God, world and soul appear to have a reality in the beginning. As the fundamental stage, the Sadhana of the Jiva should begin from this level. The Upanishads speak of Isvara’s creation in various ways.
Prakriti which also goes by the name of Maya, is the material cause, and the Supreme Lord or the Mayin, the instrumental cause of creation: so says the Svetasvatara.
Atman alone was in the beginning, and it willed to create the many by a cosmic ideation; so says the Aitareya.
Brahman is truth, knowledge and infinity, and from it arose ether, air, fire, water, earth, the different bodies, and so on. And the variety of creation was effected by the primeval contemplation of the Divine Being to appear as the many: so says the Taittiriya.
In the beginning it was only pure Existence, and in it arose the idea to become manifold, and it created the luminous medium of fire, from which water and earth and other bodies came out as effects: so says the Chandogya.
As sparks emanate from fire, all the variety consisting of conscious and unconscious beings came out from the one Imperishable: so says the Mundaka.
In the beginning it was all unmanifested. By the will of the unmanifested Absolute, the one became the many names and forms, down to the universe animated by the Virat. Then by evolution appear the celestials, humans, and animals, the varied expressions of the Universal Purusha: so says the Brihadaranyaka.
~Krishnananda (edited) commentary on Pancadasi 4.2-9
Svetasvatara 4.10 (Pancadasi 4.2)
The Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad says: ‘know Māyā as Prakṛti and Brahman associated with Māyā as the great Īśvara’ (who imparts existence and consciousness to it and guides it). It is He who creates the world. ~Pancadasi 4.2 (tr-Swahananda)
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māyāṁ tu prakṛtiṁ vidyān-māyinaṁ ca maheśvaram, tasyāvayavabhūtaistu vyāptaṁ sarvam-idaṁ jagat. (10)
10. Know that nature is surely māyā and the Lord of māyā is Maheśvara, the supreme Lord. This whole world is verily filled by His limbs. ~Svetasvatara 4.10 (tr-Tejomayananda)
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Māyā and prakṛti: Both are synonyms, however they have special connotations. Prakṛti is that power of the Lord which is capable of producing things (prakarṣeṇa kṛti yogyatvāt). It is the material cause and brings to mind the ever-changing aspect of creation.
Māyā refers more to the illusory aspect of creation and the power that deludes and eludes all. Māyā, like magic, makes everything appear without any real happening. That which is not, but appears to be there is called māyā (yā mā sā māyā). It makes the impossible possible (aghaṭita ghaṭanā paṭīyasī māyā). However māyā has two aspects – vidyā māyā – which creates the world and helps us gain knowledge and avidyā māyā – which deludes and binds.
Lord – the Māyāvī: God is the Master, the controller or the wielder of māyā or prakṛti. It is confusing when we hear that prakṛti creates the world and then again we are told that God creates the world. Who actually creates? We must understand that ‘Māyā presided over by God/Truth creates the world.’ By itself māyā can do nothing. ~commentary on Svetasvatara 4.10 by Tejomayananda
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Vidyāt, one should know; that prakytim, Nature, presented everywhere earlier as the material cause of the universe; is surely māyā, Māyā. The particle tu is for emphasis. Maheśvarah is He who is great (mahān) and also the Lord (īśvara). (Know) Him as māyinam, the Ruler of Māyā-who imparts substance, appear-ance, etc. to Māyā, and who is its impeller by virtue of being its basis. This portion is to be connected with the foregoing phrase, 'know surely'.
Through superimposition, idam, this; sarvam (jagat) whole (universe), earth etc.; is surely vyāptam, per-vaded, i.e. filled up; tasya avayava-bhūtaih, by what are His limbs, by the illusory limbs of the supreme God under discussion, which are analogous to the snake etc. imagined on such substrata as rope etc. The particle tu is for emphasis.
(The text now shows that the unchanging Entity, which is the source of Māyā and its effects, is the basis (of everything) through Its own power; that It is the cause of the origin of such effects as space etc.; and that Liberation follows from the knowledge of identity --as, 'I am Brahman' with that which in reality is Existence-Knowledge-Bliss and which is regarded as the substratum of all.)
~Shankara on Svetasvatara 4.10 (tr-Gambhirananda) [note there is some controversy whether the commentary is actually Shankara's]
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Śvetāśvatara Up. 4.10. Prakṛti is the material cause of the world, in the sense that names and forms which distinguish one thing from another and thereby create diversification are the creation of Māyā.
Maheśvara, the great Lord, is the efficient cause of the world because He guides Māyā in all her conjuring up of names and forms, and imparts the appearance of reality and consciousness to them and guides her throughout.
But be it noted that separately (and this separation is impossible except in absolute knowledge in superconsciousness where there is no trace of creation, and the memory thereof) they are neither the material cause nor the efficient cause. It is only in conjunction that they are both. In fact they are not two but one, functioning differently, though jointly.
~Swahananda commentary on Pancadasi 4.2
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Aitareya 1.1 (Pancadasi 4.3)
The Aitareya Upaniṣad says that before creation there was Ātman only, and He thought, ‘Let me create the world’, and then He created the world by His will (to create). ~Pancadasi 4.3 (tr-Swahananda)
Aitareya Up. 1.1 in the Rg Veda. This passage also attributes creation to Brahman. In this śloka Ātman has been used in the sense of Paramātman or Brahman; for before creation individual souls remained merged in the unmanifest. So they could not create. ~Swahananda commentary on Pancadasi 4.3
oṁ ātmā vā idameka evāgra āsīt, nānyat-kiñcana miṣat,
1. Om! In the beginning, this was but the absolute Self alone. There was nothing else whatsoever that winked. It thought, ‘Let Me create the worlds.’ ~Aitareya 1.1 (tr-Gambhirananda)
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Ātmā vai, the absolute (23) Self. The word ātmā, Self, is derived in the sense of comprehending, engulfing, or pervading, and by it is signified one that is the highest, omniscient, omnipotent, and devoid of all such worldly attributes as hunger; by nature eternal, pure, conscious, and free; birthless, undecaying, immortal, deathless, fearless, and without a second. Idam, this — all that has been referred to as this world, diversified through the differences of name, form, and action; āsīt, was; agre, in the beginning, before the creation of this world; ātmā ekaḥ eva, but the one Self. ~Shankara commentary on Aitareya 1.1 (tr-Gambhirananda)
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The same Self, or Brahman, which existed before the creation exists even now. Then why does the text use the past tense was? In reply we say that though Atman is the same after the creation as It was before, there is a slight difference. Before the creation, the universe, devoid of the differentiation of names and forms and completely identified with Atman, was designated by the name Atman alone and also was the object of the knowledge designated by the term Atman. In other words, there was then no such term as universe, nor any object denoted by that term. But after the creation, owing to the manifestation of names and forms, the same universe sometimes is known by many different names and also becomes the object of the knowledge denoted by those names and sometimes becomes known by the name Atman alone and becomes the object of the knowledge denoted by that name. This is the difference between the state prior to the creation and that after it. The past tense in the text, conveyed by the word was, has been used with this difference in view. ~Nikhilananda's commentary on Aitareya 1.1
Taittiriya 2.1.2 (Pancadasi 4.4-5)
4. The Taittiriya Upaniṣad says that from the Self or Brahman alone arose in succession the whole creation including ākāśa, (ether), air, fire, water, earth, vegetation, food and bodies.
5. The Taittiriya Upaniṣad says that desiring ‘I shall be many, so I shall create,’ the Lord meditated; and thus created the world. ~Pancadasi 4.4-5 (tr-Swahananda)
om brahmavidāpnoti param, tadeṣā’bhyuktā, satyaṁ jñānamanantaṁ brahma, yo veda nihitaṁ guhāyāṁ parame vyoman, so‘śnute sarvān kamān saha brahmaṇā vipaściteti. (2)
Om, the knower of Brahman attains the Supreme. With reference to that, is the following hymn recited: Brahman is the Truth, Knowledge and Infinity. He who knows It as existing in the cave of the heart in the transcendent ākāśa, realises all his desires along with omniscient Brahman. ~Taittiriya 2.1.1 (tr-Chinmayananda)
tasmādvā etasmādātmana ākāśaḥ sambhūtaḥ, ākāśādvāyuḥ, vāyoragniḥ, agnerāpaḥ, adbhyaḥ pṛthivī, pṛthivyā oṣadhayaḥ, oṣadhībhyo‘nnam, annātpuruṣaḥ. (2)
From that (which is) this Ᾱtman, is space born; from ākāśa, air; from air, fire; from fire, water; from water, earth; from earth, herbs; from herbs, food; and from food, man. ~Taittiriya 2.1.2 (tr-Chinmayananda)
so’kāmayata, bahu syāṁ prajāyeyeti, sa tapo’tapyata, sa tapastaptvā idagṁ sarvamasṛjata yadidaṁ kiñca, tatsṛṣṭvā tadevānuprāviśat, tadanupraviśya sacca tyaccābhavat, niruktaṁ cānirukataṁ ca, nilayanaṁ cānilayanaṁ ca vijñānaṁ cāvijñānaṁ ca, satyaṁ cānṛtaṁ ca satyamabhavat, yadidaṁ kiñca, tatsatyamityācakṣate, tadapyeṣa śloko bhavati. (3)
He desired, ‘I shall become many and be born. He performed tapas; having performed tapas, He created all this whatsoever (we perceive). Having created it, He entered into it. Having entered it, He became the manifest and the unmanifest, the defined and undefined, the housed and the houseless, knowledge and ignorance, truth and falsehood, and all this whatsoever that exists. Therefore, it is called Existence. In this sense, there is the following Vaidika verse.’ ~Taittiriya 2.6.3 (tr-Chinmayananda)
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It says satyaṁ jñānam anantam brahma (T.U. 2.1.1): Truth, knowledge, infinity is the Absolute. It was alone there. Suddenly, it willed. It became space. It became emptiness, the repository of further creation. Space became air, air became fire, fire became water, water became earth. Earth produced all the vegetables, plants, trees, etc.—the articles of diet for living beings; and the food that we eat became the substance of this physical body, which is verily constituted of the very food that we eat. This is the kind of creation that the Taittiriya Upanishad describes. It willed, and that will is called tapas. The universal concentration of Brahman Consciousness is the original tapas, whose heat manifested this world of five elements; thus the Taittiriya Upanishad tells us. ~Krishnananda commentary on Taittiriya 2.6.1-3
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From that Brahman which is identical with the Self, akasah, space; sambhutah, was created. Akasa means that which is possessed of the attribute of sound and provides space for all things that have forms. Akasat, from that space; vayuh, air-which has two attributes, being possessed of its own quality, touch, and the quality, sound, of its cause (akasa). The verb, `was created', is understood. Vdyoh, from that air; was created agnih, fire-which has three attributes, being possessed of its own quality, colour, and the two earlier ones (of its cause, air). Agneh, from fire; was produced, apah, water-with four attributes, being endowed with its own quality, taste, and the three earlier ones (of fire). Adbhyah, from water; was produced prthivi, earth-with five attributes, consisting of its own quality, smell, and the four earlier qualities (of its cause, water). Prthiaydh, from the earth; osadhayah, the herbs. Osadh:bhyah, from the herbs; annam, food. Annat, from food, transformed into human seed; (was created), purusah, the human being, possessed of the limbshead, hands, etc. Sah vai esah purusah, that human being, such as he is; annarasamayah, consists of the essence of food, is a transformation of the essence of food. ~Shankara commentary on Taittiriya 2.1.2 (tr-Gambhirananda
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Says the ṛṣi, ‘the Supreme, first desired – meaning, when a desire bumped up in that Ocean of Perfection (in It’s all-fullness, desire too is in It), It identified Itself with that desire and performed tapas. Concentrated and consistent thinking in the line of a desired object is tapas. These thoughts dynamise the desire and the individual – meaning, ‘the Supreme, identified with It’s desire’, struggles to create the necessary world in which It can fulfil It’s desire. Having created the world, He enters it, meaning, He comes to live in an intimate and immediate relationship with the world of objects so created’. Thus, concludes the ṛṣi, ‘the Supreme Himself became the entire world of experience in plurality!!’. ~Chinmayananda commentary on Taittiriya 2.6.3
Chandogya 6.2.1-4;6.3.1-2 (Pancadasi 4.6)
1. Sad eva, saumya, idam agra asid ekam evadvitiyam, tadd haika ahuh, asad evedam agra asid ekam evadvitiyam, tasmad asatah saj jayata.
6.2.1. ‘In the beginning, dear boy, this was Being alone, one only, without a second. Some say that, in the beginning, this was Non-being alone, one only, without a second. From that Non-being arose Being.’
2. Āruṇi said, ‘But how, indeed, dear boy, could it be so? How could Being arise from Non-being? In truth, dear boy, in the beginning (before creation), there was Being alone, one only, without a second.
3. ‘That Being willed, “May I become many, may I grow forth.” It created fire. That fire willed, “May I become many, may I grow forth.” It created water. Therefore whenever a man grieves or perspires, then it is from fire that water issues.
4. ‘That water willed, “May I become many, may I grow forth.” It created food11 Therefore, wherever it rains, abundant food grows there; it is from water that food for eating is produced.
6.3.1.Of the aforesaid beings there are only origins: those born from eggs, born from living beings, and born from sprouts.
2. ‘That deity willed,15 “Well, let me, entering into these three ofeities through this living self (Jīvātman),16 differentiate name and form. ~Chandogya Upanishad 6.2.1-4; 6.3.1-2 (tr-Swahananda)
4.6. The Chāndogya Upaniṣad says that before creation Brahman or the Self alone existed, and that His nature was pure existence. He desired to become manifold, and created all things including fire, water, food, and beings born of eggs and so forth. ~Pancadasi 4.6 (tr-Swahananda)
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Even now it is surely Existence. But now it stands qualified by name and form, and also as an object of the word and idea 'this'. Therefore it is termed as 'this'. But before creation, in the beginning, this was only an object of the word and idea 'Existence'. Hence it is emphasized that 'in the beginning this was Existence alone'. 'Without a second' means that It (Existence) has no second thing different from Itself. ~Shankara commentary (tr-Gambhirananda)
Mundaka 2.1.1 (Pancadasi 4.7)
7. The Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad says that just as sparks emanate from a blazing fire, so from immutable Brahman arose different animate and inanimate things.
Muṇḍaka Up. 2.1.1 in the Atharvaveda. The Jīva like the sparks is a part of Brahman from a lower point of view, for Brahman is partless. Jīva is identical with It. The illustration is for easy comprehension of a beginner. ~Pancadasi 4.7 (tr-Swahananda) & commentary
tadetat satyaṁ yathā sudīptāt pāvakād visphuliṅgāḥ sahasraśaḥ prabhavante sarūpāḥ, tathā’kṣarādvividhāḥ somya bhāvāḥ prajāyante tatra caivāpi yanti. (1)
1. This is the truth, as from the flaming fire thousands of sparks similar to its form (nature) issue forth; so from the Immortal (Brahman) O My beloved youth! Diverse (manifold) beings (jīvas) originate and they find their way back into it. ~Mundaka 2.1.1 (tr-Chinmayananda
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The spark example is excellent if one understands it properly. Otherwise, it can create all kinds of problems. Here, the example is not meant to show that the sparks come from the fire and go back into the fire, but it is to point out that one fire alone is in the form of many sparks due to many upādhis. The spark has some kind of upādhi-viśeṣa, attributes of a limited form. It is fire with a dimension of its own. With this conditioning, the fire is called a spark. Therefore, we use two different words, ‘spark’ and ‘fire’. The sparks are many, but all of them are one fire. That is the extent of the example here. ~Dayananda commentary on Mundaka 2.1.1
Bṛhadāraṇyaka 1.4.1 Pancadai 4.8-9
8. It is also said that before its manifestation the whole world existed in Brahman in a potential form; then, assuming name and form it came into being as Virāṭ.
Bṛhadāraṇyaka Up. 1.4.1 in the Vājasaneya branch of the Śukla-Yajurveda.
9. From Virāṭ came into being the ancient law-givers, human beings, cattle, asses, horses, goats, and so on, both male and female, down to the ants. Thus says the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad.
Bṛhadāraṇyaka Up. 1.4.4. The latency of the world in Brahman before creation does not mean its real existence. Such description is a concession to the beginner who cannot conceive the world or Avidyā to be causeless.
~Pancadai 4.8-9 (tr-Swahananda) & Swahananda commentary
1.4.1
In the beginning, this universe was verily the self (Virāj1) in the form of a person. He pondered and beheld nothing else but himself. He first said, ‘I am he’. Therefore he got the name ‘I’. Hence even now when any one is accosted, he first says, ‘It is I’, and then tells the other name that he has. Because he was the first (among the aspirants to the status of Prajāpati), and (before) this whole group consumed all evils,2 therefore he is called Puruṣa. He who knows thus verily consumes him who wishes to be (Prajāpati) in advance of him.
[1 Prajāpati, the universal being who attained his status on being purified by Vedic knowledge in his past life. When Prajāpati identifies himself with the sum total of subtle bodies in the universe, he is called Hiraṇyagarbha, and when he identifies himself with the sum total of gross bodies in the universe, he is called Virāj. 2 Ignorance and its offshoots, which thwarted his attainment of the position of Prajāpati. 3 Metaphorically speaking. He only beats the others in the race.]
~Bṛhadāraṇyaka 1.4.1
