Then there was neither non-existence nor existence, Then there was neither space, nor the sky beyond. What covered it? Where was it? What sheltered it? Was there water, in depths unfathomed? Then there was neither death nor immortality Nor was there then the division between night and day. That One breathed, breathlessly and self-sustaining. There was that One then, and there was no other. In the beginning there was only darkness, veiled in darkness, In profound darkness, a water without light. All that existed then was void and formless. That One arose at last, born of the power of heat. In the beginning arose desire, That primal seed, born of the mind. The sages who searched their hearts with wisdom, Discovered the link of the existent to the non-existent. And they stretched their cord of vision across the void, What was above? What was below? Then seeds were sown and mighty power arose, Below was strength, Above was impulse. Who really knows? And who can say? Whence did it all come? And how did creation happen? The gods themselves are later than creation, So who knows truly whence this great creation sprang? Who knows whence this creation had its origin? He, whether He fashioned it or whether He did not, He, who surveys it all from the highest heaven, He knows--or maybe even He does not know. --Rig Veda, X.129