What The Upanisads Teach.pdf - Suhotra Maharaja Archives

The one Brahman denoted by the letter "a" (akara) creates the many varnas [themanifold universe] by His power (saktiyogat) without any selfish purpose. At thetime of dissolution, the Lord destroys the universe. (Svetasvatara Upanisad IV. 1)The same power by which the universe is created and destroyed keeps the jiva inbondage.chandamsi yajnah kratavo vratani bhutam bhavyam yacca veda vadantiasman mayi srjate visvam etat tasmins canyo mayaya sanniruddhahThe Vedas, the sacrifices, the rituals, the vows, the past, the future, and what theVedas declare, all this the Mayina (the wielder of the power known as maya) createsout of this; in it, the other (jiva) is bound by maya. (Sv. U. IV. 9)Now, maya means illusion as well as power. Is the universe just a grand illusion? Theupanisads do not teach such a doctrine. This question will be pursued in greaterdetail in the next installment; today we are focusing on the universe as the creationof the Lord. Certainly within the limits of the present topic there is no scope fordismissing the cosmos as some kind of Chimera.Remembering from the first installment how the upanisads define Brahman, it makeslittle sense to argue, as the Mayavadis do, that the universe--which grew up by thepower of Brahman--is a mere mirage or figment of the imagination. The upanisadsurge the soul to put his complete attention and effort into the alleviation of hismaterial bondage. It makes little sense to argue that the state of bondage--whichrequires so much dedication to overcome--is just the jiva's hallucination or fantasy.The philosophy of cosmic creation taught in the upanisads is parinama-vada, thedoctrine of transformation. Here is a natural illustration of that teaching: a plantedseed, which is one thing, the cause, grows into a tree, which is another thing, theeffect. Though cause and effect are no doubt two different things, they are no doubtconnected by energy (defined as the capacity for power and vitality). Hence thecause is evident in the effect--the tree produces more seeds, which in turn becomethe cause of more trees. All this happens by parinama--transformation of energy.The Mayavadi version of creation, on the other hand, is called vivarta-vada, thetheory of illusion. Srila Prabhupada gives this light on the difference between the twodoctrines.Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura comments that if one does not clearly understand themeaning of parinama-vada, or transformation of energy, one is sure tomisunderstand the truth regarding this material cosmic manifestation and the livingentities. In the Chandogya Upanisad it is said, san-mujah saumyemah prajahsadayatanah sat-pratisthah (Cha. U. 6. 8. 4). The material world and the livingentities are separate beings, and they are eternally true, not false. Sankaracarya,however, unnecessarily fearing that by parinama-vada (transformation of energy)Brahman would be transformed (vikari), has imagined both the material world andthe living entities to be false and to have no individuality. (Cc Adi 7. 122p)Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura explains, "In the Vedanta-sutra of Srila Vyasadeva it isdefinitely stated that all cosmic manifestations result from transformations of variousenergies of the Lord. Sankaracarya, however, not accepting the energy of the Lord,thinks that it is the Lord who is transformed. He has taken many clear statements29