Early Vedic Period
Essay by review • December 19, 2010 • Essay • 395 Words (2 Pages) • 1,960 Views
1. In early Vedic period, the worship is mostly consisted by male gods, who were believed to control the forces of nature. Agni(god of fire), Vayu(god of air) and Surya(god of sun) who are mere abstractions, intangible and illusive personifications of the powers of nature. Vedic gods assumed the most undoubted personality, of the real qualities intended to be expressed by their names.
2.Karma is the chain of cause and effect at every level. It is explained by causality through a system. The system describes that beneficial effects are derived from past beneficial actions and harmful effects from past harmful actions. The creating a system of actions and reactions throughout a person's reincarnated lives.
3.Brahman is defined as a universal soul where as Atman: individual soul or the 'fraction'/embodiment of the 'Cosmic Soul. Death and rebirth belong to body but Atman (soul) never dies and either is be reborn. The belief that 'man is not made the image of God, but man him or herself implies that everything is god saying "god is never born, never dies. People can not say of him(god). god came to be and will be no more" by Bhagavad Gita.
4. Caste system, based on the Purusa myth of creation, is consisted of four aspects of Pursa. The head of Purusa is Brahmana, the arms of Pursa is Ksatriya, the thighs of Purusa is Vaisya, and the feet of Purusa is Sudra.
The concept of creation form something that already exists probably did not reflect as true creation and hence most of the subsequent myths did not build upon this. The importance of this myth is that the 'caste system' of Hindu society is founded in it though. The caste system shows that certain sections of society are meant by birth for certain tasks. The priests were born from the mouth of the cosmic man, the nobles from his arm, the general populace from his thighs and the servants from his feet.
5. Trimurti, meaning, "having three forms", is applied to the three main Hindu gods; Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Three major gods represent all aspects of the Supreme Being. Nothing in the universe is created, preserved or destroyed without the mutual agreement and approval of the three aspects of the Supreme Being for the production and reprodudction of all forms of like. They are associated with the interlinked forces of creation (Brahma), preservation(Vishnu), and destruction(Shiva).
...
...