As this study is pertinent to Sanatun Dharam (Hinduism) so, we find “Rishis” as messengers of God who revealed the original sacred scriptures of the faith. Later on, these scriptures were corrupted with areas discussed in “Holy Scriptures of Hinduism”. Concept of incarnation got popular and within centuries most of the Rishis were forgotten while others were made deities through the concept of anthropomorphism.
Definition 01: Rishi is a term for an accomplished and enlightened person. They find mentions in various Vedic texts. Rishis are believed to have composed hymns of the Vedas. (source: Wikipedia)
Definition 02: A Rishi is an Indian seer or hearer and revealer of divine knowledge such as that contained in the Vedas and other sacred “revealed” (Shruti) Hindu texts. Veda means “knowledge” (source: Oxford Reference)
Some of the popular Rishis in Sanatun Dharam are as following:
| Jaiminiya Brahmana 2.218–221 | Brihadaranyaka Upanisad 2.2.6 |
| Agastya, Atri, Bhardwaja, Gautama, Jamadagni, Vashishta, Vishvamitra | Kashyapa, Atri, Bhardwaja, Gautama, Jamadagni, Vashishta, Vishvamitra |
It is quite understandable that list differs slightly as most of the scriptures were not preserves and lost in mill of time and others had human interventions so, in larger context the list is good to go as far as mythological belief set is concerned.
However, this is just a list which has got famous, we have researched through the major scriptures and work by other holy men & found that not only these but others have done similar or great work who can be called Rishis or even better termed as Messengers of God. However, most of them have been turned into deities and are widely worshiped by the followers of faith.
Rationale about Rishis as Messengers of God
If we found the work of Rishis, it can be clearly defined as they formulated Holy Books, majorly Vedas at that time. Though, their work was either lost or was intentionally altered to reasons we have already discussed in “Sacred Holy Scriptures”.
It is quite understandable that list differs slightly as most of the scriptures were not preserves and lost in mill of time and others had human interventions so, in larger context the list is good to go as far as mythological belief set is concerned.
However, this is just a list which has got famous, we have researched through the major scriptures and work by other holy men & found that not only these but others have done similar or great work who can be called Rishis or even better termed as Messengers of God. However, most of them have been turned into deities and are widely worshiped by the followers of faith.
Queries of an Intellectual Mind
- From where these Rishis were receiving their information?
- Who were telling these Rishis the events of the world happening in different parts of the world before & after them?
- What was the medium through which these revelations were coming through?
The Common Answer Presented by Scholars of Faith
This is based upon the concept that God himself has come down to earth in human or animal or hybrid form to educate mankind & to eliminate the false hood in the land. This is the popular understanding of the common Hindu these days.
Rationale Presented
The opening hymns of Mahabharata (Simriti > Ittehaas > Mahabharata) states that “God has come down to earth in human form to eradicate falsehood which was prevalent in the land”.
The concept of manifestation of God into a human form is called “Anthropomorphism” & in Sanskrit word “Avatar” or “Au’Tar” (Au means “come” & Tar means “down”) is used to define the entire concept
Challenge with this Concept
- Contradiction of order between Shrutis & Simritis
| Shrutis (principle to be followed) | Simritis (In case of contradictory Information, Shrutis will be followed) |
| Shrutis (Word of God / What was revealed by God) literature comprised of Holy Vedas & Upanishads does not have this concept present in any form rather it denies any such incidence and qualifies it as a major sin. | Simritis (Word of Man / What was remembered by Man) carries this concept. So, it contradicts the word of God. |
- When God created human beings & this earth, He should also be knowing the goods & bads of this world as well.
- Why He himself has to come down on earth in human form to understand the problems of humans?
- If, it is believed that God is the creator then He can help His created humans with direction & informative manual of rights & wrongs, what to follow & what not to follow. (Example to Understand) When an engineer assembles a machine, he does not have to become a machine himself to solve its challenges rather he writes a technical manual and allocate some teachers / coaches to train masses on every aspect of assembled machine. It is simple logic & common sense.
- Then why God has not done same? & had to narrate himself.
- Various places in Holy Vedas, it is mentioned that the word Au-Tar is for the action demonstrated by Rishis / Messengers of God “who eradicate false hood which was prevalent in land by spreading the revealed “word of God” & by directions & messages which “Au: came” “Tar: down” to them through powerful beings”.
- For the sake of argument if we assume that
- God had incarnated Himself & became human then why He has stopped this practice as today false hood is prevalent more than ever in land?
- Why we do not have any living God today in the age of information & awareness?
This clearly shows that the concept was crafted by men & was not divine. As a common Hindu is not allowed to approach complete set of sacred scriptures & are confined to learn controlled information from certain chapters of Shrutis (selected text from Vedas & Upinshads – level 1) & mostly through human edited version of literature such as Bhagwat-Geeta “(Simriti (word of man – level 2) > Ittehaas (history faculty) > Ramayana (level 3) > Bhagwat Geeta (chapter from Ramayana – level 4)” the misunderstanding & interpretation of core concept prevailed and established as fundamental believe set.