Creation of the Universe - Part 8

Dear All,

We  shall take it forward from the previous post and  try and  understand the process of creation as per Vedas.

AUM

The first ever vibration from the source God who remained alone is described as cosmic vibration or AUM.

Om is Nada Brahman. Nada is sound. Sound is vibration. Om is the first vibration of sound. Sound is the first manifestation of the Absolute. 

We know nothing about the nature of the Absolute except that It is. 
The scriptures have tried to tell us all about creation, how it proceeded from the Absolute. They say: "Brahman was one and non-dual. It thought, 'Let me become many.' 

That caused a vibration, eventually bringing in sound, and that sound was Om, from whence arise all other manifestations."  Thus sound is virtually the comprehensible basis for all creation. 

Brahman is incomprehensible in Its transcendent aspect. The nearest approach to It is only sound.

When a close devotee asked Sai, “Swami, if we have to meditate ever on you/God without form then  what do we do?,  Swami replied, “KNOW ME AS SHABDA BRAHMAN, MEDITATE ON ME AS AUM”

तस्माद्वा एतस्मादात्मान आकाश: सम्भूत: 
TASMAAD VA ETASMADAATMANA AAKASHAH SAMBOOTAHA 

(From AUM, the five elements came, out of them, the first which came is SPACE.)

आकाशाद्वायु:
AKAASHAAT VAYUH 
(From space, came Air)

वायोरग्नि:
VAYOR AGNIHI 
(From Air, came fire)

अग्नेराप:
AGNIR APAHA 
(From Fire, came Water)

अद्द्य्: पृथिवि
ADYAH PRITHVI 
(From Water, came earth)

Earth is the most dense - the state of solidity – we can perceive with all five senses. We can see,touch, taste, smell and hear.

Water is less so the state of fluidity – we can perceive by four senses. We can see, touch, taste, hear but cannot smell water.

Fire is constant transformation, constant action. We can perceive by three senses  i.e. less considerable less dense (We can see, hear, smell but cannot taste, cannot  touch)

Air is movement, subtle transparent movement . we can perceive only with two senses (we can only touch and listen to the sound of air, cannot taste, cannot  smell and cannot see)

Space still subtler, nearly imperceptible; we perceive it through sound alone. Yet despite containing all others, it remains untouched by their movement, ever calm ever in balance.

So, the creation process starts from Space, which is the subtlest of the 5 elements. From the subtlest element, each subsequent  element gets created in the upward flow above, with Earth being the 5^th and the grossest element.

There is a deeper significance of the above sequence in the context of human evolution.

• We are born as divine and this divinity in us is the subtlest aspect. 

• Unfortunately, man grows and gets  grosser and grosser and goes on to exist as the most gross being, with gross ego, mind and vasanas.

• And, the purpose of human life is to retrace from his gross nature gradually to exist ultimately  in the way He emerged first (like space appeared first in creation and is the subtlest), the subtlest existence as divine.

The entire journey in the spiritual path is to retrace/ evolve from our gross nature (Ego/ Jealousy/ Hatred/ Attachment/Fear) to subtler impressions (vasanas) and then to transcend  Mine and Thine ness (Asmita) to ultimately transcend our most subtlest identity/ ignorance (Avidya) and shine as divine entity, as God man!!

We will learn in future posts in this theme on this retracing process from gross to subtler to subtlest, from the jiva hood at its grosses level to the God hood at its subtlest level, with more and more clarity.

Love.

Swami Krishnananda