Chapter XIII
The Avatar as Guru
God: source of time, creation, activity
The cosmos or creation,
time, activity (karma) — all these
are manifestations of the will of God and are bound to Him. They are considered
by some as “false” and “unreal”, but how can God, who is the very embodiment of
truth (sathya), will anything not
true? Therefore, it can be said that these two are true, in one way. When
evolution changes over into involution and the ultimate stage of merging of
both the conscious and the unconscious is reached, God (Iswara) is the only One existent.
Time is the manifestation
of the power of God, so it has no measurable beginning or end. Activity (karma) is also an important truth to be
reckoned as such. God is no wayward force, unmindful of bounds and
limits.
He creates situations
and environments strictly according to the activities in which people engaged
during their previous lives. The creation, the time, and the action — all three
are true in God and true along with God. They are instruments that He uses.
They are bound to Him.
God (Iswara), though not ordinarily
perceptible to the senses, becomes so perceptible to the devotee who has such
deep attachment to Him that there is a yearning to merge in Him. Why? Such
devotees perceive God as clearly as they perceive external objects. God is said
to be formless; that is to say, He can assume or adopt any form. He has endless
forms. Then, in what form does He grant a clear vision to the devotee?
He manifests in the form
for which the devotee yearns, the form that will grant the highest
satisfaction. These forms are His Avatars. God doesn’t limit Himself when He
thus manifests; He is fully present in every such Avatar; He manifests Himself
with His full glory in every Avatar.
It is said that some
manifestations are partial and others full, that some are temporary and others
lasting. But these are called Avatars only by courtesy. Narada, Sanatkumara,
and other similar sages are referred to in some texts as such Avatars. They
don’t have all the divine characteristics, so they are not worshiped.
The individual soul (jiva) is by its very nature “eternal and
immortal”. It has no end or beginning that can be calculated. It has neither
birth nor death. It is self-illuminating. It is the knower and the knowledge,
the doer and the enjoyer.
Whether bound or
liberated, the individual soul has all these characteristics intact. But
whatever it is, it doesn’t have the freedom that God has. In every act, the
individual soul has to involve the body, the senses like the ear, and the vital
airs that operate in the body. All these coexist with the Divine in the
individual.
Whatever it is, the
individual soul is not a machine that has no will of its own. Just as the
activities in this life are determined by the nature of the activities in
previous lives, the activities of this life determine the activities of the
next life.
God (Iswara) decides the time and place, the
circumstance, and the consequence in accordance with the nature of the
activities presently undertaken. God has the power to shape the nature of
people, but He does not exercise that power and mould it differently. He leaves
it to the free will of the individual, which has to learn the lesson by
experience.
God, nature, and people
The flake of stone that
is chipped off the rock is a part of the rock, but the individual is not a part
of God like that. In one sense, the individual soul (jivi) and the cosmos (jagath)
are distinct and different from God. In another sense, they are
inseparable.
This mystery of
separateness and identity cannot be grasped by means of reason and intellect.
It can be understood only through the Vedas and their message. This is the main
lesson that this “Stream of Indian Spiritual Values (Bharathiya Paramaartha Vahini)” can instil.
Every child arrives in
the world bearing the burden of unrequited consequences accumulated in previous
lives. It does not drop from the lap of nature, as a streak of lightning from
the clouds. It is born in this world in order to experience the beneficial and
the malignant consequences that are the products of its own acts in past lives.
This is the explanation for the differences that are evident among people. This
is the principle of karma.
Each person is the cause
of their own fortune, good or bad. Each is themself the builder, the architect.
Fate, destiny, predetermination, the will of God — every one of these
explanations is toppled by the principle of karma.
God and people can be reconciled and affiliated only on the basis of this
principle of karma.
When one realizes that
God has no share in causing one’s suffering, that one is oneself the sole
cause, that no blame attaches to any other person, that one is the initiator as
the beneficiary — the cause and the effect— of one’s acts, that one is free to
shape one’s future, then one approaches God with a firmer step and a clearer
mind.
If a person is afflicted
by misfortune now, it is assuredly the result of their previous acts.
Accordingly, one has to believe that happiness and good fortune also lie in
one’s own hands. If one decides, happiness and good fortune can be gained.
A person who is pure in
spirit now is themself the cause. Without yearning, a person cannot earn. So,
it is clear that the will inherent in a person is beyond all stages and conditions,
all formations and transformations. The freedom that it represents is the
result of one’s past acts; it is powerful, infinitely fruitful, and supreme.
Love.
We will contemplate on
today’s glorious post when Avatar Himself speaks of an Avatar!!
