Miscellaneous - Religion   

Oneness of creation

CHENNAI: If the infinite variety in creation with its vastness, subtleties and intricacies is a cause for endless wonder, so is the inherent uncertainty that characterises life. The world is the place where creation, sustenance and destruction take place simultaneously and constantly.

In a lecture, Sri Goda Venkateswara Sastrigal pointed out that it is scriptural knowledge that can throw light on many apparent and not so apparent aspects of creation, and also enlighten mankind with the wisdom and strength of will to face the ups and downs of life.

The basic teaching in the scriptures lays emphasis on the fundamental oneness of all creation wherein the Supreme Being exists as the indweller in each and every form/body while also manifesting endless diversity and multiplicity. The Supreme Being is the ultimate source of energy and is responsible for the entire activity of all creation.

But ironically enough, the very first teaching from childhood reinforces the idea of difference, when the individual fails to perceive the underlying oneness of all creation.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna assigns the highest value to the knowledge that sees the body as distinct from the soul and instructs mankind to learn to detach oneself from the impermanent body and align with the immortal soul.

But the natural tendency is to identify with the body and not the soul, though it is the body that makes one experience pain. Sorrows affect when one identifies with the body. Old age and death affect the body and not the soul. All sorrows and joys experienced pertain only to the body. The soul and not the body is the real identity of the individual.

In His incarnation as Lord Rama, the Supreme Being shows by example how to deal with life.

He was able to treat pain, grief or joy in a detached manner and remained unaffected by the sorrows He underwent because of the philosophic teaching of scriptures such as the Yoga Vasishta that He imbibed in his early years.

In the realisation of the soul as a part of the Eternal Reality lies the essence of peace. One has to be constantly aware of the Eternal Being within one's self.

Sastras can enlighten what has not been taught elsewhere.

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