Substituting "Universe" for Ishvara

[Prashant Parikh]

I observe New-Agey Hindus and Spiritualists substitute "Universe" for Ishvara/Bhagavan. Example: "The universe will take care of you", "what you send to the universe comes back to you", etc. 

The universe is inert. Ishvara, as a conscious being (really, the only conscious being) is the truth of both Jada (inert) and Chetana (sentient) vastus, without being any one of them. 

The law of Karma requires a law-giver. A universe composed merely of matter / energy is only computable, but incapable of self-computation. Nor can it spawn itself. 

If one has to choose, go full blown nirishvara (reject Ishvara) and dismiss Karma, Moksha etc. Or, accept Ishvara as the basis of it all. 

But the in-between approach ("universe" as a proxy for Bhagavan) is an irrational position and holds no water. For some the goal might be to appear progressive without the burden of carrying a Hindu identity, while still adhering to (and downplaying) Hindu teachings. That is problematic. 

Anyhow, even logically, an inert universe doesn't know, and therefore doesn't care. Only when Ishvara is introduced do these statements become meaningful. Indeed, Ishvara appearing as the jagat (world) is विराट (VirAT). 

Let's not be shy in calling Ishvara as Ishvara, and not downplay our conviction by hoping to bypass Ishvara and instead magically making the universe sentient. We don't get to choose reality, we only get to understand it.