21 Aug 2021
Shri Anil asked:
[1. Regarding the creation of world what is the difference between these two statements, both seems to convey the same meaning: “That which was never born, took birth (Ajātaṃ jāyate...)” and “The non-existent world took birth (Asatyaṃ jāyate...)”. Does the word ‘non-existence’ mean that which is born already but unreal to God? What is wrong with the first statement which also convey that world was born for the first time. In any case world shall exist, then only one can say it as ‘existence’ or ‘non-existence’. Please clarify.
2. “A rope may be seen as a snake by a soul in dim light, which is individual ignorance or avidyā. The soul can always turn on a torchlight and come out of the illusion of the non-existent snake.” Here by the statement ‘the soul coming out of illusion (avidya)’ whether it means self-realisation?]
Swami replied (1 &2):- God is omnipotent with unimaginable power to do any impossible thing also apart from possible things. He can do anything in anyway. The only possibility to say that He has not done in this way is only that if He has done in this way, it would harm His greatest greatness because it is an inappropriate way. This single way can be treated as the way of inability of God to do a specific thing in a specific way and this way shall not be treated as the real controlling way of God. In this way, we have to say that God can do this thing in this way, but, has not done this thing in this way because it is inappropriate. Based on this fundamental, you can frame the spiritual knowledge regarding God.
The world was non-existent before its creation (Asadvā idamagra... Veda) because if this world existed even before its creation it means God did not create anything in real sense, but, only projected what was already existing and this diminishes the greatest greatness of God. His greatness will again diminish if you say that the non-existent world was not born or remained non-existent after creation also since it was non-existent originally. This results in saying that God is incapable of making non-existent as existent and hence, He could not get real entertainment from non-existent or unborn world. Hence, we say that the non-existent world was transformed into existent so that He gets real entertainment from the real world. Again, if we say that the world is as real as God, two defects result:- 1) the world will be equivalent to God by its equal status of reality while God is highest reality and 2) God can’t do miracles in equally real phase.
I can simply say that these two defects are absent because God is omnipotent. If a point can be explained through worldly logic I will try in this way. Only when My inability to explain a thing through worldly logic arises, then only I will use the omnipotence of God. God is not such foolish and egoistic administrator to use His special powers in every situation irrespective of its requirement. Hence, in this point first I will try to solve the issue through worldly logic:- As soon as this non-existent world is created, God granted His own absolute reality to the world so that world becomes equally real. This brings another problem getting solved, which is:- that you can get full real entertainment with this external world, which is in equal status of your reality. You can’t get real entertainment with your imaginary world having lesser status of reality. That which is unreal by itself and becomes real due to reality gifted by its real cause is called relative reality and the reality of cause is called absolute reality. The shape of the mud pot is relative reality whereas the mud is absolute reality. In this way, we can explain about God using worldly logic as well as the omnipotence of God wherever necessary. Remember that we will refuse the worldly logic at the very outset if it damages the greatness of unimaginable God and in such context, we will certainly use the omnipotence of God to explain the way.
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