Who Is Ishvara? Where Is Ishvara?

Many of us ponder the questions: Who is Ishvara (God)? Where is Ishvara (God)? 

There is a diversity of beliefs highlights that there is no single, universally accepted view of Ishvara. With so many perspectives, it’s easy for confusion and misunderstanding to arise. The key lies in gaining accurate knowledge about Ishvara. The more we learn and uncover the truth, the closer we become to understanding Ishvara. Knowledge helps to demystify Ishvara and brings us nearer to the divine.

In this episode we will discover that Ishvara isn’t far away or hidden; rather, Ishvara is present everywhere, right before our eyes. 

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jayant@staminteractive.com

Transcript

Hello and welcome to Science Meets Vedanta—a platform dedicated to delving into the core principles of Vedanta and uncovering the remarkable connections between scientific inquiry and ancient wisdom. I’m Jayant Kapatker, author of the book Science Meets Vedanta.

Each week, inspired by insights from my book, we’ll journey through a range of topics aimed at deepening your understanding of the essential teachings of Vedanta. Along the way, we’ll also examine scientific concepts and demonstrate how the wisdom of Vedanta can offer new and meaningful perspectives. Be sure to join us as we embark on this enlightening path together!

Many of us ponder the questions: Who is Ishvara? Where is Ishvara? The equivalent word for Ishvara in English would be God. We will use Ishvara to signify God in this episode. 

These are basic, yet profound inquiries that touch the core of our existence and the world around us. When we try to answer, we quickly realize it’s not simple. If you ask different people, you’ll hear a wide range of responses. For Christians, God is embodied in Jesus Christ. For Muslims, Allah is the supreme being. Hindus may refer to several forms of Ishvara, each representing a unique aspect of divinity.

This diversity of beliefs highlights that there is no single, universally accepted view of Ishvara. With so many perspectives, it’s easy for confusion and misunderstanding to arise. When knowledge is lacking, myths and misconceptions can take hold, making Ishvara seem distant or unreachable. How can we overcome this gap? The key lies in gaining accurate knowledge about Ishvara. The more we learn and uncover the truth, the closer we become to understanding Ishvara. Knowledge helps to demystify Ishvara and brings us nearer to the divine.

But understanding doesn’t stop at this knowledge alone. True progress involves a two-step journey: first, acquiring the right knowledge, and then, cultivating devotion towards Ishvara. This essay will focus on the first step—seeking proper knowledge about Ishvara. We’ll discover that Ishvara isn’t far away or hidden; rather, Ishvara is present everywhere, right before our eyes.

When you ask people about Ishvara’s whereabouts, you might hear answers pointing to the sky or heaven or suggesting temples as the divine dwelling place. Some, guided by scriptures, may say that Ishvara’s presence is within each of us, though often with a limited understanding. In this essay, we will explore where Ishvara truly resides and how this knowledge can transform our perception.

Who Is Ishvara?

If you’ve been following my episodes, you might already have a sense of who Ishvara is. Simply put, Ishvara is Awareness. While “Awareness” may sound like an everyday word, its true nature is extraordinary. It is the most fundamental and powerful force in existence, serving as the very foundation of everything in the universe. Every object and every event owe its existence to Awareness—without it, nothing could be.

1. How do we perceive the world around us through our senses? The answer is Awareness.

2. What forms the essence of all things, from the tiniest atom to the largest galaxy? It is Awareness alone.

3. How do you see, taste, smell, or listen? Again, it is because of Awareness.

4. How do you learn and comprehend the vast complexity of the universe? Awareness contains all knowledge and intelligence.

It becomes clear that Awareness is behind every phenomenon in the universe. Take a moment—are you aware of listening to this episode? Are you aware of your environment right now? The answer must be a yes. That’s the Awareness we’re discussing. It’s that straightforward. 

Each moment of life is marked by different experiences, and at the heart of every experience is Awareness. You cannot have an experience without being aware of it. It is simply impossible. Awareness is the underlying essence of all experiences, present from the moment we are born. We often take it for granted, rarely pausing to consider its significance. But this very Awareness is Ishvara. To understand why, let’s explore the remarkable powers contained within Ishvara. Once you grasp these, you’ll see why Awareness and Ishvara are one and the same.

Powers of Awareness

The concept of Awareness has been explored in depth across numerous episodes as well as in my book, Science Meets Vedanta. Here, we will briefly revisit these ideas to clarify why the powers of Awareness are fundamentally the powers of Ishvara. Awareness itself consists of three essential elements: Subject, Object, and Intelligence. Correspondingly, it possesses three distinct powers—the Power of the Knower, the Power of the Known, and the Power of Knowing.

It's important to recognize that Subject, Object, Intelligence, and their respective powers are not entities existing outside in the external world. Instead, they reside within Awareness and together constitute its very nature. If any one of these components is absent, Awareness becomes incomplete and cannot function properly.

1. When there is an object available to be observed but no subject present, Awareness cannot arise because there is no observer for the object.

2. If a subject exists but there is no object to perceive, Awareness is absent since the subject has nothing to observe.

3. When there is an object, but the subject lacks the means to recognize or understand what the object is, Awareness does not occur. For Awareness, Intelligence must facilitate the act of knowing.

Thus, Awareness always requires the simultaneous presence of Subject, Object, and Intelligence, each expressing their individual powers. For example, as you engage with this episode, you are the listener (Subject), the words form the object within your Awareness, and the intelligence interprets these words, allowing you to grasp their meaning. Every experience depends on these three powers, which are bestowed upon us by Ishvara. Let us further examine these three powers of Awareness in greater detail.

Power of the Knower: A Fresh Perspective

Within each of us, there exists an inner witness that observes all our experiences. In Vedanta, this is referred to as the Sakshi, or witness, which serves as the Subject. Power of the Knower manipulates Awareness so that Awareness plays the role of a Subject. This power gives the Subject the ability to play many different roles. Here are some examples of how the Subject undertakes different tasks:
 
 • When it is the Knower of seeing, the Subject is a seer.
 • When it is the Knower of hearing, the Subject is a hearer.
 • When it is the Knower of reading, the Subject is a reader.
 • When it is the Knower of tasting, the Subject is a taster.

This single Subject within us continuously transforms—sometimes it's the seer of a tree, other times the listener of a song, then the smeller of a nearby fragrance, and so on. With each new experience, the Subject takes on a new role, adapting effortlessly and rapidly. The dynamic nature of the Subject is truly remarkable, and all of these shifts are made possible by the Power of knower manipulating Awareness to play different roles. 

 Power of Known

How do you know an object exists? The straightforward answer is that you are aware of it. Your awareness assures you of the object’s existence. If there is no awareness, the object effectively doesn't exist for you; you simply wouldn’t know it’s there. Awareness is the foundation of everything you perceive. For you to experience an object, your awareness must “fill” it—taking on its shape so you can recognize and be aware of it. The “Power of the Known” is what enables this process—it shapes your awareness so that it conforms to whatever object you perceive, similar to how Play-Doh can be molded into different forms like a car, a tree, or a house. Just as Play-Doh can become anything, the Power of the Known can mold awareness to fit any object.

For example, if you notice a car parked outside, it’s the Power of the Known that shapes your awareness to take the form of that car. When you hear music from your device, your awareness fills the music, making it a conscious experience. If you savor the taste of chocolate, it's because the Power of the Known impresses the flavor onto your awareness. In each case, awareness is the essential “ingredient” present in all objects.

While objects may appear different, their underlying content is always awareness. Since awareness is identified with Ishvara, it follows that all objects in the universe are composed of Ishvara. This realization is profound and invites deeper reflection, encouraging you to see the world around you in a new light—understanding that everything is fundamentally Ishvara in various forms.

The Power of Knowing

Awareness serves as the source for all possible knowledge and intelligence—a vast, internal digital library. Nothing that can be known or understood is missing from Awareness.

1. If you are aware that 2+2=4, it's because this understanding exists within Awareness. If you know calculus, it's because the entire body of calculus knowledge resides in Awareness. If you speak Sanskrit, that knowledge is also stored within Awareness. Every lesson learned since birth draws from this immense storehouse. Initially, ignorance conceals this knowledge. When you remove that ignorance, the Power of Knowing reveals what has always been present in Awareness. This is how you learn, comprehend, and become aware of new information. In truth, the knowledge we access is just a tiny fraction of what's possible; the rest remains veiled by our individual ignorance. Through dedicated effort, the Power of Knowing can help lift this veil, granting us access to whatever knowledge we seek. It's remarkable—all knowledge resides within Awareness, waiting to be discovered.

2. Likewise, all intelligence is present within Awareness. Logical reasoning, inference, creative insight, the ability to connect ideas across different fields, and memory—all these faculties and more are available within Awareness. Yet, our minds tap into only a small portion of this vast intelligence.

In essence, Awareness is not only the repository of every conceivable piece of knowledge but also the wellspring of all intelligence. It follows, then, that Ishvara can be understood as this very Awareness itself.

 I trust that this conversation has helped you see that Ishvara is synonymous with Awareness. All knowledge, intelligence, the countless objects in the universe, and our capacity to observe them are expressions of Awareness. The capabilities found within Awareness are truly remarkable and awe-inspiring. If you are aware right now, that very Awareness is Ishvara. Wherever there is Awareness, Ishvara is present. Since Awareness pervades everything, it seems clear that Ishvara is neither hidden nor unnecessarily complex. Ishvara exists openly wherever there is Awareness—hidden in plain sight, though we often overlook this reality. It is best to explore and understand Awareness; doing so will lead you to a deeper understanding of Ishvara, the universe, and bring you closer to Ishvara itself.

Where Is Ishvara?

As we've explored, Awareness itself is Ishvara, meaning wherever Awareness exists, Ishvara is present. Every object in the universe is composed of Awareness, so Ishvara permeates all of existence. No matter where you are—even in the farthest reaches of the universe—if you experience Awareness, then Ishvara is there. It follows that everything we perceive is nothing but Ishvara manifesting everywhere. This understanding leads us to the next inquiry: What is the origin of Awareness? Where does it come from? Discovering its source is akin to finding Ishvara's true residence.

In various episodes, we've described our innermost essence as a Bulb of Awareness—a kind of generator that produces and radiates Awareness outward. This Bulb is the root of all Awareness we experience "out there," and, in Vedanta, the terms Bulb of Awareness and SatChitAnanda refer to the same reality. If this Bulb exists at our deepest core, it means Ishvara dwells within each of us.

But what does our innermost core truly signify? While we can identify our internal organs—muscles, blood, and so on—scriptures teach that divinity resides within us, even though it's difficult to grasp when we only see physical components. Is there something beyond our tangible inner organs, something deeper we don't fully comprehend? It appears that our true core is far deeper than the physical body, transcending even space itself. To uncover this, we must investigate the very origin of space. Ultimately, this reveals that the Bulb of Awareness, or Ishvara, exists beyond space, at the most profound level of our being.

Rethinking the Starting Point of Space

Modern science may have misunderstood where space truly begins. It’s widely accepted that space emerged from the Big Bang some 13.7 billion years ago. As we have discussed in many different episodes that the Big Bang is no longer the starting point of space. Instead, it now represents the universe’s expanding outer edge. Since space itself is expanding outward, it follows that the edge is moving farther away from us. It must be understood that the true starting point of space must be nonmoving and stationary, and the ever-expanding outer edge cannot fill that role. So, where should we look for the real beginning of space?

Rather than thinking about space in terms of distance, it’s helpful to view it in terms of time—specifically, how long it takes light to reach us from various objects. For example, the light from a distant star five million light-years away takes five million years to reach our eyes. In comparison, sunlight needs only about eight minutes, and light from the moon just three seconds. Even closer, a plane flying overhead sends its light in roughly 300 milliseconds, and a tree outside your window sends light that arrives in only about 10 microseconds. When you glance at your computer screen, just a foot away, the light reaches you in a mere nanosecond. As the distance shrinks, so does the time light takes to arrive.

If we follow this pattern all the way back, the only point where light would take zero time to reach us is the observer, the Subject—who perceives everything. This suggests that the true starting point of space is the Subject (the observer) within each of us and it is always fixed and nonmoving. That means that everything which is behind the Observer is outside space. The physical body and all the objects “out there” are within space, but everything behind the observer is outside space. 

What Lies Beyond the Subject—Outside of Space?

We only know everything which happens in space. Knowing what happens outside space is not an easy task. We know that the Subject or Observer is just outside space because we have shown that the Subject is the starting point of space. As we have discussed, Subject is part of Awareness, therefore the source of Awareness is within us, but outside space. Ishvara is also present within us but outside space. This is a new dimension to understand that both space and outside space are within us. This is an amazing feeling that the true residence of Ishvara is right within each one of us. 

I hope this explanation of who Ishvara is and where Ishvara resides has been both engaging and helpful. We've demonstrated that Ishvara is one with Awareness, dwelling within us while existing beyond the limits of space. To genuinely connect with Ishvara, it is essential to deepen our understanding of the nature and abilities of Awareness.

If you’re interested in delving deeper into topics like this, we invite you to discover more in my book, Science Meets Vedanta, available on Amazon. Additionally, we offer a growing library of podcasts covering many different topics —feel free to browse through them at your convenience.

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