The Upanishads discuss creation at a philosophical level, quite different from some of the hymns of the Riga Veda and also different from the narratives of creation in the later Puranas.
The fundamental point is that life or consciousness cannot evolve from matter unless matter has the innate potential to provide life and consciousness. Similarly Divine Bliss cannot be the end of evolution unless it is present in the beginning, even if not in a manifest form. Evolution proceeds by the removal of obstruction to move to a higher plane. Hence life, consciousness and divinity are innate in all matter. When the obstruction to life is removed matter takes the form of living beings. When the obstruction to consciousness is removed matter takes the forms of animals. When the obstruction to reasoning is removed matter takes the forms of humans. When the obstruction to divinity is removed humans realize their divine aspect.
The Chandogya Upanishad states that the primary substance (God) manifests itself in the “created” universe. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad states the same thing in a more imaginative way. Prajapati divides himself into male and female and thus from within himself he draws forth everything that exited, exists or will exist. The universe is a manifestation of Brahm. The point that God is not distinct from the universe cannot be overstated. The dualism between the creator and the created, though prevalent in certain schools of Hindu philosophy, is not advocated in the Upanishads. God is not an omnipotent mechanic creating the universe from preexistent matter. Creation and destruction are the changing manifestations of God. These changes are continuous as can be seen from the births and deaths of humans on earth or of galaxies in outer space. Creation did not happen. It is happening. There are several creation myths in Hinduism, but these have to be seen from the perspective of the philosophy of the Upanishads. These are simplified, imaginative presentations of the truth intended to either aid comprehension of a complex phenomenon or to present it with artistic embellishment.
A related concept is Maya. According to the Upanishads the universe is not an illusion. It is real. The universe is God’s revelation of himself. Our inability to recognize it as such is Maya.
Please check my course on Hindu Mythology
Please check my articles on Mythology from India
