Atma Bodha - Post 15

VERSE 8:  

उपादानेऽखिलाधारे जगन्ति परमेश्वरे ।

सर्गस्थितिलयान् यान्ति बुद्बुदानीव वारिणि ॥ ८॥

UPAADAANE AKHILAA-DHAARE

AGANTI PARAMESHWARE

SARGA-STHITI-LAYAAN YAANTI

BUDBUDAANI IVA VAARINI

(Like bubbles in the water, the worlds rise, exist and dissolve in the Supreme Self, which is the material cause and the prop of everything)

A beautiful painting is created in our mind by this verse.

Till now we learnt the illusory nature of the world through various example such as silver in nacre, dream etc. Acharya Sankara in this sloka is further explaining the impermanence of the world by another beautiful example.

We all have seen bubble in sea, standing on the sea shore and enjoying the sea view, many times.

Let us think for a minute about this beautiful bubble that arise in an ocean.

With our intellect, we know that for everything that happens in this world, there has to be a cause. Correct?

Applying this logic, let us now think about the cause of the bubble referred to above.

BUBBLE AND THE OCEAN

From where that bubble arises??

In what that bubble sustains??

Into what that bubble goes back??

The bubble that we see is nothing but the water at the substratum of sea.

Such bubble, appearing separate, has no separate identity apart from the sea water in which they sustain.

And, after appearing in the sea water for some time, the bubble then retrace to the origin from where they emerged, which is the water at the substratum of ocean.

CREATION AND BRAHMAN

From where this creation arises??

In what this creation sustains??

Into what this creation goes back??

Just like bubbles are not different from water nor do they have any separate existence, so are the creations perceived by an ignorant person.

This creation which appears separate from Brahman or the creator is nothing but the creator or the God or the Brahman Itself.

How this can be understood??

This has to be understood clearly considering the truth that when God created this creation, there was nothing that existed other than the God Himself. So, creation ought to be nothing other than God Himself as He could create the same only by pouring out Himself as the following causes for this creation

-          Material cause- Matter with which creation emerged- the 5 elements.

-          Efficient cause- The Cosmic intelligence with which this creation was planned and created.

-          Instrument cause- The tools / the instrument for this creation- Anything with which this creation was created by God has to be God has to be nothing other than God, because except God, there existed nothing else other than He himself, when He willed to create this creation / universe.

All the duality thus has to be known only as an illusion. And any illusion needs a substratum and that is Brahman. Also through this example, we also learn that Brahman is not only the efficient cause but the material cause also. The Support and material cause of all creation is thus the Self only.

This introduces the fitting metaphor of the bubbles in water. It is more than just a metaphor, the word bud-bud and even the English ‘bubbles’ for that matter, captures the sound of what it stands for, and hence it is called an Onomatopoeia in English.

Other such words which incorporate the sound of what they describe are: the ‘buzzing’ of bees, the ‘bang’ of a door, the ‘jingle’ of bells, the ‘murmur’ of brooks. Bubbles in water arise as small pockets of air, become larger as they merge with other bubbles, and rise to the surface.

There they suddenly burst. It can be an absorbing, entertaining sight just to watch bubbles in water as they arise, exist, and collapse. The creation of the innumerable worlds of this whole cosmos is just like that.

The simile is used so effectively as to even tell us what the value of this illusory world is – no more than a burst of air bubbles in water!

The poet in Sankaracharya cannot resist having a laugh at this universe – “Here, this is what I think of all your majesty! You are all just bubbles, nothing more!”

Love.