Everything happens by His grace alone The Endless Quest for Him . When human beings sit down to judge things big or small, they invariably make mistakes. As the human mind is limited, how can their judgment be correct? So just see how inadequate the measuring stick of judgement is right from the start. By using our arms, we can say how many feet deep the river water is, but if we attempt to measure the depth of the ocean in the same way, we are helpless. And if there were a reservoir deeper than the ocean, the task would be almost insurmountable. Nevertheless, human beings perpetually strive to measure things. Something which is vast but still within the scope of measurement is called “vishála” in Saḿskrta. Even though the Himalayas are immense, they can still be measured. We know how far the Himalayan range stretches from north to south and from east to west. But that which is difficult to measure with a very short measuring stick – in this case the human mind which returns disappointed again and again after failing to measure – is termed “brhat”. Parama Puruśa is called “Brhat”, because the human mind always returns disappointed after attempting to measure Him. Yato váco nivartante aprápya manasá saha, Ánandaḿ brahmańo vidván na vibheti kutashcana. Having unsuccessfully attempted to measure the Supreme Entity, the mind returns, saying, “I am unable to measure Him.” And thus He is called “Brhat”. Actually, it is not enough to call Him Brhat – He surpasses even that. He is such a remarkable entity that whoever comes near Him becomes as great as Him and is made His own. Not only does He draw all other entities into His lap, but He also makes them lose their individual identities in Him - they become absorbed in Him. That’s why He is also called “Vipula”. And as He’s Vipula, He is also called “Brahma”. Had He not possessed the quality of making others as great as Himself, we would have called Him Brhat, but certainly not Brahma. If He wants to maintain the sanctity of His name, He is compelled to make His devotees, who meditate on Him, who ideate on Him, as great as Himself. Otherwise we will simply request Him “Please stop calling yourself Brahma.” The devotees call Him Brhat and also address Him as Divyam. Divyam means “possessing divine powers.” What is divine power? The physical force we use in our daily lives is known as “energy” in English: electrical energy, mechanical energy etc. This energy is nothing but a physical force and unless guided by intellect, cannot work independently. The electricity formed in clouds is wasted in most cases because no intellectual being such as the human being utilizes it. Electricity generated in power stations, however, is readily utilized because it is the product of human intellect and intelligence. That is why we say that physical energy cannot render service unless guided by some intellectual force. Physical force is a blind force. Those unaware of the fundamental difference between physical force and divine force often make the flippant remark that everything has come from nature. But how is that possible? Nature does not have its own intellect but is simply the way in which the physical force has manifested itself. Nature cannot do anything original – it cannot create such a well-ordered universe itself. It is not an intellectual force but a blind force. The divine force walks behind it. The mind, the controller of physical force, has evolved from ectoplasm. The creator of ectoplasm is an even subtler entity, and this is what we call the divine force. That is, the supreme vibrational force lies behind all the vibrating entities. That entity which is great or Brhat is the divine force which, in most cases, directly guides the physical force. This guidance resulted in the creation of our universe which follows a fixed set of rules. Under no circumstances can these rules be violated. Sometimes the Supreme Entity controls the physical force through the medium of human the intellect. Human beings build cities and towns, construct power stations, organize different expeditions etc, with the use of their intellect. And thus the Supreme Entity gets the work done through human frames. If humans think that they work independently of the divine force, they are mistaken. Suppose a great scholar has an MA in thirty subjects. If he becomes insane what will happen to his intellect? People will point at him and say, “That man was a great scholar but since has become a lunatic.” Such is the limitation of the human intellect. Brhacca taddivyamcintyarúpaḿ súkśmácca tat súkśmataram vibháti, Dúrát sudúre tadihántike ca pashyatsvihaeva nihitaḿ guháyám. What human beings think of, or the knowledge they receive from the outside world through their efferent nerves, is called “cintya”. Someone who has seen a rhinoceros will easily be able to recreate an image of it in the mind. But the person who has never seen a rhinoceros or who has never even visited a zoo is unable to mentally think of such an animal. Humans are unable to think anything original: they can only think about those objects they have previously seen in the external world. Therefore, as people cannot see or recognize Parama Puruśa in the external world with their sense organs (the very capacity of the sense organs to see or hear something has been given by Parama Puruśa Himself), they are unable to think of Him. He cannot be attained through thought as there is no opportunity to see Him in the external world. So we can only say to Him, “I don’t know what you look like but I send my salutations to you in whatever form you may be”. Parama Puruśa always remains beyond the scope of human thought. The devotees (bhaktas) are very intelligent whereas the intellectuals (jiṋánis) are foolish because they consider themselves to be the only true intellectuals. That’s why they are the greatest fools and are always defeated in the struggle for existence. The bhaktas, however, know what is worth knowing. They say, “Don’t you know why Parama Puruśa remains beyond the intellect? Yes, its true that He’s acintá, but don’t forget He has given humans so much wisdom, intellect and intelligence out of His deep love for them. What better proof of His love do you want? He has greatly helped humans to move forward.” So why should He remain acintyá? According to the devotees, the reason is that had He come within the scope of thought, all human beings would have got Him within their reach and that would have been the end of their love – there would be no further desire to attain Him. The advantage of His remaining acintya is that there is an incessant desire to attain Him. This very desire to attain Him will make the humans greater and greater. That’s why a poet said: “You have become infinite, The right decision indeed As you will remain infinite for ever. Had you come within our reach, Noone would have further sought to embrace you.” Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 4
Posted on: Fri, 21 Mar 2014 20:18:01 +0000
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