01 Oct 2017
Note: This article is meant for intellectuals only
Shri Phani asked: Why shall not we take the cosmic energy as the original basis that creates, rules and destroys world as the ultimate God?
Swami replied: In fact, it is taken so by the science, which speaks that this inert cosmic energy is the fundamental cause and basis of creation of world, which can dissolve also in it. By this, the creation, ruling and destruction of world, told as the inherent associated characteristics (not revealing the unimaginable nature of God) of God apply to the basic root cause-material or the inert cosmic energy. These three inherent associated characteristics continuously stay with God only (Tatastha Lakshanam) and do not reveal the nature (Swarupa Lakshanam) of God as told in the second Brahma Sutra. Hence, with the help of these associated characteristics, you cannot claim energy to be God. Even atheistic line of Samkhya philosophy (Pradhaana Vaada) says so like the atheists. All the divine preachers condemned this in writing commentary on the Brahma Sutra (Ekshaternaashabdam) objecting the inert nature of cosmic energy, which can’t allow the desire to create the creation. Scientists don’t care for this necessity of awareness of cosmic energy. Science says that the design of this world is the probability of regularity. But, regularity can’t be the consequence of natural tendency of the cosmos, which in reality proceeds from regularity to irregularity (increase in entropy) as told by science itself resulting in self-contradiction. Shankara says (in the commentary of second Brahma Sutra) that the regularity observed in the world is wonderful and inert energy can’t be the root cause. Ramanuja and Madhva have taken cosmic energy as the material cause like the clay for preparing pot (Upaadaanam) and God with awareness as intellectual cause (Nimittam) like the pot maker.
The actual root cause is the unimaginable God, who is both material cause and intellectual cause due to His unimaginable power. Not only the cause is unimaginable, but also the process of generation of imaginable world from unimaginable God is also unimaginable since there is no second example in the world for unimaginable cause generating imaginable product. The only example is the unimaginable God generating imaginable world because there is no other second unimaginable item except the unimaginable God. We can explain the imaginable process of generation of imaginable product from imaginable cause since several such examples are found in this world.
The unimaginable God can never be understood by any soul since He is beyond space (without spatial dimensions) being the generator of space. Space can’t exist in its generator before its generation. The unimaginable boundary of the world is the unimaginable God. As you proceed to touch the boundary, space is expanding constantly so that you can never touch the boundary or unimaginable God even in your imagination!
However, for the understanding of soul, God is mediated by awareness and is made imaginable. Here, the secret is that the unimaginable God did not become imaginable. The imaginable medium is becoming God since unimaginable God totally identified with it. By this, the imaginable medium (unimaginable God due to total identity) itself is God and is understood so that the existence of God (mediated) can be easily accepted because human intelligence can grasp only the existence of imaginable items. In this way, God became the imaginable (Tyat) medium while remaining in His original unimaginable (Sat) state (Satcha tyatcha abhavat— Veda).
How can you say that God is unimaginable and also became imaginable? God became imaginable not because the unimaginable nature of God is converted in to imaginable nature in reality. By total identity with the medium, God can be treated as the imaginable medium for all practical purposes. The electricity remains in the form of stream of electrons and the wire remains in the form of chain of metallic crystals continuously. The independent and inherent structures of electricity and wire are not changed and got converted one into other. When the electricity flows in the metallic wire, the electricity is totally identified with the wire as a result of which the wire can be treated as electricity for all practical purposes since the wire is exhibiting the shock (the property of electricity) any where touched. This shall not be misunderstood as real conversion of one form in to other form, which is denied in the Gita also (Avyktam vyaktimaapannam...).
In reality, the unimaginable God is mediated by unimaginable absolute awareness only, which is misunderstood as imaginable relative awareness by all the souls. The divine preachers kept silent on this point because if the medium is again told as unimaginable, God remains always unimaginable and can’t be understood even about His existence resulting in atheism. The awareness of God is unimaginable because both knower and process of knowing are unimaginable due to absence of inert energy, brain and nervous system in God. The awareness of soul is imaginable because the imaginable inert energy, imaginable brain (knower) and imaginable nervous system (process of knowing) exist. The inert energy is converted into specific work form called as awareness in both brain and nervous system. When unimaginable God and yourself—both are seeing a pot in your house, the common point in both is only the seen object (pot). Except this object, there is no other similarity in both. In God, both knower and process of knowing are unimaginable. In yourself, both knower and process of knowing are imaginable. Hence, in the ultimate reality, the unimaginable God remains unimaginable and imaginable soul (yourself) remains imaginable only! You should withdraw your mind affected by worldly logic that knowing an object and thinking must be due to relative imaginable awareness only. Such knowing and thinking is possible for absolute unimaginable awareness also, which means that unimaginable God knows and thinks an object by His unimaginable power and He need not know the object and think through relative imaginable awareness only. By His unimaginable power, He can burn anything and He need not be fire or electricity to do such burning.
When you say that God is mediated by awareness, naturally, the awareness is taken as relative imaginable awareness only by souls. But, the relative awareness requires a container like energetic body or a container like materialized body since relative awareness can’t exist independently without container. The mediated God of Shankara is God mediated by awareness only. The independent existence of relative awareness charged by unimaginable God can be justified due to the unimaginable power of unimaginable God existing in the relative awareness. This relative awareness charged by God is neither energetic incarnation nor materialized incarnation (due to absence of energetic or materialized container) and can be treated as awareness incarnation of Shankara. In the case of Shankara, since mediated God is unimaginable God in the awareness only without external energetic or materialized body, two advantages were enjoyed by His philosophy: 1) The awareness taken as the medium of God need not be relative awareness, but, can be absolute unimaginable awareness also (since awareness can stand for both). By this way, souls are grasping God as if mediated by relative awareness, but, the God is actually mediated by absolute unimaginable awareness only. This maintains absolute plane in disguise of relative plane. 2) Since absolute God is taken as mediated by relative awareness, atheists can easily believe that their soul (relative awareness) is the absolute God. When the absolute God is identifying totally with the relative awareness, you can call the relative awareness itself as the absolute God, which convinces the atheists fully.
Ramanuja and Madhva have taken an energetic body also around the above explained awareness. The problem that awareness needs a container is solved without applying the unimaginable power of God to maintain such impossible point. Since God is not only identified with awareness (doubted as absolute or relative), but also is identified with the external energetic body called as Narayana. By this, God is taken as the energetic medium (creation) without any doubt. By this, the God becomes clearly a part of the creation or energy. There is no problem in saying that God (taken as energetic-medium), soul (taken as awareness or form of energy, which is also a part of creation) and the rest creation (energy) to be homogeneous energy and thus we can easily accept the equal reality for these three items (God, soul and rest creation).
In the case of incarnation (energetic or materialized), the unimaginable God is totally merging with the medium to become one with it so that the souls can easily not only understand, but also can see God. For this purpose, God is taking the help of medium as His basis. Krishna, the human incarnation says that He is the basis even for unimaginable God (Brahmanopi pratishthaaham). Here, unimaginable God stands as the medium and this means that the medium or creation is standing as the basis for creator! This point is correct when it is limited only to the context of soul understanding and seeing God. Actually, creator is the basis of creation as said in the Veda (Brahma puchcham pratishthaa). This Vedic statement is true in all the contexts except in the above said one context. The rider of horse is maintaining the horse in all the times by giving food and water and can be stated as the basis of horse in all contexts. But, in one context, while rider is going to other place by horse, this statement is reversed and we can say that the horse is the basis of the rider in this single context of journey. The school of devotees of Shakti (energy) can say that their Shakti (horse) is the basis of God (rider) in one context only, where God is expressed through medium to souls. If they say that Shakti is the basis of God in all contexts including the above one context, it equals to saying that horse is the basis of rider in all contexts and not in one context!
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