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THE BRAHMANICAL DOCTRINE OF LIBERATION
133 long life, wealth, prosperity happiness, freedom from diseases and all other benefits. They got their desires fulfilled by pleasing gods through yajña, prayers, by reciting hymns in praise of their favourite deities. The Vedic gods are more like human beings, but they have perfect limbs and beautiful bodies. They almost attentively listen to the prayers of and bestow favours and good luck upon their worshippers.
The fact that the early Vedic people worshipped a large number of gods has been referred to by modern scholars as a form of polytheism. In some passages of the Vedic texts, some scholars have seen the seed of monotheism or belief in one supreme divinity. The famous Rgvedic line, 'ek am sat viprā bahudhā vadanti', i.e., 'truth is one, the wise call it by different names' is often cited as an evidence for this view. Another hymn in the same text eulogises the concept of Viśvadevas. Towards the end of Vedic period especially in the early Upanişads, we find the idea of one ultimate reality emerging out of Vedic and non-Vedic speculations. This is known as the doctrine of brahman or ātman. RTA AND DHARMAN
The Vedic texts sefer to the concept of rta which is understood to mean 'cosmic order,' 'law' or 'truth'. According to R.C. Zaehner, “the term rtu is a designation of the cosmic order on which human order, cthics and social behaviour depend." He further points out that "it is the law that governs the universe, the law that operates in ritual and sacrifice and finally the moral law that with equal impartiality regulates the conduct of men." Ķia is the embodiment of truth, it symbolises righteous deeds and administrates positive actions. The sun, the moon, the stars, the rivers, etc., obey the commands of rta. All gods and men must obey the law of rta, that is why it is called the father of all. S. Radhakrishnan states, “Řta furnishes us with a standard of morality. It is the universal essence of things. It is the satya or the truth of things."
In the Rgveda, the word dharman means law. It is the principle of life, rituals, physical as well as psychical phenomena. Řta denotes the
5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Ķgveda, X. 146. Ibid., III, 55. R.C. Zaehner, Hinduism, p. 18. Ibid., p. 30. S. Radhakrishnan, Indian Philosophy, vol. I, pp. 109-110.
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