Miscellaneous - Religion   

The Supreme Being

CHENNAI: It will be apparent to a person who reflects on the existential realities of life that He who is responsible for the entire creation must have created human beings also. It is then necessary to consider why we are born in this world, where we are heading for, and what is the purpose of our existence. Saints and preceptors who have addressed these queries can throw light on them if we seek their counsel as they lead their lives according to the answers they have found in their quest.

In his discourse, Velukkudi Sri V. Krishnan said it was essential to develop the outlook that human life was an opportunity given to every individual instead of as a challenge or one full of sorrows. The previous births were also such opportunities but we do not know how well we utilised them for what they were intended. Hence it is all the more imperative that this life at least must not be frittered away without realising the purpose for which it is intended—liberation from rebirths by realising God.

This is the intention of the Supreme Being who has created this world and He has also given the guidelines by which human beings should live in the world. But, how does one know this? Scriptures like the Upanishads take the seeker along in this quest and provide answers to all the doubts that logically arise in this kind of enquiry.

An ancient scriptural hymn that explains the mystery of creation, and establishes that the Supreme Being is the cause of the universe, is the Purusha Sukta which occurs in the Vedas. The Rig (16 mantras) and the Yajur (18 mantras) Vedic versions are popular in daily worship.

The opening Mantra states metaphorically that the Supreme Being is not bound by space thus: “The Purusha has a thousand heads, a thousand eyes and a thousand feet. He has enveloped this world from all sides…” Three parts of the body (head, eye, foot) are mentioned to indicate that it is not possible to ascertain His infinite nature by our knowledge and ability. On the basis of several scriptural texts, commentators have established that the term “Purusha”, which occurs repeatedly in this hymn, is Narayana, the Supreme Being.

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