The Doctrine of the Upanishads:5. Swami Krishnananda.

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Monday 09, December 2024, 06:20.
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Scriptures
The Doctrine of the Upanishads:5. 
God, the Universe and the Individual-Continued
Swami Krishnananda

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I become a subject in dream; and I am a subject in the waking state also. The question that we have to put here is: Is this dreaming individual who is different from the dream-objects the same as the waking individual who is different from the objects of waking experience? If we think carefully over the issue, we will find that they are different from each other. The waking individual contains within himself the dream-subject as well as the dream-objects. It is the waking subject that has externalised his ideas as the dream-subject and his universe. When we wake up we find that not only the dream-universe is not there, but the dream-subject, also, is not there. The dream-subject and the dream-objects are unified in the waking subject. This can give us a clue to the relation of the individual to the universe. Even as the dream-subject is different from the dream-objects, this waking subject is different from the waking universe; but even as the dream-universe is not created by the dream-subject, so the waking universe is not the product of the waking subject. And, even as the subject and the objects in the dream state are resolved into another subject in the waking state, the waking subject and the waking universe are resolved into another subject which is Purushottama or Virat. Ishvara contains in himself all the objects and subjects. The universe is the objectification of the Cosmic or Universal Consciousness, and not of any individual mind.

This leads us to another philosophy which is called objective idealism, which explains the existence of the Cosmic Mind independent of the subject and objects. The Cosmic Mind is the creator of the whole universe, and the individual minds are parts of it. The individual mind's perception need not be correct. It is coloured by the constitution of the individual. The Cosmic Mind is the cause of the whole universe with the different planes of its existence—causal, subtle and material. This universe which is the creation of the Cosmic Mind presents itself as an object before the individual consciousness. When it becomes the object of the individual, it is estranged, as it were, from the perceiving individual. This estrangement is called Samsara. Samsara means turning away in the wrong direction, entering the stream of process or becoming. Instead of knowing that the experiencer is a part of the universe, the individual thinks that it is different from the universe. The Upanishads have their aim in bringing about a synthesis of all these various forms of perception. They bring home to man the idea that the individual is a part of the universe as a whole, and nothing independent, and that the universe is an organic whole of experience, rooted in the Absolute.

Ishvara is the Soul of the universe, the Cosmic Self, the Cosmic Mind, who is the efficient and material cause of the individual minds; the individual has no independent existence apart from Ishvara; God includes in himself both mind and matter. Brahman (the Absolute) is Ishvara divested of cosmic relations, and Ishvara is Brahman in relation to the cosmos.

When we started philosophising, we came across three principles-God, the universe and the individual. We have advanced further and have found that God must include within Himself the universe and the individuals. He is not merely a relation, but true existence. He is That which resolves into Itself the universe and the individuals.

But, if, in God, the universe and the individuals are merged completely, why is there perception of difference? I cannot say that I am the same as the world that I see. This question can be answered by making a distinction between the human view of the universe and the divine view. We look at the universe in terms of space, time and causation. The moment we think, we think in terms of these three terms of knowing. Everything is involved in these three links. We imply in the fact of our thinking, our being individuals. We think of something in space; space objectifies experience. When we try to introduce a relation among these principles, i.e., God, the universe and the individual, we have already created difference. The difference implied in their conception is the very basis of our processes of thinking. How can we think of the nature of the Divine Being without objectifying it in space? This is why the Upanishads hold that Ultimate Truth is transcendental. The mind of man cannot think of anything independent of objectivity. This is the fundamental error in human perception. God transcends space, time and causation. In order to think of God, we have to transcend these limiting factors. And we cannot do that. The moment we try to avoid these things, we avoid our own existence. The thinker ceases to exist in the attempt at transcending relativity of perception and experience.

Continued

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