The Creator- How did He create?
The Atman alone was. “Atma va idam eka evagra asit, nanyat kin cana misat,” says the Aitareya Upanishad at the very commencement. The Atman existed as the unparalleled Being, and it became the cause of the manifested elements.
We went through the sequence of creation in the earlier posts with only THAT/ SELF at the beginning, then the SELF/ GOD willing to created, then the 5 elements getting created by the GOD/ THAT etc.
In this MOST crucial post in the entire CREATION theme posts, we have to try and understand How the GOD, remaining alone in the beginning, goes on to create, even the 5 elements.
We went through the sequence of creation till now. Now we are getting into the depth of the process of the creation or rather, the cause and how the cause effected the creation!
What is the procedure of the world coming out of the Ultimate Cause?
What is the relationship between the effect and the cause here?
The Creator does not stand as an extra-cosmic substance unrelated to its creation. The Upanishad rules out totally any coming of a fresh effect from the cause.
When we say that the Atman alone is, we assert the One alone, to the exclusion of the many; and when we speak of the One becoming the many, we are conscious of the One and the many at the same time.
Then comes the level of thinking where we are aware only of the many, and not the One. That is the dividing wall between the One and the many.
Isavasyam idam sarvam yat kim ca jagatyam jagat, tena tyaktena bhunjitha, ma gridhah kasyasvid dhanam (Isa 1) is the first mantra of the Isavasya Upanishad. This mantra says: "All this is enveloped by the Supreme Being".
The word 'enveloped' has to be understood in its proper connotation.
I am enveloped here by this piece of cloth. You are enveloped by a shirt.
Is it in this sense that the Creator envelops the universe, or is there any other meaning implied in this great statement?
The word 'enveloped' has to be understood in its proper connotation.
I am enveloped here by this piece of cloth. You are enveloped by a shirt.
Is it in this sense that the Creator envelops the universe, or is there any other meaning implied in this great statement?
The Creator, whom we call God, manifests this universe, creates this universe.
In what manner does He create the universe? There are instances of someone creating something in this world.
In what manner does He create the universe? There are instances of someone creating something in this world.
First doctrine for creation (Aramba vada)
A carpenter creates a table or a chair. A potter creates a mud pot. Is this the way in which God creates the world?
Some say that this is not the way in which God creates, because a carpenter requires brain/ capacity to visualize the design and outcome of the chair (INTELLIGENT OR EFFICIENT CAUSE), some tool (INSTRUMENT CAUSE) and some material ((MATERIAL CAUSE) out of which and through which he can manufacture a table or some furniture.
But, where is the instrument or tool, and where is the material for God?
If we say that there is some material outside God, then there will be another difficult question: "Who created this material?"
If God created the world out of some existent material, someone must have created that material also.
If we say that there is some material outside God, then there will be another difficult question: "Who created this material?"
If God created the world out of some existent material, someone must have created that material also.
Second doctrine for creation ( Parinama vada)
God must have modified Himself into this universe, as milk modifies itself into yogurt or curd.
Otherwise, we cannot explain how God creates this world. The assumption of a totally independent material existence outside God is not permissible for various reasons, one of the reasons being that it would limit God to a finite entity.
Otherwise, we cannot explain how God creates this world. The assumption of a totally independent material existence outside God is not permissible for various reasons, one of the reasons being that it would limit God to a finite entity.
Both the above theories seem to be unacceptable in the sense that, in both theory, God, after having created, is not existing in His real identity.
In 1st doctrine, He creates world out of something new, which is not Him.
In 2nd doctrine, He has modified to become a new world and thus, He does not exist any more in His actual/ original Identity as supreme God.
Milk can never become milk again, after it has become curd. It is destroyed; it has become something else. 'A' has become 'B'. When 'A' becomes 'B', 'A' ceases to exist afterwards. There would be no God.
There would be only creation, as there would be only curd and no milk in the act of transformation.
Where is the point in searching for God and aspiring for the attainment of God if He does not exist at all and He has already destroyed Himself by a self-modification of His being into the form of this cosmos? Why would then any one strive to reach God when God is not there at all upon creating the world?
In 2nd doctrine, He has modified to become a new world and thus, He does not exist any more in His actual/ original Identity as supreme God.
Milk can never become milk again, after it has become curd. It is destroyed; it has become something else. 'A' has become 'B'. When 'A' becomes 'B', 'A' ceases to exist afterwards. There would be no God.
There would be only creation, as there would be only curd and no milk in the act of transformation.
Where is the point in searching for God and aspiring for the attainment of God if He does not exist at all and He has already destroyed Himself by a self-modification of His being into the form of this cosmos? Why would then any one strive to reach God when God is not there at all upon creating the world?
Is there a better or the best way to understand/ know about the creator-creation relationship? Let us try in the next post.
Love.
