Creation of the Universe - Part 25

AJATA VADA- NON ORIGINATION (OF CREATION) CONTD…

We did go through few verses related to this doctrine. Author is sure; all those verses would have gone above our head!! He can understand this because, when he first read these verses in 2010, it was good to know intellectually but difficult to experience!!

We will take one verse and try and understand (Only with Sai / God’s grace) the essence, if possible and if we are destined to understand today.

There is neither dissolution nor creation, none in bondage and none practicing disciplines. There is none seeking Liberation and none liberated. This is the absolute truth (verse 32, Mandukya Karika)

All along the purpose of human birth posts, surrender posts, karma posts, creation posts, up to the latest posts on moving from being to becoming (from brahma sathyam jagath mithya to sarvam khaluvidam brahma), even as per the retracing from microcosm to macrocosm, retracing from animal man to God man, retracing from body, mind upto Purusha and then to Purshottama, we have learnt that the spiritual journey is starting from where we are and ultimately reaching God, merging with the God (to go and sit on the pure canvass, never to see our drawing and the world’s drawing).

It is expected that all readers who have followed all posts till now are beyond any doubt that when we reach and merge with the Lord, THERE CAN BE NO CREATION, CREATOR, CREATED existing for us!! The Jiva who can recognize the creation and yet not be affected by the same, has merged with Brahman / God!!

Now, we have to understand the essence of Sri Gaudapada’s teachings and the platform from where He roars.

Simple. As far as this sage is concerned, there is no beginning, no journey, no end, no bondage, no sadhana, no liberation, no perceiving the creation, developing dispassion for creation and then ultimately transcending the creation.

He says - EXIST AS THE VERY ESSENCE, PURUSHA, WITHOUT A BEGINNING. THERE IS NO CREATION!!

Thus, to the question on How God can will to create, Gaudapada slaps the one who puts up the question gently and says, (as though), “Exist as the one who / that is beginning less, endless, alone, windless, with no time, no space, no cosmic vibration then dare to ask this question, if you can!”

Why start the journey in this life with sense of incompletion, take up the spiritual path, undergo cleansing process, transcend ego, avidya and at the end, come to realize that you and That (God / Purushottama) are same, non dual??

Realize that you are eternally non dual, the same eternal, supreme consciousness!! Then, can there be creation for you? Can there be avidya? Can there be 5 kleshas? Can there be vasanas? Can there be karmas? Is there a need for a Guru?? Is a sishya in you there? Is anyone bound?? To get liberated??

These are Gaudapada’s questions which are answers by themselves to the questions put up!!

We read in a post “we create our universe like God creates”. Gaudapada says, “be in samadhi, never will you create your universe, nor will you recognize that there is creation”!!

Some of the lines given above are not exactly karika verses, but the  Truth which is impossible to know and experience, given by Gaudapada, has been  explained by the author is most simple manner, otherwise, the Truth that THE CREATION NEVER CAME INTO BEING, is impossible to be even read, leave alone digesting the same!

Hari Aum Tatsat.

Sri Ramana Maharshi

Creation of the Universe - Part 24

Ajatavada - Theory of non origination of Creation

Dear All,

Those few blessed souls who are able to reach up to Mandukya Karika and absorb the verses which are going to be given today, have nothing more to learn, nothing more to experience. They indeed attain the state exactly explained in today’s verses. They are/ were never born, never will they die and hence, the question of their rebirth does not arise at all.

For the rest 99.99% of human race, today’s verses will make, AT BEST, a good reading, never ever to be experienced in life time, unless, miracle happens and God makes them realize. When the author talks about miracle, he shall in fact remain silent on the same because, in its essence, miracle can happen to anyone on this earth, on any day.

What was Kalidasa, a day before He got the blessings of Goddess Kali and after that night, what He went on to become? The world knows!

Now, to the theory given by Sri Gauda pada.

• Sanskrit word जात means originate or create/born and अजात means no-origination or no-creation/unborn. Ajatavada means the doctrine of no-origination or non-creation.
• According to Gaudapada there is no creation and delusion. The supreme truth is not subject to creation, transformation and delusion. This is also called paramartha sathya.

Quoting some verse from Gaudapada Karika on Mandukya Upanishad:

2-32 There is neither dissolution nor creation, none in bondage and none practicing disciplines. There is none seeking Liberation and none liberated. This is the absolute truth.

3-2 Therefore I shall now describe Brahman, which is unborn, the same throughout and free from narrowness. From this one can understand that Brahman does not in reality pass into birth even in the slightest degree, though it appears to be manifest everywhere.

3-15 The scriptural statements regarding the creation, using the examples of earth, iron and sparks, are for the purpose of clarifying the mind. Multiplicity does not really exist in any manner.

3-26 On account of the incomprehensible nature of Atman, the scriptural passage "Not this, not this" negates all dualistic ideas attributed to Atman. Therefore the birthless Atman alone exists.

3-36 Brahman is birthless, sleepless, dreamless, nameless and formless. It is ever effulgent and omniscient. No duty, in any sense, can ever be associated with It.

3-48 No jiva ever comes into existence. There exists no cause that can produce it. The supreme truth is that nothing ever is born.

4-15 Those who say that the effect is the cause of the cause and that the cause is the cause of the effect maintain, actually, that the creation takes place after the manner of the birth of father from son.

4-22 Nothing whatsoever is born, either of itself or of another entity. Nothing is ever produced, whether it be being or non—being or both being and non—being.

4-28 Therefore neither the mind nor the objects perceived by the mind are ever born. To see their birth is like seeing the footprints of birds in the sky.

4-30-31 If, as the dualists contend, the world is beginningless, then it cannot be non—eternal. Moksha (Liberation) cannot have a beginning and be eternal. If a thing is non—existent in the beginning and in the end, it is necessarily non—existent in the present.

4-58 Birth is ascribed to the jivas; but such birth is not possible from the standpoint of Reality. Their birth is like that of an illusory object. That illusion, again, does not exist.

4-71 No jiva ever comes into existence. There exists no cause that can produce it. The supreme truth is that nothing ever is born.

Even reading today’s verse is an impossible happening/ endeavor. Hence, author shall try, with Sai’s grace, to explain the essence of the above verses in the next and perhaps the concluding post on the theme “Creation of Universe”.

Love.

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.

Love is .... fulfillment of life

Love is the very foundation, beauty and fulfillment of Life ,says this realized soul!

We went through Love For God, Love Of God, Love Is God posts, Love God without, Love God within and then spontaneous Love for all, culminating in spontaneous serving of all in the manner decided by God- These posts also we went through under SURRENDER posts.

For those who have not read these posts, author prostrates to them and requests them to go back and read these posts- NOW.

When we start our spiritual journey with Love for God, pushed towards God due to some thing that happens in our life which turns us away from the world and turns us towards God, with the new born conviction that it is Only God and God alone for us to think, concentrate, contemplate, meditate and merge- LOVE BECOMES THE FOUNDATION OF OUR LIFE 

With the conviction, as we start living this life sojourn ONLY in God's love, when the initial stages have enabled us to  meditate in depth on God, it is  at this time that we really feel God's love spreading within us. LOVE BECOMES/ EXISTS AS BEAUTY OF LIFE NOW!

When the love that started spreading, has occupied us so much so that we are no more separate from Love and we exist as Love( Love is God, live in Love!!) and the duality of we, God and our Love for God, God's love for us, Our Love for His creation- all these are gone and we have merged in the Prema sagara- LOVE CULMINATES HERE AS FULFILLMENT OF OUR LIFE! (You have gone and merged inside the canvass!!. Your Individual  consciousness has merged in absolute consciousness, the doll made of salt has dissolved in the grand lake of salt, never to remerge as the salt doll).

Have we started our spiritual journey with love as foundation as described/ poured above??

If the starting is not good, if the foundation is not solid, then how will this pillar of our life will stand tall, perfect in all its grandeur ??? How will our or THE Love meet its fulfillment?

Without losing ourselves totally, completely to our Love for God and experience God's love totally, How will we achieve the goal of our Life???? How will our love meet its fulfillment?

Think!!

LOVE

Creation of the Universe - Part 23

We kept the following question flagged, to be taken up later and the time has come now to handle this question.

Question / Doubt:

IF GOD / THAT EXISTED ALONE WITH NOTHING OTHER THAN THAT, WITH NO MIND, NO THOUGHT, THEN HOW THAT CAN WILL TO CREATE THIS WORLD?

Instead of trying to answer to this question directly, the author takes you through few selected verses from Viveka Chudamani first and then from Mandukya Karika given by Sri Gauda Pada, Guru of the Guru of Adi Sankara.

Selected Vivekachudamani verses:

227. All this universe which through ignorance appears as of diverse forms, is nothing else but Brahman which is absolutely free from all the limitations of human thought.

228. A jar, though a modification of clay, is not different from it; everywhere the jar is essentially the same as the clay. Why then call it ajar?  It is fictitious, a fancied name merely.

229. None can demonstrate that the essence of a jar is something other than the clay (of which it is made). Hence the jar is merely imagined (as separate) through delusion, and the component clay alone is the abiding reality in respect of it.

230. Similarly, the whole universe, being the effect of the real Brahman, is in reality nothing but Brahman. Its essence is That, and itdoes not exist apart from It. He who says it does is still under delusion – he babbles like one asleep.

231. This universe is verily Brahman – such is the august pronouncement of the Atharva Veda. Therefore, this universe is nothing but Brahman, for that which is superimposed (on something) has no separate existence from its substratum.

232. If the universe, as it is, be real, there would be no cessation of the dualistic element, the scriptures would be falsified, and the Lord Himself would be guilty of an untruth. None of these three is considered either desirable or wholesome by the noble-minded.

233. The Lord, who knows the secret of all things has supported this view in the words: "But I am not in them" … "nor are the beings in Me".

234. If the universe be true, let it then be perceived in the state of deep sleep also. As it is not at all perceived, it must be unreal and false, like dreams.

235. Therefore, the universe does not exist apart from the Supreme Self; and the perception of its separateness is false like the qualities (of blueness etc., in the sky). Has a superimposed attribute any meaning apart from its substratum? It is the substratum which appears like that through delusion.

Now, the above verses do not directly answer to the question but they point out towards some essence which provides answer to the question in subtler way.

Let me take couple of verses and explain. Readers are required to apply the same basis to other verses to  be clear as to where the above verses are pointing out.

"A jar, though a modification of clay, is not different from it; everywhere the jar is essentially the same as the clay. Why then call it a jar?. It is fictitious, a fancied name merely."

None can demonstrate that the essence of a jar is something other than the clay (of which it is made). Hence the jar is merely imagined (as separate) through delusion, and the component clay alone is the abiding reality in respect of it.”

Thus, if the creation of this universe is to be taken as jar (object) and the substance / essence from which the jar (universe) is the clay, in the above verse, it is explained that there is nothing in the jar which is apart from clay. If someone who has never seen jar at all in his life is shown the jar and asked what is it, he will say, it is clay.

So, it is proven here that it is only due to delusion that we are seeing the substance made of clay and telling that it is Jar.

THE ESSENCE DRIVEN INTO OUR INSIGHT THROUGH THESE VERSES IS THAT THERE IS NO SEPARATE UNIVERSE / CREATION APART FROM BRAHMAN. IT IS ONLY DUE TO AVIDYA / IGNORANCE THAT HUMAN MIND PERCEIVES THIS WORLD AS SOME THING SEPARATE FROM THE SUPREME SOURCE, BRAHMAN.

TO THIS EXTENT, IF WE WERE TO DERIVE THE ANSWER TO OUR QUESTION, THE ANSWER IS “THERE IS NO CREATION APART FROM BRAHMAN, SO THERE WAS AND THERE HAS BEEN NO NEED FOR BRAHMAN, EXISTING ALONE, TO WILL TO CREATE THIS APPARENT CREATION.

In the next post, we will proceed to a more bold, perhaps the boldest declaration made by any sage on the creation, “THE CREATION WAS NEVER MADE”.

In today’s post, we do not say that the creation is not there. We say, due to our avidya, we perceive what we see to be creation. However, the next post will see Gaudapada declare that irrespective of vidya / avidya, delusion or no delusion, THE CREATION NEVER CAME INTO EXISTENCE AT ALL!!

Love.

Mata Amritanandamayi

Creation of the Universe - Part 22

Dear All,

Let us visualize a strange situation in the context of the Pure canvas – Starched canvas - Outline of drawings- Inking of drawings and completed drawings appearing on the canvas or a motion show running on the movie screen.

We are seated away from the screen in both cases and we see drawings/ human beings of so many different dimensions - some short, some tall, some thin, some fat, some beautiful, some ordinary, some ugly, etc.

Suppose, imagine, a miracle happens and we, at that instant, travel and sit on the canvas ourselves.

What will happen?

Seated on the canvas, how will we be able to see the other varied objects on the canvas? It is impossible because there is no space / no distance between us and the other drawings and the eyes cannot see itself, the eyes can only see things to our right / to our left/ in front of us/ above us / below us. It cannot see ourselves, it cannot see anything which exist as ourselves on the screen, with no space between us and the other drawings.

Correct?

This imagination takes us directly to the highest philosophy, highest truth which is pregnant in all the 100+ Upanishads.

What is the highest truth which follows the above imagination?

·        The pure canvass is Brahman which is referred as Purusha    inPanchadasi and Purushottama in B.Gita.

·                All the fallacies, all the issues, all the karmas are faced by us only because WE EXIST AWAY, AS A SEPARATE IDENTITY, AS MR. SO AND SO, FROM THE PURE CANVASS, FROM  BRAHMAN, FROM GOD.

·                  Existing away from God (avidya and asmita) as explained in MBCA, we are seeing/ perceiving all drawings, the varied creations, good people, bad people, beautiful people, ugly people, good things , bad things etc. and are disturbed seeing this variety.

·           As per our ego (attachment/ hatred), we deal with different human beings, different things perceived by us, standing away from God.

·                   GO, MERGE, SIT ON THE SCREEN YOURSELF!!

(Go towards God through spiritual sadhana, merge in  God in the climax of your sadhana and exist as God yourself)

·                   If you have merged with the screen/ God, then how will you see other things/ diversities in the canvass/ world?

Now, for the ONLY truth which  follows from the above, which is the theme/ essence of vedantha.

·   The pure canvass is the universal consciousness/ absolute consciousness which is referred to as Purusha or Brahman or Paramatman in vedantha

·    You, the one who have occupied a portion of the canvass is referred to as JIVA

·     The portion of the pure canvass which has been occupied by you in the individual consciousness or Atman or Jivatma

·   When, in sadhana undertaken with intense craving for God realization (Mumukshatva in vadantha), a day or THE DAY arrives when you have totally discarded  your identity with your body, mind , intellect, ego then what happens?

·         The discarding of your identity is to be understood as erasing your identity which is sitting on the pure canvass, occupying a portion of the pure canvass.

·   What happens when your physical identity seated on the canvass is erased?

·         Is it not that the portion of the pure canvass on which you had super imposed your physical identity, GOT FREE??

·         This erasing of your identity  is FREEDOM OR MOKSHA

·     The arrested portion of the pure canvass on which you has    super imposed yourself, getting free now, is ATMAN or JIVATMAN

·    With the portion on which you had  been existing on the canvass getting free, it has now regained its original free existence and post erasing, there is no difference between that portion and the other area of the pure canvass. 

·  This non difference explained above is MERGER OF JIVATMAN WITH PARAMATMAN, Merger of Atman with Brahman, Merger of your individual consciousness with absolute, universal consciousness.

Dear All,

Please do not live with any doubt on today’s learning because today’s learning is the essence of vedantha and this is the starting point for more vedantha posts to come in future. So your foundation has to be strong for the edifice (of vedantha learning) to be strong in future. Is it not?

Let us now summarize the various theories as per our learning of sankhya / panchadasi/ Bhagwad Gita as we reach to the end of this mega theme “creation of universe”

  

	SANKHYA	BHAGWAD GITA/ VEDANTHA	PANCHADASI
Primal cause, beyond Manifest and un-manifest	Not explained	Purushottama/ Prabrahman	Pure canvass/ Purusha
Un-manifest cause	Purusha	Purusha and prakriti	Stiffening of canvass- Iswara
Manifest cause	Prakriti and Mahat	Hiranyagarbha	Outline of Drawing-Hiranya garbha
Manifest creation	Ahankara and all Subsequent tatwa	Same as Sankhya	Inked Drawings- Objects created in the universe

In the next and perhaps the end of the creation theme, we will address to a question which we had kept flagged in an earlier post.

IF GOD/ THAT EXISTED ALONE WITH NOTHING OTHER THAN THAT, WITH NO MIND, NO THOUGHT, THEN HOW THAT CAN WILL TO CREATE THIS WORLD?

Are we going to get answer directly or the answer is going to lead us to a truth which is incredible to us till the time we actually experience that truth??

Let us see in the next post.

Hari Aum Tatsat.

Swami Vivekananda

Creation of the Universe - Part 21

Dear All,

Nāpratīti stayor bādhaḥ kintu mithyātva niścayaḥ, no cet suṣupti mūrcchādau mucyetā yatnato janaḥ (13)

The non-perception of the world is not freedom from bondage.It is the perception of the unreality of creation that is the freedom from bondage. 

There is no harm in seeing the mirage looking like water, but running after it as if it is water is ignorance.

Even when we know that it is a mirage and we do not run after it, it is still seen. The water in the mirage will still appear even to the person who knows that it is not water.

Similarly, even for a wise person, the world may be visible.

Even a Jivanmukta will see the world, but he will know that it is not there, and therefore he will not be attached.

If mere non-perception of a thing is freedom, we would be freed in deep sleep, in a coma, or in a swoon. 

We could get liberation without any effort if the mere non-perception of things could be regarded as freedom, as happens every day in deep sleep. But this is not so. Non-perception of the existent thing is not freedom.

The recognition of the unreality of an existent thing is freedom. Let it be there, but we do not get attached to it on account of knowing what it is made of, really speaking. 

Perception itself is not bondage; the ignorance attached to the perception is bondage.

Paramātmā vaśeṣo’pi tat satyatva viniścayaḥ, na jagat vismṛtir no ceñ jīvan muktirna saṁbhavet (14).

The unreality of the world is, at the same time, an affirmation of the reality of God.

When the forms and names are brushed aside as finally not valid in this process of creation, we will get awakened to the consciousness of the background.

When we do not see the ink, we will then see the cloth.

Even in a cinema we can see the screen behind the film if we concentrate our mind properly.

In a similar manner, we can see the consciousness of the Absolute pervading all things, notwithstanding the fact that there is a variety of names and forms. 

This condition of seeing the variety and yet being conscious of the Universal Being at the same time is called Jivanmukti, which was described in a previous post.

This is the essence of Vibhuthi Yoga in Bhagwad Gita.

Dear All,

Not recognizing the dancing pictures on the movie screen/ Not recognizing the drawings on the pure canvass has to be properly understood.

It is impossible not to physically ignore the dancing pictures or drawings. Your eyes do see them.

What is most important to know and realize here is “To be tuned to/ To be aware of the pure consciousness energy which is everywhere and in everything, at all times.”

To the extent this awareness is complete and full, to that extent, you will not be able to perceive and take in anything even when you see the dancing pictures/ drawings.

Let us understand this more clearly today and for ever in the context of God and Devotee, as we can relate to this relation more easily.

When a devotee like  Mira/ Tulsidas/Kabir/Tyagaraja etc. is so much filled with Godly thoughts, God consciousness, the devotee is never ever able to come down to the level of thinking whether he is perceiving the worldly things  ore not.

For Mira, there was no one else, there was nothing else that existed other than Krishna, so much so that, She herself lived as Krishna.

Now, we can relate easily to the lines given earlier-"What is most important to know and realize here is “To be tuned to/ To be aware of the pure consciousness energy (God if you may say so) which is everywhere and in everything, at all times.”

Love.

Chinmayananda Saraswati