Written Messages

Paris 

15 May 2021

Synopsis of ‘The Rig Veda’ — a Penguin product — written by Wendy Doniger O’Flaherty, an Indologist holding doctoral degrees from Harvard and Oxford University. She taught at the University of Chicago.

I - A magnificient anthology of 108 Hymns translated and annotated, making statements thus generating belief-systems regarding -1) creation - 2) death - 3) Yama — the lord of death - 4) spirit - 5) sacrifice - 6) ritual hymns to Agni and Soma drink as also water - 7) Indra — the king of Gods — his ‘heroic deed’ of slaying the dragon ‘Vrtra’, his capacity as ‘God’ of the thunderstorm - 8) Maruts — the ‘wind-gods’ — ‘Rudra’ has to be believed as their father.

II - 1) Then belief-systems about ‘Solar Gods’ — ‘Dawn’ is a ‘Goddess’ incarnate called as ‘Usha’ and many other faiths creating sage named Vena, charioteer of Sun God called Pusan. Savitr is the ‘Driver’ who inspires and impels men to action - 2) Beliefs about the deeds of ‘Asvins’ — the solar gods, Jahnavi river being sent to Earth as Ganga of Varanasi (India) - 3) ’Asvins’ bless the child to stir and come out of the womb when it is 9 or 10 months old - 4) Indra is the lord of Soma — the best Soma drinker! Good Lord!!!

III - 1) Here are the beliefs about the deeds of Varuna, who waters the soil and the rain, which waters the grain. He speeds the good-clever man to wealth.   2) Varuna is supposed to be the friend of the sage Vasistha. 3) Many beliefs are recorded with regard to Rudra and Vishnu as also Maruts. 4) Many other belief-systems galore have been skillfully collected by the Author. 5) Many female nouns (often abstractions) have been personified as female divinities, such as Dawn, Night, Waters, Forest, Destruction, Sarama, Yami, Urvasi, Suryaa, the wives of Indra and the monkey. 6) There are narratives centering around marriage: —Courtship, marriage, adultery and estrangement. The conversations between men and women often end in separation of the couple. 7) Marriage hymns pray for husbands’ virility and longevity of life, women not becoming a widow. All marriage hymns have happy ending. 8) Healing plants have been talked about. Fig-tree has been called sacred. Priests have been called healers, slayers of demons, expellers of disease. Mantras have been formulated against bad dreams and sins, for safe pregnancy and birth, against ‘demons’ in ‘hell’, against ‘Dove of Death’ to be driven out from the house etc. etc.

This saga of belief-systems is sad- to say the least. A true religiously-awakened bliss and benediction of divine awareness has no belief whatsoever !!! Transcend all kinds of ‘’Religious Scriptures’’!!!

Jai Awareness