Relationship with ishvara

As a human being you have many relationships. Which means you are related to your wife, to your parents and siblings, to your children, to your emplyers, to your country, to the flora and fauna and everything.

There is a certain relationship here.

This relationship is defined in a certain way, some are acknowledged and some are not acknowledged. For eg: while we are deeply involved in our personal and professional relationship, we are not so involved in our relationship with the flora fauna or planet.

Others such as environmental activists are probably more involved.

One also has a relationship with oneself, which is , a sense of self approval-disapproval ( it’s a range and spectrum and its dynamic) which is very much based on the other relationships.

Which means one is related to the parents and siblings and to the wife and children and to the employer , and the reactions in that relationship governs primarily ones own sense of self approval or disapproval. Although the relationship with onself is primarily governed by other relationships, at the same time, the one who deduces self approval or disapproval is ultimately oneself.

Now what Vedanta does, is brings into this relationship, ishvara.

What is ishvara here? We think in talking about the various relationships, we have already  talked about all possible relationships.

What is this new relationship, called ishvara relationship?

Let us spend some time to understand it.

It is very true that the effect of actions on relationships in our life is not understandable. It is not like operating a computer. We do not know if pressing enter, will really send the cursor to the next line ( in a human relationship, unpredictable relationships)

Yet everywhere in nature we are witness to order, we see there is order and intelligence everywhere starting from the human body , upto the planets and weather and animals and psychology and physiology and what not. There is an intelligent order.

This is given, but still we haven’t discussed about our relationship to this?

When we are engaged in our relationship with any human, or with nature, there is a law or order that governs the relationship.

When you talk to your parents there is a certain expectation or law, that governs it. When you run 5 miles each day, there is a certain intelligence or order you trust that will reduce your weight, when you  do your day job on a computer, there are certain physical laws that you trust in, when you are walking on this earth there is a law of gravity that you are trusting in , to make sure you don’t fly away.

As you live, you trust that you will be breathing, and your heart beats on its own.

As you cook and eat, you trust that you know what is good for your health and you trust in that order that if you eat this much you will feel happy.

This order is an intelligent orderly existence. And intelligence implies knowledge. Knowledge implies a conscious entity, which means a knowledgeable entity.

In fact there is continuous evolution, and nature responds to changes. We are still not sure about how and why or so many things, but we know there is some law or order that governs it, and as scientists we try to study it.

So each and every moment we are governed and are in relationship with this order.

This order is what hindus call as ishvara.

We go one step further, we talk about the order governing every action and its result through the law of karma. The order is present , the orderly being is present, ishvara is present in as the order of dharma. When our actions confirm to dharma we are in harmony with the order. When our actions are against dharma, the order responds with painful experiences.

This order is a wholesome order, it has  certain intelligence that pertains to this creation.

Hence ishvara becomes the srushti sththi and srshti laya.

Isn’t that true in our experience. Isnt an order governing our actions and its results every moment?

When I type, the words appear on screen, is it ‘me’ that makes this work? Or is it the order?

When my heart beats, who makes it breath.

When I hear a sound, who makes the sound to be heard?

So nobody can deny the permanent relationship with ishvara.

If ishvara were a person, then we can have a special relationship with him.

Some people believe that too. They say there is ‘my god’ and ‘your god’ is not the same.

Your god is false.

God is god, there is only one god. In fact there is only god.

You cant find something outside of god. If you find something outside god, then where is the outside, means god is inside space. Then who created space? God cant create space sitting inside space. So is he outside space? No he cant be, since concept of inside and outside arises due to space exists. So then only alternative is god IS space. Which means the spaceness  IS god, which means god IS AS space, god IS as time, god IS as gravity , god IS as air, fire, water, earth as all elements and all the different things.

Then what shall we conclude, are there possibly many gods? Which means space god, time is a god, air is a god and so on? Then where is the ruler of all these, what keeps them together as one whole universe?

We can say that is one biggest god, that god is formless god, and he rules the other gods with form, like a CEO.

Like an organization has a leader, one Parama order One ring that rules them all.

So we can say these are not the same god, but various gods.But there is one supreme god.

This is a valid hypothesis and is not against reason.

The supreme god created all other gods and humans as well.

This is the dvaita point of view.

Some look at this as pure dvaita, where the supreme lord does not include you and the devatas.Is that possible? , if supreme lord does not include all others, the where did intelligence and material come for all other gods and humans? That means there will be another supreme lord, which means we need another overarching supreme supreme, and this will go on to ad infinitum.

So obviously we have to now negate that assumption and get down to visishta advaita.

We say the smaller gods and humans are all a ‘part’ of the supreme lord. Which means I am a part of that lord.

Whoever if I am a part of that lord, how can I have free will, I can if supreme lord allows it.

Also let me consider I am part of that supreme lord, so when I die, does a part of supreme lord diminish?

No it can’t that’s not logical, how can supreme lord diminish, which now means this supreme lord remains supreme in my absence or presence.Even after I die, when I say I die, I refer to the body, the body is the five elements , so the supreme lord is who controls and has as his part all 5 elements, does not undergo any change. Then what changes? what changes is the laws that mix the different elements. Laws connect the elements, based on certain degree of knowledge. That is what creation is , full of knowledge, properties and laws and behavior.

Material is also subject to conversion.

When water is heated it becomes vapor or air, so the different parts of god are undergoing changes.

So what is the material of god, its not water, or air, or space alone, since these are subject to change since water becomes air, liquid changes to gas and gas particles disintegrate when heated.

So what is god now, we know the effects of god, we know his parts change in nature and we know he exists in the form of laws and we know he governs all, including our body and mind and psychological order, and he gives us free will, but what is this god?What is his essence, this we don’t know.

We are given a means of knowledge by god himself to know this.

It is called vedas.

Vedas tell us, ishavasyam sarvam idam, all that is here is ishvara.

And svarupa of ishvara is satchitananda.

Which means non negatable existence which is conscious.

What is existence? We know that, something is, is existence, but I don’t know god still, what is conscious, I know that, how? I know that since, I am conscious.

I know, I am a knower, I can know various things.

I am a conscious being.

I am aware of objects and my own body.

But I don’t know god still.

Now shastra says, this satchit svarupa god, became al this.

As we established earlier there is a conscious being, who is all knowing.

And he himself is the universe.

I am also a conscious being, not all knowing. I know and have limited powers.

But I know I have limited powers, I also know ishvara has unlimited powers.

But shastra doesn’t stop me here, it questions me, do you know who you are?

Do you know you are not this body mind?

This body mind is ishvara already, then who are you?

You are , it says, which means I am.

I am includes knowing that I am and the fact of my existence.

It is knowledge and existence. My satchit svarupa, which is I, I am satchit svarupa, alone.

I am svarupa alone.

I am svarupananda.

Ananda svarupa.

I am the truth.

This I am is the ishvara.there is no other ishvara.

Other than me.and that is what is advaitam.

One without a second.