The Rishis of Indic Tradition

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The Rishis of Indic Tradition

Since remote times in India, sages in India have been speaking on life andexistence, on death and after-life, on soul and god. Some of them acquiredinsights from years of reflection and meditation. They undertookausterities in their efforts to obtain answers to the mysteries that tormentinquiring minds. These pioneers were the rishis of India.

Rishis were scholars, philosophers, sages and poets. And they were more.They were practitioners of techniques by which they seem to have gainedglimpses of a loftier reality behind the phenomenal world. They spoke withexuberance about the nature of truth and supreme knowledge. The traditionalview is that they broke through the veil of ignorance that keeps ordinarymortals in a state of confusion and misunderstanding about the surroundingmystery. In the next few essays I propose to reflect on some eminent rishis.

Rishis were extraordinary individuals who explored the human potential forspiritual experience. They were serene personages at peace with themselvesand the world. They were inspired seers who uttered wisdom through aphorismsand poetry. They composed hymns to the powers of the universe, framed rulesand laws for society, discoursed on philosophy, counseled kings, andinitiated the young. Individually and collectively, the ancient rishis laidthe foundations for the complex culture, sophisticated civilization, andcolorful religious tradition that we call Hindu.

Indian sacred history is replete with the names of many rishis whoseachievements rendered them superhuman in the estimate of the people.Fantastic stories and incredible time spans came to be associated with thedeeds and dates of rishis: One was born of Brahma's thumb, another had ahundred sons, one fathered a bird, another did penance for a thousand years;one pulverized an army by staring in anger, another made a mountainprostrate in submission, and such. They seem reasonable when one acceptsthat rishis were a species beyond the human. However, minds molded orcorrupted by the perspectives of the scientific age may find it difficult toimagine all this to be true. But a good many Hindus, like their counterpartsin other traditions, are not in this quandary: It is difficult to beuntouched by the events and episodes we read about rishis. These stories areetched in Hindu collective memory, and have become indelible patches in thequilt of Indic lore. There are similar anecdotes in the Bible and theQu'ran too, and the devout of those traditions also believe that their ownpuranas are also literally true.

We know but little of historical validity about the remarkable rishis whoonce walked on the land and dipped in the sacred waters of India, who firstrecited magnificent mantras and performed magical sacrifices. But we do knowthat the Ramayana and the Mahabharata are major literary works authored byrishis. The Vedas, the Brahmanas and the Upanishads: all these and more areattributed to rishis. The Narada Purana is named after a rishi, as also theMarkandeya Purana. These are among the ever-lasting legacies of rishis.In ancient India, as also in our own times, rishi was also an honorific: atitle for great thinkers and spiritual leaders. The texts mention variouskinds of rishis, depending on their qualities or function, as in Brahmarishiand Rajarishi; sometimes, on the spiritual level, as in Devarishi,Maharishi, and Paramarishi; some were called Shrutarishi, meaning that theyhad heard esoteric wisdom. Brahmarishis are believed to have been createddirectly by Brahma Himself. They are among the initiators of various gotras,and are invoked in the daily prayers of dvijas who belong to their spirituallineage. They include such names as Kanva, Bharadvaja, and Kashyapa. Thenames of some rishis are well known, such as Vishvamitra, Vasishtha, andAgastya. Others, like Marichi, Kardama, and Gritsamada, are not as widelyrecognized.

Every great religious tradition has at its roots profound thinkers.Sometimes they appeared as prophets carrying a spiritual message:revelations from Beyond. And they take their people along new paths. Thalesof ancient Greece, Gautama Buddha, Vartamana Mahavira, Moses, Jesus Christ,Mohammed, and Guru Nanak were all such exceptional men, endowed withinscrutable charisma. What is unusual about Hinduism as a religion - perhapsunique in history - is that it emerged in an uncertain age from theutterances of exceptional sage-poets: rishis who came from a variety ofsocial and cultural backgrounds. That is why it may be said that Hinduismhas not one, but many founders. Not all rishis always agreed on everythingamong themselves. This accounts for the ancientness as well as the richnessof the tradition. This has also resulted in unsurpassed diversity in theHindu world. This may also account for the doctrinal tolerance that is, inprinciple, an intrinsic feature of Hindu visions.V. V. RamanSeptember 14, 2005============================