From the Vedas – True Love
A transcendental perspective on the power behind all existence
he following is from Raimon Panikkar’s translation of the Atharvaveda. The verses below are drawn from hymn 9, part 2, dedicated to Kama, God of Love.
- Love is the firstborn, loftier than the Gods, the Fathers and men. You, O Love, are the eldest of all, altogether mighty. To you we pay homage!
- Greater than the breadth of Earth and Heaven or of Waters and Fire, you, O Love, are the eldest of all, altogether mighty. To you we pay homage!
- Greater than the quarters and directions, the expanses and vistas of the sky, you, O Love, are the eldest of all, altogether mighty. To you we pay homage!
- Greater than all things moving and inert, than the Ocean, O Passion, you, O Love, are the eldest of all, altogether mighty. To you we pay homage!
- Beyond the reach of Wind or Fire, the Sun or the Moon, you, O Love, are the eldest of all, altogether mighty. To you we pay homage.
By the Translator: “Kama . . . is considered to be the first principle of activity, the creative and procreative force leading the Supreme Being out of the closed circle of Its own existence. It is a cosmic force, but not to be understood as a kind of blind energy or impersonal urge. On the contrary, the personal is so much included in the transpersonal element that kama is said to be the first seed of mind, the first born of the Absolute and thereafter the loftiest characteristic of all created beings, and more particularly of human beings. Kama is the driving force in any enterprise, the highest of all human qualities.”
Raimundo Panikkar, (1918-2010), held doctorates in science, philosophy and theology. His anthology, The Vedic Experience, excerpted above, is the result of ten years in Banaras translating with the help of Vedic scholars.