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Uniqueness of creation

CHENNAI: Scriptures extol the Supreme Being as the Nirguna Brahman — one who is above qualities and attributes. But it is not possible for the ordinary Jivatma to meditate and long for oneness with one who has no attributes. Only when the Supreme Being’s auspicious attributes are recognised and appreciated is it possible for a strong bond of Bhakti to be built between the Jivatma and the Paramatma, pointed out Srimati Jaya Srinivasan in a lecture. The Bhagavata Purana harmonises Jnana and Bhakti in a unique manner and the detailed descriptions of the Lord’s various incarnations are influential in creating a better awareness of His supremacy and compassion, thereby generating the Bhakti Bhava.

Sage Suka reinforces the integration of the Nirguna and Saguna aspects of the Lord in many instances. The eulogy of the celestials led by Brahma just before Lord Krishna’s advent captures this oneness in the Supreme Being. They extol the glory of the child in Devaki’s womb and express their gratitude to His divine Sankalpa for this incarnation. They hail Him as the very cause of the universe that is manifested and characterised by an infinite variety in terms of name, form, etc. In addition, He is the one who maintains each and every aspect of this entire universe and at the time of annihilation conserves all of it in a subtle form within Him.

The Upanishads celebrate the uniqueness of God’s creation as He is the material cause and also the manifested creation. Unlike instances when gold ornaments are fashioned from gold by the skill of a goldsmith, or a potter brings forth various mud artefacts, there is only God who is both the cause and the effect.

When Yasodha brought up Lord Krishna, she had the good fortune to consider the Supreme Brahman as her own son, though at certain moments the Lord did reveal His infinite nature. As long as human beings are in the hold of the sense of I and Mine, the worldly objects will draw attention to themselves and not to God. It is therefore only natural that those who are in the grip of Maya Shakti fail to recognise Him behind this manifestation, while the vision of the realised souls remains focussed on the Eternal Brahman.

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