Beyond Heaven… Where Even Brahmā Folded His Hands
“The highest knowledge is not to know the Lord… it is to know that without Him, nothing exists.”..
Yesterday, I walked through the resplendent realm of Indra.
The king of heaven himself welcomed me—not with royal authority, but with folded hands.
As I continued my ascent, my radiant guide smiled gently.
“Even this is not your destination.”
Ahead…
another splendour arose.
Not another heaven…
but the very abode of Prajāpati Brahmā, the first created being.
A brilliance unlike anything I had ever witnessed unfolded before me.
Lotus as vast as worlds floated upon lakes of crystal radiance.
The fragrance of divine lotus blossoms filled the air.
The Vedas themselves seemed to flow like music.
There was neither sunrise nor sunset.
Only eternal effulgence.
Upon a magnificent thousand-petalled lotus sat the four-faced Brahmā, surrounded by Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanātana, Sanatkumāra, great Ṛṣis, Devas and liberated sages.
As I approached…
the Creator of this universe slowly rose.
To my astonishment…
he folded all four hands.
There was no trace of majesty.
No sense of superiority.
Only devotion.
Brahmā slowly descended from his thousand-petalled lotus.
His four faces glowed with immeasurable serenity.
There was no trace of the majesty that the world had praised for countless kalpas.
Before me stood only…a servant of Supreme Lord.
Folding all four hands, he smiled.
My child…
my work ends here.”
Those words echoed through every realm.
The Creator…
whose lifespan spans hundreds of trillions of earthly years…
whose single day witnesses the birth and dissolution of countless civilizations…
whose lotus gives rise to worlds beyond imagination… stood before a tiny jīva with folded hands.
Not because the soul had become greater than Brahmā…
But because the Lord’s promise is greater than every created greatness.
My heart overflowed.
I remembered the countless places where Brahmā had quietly taught me this lesson long before today.
At Kāñcipuram, where he performed the great Aśvamedha Yajña, longing only for one vision of the Lord.
From those sacred sacrificial flames arose the infinitely compassionate
Śrī Varadarāja Perumāḷ, blessing Brahmā Himself.then my mind travelled to Śrīraṅgam.
How many times had I stood before the enchanting smile of Śrī Raṅganātha, remembering that Brahmā himself had worshipped this very Lord before the divine lineage brought Him to Ayodhyā and eventually to Śrīraṅgam?
Then came another remembrance…
Thirukkandiyur.
The Lord who removed Brahmā’s affliction. Even the Creator needed grace.
No one rises beyond the Lord’s compassion. Thirugoshtiyur where the Trinity assembled for a Lokakalyanam plan ..
Another memory arose…
The icy Himalayas.
Brahma Kapālam at Badarikāśrama.
Standing before those sacred waters,
I had silently wondered…
“How many pilgrims have crossed these mountains seeking liberation?”
Today… I knew the answer…..Every pilgrimage had quietly prepared my heart for this final ascent.
Then another remembrance filled my soul.
Pushkar. The lonely temple where Brahmā is worshipped. Standing there, I had not asked for wealth.Nor success.Norlongevity.
Only this prayer…
“May my life never become trapped in the beauty of creation.
May it always seek the Creator’s Lord.”
How merciful He had been.
Then another divine pastime blossomed before me.
Vṛndāvana.
Brahmā’s bewilderment.
The Lord who multiplied Himself into countless calves and cowherd boys.
The four-faced Creator who came to test…
left reciting Brahma Saṁhitā.
His pride dissolved.
Only devotion remained.
I realised…
Brahmā was never the villain.
He was the first among seekers to discover that knowledge without surrender remains incomplete.
At that moment…Brahmā pointed beyond the edge of his own universe.
I looked. Words abandoned me.
The countless galaxies… the stars…
the lokas… the worlds I had imagined to be endless… appeared no larger than a tiny lamp flickering in an infinite night.
Beyond them stretched…an immeasurable radiance.
No darkness. No time. No decay.
No karma. Creation itself ended there.
Then Brahmā spoke once more.
“My child… from this point… even I do not accompany you. Beyond this boundary…
only the Lord’s eternal attendants receive His beloved.” His voice became softer.
“My prayers travel with you.”
He folded all four hands once again.
This time…I instinctively fell flat in prostration before him.
Not to worship the Creator…
But to honour one who had spent an entire lifetime pointing every soul toward Śrīman Nārāyaṇa.
When I rose…
the thousand-petalled lotus slowly disappeared into the brilliance behind me.
I did not look back. How could I?
Home… lay ahead……
Far ahead…
I heard something.
Not water…Not wind… Not music…
Yet somehow…
all three together. A river…
unlike any river I had ever known.
“Knowledge reaches its perfection only when it becomes surrender.”
“The greatest servant in creation is not the one who creates worlds, but the one who points every soul toward the Lord who is beyond all worlds.”
“The journey ends for pride where the journey begins for grace.”
Tomorrow…we shall behold Virajā—
the sacred river where every trace of saṁsāra, karma, pride, fear, and separateness is left forever behind before the soul enters the Lord’s eternal realm.
I move on thinking ………
Every world behind me was His creation. Every step before me is His embrace.”
Srimathey Ramanujaya namah 🙏
Adiyen Ramanuja dasan
Photos Courtesy Google images
