Word of Caution:
This write up below is definitely not an exhaustive description of what our scriptures talk about Creation. It is my very limited understanding of the vast literature available in public domain.
The objective is to get a broad idea of the principles involved so that when we take up the study of our scriptures and Sanskrit Slokas, we will have a better comprehension of what they say.
Reader is strongly advised to strictly learn these under the guidance of a Guru if one wants a deep dive in this subject.
What we know so far
1. Our forefathers, the rishis and sages, through deep meditations, focused inward on the "causeless cause", the Ultimate Reality that is responsible for creating this Universe and called that "causeless cause" as "Brahman,"Atma", "Paramatma" etc. They said that "Brahman" is the only pure, omnipresent, indestructible eternal blissful ultimate reality with "existence & consciousness"
(science calls these as matter and energy in a materialistic sense).
2. Being eternal, omnipresent and indeterminable because of its absoluteness and infinity, this Supreme and Ultimate Reality determines itself and reveals itself to our consciousness in the universe through the real and fundamental truths of its being which are beyond the universe and yet in it and are the very foundation of its existence.
3. These truths present themselves to our conceptual cognition as the fundamental aspects in which we see and experience the omnipresent Reality like the waves of the sea, the heat of the fire, the fragrance of the flower, the smell of the earth etc. Depending upon one’s progress in spirituality and the level (causal, subtle and gross levels) that one has reached, this is presented/revealed.
If we have to take due cognisance of these manifestations of that Ultimate Reality, we need to understand certain basic principles and requirements. This blog outlines these.
The underlying principles
By observing the behaviour of all living beings and nature, the Rishis and Seers meditated and contemplated deeply to understand the Cosmic processes and the relationship between the various elements of the processes.
Their inward looking study of the cosmic evolution is essentially at three distinct levels viz.,
1. Causal Level,
2. Subtle Level and
3. Gross level
corresponding to their perception of the essential nature of that magician viz., the indescribable eternal omnipresent Brahman, the Universal Intelligent Purusha and the Isvara with definite form and name.
This three-layered contemplative research of the Seers and Saints had the underlying assumptions, which in the absence of any negation whatsoever, becomes the underlying principles:
1. The entire processes of evolution (creation, maintenance and annihilation) are evolving out of the one primordial Absolute Reality which pervades and permeates the whole cosmos. The world form is only a fragment of this divine reality.
2. Creation is considered as a process and not an event. Creation doesn’t mean formation of something out of nothing. By creation, they meant, only the manifestation from a potentially existent in dormant form/Unmanifest form/undifferentiated form. For the purpose of this study we will use both the terms Creation but they essentially means manifestation.
3. Today's scientific thought that matter and energy cannot be created or destroyed (law of conservation of matter and energy) was the basic principle of the thought of our ancestors thousands of years ago. Both of these are results of micro level analysis. The law of conservation of matter and energy was accepted by them long before modern science came.Therefore, the idea of evolution (existence, sustenance and annihilation) is basic to all Indian thought.
At the gross operating level for easy understanding of humans, our rishis, sages and saints identified a Leader/God/Ruler for each of these three processes; Brahma for creation, Vishnu as Narayana for maintenance and sustenance and Shiva as Rudra for destruction/annihilation.
The building blocks
With the above underlying assumptions/principles, their study brings out that for any creation, there are three requirements:
i). The intelligent/efficient cause (Nimitta Kaaran) whose activity makes something and whose inactivity does not make anything.
ii). The material cause (Sadharan Kaaran) or the ‘raw material’ without which nothing can be made.
iii). The common cause (Upadan Kaaran) or the tools/accessories helping in creation.
These three requirements can be seen in a little more detail.
Intelligent Cause (Nimitta Kaaran)
Creation is essentially due to the desire of Brahman to manifest. It is His play. (It is akin to the Big bang theory that says that from a state of singularity, something happened and the singularity manifested into this universe).
In the words of Swami Sivananda “In Brahman there was a Spandan or vibration before the world was projected. This is the Sankalpa of Brahman. He thought or willed:
“Ekoham bahushyami” - I am One, may I become many.
This vibration corresponds to the bulging of the seed within the ground when it is soaked in water. Then the whole world was projected”. This is akin to the swelling of the seed before it germinates into a plant.
Therefore, Brahman is the intelligent cause.
Material cause (Sadharan Kaaran)
The desire of Brahman is the indescribable illusory power. This power of that all pervading eternal pure Existence - Consciousness is called Mula Prakriti. Avyakta, Maya, Pradhana (the chief or first), Gunasamya. Brahman is beginningless and endless. So too Maya; it is also beginningless. It must be noted that māyā is not created, but exists from time immemorial. Nobody knows when was māyā creted and hence it is described as anirvachaniya or indescribable. Māyā is the source of creation, but it is dependent upon Brahman, as it derives the power to act from the mere presence of Brahman.
This primordial non-cognitive force consists of three Gunas (Primordia rerum) viz., Saatvic, Rajas and Tamas (akin to Sentience, Action and Inertia); three basic material modes (qualities) of nature: mode of goodness (Sattva), mode of passion (Rajah) and mode of ignorance (Tamah). (Srimad Bhagavatham 2.5.18.)
This force is in unmanifested state and is hence called Avyakta. Just as the tree exists in the seed in a subtle state, so also this world exists in a seed-state in Avyakta. In the unmanifested/slumbering or latent state (Maha Sushupti), the three Gunas are in a state of equilibrium (Gunasamya). These are in Unmanifest form and can only be understood by the result of their interactions. In the Gunasamya Avastha or the latent state, the three Gunas are in a state of equilibrium. This is the state of Pralaya or Maha-Sushupti. (We will learn about Pralaya in the subsequent blogs/newsletters).
When the Gunas are disturbed, Mula Prakriti is called by the different names as Maya, Avidya, Nature (in English as a near equivalent word) etc. Our scriptures identify this Maya which is incapable of being organized or disorganised by itself in a planned manner and needs an organizer or efficient cause is the Material Cause for the manifestation.
Common cause (Upadan Kaaran)
Common cause includes the eternal time and eternal space.This is true for any creation that happens in world. When we talk about cyclical evolution, our Rishis realised that a principle called time comes attached to it. They then defined “Kala” and broke it down to details. (Refer picture below)
Conclusion
The secret of evolution lies within the organism itself. According to Patanjali, the “urge to evolve” or the desire to be free is the cause of evolution (Yoga Sutras, IV. 2. 3). Therefore, evolution is not caused by blind chance—it is purposeful and has a directing, ruling consciousness. The cause of evolution is the innermost urge of the living organism for the realization of the true nature of the self, which is intrinsically pure, free, and perfect. Involution precedes evolution.
God being intra-cosmic not extra-cosmic, rules the entire cosmic process. He is the soul behind man and the universe, whose subtle presence illuminates our understanding and enables us to unravel the secrets of nature. God is the Supreme Self that brings forth all existence, conscious and unconscious, animate and inanimate, with the help of His maya, which belongs to Him. The unalterable laws of the cosmos are but the expression of the divine energy. As the greatest Lawgiver, God is the source of rule and order.
The Godhead is non-dual but in the relative world the divine expresses itself through different names and forms and may be approached by various paths. The principle of unity in diversity has been the keynote of Hindu thought and life. Formless Brahman conditioned by maya assumes various forms. These forms are like different garments under which Brahman, commonly called God, is always the same.
This unity is not to be confused with uniformity. Awareness of fundamental unity in the Indian mind allows Hindus to understand every being and material object in the universe in terms of its rightful spiritual value in life.
Nature in Vedanta is given a spiritual interpretation, not a mechanistic or materialistic one; nature is not self-evolving, self-preserving, self-destroying. God as the invisible support and essence of all that exists is involved in every aspect of existence.
Can Brahman be both the intelligent and material cause? If it is so, how can sentient beings come out of “Pure Existence”? The spider that spins its web with fluid emitted by itself and then dwells and moves in its own web and finally withdraws it to itself, the manifestations of insentient nails and hairs from a sentient living being like us are classic answers to all these doubts and queries about these principles.
Therefore, it is essential that we have a proper perspective of these before we move forward.
In the next blog we will see the process of evolution.
God Bless
Prabhu's Ponder 