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Re: A very Scary Question!!

From the Bhakti List Archives

Pradeep Janakiraman • Tue Mar 25 2003 - 05:51:07 PST 


If we look at this from a Advaitic view, then there are some answers 
to this, even from the Srimad Bhagavatam. 

Advaitam, tells us that "Brahmam" is the root-cause for everything 
and it alone exists. Even in the Bhagavatam, in the very last 
Skandham, Sri Suka explains how everything starts from "Brahmam" and 
draws itself back into it. 

For example, he explains how the 5 elements collapse, the earth gets 
covered with water, which gets burnt by fire, which later gets drawn 
into space(akaasam). Finally even space disappears into the Brahmam 
and in this stage there is no time also. 

I think some of the physicists also talk about there being "no-time" 
before the big-bang and time as something linear from that event. 
But we have a more cyclical view of time. 

However the fact remains that even energy, time, space are all 
contained within the Brahmam which is eternal and without a beginning 
and an end. 

It is even amazing to note that scientists have been able to talk 
about something such as the BigBang being the origin of the universe. 
We say that "srishti" started with sankalpam of God, and that the 
entire universe manifested like the spider-web from the spider which 
can draw it back into itself at a later point also. 

God did not use any special matter to create the universe, it came 
from himself just as the spider-web came from within the spider. 
Finally, both the spider and the web exist after the web-creation, 
unlike the seed that is not found after the tree sprouts from it. 

Similarly, both God and the prakriti exist though the latter 
manifests and dissolves into the former. 

I maybe mixing up a lot of contradictory points from Advaitam and 
Visishta-advaitam, which may be disturbing to many members of the 
group. It is not intentional, but just an attempt to present an idea 
that could be comprehended by using analogies. 

It is very tough to comprehend these facts, but faith in scriptures 
and works of our acharyas is more than enough. We dont really have to 
try to solve these problems with paper and pencil. 

Radhe Krishna

-- Pradeep 


[ Even according to Visishtadvaita, Brahman alone is the cause of this manifest world. It is on the question of the ultimate reality of the world that Advaita and V.Advaita differ --Moderator]


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