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Source: The Hindu (http://www.the-hindu.com)

 

God imparts His divine nature to His creation

 

CHENNAI, JUNE 28. The common refrain in many of the peace

invocations in the Upanishads is a prayer to progression from

darkness to light or from ignorance to knowledge. This forms the

crux of all spiritual endeavour; darkness and ignorance

signifying man's bondage, and light and knowledge referring to

liberation from bondage. The majority wallow in ignorance even

without realising their state of bondage like the cat which

believes that the Sun has set when it closes its eyes.

 

Ignorance and knowledge or light and darkness are again relative

terms used in the Upanishads to explain the states of man's

existence. But, the state of realisation transcends both, which

has been attested in the life of saints like Sri Ramakrishna

Paramahamsa. For the spiritual aspirant who is making a beginning

it is necessary to first recognise his condition and make efforts

to progress towards the goal of liberation. The Samhita section

of the Vedas contains mainly prayers to various deities, the

Brahmanas deal with performance of sacrifices and the Aranyaka

embodies the Upanishads generally. There are exceptions to this

general rule and the Isavasya Upanishad belongs to the Samhita

portion of the Sukla Yajur Veda.

 

The peace invocation is traditionally recited at the beginning

and the intention is to create the right mood in the aspirant to

undertake the study of the text and reflect on the abstract

truths. So these peace chants were like the different corridors

around the main abode of the deity in a temple, their

significance being to enable the devotee to leave their worldly

preoccupations behind before entering its inner precincts, said

Swami Asutoshananda in his discourse.

 

The Isavasya Upanishad peace invocation says, ``The invisible

(Brahman) is full; the world too is full. From the Full (Brahman)

the full (universe) has come. The Full (Brahman) remains the

same, even after the full (universe) has come out of the Full

(Brahman).'' How does one reconcile this paradoxical statement?

We always make the mistake of objectifying everything which is

presented to our intellect. So this statement appears puzzling on

the face of it as it is not possible for any object to retain its

fullness after something is taken away from it and to confound

this enigma further both are mentioned as full. The sages here

point to the divine nature of the Absolute which He manifests in

His creation, the word ``full'' (Purna) indicating that He

imparts His perfection also. The Lord has thus not fashioned this

universe from outside Himself.

 

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