Philosophy
Vedic philosophy primarily begins with the later part of Rig Veda, which was compiled before 1100 BCE. Most of philosophy of the Rig Veda is contained in the sections Purusha sukta and Nasadiya Sukta.
The Purusha Sukta gives a description of the spiritual unity of the cosmos. It espouses Panentheism by presenting nature of reality as both immanent and transcendent. From this reality the sukta holds that original creative will (later identified with Brahma, Hiranyagarbha or Prajapati) proceeds, by which this vast universe is projected in space and time. The Purusha Sukta, in the seventh verse, proclaims the organic inseparability of the constituents of society. The Nasadiya sukta is thought to be the earliest account of skepticism in India. It holds the Absolute to be both existence and non-existence and beyond all conception. The Śatarudrīya of Yajurveda shatters the extra-cosmic notion of Absolute (Rudra) and identifies it with both the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly, the right and the wrong, the positive and the negative, the high and the low, the conceivable and the inconceivable, the mortal and the immortal, existence and non-existence.
Ethics in the Vedas are based on the concepts of Satya and Rta. Satya is the principle of integration rooted in the Absolute. Whereas, Ṛta is the expression of Satya, which regulates and coordinates the operation of the universe and everything within it. Conformity with Ṛta would enable progress whereas its violation would lead to punishment. Concept of Yajna or sacrifice is also enunciated in the Purusha sukta where reaching Absolute itself is considered a transcendent sacrifice when viewed from the point of view of the individual.
Vedic people believed in the transmigration of the soul and the peepul tree and cow were sanctified by the time of the Atharva Veda. Many of the concepts of Indian philosophy espoused later like Dharma, Karma etc. trace their root to the Vedas. While the term ahimsa is not officially mentioned, one passage in the Rig Veda reads, "Do not harm anything." Major Philosophers of this era were Rishis Narayana, Kanva, Rishaba, Vamadeva, and Angiras. (See also philosophers of Vedic age)
Read more about this topic: Historical Vedic Religion
Famous quotes containing the word philosophy:
“In philosophy if you aren’t moving at a snail’s pace you aren’t moving at all.”
—Iris Murdoch (b. 1919)
“Philosophy can be compared to some powders that are so corrosive that, after they have eaten away the infected flesh of a wound, they then devour the living flesh, rot the bones, and penetrate to the very marrow. Philosophy at first refutes errors. But if it is not stopped at this point, it goes on to attack truths. And when it is left on its own, it goes so far that it no longer knows where it is and can find no stopping place.”
—Pierre Bayle (1647–1706)
“A writer must always try to have a philosophy and he should also have a psychology and a philology and many other things. Without a philosophy and a psychology and all these various other things he is not really worthy of being called a writer. I agree with Kant and Schopenhauer and Plato and Spinoza and that is quite enough to be called a philosophy. But then of course a philosophy is not the same thing as a style.”
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)