Brahman transformed Itself into the Manifest Universe at three levels of manifestation. The first is the Super-subtle state called Iswara. The second stage is the Mental level called Hiranyagarbha. The third stage is the Physical level called Virat or Viswa. All of us, humans, animals, plants and rocks are part of this structure and so the same three levels are present in all of us. In the human, at the Super-subtle level we call it the Jiva or Jeevatma or Soul, at the Mental level we call it the Mind and at the Physical level we call it the Body. These levels in the human being are also called Pragna, Taijasa and Vaiswanara respectively in Vedanta. They correspond to the Deep sleep, the Dreaming and the Waking states in humans. These are called Sushupti, Swapna and Jagruta in Vedanta. They also correspond to the Suvaha, the Bhuvar and Bhu Lokas and to the ‘M’, ‘U’ and ‘A’ sounds of the Omkara respectively.
The question that arises is ‘How did this transformation occur?’ This is an important question and a subject worth studying and is truly the key to spirituality.
One of the earliest answers to this question is given by a great sage called Kapila Maharishi in His description of the concept of ‘Purusha and Prakriti’.
It is remarkable that the Maharishi is said to be the grandson of the very first Manu called Swayambu Manu who appeared as the first human manifestation in the very first Manvantara of this Kalpa. We have already seen (please refer to the Blog 4 - Time Line) that we are currently in the seventh Manvantara and some 1970 million years have passed since the Kalpa commenced. Kapila Maharishi lived then. What is remarkable is that when one travels from Mumbai to a place called Nasik one crosses the mountains of the Western Ghats and the highest point is a place called Igatpuri. A few miles away from there, in the lush forest area is a place said to be the site of Kapila Maharishi’s Ashram. It is awe inspiring to say the least.
Kapila Maharishi taught a stream of philosophy called ‘Sankhya’ in which He posited the concept of ‘Purusha’ and ‘Prakriti’. The concept of Purusha was identical to Brahman and the concept of Prakriti was the Manifest Universe. He stated that both these concepts were real. However, Prakriti was ‘powerless’ and incapable of any action without the infusion of the energy of Purusha. They had to both work together and in tandem to create the Manifest Universe and make it perform. From this concept arose the idea of Purusha or Brahman as a masculine principle and Prakriti as a feminine principle. In essence, all of us, and the whole of the Manifest Universe is feminine. Thus arose the concept of the Divine Father and Divine Mother. Through the energisation by the Father the Mother could produce the Universe. Thus all of us and all creation are children of the Divine Couple.
In later times Purusha came to be called ‘Shiva’ and Prakriti came to be called ‘Shakti’. The term Shiva means ‘auspicious’ and the term Shakti means ‘energy’. Shiva continued to be an unmanifest concept and Shakti became the energetic manifest principle.
In the Bhagavat Gita, Sri Krishna describes these concepts as ‘Kshetra’ and ‘Kshetragna’. The term ‘Kshetra’ means ‘arena or field of activity’ and corresponds to Prakriti and the Manifest Universe at the global level and to the Human Body at the individual level. The term ‘Kshetragna’ refers to the ‘Indweller or the Knower of the Field’, the motivating principle and refers to Purusha or Brahman.
Vedanta talks a slightly different language. It describes the process of transformation or energisation as ‘Maya’. The term ‘Maya’ can be translated as ‘Illusion’. Vedanta describes the creation of the Universe as a kind of superimposition of the Manifest World on Brahman.
To elaborate this concept, Vedanta gives the typical example of the ‘rope and snake’. When a person is going out in the dark, he comes across an object lying on the ground. In the darkness, he thinks that it is a snake. He is horrified and fearful. Emotions based on his conditioning race through his mind. Then, controlling himself, he takes out a torch and flashes the light on the object and realizes that it is only a rope which he then picks up and throws away. All the fear has vanished. Knowledge of the reality or truth (the rope) banishes the emotions of fear etc and he realizes that he has been mistaken. His emergence from ignorance of the truth to knowledge is likened to his waking from a dream. The concept of the snake was ‘superimposed’ on the truth.
Vedanta describes Maya as having two characteristics, ‘Avarana’ or ‘Veiling of the truth’ and ‘Vikshepa’ or ‘The tendency to create confusion’. Knowledge or Jnana is the answer to removing the illusion and realizing the truth.
At some time in history, in one of the Manvantaras, the concept of the ‘Gunas’ or ‘Qualities’ arose. The Manifest Universe is called ‘Gunamayi’ that is full of Gunas. In this concept the Manifest Universe is said to have three Gunas or Qualities. They are called ‘Satva’, ‘Rajas’ and ‘Tamas’. Satva means ‘calm, peaceful, balanced, tranquil and knowledgeable’. Obviously this tranquility comes from knowledge. ‘Rajas’ means ‘active, aggressive, dynamic, passionate, and emotional’. The Rajasic condition is based on part knowledge. ‘Tamas’ means ‘inert, inactive, ignorant, and lazy’. The Tamasic condition arises from ignorance and lassitude.
Everything in the Manifest Universe is a mixture of these three Gunas. In some the Tamasic will be predominant. In some, the Rajasic will be dominant. In some Satva will prevail. This gives a clue to the concept of living and non-living manifestation. The rock is predominantly Tamasic. The animal is predominantly Rajasic. And the human has the ability to be Satvic. Life is the progression from the Tamasic to the Rajasic to the Satvic states. The Guna concept explains a lot of what we see in the world around us. While all other forms of manifestation are programmed according to their species and cannot change their Guna-mix, so to speak, the human being alone is gifted with the means, through his intellect, to transform, to change, and to develop and from an understanding of what his/her Gunas are like, move from Tamas to Rajas to Satva.
The second pertinent question that arises is ‘Why have these Gunas come to exist in us? What is their source or cause?’ Vedanta describes the Gunas as the result of past actions or ‘Karmas’. The term ‘Karma’ means both ‘Action’ and ‘The result of Action’. Every time I perform an action I embed a karma in my soul. ‘Every action has an equal and opposite reaction’ was the famous statement of Sir Isaac Newton. He was of course talking of the physical world. It is remarkable that this same theorem applies to our Mind and Soul, not just to our Body.
Actions can be physical or mental or spiritual in nature. Every such action produces a reaction. Good actions produce good Karma and bad actions produce bad Karma. Thus came to be propounded the ‘Law of Karma’. These Karmas are embedded in the Soul. They drive and create the human personality. A predominantly Tamasic karma content in the soul brings about a Tamasic personality. Similarly, a predominantly Rajasic karma content brings about a Rajasic personality. And of course, a predominantly Satvic karma content will bring about a Satvic personality.
In India we tend to personify and symbolize these concepts to aid understanding and retention. As we have seen, the human mind tends to think in pictures and images. The ancient psychologists thought it a prudent approach to personify the Gunas and work out methodologies to move a person from Tamasic to Rajasic to Satvic karmas. For this purpose they conceived of the concept of the three Gunas as offshoots of Maya, the Divine Mother, Ambika. They called the Tamasic Guna as Mahakali, the Rajasic Guna as Mahalakshmi and the Satvic Guna as Mahasaraswathi.
Mahakali is displayed as a fiery lady who dances on a prostrate Shiva. She wears a garland of skulls around her neck and is shown as killing a fierce demon. The message is ‘Destroy ignorance for salvation!’
Mahalakshmi is shown as a beautiful lady who stands on a lotus and with one hand seems to bestow gold coins and with the other hand a blessing. She is peaceful and wears the color pink and is resplendent with jewellery. The message is ‘Actively pursue life pursuits, enjoy prosperity but be spiritually oriented!’
Mahasaraswathi is portrayed dressed in white and holding a veena, a musical instrument, a rosary of beads and a book. She represents knowledge and creative arts and culture. The message is ‘Be peaceful in the knowledge of the Divine, gather knowledge, study, be attuned to the Divine through the medium of sound, and pray!’
The outstanding characteristic of Indian thought is that the concept of ‘Karmas’ has been divinized.
The progression from Tamas to Rajas to Satva is the process to freedom from rebirth, because if one keeps on accumulating fresh karmas, then one is going to keep on being born to work the karmas out. The only way to freedom from rebirth is to work consciously towards a Purity of Soul or a Soul that is free of karmas. This process is called ‘Sadhana’. One of the outstanding teachings on Sadhana is by a great teacher called Patanjali Maharishi who wrote a treatise called ‘Yoga Sutras’. In modern times this has come to be called just ‘Yoga’. He uses the word ‘Kleshas’ to depict karmas.
It was Sri Krishna who used this word ‘Yoga’ for the first time in the Bhagavat Gita.
Sri Sankara has written a wonderful treatise called ‘Viveka Chudamani’ which details what He calls ‘Sadhana Chatustaya’.
Sri Sankara uses the term ‘Vasanas’ to refer to karmas.
Some sixty years ago Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharishi compiled a short terse guideline to Sadhana called ‘Upadesha Saram’ or ‘The Essence of Instruction’.
All these terms ‘Karmas’, ‘Kleshas’ and ‘Vasanas’ refer to the same thing. They are caused by actions, words and thoughts and are carried forward in the Soul to future births. They cause the wonderful variety of manifestation in the Universe. They are called the Gunas and are personified as Divine Goddesses. They represent the moods, feelings and emotions we experience day to day in our life. By propitiating them and praying to them as Goddesses we take note of them and become aware of them.
One who is unaware of the reason for the challenges and events in his/her life is said to be caught in the unending cycle of birth-life-death taking on all sorts of bodies in all sorts of places on earth. Such an ignorant person is said to be caught in the whirlpool of ‘Samsara’.
On the other hand, one who is aware of the truth and the reasons for all that seems to happen to him/her, has a good chance of freeing himself/herself from the cycle. Such a person takes to Sadhana.
In India the system makes one aware of these concepts. That system is of remembering these truths at least once a year every year. That is why in this month of October, after the monsoon rains have ended and the whole of nature is green and verdant, we remember the Divine Mother, who is none other than Brahman in disguise. We remember Her in many ways but the most common and universal way is to celebrate the ‘Navaratri’ or ‘Nine Nights’.
The first three days/nights are dedicated to Mahakali and we look deeply within ourselves and see the Tamasic demonic qualities which abound in us and pray to Her to help destroy them and put us firmly on the path to freedom.
The second three days/nights are dedicated to Mahalakshmi and we seek Her help to manage our life well both in career and home and fulfill our duties properly.
The last three days/nights are dedicated to Mahasaraswathi and we pray to Her to open our eyes to the Truth and cleanse us completely and make us fit for freedom.
This year the Navaratri festival starts on Oct 8 and the nine days end on Oct 16 followed by the tenth day called Vijayadashami or Dussera on Oct 17.
It’s a beautiful time of the year all round the country. In Kolkatta it is celebrated as Durga Puja. In the North of the country it is celebrated as Dussera. In the South it is celebrated as Navaratri.
May the Divine Mother who is really Brahman in disguise bless all with love, peace, prosperity and joy. May She also take us all towards the realization that all this that we consider to be real is actually a grand illusion caused by our own karmas and may She show the way, like all mothers do, to our Father, the Truth, the essence and basis of all that we experience.
A beautiful prayer from the ‘Devi Mahatmayam’ which forms a part of the Brahmanda Purana says:
Sarva Mangala Mangalye Shive Sarvartha Sadhike
Sharanye Triambike Devi Narayani Namostute
You are the embodiment of all that is auspicious, and all efforts towards auspiciousness,
We prostrate to the Mother who is threefold in nature and whose name is Narayani.
Mother is also known as the sister of ‘Narayana’. Who is Narayana? We will look at that in the next blog.
We hope you continue to find these jottings of help in your quest for perfection and peace. We look forward to your posts and your comments.
Warm regards and God Bless
