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by Jayaram V
Brahma is the source, the seed and the creator of all beings in this world. At
the time of creation, he emerged as the first differentiated consciousness (the first ego) from the primal waters (universal consciousness). He is called
svayambhu because in reality none created him. He created himself. He has many other names such as Hiranyagarbha (the cosmic germ), prajapati (the lord of people), Pitamaha (the father of fathers), Vidhi (the
ordainer), lokesa (ruler of the world), dhatr (sustainer), and Visvakarma (architect of the universe). Followers of Vaishnavism depict him as nabhija or the one who was born from the lotus flower that sprung from the navel of Vishnu. This is however
a post vedic development. Brahma
originated from Brahman, or rather Brahman became Brahma, just as He became Vishnu and Siva. Compared to Vishnu and Siva, Brahma has never been popular in Hindu pantheon, although in name and functions he is closest to Brahman. The reason is not difficult to find. By virtue of his functions, Brahma cannot have many devotees, because his duty of creation demands introversion, complete concentration and undivided attention. Therefore as a personal God he is a least attractive option. The
Brahmanaspati and Brihaspati of the Vedas and the Brahma of the Hindu
Trinty are said to be one and the same god. He is also the Purusha of
the early Rigvedic hymns, the product of sacrifice, from whom emerge the
worlds, the beings and the social order. In his book, the Secret of the
Veda, Sri Aurobindo describes the
connection among Brahmanaspahi, Brihaspati and Brahma in the following words.
"Brihaspati, Brahmanaspati and Brahma are the three names
of the god to whom the Rishi Vamadeva addresses the mystic hymn of
praise.1 In the later Puranic theogonies Brihaspati and Brahma have
long become separate deities. Brahma is the Creator, one of the Three
who form the great Puranic Trinity; Brihaspati is a figure of no great
importance, teacher of the gods and incidentally guardian of the
planet Jupiter; Brahmanaspati, the middle term which once linked the
two, has disappeared. To restore the physiognomy of the Vedic deity we
have to reunite what has been disjoined and correct the values of the
two separated terms in the light of the original Vedic
conception."
Brahma gradually lost his importance in the Hindu pantheon and
yielded ground to the other two gods, Siva and Vishnu, in the Hindu Trinity.
The title of Narayana (the creator of men) was originally ascribed to Brahma,
but later to Vishnu. Similarlty, the incarnations of fish, tortoise
and boar
were originally attributed to Brahma and later to Vishnu. One possible reason for these developments seems to be
the growing popularity of Vaishnavism and Saivism coupled with the
division of functions in the development of the concept of Trinity in
which Vishnu alone as the sustainer of the worlds would incarnate. Brahma
is known as Kanja or water born and Hiranyagarbha or the universal germ, because in the beginning of creation, he was born out of the golden egg that emerged out of the primal waters. Having manifested himself, he created Vac (speech or sound ), also called
Saraswathi. The goddess was so beautiful and gracious, that he decided to make her his consort. The beings of this world said to have emanated from their union.
Symbolically, Brahma and Saraswathi signify many things.
Brahma is the creative will and Saraswathi is the intelligence (buddhi) that executes the will of Brahma. Together they constitute the human consciousness. Secondly, Brahma is the Vedas personified and Saraswathi is the vibration hidden in the mantras as the sound
(Vac). Together they constitute the spiritual knowledge of the Vedas. Thirdly, Brahma creates life , while Saraswathi creates society and civilization and refines the individuals with civility and grace. Fourthly, Brahma is the primeval silence of soul and Saraswathi is the noise
(Vac) of life. Together they create the mortal beings. Fifthly, Saraswathi is the pearl of wisdom
(sara) born in the shell of Brahma from a rain drop (svathi). Brahma is not only a creator, but also
a great spiritual teacher. Many Vedic seers were his mind born children, who later composed the Vedas and taught the Upanishads to serious students.
According to Manusmriti, Brahma created eleven Prajapathis who are
believed to be fathers of human race. They are Atri, Angiras, Pulastya,
Pulaha, Kratu, Vashistha, Prachetas or Daksha, Bhrigu and Narada. He
also created the seven sages or the saptarishis. Prajapathi Brahma is a familiar name that we find in the Upanishads, whom even gods like Indra approached and revered for Self knowledge. In the images Brahma appears like an old man, with four bearded faces, that look in four different directions. The beard on each face is suggestive of his old age and wisdom. He is shown in a meditative mood, lost in his thoughts, with eyes half closed, suggestive of his spiritual bent of mind and his preoccupation with the process of creation. His four faces symbolically represent, the four directions, the four vedas, the four Maha Yugas and the
fourfold social order. According to the Puranic stories originally
Brahma had five heads of which one was cut off by Siva out of anger when
the latter lied to him about one of his achievements. Obviously the
story is meant to describe the supremacy of Siva over Brahma just as the
followers of Vishnu describe Brahma as having been born from the navel
of Vishnu. In his icons and images, Brahma is generally shown as having four arms, holding aksamala (rosary),
kusaa grass, ladle, spoon, kamandala (a water pot), and a leafy manuscript respectively. Symbolically, the rosary indicates his creative nature. The kusaa grass, the ladle and the spoon indicate his familiarity with the Vedic rituals. The kamandala denotes his meditative and spiritual qualities. The
vehicle of Brahma is swan, a beautiful and graceful bird, which symbolically represents the Buddhi or the discriminating intelligence, which is responsible for our discretionary and decision making abilities. In some images he is shown as riding not one but seven swans. In this regard he reminds us of Varuna, the Indo
Iranian Aryan god who is the upholder of laws, the knower of all, the seer, who travels across the heavens seated on a chariot drawn by the seven swans. However, there seems to be no connection between the two gods, other than the fact that they were both worshipped by the Vedic people. Brahma is found in almost all the temples of Vishnu and Siva as an attendant god, receiving his daily share of offerings. But we come across very few temples built exclusively for him. As
on date only two of his temples are popular, one is the temple of
Pushkar near Ajmer and the other the temple of Khed near Idar.
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