between their energies and influences.

The Yajna as the Fourth Level

Adhiyajna – the Ritual Order

A fourth level is often added to this primary three, which is Adhiyajna or relative to the Vedic sacrifice. The Vedic Yajna or way of worship is twofold as outer (bahir yajna) and inner (antar yajna).
The outer sacrifice offers certain items, like wood, cow dung or ghee, into the sacred fire along with devotional worship of Ishvara. It can be performed as a type of Bhakti and Karma Yoga. Each Vedic deity relates to a power or priest in the inner and outer sacrifice that constitutes both the cosmic and psychological order.
The inner sacrifice is a yogic practice in which we offer speech, breath, and mind through mantra yoga, Prana Yoga and meditation, into the Divine presence and supreme Self that is the ultimate goal. The Bhagavad Gita outlines such Yoga practices as pranayama, pratyahara, and meditation as Yajnas.[v]
There is a tendency among scholars to regard only the Adhyatmic level as a spiritual interpretation and the others as having only outer meanings. This does not look deeply into all the implications involved. All these methods of interpreting the Vedas can be spiritual or yogic in nature and indicate different approaches to Atman or Brahman. Adhidaivic brings in theology, a recognition of a single cosmic light or reality, which as a power of consciousness is the cosmic Lord. Adhibhutic brings in the Self as the subtlest of all the elements (Sarvabhuta-antaratman). Adhiyajna brings in Yoga as the inner sacrifice, in which we offer speech, prana, and mind into the Divine presence within.

Different Levels Relative to Agni
To understand how these different levels work, let us examine how Agni is portrayed according to them. In the individual, Agni is mainly speech, but not simply the vocal organ, all powers of speech and articulation. At the cosmic level Agni is the Sun or the supreme light. In the material world, Agni is the element of fire. In the Vedic sacrifice Agni is the priest of the invocation or Hota, who calls the Gods. In the inner sacrifice, Agni is the soul that brings the Divine into us.

Adhyatmic   Adhidaivic Adhibhutic         Adhiyajna
Speech                 Sun     Fire as an element     Hota-Invoker, the soul or Jiva

Yet these multiple correlations are only the beginning of a broad range of associations extending to the entire universe. They have additional ramifications and cannot be reduced to a few mechanical constructs. They reflect languages and paths to the spiritual reality. Their application can constitute different forms of Atma-Vichara (Self-inquiry) and Brahma-vichara (Inquiry into God or the Absolute). They use the various factors of our life experience to arrive at the higher truth. There are additional approaches that we find in Vedic texts, but are not as specifically defined:

Adhiloka – relating to the worlds, generally reflecting the Adhidaivic level of the deity that rules a particular world, like earth and Fire, but correlating outer worlds with inner worlds like earth and the body, atmosphere and the prana, and heaven and the mind.

Adhijyotisha – Relating to light. Much like Adhidaivic as Vedic deities are primarily light forms. Tracing the forms of light to pure consciousness.

Adhikala – Relating to time. Reaching the eternal through the movement through time, with the day symbolizing the physical, the month indicating the astral, and the year indicating the causal realm.

Adhiganita – Relating to numbers. Reaching either the One or the infinite through an examination of sacred numbers. Often the numbers the Vedic meters are used in this way or the numbers of Vedic deities, like the 33 prime Devas.

Adhimantra – Using mantra as a way of understanding Self and universe, returning everything to the Divine word Oṁ.

Adhichhandas – Using the meters as a way of understanding Self and universe, with each meter signifying a certain deity or Loka.

Taking a subtler vision, one can go deeper into any of these areas. For example, at the level of Adhyatmic or the inner Self, Agni has many forms, not just Vak or speech. There is also the digestive fire, the pranic fire, the eye, the fire of intelligence or buddhi, the fire of consciousness, and the fire of being itself (Brahmagni). Relative to the worlds, Agni is not only fire and the Sun, but also lightning, the Moon, and the stars – whatever reflects light and heat, extending to the cosmic light of consciousness.
Our modern mind is usually content to find one level of meaning in ancient texts and stop there. To understand the Vedas, we must universalize the Vedic principles to link all levels of our experience together in the unity of consciousness.

The Vedas and Theological Views of Monotheism and Polytheism

The Vedic view is of a multi-leveled universe with a parallel development inner and outer, higher and lower, individual and cosmic. Such a view cannot be reduced to a simple theology of God as being One or Many, as monotheism, pantheism or polytheism as exclusive views.
The Vedas honor the Divine as One (Not One God), recognizing a common Self and being in all beings. Yet the Vedas also honor the Divine as many, seeing the many as different forms and functions of the One. The Vedas honor the Divine as both pervading all nature (pantheism) and as transcending all manifestation in time and space (as the Absolute). The Vedic view has a place for monism (unity of all), monotheism (oneness of the creator), polytheism, pantheism, and other approaches to truth. Yet it cannot be defined according to any one of these alone.

Modern scholars generally regard the Vedas as a type of polytheism with hints of the monism of the Upanishads and Vedanta, which they see only in a few late Vedic hymns like the Purusha Sukta. This apparent Vedic polytheism, we should remember, is not different from the apparent polytheism of the later Hindu Puranas, with their trinity of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, and their many Gods and Goddesses, which can individually or collectively be equated with the Supreme Divine or Brahman, and reflect Vedantic philosophies of Self-realization and God-realization.

The Hindu view is similar to the theology of ancient Egypt, where a recognition of the unity of the Divine light existed behind an apparent diversity of deities. The term “henotheism” was invented by modern scholarship to explain this view where a single deity can be lauded as the supreme, which they saw as a confusion of multiplicity and unity, not their integration. The term only shows our modern inability to see unity behind multiplicity.

Vedic polytheism would be better called “Vedic pluralism,” an approach to the One Divine that accepts many different angles and perspectives. Vedic deities are described as our friends, with whom we have a relationship of kinship, equality and unity. All the deities are to be honored, none is to be denigrated in the name of only one as supreme.

None of you are small, Devas, none of you are childish, all of you are great.[vi]

                        Manu Vivasvan, Rigveda VIII.30.1
Yet each deity is part of the same One Reality. Each deity represents an important and integral aspect of the cosmic truth and reality. That vast truth, Ritam Brihat, is more than any single deity and constitutes the essence of all both individually and collectively.

That which is the One Being, the seers describe in various ways.[vii]

                        Dirghatamas Auchatya, Rigveda I.164.46

The Vedas approach unity through a comprehensive vision of the sacred presence pervading all of life. The Vedas emphasize wholeness and completeness, not singularity and exclusion. Their supreme deity is not a one God opposed to other Gods, but a unity of truth that encompasses all Divine powers and principles – and is both behind all names and forms and beyond all names and forms. These Vedic deities can be equated with one another, but have specific roles as well. They represent a difference of function, not one of reality.

The Vedic Godheads represent an interdependent reality, where all is One and One is All as various manifestations of the same light and consciousness. The formed world is a symbolic or visionary manifestation of the formless world. That is why the main Vedic deities are powers of light and only vaguely anthropomorphic in their attributes. The human side of their imagery is outweighed by their other natural correspondences. They are universal forces, not simply a projection of the human psyche onto the realm of nature.

[i] Rigveda I.164.45. catvāri vāk parimitā padāni tāni vidur brāhmaṇā ye manīṣiṇaḥ, guhā trīṇi neṅgayanti turīyam vāco manuṣyā vadanti.[ii] Rigveda III.1.6. sanā atra yuvatayaḥ sayonīr ekam garbham dadhire sapta vāṇīḥ.[iii] Bhagavad Gita VIII.1-4[iv] Kena Upanishad I.2[v] Bhagavad Gita, Chapter IV.25-29[vi] Rigveda VIII.29.1. nahi vo astyarbhako devāso na kumārakaḥ viśve satomahānta it.[vii] Rigveda I.164.46. ekam sad viprā bahudhā vadanti.

WHAT IS '' YANTRA ''

Sri Yantra

Yantra is the visual form of mantra, a prayer. A tantric text states, ‘Yantra has mantra as its soul. The deity is the soul of the mantra. The difference between mantra and deity is similar to that between a body and its soul’. Though two— dimensional, yantras are conceived of as having depth and full dimension. Yantras may be drawn or painted on any material, out of any substance. However, the human body is often called by tantrics the best of all yantras. There is no parallel for the term in English, but yantra may be summarized as a two- dimensional diagram where visualized energies are concentrated, or simply, a field of energy.

With its mantra, a yantra is a complex of stored imagery of sight and sound and psychic and mystical content. Many yantras seem to be nothing more than an interwoven complex of geometrical designs centred upon a point (hindu). Triangles, sign of the you, may predominate, enclosing the point. The whole may be enclosed by a square, signifying the cosmic dynamics and the four corners of the universe. Yantras are thus worshipped as containing the divine presence. The yantra is often confused with a mandala but the former is appropriate to a specific deity only, while the latter may enclose an infinite number of deities. It is an image of the universe, a receptacle of the gods.

There are innumerable yantras of them the one illustrated here is the most famous and is known as the Sri Chakra or Sri Yantra.

WHAT IS '' TILAK '' ?

PHOTO: RADHA  

The centre of the forehead between the eyebrows is the most important psychic location in the human body and its importance is stressed by putting a coloured mark at this spot. This central spot is where the sixth chakra (Ajna) is located. It is also called the third eye or the eye of wisdom. It is the aim of yogis and devout Hindus to ‘open’ this third eye by constant meditation. The ‘opening of the third eye means the unification of the conscious arid subconscious minds, the point where all elements of duality merge into one universal entity.

HOW TO PUT VAISHNAVA '' TILAK ''

This spot therefore is of tremendous importance and the putting of the coloured mark symbolizes the quest for the ‘opening’ of the third eye. All rites and ceremonies of the Hindus begin with a vermilion mark (tilak) topped with a few grains of rice placed on this spot with the index finger or the thumb. The same custom is followed in welcoming or bidding farewell to guests or relations.

The most common material used for making this mark is ‘kumkum, the red powder which is a mixture of turmeric, alum, iodine, camphor, etc. Another popular material is sandalwood paste blended with musk. This has a strong cooling effect and is generally meant for those who have meditated for a long time.

Sacred ash from the sacrificial fire (yagna) or the funeral pyre is considered the best material for the Tilak by the yogis and sanyais because they have renounced all their attachments to worldly life and ash symbolises this.

WHAT is The MEANING of a SWASTIKA ?

The word ‘Swasti’ means auspicious, benevolent, a good deed or good wishes. The Swastika is considered auspicious and is painted on the doors of houses in India to ward off evil spirits, its origin goes back to the ‘Vedic times (4500- 2500 B. C.), maybe even earlier. Seals with the Swastika symbol have been found at excavation sites in Harappa which date back to about 2000 years. The Swastika is in the form of a Greek cross with the ends of the arms bent at right angles. The right-handed Swastika moves in the clockwise direction and the left-handed in the counter-clockwise direction. The latter is considered an evil omen and generally never used.

The Swastika is said to represent the Sun or Lord Vishnu in the Puranas it has been described as the ‘Sudarshana Chakra’ or the wheel of Vishnu and also symbolizes the constant changes in the universe. The Swastika has also been associated with the Sun (the arms representing the sun’s rays) and also with Ganesha, the pathfinder whose image is often found at the crossroads.

In the ‘Siddhanta Saar’ the hub of the Swastika has been described as the navel of Vishnu and the four lines as the four faces and four arms of Brahma. The Swastika is considered as a tantric symbol and is drawn in various stylized forms. It is a tradition to pray to it during religious festivals and auspicious occasions. During Diwali, the festival of lights, and the financial year-end for the Hindu businessmen, new account books are opened and decorated with the Swastika symbol and the words ‘Shubh-Labh’ (meaning ‘Auspicious Profit’) next to it. Prayers are also held so that the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi, will be benevolent.

                                             How the Word is Derived
In Sanskrit, the proper spelling of the word swastika is svastika. Sanskrit has no 'w'. Literally, the word svastika is a statement of affirmation, "It is!" "Life is good!" "There is value" "There is meaning!" Svastika is a term that affirms the positive values of life. The word is made of su + as. "As" is the root of the copular verb "to be" of which the third person singular is, "asti," "it is." Su is a prefix used in Sanskrit to intensify meaning in a positive way, thus su+asti means literally, "it really is!" When combined, the 'u' changes into a 'v' thus giving the form svasti. The ending 'ka' makes this verbal form into a noun. This is the linguistic morphology of the word, svastika.

A Negative Symbol

Right Handed Swastika

Today, the Swastika is primarily known as a symbol of racism, persecution and anti semitism, which, primarily, arises from the ideology of the German Nazi party and World War II. I remember performing a wedding between a Hindu girl and a Jewish boy. Right at the beginning of the ceremony, when it is traditional to hold a decorative cloth between the boy and girl, the Hindu mother proudly presented a special cloth with a huge red Swastika in the middle that she wanted me to hold between the couple. Half the audience was Jewish! Another time, I performed a ground-breaking ceremony for a Hindu family, who was going to build a new home in an exclusive gated community. The man had me draw a large red Swastika on the ground where the house would be built. Later, as we were walking around the perimeter of the property, someone came walking a dog and saw the red Swastika. In terror, this person called the police thinking that a neo-Nazi cult was moving into his neighborhood. On many occasions, I have had to explain to confused fire and building inspectors why there are Swastikas in our Hindu temples. As a priest, I regularly bless people using the expression, svasti svasti svasti! and even inscribe swastikas on the heads of newly shaved babies for their health and prosperity!

Its History

A Nazi Swastika

In fact, the Swastika is an ancient solar symbol that has been used by many cultures going back at least 3000 years. It has been found used by the celts in northern Europe and by the Greeks as early has 1000 BCE. In India the symbol has been used since Vedic times. It is most commonly seen as an ancient Aryan symbol. Nazi Germany did not invent the symbol, but only borrowed it in order to show the "aryan" roots of their new German state. Today, unfortunately, the Swastika is most commonly known for the destruction of life rather then its affirmation.




Its Use in India

Left Handed Swastika

In India, the Swastika is used in two forms, one with the arms moving to the right, the right-handed Swastika, and the other with the arms moving to the left, the so-called "left-handed" occult Swastika. It is commonly thought that the Nazis used the left-handed Swastika and that this is the difference between the Hindu's use of the Swastika and the Nazi's use of it. But this is not the case. In fact, the Nazis used the same right-handed Swastika that is used in modern Hinduism, but gave it a 45 degree turn. This gives it the appearance of being left-handed, even though it is not. Regardless, in India many groups have used the left-handed Swastika. One common example amongst Hindu groups is the Theosophical Society, which used it on their logo. The left-handed Swastika is also associated with esoteric tantric practices. Jains and Buddhists often use the left handed Swastika as well. Today the right-handed Swastika is mainly used in Hindu temples, homes and sacred ceremonies as a symbol or affirmation of good luck, health and prosperity. A "yes" to life!

HINDUISM and IMAGE WORSHIP

The most visible aspect of Hinduism is a temple. The temple is a meeting place of man and God both literally and figuratively. How one defines meeting with God depends on the concept of God. Hinduism is invariably associated with image worship and the temples have enshrined in them different images of God. This leads to a general misunderstanding that it is a polytheistic religion. Hinduism is the only major religion where philosophy came first and the religion developed from the philosophy. Therefore everything in it has some aspect of the philosophy, although it is hidden behind the visible aspects.


Hinduism has the most abstract concept of God. He is not a person, He is the absolute Ultimate Reality and as such there is no duality. He is without form and without qualities that can be described. He is the Universal Consciousness. Every religion conceives of God as omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent. These attributes can be reconciled only with the above concept that is also consistent with the modern scientific views of the origin of the universe.

Hinduism does have many gods and goddesses but only one God. One of the important points in Vedanta philosophy, on which Hinduism is founded, is that what we see is not the reality. This is also true for the images of gods and image worship in the temples. A religion is for the masses, not merely for philosophers. It is very difficult for a common man to visualize something that has no form. Every thought in the mind is associated with a corresponding image; this is inherent to human (or perhaps any) mind. In order to bring God within the range of comprehension of the common man the sages had to find a way.

As far as the universe is concerned God has three functions of creation, maintenance, and dissolution. So the sages gave different names to these three aspects of God Brahma for the creator, Vishnu for the maintainer, and Shiva for the dissolver. Thus we got the three major gods. It is important to remember, though, that these are not three different Gods with capital G, but only three different aspects of the same one God. Once the creation is done the creator has no further role. So Brahma was relegated back to his formless self; there are hardly any temples or images for Brahma. The other two became the main gods to be worshipped and the common man could choose which aspect of God to worship. The philosophers and intellectuals could still worship God without form.

However, some people were enamored of the omnipotence of God and wanted to worship this power aspect. The Sanskrit word for power is shakti that is feminine. So for this aspect to be worshipped God had to be female. This was not a problem because God had no form to begin with and, hence, no sex either. But power itself has different aspects; every power belongs to one of three categories intellectual, material, and physical. Again the sages gave names to these poser aspects of God. Thus we got three major goddesses Saraswati for intellectual power, Laxmi for material (wealth), and Paarvati for physical. Man being family oriented, wants to see things from his own perspective. With the three major gods already there it was convenient to pair them with the goddesses. Again it should be remembered that each of them represented only a subaspect of that one God.

Hinduism is the only religion that gives man freedom to worship God in whatever form he chooses. This led to a multitude of gods and goddesses depending on which subaspect of God one wanted to worship. Mental images of these gods and goddesses were created consistent with the philosophical ideas of the subaspects. These were then translated into physical forms of painting or carved images. The Sanskrit word for these forms is murti for which the correct translation is 'image'.

The use of the word 'idol' has a historical background. The contact of the West with India mostly occurred via the countries in the Midwest. Prior to that the Islamic invasion of India had already taken its toll on temples. The invaders used the Persian word 'but' for the images carved in stone and that was always used in a prejorative sense. This word got translated as 'idol' in English and sometimes the term idol worship is used even now. But image is a more comprehensive word than idol.

In spite of this large collection of gods and goddesses there is a common thread that runs to the entire pantheon. If we look closely at the descriptions and the prayers, there is an underlying commonality. The prominent ones have several names, some are general and descriptive. For example Vishnu and Shiva have thousand names and reciting these names (sahasranaam) during worship is a part of the ritual. Most of these names are common. The same descriptive names are also used for the main goddesses. Thus subconsciously the devotees are always aware of the fact that each god or goddess is merely a representation of the same God. This multiplicity spills over to the temples as well. The temples dedicated to Vishnu carry different names. In the oldest one in Badrinaath he is Badrinaarayan, while in the famous one at Tirupati he is Venkateshwar. Then there are temples dedicated to his incarnations. The same is true for Shiva; there are twelve famous ones (Jyotirling) and each with different name. This is true also for the goddesses.

In creating the images of gods and goddesses for enshrinement in temples or for other purposes there is also an attempt to show that even though we use them to personify God, they are superhuman in nature which stresses the underlying fact of the Oneness of the divinity. For example, the images often have multiple hands, usually four but the number may go up to ten. This is an attempt to show that God is omnipresent filling the entire space. Normally the four cardinal directions are sufficient to convey this; however, including the four corners will make eight directions. On the other hand one may consider up and down to get the total of six. If we consider all of these then we have ten directions to cover the space (Fig.2). However, the concept of representing the directions as the hands of the Divine is not of Puraanic origin. It occurs in Rig Veda (10121.4). Another important feature in the images is the presence of an animal or bird on which the god or goddess rides (vaahan). This again cannot be taken literally as in some cases it becomes ridiculous. It is simply a symbolic representation and that is where the philosophy comes in; vaahan is the vehicle through which the divinity represented by the particular god can be transferred to the devotee. To give one example we take the depiction of Ganesha. After the three main gods and goddesses he is the most prominent god; in fact in every ceremony he is the first to be worshipped. His vaahan is a little mouse, a very inappropriate ride considering the bulky figure it has to carry. Ganesha is the god of prosperity and success. With human body and elephant’s head he represents a combination of intelligence and power of discrimination, without which no one can be successful and prosperous. But along with those qualities there is something else that is also as necessary and that is controlled desire. Uncontrolled desire can lead to destruction; history is replete with examples. The little mouse can devour things in a hurry and can deplete stockpiles of food. It represents desire. In the pictures it is depicted as standing on its hind legs with trembling trail and looking greedily at a plateful of sweets but dare not touch them without the lord’s permission. As such it symbolizes controlled desire. Another very common image is that of goddess Durgaa (Paarvati) riding a lion. Durgaa (or all goddesses for that matter) are worshiped as Shakti. Lion is known for its strength and complete fearlessness. In order to get real power one must have those qualities and they represent (symbolized by the lion) the vehicle through which the goddess can channel the divine power.

The images are devoid of the superhuman features only in the case of the two prominent incarnations of Vishnu. Since Vishnu represents the aspect of God responsible for the maintenance of the creation, he is the one who incarnates from time to time. There are a total of ten incarnations (dashaavataar) described in the Puraanas for this particular cycle of the universe (in Hindu view time is not linear but cyclic and so is everything else) nine have already happened and the tenth one heralding the end of the cycle is yet to occur. There is a Dashaavataar temple in the cave temple complex at Ellora. The last two human incarnations were Raama and Krishna. They are worshipped the same way and temples for them are separate. Their images are purely human. Rama while in this world never declared himself as God, Krishna did. So the images of Krishna also have philosophy attached to them. The flute in his hands, the standing posture in which one foot is firmly on the ground the other resting on it, and his dancing with thousand gopis (cowmaidens), all are symbolic and have philosophical interpretations; so is his relationship with Raadhaa, his childhood sweetheart.

The symbolism of holding the flute to his lips is that God breaths life into every living creature; one foot firmly planted on the ground and other indicating motion symbolize the fact that God is immovable and unchanging (nirvikaar, inrvikalp) unaffected by time, while the universe is constant motion in time. Krishna’s dancing with thousand of gopis at the same time (raas leelaa) is the interplay between individual souls and the Supersoul (Paramaatmaa). Each individual soul is striving to reach Him. People, especially in the West, who do not understand this symbolism, have often portrayed Krishna as a playboy out of sheer ignorance.

In the context of the ten incarnations it may be worthwhile mentioning here that in concept and description they represent the Hindu theory of evolution, which runs almost parallel to Darwin’s . It traces the evolution of life starting from fish and slowly progressing upward. The first incarnation was in the form of a fish (matsya) living in water. Then it progresses to tortoise (kurma) a creature living in water as well as on the land. Next comes boar (varaaha) living on land only followed by one that is half lion and half human (narsinha). Then we get to fully human dwarf (vaaman) that is still not a fully developed man. The next four are humans in continual progress (Parashuraama, Raama, Balaraama, and Krishna). The tenth one (Kaalki) is still to come signifying the view that man has not yet developed to its full potential of reaching God. When that happens it will be the end of the present cycle of the universe. Somewhere in the past there was an attempt to substitute Balraama by Buddha in the list of nine incarnations. This was perhaps an attempt to bring back Buddhists into the fold of Hinduism. But the ten incarnations have been described in Mahabharata (Shaantiparva) which predates Buddha. In Darwin’s theory also there is an ascending evolution that goes from amoeba to animals and to man. For the time being man is at the last rung of the evolution ladder and may think himself to be the highest stage of evolution. But in the physical sense he is still an animal (albeit a thinking and speaking one) in his material instincts. Nature strives toward perfection through the process of evolution and cannot be satisfied until man reaches a stage where he will remain man in his external forms but his conscience and actions will resonate with the Ultimate Truth.

Hindus are often ridiculed for having 330 million gods and goddesses, a number for which Rigveda is quoted as the source. God is of course infinite and theoretically there can be infinite representations. But this specific number comes from a misinterpretation and a consequent mixup leading to an exaggeration in some puraanas. In every language a word has more than one meaning depending on the context. The diversity of meanings is more pronounced in Sanskrit. There is a mention of 33 koti gods in a number of places in Rigveda. One meaning of koti is type and the reference there is to 33 types of representations of God. But koti also means a crore or ten million. Taking this meaning some puraanas do talk of 330 million gods, an exaggeration that has been exploited for the purposes of disinformation.

As stated earlier a thought is invariably associated with an image and in that sense image is inherent to human nature. There are different ways of expressing a thought but each is a mode of communication. Communicating through words, whether spoken or written, is the quickest and easiest but in this case one runs into the barrier of languages. A language is closely related to the culture and each culture has unique nuances that can be conveyed only in that language. In other words the transfer of an expression from one language to another cannot always be perfect. One encounters another problem in translating thoughts from one language to another. In any language a word has more than one meaning usually depending on the context. If an inappropriate meaning is attached the translation becomes misleading. This is precisely what happened in the case of image worship, which is a common practice in Hinduism. The Sanskrit word murti was translated into English as idol (or the corresponding words in other languages), which led to the term idolatry used often in a derogatory sense. In general murti means embodiment or personification and it was in this sense that the word was used in ancient India. In Vedanta God has no form and no attributes; being infinite and eternal He is not a person. However, the religion is for the masses and for a common man it is impossible to think of one for whom he cannot form a mental image. This brought in the need for personifying God and the word image is the appropriate translation of murti. An image allows one to focus attention, devotion, and reverence in consonance with real life experiences.

There are different kinds of images and they fall into two basic categories – mental and physical, although the two are not independent. A mental image is the prerequisite for a physical one. The mental image of someone or something, which one has never seen, cannot be unique. So everyone can have his own image of God within the general framework of the philosophy; in a way this is what happened in Hinduism. There are multitudes of images of one God. Those not familiar with the underlying philosophy mistakenly consider Hinduism as a polytheistic religion. Different images of God do not make him several entities; God is one, gods are just His images conceived by different people. A man has different images for different members of his family. He is a son to his parents, father to his children, husband to his wife, and so on. Still he is a single individual.

Image worship is not unique to any religion and it is not always related to God directly. Since image is inherent to human nature, image worship is to be found in some form or other in every society at all stages of civilization. Every religion uses symbols and symbols are nothing but images. Temples, churches, synagogues, and mosques are symbols and the very sight of these buildings invokes a feeling of reverence in the followers. In Christianity the images of Christ and Mary as objects of worship and reverence are found in churches and homes. Judaism and Islam prohibit the use of images. But when a Jew thinks of Yahweh or a Muslim thinks of Allah, he conjures up in his mind an image of God in heaven and seeks to communicate with Him. The image worshipper has before him the same mental image in a material form. He is not worshipping the image but the divinity of God that it represents. For him the image is only a symbolic representation. The object of worship is not the object itself.

There is, of course, always a possibility of degeneration of any system and image worship was not immune to it. When people lose sight of the reality behind the representation the very act of worship becomes superficial. The nonessential becomes essential and superstition takes the place of rational thinking. Then the image worship becomes merely ritualistic and superficial. It can even be abused. This happened in Hinduism many centuries ago; people lost sight of the central idea and began to identify the image with the reality. As a reaction to this trend some people revolted and offshoots of Hinduism like Buddhism and sampradaayas like Aarya Samaaj sprang up. It also gave rise to reformation movements that helped to restore the system. Even though things are far from perfect and superstitions abound, image worship will remain an integral part of Hinduism as most people understand and will continue to understand its real significance.