Sankaracarya's Vivekachudamani 393

सदेवेदं सर्वं जगदवगतं वाङ्मनसयोः

सतोऽन्यन्नास्त्येव प्रकृतिपरसीम्नि स्थितवतः ।

पृथक्किं मृत्स्नायाः कलशघटकुम्भाद्यवगतं

वदत्येष भ्रान्तस्त्वमहमिति मायामदिरया ॥

sadevedaṃ sarvaṃ jagadavagataṃ vāṅmanasayoḥ

sato'nyannāstyeva prakṛtiparasīmni sthitavataḥ |

pṛthakkiṃ mṛtsnāyāḥ kalaśaghaṭakumbhādyavagataṃ

vadatyeṣa bhrāntastvamahamiti māyāmadirayā ||

(Sankaracarya's Vivekachudamani 393)

The entire universe known through speech and mind is nothing but Brahman. There is nothing but Brahman, which exists even beyond the pale of Prakrti. Can the pitcher, jug, pot, etc., ever be anything other than the clay of which they are made? Drunk with the wine of illusion (Maya), the deluded person talks of 'you' and 'me'

The universe around us appears to be orderly and symmetrical. The planets rotate perfectly in their orbits. Our bodies possess complex circulatory, respiratory, and digestive systems. Even the atoms are highly structured. All this suggests that the universe was created not by chance, but by an intelligent person. If human beings can create houses, skyscrapers, and many other structures, it is plausible that a person far more powerful than any human-created universe and everything in it.

The Vedic literature confirms that we cannot conclusively understand the Supreme Being by logic alone. The Bhagavad- Gita declares that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, who is the creator of both this universe and the spiritual world beyond it, can be understood only by His mercy when He is pleased to reveal Himself to His faithful devotees. Although our logic and mental gymnastics cannot rise to embrace the Lord, He can by His omnipotence pierce through the uncertainty and ignorance of His faithful servants and show Himself to them.

But the materialistic person simply forgetting the truth and get intoxicated by a material world which will simply make us forget the creator. This kind of illusion will simply create ego which is I am this and that.