Rishi

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A view of the upper Ganges area of Rishikesh, India. Birthplace of the Vedic rishis.

Rishi (Sanskrit: ṛṣi, Devanagari: ऋषि) (Rishi Jobanputra) denotes the composers of Vedic hymns. However, according to post-Vedic tradition the rishi is a "seer" to whom the Vedas were "originally revealed" through states of higher consciousness. The rishis rose into prominence when Vedic Hinduism took shape, perhaps as far back as some three thousand years ago.

It has often been asserted that some of the ancient rishis were in fact women.^[1] According to the Sarvanukramani text, there were as many as 20 women among the authors of the Rig Veda, known as rishika.

One of the foundational qualities of a ṛṣi is satyavācas (one who speaks truth) when composing Vedic hymns. According to tradition, other sages might falter, but a ṛṣi was believed to speak truth only, because he existed in the Higher World (the unified field of consciousness) according to the Sanskrit 'riṣi'. Ṛṣis provided knowledge to the world which included the knowledge of Vedas.

"As the rishis described it, awareness begins in an unbounded state with pure consciousness and then cascades, plane by plane, until it reaches the physical world. That each level is within you, and the choice of boundaries - or unboundedness - is yours alone. Therefore journeys to heaven and hell are daily occurrences, not far-off possibilities." ^[2]

"To the rishis, bliss (ananda) was more than the expansive feeling of ecstasy. It was the basic vibration, or hum, of the universe, the ground state from which all diversity springs... the possibility for creation to manifest. Bliss itself is far from the feeling of happiness or even joy, though in diluted form it can be experienced as both. It is simply the vibratory connection that allows pure consciousness to enter into creation".^[3]

"The seer, or observer, is rishi. The process of projecting is devata. The thing projected/created is chhandas. In a movie house, the audience is the rishi, the machine run by the projectionist is the devata, and the images on the screen are the chhandas. It's not so important to remember these terms, but ancient sages hit upon a universal rule of consciousness, called three-in-one. If you occupy any of these roles - seer, seen, or the process of seeing - you occupy all of them. These modest-sounding words have the potential to revolutionize the world."[4