Creation of the Universe - Part 6

ॐ आत्मा वा इदमेक एवाग्र आसीन्नान्यत्किंचन मिषत् ।

AUM ATMA VA IDAM EKA EVAGRA AASIT

 NA ANYAT KINCANA MISHAT

(In the beginning, there was but, the absolute SELF alone, nothing else was)

                                                                      (Aitareya upanishad) 

Thus, it throws light on something that existed prior to creation which did not subject itself to any of the description of the created beings given in the earlier post under  this theme " creation". 

So, the above  verse says that in the beginning, Only God ( ATMAN)  existed ALONE and nothing else was!

IN THE BEGINNING

Chinmaya writes, the student has reached the master after using his own intellect trying independently to understand the world of creation around his life.

In his enquiry he must necessarily come to ask questions like:-

·       From where did all these come?

·       What was there before the first creation?




SELF ALONE EXISTED

The master looks at the curious disciple and replies, "In the beginning, before the manifested creation came into being, SELF alone existed".

Who else but Chinmaya can go on to explain this with the most simple example?

·       In a cloth shop, before the creation of cloth, different in shape, color, volume and quantity, all that existed is cotton.

·       Opening a box of ornaments of different shapes and patterns of different names and descriptions, of different designs and uses, we can say, before all these was created, in the beginning, all that existed was Gold.

In the same way, before the creation of this universe, all that existed was God or Self or consciousness, all alone, without name, without form, without description, without volume, without various dimension, without shape, without beginning or end, without any limitation!

If we have replaced the original word "SELF" in the verse with "GOD", then, as per the verse, How that God would have been? 

·       Not created by 5 elements. Since God existed prior to creation, God was not possibly created by any of the 5 elements because, God existed, as per the verses given above which say “In the beginning, there was but, the absolute SELF alone, nothing else was"; “Neither non-being, nor being was, nor was there space, neither heavens beyond it”.

·       Not an effect of any prior cause. Going by the same verses given above, since there existed nothing other than God, God could not be the effect of any prior cause as no cause existed prior to God.

·       Neither born, nor will die and hence, imperishable. Again, since God has not been created by anything and it is not born out of anything, it also has no death and hence, it is imperishable.

So, God as causeless, not created by any other thing, never born and hence, having no death, without the limitation of time and space as time space themselves were not there when He alone existed. 




This existence of God all alone without anything else is described as "KAIVALYA" in upanishads. Don't we sing, Kamala Nayana Hey Kaivalya Dhama? 

And, this God existing alone is described as "BRAHMAN" in our vedas. 

Love.

PS:- While THAT which existed alone is described as Brahman, why in the above verse, it says " only  ATMAN existed"? We will learn about this later, after we have gone more deeper into the subject!