SOME THOUGHTS ON ATMA-43

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SAI RAM Dear Brothers and Sisters,

(continued from submission number 42)

 

We saw in the earlier submission, that Jiva is reflection of Brahman or Consciouness and that jiva is nothing but Self(Atma) conditioned by the the conditioning or adjunct (Upadhi) called ignorance

(avidya). Now what is Isvara? Isvara , on the other hand, is the Self (Atma or Brahman) conditioned by the Upadhi 'Maya' . It is essential to know as to what Maya is before we proceed further. Briefly put, Maya is the power which produces the impossible. Let me elaborate Maya in this way:-

 

 

According to Vedanta, creation of an object can come about in two ways: (1) either as a change or modification in the substance from which it is made or (2) by an error in which the real thing is mistaken to be something else. Examples of the first type of creation is that of a pot from the clay, curd from the milk etc. An example of the second method is the " creation " of the snake from the rope. This creation is caused by the ignorance of the rope so that in darkness, the rope is mistaken to be snake. We have earlier seen that Atma(Brahman) is immutable or unchangeable and hence it can not be modified to create this changing world. Thus the " creation " of the world must be apparent only, as per the second method. Ignorance of Brahman is responsible for this apparent creation in which Brahman is mistaken as the Jagat. This ignorance which is the cause for creation of the world, is called Maya. The power of Maya seems to have produced this changeable world from the changeless Brahman. It is a power that can not be independent of Brahman.

 

 

Coming back to Isvara, Brahman associated with Maya is called Isvara or manifested Brahman. Isvara has the power of creation through Maya. On the other hand , Jiva is the individual self which has identified itself with the body, mind and intellect or the various sheaths(

kosas). In essential nature, jiva is the same as Isvara, except that jiva is under the influence and control of Maya, while Isvara controls or weilds Maya. This is the important difference between Isvara and Jiva. The power of the mind of Jiva to create an objective world in the dream, is comparable to the power of Maya of Isvara by which He creates Jagat. Thus the universe (jagat) is a creation of Isvara through the power of Maya. Jiva, the individual, is naturally related to Isvara or the total. When the Self consciouly creates, it is Isvara but when it unconsciously creates, it is the limited jiva. So Isvara is the creator, the almighty, all pervading, while jiva is the created and a limited being. Jiva is bound by the laws of creation and he is related to the Creator through these laws. Both Jiva and Isvara are the same Consciouness or Atma with different

Upadhis or adjuncts. Basically they are one. However, due to the difference in Upadhis which arises out of self-ignorance, the jiva considers himself as different from Isvara like an actor who has forgotten his identity. A wave does not know that it is made up of the same substance as the ocean and therefore it considers itself to be different from the ocean. The wave can not have the vision of the ocean as long as it excludes itself from the ocean. Just as the wave lives a transient existence of a few minutes, to be born again as a wave and die again, the jiva also experiences a transitory life and suffers the pangs of transmigration ( samsara) , or the life of repeated births and deaths--Punarapi Jananam Punarapi Maranam, as Bhagawan Adi Sankaracharya puts it in his famous Bhaja Govindam.

Trust the above clarifies the doubt of the member.