Jagat: an illusion

‘Jagat’ as an illusion/perception of ‘Jiva’

The world is said to be illusory (Mithya) as it is formed out of a lower order of reality that is ‘Maya’ the force of Brahman. The initial manifestation of consciousness is said to be into a universal self (Mahat) which then manifests into individual ‘self’ of ‘jiva’ and the world ‘jagat’ is said to be a perception of ‘jiva’.

It is said in the scriptures that prior to the appearance of the physical universe, the elements of ‘life’ described as the spirit and the soul came into existence. They were initially universal (‘Mahat’). This initial stage of ‘vital’ creation prior to the physical creation included the universal soul’s ‘ability’ to sense the universe. The five physical elements (Panchamahabhutas) of space, air, fire, water and earth basically constituting the universe are seen as  originating out of ‘general’ sensations of sound, temperature, colour, flavour and odour experienced by the universal soul as a next stage just as the universal soul itself manifested into separate individuals known the ‘Jiva’ or ‘Jiva-atma’.

The argument is that just like we have never actually seen for example ‘humanity’, we have never experienced ‘colour or sound or flavour in general’. We know blue vs. red or loud vs soft or sweet vs. sour. But what is colour itself or sound itself or flavour itself? The supreme cosmic spirit existed as a universal consciousness (Mahat) amidst only universal homogeneous sound, temperature, colour, flavour and odour (sensation-generals). But when the ‘universal sense of sound’ was distinguished into varieties of sound by the jiva this was experienced through the medium of ‘space’ and thus space was said to be created. Similarly difference in temperature was experienced (heat or cold) as a movement of air and thus air was created and so on. Colour is associated with form and the energy that creates and destroys form is the fire. Flavour is associated with moisture and this created water whereas odour is associated with earth. Thus in essence distinguishing abilities created the world.

Each experiencing subject has a universe which is absolutely and entirely its own. Just like we see two different pictures with our two eyes but speak of the picture as the same because of the similarity. To this extent it is acceptable to think that the universe is not absolutely defined but only defined based on our perceptions and across different individuals it is defined in the same way because of accepted standards of reference and ‘similarity’ is what we view and perceive. Thus to this extent I can understand and accept the Vedic view that Brahman is the absolute truth whereas the world we live in is changeable and perceived through the lens of humans (it probably looks different to dogs or ants.) So the world as I know it due to my mind will not be the same if my mind was different or did not exist and to that extent I can accept this concept of connection between the ‘jiva’ and the ‘jagat’ in terms of existence.

The way I understand this is that the five elements are not an imagination of the mind. They are created out of ‘Maya’ or energy and the way they are interpreted and understood by us depends on our individual minds and collective points of reference. This is why in different periods of human existence there were different theories about the age, shape, nature of the earth.

I can understand that when a seer begins to see the molecules, atoms or smallest particles inside a table to be the same as those inside a tree or any other object (albeit in different form) for instance then he may see the whole world as one or as less diverse than what I see and therefore seers and sages claim that this ‘jagat’ is just one and that one is God. Modern day scientists too have a different view of our earth as compared to historical human views on the subject.

As far as the relevance of this concept to practical life, I believe it can simply to help us see that we needn't get too fixated about anything in this world or too possessive. Because everything is changeable, materials are not really as worthy and valuable as we tend to feel and our view of the world is different from and unreal to another person. Also this knowledge provides the awareness that everything arises out of a single source.

Cause and effect (Karana, Karya) – relationship between Brahman, Ishwara and Jagat

In the Advaita Vedanta philosophy Adi Shankara has cited three types of realities namely absolute reality (paramartha), empirical reality (vyavhara) and apparent reality or imaginary reality (pratibhas)

Brahman as the supreme consciousness alone is considered to be the absolute reality being changeless, eternal, infinite, unbounded by space and time. The physical world in contrast although real enough as far as the collective experience of living beings goes, is ever changing. It is therefore viewed as a lower order of reality and not considered absolutely real. Examples of the third type i.e. imaginary illusions are a mirage or a dream when at the time of the individual experience were real but then instantly became unreal.

Adi Shankara explains that Brahman in the form of Ishwara and Maya is both the instrumental cause (Nimitta Karana) and the material cause (Upadana Karana) of the universe. (For instance a potter is the instrumental cause whereas clay is the material cause of a pot.) When a cause changes to form the effect it is known as the material cause (Parinami Upadana Karana) such as milk converting to butter. But as Brahman is unchanging it is said to be the substratum itself undergoing no modification upon which the universe exists (Vivarta Upadana Karana or Adhishtanam). The analogy of a spider weaving a web out of its own body is given in the Upanishads. In Advaita the effect (that is the world) is said to be pre-existent in the cause (Brahman) and to that extent the effect is only an illusion (Mithya) where as the cause is real. The example given is that in darkness a rope may look like a snake but the snake is an illusion where as the rope is real. (Brahma Satyam, Jagan Mithya)

As Brahman is the infinite unchanging consciousness it is not directly responsible for formation of a complex universe that needs to be shaped in every cycle of its creation based on the karmas of all the living beings of the previous universe. The explanation given for this is that ‘Maya’ is the Upadhi (conditioning) of Brahman which forms the material cause of the world. And the instrumental cause is ‘Ishwara’ a manifested form of Brahman as if a reflection of Brahman which has a name, a form and a function and can therefore be the intelligent creator of the world. Brahman remains the substratum (Adhishtanam or Vivarta Karana) upon which every form is based or superimposed.

For me this detailed analysis of the functions of Brahman, Ishwara and Maya are one way to explain the complexity of creation. I can accept that energy as Maya formed the world and as of now in the absence of another more lucid explanation regarding the intelligence and intricacy of creation that is the universe, this in one theory that the ultimate knowledge that is Brahman took a form highly energetic and capable as ‘Ishwara’ (God which can be worshipped) with its force (Maya) developed the rules and symmetry of this world. 

As far as the concept of absolute reality goes the Advaita view says the world is empirically real for living beings. That is sufficient for me. Thereafter the scriptures citing it as less real owing to its changeability than the supreme consciousness needn't be so important or argued against. It is said to be real enough as far as the human experience goes.

I mainly view this as an important way to distinguish between what is more important in life, the ‘material world’ which after all will one day decompose and destroy or the ‘value system’ which can give mental peace and happiness. So I take this entire discussion to only signify that constant distinction between oneself and others or distinction in different people in the world only serves to increase dislikes and prejudice. It is better to see the world as a connected single whole unit with ourselves as part of it and this helps to lead a more united, sustainable existence with the community and one’s surroundings. Therefore whatever lifespan we have, we are better off not stressing out and trying to hoard and accumulate but to share, preserve, and remain happy throughout this process of living focussing instead on values and knowledge.

Creation: Jiva-atma

All the physical matter created in the universe including the bodies of humans is inert and insentient borne out of the Panchamahabhutas (five elements). But the ‘vital’ consciousness which is sentient is created as a prior stage. A manifestation of the same supreme universal consciousness formed the jiva or jiva-atma (no longer universal but individual) and simultaneously the universe was created out of separation of the senses from the universal general homogeneous sensations of sound, temperature, colour, flavour and odour.

The creation of the jagat (universe) is a manifestation that is perceived by the ‘jiva’. (As if it is only real as long as the jiva in humans perceives it as such; not absolutely real.) The jiva is consisting of a vital life force (Prana), the consciousness that ‘is’ (Citta), the mind (Manas) and the intellect (Buddhi) and ego (Ahamkara) and sense powers (Jnanendriya and Karmendriya that is cognitive senses and muscular senses). Manas, Buddhi, Ahamkara and Citta together make the ‘Antahkarna’ which are sometimes all together called our mind.

The cognitive senses (nervous senses) are hearing, feeling, seeing, tasting and smelling while the reactive senses (muscular senses or powers of action) are voicing (tongue), handling (hands) , moving (feet), and ejection (excretory organ) and ejaculation (reproductive organ). The senses function with the cooperation of the mind (Manas) otherwise a person seems ‘absent minded’. Sometimes there may be a lot of noise in our background but we do not ‘hear it’ because our mind is not focussed upon it. The intellect (Buddhi) holds the experience sensed by the senses and cognizable by the mind together as a unit to substantiate it and identifies it (gives it an identity) owing to it’s ego (Ahamkara).

The five elements of space, air, fire, water and earth representing sound, temperature (head,cold), colour, flavour and odour respectively provide the stimulus to five senses of hearing, feeling, seeing, tasting and smelling and the powers of voicing, touching, moving, excreting and reproducing. These sense powers are independent of the physical organs to an extent so that if a hand is broken, some learn to write by their foot.

It is said that the mind, intellect and ego were created along with the five elements of earth, water, fire, air and space. The five bhutas provide a standard of reference (sensation-general such as 'colour' rather than blue or red) to the intellect to base its sensations upon in order to substantiate what the sensory powers and the mind together experience. The sensation-generals are said to be one end of a single composite phenomenon of which the sense powers (Indriyas) represent the other end.

The vital Prana holds the physical body of living entities as an organic whole which makes them ‘alive’. This life force carries out the functions of breathing in (‘Prana’), breathing out (‘Apana’), assimilating (into the blood stream known as ‘Samana’), distributing (throughout the body known as ‘Vyana’), and regeneration (‘Udana’)

The ‘atma’ is thus said to be covered with five layers (koshas) which separate it from the supreme consciousness ‘Atman’. The physical gross body (sthula sharira) forms the outermost layer composed ultimately out of food (annamaya kosha) and including its sensory and muscular organs. The next layer (subtle body or sukshma sharira) consists of the mind (manomaya kosha), the intellect and ego (vijnyanamaya kosha) and the vital energy (pranamaya kosha). The most subtle layer is the Karana sharira (causal body) consisting of the bliss sheath (anandamaya kosha) which comprises of ‘Vasanas’ i.e. human tendencies which define their jiva and are said to travel with their jiva from one life to the next until it becomes free of all five layers and merges with the Atman (Moksha). These layers of body, mind and intellect are also known as ‘Upadhis’ which condition the jiva-atma thus separating it from ‘Atman’. Moksha is attained by realizing the identity of Atman and detaching from these layers.

The three Gunas of ‘sattva, rajas and tamas’ constituting Maya are said to be reflected in human physiology as ‘doshas’ known as kapha, pitta and vata. The balance or imbalance of these doshas is said to define the nature of one’s body. Also the dominance of rajas in one’s nature is said to make a person very active, passionate and excitable. The dominance of the tamas quality makes a person inactive, lazy whereas the ‘saatvic person’ shows qualities of calmness, purity, creativity.

The sensing and identifying of the universe using the intellect, mind and senses of the Jiva and the existence of the universe is thus inextricably linked. If the Jiva ceases to distinguish objects and instead sees uniformity then the universe as currently perceived ceases to exist to the extent that there are no attributes sensed by the Jiva to distinguish one object from another and everything thus becomes one uniform nothingness that is the consciousness (Atman).

The ego gives a feeling of possessiveness and differentiation between one object and other. When the ego is overcome everyone and everything looks one, looks uniform and the self also can be identified with God as the feeling of a ‘separate I’ disappears. This complete detachment when experienced by the Jiva (freedom in action rather than freedom from action) results in a state of liberation ‘Moksha’ whereby the Jiva-atma can merge with the supreme consciousness, Atman.

In practical life the thrust is upon doing one’s duty without expectation or attachment to anything or anyone. This helps to overcome one’s ego so that it does not overpower one’s life and instead we live following just a sense of ‘duty’. Ego usually distances an individual from others and results in a lack of leadership and teamwork especially if it is unjustified. We have heard of the wise words ‘you can achieve every success in aims of life as long as you don’t care who gets the credit for it’ Where religion claims that ego must be overcome to reach God, it makes practical sense also therefore that in order to achieve worldly success one has to forget one self and immerse in the work at hand without worrying about the credit or even success. They say you can’t just become wealthy if you set out to become rich. But if you set out to perform the best in the work that you like and excel in then chances are you might just find yourself making a lot of money and building a reputation too in the process. There is therefore an alignment in religious teachings and common sense teachings. 

Creation: Universe

Brahman is the cosmic spirit that appears as the universe and everything in it. Brahman is eternal without a beginning or an end alternating between two phases of the universe created as in its present form and in a potential form when the present universe apparently ceases to exist. It may be said that the universe too reincarnates after the previous one is perished in an endless cycle. The manifested universe is known as ‘Shrishti’ whilst the potential form is ‘Pralaya’ (as a future tree exists in a seed). Such a seed or egg creating the universe may also be an interpreted description of ‘Hiranyagarbha’ that is another name of Brahman.

Shrishti is also seen as the phase of Purusha ‘self sacrificing’ as it were whereas the potential form is compared to the night for Brahman to sleep and rest after exerting as manifestation during the ‘day’

The physical world is created by Brahman through use of its supreme power called ‘Maya’ which is the inherent energy in Brahman just as heat is in fire. This ‘Maya’ is constituted of three properties (Gunas) namely ‘satwa’ (pure, rarefied) , ‘rajas’ (excitable) and ‘tamas’ (inert, unchanging). When these three properties are not in perfect balance then the imbalance leads to manifestation of ‘Ishwara’, ‘Jiva’ and ‘Jagat’ that is the manifestation of God with a form due to dominance of the ‘Satwa Guna’, and of living beings and the physical world due to dominance of the ‘Rajas and Tamas Gunas’.

Jagat (universe)

The physical world (jagat) is ultimately built upon the five basic elements (Panchamahabhutas) of akasha (continuum like ether), air (vaayu), fire (agni), water (ap), earth (prithvi). The latter four being physical matter known as ‘paramanus’ (like ions and electrons but not exactly the same) whereas akasha is a continuum that pervades every space and exists everywhere. Akasha is perceived as a fabric of lines (dishah) which serves as the frame for all physical experiences of the ‘jiva’ or ‘jiva-atma’ at the core of a living entity.

The bhutas when built up or converted to form the physical body of a living entity are known as ‘Anna’ (food).

I find this a beautiful way of describing the creation of the universe. ‘Maya’ is the force of ‘Brahman’ (the knowledge of the knower or energy of the consciousness). In Bhagwad Gita and various other scriptures this same relationship is denoted where ‘Purusha’ is stated as the male knower and ‘Prakriti’ (nature) is said to be the female field or energy of Purusha. Shiva is said to be the knower and Shakti the field.

Maya is said to have three Gunas of ‘satwa’, ‘rajas’ and ‘tamas’. Satwa rajas and tamas may be viewed as neutral, positive and negative energy levels respectively. Therefore I understand that when the Gunas are in a certain balance then different elements may be created (assumption of forms to find stable states). This is how I find the link between Sanaatan Dharma and our modern day science.

Wikipedia states that the ‘Tattwa Kaumudi’ (part of Hindu scriptures) describes how first akasha (aether) was created which is the most ‘subtle’ of the five elements. Then each element created in turn is used to create the next element that is air, fire, water and earth. My understanding is that this creation via the five elements, the Panchamahabhutas can be viewed as different forms of Maya (energy or force of Brahman). Scientists today are trying to discover how energy converts to matter i.e. they are trying to discover the secrets of ‘mass’ and the ‘Higgs Boson’ is said to be the particle related to mass. Perhaps when the energy became unstable and changed form each element was then created. 

About God

Advaita philosophy believes in the existence of one supreme reality termed as Atman or Brahman or Ishwara (in a different form or for a different level of understanding.)

The emphasis is on ‘Self Realization’ as ultimately God is not external to be reached through gaining knowledge but God is knowledge itself referred to with the words ‘Sat, Chit, Ananda’. These are explained as the ‘timeless unending being or existence of true reality, pure objectless awareness or consciousness, bliss or joyousness’; words viewed not so much as properties to describe Atman but the very nature of Atman or Brahman. To attain this pure knowledge, this realization that is the ‘Atman’ means to realize the true nature of the ‘Self’ that is all pervading (including within each of us), devoid of any attributes, infinite, eternal, unchanging and formless.

This Self of humanity and the universe that is the ultimate singular reality is also described as ‘Purusha’ (‘that One/the person’). It is said in the scriptures that a small part of this consciousness (proportionately quite small as less as about one quarter) manifests itself to form the substratum of the universe. This substratum is Brahman appearing in physical form as the entire universe with all physical matter in it. The rest which remains undiminished and unchanged (just as in Biology one cell divides into multiple cells without altering the parent cell) is ‘ParaBrahman’. In reality Brahman and Parabhrahman are one and the same. Thus everything in the universe is viewed as the pure joy of Purusha which is flowing out and crystallizing.

satyam jnanam anantam brahman

"Brahman is the nature of truth or the true reality, knowledge as the subject and object and infinity"

It is tempting to wonder how to get a glimpse of this God ourselves if it is internal and the subject rather than the object? Instead of taking the word of these sages, if one wishes to experience it for oneself then the scriptures and the seers prescribe the path of meditation rather than any conventional scientific experiments.  However when will I know that this is God? 

I concluded that just like when you learn driving or swimming or cycling, you don’t learn it until the moment when you have learnt it. You follow all the techniques as prescribed, gear stick or hand strokes or balancing the handle. But suddenly the same techniques work after practice, practice, practice and he presto you are there! No one can take it away from you then thereafter. Is it the same with God, you put all your belief in the prescribed formulae of learning the scriptures and taking in the knowledge imparted by Gurus in full faith, you worship and meditate as a true devotee in temples and sacred spaces with an honest heart and you keep up your selfless action in the service of God and others (jnana, bhakti, karma). Then one day you just get there or maybe you even gradually climb steps and see the light more and more and more like happens in one’s work no matter what it is, it’s just a matter of perseverance, patience and practice and then humans suddenly get the way that things work. Hmmm.. we have all experienced this sudden realization or ‘eureka’ moment whilst persevering in something at work haven’t we? 

God it seems is also about a realization or a change in one’s vision. It is said that those who are self realized in this way never boast about it because that same self realization takes away their ego too. It doesn't alter anything physically in one’s life but it gives a vision and knowledge of a bigger picture which then helps to make everything else in life all right.

Reading Material

Sites and resources 
(ongoing list that will grow as the blog grows)

Books

Hinduism that is sanatana dharma, Swami Nityananda,Chinmaya Mission Trust

Atma Bodh, Swami Chinmayananda

Wisdom of the Vedas, J.C.Chatterji

All about Hinduism, Sri Swami Sivananda

Kindle Life, Swami Chinmayananda

The Difficulty of Being Good, Gurucharan Das

Towards the Silver Crests of the Himalayas, G K Pradhan

Veda secrets from the east, Swami Prabhupada

Organizational resources from websites

http://www.dlshq.org/download/download.htm

http://www.chinmayamission.com/publication-class.php?class=Book

http://swami-krishnananda.org/writings.html

http://www.kamakoti.org/newlayout/template/hindudharma.html

http://www.sringeri.net/temples

http://www.krishna.com/srila-prabhupada

http://www.vedanta.com/, http://vedanta.org/vedanta-overview/recommended-reading/

http://literature.awgp.org/

https://www.himalayanacademy.com/resources/books/hbh/

Encyclopaedia sites

http://veda.wikidot.com/main:home

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_philosophy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Hinduism

http://hinduism.about.com/

http://www.advaita.org.uk/resources/resources.htm 

Blogs 

http://ourdharma.wordpress.com   =   http://srividya-rajesh.com/dharma

http://sudheeptnair.blogspot.ca

http://www.bnaiyer.com/Basic-Study/basic-hindu-primer.html

http://scienceofhinduism.blogspot.ca/

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http://deshika.wordpress.com/hinduism/

http://western-hindu.org/

http://hinduismbeliefs.blogspot.ca/

http://alsohindu.wordpress.com

Darshanas: Schools

Different philosophical views of understanding Sanaatan Dharma 

From olden times, sages have founded different systems of deriving knowledge from the Vedas known as ‘Darshanas’ or views. Six primary ones are Vaiseshika by Sage Kannada focussing on atomic matter and nature, Sankhya by Sage Kapila categorising and differentiating twenty five types of existence created from the cosmic energy,  Nyaya by Sage Gautama following a logical reasoning approach, Yoga by Sage Patanjali emphasizing meditation and control, Mimansa by Sage Jaimini concentrating on the rituals, powerful chants, words in the Vedas and Vedanta by Sage Vyasa/Bhadrayana attaching most significance to the Upanishads and Aranyakas of the Vedas. These six schools are classed as ‘Astika’ (orthodox) due to their belief in the Vedas as the primary Sruti scriptures. Buddhism and Jainism are considered as the Naastik religions (heterodox, not based on the Vedas) although their philosophies are said to have many common threads with the Sankhya philosophy and in some cases Buddhism is likened to Advaita Vedanta.

Advaita Vedanta: Whilst some of these views were more suitable to past ages, the Vedanta school is most popular in today’s scientific age of reason. Vedanta has further evolved into schools of Advaita, Vishishtadvaita and Dvaita philosophies referring to non-duality, qualified non duality and duality in reference to existence of God and the world with life in it respectively. Thus Advaita Vedanta believes that there is only one absolute reality of God which manifests itself in various forms in the world but ultimately these manifestations are illusory compared to the singular truth of the eternal Atman (God). Atman is said to be consciousness without any attributes. The Dvaita and Vishishtadvaita sub schools have subtle but significant differences in terms of whether God is one with the soul in human life. However some Vedanta followers view these three schools of Dualism, qualified non dualism and non dualism as simply the ‘starting point’, the ‘middle’ and the ‘end’ of the same journey and seek to highlight the key similarities upon which they are based.

Smarta Tradition: In modern times many Hindus are followers of Advaita Vedanta and often belong to the ‘Smarta’ tradition of Hinduism which accepts six manifestations of God as Shiva, Vishnu, Shakti, Ganesha, Kartikeya (also known as Murugan/Skanda) and Surya who are all considered to equally personify the Supreme God Brahman.  Smarta devotees also believe and promote the ‘Smritis’ which are scriptures derived from the Vedas.

The Smarta lineage however includes followers of all six views (‘shad darshanas’) based on the Vedas and not just Advaita Vedanta. Vaishnavism, Shaivism and Shaktism are the other three major Hindu sects which worship Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva and Goddess Shakti respectively as the Supreme Being.  Vaishnav devotees pray to one or other incarnation of Lord Vishnu such as Lord Krishna or Lord Rama. The Shaiva school is one of the oldest in Hinduism. Further sub systems of faith also exist since ancient times within the ‘Shaiva’ philosophy (including the ‘Pashupata, Siddhanta, Kashmiri Shaivism, Lingayat’ sub schools which have some philosophical differences).  Followers of the’Shrauta’ tradition attach importance to strictly conducting rituals as per the Vedic texts. 

This philosophy of Advaita Vedanta accepting all the main five or six deities as promoted by ‘Adi Shankaracharya’ influences my study recorded in this blog although this is in no way aimed at negating other beliefs and thought systems. 

Smriti Scriptures

Hindu scriptures developed over thousands of years ago by Sages are classed as Smriti knowledge.  These include:

Upa Vedas such as Aayurveda, Dhanurveda, Gandharva veda and Stapathya Sastra referring to the science of medicine, science of battle, arts such as music and dance and the science of mechanics and construction respectively.  

Vedangas are another important part including Siksha (phonetics), Kalpa (rites), Vyakarana (Grammar), Nirukta (Vedic Glossary), Chhandas (Prosody), Jyotisha  (Astronomy & Astrology). These are vital to understand and learn the scriptures especially as the Vedas originally existed only by word of mouth in sound form for many centuries. 

Dharma Smritis do not have divine origin but consolidate the wisdom of Sages over generations to provide guidelines on how to lead a ‘Dharmic life’. The Manu Smriti by Sage Manu is the most well known among eighteen others.

Puranas narrate stories about religion, traditions, history of the earth including creation and destruction in order to deliver the same philosophical concepts using mythological tales as aids for easier understanding by the common man. Puranas provide continuity from prehistoric times and help to identify with all our history and our ancient ancestors. There are eighteen most important ‘Maha Puranas’ and another forty six auxiliary ‘Upa Puranas’. 

Itihasas are a record of history focussed around human lives with a message of upholding religious values. The Ramayana and the Mahabharata are the two Itihasas composed as epics by Sage Valmiki and Sage Vyasa and very much part of the Hindu Smriti scriptures.

Other scriptural texts include ‘Agamas’, ‘Nibandhas’, ‘Subhashitas’, ‘Kavyas’, ‘Alankaras’, ‘Natakas’ and all this literature makes Sanaatan Dharma more and more accessible to the common people in comparatively recent generations of human life.