hindu myth paper

8/11/2019 Hindu Myth Paper

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Laurel Hanson

November 21, 2010

RS 165

Creation Hymns and the Search for ruth

he search for truth is a universal constant of the human condition! Nothin" connects us

across cultures and centuries more than the underlyin" need #e all have$ to understand #ho #e

are and #hat the #orld is, to #onder, as only humans can, #hy #e are here! %nd from the

be"innin" #e have been comin" u& #ith ans#ers ' &lausible, absurd, confusin" ' so that #e can

"et closer to the ruth! Creation stories, across cultures, are united by both the hei"htened

im&ortance of the sub(ect and the im&ossibility of ever really )no#in" it! he creation myths in

the Ri" *eda, Hesiod+s heo"ony, and enesis have in common an attem&t to understand the

ori"ins of the #orld, but differ in their use of a conscious creator and their claim to absolute

truth!

he Nasadiya Su)ta, the creation hymn in the 10thboo) of the Ri" *eda, is uni-ue in its

ac)no#led"ment that the truth is un)no#able! he hymn .&rovided in this &a&er+s a&&endi/

be"ins #ith the idea that there #as not the none/istent nor the e/istent then3 and ends #ith the

thou"ht that only the divine entity in the hi"hest heaven3 could )no# ho# creation arose, and

it+s even &ossible that he )no#s not!31he hymn be"ins #ith Chaos ' neither e/istence nor

none/istence, neither air nor heaven ' and uses ima"ery of #ater and dar)ness to describe the

be"innin"! 4hen somethin" finally emer"ed out of the #atery dar)ness, it arose throu"h the

&o#er of heat3 and desire that #as the first seed!32he hymn e/hibits not merely the &uttin"

1aconnell, %rthur %nthony. A Vedic Reader for Students! 7/ford$ 7/ford 8niversity 9ress, 1:51, &! 20;!

2aconnell, &! 20


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of the -uestion of the nature of the universe, but an effort to enter into detail,3 #rites =eith,

follo#ed by confession of doubt as to the value of the result achieved!33his is by far the most

remar)able and unusual as&ect of the hymn$ #hile it attem&ts to understand the nature of the

be"innin" of the 8niverse, it does so in a frame#or) of doubt and uncertainty! he *edic &oet

seems to find the ans#ers to creation more in the )no#led"e that he cannot )no# the ruth than

in any attem&t to uncover it!

he creation myth in Hesiod+s heo"ony, #ritten around ;00 >!C!?!, carries similar

themes to the *edic hymn but lac)s the acce&tance of ambi"uity found in the Nasadiya Su)ta!

%t first Chaos came to be,3 Hesiod #rites, follo#ed by ?arth, artarus .a dee&, hellli)e #orld,

and ?ros, love!4Li)e the author of the Nasadiya Su)ta, Hesiod ma)es no attem&t to e/&lain #hat

created Chaos ' abyss3 or void3 in the ori"inal ree) ' but rather sim&ly acce&ts its e/istence

and then states #hat comes after! Ho#ever, Hesiod, in the be"innin" of his heo"ony, states that

he has been divinely ins&ired by the uses and that they have told him #hat first came to be!3 5

@n this #ay, the heo"ony ma)es a claim to absolute truth that the *edic hymn does not ' the

Nasadiya Su)ta+s firmest claim is that the truth is un)no#n! he creation of ?ros as one of the

first "ods mirrors the desire that emer"es as one of the first thin"s in the Nasadiya Su)ta!

he o&enin" verses to enesis ma)e u& a creation hymn that "ives total conscious a"ency

to a divine creator! @n the be"innin" #hen od created the heavens and the earth,3 it o&ens, the

earth #as a formless void and dar)ness covered the face of the dee&, #hile a #ind from od

A=eith, %!>! 9hiloso&hy of the *eda!3 Brom The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and the Upanishads!

Cambrid"e$ Harvard 8niversity 9ress, 1:25, &! A5!Hesiod! DHesiod+s heo"ony!3 Greek Mythology! rans! H!! ?veyln4hite! 01 Ean! 2000! 4eb! 20 Nov! 2010!

Fhtt&$GG###!"ree)mytholo"y!comG>oo)sGHesiodheo"onyGheo"116206Gtheo"116206!htmlI!5Hesiod!


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s#e&t over the face of the #aters!364hile the hymn conceives of a Chaos at the be"innin"

similar to the states in the Nasadiya Su)ta and the heo"ony .a void filled only #ith dar)ness

and #ater, enesis is very clear that all creation stems from od! %s the hymn &ro"resses and

od continues to create the #orld, everythin" that emer"es is a direct &roduct of his divine #ill!

enesis Cha&ter 1 closes #ith od sa# everythin" that he had made, and indeed, it #as very

"ood,3 em&hasiJin" as is done throu"hout the hymn that od is the one #ho creates everythin" '

there is no uncertainty or ambi"uity about this &oint!7Noticeably absent from enesis as

com&ared to the other t#o creation hymns is the creation of desire as an im&ortant element ' and,

#hen it is later introduced in the arden of ?den, desire is cast in a ne"ative li"ht! he focus on

the universe as od+s conscious creation, #ith nothin" e/istin" before od+s #ill, sets enesis

a&art from the Nasadiya Su)ta and the heo"ony!

yth is somethin" humans have turned to al#ays as a #ay to e/&lain #hat is

unfathomable! 9lato sees myth as a means of e/&ressin" both those thin"s that lie beyond and

those that fall short of strictly &hiloso&hical lan"ua"e!38@n a search for truth, myth is a #ay of

#or)in" throu"h our beliefs #ithout forcin" us to come u& #ith absolute ans#ers! Symbols can

be deliberately chosen to re&resent somethin" else, or #ords can be used for their o#n ri"ht, not

intended to mean anythin" else at all! % form can be (ud"ed only as si"nification, not as

e/&ression,3 ar"ues >arthes! he #riter+s lan"ua"e is not e/&ected to representreality, but to

si"nify it!39@n this #ay, it becomes difficult to dra# meanin" out of myth$ is a story an actual

6Ne# Revised Standard *ersion!ichael ! Coo"an,et! al, ed! 7/ford$ 7/ford 8niversity 9ress, 200;! enesis

1$12!;enesis 1$A1!

oo)s,

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story, or is it a stand in for an entirely different conce&tM he sta)es are raised in creation myths,

as myths attem&t to uncover some of the most fundamental -uestions humanity faces! @n

referrin" to the "ods or the birth of the #orld, it is im&ossible to use totally coherent ar"uments,3

#rites *ernant! 7ne must ma)e do #ith a &lausible fable!310Creation hymns e/em&lify 9lato+s

thou"ht of myth as a tool used to e/&ress #hat cannot other#ise be e/&lained ' attem&tin" to

ma)e sense of the ori"ins of the universe, #riters tal) in riddles, in &art because they themselves

may not )no# #hat they mean!

he tension bet#een decodin" a myth and lettin" it stand on its o#n can be seen, for

e/am&le, in the use of #ater and dar)ness as stron" themes in describin" the Chaotic &recreation

state in all three myths! 4e can see #ater as emblematic of somethin" that is, as the *edic author

&uts it, unfathomable, &rofound3 and assume that, in the conte/t of a creation hymn, it is an

author+s best #ay of symbolically e/&lainin" the com&licated and indeci&herable nature of

&rimordial Chaos!11Similarly, conce&tions of dar)ness may symboliJe the un)no#n as&ect of

the be"innin"s of the universe! >ut it is also &ossible that authors &ic) #ater and dar)ness as

recurrin" themes sim&ly because that is literally ho# they ima"ine a #orld before creation ' or

for reasons they themselves don+t )no#$ #ater and dar)ness may sim&ly have the ri"ht feel for

the hymn, used #ithout too much thou"ht! 4hile there is a dan"er of oversim&lifyin" and not

reco"niJin" the endurin" im&ortance of symbolism, to oversymboliJe is e-ually dan"erous! o

declare that the symbols myth de&loys are constant and carry universal archety&al meanin"s is

totally to ne"lect the cultural, sociolo"ical, and historical conte/t,3 #rites *ernant! here is a

real dan"er of bein" misled by the socalled familiarity of symbols and of dra#in" incorrect or

10*ernant, &! 221!

11aconnell, &! 20:!


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anachronistic conclusions!3128ltimately, #e can really only loo) at a myth no# the same #ay it

#as seen #hen it #as #ritten$ as somethin" to stand on its o#n in an attem&t to hel& us

understand the nature of thin"s #e cannot )no#! oo stron" an attem&t to decode the story

causes a loss of the myth+s ori"inal inte"rity! >ecause #e cannot ho&e to &erfectly understand the

ori"inal intentions of the author, the myth often has a stron"er meanin" left on its o#n, to be

considered by the reader in its entirety, instead of decoded into fra"mented &arts!

he Nasadiya Su)ta, Hesiod+s heo"ony, and enesis differ from each other in the

&resence or lac) thereof of a divine &o#er #ho creates #ith conscious a"ency! he Nasadiya

Su)ta is almost obsessed #ith ac)no#led"in" the inability to discern the e/istence of a Creator

#ith total a"ency! 4ho )no#s trulyM3 the hymn as)s, enca&sulatin" its attitude of thou"htful

doubt!137n the other end of the s&ectrum lies the creation story of enesis, #hich declares from

the be"innin" that od created the heavens and the earth3 and follo#s a re&etitive &attern of

od+s command or divine #ill causin" somethin"+s creation! @n bet#een the t#o, the heo"ony

be"ins #ith Chaos but "ives the "ods some a"ency as they re&roduce and create other deities!

he differences in divine a"ency lend the myths dis&arate -ualities$ enesis and its insistence on

od+s absolute creative &o#er ma)es the myth easier to understand and, in many #ays, easier to

believe in ' enesis does not allo# the reader to -uestion that od created the universe! @n

contrast, the *edic creation hymn is full of doubt and, thou"h it does ac)no#led"e a divine entity

#ho in the hi"hest heaven is its surveyor3 the hymn o&enly #onders #hether he founded it

the universeO or did not!3144hile the *edic hymn leaves more room for inter&retation and

12*ernant, &! 2A:!

1Aaconnell, &! 211!

1aconnell, &! 20:!


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doubt, its o&en embrace of uncertainty is &art of #here its &o#er lies ' ironically, in declarin" the

un)no#able nature of ori"ins the hymn has a &rofound ability to resonate #ith the reader as

truth!

he hymns also ta)e different stances on the idea of absolute truth and their ability to

discern it! @n his heo"ony, Hesiod declares #ith no trace of uncertainty that he is recountin" the

true story of the universe+s ori"ins as told to him by the uses! Shar&ly in contrast #ith that is

the Nasadiya Su)ta, #hich seems uncertain throu"hout the hymn about creation and even less

confident about the role of a creator in the universe! 4ho shall here declare, #hence it has been

&roduced, #hence is this creationM3 the author as)s, almost darin" the reader to claim to )no#

the truth!15enesis, #hile it never ma)es an e/&licit declaration that it is the absolute truth,

reveals no uncertainty or doubt in its creation story and &resents itself as certain! he declaration

of truth in the conte/t of a creation myth "ives the story more credibility but can also lead the

reader to conversely doubt the story ' ho# could an author &ossibly assert any story of creation

as undoubtedly true if he #asn+t thereM @n the Nasadiya Su)ta the lac) of certainty is in &art #hat

ma)es the myth so com&ellin", and also in a #ay causes the reader to more stron"ly believe the

&arts of the hymn that are &resented as true!

he &roblem of )no#led"e and ruth is not uni-ue to hymns of creation$ it is &resent in

every as&ect of reli"ious ideolo"ies! 4e &ic) our reli"ions and our sacred te/ts and are &re&ared

to defend any assaults on our beliefs #ith the sim&le e/&lanation that it is the #ord of od,3 it

is divine revelation,3 it is the truth!3 4hether the ori"ins of the #orld or the details of a

&articular reli"ious doctrine are at sta)e, once #e have chosen a faith it is difficult to &ic) a&art

15aconnell, &! 210!


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#hich &arts are true and #hich are not! @f the heo"ony is not true, #ho is to say that Heaven and

?ros e/ist at allM @f enesis is a lie, ho# can #e still believe in odM %t the &oint #e start to

declare different as&ects of the same reli"ious ideolo"y as true or false, it ceases to be a system

based on acce&tance of a hi"her &o#er$ #e are relyin" instead on our o#n lo"ic or intuition or

belief!

@t seems that if #e acce&t one as&ect of a reli"ious faith #e must acce&t the #hole

&ac)a"e ' or else, ho# is it still a reli"ionM 4here is the faith if #e can &ic) and choose #hich

&arts of the ruth #e #ant to believeM 4e have an attachment to bein" ri"ht, to &ic)in" one

sin"le ans#er to the -uestions that #e all as)! %nd yet therein lies the cause of so much of

conflict$ truth clashin" #ith truth, both sides #illin" to fi"ht to convince the other of #hat is

ri"ht! >ecause really, ho# can @ acce&t as truth that #hich com&letely contradicts your

#orldvie#M Ho# is it &ossible that #e are all #al)in" around on this &lanet, absolutely

convinced #e are ri"ht and others are #ron" even #hen our vie#s are com&letely o&&osedM 4e

mustbe ri"ht! %nd so #e clutch ti"htly to our doctrine, &re&ared to defend even the bits #e don+t

li)e because to "ive even an inch #ould mean com&romise! @t #ould mean that &erha&s #e didn+t

have it &erfectly correct after all! hat maybe, (ust maybe, #e #ere #ron"!

oday, but stretchin" bac) as lon" as #e have encountered anyone #ho disa"rees #ith us,

there is little more im&ortant to us than believin" in our o#n belief! Brom a youn" a"e #e

carefully construct our #orldvie# and our &aradi"ms in a search for somethin" #e may not even

be able to &ut a fin"er on! 4e search for boundaries on our actions, for ans#ers to the -uestions

#e cannot hel& but as), for connections, for #ays #e can feel less alone, less stranded in a

dan"erous and unfor"ivin" universe! 4e search for ori"ins to understand our future! 4e as) for


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hindu myth paper

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