Question - Srishti

[Guest guest]

Pranams,

 

I have a doubt. May I request you to enlighten me.

 

What is the meaning of this srishti? Why God has to do this Srishti at all? What

is the basic idea behind it? Having created it, why has HE created both good and

bad people. As we all know, Ravans and Hiranyakasypas turned against HIM and HIS

devotees, ravaged Ashramas of Rishis and killed innumerable Sages and God

Himself has to descend on earth to save His devotees. What is this all? God

would have created only good people so that there will not be any problems

whatsoever in the society. Every one would have been a righteous man and spend

their tiem in praise of Lord always. What is the essence and purpose of this

Srishti? May I request you to think it over and enlighten me.

 

Om Srikrishnaarpanamasthu.

 

Pranams

 

Gopi.

 

P. Gopi Krishna

South Asia Multidisciplinary Advisory Team (SAAT)

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e-mail: gopi

[Guest guest]

-

" Gopi Krishna " <gopi

<vivekananda; <Ramakrishna >

Wednesday, December 20, 2000 11:00

Question - Srishti

 

 

Pranams,

 

I have a doubt. May I request you to enlighten me.

 

What is the meaning of this srishti? Why God has to do this Srishti at all?

What is the basic idea behind it? Having created it, why has HE created both

good and bad people. As we all know, Ravans and Hiranyakasypas turned

against HIM and HIS devotees, ravaged Ashramas of Rishis and killed

innumerable Sages and God Himself has to descend on earth to save His

devotees. What is this all? God would have created only good people so that

there will not be any problems whatsoever in the society. Every one would

have been a righteous man and spend their tiem in praise of Lord always.

What is the essence and purpose of this Srishti? May I request you to think

it over and enlighten me.

 

Om Srikrishnaarpanamasthu.

 

Pranams

 

Gopi.

========= one response ========

 

Dear Gopi

 

Let me try and answer some of the points raised:-

 

(a) One of the definitions of the word Shristi is - " projection " .

i.e. the Universe is really a projection (it is not real) is one vedantic

concept.

(Plato was working on similar ideas of ideal forms).

 

This concept perhaps offers the best answers to the questions you

have raised.

 

(b) If the world is really a projection (and not the real thing)

then we are stuck with a projection and do not have the 'real thing'

-- what we perceive is never the absolute but always the relative.

As soon as we get involved with the relative world there will be

good and not so good (after all that is what relative means).

So the idea of absolute good is replaced and we have good and not

so good (which we normally label as bad).

 

© The strongest criticism to such an approach would be:

' The world is for real' and all such vedantic thinking is 'mere escapism'.

(The opponent will argue: " The fact that one cannot tackle the problem

of evil does not mean you deny the the whole cosmos as mere projection).

 

(d) Advaita Vedanta will respond. This is how the absolute appears or

becomes visible (via the relative and hence there is no escape from the

good and not so good = evil). 'Maya' is the only way to answer this

question.

 

(e) Dvaita Vedanta answers.

All this (good and evil) is just the play of the Lord (called Leela).

He needs both in order to develop the play.

Why does He bother?

" Well you should ask Him " , they will say.

But the key thing in a play is that play is for the sake of the play....

(so it is not that God is forced to create or even create good and evil

- it is just his way of playing).

 

Both these answers are quite unique to Hinduism. In a way both

are attempting to answer the tricky questions:

Why this universe ? Why evil?

One is saying: There is really no creation it is just an appearance-Maya..

The other is saying: It is all just the way the Lord plays...Leela..

 

: )

 

jay

 

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