CHAPTER XXXIII.
The Goddess displays her Cosmic Form
Page 1
The Devī said:--"O Girirāja! This whole universe, moving and unmoving, is created by My Māyā S'aktī. This Māyā is conceived in Me. It is not, in reality, different or separate from Me. So I am the only Chit, Intelligence. There is no other intelligence than Me. Viewed practically, it is known variously as Māyā, Vidyā; but viewed really from the point of Brahman, there is no such thing as Māyā; only one Brahman exists, I am that Brahma, of the nature of Intelligence. I create this whole world on this Unchangeable Eternal (Mountain-like) Brahma, (composed of Avidyā, Karma, and various Samskāras) and enter first as Prāna (vital breath) within it in the form of Chidābhāsa. O Mountain! Unless I enter as Breath, how can this birth and death and leaving and retaking bodies after bodies be accounted for! As one great Ākās'ā is denominated variously Ghatākās'a (Ākās'ā in the air), Patākās'a (Ākās'ā in cloth or picture), so I too appear variously by acknowledging this Prāna in various places due to Avidyā and various Antahkaranas. As the Sun's rays are never defiled when they illumine various objects on earth, so I, too, am not defiled in entering thus into various high and low Antahkaranas (hearts). The ignorant people attach Buddhi and other things of activity on Me and say that Ātman is the Doer; the intelligent people do not say that. I remain as the Witness in the hearts of all men, not as the Doer. O Achalendra! There are many Jīvas and many Īs'varas due to the varieties in Avidyā and Vidyā. Really it is Māyā that differentiates into men, beasts and various other Jīvas; and it is Māyā that differentiates into Brahma, Visnu and other Īs'varas. As the one pervading sky (Ākās'a) is called Mahākās'a Ghatākas'a (being enclosed by jars), so the One All pervading Paramātmā is called Paramātmā, Jīvātmā (being enclosed within Jīvas). As the Jīvas are conceived many by Māyā, not in reality; so Īs'varas also are conceived many by Māyā; not in essence. O Mountain! This Avidyā and nothing else, is the cause of the difference in Jīvas, by creating differences in their bodies, indriyas (organs) and minds. Again, due to the varieties in the three Gunas and their wants (due to the differences between Sāttvik, Rājasik and Tāmasik desires), Māyā also appears various. And their differences are the causes of different Īs'varas, Brahma, Visnu and others. O Mountain! This whole world is interwoven in Me; It is I that am the Īs'vara that resides in causal bodies; I am the "Sutrātman, Hiranyagarbha that resides in subtle bodies and it is I that am the Virāt, residing in the gross bodies. I am Brahmā, Visnu, and Mahes'vara; I am the Brāhmā, Vaisnavi and Raudrī S'aktis. I am the Sun, I am the Moon, I am the Stars; I am beast, birds, Chandālas and I am the Thief, I am the cruel hunter; I am the virtuous high-souled persons and I am the female, male, and hermaphrodite. There is no doubt in this. O Mountain! Wherever there is anything, seen or heard, I alway exist there, within and without, There is nothing moving or unmoving, that can exist without Me. If there be such, that is like the son of a barren woman. Just as one rope is mistaken for a snake or a garland, so I am the One Brahma and appears as Īs'vara, etc. There, is no doubt in this. This world cannot appear without a substratum. And That Substratum is My Existence. There can be nothing else.
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