Tapas and sacrifice are two ancient and cognate Hindu concepts. In Rigveda God created this world through Tapas. Ritual sacrifice is another essential component of Hindu religion. Tapasya, a derivative of Tapas, which means 'to suffer, to mortify the body, undergo penance to burn away past Karma' is considered essential to attain Moksha or liberation of the soul. Tapas literally mens 'to heat, to give out warmth, to shine, to burn." Just as the creation was brought into being by God through Tapas, the creature attains liberation through Tapas. Consider hymn 129 from Rigveda:
"Darkness was there by darkness enshrouded in the beginning, an ocean without lights was all this world, - but the pregnant germ which was enveloped by the husk was born by the strength of penitence."
One of the connotations of Tapas is the warmth of sexual intimacy culminating in the creative act of the birth of a new being. The closest English translation of Tapasya would be asceticism with the root word (Greek) 'askesis' meaning self-transformation or the creation of a new self through physical and spiritual austerities.
It is remarkable that at the beginning of the Adi-Parva in Mahbharata Lomharshana the son of Suti address the sages gathered around him as akin to Brahma, The exegetical point here cannot be lost that the sages engaged in their Tapas are akin to Brahma who through His Tapas created the world. The word Brahmana, to render the point home, is a derivative of Brahma - the absolute and ultimate reality. Lomharshana addresses the sages thus: "ye greatly blessed who shine in this place of sacrifice as the solar fire; ye who have concluded the silent meditations and fed the holy fire."
"Darkness was there by darkness enshrouded in the beginning, an ocean without lights was all this world, - but the pregnant germ which was enveloped by the husk was born by the strength of penitence."
One of the connotations of Tapas is the warmth of sexual intimacy culminating in the creative act of the birth of a new being. The closest English translation of Tapasya would be asceticism with the root word (Greek) 'askesis' meaning self-transformation or the creation of a new self through physical and spiritual austerities.
It is remarkable that at the beginning of the Adi-Parva in Mahbharata Lomharshana the son of Suti address the sages gathered around him as akin to Brahma, The exegetical point here cannot be lost that the sages engaged in their Tapas are akin to Brahma who through His Tapas created the world. The word Brahmana, to render the point home, is a derivative of Brahma - the absolute and ultimate reality. Lomharshana addresses the sages thus: "ye greatly blessed who shine in this place of sacrifice as the solar fire; ye who have concluded the silent meditations and fed the holy fire."
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