இறைவன்

சித்தர் பாடல்கள் :

இந்து மதத்தில் கிருத்துவ மத சிந்த்னைகள், குறிப்புகள் உண்டு என சொல்ல விரும்புகிறவர்கள் அதற்கு ஆதாரமாக காண்பிப்பது சித்தர் பாடல்கள்

சித்தர்கள் மனிதனின் உள்ளே இருக்கும் சக்தியை சரியான பயிற்ச்சியின் மூலம் மேம்படுத்தி (பிரணாயாமம், ஆசனம், குண்டலினி, மூலிகைகள், தவம் முதலியவைகளின் மூலம்) அதிக நாட்கள் வாழவும், பேரின்பத்தை பெறவும் வழிகளை சொல்லியுள்ளனர். இவர்கள் "நட்ட கல்லும் பேசுமோ நாதன் உள்ளிருக்கையில்" என்ற பாட்டில் சொன்ன "நாதன்" ஆபிரகாமின் தேவன் அல்ல. மனிதனுக்கு உள்ளிருக்கும் சக்தியையே. மேலும் இது போன்ற வாக்கியத்தை சொன்ன இவர்களே, சாதாரண மக்கள் பயன் பெற வேண்டியும் உலக ஆசிர்வாதங்களை பெறவும், பிரச்சனைகளிலிருந்து விடுபடவும் பல ஆலயங்களை எழுப்பியுள்ளனர் (சிவாலயங்கள், பழனி முதலியவை, ஒரு சில ஆலயங்கள் சில குறிப்பிட்ட நட்சத்திரங்களீலிருந்து சக்தியை பெறும்படி வடிவமைக்கப்பட்டவை.இந்த ஆலயங்களுக்கு சென்று ஆத்துமாவை அடகு வைப்பதால் பிரச்சனை தீருமா, தீராதா என்பது இந்த கட்டுரைக்கு அப்பாற்பட்ட விஷயம்)

(இதற்கு விதிவிலக்காக கிருத்துவ மத சிந்த்னைகளை சொல்லும் சில பாடல்கள் இருக்கலாம்)

ஆகவே சரியான பாடல்களை நாம் அடையாளம் கண்டு கொள்ள வேண்டும்.

மற்றும் சில இந்து மத இலக்கியங்களில் கடவுளுக்கு உருவ்ம் இல்லை என்ற கோட்பாடு உண்டு. ஆனால் இந்து மதம் சொல்லும் இந்த கடவுள் ஆபிரகாமின் கடவுள் அல்ல. ஏனெனில்

இந்து மதம் சொல்லும் இந்த கடவுள் உருவம் மற்றும் சுயமும் (EGO) இல்லாதவர் அல்லது கடந்தவர். தான் என்ற அகங்காரம் (EGO, EMOTION) இல்லாதவர்

ஆனால் ஆபிரகாமின் தேவன் தன்னை வெளிப்படுத்தும் தேவன் மற்றும் தன் கட்டளைபடி செய்யாதவர்கள் மேல் எரிச்சலுள்ள தேவன். ஆகவே இந்த பகுதியிலும் சரியானவற்றை நாம் அடையாளம் கண்டு கொள்ள வேண்டும்.

வேதம் போற்றும் அசுரர் :

வேத கால ஆரம்பத்தில் ஆரியர்கள் (இப்போதைய ஈரான் பகுதியில் இருந்த மக்கள்) வானத்தையும், பூமியையும் படைத்த ஒரே தேவனை வணங்கியுள்ளனர். தேவனை "அசுரர்" என்றழைத்து போற்றியுள்ளனர். வருணன், இந்திரன் என பல்வேறு பெயர்களால் போற்றியுள்ளனர். இயேசு மித்திரர் (நண்பர்) என்ற பெயரில் வருணனோடு சேர்ந்தவராக அழைக்கப்படுகிறார்.

பிற்காலத்தில் அவர்கள் அங்கிருந்து துரத்தப்பட்டு இந்தியாவிற்கு வந்த போது அசுரர்கள் விரோதிகள் எனவும் உண்மையான கடவுளாக இயற்கை சக்திகள் கருதப்பட்டு அவர்கள் தேவர்கள் என்றழைக்கப்பட்டார்கள். ஆனால் இந்த இயற்கை சக்திகளுக்கும் அவர்கள் பழைய பெயர்களையே வைத்திருந்தனர். அதாவது மிக உயர்ந்த கடவுளான அசுர வருணன் நீர் நிலைகளுக்கு மட்டும் அதிபதியாக தேவ வருணனாக தாழ்த்தப்பட்டார்.

அதிலும் புராண காலத்தில் உண்மையான கடவுள் முற்றிலும் மறை(ற,று)க்கபட்டு இயற்கை சக்திகளை வழிபட்டு வந்துள்ளனர்.

வேதத்தில் ப்ல பகுதிகளில் உண்மையான கடவுளை பற்றியே காணப்படுகிறது. கடவுள் மாறிவிட்டாலும் பழைய பகுதிகள் வேதத்திலிருந்து நீக்கப்படவில்லை.

இதைப் பற்றி கருத்து ஆங்கிலத்தில்..

MITRA AND VARUNA.

These deities are most frequently named together in the hymns; Varuna is often addressed alone, but Mitra very seldom. The idea of the older commentators was that Mitra represented and ruled over the day, whilst Varuna was ruler of the night. "Varuna is sometimesvisible to the gaze of his worshippers; he dwells in a house having a thousand doors, so that he is ever accessible to men. He is said to have good eyesight, for he knows what goes on in the hearts of men. Heis king of gods and men; is mighty and terrible; none can resist his authority. He is sovereign ruler of the universe." "It is he who makes the sun to shine in heaven; the winds that blow are but his breath; he has hollowed out the channels of the rivers which flow athis command, and he has made the depths of the sea. His ordinances are fixed and unassailable; through their operation the moon walks in brightness, and the stars, which appear in the nightly sky, vanish in daylight. The birds flying in the air, the rivers in their sleepless flow, cannot attain a knowledge of his power and wrath. But he knows the flight of the birds in the sky, the course of the far travelling wind, the paths of ships on the ocean, and beholds all the secret things that have been or shall be done. He witnesses men's truth and falsehood.

The following is a metrical version of one of the hymns of the Rig-Veda as given by Dr. Muir:-

"The mighty lord on high our deeds as if at hand espies;

The gods know all men do, though men would fain their deeds disguise:

Whoe'er stands, whoe'er moves, or steals from place to place,

Or hides him in his secret cell, the gods his movements trace.

Wherever two together plot, and deem they are alone,

King Varuna is there, a third, and all their schemes are known.

This earth is his, to him belong those vast and boundless skies,

Both seas within him rest, and yet in that small pool he lies.

Whoever far beyond the sky should think his way to win,

He could not there elude the grasp of Varuna the king.

His spies descending from the skies glide all this world around;

Their thousand eyes, all scanning, sweep to earth's remotest bound.

Whate'er exists in heaven and earth, whate'er beyond the skies,

Before the eye of Varuna the king unfolded lies.

The secret winkings all he counts of every mortal's eyes;

He wields this universal frame as gamester throws his dice.

Those knotted nooses which thou flingst, O god! the bad to snare,

All liars let them overtake, but all the truthful spare."

Professor Roth says of this hymn, "There is no hymn in the whole Vedic literature which expresses the divine omniscience in such forcible terms;" and it would notbe easy to find in any literature many passages to surpass it in this respect.

In other hymns we learn that the affairs of men are under his control; he is asked to prolong life, to punish transgressors; and a hope is held out that the righteous shall see him reigning in the spirit world in conjunction with Yama, the ruler of that region. Varuna in fact has attributes and functions ascribed to him in the Vedas, of a higher moral character than any other of the gods, and therefore men call upon him for pardon and purity. "Release us," they say, "from the sins of our fathers, and from those which we have committed in our own persons." And again, "Be gracious, O mighty god, be gracious. I have sinned through want of power; be gracious."

In the hymns addressed to Mitra and Varuna together, almost the same terms are employed as when Varuna is addressed alone. Both are spoken of as righteous, and as the promoters of religion. They are said to avenge sin and falsehood.

In the Vedic literature, though Varuna is not regarded chiefly as the god of the ocean, as he is in the later writings, but rather, as the above hymns show, as one of the gods of light, yet there are passages which describe him as being connected with the waters of the atmosphere and on the earth, which afford some foundation for the later conceptions of his kingdom.

In the Puranas, as mentioned before, Varuna is described as the god of the ocean. After a great conflict between the powers of heaven and earth, when order was again restored, the "Vishnu Purana" records the position assigned to the various deities. In that account Varuna is said to rule over the waters.

Although Varuna is described in the Vedas as a holy being, according to the teaching of the Puranas his heaven is a place of sensual delights. He sits with his queen Varuni on a throne of diamonds; Samudra (the sea), Ganga (the Ganges), and the gods and goddesses of different rivers, lakes, springs, etc., form his court. And stories are told of conduct the very opposite to what would be expected in one who once was addressed in such language as is found in the Vedic hymns.

THE ASURAS.

IN the Puranas and other of the later writings of the Hindus, and also in the popular mind, the asuras are powerful evil beings; in translations the word is represented by such terms as demons, giants, etc. As the suras were the gods, the asuras were not-gods, and therefore the enemies or opponents of the gods.

In the Vedas the name asura is applied more frequently to the gods themselves than to their enemies, whilst it is also used very much in the same manner as in the later writings. In the Rig-Veda, Varuna is accosted as follows: "King Varuna has made a highway for the sun to go over. O thou wise asura and king, loosen our sins!" Again: "The all-knowing asura established the heavens, and fixed the limits of the earth. He sat as the supreme ruler of all worlds. These are the works of Varuna." "Asura stands for the Supreme Spirit," in another verse, and "also as an appellative for Prajapati or creation's lord."  Again and again Varuna alone, and also in conjunction with Mitra, is called an asura. "All the Vedic gods have shared the same title, not excepting even goddesses." "Varuna was the all-knowing asura, Prajapati the Supreme Being; Indra, the Maruts, Tvastri, Mitra, Rudra, Agni, Vayu, Pushan, Savitri, Parjanya, the sacrificial priests, were all asuras. In fine, Deva (god) and asura were synonymous expressions in a multitude of texts."

On the other hand, in the Rig-Veda, Indra is the destroyer of asuras. "The same Veda which speaks of the asuras as celestial beings supplies its readers also with the Mantras, by means of which devas overcame asuras. The texts which are condemnatory of the suras as impure and ungodly are far less in number than those which recognize the term as applicable to gods and priests."

Dr. Banerjea, in the most interesting and ingenious article from which the above extracts are made, suggests a means of reconciling these contradictory uses of the word "asura." Before the Indo-Aryans arrived in India, they had lived in close proximity to the Persians, the original worshippers of fire. "What could be more natural," he asks, "than that the Asura-Pracheta, or Asura-Viswaveda of the one branch, was but the translation of the Ahura-Mazda (the Wise Lord, according to the 'Zend-Avesta') of the other branch; and that the word 'Ahura,' which the one used in a divine sense, would become a household word in the other branch, in the same sense?" the word "Ahura" being changed into "Asura," in a way common to many other words. He then goes on to say, that as "Assur" was the term used in Assyria for the Supreme Lord, and the Assyrians were for some time the rulers of the Persians, it was natural that this word should find its way into Persia; the only change being this, that the Persians added Mazda (wise or good) to the term "Assur," and the Indo-Aryans received it from them. So much for the good use of the term "Asura."

But the word "Assur" was not only used for the Supreme Lord, it also represented the Assyrian nation, his worshippers, who were most cruel in their treatment of their foes; and as, later on, the bitterest hatred is known to have existed between the Indo-Aryans and the Persians, the followers of Ahura-Mazda, Dr. Banerjea concludes that owing to the cruelties perpetrated by the Assyrians on the one hand, and the hatred cherished towards them by the Persians on the other, the branch of the Aryan family that migrated into India brought with them very bitter feelings towards Assur (the Assyrian people) and Ahuri (the belongings of Ahura); and thus the term "Asura," which at one time was considered a becoming epithet for the Supreme Being, became descriptive only of those who were the enemies of the gods. In order to afford sanction for this altered sense of a word, a new derivation has been given to it. The word was originally derived from the root as, through asu, "breath," and means a spirit, or "the Great Spirit." Now, however, it is explained to be simply a compound of a privative, and sura, "god," meaning a non-god: therefore a demon.

Whatever be the cause of it, there is no doubt that at the present day, and throughout the later writings of the Hindus, the term "asura" is used only for the enemies of the gods.