In his book, Myth, Ritual and Religion, Andrew Lang wrote that, "...nothing in all mythology is more difficult than the attempt to get a clear view of the gods of Vedic India". For centuries the many-armed, multi-headed creatures of the Vedic pantheon have eluded all attempts at scholarly categorization. As a consequence, the myths and hymns of the ancient Rishis have become regarded as simply curious stories of a primitive and barbarous people who made ritual sacrifices to the powers of nature in order to increase their agricultural bounty. It appears however that the ancient Vedic civilization was much more sophisticated than modern scholars had ever imagined. While these strange stories remain tantalizingly obscure to the unenlightened, it has been revealed that the myths and hymns of Vedic India conceal an initiatic knowledge on the order of the Eleusinian and Orphic mysteries. Commentaries on the Veda by the philosopher/sage Sri Aurobindo, have disclosed that the Vedic gods and goddesses were invested with deep Psychological conceptions as well as representing the Powers and Personalities of the Supreme Godhead.