Thus Spake the Divine - Ishvar

Thus Spake the Divine

Ishvar

In this chapter, quoting an interesting story from Puranas, Poojyasri Maha Periyava brings out the magnificence of Ishwar, who is a manifestation of Brahmam Himself.

To a Jnyani (Sage or Enlightened Soul), nothing will be visible except his own self. For him, Paramatma alone has manifested into many substances in this Universe. He discards external images as “Maya”, the illusion, and experiences only the inner image, which is Paramatma. Since whatever he sees outwardly are all Maya to him, he makes no transactions at all with the external world. When the Jnyani, sees all substances as unified into one, how does he feel? Upanishads say such a sagely person remains the Brahmam himself.

Brahmam does not engage in any transactions at all. However, people caught in the clutches of worldly transactions pray to God Almighty to help them accomplish their intended tasks. If the individual who prays is virtuous in his praying, then, God bestows his blessings on him in accomplishing his task. This shows that Ishvara is not one who does not have any transactions. Whether we pray to him or not, He administers the entire Universe and undertakes the mammoth task of feeding all the beings in this Universe.

Now the question is: Are the Brahmam, who is ‘action-less’, and the Ishvara, who engages himself in actions, different identities? No. Both are one and the same; it is the “action-less” Brahmam, who transforms into Ishvara while engaging in actions. The iconographic posture of God Dakshinamurti, the Cosmic Guru, exhibits the state of Brahmam. There is absolutely no activity in Him and He resides in absolute silence. The same Shiva has performed innumerable tasks: in Chidambaram He dances in ecstasy. In Tharukavanam, as a Bhikshadanan, he has made people ecstatic. In Dhaksha Yajnya, he has crumpled Surya and broken his teeth. Internally, God Dakshinamurti has absolutely no-action. But externally His actions are multifarious.

Our Swami is also submerged into Brahmam inwardly, and outwardly He engages in innumerable activities. Let us look at this metaphor. Ordinary people are swimming in the lake of worldly reincarnation cycle. Jnyanis are standing at the paddy field, which is at the other side of the lake. In between is the shore of the lake. Since the shoreline hinders the vision in between, the lake is not visible to the Jnyani. The people, who are inside the lake, cannot see the field. Swami is standing on the shore of the lake, which is in between the lake and the paddy field. He can see both the Jnyani and the people in the lake. He can instruct the Jnyani standing in the paddy field to lift the man who is drowning in the lake of worldly reincarnation cycle. Swami knows that He is all-pervasive. But there are people who assert God has a distinct identity. There is a beautiful verse in the Shivaleelarvanam by Sri Neelakanda Dikshitar. Let me explain you the essence of it.

We all know the story of Lord Parameshvara taking the disguise of a young labourer. He carries sand bags on His head to help out an old lady who is unable to carry the bags. The lady is one of the workers at the construction site of a massive bund along the banks of River Vaigai, which is being built by the Pandya King. For the labour that He has done, Lord Parameshvara earns some Puttu (sweet rice flour). He eats the Puttu and sleeps off on the banks of the river. When the Pandya King sees the labourer sleeping and not working, he pulls out his cane and whips the sleeping man on

His back.

That blow on the young labourer gets reflected on everyone’s back including the King’s. Ishvara thus reveals that He is all- pervasive! At this juncture, Sri Neelakanda Dikshitar asks this thought-provoking question: “To prove the doctrine of Advaita (that it is only YOU and no other substance that exists in the Universe), should only the blow of the cane be felt by all the living beings? Is it not the Puttu that you ate, which must have been tasted by all living beings? So, for the hardship, there is one rule and for pleasure, there is a different one. Is it justifiable?”

The Five Acts of Swami are known as Pancha Krityas, which refer to the cycle of emanation/involution and de-involution of the Universe. These Krityas are: Shrishti (Creation), Stithi

(Maintenance of World Process), Samhara (Destruction), Thirodhana {Concealment of Real Nature of Self (Maya)} and Anugraha (Grace to Liberate One from Maya). The supreme act of Swami is the fifth one, Anugraha, which is His grace bestowed to liberate human beings from the clutches of Maya. If we have to attain the state of Advaita, the only way is to pray to Him wholeheartedly. This is what we call Bhakti.

This article is a snippet from the Book Thus Spake the Divine, is available online at www.giri.in and across Giri Trading Agency Private Limited, A chain of Speciality Stores dealing in all kinds of products needed in Indian Culture and Tradition.