12 Aug 2025
Note: This article is meant for intellectuals only
O Learned and Devoted Servants of God
[Prof. JSR Prasad asked:- Swami, how were You able to correlate all the spiritual philosophies based on the change of time and change of place?]
Swami replied:- The change of time indicates the next spiritual stage that is attained after doing some spiritual effort for some time. The present spiritual effort is related to both the present time and the spiritual stage that is to be attained in the future time after finishing the present spiritual effort. The person is one and the same and the spiritual philosophy of the present stage is different from the spiritual philosophy of the future stage. This is the correlation of two different spiritual philosophies related to the stage of present time and the stage of future time. The same person represents the same place and his different stages in different times represent the changing times. This universal correlation of different spiritual theories of different religions is based on the four-dimensional model of space and time (three dimensions of space and the fourth dimension as time).
Coming to the parameter of place, we take different persons of different stages and compare them in the present time itself. Here, the time is constant and place is the variable since the stage is different from one person to the other person (from one place to another place). If you take the total elephant, in the same time, the backside tail is like rope, the middle stomach is like a wall and the frontside tusk is like a stout tube. Here, the time is constant and as the place varies, the spiritual philosophies are differing. One person represents one place and another person represents another place in the same time.
Let us take time as variable (representing various spiritual stages of the same person in different times) keeping place (person) as constant and later on, let us also take place as variable (place means a person) keeping time as constant. This means that the same person is studying different philosophies in different times and is getting convinced with each philosophy at different times. Let us take the time in which the mud-pot is not born at all from the mud. In this stage of time, since the pot is not born at all, the person accepts ‘Theory of unborn creation’ (Ajaativaada) of Gaudapaada. In this stage of time, the world (pot) is not existing and hence, all this world is non-existent as said by the Veda (Asadvā idamagra āsīt). This stage of time can be considered as the total non-existence of the world and in this time, the person can accept the argument of non-existence (Shuunyavaada) of Buddhism also. Both the above said Ajaativaada and this Shuunyavaada do not contradict each other because the final result is one and the same in different words in the same time. After sometime, the creation is born and became existent due to the gifted absolute reality of God as said in the Veda (Tato vai sadajāyata). Since the world becomes real due to the reality gifted by God, Ramanuja says that the world is real. Since Ramanuja is the incarnation of Aadishesha, who is a soul, the philosophy of Ramanuja is as per the view of the soul, which is totally different from God since the soul is called as Paraa Prakruti or the best part of the creation. When the world became real, its tiny part, the soul also becomes real. Hence, the soul will always say that the world is real because it is really real for the soul. Madhva is the incarnation of the angel Vaayu, who is also a soul and hence, he also says that the world is real and also says that the soul is completely different from God. Aadishesha or Ramanuja is always in touch with God and hence, proposed that the soul is an inseparable limb or part of God. Vaayu or Madhva is totally separate from God like a servant and hence, says that the soul is totally separated servant of God. Coming to Shankara, He is the incarnation of Lord Shiva, who is God and not a devoted soul like Aadishesha or Vaayu. The view of Shankara is the view of God and the views of Ramanuja and Madhva are the views of the souls.
In the view of God or Shankara, the world is inherently unreal and either any portion of the world or even the entire world can disappear becoming non-existent if God withdraws His gifted reality from the world. By the will of God, any portion of the world or even the entire world can appear in a different way in that place due to disappearance of the old item and appearance of a new item in that place. This inherent non-existent nature of the world helps God to perform any miracle. Hence, in this angle, the world is always inherently unreal in the view of God since He can gift His reality to the world at any time and can also withdraw the same gifted reality at any time. Even though the world is inherently unreal, at the same time, the world is also real so that it can give real and full entertainment to God. Hence, the world is real in some context and unreal in some other context. The world is real while giving entertainment to God and is also unreal in different context, which is while God performs miracles. Hence, both these aspects of reality and unreality can co-exist without contradicting each other. In a single instance of context, we can neither say that the world is real or unreal. This concludes that the world is neither real nor unreal and is mithyaa (Sadasad vilakṣaṇā mithyā). Here, Shankara, Ramanuja and Madhva are not contradicting each other. All the three philosophies can be correlated in three different devotees in the same time or in the same devotee at different times based on the progress of spiritual effort.
A devoted soul selected by God is becoming human incarnation of God when God merges with the devoted soul perfectly in homogenous way. This is monism of Shankara in one place (one person). In the same time, another devotee (place) may be an extraordinary devotee becoming very close to God. God is expressing such closeness telling that this devotee is My eye or My hand (limb or part of God). This is the special monism of Ramanuja, which is the body as whole and the limb as a part of it (Shesha-Sheshi nyaaya). In the beginning stage, a devotee may not have such closeness and is participating in the service of God existing separately from God. This is the dualism of Madhva. In the same time, you have three places correlated to three different spiritual philosophies.
All these three philosophies exist as the basic theories in different religions of western countries also. The foreigners following these philosophies separately are just different devotees (places) from Indians in the same time due to different languages and cultures. Hence, all the western religions can be correlated with various philosophies of Hinduism in India. Here, we are considering different places in the same constant time. Except atheism, every philosophy of theism becomes real in some place or the other. Atheism is never real at any place or at any time because God is absolutely real present in all the times for any soul existing at any place. Even if we say that God is not existing anywhere in His creation based on ‘Neti Neti’ – Veda (not this, not this, which means nothing in the world is God since God is not existing in any worldly item) and based on ‘Natvahaṃ teṣu, Māmebhyaḥ paramavyayam’ – Gita (God is not existing in any worldly item, God is totally different from any worldly item), the entire world is under the perfect control of God indicating the indirect effective presence of God (though not His literal presence everywhere) in the entire world also. Hence, God exists everywhere and at every time. Hence, omnipresence of God does not mean presence of God everywhere in a literal sense, but means effective presence everywhere.
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