Posted on: 04 Feb 2005
From the beginning, the wife is in the control of the husband [traditionally]. The Veda says that the Lord is ‘Purusha’ (male). His power called as Maya is treated as His wife. The Veda says this (Atha Pursushohavai, Purushayevedam, Paraasya Saktihi, Indro Mayaabhih). The modification of Maya is the world. The Jeevas (souls) are a part of the world. Therefore the Jeevas are also modification of Maya. The Jeevas are the servants of the Lord. This world and Maya is called ‘Bharya’ (wife) which means the one who is maintained. The Lord is called as ‘Bhartha’, which means the maintainer. Among the Jeevas, even the males are treated as the wives of the Lord and hence as ladies, as said in the Veda (Striyah Sateeh Pumsa Ahuh). The male sages have become the female the Gopikas [The sages, who were males during the incarnation of Lord Rama, were reborn as female cowmaids Gopikas during the incarnation of Lord Krishna]. This world is called as ‘Prakriti’ [nature] which is sub-divided into
1. Para Prakriti, which is the life or consciousness or awareness
2. Apara Prakriti, which is inert matter.
Prakriti is only the modification of Maya. Maya is associated with the Lord. Prakriti is also called as Maya because there is no difference between Maya and its modification. This is said in the Gita (Maayaam tu Prakritim). The Lord and the world are mentioned as Purusha and Prakriti respectively both stand as husband and wife (Prakrutim Purusham Chaiva). When the Lord comes as Purusha in human form, His devotees come as the servants of the Lord to participate in His work. Due to such souls the Lord is entertained. If you take the Lord as the Universal Ishwara, then all the souls in this world are His servants to entertain Him. The Lord cannot enjoy alone as said in the Veda (Ekaaki Naramate). His power Maya is treated as His wife, who is modified into the world to entertain Him. This Maya is awareness and is called as Para Shakti. Maya is in the form of several wishes.
This Maya is converted into the five inert elements called as Apara Prakriti. This Maya (Para Shakti) entered some inert bodies in this world. Such Maya, which is present in any inert body is called as Para Prakriti. The inert body is Apara prakruti. Any living being is the combination of Para Prakriti and Apara Prakriti. The Lord did not enter any living being and therefore all living beings are not the Lord. The Lord enters a particular living body present in the womb and when such living being is born, it is said to be an incarnation of God. Lord Krishna at the center is such incarnation and the the Gopikas around Him are the living beings. Even Arjuna is a living being. Whenever the word Prakriti comes, it means both Para Prakriti and Apara Prakriti which are the two sub divisions. In the Gita the Lord said “Prakrutim Svaam” which means that the Lord enters Prakriti. Therefore the Lord entered both Para Prakriti and Apara Prakriti because the word Prakriti means both the sub-divisions. The Lord also said “Aatma Mayayaa”. This means the Lord enters the Prakriti with His Maya. The Veda says the same (Tadevaanu Praavisat). In this context the Veda says “Sa Idam Sarva Masrujata Tat Srushtva” which means that the Lord created this world and entered this world.
The Lord enters a living body present in the womb. The living body consists of the five inert elements called Apara Prakriti and also life called Para Prakriti. Therefore the living body is called as Prakriti. When Maya (Para Shakti) enters a non-living body, that body becomes a living being. Therefore when the Lord enters the Prakriti it means that the Lord enters a living body only, which is the combination of both Para Prakriti and Apara Prakriti. Both these put together is called Prakriti. This means the Lord will never enter only Apara Prakriti, which is the inert body. The Veda says this (Natasya Pratima Asti). When the Lord enters Prakriti, such a living being is called as the human incarnation. The Shiva Linga indicates the wave nature of life energy (Para Prakriti). The statue of Lord Vishnu indicates the matter, which is Apara Prakriti. Matter and energy are interconvertible as per science. That means Shiva and Vishnu are inter convertible forms as said “Shivaya Vishnu Rupaaya”. Brahma is the Lord who enters both the Shiva and Vishnu who represent the life energy and the inert body. Then it becomes the human incarnation, which is given to the world called as ‘Datta’. This is the meaning of the three heads of Datta.
Therefore the statue of the Lord indicates the Purusha. The statue of the female indicates His power Maya, which is modified as the Prakriti (world). The power and the world, entertain the Lord like a wife entertaining her husband. The male and female difference in the two statues is not the actual difference of male and female in the world. All the living beings including the inert world containing rivers, mountains etc., along with the power Maya is represented by the female statue. All the jeevas are Prakriti and therefore female alone. Due to this reason Meera asked Tulasi Das whether there is actually any male among the souls. Thus the female statue indicates the group of servants who entertain the Lord in human form and the male statue indicates the Lord.
Maya is like the ocean on which the Lord is lying. A little of this water is modified into static ice vessels. Some of the vessels are again filled with the water of the sea. Such vessels filled with water are the living beings. The other ice vessels, which are not filled with water are just the mountains, rivers etc., The water present in the ocean is Maya or Para Shakti. The same water that exists in the ice vessels as little quantities is called as Para Prakriti. First a little seawater is modified into ice vessels. Similarly a little of Maya (Para Sakti is modified into the five inert elements. You can consider the seawater as dynamic and the inert five elements as static ice. But the dynamism and static nature are not the difference between life and inert matter because even the inert light is dynamic. Therefore you cannot say that the dynamic water is life and the static ice is the inert matter. Of course science says that the inert static matter is the condensed form of the inert dynamic energy. Therefore here the inert matter is produced from inert energy.
But how can the inert energy like light, heat etc., be produced from the life energy (Para Sakti)? The life energy is Maya and the inert energy is the Apara Prakriti. How this Apara Prakriti result from Maya (Para Shakti)? This is the mystery of the creation of the universe. Due to this mystery alone this power is called Maya. The word Maya means wonderful. From the earth, plants are produced as said in the Veda (Pruthivya Oshadha yah). Here the plant consists of inert matter. Therefore into this inert matter (Apara Prakriti), Maya entered, and the plant becomes a living being. The life energy in the plant is not doing a particular work, which is called as mind. Mind is the work of the awareness and that work is the work of desiring. In the plant, the awareness does not do this work and therefore plants do not have mind. But in animals, birds etc., the awareness has started doing this special work and therefore they possess mind. In human beings, apart from mind, the awareness started doing another special work called decision, and such work is called as intelligence or buddhi. Therefore the same life energy is present in a plant, animal or a human being. They differ only by the special works of the awareness.
The male statue and the female statue in the temple are teaching you this wonderful divine knowledge. Those statues are made of Apara Prakriti and are not actually the Lord and Maya. The Lord and Maya have not entered those statues as said in the Veda (Nedam Tat, Neti Neti, Natasya Pratima). The statues are only the instruments of the knowledge [models or tools to teach the knowledge] and the vision of such statues can give you divine experience and bliss. You have read this knowledge present on the paper. The paper and the printed sentences are only instruments of knowledge and can give you the vision and the bliss of knowledge. This does not mean that the paper and the sentences are the divine Lord. The divine Lord is also not present in this paper and sentences. Unless you learn the divine knowledge from this paper and printed sentences, this paper and the sentences are a waste. Similarly if you do not understand the divine knowledge represented by the statues, the statues are a waste for you.