Anonymous: Maharaj Ji Pranam. As it has been told that God, Souls and Prakriti are the three eternal parts of the creation. Would be kind to throw light on the following facts:-
1. After pralaya, whether the same souls are again born or fresh souls are created ?
2. If the same souls are born, whether the spiritual progress done in the previous births is carried forward or a fresh start is made.
3. Whether there is any evolution in the management of the world by God with cycles of creation and destruction or it remains the same ?
4. Whether God is perfect or evolving? In some writings, it is told that God is ever evolving with the evolution of the souls.
5. It is told that if we live according to vedas, God becomes happy ? Does that mean that God is directly involved in the life on earth? If God becomes happy by our acts, then it means God also has emotions and thus, bondage.
6. It is said prakriti is Jad. But life is ever developing on earth. How cam Jad prakriti express life?
7. If there are no Gods or Avatars, then how is this huge life system in the inner and outer world managed?
Swami Ram Swarup: My blessings to you. Yes, the Vedas preach about Traitwad i.e. alive matter God and souls and third is non-alive matter prakriti, by which universe is created.
Three eternal and everlasting matters:-
Several persons explain its meaning that there is only on God and nothing else i.e., except God there is nothing. They tell that there is neither prakriti nor soul and not even the creation which is being seen. Learned of Vedas do not accept it
Eternal knowledge of Vedas which emanates direct from God only preaches “Traitvad”. In Traitwad, there exist three matters:
(1) God(Ishwar)
(2) Souls( Jeev)
(3) Prakriti(Prakriti)
God and souls are alive whereas Prakriti is non-alive matter.
From Prakriti, all the matters of universe are created. But neither from God nor soul any matter is created. Soul can never be God being unchangeable and God can also never be soul being unchangeable. Soul due to the attraction towards prakriti is indulged in illusion and forgets his original form of immortal peace, purity etc. and has to face the birth and death again and again.
But Almighty being the commander of the souls and prakriti, is never attracted towards prakriti. He always remains purified. So, God cannot forget his original form and is never indulged in any kind of illusion. Therefore, everything like tree, tube light, stone, electric fan are made of prakriti and hence can never be God.
So, the meaning of Eko Brahma Dweetya na Asti will be, there is only one God equivalent to whom no other God exists. Besides this, Yajurveda mantra 27/36 states-‘Na Jataha Na janishyate’ i.e., there is only one Formless, Almighty, immortal God and equivalent to this, neither any other God was born, nor shall be born.
“CREATION”
The creation is eternal and automatic. There is no date of creation of the following:
(A) Almighty God who is alive, immortal, formless, creates, nurses and destroys the universe. He never indulges in any maya, mahamaya, illusion and deeds (good or bad. Yajurveda Mantra 40/8 and Yog shastra Sutra 1/26 also refer)
(B) Soul: Soul is alive, the purest, away from sins etc. but illusion covers the soul due to which soul forgets his original form and hence remains in sorrows, problems etc.
C) Prakriti: Non-alive and has three qualities. i.e., Raj, tam, Satva. At a proper time, the power of God acts in prakriti and the universe is created. So the creation is eternal and automatic.
Raj, Tam and Satva are the three qualities of prakriti. When the said gunnas remain idle dormant i.e., do not work, then combination of these three gunnas(qualities) in dormant stage is called prakriti and this time is called “final destruction” of the universe. When an appropriate time comes, the creation is to be started again. Then the power of God works in the above three gunnas i.e., in the prakriti and immediately the creation starts. Rajo gunn is a sign of sensuousness etc., Tamo gunn signifies laziness and sato gunn signifies ego, pride. Our human body is also made of the said three gunnas.
Vedas tell that there are three eternal/immortal matters- first: Almighty God, second: souls, third: prakriti. Almighty God creates, nurses and destroys the universe and again creates it. The said process of creation is eternal/immortal/everlasting. Almighty God creates the universe from prakriti. When the raj, tam and satva gunnas of prakriti remain idle (dormant condition/inactive) then creation does not take place. At an appropriate time, a power of Almighty God acts in prakriti (i.e., in Raj, tam and satva gunnas). Immediately the process of creation starts and the first matter of prakriti is made which is called –Mahat i.e., mind; from Mahat- ahankar is made, from ahankar panch (5) tan matrayein, from panch (5) tanmatrayein, panch (5) mahabhoot are created. From panch mahabhoot, the entire matter of universe i.e., Sun, Moon air, water, our bodies, bodies of other living beings etc., are created. The whole creation is thus created from prakriti and remains still (in active) like a statue. This creation is called non-sexual creation. In the said creation, the young human bodies are created which are neither old nor babies. Then by the power of God, in the said bodies, breathing system (prann vaayu) starts operating. At last, God enters into the universe and immediately all the humans and other living beings become alive and start functioning. Similarly, the non-alive matters like Sun, moon, earth, air, water etc., start their respective functions.
Creation, Science, worldly matters etc., is not possible until the same is created by someone. Secondly, knowledge is attained when knowledge is imparted by someone.
Rigved mantra 10/129/ 1-6 throw light about creation that at that time, there was nothing and no living beings did exist. So there was no learned acharya who could give the knowledge to the newly created living beings like parents who educate the children to make them able to speak language and to know about the matters like crow, animals, chapati, ghee, sun, moon i.e., all matters of the world. See, if a newly born baby is managed to live in dense jungle and nursed well but he is not given education about the worldly matters etc. i.e., mathematics, science, animals, sun, moon etc., then even at the young age of 20-25, 30 years, he will not be able to speak any language and when he will be brought out of the cave of dense jungle and will be asked about the sun, moon, animals, birds before him, then he will not be able to reply because he was not given the said knowledge.
When we see towards sun, moon, air, space, human body etc. It is clearly understood that the said creation has not been made by any human being but Almighty God, from whom the knowledge of four Vedas emanates. In Vedas, the knowledge right from straw to Brahma has been mentioned. So in the beginning of non-sexual earth, the Vedas originated in the heart of four rishis: Agni, Vaayu, Aditya and Angira, and from the rishis the knowledge of science, deeds and worship along with every matter is being given to the public by which the public became educated scientist and wrote books, etc.
In Vedas as well as in fourth chapter of Yog Shastras of Rishi Patanjali, it is mentioned that those who do not believe in God are provided more and more facilities by nature and such people get spoiled etc.
On the contrary those who worship God, they naturally try to kill their desires and accordingly under the law, nature, help them to follow the true path to realize the God.
It is also pertinent to mention here that in Vedas, there is no mention of avtarwad or any proper noun, please. Vedas do not even contain any story or past, present or future life of anyone. Vedas contain knowledge i.e., entire science, form of deeds/duties and worship of God. Actually Vedas give knowledge right from straw to Brahma (God) of entire universe.
All four Vedas tell to worship a formless, Almighty, omnipresent, omniscient God who creates, nurses and destroys the universe. God was one, is one and shall ever remain one. He is unchangeable, unchallengeable and beyond description. He has unlimited qualities and thus unlimited names but is one. Because He is Almighty and needs no help of anyone to create, nurse and destroy the universe therefore no need to take avtar.
1.) First of all, we must know that souls are neither borne nor created. Souls are immortal. So, immortal souls based on bad or good deeds are awarded human or animal or insect bodies etc. which are innumerable i.e. why Vedas preach that when soul based on previous lives’ deeds attain human body then his main motto of life is only to follow Vedic path to destroy illusion and sorrows to attain salvation.
2.) If the souls follow vedic path then his all worship and pious deeds will be carried forward otherwise not.
3.) Creation, nursing and destruction of the universe is natural, eternal and everlasting and takes place under the control of Almighty God.
4.) God is perfect in all respects. That is why, He is called Almighty.
5.) See, action is based on its reason. Though, the creation is natural but the reason of attaining the human-body is to worship God according to Vedas to destroy sorrows to further attain salvation.
Now, when God Who is like our Father sees that His children (aspirants) after getting human-body obey Him and thus follow Vedic path, naturally He will be Happy. Otherwise, He punishes the culprits. The said actions are also natural i.e., take place automatically. I would like to mention here that everybody will have to listen to Vedas from learned Acharya to know some secrets of Vedas and we must know that the main reason/motto of human-life is to please the God by obeying His Vedic preach. The Vedic constitution is based on natural rules and regulations which take place automatically.
So, if a person by obeying God pleases Him/makes Him happy, it is his (person’s) own benefit and own moral duty entrusted to him in Vedas. God has nothing to do with same. So, quoting word “happy” that God becomes happy if a person follows Vedas, is also a Vedic rule which we must obey. Otherwise, natural principles prevail i.e., who makes God happy would get happy life otherwise would face sorrows otherwise God never become emotional because He is hundred percent away from the bindings of all kinds of deeds. so, He never faces the result of deed. Therefore, question of being emotional never arises.
6.) Prakriti is jad, non-alive matter. Therefore, non-alive matter like sun, moon, earth, air, human-bodies and whole prakriti made universe is destructible. As regards developing of life, this matter relate to souls. Infact, number of souls are innumerable but are constant. Developing of life means developing of bodies of living-beings which are clearly seen on earth a few know that this development takes place when bodies of other living-beings living in oceans, air, forests, space, etc., (which are not being observed) are decreased. For example- several animals like ants, mosquitoes, insects, bacteria etc., meets with death daily. The souls of the said bodies based on karmas takes birth on the earth, which are seen by us and can be told that life is developing on earth. Otherwise, souls and bodies of all living-beings always remains constant. Therefore, in any circumstances, number of souls and bodies of human-bodies remain always constant.
Your answer requires study of Vedas. Huge life system and every happening of the world is controlled by Almighty, Formless God. As I told earlier, God is Almighty, so He needs not to take any help from any living-being etc. In this connection, Yajurved mantra 31/3 refers.
Whom to worship?
Yajurveda mantra 31/3 states “AJ EK PAAD” i.e., God is immortal and one. Yajurveda mantra states “PATIREK ASEET” i.e., there is only one God who creates the
universe Rig-Veda mantra 10/129/1-4 states that there is only one God who is the commander of Souls and Prakriti made universe. Yajurveda mantra states that there is only one God who
creates, nurses and destroys the universe and no other God is even equivalent to the said God then what to talk about being greater than Him.
So we have to worship the said God only who is formless, omnipresent, omniscient who creates, nurses and destroys the universe. Yajurveda mantra 31/7 also states that from the said
God only (who is one and unchangeable) the knowledge of four Vedas emanates. As regards Avatar, it is not mentioned in four Vedas which is divine, immortal preach of God. Preach of God is only in the shape of four Vedas. Thereafter, Rishi-muni, tapasvis, Yogis who studied Vedas and did hard practice of Ashtang Yoga, gained knowledge of Vedas and wrote six Shastras, Upanishads, Valmiki Ramayana, Mahabharata and other holy books. Vedas are considered authentic. The literary works of Rishis whose views are according to Vedas are acceptable but where the books or ideas of anyone do not tally with Vedas, the learned do not accept it, being unauthentic.
7). The mantra clearly states that God does not need to do any action but His small power controls the universe.
