The microcosm and macrocosm are one!

At Kakrighat Swami Vivekananda said to Akhandananda: “Oh, Gangadhar! I have just passed through one of the greatest moments of my life. Here under this peepul tree one of the greatest problems of my life has been solved. …

“The microcosm and the macrocosm are built on the same plan. Just as the individual soul is encased in the living body, so is the universal Soul in the Living Prakriti [Nature] — the objective universe. Shiva [i.e. Kali] is embracing Shiva: this is not a fancy. This covering of the one [Soul] by the other [Nature] is analogous to the relation between an idea and the word expressing it: they are one and the same; and it is only by a mental abstraction that one can distinguish them. Thought is impossible without words. Therefore, in the beginning was the Word, etc.

“This dual aspect of the Universal Soul is eternal. What we perceive or feel is this combination of the Eternally Formed and the Eternally Formless”.

Vivekananda: East Meets West (a Pictorial Biography), by Swami Chetanananda. Ch III “Years of Travel as a Wandering Monk”, p 35

I came across the above passage under the heading: The microcosm and macrocosm are one! It is an excerpt from a weekly message I receive from a good friend every Friday! On reading this, I was both deeply touched and elated. I was touched because it is an affirmation of what one can understand on deep reflection on Vedic Philosophy as a practice-oriented tool. I was elated because I could connect intensely with the words and the experience as stated by Swami Vivekananda (quote from above): “I have just passed through one of the greatest moments of my life. Here under this peepul tree one of the greatest problems of my life has been solved. … “

Who am I? Where do I belong? How? These the questions for any thoughtful, reflective mind. Enabled by our evolution and our ability to think, these questions are both the burden and privilege for the human mind! Vedic Philosophy addresses these questions relentlessly through the many Upanishads, Baghawath Gita and many more scriptures. In the end they all conclude that you (I, anyone, everyone) are one and the same as the Universe at large (Tat Twam Asi). Anyone (from microcosm) to anything (in macrocosm) are both enabled and enabler. While the enabled may appear different, the enabler remains the same: Brahman.

Humans with capacity to think and raise questions are recognized as the body (Deham) in the microcosm and Nature at large (Prakriti) as the macrocosm. The enabler of the capacity to raise the questions is the Soul, Consciousness (Dehinam, Pragjnanam). The enabler at the universal scale is recognized as Universal Consciousness, Purusha or Brahman.

Body and Soul; Nature and Universal Consciousness. We can understand the above terms based on faith and belief. They could also be inferred through direct experience and observations, in a practical manner. Whatever the path, the relationship (Body and soul) at the individual level (microcosm) appears to be the same as at the universal (macrocosm) level (between the Universe and the Universal Consciousness). This clarity in the mind and cohesiveness at large provokes awe and elation in the thoughtful mind of the students of Vedic Philosophy. This experience is reflected in Swami Vivekananda’s statement as noted in the passage above.

What is this individual “soul” encased in the living body?
You, I, everyone, anyone is an embodiment of infinite forces of nature that enable all our life processes: Conception as a fetus, birth, blood circulation, breathing, digestion, neural functions, working of the bone, muscle, tissues and tendons, optics that enable us to see, acoustics that enable us to hear, …. Beyond all these physical and biological phenomena there are the emotions and feelings, thoughts and the complex function of the body/brain/mind complex. One can go on limitlessly and forever.

My “body” and “life” are a tangible summation of all that I do and in all aspects that I exist; we call that a living being or person. Then, is there a term that sums up all the myriads of phenomena listed above and those unknown to us that enable such life or living person? Vedic Philosophy identifies that as individual soul or Consciousness (Pragjnanam), encased in the living body!

What is the enabler encased in the Universe at large?
If there is a soul or consciousness reflecting my existence, then the same soul could be conceived to exist in every living person. After all, everyone is born, breathes, with blood circulation, … Hence there is a collection of the same phenomena at work through each of us, existing as evidence or witness to all the behind-the-scenes workings reflecting humanity as a whole. It is like the same electricity illuminating countless electric bulbs.

We need not stop there. Plants and animals are also governed by even more phenomena of nature! We cannot stop there as well! After all the material earth on which all exist – plants, animals and human beings – are nothing but evidences of the role and function of rain, thunder, lightning, flowing rivers, wind, fire, ocean, … We can continue with the seismic activity below the earth, planetary motion of the earth around the sun, all the well-orchestrated movements of the planets in the solar system, galaxies, blackhole, cosmos, …..

Is there a term that sums up all the multitude of phenomena of nature listed above and those unknown to us that enable the Universe? Vedic Philosophy identifies that as Universal Soul or Brahman. encased in the Prakriti [Universe or Nature, known and unknown to the human mind]

Whether we see the soul or Consciousness (Pragjnanam) as the collective noun for all phenomena that enable us (human beings) or the Universal Soul or Brahman used to represent collectively all phenomena of nature, they appear to reflect the same – a drop of water in a body of water. Vedic Philosophy identifies this common framework through the Maha Vakya (Grand Pronouncement): Pragjnanam Brahma!

We are in the process of putting togehter a book with a tentative title:
From I, to We to ALL: The Connected Self – Vedic Wisdom for an Integrated Life.
This book elaborates on the above reflections and more. Stay tuned!

Hari Om.