The Cosmic Person in Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam - Part 4

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Dear All,

 

We concluded Part 3 with:

 

" 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. 132-133

Bede Griffiths

Templegate Publishers - Springfield, Illinois

ISBN 0-87243-180-0

 

Here now, is Part 4.

 

Enjoy!

 

violet

 

 

The Cosmic Person in Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam - Part 4

 

(P.133) So that is the revelation of the Bhagavad Gita. Later we will go on to

consider how this ultimate 'purusha', this 'purushottaman', is related to the

supreme 'brahman'. In the Gita he appears simply as a manifestation of the

supreme 'brahman', the supreme Spirit, but exactly how they are related remains

a problem, and the different systems of the Vedanta attempt in different ways to

understand that relationship.

 

A figure comparable to the Hindu Purusha is the Buddhist conception of the

'tathagatha'. (P.134) There is a paradox, though, involved in this. Buddhism

began as a very impersonal doctrine. The Buddha denied the existence of the

individual human soul, teaching instead that the human being is a centre of

elements, 'skandas', or " aggregates " . The Buddhist view is entirely dynamic and

in many ways is very close to the position of modern physics. The whole universe

is understood as consisting of these elements which are dynamic, always in

motion, always changing and interweaving with one another. The human being

emerges as a coalescence or aggregate of these elements, and when the elements

dissolve the human being disappears. In the Hinayana texts of early Buddhism the

emphasis is always on the 'dharma', the law which the Buddha teaches, and

comparatively little on the Buddha himself. This is rather as in the Synoptic

Gospels where the emphasis is on the Kingdom of God. Jesus preaches the Kingdom

of God and himself as its Prophet. It is true that the Kingdom is present in him

but his message is primarily the Kingdom rather than himself. Similarly, then,

the message of the Buddha was the 'dharma'. His last words were, " Take refuge in

the dharma. "

 

There is however another aspect in Buddhism. Just as St. John's Gospel develops

another aspect of Jesus, focussing on his person and his relation to the Father,

so later Buddhism, the Mahayana, gradually opens up to the concept of the person

of the Buddha. It is generally believed that the Mahayana doctrine emerged about

a hundred years after the Buddha's death, at the Second Council. I think,

however, that without doubt this aspect is implicit in the teaching of the

Buddha even if it is not explicit in the early forms of it. It is equally the

case that the high doctrine of St. John's Gospel is implicit in the teaching of

Jesus. It is therefore a mistake to think that early Buddhism had no

understanding of the status of the Buddha and that this was invented later on,

just as it would be a mistake to say that the Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels was

the true Jesus and the Jesus of St. John's Gospel was a later invention. (P.135)

What happened rather in each case, was an evolution, a development, an

unfolding, of what was already present. So the Mahayana, the Great Vehicle,

emerged and developed through several centuries after Christ.

 

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

Christian Faith), Pgs. 133-135

Bede Griffiths

Templegate Publishers - Springfield, Illinois

ISBN 0-87243-180-0