This aphorism means: Brahman is the source from which the origination, maintenance, and disintegration of the universe emanates. In the aphorism, ‘That from which (yatah)’ refers to Brahman; ‘of this (asya)’ refers to the visible universe (the composite of the five elements, prapancha); and ‘birth, etc. (Janmadi)’ refers to the origination, maintenance, and disintegration of the universe. One has to know ‘That’ as Brahman, the source of origination, maintenance, and disintegration (srishti,Sthiti,andlaya) of this perceptible cosmos. Brahman is the entity from whom this creation (jagat), this apparently concrete, ever-changing product of the tendency of the mind to visualize, has originated. This creation is maintained as an organization by Brahman, in spite of the ever-present flux, and it ultimately subsides or merges in Brahman itself. Shouldn’t there be One who designs and decides on some sort of control and regulation of this creation? Underlying the three phases of creation mentioned above, one can cognize not only interpenetrating order (niyati) and comprehensive knowledge but also obscuring or deluding power (Ajnana avriti).
We can know a great deal about the nature of the cosmos. But our instrument of knowledge is the human eye, right? Physical sciences have discovered much, but it has all been discovered by the human mind, right? The eye and mind describe and analyse things as they are. But how long do the things exist as now? They are subject to modification each moment. However, in spite of the inescapable change that affects all things, one is aware of a truth or fact that is not affected in the least. That unchanging principle is the basis on which the three
phases are manifested. That principle is Brahman, the Eternal Base, the Unmoving, the One, the Truth (Satya).
One may hesitate to accept this fact and be involved in doubt, since the basic Brahman is not perceived —what is actually perceived are forms with attached names, which are in perpetual change. Consider what happens when a person sees the dry stump of a tree at night: they are afraid it is a ghost or a bizarre human being. It is neither, though it is perceived as either. The reason for this misperception is “darkness”. Darkness imposes on something another thing that is not there. In the same manner, the darkness that is spread through false perception (maya) veils and renders unnoticeable the Primal Cause, Brahman, and imposes the cosmos on It, as a perceptible reality. This deceptive vision is corrected by the awakened consciousness (jnana) and transmuted into the vision of universal love (prema).
The cosmos of which the Earth is a part and with which we are embroiled has Brahman Itself as its basic cause, just as the stump is the basic cause of the ghost. Some others declare as the cause or origin of the cosmos (prapancha) such factors as innate nature (sva-bhava), order, accident, time, etc. But none of these alone nor all of them together can be the cause, for they are inert, incapable of will or initiative. Even individual selves are bound by the manacles of joy-grief, growth-decay, and birth-death. Each of these alleged origins is dependent and contingent, so they cannot be accepted as the cause or origin of the manifest world.
Brahman, the cause of all causes
This aphorism is intended to lead us to the discovery of the genuine basis for all that “is”, “was”, and “will be”. It announces the Supreme Principle as the cause of nature, existence, and the orderly behaviour of the universe as well as for its fulfilment. Physics can probe into matter and explain how it is formed, but it cannot probe and discover why it is so formed. Surely, there should be a cause for each effect or happening. Neither the atom nor the self nor their absence can be reckoned as that cause. The Being (Sat) must be beyond both subject and object, cognisor and cognized.
But when we have to delineate the unlimited Being or Brahman, it becomes necessary to use words in current usage, such as Creator, Lord, Providence, God, and Brahman. When the inquiry into cause and effect is made from the point of view of the cosmos, we reach the conclusion that God is the cause and the cosmos (jagat) is the effect. When the distinction between subject and object is transcended, we become aware that it is all pure Consciousness
or Brahman, visualized both as the primary absolute unlimited entity and as its subsidiary creative aspect. The word “That” invokes Brahman as well as the cosmos and the mergence in Brahman. It is illusion (maya) that causes the delusion that one originates from the other. Some contend that the two —illusion and Brahman—are the twin causes of the cosmos. Still others assert that illusion is solely responsible. Others assert that the universe is a manifestation of Vishnu and that it has its being in Vishnu Himself. They declare that the emergence, subsistence, and merging of the universe are all caused by Vishnu.
The theory is that all events in the Universe follow certain laws and norms. It is not always self evident but physics is tending to prove that it is quite feasible. The very first Sutra indicates the Universal Supreme called Brahman. The second Sutra describes the same Brahman in another form, through another facet. The first lays down the Truth, Wisdom and Freedom (Satyam, Jnanam and Swatantra). The second Sutra lays down the creative aspect of Brahman and declares that the aspect cannot be limited to this particular Cosmos. (Sutra Vahini, pp. 19-21, 24)