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30.
Vedic India: *
[Spengler identified the Indo-Aryan Civilization, the originators of the Hindu religion, as one of the 9 Higher Cultures; our knowledge of this civilization is cursory as he indicates several times]
In 1500 BC the Aryans, nomadic cattle herders, migrated into the northern Indian subcontinent from central Asia. They come into contact with the decaying Indus Valley Civilization and may have been an invaders. Their language gained ascendency over the local Indus Valley dialects. These nomads gradually adopted an agricultural lifestyle which was widely established by 1000 BC.
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The only written evidence of this period is the religious literature known as The Vedas, a collection of hymns and liturgical material, mythological accounts, poems, prayers and formulas, the sacred text of the Vedic religion. Stories about military conflicts and other hostilities are recorded, but the historical reliability of this is uncertain. We have no knowledge of the authors; their focus is on the ideas not the writers (to allow the reader to consider the message and not the messenger).
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Initially part of an oral tradition, in 1500 BC the Vedas were committed to Sanskrit text. Further writings were added over the next 500 years. Written by the Brahmans or priestly class of ancient India who held a monopoly on the editing and transmission of the texts, they reflect a strong priestly bias, and give the Brahman worldview, spiritual preoccupations, and social attitudes. The Vedas consist of the four Vedas and cover such topics as hymns of praise, melodies for chanting, sacrificial and magic formulas. The Rig-Veda is the largest, oldest and most important text of the 4. They reference a multitude of gods, most related to natural forces such as storms, fire, and wind. They contain multiple creation stories, most of them inconsistent. As well as this inconsistency the texts often refer to a particular god as the greatest god of all, but later another god will be regarded as the "greatest". Notable also is that the Vedas contain elements of the older religion, which was animistic and totemic, worshiping spirits dwelling in stones, animals, trees, rivers, mountains, and stars.
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While there are many gods in the Rig-Veda there are 3 who standout: Indra - the head god of the pantheon, storm god, sky god, killer of the serpent; also the gods Agni and Soma. These myths reflect the concerns and experiences of a community based on agricultural. Rituals were critical to maintain the order of the cosmos, part of the compact between humans and the gods: humans (meaning the Brahmans) performed sacrifices & rituals; in return the gods offered protection and prosperity. However when natural calamity occurred despite the sacrifices & rituals, society blamed the priesthood. In turn the priests claimed that the sacrifices had been wrong or inadequate and then demanded more royal support. They refused any curtailing of their privileges and began writing definitive standards for prayers/rituals/sacrifices. This was codified in the Brahmanas and attached to the Vedic collection (6th century BC). They claimed that if sacrifices were performed exactly as they said, then the gods would respond. But when these new rituals also proved useless, skepticism stepped in & many sectors of Indian society became dubious of religion, ritual and sacrifice. .
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In the late Vedic period (800-500 BC), the priestly class was seriously questioned and the Brahmanas were gradually rejected. Some of the critics began to engage in spiritual progresses, living as ascetic hermits, rejecting ordinary material concerns and giving up family life. Their speculations and philosophy were compiled into texts called The Upanishads. Here we find a new spiritual approach as well as meditation, celibacy, and fasting. Priestly orthodoxy gradually decayed as did the Vedic hegemony. The focus of religious life shifted from external rites and sacrifices to internal spiritual quests. This would result in the end of the Vedic hegemony and authority.
The decay of this authority would lead to a new synthesis to dominate Indian society for centuries to come. A new spirituality, based on world renunciation, gradually emerged around the 7th century BC. This distinctive culture is the common origin of many Indian religions: Charvaka, Jainism and Buddhism. It was initially deemed “heretical” by the Indian Brahman class.