The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v2.c39.s2.60

v2.c39.s2.60

In the process of evolution of the conception of Brahman an important part is played by the identification of the Brahman and Bṛhaspati, ‘the lord of prayer’: he is in the later period of the Brāhmaṇas always regarded as the Purohita of the gods, as their Brahman priest in the technical sense of the term and also as the Brahman itself,¹ an idea which is often expressed. Now Bṛhaspati is the depository of great power already in the Rigveda, and this element undoubtedly aided the conception of the Brahman to obtain great prominence. This prominence as usual takes the form of identification with many diverse things, such as speech and truth and holy order, Ṛta,² as the wind into which the five deities, sun, moon, fire, lightning and rain all enter and from which they emerge,³ as the breaths,⁴ and often as the sun.⁵ In the latter aspect the Brahman appears as the firstborn of the day, and perhaps also as the firstborn of the whole creation, a conception which places it on a lower plane than the final reality. The tendency is, however, more and more to place the Brahman on that plane: as we have seen, Prajāpati, who at first is the superior of and the creator of the Brahman, as the holy writ, became identified with the Brahman, as is often expressly stated in the Brāhmaṇas, and is at last placed below the Brahman as a metaphysical principle. With this view we attain to the conception of Brahman Svayambhu,⁶ the Brahman which exists of itself and which is regarded as being the cause of the universe, in which it sacrifices itself in the usual parallelism of the world and the sacrifice, the ground of the continued existence of the universe, and the source into which on death things return. Hence we meet the idea that by correct sacrifice a man may succeed in obtaining community of life and abode with the Brahman, or by right study of the Veda avoid repeated death and attain identity of essence with the Brahman.¹ The further step is taken to apply to the Brahman the attribute of taking the place of the highest god, Prajāpati or Viçvakarman of the Rigveda, and this is duly done in the Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa.² The Atharvaveda³ in its own peculiar way recognizes the same idea in its explanation of the Brahman and the Brahmacārin, the Brahman student, as the highest of beings.