Sunday, May 10, 2009

Origin and end



In the beginning there was neither existence nor non existence. Nothing was there. Suddenly Brahma and Vishnu sprang forth from Nowhere, and were wondering who they were, and from where did they come from, what they should do, and whether they should create the world, and if so, who should do it. Then they were astonished to see an infinite linga of light arise from the Nowhere. So they decided to find its origin and end in order to prove their own greatness.

Today, like the two gods, scholars want to do the same thing. They want to 'measure' god, find the ends, figure out and map the entire route, leave no mystery behind, no stone unturned. Isn't this what all philosophers do - try and "measure" God? We are the "gods" searching for causes and reasons for creation, and just how exactly dissolution is going to take place, all in minute detail, step by step, frame by frame detail, with footnotes thrown in.

Even Brahma and Vishnu couldn't and surrendered in abject humility. Only then He revealed it to them, and even after that, the gods could not describe it for the benefit of us all, for posterity. We better do the same thing. I propose we too surrender so that He may reveal to us. It seems like a wiser idea.

The state called parashiva, which cannot be explained. In this transcendent state no one can even say if God exists or not, or if soul exists or not, let alone the relationship is one or two. In this area, its best to leave it as an inexplicable mystery that only Rudra would know.
The same logic applies in that matter of creation of souls and worlds. We will only end up with very logical and rational explanations but based on non falsifiable postulates. Understanding cosmic dissolution may give us some understanding on creation.

We observe atrophy in this universe and its logical to infer that dissolution in the world is already taking place. We are well into mahapralaya. The texts tells us that all including the gods and all iconic forms will dissolve into that great Nothingness, the inexplicable parasiva. At that point only Rudra exists, and there will be no one to ask Him any questions, like, why? There will be no one to observe what He does after absorbtion. And how long the period of rest lasts. (This does not arise as time and space too will be absorbed.)

Nobody knows. The questions don't arise as there is no one around to ask and record for posterity, and accordingly there are no answers. The same applies on creation. This is where we must stop the "measuring". The ends - creation and dissolution should always remain as the mysteries of god, and not as subjects of philosophies.

Kaivalya

Kaivalya, Symphony of Meditation, Flute.