Kathopanishad: Conversation between Lord Yamma and Nachiketa
This whole universe has emerged from the Brahman and moves in prana. The Brahman is a great terror, like an uplifted thunderbolt. Those who know this become immortal.
This mantra says ‘the whole universe has emerged from Brahman’. The world is scientifically and systematically operating in an orderly manner.
For any creation, there are three essentials:
- Material cause
- Instrumental cause
- Efficient cause
Eg: For the creation of a pot, the material cause is clay; the instrumental cause is the potter’s wheel, and the efficient cause is the pot maker. Similarly, in the creation of a watch, the various parts are the material cause, the machinery to make is the instrumental cause, and the watchmaker is the efficient cause.
In the creation of the world, the material, instrumental, and efficient cause is Brahman. There is nothing other than Brahman responsible for the creation of this universe. The five elements, Pancha Booths, are all a part of Brahman in the universe.
When the world comes to an end, it folds back to Brahman. The world has emerged from Brahman. Brahman is responsible for the creation. It is the ignorance of Brahman that created the world.
Eg: Ignorance of rope creates a snake. When you don’t see a rope as rope you mistake it for a snake. The creation of the snake comes because of ignorance of not understanding rope as rope. Ignorance of the rope created the snake. Similarly, the world has emerged from the ignorance of Brahman.
When we say God created the world, the fallacy, we are giving motive to God for the creation of the world. A potter must have the desire to create a pot, but we cannot attribute a desire to God to create the world. The Shastras say Brahman is desirelessness.
When Mantra says ‘the universe has emerged from Brahman’, it means Brahman is responsible for the creation. There are two things with reference to any creation:
- One must have a desire to create
- Identify with the desire.
So, there is a double fallacy when we say God created the world. We are attributing a motive to God and that creator has identified with the motive for creation.
Eg: A painter having a desire to paint must identify with the desire, and then there is the creation of a painting.
There are a direct cause and effect – in the case of seed and tree, chicken and egg, father and son. With reference to the creation of the world, there is no cause-and-effect relationship. Brahman is said to be the causeless cause, just like the rope is responsible for the creation of a snake. It is your ignorance of rope that created the snake. Ignorance of Brahman Reality has created the world of plurality, illusion, maya. Brahman or God has got nothing to do with the world. Brahman is transcendental, and the world is terrestrial.
Light and darkness, knowledge and ignorance do not go together. One has not emerged from another. Absence of one creates the rise of the other. Absence of knowledge brings about ignorance. Absence of light brings about darkness. Cognition of transcendental brings about the absence of the terrestrial world. The waking world is real only when the dream world dies. In the dream world, the waking world is unreal. It is the ignorance of the waking world; the dream world exists. The moment you wake up, the dream experience becomes unreal. Similarly, when we wake up to that Supreme realization, this world, which we call real, becomes a play of ignorance.
All the sadhana ultimately culminates to the cognition of the Self through:
- Karma – selfless service
- Bhakti – revel in the glory of the Lord
- Jnanam – exploring the scriptures
- Nidhidhyasana – plunge into the silence of meditation
The moment we wake up to that reality, the ignorance dispels.
The beauty of this knowledge is that it can be applied at a relative and an absolute level. This experience of knowledge combating ignorance happens in degrees. Be consistent in doing karma service, bhakti devotion, and jnanam knowledge to serve a cause you believe in. When you do diligently, you will experience the benefit of Wisdom dispelling the ignorance like light dispels darkness. If you are not experiencing it, then something is not right in your sadhana.
Mantra says ‘Brahman is a great terror like an uplifted thunderbolt’. When you associate Brahman with terror, there is a sense of fear.
Eg: If the head of an organization is a terror, all the employees will be perfect and disciplined. They will have to pay a price for their mistakes. A person is a terror when others are violating the rules and regulations. When the employees do not follow, they are afraid of the higher authorities.
Having said that, the universe has emerged from Brahman, and Brahman is a terror to the world. Everything in the world is meticulously and orderly functioning because they are afraid of Brahman. Brahman is not only the creator but also the operator of the world. There is orderliness in the world and is being overseen by the supreme commandant, that is Brahman. ‘Those who know this become immortal.’
