Monday, June 21st, 2010
Shad Darshan – Vedanta philosophies (contd.):
Swaminarayan philosophy – Brahm
Brahm, Akshar, or Aksharbrahm: Part III
Two aspects of Brahm The scriptures also describe two aspects of Brahm, namely, sagun and nirgun. The sagun and nirgun aspects of Brahm are the special divine powers or potentials of the original form of Brahm. The original eternal form of Brahm is the manifest visible human form of Brahm. The distinction of sagun and nirgun applies only to Akshar, Brahm, or Aksharbrahm. Purushottam is beyond and transcendental to both of them.
Sagun aspect or form of Brahm is extremely large, vaster than the vastest objects combined in the creation. Compared to the vastness of Brahm, infinite number of brahmands (universes) appears to be like dots or mere atoms (anu) compared to each of his pore or a hair follicle (roma). It is not that those brahmands shrunk in their sizes but because of the extreme vastness of Brahm that multiple brahmands appear to be extremely small.
Nirgun aspect or form of Brahm is extremely subtle, subtler than even subtlest object in the creation. It is subtler than even an atom, subtler than even an ordinary space, because it is cause of them. In his nirgun form, Brahm is pure (shuddha), bright (prakāsheyukta), non-associating (asangi), and non-attaching, non-sticky, or non-interacting (nirlepa) with maya and its effects. These are nirgun qualities of Brahm.
Two forms of Brahm
The scriptures have also described two swarups of Aksharbrahm. Swarups are divine forms of onself. These two forms are: Impersonal and Personal. Swarups are like two physical states or forms of the same entity that differs in several of his properties, like different physical states of matter or different physical forms of carbon. But the ontological element (tattva) of both these forms is the same confusing the philosophers. This is the reason why nirākārvādi philosophers (believers of formless or impersonal Brahm) differ from the sākārvādi philosophers (believers of personal Brahm or God). Both forms have been described in the scriptures, but philosophers and their followers couldn’t believe both opposite and contradictory characteristics in the same entity so they gave them preferential treatment and propone one particular form. Shri Swaminarayan (1781-1830) could easily grasp that reality explained to the world.
Having these two contradictory forms of one entity is rather difficult to understand and perceive meaningfully and intellectually. It is like the wave-particle duality of matter, the most puzzling phenomenon in the universe, in which a particle behaves like a wave and wave behaves like a particle. But, it is the widely accepted and proved fact, which can be explained by the quantum mechanics fathered by Werner Karl Heisenberg (1901-1976) by first publishing his theory of uncertainty in 1927.
The same thing is true about Brahm. Shri Swaminarayan explains that, Brahm is nirakar in the sense that it has no māyik trigunātmik ākār or form; instead it has divine Sachchidanand form. Brahm is never described in the scripture as an abstract entity. Brahm is sakar in the sense that he is like a person or personality but in divine sense. Brahm is not like a person having mayik or worldly characteristics, such as, gender difference, aging, external signs of maturity, internal signs of organ systems, personality characteristics, traits, temperaments, behavioral patterns, mood changes, etc.
Brahm serves Parabrahm Purushottam – the Supreme Being, in a two-fold manner.
In his impersonal (amurta) form, he is like the light (prakāshrup) – limitless, and formless (nirākār). Impersonal form is known as ekarasa (homogenous), chaitanya (consciousness), and chidakash (divine-space as against ordinary space). In this form, he is also known as divya (divine) tejomaya (light-like), and Brahm-mahol (abode), and serves God by being God’s supreme divine abode that supports or sustains countless brahmands, akshar-muktas (liberated souls), and Parabrahm (God).
In his personified (murta) form, Aksharbrahm always remains at the service of Parabrahm (God) as His humble servant and never goes away from His eyesight or vision even for a fraction of a second.
Though Purushottam (God) is present everywhere (omnipresent) in His creation, by His inner guiding (antaryāmi), inspiring (prerak), and controlling (niyantā) power, as much as He is present in His Aksharbrahm, He is not present in Prakruti-Purush, Pradhan-Purush, Mahattattva, Virat Narayan, Brahmā, Marichi-like Prajāpati, Kashyap-like Prajāpati, and devatas like Indra, as well as, in Human Beings, animals, birds, insects, plants, and others, respectively. This is known as tāratamya presence of God in His creation.
Purushottam is the cause of Aksharbrahm and Aksharbrahm is the cause of creation. From tiny portion of space (ansh or amsha) of Aksharbrahm Mahapurush is born, which initiates and activates Mahamaya to create countless pairs of Pradhān and Purush. From each pair of Pradhan and Purush, a Virat-Purush (the essence of brahmand), Mahattattva (primordial matter of brahmand), and the whole brahmand (universe) is created. The whole creation is described in detail in Purans and other scriptures of Hinduism.
This Brahmdham or Akshardham, as the abode of Purushottam, is transcendental and beyond even the space-time. The space-time curvature stops there or folds over itself, so that the time (kāl) or the multidimensional and multidirectional space (desh) doesn’t reach there. Universe is limited by the space-time, so that, the nature (maya), and even deeds or actions (karma) doesn’t reach there. Only the souls (jiv or ātmā) free from their three kinds of worldly bodies reach their after becoming brahm-like (brahmrup). Without developing, cultivating, or attaining Brahm-bhāv, (Brahmanization), that is, without becoming brahm-like (brahmrup) even souls cannot reach there and by developing Brahm-bhav even without dying soul enjoys the same bliss and happiness of Brahm and Parabrahm on this very Earth.
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Posted in Brahm - Part III, Hinduism - Philosophies, Navya Vishishtadvaita, Shad Darshan – Vedanta philosophies | Comments Closed
Wednesday, January 6th, 2010
Sharir – In general
The creation of God, also known as the Nature, is called “Shrishti” (also spelled as Shrushti) in Hinduism. Hinduism believes in Prakruti and Purush (Controlee & Controller), Jad and Chid (Matter & Energy), Achetan and Chetan (Non-divine & Divine), Kshetra and Kshetragna (Field and Fielder), Brahm and Parabrahm (Sharir & Shariri), Body and Soul (Insentient & Sentient), and Deh and Jiv (Anātmā & Ātmā) theory. According to Hinduism, the cosmos (universe) consists of body (Virāt) and its life force (Virāt-Purush). The life force of the Prakruti (Nature) is known as Purush. Similarly, the body of an individual living organism also consists of a body and its life force. The life force of the body (sharir) is known as jiv, ātmā, or jivātmā. In English, “jiv” (also spelled as jiva or jeev) is generally translated as “soul”. Hinduism believes that all living things have souls that control their own bodies. Souls are many.
According to Hinduism, all souls are similar in strength and in elemental composition. They all make their own category of fundamental eternal reality, called Jiv category, consisting of similar philosophical element (tattva). According to Hinduism, from the tiny bacteria to demigods all are of Jiv category. It is said that by worshiping God a trivial fly has elevated to the level of Sun. It is saying that, “This jiv has been elevated from the level of fly to the level of Sun.” The soul of an ant or mosquito is similar in characteristics of the soul of an elephant or lion. But, because of the limitations of the body their potential or power differs. Once detached from the body and after becoming brahmanized (brahmrup) all souls become equally powerful. Hinduism believes in the concept of transmigration of the soul or rebirth. Reincarnation (punah avatār) and rebirth (punah janma or punarjanma) are two different things. Rebirth means the same soul is reborn again. The word “incarnation” means “avatar” and it should be used for the manifestation of God only. Reincarnation of God means God manifests or appears, by His Godly power, on this earth or anywhere in brahmands in different physical forms, for different purposes, never ever leaving His abode. In both these processes of rebirth and reincarnation, soul and God, elementally, never transforms, only their body or external appearance changes. In rebirth soul gets different body. In reincarnation God reveals Himself differently while remaining in His abode in His original form. Thus, the word “reincarnation” is supposed to be used restrictively for God or divine power only and not for common un-liberated souls. After death of a living being the soul goes through the cycle of transmigration – the cycle of birth and death, also known as “Samsār chakra”. This cycle is also known as “Lakh Chaurasi” meaning the cycle of 8,400,000 lineages of life forms. The concept of 8.4 million species of life forms existed for many millenniums in Hinduism. It Graur and Li in their “Fundamentals of Molecular Evolution,” page 436) estimate the number of extant species to be 4.5 – 10 million. Currently new species are being discovered every day.
It is said that the current systems of classifying forms of life, known as “rank-based scientific or biological classification”, descend from the thought presented by the Greek philosopher Aristotle, who published in his metaphysical and logical works the first known classification of everything whatsoever, or “being”. Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC) was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. The current rank-based classification of organisms is attributed to Linnaeus and is known as Linnaean taxonomy. It was first presented by Linnaeus in his Systema Naturae (1735) and his subsequent works. In his Imperium Naturae, Linnaeus established three kingdoms, namely Regnum Animale (Animal Kingdom), Regnum Vegetabile (Vegetable Kingdom), and Regnum Lapideum (Mineral Kingdom). Thus, Carl Linnaeus (Carolus Linnaeus, 1707 –1778) laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy.
Most possibly, the concept of classification of living things goes back to Vedic period of Hinduism. Long before Carl Linnaeus (1707 –1778) and Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC), if it is not incorrect to say, Hinduism has classified living things or organisms into three or four major groups or divisions based on birth similarity. Chhāndogya Upanishad divides all life into 3 classes in this way: “Tesam khalv esam bhutanam triny eva bijani bhavanti, andajam, jivajam, udbhijjam iti.” Meaning, “In truth, beings have here three kinds of seeds, born from the egg, born alive, and born from the germ.” (Chhāndogya Upanishad 6.3.1). Not only that, Shrimad Bhagavat Puran has even classified the so-called animal kingdom of Carl Linnaeus in 3 major subdivisions as shown by this shlok: “jarāyujaḿ svedajam aṇḍajodbhidaḿ carācaraḿ devarṣi-pitṛ-bhūtam aindriyam dyauḥ khaḿ kṣitiḥ śaila-sarit-samudra-dvīpa-graharkṣety abhidheya ekaḥ” (Shrimad Bhagavat 5.18.32.)
Thus, these four groups are: Jarāyuj, Andaj, Swedaj, and Udbhij. Jarāyuj (also known as Pindaj) are placental (jarāyu means outer covering of embryo or placenta, also translated as womb) or mammals which are born directly from the body or occurring by means of a placenta or placenta like organ; such as humans and other animals. Andaj are born from an egg (anda means egg) such as birds, fishes, and amphibians. Swedaj are born from or out of the sweat, dander (material shed from the body of various animals), shed skin cells and flakes, organic detritus, biotic material, or moisture generated by breathing, perspiration, saliva, and other secretions (sweda means sweat) such as insects and other tiny or microscopic creatures. Udbhij (also spelled as Udvij) are born from the ground or grow out of earth (udbh – ud means comes up, created, or born from bhu means ground or land) such as trees and plants. First three groups belong to animal kingdom (Kingdom Animalia) and the last one belongs to the plant kingdom (Kingdom Plantae).
Tags:Anātmā, Andaj, animal, Aristotle, ātmā, Avatar, biological classification, birds, Carl Linnaeus, Chhāndogya Upanishad, Hinduism, Jarāyuj, jiv, jivatma, Kingdoms, Kshetra, Kshetragna, Lakh Chaurasi, Pindaj, plants, Prakruti, punarjanma, Purush, rebirth, reincarnation, Shrimad Bhagavat Puran, Shrishti, Shrushti, soul, species, Swedaj, transmigration, Udbhij
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