The Religions of India: Handbooks on the History of Religions, Volume 1, Edited by Morris JastrowHopkins, Edward Washburn
Religion
The Religions of India: Handbooks on the History of Religions, Volume 1, Edited by Morris Jastrow
Hopkins, Edward Washburn
India -- Religion
The greatest discrepancies in eschatology occur perhaps in the
[=A]itareya [=A]ranyaka. After death one either "gets _brahma_" (i. 3.
1. 2), "comes near to the immortal spirit" (1. 3. 8. 14), or goes to
the "heavenly world." Knowledge here expressly conditions the
hereafter; so much so that it is represented not (as above) that fools
go to heaven and return, but that all, save the very highest, are to
recognize a personal creator (Praj[=a]pati) in breath (=ego=_brahma_),
and then they will "go to the heavenly world" (2. 3. 8. 5), "become
the sun" (2. 1. 8. 14), or "go to gods" (2. 2. 4. 6). Moreover after
the highest wisdom has been revealed, and the second class of men has
been disposed of, the author still returns to the 'shining sky,'
_svarga_, as the best promise (3). Sinners are born again (2. 1. 1. 5)
on earth, although hell is mentioned (2. 3. 2. 5). The origin of world
is water, as usual (2. 1. 8. 1). The highest teaching is that all was
_[=a]tm[=a],_ who sent forth worlds (_lok[=a]n as[r.]jata_), and
formed the Person (as guardian of worlds), taking him from waters.
Hence _[=a]tm[=a],_ Praj[=a]pati (of the second-class thinkers), and
_brahma_ are the same. Knowledge is _brahma_ (2. 4. 1. 1; 6. 1. 5-7).
In the Kena, where the best that can be said in regard to _brahma_ is
that he is _tadvana_, the one that 'likes this' (or, perhaps, is 'like
this'), there is no absorption into a world-spirit. The wise 'become
immortal'; 'by knowledge one gets immortality'; 'who knows this stands
in heaven' (1. 2; 2. 4; 4. 9). The general results are about those
formulated by Whitney in regard to the Katha: knowledge gives
continuation of happiness in heaven; the punishment of the unworthy is
to continue _sams[=a]ra_, the round of rebirths. Hell is not mentioned
in the [=A]itareya Upanishad itself but in the [=A]ranyaka[23] (2. 3.
2. 5). That, however, a union with the universal _[=a]tm[=a]_ (as well
as heaven) is desired, would seem to be the case from several of the
passages cited above, notably Brihad [=A]ran., i. 5. 20 (_sa
eva[.m]vit sarve[s.][=a]m bh[=u]t[=a]n[=a]m [=a]tm[=a] bhavati,
Yath[=a] i[s.][=a] devat[=a]ivam sa_); 'he that knows this becomes the
_[=a]tm[=a]_ of all creatures, as is that divinity so is he'; though
this is doubtless the _[=a]nandamaya [=a]tm[=a]_, or joy-making Spirit
(T[=a]itt. 2. 8).
Again two forms of _brahma_ are explained (M[=a]it. Up. 6. 15 ff.):
There are two forms of _brahma_, time and not-time. That which was
before the sun is not-time and has no parts. Time and parts begin with
the sun. Time is the Father-god, the Spirit. Time makes and dissolves
all in the Spirit. He knows the Veda who knows into what Time itself
is dissolved. This manifest time is the ocean of creatures. But
_brahma_ exists before and after time.[24]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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