06 Mar 2020
[Reply to a question by Shri Ankuj] Swami replied: O Learned and Devoted Servants of God! Infinite means an item which has no beginning and no end. In this context, the main question is whether the item is really infinite or not. If the item is really infinite, there is no problem in calling it infinite. But there is another possibility, which is that the item might not really be infinite, but it might just be very large, even though finite. It might be so large that we are unable to find its beginning or end and so, we mistake it to be infinite. Cosmic energy is an imaginable item that has been created by the unimaginable God. The same cosmic energy has got converted into matter and awareness to form the various living and non-living items in creation. After all, cosmic energy being a created item, must have a beginning. That which has a beginning, must also have an end. If you say that cosmic energy is really infinite—without beginning and end—it would mean that even God is unaware of its beginning and end. In that case, God would not be omniscient due to His ignorance of the boundaries of cosmic energy. Hence, cosmic energy is not really infinite. It is infinite only from our point of view. It is so large that its beginning and end are unknown to us. It means that we are incapable of knowing its boundaries, even though its boundaries actually exist.
The universe is nothing but cosmic energy is or space. You might ask, what is present beyond the boundaries of that cosmic energy (space). Only the unimaginable God exists beyond the boundaries of the cosmic energy (Sarvamāvṛtya tiṣṭhati—Gita). Then, you might ask, whether God is infinite or finite. If God is said to be infinite you would further say that if He is really infinite, He could not be omniscient since He would be ignorant of Himself, owing to His infinite nature. If God is said to be omniscient, you might say that God must know His own boundaries and since His boundaries are known, He must be finite. If God is said to be finite, the next question would be, “What is present beyond the boundaries of God?” If some other finite item is said to exist beyond the boundaries of God, it would bring up the same question again and again ad infinitum. Also, in that case, God would not be omniscient since He would not know the end of that endless chain of finite items existing beyond God.
All these cases mentioned above regarding God are meaningless because actually, God is beyond our imagination. Being unimaginable, He has no space in Him and He is fundamentally beyond the concept of space. Boundaries can only be defined for items which occupy some space. The concept of boundaries is a spatial concept. Even the concepts of finite and infinite are only related to spatial items and not to God, who is beyond space. Hence, cosmic energy is finite in the view of God. It is infinite in our view only in the sense that we are unable to know the boundaries of the finite space or cosmic energy.
In fact, space does not mean absolutely nothing. Space is actually an extremely subtle form of energy, which appears to be ‘nothing’ to us. If space were actually nothing, how could science have proved that space bends around the boundaries of massive objects? If it bends, it must be something. It is meaningless to say that ‘nothing’ bends. Einstein felt that space is nothing. He said that space is only geometrical and that it only exists relatively with reference to the existence of two items, such as the space between the two walls of a container. His theory reflected the view of human beings for whom space appears to be nothing, even though it is actually extremely subtle cosmic energy. Thus, space is finite in view of God and simultaneously infinite in our view, in the sense that we are unable to know the boundaries of the vast but finite cosmic energy. When we consider the view of God while speaking from our point of view, we say that space is not really infinite, but is relatively infinite, in our view due to our inability to know its boundaries. If you are not considering the view of God, then space is really infinite from our point of view since we are unable to know its boundaries. In the Gita, even God said that the cosmic energy or space is infinite. We should realize that His statement was only with reference to our view (Nānto’sti mama...—Gita).
Keywords: | Shri Dattaswami | Sarvamaavrutya tishthati Naantosti mama
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