Dimple: Sadhu ko dan dena konsa dharam hai?
Swami Ram Swarup: Daan supatra ko diya jaata hai, har ek sadhu-sant ko nahin diya jaata. Jaise yajyen mein daan, ved ke gyata tapasvi ko daan, Yogi ko daan. Such-mooch ke zarooratmandon ko daan, ityadi.
Vikram: Pranams to Dear Swamiji, Can you please give me the real meaning of this ishavasya upanishad verse:
purnamadah purnamidam purnat purnanamudachayate purnasya purnamadaya purnamevavashishyate
I know advait vad is not true, Vedic Trivad is eternal and having pramAnA from Our Eternal Vedas. But some advaitis put forward this verse and claiming that they are true and they are according to Vedas. Can you please give me some light?
Swami Ram Swarup: This verse i.e., Om purnamadah purnamidam………. does not relate to Ishavasyopnishad, its meaning is-
Adah- the God; Poornnam- is complete in all respects i.e., has no deficiency; does not require any addition, alteration etc., He is Almighty, has all unlimited powers.
Idam- Therefore, this universe.
Poornnam- is also complete in all respects; idea being that when God is (Poornna) complete in all respects and is Almighty, learned, beyond description, beyond calculation. Therefore, naturally his creation is also complete in all respects because God never forgets anything. He creates the universe which is complete in all respects for the benefit of all human-beings. Further, the verse itself explaining the unlimited powers of Almighty God states-
Poornnat- from the Almighty God,
Poornnam Udachyatey- this poornna (complete universe) is created.
Poornnasya poornnam Aadaye- i.e., if from poornna; poornna is deducted, Poornnam ev avashishyatey i.e., the balance is poornna i.e., complete.
Suppose, a teacher teaches a mathematical formula to the student complete in all respects then it does not mean that the knowledge of that formula or teaching has become null and void within the teacher. I mean to say when the complete knowledge is given to student by a teacher, the complete knowledge remains in student as well as remains in teacher also.
Secondly, when the complete God creates the universe, the knowledge of creation and how it is created also rests within the God.
The idea of this verse is also seen in Atharvaved mantra 10/8/29 that the complete universe has been created by complete God. After creation, God nurses it very well. So, there is nothing in this verse to prove the advaitwad etc. In this connection, I also paste my article as under-
Three eternal and everlasting matters
Several persons explain its meaning that there is only on God and nothing else i.e., except God there is nothing. They tell that there is neither prakriti nor soul and not even the creation which is being seen. Learned of Vedas do not accept it.
Eternal knowledge of Vedas which emanates direct from God only preaches “Traitvad”. In Traitwad, there exist three matters:
(1) God(Ishwar)
(2) Souls( Jeev)
(3) Prakriti(Prakriti)
God and souls are alive whereas Prakriti is non-alive matter.
From Prakriti, all the matters of universe are created. But neither from God nor soul any matter is created. Soul can never be God being unchangeable and God can also never be soul being unchangeable. Soul due to the attraction towards prakriti is indulged in illusion and forgets his original form of immortal peace, purity etc. and has to face the birth and death again and again.
But Almighty being the commander of the souls and prakriti, is never attracted towards prakriti. He always remains purified. So, God cannot forget his original form and is never indulged in any kind of illusion. Therefore, everything like tree, tube light, stone, electric fan are made of prakriti and hence can never be God.
So, the meaning of Eko Brahma Dweetya na Asti will be, there is only one God equivalent to whom no other God exists. Besides this, Yajurveda mantra 27/36 states-‘Na Jataha Na janishyate’ i.e., there is only one Formless, Almighty, immortal God and equivalent to this, neither any other God was born, nor shall be born.
“CREATION”
The creation is eternal and automatic. There is no date of creation of the following:
(A) Almighty God who is alive, immortal, formless, creates, nurses and destroys the universe. He never indulges in any maya, mahamaya, illusion and deeds (good or bad. Yajurveda Mantra 40/8 and Yog shastra Sutra 1/26 also refer)
(B) Soul: Soul is alive, the purest, away from sins etc. but illusion covers the soul due to which soul forgets his original form and hence remains in sorrows, problems etc.
C) Prakriti: Non-alive and has three qualities. i.e., Raj, tam, Satva. At a proper time, the power of God acts in prakriti and the universe is created. So the creation is eternal and automatic.
Raj, Tam and Satva are the three qualities of prakriti. When the said gunnas remain idle dormant i.e., do not work, then combination of these three gunnas(qualities) in dormant stage is called prakriti and this time is called “final destruction” of the universe. When an appropriate time comes, the creation is to be started again. Then the power of God works in the above three gunnas i.e., in the prakriti and immediately the creation starts. Rajo gunn is a sign of sensuousness etc., Tamo gunn signifies laziness and sato gunn signifies ego, pride. Our human body is also made of the said three gunnas.
Vedas tell that there are three eternal/immortal matters- first: Almighty God, second: souls, third: prakriti. Almighty God creates, nurses and destroys the universe and again creates it. The said process of creation is eternal/immortal/everlasting. Almighty God creates the universe from prakriti. When the raj, tam and satva gunnas of prakriti remain idle (dormant condition/inactive) then creation does not take place. At an appropriate time, a power of Almighty God acts in prakriti (i.e., in Raj, tam and satva gunnas). Immediately the process of creation starts and the first matter of prakriti is made which is called –Mahat i.e., mind; from Mahat- ahankar is made, from ahankar panch (5) tan matrayein, from panch (5) tanmatrayein, panch (5) mahabhoot are created. From panch mahabhoot, the entire matter of universe i.e., Sun, Moon air, water, our bodies, bodies of other living beings etc., are created. The whole creation is thus created from prakriti and remains still (in active) like a statue. This creation is called non-sexual creation. In the said creation, the young human bodies are created which are neither old nor babies. Then by the power of God, in the said bodies, breathing system (prann vaayu) starts operating. At last, God enters into the universe and immediately all the humans and other living beings become alive and start functioning. Similarly, the non-alive matters like Sun, moon, earth, air, water etc., start their respective functions.
Creation, Science, worldly matters etc., is not possible until the same is created by someone. Secondly, knowledge is attained when knowledge is imparted by someone.
Rigved mantra 10/129/ 1-6 throw light about creation that at that time, there was nothing and no living beings did exist. So there was no learned acharya who could give the knowledge to the newly created living beings like parents who educate the children to make them able to speak language and to know about the matters like crow, animals, chapati, ghee, sun, moon i.e., all matters of the world. See, if a newly born baby is managed to live in dense jungle and nursed well but he is not given education about the worldly matters etc. i.e., mathematics, science, animals, sun, moon etc., then even at the young age of 20-25, 30 years, he will not be able to speak any language and when he will be brought out of the cave of dense jungle and will be asked about the sun, moon, animals, birds before him, then he will not be able to reply because he was not given the said knowledge.
When we see towards sun, moon, air, space, human body etc. It is clearly understood that the said creation has not been made by any human being but Almighty God, from whom the knowledge of four Vedas emanates. In Vedas, the knowledge right from straw to Brahma has been mentioned. So in the beginning of non-sexual earth, the Vedas originated in the heart of four rishis: Agni, Vaayu, Aditya and Angira, and from the rishis the knowledge of science, deeds and worship along with every matter is being given to the public by which the public became educated scientist and wrote books, etc.
In Vedas as well as in fourth chapter of Yog Shastras of Rishi Patanjali, it is mentioned that those who do not believe in God are provided more and more facilities by nature and such people get spoiled etc.
On the contrary those who worship God, they naturally try to kill their desires and accordingly under the law, nature, help them to follow the true path to realize the God.
It is also pertinent to mention here that in Vedas, there is no mention of avtarwad or any proper noun, please. Vedas do not even contain any story or past, present or future life of anyone. Vedas contain knowledge i.e., entire science, form of deeds/duties and worship of God. Actually Vedas give knowledge right from straw to Brahma (God) of entire universe.
All four Vedas tell to worship a formless, Almighty, omnipresent, omniscient God who creates, nurses and destroys the universe. God was one, is one and shall ever remain one. He is unchangeable, unchallengeable and beyond description. He has unlimited qualities and thus unlimited names but is one. Because He is Almighty and needs no help of anyone to create, nurse and destroy the universe therefore no need to take avtar.
We cannot say first creation because creation, nursing and destruction and again creation, nursing and destruction is an eternal and everlasting process. Therefore its date cannot be fixed being eternal process.
You may also, if desire, read my book- Vedanta and eternal Vedas’ philosophy Part I and II wherein matters of Vedanta, Advaitwad etc., have been explained stating that the same donot tally with Vedas.
