CREATION

[vijay nikore]

Dear friends, the following article requires some orientation to concepts of Advaita Vedanta. In this context, it will help for some of us to refresh our knowledge of Advaita's definition of Brahman, Truth, Maya, ignorance, realization,etc.

 

 Why the creation ? Are we going against God's will ? Are we the soul created by God in the maze of Maya challenging us to realize the truth and get out of it ?

All the questions in the pursuit of Truth are sacred, all questions are valid.

 

Why the creation ?

I look at this question as if addressed to two different people.

For one, THE QUESTION DOES NOT EXIST, and for the other, THERE IS NO ANSWER,or if there is one, their is no definitive answer.

For the one who is realized, or is nearing realization, there are no questions, for everything is Brahman, for, if there is no "other", who would ask who. Questions exist only so long as there is the "other", and thereafter there are no questions.

In pure Advaita sense, there never was a creation; for, once we have truly ascended our avidya (ignorance), everything, everyone, every thought,every particle of air, every speck of dust, every word, and its every syllable, every sound and its every note, is Brahman. If everything is Brahman, and we started with Brahman, then there is nothing other than Brahman; then the subject of creation , and any question about the creation just dissolves in itself, and there is left no question.

All questions about Brahman, or about anything related to Him, are only till we do not see Brahman everywhere, and when we do, by then we realize that we ARE Brahman (for those of us who practice Advaita Vedanta).

For one who is still on the path of realization, as most of us are, there are lots of questions. The more we desire to know the Truth, the more are the questions in the beginning. However, as we progress on the path, the questions become either less, or they just lose their own significance, till we reach the stage of realization, when there are no questions.

Addressing myself and those who, like me, are striving and trying, it is very important to constantly remind ourselves of the expression "as it were", for even when we believe that we have the answers, the answers are sometimes not definitive, and at other times, they start with assumptions and beliefs that ,in themselves, raise questions. Also, to explain the concepts, our revered teachers have to use "words", and the words can be, and are, very limiting. Therefore, the acceptance of AS IT WERE becomes the important stepping stone in our learning process.

Coming back to the question, Why The Creation, for us aspirants, the question is very real, it is very potent.

 

The more we struggle to find answers to various things/subjects around us, the more we reach that stage of no answer in 'relative' terms, and the stronger becomes our belief in the existence of God. This, by no means is the only way to develop or harbor a strong belief in the existence of God. On the other hand, those deeply entrenched in the path of devotion, do not even need a reason to believe in the existence of God and His creation, for them all that matters is their love for God, and for them God is there, and God is real. These are the true Bhaktas.

For us, the question, "why the creation", is in the same category as asking "why bad things happen to good people", i.e. hard to explain.

There is no one answer, there is no decisive answer. Many teachers, many preachers of as many faiths and beliefs have hypothesized, or deduced, their own answers.  Any acceptable/palatable answer is designed to help us continue treading the path of spirituality that each of us may have chosen.

I also believe that we have to guard ourselves against the preachers who assert strongly, "I" know the answer, like some in modern day churches/temples who cry "I'' know God, "I" have seen God. For, we know that, barring avatars, anyone who says he knows God, does not really know God. God is reachable, for He is here; God is not knowable, for He is infinite.

Again, addressing the question, "why the creation", it has been said that Brahman had a desire, He willed to manifest Himself, and, AS IT WERE , He divided Himself to present what we call His creation......the cosmos; the five elements; the human, animal and the plant life; i.e. the entire Maya. In fact, the more we think about it, the more fascinating it appears to us.

 

Here we need to define real versus unreal. Per Vedanta, only what is permanant is real, all else is unnreal. Definition of permanant? .. that which does not ever change. With this definition, the only reality is God/Brahman/Truth, for He/She does not change, all else is subject to change.

 

This Maya that appears so real to us in our present state is all unreal in the sense that nothing, except the Truth/Brahman, is permanent. As we progress on our spiritual path through janana, the same Maya becomes all real, for then we assert that everything, including Maya is Brahman; and that Brahman is real, and therefore, Maya (as Brahman) is real.

 

Thus, we first deny the things around us as real (i.e. neti-neti) and then after treading the rigorous path of "knowing oneself", we see the reality as ONE ,i.e. only GOD/Brahman/Trut is real..and then we say, THIS IS IT ..or "iti-iti". We come around in a complete circle, from neti-neti to iti-iti.

 

So, what appeared as the answer, viz "maya is unreal" is not the answer any more; since, as we evolve, "maya is real" becomes the answer, for by then, we see everyone and everything as Brahman. So there is no real answer, or, we can say, there is no one answer; it is all designed to give us a foothold till we get THERE ... to THAT place where there are no more questions.

If God wanted creation, are we going against His will by our attempts towards salvation ( Moksha ) ?

I do not think so. To us jivas, God has given such a magnificent field, "kshetra" to operate in, with multifarious variety in everything and in every aspect of our lives, extensive freedom for thought and for action, coupled with an anthakarna that knows no bounds.

This "kshetra" is, as it were, a battlefield for some, a place of sense enjoyment for others, and a secluded corner for those who want to contemplate. It has room to accommodate any and all good and evil, love and hate, humility and ego, thought or 'no' thought. The beauty also is that we leave and the "kshetra" continues unaffected by our coming and going.

Almost everyone of us is leading two lives, or two aspects of life, spiritual and empirical; and it is the predominance of each that at any moment, or stage, projects our overall personality or pursuation.

God has given us the freedom to see or to not see and what to see, to hear or to not hear and what to hear, to act or to not act and how to act. This freedom is immense. Our choice of specific freedom(s) determines our pursuations, and our pursuations, in turn, influence our thoughts and actions; thereby becoming a cycle of its own in the process of our evolution.

As householders, unfortunately we are deeply entrenched in the empirical aspect of life, that calls for us to operate in ways that we would not subscribe to in the spiritual aspect of life, thus creating a dichotomy in the mind and making us feel uneasy with ourselves.

 

This discomfort with oneself can be agonizing and painful. To operate in the empirical world wrapped up in the UNRIPE ego and UNREAL discriminations, we succumb to its ways.

 

Fortunately, to our rescue, each of us has a contemplative corner within us that one can come back to and reflect on the REAL, and find a solace. How fast and how easy we find this solace depends on the point we are at in our subordination to the body and the mind. The more we associate ourselves with the body and the mind the more we are affected. This is when one needs to remind oneself that ' I am not this body, I am not this mind', difficult though it is when one is in the midst of a turmoil within. We have to come to terms with ourselves.

Finally, I believe that we have to constantly strive to remove this "OTHERNESS" in ernest, in practice and not in theory, in our every interaction with every being, living and non-living... i.e. perceive and feel ॐ in everyone, in every sound, and every particle. And the key word here is "strive", for what matters is that we are on the "path", for as Lord Krishna said in the sacred Bhagwad Gita, "... in this, there is no loss of effort ".

Dear friends, I am very much looking for your valuable thoughts on this very, very difficult topic.

Regards,

Vijay Nikore

[ASHISH KUMAAR TRIVEDI]

NAMASKAR

VERY INTERESTING AND EDUCATIVE ARTICLE ABOUT BRAHMAN. BRAHMAN IS SUBSTRUCTURE OF THIS UNIVERSE. EVERYTHING IS BRAHMAN. BRAHMAN TAKES FORM OF DIFFERENT OBJECTS AS POTTER CREATES DIFFERENT VESSELS FROM SAME CLAY.

WHEN BRAHMAN COMES TO CONTRACTION IT IS LIMITED TO A TINY PARTICLE OF DUST WHEN IT COMES TO PROLIFERATION IT IS WHOLE UNIVERSE.

DUE TO IGNORANCE WE SEE DIFFERENT OBJECTS BUT WHEN THIS VEIL IS REMOVED EVERYTHING BECOMES CLEAR. THERE IS VARIETY UNLESS WE DON'T REACH THE SOURCE.

BRAHMAN IS BEGINNING, MIDDLE AND END OF THIS UNIVERSE.

 

OM TAT SAT