Namaste to all
Bhagavat Gita depicts the brahma in clear and distinct narration. According to Verse 13 of BG chap XIII ( may be 14 in some Gita) “Everywhere are his hands and feet. His eyes, heads and faces are on all sides and everywhere are his ears. He remains encompassing all”. Again verse 14 ( may be 15 ) says that he is devoid of all sense organs but still he seems to have functions of the senses. “ sarvendriya gunabhasam sarvendriya vivarjitam”. This is how brahma described in the Gita. The same verses can be seen in Svetasvarupanishad chapter 3 mantra 3 ,16 and 17. More significantly, mantra 19 says that “without hands and feet he goes fast and grasps, without eyes he sees , without ears he hears . he knows whatever is to be known but no one knows him. The wise calls him the foremost the great”. Therefore here it is quite clear that ultimate brahma is not actionless , motionless or peaceful etc etc as depicted by some school of thought.
Here the verses from chaitanya charitamprita Madhya Lila sixth chapter that is the discussion of Mahaprabhu with sarbovom pandit have very much relevance. Mahaprabhu says to pandit in CC that the word “ Brahman” signifies purna swayam bhagavan full with all opulences. Mahaprabhu says that before the creation there were no mundane eyes or mind; therefore the transcendental nature of Brahma’s mind and eyes is confirmed. Mahaprabhu continued to mention that Sruti states that brahma can go very fast and accepts anything offered to him confirming that brahma has hands and legs which are not prakrit or material. Therefore according to sruti brahma is savishesh and sakar.having three primary potencies.
But some school of thought has changed the meaning of sruti and described brahma as nirakar and nirvishes with no potencies.Here it will not be out of context to mention why sri Krishna makes a clear distinction between him and imperishable unmanifested brahma in BG chapter 12 verse 1. He says in verse 5 of the same chapter that the goal of the unmanifested is difficult to attain by the embodied souls. Those who describe this creation is nothing but a dream or illusion or super imposition, to them only the ultimate brahma is without potencies without qualities having no form etc etc but swetaswar Upanishad mantra 16 of chapter 6 clearly states that brahma is the creator of everything and knower of everything. He is his own source he is all knowing and he is the destroyer of time. He has all the qualities. He is the pradhan kshetragnapati that is the controller of prakriti and jivatma. He is the cause of liberation from the cycle of birth and death. Same thing described in BG also.
Yes there is super imposition but that super imposition is on line of thinking. The cloud of imaginary or indirect illustration of Vedanta is a kind of super imposition on the real and direct meaning of the mantras. The imaginary line of thinking states that maya is power of nirguna brahma but maya is beginningless although maya does have an end. Having an inherent power “maya” brahma is described as nirguna nirvishesh.Mays is dependent on brahma. When Nirgun brahma comes in contact with maya , sagun brahm is formed that means sagun brahma is product of maya and nirgun brahma. This product now becomes controller of maya. Maya does not govern Sagun brahma instead sagun brahma governs maya though it is product of maya This sagun brahma is also not a absolute reality thus it does have an end also. Maya is insentient and can not act of its own. Being a power of nirgun brahma maya is dependent on brahma still maya can project. The universe is an illusion created by maya though maya is not independent for action. Maya is said to be inherent in brahma. power can not be separated from powerful still there is argument that when nirgun brahma comes to acquiesce maya and acknowledges the gunas of maya it is known as sagun brahma or iswara. That means sri Krishna Ram etc all these personalities are iswara have formed out of maya. If maya is a unique power of nirguna brahma and maya is inherent in nirgun brahma then how can brahma be nirgun. Can nirgun brahma have a wish to be separated itself from maya ? such misinterpretation leads to misunderstanding which is imposed forcibly. If jiva is brahma , creation is illusion why not maya also brahma since there is nothing except brahma. Though maya is ineherent in nirgun brahma but in turiya there is no maya with brahma . It said “The whole universe including sagun iswara maya is an apparent reality that has no more – and no less – substance than a dream. It is all an optical illusion – which does not mean that it does not exist, but only that it is not real, for its existence depends upon awareness – effected by the inexplicable power of ignorance, a misapprehension that is the uncaused effect of Maya.” But this mesmerizing power of maya is not its own but of brahma on whom maya is dependent. Maya is said to be unique power of nirgun brahma but it is described as neither real nor unreal , illusory , projector, power of veiling true etc etc Only confusion nothing else.
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