Dasha Mula Tattva 5 – The Absolute Truth and its energies are one in synthesis, different in analysis

So here, let that Supreme Lord be glorified, who is free from, who is the source of three energies, the transcendental energy, the achit shakti and the jiva shakti. And although he has these three shaktis, which work according to his energy, but none of them are actually, he is not affected by any of them.

He is himself transcendental. So now, the point of this verse is something which is important to understand. In Vedanta, there are broad, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, there are two broad schools of thought.

One is called Satkaryavada, and the other is called Asatkaryavada. Satkaryavada means that the cause is, the effect is present in the cause. So, for example, a mango tree is present in the mango, in the mango seed.

This is Satkaryavada. The idea is that the effect is present in a latent form in the cause. So, the effect is a development of the cause, we would say.

Asatkaryavada is the idea that the effect and cause are different. The effect is not present in the cause, rather the effect is a complete transformation of the cause. The idea in Satkaryavada is, that if the effect were present in the cause, then what would be the basis for really differentiating between the effect and the cause? We could say the effect is just a transformation of the cause.

So, what is the need for this sort of, now what is this got to do with philosophy we may say? What is Satkaryavada and Asatkaryavada got to do with any philosophy? See, in general, any person who has believed in God, has always got this question sooner or later, why is there evil in this world? Why, if God is good, is there suffering in this world? So, in the western, especially in Christian theology, they have tried to find an answer to this by saying that this world is not controlled by God. They say currently, because Adam sinned against God, so, when Adam accepted the advice of the serpent, most of you know the story, Adam and Eve were in the garden of Eden, at that time, Satan came in the form of serpent and tempted Eve to take the forbidden apple, and then Eve persuaded Adam and then both of them had the forbidden apple. So, from that time onwards, by accepting the seduction, the temptation offered by Satan, Adam and Eve chose to come under the control of Satan.

So, this world is not controlled by God, it is controlled by Satan. And Satan causes all kinds of sufferings to people in this world. But if we stay faithful to God, ultimately God will defeat Satan and those who have been faithful to God will be redeemed.

That is their idea. So, the idea is, this world has some evil and that evil is caused by Satan. That is their idea.

So, broadly, there have been two distinct schools of thought. One is that there is good and there is evil. And there is an eternal war between good and evil.

That there are some religions which have this kind of theology. Then these are usually not considered theistic religions. They are considered as a particular technical term for them.

They are almost like bi-theistic. There is good and there is evil and both are very powerful. Whereas, if you look at the Vedic understanding, Krishna says, So, he focuses not so much on the specific evils within this world, such as, why do children die when they are still young? Why do children die when they are still small, small boys, small children? Why do young people sometimes get some terrible diseases and die? These are serious problems.

But the Vedic vision goes deeper and says, why does anyone die at all? Why does anyone fall sick at all? So, within the framework of the world, premature death, premature disease, these are evils. But if you look at the broad framework of the world itself, old age, disease, death, they are evils. And they are something which visit everyone.

So, why are they there at all? So, now, a basic definition of the absolute truth is that, the absolute truth is the source of everything. So, now, if this world is characterized by so much misery, and God is supposed to be good, and if God is the absolute truth, then the world has come from him. So, how is this world related with him? If God is good, God is full of Anandmaya Brahma, then how is this Dukhamaya Jagat come from God? This is a question that often eludes easy philosophical answers.

So, that's why now, the Satkaryavada and Asatkaryavadis, Satkaryavada says the effect is present in the cause. That means, this world is already present in God and from him this is emanated. Asatkaryavadis, no, the absolute truth is completely pure.

This world has got nothing to do with it. This world is entirely different. So, now, in Mayavada, so, the Buddhist thought is a follower of Asatkaryavada.

Whatever they say shunya, whatever that shunya is, that is a different state of existence. This world is a different state of existence. And how we came here? The Buddha, when he taught, his teachings were primarily pragmatic.

He never got too much into philosophy. When people were asking philosophical questions, he would just avoid answers. For example, one time somebody asked, Are you a sage? He says, No.

Are you a God? He says, No. So, are you the Brahman? He says, No. What are you? I am awake.

Now, what is that awakeness? You need not answer only. So, another time somebody came and asked him, Is the soul the same as the body? He said, He stayed silent. Is the soul different from the body? He stayed silent.

And the person just got frustrated and walked away. A disciple asked him, Why didn't you answer the question? He said that, whatever I would have spoken, because his foundation of asking the question is illusion, whatever I would have spoken, he would have argued with me based on that foundation of illusion. So, his focus was more on, less on theology, less on philosophy and more on practical ethics.

That live properly. Live morally. Stop killing animals.

Stop being violent. And that pragmatic. Pragmatic means practical.

Pragmatic approach was what attracted many people to Buddhism. But over a period of time, as Buddhism became bigger and bigger, Buddhists also tried to come up with their own philosophy. Because they also wanted intellectual respectability.

So, subsequent generations of thinkers, some of them came up with the idea that Buddha never talked about a soul at all. So, it is paradoxical that Christianity accepts a soul without reincarnation. And Buddhism accepts reincarnation without soul.

So, if you ask Buddhists, what is it that reincarnates? They say that is a question which for 2500 years our philosophers have not been able to find answer to. So, they say there is some concentration of karma which exists in a certain form and that goes from body to body and when we become attain nirvana, everything dissolves. So, they have many different theories.

But the point is, they say that chunya, whatever that state is, that is completely different from this world. The Vedic philosophy is definitely not asatkaryamata. It is not that the world and this are completely different.

Because whatever exists, janmadyasya taha. This is the starting sutra, Vedanta sutra. And in the Vedanta sutra, now the Vedanta is a school of thought which is accepted both by the Advaitins and Advaitins.

So, both the, if you take the Vedanta sutra, based on that, do we have a connector? Otherwise we can switch this off. Which is the connector? Switch it off. I think we don't need that.

No, we need a special MAC connector also. Which one? For the projector. Which of the projector I am saying? So, when we look at the Vedic philosophy, both the Advaitins and Advaitins, they accept the point that God or the absolute truth, whatever it is, He has to be understood through Vedas.

And primarily not just through the Vedas, but through the Vedanta. So, basically, both accept the same book, Vedanta, but they try to interpret it in different ways. So, Advaitins say that, this world, ultimately there is only one truth, called Brahman.

Sarvam khalnumidam brahman. Then if you ask them, how does this world come from? Where does this world come from? They say this world is Maya. So, then, now, what exactly do you mean by Maya? See, when we see there is an illusion, there has to be a perceiver of the illusion, who goes into it.

Isn't it? We can say a particular perception is an illusion. If I see a mirage in a desert, the perception is an illusion. But even for perceiving illusion, there has to be a real perceiver.

If there is no perceiver only, then there is no perception of illusion at all. So, if there is no observer, there cannot be any mirage also. So, the very existence of something called illusion, requires the existence of someone in truth, who becomes deluded.

So, who is it that is becoming deluded? And if there is only one homogeneous being called Brahman, beyond whom nothing exists, then the question comes, how can that be Brahman, which is the supreme being? How can that come under illusion? So, the Advaitic interpretation comes into lot of logical problems. So, for example, if there is only Brahman, there are three questions which come up. First is, who is it that is going into illusion? Brahman cannot go into illusion.

So, who is it going to illusion? Second is, where did the illusion come from? If Brahman is the source of everything and Brahman is free from illusion, so where did the illusion come from? And third is, how did the illusion become powerful enough to delude Brahman? So, it gets into a lot of logical fallacies. And then, they try to say that this whole thing is actually a Nirvachania. A Nirvachania means, it is all beyond words.

You cannot explain, you cannot understand in words, you cannot explain in words, how the Brahman comes into illusion. That's okay to say something is a Nirvachania, but then that makes an expression, okay, a Nirvachania means that something is beyond words. But, the Brahman is beyond words in terms of not being completely describable by words.

So, in the Vedanta Sutra commentary, Govinda Bhashyam, he says that if the Anirvachania of Brahman meant that it was utterly indescribable, then the Upanishads themselves cannot describe Brahman. Then the Upanishads would themselves not be able to describe Brahman. And even Anirvachaniata, the word Anirvachaniata is also a word, isn't it? So, to say that something is Anirvachania is also to give vacham to it.

Isn't it? So, for example, if I say, I can't speak even one word of English. Now, to say this, I can't speak even one word of English. I have spoken eight words already.

So, this is a self-contradictory statement. So, to take the Anirvachaniata literally as meaning that the Brahman is not understandable at all, is not verbalizable at all, that leads to logical absurdity. So, what the Vaishnavacharya has explained is.

So, what is the philosophical question we are discussing right now? Can anyone say? Problem of evil. That is the western terminology for it. But a little more in the broader context.

How does this world which is filled with suffering come from Brahman who is pure, who is full of bliss? That is the philosophical question which we are discussing right now. Otherwise, we will try to say this world itself is evil. But we discussed how it runs into a lot of logical problems.

Now, what is the Vaishnav understanding of this? That the Absolute Truth is not just one homogeneous whole. The Absolute Truth has diverse energies. What is the famous verse which talks about? Parasya Shaktir Vidhali Vashuryate Swabhavaki Gyanapallakriyache So, Parasya Shaktir Vidhali Vashuryate Many energies he has.

And these energies are Prabhupada writes there is analysis and there is synthesis. Now, analysis. Does anyone know what analysis means? Yes.

Analysis means to break down things into components. For example, if I want to understand a computer. So, then I understand.

This is the hard drive. This is the RAM. This is the memory card.

I can understand the computer. Analysis means to break things down. And synthesis means to? The opposite of that.

To bring things together. So, Prabhupada says that or Vaishnavacharya will explain that in synthesis the Absolute Truth is one. But in analysis the Absolute Truth has multiple energies.

And these multiple energies are at one level one with the Absolute Truth but at another level they are different also. So, the suffering in this world is not because of the Absolute Truth but rather it is because of the misuse of the independence by one of the energies of the Absolute Truth. So, now that means I think we need this flag.

So, we have say this is the Absolute Truth. And in relationship with the Absolute Truth there is as I said in this verse there is the Parashakti. Chit Shakti, Achit Shakti and Jiva Shakti.

So, Parashakti it is the spiritual world. All the living beings in the spiritual world are eternally situated there and eternally blissful there. Now, we all have free will.

Somebody will say why did God not have only the Chit Shakti alone? Then there was no scope for illusion at all. But the very existence of free will necessitates the existence of an arena where free will can be exercised even in an undesirable way. If you say you are free but you say you can't do this, this, this what kind of freedom is this? So, those souls who do not wish to serve God there has to be a scope for them also.

So, the Achit Shakti provides the scope for them. So, the Jiva Shakti this is the absolute truth and then the Chit Shakti, Achit Shakti and Jiva Shakti. Jiva Shakti is happily situated in the Chit Shakti with God.

But the very existence of free will means that there has to be an existence of Achit Shakti where Jiva can live separate from God. And the transformations of this world happen in the Achit Shakti not the Chit Shakti. All the changes that happen in this world they happen within this energy which is different from the Lord.

So, in certain situations we focus on the oneness of the energy with the Lord in certain situations we focus on the difference. So, for example if somebody is a Jain somebody just say Tihar Jain now is that person under the Indian government? Yeah, they are under the authority of the Indian government. But is the person in Tihar Jain under the Indian government in the same way as say an Indian government employee or an Indian army soldier? No, they are not working for the same cause.

So, if you want to in absolute geographical sense if you want to say yes their prisoners in Tihar Jain are also within the Indian government jurisdiction. But in a functional sense they are not really doing Indian government's will. They are not serving the Indian government's purpose.

So, from the point of view of the absolute truth being the source of everyone even the Jivas who rebel against Krishna are still in his jurisdiction. So, in that sense we are also one with him. But in the sense that we are currently acting the souls in this world are acting separate from Krishna's will.

In that sense we are separate. So, that's how the faults of this world do not create a fault in the absolute truth. Why? Because the absolute truth has given free will to the souls and whatever faults are there in this world that is created by the souls misuse of their free will.

And this arena where they can misuse their free will is also given by the absolute truth. That is not a fault. That is a magnanimity of the lord that he has given an arena for people to use their free will.

So, in this way the sutra what it stresses in the Tashvamudra for the sattva is that Hari has multiple energies. Now the third part, the last part of it is that Hari remains himself unchanged by these energies. He is always beyond all these changes.

What this means is that he is what is the word that he uses here? Vikaradai Shunya Vikara is transformation. Shunya means zero. Zero transformation.

That is the theory of infinite sets in mathematics. Now imagine if a hotel say we have our guest which has 30 rooms assume and 20 guests leave 30 guests fill the 30 rooms and then 20 guests leave the room. Then how many rooms are empty? Sorry? See, there are 30 guests in 30 rooms and out of which 20 guests leave the rooms.

Then how many will remain? 10 will remain. So, this is the novel mathematics. But suppose there are infinite rooms and there are infinite guests who come or infinite guests who leave.

See what will happen? There will be infinite capacity for them. 5 minus 5 will be zero but infinity minus infinity will still be infinity. So, it's a different set of logic.

So, like that the supreme absolute truth is infinite and because of that he is not affected by anything in this world. Just like if I have a small bucket of water and this is a rough example but it illustrates the point that if I have better example, let's do a bucket example then I'll give another example. A bucket of water and then it's relatively clean water and then I get one tumbler, one mug of dirty water.

If it's concentrated with dirt let's put that water and the whole water will become dirty. But if I have an ocean with flowing waves and then I put the dirty water, one tumbler that's not going to affect the ocean much because the ocean is so vast. So, in physics this is called the problem of measurement.

The problem of measurement is normally when we are measuring the temperature of our body. So, if I put a thermometer in my mouth or under my shoulder at that time I can measure the temperature. Then what happens? My body's temperature causes the thermometer's temperature to rise and that's how the thermometer gives a measure of my body's temperature.

But at the same time if the thermometer is very cold and if say there is a small baby you know his body is itself not very big just a newborn baby just one hand palm full of babies now it may well happen that the contact of the thermometer with the baby's mouth and baby's arm that will cool down the baby's temperature only. That's why the thermometer is cold. So, this is the problem at the atomic level that when we know Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principles that if we have we cannot measure the velocity and the position of an electron simultaneously.

Why? Because to measure the position of an electron we have to see the electromagnetic waves over there and only when the electromagnetic waves collide with the electron and then they combine then we understand this electron is over here. But at the very very microscopic level what happens we may understand that the electron is over here but the collision of the electron with that electromagnetic wave will change the velocity of the electron. So, as soon as I know the position I am unable to know the velocity.

Because the act of knowing the position changes the velocity. And if I know the velocity if I know the velocity is at this I measure at this place I measure at this place and I try to infer the velocity. But by the time I measure at this place this measurement has again changed its velocity.

So, when we come just as what applies to very small things applies to also very big things. We cannot apply our normal measurement scales or not scales, even principles normal measurement principles for measuring things which are very small or very big. So, the absolute truth is so big that nothing in the material world causes any change in the absolute truth.

Although, without the absolute truth nothing will change here. So, Krishna says in 13.34 of the Bhagavad Gita that just as the sun sun is far away and whatever happens on the earth does not affect the sun. But whatever changes on the earth changes because of the sun.

The sun rises, the plants grow over here the vegetation grows the seasons change. So, the sun is so far away that the changes on the earth don't affect the sun but without the sun no changes will be affected on the earth. So, like that the absolute truth is the cause of all causes.

Whatever happens whatever the Jeeva does whatever the Jeeva chooses right or wrong and none of that would happen without the absolute truth. But at the same time the absolute truth is not affected by any of these. In this way vikaradhyayi shunyam Now, what is the reason for understanding this vikaradhyayi shunyam? No, it is only when we understand the Supreme Lord is not partial to anyone that we can surrender to Him completely.

If we think some people say that when you pray to God you are flattering Him and because you flatter Him so then He gives some mercy to you. So, He is just a He is a small sycophant. No, the Lord is not affected by flattery.

He is pleased with sincere glorification because He wants our affection. But when He wants our affection that is not because of any sense of incompleteness. There are two different relationships.

Now, what happens with this? This conception of the absolute truth is beyond transformation. This leads to the problem the logical problem of why would the absolute truth form relationships? If you are completing yourself why do you need relationships? And that is the sattva which we will discuss.