11. Viewing Thee as their common ground, the Yoga (the school of ascetic practice) and the Sankhya (the school of knowledge) claim absolute truth for their respective views, but speak of Thee in divided and contradictory ways – the one positively as Personal Being with all auspicious attributes and a form, and the other negatively, denying all these and describing Thee as ‘not this, not this’. Thou art that Transcendent and Infinite Being, favourable to both these views alike. (What are called contradictions cease to be so in Thee, the Infinite Being who art both the Personal Deity and the Impersonal Absolute).
The Brihadaranyaka Upanisad states that the Brahman has two aspects – murta (with form) and amurta (formless). The Purunas accept both the aspects, but concentrated particularly on the murta aspect as it is more significant for a devotee. The amurta aspect is the Non-dual Absolute and the murta aspect is the Sakti or the manifesting
power of the amurta aspect in the absence of which the amurta aspect is indistinguishable from sunya. In the same way, if the murta aspect alone is accepted without the amurta aspect with the Infinite and the Absolute Being as its complement, the murta aspect will only become a limited aspect indistinguishable from an exalted man.
The Puranas in general and Bhagavata in particular accept the Supreme Being as both Murta and Amurta with a greater stress on the murta aspect and call Him the Bhagawan. The Bhagawan here is Param-purusa, the Supreme Person, but not an individual. He has an Archetytal Form which is a potential multi-form that can take any
form in which He is invoked. An anthropomorphic garb is put on Him, as man could think of Him only in terms of the highest that he could conceive of and that He is, in himself, in an idealized state of existence. So the Puranas depict the divine majesty of the Bhagawan through symbolic and supra-human descriptions that account for many
unearthly and unusual features. When the details of these descriptions are taken together as a whole, with a receptivity born of devotion, they make a tremendous impact of divine consciousness on the mind of man.
12. May that Infinite Being, the worshipful-Lord, who transcends name and form, but manifests Himself in many forms of suddha-sattva and under countless names as Deities and Incarnations, and performs various sportive actions for blessing the devotees, be propitious unto me!
Mythological epics refer to Divine Incarnations. They represent the actual descent of the Brahman in various mundane forms into the world, when evil prevails and good is about to be destroyed. The Immanent dwells in all souls and accompanies them in life and death. It is the Brahman residing in the spirit (atman) of man like lightning in a
cloud. The Incarnate as worshiped is the idol of God in various forms acceptable to devotees.
The Saguna Brahman is meant for the devotees. In other words, a devotee believes that God has attributes and reveals Himself to the devotee as a Person assuming the form he believes in. It is He who listens to the prayers of the devotee. The prayers are directed to Him alone.
A devotee, therefore, accepts Divine Incarnation in human form for worship. It provides an object of meditation and prayer resulting in mahabhava and prema.
God’s play on earth as an Incarnation is the manifestation of the glory of the Chit-sakti, the Divine power. That which is the Brahman is also Rama, Krishna and Siva.
The special manifestations of the Absolute are the Incarnations – the known and the knowable. God becomes the Incarnations in different ages to show us the way to
become perfect.
As long as I-consciousness exists, God reveals Himself as a Person to a devotee.
13. May He, the Lord of all, who, like the air that takes the smell of whatever it is in contact with, assumes the forms of Deities as conceived by even various crude cults according to the tendencies of the votaries, be propitious to me and grant my prayers. Ideal stimulations of the Cosmic Mind without any reference to history can become psychic verities of very great potency. Such verities are the deities worshipped by the Hindus like Vishnu, Siva, Sakti, etc. They never had location in earthly space and time except as images used in worship. They are the manifestations of the Supreme Being as Spiritual Verities before which what we call material objects are mere shadows.
The deities so worshipped are conceived of the gunas of sattva, rajas and tamas either in their pristine purity or in combination of two and more in different proportions. The deities conceived by people of crude cults will be predominantly of the guna of tamas, with a combination of the guna of rajas. The deities take the forms in which they are
conceived by their votaries and answer their prayers accordingly.
Sri Suka said:
14. Hymned in this way at the holy lake of Aghamarshana, the worshipful Lord, who loves His devotees, appeared before Daksha who extolled Him with deep faith and fervour.
15-18. He appeared seated on the shoulders of Garuda. He had eight powerful arms, sporting His discus, conch, sword, shield, arrow, bow, cord and mace. Blue like a rain cloud, clad in yellow cloth, serene in expression, and luminous with srivatsa mark and the kaustubha jewel, He appeared, framed in a wreath of wild flowers and leaves. He
was adorned with a great crown, bracelets, gleaming ear ornaments, girdle, rings, anklets, and armlets. Assuming a form impressive enough to dumbfound the three worlds of which He was the Lord, He appeared surrounded by sages and attendants like Narada, Nanda and other celestials.
The above is the description of the divine majesty of Bhagawan in a symbolic and supra-human way that account for many unearthly and unusual features. When the details of these descriptions are taken together as a whole, with a receptivity born of devotion, they make a tremendous impact of divine consciousness on the mind of man.
19. At the sight of this rare and wonderful form, followed by the hymning choir of siddhas, charanas and gandharvas, the Prajapati Daksha was awestruck.
20. With the mind overflowing with joy, he made full prostration to the Lord, falling before him like a stick. For a while he was not able to speak anything, as his mind was like a lake filled with the water of mountain-torrents flowing into it.
21. The Lord Hari, who knows the heart of all, now said as follows to that saluting Prajapatis desirous of progeny:
Sri Bhagawan said:
22. Oh son of Prachetasas! Oh noble one! You have become perfect by your austerity. For, your intense faith and devotion to Me has generated supreme love of Me in you.
23. Oh protector of men! I am much pleased with your austere practices, because they are meant for the good of the world. It is My wish that prosperity attends on all
beings.
24. Brahma, Bhava, Manus and you Prajapatis are all expressions of My power for working towards the prosperity and advancement of all beings.
25. Oh learned one! My heart is tapas consisting in the practice of inward concentration. My body is vidya consisting in the repetition of the sacred mantras in the proper way with all their auxiliaries. My form is kriya, the performance of the daily and occasional rites. The sacrificial rites (kratus) are my limbs. Dharma consisting in the apurva or the efficiency-potential of sacrifice is my mind. And the Devas receiving sacrificial offerings are my vital energy (prana).
The power or energy of the Infinite Consciousness, ever in motion, is the reality of all creation related to space and time. That power is also known as Mahasatta – the great existence, Mahaciti – the great intelligence, Mahasakti – the great power, Mahadrsti – the great vision, Mahakriya – the great doer or doing, Mahabhava – the great becoming and Mahaspanda – the great vibration. It is this power that endows everything with its characteristic quality. The Infinite Consciousness alone appears as one thing in one place and another in another place. There is no division between that Consciousness and Its power, as there is no division between the water and the waves, and the body and the limbs. That power or energy is not different from or independent of the Brahman.
26. At first I alone was, Pure Consciousness, transcending relations, devoid of within and without, and un-manifest. Nothing else there was. It was as if everything were in slumber. Ontologically All That Exists is Infinite Consciousness.
27. When in Me, the immeasurable and of infinite attributes, My Power Maya brought out My cosmic body (the Brahmanda), simultaneously Brahma, the original being and self-born one, also came into existence.
The pure Infinite Consciousness appears to become whatever forms It takes whenever It manifests Itself. The mountains, the forests, the earth, the celestial bodies in the cosmos are all but Infinite Consciousness. When the Infinite Consciousness in the form of life-breath enters into bodies and begins to vibrate various parts, it is said that those bodies are living. It is a small part of the Infinite Consciousness that becomes the intelligence in these bodies. This intelligence, entering into these bodies, brings into being the different organs like the eyes.
It is this intelligence, which is part of the Infinite Consciousness that fancies itself differently in different objects. When it fancies itself to be a rock, a tree, a bird, an animal, a human being, etc, it becomes so. The Infinite Consciousness is present everywhere and permeates equally; there is no distinction between the sentient and the insentient, and between the intelligent and the inert. The differences in the objective world are only due to the intelligence identifying itself as different substances. The same Infinite Consciousness is known by different names in these different substances.
28. Though the first of divinities, and though fortified by My prowess, Brahma still felt weak when he started the work of creation.
29. Afterwards that Divinity, as instructed by Me, performed tapas (inward concentration) of an intense nature. Becoming all-powerful by such tapas, he first brought out you, the nine Prajapatis, into existence to aid in the work of creation.
30. As you are anxious to have progeny, you may accept this woman Asikni, daughter of another Prajapati Panchajana as your wife.
31. By following the law of co-habitation with her, who is also desirous of the same, you will be bringing forth numerous progeny.
32. The generations that are to come after you will all consort with women prompted by My Maya, and offer Me service. Sri Suka said:
33. Saying so, even as Daksha was looking on, Sri Hari, the worshipful Lord and protector of the worlds, disappeared like a phenomenon perceived in a dream. .
