Mysterious Knowledge: Vedic Wisdom

Copyright © 2021 by Saket Shah

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review.

First Ebook edition November 2021

ISBN 978-1-7948-4409-4

Mystery of Creation

In the beginning Brahman who is one without a second alone exists. When darkness was rolling over darkness, there was existence alone. Nobody knows how this universe came into being. You will find in Rig Veda: "Who knows here, who can here state whence came all this multifarious Universe? Even the Devas are posterior to its creation, who then knows whence this came out? (Rig Veda VIII-17-6).

Hiranyagarbha or the first-born or the golden egg, Sutratman, Karya Brahman are other names for Brahman, the creative aspect of the Lord. Sutratma means thread-soul. Hiranyagarbha pervades all beings like the thread in a garland of flowers. Hence, the name Sutratma. All this is strung on Me, as clusters of gems on a string. (Gita-Chapter VII-7). Hiranyagarbha is Karya Brahman. Ishvara is Karana Brahman. Karana means cause. Karya means effect. Hiranyagarbha is born of Ishvara.

Some hold that the universe was created out of nothing by a fiat of God and that it will again lapse into nothing at the period of deluge. This dogma of creation ex nihilo is not endorsed by scientists. They say emphatically that what exists now should have existed always and will continue to exist always in some form or other. In Sankhya philosophy also you will find: That which is cannot come out of That which is not (Sankhya Sutra 78). Gita also states: There can be no existence out of non-existence, nor can the existent cease to be. The truth about both has been perceived by seers." (Chapter II-16).

Something cannot come out of nothing. Something can come out of something only.

Unconscious matter cannot be the ultimate cause of the universe. It is Jada. An omniscient Ishvara only, who can have an orderly arrangement, can be the Creator of this universe.

An effect does not exist apart from its cause. For instance, a pot does not exist apart from clay, its material cause. Similarly, this universe does not exist apart from Brahman, its material cause. It has no independent existence. It is one with Brahman. Brahman alone exists. This world is a mere appearance. When one gets knowledge of the Self, this world vanishes, just as the snake vanishes when one cognises the real rope by bringing a lampIshvara wills. The equilibrium of the Gunas is disturbed through Kaala under the influence of Ishvara. Kaala is a Sakti of Ishvara. Then transformation takes place through Svabhava, which is the essence of Prakriti. The development of the Mahat Tattva follows from Karma. Originally this world was enveloped in darkness. Ishvara or the Lord, though unmanifest Himself, caused this universe to be gradually manifested. By dint of His Will, the Lord, the undecaying substratum or reality of the universe gave the first impetus to nature to shake off her state of primal equipoise and to be gradually and successfully evolved in those twenty-four categories and elements such asintellect, egoism, root-elements or Tanmatras. Prana, Mind, the five Bhutas or elements which were necessary for the formation of the present universe.

The subtler the element, the more powerful it is. Water is more powerful than the Earth, because it is more subtle than the earth. Water removes away earth. Fire is more powerful than the water, because it is more subtler than the water. Fire dries up all water. Air is more powerful than fire because it is more subtle than fire. Air blows up the fire. Ether or Akasa is more powerful than air because it is more subtle than air. The air rests in Akasa. Akasa is the support for-the air. Air is born of Akasa, fire is born of air, water is born of fire, earth is born of water. During cosmic Pralaya, earth is reduced or involved into the water,