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THE BUDDHA AND HIS PREDECESSORS
§ 1. The Buddha and the Vedic Rishis
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The Vedas are a collection of Mantras, i.e., hymns or chants. The reciters of these hymns are called Rishis.
The Mantras are mere invocations to deities such as Indra, Varuna, Agni, Soma, Isana, Prajapati, Bramha, Mahiddhi, Yama and others.
The invocations are mere prayers for help against enemies, for gift of wealth, for accepting the offerings of food, flesh and wine from the devotee.
There is not much philosophy in the Vedas. But there were some Vedic sages who had entered into speculations of a philosophical nature.
These Vedic sages were : (1) Aghamarsana;
(2)Prajapati Parmesthin; (3) Brahmanaspati, otherwise known as Brihaspati; (4) Anila; (5) Dirghatamas;
(6) Narayan; (7) Hiranyagarbha; and (8) Visvakarman.
- The main problems of these Vedic philosophers were : How did the world originate ? In what manner were individual things created ? Why have they their unity and existence ? Who created, and who ordained ? From what did the world spring up and to what again will it return ?
7. Aghamarsana said that the world was created out of Tapas (heat). Tapas was the creative principle from which eternal law and truth were born. From these were produced the night (tamas). Tamas produced water and from water originated time. Time gave birth to the sun and the moon, the heaven and the earth, the firmament and light and ordained the days and nights.
8. Brahmanaspati postulated the genesis of being from non-being. By the term non-existence, he denoted apparently the infinite. The existent originally sprang up from the non-existent. The non-existent (asat, nonens) was the permanent foundation of all that is existent (sat, ens) and of all that is possible and yet non-existent (asat).
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