Such and intriguing question... I am familiar with the concept of the Universal Mind, usually thought of as God in sources I have used in the past, like material from spiritual and self help teacher Jonathan Parker (my mom used to get catalogs from his company when I was a teenager and order his tapes, he is now here Jonathan Parker | Guided Meditation Retreats & Self Help Programs)I'm under the impression that there's a specific deity in Hinduism who represents the mind of the universe, but I always get mixed up whether it's Brahma or Vishnu. Is it one of these, or have I mixed up my concepts entirely? Thank you for any replies.
I'm under the impression that there's a specific deity in Hinduism who represents the mind of the universe, but I always get mixed up whether it's Brahma or Vishnu. Is it one of these, or have I mixed up my concepts entirely? Thank you for any replies.
Yes, I came to ask @iBrian how he could leave Shiva out of the holy trinity!
Ah, yes - this sounds like what I was thinking. If Brahma dreams the universe, then does this mean Brahma is effectively the mind of the universe?
Perhaps you are thinking of Brahman, though Brahman is no deity. It is considered to be the highest principle in Hindu philosophy; the substrate upon which the universe appears. Brahman appears in the form of deity through the lens of Maya (time, space, and causation) as Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Shakti, etc. But Brahman without Maya is without qualities and attributes (nirguna) and considered to be pure consciousness. This is sometimes referred to as Para Brahman.
An aside or three... (I wish our forum were threaded. So my mind's response would not derail anything. Someone takes a new twist and that is discussed on a new thread as the original post and comments keep on going...alas)
Thank you very much - this sounds like what I was asking about. It appears I was confusing Brahma and Brahman? If so, my apologies!
The link I posted above (here for convenience) reports the universe to be the dream of Brahma. Do they have it wrong? Are the words Brahman and Brahma not related? It appears in this link they actually use the words interchangeably -- have they made an error?
I think the link I posted may have contained that confusion. I honestly thought the two words were either related, or, that the variation was due to translation. Interesting! I will have to learn more about the distinction.
Yes and no. All that can be perceived in the world is verily Brahman. However, Brahma is saguna Brahman (Brahman with qualities and attributes) i.e. a deity. As is Shiva, Vishnu, Kali, et al. Brahma is to Brahman as a character in your dream would be to the you the dreamer.
