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.
Tags:abode, abstract, actions, aging, ākār, akshar, akshar-muktas, Aksharbrahm, Akshardhām, amsha, amurta, animals, ansh, Antaryāmi, anu, asangi, aspects, ātmā, atoms, behavioral patterns, birds, bliss, Brahm, Brahm-bhāv, Brahm-like, Brahm-mahol, Brahmā, brahmand, brahmands, Brahmanization, Brahmdhām, brahmrup, bright, cause, chaitanya, characteristics, Chidākāsh, consciousness, contradictory, controlling, Creation, Darshan, deeds, Desh, devatās, divine, divine-space, divya, duality, Earth, effects, ekarasa, entity, form, formless, forms, gender difference, God, guiding, hair follicle, happiness, Heisenberg, Hinduism, homogenous, human, Human Beings, impersonal, Indra, insects, inspiring, jiv, Kal, Karma, Kashyap-like, liberated, limitless, Mahāmāyā, Mahapurush, Mahattattva, manifest, Marichi-like, matter, maturity, maya, mayik, mood changes, multidimensional, multidirectional, murta, Nature, nirākār, nirākārvādi, nirgun, nirlepa, niyantā, non-associating, non-attaching, non-interacting, non-sticky, omnipresent, ontological element, organ systems, Parabrahm, particle, person, Personal, Personality, personified, phenomenon, Philosophy, physical states, plants, pore, Pradhān, Pradhan-Purush, Prajāpati, prakāsheyukta, prakāshrup, Prakruti-Purush, preferential, prerak, primordial, properties, Purāns, pure, Purush, Purushottam, quantum mechanics, roma, Sachchidanand, sagun, sākār, sākārvādi, Scriptures, servant, Shad Darshan, Shri, Shuddha, souls, space, space-time, Supreme Being, Swaminarayan, swarups, Tāratamya, Tattva, tejomaya, temperaments, time, traits, transcendental, trigunātmik, universe, universes, Vedānta, Virat Narayan, Virat-Purush, visible, wave, wave-particle, worldly
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Friday, June 18th, 2010
Shad Darshan – Vedanta philosophies (contd.):
Swaminarayan philosophy – Maya
Maya or Prakruti
Maya means matter, in modern terms. It is the material cause of the creation. Maya is described to be trigunātmikā. Just as particles have three inherent properties of mass, charge, and spin; maya also has three inherent qualities called gunas, namely, Satva, Raja, and Tama. These gunas or properties are described in the Moksha-dharma section of Shanti Parva – Book 12 of Mahabharat. Maya is full of darkness and ignorance. It causes illusion. It does not have intelligence. It is lifeless (achetan), insentient, and dead. Scriptures called it jad-chidātmak (analogous to matter and energy or particle and wave form). It is also called the Shakti or power of Purushottam (God). It is the root cause of ignorance (avidya) and attachment of the soul with its body and bodily relatives. It creates the feeling of aham (I-ness) for the body and mamatva (My-ness) for the bodily objects and bodily relatives. It causes attractions for the two objects. It causes bondage or attachment of the soul with the world and worldly things.
Maya in its primordial form is also known as Prakruti. The primordial form of universe is called Pradhān and the primordial form of multiverse or multiple brahmands is called Mahāmāyā or Mul-Prakruti.
3. Pradhan and Purush
Pradhān is a kind of Prakruti. Sometimes, it is also known as Pradhan-Prakruti to differentiate it from the Mul-Prakruti. Pradhan-Prakrutis are infinite in numbers. They are all evolved from Mul-Prakruti. Pradhan is described in the scriptures as the material cause of brahmand. Its essence is known as Purush, called Pradhan-Purush to differentiate him from Mul-Purush. From Pradhan, Mahattattva – the primordial form of brahmand (universe) is evolved. From Mahattattva, three types of Ahamkar are evolved and from them 24 kinds of elements (tattvas) are evolved. From these 24 elements all of the non-living and living beings of the universe are evolved. Pradhan-Purush or Ishwar is the essence of Pradhan and the efficient cause of universe. Virāt form of brahmand, also known as Virat-Purush, is evolved from Pradhan-Purush. All avatars manifest from Virat-Purush. Vāsudev Narayan enters into and resides in avatars through Purush. His presence qualifies the avatar. It is not possible for an avatar to manifest through Virat-Purush without the presence of Vāsudev Narayan (God).
4. Mul-Prakruti and Mul-Purush
Mul-Prakruti (also known as Mahamaya) is mentioned in the scriptures as the root cause or the basic material cause of infinite numbers of universes (ananta koti brahmands). (Mahabharat: Book 12: Shanti Parva, Part 2-3: Mokshdharma Parva: Section: CCCLII) Scriptures describe that from a pair of Mul-Prakruti (also known as Mahamaya) and Mul-Purush (also known as Prakruti-Purush or Mahāpurush) infinite number of pairs of Pradhan and Purush are evolved. From each pair of Pradhan and Purush, each brahmand is evolved. Mul-Prakruti or Mahamaya is the final material cause of countless brahmands or multiverse. Prakruti-Purush or Mahapurush is the final efficient cause of countless brahmands or multiverse.
Mahamaya, Maya in general, is originated from a tiny portion of the luminescence (tej) of Brahm, which sustains in it all of the brahmands. “Vishtabhya aham idam kritsnam ekāmshena sthito jagat” (Bhagwad Gita: 10.42). Meaning, “I support (vishtabhya) this entire (kritsnam) cosmos (jagat) that is being existed (sthito) in a tiny portion or fraction (ekāmshena) of me (my body).” In the scriptures, Aksharbrahm is considered as the sharir (body) of Purushottam (Parabrahm) and Purushottam is considered Aksharbrahm’s shariri (essence or controller). “Yasyāksharam shariram…” (Subāla Upanishad: Khand-7) Meaning, “He, Narayan (God), whose body (sharir) is Akshar.”
Prakruti-Purush, Mahapurush, or Mul-Purush, as he is known by these names, is basically an aksharpurush or akshar-mukta, one of many akshar-like or akshar-rup purushas. This aksharpurush or Prakruti-Purush is desireless (niranna), already liberated (mukta), brahmanized, brahm-like, or has become one with Brahm (brahmrup), and is the cause or source of maya. He is fully contented, happy, and fulfilled (paripurna) with the bliss and happiness of Brahm, who is free from any desire to indulge in worldly or mayik pleasures. Even though he stays within maya he ever remains unaffected by maya. There are many such akshar-like, brahmrup Purushas who worship Purushottam Vāsudev Narayan (God). Mahapurush is born or arise (upajayate) from Aksharbrahm at the wish or will of Purushottam. Mahapurush is the cause of Mahamaya. Mahamaya, as such, is anādi (unborn) or eternal (without birth and death). But at the final dissolution (Ātyantik pralay) it becomes dormant, shrinks or dissolves in a tiny portion of Aksharbrahm, and remains embedded there until the next creation. It is the same Mahamaya that is reactivated or born from the tej or luminescence of Aksharbrahm by Mahapurush. Through Mahamaya, Mahapurush causes the rest of the creation of multiple brahmands. Thus, finally it is Purushottam Vāsudev who, in the form of Brahm, is both – the material as well as efficient cause of creation, sustenance, and dissolution of countless or infinite numbers of brahmands. Taittiriya Upanishad says, “Vignānam cha avignānam abhavat |” (Taittiriya Upanishad: Brahmānanda Valli, Anuvāka: 6) Meaning, “Brahm became the intelligence (sentient being) as well as the non-intelligence (insentient being) of the universe.”
Just as there is a difference between the jiv (an individual soul) and Purush (Virat-Purush or a universal soul and Prakruti-Purush or a multiversal soul), who is an ishwar, there is difference between ishwar and Brahm.
Aksharbrahm, the abode of Purushottam, is the penultimate reality – the one and only. Purushottam is the Ultimate Reality. Aksharbrahm is the most sought for reality, for the yogis and the devotees of God who seek for the final resting place or the final liberation. The scriptures say that when the whole creation undergoes dissolution, there remains or exists nothing but God, His abode, and the liberated souls. This is the reason why it is called final liberation (Atyantik Kalyan or Moksh).
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Thursday, June 17th, 2010
Shad Darshan – Vedanta philosophies (contd.):
Swaminarayan philosophy – Ishwar
Ishwar and Brahmand
2. Ishwar is the essence of brahmand. He is the universal soul – the creator, controller, and the efficient cause of whole universe (brahmand). Brahmand is his body. Brahmand is Ishwar’s field (kshetra) of action. Ishwar is the fielder (kshetragna) of brahmand. Each brahmand is evolved from a pair of Pradhān and Purush. Pradhan is a kind of Prakruti limited to a brahmand and is considered as the insentient or material cause of it and Purush (Pradhan-Purush) is the essence of Pradhan and is considered as the sentient, essential, or efficient cause of a brahmand. Pradhan is the primordial form of Mahattattva. Mahattattva (also mentioned as Hiranyagarbha or fire ball in the scriptures) is the primordial form of brahmand (universe). Purush is its essence.
Virat is an existing or sustaining form of a brahmand (universe). Because Purush is the essence of Virat, he is also known as “Virat-Purush.” In the scriptures, Purush or Virat-Purush is known as Ishwar. Brahmand is described as Purushavatar. Just as the soul has three kinds of body, Ishwar or Virat-Purush also has three kinds of body (sharir): Virāt, Sutrātmā, and Avyākrut – equivalent to gross, subtle, and causal bodies, respectively. Similar to the birth, life, and death of a star, Utpatti (birth or creation), Sthiti (life or sustenance), and Pralay (death or dissolution) of brahmand (universe) are the three states (avastha) of Virat-Purush or brahmand.Like jiva, Virat-Purush is also bound to his body called brahmand. Brahmand also undergo a life-cycle of birth, life, and death. Virat-Purush remains bound to his body until he finishes his lifespan. The lifespan of Virat-Purush is two parardhs (each parardh is approximately equal to 155.52 trillion years). The death of a part of brahmand, called triloki (10 out of 14 loks which include swarg lok, mrutyu lok, and pātāl lok), is known as “nimitta-pralay.” It occurs at the end of everyday of brahmand during its lifetime. When the general dissolution or death of whole brahmand occurs it is called “prakruti-pralay.” When this occurs, the whole brahmand dissolves into Pradhān – its material cause, which in turn dissolves into Mahāmāyā or Mul-Prakruti. Purush gets in direct contact with Mahapurush or Mul-Purush, who is “akshar-purush” or “akshar-mukta.”
According to the scriptures, from the navel of Virat-Purush Brahmā was born. Brahmā, Vishnu, and Mahesh are the three sagun forms of Vāsudev Narayan (Vāsudevnarayan) for the control, operation, and execution of the creation, sustenance, and destruction of the brahmand (universe). When jiv worships these three sagun forms of Vāsudev Narayan, he achieves the three purushārths, namely, dharma, arth, and kām. When jiv worships nirgun forms or the avatars of Vāsudev Narayan he attains moksh. There exist countless universes (brahmands) with their own Brahmā, Vishnu, and Mahesh. Purushottam Narayan known as Vāsudev Narayan, in the form of Purush, enters into and inspires Virāt-Purush to perform his activities of creation, sustenance, and dissolution of Brahmand. Virat-Purush worships Sankarshan, Aniruddha, and Pradyumna (the three sagun forms of Vāsudev Narayan) during the state of dissolution, sustenance, and creation of Brahmand, respectively. As long as Virat-Purush worships sagun forms of Vāsudev Narayan, his association with maya remains intact and when he worships the nirgun form of Vāsudev Narayan he forsakes maya and becomes one with Brahm or brahmrup. Ishwar is the source of all incarnations in brahmand. The scriptures describe that all the avatars in a brahmand are manifestations of Vāsudev Narayan. When Vāsudev Narayan enters and resides in Virat-Purush in the form of Purush he is said to be an avatar. Because of this Virat-Purush is also known as Vairaj-Narayan. Thus, avatars are worshiped in Hinduism because of the presence of Vāsudev Narayan only.
The difference between ishwar and jiv is that ishwar is “sarvagna” (omniscient), whereas, jiv is “alpagna” (little-knowing). Ishwar is limited to brahmand or universe, which is its field (kshetra), whereas, jiv is finite and limited to its body (sharir) only. Another difference is that, Virat-Purush – the ishwar, at the time of dissolution leaves the universe – his body, forsakes maya, and goes directly to the abode of God because he is inherently free from maya but only for the purpose of creation he indulges into maya, whereas, jiv, at the time of death, leaves its body and merges into maya for entering the cycle of births and death, unless and until it becomes free from its bondage with maya.
Brahmands are countless or infinite in numbers (anant koti), each with fourteen realms (loks or lokas) located within it and the eight layers or shields (ashtavaran) covering from the outside of it, as is described in detail in the scriptures. In the whole creation there are groups or strata of brahmands. They are all of their original sizes and dimensions but because of the vastness of the creation they all look merely like atoms wondering around. As there are many brahmands, there are many pairs of Pradhan (kshetra) and Purush (kshetragna). Thus, Kapil rishi in the Sankhya scriptures acknowledges the plurality of Purushas. Mahabharat: Book 12: Shanti Parva, Part 2-3: Mokshadharma Parva: Section: CCCLI-II also mentions the same.
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