God, world and soul appear to have a reality in the beginning. As the fundamental stage, the Sadhana of the Jiva should begin from this level. The Upanishads speak of Isvara’s creation in various ways.
Prakriti which also goes by the name of Maya, is the material cause, and the Supreme Lord or the Mayin, the instrumental cause of creation: so says the Svetasvatara.
Atman alone was in the beginning, and it willed to create the many by a cosmic ideation; so says the Aitareya.
Brahman is truth, knowledge and infinity, and from it arose ether, air, fire, water, earth, the different bodies, and so on. And the variety of creation was effected by the primeval contemplation of the Divine Being to appear as the many: so says the Taittiriya.
In the beginning it was only pure Existence, and in it arose the idea to become manifold, and it created the luminous medium of fire, from which water and earth and other bodies came out as effects: so says the Chandogya.
As sparks emanate from fire, all the variety consisting of conscious and unconscious beings came out from the one Imperishable: so says the Mundaka.
In the beginning it was all unmanifested. By the will of the unmanifested Absolute, the one became the many names and forms, down to the universe animated by the Virat. Then by evolution appear the celestials, humans, and animals, the varied expressions of the Universal Purusha: so says the Brihadaranyaka.
~Krishnananda (edited)
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