In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of the explanation as to how Bhagawan Vishnu creates this world merely through His “Sankalpa”. This is the gross difference between Bhagawan and us. If we’ve to create something, we’ve to have the “Sankalpa” as well as our physical action. However, this is not the case with Bhagawan Vishnu. Similarly, when all the creations have to be destroyed, it is Bhagawan Vishnu’s “Sankalpa” again, and with the “Sankalpa”, all the creations of the world go back into Bhagawan Vishnu’s body. Thus, we’ve seen in the first “Amsa” that everything in this world is “Brahman”. That is, the earth is Brahman. The water is Brahman. The wind is Brahman. The fire is Brahman. Thus, all the constituents of the world are embodiments of the ultimate “Brahman”.
Moving on thus, we’ve to see what are those criteria with which we can say that the world is being created. In fact, Sage Paraashara talks about two important criteria here – “Naama” and “Roopa”. Everything in this world has a “Naama” and a “Roopa”. Now what are these “Naama” and “Roopa”? “Naama” means “Name”. “Roopa” means “Form”. Everything in this world has a name and a form, isn’t it? For instance, if we see a flower in front of us, we would say that this is a rose flower or a lotus flower or a sunflower, etc. isn’t it? Why? We know that we can associate a “flower” with a definite form, shape and smell. Similarly, if someone asks for me – Jeayaram, people can identify me with my physical structure like facial appearance, height, etc., isn’t it? Thus, we can see here that for things to be identified in this world, we require a “Name” and a “Form”, isn’t it? For a moment, just let us think that there is no name or no form for anything. This means, both you and me do not have any sort of name. If that is the case, how would we be able to identify each other? It is only because we have a name and a form, we’re able to identify each other and interact. If such a situation happens in this world, wherein there is no differentiation between anything and everything, this is where we say that the world is going through the “Pralaya Kaala”. Thus, after the Pralaya Kaala, everything will cease to exist and everything would become nameless and formless. This means that all the creations are being absorbed back by Bhagawan. The world completely becomes devoid of “Naama” and “Roopa”. However, when Bhagawan is performing the “Srishti” (Creation), all the “Naama” and “Roopa” would automatically come to existence. This is the biggest difference between “Srishti” (Creation) and “Pralaya Kaala” (Destruction). However, we should understand here that irrespective of Pralaya Kaala or Srishti, Brahman is constant. But, the Brahman during the Pralaya Kaala is referred to as the “Kaarana Brahman”. The Brahman during the process of “Srishti” is referred to as “Kaarya Brahman”.
We might feel a bit confused here. I shall explain it in simple words. For instance, if we’ve to compare this phenomenon with the mud pot example, “Kaaranam” is the mud, from which the pot is made. “Kaaryam” is the beautifully made pot. Thus, the Brahman already exists in the formless state, which is the mud in this context. Thus, we say that the mud is referred to as the “Kaaranam”. However, the same Brahman (Mud in this context) takes the form of the beautiful pot (Kaaryam), when the potter is performing the “Srishti” (Creation), isn’t it? However, if the mud pot is destroyed, the Brahman again transforms from the pot to the original mud. This means that the Brahman is transforming from the “Kaarya Brahman” to the “Kaarana Brahman”. Thus, the point here is that Brahman is both “Kaaranam” and “Kaaryam”. It is only to highlight this point, I had invoked the mud pot example.
This is where we’ve witnessed in the first “Amsa” that Bhagawan Vishnu is the creator. Bhagawan Vishnu Himself is “Brahman”. He creates Himself, He creates the entire world, He supports and protects all the creation and finally He destroys all the creation too. This is where Bhagawan’s “Sankalpa” creates the human form and various other animal and plant forms in this world. Now here comes the significance of our “Karma Theory”. The question comes here – “On what basis does Bhagawan create the living beings in this world?” it is purely on the basis of our Karma – Both “Paapa Karma” and “Punya Karma”. If a person has enormous amounts of “Punya Karma” accumulated within him or her, this person can even go to the “Satya Lokha” of Bhagawan Brahma. In fact, the Sanaatana Dharma explains that the phenomenon called “Bhagawan Brahma” doesn’t refer to a single individual. It is just a mere position. Just like how we have in Human Resources Management, various job positions with job titles and profiles, Bhagawan Brahma is nothing but a job position, with a definitive job title and a profile! Similarly, Indra is a position. Varuna is a position. All the Devas represent positions and not individuals. Thus, just like how we have a position of “Prime Minister” and “President” in every country and how individuals would keep changing in these positions once every five years, Bhagawan Vishwaksena keeps changing people in all these positions from time to time! We might be able to worship Bhagawan Vishwaksena in any Vishnu temple, isn’t it?
So for today, let us understand these important points and let us wait for the next episode to continue with the significance of this Bhagawan Vishwaksena and move on further from there! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 