“Avyakta means unmanifested. Not even all of the material world is manifested before us. Our senses are so imperfect that we cannot even see all of the stars within this material universe. In Vedic literature we can receive much information about all the planets, and we can believe it or not believe it. All of the important planets are described in Vedic literatures, especially Shrimad-Bhagavatam, and the spiritual world, which is beyond this material sky, is described as avyakta, unmanifested. One should desire and hanker after that supreme kingdom, for when one attains that kingdom, he does not have to return to this material world.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Bhagavad-gita, Introduction)

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1. Filling the vacancy for the top person

“Hey, did you hear the news? There is no one at the top. The position is open. I think I will go for it. I am ready. Someone needs to steer this ship. It can’t just run on its own. Well, perhaps for a little while, but that is not sustainable; at least not in the long run. I think I can do it. Correction, I know I can do it. Just watch me. People will be happy. We will get rid of all of the problems in the world. The stress, the anxiety, the angst, the fear, the hopelessness, the despair – I will wipe away every unwanted condition. No, I do not see the resemblance to a politician with their empty campaign promises. Why would you say such a thing?”

2. Exploring the depths of the universe to understand an existence

“The moon was for the boomers. Because they are selfish and the worst generation we have ever had, obviously not much progress was made off that milestone. They say they somehow lost all the telemetry data associated with the mission. You would think something as monumental as landing men on the moon would have every artifact carefully preserved for future generations to revisit. At least as a way to document the milestone, you would keep everything in a museum. Not sure why they haven’t been back since then, either. Oh, well.

“Never mind the particulars, I promise to reach the outer limits of space and beyond. That is our goal, to explore and explore. In this way, we will finally understand the universe. Playing the role of the skeptic, you claim that space is itself without boundaries. As there is no beginning to time, there is no demarcation for space. There is no wall that you can reach that essentially blocks you from proceeding. Well, we will see about that, won’t we? No one has proven their claim, on either side. We will gather sufficient empirical data to reach a consensus opinion on the matter.”

…

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada references a particular Sanskrit word to show that man has scant visible evidence in front of them to claim that they really know anything about the universe. The word is avyakta, which is a negation of a root word. Something that is vyakta is manifest. Avyakta is thus the unmanifest. This combination, which is a dichotomy, applies to so many aspects of living, from the most basic concepts to the idea of Divinity itself.

Parents of young children have likely seen some of the books commonly used to introduce reading. These are known as “board books” since they have a structure suitable for being held in tiny hands. They can also withstand the punishment of being tossed around, as children are known to do with their toys. One of these books introduces the concept of opposites. The pages depict various scenes, with the right side almost an inverted image of the left side.

For instance, on one page the hat is on top of the table. On the next page, the same hat is underneath the table. On one page the scene depicted is hot. On the opposite page it is cold. One person is coming. Another person is going. In the same way, we can see one person, because they are visible before us. We cannot see another person, because we lack the direct vision.

The combination of vyakta and avyakta applies to the universe, as well. In the modern day, what we accept as knowledge based on material science is what we can see. This is the vyakta side, or that which is manifest. Man might have been able to see all along, but the doubters will not accept images of stars in the night sky as evidence. Neither will they take the word of telescopic images. No, they insist on flying expensive machines to travel to the various destinations. That is the more concrete vyakta, to add to their base of ascending knowledge.

The Vedic tradition says that this is a foolish way to go about understanding the universe. We barely have an idea of the vyakta. Just because the sun sets in the evening does not mean it disappears. Just because the sun rises in the morning does not mean it suddenly takes birth. The sun is always there. In the same way, the universe continues to exist. Whether we see it or not. Whether we perceive that entire universe with our machines or not has no impact on the reality of the situation.

Then there is the concept of avyakta. This is the unmanifest. If we could see the entire manifest world, we would still lack access to the unmanifest. The avyakta is like its own realm. It is the home of the Supreme Lord. The avyakta is both the spiritual world and a way to conceptualize the entire cosmic manifestation. That is to say, if you took both the material and spiritual worlds, combined them into a single understanding, realizing that there is one individual perpetually pervading the entire space, you would get something known as the avyakta-murti. This is one way to understand God. He exists because He is the avyakta-murti. Only He can accurately claim to possess this feature.

मया ततम् इदं सर्वं
जगद् अव्यक्त-मूर्तिना
मत्-स्थानि सर्व-भूतानि
न चाहं तेष्व् अवस्थितः

mayā tatam idaṁ sarvaṁ
jagad avyakta-mūrtinā
mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni
na cāhaṁ teṣv avasthitaḥ

“By Me, in My unmanifested form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not in them.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.4)

If we cannot even draw an accurate map of the material world, the vyakta space, then what is the goal of our exploration? What knowledge do we hope to acquire? It is a rather hopeless proposal. The better play is to sacrifice the same time and effort in understanding the person who is both the vyakta and the avyakta, who is both nirguna and saguna. He explains these concepts and more, although briefly, in the conversation with Arjuna that constitutes Bhagavad-gita. Shrimad Bhagavatam explores these concepts in further detail, and the educational immersion as a whole is endlessly blissful and engaging.

In Closing:

Wisdom in every page,
The intellect to engage.

Coordinates carefully to hear,
Complete map confusion to clear.

That universe of both sides consisting,
Manifest and unmanifest persisting.

Through infinite time and space,
Supreme Being in every place.

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