CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE

The manifestation of the universe is a projection of Brahmān, or Cosmic Self, the Absolute Existence. Creation is nothing but the projection of the externality of something as part of the cosmic will of Cosmic Being, the Subject. Something is a thing, or an object, i.e., the creation of the universe, is not the manufacture of a new thing but a manifestation from a state of unmanifestation. It manifests out of Brahmān, the Cosmic Self and the all inclusiveness of subjects and objects as Absolute Existence. The word 'Brahmān,' according to sage philosopher Swami Krishnananda, is derived from the Sanskrit root 'brhm', which means to expand, be comprehensive, include, or be flawlessly. He refers to it as bhuma, the All-inclusive Absolute, or Plenum, which includes everything. He goes on to say that it is inappropriate to call Brahmān creates the universe because Brahmān is eternity, complete, indefinable, infinite, perfect existence par excellence. It has no necessity to create. The appearance of something being created is the result of a peculiar admixture of confusion cosmically called Māyā, or illusion, and individually avidyā, or ignorance.

Those who are located in one body only—the ego—are far from this Fullness. Everything is inside and nothing is outside, whether manifest or unmanifest. The Vedantic perspective of the universe is based on the cyclic view of the universe and the involvement of living beings in it. This state is known as Samsāra (birth and death), which refers to the repetitive processes of reincarnation in life and death. It has no beginning because its foundation moves cyclically. Prakriti (matter) and Jiva (soul) go through cycles of manifestation and unmanifestation via reincarnation.The Srimad Bhagavad Gita (2.28) verily proclaims so.

avyaktādīni bhūtāni vyakta-madhyāni bhārata

avyakta-nidhanānyeva tatra kā paridevanā

All created beings are unmanifest prior to birth, manifest during life, and unmanifest after death.

Somethings are forever present as a dependent existence in Brahmān, or the Cosmic Self. They manifest at the beginning of a universal cycle and then dissolve in Him, staying in their causative circumstances until the next cycle begins.

The Jiva passes through numerous manifestations till he achieves his natural perfection as the Spirit. In Samsāra, the underlying divinity is diminished and obscured by the encrustation of Karma (activities), or inclinations earned in previous lifetimes via one's own acts, but it is never effaced or annihilated. The creative cycle's goal is to awaken the Spirit's divine potential and elevate it to ever-higher levels of perfection. These recurring incarnations are the result of Karma, or action taken during the Jiva's early involvement in Samsāra. All activities, by definition, leave some inclinations of entitlement for enjoyment or suffering in the mind. The accumulation of these consequences acquired in previous incarnations is known as Karma, or activities, which have the power to regulate the Jivas' embodiments and experiences. In the cyclic viewpoint of creation, there is no initial creation, and so no beginning for the Jiva.

1. Outline

Originally, as per the Vedic tradition, in the beginning of things, there was nothing, neither existence nor nonexistence, neither matter nor space around.

The sage philosopher Swami Krishnananda, in his commentary on the Brihadranyaka Upanishad, states that cause and effect cannot be separated because the effect is within the causal state. But how does the externality of creation as a universe emerge? It can't arise out of nowhere. What was there originally? Nothing can arise from nothing; hence, nothing new can be generated throughout the creation process. To be called new, anything must have sprung from nothing. How does 'something' originate from 'nothing'? This defies logic. The effect required a causal state. The universe is composed of this causal state. As a result, nothing that could not have been in the cause can be observed in the effect, because the cause had to contain the effect in its primordial state. Nonetheless, we differentiate the two.

Once something comes out of the Cosmic Mind of the Cosmic Self, others start following as a projection of the Cosmic Self. The Taittirĩya Upanishad (2.1.1) categorically elucidates in a sequential process. From Brahmān, or  Cosmic Self, emerged space. Air emerged from space. Fire originated in the air. Fire produced water. The earth emerged from the water. Herbs originated on Earth. Food was produced from the herbs. The human was born from food. That person, as it is, is a result of the essence of food. This is the head of one, the southern (right) side, the northern (left) side, the Self, and the stabilising tail.

2. Scriptures

The Nasadiya Sukta of the Rig Veda (10.129.1) denies the existence of gods in creation! Deities and divinity all arose long after creation, according to the Rig Vedic scriptures. It says neither the gods nor the humans will ever know how the universe was created or came to be.

nāsad āsīn no sad āsīt tadānīṁ nāsīd rajo no vyomā paro yat  |

kim āvarīvaḥ kuha kasya śarmann ambhaḥ kim āsīd gahanaṁ gabhīram  || 1 ||

na mṛtyur āsīd amṛtaṁ na tarhi na rātryā ahna āsīt praketaḥ  |

ānīd avātaṁ svadhayā tad ekaṁ tasmād dhānyan na paraḥ kiṁ canāsa || 2 ||

tama āsīt tamasā gūl̥ham agre 'praketaṁ salilaṁ sarvam ā idam  |

tucchyenābhv apihitaṁ yad āsīt tapasas tan mahinājāyataikam || 3 ||

kāmas tad agre sam avartatādhi manaso retaḥ prathamaṁ yad āsīt  |

sato bandhum asati nir avindan hṛdi pratīṣyā kavayo manīṣā || 4 ||

tiraścīno vitato raśmir eṣām adhaḥ svid āsīd upari svid āsīt  |

retodhā āsan mahimāna āsan svadhā avastāt prayatiḥ parastāt || 5 ||

ko addhā veda ka iha pra vocat kuta ājātā kuta iyaṁ visṛṣṭiḥ  |

arvāg devā asya visarjanenāthā ko veda yata ābab || 6 ||

iyaṁ visṛṣṭir yata ābabhūva yadi vā dadhe yadi vā na  |

yo asyādhyakṣaḥ parame vyoman so aṅga veda yadi vā na veda || 7 ||

There was none of that as non-existence or existence, proclaims Nasadiya Sukta of the Rig Veda. It says that there was no earth or sky. What precisely was there? It was a great expanse of unfathomable and massive waters. There was no death, no immortality, no night or day. That was the only thing there that was breathing. There was nothing outside of or within it. It felt as if everything was enveloped in darkness at the time, all seas of cosmic universality. At the time, there was strong tapas and a high level of focus. That resulted in the Cosmic Being's fundamental desire, the genesis of what we now call mind, or the thinking principle. The great sages discovered existence in this condition, which is equivalent to non-existence. It was the centre of all beings. It radiated light from all sides. There was no one to see the surplus of light, so it was truly dark. Nobody knows how this creation came to be because the gods appeared after creation. So, who can know the origin of creation? What a wonder! How did this world come to be, and how was it created? Only the Creator will know how this cosmos came to be. Perhaps He, too, does not know.

The Rig Veda (1.164.46) presents the first assertion about the nature of reality as One Being, which the wise diversely speak of.

indram mitraṃ varuṇam agnim āhur atho divyaḥ sa suparṇo garutmān |

ekaṃ sad viprā bahudhā vadanty agniṃ yamam mātariśvānam āhuḥ ||

They have styled (Him, the Sun), Indra, Mitra, Varuna, and Agni, and He is the celestial, well-winged Garutmat, for learned priests call one by many names as they speak of Agni, Yama, Mātariśvan.

Brahma Sutras (Adhikarana V: Sutras 5 to 11), according to the commentaries by Swami Sivananda, assert that Brahmān is admitted by Sruti (that which is heard, e.g. Vedas) to be the cause of the world. They prove by various cogent and convincing arguments that the Brahmān whom the Vedantic texts proclaim as the cause of the universe, is an intelligent principle and cannot be identified with the non-intelligent or insentient Pradhāna, or Prakriti from which the world originates, as declared by the Sankhyas. It is stated that Brahmān who is eternally pure, wise, and free (Nitya, Buddha, Mukta Svabhava) is the only cause, stay, and final resort of this world. Brahmān, who is the originator, preserver, and absorber of this vast world, must have unlimited powers and characteristics. Hence He is Omnipotent and Omniscient. Who but the Omnipotent and Omniscient Brahmān could create, rule, and destroy it? Certainly mere atoms or chance cannot do this work. Existence cannot come out of non-existence. The origin of the world cannot proceed from a non-intelligent Pradhāna or Prakriti. It cannot proceed from its own nature or Svabhava spontaneously without a cause, because special places, times, and causes are needed for the production of effects.

The Srimad Bhagavatam (ŚB 1.1.1) is quite emphatic that He is the Absolute Truth and the originator of all causes of creation, sustenance, and annihilation of manifested universes. He is directly and indirectly aware of all manifestations, and He is self-sustaining because there is no other cause save Him. He is the first to transmit Vedic wisdom to Brahmā (creator of the other creations), becoming the first living entity. Even great sages and gods are cast into delusion by Him, just as one is perplexed by false depictions of water in fire or land on water. Only because of Him can the material universes, which are temporary manifestations of the reactions of the three modes of nature, appear factual, although being unreal.

In the beginning of creation, according to the Srimad Bhagavatam (ŚB 1.3.1), the Lord manifested all the ingredients for material creation in the universal form of the puruṣa incarnation. Thus, the sixteen principles of material action were initially established. This was done to create the physical universe.

In the beginning, all that existed was the Self, and nothing else. According to the Aitareya Upanishad (1.1.1), this was everything that existed at first. Nothing else was winking. It thought, "Let me make the worlds." It considered, 'Shall I send forth worlds?' It manifested these realms. The Aitareya Upanishad goes on to describe creation through elucidation that Brahmān, or the Cosmic Self, through its Cosmic Will initiates the manifestation of universes. It includes one of the highest, Ambhas, followed by Marichi, the sky; Mara, the earth, a place for the living of sentient beings; and Apa, the world beneath the earth. Apa is the name of the sub-material regions from which atomic matter rises. In a metaphysical perspective, Ambhas is the causal world, Marichi is the astral world, Mara is the physical world, and Apa is the zone to which persons with poor evolution travel after death, usually in a state of slumber. In psychology, Ambhas is the superconscious mind, Marichi is the higher intelligence or buddhi, Mara is the sensory, earth-centred mind or consciousness, and Apa is the subconscious mind. As the Self contemplated the form, the Upaniṣhad says, a mouth opened like an egg, releasing speech and fire; nostrils opened with the power of breathing the air; eyes opened, releasing sight and sun; ears opened, allowing them to hear sound in space; skin appeared, releasing hair and plants and trees. The heart spilt forth, followed by the thought, which led to the moon. The navel broke forth, and from it came Apana, the downward power, and Death. The organ of pleasure emerged, followed by seed and then by waters. He brought unto them Man, and they said in joy, “O well fashioned truly! Man indeed is well and beautifully made.” Then the Spirit asked them to enter the body and take up their places. Then fire, becoming speech, entered the mouth; air, becoming smell, entered the nose; the sun, becoming sight, entered the eyes; sounds in the space, becoming hearing, entered the ears; plants, herbs, and trees, becoming hair, entered the skin; the moon, becoming mind, entered the heart. Death became Apana, the lower breathing, and entered the navel; the waters became seed or sperm and entered into the organ of pleasure. Now, hunger and thirst said to the Self, “Give us a place." He told them to enter into these guardians and share their lives with them. Thus hunger and thirst for food, drink, and pleasure attend us, whatever we do in life. The Self, Creator thought, “Here are the worlds and their guardians. Let me now bring forth food for them.” He brooded in might upon the waters. And from this appeared food in the form of matter. Food being created fled back from his grasp. He tried to seize it by speech, but failed; he then tried to catch it by breath, but could not; he tried to seize by the eyes, but in vain; then by the ears, by the skin, by mind, by the organ of pleasure, but all his efforts failed. Therefore, one cannot satisfy one’s hunger by merely speaking about food, smelling it, looking at it, hearing about it, touching it, or even thinking about it. And finally he succeeded in seizing food by the Apana, the breath of life. This is the seizer of food, and therefore all that is Breath has its life in food. The Cosmic Self brooded in the waters. And as a result, food appeared in the form of matter. Food was being generated, yet it escaped his grasp. He attempted to seize it through speech, breath, the eyes, hearing, skin, thoughts, and the organ of pleasure, but all of his efforts failed. As a result, simply talking about food, tasting it, looking at it, hearing about it, touching it, or even thinking about it is insufficient to relieve hunger. Finally, he was successful in capturing food using the Apana, the breath of life. This is the seizer of food, and so all that is food provides the living force for breath.

According to the Srimad Bhagavad Gita (BG 8.16), rebirth exists in all worlds of the universe, even Brahma's highest abode. However, after He has attained His Abode, no further rebirths occur. Vedic literature describes our universe as consisting of fourteen planets. The seven realms of existence are Bhūḥ, Bhuvaḥ, Swaḥ, Mahaḥ, Janaḥ, Tapaḥ, and Satyaḥ, beginning with earth and moving upward. The Swarga, or celestial abodes, are located in the highest realms. The narak, or awful abodes, are the seven remaining kingdoms beneath the earth. Those are —tal, atal, vital, sutal, talātal, rasātal, and pātāl.

On Brahma's Day, the Srimad Bhagavad Gita contends that all living entities are manifested from an unmanifest source. And at the conclusion of his night, all material entities return to their unmanifest source. Multitudes of beings, according to Bhagavad Gita, are born with the advent of Brahma's day, and are reabsorbed with the arrival of the cosmic night, only to manifest again automatically with the arrival of the following cosmic day.

The Bhagavad Gita (BG 10.2) goes on to say that neither gods nor the great sages know of Brahmān and His origin. He is the source from which the gods and revered seers emerge.

Yoga-Vasistha employs the Upanisadic term Brahman to refer to the ultimate Reality (para, satya). In Yoga-Vasistha, Ātman, also known as Purusa (of Sankhyas), Brahmān (of Vedantins), Vijnana (of Vijnanavadins), and Sunya (of the Sunyavadins), is regarded as the true original cause (Mula Karana) of the universe, as it is the cause of the mind and the root-cause of this illusory universe. He produces nothing; however, the universe is an illusion generated and perceived by the ignorant.

3. Remarks

Cosmic Self, Subject, is Absolute Existence and infinity of the infinitude. Finite finitude pertains to the created universe, objects, that emerge from the Absolute Existence as part of Cosmic Will, the cause nobody knows other than Himself. Being Self-existent, Absolute, Infinite, and Imperishable, the Subject does not require sense awareness or recognition for Its validation or existence. It is necessary for objects to exist and be validated. The Cosmic Self is total existence, whole, and perfect in all aspects. Everything in the universe, including the universe itself, has its origins, sources, manifestations, transformers, annihilators, and absorbers in Him. Beyond Him, nothing exists. A Self-realised person can perceive the manifestation of the symbiotic relationship, but it must be understood consciously because it is latent as well as immanent.All ideas, deeds, and processes follow the lines, and nothing exists outside of what is inside. One may realise the Cosmic Self as part of Self-realisation by perceiving it as an organic relationship between the Subject and the objects that is cosmically intertwined. Source, cause, and effect exist in their absolute, original, and non-duality as creator, sustainer, annihilator, and absorber. He possesses the capacity to penetrate, animate, illuminate, and invigorate creation. He is eternal, absolute, unfathomable, unbreakable, imperishable, infinite, the source of all truth, and indivisible. He is also the ultimate repository of all knowledge, the fullest expression of Sat-Chit-Ānanda (the eternal Existence-Consciousness-Bliss), or Satyam-Jñānam-Anantam-Brahma (Supreme Truth-Knowledge-Bliss-Infinity), and much more.

Of the many performers, He is the only controller. He is immanent, transcendent, and a manifestation of all that is animate and inanimate, visible and invisible to the phenomenal universe. In this manner, He cannot be reduced to the status of an individual subject, a pleasurer, or an experiencer, putting the things outside of His purview. Rather, He is the absolute totality, the one who has the ability to create, recreate, transform, absorb, and dissolve everything, including the universe.

-Asutosh Satpathy