Swami Sivananda

Dear All,

Has the time really come for the readers to understand the difference between Nirguna and Saguna Brahman, the 2 states of the same Divine consciousness??

Let us see

God can be experienced in two aspects – as  NIRGUNA and SAGUNA .

NIRGUNA is the eternal all-pervading and omnipresent divine consciousness.

SAGUNA is the manifestation of God in form.

When God manifests in form, He appears to be limited by His form, but His presence is unlimited and all-pervading. Nothing exists without God’s presence. God is omnipresent and absolute.

In the context of all that we have learnt in creation session, the purushottama described in Gita , the Pure canvas are Nirguna  Brahman.

Once the WILL to create arises in God, once upon the cosmic vibration, God is aware of Himself or Itself, then It is Saguna Brahman.

The Purusha in sankhya yoga, the stiffening of canvass in panchadasi - these are Saguna   Brahman, as the attribute of "WILL" to create has arisen in Him/THAT.

God in Nirguna form is in fact everywhere and in everything, but this is not easily comprehensible or “appealing” to our human intellect. 

The ultimate goal of humans is to become one in consciousness with the Nirguna form of God. But the medium through which we can reach this goal is the embodied form of God, Saguna.

In the Saguna aspect, God also appears in a human form making it easier for us to come closer. There have been divine incarnations in every age to show people the path to Nirguna God.

Lord Krishna speaks about Saguna God in the Bhagavad Gita (4/7):

“Whenever righteousness is on the decline and unrighteousness is on the increase I appear in the material world. From age to age I come into being to protect the good, destroy the bad and consolidate righteousness.”

We human beings are born due to our Karma, Incarnations descend at their will, we are bound by Maya/Avidya, Incarnations have absolute command over Maya.

Sathya Sai is such incarnation, who is Saguna Sakara Brahman, Lord with Form and with attributes.

Thus, there are three aspects of the same Divine consciousness.

Nirguna Nirakara Brahman- Pure consciousness without form without attributes- The Purushottama that we read, God or THAT which exists alone, prior to cosmic vibration, without WILL to create.

Saguna Nirakara Brahman- Pure consciousness with WILL to create. The purusha in Sankhya, Iswara in yoga sutras and in Vedanta. The one who became aware upon cosmic vibration and WILLED to create!

Saguna Sakara Brahman- Rama / Krishna / Sai / Jesus / Buddha & all other incarnations.

Sant Tukaram sang to Krishna, as we sing to Sai every week, from the depth of our heart, thus:

"O Lord, For Tuka's sake, You the cosmic divine has taken a physical form so that Tuka, with limited understanding, can easily understand You and worship You"

So, dear ones, Sai came down, to lift us and take us to His abode, His absolute state as Nirguna, Nirakara Brahman (The one beyond manifest and unmanifest). 

If that seems to be a very far off Goal / dream, let us ATLEAST understand Sai as Sai, without limiting Sai with our own ego and let us ATLEAST know the Lord with form in real sense and follow what all He taught us, with His form!!

Love.