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The Philosophy of the Upanishads c10.s2.t1: 1. Brahman as Preserver of the Universe

The Philosophy of the Upanishads c10.s2.t1

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1. Brahman as Preserver of the Universe

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Since in reality the âtman alone exists, and the universe, so far as it has a general existence, is essentially only the âtman, it follows that the things of this universe, so far as we may concede to them a reality at all, can only hold it in fee from the âtman. They are related to the latter as the sparks to the fire whence they leap forth, and with which they are essentially identical in nature:—"As the tiny sparks leap forth from the fire, so from this âtman all vital spirits spring forth, all worlds, all gods, all living creatures."¹ This illustration is expanded in greater detail in Muṇḍ. 2. 1. 1:—

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¹ Bṛih. 2. 1. 20; cp. Kaush. 4. 20.

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As from the well-kindled fire the sparks,
Essentially akin to it, leap forth a thousandfold,
So, my dear sir, from the imperishable
The varied living creatures come forth,
And return into it again.

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All the things of the universe are, as this passage asserts, "essentially akin to it,"² are the âtman himself, and it is he alone who lies outspread before our eyes as the entire universe:—

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² *sarûpa*, or *svarûpa*, "having its form."

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Fire is his head, sun and moon his eyes,
His ears the regions of the sky,
His voice is the revelation of the Veda,
Wind is his breath, the world his heart, from his feet arises the earth,
He is the inner self in all creatures.³

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³ Muṇḍ. 2. 1. 4.

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How the one âtman is expanded into the manifold universe remains a mystery, and can only be explained by illustrations. Thus in Chând. 6. 12 the teacher causes a fruit of the Nyagrodha tree (whose shoots grow downwards and strike new roots in the earth, so that a whole grove springs up from one tree), to be brought and opened, and after the student has found in it only a quite small kernel, and within this nothing at all, the teacher addresses him:—"The subtle essence, which you do not observe, my dear sir, from this subtle essence in truth this great Nyagrodha tree has sprung up. Be confident, my dear sir, whatever this subtle essence is, of which this universe is a subsistence (a 'having this as its essence,' aitadâtmyam), that is the real, that is the soul, that art thou, O S'vetaketu."

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The expansion of the unity into plurality is elucidated also by the frequently misunderstood comparison of Kâṭh. 6. 1:—

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With its root on high, its shoots downwards,
Stands that eternal fig-tree.

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All who here take mûla in ûrdhvamûla as plural, and render "die Wurzeln," "the roots," "les racines," etc., have failed to grasp the meaning of the comparison, which consists precisely in showing how from the one Brahman as root the multiplicity of the phenomena of the universe arises. The universe therefore is likened to an as'vattha tree, in the case of which, like our own linden, from the one root the rich variety of its branches and shoots springs. The difference is that in the as'vattha which represents the universe the one root Brahman is above, and the many shoots of its manifestations are here below on the earth. It is altogether misleading to think here of the Nyagrodha tree (ficus indica), which sends its shoots into the earth where they strike new roots. The as'vattha (ficus religiosa) is entirely distinct from it in growth and foliage. It is interesting to see that the passage of the Kâṭhaka discussed is to all appearance already referred to in S'vet. 3. 9.¹ When it is said in this passage:—"rooted in heaven like a tree the One stands,”¹ the explanation is found in the passage Kâṭh. 6. 1, and only there.

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¹ As also Mahânâr. 10. 20.

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¹ cp. also the tree of the universe in Śvet. 6. 6.

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From the universal diffusion of the âtman its omnipresence in the phenomenal forms of the universe results, as is described in Kâṭh. 5. 2, where use is made of the verse Ṛigv. IV. 40. 5:²—

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² Mahânâr. 10. 6, cp. the further references there.

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In the ether he is the swan of the sun, in the air Vasu,
The priest at the altar, the guest on the threshold,
He dwells in man and at a distance, in law, in space,
He as supreme Right springs forth from the waters, from cattle, right,
and the hills.

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With a reference to the verse Vâj. Saṃh. 32. 4, the divine omnipresence is depicted in Śvet. 2. 16–17:—

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He is god in all the regions of the universe,
Born of older time and in the body of a mother;
He was born, and will be born,
Is present in men, and omnipresent.
The god, who is in the fire and in the water,
Who has entered into the entire universe,
Who dwells in vegetables and in trees,
To this god be honour, be honour!

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It is a consequence of the omnipresence of the âtman that all creatures share in the bliss which is his essence (sup. p. 140 ff.):—“From a small portion only of this bliss other creatures have their life”;³ “for who could breathe, who live, if that bliss were not in the âkâśa; for it is he who creates bliss.”⁴ Therefore longing for the âtman is innate in all beings, and equally for him who knows himself as the âtman:—“His (Brahman’s) name is ‘longing for him’ (tadvanam), as ‘longing for him’ ought he to be worshipped. He who knows himself as such, for him assuredly all beings long.”⁵

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³ Bṛih. 4. 3. 32.

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⁴ Taitt. 2. 7.

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⁵ Kena, 31; cp. the saying of Aristotle, κινεῖ δὲ ὡς ἐρώμενον.

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Every effect in the universe is wrought by the âtman :—" It is he who causes the man whom he will lead on high from these worlds to do good works, and it is he who causes the man whom he will lead downwards to do evil works."¹ Even the gods do their work only by virtue of the power which he confers on them; no blade of grass can be consumed by Agni, or swept away by Vâyu, apart from the will of Brahman.²

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¹ Kaush. 3. 8.

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² Kena, 17-23.

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The most beautiful picture of the omnipotence of the imperishable one, *i.e.* the âtman, is found, partly dependent on the hymn to Prajâpati in Ṛigv. X. 121, in Yâjñavalkhya’s discourse with Gârgî, Bṛih. 3. 8. 9 :—

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"At the bidding of this imperishable one, O Gârgî, sun and moon are kept asunder; at the bidding of this imperishable one, O Gârgî, heaven and earth are kept asunder; at the bidding of this imperishable one, O Gârgî, the minutes and the hours are kept asunder, the days and nights, the fortnights, the months, the seasons and the years; at the bidding of this imperishable one, O Gârgî, the streams run from the snow-mountains, some to the east and others to the west, whithersoever each goes; at the bidding of this imperishable one, O Gârgî, men praise the bountiful givers, the gods desire the sacrificer, the fathers the offerings to the dead."

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This passage, in which all dispositions in space and time, as well as every effect in nature and every desire of men, gods, and manes are ascribed to the âtman, has been often imitated. The comparison of the âtman in Bṛih. 4. 4. 22³ to a *setu*, a word that denotes not only the (connecting) "bridge," but also the (separating) "dike," depends probably upon its first part which speaks of the power of the âtman to keep asunder :—" he is the Lord of the universe, he is the ruler of living beings, he is the protector of living beings; he is the bridge which (the dike which) keeps asunder these worlds, to prevent their clashing together.” The last words recur in Chând. 8. 4. 1 :—“The âtman, he is the bridge (the dike) that keeps asunder these worlds to prevent their clashing together.” When however it is further said:—“This bridge neither day nor night cross, nor old age, nor death, nor suffering,” etc., we have, with a sudden change of the point of view, in place of the dike that separates the relative parts of the universe, a bridge that connects the present with the future world. And this circumstance affords probably a reliable proof of the important conclusion that the similarly sounding words are derived from Bṛih. 4. 4. 22, and their original meaning being lost were reproduced in Chând. 8. 4. 1. The conception thus modified of the bridge of immortality is then further taken over, apparently from Chând. 8. 4. 1, by S'vet. 6. 19 and Muṇḍ. 2. 2. 5. The entire preceding paragraph in Muṇḍ. 2. 1 is in reality an interweaving of the passage quoted¹ with Ṛigv. X. 90 and other additions.²

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³ Quoted in Maitr. 77.

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¹ Bṛih. 3. 8.

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² See Deussen, Upan., p. 550 f.

Cites (12)