Lord Brahma, Maha Visnu, the Self Realization and More
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Questioner: Ananth
Private: no
Subject: Various Hindu Teachings
Question: According to hindu belief brahma lives above 100 brahma years
does he start work as soon as he is born?
it mean he works from the moment he is born?
does he have any holidays?
does he retire by voluntry?
it is also said works all day and goes to sleep by night.
a day of brahma is 1000 yugas.. So what will happen to humans during that period?
if he has holidays or weekends when is it?
If human wants to break and come out of this life death life death cycle what can he do?
or is it something like people can never come out?
if it is so how do a person got into this trap?My reply:
Lord Brahma does not enjoy the type of worship afforded to most other devas. Why this is so is debated. I will try and explain.
Understand that Hinduism is a very diverse system and its proponents differ on many (most) points of belief and doctrine.
The understandings of the devas (gods) varies group by group but while Lord Visnu and Lord Rudra/Siva enjoy active worship, holidays, etc. Lord Brahma does not, as a general statement. These three of course are known as the Trimurti, the three eternal forms of God, the Creator (Brahma), Maintainer (Visnu) and Transformer (Siva).
According to many, In the "beginning," Lord Brahma brings everything within the material multiverse into existence or manifestation (the spiritual realm is eternal). With the creation, begins the first of four ages. Understanding these ages is important to understand the nature of the gods. Lord Brahma has greater involvement in the earlier ages. As we go downward through the ages his influence lessens.
The first age is called Satya-yuga ("first" or "high" age). This age lasts for 1,728,000 years and is a time of peace and plenty. During this yuga (age) the One Veda is given to the human race. This One Veda contains all knowledge, all truth. During this age Lord Brahma rules supreme. When we say this, it is also important to remember that 'God is One, the sages use different names'. Therefore the Trimurti is in actually Ek Devata (One God). What this means of course differs group to group.
In time, the living entities begin acting in less pure ways and we see the beginnings of imperfection popping up. Thus begins the second age, Treta-yuga. The One Veda is still known, but people do not pay heed to it fully. This age lasts for 1,296,000 years. The world is still a paradise compared to our world, but it is not as "good" as it once was. Life spans are slightly reduced, spirituality, health and so on slightly declines. While people still know the Truth, they begin losing interest in and respect for One Veda.
Eventually, conditions worsen and the third age, Dvapara-yuga begins.
This is the "Vedic Age" described in many of the Indian scriptures. This age lasts 864,000 years. During Dvapara-yuga "religion" begins replacing "spirituality" and towards the end, people begin to forget the Vedic injunctions and ignorance begins as a real influence throughout the earth.
Towards the end of this age, the One Veda is divided into quarters. How this happens is debated, but that it happens is agreed upon by everyone. Even after the Veda is quartered however, the [fallen] people can not understand it, and so sages arise who present commentaries on the Vedas such as the Puranas, Upanishads and so on.
Meanwhile, around the planet wars and revolutions broke out. In some cases, these were sparked by people claiming that the quarter of the Vedas they received was "higher" than the one others clung to, that "my" side has better manuscripts etc. than "your" side. At the same time, other people abandoned the Vedas all together and entered into barbarous chaos, while yet others composed entirely new scriptures based on the experiences of their own ethnic group. Into these new scriptures they included many the old [Vedic] stories in altered states harmonious with their own beliefs and cultures.
For instance, the Vedas tell of a great man of faith named Manu. Once the entire world was flooded by water due to the wrath of the gods, but the righteous Manu saved the human race by creating a boat and keeping animals safe until the flood waters subsided. This ancient Vedic story is now part of most religious texts, as are several others. Indeed, the influence of the Vedas are everywhere evident, including the very Indo-European languages we are using to communicate.
Things finally got so "bad" on the earth, the inhabitants had become so irreligious, that God Himself took birth on the planet to restore the essential Vedic truth to the people according to the Vaisnavas (worshipers of Lord Visnu).
His advent marks the beginning of the fourth and final age, Kali-yuga, the Age of Quarrel and Confusion.
So that the people of the world would not forget their glorious history and the religious principles that defines true civilization, a scripture was written known as the Mahabharata, the History of the Great Bharata Family (the family that had previously ruled the entire planet from what we today call India). For this reason, the actual name of India is Bharata-varsa, Land of the Bharata.
This Avatar of Lord Visnu (the Preserver), Sri Krsna (Krishna), revealed this essential truth during the first war of the fourth Yuga, known as the War of Kuruksetra. His teachings are contained within the Mahabharata itself and known as the Srimad Bhagavad-Gita (the Glorious Song of God, often called the "Bible of India"). You can read my translation of this scripture for free at https://allfaith.com/Religions/Hinduism/gita.html if you are interested.
Following this devastating war, global unity quickly disintegrated and the diverse religions, cultures, and countries known to us historically began to appear.
Kali-yuga, the fourth and present age, began about 5000 years ago (hence the biblical creation chronology and so on) and will last for 432,000 years, hence another 427,000 or so years according to common calculation (it is argued by some, and hinted at in the scripture known as the Srimad Bhagavatam, that Lord Visnu, in the form of Lord Kalki, will soon appear to save us from the worst of the evil influences of this age, surrender the planet to Lord Siva, who will "prematurely" "transform" it, thus bypassing the worse of Kali Yuga; this notion fits well with many of the biblical prophecies if you are interested in such possible correlations).
Hence, from the Hindu perspective, the world is not "evolving" but "devolving." When it is renewed again it will be re-filled with the Light of Lord Brahma.
Indians disagree on many many points. Some worship Lord Visnu as the principle Deity, at least for our age, using many different names (such as Narayana, Krsna, Rama) and traditions, others worship Lord Siva, in various forms (such as Adi Sankara, Rudra, Siva-lingam) or the Goddess Devi in Her countless forms (such as Kali, Durga), and so on, and yet despite the many differences, Hinduism reaches out as one dharma (truth), determined to grasp the Universal Truth (Sanatana Dharma) concealed in all religions.
Of course, most groups believe they hold the Truth more correctly than others -- this is human nature -- but essentially, as is proclaimed in the Vedas:
Truth is One.
In the present age we are too fallen to have much experience with the utter purity of Lord Brahma.
One day of Lord Brahma is one set of these four yugas. At the end of one set the universe is said to "sleep" and awaken with Satya Yuga.
In the "beginning" the Ek Devata, as Maha Visnu, who eternally resides on the causal ocean (the Karanodak), glances out across the potentiality of non-being and manifests and "seeds" "being" (via Maha Maya). This gives rise to the elemental realities like sky, fire, water, air and ether. With their creations come Mind, Intelligence and false ego.
Next, Lord Brahma sprouts from Lord Maha Visnu's forehead and creates the differentiated living entities (the jiva or atman). Maha Visnu personally enters into material existence and animates/sparks the life created by Lord Brahma. These living entities are likened to sprouting from his pores (or better, the world in which they abide sprout from His pores. As Ek Devata, the one God, begins this work He comes to be known as Garbodakshayi Vishnu. Within this form all the separated forms exist. It is in this context that all beings are "part and parcel of God."
In a very general way this is how the process begins. Every time Lord Brahma is reborn this eternal process begins anew.
Once 100 such yugas pass all existence again merges into the totality of Lord Brahma, who is "folded," into the Person of the Maha Visnu, Who is absorbed into the Body of Ek Devata on the Causal Sea and in "time" the process is repeated.
It is debated if the individual jivas survive the death of Lord Brahma, in other words if they are truly eternal or merely incredibly long lived. I believe we are eternal beings, eternally "part and partial" of the Whole.
As for the jiva getting out of material existence, this is process of the various yoga systems. According to the system (sadhana) one practices one can gradually be elevated and leave the material multiverses and return Home to the spiritual realms of existence.
Hope this helps,
This reply may be more that you were expecting, but if this does not suffice let me know,
~ Jagannatha Om Prakasa.---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Great answer but still I am not clear in these questions
Can a brahma retire by voluntry?
If human wants to break and come out of this life death life death cycle what can he do?
or is it something like people can never come out?
if it is so how do a person got into this trap???My reply:
Hi Ananth,
The question is based on an inaccurate premise. Gods don't "retire."
Lord Brahma's service is his reason for being. He IS Brahma. This is his nature. Does HaShem, God as presented in the Bible retire? Does Allah retire? Does Ahura Mazada retire?
No, God does not need vacations, retirements, etc. Spiritual beings are not under the limited constrictions of material beings. God is more, always more.
As I explained in my initial reply: As for the jiva getting out of material existence, this is the process of the various yoga systems. According to the system (sadhana) one practices one can gradually be elevated and leave the material multiverses and return Home to the spiritual realms of existence.
To go a bit farther with this, there are many such spiritual disciplines including the following. "Yoga" means "to link" so yoga systems are how we "link" with the Spirit:
Bhakti yoga: Devotion: Through devotion to God the soul is elevated and accepted by the Beloved. This is the path followed by many Hindus, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Sikhs and so on. In my opinion, this is the highest and most effective yoga system. Of this system Sri Krsna says:
Bhagavad Gita 12:1: Arjuna asked [Sri Krsna]: Who is the most knowledgeable in yoga [ie in linking with God and spiritual Truth], those who are thus always yoked to You through devotion, or those who are yoked to the transcendent Unmanifested [ie as prescribed in the works of Sri Sankara, the Buddhists and others]?
12:2: The Blessed One replied: Those who fix their minds upon Me [ie God] and are always yoked to My worship with faith, being so transcendentally endowed, they are the most knowledgeable in yoga in My opinion (Source: my translation: https://allfaith.com/Religions/Hinduism/gita12.html)Bhakti Yoga is manifested in countless ways, some are esoteric, some are Tantric, some are more servant based, etc.
Karma Yoga: Through deliberately practiced action. This popular system seeks to avoid all negative and positive karma (action/reactions) in order to achieve a karmic equilibrium wherein one stops accumulating Karma. This is usually done in conjunction with Bhakti Yoga.
Jnana Yoga: Through the acquiring of knowledge. This is the essential intellectual disciplines.
Dhyana Yoga: Through deep meditation techniques the yogi seeks to achieve Nirvana or Samadhi and thereby "transcend" material existence.
Hatha Yoga: Through disciplining the body once seek to transcend it.
Etc.
There are countless yoga systems and most people combine various disciplines rather than strictly following one.
The result of the various systems are described in various ways. Hinduism is VERY diverse. Some believe the soul merges with the totality of existence (in nir-guna brahman) and individual existence ceases. Others believe the individual soul transcends the material existence (sa-guna brahman) and attains spiritual existence as described by the scriptures as Goloka Vrndavana and other spiritual realms/planets. These are non-material realms where samsara (rebirth) and dukkha (all suffering) ceases to exist. This realm transcends our abilities to fully understand but are described in some detail in the various Indian scriptures and treaties as elsewhere.
According to many Hindu masters, the "Heaven" of the Christians is actually known in the Vedic Scriptures as Brahma Loka (the planet/realm of Lord Brahma). This is said to be the highest, most elevated of all material existences. After a life on Brahma Loka the jiva almost surely proceeds to the eternal realms of the Spirit (nir-guna brahman).
This state of be-ing is described by Hindu sage Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu as acintya bheda-abheda, the state of being simultaneously, inconceivably, one with and distinct from acintya bheda-abheda tattva (the Person of God, who is simultaneously, inconceivably, one with and distinct from existence. This of course is but a very basic overview of this material.
However most Hindus are not as concerned about leaving the material realms as they are about properly existing in this one. This is because of the belief, as taught by Master Y'shua (ie Jesus of Nazareth) that "the Kingdom of God is within." For one who attains oneness with Spirit liberation is already achieved. Hence many sadhus (teachers) encourage us to "be here now," to live fully in this moment and this place as though we had already attained Spiritual Oneness. Consciousness is a vital key to all Hindu systems.
Hence the material realms (our planet/realm is called Bhuva Loka) are not "traps," they are more like schools or proving grounds in which we develop spiritual consciousness (if we take advantage of the opportunities provided in the human form of life).
The details of how this works varies with the school of thought.
But again, as the Gita tells us:
9:8: Supported by My material nature, I dispatch the multitude of beings again and again. All these act instinctively in material nature as if by constraint.
9:9: O conqueror of riches, I am not bound by these activities; as if indifferent, I am sitting unattached to them all.
9:10: Due to My presiding over material nature, both the moving and the unmoving come forth, O child of Kunti, and by reason of this the world continues to revolve.
9:11, 12: Fools deride Me when I resort in human form, not knowing My superior nature as the Great Lord of all beings.
Their hopes, actions and knowledge are all fruitless, they are senseless, demonic and unholy, indeed, they are stupefied by material nature.
9:13: On the other hand, O child of Partha, great souls resort unto the divine nature and worship with an undeviated mind, knowing Me to be the immutable source of all beings.
9:14: Always chanting My glories and pursuing Me, with discipline prostrating [themselves] before Me, always resolute in devotion, [the great souls] worship Me.
9:15: Others sacrifice with the sacrifice of knowledge, worshiping Me in oneness, duality, in diversity and in the universal form.
9:16-19: I am the ritual, I am the sacrifice, I am the oblation to the ancestors, I am the medicinal herb, I am the sacred chant, I am the ghee, I am the fire and I am the offering.
I am the father of this universe, the mother, the preserver, the grandfather, the object of knowledge, the purifier, the sacred syllable OM, the Rig Veda, the Sama Veda, and the Yajur Veda.
I am the goal, the sustainer, the lord, the witness, the abode, the refuge, the friend, the origin, the dissolution, the foundation, the receptacle and the imperishable seed.
I give heat, I send forth and withhold the rains, I am immortality as well as death; I am, O Arjuna, both being and non-being.
9:20, 21: Those who know the three Vedas, who drink the soma, whose sins are purified by sacrificial worship of Me, and who pray for passage to the heavenly planets, such holy people attain the planet of Lord Indra and there enjoy the celestial pleasures of the devas in heaven.
After enjoying the vast heavenly planets, their pious merits being well spent, they again enter this mortal world. Thus following the laws of the three Vedas, they go and return due to their desire to desire.
9:22: But those who worship Me with undeviated intent, who have no other object and who are are always yoked in devotion, upon them I confer happiness and carry them through.
9:23, 24: Also those who are devotees of other gods, and who worship them, endowed with faith, they actually worship Me alone, O son of Kunti, but by a lesser method.
I indeed am the Enjoyer and God of all sacrifices, but not knowing Me in truth they fall down.
9:25: Those who worship the gods go to the gods, those who worship the ancestors go to the ancestors, those who worship ghosts go to the ghosts, but those who worship Me go to Me.
9:26: If one offers Me a leaf, a flower, a fruit or some water with devotion I will accept it. I accept what is offered by one whose mind is pure.
9:27: Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer (in sacrifice), whatever you give away (in charity), whatever austerities you perform, O child of Kunti, do it all as an offering unto Me.
9:28: Thus freed from auspicious and inauspicious fruitive reactions, you will be liberated from the bondage of karma [action]. With the mind firmly established in the yoga of renunciation, you will be liberated and come to Me.
9:29: I am equitable towards all beings; none are hateful and none are dear to Me. But those who worship Me with devotion are in Me and I am in them.
9:30, 31: Even if one's actions are abominable, if such a one worships Me with exclusive devotion that person should be considered virtuous due to that integral determination.
Such a person soon becomes a righteous soul and attains eternal peace. O child of Kunti, boldly declare that My devotee shall never perish! (source: https://allfaith.com/Religions/Hinduism/gita9.html)"God is One,
The Sages use different names."
Hope this clarifies matters,
~ Jagannatha Prakasa
Jai Jagannatha! |
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