RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN 5, 7 AND 14
We have proved till this stage that the 5 elements are actually the 5 Devatas. These 5 Noors or Spirits [Noorani Rooh] were the first 5 of the 7 Noors or Spirits, which were created from the division of Brahma or the First Noor or Spirit into 7 parts identical to the one from whom the division took place. Brahma was created as the Guiding Force by the Manifest Self or Paramatma or Vishnu, which got created when the Unmanifest [Nirakar] Absolute God decided to have a Manifest [Sakaar] Form.
These 5 Devatas were the foremost but eventually 9 more beings were born in which the 7 spirits chose to work at a later stage. Since the incidents from the lives of these Devatas, when they were to be born in human bodies at a later age were prophesied right in the beginning - in the Vedas - the commentators and translators were bound to be perplexed and confused. All beings on the earth were created only after the creation of the Devatas. Unable to understand this, the commentators are confused when they see 5 mentioned somewhere and 7 or 14 mentioned elsewhere, as well as references of the guardians of the quarters, Manus, Brahma, or Vishnu. So much so that author of book like Religious Consciousness tells it to be the product of speculative minds of the people of early period. If that is so, why do you base your religion on those very scriptures that talk about all this?
These misunderstandings have occurred because we tried to interpret the verses in a wrong manner, knowingly or unknowingly. “The great beings” were interpreted as ‘air, water, earth, fire, etc. Carrying this argument further, Vedic commentators like Rishi Dayananda Saraswati (RDS) went on to interpret Vedas to be talking of water’s composition from hydrogen and oxygen, steam engines, airplanes and cars. This is absurd, considering that this is coming from God. Instead of showing us the path that is best for us and that would lead us to God, He is seen to be describing those things that even a high-school child knows today through his chemistry and physics lessons. If God was to talk about science, why didn’t he mention the complex subjects like relativity, osmosis, photosynthesis, etc.? The high school students know these as well. Further, does this mean that Vedas had no relevance when steam engines and airplanes had not been invented? Or now, when they have been invented?
In spite of absurd arguments that the commentators might give, to substantiate their claim, there is no denying the fact that the numbers 5, 7 and 14 have been repeatedly used in descriptions of the creation of the world, in the components of the Self and as Manus or Devatas.
See how people have remained confused, in spite of remaining close to the true meaning.
RC Hazra, then Professor, Department of Post-Graduate Training and Research, Sanskrit College, Calcutta, in his introduction to the commentary by HH Wilson of The Vishnu Purana says that the Vedic God Prajapati who was regarded as father of creation and as Swayambhu (Self-born) came later to be identified as Brahma, the creator. There were five divisions of Brahma viz. Indra, Vayu, Saraswati, Vasu and Agni but there were 9 more mind-born sons of Brahma who were entrusted by Brahma with the work of creation, they came to be known as “nine Brahmas (nava Brahmanah) and consequently the original Brahma was called Pitamaha (grandfather) in relation to the created beings.”
Does this view of RC Hazra not confirm that what we are trying to prove is not something speculative but earlier scholars and writers too have come close to our conclusions?
Says RC Hazra: “The personification in the cases of these abstract mystical figures is so complete in the epics and the Puranas including Vishnu (Purana) that their genealogies have been conceived of and actually worked out and given in a number of cases.” Hazra surely is right about the personification but errs on the point that while some genealogies, particularly in some of the Puranas, may have been added on the basis of myths in circulation, genealogies given in the Vedas are authentic and true and do not talk of anything else but the 14 Devatas and their lives on earth when they would come on earth to live as human beings. When and where these Devatas took birth on earth still remains a mystery? As you read further, you will find all the answers.
Further, he says: “From the occasional statements made in the epics and the Puranas about these mystical figures, it is evident that they are not mythical or historical persons allegorized later on for their significant names, but they owe their origin definitely to the personification of some natural objects or phenomena, or of certain principles or forces of Nature, or of some states or conditions or purely abstract notions. That the orthodox tradition about the original nature of these mystical figures was completely in agreement with this view is shown by the remarks made by the commentators on some of these works. It is gratifying to note that this personification did not proceed from childish imagination but has a sound philosophical basis.”
Unaware of the fact that the introduction of these personalities by the Almighty God was made with view of introducing their characteristics so that it becomes easy to recognize them when they take birth in human form on this earth, RC Hazra is still close to the understanding being derived by us. The entire Vedas talk of this alone and nothing else. Without knowing this fact, people like RC Hazra came so close yet remained far from reaching the truth. In spite of coming so close, RC Hazra was not able to identify who these 14 Devatas were and when and where they took birth on earth to lead mankind to the path of salvation.
Moving further, RC Hazra even quotes from the Bhagavada-Gita to justify his point. Says he: “The Bhagavada-Gita (X-4-7, 32-39) tells us that Paramatma or Bhagavat is all-comprising and all powerful and that the entire creation, subjective or objective, abstract or concrete, proceeds from Him and is as conscious as His own Self. So, according to the Bhagavada-Gita, all faculties, virtues and vices, originating from the Bhagavada’s conscious Self, are conscious; and as some of them are sometimes found to proceed from others of their respective classes, it is no wonder that in the epics and the Puranas they have been looked upon as sentient beings and their genealogies have been fabricated and recorded like those of men and gods.”
Fact is that most commentators have groped in the dark about the true identity of these Divine Personalities, so much so that they have confessed to this. HH Wilson, who wrote the commentary of the Rig Veda and also of the Vishnu Purana, even goes to the extent of confessing that he is unable to understand the true subject or purpose of the Rig Veda. Instead of terming it as ignorance, we must praise Wilson for his honesty, because others have been less honest, and went on writing long commentaries about sacrificial offerings and about steam engines and airplanes, without acknowledging for even a brief while that it is a by-product of their confused minds. Says Wilson: “It is yet, however, scarcely, safe to advance an opinion of the precise belief or philosophy which they (Vedas) inculcate,”
Further he says: “Still, however, it is true that the prevailing character of the ritual of the Vedas is the worship of the personified elements; of Agni, or fire; Indra, the firmament; Vayu, the air; Varuna, the water; of Aditya, the sun; Soma, the moon; and other elementary and planetary personages. It is also true that the worship of the Vedas is for the most part domestic worship, consisting of prayers and oblations offered – in their own houses, not in temples – by individuals for individual good, and addressed to unreal presences, not to visible types. In a word, the religion of the Vedas was not idolatry.”
Says HH Wilson in the preface to The Vishnu Purana: “It is not possible to conjecture when this more simple and primitive form of adoration was succeeded by the worship of images and types, representing Brahma, Vishnu, Siva and other imaginary beings, constituting a mythological pantheon of most ample extent; or when Rama or Krishna, who appear to have been originally real and historical characters, were elevated to the dignity of divinities. Image worship is alluded to by Manu in several passages, but with an intimation that those brahmins who subsist by ministering in temples are an inferior and degraded class.”
It seems image worship is something that man has subscribed to again and again, even after repeated interjections by God’s Messengers taking them back to the one Formless, All-Pervading, Omnipresent, Absolute God.
Quran gives a very vivid example of this tendency of man to desist from the worship of an Absolute Supreme God and to fall back on idol worship time and again. Moses had gone on the mountain top only for a few days, but when he did not return on the day he had told his followers he would return, they got restless and proceeded to worship a calf, at the behest of Satan. This clearly tells that idol worship has been introduced time and again by Satan, in his attempt to lead us away from the worship of the Supreme Lord.
Those who say that they all (Earth, Water, Air, etc.) are sustainers of life, give no reasonable argument as to why, whenever these ‘great beings’ are being described, it is in the context of attaining or leading the way to salvation or guidance towards the right path. What role does material water or sky play in our salvation or in showing us the true path?
Neither can it be explained that Paingala Upanishad talks of 5 and then talks of 14. The 14 are described as ‘guardians of the 14 quarters’. Can these things like material ‘earth, fire, water, etc.’ be worthy enough to be appointed as guardians in God’s scheme of the creation of cosmos?
The presence of the number 7 too has confused the writers. For instance Manusmriti talks of the 7 great sages and calls them Manus, though traditionally, the Manus are known to be 14 in number. This is so because the Manus have been described as 7 at some places and as 14 at others.
Likewise, verse II.I.8 of the Mandukya Upanishad of the Atharva Veda states:
From him come forth the seven life-breaths (seven pranas), the seven flames, their fuel, the seven oblations, these seven worlds in which move the life-breaths, seven and seven which dwell in the secret place.
Isn’t it a clear enough proof of what we are trying to put across all through? Seven has a distinct link to 14, when it is said that ‘seven and seven (equal to 14) dwell in the secret place.’ Contrarily, Sankara has explained the seven pranas (life-breaths/roohs/spirits/selfs) “as the seven organs of sense in the head i.e. two eyes, two ears, two nostrils and the mouth. These are compared to the seven different sacrificial oblations. The perceptions produced by their activities are the flames of the sacrifice. The activities of the different senses are co-ordinated by the mind which is located in the heart.”
Is there any sense in this explanation? Sankara is surely in the dark. In clear words, 7 pranas (life-breaths/roohs/spirits/selfs) are being talked about. This writer doesn’t understand how the 7 pranas have been taken to mean the 7 organs of senses, that too in the head. It is common knowledge that there are 5 organs of senses and 4 of them are in the head. Sankara did not understand even this trifle thing that two nostrils don’t make up two organs. If this were true, then that would mean that there are two organs of senses in the two hands.
It is clearly indicated that the 7 pranas are the 7 flames, their fuel, the 7 oblations, and these 7 pranas are inherent part of the 7 worlds. On the whole there are 7 and 7, which comes to 14 Devatas or pranas (roohs or sprits). Also, it is clearly mentioned that these Devatas would take birth and dwell at a secret place; the place of their birth being unknown. It is then that the 7 pranas would come in 14 bodies and will have 7 names; the sames would be repeated among the remaining 7.
If Sankara couldn’t realize that life-breaths cannot be equated with organs of senses in the head, he should have realized that his explanation is not true by the last part of this verse which says that they dwell, not in the head or body, but at a secret place. Yet, he continued with his commentary without admitting to even an iota of doubt and without realizing that he would lead many men astray.
II.I.9
From him, all the seas and mountains, from him flow rivers of every kind; from him are all herbs and their juice; by which, together with the elements, the inner soul is upheld.
Unfortunately, as per the author of Religious Consciousness, all this is talk of the unreal by an unreal author. Hence there is no reason to take it seriously. How unfortunate indeed that the discussion of the Manifest Self of the Absolute God creating the entire cosmos has been made to appear in such a mundane fashion? Also read the verses again and see if the organs of the senses in the head gel with other things described here, as the great commentator Sankara said. Moreover, again it is being specified that the Manifest Self as well as the Devatas (translation done is ‘elements’) have a direct relationship with our inner soul.
II.I.10
The person himself is all this, work, austerity and Brahma beyond death. He who knows that which is set in the secret place, he, here on earth, O beloved, cuts asunder the knot of ignorance.
He who knows the 7 and 7 (equal to 14) pranas and their relationship with the Divine Person or Paramatma – the Manifest form of the Unmanifest God – is removed from ignorance and attains enlightenment. Even Gita says that such a person alone attains to wisdom and gets united with the Divine Spirit. Ultimate goal is to reach the Supreme Brahman, but only through the path of these Devatas which, we will prove later, are the ones meant by the word ‘Aum’.
Since they wanted to give explanation for 5 and 7, which are described time and again in the Upanishads, the Puranas and even the Vedas, the ‘scholars’ coined the 5 ‘great beings’ as earth, fire, water, etc. and to describe the 7 added Mahat, Ahankara and Prakriti while removing earth. Some have just added Mahat and Ahankara to the 5 elements to make them 7. Any reasonable mind would conclude that Mahat (intelligence), Ahankara (ego) and Prakriti (nature) do not gel with water, earth, and the rest. Since they had to eventually give some explanation, they went ahead with their explanation without bothering for a while of the stupid arguments that it could lead to.
Yet the earlier sages seemed to know the importance of seven. They believed that the cosmos, ‘Brahmanda’ or ‘Brahma’s egg’ as it came to be and is now called, had 7 constituents. Says the book, ‘Religious Consciousness’: “In what appears to be quite clearly a development of the Upanishadic speculation regarding the individual with the religio-philosophical view current for some centuries or seven-sheathed in Upanishadic terminology (sapta kancuka) the cosmos, too, it is further maintained, is seven sheathed.” He further writes: “Tulsidasa speaks of the seven cosmos as having seven coverings (avarana), Brahmaloka being included in the cosmos. Jwalaprasad Misra’s comment, which leaves earth from amongst the ‘five great beings’, and takes the remaining four and makes up seven with Mahat, Ahankara and Prakriti is evidently not correct and only demonstrates that there is discontinuity in tradition and that this notion of seven sheaths has been a difficulty not properly explained in terms of the older notions on the subject. The commentator of Ramadasa’s Dasabodha, SS Deo, has interpreted the 7 sheaths to be the five ‘great beings’ along with ‘Mahat’ and ‘Ahankara’. This explanation appears to be in keeping the thought and speculation on the subject. But it, too, cannot be taken to justify this description of the cosmos as having only seven sheaths or constituents for the omission of the eighth, Mind (Manas), which has been found in their company in standard accounts of these notions, whether of cosmos or of human personality, is not justified. And I have no explanation to occur except that the number seven appears to have captured the minds of speculative thinkers of India very early.”
This was not the product of speculative thinking as has been described earlier. The importance was given to 7 because 7 Noorani Roohs [Light Spirits] were created from the division of devatma-sakti [Brahma]. Christian sources too talk of 7 Spirits being sent to earth alongside Adam. These Spirits used various pious bodies as office to impart the Divine Message. It were these 7 Spirits who later descended in 14 bodies, but they had 7 names. We will know their true identity later.
The Devatas are also known as Manus in various descriptions. At various places, 7 Manus are mentioned and other places 14 are mentioned. As we have said, 14 is reference to the time and place when these 7 Spirits would use 14 different bodies and dwell on earth at a place that has been described as secret in the Vedas and Upanishads.
If 14 different names are given for the 14 Devatas, they are just for the purpose of differentiating one from the other, but they would have 7 names only when they would take birth in this world. We request you to note this at this moment as we intend to dwell further on the subject of 7 and 14 at a later stage. By that time things will be far clearer for you to understand.
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