Spider example in Advaita Vedanta

 

(adapted from Swami Paramarthananda’s Sivarathri talk)

Mundaka upanishad in verse 1-1-6 describes Brahman and states that the wise perceive Him as the source of all creation and in the next verse it proceeds to cite the example of spider for the process of creation.  It says: “As the spider sends forth and draws in its thread-------- everything in the universe arise from the Imperishable (Brahman).”  Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (2-1-20) also gives this example when it states: “As the spider moves along the thread it produces, ------- even so from this Athma come forth all organs, all worlds, all gods, all beings.”  This example occurs in Uddava Gita (4-21) as well wherein the young Avadhuta tells Yadhu Maharaja: “As the spider spreads its web from its heart through the mouth, and after playing with it, swallows it again, so the Lord (Brahman) does (with this universe).”  The quintessence of these references are to point out the role of Brahman in creation as the intelligent cause, nimitta karanam, and as material cause, upadhana karanam, rolled into one like spider and its web. Now we shall see this example in a little more detail.

There are two causes behind every product, the material cause and intelligent cause. The material cause, called upadhana karanam, is the material out of which it is made, like gold for golden ornament and wood for wooden furniture.  The intelligent cause called nimitta karanam, is the maker or creator behind it like the goldsmith who makes the golden ornament out of gold and the carpenter who makes the wooden furniture out of wood. The material cause and intelligent cause are different because gold by itself cannot transform into an ornament and wood also cannot change by itself into wooden furniture.  Nor can the goldsmith make the gold ornaments out of himself only and the carpenter the wooden furniture from himself only.  But we find the spider's web is an exception to the general rule of material cause and intelligent cause being different. Spideris the intelligent cause for the web it spins and for this web it is also the material cause as the thread for the web it draws from itself i.e. its body.  When the spider is hanging by this thread from this ceiling, if it senses danger it climbs up withdrawing the thread into itself.  So the spider is both the material cause and intelligent cause for its web.

It is because of this aspect of spider, the mortal little spider locatable in Time and Space becomes an object of comparison for the transcendental Brahman which is eternal and beyond Time and Space. Eternal Brahman which was there before Time and Space, has projected the Universe out of Maya in creation and the projected Universe dissolves into Maya in pralaya and Maya is the power of Brahman.  And from the spider example we draw another important corollary.  Nirguna Brahman with Maya is the eka rupa Iswara from whom the whole world has come. He is worshipped as aneka rupa Iswara and praised as Viswarupa Iswara in sthuthis like Dashinamurthy stotram .  Verse 9 of Dakshinamurthy stotram states:

Bhurambhamsyana lonilombara maharnadho Himanshu pumaan
Ithya bhaathi characharathmaka midham yasyaiva murthyashtakam
Nanyath kimchana vidyathe vimrusathaam yasmaath parasmadvibho
Tasmai sri guru murthaye nama idam Sri Dhakshinamurthaye (9)

I bow to Him, the great Guru Sri Dakshinamoorthy, whose eight-fold forms are “Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Sky, Sun, Moon and Jiva” and who manifests Himself as this universe of moving and the unmoving objects and who pervades in all and everywhere, and who, to those that reflect what exists beyond this Universe, reveals as nothing except Himself.

This means all the sentient and insentient entities of creation form the body of Iswara and there is nothing other than Iswara in the creation provoking the answer to the question of atheists “Where is God?” as “Where is not God?” from the devout believers.  For Iswara is both the material and intelligent cause for the universe pervading everything everywhere in the Universe. So everything in creation is sacred, being a microcosmic speck of the body of Iswara and so deserves our care and attention.  This is an important message to one and all in today’s environment-conscious world.

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