Jiva

MIND, MATTER AND GOD : JIVA, JADA AND ISVARA
M.M.NINAN
through the puranic schemes of creation stories etc in the form of churning of milky way
and the like where polarisation is produced bringing in creation - bringing in good and
evil, producing both Amrit (elixir of life) and Visham (Poison or death)
This appearance of Saguna Brahman is Iswara - the perosn of God. Here again I have
come across conflicting descriptions of Ishwara. To some Ishwara is both Good and Evil.
For others Ishwara is always good. Good and evil are mere illusions (Maya) to this way
of thinking. The created universe itself being maya. The universe (pervaded by God) is
analysable into the subjective experiences called soul and objective experiences called
matter; these two constitute man (in general all sentient beings) and the creation, jiva
and jada.
Matter with its name and form, themselves have no reality of their own. On this basis,
Advaita explains that God, man and creation are aspects of one Absolute Reality. Life
and its experiences are only a game played (Leela) by God.
A basic problem with this appraoch is that it gives us no reason to escape from the
experience. In fact trying to escape will be in direct violation of the intentions of God.
Imagining that suffering is only an illusion do not make it any less pleasant for anyone.
Vishishtadvaita explains that the three entities, i.e, God, man and universe are one
integral whole, that man is but an aspect of God.
But we see the world. Advaita says it is only a change in name and form of Brahman -
'Vivarta'. It is only a superficial appearance while there is no change in reality. What
seems to be a'snake' is really only a rope. We can understand that only when a light is
lit. One Brahman appears as many Pratibimbas (reflections)as 'Pratibhasika Satya'.
Sometimes the diversity of Jivas are explained as conditioned Brahman or limitations of
Brahman for period just as there are waters in the pools and lakes and rivers. This is
'Avacheda Vada'. But what is this reflecting media and the limiting walls? Are they also
Brahman? If they are then it produces the inhomogenity and the variation, the essence
of guna. Form and substance cannot be identical in essence. They belong to two
categories.
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