Brahman is the operative as well as the material cause of the universe, because of his making himself so, and by modifying himself into the universe. — 134.

↑

⇐ ПредыдущаяСтр 124 из 723Следующая ⇒

SUTRA I. 4. 26.

आत्मकृतेः परिणामात्॥१.४.२६॥

ātmakṛteḥ pariṇāmāt ..1.4.26..

.. Atmakriteh, on account of making itself. .. Parinamat, owing to modification.

COMMENTARY

In the Taittiriya Upanishad, II., 6. we find … «He wished, may I be many» and a subsequent passage says that ‘…’ «itself made Its Self». This shows that the object as well as the agent, in the act of creation, is the same Supreme Self alone who was mentioned in the opening passage «He wished, may I be many». Thus He alone has both these forms, namely, the agent as well as the object. But, — says an objector — how can one and the same being, established in one place as an agent, become also the object, with all its imperfections, etc.? To this question the Sutra answers by the word Parinamat: Brahman becomes the object by modification. This Parinama or modification does not conflict with the idea of Brahman being eternally unchangeable (Kutastha), for there can be a modification not in conflict with unchangeableness.

The truth of the matter is this: Brahman has three powers, as we learn from the following Shrutis:

He is the Lord of Nature (Pradhana) and of the soul (Kshetrajna) and the regulator of Gunas (8vet. Up., VI., 16).

His various powers are sung in the Vedas, the deeds of wisdom and deeds of strength, natural to him. (Shvet. Up., VI., 8).

So also is the following Smriti:

The Vishnu Shakti is called Para Shakti, His power as manifested in the souls of men is called Apara Shakti. His third Shakti is called Avidya, named also Karma. (Vishnu Purana).

In the Shastras Brahman is described as being both the operative and the material cause of the world. He is the operative cause through his power called the Para» Shakti. He is the material cause, through his other two Shaktis called the Apara Shakti and Avidya Shakti, which work through the souls and nature (matter). As when a person is said to be a white man, it means that the attribute of whiteness is predicable of him, and the attribute of blackness cannot be applied to him. The qualities positive or negative exhaust their force with expressing the quality of the objects, and do not go further.

The Shruti also says:

The one, formless being, with his purposes hidden, who, with various powers, creates many forms; from whom the world rises in the beginning and to whom it returns at the end, may he grant us good understanding. (Shvet. Up., IV., I.)

Thus with regard to the one and the same Brahman, both those powers are valid: As the operative cause He is Kutastha or unchangeable; as the material cause he is Parinami or subject to modification; as possessed of subtle nature, He is the agent; and possessed of gross nature, He is the object. This Ave infer from illustrations of the clod of clay, etc., given in the Chhandogya Upanishad, VI., 1. 1., as well as from the very words of this aphorism, which uses the term Parinamat.

In this way we have thus refuted also the doctrine of Vivarta, which says that the world is an illusion, a superimposition on the true Brahman (as the snake is a superimposition on the rope, which appears like a snake), and that the world is, therefore, not real. It is not possible that there should be the superimposition of the world on Brahman, as is the superimposition of silver on the mother-of-pearl, which through mistake may appear like silver. Because this superimposition presupposes that (the object is in front of the person who falls into the illusion. But Brahman is not an object placed in front of anybody, like the mother of silver or rope, because He is all-pervading.

If it be said that Akasha or space is also all-pervading, but ignorant people superimpose upon it the qualities of colour, by saying the sky is blue, etc., and so an all-pervading object may be liable to superimposition; to this we reply, this is not so, because superimposition is not possible in Brahman, as it is in the case of Akasha, since Brahman is not an object of attainment or perception as Akasha is, and it is never possible that Brahman can have any Upadhi. Moreover, the appearance of a thing as something which it is not, is the same to all intents and purposes, as if that thing had changed its nature. And this is not possible, unless there is illusion, for without illusion there is no possibility of mistaken appearance. This illusion being separate from Brahman falls in the category of Vivarta, and thus we come to the vicious circle in reasoning. For we have to assume the existence of a separate entity called illusion, in order to explain the theory of Vivarta or illusion. In the Scriptures, the world is sometimes said to be a mere illusion, no doubt, but it is said so in order to produce disgust and indifference towards it, and not that the world is really non-existent or an illusion. Thus say the wise who know the truth. Had the world been a mere illusion and hallucination, then there would be no definite laws in this world, such as we find in the elements which constitute the world, such as a particular group of atoms constitutes a particular object, and that object always has the same number of atoms, neither more nor less. If the world were an illusion, we should expect the indefiniteness of elements, for illusion has no laws and may be subject to any change. The change of condition is seen only with regard to objects which are real and subject to law. With regard to objects which are non-real, and whose nature is not fixed, we cannot say that they can undergo any change of condition, for objects of illusion undergo changes at every moment, and such change is not a change of condition, but inherent in the nature of illusion. Therefore, the true Scriptural doctrine is that of Parinama, namely, that the world is a modification of Brahman and is real; while the theory of illusion or Vivarta has no foundation in the Scriptures.

Познавательные статьи:



Алгоритмические операторы Matlab

Конструирование и порядок расчёта дорожной одежды

Исследования учёных: почему помогают молитвы?

Почему терпят неудачу многие предприниматели?