R e l i g i o n          

  The religion of the Vedic period is called ‘Sanatana Dharma’ (ageless and timeless moral and religious duty), which later came to be called Hinduism.

  “Religion is an experience. The Hindu scriptures, the Vedas, register the experience of seers who grappled with the fundamental reality”. “The claim of the Vedas rests on spiritual experience which is the birth right of every man. This experience can be gained by anyone who undergoes a certain discipline and puts forth an effort. From the time of the Rig Veda till today, the Hindus adopted an attitude of respect for other faiths.” Dr S Radhakrishnan. ‘The Spirit of Religion’.

  “ Religion does not mean mere ritual. It means Dharma. What is Dharma? That, which if we follow, will make us contented and happy.” Sri Chandrasekharendra  Saraswati. Shankaracharya  of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham.’ The Vedas.’

  Gods

  The concept of Godhead and God evolved through a long period of inquiry,  and we see in the Rig Veda both monotheism and monism. The early Vedic person worshipped natural phenomena, personifying these as gods,

 Indra (god of the skies), Agni, (fire god) Varuna, (rain god) and so forth.

 Later on, it was thought that these are manifestations of the same Universal god, perceived differently at different times.

  The concept of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva (Rudra) comes later, and these form the triad of Godhead. Whereas the names Vishnu and Shiva are found in the Vedas and the Brahmanas, the name Brahma does not figure at all. In the Vedas, the active creator of the world is called ‘Hiranya-Garbha’ (Golden embryo) ‘Prajapati’ etc but not Brahma.  The Rig Veda refers to god sometimes, as ‘it’ which may be misconstrued as disrespect. In reality it represents a highly evolved concept implying that god could be a ‘he’ or a ‘she’ or some other form, beyond our comprehension. Consequently, goddess ‘Shakti’ and other manifestations of this ‘supreme goddess’, came to be worshipped.

  Brahma came to be known as the Creator, Vishnu as the Preserver and Shiva as the Redeemer. Later on, Shiva and Vishnu worship assumed importance. Brahma’s name is invoked in religious services only and he is not worshipped like Vishnu and Shiva. How ever, there is only one place Pushkara (near Ajmir in Rajasthan) where he is worshipped.

Over the millenniums, the following five gods are being worshipped by Brahmins and Hindus, by what is referred to as the “Panchayatana pooja”.

Ganesha        Vishnu     Shiva      Shakti      Surya (Sun)

Rishis  and  Gotras

  Rishi means a sage. The Vedas were revealed to them and the respective hymns  stand in their names. Seven Rishis (Saptarshi) are recognized as the mind born sons of the creator Brahma.  The ’Satapatabrahmana’ gives their names as,

 Vashishta, Kashyapa, Viswamitra, Jamadagni, Gautama, Bharadwaja and Atri.

The Vayupurana adds the eighth name of ‘Bhrigu’, but the congregation is still called ‘Saptarshi’.

  Brahmins trace their lineage to these seven Rishis. By keeping close track of their family tree through a system called, Gotra  (lineage record), they have been able to avoid  co-sanguineous marriages. Also by marrying within the Brahmin groups to which they belong, Brahmins have preserved and safeguarded their genetic value.

‘Pravara’  which is taught to the youth at ‘Thread ceremony’, is the foundation for keeping track of the patrelineal lineage. The ‘Pravara’ identifies the person with two,  three or five of his ancestors, the ‘Sutra’ and the branch of the Veda.

A typical ‘Pravara’ of a man born in the Haritasa Gotra a branch of the Bharadwaja lineage, and christened (namakarana) as  Nagaraja at birth, will read as:

‘Angirasa, Ambarisha, Yavanashva thriyarisheya pravaranvitha, Haritasa Gotra Ashwalayana sutra, Rik Shaka, Adhyayee, Nagaraja Sharma, aham bho abhivadaye.’

Meaning:

‘ I  Nagaraja  Sharma,  belonging to Haritasa Gotra in the lineage of the three Rishis, Angirasa, Ambarisha , Yavanashwa, and following Ashwalayana sutra of the Rigveda, offer my salutations.’  

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