CREATION BY AND FROM THE SELF - THE HINDU CREATION STORY

This story has been taken from the second and forth Brahmanas of the Brhadarayaka Upanishad and is arguably one of the oldest creation stories from one of the oldest peoples.  First written in India sometime in the 700's or 600's B.C.E, this passage was translated and published by S. Radhakrishnan in 1953.

In the beginning there was absolutely nothing, and what existed was covered by death and hunger. He thought, "Let me have a self", and he created the mind. As he moved about in worship, water was generated. Froth formed on the water, and the froth eventually solidifed to become earth. He rested on the earth, and from his luminence came fire. After resting, he divided himself in three parts, and one is fire, one is the sun, and one is the air.

How does death and hunger exist if, in the beginning, there was absolutely nothing.  I can imagine parents telling their kids this trying to get them to sleep.  The kids are going to ask the same question and you know the parent is going to say something like "just because."  Right off the bat this story is a bunch of bull, no more so than the other creation stories but this one is so in-your-face bad.  Anyway, onwards... 

Thus in the beginning the world was only his self, his being or essence, which then took the shape of a person. At first he was afraid, but realizing that he was alone and had nothing of which to be afraid, his fear ceased. However, he had no happiness because he was alone, and he longed for another. He grew as large as two persons embracing, and he caused his self to split into two matching parts, like two halves of a split pea, and from them arose husband and wife.

Wow, that is actually a little easier to swallow than making people out of mud, at least we can call on the science of mitosis!  Actually, it doesn't make it any more real as the idea of asexual division would not have been known then but perhaps it started a conversation somewhere that may have lead to the science... then again, lets move on.  Is this the first man and woman made from god or is this god getting himself a goddess? 

They mated, and from their union arose the human beings of the earth. The female reflected on having mated with someone of whom she was once a part, and she resolved that she should hide so that it would not happen again. She changed to a cow to disguise herself, but he changed to a bull and mated with her, and from their union cows arose. She changed to the form of a mare, but he changed to that of a stallion and mated with her, and from that union came horses. She changed to the form of a donkey, but he did likewise, and from them arose the single-hoofed animals. She became a ewe, but he became a ram, and from their union came the sheep and goats. It continued thus, with her changing form to elude him but he finding her and mating with her, until they had created all the animals that live in pairs, from humans and horses to ants.

Ok, question answered... now we have the first people, and sacred cows!  This is actually a great little answer to the question of many and varied animals!  The only problem is ants do not live in pairs.  Come to think of it, nor do horses.  Oh well, cant get everything right.

After all this work, he reflected that he was indeed Creation personified, for he had created all this. Rubbing back and forth, he made Fire, the god of fire, from his hands, and from his semen he made Soma, the god of the moon. This was his highest creation because, although mortal himself, he had created immortal gods.

A mortal god?  So he creates everything and then, eventually, will die but the god of the moon made from his semen (not sure if I'll look at the moon the same way again) and the god of fire are immortal gods - what a bummer! And so ends the story of creation from the Brhadarayaka Upanishad.  I nice, short story just like that of Genesis and about as believable.

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Thank you all

Justin