Vedantic texts are the source for those who accept the authority of the Vedas. All expositions on Vedanta abide by the truths expressed in the Vedas which are believed to be the very breath of the Supreme Brahman and not the creation or composition of any human or even celestial being. Brahma who created the worlds and the beings derived the capacity to do so from the knowledge of the Vedas that the Supreme Lord had directly imparted to Him. Creation thus happened according to the dictates of the Vedas. Lord Krishna explains that it is important to differentiate between the ephemeral and the eternal that coexist in creation and evolution using the analogy of the Kshetra (field) and the knower of the field (Kshetrajna), pointed out Srimati Rukmani Ramamurthy in a lecture. The only Reality is the Supreme Brahman who alone is eternal, without a beginning and ever transcendent. The Upanishads say that such is His infinite expanse that He is beyond what exists and also what does not exist. He thus is all-pervading, and encompasses all things and people indiscriminately. From Him is set forth the entire creation and the evolution cycle. The individual who is able to see the created world including all the beings with their infinite forms, names and characteristics etc., as a manifestation of the Supreme Brahman and thereby his inner Self as immortal while the body and its complex features such as the senses, mind, etc., as always subject to change is the Knower. His inner subtle in each and every aspect of it, will understand that His inner Self The Lord’s Maya is ever baffling and none can hope to cross its far-reaching impact without the help of the Lord. He alone can release the Jivatma from this ever impenetrable Maya. And only those who surrender to Him with implicit faith can achieve this.
To assimilate and internalise the truth that the entire creation is only as unsubstantial as a dream demands of an individual a tremendous effort since he/she lives in this world and is very much a part of it in day-to-day activities. A dream can be dismissed since its impact is weakened during one’s waking state when other matters hog one’s attention. Prakriti has immersed us in ignorance through many births. Lord Krishna teaches the basic lesson of knowing one’s Self using the analogy of a field and a knower of the field, said Srimati Rukmani Ramamurthy in a lecture.
