Brahmanic Ideas

Some of the earliest records of religion are contained in the Vedas of the Brahmans of India. The Vedas are hymns addressed to the personified powers of nature—the Dawn, the Sky, the Storm-god, etc. 1

“ In the Beginning there arose the Golden child; as soon as born, he alone was the lord of all that is. He established the earth and the heavens:—Who is the God to whom we shall offer sacrifice?

2

“He who gives breath, he who gives strength, whose command all the bright gods revere, whose shadow is immortality, whose shadow is death :—Who is the God to whom we shall offer sacrifice?

5

“He through whom the awful heaven and the earth were made fast, he through whom the ether was established, and the firmament; he who measured the air in the sky:—Who is the God to whom we shall offer sacrifice ? * * *

7

“When the great waters went everywhere, holding the germ, and generating light, then there arose from them the breath of the gods :—Who is the God to whom we shall offer sacrifice?

8

“He who by his might looked even over the waters which held power (the germ) and generated the sacrifice (light), he who alone is God above all gods :—Who is the God to whom we shall offer sacrifice?

9

“May he not hurt us, he who is the begetter of the earth, or he, the righteous, who begat the heaven ; he who also begat the bright and mighty waters :—Who is the God to whom we shall offer sacrifice?”