What did humans do that Brahma took away their divinity?

Question

According to an ancient Hindu legend whose author is unknown, there was once a time when all human beings were gods but they so abused their divinity that Brahma, the chief god, decided to take it away from them and hide it where it could never be found. What did humans do to abuse their divinity and cause the gods to hide it?

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A Traditional Hindu Legend: Where The Treasure Lies

According to an old Hindu legend, there was once a time when all human beings were Gods, but they so abused their divinity that Brahma, the chief God, decided to take it away from them and hide it in a place where it could never be found. In order to find the best spot, however, he needed to hold a council of the Gods to help him decide.

"Let's bury it deep in the earth," said the Gods.

Brahma answered, "No, that will not do, because humans will dig into the earth and find it."

The Gods replied, "Okay, let's sink it in the deepest ocean then."

But Brahma said, "No, not there, for they will learn to dive, and they will find it."

Then the gods said, "What about the highest mountain top, out in the farthest corner of the earth?"

But again Brahma replied, "No, that will not do either, because they will eventually climb every mountain, scale every peak, search every hidden cave and once again find and take up their divinity."

The rest of the Gods were exasperated. They threw up their arms in surrender. "There is no place!" they hollered. "The humans will proliferate, and they will find it anywhere we put it."

Brahma was quiet for a time. He thought long and deep. Finally, he looked up at the rest of the Gods, a knowing twinkle in his eye. "Here is what we shall do," he said. "We will hide their divinity deep down in the one place they will surely never look - the very center of their own being."

The rest of the Gods rejoiced. Of course! It was the perfect place! They all formally agreed on it, and the deed was done.

Ages passed, and since that time, humans have been on a desperate and unending search, travelling every corner of the planet, digging, diving, climbing, and exploring - searching for the one thing they know they've lost, and just can't seem to find.

Answer 1

The legend mentioned is most probably a created story. There is no basis of humans losing their divinity. It looks like an story created to motivate the readers to realize that they are no lesser than Gods and the divine.

On the contrary, there are mentions where Gods performed sacrifices and attained divinity. They ascended to heaven.

From Yajurveda Taittiriya Sanhita Kanda VII Prapathaka 4 Mantra 2,

As are men, so were the gods in the beginning. They desired, 'Let us strike off the misfortune, the evil of death, and reach the conclave of the gods.' They saw this twenty-four night (rite); they grasped it, and sacrificed with it. Then they struck off the misfortune, the evil of death, and reached the conclave of the gods. Those who knowing thus perform the twenty-four night (rite) strike off the misfortune, the evil, and win prosperity, for the conclave of the gods is in the case of man [1] prosperity.

(Emphasis mine.) There are stories in the Brahmanas and other texts like Rigveda, Apastambha Dharma sutras which mention Gods and humans living together. Gods have left the earth after some incidents. But they don't say that humans lost their divinity and Brahma hid it in the centre of their being.

Answer 2

The question is

What did humans do that Brahma took away their divinity?

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I do not know the source of the story, but I am sure that it is narrated to convey a message in an esoteric sense.

Rig Veda VII.76.4 says

त इद्दे॒वानां॑ सध॒माद॑ आसन्नृ॒तावा॑नः क॒वय॑: पू॒र्व्यास॑: । गू॒ळ्हं ज्योति॑: पि॒तरो॒ अन्व॑विन्दन्त्स॒त्यम॑न्त्रा अजनयन्नु॒षास॑म् ॥४॥

Those were the feasting companions of the gods: the sage poets of old, provided with truth. The Fathers discovered the hidden light. With their mantras that come true, they generated the Dawn.

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This Rig Vedic mantra was composed by Vasiṣṭha Maitrāvaruṇi praising Dawn or उषस्, which is SELF REALISATION in esoteric sense.

Here, sage poets of old, who observed TRUTH, are none other than the composers/sages of mantras of Rig Veda of Older generation to Vasiṣṭha Maitrāvaruṇi.

Vasiṣṭha Maitrāvaruṇi was saying that Fathers discovered the hidden light, indicating the attaining of SELF REALISATION, which was already there, but hidden behind the ignorance.

Attaining SELF REALISATION means becoming BRAHMAN. Upanishads say that knower of the BRAHMAN, becomes BRAHMAN

It applies to every human being.

We the human beings, being engulfed in illusion and are running after wealth, fame, show of strength/power, scholarly pursuits, family comforts, etc, could not find the REAL TREASURE that is lying within every human being, ie., SELF REALISATION.

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This is the meaning of the words what Brahma said. "We will hide their divinity deep down in the one place they will surely never look - the very center of their own being."

Answer 3

A basis to this narrative, if not the story as such, appears in the Yogasutra Bhashya (for Sutra 4.22), where Vyasadeva says:

Na patalam na cha vivaram girinam

Na-iv-andha-karah kukshayo n-odadhinam,

Guha yasyam nihitam Brahma shashvatam,

Buddhi-vrttim avishishtam kavayo vedayanti

The 1907 translation by Ganganath Jha is the following. "As is declared: 'Neither the nether world, nor mountain caves nor darkness, nor the crevices of the ocean,--(none of these,) is the cave where the eternal Brahma is concealed; the wise call it the function of the mind, pure and simple."

Vyasadeva does not provide a reference to this verse, and I am trying to get the original source of this verse which seems apropos to this question, but I have been unable to track it down so far.

Would appreciate any pointers folks might have to the original source of this verse which may throw more light on the story.