A Study of the Bhagavata Purana or Esoteric Hinduism Part 8

1 Manvantara = 12,000 x 1,000 -------------- = 8,57,142 6/7 Deva years.

14

1 Deva year = 360 Lunar years.

12,000,000 x 360 1 Manvantara = ---------------- = 3,37,142,657 1/2 Lunar years.

14

The Manvantaras have their Ma.n.u.s, successors of Ma.n.u.s, Rishis and Devas.

The Rishis, Indras, and Devas appear together.

In the daily creation of Brahma, Animals, Men, Pitris and Devas are born according to their own Karma.

During the Manvantara, Bhagavan preserves this universe by His own Satva, directly as Manvantara Avataras and indirectly as Ma.n.u.s and others. When Pralaya approaches, Bhagavan withdraws His Saktis (or powers). Triloki is then burnt up by fires from the mouth of Sankarshana. Bhrigu and other dwellers of Mahar Loka proceed to Jana Loka. The waters of Pralaya sweep away everything before them. In that watery expanse, Hari remains seated upon the coils of Ananta, with His eyes closed.

With every Day and Night, the age of Brahma declines. He lives for one hundred years only. Half of Brahma's age is called Pararddha. The first Pararddha has expired, the second has commenced with our Kalpa. Every day of Brahma is called one Kalpa.

At the beginning of the first Pararddha was Brahma Kalpa, when Brahma or the present Kosmos was born.

At the end of the first Pararddha was Padma Kalpa, when the Loka-Padma (the lotus of Lokas) appeared at the navel of Hari.

The first Kalpa of the second Pararddha, which is the present Kalpa, is called Varaha Kalpa. Hari incarnated as Varaha or Boar during this Kalpa.

The two Pararddhas are but a wink of Bhagavan. Kala cannot measure him.

[1 Day of Brahma = 12,000,000 Deva years, 1 Night of Brahma = 12,000,000 Do.

------------- 24,000,000 Do.

Multiplying by 360 --------------- 1 year of Brahma = 8,640,000,000 Deva years.

Multiplying by 100 ------------------ Age of Brahma = 864,000,000,000 Deva years.

Multiplying by 360 ----------------------- 31,10,40,00,00,00,000 Lunar years.

1 Kali Yuga, including Twilight (Sandhya and Sandhyansa) = 1,200 X 360 = 4,32,000 Lunar years.

Varaha Kalpa = 50 X 360 + 1 = 180001st Kalpa.

The present is the seventh Manvantara of that Kalpa.

The present Kali Yuga is the 28th Yuga of that Manvantara and 4,994 years of that Yuga have expired in the present year of Christ 1894.

THEOSOPHICAL CORRESPONDENCES. The words Kalpa and Manvantara are carelessly used in Theosophical literature. But I shall use those terms, specially with reference to page 309 of the second volume of the _Secret Doctrine_ (first edition.)

1 Kalpa = 7 Rounds.

1 Round = 2 Manvantaras.

The Pralaya at the end of seven Rounds therefore means the Pralaya of Triloki.

The last Globe Chain of which the Moon formed a living planet belonged to Padma Kalpa. Our Globe D is the 18001st since the birth of the Kosmos. There will be 17999 more such Globes, one after each Pralaya of Globe Chains. There will be 18000 more Pralayas of the Globe Chain. Then there will be a general dissolution or Prakritika Pralaya, not only of the Globe Chain, but of the whole Kosmic system.

V.-THE CREATION BY BRAHMA (_Continued_) III. 12.

The first creation of Brahma was the five-fold Avidya, _viz_: -

1) Tamas or ignorance of Self (Avidya in Patanjali.) 2) Moha or egoism (Asmita.) 3) Maha Moha or desire for enjoyment (Raga).

4) Tamisra or mental disturbance on the non-fulfilment of desires (Dvesha).

5) Andha Tamisra or false perception of death (Abhinives'a).

Brahma was not pleased with this dark creation. He purified his soul by meditation on Bhagavan and created Sanaka, Sananda, Sanatana and Sanatk.u.mara. These Munis had no performances (for their own evolution).

They were Urdha-retas. Brahma, addressing them, said - "Sons, go and multiply yourselves." But they sought Moksha, and heeded him not. Brahma got enraged at the disobedience of his sons, and, though he tried to put down his anger, it burst forth from between his eye-brows and appeared as k.u.mara Nila-Lohita or Blue-Red. The boy, the first born of Devas, wept and cried out to Brahma - "Give me names and give me abodes." "That shall be done," replied Brahma, "and, as thou wept like a boy, thou shalt be called Rudra or the Weeper. The heart, the Indriyas, Prana, akasa, Vayu, Agni, Apas, Prithvi, the Sun, the Moon and Tapas are your abodes. Manyu, Manu, Mahinasa, Mahan, Siva, Ritadhvaja, Ugra-retas, Bhava, Kala, Bamadeva and Dhrita-vrata these are thy eleven names; Dhi, Dhriti, Rasaloma, Nijut, Sarpi, Ila, Ambika, Iravati, Svadha, Diksha and Rudrani, these are thy wives. Beget sons, as thou art Praj.a.pati." Thus ordered, Nila-Lohita begot sons like unto himself in might, form and habits. The Rudras became numerous, and they spread all round the Universe ready almost to devour it. Brahma became afraid of his creation, and, addressing himself to Rudra, said - "O Chief of Devas, desist from such creation. Thy progeny with their fiery eyes are consuming all and even consuming me. Take to Tapas for the joy of all beings. By Tapas thou shalt create the Universe as it was of yore. By Tapas thou shalt gain that Bhagavan who dwells in all hearts." "Amen,"

said Rudra, and he went into the forests to make Tapas.

Brahma then begot ten sons: - Marichi, Atri, Angirasa, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Bhrigu, Vasishtha, Daksha and Narada. Narada came from Brahma's bosom, Daksha from his thumb, Vasishtha from his Prana, Bhrigu from his skin, Kratu from his hands, Pulaha from his navel, Pulastya from his ears, Angirasa from his mouth, Atri from his eyes and Marichi from his Manas.

Dharma came from Brahma's right breast, where Narayana himself dwells.

Adharma, the parent of Mrityu (or Death) came from his back. Kama came from his heart, Anger from his eye-brows, Greed from the lower lip. Vak or speech came from his mouth, the Seas from his generative organ and Death from his a.n.u.s.

Kardama, the husband of Devahuti, was born of Brahma's Chhaya or shadow.

So there was creation out of the body and the mind of Brahma. Brahma took a fancy to his daughter Vak (or speech). Marichi and his other sons dissuaded him from the incestuous connection. And the Creator in shame gave up his body which was taken up by s.p.a.ce and which is known as dewy darkness. "How shall I bring back all the previous Creation?" So thought Brahma at one time, and the four Vedas appeared from his four mouths.

The Yajnas, the Upavedas, the Philosophies, the four parts of Dharma, and the duties of asramas also appeared.

Brahma had another body void of incestuous impulses and he thought of enlarging the Creation. But he found himself and the Rishis, powerful though they were, unsuccessful in this respect. He thought there was some unforeseen impediment, so he divided his body into two. A pair was formed by that division. The male was Svayambhuva Manu and the female was his wife Satarupa. Since then creation multiplied by s.e.xual intercourse. Svayambhuva Manu begot five children in Satarapa - two sons, Priyavrata and Uttanapada, and three daughters, akuti, Devahuti and Prasuti. He gave Akuti in marriage to Ruchi, Devahuti to Kardama and Prasuti to Daksha. This changing universe is filled with their progeny.

PRE-MANVANTARIC CREATION.

The descent of Spirit into Matter is indicated by the overshadowing Tamas creation, The individuals reach the spiritual plane at the time of Pralaya and lose all sense of I-ness. Their memory becomes perfectly dead to all previous connections and experiences and even as to self as a distinct unit. The child starts with a body of his own, and faculties limited to that body. The Jiva children that came into existence at the beginning of the Universe had however nothing peculiar to themselves, and they had even to acquire the sense of I-ness.

First, the Jiva identifies himself with his body and mind, his own phenomenal basis. For, if he identifies himself with the universal spirit, there is no action for him, no working out of his own Karma.

Though from the standpoint of the highest wisdom individuality is a delusion, for the one unchangeable ever-lasting element in Jiva is atma, and at the final stage of development man has to separate himself from his phenomenal basis and to identify himself with atma, which is the real self, still the sense of separateness is necessary for the process of creation and for the gaining of experiences. This sense is two-fold,--

1) The non-perception of atma as Self, called Avidya by Patanjali and Tamas in the Puranas, and 2) The perception of the _upadhi_ as self, called Asmita by Patanjali and Moha in the Puranas.

Attachment and aversion, likes and dislikes, are equally necessary for continued individual action. The Jiva eats what he likes and does not eat what he dislikes. He a.s.sociates himself with certain objects, ideas and thoughts and shuns others. His likes and dislikes form the guiding principle of his actions. These affinities are called Raga and Dvesha by Patanjali and Maha Moha and Tamisra in the Puranas.

The tenacious desire to live in the present body is called Abhinivesha by Patanjali. This desire becomes an instinct in the Jiva, so necessary is it for his preservation. The Puranas call it Andha-Tamisra. Sridhara explains it as the shock we receive from a separation from all our present enjoyments. For, according to him, the idea of death is nothing but a sense of separation from our present enjoyments.

These forms of Avidya were called into being that the forms of the previous Kalpa might be brought into existence, or that the work of creation might be undertaken. These faculties are the very essence of life manifestation. But the process has now been reversed. The work of creation is over. We have acquired the experiences of earth-life, and we are now destined to take a journey back to our home, the bosom of ishvara, from which we all came. We have now to undo our sense of separateness. The five forms of Avidya are therefore called miseries (klesha) by Patanjali and he lays down rules for getting rid of them.

After invoking Avidya, Brahma created the k.u.maras, who were the most spiritual of the beings to be created. They were so spiritual, that they could not take any part in the work of creation. They had to bide their time, till there was spiritual ascent in the Universe.

The Rudras, called the Blue-Red k.u.maras, come next. Though highly spiritual themselves they did not object to take part in the work of creation. But as real factors in the work of dissolution, they were entirely out of place in the work of creation. We owe our idea of separateness or individuality to the Rudras. In the scale of universal life the agencies of dissolution carve out individual lives and their mission ends there.

The ten Rishis form the next Creation. Further descent of life in the Universe brought forth ten distinct types of Intelligence. We shall consider these types later on. Then comes the story of Brahma's incest.

Brahma could not directly take part in the Creation. His task was simply to bring back the former state of things through a graduated series of intermediaries. First appeared those that had to hold cosmic positions of responsibility, some throughout the Kalpa and others throughout the Manvantara. With the powers invoked, the temptation to evolve an independent Creation with the help of Vach, the potency of Mantras had to be got over. This done, Brahma thought of the Monads of the previous Kalpa, and the first Manu appeared with his wife Sata-rupa or Hundred-formed. All forms of Creation existed in Idea before further manifestation, and Sata-rupa was the collective aspect of all such Ideas.