God is not awareness

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dattaswami
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God is not awareness

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God is not awareness

The first action of the original-absolute-unimaginable- God is a thought, which is the process of thinking. Except this thought, no other action is known to us before such thought. Such thought was to create this world constituted by many items. The reason for many items is that a single item will bore, resulting in non-enjoyment. Therefore, God alone could not enjoy and there is requirement of many items also for continuous enjoyment. Thought is the process of thinking and that is awareness itself. Awareness is knowledge, which is the process of knowing.

There is no basic difference between the process of thinking and the process of knowing. In the process of knowing, the impression created by an external object through the external senses is required. In the process of thinking, the impression created by the internal mind itself is sufficient. Here, mind acts as the sixth sense, which is extra to the known five external senses as said in the Gita (Manah Shashthani Indriyaani…). The point here is that both the process of thinking and knowing are one and the same involving the impression of an object. Therefore, thought and knowledge are one and the same.

Hence, thought also means awareness. Even the joy is basically the process of thinking or knowing only. Here, the impression is happiness, which is the object. Therefore, basically, enjoyment also means awareness only. Based on this, you think that God, who thinks and enjoys, must be non-inert awareness (Eekshateh… Brahma Sutra). Inert items like stones cannot think and enjoy.

You are forgetting the fundamental point that these conclusions are based on the observations of imaginable items existing in this world. Hence, all this logic is generated after the creation of this world only. How can you apply this logic to God before the creation of this world? Moreover, this logic is based on the observations of imaginable items of this world. How can you apply such logic to God, who is unimaginable?

All these items of the world have spatial dimensions and are apparent modifications (as per Shankara) or real modifications (as per Ramanuja and Madhva) of space only. Here, the meaning of space is not ‘nothing’ since nothing does not exist at all. Space is subtle energy and is something. Shunyam is the word used for the representation of space. Therefore, Shunyam means something and not nothing. Even the scientists say that space bends along the boundary of the object.

Bending is the property of something and not nothing. The word Shunyam is used to mean nothing in approximate rough sense only. The person entering a vacant room says that nothing exists in the vacant room. But, the air exists. Since air is subtle, it is missed in the approximate sense. Similarly, the lack of knowledge of the space that it is subtle energy, is responsible for saying that nothing exists in vacuum.

Even if you remove the electro-magnetic radiations from the vacuum, the word ‘nothing’ cannot be used because the vacuum itself is something, which is the most subtle energy. Einstein says that space also disappears, when matter disappears. The appearance and disappearance must be used for something only. The Veda also says that first space was created and from space, air was created (Atmana akaashah…). If space is nothing, air must be also nothing. Then, the entire world must be nothing. Shankara questioned on this point that if the entire world is nothing, the word ‘existence’ should have not been born at all.
Everybody should say that everything in this world is nothing and does not exist. But, such usage is not found. Everybody says that every item in this world exists. Even the soul, which is the basic inert energy, should be nothing and the awareness, which is a specific work form of the inert energy, should be also nothing. In such case, you must be experiencing that you are nothing and that you do not exist. But, such experience is not found.

Hence, everything in this world exists with respect to yourself since you are an item of this world. All this logic is totally different with reference to unimaginable God. From the point of God, this world including yourself does not exist since God is the ultimate root cause of this world.

As per the theory of relativity, the cause is always absolute truth and its effect is relative truth. The mud is the absolute truth and pot is relative truth. Therefore, it is justified to say that this world including yourself is nothing with reference to God. Now, you may say that since you are God, the world is nothing for you. In such case, you should pass through a wall, which is nothing for you.

Since you are the ultimate cause, you should be also able to create any item in this world. But, you are unable to create even an atom. Shankara could pass through the bolted doors and could create a rain of gold coins. The reason is that the absolute God exists in Him. This should not mean that the demons, who can do such things, also contain absolute God in them. The demons could not preach the unimaginable knowledge as preached by Shankara. The adjective ‘Unimaginable’ here isolates Shankara from the other Scholars, who can preach the knowledge existing in books only.

Creative knowledge, which is new at every step, is the unimaginable knowledge. Thus, you have to isolate the human incarnation very carefully from demons on one side and from ordinary scholars on the other side. Such demons and ordinary scholars may also claim themselves as human incarnations. Therefore, your torch light should be always on, which is the sharp analysis to differentiate truth and falsehood.

Such pseudo-human incarnations always are very near to the real human incarnation and you have to escape them by very short edge of margin. Both Ravana and Hanuman are great Scholars and strong devotees performing miracles. Your sharp analysis should differentiate them since Hanuman is the true incarnation and Ravana is a false incarnation.

The true incarnation accepts the other co-existing incarnations also since ego and jealousy do not exist in It. Hanuman recognized Rama and never declared Himself as the incarnation. Even Krishna also declared Himself as God to Arjuna only in the context of the Gita. Shirdi Sai Baba, being true incarnation, accepted an egoistic disciple as God and served him for sometime. Therefore, very careful analysis is required in this context of recognizing the real human incarnation.

Coming to the main topic, Buddha told that this entire world is ‘Shunyam’. This word means that this entire world is modification of space (Shunyam), which is subtle energy. The word ‘Shunyam’ was misunderstood by His followers, who developed the theory of nothing (Asat Karyavada). Since Buddha used the word ‘Shunyam’ to mean subtle energy, His theory was only about the existence of something (Sat Karyavada).

Therefore, it is wrong to conclude that God is awareness because He thought. The unimaginable God can do any work through His unimaginable power. The process of thinking was done by God through His unimaginable power and God need not be awareness on that account. You should not apply the worldly conclusions to unimaginable God. The steps of your foolish analysis result in making you [as] God. These steps are:

God is awareness because He thought.

I am also awareness since I also think.

Awareness being common, I am God.

The potentiality to implement such thought differentiates you from God. God thought to create this world. Subsequently, He created this world! But, what about you? You can also think to create the world. But, the subsequent potentiality is totally absent in yourself since you are unable to create even an atom of this world. The Prime Minister thought to sign a specific government order (G.O.).

Subsequently, he signed the G.O. You also can think to sign the same G.O. Because of the similarity of such thought, can you be the Prime Minister? Subsequently, you could not sign the G.O. Shankara used this foolish logic to uplift the then existing foolish atheists. Thorn must be used to remove the thorn. The atheist will not believe in the existence of a separate God and hence, says that God does not exist. The only way left over to make them say that God exists is to say that the atheist himself is God.

Since everybody believes his own existence, such atheist will have to accept the existence of God. This initial step is most difficult like the starting trouble of a machine. Some atheists of Buddhism went even to the extremity of saying that they also do not exist since everything is nothing (Shunya Vada).

Then, Shankara argued that in the absence of ‘Knower’, the ‘Knowledge’ that everything is nothing also cannot exist. In such case, such theory, which is Knowledge, cannot also exist. By this powerful logic, such Buddhists also turned back. Of course, some Buddhists, headed by Acharya Dignaga, started accepting the existence of self (Prajna vada). Such Buddhists were converted into theists by the statement that soul is God. Thus, both the schools of Buddhism were tactfully tackled by Shankara to convert all the Buddhistic atheists into theists.

The initial task of converting atheist into theist is most tedious job like attracting the illiterate mischievous children wandering in fields to go to the school. Once they join the school, it is easy to educate them further. It is easy to develop the theist. Therefore, for this terrible initial task, God (Lord Shiva) had to come directly as Shankara. Later on, to develop the theists, the servants of God like Adishesha (Ramanuja) and Vayu (Madhva) were sent.

To create interest in a tough subject like Thermo Dynamics, the Professor himself comes in the beginning to teach the class. Once the interest is created, the professor sends his students (Research Scholars) to give the details of the topics in the subject. Therefore, I am not at all criticizing Shankara and the Monism (Advaita) preached by Him. I am only appealing to the followers of Shankara to understand the background of the necessity to preach Advaita by Shankara in His time.


-By Shri Datta Swami


www.universal-spirituality.org


Universal Spirituality for World Peace
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