The Cosmic Person in Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam - Part 3

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Dear All,

 

We concluded Part 2 with:

 

" Finally, in the last book of this Upanishad it says, " Let us know that highest

Lord of Lords, that highest God of Gods, the ruler of rulers, the highest above,

the Lord of the world, the adorable. " (Svetasvatara Upanishad 6:7) At this point

Hinduism reaches a pure monotheism comparable with that of the second Isaiah in

the Old Testament. This cosmic Person is clearly the object of worship, the one

to be adored, and yet he dwells in the heart of all. He is both transcendent and

immanent. This then is the figure of the cosmic person, the great 'purusha',

which appears in the Upanishads and one can see how close it is to the figure we

examined in the last chapter, the cosmic person in the New Testament. "

 

A New Vision of Reality (Western Science, Eastern Mysticism and Christian

Faith), Pg. 131

Bede Griffiths

Templegate Publishers - Springfield, Illinois

ISBN 0-87243-180-0

 

Here now, is Part 3.

 

Enjoy!

 

violet

 

 

The Cosmic Person in Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam - Part 3

 

(P.131) Moving on now to the 'Bhagavad Gita' we have an even more profound

revelation of the cosmic Person. (P.132) This comes particularly in the later

books, the tenth, eleventh and twelfth, where Arjuna is given the great vision

of Krishna as the cosmic Lord. Krishna says, " I am the origin of all. From me

the all proceeds. " (Bhagavad Gita 10:8) He then proceeds to reveal himself to

Arjuna as the Lord of creation. Arjuna responds, " I see thee without beginning

or middle or end, boundless in potency. " " Thou art the supreme resting-place of

the universe, the guardian of the ever-lasting law. " The everlasting law is the

'sanatana dharma', which is at once the cosmic law and the moral law. He

continues, " Thou art the immemorial person. " (Bhagavad Gita 11:18-19) The

Sanskrit for this is the 'sanatana purusha', the eternal person. So these

different aspects are gathered together in the Bhagavad Gita. But another aspect

of this eternal person is introduced when Krishna says, " I am time, devouring

time. " In all these traditions which we are examining, the whole created

universe, including time, exists within the supreme Person, within that eternal

One. Time is in eternity, not outside or apart from it. Finally in the 'Gita'

Krishna says, " By my grace and my wondrous power, I have shown to thee Arjuna,

this form supreme made of light, which is the infinite, the all, my own form

from the beginning, never seen by man before. " (Bhagavad Gita 11:47) This is the

great cosmic vision which Arjuna is given, and he is given a divine eye, a

'divyam chakshuh', to be able to see this form of God, this manifestation. That

is the supreme example in Hinduism of the revelation of the cosmic Lord.

 

There is a further development of this concept of the cosmic Person in the

fifteenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita where a distinction is made between three

'purushas'. Here it must be remembered that all these words like 'brahman',

'atman' and 'purusha' can always be understood at three levels. The 'brahman' is

the supreme Reality but he, or it, manifests in the whole created universe and

in the human heart. This means that sometimes the universe can be called

'brahman': " All this world is 'brahman'. " Or it can be said of the human being:

" I am 'brahman, aham brahmasmi'. " (P.133) He is thus the one Supreme manifesting

at these different levels. It is the same with the 'atman'. The 'atman' is the

Spirit, the 'paramatman', the supreme Spirit beyond all, but also the 'atman' in

the heart of every person, while even the body, and the physical universe, can

be called the 'atman' because the One is manifesting at each level. The same

applies to the 'purusha' where similarly there are three 'purushas'. Krishna

says, " There are two purushas in this universe, the perishable and the

imperishable. The perishable is all things in creation, the imperishable is that

which moves not. " This means that the whole physical universe, which is the

perishable, is a manifestation of the 'purusha', and so also is the

imperishable, which is the mind, the intelligence, the intelligible order above

the perishable. And he goes on to say, " But the highest Person, the

'purushottaman', is another. It is called the supreme Person ('purushottaman).

He is the God of eternity who, pervading all, sustains all. " (Bhagavad Gita

15:16-17) So in the Bhagavad Gita the Purusha exists on three levels, the

physical and the psychological and then beyond these that of the supreme Spirit,

the 'purushottaman'. The supreme Reality can be known as the 'paramatman', the

supreme 'atman', the 'parambrahman', the supreme 'brahman', or the

'purushottaman', the ultimate 'purusha', the supreme Person. In this last aspect

he is the true cosmic Lord. As Krishna says, " Because I, Krishna, am beyond the

perishable and even beyond the imperishable in this world, I am known as

Purushottaman, the supreme Person. " (Bhagavad Gita 15:18)

 

A New Vision of Reality (Western Science, Eastern Mysticism and Christian

Faith), Pgs. 130-131

Bede Griffiths

Templegate Publishers - Springfield, Illinois

ISBN 0-87243-180-0