Why did the rishi pray to the gods to lengthen their lifetime to live (Rig Veda 1.89.2)?

A person experienced bliss and got desires burned is called a rishi. Then, why did the rishi gotama rāhūgaṇa pray to the Divinities to lengthen his lifetime to live?

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Rig Veda 1.89 (composed by the Rishi gotama rāhūgaṇa) maps the soul's journey from seeking divine protection and longevity to ultimately merging with the cosmic, all-encompassing reality of Aditi.

Verse 1: The hymn begins with the famous universal prayer “ā no bhadrāḥ kratavo yantu viśvatah”. The Rishi establishes that spiritual progress requires unobstructed, noble intentions and seeks the continuous protection of the Devas.

Verse 2: The Rishi acknowledges his bodily reality. He seeks the extension of a healthy lifespan , recognizing that physical vitality is necessary to complete the inner journey.

Verses 3 to 8: invokes various divinities, including Aditi, Mitra, Varuna, Indra, and Sarasvati. The Rishi calls on these divine forces for strength, wisdom, and inner clarity so that the mind may be sharpened and the soul's desires fulfilled

Verse 9: A crucial transitional prayer requesting the Gods “not to cut life short while this deep spiritual practice is in progress” . It is a plea to preserve the body until the highest realization is achieved.

Verse 10: The climax of the hymn, detailing the direct experience of absolute BLISS. The Rishi transcends duality and realizes Aditi (the indivisible, infinite cosmic consciousness) is everything: the mother, father, son, heaven, space, and all the divinities

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Rig Veda 1.89.2

देवानां भद्रा सुमतिॠजूयतां देवानां रातिरभि नो नि वर्तताम् । देवानां सख्यमुप सेदिमा वयं देवा न आयुः प्र तिरन्तु जीवसे ॥

devānām bhadrā sumatir ṛjūyatāṃ devānāṃ rātir abhi no ni vartatām | devānāṃ sakhyam upa sedimā vayaṃ devā na āyuḥ pra tirantu jīvase ||

English translation:

“May the benevolent favour of the Divinities (be ours); may the bounty of the Divinities, ever approving of the upright, light upon us; may we obtain the friendship of the gods, and may the Divinities extend our days to longevity.”

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According to my understanding, the rishi gotama rāhūgaṇa did not pray to Divinities so that he can attend to any type of worldly affairs or to guide some disciples in spiritual line.

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The Rishis of Rig Veda and many rishis of modern day like Shri Ramana Maharshi stated that any individual attaining BLISS, at the culmination of spiritual practices, may not be permanent at the first instance, as the mind's past impressions (vasanas) are only temporarily lulled, not destroyed. As the ego is still present, the mind can return to worldly consciousness, requiring continuous practice until the experience is permanently stabilized.

So, there would be a time gap between experiencing BLISS for the first time, the mind returning to worldly consciousness and experiencing the BLISS uninterruptedly.

Hence, the Rishi in the above Rik, might not have reached that point where he would be experiencing the BLISS uninterruptedly.

Thus, he was requesting the Divinity to lengthen his life, so that he can practice again and again and start experiencing the BLISS uninterruptedly.

So, his request to Divinities to lengthen his lifetime to live did not stem from a desire to do some worldly things or to guide some disciples in spiritual line, but for perfecting his own experiences.