Atheists, Buddhists and Human Incarnation

[dattaswami]

Atheists, Buddhists and Human Incarnation

 

If God is introduced through the medium of human body, atheists will not agree. Hence Shankara ( a human incarnation of God) selected the pure awareness (soul) as the medium of God for introduction. Even in the human incarnation, the pure awareness (soul) acts as a medium charged by God. Let us isolate that part of soul only from the human incarnation and all this isolation is only an assumption. In general, the pure awareness alone can act as the medium of God, since basically there is no objection for any item of the creation to act as medium for God. The medium charged by God can be treated as God like the metallic wire charged by current. In this way you can call the assumed pure awareness or soul charged by God in the human incarnation as God.

 

But a soul without God exists in every human being and Shankara called every soul as God due to the possibility of a soul to be charged by God and due to the existence of the soul charged by God in human incarnation. What is the use of all this? The atheists are mainly characterized by ego and will not accept God other than themselves. This rigid psychology of the atheist cannot be condemned in the beginning. The preacher must follow the psychology of a rigid ignorant student and should slowly uplift him. Hence, there is no other way to uplift the atheists existing in the time of Shankara (Budhhists and purva mimasakas).

 

Shankara told that the soul in every human being is God and this satisfies the rigid psychology of the atheists. At least they have accepted the existence of God as the existence of themselves. Buddhists were in a very pitiable condition since they were thinking that everything including themselves is nothing (shunya). Shankara brought them up by stating that there should be the soul to experience the nothing. Otherwise, when nothing is not experienced, nothing cannot be established.

 

The Buddhists came up and accepted the existence of the soul that experiences nothing (the school of prajnavada of Dignaga). Since that soul is God, they have accepted the existence of God. But they were rigid of nothing except the soul and therefore Shankara had to follow their rigid psychology of nothing except the soul. Hence Shankara told that the soul is truth and God and except the soul or God everything (world) is nothing. (Brahma satyam….). The ego of the atheist was also satisfied because the soul itself is the supreme God.

 

The purva mimasakas were already accepting the existence of soul and world. Now there is a contradiction between Buddhists and purva mimasakas in the existence of the world though not in the existence of soul. To convince both these rigid and ignorant students, Shankara told that the world is neither existent nor non-existent (mithya). A negligible trace can be treated almost as non-existent and is existent in the strict sense. Since the world is a negligible dream of the soul, it is existent as well as non-existent. Thus he combined both in the concept of the world and made them accept the existence of God as a soul. The purva mimasakas were interested in achieving the happiness in heaven by doing rituals.

 

Shankara exploited their ambition for happiness and stated that the God or soul is infinite happiness (ananda). This attracted the purva mimasakas to concentrate on God than on heaven. But in practical experience all of them found the absence of the experience of the natural infinite happiness and this raised the doubt whether the soul is actually God in its original state.

 

Shankara had to drag these atheists further; otherwise, they will go back to their original atheism. Then Shankara applied another trick by stating that the ignorance of soul must be removed practically due to its long-standing effect. This long-standing influence of ignorance is called as vikshepa. Even if you awake from the dream and realize that the tiger in the dream was unreal, its effect like vibration and fear will not cease immediately. The theoretically realization removes only the apparent layer of ignorance called as avaranam. For this removal of practical effect of ignorance, Shankara suggested about the meditation of a completely liberated soul called as Eshwara, who is just a leader of the same class. Both the soul and the Eshwara are essentially the students of the same class but Eshwara, is a more meritorious student whose help can be taken by the soul. The atheist is trapped here because basically there is no difference between himself and the Eshwara.

 

He thought that there is nothing wrong to take the help of a meritorious student of the same class so that the less meritorious student can become the same meritorious student on one day or the other. Shankara maintained the essential equality of Eshwara and the individual soul as Brahman to satisfy the continuing ego of the atheist. The atheists started meditating upon the Eshwara. See the wonderful talent of Shankara who made the atheist not only to accept God but also meditate upon God! That is the talent of the Satguru when God comes in human form. Nobody can handle this situation except God. The technique used by Shankara was in the line of Vedic tradition only.

 

Veda is also attracting the theists by projecting God as the source of materialistic benefits here as well as in the heaven. The worship of God is introduced through this attraction (kamya karma). Slowly the theist tastes the nature of God and gets attracted to God leaving the other attractions. Shankara has extended the same to the atheists also. If you take the path of Shankara as the absolute truth, you must have been an atheist like Buddhist or purva mimasaka. You are a grown up student going to college and should not aspire for the chocolates given to kids to go to school.

 

Shankara was correct in that time for those atheists since the final result was in their eternal welfare only. A psychological trick with good application for the benefit is always appreciable because ends justify means. You should take Shankara as the Guru with affection on ignorant students and not as a mere scholar who just reveals the absolute truth and goes away without bothering about the practical uplift of the students.