Shiva Mahimna Stotra

Shloka 5

Meaning:  O Shiva (Brahman), You and Your Power are beyond the realm of logic. Even though it is impossible and inappropriate, a few people apply their polluted logic regarding You and Your Power by asking questions, like, ‘What was the creator’s desire to create this world?  By which body, material, tools, and support the creator created this universe?’.  Thus, they make themselves verbose to delude the world.   

Reflections: The Vedanta Philosophy, which is based on the Rishis’ words uttered by their direct perception of the Truth, or the Ultimate Reality, says that there is only One Existence. The Vedanta calls it Brahman. Vedanta says that Brahman appears as the universe with names, forms, and qualities, just as clay appears through various toys and things consisting of names, forms, and qualities. Many times, we forget that these toys and things are nothing but clay.

Similarly, by the Power of Brahman, called Maya, in real life, we get overwhelmed by the names, forms, and qualities of the objects and people, we forget that there is only one Reality behind all of them. In particular, we forget that in Reality we are eternal Atman and think that we are limited by our body and mind and then we suffer.

Another simile is of a movie projected on a screen. When we are watching a movie, we get into the drama created by the movie and we laugh, cry, get angry, and react in various ways. We forget that this movie is projected on a movie screen that has no characters or scenes. The movie screen is Reality, and the projection is temporary.

Maya deludes us and does not let us see Reality.  A few people who destroy their delusion and realize this fact become peaceful or blissful within. Maya deludes most of people.

Sri Ramakrishna says that things are not the same as what we perceive. The sky looks blue, but when we go up in the sky, we find that it has no color. The ocean water looks blue or green or grey, but when we take the water in our hands, we find that it has no color.

Shri Shankaracharya’s famous example is that we see a snake in a rope in the dark.  But when we bring light, we find that it is just a rope. Rishis, the Seers of the Truth, says that when we remove our delusion or ignorance, we see that there is only One Existence, and it appears as many.

Shri Shankaracharya describes this Maya in a very poetic way in his Viveka Chudamani (shloka 109) as follows:

“Maya neither exists, nor not-exist, nor both, being exist and not exist.

Maya is neither same, nor not-same, nor both, being same and not-same.

Maya is neither composed of parts, nor indivisible, nor both, being composed of parts and indivisible.

Maya is most wonderful and cannot be described in words.” (Viveka Chudamani 109)

Whatever we describe becomes limited. Maya, the Power of Infinite Brahman is not limited.

Also, the very first assumption of logic is ‘A statement is either ‘true’ or ‘false’. Thus, a statement cannot be neither true, nor false, nor both. Shri Shankaracharya shows that Maya is beyond the realm of logic.

The universe we perceive is within the realm of space, time, and causation. The causation is a chain of ‘cause and effect’. Logic applies to the things which are in the realm of space, time, and causation. Brahman and Its Power Maya are beyond space, time, and causation.  Therefore, logic does not apply to Brahman or Maya.  They are beyond logic.

If deluded people, who think that they are limited by their body and mind, and the world is real as it appears, ask all kinds of questions regarding the creation of the universe, how are they going to get the answers?  A person, who is under the influence of liquor, demands sober people to explain ‘how and when he got into that condition?’, what can they say? They will say that ‘first you become sober, then you will know all the answers’.

Pushpadanta says that those deluded people who ask questions like, ‘What was the creator’s desire to create this world?  By which body, and with what material, tools, and support the creator created this universe?’, are creating more delusion in the minds of others. As long as they are deluded, their questions are irrelevant, and they will never understand the answers. If they get the knowledge of Reality, then they will get their answers.   

Even the world we perceive through our senses has millions of questions that are unanswered. For example, we cannot understand the behavior of the electrons in the nucleus of matter. In 1927, German physicist Werner Heisenberg introduced ‘the uncertainty principle’, which states that the more precisely the position of some particle is determined, the less precisely its momentum can be predicted from initial conditions, and vice versa. That means we cannot determine the position and the momentum of a particle at the same time. It shows how difficult it is to know about the One which is beyond space, time, and causation.

Sri Ramakrishna says that a gallon bottle cannot hold ten gallons of milk. 

A question comes: Should we then not ask questions?

The answer is that we should ask questions to understand the principles presented by the scriptures or by the spiritual teachers. We have to try to understand what Rishis, or the Realized Souls, are trying to tell us. Simultaneously, we should do spiritual practices guided by proper teachers. Then, we will have genuine questions in order to remove our doubts or obstacles or to clarify some unclear ideas. The test of the genuine question is that once we get a proper answer, we will make spiritual progress.

Many people ask questions either to destroy or challenge the presented views or for intellectual entertainment or just for the sake of asking questions and never to learn or remove their doubts. Those kinds of questions will not be helpful. Pushpadanta says that these people make lots of noise to delude other people in the world.

If we do our spiritual practices properly and sincerely, then eventually all our questions will be answered, and all our doubts will be destroyed.

Mundaka Upanishad (2.2.8) says,

“When one realizes Brahman, then the fetters of the hearts get broken, all doubts get resolved, and the consequences of all actions, which are the bondages, get destroyed.” (Mundaka Upanishad 2.2.8)

Sri Ramakrishna explains this with a simple example. He says suppose a person is walking towards a flea market which is filled with shops and customers. Now, from a distance, that person hears noises of people but not clear sentences. When the person goes closer to the market, he/she starts hearing clear sentences like, ‘Give me that pair of shoes’, or ‘The price is five dollars,’ etc. Similarly, if we advance in the spiritual path, we will start understanding the answers given by the scriptures and the realized beings regarding ourselves and the universe.