The God-trinity in Hinduism comprises of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. For a common man they are Gods of highest order who are supposed to bestow upon the devotees with what they pray for. But human wants are very petty in comparison to Cosmic evolution – both physical and mental. So, the sages and seers all over the world wouldn’t have spent time and energy in discovering, preserving and propagating the wisdom just for the sake of human wants which imply that there must be a hidden side or an esoteric meaning to what the sages discovered as ‘the trinity’. I would like to explain my view in regard to this topic. There is no perfect start to this topic, as it is interlinked with many things. I would try to keep things as simple as possible, but occasional deviations are required for proper expression of my views.
Vedas :
“Vedam” literally means “Wisdom”. One should note the difference between wisdom and knowledge (i.e Jnana). Knowledge is acquiring information whereas Wisdom is the post state of assimilating and synthesizing the knowledge. So, in brief we can say that the books of VEDAS are knowledge and after reciting / practicing them and getting in tune with GURU’s instructions, what we experience / realize is VEDA. But if anyone would have read the vedic books , without proper decode mechanism, one would straight away discard the vedic explorations. The reason being, they are very well encoded and speak in terms of symbols and parables which are not direct. To properly decode the VEDAS, we need six keys. They are
Siksha: The key of intonation, phonetics, morphophonology, etc. In vedas, the same set of letters (i.e. a word) might have different meaning according to the way we stress on the vowels connecting the word. This technique is explained/taught by siksha.
Kalpa: The key of “Ritual”. Generally we think rituals mean an external act, but the symbolic meaning and science behind rituals is unknown and this kalpa explains that.
Vyakarana: The key of grammar. Grammar means more than linguistic grammar. An example would suffice here: To form a statement, we need subject, object and predicate. So a “Trio” is needed. This formation of sentence is nothing but the expression of an invisible thought (from our mind right ?). This should hint that even to form the physical universe (a sentence) we need the “Trio” an dthat is the holy “trinosophia” or “trayee vidya”. Not only this, but umpteen such secrets and sciences are explained and exposed by this Vyakarana.
Nirukta: The key of etymology. Without this, one would blunder himself when he translates a vedic passage. For example, many people claim that “Ashwamedha Yaga” means a horse sacrifice. But that is not true at all according to Nirukta. If one closely observes Nirukta, one can see that “Ashwa” in its root has “A” +”Shwa” which means that which doesn’t die and that which doesn’t die is one’s self or soul or atma. Now, because atma steers this physical body just as a horse steers a chariot, in its fourth derivative (physical) we named the animal horse as Ashwa too. But, in Yajna, which is mainly internal (see kalpa) we should obviously take first root and hence Ashwamedha Yaga doesn’t say anything about horse sacrifice. Thus nirukta helps one to go to the roots of a word and its derivatives to give clear contextual meaning.
Chandas: The key of metrics. A meter here means a scale or periodical structure of expression of an object which points to a natural/cosmic periodicity. For example, let us take “Gayatri meter”. It has 3 lines of 8 letters each making a total of 24. But in our physical world, 2 4 immediately reminds us of concept of a “Day” which is related to sun. Also, 3 lines i.e. “Tri Kala” reminds us of morning, noon and evening in relation to sun (night for moon). Thus basically, Gayatri meter points to something related to “Solar”. Hence, the well known gayatri mantra (tat saviturva renyam …..) or Savitri mantra whose essence is related to the SUN (Invisible and visible, more later) is constructed in gayatri meter. Similarly, a meter should hint about which the composition is going to be and thus, helps in decoding more precisely.
Jyotisha: This is the last key and a very important key. It is called the “Eye of the Veda”. Jyotisha is known to present Indians as “Astrology” or more precisely “Predictive astrology”. But Jyotisha literally means “That which throws upon some light”. What does it exactly do ? Say you are on a street with no street lights and in dark. You will stumble up on many obstacles on the way to your home. But if a street light is there, your goal (reaching home) is the same and so is the path, but now you will be careful in walking on the path i.e. you will be conscious enough to cross the obstacles without getting stumbled up on. The same thing is done by this Jyotisha. It throws light on our life’s journey (past, present and future) and thus helping us to overcome the obstacles. Remember, just like the street light, it doesn’t offer any extra bonuses which elevates our life’s status. It only shows the path clearly and it is up-to us how we tread the path (karma theory should be linked up here). Evolution of not only our lives, but also on cosmic scale i.e. of stars, galaxies, nebulae and lives therein, etc. is described by this science of Jyotisha (Astronomy+Astrology+Astrobiology).
Thus one needs these six keys to properly understand, decode and synthesize the material of the Vedas.
For now, it suffices to know that VEDAs are purest source of wisdom juice which can be drunk only if one has mastered the six ways to unlock, without which VEDAS become a ‘dead man’s letter’.
Now, what wisdom is there in these Vedas that so much hard-work of locking and unlocking is going on ? These vedas are the essence of the creation from macrocosm to microcosm which when experienced, lets us in to the domain of so called GOD (inner god too – i.e. realizing the self). These vedas are not written/taught in one go, but are a compendium/collection of wisdom of so called enlightened persons over the time. Just as we make clay into different toys, a single TRUTH is expressed/realized in multitude forms and hence so much of wisdom apparently. Though every realization is like a pointer to that ONE (Ultimate GOD), each pointer has its uniqueness and that is why we have so much of apparently diverse looking wisdom in Vedic/Indian culture.
Let us see what these vedas are:
Rig Veda: Its the wisdom dealing with “Riks” or the trill of vocals or the expressive ability of cosmos.
Sama Veda: It deals with the wisdom of “Samas” or the principle of periodicity (hence music is attributed to this veda) of this cosmos – like Yugas, breath of brahma, etc.
Yajur Veda: It is the wisdom of “Yajus” or a human drama depicting a divine drama called as Yajna – Sacrifice. Many things in nature are in Yajna i.e. the rain, water, sun shine, seasons etc apparently help us without expecting any thing in return and hence they are performing a sacrifice/yajna (see Purusha Sukta, later when I write)
Atharva Veda: It is the wisdom compendium of all the above vedas in an applied way, i.e. it is something like an applied science. It acts like a lower lip for us where the upper lip are the above three vedas – i.e. without lower lip’s movement, one can not utter what he wants to utter clearly, so without Atharva veda, one can not understand the proper purpose of all the above three vedas in relation to our evolution/daily life.
Along with the six keys, if one can decode and understand these vedas, he will open a seventh lock called his own “SELF” which is a demi form of “Supreme Reality”.
The appendices to Vedas:
Now, with 6 keys to unlock, we also have helping “manuals” to guide us in this process of unlocking the vedas. They are:
Brahmanas: These are related to consciousness as the word “brahma” literally means self expanding and that which is self expanding is consciousness.
Aranyakas: These are related to the fire of knowledge as the word arani literally means an instrument which uses horizontal stick and a vertical stick to generate fire for altars. Here the sticks represent physical (horizontal) and non-physical (vertical) i.e. by the friction or struggle of horizontal beings (worldly) to evolve to the vertical (spiritual/light) beings involves the utilization and generation of pure energy (Fire).
Upanishads: These are the teachings in the form of Teacher-student conversations which lead us nearer to the truth of Vedas (Upanishad=that which takes us nearer (to TRUTH) )
Every veda has its own Brahmana, Aranyaka and Upanishad. All these three form a part of vedas as an appendix and should not be seen isolated. The isolation of these has caused enough confusions and wars against many scholars – for example, take upanishads and people of vedanta. For them every thing is MAYA / illusion. But as per vedas, every thing we see is an expression of ONE TRUTH called “Paramatma” and in each expression, there exists a splendor of his creative genius. But if we neglect that beauty, we end up in GOD as nothingness, making us experience nothing at all as ultimate truth. But if we read upanishads as direct appendix to vedas, we will see a grander truth and will be able to appreciate more.
Puranas:
Initially, vedas were in one unit form, but diversified over many different sects. That one is called as VEDAM / PURANAM ( the old one ). “Krishan Dwaipayana” alias “Vyasa Maharshi” sorted all that heavy wsidom into the aforementioned four categories and hence was conferred upon the title of “Veda-Vyasa” – one who categorized the vedic wisdom. But, he knew that modern (kali yuga) generation wouldn’t have time and intellect to decode and understand as per the above mechanism (6keys to 4 vedas). So, he wrote the gist of the wisdom in the form of aphorisms known by the name “Brahma Sutras”. But, they too are for intellectuals and scholars. Then after much more thought, he could finally write 18 books which act as a commentary to the vedic wisdom. These are called “Ashtadasa (18) Puranas”. Of, course they were also written in the form of parables and stories, but this time, the thickness of such fuss is less as Vyasa’s aim was to teach the present generation. He intelligently encoded purana’s such a way that they unlock the wisdom in us when we are in tune with what they are saying, but in stages i.e.
First: A direct story would create a sense of ethics, morals and devotion which develops a proper conduct to live in a society.
Second: Then, one will be in a stage which extends the teachings to technical meanings behind (like astronomy or yoga philosophy etc) and will make them not only “GOOD” as in first stage, but also scholars or informative ones i.e. JNANIs and thus they will be involved in constant contemplation.
Third: Finally, when they continue to exist in the first and second stage simultaneously (i.e. constant contemplation and thinking without a development of egoistic sense) the information in one’s brain gets synthesized and converts into wisdom, which is nothing but the essence of VEDAS. This happens only if stage one and two are simultaneous for some time- remember.
Thus, Puranas are a quicker way for wisdom and also a pathway for a way of life style. These puranas are where we find notions of many GODs, Angels, Daemons etc. In this context, I would like to mention few words about the Holy Trinity Gods who are every day deities of most of the Hindus.
Cosmic Evolution-Involution and the Trinity:
Let us look at how the cosmos came into existence, stays and goes back into its abyss and see how the Trinity are related. First one must note that there are two Vishnus in scriptures — one “Sree Maha Vishnu” and the other just “Vishnu” — I will explain these shortly. Let us take the two following mystic statements form scriptures:
An old passage states that “..Brahma is One, yet includes His brother. Vishnu is One, yet existeth not apart from His brother, younger in point of time yet older far. Shiva is One, and antedates Them both, yet He appeareth not nor is He seen, until They both have cycled through Their courses….”
“…Sree Maha Vishnu is lying on a huge serpent. Suddenly there comes a lotus from his navel in which a 4 faced one by the name Brahma is born.Then brahma starts to exhales and inhales etc……. “ thus goes an allegorical description in relation to cosmo genesis in one of the puranas. Even in Indian temples one can see this picture of Sree Maha vishnu sleeping and brahma in lotus which is attached to maha vishnu’s belly button etc.
Let us try to understand the trinity using the aforesaid examples:
Vishnu means the all pervading one, Sree means “Shakti or the power or potential” and Maha means “Great or Grand”. So, Sree Maha Vishnu is the “The great one who has the very potential and pervades every where and every thing”. The snake symbolizes
“Kundalini – in yoga shastra” or “Sleeping Consciousness”. Therefore Sree Maha Vishnu lying over the snake literally means “ A great sleeping potential of consciousness that is every where, which is the only one and it has no dual to it “. So it is the background consciousness through which there are chances of something emerging and if at all that something emerges, it should also merge in this background only (at some stage). So, it is something like a Summum Bonum of everything.
Now in this sleeping consciousness a “SPARK” or a “SPUR” occurs (it is periodic and the reason of its occurrence is attributed to Divine Drama and it is not comprehensible for common man) and it virtually separates itself from the background consciousness and gets a feeling of “I am (the feel of self ego)”. Previously there was only “One” and no dual. Now, There comes an individual ego or a separate ego sense of consciousness. And this newly formed ego wants to know from where it came from and hence searches everywhere-just like a man awakened from a deep sleep tries to comprehend his existence just for a moment ! In Yoga shastra, lotus symbolizes individual consciousness (the sahasrara chakra of a man) and the name Brahma means “Self Expanding”. That is why Brahma has 4 heads symbolically explaining the 4 directions or the concept of “Consciousness expanding everywhere in search of truth”. Because he is having a self-ego, now he starts to “Think” or we can say his separate existential property kindles him to think consciously (in background consciousness, most of the time it doesn’t think or we can say it is dormant and the moment it thinks, it creates a separate existence which is dynamic– Riddle of the Divine !!)
This Brahma now expresses his “Thoughts” by virtue of his separate existence — when one draws a parallel between how a Human (as man is made in the image of God, it implies that subtle principles are hidden in the way a human being is designed to evolve and live which are in exact match to cosmic principles ) speaks, one can get the esoteric side of how “The word was with the god and word was god ….” or the origins of our visible universe.
say A wants to say to B that “Apple is good”. Then:
1) First a spark / impulse to speak should occur in A’s mind. Else, he would be silent.
2) Then a cloudy idea should form, which is not clear yet to A i.e. he needs to think of “what to speak”..
3) Then a blueprint of the statement “apple is good” is formed in his mind.
4) Finally he uses his vocals to utter forth the statement “Apple is good”.
We can see that first three stages are inside the mind and the uttered forth word is the fourth state of speaking. Similarly, Brahma also gets a spark to create the universe (i.e. his thought itself is the whole Universe in a seed form ), then he thinks vaguely, then a blueprint is formed and thus on “Fourth Day (or stage) the stars, earth and other visible entities of this universe are formed” (this potential to utter forth is nothing but Godess Saraswathi – His daughter-lord of speech etc). Thus, he becomes “The Creator” of this universe. One must remember that the creator is not GOD (in strict sense) because, even he was created by some other ALL-PERVADING-BACKGROUND-POTENTIAL (who is actual GOD-the ONE)
We saw initially that brahma got seperated out of Sree Maha Vishnu. So, after separating out, Sree maha vishnu takes the form of “Vishnu” deprived of potential – the SREE aspect — i.e dormant till a specific time cycle completes) just exists everywhere and supporting what all is created by Brahma. One must note that it (vishnu principle) is still all pervading and hence the name VISHNU, but no potential — as its potential has been expressed already. (Maha is just to say Great, and now that there are more than one, great can not be attributed to him alone and hence Maha is also removed from his name and only VISHNU persists)
But after some time or time cycle(s) Brahma or the ego-consciousness of this whole universe is pulled back to dissolve in the background and making the Duality transform into Singularity i.e. the ego consciousness finally attains a state of universal consciousness and hence the singular principle from dual and what remains is “Nothing (the apparent nothing as there is no second/dual to observe this). This dissolution aspect of consciousness into Universal consciousness making it potential again is called SHIVA. He has actually been existing all the time along with Brahma in the same background consciousness, but was not expressed externally – i.e the dissolution principle hasn’t started to function until some time — it is something like a night shift of an officer who still exists during the day, just that his duty starts at night ! Then where was SHIVA existing ? Let us look the symbolism where he is depicted to stay in “Cemetery” with skulls and bones as his ornaments. What is the cemetery here ? We know a cemetery is a place where one is buried after the death. But in relation to Universe, when everything apparently dies out, it should obviously reach the “Background Absolute”. So, the background absolute is the cemetery here. Hence, Shiva was with the background just in dormant state until his dynamic activity starts. Once his activity of dissolution starts, it helps the ego-Brahma principle to unite with Vishnu-principle and the three -“Trinity” ceases to exist for, only the ONE exists !
Now, one can see how the Vishnu, Brahma , Shiva and Sree Maha Vishnu are not the just Gods or deities, but also the lords of cause and effect relations for the origin, sustenance and dissolution.
So, in summary, Vishnu-aspect is that where into everything enters; the one who surrounds or envelopes is Brahma-aspect and the one who sleeps in everything, is Shiva.
i.e.
Shiva sleeps, lies hidden, in all and everything as the nexus, the bond.
Brahma signifies the envelopment, the covering with an envelope, the demarcation of the limiting bounds or the periphery, and so the formation or creation (of all forms).
Vishnu indicates that everything enter into the ONE and ONE into everything.
The totality of all the above put together is Sree-Maha-Vishnu.
