November 13, 2026
asatye satyabuddhyaiva baddho bhavati bhāvanāt
bahuśo bhāvayatyantarnānātvamanudhāvati (13)z
VASIṢṬHA continued:
The cosmic subtle (ātivāhika) body that arose as the creator Brahmā by sheer coincidence (just as a ripe cocoanut falls when a crow alights on it) continues to exist on account of the inherent nature of consciousness. It itself is the universe. The seer, the seen and the act of seeing are all unreal. Or if they are all considered real, even then they are all Brahman, and Brahman alone is real.
The cosmic subtle body arises of its own accord and that itself becomes a solid substance by being constantly thought of as such, even as a dream may appear to be real when it is prolonged. Thus, even materiality or substantiality arises of its own accord from the subtle (ātivāhika) body. “I am this”, “I am that” – thus the notions that arise in that body appear as mountains and the various directions, but all this is mere delusion, appearance or optical illusion. When the ātivāhika body is thought of as material or physical substance by the creator Brahmā, such materiality arises.
Consciousness considers itself as Brahmā the creator; it considers, “This is body” and “This is the support for the body” and thus creates a relationship between the body and the support which thereafter becomes a bondage. When there is the notion of reality in unreal phenomena, there is bondage. When many such notions arise, then diversity is brought into being.
That person then utters sounds, makes gestures and indicates whatever he wishes to convey. He sings the mantras of the veda after uttering OṀ. Soon he engages himself in diverse activities with the help of all these. He is of the nature of the mind and whatever he thinks, that he experiences. It cannot be difficult for one to see his own nature and that which has arisen in him on account of his own nature. However, when he thus perceived the notion of the world within himself, soon it became a solid reality. Though this physical and material universe is but a long dream or magic product, it shines as if it is true in the subtle body or Brahmā the creator.
Hence, it is clear that the physical or material universe does not exist at any time anywhere. The subtle body itself appears to be the solid body on account of the notion of such solidity arising in it repeatedly. Its very source is unreal. The sole reality in all this is Brahman. There is naught here but Brahman.