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PURUSHA SUKTHAM
It is not difficult to see the various layers within the suktham developed probably over a long period of time starting from the second century AD to sixth century AD. The mention of Isa in the second verse would imply that this was indeed an early Christian document. Thus it is legitimate to assume that the the first five certain portions of the Purusha Suktha are indeed Christian in origin. It also indicate the strong Jewish mysticism with regard to the four worlds of existence as the whole Revealed god who fills all and forms all cosmos. We have already discussed the four Hebrew Kaballistic cosmos and their relevance in the Purusha Suktha.
The remaining portion indicates the strong influence of Gnosticism. Gnostics used Jewish, Christian and Chalcedoninan concepts to build the system. I would place it after the coming of Mani who we know traveled through out India far and wide and made many congregrations affecting not only the Vedic, Buddhist and Jain theology along with the Christian Churches of St. Thomas.
In order to see the relevance it is best to go over the basic Gnostic teaching of Mani. For that purpose I summarise generally from the Bishop Stephan A. Hoeller of the Gnostic Church of America.
"GNOSTICISM IS THE TEACHING based on Gnosis, the knowledge of transcendence arrived at by way of interior, intuitive means. Although Gnosticism thus rests on personal religious experience, it is a mistake to assume all such experience results in Gnostic recognitions. It is nearer the truth to say that Gnosticism expresses a specific religious experience, an experience that does not lend itself to the language of theology or philosophy, but which is instead closely affinitized to, and expresses itself through, the medium of myth. Indeed, one finds that most Gnostic scriptures take the forms of myths. The term "myth" should not here be taken to mean "stories that are not true", but rather, that the truths embodied in these myths are of a different order from the dogmas of theology or the statements of philosophy."
In the Gnostic view, there is a true, ultimate and transcendent God. But this God is unknowable. From this God (or, It) "emanated" or brought forth from within Himself the substance of all there is in all the worlds, visible and invisible. In that process God is made a Purusha with a form and nature. In a certain sense, it may therefore be true to say that all is God, for all consists of the substance of God. Thus far it fits the boot of Christianity which forms the initial portions of this Upanishad. In Christian thought all the worlds are created by God and so he is immanent in them all. The sentients are created in all cosmos with freedom of will as images of God with varying degrees of freedom and existence. Because of the freedom of will every sentient can cause selfish ego centric actions, which inevitably causes destruction of the oneness of the body of God. This is the fall.
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