7DAYS COURSE ON GODLY KNOWLEDGE-6TH LESSON-MYSTERIES OF CREATION

 

SEVEN DAYS COURSE ON GODLY KNOWLEDGE BY BRAHMA KUMARIS

LESSON 6

MYSTERIES OF CREATION

6.1 CREATION 

All human souls throughout the world have certain universal questions, and perhaps the question which comes up most frequently is that of creation. Is it possible that there was a point in time when there was nothing? When something suddenly appeared? Can there even be an actual point of creation, since there is the awareness of the self as being eternal, and the recognition of God the Supreme Being as immortal and eternal as well? With this in mind, the question of creation taking place at a specific point in time seems rather difficult to comprehend. The Creator is eternal, His creation, the soul, also eternal-yet is there some significance to this word “creation”?

Let us examine the role of the soul through the eternal cycle and see the significance of the mystery of creation. The soul passes through the Golden, Silver, Copper and Iron Ages, into the Diamond Age, and from the Diamond Age, once again to the Golden Age. On one level, the entire cycle rests on actions of the human soul and, its interactions with other human souls, so that the laws of Karma, action and reaction apply throughout the cycle. The actions of the Golden and Silver Ages, however, seem to be not so much effort, as the fruit of effort which has been made in past. In fact, the action performed in this period of the Golden and Silver age are neutral, with neither positive nor negative reactions and the soul simply enjoys the fruit of the positive actions it has performed in the past, in the period leading up to the Golden Age. As it uses up its stock of pure karma, it comes to a point in the Copper Age where that stock is totally depleted and nothing remain any longer. At that point, it has come into body consciousness so that there is no awareness of pure action and from that moment on, impure action begin-bad karma, bringing with it the result of sorrow and suffering. Negative karma, sinful actions, continues through the Copper Age and Iron Age and reaches their climax. At this stage in the Iron Age, there is nothing but sin. Acts of charity seem to be governed by selfish motives, desires for recognition in one way or another and even relationships of the highest order-even the relationship of mother and child-become perverted and corrupt through attachment and greed, ego and other aspects of negativity, so that the soul finds itself in a state of bondage, surrounded by the effects of its own bad karma. It is at this point that the story of creation begins.

The soul, at this point in time, is in its stage of weakness and absolute impurity, so it is not so much a question of creation, as re-creation. The beautiful Deities which once existed have crumbled into dust, and now the Supreme Father intervenes, picking up the piece and re-shaping, re-moulding those human beings into their original Deity form once again. The mystery of creation can be more easily understood if, with the consciousness of eternity, we realise that it’s more a question of re-creation. Thus there is no point of time at which the earth is created physically, no point of time when the soul was actually made, but the raw materials are there and those raw materials are taken and shaped into a form that is completely new and fresh. The Supreme Father intervenes directly and out of the ashes and dust of the Iron Age, brings about the creation of the beautiful palaces of the Golden Age(metaphorically speaking and also in a sense, in reality). From the soul in a state of degradation and impurity, the Supreme Father recreates the soul with the most elevated stage of purity. An architect will not sit and make the bricks, they are there already. He will merely take them and shape the image of a beautiful new building. The material is there for him to use, and as he uses that material, creation is taking place. A goldsmith will not create his gold, but he takes it, shapes and fashions it to something of great beauty-he too has become a creator. In the same way, the soul in its stage of loss and decline is totally uplifted and transformed, filled with divinity and purity-this is the divine act of God. This is the story of creation.

From this you can see that this story of creation is very different from the one we have imagined, for when God has been called the Creator, some have thought this to mean that He created nature, others thought that He created souls, or, at least the situations we now find ourselves in. But then we wonder how God could create a world such as this, with tragedy and sorrow, and we even question the existence of God at all. If God is truth, is God is loving, merciful and just, can He be the creator of the world we see around us? Through this understanding of eternity, we no longer attach any blame to the Supreme Being, the one who cannot be blamed for our present-day situation. Through the understanding of karma, the laws of action and reaction, we realise that we have created this situation for ourselves. Nature works with its own energy on its own level, human souls work on their own level of consciousness with their own energy, and the Supreme soul works in a way that is sublime, in His own supreme fashion.

Up to now we have thought that whatever is occurring in nature is being directly governed by God. Some have thought, as we sow the seeds, God the creator is the one who produces the flowers, and that it is God who sustains and nurtures those seeds. When the seed grows and has borne fruit and the tree becomes old, decays and withers, it is thought that this is God in His role of destroyer. The roles of God the creator, Sustainers and Destroyer have been brought down onto this mundane level. We see that, in fact, the energy of nature works on its own level and certainly man does not need to interfere with the systems of nature. Every aspect of nature works in such a way that by itself it can create, sustain and destroy-but before bringing destruction to the old, it will have already created the new. Nature works most efficiently if allowed to do so without human interference and it most certainly does not need intervention from the Supreme.

Human souls also seem to work with their own energy on their own level. It is clear that  a soul cannot be created, but some think that bodies can be created and that  the moment of time known as birth is due to God in His role as creator; that as a human being grows and matures he is being sustained by God the sustainers, and that when he dies, this is the role of God the destroyer. If we examine this, again many questions arise. If the birth of an individual were dictated by the Supreme, surely the births of all children would be in a condition of happiness and love? We don’t have to think too deeply or look too far to see that this is not so. The situation of birth is different for each soul, and we can understand that birth depends on past karma, the past actions of that particular soul. So God in His role of the creator must be doing something other than looking after human birth. If we attribute the nourishment and protection of humans to the sustenance power of God, then again it can be questioned because maybe 70 per cent of the population on the earth are without the basic essentials-they do not have enough food, shelter or clothing. If the Supreme is supposed to be sustaining them, something somewhere has gone drastically wrong. And the idea of God in His role as the Destroyer again comes under scrutiny if we look at the whole idea of the death of a human being. Death today comes in situations of great stress, pain and suffering, not only for the one who is dying but for those who are going to be left behind. Yet God is known as the Dispeller of Sorrow, the One who removes all sorrow. Certainly, He could not be responsible for inflicting pain and causing death. Again with the understanding of the law of karma, we see quite clearly that the death of a human being comes about according to his allocated life-span, which is determined by his past actions.

6.2 WHAT EXACTLY IS MEANT BY GOD THE CREATOR, GOD THE SUSTAINER AND GOD THE DESTROYER?

The Creator, Himself reveals this mystery, so that creation can be understood as clearly as re-creation. Destruction is also easy to understand because there has to be the destruction of all that is old and evil before something new and pure can take a firm hold.

Let us once again turn to the cycle pattern of events. This particular period of time is the Confluence; the end of the Iron Age and the beginning of the Golden Age. This is the period of the double act of God. The acts of creation and destruction take place simultaneously. The role of Creator is, of course, the most interesting one, because something new is being borne. There is the birth of the New Age, with its factories, its slums, with all the things of the materialistic world that we see around us, and taking us to a beautiful garden of flowers? Will this be the creation of the new age? It seems unlikely that this would be sufficient, for, if today, human beings were given a world which was beautiful, undivided, they would soon be trying to take a little bit more than they already had,  putting up the partition and building fences, and that beautiful world would again become a jungle. Even if a beautiful garden is made and you let wild, unruly children run loose in it, it’s demolished in a very short space of time. So the creation of the new age is not possible on a physical level, but Divine Intervention changes the human soul.

Recreation takes place, first and foremost, on the spiritual level, so that the soul is given a new understanding, a new realisation and awareness. The only method for creating a new soul from the one already in existence is by changing its intellect, by educating it. Similarly, in society, any reformation that is to have a lasting effect can only come about through the education, of those people. So too, in this re-creation of the spirit, this spiritual revolution, the basis is education. But the information needed to transform the soul is only within the Supreme. When knowledge is revealed by the Supreme, the human intellect is divinised. The intellect which was once not able to see beyond physical limits is now touched by the Supreme. It goes beyond physical limits and, with its new awareness, is able to destroy old habits and at the same time create new personality traits, new forms of behaviour in which there are purity and divinity. So in His role as Creator, God, in fact, acts as the teacher. It is the teacher who is creating. He imparts knowledge and as the soul absorbs this, the intellect become divine. On the basis of divine wisdom, the soul is able to overcome all its past evil tendencies and despite living in the Iron age, its life is like a diamond. The soul is even able to settle all the karmic bondages it has accumulated. It can prepare itself with the new qualities necessary for the Golden Age.

However, it is not just a question of preparing the soul. While the soul is still surrounded by a world of impurity, a cleansing process or purging has to take place, and this is the role of God as a destroyer. Not the destroyer of human beings, mankind, or the material world, but the destroyer of all evil. The power of the knowledge given is such that reaction takes place automatically and naturally, and as creation is nearing completion, the human soul once again arrives at its stage of perfection. The forces of purity and righteousness are so strong that there is the automatic destruction of evil. However, the destruction of evil cannot simply take place on a spiritual level; it has physical manifestation as well. For a long time, the forces of nature have been growing more and more violent, and now they react with great strength and there is physical destruction through natural calamities-floods, fire, earthquakes and volcanoes. The violence of the soul also reached its peak and there is a conflict between brother and brother. This is the second force which brings about destruction on a physical level-civil war in every continent of the world. Signs of both these things are quite clear today. The third and final aspect of the powers of destruction is the stock of nuclear weapons man has created. Instead of using his energy for constructive purposes, it has been channelled into this destructive one. The material already accumulated is not simply for keeping, but will be used very shortly. But destruction is a means of complete purification, a cleansing, and with that final act of nuclear war there will be liberation for all souls-all of them can return to their original home, the land of peace. If the world were to continue further into the Iron Age, the horror of suffering would be inconceivable. The destruction of evil and the destruction of the world bring about the release from bondage for which souls have been striving for so long. This is not the direct act of God, but, looking at the situation as a whole, the influence of mercy can be seen. The direct act of God in the creation and the process of destruction happens automatically with the force of violence by humans.

6.3 COMMUNICATION

It has been mentioned that creation is the process of transforming man’s intellect. A deep question now arises. How can there be the communication of knowledge from the Supreme to human souls? The Supreme Being is in the Supreme Region. Human souls are here, in the bondage of a world of suffering, trapped by their own physical consciousness, so how can knowledge be imparted by the Supreme to them? It is certainly not possible for human souls to go beyond their physical limits and meet the Supreme, thus gaining access to the information He possesses. It has to be the Supreme who comes to humans. Some may consider that the knowledge of God can be revealed by inspiration, but it can be seen that human intellects are now so impure, so clouded, that even a message spoken in words can be misunderstood. When two people converse the essential idea can often be completely lost. The intellect is unable to communicate accurately even with other human beings, either in thoughts or words, so it is no fit state to understand the information the Supreme Soul wishes to give us. Superficially and physically, it appears that the human is speaking, but as we listen to the teachings, it becomes clear that the source is not human. The source is not even the scriptures, but this new information is from a source which is Supreme. It is said that a Creator is known by his creation, and a painter is known not by seeing his face, but his talent is recognised by his pictures. In the same way, one can understand who the Teacher is when the teachings are heard.

At this point in the world cycle, the confluence or Diamond Age, it is our great fortune to be part of the time when the descent of the Supreme has already taken place. The knowledge that is being shared in this course is the knowledge that has been reaveled by the Supreme through his chosen instrument. The name given to this instrument is Prajapita(the father of the people) Brahma, and he himself is an ordinary person, a soul who would say that he too become impure and degraded as much as a part of the Iron Age as any of us. This soul experienced a series of visions; one in which there was the form of God as light, one of a divine form, a vision of the new age to come and another of the destruction of the present world. As a result of these visions, this man surrendered his life to the Supreme, and through his lips has come the knowledge we are now sharing. Those who have heard these teachings have felt themselves taking a new birth. Dying from the Iron Age, one is born again in the Diamond Age, and one prepares to go to the Golden Age. So God creates a new soul, a soul with purity. By granting knowledge, God sustains the soul by filling it with the power of purity; and with the force of purity, God destroys the old world of evil so the new age may begin again. These are the secrets of creation, Sustenance and destruction.

6.4 MEDITATION- EXPERIENCE OF GOD

SUGGESTED THOUGHTS FOR MEDITATION

Om Shanti. I realise now that I am an actor in this unlimited world stage... I have been playing my role in this physical world.

I experience detachment from this my physical costume...this particular body that I occupy at the present moment...I experience myself as a being of light...a pinpoint...a tiny dot in the centre of the forehead. I realise now that this the particular costume is only one out of many that I have worn and shed in the past...I am also aware that I have other beautiful costumes that await me in the future...In this consciousness, it becomes natural and easy to move my thoughts away from costume...

As I do so, I move beyond the physical world stage...the things of the past are no more...I am free from all bondages....all troubles...I have escaped from a world of sorrow... I enter the presence of the Supreme Father, the Creator of this unlimited Drama...

Baba, the Supreme...Baba, the infinitesimal being of light.....radiating infinite light... Baba, the one and only constant Being....... I have been changing....the scenes of Drama have constantly been changing..... But Baba, constant, the immovable force of purity...of peace...of love...of bliss...

Baba’s vibrations pull the soul closer and closer...The creator Father cleanses me with His purity and love...He fills me with power...with knowledge...of Him, the creator, and of the Creation from beginning to end...no more to stumble...to fall in darkness...for I  hold the hand of the almighty authority..the Ocean of knowledge. From Baba, I absorb purity...peace...power. I absorb them to such an extent that they remain constant within me...

This is how I was originally...and this is how Baba recreates me once more. My past roles in the Drama are totally merged...Baba’s highest qualities elevate the soul to its highest stage...the stage of perfection...Baba prepares me so that I am ready to play my first, most beautiful, most perfect role in the world stage in the Drama once again...only Baba’s qualities remain in the soul....the soul becomes divine...

Returning to the physical world each step is now filled with power...love...true spiritual authority.

6.5 HELPFUL METHODS FOR THE DAY

The divine quality of cheerfulness—

Past is past and the future is your creation. So let the present

So let the present be new and fresh. Whatever has passed, be it years ago or a second ago, it is as though buried in a grave. It is not pleasant to return to the grave. The future is not yet created, but my thoughts, words and actions of this present moment are creating my future. So let my present be as though I am a little child, newly-born, the past is forgotten; now I am full of light and might. By remembering this during the day, there will be cheerfulness spread all around.

6.6 STUDY

Now, when the cycle is old and crumbling, God the Supreme comes to make all souls fresh and new and to reveal the mystery of all creation.

QUESTIONS

6A. Explain what is meant by God being the Creator.

6B Explain what is meant by God being Destroyer.

6C. Explain how both nature and man play their own roles in the happenings of the physical world.