Question: God is perfect and complete. “So many complete units emanates from Him and He still remains the complete balance.” We humans are made from his image and likeness. So how can God who is perfect create something that is not perfect, not complete and temporary?
Answer by Romapada Swami: The answer is “He does not! All of God’s creations are also perfect and complete.” That is confirmed in the Upanishadic mantra you have quoted – purnam idam: “All emanations from Him, such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped as complete wholes. Whatever is produced of the Complete Whole is also complete in itself.”
The sense of imperfection and inadequacy comes because of misuse of these creations in a manner against their originally intended purpose. For example, a screw is perfectly complete to perform its intended function. But if we attempt to use the screw as a nut, or hammer, or worse, as the lathe itself which produced the screw, then the screw feels woefully inadequate and imperfect. The tiny part-and-parcel emanations from God are perfect when they perform their designated role in relation to the Whole. This is the spirit of “isavasyam idam sarvam” (Isopanishad 1).
Specifically, the human body is designed as a vehicle for self-realization, and to this end it is perfectly equipped. Unfortunately, when we mistakenly use it to compete with God or to enjoy in imitation of His human-like pastimes, rather than to serve the Whole, then it becomes increasingly imperfect and dysfunctional.
