The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda/Volume 7/Notes Of Class Talks And Lectures/On Conceptions Of Godhead
On Conceptions Of Godhead
Man's inner hankering is to find some one who is free, that is, beyond the laws of nature. The Vedantins believe in such an Eternal Ishvara, while the Buddhists and the Sankhyas believe only a Janyeshvara (created God), that is, a God who was a man before, but has become God through spiritual practice. The Puranas reconcile these two positions by the doctrine of Incarna -
tion. That is, they say that the Janyeshvara is nothing but the Nitya (Eternal) Ishvara, taking by Maya the form of a Janyeshvara. The argument of the Sankhyas against the doctrine of Eternal Ishvara, viz "how a liberated soul can create the universe", is based on false grounds. For you cannot dictate anything to a liberated soul. He is free, that is, he may do whatever he likes. According to the Vedanta, the Janyeshvaras cannot create, preserve, or destroy the universe.