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Re: Any reference for creation of world?

M1N@ECL.PSU.EDU (Mukund T Narasimhan) writes:
|> Bertrand russell in one of his essays consistently questions the reason for
|> God to create the world?  Further he suggests that even if God did create the
|> world and everything in the world is according to the Divine Plan, how can one 
|> justify a five year old child dying of meningitis?  Is there any argument for
|> this available in Gita or upanishads?

This is really simple, the problem is you are reading someone who most likely
has a Jeudo-Christian background (i.e. no concept of soul and karma) and 
questioning the existence and or motives of God, if any, within sanatana-dharma.

|> Again any reference or reason (as quoted in upanishads or elsewhere) for God to
|> create the world will be greatly appreciated.

The foremost point is to understand that the "jiva" is eternal just as Isvara
is. This is indeed based upon sruti (Katha 2.2.13, Svetasvatara 6.13 for example)
of which the one in Svetasvatara U is more explicit,

	nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam eko bahunam yo vidyadhati kaman
	tat karanam samkhya-yogadhigayam jnatva devam mucyate sarva-pasaih

	"He is the eternal (nityo) among the eternals (nityanam), the conscious
	 among the conscious, the one among many who grants their desires. By
	 knowing the Lord (devan) - by discrimination (samkhya) and yoga - one
	 becomes free from all miseries."

Note: the verse explicitly says there are many eternals (nityanam - an adjective
	added to the root of the word "nityam" to indicate plurality), yet they
	are all qualitatively one, as all are eternal and conscious, which is
	also indicated by "sarvam khalv idam brahman" Chandogaya Upanisad 3.14.1

Second point is to understand that the Lord is impartial, "vaisamya-nairghrnye
na sapeksatvat tatha hi darsayati" - The Lord neither hater nor favours anyone,
though He appears to - Brahma-sutras (2.1.34)

Rebirth of this then to be understood as,

Katha Upanisad (2.2.7) 

	yonim anye prapadyante sariratvaya dehinah 
	sthanum anye'nusamyanti, yatha karma, yatha srutam 

	"Some souls enter into a womb for embodiment; others enter staitonary 
	 objects according to their deeds and according to their thoughts."

|> The typical question, Why is there cancer in the fish? cannot be avoided.

With that is mind, it is easy to understand creation, it is simply an act of
compassion of the Lord. A fish may have cancer because it could have been in a
human body in its past life acting as a salesman for say Marlboro cigarettes!!

But the question than become, well how did it all started, i.e. what wrong or
right did/could the jiva have done in the very begining which started the cycle
of birth and death.

Well, since we are qualitatively one with the Supreme, as He is the cause and
we are the effect, we also have some level of freedom to choose our destiny.
Also note that Svetasvatara U. said "samkhya" is needed as one of the tools to
understand Him and according to that, time itself is a material element. So,
at some point of  NOT-TIME  the jivas must have desired to become seperate
from the Lord, i.e. try to become their own lords, which cause the Lord to
manifest the world,

Aitareya Upanisad 1.1.4

	sa aiksata lokan nu srja iti 

	"He thought let me now manifest the worlds."

Note that the word here is "srja" which means "to manifest" and not "create" 
or "become" as the advaita-vadins would like to say.

So, the Lord manifested the worlds so that we could excercise our limited free
will. We do not actually belong to this worlds. This is also confirmed in sruti,

Mundaka Upanisad 3.2.3

	sa vedaitat paramam brahma dhama yatra visvam nihitam bhati subraham
	upasate purusam ye hy akamas te sukram etad ativartanti dhirah

It clearly says that the abode of the Supreme Brahman "paramam brahma dhama"
is our real home and that is to be reached only by worshiping Him "upasate 
purusam" and not by jnana or karma yoga as others may suggest.

So that's where we must have came from as well. This based upon the reasoning
that since sruti says that is our destination, it must have been our home in
the begining, otherwise there is no reason to believe in comassion of the Lord,
i.e. that He put us in some miserable situation to begin with and is now telling
us by way of sruti that come to my abode.

hope this helps.

Hari Bol!
mt
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