There is the ONE who has created this jagath (universe) as proved by the sastras. Let us keep this to one side. In the Srimad Bhagavatham it is said in the pratama sloka "janmAdyasya yathaHa anvayAtu" - from whom this jagath has evolved, who is the maintainer of this jagath and unto whom this jagath gets dissolved - is the essence of the first sloka of the bhagavatham. HE is one who possesses the intellect and capability to create this jagath - "abhijnah". Keeping all the pancha bhoothas, HE creates this jagath - "arthaHa", "abhijnah swarat". No one called out to the bhagavan, instructed or commanded HIM to create this jagath. If this was indeed the case, then the one who actually commanded the bhagavan over the creation of this jagath would have become the bhagavan instead.
If one has just happiness over the creation, maintenance and dissolution of this jagath, then it can be determined that this one does not possess jNana. The meaning of jNana is when one who does some work and neither gets happy nor sad over its outcome and HE is HIMSELF in ananda. So for the one called bhagavan, whilst doing the sristi, sthithi, samharam (creation, maintenance, dissolution), if he finds there is a shortcoming in the process then he does not possess jNana.
Also the fact that as a result of creating this jagath, the bhagavan has become weaker or saturated cannot be true. In fact for the creation of this jagath, the bhagavan has no shortcomings and again for merging the jagath into HIMSELF, he does not have any shortcoming and likewise for the maintenance of this jagath he has no shortcomings is what the sastras tell. There are some who call this jagath as nature and some others who mention jagath as created from an atom. There are others who claim that the world is not present but you are present as the being. There are also some who claim there is nothing at all. In order to know if this world has been created by someone, we need go and look at this/that sastras. If we think a bit, say for us to go to a foreign land, we fist need to board an airplane in an airport. If we possess a valid plane ticket, then an airbus takes us close to the aeroplane. There is a staircase coming down from the plane to the ground. When we climb up the staircase to enter the aeroplane, we find that there are lots of seats within it. Once we sit on a particular seat, we tie on the seat belt. If the things we have are heavy, the airport authorities lift them up and store them in a different part of the plane and give them to us when we arrive at our destination. If it is a small thing, then we take it alongwith us. If the distance we need to travel is far and long, they then provide food within the plane itself. If we are bored, we either read something or watch something to pass the time. An instrument with so many facilities cannot just appear on its own from somewhere. We cannot just say so. If the plane came into being on its own, how would there have been a staircase present and how come there be seats inside for one to sit and to safegaurd themselves with a seatbelt. After sometime as the plane is flying in the air can we say it is flying on its own. Someone is flying it and carefully decides that it should fly in such and such direction. Similarly it goes and lands in a certain place and can we just say it landed on its own accord. If everything is happening on its own then, in the nature there should not have been an order.
If there is an order in something, then we know that this is not natural and there is someone who has created it. Therefore we see that there is someone maintaining the order and in the end, someone will take it into himself. This is something that can even be understood by the ordinary man and when seeing with his naked eyes he can understand. If you see this earth, even if it comes down an inch from its place we may all turn to ice and if it goes above an inch from its orbit we may all be burnt. One day we get up at 8 am, one day at 10 am and another day at 5 am and once woken up, we walk fast one day and slow another day. But the Sun or the planets staying in their orbits have not moved an inch since the time of their creation in this sristi. When the time for sunrise in the morning is up, the sun rises correctly on time. We are able to calculate that the sun, moon and the planets move at a certain speed. The Earth is likewise rotating, not only by itself but also around the sun and that is why days and nights are formed. Because of this day and night, we wakeup and sleep everyday. Not only that, the flowers bloom and also certain creatures need the help of the sun and the moon. There is also a man and woman and as a result of that many beings are created and the population development is happening continuously. If we look at the charithrams we see that at certain times there has been famine and drought with no rain and during these times thousands of people have died. Similarly due to earthquakes, thousands of people have been sucked into the earth or killed which we hear often and even in recent times. Due to rising of the sea leading to a tsunami, several thousand lives have been lost. I have often thought that although earthquakes or tsunamis or drought have happened, there has never been a case of the loss of air or vAyu in this not even for a second.
There has never been a case of air not being available in this world. During earthquakes, life has only been lost in a certain area, famine occurs in a certain place, the tsunami also occurs in some part of the world and affects the people on the shore of a certain ocean. But let us think just for a second if there is no air all over the world, then no life would exist in this planet. But this never happens. So we observe that there is someone who is managing and having control over all this. When we pick up a flower we have a great scent emanating from it. But each flower has a scent of its own and flowers such as the rose, samandhi, pavazhamazhi, jasmine, malathi, lotus all being flowers, yet have unique scents associated with them and if we are asked what is the difference, we cannot easily say. Each has a difference yet being wonderful themselves. When talking about sweetness, there are differences with jackfruit, sugarcane and sugar candy etc. If we drink a payasam the sweetness is different. If we eat a mango fruit then the sweetness is of a different type. Similarly pomegranate, sapodilla and similar types of sweet fruits have a unique sweetness about them. The touch (sparsham) is felt differently in different places. When within an Airconditioned room the sparsham is different. When in a cool country the sparsham is different. When a nice breeze is blowing, that sparsham is different but whilst telling about it we just mention the sparsham as a common feeling. But there is someone who is creating this variety of scent, sweetness and sparsham.
Not just creation alone but everything is with a math, a calculation behind them. The orbit of the sun, stars and the planets are determined by math. Not only that, the distance between these objects in the universe are based on mathematics. The worlds of the stars are in their predetermined place, for example the saptarishi mandalam is at a designated spot. Likewise each of the stars are being placed in their respective positions by the bhagavan. Not only that, say a frog has opened its mouth extending its long tongue and three or four flies stick to its tongue and the frog eats them. Not only that the snake eats the frog. The Garuda eats the snake, likewise we see a food chain. Like the food cycle in this world, everything is a math. A person will live only for a certain amount of time in this world and there is a math for that too. The Banyan tree will live for specified number of years. The turtle will live for a specified number of years. Elephant will live for the specified number of years. A goat or sheep will live for these many years etc and bear specified number of little ones., all these being determined mathematically. When a pregnant woman goes to a doctor, the doctor says it will take ten months for the child to be born and that is the calculation and that is what really happens. When we got to a certain house and in that house a certain old man whose age is being told as 500 years and is still living because Lord Yama forgot him is not what we may hear or see. When people reach the old age they themselves come to know that their end is near. A doctor puts a stethoscope and checks the heartbeat because there is a math behind that. If there is a variation in the heartbeat then there is something wrong with your health. Then the blood pressure is being measured and there is a math for that too. Similarly for the breath there is a math on how the swAsam should flow. Thus there is calculation all over the world.
After creating the panchabhootam and having the opposites of these panchabhootam as well, bhagavan is maintaining and running this world and this is the beauty of it all. In the Srimad Bhagavatham, when Sage Kapila is teaching the wisdom to Devahuthi, the bhagavan tells that only out of fear for him that the wind is blowing, the sun comes and the panchabhootams are going about their duties.
So we cannot accept that this world just happened by itself. Because of the order that is prevalent, we see that there is someone who has created this. For such a creator, what is that we should do. He is indeed sarvagnan, nothing is not known to him. He is sarvashaktan, there is no thing that is not possible by him. He is sarvasakshi and sees everything happening in this world. So what is in it for us if he is all this. We can ask that him being a sarvashaktan, sarvagnan or sarvantaryami, what is the use for us, but he indeed being a saranagathavathsalan is the greatest benefit for us. if you surrendered unto him he will save and protect you and that is the greatest use for us, him being a bhakthavathsalan.
What is bhakthi? The relationship we hold with our family members is called pAsam (bondage or affection) but if the same love is directed towards the bhagavan then it is bhakthi. Between mother and son, husband and wife and relatives, the love and affection established is termed as pAsam. When this same pAsam is established with the paramAtma then it is called bhakthi. What is the fruit of bhakthi? Mukthi is its fruit. Mukthi is that which leaves the chitrinbam and resides in the perinbam simply said. All the time residing in perinbam leaving the chitrinbam is what is termed as mukthi.
In the world, say we had no money and no means to buy food and being quite hungry, one person came forward and kindly offered us food for a month. Then we will always feel indebted to him for having provided us food and will not forget him. Someone gave money in times of difficulty and we feel we should not forget him. We are in this job and this person got us this job and we should not forget him. We were desirous of attending school and studying and so and so gave money and helped and cannot be forgotten. When suffering in the hospital, so and so person stayed to help and should not be forgotten. When all these help done by ordinary mortals are not to be forgotten, what can be said of the help that the bhagavan has been giving us. Can we forget that? What is the kripa that the bhagavan has done to us? He has created such a world for us. On top of that he has created us as human beings. We often say that we were born as humans but that is not true, there is a one who has been responsible for your creation. Being born as a human is not your intelligence or your effort but instead you have been graced by the bhagavan to be born as a human. Then he has given us functional hands and legs. The mind has independence of thought - cittam swAdhinam. We are also getting Guru and satsangham. He always makes us hear all his kalyAnagunam all the time. There is someone to tell you about the bhagavan. If you were eager to know about the bhagavan and what if there was no one to tell you about it. The bhagavan has sent the sadhu everywhere to each and every place where they come and camp, having advertised and assembled people without taking any money and filling their ears enormously with the sweetness of the bhagavath gunam. In todays world of media and TV, bhagavan has made it possible to hear the bhagavath gunam in the comfort of our homes itself. This kripa is what the bhagavan is doing for us. Thus giving a human birth, keeping all parts of the body in good condition, keeping your mind good, letting the sadhus come here and there and tell the bhagavath gunam giving you time and buddhi, which, the bhagavan has done for us and can this kripa be forgotten. Not forgetting this great kripa of the bhagavan is indeed called bhakthi. Everything has to be constantly told to us and only then our mind will grasp it. Therefore there is one called Iswaran and he is the embodiment of love and he will not spoil the lives of anyone, will do only good for everyone, thinking thus offer your bhakthi to him and surrender unto him. To tell this the mahans have come and the foremost among them is Sri Ramanujar.
Subham
