by Sri Bimal Mohanty
VOL No. 64
June 2006

 


  Atma
 Knowledge
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 Sanatan

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ONE GOD, MANY GODS- Part 2

Based on the lectures by Sri Bimal Mohanty

We saw how out of sheer reverence and gratitude, it was so natural for man to deitify and worship each and every aspect of Brahman that touched his life. So great is this urge for expression of gratefulness in man – for man is at the core essentially the stuff of goodness and divinity- that he had to impart a personality to Him, so that he wished if he could, to capture the closeness with Him at all levels of his existence, not only psychic and mental but also physical.

Without this closeness, shraddha, bhakti love, devotion etc find no base.

Only an intensely parched throat understands the value of a cup of water – no one else. Only one in the abyss of despair understands the gesture of a saving hand- no one else. Only a mind conscious of the futility of the attractions of the physical fanfare, knows the need to cry out for being saved. Trahi mam, Trahi mam cries the soul, and in whatever form, through whatever agency he receives help, he pours out his heart to him, in overwhelming gratefulness. For him what else is God the saviour?

That is how the foundation for spirituality is laid. That is how you and me begin our journey. Even Lord Krishna emphasized this important stage in our evolutionary process. He says in the Bhagavad Gita:

Yo yo yAm yAm tanum bhaktah sraddhayA arcitum icchati

Tasya tasya acalam sraddhAm tAm eva vidadhAmi aham.

In whatever form the devotee decides to put his faith in, I make that faith strong and steady for him. Why does He does that? Because He uses the same steadfastness to good use in bringing back the spiritual consciousness latent in all.

Sa tathA sraddhayA yuktah tasya ArAdhanam ihate

Labhate ca tatah kAmAn mayA eva vihitAn hi tAn

With that faith strengthened, he receives the benefit of his worship, which indeed is actually ordained by me.

Everything fits into that grand scheme of things.

Thus, the sanAtan philosophy happens to be the earliest of logical thought processes that learned to recognize the presence of the Divine in everything that man saw around him in the creation. Because, everything seemed to have been arranged for his benefit- his kalyAna. There is nothing indeed in this creation which is not for his good. Later philosophies picked up from there.

In his gratitude, man sang the praises to all that he deitified. Mantras were born. The theme of every mantra is the eulogisation of the aspect or aspects for which the deity is the agency.

Let us take an example.

One of the first objects that would have caught the imagination and awe of the devotee is indeed the resplendent Sun in the sky. Not merely for its powerful presence but the Sun became one of the first objects of worship for the countless benefits it pours down on the universe. It is indeed the very power that sets in motion the entire gamut of sristi, sthiti, bilay- the coming into being, sustenance and transformation of all.

One such mantra of praise to the Sun God was given to man by Rishi Agastya. (Read Yuddha kanda – Valmiki Ramayana)

Adityahridayam punyam sarvasatru vinasanam

JayAvaham japenityam akshayam parama sivam

Adityahridayam- the one whose essential constituent is the shining effulgence of gnosis or enlightenment. The very symbolized object that constantly reminds the man’s pursuit of inner enlightenment. The sun’s inner core is enlightenment and so should be my inside or my mind, intellect and my will should shine with the consciousness of that ultimate consciousness- the Brahman.

That indeed is the source of all my benefits- all that is punyam. As the sun itself destroys all that is putrid, decaying, harmful to life and breaks them down to elements that are conducive to life, so may I see Brahman as the one who is ‘sarva satruvinasanam’ and turns all into what is beneficial- i.e punyam.

The sun is jayAvaham – the harbinger of victory. As it brings victory over all that is bad, negative and in opposition to my existence and evolution, so is Brahman who by very definition is the destroyer of all that is to be rejected and sustainer of all that I must embrace. Let me be ever worshipful of the Sun (japenityam) who symbolizes for me this very aspect of Brahman towards which my mind must turn- the embodiment of unlimited absolute bliss – akshayam paramam sivam.

When I contemplate and meditate on Sun, the mind turns to that ultimate entity from whom all that is good for me flows out like the emanating rays- the rashmis.

Sarvamangala mAngalyam sarva pApa pranAsanam

CintAsokaprasamanam Ayurvardhanam Uttamam

The best of all goodness (Sarvamangala mAngalyam) when all the mistakes resulting out of ignorance have been overcome. When the mistakes (pApa) are removed, what results? -The cessation of all worries and despondency (chintAsokaprasama). When the worries and unhappiness are gone the very sustenance of life is extended – (Ayurvardhanam) – so that I may continue with my ordained divine task. That is indeed good (uttamam).

The sloka urges the aspirant to be respectful and worship that Sun ( pujayasva vivasvantam bhAskaram) that leads your mind, by its symbolic nature, to the source of all those qualities- the Brahman, the Lord of the universe- the Bhubaneswaram.

Brahman alone is all that. The Brahman is the Sun as the Sun is also the Brahman. Indeed everything else that we revere as Gods they all lead to that one and only entity, the Brahman.

Esah BrahmA ca Vishnusca Sivah Skandah PrajApatih

Mahendrah Dhanadah Kalah Yamah Soma hi ApAmpatih

Pitarah basavah SadhyAh hi Asvinau Marutah Manuh

VAyurvahinah PrajAprAnah RitukartA PrabhAkarah

The entire mode of the creation – coming into being (BrahmA aspect), the sustenance (Vishnu aspect) and mutation (Siva aspect), is triggered by the Sun. The Sun symbolizes the removing of danger and the administrative protection I get (Skanda and Indra aspect). He is the Lord of all beings –the prajApati- since no one can exist without the Sun? Dispenser of all resources – dhanada-, the symbol of time –kAlah, that determines all activities. He is the supreme controller- the Yama. The bestower of calmness – soma is he and the source of water – apampati- water being the original element of life.

All these are Divine aspects. Sun is the agency but behind all this is that original source. Think of anything that is within and around, that is subtle or gross in our perception, they all symbolize that one and only . Ekameva Brahma dvitiyam naiva vidyate- one alone without a second.

He is indeed what we worship as BrahmA – to whom we attribute all that unfold in this phenomenal world, the power of creation. Vishnu the sustainer and supporter of all beings is indeed He and none other. Lord Siva, whom we worship as the power that transforms everything into its next higher state, destroying the inferior existence that has lost its usefulness and must change.

The concept of visualizing so many Gods in the sanAtan philosophy is indeed a blue print for not only developing a healthy respect for everyone and everything around us, but also an education in understanding the ultimate source of all, until the time the mind can grasp truly the one Brahman concept of sarvam khalvidam Brahma. All indeed is Brahma.

The lesser minds do not find it easy to comprehend this.

Like the example of the Sun God, the psychic personality of man could see many many symbols as many many ways to acknowledge and surrender totally to that benevolent supreme power. Three hundred thirty million, quite a limitless number of gods are acknowledged simply to go on reinforcing the idea that there is indeed nothing that man can think of, that does not have a divine touch.

That is how a beginner perceives God. And then as the mind acquired higher and higher consciousness level, as in Sri Aurobindo’s concept of higher minds, the usefulness and rationality of this concept was too obvious to ignore.

At the core we have this indisputable concept that Brahman is one and only and nothing lies beyond Brahman, But by definition Brahman is also without any kind of limitation and can not be confined to any single adjective. The argument then is- that this character of ‘oneness’ and oneness only, could also be a contradiction of terms. The right understanding should establish that this oneness –ekam-, and multipleness ‘bahu’ are both applicable to Brahman.

To clarify further, we may refer to Sri Aurobindo’s words “… the mind is well aware of the essential Truth of things; it embraces the totality; it uses the individual self determinations without being limited by them: but although it knows their oneness, …. Releases a million Godheads into action, each empowered to create its own world, each world capable of relation, communication and interplay with others. There are in Veda different formulations of the nature of Gods: it is said they are all one Existence to which sages give different names; yet each God is worshipped as if he by himself is that Existence..”

A lofty concept of Eko bahusvam- one became many. The oneness and multipleness are two sides of the same coin. Both are valid.

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