Prajapati is one of the mysterious gods from the older verses of Hindu mythology. He first appears in the Rig Vedas as an individual God, yet most Hindus today recognise Prajapati as a group of deities.
In the earliest Hindu scriptures – the Rig Veda, he is an individual deity in his own right and not a collective. Furthermore, the Rig Vedas depict Prajapati as one of the most important gods.
However, in later texts, Prajapati disappears and is replaced with the Brahma – which stems from the Brahman caste, the highest status, or upper-class of the Hindu society.
According to ancient myths, Prajapati was emerged from the primal waters and produced the Universe and all sentient beings. In one myth he is described as becoming an ascetic before producing the Universe.
However, Prajapati is first mentioned in Rig Veda 10 verse 121 where it describes him emerging from the “golden germ.” This is a direct correlation with Brahma who emerges from the golden egg.
And there is another connection between Prajapati and Brahma which leads me to believe he was a forerunner to the Creator God of the Hindu Trimurti.
In later Sanskrit texts, Prajapati is described as a group of people, rather than the individual God he is depicted as in earlier legends. Essentially, Prajapati is a collective for a group of deities – gods that were born from the mind of Brahma.
There is some dispute among Hindu scholars over the number of deities in the Prajapati group. Some claim there are 10, whilst others claim there are seven which relate to the seven great rishis.
In my opinion, there are probably ten. The seven rishis are a reference to the seven body chakras, and neither Brahma nor the original Prajapati relate to the energy centres. They relate to thoughts.
In ancient numerology, the number 10 denotes the end of one life cycle and the beginning of another. Each thought we have is formed and evolves through various stages of consciousness until it manifests and a new cycle of consciousness begins.
What is the life-force of Prajapati?
If you study the earlier version of Prajapati and compare him with Brahma, you will find some very striking similarities. Both deities are considered ‘creator’ gods that made the Universe.
Furthermore, they are both associated with the laws of nature, which is the essence that forms in accordance with cosmic laws. Prajapati is actually described as ‘the life force’ which later became known as prana.
But in the early legends, Prajapati was also responsible for upholding the moral principles of dharma – the need to do the right thing. Modern Hindus still practice dharma with the belief that if they live an honest and virtuous life, they will be rewarded favourably by the gods.
But when you study the philosophy behind Prajapati, it is easier to understand that the life-force is the consciousness of thought which ultimately becomes creation when energy is placed behind that thought through action.
This is the hermetic principle of the triangle of manifestation which is made up of three factors, thoughts, emotions and actions. Thoughts are energy that is the beginning of creation – the life force or prana.
When we run with our thoughts and conceive (to give birth to) an idea, we have to act in order for that idea to manifest into reality. And we only choose to act if we have a desire to make it real. Desire is emotion.
Prajapati as the Universal Mind
In an earlier article, I explained how Brahma is also symbolic of our conscious thoughts. In Hindu mythology, Brahma is described as the Universal Mind. And given the comparisons between the two gods, Prajapati is also symbolic of the Universal Mind.
In turn the Universal Mind is your mind, as you are the centre of your own Universe. It makes sense that you have to be because you are the only person in the Universe experiencing your existence from your point of consciousness.
Although Prajapti is generally known today as “the god of the people,” a more accurate description would be God in man. He represents a state of higher-consciousness that is innate within each of us if we choose to search for it through the act of self-realisation.
Prajapati is also associated with sacrifice and is honoured in Hindu rituals as the god of fire. Fire of course is used to dissolve things we no longer want in our lives. We destroy old furniture and rubbish for fuel.
We can also do this symbolic act in a practical way by dissolving our ego and finding our path back to our true self. Furthermore, the element of fire in hermetic alchemy, which shares the same meanings as religious symbolism, represents passion and desire.
Sometimes, in order for us to evolve into our next stage of consciousness, we have to sacrifice things that we desire or have a passion for. We have to burn away values that we no longer need.
The dual nature of consciousness
Nature is governed by cosmic laws, one of which is the law of duality. The law of duality determines that everything has an opposite and a scale between the two. When nature finds balance, it flourishes.
The same is true of consciousness. We have a higher consciousness and a base consciousness. Hindu religion calls them Devas (higher consciousness) and Asuras (lower consciousness).
Prajapati is noted as a Supreme God, thus he can be identified as representing higher consciousness. But he is also associated with animals which represents the lower consciousness of man – because we are by nature animals. It is only our ability to attain higher states of consciousness that human beings are superior to animals.
So when Prajapati is described as a bird, he represents the higher self. The tortoise represents the lower consciousness of the reptilian brain which controls our need to survive, and goats, bulls and oxen represent ignorance of our slavery.
We therefore have choices to make; to follow the path of our divine consciousness and become like gods, or stay rooted in ignorance and slavery like cattle. Do you ever wonder where the term ‘sheeple’ might have come from?
Like all Hindu Gods, Prajapati is an aspect of ourselves. He is our conscious thoughts that evolve to become reality. And the thoughts you choose to act upon come from either your higher consciousness, or your lower consciousness. So pay attention to your actions.