Hare Krishna,
Why were we created in the beginning? When only The Supreme Lord was there, alone?
If there was no creation, then there wouldn't be any suffering, rite?
I need to know the reason for our creation.
I read somewhere that when the Lord was in Yoga nidra(blissful state), He created us. But I couldn't get the purpose behind the creation.
Its important for me to understand this. Any explanations please?
Regards,
Subash
Replies
It should be understood that the jiva soul is neither produced of this material world, nor created in the transcendental world. They are originated from the marginal line between the transcendental and mundane spheres. (Tattva Viveka 2.4, by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, page 55).
The jivas have grown out of the jiva-shakti of Sri Krishna. Chit-shakti is Sri Krishna's full (plenary) shakti, whereas the jiva-shakti is the incomplete shakti. From the plenary potency are produced complete entities, but from the incomplete potency have grown the jivas as atomic chit... When he desired to have His adherent attendance 'nitya parshada ' servitors in His Transcendental plane Goloka- Vrindavana, Vaikuntha, etc, He through Baladeva created those Eternal Parshada as nitya-mukta jivas at those divine worlds... Again at Paravyoma (Vaikuntha) He, as Sankarshana, reveals the eternally free associate jivas for the performance of the eight kinds of service to Sri Narayana. Maha Vishnu, the incarnation of Sankarshana, establishing Himself in the heart of jiva-shakti as Paramatma, creates the jiva-souls of tatastha shakti. These jivas are susceptible to the influence of maya ... As such, the conclusion is that it is the jiva-shakti that begets thejivas, and not the chit-shakti. " (Bhaktivinode Thakura, Jaiva Dharma, Chapter 15)
The root of all actions is the desire for acts, the root of which again is avidya. Avidya is the name for the forgetfulness of soul's essential nature that 'I am Krsna's servant.' Thisavidya did not commence within the course of the mundane time. That root of karma of the jiva arose when he was at the tatastha position. As such, the beginning of karma is not to be traced within mundane time, and, on that account karma is beginningless. (Jaiva Dharma, pag 234).
The above explains many things: Since we're from his tattastha sakti ( we're his energy mind , so we can NEVER becomes stronger than Him) , this explains 'Who designed like this, making us weak and Him strong? ', i.e. we're HIS marginal energy, and prone to being affected by illusion. Ofcourse this is not the case for the nitya siddhas.
For the questions of 'Why' - Acaryas say He's inconcievable. With our low intelligence we cannot determine why. We have to go by acaryas , given by Himself. But its sure that He's has our best interests in whatever He does. You may try Garuda purana or similar puranas, but im not sure if there are translations by any devotee, and we cannot trust translations from outside sources.
but many philosphical questions prabhu are wonderfully answered in Sri Baladeva Vidyabhusana's Govinda Bhasya ( as also In Srila Prabhupada's Srimad Bhagavatham with wonderful purports.) ..He refutes the inpersonalism theory beautifully there. Also Google is a wonderful resource :)
Hope I've not offended by any means. Please point out mistakes for my own benefit.
your servant
Civilization and Transcendence
CAT 11: "Feel the Oneness" ... with a Difference
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: This next question is rather interesting, Śrīla Prabhupāda. "Is it not possible for all kinds of spiritualists—be they Advaitans [advocates of oneness of the self with God], Dvaitans [advocates of total difference between the self and God], or Viṣiṣṭādvaitans [advocates of qualified oneness of the self with God]—come together instead of remaining isolated as warring factions?"
Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes. This is the process taught by Caitanya Mahāprabhu—to bring all the Dvaitans and Advaitans together on one platform. Everyone has to understand that he is essentially a servant of God. The Advaitan wrongly thinks that he is absolutely one with God, that he himself is God. That is wrong. How can you become God? God is ṣaḍ-aiśvarya-pūrṇam, full in six opulences. He has all power, all wealth, all beauty, all fame, all knowledge, and all renunciation. So this Advaitan idea is artificial—to think you're able to become God.
The Dvaitans stress that one is utterly different from God, that God is separate from the living entity. But actually, from the Bhagavad-gītā we understand that the living entities are part and parcel of God. And in the Vedas it is said, nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13): both God and His creatures are living entities, though God is the chief. Eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān: the difference between the two is that God maintains all the other living entities. That is a fact. We are maintained, and God is the maintainer. We are predominated—we are not independent—and God is the predominator. But because the predominated living entities are part and parcel of God, in quality they are one with God.
So Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's philosophy is acintya-bhedābheda: the living entities are simultaneously one with and different from the Lord. The living entity is one in the sense that he is part and parcel of God. So if God were gold, the living entity would also be gold. That is oneness in quality. But God is great, and we are minute. In that way we are different. That is why Caitanya Mahāprabhu enunciated this philosophy of acintya-bhedābheda: inconceivable, simultaneous oneness with and difference from God. That is real philosophy.
So on the platform of this philosophy, everyone can come together, if they are reasonable. If they remain unreasonably stuck up in their own concocted philosophy, then it is difficult. But it is a fact that the living entity is eternally one with and different from God. Find this verse: mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke.
Hari-sauri:
mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke
jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ
manaḥ ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi
prakṛti-sthāni karṣati
"The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind." [Bg. 15.7]
Śrīla Prabhupāda: So if the living entity is eternally a fragmental part, how can he become one with the whole? The part is never equal to the whole. That is an axiomatic truth. So it is a wrong conception to try to become equal to God. The Māyāvādīs are trying to become God, but that is impossible. Let them try to become godly. Godly means "servant of God." That will make them perfect. The Vaiṣṇava philosophy teaches that we can remain in our natural position but act as a servant of God. That is perfect. But if the servant tries to become the master, that is artificial.
Of course, in the spiritual world there often seems to be no difference between the master and the servant. For instance, Kṛṣṇa's friends the cowherd boys—they do not know that Kṛṣṇa is God. They play with Him on equal terms. When Kṛṣṇa is defeated in play, He has to take His friend on His shoulder and carry him. The friends do not know who is God and who is not God. So that is the advanced spiritual conception. Of course, the difference is always there between God and the part-and-parcel living entities, but by the influence of God's internal potency, the understanding is covered. We can attain that position after many, many lives of pious activities. That is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam [10.12.11]:
itthaṁ satāṁ brahma-sukhānubhūtyā
dāsyaṁ gatānāṁ para-daivatena
māyāśritānāṁ nara-dārakeṇa
sākaṁ vijahruḥ kṛta-puṇya-puñjāḥ
The cowherd boys are playing with Kṛṣṇa. And who is Kṛṣṇa? He is the essence of brahma-sukha, spiritual bliss. He is Param Brahman, the Supreme Spirit. So the boys are playing with Param Brahman, though to an ordinary man He appears to be an ordinary child. how have the cowherd boys gotten the position of being able to play with Kṛṣṇa? Kṛta-puṇya-puñjāḥ: After many, many lives of pious activities, they have gotten the position of playing with Kṛṣṇa on equal terms.
So this is the conception of pure devotional service—that when you go to Goloka Vṛndāvana, Kṛṣṇa's abode, you love Kṛṣṇa so much that you will not distinguish between the Supreme Lord and His subordinates. The inhabitants of Kṛṣṇa's abode have such unflinching love for Kṛṣṇa. That is Vṛndāvana life. The cows, the calves, the trees, the flowers, the water, the elderly men, Kṛṣṇa's parents Nanda Mahārāja and Yaśodāmayī—everyone is intensely attached to Kṛṣṇa. Everyone's central point is Kṛṣṇa. Everyone is loving Kṛṣṇa so much that they do not know He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Sometimes the residents of Vṛndāvana see Kṛṣṇa's wonderful activities and think, "Kṛṣṇa must be some demigod who has come here." They never recognize that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead—or if they do, Kṛṣṇa makes them immediately forget. When Kṛṣṇa manifested His pastimes on earth some five thousands years ago, He passed through many dangerous situations—so many demons were coming—and mother Yaśodā would chant mantras to protect Kṛṣṇa, thinking, "He may not be put into some calamity." Kṛṣṇa's family and friends never understood that Kṛṣṇa is God. Their natural love for Kṛṣṇa was so intense. Therefore Vṛndāvana life is so exalted. As Caitanya Mahāprabhu taught, ārādhyo bhagavān vrajeṣa-tanayas tad-dhāma vṛndāvanam: First of all, Kṛṣṇa-Vrajendra-nandana, the son of Nanda Mahārāja—is ārādhya, worshipable. Then, tad-dhāma vṛndāvanam: His dhāma, or abode—Vṛndāvana—is equally worshipable.
So these facts pertain to a higher standard of understanding. Only a devotee can understand that to become one with God is not a sublime idea. In Vṛndāvana the devotees want to become the father or mother of God—to control God with love. This fact the Māyāvādīs, or Advaitavādīs, cannot understand. Only pure devotees can understand these things. What is the benefit of becoming one with God?
Even other Vaiṣṇava philosophies cannot explain the higher relationships with God, which Caitanya Mahāprabhu explained. These are vatsalya-rasa [parenthood], and madhurya-rasa [conjugal love]. Caitanya Mahāprabhu especially taught that our relationship with Kṛṣṇa can be in conjugal love, madhurya-rasa.
But as for our general understanding, Lord Caitanya introduced the philosophy of acintya-bhedābheda—simultaneously one with and different from the Lord. That is explained by Kṛṣṇa in Bhagavad-gītā [15.7]: mamaivāṁśo ... jīva-bhūtaḥ—the living entities are part and parcel of God. So we are one with God, since we have God's qualities in minute degree. But God is the master, and we are always subordinate. Eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān: we are protected, we are maintained, we are predominated. That is our position. We cannot attain the position of predominator. That is not possible.
Hare Krishna dear Devotees, please accept my humble obeisances! All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
We were not created.
We were there eternally.
We cannot be god because we always have been His parts and parcels.
Because of sufferings we try to sleep and never ever wake up again.
But that is not a solution. Because we are eternal living beings. And we meant to live blissfully.
THE CAUSE OF OUR SUFFERING IS THAT WE THINK THAT WE ARE THIS MATERIAL BODY.
But it is not so. We are souls. And we have our original home in spiritual world. We have our parents, friends, maybe kids, wife, husband, siblings...again in spiritual world. There is no death, old age, birth and disease.
So none of our relatives and beloved ones leave us.
On the other hand because we think that we are this body so we suffer due to death of our beloved ones, or our own, due to diseases, old age, ....relationships...
Or else 3 types of sufferings coming from:
- mind and body
- from other living beings
- from calamities.
It is true, when i did not yet read Bhagavad Gita i used to suffer a lot, especially due to mind.
In childhood i used to love my parents and one single thought that someday they will die will cause so much pain.
Sometimes when they fight i, 5-6 year old child, used to hide knives so that my parents does not do something bad to each other. Oh my God. Still i remember my mental worries.
When they fight i used to cry and when sometimes mother leave to her mother's home i used catch her hand and beg her to come back home....
i used to follow my father if he does not do something bad to himself...
in teen ages suffering due to attachments and separations from my friends...
due to bad food habits sufferings from body...
so all these gone when i got knowledge of Bhagavad Gita.
Externally sufferings may be there still but now even if someone who is very dear to me dies i won't suffer much because i know that life never ends. Still separation will be there but ultimately i know that it is for good only. He or she will take a new, young body...
So please Prabhu, it is true as Rashmi Mataji mentioned when we meet Krishna we may ask Him directly why we have suffered so much. But please read Bhagavad Gita with Your heart and soul.
And associate with sincere Devotees. With Devotees who are blissful and very soon You will become happy.
Your servant,
Hare Krishna Mataji,
When we were there eternally, then why are we different from the Lord? Why ONLY we are weak and Why ONLY He is strong? Why ONLY we fell down and not Him? If we came together, then why His control on us? Who designed like this, making us weak and Him strong? Why were we designed just as part and parcels and not something more like The God?
We were there eternally implies that GOD and WE came into existence together. Then why such a huge difference?
Regards,
Subash
the same question is striking in my head from few days... i also want to know the reason . tell me when will you know .
jai shri krishna
Hare Krsna Prabhuji,
PAMHO.
Creation happened because the Supreme Lord desired to create. Like how the lord explains to Arjuna in Gita, there was never a time when He was not there, or when Arjuna was not there. That means that living entity or jivatma is also eternal. We were in deep slumber state when the lord was in yoga nidra. He created the universes and also created a jail in the universe. That is not to mean that the lord wanted people to go to jail. It is simply good planning. We as jivatma are marginal energy of the lord. When we want to enjoy independent of the lord, then we are thrown in this jail. The key out of this jail is our free will to go back to godhead.
Normally, when we travel, we have to pack our bags. But to travel back home, back to Godhead, we have to unpack our bags. We have to unpack, lust, greed, anger, ego, desire... and develop love for Godhead to go back.
I hope I have been able to explain somewhat.
Haribol,
Your servant,
Rashmi
Hare Krishna Mataji..
When we were also eternal, along with the Lord, then what was the necessity to build a jail for us? Why is the control on us? Why were we existed with less power than the Lord? Why not we were in quality and quantity as the Supreme Lord?
On the other hand, if Lord created us out of His desire, without any purpose, then its like saying He was also like us, driven by desires? Is this the truth?
I am basically looking for the answer to "Why He created?"
Regards,
Subash
Hare Krsna Prabhu,
When any city is planned, a jail is also planned alongwith it. Does that mean that the administration wants people to go to jail? Its like that only, the material universe that we see is just 1/4th of the spiritual worlds. We see a lot of living entities around us in all life forms, still this is just a fraction of the entities in the spiritual world.
He is not trying to exercise control over us. On the contrary, He has given us free will. We are just a spark, qualitatively same as God, but minute in quantity. How can a tiny insignificant piece of cake be as appealing as the whole cake? If we were in quantity also same as God, then there would be so many Gods. Imagine the situation!!!!
God's desires are different, on a different platform than ours, how can you compare? Its like saying - inmates of a jail see the President of the country visiting the jail on (say) Republic Day. Can they say - he has also come to jail, we have also come to jail, what is the difference? Or even the Chief Minister goes on the road, so do we. Why no traffic rules for them and why for us? Each of us have a specific role to play and if we understand our role of being subservient to God and to serve Him with love and devotion, we can go back.
Why He created - when you meet Him, you ask Him prabhu. Nobody knows His will. His ways are known only to Him. I had heard somewhere that the lord desired, thats why He created. Thats what I mentioned it here.
Please do not get me wrong prabhu. If you try to understand everything by logic, you will not be able to. The Supreme Lord is beyond human perception. Its like - how much ever changes you make in an ambassador, you cannot make it an aeroplane. We are designed in such a manner that the human body (machine), though most intelligent of all species, is not intelligent enough to understand the lord.
haribol,
Your servant,
Rashmi