[Advaita-l] Why did Brahman create the world?

[Kuntimaddi Sadananda]

PraNAms - This question as raised recently in my Facebook posts.

Here is a short answer that was provided.

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Why did Brahman create this world? 

First answer: Brahman being infinite cannot and did not createthis world? Creation involves modification and infinite cannot undergomodification. Hence from Brahman reference, there is no creation at all. 

Frist mahavaakya says: 

Prajnaanam brahma, consciousness is Brahman –that is consciousness is infinite. Since we are discussing the consciousnessthat exists – the existent consciousness or Sat – chit is Brahman. In essence,Sat cannot be different from Chit.  Being infiniteness, it is also anandaswaruupam – hence Brahman is sat – chit – ananda. That forms the nature ofinfinite consciousness.

Second answer: But I see the creation and there is a seer-seenduality, where did that come from? When that question arises, then one has toprovide some story – with the triad – jeeva-jagat-Iswara, and muulaavidya,  Vedanta and self-realization, etc., for the one who is askingthese questions until the questioner understands that all these questions arealso invalid from the point of the truth. Brahman being infinite, forms theadhishtaanam or locus for everything that appears, there cannot be anythingother than infinite Brahman. These include Jeeva- Jagat- Iswara, avidya, andvidya too. As Goudapaada says -these appearances or vibhutees are Swabhavikam. 

Hari Om!

Sadananda

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    On Thursday, January 30, 2020, 11:58:51 AM GMT+5:30, V Subrahmanian via Advaita-l <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:  
 
 In the Bh.gita Bhashya 9.10 Shankara replies:
 ततश्च एकस्य देवस्य सर्वाध्यक्षभूतचैतन्यमात्रस्य परमार्थतः
सर्वभोगानभिसम्बन्धिनः अन्यस्य चेतनान्तरस्य अभावे भोक्तुः अन्यस्य अभावात् ।
किंनिमित्ता इयं सृष्टिः इत्यत्र प्रश्नप्रतिवचने अनुपपन्ने, ‘को अद्धा वेद क
इह प्रवोचत् । कुत आजाता कुत इयं विसृष्टिः’ (ऋ. १० । १२९ । ६), (तै. ब्रा. २
। ८ । ९) इत्यादिमन्त्रवर्णेभ्यः । दर्शितं च भगवता — ‘अज्ञानेनावृतं ज्ञानं
तेन मुह्यन्ति जन्तवः’ (भ. गी. ५ । १५) इति ॥ १० ॥

See Kannada translation here:
http://adhyatmaprakasha.org/.../boo.../templates/book.php...

Read English translation here:
https://www.gitasupersite.iitk.ac.in/srimad?setgb=1&choose=1&&language=dv&field_chapter_value=9&field_nsutra_value=10

The idea is: There is no conscious/sentient entity other than Brahman that
can be called a bhoktaa (for whose sake the world could be created). The Rg
Veda passage Shankara cites is to deny the very creation event.

This Bhashya is very significant in the sense that it is perhaps the only
other instance of Shankara using the 'no conscious/sentient entity other
than Brahman' logic apart from the Brihadaranyaka Bhashya 1.4.10 (aham
brahmasmi mantra bhashya) where, too, Shankara has concluded: Since there
is no sentient entity other than Brahman, we have to assign avidya to
Brahman alone.  [The mantra there teaches: Brahman realized itself as 'aham
brahma asmi' and thereby regained its natural infinite nature.]

A very nice concept to contemplate upon.

regards
subbu