The Rig Veda - Indian Creation Myth

In this video we continue our study of creation myths by reading from the Rig Veda, perhaps the world's oldest recorded creation story. Right away striking features emerge, and as we compare it with Genesis, the dramatic differences between Eastern and Western religion and mythology come into focus.

[malganis]

The " one " refereed is not Male, it's genderless, source of the all reality, we call " Nirguna Brahman " in Vedas ( the supreme power, perfect and complete ) and Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are just attributes ( Saguna Brahman )

[aaronleperspicace]

The beautiful thing about this hymn is that it does not attempt to answer the questions, it just raises them. The hymn ends with a question, a sort of a cliffhanger. It drives home the fact that it is a mystery and that we will never know.

[antriksX]

I am Hindu. But still I have to learn so many things which is written in our Vedas. Thankyou sir for these insights.

[lee-wyth]

The Rig Veda is much older than most think it is, before it was written, it was sung passed on orally.
That's why it survived Alexander the great's religious Extinction campaign. When there is no foundation, no house of God/s can be torn down.
Great video.

[robertmitchell]

Lead me from the fear of finite to the realization of infinity
Lead me from the fear of death to the realization of immortality.
Lead me to the understanding I am birthless, deathless and one with the one
Vedas

[vinayakangle]

Being Indian, the Vedas are my heritage, my inheritance .
It is only when I see the joy in Mr.Bolland's soul, when I see his eyes light up from within...as he 'ingests' the creation sukta, word by fascinating word, do I get introduced to the fact of how rich I am to be Indian, and how 'beyond everything and nothing ' I am to be a part of the Brahman.
Thank you, Mr. Bolland.

[ganeshkumarchandrasekaran]

The hymn what you are explaining is in nasadiya suktham - Rig veda 10 th mandala ( chapter) . Thanks for explaining that in poetic way!! 🙏
From Tamil Nadu - India 🇮🇳

[ayanchakraborty]

These ancient sages didn't know about atom, planets, physics is a gross understatement. Fact of the matter is these sages knew earth was a sphere, mentioned about subatomic particles, knew about the solar system and it's planets and more. Something really weird was indeed going on in the past. May be the Vedas are much much older than we think. May be the so called sages were indeed scientists belonging to a very advanced ancient civilization. May be the knowledge was gifted to them by beings from other planets or planetary systems ( there are 14 planetary systems or catagories according to rig Veda). We so called modern humans have lost all our past knowledge and memories.

[ananths]

The He was added by English and western interpreters. In sanskrit it doesn't mention he or she. The one can also be what can be called singularity. All the Gods and the beings are said to be embodiment of the One. Brahman. The concept of Atoms called Anu is as old as the vedas.🙏🏻

[PeterBolland]

Hello everyone! I'm just popping in today, six months after shooting this video, to say thank you! Thanks for making this the number one video on my channel. (It's also the one with the most comments, most likes, and most thumbs-down. Ha!) Thank you especially to all the folks from India who have watched and commented on this video. Judging by all the negative thumbs-down and critical comments, there is clearly a cultural divide at work here. I made these videos for my 45 world mythology students here at Southwestern College in Chula Vista, just south of San Diego, California. I never realized that it would be viewed by thousands of people all over the world. In that class, we study "myths, " which to us means "truths" -- ancient, poetic, metaphorical, symbolic stories that try to convey the ineffable, that try to say the unsayable. We study the Rig Veda alongside the Popul Vuh of the Mayans, the Enuma Elish of the Sumerians, the Pyramid Texts of the Egyptians, the Prose Edda of Norse mythology, the book of Genesis of the Judaeo-Christian tradition, and many more. That so many took umbrage at hearing the Rig Veda referred to as a "myth" caught me by surprise. To me, calling something a "myth" is high praise. So thank you to all of my critics on this thread for reminding me of the rich diversity of perspective in the world.

[shashidharabanurmallegowda]

Dear Peter Bolland -wonderful explanation about Rig Veda. What I liked most is that you are providing a highly intellectual explanation about our own tradition which makes me to feel proud about our own culture. You are really a un-official spokesperson of our ancient philosophy. Thank you.

[Cedricknowledge]

Of all cultural knowledge of creation the rig vedas makes more sense to me. It feels like I'm in the right place to learn.

[navendusinghrathore]

It is very clearly mentioned in the Bhagavad-Gita in chapter 4 that Lord Krishna ( Vishnu ) is eternal.
He was present before creation and will continue to exist even after the whole universe dies out.

[AlchemistFL]

What translated book are you reading this from? Would love to read the Rig Veda in depth and in a way that makes sense

[Primus_suspectus]

"The One" refers to the primordial consciousness which nobody seems to know what it's about

[sujathashanker]

So beautifully explained. Thank you! The wisdom from thousands of years ago is still relevant in today's research and an invitation into inquiry :)

[rohink]

This is one of the finest videos on Rig Veda I have come across...Very well explained...

[ishansharmaalduin]

The he pronoun creeps in because of the translation, where as the actual sanskrit verse doesn't dignify such. The sanskrit pronoun more likely relates to infinite rather than a gender. But translation 🤷‍♂️

[cpadman]

Beautiful presentation of the creation myth from the Rig Veda. The Nasadiya Sukta also known as the Hymn of Creation is the 129 the hymn of the 10 the mandala of the Rig Veda. It is connected with cosmology and the origin of the universe. This verse is one of the most widely quoted portions of the Rig Veda.
Astronomer Carl Sagan quoted it in discussing India's "tradition of skeptical questioning and unselfconscious humility before the great cosmic mysteries.

[shrishampriyadarshi]

There is a mention of River Saraswati in the Rig Veda in several holy hymns; in there it has been described as a river which flows with a loud roar and which causes heavy floods in the area. Archeological studies indicate that River Saraswati started to dry up nearly 6500 years ago and had eventually dried up by around 2000 BCE.

This clearly indicates that Rig Veda had been written at least around 5000 to 6000 years ago. Also to be known that the holy hymns and songs of praise have been passed down from one generation to the next orally; before those songs and praises were actually compiled up and written down.

I personally am fond of such resourceful contents related to the earliest documented steps of mankind. It really helps to understand the philosophical and existential outlooks and ways of our ancient ancestors.

I shall request you to kindly make a video on The Core Similarities between the Sindhu/Indus Valley Civilization and the Egyptian Civilization;