SHIVOPADESHA 5

Yadabhavat yadbhavati yadeva bhavyamasti;
Teśáḿ vilakśańo sákśii cinmátro’haḿ Sadáshivah.

[Whatever has been created in the past, is existing in the
present, or will be created in the future.
I, Sadáshiva, the sole cognition, am the supreme witness of all,
having the opposite characteristics to all.]

The Sanskrit root verb bhú means “to be”, and abhavat means “has been created”. Now, what is the meaning of “has been created”? Everything in this universe is emanating from the Cosmic Nucleus, and is always moving, in systaltic fashion, from far to farthest, and from near to nearest. The minuteness or vastness of an object is determined by the wavelength of its vibrations. As a result of the constant buffeting by surrounding waves, great objects are gradually pulverized into smaller particles, and in the convergence of innumerable waves, small particles gradually expand into vast proportions. All entities are constantly being transformed from vast to minute, and from minute to vast.

There is no such thing as status quo in this created world. And this conversion into vastness or minuteness is occurring due to the variation in the state of internal and external tanmátras. This is how the universe has been created, this is the play of creation.

Khelicha e vishva laye, he virát́ shishu ánamane.

Pralaya sriśt́i taba putula khelá nirajane Prabhu nirajane.

[O Great Child, you are playing with this universe, absentmindedly.]

[Destruction and creation are the play of your dolls
In a lonely place, O Lord, in a lonely place.]

In this eternal play on the body of the Infinite, from the Cosmic viewpoint, there is no time, no object, no living being, no spatial measurement. This divine play is totally beyond time, place and person. And the soul of this sport, the central figure of this blissful game, is beyond the reach of all. In this flowing Cosmic dance, the play of consciousness with matter goes on and on – the play of the vast with the small, of the conceivable with the inconceivable.

In this flowing dance, whenever any material entity comes in contact with any unit consciousness, then that object comes within the internal conception of that unit mind, or within its perception of tanmátras. The unit consciousness or unit mind can understand these tánmátrik essences only superficially, not profoundly. When unit minds gain a superficial perception – that is, when they come in contact with the tanmátras, or when they go beyond the range of these essences – when the whisper of the distant ocean of infinity beckons, with a sweet hint of bliss – then those minds make an imaginary measurement of the motivity of action. This mental measurement of the motivity of action is called kála, or time. And this mental measurement, or the idea of time, applies only to finite entities, not to the Infinite.

The mental reckoning of this time factor is not an uninterrupted flow – it is a rapid succession of discontinuous fragments; and by fusing together these disjointed fragments of time, we create a totally imaginary concept of a vast expanse of time.

That imaginary period of time from which the unit mind is moving away, we call abhavat [past]. Even upon cursory analysis, one can understand that what is past to a particular person or a particular place, is not past to another person or place. The Cosmic dance is flowing in an endless continuum; the past is still related to the present. Something which has been lost in the remote past in the history of this earth is still intimately connected to the present, on stars millions upon millions of light-years away.

Thus we cannot simply ignore or deny the existence of that which is past. The “past”, or abhavat, is only a relative idea, a relative expression.

He púrńa taba carańer káche
Yáhá kichu sab áche, áche, áche
Nái, nái bhay se shudhu ámári
Nishidin kándi tái.

[O Full One, whatever there was at
Your feet still is, is, is;
Only I am afraid of loss,
So I weep day and night.]

We cannot say that something which has gone out of human reach, which is lost forever to human beings, no longer exists. For the Supreme Cognition, there is no bondage of relativism. What is considered past to the people of the relative world remains ever-present on the lap of Sadáshiva, the Infinite Consciousness, like a child beaming with endless laughter – a loving child dancing on the lap of the Supreme Father for eternity. The child of the past was never lost, is never lost, and never will be lost.

According to the science of time, the present, as a relative factor, is not as long as the past or the future. An eternal clash and cohesion among objects is taking place on the infinite body of the Cosmic Mind. When any entity, whether spiritual, mental, or physical, comes in contact with one or more finite entities, and when that entity can assimilate and transmit the tánmátrik reflections and refractions, that period of assimilation is termed in common language as “present”. When the assimilation or transmission of tanmátras ceases, or is transcended, that is termed as “past”; and when something has not yet come within the scope of tánmátrik assimilation and transmission, it is called “future”.

I said a while ago that the present as a relative factor does not have the significance as the past and the future, because the present is a continuously moving entity; one moment it seems to be existing, the next moment it seems to have disappeared. One moment it seems that the present has not yet arrived; the next, it has already come. Hardly do we see anything before it disappears into the bosom of the past. While one is thinking of something which has not occurred, suddenly it appears – and the next moment it loses itself in the depths of time. So upon subtle analysis, we find that what we call bhavati [present] is partly in the bosom of the future, and partly in the bosom of the past. That portion of the past or of the future which a person can relate to is considered as present; therefore the present always varies from person to person.

One person says, “Just listen! Mr. So-and-so is still singing the Áshávarii melody.”⁽¹⁾ Another says, “What melody? I can’t hear it any more.” The musician is singing Áshávarii at a particular time: one person can hear it, and another cannot. To the person who hears it, the music is present; to the one who can no longer hear it, the music is already past.

Thus far I was saying that the present has no absolute value whatsoever, and so far as its relative value is concerned, that too should be carefully considered. But I must add one thing here – that in the relative world in which we are living, the past and the future carry tremendous value. So if you declare the present to be valueless, people may accept this because of your intricate philosophical arguments, but reality cannot accept it. Thus the children of this dusty earth cannot deny the existence of the present; and because of this, Shiva, the staunch realist, declared, Varttamáneśu vartteta [“Live in the present”].

The present, which is the result of the convergence of past and future, will certainly be recognized as the undulation of waves in the infinite Cosmic body. And the Supreme Consciousness, in whose vast bosom these undulations of the so-called present rise and fall, is seeing all the stages of this vibrational flow, is knowing them, and, by His sacred witness-ship, making their existences flow with sweetness. Thus Sadáshiva, the repository of cognition, knows everything that has been thus far created.

That which is yet to be, is the impending result of the Cosmic laws of causation. People well know that when they put their hands in fire, they will certainly be burnt; but children who are ignorant of the burning power of fire may put their hands in the fire. It is not their mistake – it is their ignorance.

In the sphere of material science, because scientists have understood, to some extent, the properties of animate and inanimate, movable and immovable entities, because they have discovered the operation of the law of cause and effect in these entities, they are able to prepare newer and newer substances – medicines, etc. – in their laboratories. Yet how much have they really learned so far? Very little. And yet, in their laboratories, they manufacture many new inventions – beneficial and malignant as well. They feel great satisfaction in discovering all the beneficial aspects of some of their inventions – and great fear in discovering the dangerous and harmful potentialities of others. Yet how little they really know!

People do not fully know the nature of any element or compound – perhaps they do not understand even a small fraction of it. What to speak of other objects, how little they know of themselves! Their nearest entities are their own selves, but they know themselves so little. Because of this limited self-knowledge, people always lack self-confidence. The Supreme Consciousness, in whose vast bosom all the finite entities are being created, maintained, and destroyed, fully knows the nature of each and every entity, one hundred percent. That entity may not know itself at all, or may know itself only a little, but the Supreme Consciousness knows it in full.

People who are inflated with pride because of their invention of a single lethal weapon, and dream of shaking the very earth under their arrogant footsteps, should realize that their own existence is quite insignificant, and their lethal weapons are still more insignificant. Those people who try to terrorize others with their deadly arms cannot resist or suppress the spiritual expansion of human beings – their very birthright. Only the Supreme Entity, in whose infinite body all existences have had, are having, and will have, their rhythmic progression and retrogression – only He knows which event has followed and will follow another in the continuous flow of expression of the law of cause and effect.

So it has been said that Yadeva bhavyamasti [“Whatever will be, will be”]. Whatever will happen, whatever is destined, is already known to Sadáshiva, the All-knowing Entity. He knows everything in a natural way because no one is outside His all-encompassing surveillance. He is well aware of the strength and ability of all, but people do not realize this.

Katat́uku bal dhare e mánav
Kata bal dhare bidhátá tár!

[How little strength humans possess,
And what vast strength He possesses!]

Abhavat, the past, and bhavati, the present, and bhavyam, the future – none of these three is separate and distinct from the others. Nothing suddenly emerges or suddenly disappears; all entities respectfully obey the Cosmic laws in a disciplined way and proceed from the future to the still more distant future in the panoramic flow of the Cosmic Cycle. No one can resist the momentum of this Cosmic flow – no one can contain it – no one can suppress it.

In the annals of human history, many truths and falsehoods have been recorded. Attempts have been made to belittle the importance of great personalities, to erase them from the pages of history, and often small and insignificant people have been magnified and presented as great. But none of these attempts has been successful. Everything is written on the pages of eternal time exactly as it happened; the selfish and vain efforts of petty people have left behind only scornful mirth and derisive laughter on the vast canvas of eternal time.

Uŕiche tomár dhvajá megharandhracyuta tapaner jvaladarcirekhá;
Karojoŕe ceye áchi úrdhvamukhe – paŕite jáni na, kii táháte lekhá.

[Your banner is flying like a beam of sunlight flashing through
the clouds.
I am looking with upturned face and folded hands – but I cannot
read what You have written there.]

This colourful pageant of history, these unknown pictures of the past, the variegated splendour of this theatrical show, are all every moment rising and falling on the bosom of eternity. History is merely giving a gentle blow, a soft vibration of existence, on the solid rock of time. It has been said, Teśáḿ vilakśańo sákśii [“He is the witness with opposite characteristics”]. Paramashiva, Supreme Consciousness, is intimately associated with all the various scenes of the acts of history, past, present and future: He is their impartial witness. Though the Supreme Entity is not only a witnessing entity – He is much more than that – still He is the uninvolved witness of all the sequences of events. He does not distort history, nor does He give undue importance to any matter or any entity. He is outside the scope of the law of causation, so He is the witness with “opposite characteristics”⁽²⁾ to all occurrences. His witness-ship does not involve Him in any event – Kleshakarmavipákásháyaeraparámrśt́ah Puruśavisheśa Iishvarah [“The special Puruśa who remains unassailed by afflictions, actions, reactions, and saḿskáras, is Iishvara, the Lord”].

So it has been rightly said that this Paramashiva, this Sadáshiva, is the uninvolved witness to all the events of the universe, and because of His impartiality, His unique witness-ship has been symbolized by His third eye.

Footnotes

(1) A particular rága, or melodic scale, in Oriental music. –Trans.

(2) The word vilakśana is used in two senses: one is vipariita lakśana, or “opposite characteristic”; the other is visheśa lakśana, or “special characteristic”. In the Bengali language, the second meaning is used.