III. 6, VI.

This Virat Purusha upholds the manifested universe. All materials are in Him and all individuals take their rise from Him and end in Him. He is the one ocean of endless bubbles which have their beginning and end in Him. The Avataras also all rest on the bosom of Virat Purusha. We have looked at Virat Purusha from the standpoint of the First Purusha. Now let us proceed upwards from below. The Brihat Aranayaka Upanishad thus speaks of Virat Purusha, at the beginning of the Fourth Brahmana of the first chapter: -- "This was before soul, bearing the shape of a man. Looking round he beheld nothing but himself. He said first: -- 'This am I.' Hence the name of I was produced. And, because he as the first of all of them consumed by fire all the sins, therefore he is called Purusha. He verily consumes him who, before this, strives to obtain the state of Prajapati, he, namely who, thus knows." The following is the commentary of Sankaracharya. "This was before the soul." The soul is here defined as Prajapati, the first born from the Egg, the embodied soul, as resulting from his knowledge and works in accordance with the Vedas. He was what? "This," produced by the division of the body, "was the soul" not separated from the body of Prajapati, "before" the production of other bodies. He was "also bearing the shape of man", which means that he was endowed with head, hands and other members, he was the Viraj, the first born. "Looking round reflecting who am I, and of what nature, he beheld nothing but himself", the fulness of life, the organism of causes and effects. He beheld only himself as the Universal soul. Then, endowed with the recollection of his Vedic knowledge in a former birth, "he said first: This am I" _viz_., Prajapati, the universal soul. "Hence," because from the recollection of his knowledge in a former world he called himself I, therefore his name was I "And because he" -- Prajapati in a former birth, which is the cause, as the first of those who were desirous of obtaining the state of Prajapati by the exercise of reflection on works and knowledge _viz_. "as the first of all of them," of all that were desirous of obtaining the state of Prajapati, consumed by the perfect exercise of reflection on works and knowledge of all the sins of contact which are obstacles to the acquirement of the state of Prajapati, -- because such was the case, therefore he is called Purusha, because he is _Purvam Aushad_, (first burnt). As that Prajapati, by consuming all opposite sins, became this Purusha Prajapati, so also any other consumes, reduces all to ashes by the fire of the practice of reflection on knowledge and works, or only by the force of his knowledge, and He verily "consumes" Whom? "Him who before this sage strives to obtain the state of Prajapati." The sage is pointed out as he who thus knows, who according to his power manifests his reflection on knowledge. "But is it not useless for any one to strive for the state of Prajapati, if he is consumed by one who thus knows? There is no fault in this; for consuming means here only that the highest state, that of Prajapati, is not obtained, because the eminence of reflection on knowledge is wanting. Therefore by the words, "He consumes him" is meant, that the perfect performer obtains the highest state of Prajapati; he who is less perfect does not obtain it, and by no means that the less perfect performer is actually consumed by the perfect; thus it is said in common life, that a warrior who first rushes into battle, consumes his combatants, which means that he exceeds them in prowess. In order to understand this better, let us consider the scheme of human evolution. Atma is the same in all beings and, when free from the limitations of individual life, it becomes all pervading. Sympathy and compassion open the door to the liberation of Atma. The Upadhi, or vehicle of Atma, or the body of its manifestation, becomes less and less gross, as Atma proceeds in its course of liberation, the body becomes better able to do good to all mankind and it does not act as a barrier to communion with the real self. The most highly evolved beings become universal and not individual, and they live normally on the spiritual plane. They at last reach the state of divinity. Then they may become Avataras. When these Avataras have to work on the physical and intellectual planes, they assume a body and become born, like ordinary beings. They have then to _come down_ from their normal state, but their vision and power remain undestroyed. When their mission is over, they reach again their normal state. The Avataras have not to work out their own Karma. They are liberated Atmas, staying back for the liberation of other individuals in the universe. Karma-less themselves, they bear the Karma of the universe upon their shoulders. The thin veil that separates their state from the state of the absolute Brahma is Maya, which is the highest manifestation of Prakriti which enables them to assume cosmic responsibility out of their unbounded compassion for all beings. The Avataras may cast off their veil at will, but as long as they choose to keep that veil, the whole universe is at their command and they guide the whole course of universal evolution. Now of all Avataras one takes upon himself to hold all individuals in His bosom, to sustain them all and to make Him the field of their Involution and Evolution, in the Kalpa. He is called Virat Purusha. He is practically the Ishvara of our universe. The body of this Purusha, called the First Avatara, the Second or Virat Purusha, and the Egg-born, is formed by the Tatvas, numbered twenty-four in the Sankhya philosophy. These Tatvas collect together to form an Egg and the Second Purusha breaks forth from that Egg and becomes the Thousand-headed Purusha of the Upanishads. For the sake of meditation, He is imagined to be seated on the Serpent Ananta. The lotus stalk grew out of his navel. The Tatvas themselves are brought into manifestation by the awaking of the First Purusha. The Second Purusha enters into all beings as their Atma, becoming three-fold in his aspect _viz_. Adhi-Atma, Adhi-bhuta and Adhi-deva. Then He is called the Third Purusha. Says the Satvata Tantra, as quoted by Sridhara: -- "There are three forms of Vishnu known as Purusha -- the first is the creator of Mahat, the Second is the permeator of the cosmic Egg, and the third is the permeator of all beings." Virat Purusha is the seat af all Avataras. Therefore all Avataras are called parts of the Virat Purusha. Speaking of other Lila Avataras, Bhagavata calls them parts and aspects of the Second Purusha; "but Krishna is Bhagavat Himself." Bhagavat is here the First Purusha. I. 3 XXVIII. In the Tenth Skandha, Raja Parikshit says: "Tell us the mighty deeds of Vishnu, incarnated as a _part_ in the line of Yadu." X. 1 II. Later on again: -- "The supreme Purusha, Bhagavat Himself, shall be born in the house of Vasudeva." X. 1 XXIII. The Devas said, addressing Devaki: -- "Rejoice mother, the Supreme Purusha, Bhagavat Himself, is in thy womb _by His part_" X. 2 XII. The Purusha, seated on Ananta, addressed Arjuna and Krishna as Nara and Narayana. The Mahabharata also calls them Incarnations of Nara and Narayana. These Rishis are invoked all throughout the Mahabharata. They were the sons of Dharma by Murti, daughter of Daksha. Nara and Narayana are looked upon as two in one and they were adored by the Devas, as manifestations of Purusha Himself. (IV. 1 XLVI). They went after their birth to Gandha Madana. (IV. 1 XLVIII.) It is these Rishis, parts of Bhagavat Hari, who have now appeared for the removal of her load from the Goddess Earth, as Krishnas, in the lines of Yadu and Kuru. (IV. 1 XLIX.) Krishna in the line of Kuru is Arjuna. In explaining this Sloka, Sridhara quotes the following from a Vaishnava Tantra: -- "In Arjuna, there is only the Avesa (suffusing) of Nara. Krishna is Narayana Himself." Sri Krishna said to Arjuna: -- "I have passed through many births as well as thou. I know them all. Not so thou." This shows that Arjuna was not Nara himself, the supplement of Narayana, for in that case he would have remembered his previous births. But, as the Tantra says, "Arjuna was possessed by the Nara aspect of the dual Rishi." Sri Krishna said to Devaki: -- "At my first birth, in the Svayam-bhuva Manvantara, thou wert born as Prisni and this Vasudeva was named Prajapati Sutapas I was born as your son, Prisni-garbha. I was also born of you, when you were Aditi and Vasudeva was Kasyapa, as Upendra, also called the Vamana or Dwarf Avatara. At this third birth, I am your son again, with the same body."