Cosmic Order
Understanding reality in all its dimensions takes us closer to the Vedic conception of ṛta. The word ṛta may be roughly translated as the ‘cosmic order in the universe,’ ‘divine principles governing the world,’ ‘cosmic law behind existence.’ It refers to the dynamism inherent in the universe. Even in nature, dynamism means life and stasis means death—a man is deemed to be alive only if he is breathing, his heart is beating, and blood is flowing through his veins. Ṛta is the order behind the whole of creation. It symbolizes universal vibrancy and a sense of belongingness to something bigger than oneself. Existence (sat*) is a fact while Cosmic Order (ṛta) is the value we realize out of it. It is like paying a certain sum of money to buy a bottle of water (fact) and using that water to quench our thirst (value).
The collective efforts of the sun, rivers, clouds, rain, and so forth was needed for us to get a sip of water. Despite knowing that water is invaluable to us, if we waste it, or even worse, pollute it, that is a violation of ṛta, which will spell our doom.
What is the natural result of realizing this grand universal order?
Gratitude
When an honest individual realizes ṛta—the value of all that exists—he is humbled. When he realizes that the entire universe supports his sustenance and the whole of creation toils relentlessly for his existence, quite naturally he becomes more caring towards the world.
An awareness of the grander scheme of things infuses immense gratitude in his heart. This sense of positive indebtedness (unlike guilt, which is negative) that arises in a sensitive mind is called ṛṇa.
In common parlance, the word ṛṇa refers to ‘being in debt’ – of a physical, monetary kind; however, in the Vedas it refers to the Universal Debt.
According to the seers, every human being by birth carries this baggage of ṛṇa. This baggage is not something mystical but straightforward. Every birth is a miracle – the entire universe conspires to make it happen. It is thus an unwritten duty to clear this debt to the universe. Without this, we will not achieve our life’s purpose.
In our tradition, every individual is expected to clear three debts: the debt to the deities, the debt to our ancestors, and the debt to the seers.[1] Further, we owe a debt to everyone around us.[2]
Those who ignore the debts they are born into are merely breathing, not alive.
How then to clear these debts?
By adhering to dharma—thinking pure thoughts, speaking truthful words, and leading a noble life.[3]
To summarize, the awareness of Cosmic Order leads a sincere and mindful person to realize the Universal Debt, which in turn motivates him to pursue a life that adheres to dharma.
And we have learnt that dharma must be applied in practice and not merely grasped intellectually.
Dharma in Action
We agree that adhering to dharma is an ideal way to live but a question arises: How to practise it in daily life?
The action plan for dharma has been given in the pedagogy of Yajña (worship, interaction, respectful sharing, celebration, service), Dāna (philanthropy, generosity, charity), and Tapas (toil, fortitude, will, austerity).
Yajña is a specific term for the Vedic fire ritual. In general, it refers to worship of any form. Metaphorically, yajña refers to ‘an act of self-dedication,’ ‘service above self,’ or ‘respecting the divine presence.’ The word yajña comes from the word-root that means ‘worship of the Supreme,’ ‘interaction,’ and ‘sharing.’[4]
Without a sense of belongingness, will the respect for one another sustain? Without selfless offering will the belongingness endure?
A charming story from our tradition illuminates the meaning of yajña through a contest between the suras (‘spiritualists,’ deities) and the asuras (‘brand materialists,’ demons) –
Asuras, who were the elder brothers of the suras went to their father Prajāpati, the creator, and complained that they were often humiliated in comparison to their more illustrious younger brothers. “Father, solve this problem and give us a better position!” Prajāpati smiled and said, “O my children, you don’t know the essence of yajña and you don’t practise it even a little. That is why the wise dismiss you with contempt when contrasted with your brothers.” The asuras disagreed with his observation. They dared Prajāpati to give any test to the two groups of brothers and see who came out as the winner. Prajāpati agreed and so did the suras. He made all the suras and asuras sit on the floor. A delicious meal was placed before them. He asked them to eat, but with one condition: You should not bend your elbows! The asuras were clueless; they failed the test. How can you eat without bending your elbows? The suras were wise. They rearranged themselves so that they faced each other, keeping a distance of an arm. Then they fed each other, of course without bending their elbows. Then Prajāpati told the asuras in a compassionate voice, “O my deprived sons, this is the secret of yajña. Help the world without any expectations and share your prosperity with the rest. You will in turn be helped and enriched!”
Yajña brings together several aspects of life – art, crafts, ritual, food, philosophy, economics, politics, and entertainment.[5]
Yajña is closely associated with the concepts of tapas and dāna. In order to produce something, we have to work hard (a reference to tapas) and having produced it, we should share it (a reference to dāna) with the world.
When yajña comes into action for the welfare of mankind, it is known as dāna, or offering. Literal meanings of the word dāna include ‘giving,’ ‘offering,’ ‘charity,’ etc. but the real import is ‘philanthropy.’ While engaging in this act of giving, one must not be insecure, or have the feeling that one is losing something. Dāna must be undertaken with modesty and without vanity or exhibitionism. It should not be done with the expectation of anything in return.[6]
The act of dāna helps in sustaining creation. Once we realize that everything is part of the same whole, a need to share naturally arises within us.
The training that leads to internal and external conditioning is known as tapas. The term tapas means ‘heat,’ ‘austerity,’ ‘effort,’ ‘concentration,’ etc. but mostly refers to a single-minded focus on work. It is born from action.[7] Tapas prepares the mind and body to offer dāna wholeheartedly and carry out the sacred duty of yajña in the broadest sense.
At the material level, tapas refers to heat because life, creation, and action are associated with warmth while death and lethargy are related to coldness.
At the spiritual level, tapas is considered a sign of wisdom and it symbolizes the vitality of life.
In general, we have to work hard to achieve anything – material or spiritual. The Vedas clearly state that laziness yields nothing and that even the deities favour those who work hard.[8]
Dāna and Tapas may be visualized as the two faces of the Yajña coin.
Every individual is advised to perform five great yajñas every day, at least symbolically – offering to the seers through study and teaching; offering to the deities by worship; offering to one’s ancestors by remembering them with reverence; offering to one’s fellow human beings in the form of material-emotional-spiritual support; and offering to animals and plants in the form of food and nourishment.[9]
This encompasses the threefold path of yajña, dāna, and tapas leading us to dharma in action—which helps us fulfil our fundamental debts.
[1] The three debts are known as: deva-ṛṇa (debt to deities), pitṛ-ṛṇa (debt to ancestors), and ṛṣi-ṛṇa (debt to seers).
[2] In addition to these three debts, we find a reference to manuṣya-ṛṇa (‘debt to humans’) in Śatapatha-brāhmaṇa 1.7.2.1 (ṛṇaṃ ha vai jāyate yo’sti / sa jāyamāna eva devebhya ṛṣibhyaḥ pitṛ-bhyo manuṣyebhyaḥ) and Mahābhārata 1.111.12 (ṛṇaiś-caturbhiḥ saṃyuktā jāyante manujā bhuvi / pitṛ-deva-rṣi-manujadeyaiḥ śata-sahasraśaḥ).
[3] In his commentary on the Vedas, the 14th century CE polymath Sāyaṇa says that ṛta (cosmic order) is analogous to noble thought, satya (truth) to noble word, and dharma (sustainability principle) to noble deed. See D V Gundappa’s Kannada monograph Ṛta-Satya-Dharma (Mysore: Kavyalaya Publications, 1974)
[4] √yaj–deva-pūjā-saṅgatikaraṇa-dāneṣu
[5] Thus it is used as a metaphor for life. Life itself is seen as a grand yajña – the human body is the location of yajña (yajña-śālā), our wisdom is the sacred fire (agni), our desires are the offerings (havis) into the fire, our weaknesses are the animals offered to yajña (paśu), our mind-intellect pair is husband and wife who perform the yajña (yajamāna and patnī), our senses (indriyas) and vital breaths (prāṇas) are the yajña officiators (ṛtviks), day and night are the rituals to be performed during the lunar fortnights (darśa-pūrṇa-māsas), and death is the great plunge—the yajña’s valedictory event (mahāvabhṛtha) that involves the shedding of the paraphernalia into the causal waters and taking a ritual bath. (See Kauṣītakī-brāhmaṇa 17.7 and Mahānārayaṇopaniṣad 40.4–5 for more about this ātma-yajña)
[6] This is termed ‘sāttvika-dāna.’ See Bhagavad-gītā 17.20
[7] tapaś-caivāstāṃ karma cāntar-mahaty-arṇave।
ta āsaṃ janyās-te varā brahma jyeṣṭhavaro’bhavat॥—Śaunaka-saṃhitā 11.8.2
[8] For instance, see Ṛg-veda-saṃhitā 4.33.11 (“na ṛte śrāntasya sakhyāya devāḥ”), 8.2.18 (“icchanti devāḥ sunvantaṃ / na svapnāya spṛhayanti / yanti pramādamatandrāḥ”), and 8.48.14 (“mā no nidrā īśata mota jalpiḥ”).
[9] The pañca-mahā-yajñas are as follows: i. brahma-yajña (offering to seers), ii. deva-yajña (offering to deities), iii. pitṛ-yajña (offering to ancestors), iv. manuṣya-yajña (offering to fellow humans), and v. bhūta-yajña (offering to all beings, animate and inanimate).
Manu-smṛti 3.68–71 mentions five places in a house (pañca-sūnā) where living beings may be accidentally killed – the fire-place, grinding slab, pestle and mortar, places swept with a broom, and the water pot. Manu says that householders must perform the pañca-mahā-yajña every day to absolve themselves of the crime of (accidentally) killing tiny beings as well as food grains and vegetables!
