Vedic Gods of Japan

The Vedas tell us that the gods (deva in Sanskrit) reside within the mind. But since physical reality is also experienced as a construction of the mind, therefore, one may see the Vedic gods in the physical space and its relationships. These conceptions led to the detailed exposition of the devas in yoga, tantra as well as in architecture and iconography.

The Vedic way recognizes that reality is a synthesis of opposites. We are suspended between being and becoming, between hazy memories of the past and fears for the future. Within each of us lie not only sublime thoughts but also avarice and greed. We are the battlefield of a struggle between the gods and demons. The opposites require an act of balance so that the individual’s relationship to Truth is articulated only partly by means of abstract ideas, and it needs art – in performance and representation – to complete the picture.

The two poles of the approach to reality are provided by the Upani¬adic mahāvākyas: “I am Brahman” or “I am the Universe” (aham brahmāsmi) and “Not this, not this” (neti, neti). These lead to two artistic styles: one rich and textured, the other spare and austere. One speaks of infinite possibility and structure (Brahman), the other of nothingness (śūnyatā). Each of these is the ground of the other; within one lays the other in endless recursive details. This is the essence of the paradox taught in the Vedas to help one learn that one is not a thing, but a process. On the one hand are the maddeningly complex rituals, on the other the simplicity of dhyāna (meditation). Both these styles are to be incorporated within the life process.

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