Main references for this page:
- Vedantasara by Sadananda, with commentary by Swami Nikhilananda
Introducing the concept
From the moment our distant ancestors first looked up at the stars, the idea of God has been the central animating force for humanity. It has driven Man to conquer the world, to build advanced civilizations, to construct the most magnificent architectural structures, to create Art that is timeless. Nations have been created around different conceptions of God, and wars have been - and continue to be - fought over it.
The idea of God has provided solace to the hearts of the vast majority of humanity, it has given us strength amidst intense suffering, it has enabled us to hold on to our moral core in the most testing of circumstances. Narrow and immature conceptions of God have also driven people apart, seemingly providing sanction for Man to carry out the most heinous of acts. From the very dawn of our species, God has been our most pressing concern, and the search for God has been the common thread across racial, cultural, and linguistic divides.
Every complete philosophical system must address the question of God. As the philosophical foundation for Hinduism, what is Advaita Vedanta’s conception of God?
Before we go there, we need to understand that the word ‘God’ - and the ideas associated with the word - come from a very particular theological background; they come from the context of the great Abrahamic religions that originated in the region that is today called the Middle East.
We have come to adopt the word God in the Indian context too, and we assume that the idea of the Omniscient Omnipotent Being that the word indicates - and the ideas of Heaven, Hell, and Soul associated with it - is a universal concept. But that is simply because of the dominance that the West currently has over our mental frameworks.
India is where the search for Reality has been conducted without fear and without compromise for millennia, and very clear definitions of God have emerged from these metaphysical inquiries, conceptualizations of the Divine that are often strikingly different to the Abrahamic ones. It is important that we are aware of these nuances, since they provide alternate ways of looking at the world, and powerfully distinct ways of living in the world.
In one regard, of course, the difference in our idea of the Divine is clearly apparent - we Hindus worship not one but many Gods. Our Gods take thousands of magnificent forms, with rich symbolism behind each manifestation. Countless number of deities are worshiped in India; every village has its own guardian deity. It can seem, particularly to outsiders, like all of this is just unorganized chaos. But there are clear and consistent philosophical principles that underlie this dizzying variety.
We Indians often make the mistake of either unthinkingly taking on a very monochromatic and monotheistic conception of God, or swinging to the other extreme and saying that there are no unifying principles to Hinduism, that ‘anything goes’. The truth is that Hinduism strikes a wonderful balance. It provides expression to our search for God in multiple different forms, yet all manifestations derive their essence from certain core principles.
While it is important to celebrate the rich diversity that Hinduism enables, it is equally important to understand the firm ground over which this diversity has been flourishing for millennia, in other words the core principles of Sanatana Dharma. Take these principles away, and the diversity we now see might either dissipate into complete chaos, or condense into pockets of narrowness and bigotry. More on this later.
Which brings us to the question of God in Vedanta. Let us first set aside the word ‘God’, which, like we just saw, has particular cultural and theological connotations, and bring in the correct Vedantic term, ‘Isvara’. How does Advaita Vedanta define Isvara?
Going a little deeper
The Absolute in Advaita Vedanta is Brahman, the Ultimate Reality which is beyond attributes (Nirguna), Pure Existence (Sat), Pure Consciousness (Chit), which shines as the inmost Self of all (Atman), the final destination of the spiritual journey, the Highest and only Direct Knowledge (Aparoksha), the ground of all existence (and of all emptiness), the light that shines on everything that appears (and on everything that does not appear). See Brahman, Nirguna & Saguna and Aparoksha Jnana. We strongly suggest that you read all of these hyperlinked concepts before proceeding on the topic of Isvara.
In most religious and philosophical systems, God is the highest truth, the final destination, the summum bonum. In Advaita Vedanta, this Ultimate position is held by Brahman; Vedantists often use the word God to mean Brahman or Consciousness. Where then does Isvara fit in?
Isvara in Advaita Vedanta is Brahman with power of Maya. Very simply, Isvara = Brahman + Maya (or Avidya). Again, we suggest that you read our page on Maya before proceeding, since the concept of Isvara is inextricably connected with the concept of Maya or Avidya.
We have seen that Maya represents both a projecting power - that which projects this manifest Universe - and a veiling influence - that which veils our view to Reality; in its veiling aspect, Maya is also called Avidya or Ajnana (ignorance). In other words Maya can be seen to operate both at the cosmic level, as the projecting power, and at the individual level, as our ignorance.
The cosmic dimension of Maya is Isvara. In other words, Isvara holds the reins to Maya; Isvara uses Maya to bring this manifest World into being; Isvara is the magician who, with the help of Maya, conjures up the magic show that is this Universe.
Here is another way of understanding this. Maya represents the Universe in its unmanifest seed state or potential state. All possible manifestations of the Universe are contained in their unmanifest form in Maya. Isvara turns this unmanifest seed into this manifest World.
It is Isvara (Brahman + Maya) Himself that is presented to us as this Universe, hence Isvara is said to be the material cause of the Universe, just as clay is the material cause of a pot. And it is Isvara, the Lord of Maya, who projects out the Universe from its unmanifest source, thus Isvara is said to be the efficient cause of the Universe, like the potter who shapes the clay into the pot. Isvara is the cosmic potter who creates the pot of the World using His own body as the clay. Read our page on Karana-Karya for a much better understanding of this idea.
In Hinduism and Vedanta in particular there is always a striking correspondence between the microcosm and the macrocosm, between the individual and the cosmic. If you have read and reflected on our page on the Atman, where we did the Pancha Kosa Vichara (the inquiry into the five sheaths ‘covering’ the self) (see Atman), you will know that the fifth and final sheath is called the Anandamayakosha (the Bliss Sheath), which corresponds to the blankness of deep sleep (see Avastha Traya) and is also called the causal state. This is the state where ignorance (Avidya) is present in its unmanifest form; the blankness represents the entirety of possible experiences in seed form. This state directly corresponds to Maya at a cosmic scale.
Just as the dream state and the waking state emerge from, and then dissolve back into the deep sleep state; just as the subtle body and the gross body emerge from, and then dissolve back into the causal body; just as the four sheaths beginning from the Pranamaya kosha emerge from, and then dissolve back into the Anandamaya kosha; just like that, the Universe emerges from, and then merges back into Maya.
Isvara, the Lord of Maya, projects out the Universe (srishti), sustains the Universe (stithi), and then, when the time comes, dissolves the Universe back into the unmanifest seed (pralaya). These 3 dimensions of Isvara are represented by the 3 great Gods of Hinduism - Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva.
‘He [Isvara] is the Lord of all,’ it says in the Manduka Upanishad, ‘He is the omniscient, He is the inner controller, He is the source of all, He is the cause of the origin and destruction of creatures.’
Tying the threads together
Quoting Swami Nikhilananda, ‘The word ‘Isvara’ popularly known as ‘God’ has a peculiar meaning in the Advaita philosophy. The Vedantist does not believe Isvara to be the absolute existence. Because He [Isvara] is as unreal [from an ultimate standpoint] as the phenomenal universe. Brahman associated with ignorance is known as Isvara. The difference between Isvara and the ordinary man is that the former, though associated with Maya, is not bound by its fetters, whereas the latter is its slave. Isvara is the highest manifestation of Brahman in the phenomenal universe.[1]’
Brahman - our own innermost Self - is beyond attributes, forever beyond the reach of words and concepts. Isvara is the highest manifestation of Brahman within our world. One can think of Brahman presenting Itself to us as Isvara, so that we may grasp and worship the Divine.
Advaita Vedanta’s conception of the Absolute allows for Isvara to manifest in multiple ways. Since the Absolute is beyond qualities, why restrict its representation to one concrete form - why not worship It in many, many glorious forms? Indeed, these are the forms in which the Isvara has presented Itself to seers and realized souls down the ages. Each form highlights different aspects of splendor, each representing different values we seek to imbibe, each providing a different pathway for us to approach the Divine.
One can be an Advaita Vedantin and pray to Devi or Shiva or Narayana; one can see the truth of Brahman and prostrate before idols of Saraswati or Krishna or Ganesha. Thus we find the magnificent tapestry of Divinity in India, which has the Advaitic Nirguna Brahman as its foundation.
Reflect on this
With Brahman and Isvara (or Nirguna Brahman and Saguna Brahman) as the two sides of the coin, Advaita Vedanta enables a very broad-minded approach to religion. Under the umbrella of the Nirguna Brahman, multiple forms of Saguna Brahman can happily co-exist, with full mutual acceptance and harmony. There is no place in Hinduism for bigotry based on narrow conceptions of God. Hinduism with Advaita Vedanta as its core has all the qualities of a universal religion.