New

 What is the name of God the creator of the universe? Is our language capable of endowing him with one? What do all the divine names mean then? It is that which is unnamable, incomprehensible, and ineffable. This God which is also triune God, we must faithfully believe, has spoken in his very own sublime voice unto us. However, when man with his spirit seeks to reach out unto his Lord and Master, what kind of language should he adopt or converse in? The two cardinal doctrines of Christian faith are incarnation and redemption. The unicity of the faith is based on how this redemption is effected; that is, through incarnation and resurrection. The indwelling attribute of the Holy Spirit makes its presence immanent and makes the other two persons of the triune God accessible. Such immediate presence of God is awe-inspiring. All our God-talk transpires in a context of absolute and total mystery. Knowledge and speech, in fact all discursivity, fails to pierce the divine. However, in  manner of speaking, we do know and communicate something about the nature of the Triune God. In the act, however, of such theological knowledge or speech, we, in an act of temptation, escape the apophatic nature of the field and indulge in errant and speculative enterprises. No body has seen the unmediated Face of God, which is both terrible and beautiful in its aspects. The one who sees the face of God instantaneously dies. And because the lack of this immediate experience prevented by death, the seeker's only recourse is the negative/apophatic path. The kind of knowledge in which human beings participate is that of the world and that of the flesh (carnal knowledge). But man cognizes no such knowledge of the one supreme triune God. What he does know is that he does partially pierce the envelope of the world to prophesy the love and terror of the Lord. We call these proclamations revelations. The access to the Supreme for the man on earth is through agape. All the saints and mystics have averred this. Love is critical for the novice, the proficient and the perfected seeker. The spiritual life and efforts of  the seekers in the first two stages and the spiritual bliss of the perfected on have agape as their substance and also the means and the ends on the spiritual path. The metaphor that the Saint employs to signify divine union is spiritual marriage. In the seeker's stage, the primary emotion is that of faith. Faith is also spiritual progenitor of love. But this faith is considerably more visible in the Dark Night of faith and An Ascent than in the Spiritual Canticle and the Living Flame. The union of the soul with God is in reality the union of the created supernatural with the uncreated supernatural.

The suffering of this night is incomprehensible and inexpressible. It is impossible to express this process inhabiting in a realm beyond words. Even someone who has passed through this Dark Night is powerless in communicating its essence. The theological virtues are of the created order of supernaturality. The Saint is more awed by the uncreated order of supernaturality. There is a gulf of difference between the ordinary knowledge of faith and and the true spiritual/mystical comprehension of the theological virtues of the soul. The soul is capable of reaching the highest degree of perfection upon the culmination of the full dark night of the soul. The soul,  then, enters a state of transformation in God. Thus, the greatest degree of  perfection attainable in this  life as the goal or object - mystical union. A mystical interpretation of the state of things seeks to be understood as a spiritual or organic whole. Man reaches the summit of the Mount Carmel. Frequently  faith is supposed to be the panacea for all things spiritual. Faith, with its own sole power is thus supposed to move the soul toward a union with the Godhead.

Christian faith is one that seeks to allow a negative mysticism despite the foundational soil being unamenable to it. It tends to express it self with cataphatic attributes. The most frightening danger of walking this path is the evil of self-destruction. Face to face with the divine glory and splendor is man humble and weak, yet still be able to 'see' some aspect without getting blinded. They almost see the face of God and not die.

                                           *****

That the Indian religion/s are henotheistic is proved by the structure and the form of the Vedic, Upanisadic, and Aranyaka texts. Henotheism is adherence to one particular god out of several, especially by a family, tribe, or other group. In Aitreya Aranyaka, there are multiple worlds in one and one in multiple worlds. To prove both these theses, we will have recourse to textual exegesis of some of these sacred texts. This chain of worlds comes to rest at a final point where all the elements of chain coalesce and culminate. The circles are concentric in ever expansive circles until it loses itself in the infinite. The first Brahmana of the Brihad-Aranyaka Upanisad imagines the creation of the universe as a horse sacrifice and ultimately non-dual in nature.

"Aum, the dawn, verily, the head of the sacrificial horse, the sun the eye, the wind the breath, the open mouth the Vaiswanara fire; the year is the body of the sacrificial horse, the sky is the back, the atmosphere is the belly, the earth the hoof, the quarters the sides, the intermediate quarters the ribs, the seasons the limbs, the months and the half-months the joints, days and nights the feet, the stars the bones, the clouds the flesh ; the food in the stomach the sand, the rivers are the blood vessels, the liver and the lungs are the mountains, the herbs and the trees are the hair The rising (sun) is the forepart, the setting (sun) the hind part, when he yawns then it lightens, when he shakes himself, it thunders, when he urinates then it rai,ns; voice, indeed, is his voice." The cosmology and creation is thoroughly figurative/metaphorical. The metaphor here is that of horse-sacrifice (Aswamedha) and creation happens through the sacrifice, The world thus created is a mirror image of the sacrificial object. The world is created in the image of the latter. It is thus one world that is sacrificed to create another. For the horse in Aswamedha is the universe and the universe exists  as long as the sacrifice continues Aswamedha is the horse. The world,  through Aswamedha, is a perpetual sacrificial act. The world continues as long as Aswamedha continues. This verse however does not address the question of the creator or the sacrificer. This verse addresses the cosmological question of the parts of the universe Every part of the universe is accounted for thus cosmologically and analogically. It is not just the imagistic aspect that  is analogically that portrays  the horse; that is, the world is not  the image and structure of the horse-sacrifice merely, but the very cosmological and elemental forces at work in this world. It is not a static/ossified image. It is rather an dynamic image reflecting this dynamic world of ours. After drawing out the parallels between this image and the concomitant reality, the stanza ends on a note of sameness  is hoe revelations work in the classical and or identity. The reason for this deviance from the analogical style of the rest of the stanza is that Sruti (hearing) is how revelations work in the Indian orthodox traditions. The sages (Rishis) heard the mystical sounds through divine revelations. The Upanisadic sages were orthodox/theistic (astika)  and other schools like Buddhist and Jaina are Nastika/heterodox/atheist., in the sense that

The trope of sacrifice as a means of creation harks right back to the 'Purusa Sukta' (Rigveda) where the primeval Person, through sacrifice, self/sacrifice analogically created its cosmological equivalent or counterpart in the universe. The sacrifice of Primeval Person, was a creative act that achieves its purpose for eternity. Christ's sacrifice is also is also of once and for ever whose soteriological effect lasts as long as anything exists and renders all substitutory sacrifices out of question.

The above verse is founded upon a hermeneutic principle of physicality. "the earth is his footing" They do not access the divine immediately or directly, but this ac cess, is rather mediated by the elements of this mundane world. The Supraphysical is  mediated by and accessible through the physical. Also, simile is the literary device employed. here. Let us examine some of these similes to understand their significations and purport. Dawn is the head of this sacrificial and animal, the sun the the eye, the wind the breath and so on and so forth. We see Now begins the MahSvrata* rite. Indra having

When he became great, then there came into being the MahSvrata. therefor

the MahSvrata ceremony bears the name of Mahavrata. Some say ‘^e priest

should make two recitations with the ghee-offering for that day, but the established

rule is one. He who desires prosperity should use the hymn. To Agni, o th»

god of yours, (I sing aloud) ’ (RV., Ill, 13 ). He who desires increase should usd

fhe hymn, ‘ The guest of all your folk • (RV., VIII, 74)- For the folk indeed are

increase and therefore he gains increase.’ Some say that one should not use that ... hymn because there is in it the word - guest ’.and a guest is liable to go begg g •

But (Mahidasa ’) said that one should use that hymn, hor ho, who becomes goo

and attains excellence," is indeed a guest. For him who is not so men not

deem worthy of hospitality. Therefore one may by all means use that hymn. If

he docs use it, he should place first the tiistich, ‘ To him, best Vrtia-slajer, are

come’ (RV., VIH, 7^, 4-6). For eager for this day they worship the whole jear,

 The day, verily, arose for the horse as the vessel called

mahiman appeared in front (of the horse). Its source is in the

eastern sea. The night, verily, arose for the horse as the vessel

called mahiman appeared behind (the horse). Its source is in the

western sea. These two vessels, verily, arose on the two sides of

the horse as the two sacrificial vessels. Becoming a steed he

carried the gods, as a stallion the Ganciharyas, as a runner the

demons, as a horse men. The sea, indeed, is his relative, the sea

is his source.   *** hymn because there is in it the word - guest ’.and a guest is liable to go begg g • hymn because there is in it the word - guest ’.and a guest is liable to go begg g •

But (Mahidasa ’) said that one should use that hymn, hor ho, who becomes goo

and attains excellence," is indeed a guest. For him who is not so men not

deem worthy of hospitality. Therefore one may by all means use that hymn. If

he docs use it, he should place first the tiistich, ‘ To him, best Vrtia-slajer, are

come’ (RV., VIH, 7^, 4-6). For eager for this day they worship the whole jear,

xand now they draw nigh to it. The next three tristichs' begin ttith a„mlubh

verses. Now the gayain verse is brahmani the anusfubh is \ ac, and so he unites

Vac and bralimm. He who desires glory should use the hymn, ‘Agni is aroused

by the fuel of the folk ’ (RV., V, i). He who desires children » and cattle should

use the hymn,*'’ ‘The wise sacrificer has been born’ (RV., II, 5)."

 the continuation of the same trope and figures in the next stanza. The horse's body parts take on cosmic proportions through the sacrifice and the text acquires religious significance. All the individual desires are a part of the cosmic will. It is a hymn  to a sacrificial hymn.and now they draw nigh to it. The next three tristichs' begin ttith a„mlubh

verses. Now the gayain verse is brahmani the anusfubh is \ ac, and so he unites 
Vac and bralimm. He who desires glory should use the hymn, ‘Agni is aroused 
by the fuel of the folk ’ (RV., V, i). He who desires children » and cattle should 
use the hymn,*'’ ‘The wise sacrificer has been born’ (RV., II, 5)." 

r The i^ahkhayana Aranyaka. I, 2. ignores vv. .3-1., of RV„ VIII. 74. which form a rW 
sluti of ismtarvan Aiksya. The reference here shows clearly that tlie Aitarcya takes Ihe same 
view of these veises. Verses 8, 9, ii, li aie in gayain, 14, 15 m anu^hibh. 

- Sayana gives as reasons for these iUent.fieations that the gan, brahma is set forth by means 
of the aayotn (RV., Ill, 62, 10), an.t that, like this an.njubh, \ ac has four fo.ms (KV., I 164, 
a?- Nitukta XUI.9,&c.; Z. ft. A/. C.. XXXIX, 58). {para paiyantl maJhyama vaihhan, later, 
see’/ A O S X-XIRCo; Mallinalha on Kum.irasambhava, II, 17). 'Ihcre is no teason to 
Lpoose that the identification of Vac and and yayatm and h.ahman has any basis 

beyond mere fancy ; for different identifications, ef./, A. O. S.. XVI, 3 sq. I he original sense of 
hrahma,, (so throughout to contrast with I!r.-ihman, the god) must cleaily have been 
soell (cf II 3. 8), the two ideas blending iiidefmitely since the player could be rcgaided as a 
1 11 mid vice veiU (Oldenberg, Ars VeAa, p. 3. 9. Pe-sen s view 'f ' 

Lbch dcr Phil, I. I, 241 SCI) as ‘ dcr zum Ileiligcn, Gotllichcri emporslrcbende J\ ille dcs 
Me tht’ is?u e nt^nable, 'see kVinternitr, 6Vrr/i. Acr A.A.uh LU, 1, 211 212 Thm Vac is 
TahLn was the doctrine of Jitvaii Sailiiii and it is set forth by Yajuavalkya, 1 ihadaranyaka 
Up.anisad,lV, 1, 2, and the identification is developed in the kite Logos doctiine'. Cf. Mso 1 .11 v 
Malmbinlimaim, XX, 14. 2 i Cluandogya Ui.aiiis.ad, VTI, 2, 2 ; Hopkins, M.a O Aa„ANr-a'. p. .41 , 
n I with whose view of the slight importance of the Logos doctiinc lit this form I .agree. 

»’ Sayana concludes his conimcntaiy on this Klianda by ev|daniiiig 1 hat, thongli by e 

I 7 livivn for another nydya on this, MTm.unsa Sutra, IV, 3, 10) the kamyabuUas arc 
bue^ndtd primarily for the gaining of desired lesiilts, nevertheless they make up the sacrilicc and 
do not lea^ve it imperfect, on the principle kr.myaia mlyaAAAhth. '1 his ayaya arises he 
from the lule on the new and full moon sacrifice, camasenapah p, auayiA soAoham-na paailama-^ya, 
Iheie as the sacrifice can be caiticd out inn/awmi. the ^oAohauma is mciely pu, umrlhatvam (.see 

^“‘;fj/o'fr2reiiwri?ihe translation to the RV., where no line is mentioned, it is 

stood that the whole hymn as accepted by the Aranyaka is meant. When only siiCcial vc 

=‘".r;rt"^:rt^s'an^Xir authenticity, sec Cit. Note. The terse in S f.ifmf/nbarrn is 
RV HI 26,T 43, .i; ^'3-. Vin, .1, bhaAram. X,J 0 . y 

^li/rah 00, 9 ih'A oecuis in Tattiriya Aranyaka, 1 , I, ef. I, 2. ; 31, ,,ah Mama 

lU’' iW ^MayahUammpAA (so aeccntei. m 

Tht Atlmvavcda^^^^^ ‘ may we not bo 

separated from thy sight '.which explains the oiigin of the quite 

liccaksar occurs also in Taittiiiya Aranyaka, IV, 42. where will be found KV.. IV, 3>, 3. 
Vox 0)ihJpP,^i. ni, 2, 5i ^ accompany Ihc recitation of 

the^'^mhUds" (4!rhaya'nalra,iyaka, VII, VllV), a^ the lorntitlae are placed at the beginning 


* Cf. also V. Schroetler, JDie Tnbiugcr Katha-IIamhchriJtcn , p. 
the KauMtaki Upani^ad in the Anandakama cd. 

M ^ 

Now begins the MahSvrata* rite. Indra having 
When he became great, then there came into being the MahSvrata. therefor 
the MahSvrata ceremony bears the name of Mahavrata. Some say ‘^e priest 
should make two recitations with the ghee-offering for that day, but the established 
rule is one. He who desires prosperity should use the hymn. To Agni, o th» 
god of yours, (I sing aloud) ’ (RV., Ill, 13 ). He who desires increase should usd 
fhe hymn, ‘ The guest of all your folk • (RV., VIII, 74)- For the folk indeed are 
increase and therefore he gains increase.’ Some say that one should not use that ... hymn because there is in it the word - guest ’.and a guest is liable to go begg g • 

But (Mahidasa ’) said that one should use that hymn, hor ho, who becomes goo 
and attains excellence," is indeed a guest. For him who is not so men not 
deem worthy of hospitality. Therefore one may by all means use that hymn. If 
he docs use it, he should place first the tiistich, ‘ To him, best Vrtia-slajer, are 
come’ (RV., VIH, 7^, 4-6). For eager for this day they worship the whole jear, 

 The day, verily, arose for the horse as the vessel called 
mahiman appeared in front (of the horse). Its source is in the 
eastern sea. The night, verily, arose for the horse as the vessel 
called mahiman appeared behind (the horse). Its source is in the 
western sea. These two vessels, verily, arose on the two sides of 
the horse as the two sacrificial vessels. Becoming a steed he 
carried the gods, as a stallion the Ganciharyas, as a runner the 
demons, as a horse men. The sea, indeed, is his relative, the sea 
is his source.   *** hymn because there is in it the word - guest ’.and a guest is liable to go begg g • hymn because there is in it the word - guest ’.and a guest is liable to go begg g • 

But (Mahidasa ’) said that one should use that hymn, hor ho, who becomes goo 
and attains excellence," is indeed a guest. For him who is not so men not 
deem worthy of hospitality. Therefore one may by all means use that hymn. If 
he docs use it, he should place first the tiistich, ‘ To him, best Vrtia-slajer, are 
come’ (RV., VIH, 7^, 4-6). For eager for this day they worship the whole jear, 

xand now they draw nigh to it. The next three tristichs' begin ttith a„mlubh 

verses. Now the gayain verse is brahmani the anusfubh is \ ac, and so he unites 
Vac and bralimm. He who desires glory should use the hymn, ‘Agni is aroused 
by the fuel of the folk ’ (RV., V, i). He who desires children » and cattle should 
use the hymn,*'’ ‘The wise sacrificer has been born’ (RV., II, 5)."  Both the stanzas from the Brhad-Aranyaka Upanisad and the Aitreya Aranyaka are focused on creative sacrifice - the first centered on world creation and the other on desire fulfilment. The whole string of the hymns are strung along a thread into a poetic collocation.