#227 Brahman, Ishvara, Devatas – same or different?
A few years ago, a podcaster asked me,
“Have you seen God?”
I said ‘Yes’
“What? What do you mean? “
‘Well, I see you! All forms are forms of Bhagavan just as all waves are forms of water.’ I said
The reason the rest of us cannot see God is either we think he is dead and cannot be locally found or
God as the creator is separate from the creation and he is sitting somewhere apart from the creation or
the idea of God I have does not match anything I see.
So then, what is the definition of God/Ishvara in the Vedic tradition?
The Taittiriya Upanishad reveals –
यतो वा इमानि भूतानि जायन्ते । येन जातानि जीवन्ति । यत्प्रयन्त्यभिसंविशन्ति । तद्विजिज्ञासस्व । तद्ब्रह्मेति
From which all beings are born, are sustained and in which all are resolved. Seek to know that. That is Brahman.
Oh, so the creator is present in the creation? Yes.
The creation, is so intelligently put together with all its laws of nature. It must have an intelligent cause. Just as the creator of an object must have the knowledge of its creation, so too the creator of the world must have knowledge of his entire creation. Therefore, logically all knowledge must reside with the creator.
Every creation has a material cause, the material from which it is made. A question arises – Does the material exist apart from the creator? In the case of the clay pot, the material, the clay exists apart from the pot maker who uses the clay in order to create the clay pot. In the case of creation, is the material cause separate from the intelligent cause? If the intelligent cause were separate from its material cause the intelligent cause would have to exist outside the creation. Since outside and inside are concepts used in reference to space, and space itself is a part of creation, nothing can exist apart from the creation. Therefore, the intelligent cause can only be non-separate from the creation.
If the intelligent cause were separate from the creation, another question would arise as to where the material cause for the creation came from. If one presumed the existence of another material cause, the next question would be – what is the source of that material? This would lead to the fallacy of infinite regression, because the source of the first material cause would rest in another material cause whose source would rest in another material cause leading to time in making a conclusion, But when we look around, we experience a finality of perception. One could infer that the material cause cannot be separate from the intelligent cause.
When one dreams one creates an entire dream world. The material cause from which the various objects in the dream are made of, is not separate from the dreamer. The laws of the nature and their intelligence in the dream also comes from the dreamer. So just like the intelligence and material of the dream comes from the dreamer, so too the material and intelligence for this entire creation is from one unitary source and that is Ishvara.
And so, he is the one from whom all beings have come, are sustained and finally resolve into.
Is Ishvara a he or a she?
We use the pronoun ‘he’ because in Sanskrit, words have genders. But that same Ishvara could be referred to as Ishvara or Bhagavan could be referred to as Bhagavati.
Gender which is a limiting construct, cannot be applied to Ishvara. It is just by convention that we use the pronoun – he. At the same time Ishvara is neither male nor female nor the third gender and Ishvara is male, female and the third gender as well being the cause of everything.
The intelligent aspect of Ishvara is also called Purusha which is masculine and the material aspect is called Prakrti or Maya which is feminine. The combination of the male and female aspects in Ishvara is represented in the form of the deity called Ardhanarishwara, which is half male and half female.
Where is Ishvara?
We are not told that Ishvara is a resident of any place. Different devatas may be living in different lokas. But Ishvara is not limited to a particular place. If he was a resident of a particular place in the creation, a question would arise as to where he was before the creation.
Let us assume that Ishvara lives in svarga, heaven that we cannot see. If this is so, where was he before he created svarga? And who created svarga? Was he in hell, naraka before he created svarga? If we go down this path, it leads to the same problem of infinite regression. (The Hindu understanding of svarga is a temporary place of happiness and enjoyment while the Christian understanding of heaven is an eternal one)
Looking at the example of the dream, if one were to ask, where in the dream world, the dreamer is located, one would see that, with the respect to the dream, the dreamer is everywhere in it. The dream mountains, dream rivers, dream animals and dream people are not separate from the dreamer. The dreamer pervades the dream. In other words, the dreamer is immanent in the dream. Similarly, if Ishvara is the intelligent and material cause of the creation, he is immanent in the creation, there is nothing in the creation that is apart from Ishvara. This is what is meant when we say that Ishvara is pervasive.
Even though the dreamer pervades the dream, the dreamer is not the dream. It is the dream world that is resolved into the dreamer. The dreamer is the one who pervades the dream and at the same time transcends it. Likewise, Ishavra pervades the creation and transcends the creation.
Therefore, to find Ishvara one does not need to look for a distinct being because the creation does not exist apart from Ishvara. In fact, the creation is nothing but Ishvara.
The mantra from Taittiriya Upanishad also said – tat brahman iti.
What is Brahman?
Satyam, Jnanam Anantam Brahman –
Brahman which is Satyam, present in all periods of time,
Brahman which is Consciousness, Chit and hence illumines everything.
Brahman which is Limitless, Ananta, which has no boundaries.
Satyam, Jnanam and Anantam are three words but not three entities. Together these words are used to reveal the limitless being that is Brahman
Brahman is not to be confused with Brahma who is the function of creation and hence we call him Brahmaji.
Brahman is not to be confused with Brahmin which is a group of people that are predominant in sattva, sattva pradhaana and hence pursue clarity, forms of knowledge and dharma.
Brahman has no forms but is the very basis of the name and function of creation, name and function of jiva, the individual and Ishvara, God.
Just as water appears to be a tiny wavelet, a big wave, a tsunami, Brahman is Ishvara with Mayashakti as well as the jivas in the creation.
From Brahman, came the panchamahabhutas, the five great elements – Akasha,space, Vayu, air, Agni, fire, Apah, water and Prithvi, earth.
In this five elemental model of creation, the creation is seen as the five great elements undergoing grossification. These elements are present in every form in varying degrees. A living person has space in the cells, is composed of air, water and earth and contains fire in the form of temperature. Even inanimate objects such as water have the qualities of the five great elements. Water occupies space, is composed of air, in the form of hydrogen and oxygen molecules, contains fire, in the form of temperature and contains earth in the form of minerals and organic elements,
As the creation is non separate from Ishvara the five great elements that comprise the creation are worshipped as Ishvara. There are five temples in India where Ishvara is invoked in each of the five elements. In Chidambaram, Lord Shiva is worshipped as space. In Kalahasti, Lord Shiva is worshipped as Vayu. In Tiruvannamalai, Lord Shiva is worshipped as Agni. In Tiruchirapalli as water and in Kanchipuram as the earth element.
So, now we can appreciate the sacredness of all forms including your body and mind.
And that is why anyone who is a Hindu or a Sanaatani can pray to any form.
No Hindu worships an idol. What is being worshipped or prayed to is Ishvara in that form.
From the standpoint of the created universe, Ishvara has 3 fold functions – creation, sustenance and resolution.
Ishvara is looked upon as the devatas – Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva representing the intelligent aspects of each function. The consorts for these deities are Saraswati, Lakshmi and Parvati.
Brahma or Brahmaji is the function of Ishvara that is responsible for creation. The word Brahma comes from brih meaning to grow. Brahmati, vardhayati yah sah brahma, Brahma is the one who causes growth. In the puranas, Brahmaji is shown to have 4 heads representing the four directions or the four Vedas.
Creation is possible only when one has knowledge of that which is to be created. Brahma being the creator, is wedded to knowledge. His consort, Saraswati, represents all forms of knowledge. Saro niram, jnanam va tadvat, raso vaa tasyaah iti – one who possesses water or knowledge, or one who is the essence of everything. She is depicted in white holding the vina in one hand and the Vedas in the other. The vina represents the arts and the Vedas represent the shaastra.
Lord Vishnu is the sustainer of the creation. The word Vishnu means ‘vyapnoti visvam yah’ – the one who pervades the world. In the process of sustaining the creation, Sri Vishnu also preserves and pervades the creation including preserving dharma. The puranas describe how Sri Vishnu manifests in the world to preserve dharma. The 10 manifestations of Sri Visnu are matsya, fish, kurma, tortoise, varaha-boar, Narasimha,- body of a lion and a man, Vamana – dwarf, human forms like Parashurama, Rama, Krishna, Buddha and Kalki. Kalki the last avataara is yet to manifest.
Sri Vishnu is depicted in a reclining posture asleep on the serpent Adi shesha. In this posture he represents creation in unmanifest form. The coiled serpent, Adi shesha symbolises the latent power of creation.
Lakshmi the consort of Sri Visnu represents wealth and prosperity, the sustaining power of creation. The word ‘Lakshmi’ means lakshayati pashyati udyoginam iti – the one who can be obtained with diligence and perseverance.
The eight forms of Lakshmi that are commonly worshipped are –
Dhanalakshmi in the form of wealth,
Dhaanyalakshmi, in the form of grains and crops,
Dhairyalakshmi in the form of courage,
Viryalakshmi in the form of valour,
Vijayalakshmi in the form of success,
Gajalakshmi in the form of sovereignty,
Saubhagyalakshmi in the form of good fortune and
Vidyalakshmi in the form of knowledge.
Shiva or Rudra means sarva-samhaarakah – the one who destroys or resolves everything. In one form he is depicted as sitting in meditation or oneself. He is also Sri Dakshinamurti, the first teacher of self-knowledge. In this form he destroys ignorance of oneself and helps one see oneself as already free.
Parvati – To destroy one needs power and strength. Lord Shiva’s consort, Parvati represents strength. That is why she is called Shakti. The Puraanas describe Shiva and Parvati as residing in the mountains of Kailasa. The word ‘Parvati’ is derived as ‘parvataanaam adhishthatri devi’ – the one who is the presiding deity of the mountains.
With respect to the primary functions of the creation – creation, sustenance and resolution, Ishvara has these forms and functions as subtle as they are. Much like the different organs in our body, the liver, the heart, the kidneys, the lungs have different forms and different functions yet are a part of the same body, so too Ishvara has these different forms and functions.
If one only hears about the stories of Vishnu or Shiva from the puranas, we will get the impression that they are flawed. It is only when we understand the all-encompassing vision of Ishvara as all and manifesting as different forms and functions that it stops getting confusing.
We see order in the creation. We see that the creation is in order.
All beings including the trinity as well as other devatas are a doorway to understanding all of Ishvara. We will hear more about other devatas and their functions in the next episode.
Each point of view of looking at one aspect of Ishvara is meant for the sake of the view that is all of Ishvara that is Brahman is you. There was never any difference.
