The Creation Hymn

It was in November 2002, a chilly evening in a crowded auditorium in Santa Clara University that I met Amartya Sen. There was something about him which moved me as he gave a passionate talk on globalization and poverty. As I stood shaking his hand after the talk I felt what it might feel like to stand in the presence of a divine being, to be doused in his aura, to feel peace and exhilaration in the same instant.

I am now in the midst of reading His collection of essays “The Argumentative Indian” covering Indian history, culture and identity strung together by the argumentative tradition. I came across a gem that I would like to share with you.

In an essay concerning secularism in India, Sen touches on the topic of ‘Skeptics, Agnostics and Atheists’ and religious skepticism expressed in the 3500 year old Creation Hymn from the Rig Veda:

Who really knows? Who will here proclaim it? Whence was it produced? Whence is this creation? The gods came afterwards, with the creation of the universe. Who then knows whence it has arisen?

Whence this creation has arisen - perhaps it has formed itself, or perhaps it did not - the one who looks down on it, in the highest heaven, only he knows - or perhaps he does not know.

This is a seductive verse. It agitates your mind and leaves you pondering on the question that has tormented man since the dawn of reason.

This version of the creation hymn is from a translation of the Rig Veda by Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty.


Iyer