Divine freedom

India is a vast country with different climates, and is inhabited by people who belong to different castes, classes, creeds, races and languages. Inspite of its varied nature and cultural background India maintains unity in diversity because of its unifying force, that is religion which has created harmony and paved the way for peaceful co-existence among its people. It is a harmonious blend of ancient cultural and religious heritage and scientific and technological modernity. There is no negation for ancient heritage, nor aversion for scientific approach felt by the people of India. The bulk of the people belong to Hinduism and its off shoots - Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. Representatives of Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Islam are found in varying numbers. The presence of representatives of almost all religions of the world in the country is proof of the traditional tolerance of Hinduism. According to Swami Vivekananda, religion is the way of life to be believed and experienced. Religion is infused with life force and is not an end in itself but the means to an end, that is to mould the personality of man in such a way that he will grow spiritually and at the same time become a harmonious and useful citizen. Swami Vivekananda also says that religion is not for empty stomachs which means that the primary concern of religion is to make the man self-sufficient and thereby making the entire society prosperous.
According to Oxford Dictionary the word ‘religion’ means

• belief in the existence of God or Gods, especially the belief that they created the universe and gave human beings spiritual nature which continues to exist even after the death of the physical body
• a particular system of faith and worship based on religious belief
• a controlling influence on one’s life, a thing that one feels very strongly about

How the need for religion arose
The origin of religion can be traced back to the prehistoric period. The primitive man lived peacefully and in harmony with nature as long as his behaviour was based on “instinct”. But the trouble started when his “instinct” evolved into “intellect”. The intellectual man began to “observe” keenly and “think” seriously. He felt overpowered and restricted by the natural phenomena. He wished to have freedom from the “Law” of the nature. He searched everywhere for the “force” that could control and break the “law” of nature. Thus the primitive man discovered the divine force and called it “god”.

Evolution of the idea of religion and its early manifestation
The Harappan excavations gave proof that the concept of “god” was there in the prehistoric period. Seals made of grey talc and soapstone bear designs of animals and figure of a male god with horns and three faces. He is naked and sits cross-legged and it is conjectured that He is “Shiva” whom people worshipped. Other figures show a woman, the Mother-goddess, whom people worshipped in those days. The representations of animals and scenes referred to form the main source of our knowledge of the religious belief and practices of the prehistoric period. No temple or shrine has been identified in the excavations. The religion not only recognised gods in human form, but also venerated and possibly worshipped animals like bull and trees like the peepal and the neem. Some conical stones, large and small, and certain large stone rings have been found that denote the phallic cult representing the reproductive powers of nature, but this interpretation is by no means certain. The figure of a male sunk in thought attests the practice of yoga. Harappan people most probably cremated their dead and threw the ashes into the river. The few skeletons found in the places that were said to be cemetries do not appear to be instance of proper burial, may be the practices of cremation and burial co-existed. The extent to which the cults and practice of the Harappan people have entered Hinduism of historical times is estimated differently by different scholars. The Harappan civilisation has some characteristics which distinguish it from other river valley civilisations. The Harappan civilisation was in a mature state perhaps as early as 3000 B.C. It had intimate contacts with Mesopotamia and south-west Asia. The concept of god that appeared in traces in the prehistoric period took a concrete shape in the Vedic period, that is, the period during which the hymns of the Rigveda were composed (1500-1400 B.C.) According to orthodox view, the “Sruti”, consisting of the four Vedas (Rig-Veda, the Yajur-Veda, the Sama-Veda and the Atharva-Veda) is the final authority in the Indo-Aryan religion.

Early Aryan Religion and its corresponding forms in other regions
Briefly stated, the early Aryan religion was a kind of “Nature worship”. The Aryans supposed that the forces of nature were being directed by personalities not very different from themselves except that they were far more powerful. There are also instances of animal forms conceived as supernatural powers. The personified forces of nature were given the name divas, from the Sanskrit origin div, meaning to “shine”. Besides “anthropomorphic” gods, the pre-Aryan people had many “animistic” and “totemistic” gods. “Animism” is the doctrine of attribution of divine force to plants, inanimate objects and natural phenomena. “Totem” is a natural object which is treated as having divine powers. “Dyauspitar” was the sky-father and his consort “prithivi” personified the earth. “Dyaus” was worshipped by other members of the Aryan, or Indo-European family. For “Dyauspitar” is the “Zeuspater” of the ancient Greeks, the “Jupitar” of the Romans, and “Tiw” of the forefathers of the Anglo-saxons, whose name is preserved in “Tuesday”. Closely connected with Dyaus was Goddes “Aditi”(The infinite expanse) who was supposed to control the misty realm beyond the earth, beyond the sky, she was frequently implored for blessings on children and cattle for protection and forgiveness, and came to be regarded as the mother of all gods.
The “big three” of the Vedic pantheon were “Agni”, the god of fire, “Indra” the war-god, and the god of the atmosphere and the weather, “Varuna” the universal encompasser, the all embracer who was looked upon as the expression of the spirit “order” in the universe. The “Sun” was supposed to be a separate divinity under the name of “Surya” but he was not so important as Agni who was light itself. Hundreds of hymns are addressed to Agni, more than to any other god. In the popular estimation, “Indra” was perhaps the most important as the captain of the invading host; he overthrew cities of the enemies. Almost as important was “Varuna” for he was considered to be knowing and seeing everything. “Varuna” was the highest approach made by the Vedic poets to the conception of a god of righteousness.
“Usha”, the goddess of dawn, the counter-part of the Greek goddess “Eros” and the Latin “Aurora,” is indeed the nicest. Some twenty hymns are addressed to her which in vivid phrases show how she hurries along rousing the world from slumber. “Yama” was the first man to die and the god of the dead, and of the mysterious under-world in which dwell the spirits of the departed. Of the rest of the thirty-three, “Vayu” is the God of wind, the “Maruts,” or storm-gods, who were allies of Indra, and the “Ashvins”, the twin sons of Surya, who also rode across in the sky in a golden chariot drawn by birds and horses preparing the way for “Ushas”.

Vedic sacrifices
There is no mention of temples or statues of gods in the Rigveda. The chief opponents of the gods were asuras and on a lower plane the rakshasas (demons). The term asura was originally of good report as it was applied to Varuna.
The Vedic “sacrifice” was in one aspect an offering to win divine favour, and in another, a magic rite to establish control over gods and nature. There were no human sacrifices. Milk, grain, ghee, flesh, and soma were the usual offerings to the gods. In this period the sacrifice had not become so elaborate as it did in the next. But the soma sacrifice had really become more complex than the rest demanding the simultaneous services of a number of priests.
On the whole the bulk of Rigveda is an aristocratic collection which gives little of popular religion. Some hymns mark the dawn of philosophic thought. The trend was towards “monothiesm”, and speculations on creation and related questions.
The dead were cremated or buried. Sati was unknown in this period. Life after death or in the next birth was looked upon as a replica of life in this. The dead man’s soul was said to depart to the waters of the plants. Transmigration of soul had not yet presented itself to the seers of this age.

Later Vedic period
In the later Vedic period sacrifices became so elaborate that numerous classes of priests were required. They extended from a few days to a whole year. Sacrificial sessions (sattra) are referred to in the Atharvaveda and numerous details of long and complicated sacrifices are given. The chief public rite was the Soma sacrifice. King Soma, as the plant was called, was brought in to the sacrificial shed and numerous songs in its praise were sung. Animal sacrifices came into vogue by the side of the older offerings of vegetable food, milk and soma. The horse sacrifice of the earlier part of the age was a much simpler affair than the gorgeous but revolting “asvamedha” of later days. In course of time the rituals got mixed up, and along with it, the gods! Thus, the much popular religion of pre-Aryan origin got mixed up in the elaborate Aryan rituals as well as in their domestic rituals. This line of development paved the way for the growth of popular Hinduism. Rudra (Shiva) and Vishnu (Krishna) became prominent in the Aryan pantheon. Vishvakarma, Prajapati and Brahma also became prominent.

Moral religion and origin of theology
The higher thinkers of the Vedic age had developed a strong sense of cosmic and moral law. The cosmic order was called “ritam” or “vratam” and was under the guardianship of the higher gods. The same words designated the moral order. Some people began to think deeply, and their thought rose above the physical plane. Their keen vision pierced through the phenomena of the world into what is beyond. Theology developed, and along with it, sacrifice and the fire-altar gained a cosmic significance in the religious thought of the period. People believed that the reward of the sacrifice was everlasting bliss in heaven. Deep thinkers were fed up with ritualism. They desired to get at the ultimate truth regarding man and his relation to the universe. Thus, Upanishads came into existence. They deal with the quest for Truth from different stand points. This quest ultimately led to the evolution of a system of philosophy. Their goal was to seek the highest Truth. They wished to find out the reality beyond the apparent world. They wanted to attain the external happiness transcending the ephemeral joys and sorrows of the mundane life. The Upanishads put forth the new element - The doctrine of “rebirth” and “karma” which is also called “Transmigration of the soul”. Transmigration was an essential part of almost all ancient religions. It recognised the continued existence of the “Jivatma” from life to life. The doctrine of “Karma” (action) of a man determined the nature of his life in the next birth. It also gave a satisfactory explanation to the “mystery of suffering”. To escape from the wheel of births and deaths one must realise the nature of “Brahman” (The Absolute Reality). When all the desires in the heart are overcome, the mortal becomes immortal and attains Brahman here itself.

The age of the genuine Upanishads may be taken to have closed about 600 B.C.
The beginnings of the epics, law books and Puranas must also be traced to this period. “Sutra” literature also appeared in this period. “Sutras” were pithy form of composition in short sentences. They were meant to satisfy the needs of oral instruction and aid the memory in following step by step the different stages of a rite. “Srauta Sutras” were manuals explaining the rituals of sacrifices in three fires. “Grihya sutras” dealt with the duties of a house holder. “Dharma sutras” dealt with customs and laws. They touched every department of thought and action and were codified into cut-and-dried form. Their scientific formalism seems to have forged fresh shackles of slavery. A reaction from this was found in the philosophy of “Kapila” and his disciples. The philosophy of Kapila, a reaction against the authority of sutras, was promulgated a century or so before the birth of Gautama Buddha.

Advent of incarnations, prophets and mystics
The sixth century B.C. was a time when men’s minds in several widely separated parts of the world were deeply stirred by the problems of religions and salvation. Mahavira and Buddha in India, Isaiah in Babylon, Heraclitus and Confucius in China, all unknown to one another, were displaying a new boldness and stirring men’s minds. Everywhere men were waking up out of the traditions of kingships and priests and blood sacrifices and asking the most penetrating questions. Kapila’s doctrine (samkhya system), promulgated a century or so before the birth of the Buddha, was frankly agnostic in many of its conclusions. About the middle of the sixth century B.C., the dominant tendency among many schools of ascetics was to escape from the formalism of the Vedic religion, and to question the sanctity of the Vedic lore, the utility of rituals, and the claims of Brahmins to spiritual superiority. The Vedic religion seems to have a set-back in the Age of the Mauryas. Emperor Ashoka patronised Buddhism and became a Buddhist. The popularity of Vedic religion began to decline.
In the period of Guptas, Hinduism slowly and peacefully gained a larger place in the affections of the people as against Buddhism and Jainism. All these religions competed for popular patronage adopting pomp and display in the conduct of the daily worship in the temples. Hinduism, which at the start imitated Buddhist models, soon outstripped Buddhism and Jainism in capturing the imagination of the people. There was an attempt of synthesis between the Vedic religion of sacrifice and the new developments of thestic bhakti. Many sects appeared in Buddhism and it started losing its earlier values. Reaction against Buddhism set in during the seventh century A.D. particularly in the Dravidian states. The saints and seers of the south evolved an emotional type of bhakti. Devotion to “Shiva” and “Vishnu” began to spread among the people. Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya (A.D.788-820) made extensive travels throughout India propagating his new philosophy of “monism” triumphing against all rivals in debates. He treated Buddhism as the chief enemy of Hinduism. The foundation of “mutts” in the four corners of India - at Sringeri, Dwaraka, Badrinath and Puri exemplifies his genius and vision. Shankara wrote commentaries on the Brahmasutras of Badarayana, the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita in the line of the “Advaitic” philosophy. Thus, Shankara moulded Hinduism into the present form and gave it as a monumental and perennial gift to India.

Religion in its highest form: the present conception
What does religion mean? Primarily religion is the belief in the existence of God or Gods who have created this universe and all beings including man in his own image. It also means a particular system of faith and worship based on religious belief. It also means that it is a controlling force and influence on man’s life. It is the way of life in India. The real essence of religion is the realisation of God in the inner world, that is “within” but not outside the body. Katha Upanishad (4,1) says: “The self-existent Lord created the sense organs (including the mind) with the defect of an outgoing disposition; therefore (man) perceives (things) outside, but not the self within. A certain wise man, desirous of immortality, turned the senses (including the mind) inward and realised the inner self.” Sri Ranganathananda Swami says in his “Eternal values for a changing society”, vol 1- “By inner penetration, meditation helps man to leave behind the body, the senses, the ego, and all other non-self elements which, being nature’s products, are subject to time, and perishable. He thus realises his immortal divine self, of the nature of infinite bliss. The body, the senses and the ego are but the instruments of the immortal self for the experience of the world of time and space. These constitute the aspects of man the known, in the depth of which is the real man, man the unknown. The Upanishads are the great saga of this discovery. The sages were aware of the pioneering quality of their efforts and discovery, and their significance for all humanity. This awareness finds expression in the power of their utterance and the joy suffusing them” (page 22. vol 1, Philosophy and Spirituality)

Thus, the essence of religion is realising the God within
According to Swami Vivekananda, the experience of religion is a psychological phenomenon. Swami Vivekananda says - “There was never a human race which did not have a religion and worship some sort of God or Gods. Whether the god or gods existed or not is no question, but what is the analysis of this psychological phenomenon? Why is the world trying to find, or seeking for a god? Why? Because inspite of all this bondage, inspite of nature and this tremendous energy of law grinding us down, never allowing us to turn to anyside wherever we go, whatever we want to do, we are thwarted by this law, which is everywhere; inspite of all this, the human soul never forgets its freedom and is ever seeking it. The search for freedom is the pursuit of all religions; whether they know it or not, whether they can formulate it well, or ill, the idea is there. Even the lowest man, the most ignorant, seeks for something which has power over nature’s laws. He wants to see a demon, a ghost, a god for whom nature is not almighty, for whom there is no law. “Oh, for somebody who can break the law” that is the cry coming from the human heart. We are always seeking someone who breaks the law. The rushing engine speeds along the railway track; the little worm crawls out of its way. We at once say, “The engine is dead matter, a machine; and the worm is alive”, because the worm attempted to break the law. The engine, with all its power and might, can never break the law. It is made to go in any direction man wants, and it cannot do otherwise; but the worm, small and little though it was, attempted to break the law and avoid danger. It tried to assert itself against the law, assert its freedom; and there was the sign of the future God in it. Everywhere we see this assertion of freedom, this freedom of the soul. It is reflected in every religion in the shape of God or Gods; but it is all external, yet, for those who only see the Gods outside. Man decided that he was nothing. He was afraid that he could never be free; so he went to seek someone outside of nature who was free. Then he thought that there were many and many such free beings, and gradually he merged them all into one God of gods and Lord of lords. Even that did not satisfy him. He came a little closer to truth, a little nearer; and then gradually found that whatever he was, he was in someway connected with the God of gods. The visions came to him; thought arose and knowledge advanced. And he began to come nearer and nearer to that God, and at last found out that God and all the Gods, this whole psychological phenomenon connected with the search for an all-powerful free soul, was but a reflection of his own idea of himself. And at last man discovered that it was not only true that “God made man after His own image”, but, that it was also true that man made God after own image. That brought out the idea of divine freedom. This Divine Being was always within, the nearest of the near” (from The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, volume 2, page numbers 400-401)

Why is there a need to worship?
The need to worship can be studied from two different planes. At a materialistic level, people worship God for the attainment of physical comforts that is for material prosperity. At the spiritual plane, people worship God for identifying the universal soul in the individual soul, and to attain Moksha, or liberation from the cycle of birth and death that leads to cessation of misery once for all.

What are the benefits of worship?
The primary objectives of practice of religion consist of getting relief from the distressing situations in life and getting peace of mind in the world of stress and anxiety. It is for these benefits that majority of people seek religion. Seeking ‘oneness’ with God that will give everlasting peace and bliss is the goal at the spiritual level. The number of people who seek this final objective of religion, of course, is very less.

Conclusion
What compelled people to start religions? The yearning of man to get freedom from the cycle of births and deaths, and to find out the Truth regarding the universe and creation, and to discover the inner divinity, had compelled man to start a religion.

The writer is a retired lecturer in English. He loves to read books on philosophy and theology and used to teach spoken English in Vivekananda Institute of Languages, Hyderabad, till recently.

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