ON CREATION

Vivarta vada, or apparent transformation, of Advaita Vedantic philosophy states that the Jagat, or the world, is Maya, an illusory manifestation of Brahman, or the Supreme Self, and not a real transformation. "brahma satyaṃ jaganmithyā jīvo brahmaiva nāparaḥ. anena vedyaṃ sacchāstramiti vedāntaḍiṇḍimaḥ" (Brahma Jnānavali Māla, verse 20), a tersely phrased statement by Adi Shankaracharya. It stands for Brahman, or Supreme Self, the only Absolute Existence, behind all existence, which is not dependent on anything else. However, the world is an illusion, or an apparent reality; its existence is dependent on Brahman, and there is ultimately no difference between Brahman and Jivatma, or the individual self. This means Supreme Consciousness is the Ultimate Reality; the material world is transient. Avidya, or ignorance, and Maya, or the illusion, veil Brahman and project the illusory world, creating the sensual perception of multiplicity, diversity, and duality from a non-dual Absolute Existence. Atma-Vichara, or self-enquiry, is imperative to see through the illusion and realise the true, non-dual nature of Existence as Absolute.

However, Parinama Vada signifies the virtual transformation of the world, as Brahman is devoid of substantive changes. Brahman is Eternal, Absolute Existence, beyond space, time, and causation. The manifest universe, with all its variations, is ephemeral, subject to time, space, and causation. Self-knowledge removes the illusionary misperceptions, like a rope mistaken for a snake in the dark. Brahman is eternal, unattached, changeless, and complete in every respect, but it appears as a diverse, changing universe due to Maya, or Avidya (illusion, or ignorance), and limited adjuncts of space, time, and causation. According to Yoga-Vasistha (3.1.1-20), this universe is only a creation of one's own mind, along with its concepts of space and time, innumerable objects, and varied laws. Just as the mind creates a world in the dream state, it also creates an imaginary world in the waking state. The only difference between the dream and the waking states is that dreams are short, and the waking state is relatively longer. Space and time are only ideas of the mind. Many thousands of years may pass through the mind's perception as a moment, or a moment in the waking state may be experienced as years in the dream state. The same is true of the concept of space. Yoga-Vasistha (Book 3, Chapters 1-122) teaches that creation is never a physical, objective reality but a subjective projection of the Cosmic Mind of Brahman, or Supreme Self. It asserts that the universe is fundamentally spiritual, a transient illusory manifestation (Vivarta vada) or dream-like condition, rather than a direct, material alteration of the Divine. It is a mind-only creation (Chitta-Srishti) similar to a dream. It lacks true material existence, being a subjective experience rather than an objective reality. Nothing is ever truly created, nor does it perish. That which has no creation can never be perished. That which did not exist at first owing to its want of a cause has neither its existence at present nor can it be destroyed, so speaks Yoga-Vasistha. That is Brahman, or the Supreme Self, the unborn, uncreated, unoriginated, unmitigable, unformed, undiminished, unchanged, and unaltered. He is complete, full, and absolute in existence, potency, presence, and what not. If that is so, all the phenomena and visible and manifest dimensions are His Maya, or illusionary reflections. The creation is a cosmic illusion (Maya) that has no independent existence, much like "the son of a barren woman" or "a city in the clouds". Brahman is the Ultimate Reality, the Absolute Existence, the infinite consciousness, eternal, changeless, and tranquil. The variety of beings and objects are mere reflections or projections of this Divine Spirit. Brahma, or the creator, does not create out of material but through mind, or Sankalpa, connecting with a deeper thought. The universe arises as a throb or vibration in the consciousness of the Divine Mind. Happiness and misery are determined by one's perception of this illusory world. Liberation arises from realising the illusory nature of the world, thereby settling the mind in supreme peace. It signifies that Brahman is Absolute Existence, Ultimate Reality, and everything inside, and nothing exists outside Him.

 1. Outline 

Creation is a manifestation of consciousness in the form of thoughts, states Yoga-Vasistha (Book 3, Chapter Utpatti Prakarana). It claims that creation is an ideation or mental projection of consciousness, rather than a true reality. The mind forms the entire universe of objects, time, and space, just as it forms a dream. This universe exists only as long as the mind remains active, functioning like a dream state where the observer, the act of observing, and the observed are all mere expansions of consciousness. Yoga-Vasistha (5.26.11–13) asserts that this creation arises from consciousness itself. It posits that this universe exists in the infinite consciousness as a substratum, as all perceived materiality is fundamentally a manifestation of the power within Brahman, or Absolute Consciousness, bereft of independent physical elements.

There is truly only consciousness in reality, says Yoga-Vasistha. All other forms of existence are also manifestations of consciousness and are filled with consciousness.  The intellect is consciousness, and I, you, and these people collectively have the same consciousness (Yoga-Vasistha 5.26.11-12). It (Yoga-Vasistha 5.26.13) reiterates that taking the intellect as something thinkable or an object of thought is the snare of the mind, but the belief of its freeness or incomprehensibility is what confers liberation to the soul. The incomprehensible intellect is verily the universal soul, which is the sum of all doctrines. Just as future waves exist in a calm sea, they are not different in truth. It says that the universe, with its space, time, and objects, is a manifestation of the mind and an illusion, similar to a dream, rather than an independent reality. The universe is a creation of the mind; just as a person perceives a reality within a dream, the waking world is a collective dream of the mind. Just as objects in a dream appear real while dreaming but are recognised as mental projections upon waking, the waking world is a "dream" from which one must awaken to be aware of Brahman, the Ultimate Reality, wherein all the worlds of waking and dreaming get dissolved. All body-mind complexes of egoism and mental powers are extinguished, and all feelings in oneself subside; a transcendent ecstasy arises in the soul called divine or perfect joy and bliss.  This bliss is attainable only by yoga meditation and, in some ways, can be compared to sound sleep.  But it cannot be described with words, as it must be perceived in the heart, elucidates Yoga-Vasistha (5.64.51-52). All objects are ultimately, fundamentally, and essentially just cosmic consciousness, not separate entities, as Existence is One only. The mind, through differentiation, generates the experience of the world. Yoga-Vasistha explains that because the world is a mental construct, it has no real origin or absolute existence, appearing to exist only due to a lack of insight. The continuation of the world experience is sustained by Vasanas (mental conditioning/tendencies). Yoga-Vasistha emphasises that, by calming the restless movement of the mind, one realises the ultimate reality. Understanding the relationship between the world and consciousness reveals the illusory nature of creation. The personal experiences of yogis confirm that creation is only consciousness, like a dream.  “Rama, I have told you all this from my own personal perception and not by any guesswork.  Through their purely intelligent bodies, yogis like ourselves have come to the clear sight of these things in nature that are otherwise unknowable to the material body or mind.  Thus the world of which I have spoken appears to us as in a dream and not in any other aspect as it is viewed by others” (Yoga-Vasistha 6.128.1-2).

 2. Scriptures

  The Rigveda's Nasadiya Sukta (10.129) is an astute hymn exploring the creation, revealing that "Then, there was neither existence nor non-existence." It ruminates on the state before creation, questioning if anything, even darkness or water, existed, and the ultimate source, stating even gods might not know, highlighting cosmic doubt and the limits of knowledge of created beings. It contends that "Then even nothingness was not, nor existence," indicating a state beyond conventional duality (sat/asat, existence/non-existence) before the universe existed. It describes a primordial, "windless" state of "That One" (Tad Ekam) that existed before time, gods, and space, suggesting a self-sustained, unified, and chaotic origin. It signifies a singular, supreme principle existed, breathing without air by its own power. Nasadiya Sukta is unique for its philosophical enquiry into the how and why of the cosmos. It describes a time when there was "no day, night, death, or nectar, just 'a power, a power of self-determination unmanifest.'" It poses questions of cosmic enquiry: "Who really knows? Who can declare it? Whence was it born? Whence came creation?" Desire (Kāma) is depicted as the first stirring of the primal seed, the "first-born" impulse from the mind towards the objective domain, leading to the creation of existence. A pivotal point is the admission that the gods themselves came after creation, so they, too, might not know the ultimate truth, even the one surveying from the highest heaven. Nasadiya Sukta is celebrated for embracing doubt and acknowledging that the ultimate origin might remain unknowable, making it a hymn to the unknown. It delves into metaphysics, cosmology, the nature of reality, and open-ended questions to focus on answers to the process of seeking spiritual insight. 

Yoga-Vasistha (3.1.1-3.1.20) says Brahman, or Supreme Self, is all in all. This great Self-existence is afterwards attributed with the titles of Reality (Rita), Self (Atma), Supreme (Param), Immense (Brahma), Truth (Satyam), and so forth by the wise, as expressions for the Great Spirit (Mahatman). This self-same spirit next shows itself in another form, which is called the living soul (Jivatma), and comes afterwards to be understood in the limited sense of life. This inert living principle becomes, according to its literal signification, the moving spirit (Akulatma), which afterwards, with its power of thinking (Manana), becomes the Mind, and lastly the embodied soul (Bhutatma). Thus the mind is produced and changed from the quiescent nature of the Great Supreme Spirit to a state of restlessness (Asthirakara) like that of a surge, heaving itself in the ocean. The mind soon evolves itself as a self-volitive power that exercises its desires at all times, whereby this extensive magic scene of the world is displayed to our view. This scene is figured as Virajmurti, or the manifestation of the desires of the will of the Divine mind.  As the word "golden bracelet" signifies nothing other than a bracelet made of gold, so the meaning of the word "world" is not different from its source—the Divine will. Again, as the word "gold" bears the idea of the substance of which the bracelet is made, so the word "Brahma" conveys the meaning of immensity, which contains the world in it; but the word "world" contains no idea of Brahma, nor does the word "bracelet" that of gold. The difference is formal and not material and consists in form and not in the substance, the divine will being the substratum of the formal world. The substance contains the form, as a stone does the statue, but the form does not contain the substance, as the statue may be of earth or metal or of wood. The unreality of the world appears as a reality, just as the heat of the sun presents the unreal mirage in the moving sands of the desert as real waves of the sea. It is this fantasy of the reality of the unreal world, which the learned in all things designate as ignorance, or Avidya; nature, or Sansriti; bondage, or Bandhan; illusion, or Maya; error, or Moha; and darkness, or Tamas. 

The creation, according to the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, originates from a state of non-existence, or Asat, or "Death/Hunger" (Prajapati), which created the mind and subsequently the physical world through self-sacrifice and desire. The universe is portrayed as an expansion of Atman, or Self, evolving from water to solid earth and finally to divine forms like Hiranyagarbha. The Upanishad says before creation, nothing existed; all was covered by death or hunger. The sage philosopher Swami Krishnananda, in his commentary on Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, says that the devouring death principle is the element of hunger, which grasps objects. Here, hunger does not mean merely the appetite for edible dishes like rice, barley, etc. Here is a metaphysical principle. Here, hunger is a cosmic element. It is not an operation of the biological spleen or the liver or the stomach of the individual. What is here intended is the principle of grasping. The object can be regarded as the hunger of the soul of the individual. There was nothing except the desire to grasp the object, if at all one could say that anything was there. Aśanāyayā is the hunger of the individual to grasp, absorb, contact, abolish, and devour the object. The Creator (Prajapati/Self), according to the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, desired a mind and created it. From the Atman's desire, water was produced, from which solidified earth was formed.

The Cosmic Self (Purusha), in human form, realised "I am He" (Aham brahma asmi), leading to the concept of Jivatma, or the individual self and the universe. The universe is viewed as a sacrificial horse, where the creation of the world is a form of self-sacrifice by the Divine. To overcome loneliness and fear, the Creator divided himself into male and female, creating all species. The Upanishad emphasises that the Self (Atman) and Brahman are identical, implying the universe is a manifestation of this single, non-dual reality. The Upanishad, in a symbolic narrative, explains that the world is more than matter, composed also of consciousness and the divine, with the individual ("Pindanda") being a reflection of the cosmic universe ("Brahmanda").

3. Remarks 

 Whatever form we provide to our description of the creation is a product of the mind. The mind itself is transient; although subtler than the gross, so is its manufactured creation. If Brahman, or Cosmic Self, is complete, where is the question of the externality of the creation? If initially there was nothing, how does something come about? That means for every effect there must be a cause, or a cause-effect relationship. The seeming externality is a projection of consciousness. The sage philosopher Swami Krishnananda says in his commentary on the Upanishad that this peculiarity, Viśeshata, which characterises the distinction between the cause and the effect, is the principle of what we call space-time in modern philosophical language. However, it represents the principle of externality, which is not a substance but rather a unique state of consciousness. That is the distinguishing principle. The effect becomes isolated from the cause by a peculiar adjustment of consciousness within the cause, not necessarily involved in change or modification of the cause, but only a state of mind or consciousness. When the effect gets psychologically isolated from the cause, Swami Krishnananda explains, there is a seed sown for further diversity in creation. And, when this diversity, which is creation, is conceived as possible and capable of being hiddenly present in the cause, we also have to assume a peculiar potency in the cause, which becomes the reason behind the manifestation of diversity. This concept is referred to as Śakti, which is the force or energy present in consciousness according to certain philosophies; it is a peculiar, indistinguishable, indescribable, and elusive essence, without which the existence of creation cannot be assumed. And, Swami Krishnananda emphasises, sometimes, people call it Māyā, or illusion, merely because they cannot understand what it is. It is not a substance that exists. It is rather an inability to grasp the meaning of it; that is all.

- Asutosh Satpathy