Thursday, December 1, 2011
LORD BRAHMA
Lord Brahma is the first member of
the Brahmanical triad, Vishnu being the second and Shiva, the third. Brahma is
the god of creation and he is traditionally accepted as the Creator of the
entire universe. An individual's subtle body is constituted of his mind and
intellect, that is, his entire thoughts. Man's subtle body is responsible for
the creation of his gross body and also the world that he experiences. The
thoughts of an individual determine the type of physical body he possesses. The
same thoughts are also responsible for the type of world that the individual
experiences around him. As the thoughts, so the world. If a man possesses. good
thoughts he sees a good world. If his thoughts are bad he sees a bad world.
Yudhisthira, a virtuous man saw virtue everywhere, while Duryodhana saw vice
everywhere. When thoughts are absent there is no world at all. In deep sleep
there are no thoughts, no world. This phenomenon is true not only of the
microcosm but of the macrocosm as well. The cosmic subtle body is the aggregate
of all subtle bodies of all living beings. The cosmic subtle body called the
Hiranyagarbha, is said to be the creator of the entire universe. This creator
is Brahma. The manifested world of plurality has emerged from the unmanifest
Reality. To indicate this Brahma the creator is described as being born from
the navel of Vishnu as he is lying on the great serpent, Ananta in the milky
ocean. One of the earliest iconographic descriptions of Brahma is that of the
four-faced god seated on a lotus. The Lord has in his four hands a water-pot
(kamandalu), a manuscript (Vedas), a sacrificial implement (sruva) and a rosary
(mala). He wears the hide of a black antelope and his vehicle is a swan
{hamsa). The description of Brahma like those of other deities of Hinduism
bears a mystic symbolism. The lotus represents the Reality. Brahma sitting on
the lotus indicates that he is ever-rooted in the infinite Reality. Reality is
the foundation on which his personality rests. The four faces of Brahma
represent the four Vedas. They also symbolise the functioning of the inner
personpersonality (antahkarana) which consists of thoughts. They are the mind
(manas), the intellect (buddhi), ego (ahamkara) and conditioned-consciousness
(chitta). They represent the four ways in which thoughts function. They are the
manifestations of the unmanifest Consciousness.
The animal hide worn by Brahma
stands for austerity. A seeker who desires to realise his godhead must first go
through spiritual disciplines. Observing such austerities the seeker must
carefully study and reflect upon the scriptural truths which are suggested by
the manuscript (Vedas) held in one hand. Having acquired the knowledge of
scriptures he must work in the world without ego and egocentric desires, that
is engage in dedicated and sacrificial service for the welfare of the world.
This idea is suggested by the sacrificial implement held in the second hand.
When a man works in the world selflessly he drops his desires. He is no longer
extroverted, materialistic, sensual. His mind is withdrawn from its
preoccupations with the world of objects and beings. Such a mind is said to be
in uparati. A man who has reached the state of uparati is in a spirit of renunciation.
That is indicated by Brahma holding the kamandalu in his hand. Kamandalu is a
water-pot used by a sanyasi-a man of renunciation. It is a symbol of sanyasa or
renunciation. The mind of such a man which is withdrawn from the heat of
passion of the world is available for deeper concentration and meditation. The
rosary (mala) in the fourth hand is meant to be used for chanting and
meditation. Meditation is the final gateway to Realisation. Through deep and
consistent meditation the mind gets annihilated and the seeker attains godhood.
A god-man maintains his identity with his supreme Self while he is engaged in
the world of perceptions, emotions and thoughts. He retains the concept of
unity in diversity. He separates the pure unconditioned consciousness
underlying this conditioned world of names and forms. Brahma's association with
a swan is most appropriate in this context. A swan is described in Hindu
mysticism as possessing the unique faculty of separating pure milk from a
mixture of milk and water. It is reputed to have the ability to draw the milk
alone and leave the water behind. Similarly does a man of Realization move
about in the world recognizing the one divinity in the pluralistic phenomena of
the world. Brahma is said to be the Lord of creation. The creator must
necessarily possess the knowledge to create. Without knowledge no creation is
possible. Hence Brahma is said to be wedded to the goddess of knowledge,
Saraswati. Life in this world is a manifestation of the three principles of
creation, sustenance and destruction. In fact these three are interconnected.
The apparent destruction is only an essential forerunner to creation. Destruction
and creation go hand in hand. They are like two sides of a coin. For example,
the destruction of morning is creation of noon and the destruction of noon is
creation of night. This chain of continuous destruction and construction
maintains the day. Similarly, the destruction of childhood is the creation of
youth and the destruction of youth the creation of old age. In this process of
birth and death the individual is maintained. Hence the three gods of the
Trinity viz. Brahma, Vishnu and Siva representing creation, maintenance and
destruction, are essentially one and the same. The above idea is well portrayed
in Lord Dattatreya, in whose form the three gods are combined. Dattatreya has
the three faces of Brahma, Vishnu and Siva to indicate that the three
principles for which they stand are inseparable. Lord Dattatreya is shown with
four dogs following him. The four dogs represent the four Vedas. A dog is one
of the most faithful animals in the world and it follows its master in all
environments and circumstances. So, too, the Vedas arc said to follow a
man-of-Realisation in the sense that all his actions, thoughts and desires are
in perfect accord with the principles enunciated in the Vedic textbooks. All
creations arise out of vikshepa (thought disturbances). This vikshepa-sakti is
Lord Brahma-the total mind-intellect equipment. Man, being essentially
constituted of his mind and intellect, has already invoked this vikshepasakti
and realised Brahma. Hence the worship and invocation of Brahma is practised by
few. Yet there are a few shrines dedicated to Brahma. He is worshipped and
invoked particularly by scientists and kings for generating more creative ideas
to serve the world of men and matter. The rulers invoke the Lord in order to
surrender their ego and produce plans and schemes to serve the nation.
Similarly, the research scholars invoke creative inspiration and flashes of new
thoughts revealing the secrets of nature. Lord Brahma is not popularly
worshipped in India. This is so, because the idea of creation is repugnant to
seeker of Truth since the creation of thoughts has veiled the infinite Reality.
The attempt of all spiritual seekers is to destroy the existing thoughts and maintain
the state of single pointed thought until the Reality is revealed. Hence, Siva
(god of destruction) and Vishnu (god of maintenance) are worshipped more than
Brahma. In fact, there are very few temples of Brahma-one in Rajasthan and
another in Orissa -compared to innumerable shrines of Siva and Vishnu existing
all over India.
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