The Yajur and Sama Vedas
The Yajur and Sama Vedas and the Brahmanas of all four Vedas expound
Dec 14, 2006
The Yajur and Sama Vedas and the Brahmanas of all four Vedas are very similar in content. They are full of sacerdotalism, which is the system and methods of priesthood, and liturgy, which are the rituals and forms of public worship. Among the Brahmanas the Aitareya and Satapatha Brahmanas are well known.
These texts mark a departure from the Riga Veda. The Riga Veda contained the spirit of the religion; the Yajur and Sama Vedas contain the form. In the Riga Veda the contemplation and adoration of God was an end in itself; in the Yajur and Sama Veda God is sought for personal advantage.
Some of the key concepts that emerged in these texts are sacrifices, duty, caste, reincarnation and evolution of the Hindu pantheon.
Sacrifices became the all powerful tool of religion. In its purest form it was an invocation of God to seek His blessings. In the worst it was a commercial and contractual quid pro quo in which the priest claimed that God would provide a benefit for a fee paid to the priest.
The duties of a person in the four ashrams of life have been described in an earlier article. In addition there were duties to God, priests, ancestors, fellow humans and animals that had to be followed throughout ones life. Adherence to truth was considered very important. Confession of wrongdoing decreased the ill effect of the act. But it was not a private confession to a priest of Christianity but a public confession in the presence of the person wronged.
The concept of reincarnation on which the law of karma is based, also is seen in its most elementary form. The reward for being virtuous was having ones entire body intact and functional at birth in the next life. The punishment for not being virtuous was being reborn with a congenital deformity like blindness. Day and night are cyclical and so are the seasons, therefore life and death had to be cyclical as well.
The Hindu pantheon as we know it today began to take shape. The demi-Gods had already been relegated to secondary status. Brahma, under various names, was already seen as the Supreme God. In these Vedas Vishnu and Shiva also rise to prominence. And just as there had been a struggle between the demi-Gods for supremacy, a struggle between Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva seems apparent. This should not be construed as three anthropomorphic deities quarreling with each other, though that has often been the popular conception. In the article Polytheism, Monotheism and Monism the dictum “The truth is one, the learned call it by many names” was explained. This struggle was simply one in which the followers of different learned persons tried to promote their vision of the truth.
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