Getting Spiritually Better: The Cosmic Drama

Dear Reader,
Continuing our series on Getting Spiritually Better, we present you with a discussion on the concept of the Creation as God’s Divine play.

THE COSMIC DRAMA

It is often said that the Universe is a stage and Creation is God’s Cosmic Drama. Further, according to Baba, it is God Himself Who dons all the various costumes, playing all the different roles. At first sight this might seem a far-fetched idea, and not easy to accept. Be that as it may, let us examine this subject.

Let us first consider the Creation and the subsequent evolution of the Universe from a purely scientific point of view. The widely accepted view at present is that the Universe originated in what is referred to as the “Big Bang” that occurred about fifteen to twenty billion years ago. Both Space and Time came into existence at the instant of the Big Bang, and the Universe subsequently expanded. Into this space emerged gross matter made up of electrons, protons, neutrons etc. The neutrons, protons and electrons formed within a few seconds after the Big Bang but it took much longer, about 300,000 years before atoms as we know them started forming. A vast amount of primordial hydrogen and helium formed in the Universe, and almost all the objects we see in the Universe today [including ourselves] came basically out of this primordial hydrogen and helium.

From Einstein’s theory we know that matter must come only from energy. It follows that at the time of the Big Bang, there was enough of an initial deposit of energy, to start the process of matter formation in the Universe. By the way, this initial deposit was a mind-boggling amount! All that has been tersely mentioned here has been spelt out in detail by science and well corroborated by unimpeachable experimental evidence. One question that Science does not discuss is: where did the initial deposit of energy come from?

Let us now turn to Vedanta or ancient spiritual wisdom as enshrined in the Vedas that Baba so often refers to. Unlike Science, Vedanta is sparse on the technical details but, though it gives only an overview of Creation and evolution, it fills in with some crucial details that are missing in the picture painted by Science. The most important of these are: “Why is there the Universe? Why does it exist?” These questions are beyond Science, with good reason. For the answer, let us turn to Swami. He says:

There was no one to know who I am, till I created the world at My pleasure with one word. Immediately, mountains rose up; immediately, rivers started running; earth below and the skies overhead; oceans, seas, lands and watersheds; Sun, Moon and desert sands sprang up from nowhere to prove My existence. Came all forms, human beings, mankind, beasts and birds flying. Speaking, hearing and all powers were bestowed upon them under My orders. The first place was given to mankind and My knowledge was placed in man’s mind.

Let us try to understand the above with the help of an analogy. We know that water vapour that is present everywhere can manifest in different places in various visible forms such as rain water, lake water, icebergs, etc. In the same way, God manifests in the physical Universe in diverse forms basing on His twin aspects of Consciousness [Siva] and Energy [Shakti]. Since God who embodies these twin aspects of Consciousness and Energy is Love, every entity in Creation is also based on Love. Thus, there is a divinely ordained force of Love that exists between all the entities in Creation, whose apparent difference is purely superficial. [Incidentally, it is this Divine force of Love that draws devotees irresistibly to Baba.] In other words, God created the Universe as a stage wherein the different entities can visibly express their Love for each other. These different entities are nothing but God Himself, playing out the different roles!

Many questions arise at this point, one of which is: “It is understandable to say that a living being has Consciousness. But does a stone have Consciousness?” The answer according to Vedanta is that a stone does have Consciousness. Indeed the famous story of the weeping saris that Hislop has recorded proves precisely this point; namely that even so-called inanimate objects possess a certain measure of Consciousness.

A new question now arises: “In that case, what is the difference between a piece of rock and a living person? Surely there is an enormous difference!” Yes indeed, that is in the “quantum” of Consciousness energy [Consciousness also can be looked upon as a form of Divine energy] and the “type” of Consciousness energy. The “quantity” and the “quality” are such that the animate entity has a manifest sense of self-awareness. We can see that a living being knows about its existence. For example, when a cat approaches a rat, the latter runs for its life. That is because it knows it exists and it wants to protect its existence. This capacity for self-awareness is associated with what is called the Praana – Baba often refers to it. It is this Pranaa that exits when a person dies. Thereafter, whatever Consciousness is left in the corpse is just the “inert” type of Consciousness that is present in all atoms.

In the picture painted above, the emergence of life through an evolutionary process is like a nuclear reactor becoming critical and starting to generate energy on its own, when there is a critical mass of uranium in it. In terms of this analogy, death occurs when the Consciousness energy becomes sub-critical following the exit of the Praana. In a similar manner, for the first few weeks, the fetus that grows in the womb is just a mass of flesh but, as Baba has pointed out, when Praana enters the fetus [around the fourth month or so], it becomes a living entity of its own with its own distinctive Consciousness – the “mass of flesh” now attains criticality, to use the reactor terminology.

To understand how this is related to the Cosmic Drama we have to first appreciate that the Universe is inherently diverse. Thus, superficially, the constituent entities of the Universe all appear very different. In fact, one cannot even find two blades of grass that are identical. Yet, behind all this bewildering diversity there is an underlying unity. It is to call attention to this two-sided nature of Creation that Baba often reminds us: “BULBS ARE MANY BUT CURRENT IS ONE”. Yes, in an illuminated building one would see many different bulbs of different colours and different levels of brilliance; yet they all shine on account of the same current that passes through all of them. In the same manner, though we may see stars, planets, mountains, elephants, tigers, snakes, plants and humans of all shades and colours, they all are embodiments of one God and carry the Divine spark in them. That is the ‘unity in diversity’ to which Baba directs our attention.

God is playing all the roles in this drama; that of the good guy as well as the villain. This would be most mystifying to most of us and we would wonder: “Now why on earth does God do this?” Before we consider that, let us remind ourselves that little children who play all by themselves often do this. They speak to themselves, playing many roles! God is like a child and He does this to amuse Himself and to express His Love for Himself [via the various forms]. That is why ancients in India referred to Creation as a God’s Leela or His sport. Playing this game, God can love Himself through His various forms.

One objection to this proposition might be: “Listen, this is all wrong. In this world, there is more hatred than love. There is something wrong with this hypothesis”. Therefore, let us examine further. God’s Drama is not a simple one but a rather complex one. Would any creative dramatist write a naïve play where nothing really happens? No. In the same way, God has scripted His play with a lot of spice! He has thrown in some good guys and lots of bad guys, setting in motion a pendulum as it were. At times the pendulum swings towards evil and at times it swings towards good. In fact, to make the pendulum swing towards good, God sometimes has to put in a personal appearance as an Avatar!

In short, the entire Universe is by God, for God and of God! That is why Baba often tells us “You are God.” In that case, why don’t we behave like God would? That is because we have forgotten our true nature and that is precisely why Swami often tells us to ask ourselves: “WHO AM I?” A man who does not know that he is God is like an actor who is lost in his role and has forgotten his true identity. But one who knows his real-ID is not only aware that he is God but also that everyone else he sees is God.

Thus, we are reminded often that life is a drama so that we begin to see God in all. In an act of extreme kindness, Baba taught this lesson to Hislop in a unique way. This is how Hislop tells it:

After I had been going to Prasantinilayam for about three years, coming back to America, as I got off the plane, I felt that Swami’s head and shoulders were superimposed on mine. I felt that way. I was aware of the hair. So I said, “Well, welcome to America, Swami!” That feeling lasted for three years. Every place I would go, there would be Swami standing in the room. When I would talk to people at the Centre, Swami would be standing behind every person in that room! Behind every person would be Swami’s head. When I look at the wall there would be a row of Swamis standing along the wall. That vision finally came to an end, and I told Swami, “Swami, that phenomenon has come to an end now.” Swami said, “Hislop, don’t you know that all phenomena come to an end?” He added, “You have had that vision of Swami without any effort on your part whatsoever. Now you have to deliberately see Swami wherever you look!” So I do that.

A relevant doubt might be: “OK, God is in all, but what about the apparent evil one sees all around? How does one deal with it?” The answer is, “Just as in a play two people play the role of the good and the bad guy respectively, but neither is evil. However, as far as the play is concerned, one acts like the bad guy and the other appears to deal firmly with the bad guy. But in all this there is no hatred or anger.” In other words, we play our roles as we are called upon to but without any malice, hatred or anger.

In the same spirit, we go through life as the Trustee of God. That is, nothing that we might seem to have is really ours, be it wealth, or intelligence or even physical strength. Every form of wealth belongs to God, a portion of which has been given to us for “safe custody”. Thus, if a person is rich, he does not think that the money with him is his; instead he regards it as God’s money given to him in trust, and spends that money as God would like him to. Similarly, if a person is very intelligent, he uses that intelligence for service to humanity.

A minor additional clarification and that is the relationship between the view of Creation as presented by Science and the view as presented by Vedanta. This relationship is indicated in the diagram below:

We see from the above the following facts: 1) Science gives a good and detailed picture of what happened after the Big Bang, but it does not explain why the Big Bang occurred, nor where the initial deposit of physical energy came from. 2) Vedanta on the other hand says that God willed Creation whereupon the energy of Consciousness filtered down through various layers to the physical level to provide the initial deposit of energy for the Big Bang to occur. 3) Science is able to describe the evolution of gross matter from the time of the Big Bang but can only speculate where the origin of life is concerned. 4) Even if Science can explain how the first living molecule emerged from the primordial soup that filled the earth four billion years ago, it cannot explain the blossoming of Consciousness in man. 5) Vedanta comments on this by saying that the evolution of living species actually occurred against a prevailing background of Consciousness that filled the entire Universe from the beginning. More Consciousness was placed into the higher species as it were, triggering “criticality” in man, giving him the capacity to realise that He is God. When a person realises he is God, he leaves the stage permanently, while the others continue. And the play goes on, even as the pendulum of fortune swings all the time from the side of Dharma to Adharma and back again.

ADDITIONAL POINTS RELATING TO THE ABOVE

Poets have described the world as a stage and life as a drama, but we generally dismiss all that as just beautiful metaphor. On the contrary, the Universe is a Divine stage, and life is a part of the Cosmic Drama.
Every drama or play must have a playwright, a producer, a director, plus of course actors, etc. In the Cosmic Drama, God plays all the roles!
This is a sport of the Lord, rather like the games that little children sometimes play, where they engage themselves in elaborate playacting on their own. That is why this particular sport is called a Leela of God.
Why does God do this? We cannot really say, but Swami has given us a clue. He says God plays this game so that His different aspects manifesting as different entities in Creation can show love to each other. So, in a manner of speaking, it is a game of Love wherein God in one particular form shows His Love to another particular form.
We mortals fail to see or understand this. We are so immersed in externals, that we see only the outer differences, failing to recognise the Inner unity. That is why Swami repeatedly tells us: “Remember, when you abuse another person you are really abusing God!” Likewise, when His boys went out to serve in the villages, He told them, “Don’t think you are serving others; you are in fact serving your own self!” This is just another way of saying that the same God resides in all.
If God is truly the core of all beings, how come we fail to see that, and perceive only the difference? This is due to the play of the Gunas, an important aspect of Prakriti or Nature. But at the core, all are sparks of the Divine.
Science also concedes that all entities in Creation are constituted of the same building blocks, and in that sense at least there is a thread of unity running across the entire Universe. The tiger, the mountain, the planets are all so different. Yet all of them are made up of molecules and all these molecules are made up of atoms of hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and so on. Further, the ancestry of all these atoms can be traced all the way back to the Big Bang! Thus, even according to Science, the one has become many.
This is not all. A plant has life, a fish has life, an ant has life, a whale has life, an elephant has life, and man too has life. Though superficially all these species are very different from each other, the core of the Life principle is the same in all. Once again, there is a common connecting thread.
However, Science is not able to offer any explanation for the reason why such a thread exists or the cause for it. For that, one must necessarily turn to spirituality.
People in ancient India believed that while the core principle reflected the Divine undercurrent, the external diversity was imposed by Nature to facilitate the Cosmic Drama. After all, can there be a play with just one person and no other characters?
Thus, ancient Indians accepted diversity in day to day life; but at the same time, they never forgot the underlying Cosmic thread of unity, the Divine undercurrent. Thus, they would never deliberately hurt another species, always declaring, “That being is also a Jiva,” meaning that the other entity also contained the same Divine Life Principle.
In short:

Everything in the physical Universe has come from the primordial “Cosmic soup” that existed at the time of the Big Bang.
Diversity in Nature is due to the play of the Gunas.
However the core principle is the same.
In particular, in the living species, the Atma manifests also as the Life Principle.
In life, one must have a balanced approach taking cognizance of the core principle and the external diversity at the same time.
In this context, it is useful to keep in mind what Sage Ramakrishna once told his disciples. He said, “It is said the tiger also is God, but it is practical to maintain a respectable distance from it, especially during its lunch hour!”
All this is fine but what is the practical implication of saying that all that happens in the Universe is a part of a Cosmic Drama? What does it really mean?
To understand this, let us suppose there is a drama company which is staging Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar. The play features characters like Caesar who is stabbed to death, Brutus who participates in the assassination, and Cassius who masterminds the plot. There is also Mark Anthony the friend of Caesar, who wants to avenge the death of his king. According to script of the play, Cassius hates Caesar, and in the drama speaks lines that convey his hatred. Again, according to the script, Brutus stabs Caesar. But what really happens when the play is enacted? The man playing the role of Cassius pours venom when he speaks his part of the dialogue but really he does not hate the man playing Caesar. Similarly, Brutus has no hatred and merely appears to stab Caesar. In fact, after the curtain finally comes down, it is quite likely that all these actors who acted as if they were enemies quietly enjoy a cup of coffee together! This is the lesson that one must carry over into life.
The life of Lincoln provides an example. He had to wage war against the Confederate States, but he did so without malice or hatred. Gandhi fought against British Imperialism, but he had no hatred for the British people. These examples teach us how to go through life performing routine functions, but with an extraordinary attitude that is without anger, malice, jealousy, hatred, greed, avarice, etc.
The following doubts can arise: “How can we take all this seriously? What about protecting my honour? What if I am insulted?” Well, as regards these matters, one must function in a worldly manner, within bounds of course, but in the spirit mentioned. For example, even Gandhi agreed that self defence is acceptable, provided one’s life is threatened. Not everyone can be like a Jnani who is ever ready to show the other cheek or even give up his life without the least struggle. But all that is done must be done in the spirit of the Cosmic Drama.
One might still argue: “But it is all so confusing! What is the big deal? Why on earth must one go through life as if it were a Cosmic Drama?” The answer to this is: “Life is a Cosmic Drama, whether we like it or not! Once we realise it, we would be able to go through life looking upon everyone as God in disguise – that is the real point. Once one sees God in every being, including the lower forms of life, one has arrived!” Finally, when the body is shed, the individual merges with the Divine, and journey is over at last! The purpose of life is fully served.
In short, realising that life is a Cosmic Drama is an important component of the purpose of life.
One might still argue: “It is one thing to theoretically declare that life is a drama, and quite another to actually go through it that way. Is there any clear prescription for all this?”
There is and that is where the Trusteeship principle that Gandhi strongly advocated applies. The idea is not new at all, and is a part of the ancient Indian heritage. The idea is simply that everyone no matter to what station of life they belong is an employee of God as far as work is concerned and a trustee of God where resources are concerned.
As far as being a trustee pertains we can take the example of a king. While from a worldly point of view he is looked up to, the King for his part must feel that he is a servant of God. This is not as preposterous as it might sound. In India, Government Officials are supposed to be Public Servants. In this sense, the President is not merely the First Citizen but actually the First Servant. In fact, many years ago, Baba declared to a Seva Dal conference that He was the First Seva Dal!
When everyone feels that he or she is a servant of God doing his or her work for and on behalf of God, [and does it diligently in a manner that would actually please God!], then half the world’s problems are solved right away.
The other part, trusteeship, relates to relinquishing “ownership”. It starts with one’s children. One goes through life with the attitude that one is actually a foster parent, looking after God’s child, given as a trustee. Kasturi describes how his parents took him as a tiny baby to a Siva temple and, after thanking the Lord, took a pledge to discharge their duties as foster parents.
In this spirit, everything is owned by God – health, wealth, knowledge, property etc. One is merely a trustee using that particular resource for and on behalf of God.
Once upon a time, the Trusteeship concept was widely prevalent in Indian society. Maybe whole societies can no longer revert to such an attitude in this day and age, but certainly individual seekers can very well adopt such an attitude. In fact they must, and that is when playing a proper role in the Cosmic Drama becomes easy.
For example, a man may have to wear an expensive costume in a play. He does not wear it believing that it belongs to him; he knows that when the curtain comes down, he must return the dress to the property department! Likewise, a man acting the part of a king merely acts the role and does not strut about behind stage like a monarch!
In short, with the right attitude, going through life in the spirit of an actor in a Cosmic Drama is not an impossible task.

POINTS TO PONDER OVER
The concept of Trusteeship has just been discussed. Basically, it amounts to cultivating the feeling that one owns nothing, not even the body! Everything belongs to God, and is used for and on behalf of God. Indeed, even eating is to be regarded as an act intended to sustain the body that is God’s instrument.
The last remark may sound crazy but there is a story that underscores the idea. The Gopikas, the village girls who lived in Brindavan during Krishna’s time were once trying to cross the River Yamuna. But the river was in spate and there was also no boat in sight. How to cross? Just then Sage Vyasa happened to come that way. The Gopikas then appealed to Vyasa saying, “O venerable Sage, please help to go across somehow.” The Sage agreed but on one condition. He told them, “You must all give me a little of the fresh butter that you are carrying.” The girls agreed and gave him some their butter. The Sage ate it all with great relish. After wiping his hands, he then went to the river and said, “O Mother Yamuna, if it is true that I have been fasting today, then please stop the water flow so that we all can easily cross and go over to the other side.” Lo and behold, the flood waters began to subside immediately, and everyone was able to cross the river without any difficulty. On reaching the other side, the Gopikas thanked Vyasa profusely and then said, “O Sage, why did you tell Mother Yamuna that you had fasted after eating all that butter? And she seemed to believe you! What is the mystery behind all this?” With a smile Vyasa replied, “O young ladies, you all thought that it was I who was feasting. No, that is not so. Today, I am observing a fast. But I merely put all that butter into my mouth to despatch it to Krishna. It was He who really ate all that butter!” All this might be very difficult for us in this hard-boiled age to swallow but such was their faith in those days. This example is an illustration of how a trustee operates.
Once again the standard question: “How would you explain this important but difficult concept of the Cosmic Drama to children?” Think about it.

SWAMI’S OBSERVATIONS ON THE COSMIC DRAMA
All living beings are actors on the stage called the world. They make their exit when the curtain is rung down or their part is over. On this stage, one may play the part of a thief; another may be cast as a king; a third may be a clown and another a beggar. For all these characters in the play, there is One that gives the cue. Here, some points have to be understood clearly. The prompter in worldly drama will not come upon the stage and give the cue in full view of all. If he does so, the drama will lose interest. Therefore, standing behind a screen at the back of the stage, he gives cue to all the actors, irrespective of the role, be it dialogue, speech or song, just when each is in need of some help. In the same way, the Lord is behind the stage of Prakriti, giving the cue to all the actors for their various parts. So, every actor must be conscious of His Presence behind the screen of Maya. The actor must be anxious to catch the faintest suggestion He might give, always watching Him out of the corner of his eyes, and having his ears primed to catch His voice. Instead of this, if a person forgets the plot and the story, [that is to say the work one is supposed to do and the duty one has to discharge], and neglects to watch the Presence behind the screen, and simply stands dumb on the stage, the audience will laugh at his folly and accuse him of spoiling the show. Hence, every actor who has to play the role of man on the world stage must first learn the lines well, and then, remembering the Lord behind the screen, await His orders. Both aspects must receive due attention.
You are only actors on the stage before the footlights. The Director Who knows the play, Who gives the cue, Who calls you in and puts you on is behind the curtain. You are a puppet; He holds the strings…..
Place yourself at His disposal. He knows. He has written the play, and He knows how it would go and how it would end. Yours is but to act….. Pray that you may act well and earn His appreciation.
Do all action as actors in a play, keeping your identity separate, and not attaching yourself too much to your role. Remember that the whole thing is a just play and that the Lord has assigned you a part. Act your part well. There ends your duty. He has designed the play and He enjoys it!
Do not feel that your role is low and that of the other person is high. Likewise, do not feel proud when you get a high role. Do the best you can, whatever the role; that is the way to earn Grace.
Thought, word and deed must all be filled with belief that it is His play. That is the genuine path.
The world is a stage. All human beings are actors in this world-drama. Actions are motivated by the Will of God Who controls man’s Immortal Soul and perishable bodies. We must play the game without displaying any sort of weakness or timidity.