Question
“Namaste Swamiji,
I am Ak from NC, hope Swamiji still remembers me. My winter break is going on right now and I have received good grades on my exams with Swamiji's blessings. I had a question for Poojya Swamiji,
‘why did Brahman manifest itself and why was Maya created?’
Please answer me whenever Swamiji has time. We are planning to come to Kerala in June and we are planning on coming to the ashram. Please give our pranams to Ma Ji and Nutan Swamiji also.
With Pranams
Ak"
Answer
Dear and blessed Ak,
Your email of 26th Dec 2011 is before me and I am reading it again.
I am very happy that you have received good grades in your exams. Keep it up and do better, you have my further blessings for it.
My dear Son, your question is very important and is the last question in any seekers mind. “Why did Brahman manifest itself and why was Maya created”. This question has not just one answer but more (than one answer). The first answer will be:
Any existence, thing or substance will have its quality, character or properties. You cannot think of anything without any property, light enables us to see. Earth remains solid, water finds its own level, wind is blowing, fire is blazing, ice is cold. All these are properties associated with their respective sources. Brahman - something very magnificient and indescribably so will also have its property. What you call “maya” is the inscrutable power associated with Brahman. Like the burning power of fire. This inscrutable power consists of three processes, that of creating whatever is needed, undoing whatever is created and bringing about any change in whatever is. These three powers you will find include every thing that is necessary and that is nothing beyond it. Because Brahmans inscrutable power has all these three aspects, it does whatever it does. That is the whole universe.
“Maya” has got another meaning what is that? There is something you feel or you perceive it. The perception takes place in one level, sensory level or mental level. But when you go on enquiring, whether it is there or not, you find it is not there. So it is existence and expression to begin with but on enquiry, it vanishes. So you can say it is a vanishing expression. This is called maya.
The best example for that will be darkness. You say it is dark. How do you say that? You see it. When the eyes see it is understood that the eyes can only see in the presence of light. So when you are able to see the darkness with the eyes, which were seeing light earlier, the eyes were seeing light, the eyes are seeing darkness. Now the question of seeing darkness arises only in the presence of light. So can you say it is dark? Or it is also the lowest degree of light? So is there any darkness? One. In order to examine whether it is dark or not, if you want to have a clear vision of any object before the eyes, bring light. So bring sufficient light and see whether there is darkness or not, you will find that the darkness is not there at all. So, my question is, my dear son, is there darkness at all? The very fact that the darkness is seen by the eyes, it refuses to be dark. The very fact that on examination it disappears, it is not dark.
Another example will be : you dreamt. When you were dreaming, it was not a dream, it was really a wakefulness. When you brake-away from it or wake-up from it suddenly it disappears. Then you call it a dream. What was a dream? Something that was wakeful when you were experiencing it – how can you call it a dream? When you wake up it disappears – where is it for you to call it a dream? So it is a kind of pratibhasa, an illusory manifestation. It makes you feel it is there, but when you examine it, it is not there. The entire creation belongs to this category. I can speak more about it, but I will wait, whatever I have said, try to think, reflect upon, assimilate and make it your own. I am very happy.
Love and blessings, Maa and Nutan Swamiji also send their loving best wishes.
Antaraatma,
Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha
