The name Eve in Hebrew is 'Havah' and is associated with the root 'hayah' or 'hay' meaning life. Eve was given this name because she was the mother of living.
Modern day story of Adam and Eve
Both Adam and Eve lived in the child -like innocence in the Garden of Eden enjoying, God'sbliss. They were told that they could eat freely the fruit of every tree in the garden except that of the true knowledge of good and evil. However, tempted by the serpent, Eve ate the fruit of knowled-tree and gave it to Adam. As a result, they became conscious of their nakedness and sin, made themselves aprons of fig leaves. To prevent from eating the fruit of tree of life, God banished them from Eden; and thenceforth they were obliged to till the ground to obtain food. Eve's further punishment was decreed in the following words-"I will multiply thy sorrow and thy conception, in sorrow, shalt thou bring forth children..........”
Bible critics see in the Eve-narration a reflection of the ancient Hebrew concept of the origin of the human race. The story can be regarded as a culture myth to explain the origin of the pains of childbirth and to show how it became necessary for man to submit to grievous toil for the means of subsistence. Though a Babylonian parallel to the biblical story of Eve has not been found, its adoption from a Babylonian myth has not been ruled out. (Collier's Encyclopedia Vol. 7 page 258).
From these quotations it will be clear that the origin of the story is not yet clear. In this story, it is said that ‘the God prepared man on the 6th day’ etc., it is evident that the writer of the story did not have the real knowledge of the Genesis of the world. It is not told in the story who prepared the serpent and how the serpent became equal and opposite to the God. Even the ‘GOD‘ who created man and woman was not described clearly how he got the power to create and why did he create? So the foundation of the story is ignorance.
The original story of Adam & Eve is however described as story of two birds in Mundakopanishad. The initial process of creation from two forces was explained in Prasnopanishad 1/4, written around 6000 BCE.
Story of Rayi and Prana in Prasnopanishad
Kabandhi, a student asked the sage named as Pippalada, “From where all these things and animals come into existence?” .Sage Pippalada replied, “The originator(creator) thought of producing different things and he performed Tapa and produced a couple, Rayi and Prana; and said that these two will produce variety of things and animals.”
A person who does not understand what is Rayi may take it as a woman because the word appears feminine in gender. He may take Prana as a man because the word appears masculine in gender. Actually the sage has used the word Rayi to depict the matter, and Prana to depict the Energy. This is evident from the very next statement of the sage that the Sun is Prana and the Moon is Rayi, not only the Moon but any form is Rayi.(1/5). Further he states that the Sun supports and maintains all the life by his rays. (1/6)
First he told that the Moon is Rayi; but immediately he noticed the loophole in the statement. Sage corrected his statement and said, "Whatever may be the form, it is Rayi." Further he noticed that this statement is also limited in truth because the water, light and wind have no form but still they are Rayi. So he added that any thing formless but which is manifest is Rayi. Whatever is seen or experienced is Rayi; and inside Rayi resides Prana.
It is true according to the modern science that it is the energy of Sunrays, which maintains all the life on this Earth. If the Sun disappears life will also disappear. Thus the sage Pippalada discloses the knowledge equal to that of the modern scientists.
Thus it is clear that the pair of matter and energy is called as Rayi and Prana. It is absolutely true that from this couple every living and nonliving thing came into existence. Thus sage Pippalada theorized the highest knowledge, which then spread and descended through generations. In this process of descent, which means coming down, the level of the knowledge also descended, came down and then some person, thinking that the couple was a human couple, compiled the story of the couple, Adam and Eve, who produced this world. Thus the root of the story of Adam and Eve is seen in the Prashnopanishad.
The story of two bird in Mundakaopnishad
Now the question comes about eating of the fruit and falling in trouble thereby. This part ofthe story also has its origin in one Mundakaopnishad 3-1-1:
There is a twin of birds on a tree. They always stay together and are fast friends. Out of the two birds, one eats the fruits of the tree, while the other does not eat the fruit, but only looks at it. The next stanza states that the one, who eats the fruit falls in sorrow.
The sage of Mundaka Upanishad tells about Jeeva (the life or the individual soul), and Paramatman (an energy controlling the life or The Lords), which is still unknown to the modern science. The tree on which these birds-Jeeva and Paramatman - stay is the physical body and the ‘fruits’ means the effects of our deeds (Karma). Anybody suffers due to his own deeds. Hence it is said that the one who eats the fruits of the tree gets sorrow.
Being ignorant about the twin birds, Jeeva and Paramatman, some person thought of the pair, a human couple and made one of them Eve, to eat the fruit first so that the wrath of God fell on her more than Adam. So I think that the root of this part of the story is in the Mundakopanishad. It is to be noted that both the Prashna and Mundaka are the Upanishads of Atharva Veda.
Hence it is possible that some Atharva-Vedi person might have gone to the west to preach the Upanishadic philosophy. The people there did not follow the high quality of the knowledge, so they converted it into a simple story. In the later Puranas this pair is called as Shiva and Shakti. Shiva is called as Adinath, Adideva. ‘Adim’ means the first, primitive, or original, which may have turned into Adam. Shakti is called as 'E'. This 'E' may have converted into Eve. Thus the names are also explained. Shiva is often shown garlanded with a snake.
It is usually believed that the knowledge flew from the West to India, but it is a wrong idea. The knowledge went from India to west and east. In support of my view is an archaeological finding of a dead body of a Yogi seated in Vajrasana, at the border of Yugoslavia and Romania, at Lepenski Veer, on the bank of river Danube. The German scientists have dated the body to be of 5000 years B. C. Yoga is a treasure exclusively of India. So it is definite that Indian Yogis must have marched to Europe 5000 years B. C. These Indian Yogis had spread the Upanishadic philosophy to the wild tribes of Europe. But later on perversion of the knowledge took place and absurd stories flourished. The root and the original knowledge is still preserved in India. It is our duty to investigate this treasure.
Source: The Biblical Story ofADAM and EVE Its origin in the Upanishads by Dr. P V Vartak
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