"Hymn of Creation" - who will here proclaim it?

Who really knows?
Who will here proclaim it?
Whence was it produced?
Whence is this creation?
The gods came afterwards, with the creation of this universe.
Who then knows whence it has arisen?

Whence this creation has arisen
– perhaps it formed itself, or perhaps it did not –
the One who looks down on it,
in the highest heaven, only He knows
or perhaps He does not know.

The above is a part (the finishing lines) of the “Hymn of Creation”, a part of Rig Veda, a part of the ancient Hindu text anthologies.

I think a more powerful hymn to the mysteries of the universe is scarcely available, in ancient texts or in the modern ones. The biggest wonder is that this text is more than 3000 years old.

For me, a more succinct explanation of the mysteries surrounding us is difficult to find. What gives it strength is the simplicity of the words. In a series of questions, the hymn effectively demolishes many of the qualities that we, humans, in all our frailties, have attributed to god. Many ancient philosophers from Greek to Indian to Chinese have always maintained that god is an expression of our fears and our striving for an ideal state.

The gods came afterwards, with the creation of this universe.
Who then knows whence it has arisen?

An astonishing statement to make and get away with without getting the book burned for the last 3000 years. If this is one of the holy books of the Hindus, it effectively makes a strong point for agnosticism as a foundation of the religion.

More than that, for me, the immense strength of the hymn is that it takes a stand that it is almost impossible to know our most fundamental mysteries or questions about the universe as easily as people have tried to explain it away. These are questions we are still asking and would be asking for a long time to come out. Maybe it’s a necessary part of the fabric of space that the ultimate questions will always remain a quest (due to that quest only, we have progressed immensely, not only in science but in social studies, art, philosophy etc)

Whence this creation has arisen
– perhaps it formed itself, or perhaps it did not –

A classical statement that uses dualism in the same statement to put its point across.

Looking at the battles that go into fighting about the issues, the above lines are almost a call for sanity; a warning not to fall easily fall into a dogmatic camp about our deepest questions.

I remember being taught about god in Ist standard in a subject called ‘moral science’ (the term itself is suspect – like a fundamentalist Christian priest teaching evolution). We were taught that god was “omnipresent”, “all knowing”, “all seeing” and so on (we were taught to spell god as God as well thus making it a proper noun – a person).

I have often wondered if somebody makes these curriculums as a part of a conspiracy to keep the concept of god alive or its just systemized that’s never been revolutionized. Whatever the case may be, one thing is for certain – we are not taught the other side. The side of the Hymn of creation or the side of the Ionian philosophers or even that of Spinoza.

What we learn in school in the early years makes an indelible impression on us and goes deep into our psyche and it takes a lot of struggle to unlearn the lies taught to us (knowing where to find to uproot it is the biggest challenge). The so called attributes of gods have been drummed into us and has become a frame of reference for most of us in looking at the world.

I wonder if the so called subversive ideas (which are merely the alternate ideas) are taught to us, won’t it lead to a more thoughtful society? Especially in terms of religion which in the present poisonous form entraps us and which in its extreme form leads to foolish shedding of blood.

The irony is that the “Hymn of Creation” is a part of Hindu holy texts. It’s also the perfect antidote to all the ideas that our parents and relatives and teachers try and teach us (in all fairness, they are just passing on the ideas from their parents and so on – all without debate). A child taught about the 3000 year old skepticism will reach out for ideas and books which encourage open thought. He would reach out and enjoy Oscar Wilde over say a Kipling in his early reading. He would not listen to the discourses of priests without trying to question what he hears. Imagine the difference that would make, this culture of being taught to think with an open mind right from the start.

Who really knows?
Who will here proclaim it?

Who indeed?

We need to ask more questions, before our mind is filled to the brim with ‘answers’.

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