The upanishads are also considered sacred scriptures by the Hindus.
Consider the following verses from the Upanishads :
i) ?Ekam evaditiyam? (He is One only without a second)
[Chandogya Upanishad Prapathaka (chapter) 6, Khanda (section) 2, Shloka (verse) 1]
?I sad eva, saumya, idam agra asid ekam evaditiyam, tadd haika ahuh, asad evedam agra asid ekam evadvitiyam, tasmad asatah saj jayata?
(In the beginning, my dear, this was Being alone, one only without a second. Some people say in the beginning this was non-being alone, one only; without a second. From that non-being, being was produced)
[The Principal Upanishad by S. Radhakrishnan pg 447 and 448]
[Sacred books of the East volume 1 the Upanishads part I page 93]
ii)Consider again, the following verses from the Upanishads :?Nacasya kasuj janita na cadhipah.? (Of Him there are neither parents nor lord)
[Svetasavatara Upanishad Adhyaya (chapter) 6, Shloka (verse) 9]
?na tasya kascit patir astiloke, na cesita naiva ca tasyalingam, na karanam karanadhipadhipo na casya kascij janita na cadhipah.?
(Of Him there is no master in the world, no ruler, nor is there any mark of Him. He is the cause, the lord of the lords of the sense organs; of Him there is neither progenitor nor lord.)
[The Principal Upanishad by S. Radhakrishnan pg 745]
[Sacred Books of the East volume 15, the Upanishads part II page 263.]iii) Consider the following verses from the Upanishads : ?Na tasya pratima asti?
(There is no likeness of Him.)
[Svetasvatara Upanishad chapter 4 verse 19]
?Nainam urdhvam na tiryancam na madhye na parijagrabhat na tasy pratime asti yasya nama mahad yasah.?
(There is no likeness of Him whose name is great glory).
[The principal Upanishad by S. Radhakrishnan pg 736 & 737]
[Sacred Books of the East, volume 15, the Upanishad part II page no 253]
iv) The following verses from the Upanishad allude to the inability of Man to imagine God in a particular form :
[Svetasvatara Upanishad Adhyaya (chapter) 4 Shloka (verse) 20]
?Na samdrse tisthati rupam asya, na caksusa pasyati kas canainam. Hrda hrdistham manasa ya enam, evam vidur amrtas te bhavanti?.
(His form is not to be seen; no one sees Him with the eye. Those who through heart and mind know Him as abiding in the heart become immortal).
[The principal Upanishad by S. Radhakrishnan pg 737]
[and in Sacred Books of the East volume 15, the Upanishad part II page no 253]
i) Consider the following verses from the Yajur ved :
?na tasya pratima asti? (There is no image of Him) [Yajurved 32 : 3]
ii) It further says, ?as He is unborn, He deserves our worship.?
?There is no image of Him whose glory verily is great. He sustains within Himself all luminous objects like the Sun etc. May He not harm me, this is my prayer. As He is unborn, He deserves our worship? [The Yajurveda by Devi Chand M. A. pg 377]
iii) He is bodyless and pure, is mentioned in Yajurved (40 : 8:
He hath attained unto the Bright, Bodiless, Woundless, Sinewless, the pure which evil hath not pierced. Far-sighted, wise, encompassing, he self-existent hath prescribed aims, as propriety demands, unto the Everlasting Years?[Yajurved 40 : 8]
[Yajurveda samhita by Ralph I. H. Griffith pg 538]
iv) It is also mentioned in the Yajur Veda:
?Andhatama pravishanti ye asambhuti mupaste?.
They enter darkness, those who worship natural things, for example air, water, fire etc. They sink deeper in darkness those who worship Sambhuti. (Sambhuti means created things, for example table, chair, idol etc.)
?Deep into shade of blinding gloom fall Asambhuti?s worshippers. They sink to darkness deeper yet who on Sambhuti are intent.? [Yajurved 40 : 9]
[Yajurveda Samhita by Ralph T. H. Giffith pg 538]
v) The Yajur Veda also mentions a prayer stating, lead us to the good path and remove the sin that makes us stray and wander:
?By goodly path lead us to riches, Agni, thou God who knowest all our works and wisdom. Remove the sin that makes us stray and wander: most ample adoration will we bring thee.? [Yajurveda chapter 40 verse 16]
[The Yajurveda Samhiti by Ralph T. H. Griffith pg 541]
2. Atharva ved
Consider the following verses from Atharva Ved :-
i) ?Dev maha osi? (God is verily great)
[Atharvaveda book 20 hymn (chapter) 58 verse 3]
?Verily, Surya, thou art great; truly, aditya, thou art great.
As thou art great indeed thy greatness is admire: yea, verily, great art thou, O God?.
(Atharveda Samhiti vol 2 William Dmight Whitney pg 910)
3. Rig Ved
i) The oldest of all is the Vedas is Rig Veda. It is also the one considered most sacred by the Hindus. The Rig Ved states that Sages (learned Priests) call one God by many names
?They have styled (Him, God or the sun) indra (the resplendent) mitra (the surveyor), varuna (the venerable), agni (the adorable), and he is the celestial, well-winged garutmat (the great), for learned priests call one by many names as they speak of the adorable as yama (ordainer) and matarisvan (cosmic breath).? [Rigveda Book no 1, Hymn no 164 verse 46, (R.V. 1:164:46)]
ii) The Rigveda gives no less than 33 different attributes to Almighty God, several of these are mentioned in Rigveda Book 2 hymn 1 Amongst the various attributes given in Rigveda one of the beautiful attributes for Almighty God is ?Brahma?. ?Brahma? means ?The Creator?. If you translate this word into Arabic it means ?Khaliq?. which is the name of god of Muslims.
Describing Almighty God in anthropomorphic terms also goes against the following verse of Yajurveda: ?Na tasya Pratima asti? (There is no image of Him) [Yajur Ved 32 : 3 ]
Another beautiful attribute mentioned in the Rigveda Book II hymn 1 verse 3 (R.V. 2:1:3) is Vishnu. ?Vishnu? means ?The Sustainer?. If you translate into Arabic it means ?Rabb?.
iii) Consider the following verses from the Rig Ved:
?Ma chidanyadvi shansata?
?O friends, do not worship anybody but Him, the divine one. Let no grief perturb you. Praise Him alone, the radiant, the showerer of benefits. During the course of self-realization, go on repeatedly uttering hymns in His honour?. [Rigveda Book 8 hymn 1 verse 1]
[Rigveda samhiti vol ix, pg 1 and 2 by swami Satyaprakash Sarasvati and satyakam Vidhya Lankar]
iv) Verily great is the glory of the divine creator
?The wise yogis concentrate their minds; and concentrate their thought as well in the Supreme Reality, which is Omnipresent, Great and Omniscient. He alone, knowing their functions, assigns to the sense organs their respective tasks. Verily, great is the glory of to Divine Creator?.
[Rigveda book 5 ?hymn 81 verse 1 (R.V. 5:81)]
[Rigveda Samhiti volume 6 page 1802 and 1803 by Swami SatyaPrakash Saraswati and Satyakam Vidhyalanka]
v) Consider the following verses from the Rig Ved
?The bounteous giver? [Rigveda book 3 Hymn 34 verse 1]
[(Hymns of Rigveda volume 2 page 337 by Raplh T. H. Griffith]
vi) It is mentioned in Rig Ved book VI Hymn 45 verse 16
?Ya eka ittamushtuhi?
?Praise Him Who is the matchless and alone.?
(Hymns of Rigveda by Ralph T. H. Griffith pg 648)
Brahma Sutra of Hindu Vedanta:
The Brahma Sutra of Hindu Vedanta is ?Ekam Brahm, dvitiya naste nen na naste kinchan?
?Bhagwan ek he hai dusara nahi hai, nahi hai, nahi hai zara bhi nahi hai.?
(There is only one God, not the second; not at all, not at all, not in the least bit).
Therefore only by referring to the Hindu scriptures can one understand the correct concept of God in Hinduism.
You Are Visitor Number:
