The Myth of Divine Self-Immolation and Its Sanction of the Caste System
According to the Rig Veda text: Creation as Cosmic Sacrifice: The Myth of Divine Self-Immolation and Its Sanction of the Caste System, the world and all of its inhabitants originated from the self sacrifice of the divine being, Purusha. Purusha was a mighty god possessing the immense power to create all things – creatures of air, animals, and even human beings. It is believed that Purusha himself developed the four distinct social classes, as the Brahmans emerged from his mouth, the Kshatriya from both arms, the Vaishya from his thighs, and the Shudra from his feet. Here, the divine creation itself represents the purest manifestation of the god-mandated social stratification that justifies the division of people based on class and power. This predestined separation of people therefore heavily influenced the Vedic society, creating a system rooted in its religious and ancestral justification of strict social order. Here, the Indian creation narrative shaped not only the Vedic peoples’ significant reverence for the divine sacrifice, but also their perspective on social and political distinctions (WW Ch 1, Section 6). This text can contrast with the creation narrative of early North America. This civilization believed in the vast capacity and power of Wakonda, who retained in his mind the spirits of all things, including man. Wakonda served as a vessel that carried man as he sought out a place to come into bodily existence (WW Ch 8, Section 2). Both Wakonda and Purusha are praised god-like figures who are deemed as the “maker of all things”. However, they differ in the sense that Purusha engaged in a physical self-sacrifice of his mind and limbs to bring humans into creation, whereas Wakonda merely thought up humans into existence and carried them into the world. By comparing the creation narratives of two unique societies at different points in history, we can better understand the evolution of religious and cultural thought.
