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The Philosophy of the Upanishads c10.s3.t3: 3. Return of the Universe as a Whole into Brahman

The Philosophy of the Upanishads c10.s3.t3

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3. Return of the Universe as a Whole into Brahman

c10.s3.t3.1

Among the new and fruitful thoughts in which the S'vet. Up. is so rich is to be counted that also of the periodical dissolution and re-creation of the universe by Brahman. "He (Rudra as a personification of Brahman) dwells in the creatures, and burning with fury at the end of time he as lord dashes to pieces all created things";⁵ he regulates all the aims of the creatures, "until finally the whole is lost in him, who is the beginning."⁶ And we must understand similarly the words of Vâj. Samh. 32. 8 quoted above, when they recur in this connection;⁷ it is god, "in whom the universe is lost and reappears" (*yasmin idam sam- c'a vi- c'a eti sarvam*). This process however of the creation and dissolution of the universe is not unique, but is continually being repeated. In S'vet. 5. 3 "the god, who many times spreads forth one net after another in space and again draws it in," is compared to a spider.¹ The reason also for this periodically recurring re-creation of things is indicated in S'vet. 6. 3-4, where it is said, following upon a description of the work of creation :—

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⁵ S'vet. 3. 2.

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⁶ S'vet. 4. 1.

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⁷ S'vet. 4. 11.

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¹ As in Muṇḍ. 1. 1. 7; cp. S'vet. 3. 1, 6. 10.

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That which he created he then takes back again,
Becoming one with the being of being;
In order then . . .
To begin afresh the work rich in the guṇas,
Apportioning to each their attributes.

c10.s3.t3.7

That it is only the soul's actions which prompt the creator to "apportion to each all their attributes (*sarvân bhâvân viniyojayet*) is asserted by the immediately succeeding words :—

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Where they are not there action comes to nought,
Thither he departs actionless, in reality another;

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*i.e.* where the *bhâvas* which constitute the empirical nature are destroyed by knowledge, actions come to nought, and a re-creation no longer takes place.

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The following passages from later Upanishads that treat of Brahman as destroyer of the universe are noteworthy :—

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"It is he who, when the universe is dissolved, alone remains on the watch; and it is he who then (again) from the depths of space wakens to life the pure spirits."²

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² Maitr. 6. 17.

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"When Rudra lies in the coils of the snake, then created things are absorbed into him. When he draws breath, the darkness arises, from the darkness water," etc. ;³ cp.

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³ Atharvac'iras 6.

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the preceding passage :—" He who consuming all the forces of life, while consuming them, as the eternal one gathers together and again evolves them," etc.¹ This passage may however also be understood of sleeping and waking.

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¹ Atharvaciras 4.

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The fire that destroys the universe (*saṃvartako 'gniḥ*) is mentioned in Atharvas'ikhâ 1, and in the two reproductions of this passage, Nṛisiṃhap. 2. 1 and Nṛisiṃhott. 3. We close with the beautiful verse Kaivalya 19, where he who knows himself as the âtman speaks :—

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In me the universe had its origin,
In me alone the whole subsists,
In me it is lost,—this Brahman,
The timeless, it is I myself!

Cites (8)