Don’t we all comprehend our logic and put reasoning behind what really happened in Brahma Loka or why it’s been said that Lord Krishna was a perfect incarnation of Lord Vishnu? Are Mythological tales more than just folklore?
While it is said to be that there is no one mythology for the world today or for the future, different people have their own understanding of mythology, re-framing old ones or creating new ones, so as is the case with Hinduism too. Though it is believed to be the oldest religion on earth, like others it has its own theory of birth too. So, let’s understand how stories, symbols, and rituals construct the subjective truth (myths) of ancient and modern cultures around the world and what is the science behind the creation of all the Gods every Hindu worships today.
It was the time when time itself was unborn and nothing literally existed when it’s been believed that an Energy of Creation was born out of a golden egg representing the Hindu four Vedas (Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda, and Atharvaveda). Later, got its offsprings of two more energies that were Energy of Sustainability and Energy of Destruction, and these three energies later became the key to understanding the formation and base of Hinduism. In today’s world, we know these energies as BRAHMA-VISHNU-MAHESH.
During the formative period when the basic foundations of Indian civilization were laid down, Hinduism was born too. Scholars are not sure if ideas came first or language. Did we first communicate using gestures that became rituals, then symbols that became art, or words that eventually we put down in texts? On the contrary, when the rest of the tribe looked on the cosmic energies as the supreme power of their existence, it became even more vital to explain the importance of its occurrence hence a great deal in storytelling and worshiping an idol or image took place.
Hinduism being a hybrid religion has always followed idol worship at the bottom level, but at the top level of Vedanta philosophy, there is a formless God. There is a story in Hinduism to show why.
A guru was teaching his students about a particular star. The students wanted to know where it appears in the sky. The guru just lifted his arm and asked the students to follow his finger. Once the students sighted the star, the guru put his fingers down. But, the students were still able to see the star. That is the role of idol worship in Hinduism.
Since then Crippled down for millions of years now, people have invented different ways to keep Hindu traditions alive. From Fasting to Teerth Yatra to introducing cultural education in High school people adapted all forms of stories, resulting in a remarkable strength of followers of the Hindu religion. So, the stories became even more powerful.
Just like how, from a very tender age we push a child to indulge in various stories to understand the nature of the character, emotion, situation, history, or perhaps what is more allied to his imagination; the seed gets plotted in his mind which later grows into a carrier of strong faith, opinion, judgment or a very strong voice for change. Similarly, during the Vedic period, it became easy to characterize the three cosmic energies by giving them a name and face; which further made it relatively relatable for people to follow and get a sense have some faith in the religion. And this is how it all started, giving voice to the thoughts, idolizing visual energy, and emerging into our own beliefs.
While ancient myths are products of their time they evolved too, crossing every culture and language the Vedic Age of Ancient India gave way to a more complex social civilization that got caught up with choosing sides. Since science is about measurement and experimentation and evidence, myth is about faith. They are two very different worlds. Science is best when dealing with the matter. Myth is best when dealing with the mind, especially emotions and imagination. So, as a country, India has its equal share in the fight between Science and Myths.
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