The Many Existence
Ishvara shines out on Prakriti and makes it fall into shapes, the first Forms that appear are those of the Trimurtih, the three Aspects of Ishvara, manifested to cause a HSn“¥, Brahmaijdam, literally an Egg of Brahma, a universe, or orderly system of worlds
The Aspect of Ishvara in which He creates the worlds is named Brahma; Brahma is the Creator. The Aspect of Ishvara in which He preserves, takes care of and maintains the worlds is named Vishnu ; Vishnu is the Preserver. The aspect of Ishvara in which He dissolves the worlds when they are worn out and of no further use, is named Shiva, or Mahadeva ; Shiva is the Dissolver of the worlds. These are the first manifestations of Ishvara, His Supreme Forms, His Three Aspects, or Faces. The One, the Saguija Brahman or the Supreme ishvara, appears as Three.
Brahma, the Creator, shapes matter into seven ytgiN, Tattvani, Elements as they have been called.^ Different names are given to the first two ; we may use the names Mah'at-Buddhi, Pure Reason, and Ahamkara, the principle of separation, breaking up matter into tiny particles, called atoms. Then come the remaining five Tattvas :
Akasha, Ether ; Vayu, Air ; Agni, Fire ; Apa, Water ; Prithivi, Earth. This is called the creation of the
I The western chemist uses the word in a different sense, but the old meaning is the one we are concerned with.
Bhutadi, Elements, and out of these all things are partly made. There is more of Tamo-guna than of Rajo-guija and of Sattva-guna showing itself in these elements, and so the things composed of them chiefly are dull and inert ; the inner life, the Jiva, cannot shew its powers, for the coat of matter is so thick and heavy.
Next after the Elements the ten Indriyas are created; these were at first only ideas in the mind of Brahma, and later were clothed in the Elements ; they are the five centres of the senses : smell, taste, sight, touch, hearing, the organs of which are the nose, tongue, eyes, skin and ears ; and the five centres of action, the organs of which are : hands, feet, and those of speech, generation
and excretion. There is more of Rajo-guria than of Tamo-guna and of Sattva-guoa shewing itself in these Indriyas, so they are very active, and the inner life, the Jiva, can shew more of its powers in them.
After the Indriyas, Brahma created in His mind the Devas who are connected with the senses, and also Manas, the mind, which is sometimes called the sixth Indriya, when the first five are spoken of, and the eleventh, when the ten are taken ; because it draws into itself and arranges and thinks over all the sensations collected by the Indriyas from the outer world. There is more of Sattva-guna than of Tamo-guna and of Rajo- guna shewing itself in these Deities and Manas.
The student must remember that these guijas are never separated, but one gu^a may be more dominant than another in any particular being. When Tamo-guna dominates, the being is called tamasic; when Rajo-guna dominates, the being is called r&jasic ; when Sattva-gutja dominates, the being is called sftttvic. All things may be divided under these three heads of Sattvic, Rajasic, and Tflmasic.*
Brahma nest created in His mind the hosts of Devas, who carry out, administer, the laws of Ishvara, and see to the proper management of all the worlds.
Ishvara is the King, the One Lord, and the Devas are His ministers, like the ministers and officials of an earthly king. The student must never confuse the Devas with the Supreme ishvara, with Brahman.
They are His higher officials for the Bi;ahmanda, as wc men are His lower officials for this one particular world.
The Devas, sometimes called Suras, see that each man gets what he has earned by his karma.® They give success and failure in worldly things, according to what a man deserves ; they help men in manj' ways, when men try to serve them ; and much of the bad weather, and sickness, and famine, and other national troubles come from men entirely neglecting the duties they owe to the Devas. The Devas are a vast multitude, divided under their five Rulers, Indra, Vayu, Agni, Varuija and Kubera. Indra has to .do with the Ether; Vayu with the air; Agni with the fire; Varuiia with the water ; Kubera with the earth. The Devas under, each have different names, as we see in the Puranas and the Itihasa. The student may remember, for instance, how Bhima fought with the Yakshas, who were the servants of Kubera.
I Sec Shag. Gita xiv, xvii and xviii. •
s Karma is explained in Chap IV.
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In these Devas the Rajo-guna dominates: Manu says that their “nature is action.”
The Asuras, the enemies of the Devas, embody the resistance, or inertia, of matter, and in them the Tamo-guna is predominant.
Brahma then created in His mind minerals, plants, animals and men, thus completing the picture of the worlds wherein the unfolding of the powers of the Jiva— what is now called Evolution— was to take place. In Samskrit this world-evolution, or world- process, is called Samsara, and it is compared to a wheel, constantly turning, on which all Jivas are bound.
Thus Brahma completed His share of the great task of a universe, but the forms needed to be clothed in ph3'sical matter, to be made active beings; this was the work of Vislmu, the All-Pervader, the Maintainer and Preserver of the worlds. He breathed His Life into all these forms, and as a Purana says, became Prana in all forms and gave them consciousness.
Then all the Brahmanda “ became full of life and consciousness.” But even this was not enough, when man came upon the scene. Two Aspects of Ishvara had given Their Life, but the third Aspect remained, the One who dissolves forms and thus liberates the Jivas, calling them to union and bliss. The life of Maha- deva must be poured out to complete the triple Jiva of man, that he might be the perfect -reflexion of the triple Ishvara. This was done, and the human Jiva began his long evolution, having already passed through, evolved through, the mineral, vegetable and animal kingdoms in previous kalpas. A very beauti-
ful description of the evolution through plants and animals to men, until “in man Atma is manifest,” and “by the mortal he desires the immortal," may be read by elder students in the Aitarcydraiiyaka} and will be found in the advanced Text Book.
The special manifestations of Vishiju, called Ava- taras, must not be forgotten. The word means One who descends, from iri passing over, the prefix "ava" giving the significance of descending. It is applied to Divine manifestations of a peculiar kind, in which the Deity incarnates in some form to bring about some special result. When things are going badly with the world, and special help is needed to keep the world on the road of right evolution, then Vishiju comes down in some appropriate form, and puts things
right.
Ten of His Avataras are regarded as more important than the others, and are often spoken of as “ the Ten Avataras.”
I. Matsya (The Fish)- Vaivasvata Manu once saw a little fish, gasping for water, and put it into a bowl ; it grew, and He placed it in a larger pot ; then again in a larger, and then in a tank, a pond, a river, the sea, and ever the Fish grew and filled its receptacle. Then the Manu knew that this Fish was connected with His own -life-work, and when the time came for Him to save the seeds of life from a great flood, and He entered a ship with the ^ishis and the necessar}' lifC' seeds, the great Fish appeared, and drew the vessel to the world where lay the Mann's work. With the coming of the Fish began the great evolution of animal life in the world.
2. Kurma (The Tortoise)- As the Tortoise, Vishnu supported the whirling mountain, which churned the great sea of matter, that it might give forth the necessary forms. The Tortoise is the type of the next great step in evolution.
3. VarAha, the Boar. The earth was sunk be- low the waters, and Vishnu raised it up, giving, in the Boar, the type of the great mammalian kingdom, which was to flourish on the dry land.
Modern Science recognises these three great stages of evolution, each marked in Hinduism by an AvatSra.
4. Narasijiha, the Man-Lion, This was the Ava- lara that came to free the earth from the tyranny of the Daiiyas, Into this race a child, Prahlada, was
born, who from earliest childhood was devoted to Vishriu, despite the threats and the cruelties of his Daitya father. Over and over again the father tried to slay the son, but ever VisliRU intervened to save him j at last He burst from a pillar in the form of a Man-Lion, and slew the Daitya king.
5. VAMANA, the Dwarf. At last He came as man, to aid the evolution of the human race, and gained from Bali the right to all He could cover in three steps ; one step covered the earth, and thus He won for man. the field of his evolution.
6. Parashurama, Rama of the Axe, This Avatara came to punish such of the Kshattriyas as were oppressing the people, and to teach bad rulers the
danger of using power to t3Tannise, instead of to help.
7. Rama, usually called Ramachandra, the son of Dasharatha. He, with his three brothers, came as the ideal Kshattri^-a, the model king, and He serves as an example of a perfect human life. An obedient and loving son, a tender husband, an affectionate brother, a gallant warrior, a wise ruler, a diligent protector ol His people. He is emphatically The Perfect Man. His splendid stor\' is told in Valmiki's Ramdyaiia, and the lovety version of Tulsi Das is known in every northern Indian home.
8 Krishxa, the manifestation of Divine Love and Wisdom, worshipped by myriads with intense devotion. As the marvellous child of Vraja and Vrindavana, as the friend of Arjuna, as the speaker of the Bhagavad Gita, as the wise counsellor of the Pandavas, as the adored of Bhishma— what Indian boy does not know
His stor3'? He is the central Figure- of the Mahabh&rata, and His Life is traced in several Puranas.
9. Buddha, the gentle prince who gave up throne and luxury to become a travelling mendicant, Teacher of the Truth. He is known as ShSkyamuni, as Gotama, as Siddhartha, and is the founder of a mighty faith, followed by millions of the human race. In Him Vishnu teaches vast multitudes of non-Aryan peoples.
10. Kalki, the Avatira who shall close the Kali Vuga, and whose coming is yet in the future. When He comes the Sat^-a Yuga will return to earth, a new cycle will begin.
The developement and perfection of the l uman type is indicated by these AvalSras.
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“Within Thy Form, O God, the Gods I see.
All grades of beings with distinctive marks ; BrahmS, the Lord, upon His lotus-throne,
The ^ishis all, and Serpents, the Divine.
Rudras, Vasus, Sadh^ms and Adityas,
Vishvas, the Ashvins, Maruts, Ushmapas,
Gandharvas, Yakshas, Siddhas, Asuras,
In wondering multitudes beholding Thee.”
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_ “ Indra, Mitra, Varuija, Agni, they call Him, and He is golden-feathered Garutmin. Of Him who is One sages speak as manifold ; they call Him Agni, Yama, . Matarishva. ”
1 Bhagttvad Gild. xi. 15 aad 22.
2 J^igveda. I. cixiv. 46.
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“ All the Gods (arc) even the Self : all rests on the Self. ”
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“ As from a blazing fire sparks, all similar to eaeh other, spring forth in thousands, so from the Indesiruetible, O beloved, various types of beings are
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“From That are born Breath, Mind, and all the Senses, Ether, Air, Fire, Water, and Earth, the support of all
I Mawtsnitiii, xii. 119.
2 Ibia. 123. 3 Mundakop, II. i, i, , 7.
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“ From that in various ways are born, the Gods. Sadh 3 'as, Men, Beasts, Birds.
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“From Sattva wisdom is born, and greed from Rajas; negligence and delusion are of Tamas, and also unwisdom.
“They rise upwards who are settled in Sattva; the Rajasic dwell in the midmost place. The Tamasit; go downwards, enveloped in the vilest qualities.”
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“Sattva attacheth to bliss, Rajas to action, O Bharata. Tamas, verily, having shrouded wisdom, attacheth on the contrary, to negligence.
j Bhagavttd Gila. xiv. 17, iS. ’
a Ibid, xiv, 9—13.
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(Now) Sattva ariseth, overcoming Rajas and Tamas, O BhSrata ; (now) Tamas, (overcoming) Rajas and Sattva ; and (again) Rajas (prevailing over)
Tamas and Sattva.
“ When the wisdom-light streameth forth from all the gates of the body, then it may be known that Sattva is increasing.
" Greed, outgoing energy, undertaking of actions ; restlessness, desire — these are born of the increase of Rajas, O best of the Bhiratas.
‘‘Darkness, stagnation and negligence, and also delu- sion— these are bom of the increase of Tamas, O joy of the Kurus.”
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“ When dharma decays, when adharma is exalted, then I Myself come forth ;
For the protection of the good, for the destruction of the evil, for the firm establishment of dharma, I am bom from age to age.”
X Bhagavad Gita. iv. 7, 8.
