Part 68 (2/2)

”He is the primal, unborn Purusha, who in every Kalpa creates, preserves and destroys self (objective) as self (nominative), in self (locative), by self (instrumental).” II. 6 x.x.xVII.

”He is the primal Purusha Avatara of the Supreme.” II. 6 XL.

He is also called the Thousand-Limbed and the Egg-born. II. 5, x.x.xV., III. 6, VI.

This Virat Purusha upholds the manifested universe. All materials are in Him and all individuals take their rise from Him and end in Him. He is the one ocean of endless bubbles which have their beginning and end in Him. The Avataras also all rest on the bosom of Virat Purusha.

We have looked at Virat Purusha from the standpoint of the First Purusha. Now let us proceed upwards from below.

The Brihat Aranayaka Upanishad thus speaks of Virat Purusha, at the beginning of the Fourth Brahmana of the first chapter: -

”This was before soul, bearing the shape of a man. Looking round he beheld nothing but himself. He said first: - 'This am I.' Hence the name of I was produced. And, because he as the first of all of them consumed by fire all the sins, therefore he is called Purusha. He verily consumes him who, before this, strives to obtain the state of Praj.a.pati, he, namely who, thus knows.”

The following is the commentary of Sankaracharya.

”This was before the soul.” The soul is here defined as Praj.a.pati, the first born from the Egg, the embodied soul, as resulting from his knowledge and works in accordance with the Vedas. He was what? ”This,”

produced by the division of the body, ”was the soul” not separated from the body of Praj.a.pati, ”before” the production of other bodies. He was ”also bearing the shape of man”, which means that he was endowed with head, hands and other members, he was the Viraj, the first born.

”Looking round reflecting who am I, and of what nature, he beheld nothing but himself”, the fulness of life, the organism of causes and effects. He beheld only himself as the Universal soul. Then, endowed with the recollection of his Vedic knowledge in a former birth, ”he said first: This am I” _viz_., Praj.a.pati, the universal soul. ”Hence,”

because from the recollection of his knowledge in a former world he called himself I, therefore his name was I ”And because he” - Praj.a.pati in a former birth, which is the cause, as the first of those who were desirous of obtaining the state of Praj.a.pati by the exercise of reflection on works and knowledge _viz_. ”as the first of all of them,”

of all that were desirous of obtaining the state of Praj.a.pati, consumed by the perfect exercise of reflection on works and knowledge of all the sins of contact which are obstacles to the acquirement of the state of Praj.a.pati, - because such was the case, therefore he is called Purusha, because he is _Purvam Aushad_, (first burnt). As that Praj.a.pati, by consuming all opposite sins, became this Purusha Praj.a.pati, so also any other consumes, reduces all to ashes by the fire of the practice of reflection on knowledge and works, or only by the force of his knowledge, and He verily ”consumes” Whom? ”Him who before this sage strives to obtain the state of Praj.a.pati.” The sage is pointed out as he who thus knows, who according to his power manifests his reflection on knowledge. ”But is it not useless for any one to strive for the state of Praj.a.pati, if he is consumed by one who thus knows? There is no fault in this; for consuming means here only that the highest state, that of Praj.a.pati, is not obtained, because the eminence of reflection on knowledge is wanting. Therefore by the words, ”He consumes him” is meant, that the perfect performer obtains the highest state of Praj.a.pati; he who is less perfect does not obtain it, and by no means that the less perfect performer is actually consumed by the perfect; thus it is said in common life, that a warrior who first rushes into battle, consumes his combatants, which means that he exceeds them in prowess.

In order to understand this better, let us consider the scheme of human evolution.

atma is the same in all beings and, when free from the limitations of individual life, it becomes all pervading.

Sympathy and compa.s.sion open the door to the liberation of atma.

The Upadhi, or vehicle of atma, or the body of its manifestation, becomes less and less gross, as atma proceeds in its course of liberation, the body becomes better able to do good to all mankind and it does not act as a barrier to communion with the real self.

The most highly evolved beings become universal and not individual, and they live normally on the spiritual plane.

They at last reach the state of divinity. Then they may become Avataras.

When these Avataras have to work on the physical and intellectual planes, they a.s.sume a body and become born, like ordinary beings. They have then to _come down_ from their normal state, but their vision and power remain undestroyed. When their mission is over, they reach again their normal state. The Avataras have not to work out their own Karma.

They are liberated atmas, staying back for the liberation of other individuals in the universe. Karma-less themselves, they bear the Karma of the universe upon their shoulders. The thin veil that separates their state from the state of the absolute Brahma is Maya, which is the highest manifestation of Prakriti which enables them to a.s.sume cosmic responsibility out of their unbounded compa.s.sion for all beings.

The Avataras may cast off their veil at will, but as long as they choose to keep that veil, the whole universe is at their command and they guide the whole course of universal evolution.

Now of all Avataras one takes upon himself to hold all individuals in His bosom, to sustain them all and to make Him the field of their Involution and Evolution, in the Kalpa.

He is called Virat Purusha. He is practically the ishvara of our universe.

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