Reality Structure
Explanation To All Phenomena
Conceptions (Kalpanā, कल्पना) are the seed-principles (Bīja-Tattva, बीज-तत्त्व) of all attributes, matter, thoughts, projections, or qualities. A Conception is a unit of awarness (Caitanya-aṇu, चैतन्याणु “atom of awarness”). Brahman is conceptual radiance (awareness always-unfolding-as-conceptions) hence the world is real because it is that radiance structured. Therefore, everything is aware in such that it is not in stasis, and can take in blessings, and be used for methods of worship.
The arising of a conception (Saṅkalpa, सङ्कल्प) necessitates its opposite (Vikalpa, विकल्प). These opposites then divide (Pravibhāga, प्रविभाग) and refine into further opposites and gradations, forming ever-finer distinctions of reality.
A conception that depends on another is bound to its parent conception (Mūla-Kalpanā, मूल-कल्पना, “root-conception”). Only Brahman (ब्रह्मन्) is truly independent (Svatantra, स्वतन्त्र), the unconditioned Ādhāra (आधार, “support/foundation”) of all conceptions.
Triangular Sequence Example
To put it simply, The universe unfolds like the image below. Each unit is interconnected.
This process of unfolding (Sṛṣṭi-Pravṛtti, सृष्टि-प्रवृत्ति, “emanative activity”) continues without break, producing all apparent objects, ideas, and lives, each a cluster of interconnected conceptions woven into the great cascade of existence.
Brahman’s freedom in structured self-expression, the grammar of reality that is identical with the speaker. The act of manifestation and the field of all possible manifestations are one indivisible fact. There is no “before” and “after,” no dependence, and no separation.
This pyramid is to show the unfolding of Brahman. The pyramid can be a circle or sphere, so the shape itself is not important as long as it shows the middle origin and layers of reality as distance from that center increases. Karma is the force of this expansion as the equal and opposite cascade of conceptions highlighted by the arrow from Brahman outward.
Emanation
Something that is apparent is a part of a cluster of conceptions, a large chain that connects directly to the source. This chain is then ultimately tied to relative existences that makes an object apparently unique occupying a space. A person observing an object can attach conceptions to that object as a part of the unfolding of creation. Even changing or forgetting the object’s conceptual attachments is part of the unfolding chain of existence.
While a chain of an existing property can stretch exhaustively long to the source of Brahman, the example below will demonstrate the essence of the conceptual lattice that is connected to all phenomena.
Example: A Rock (All Layers Ontologically Real)
Intrinsic Conceptions (seed qualities)
- Hardness → tied to “compactness” → tied to “resistance”
- Weight → tied to “mass” → tied to “gravity”
- Shape → tied to “boundary” → tied to “form”
Conceptions that cluster to make “rockness” possible. This is a category which deposits that which cannot be considered a thing. Because conceptions are ontologically real, that makes each layer of example as real as the next.
Subjective Conceptions (personal meaning)
- A child’s favorite rock → conception of “possession” → conception of “identity” (“my rock”).
- The child grows → conception shifts → rock forgotten → conception of “impermanence.”
- An adult finds the same rock → conception of “memory” → conception of “nostalgia.”
Even when the personal tie is broken, the arc of favoritism → forgetting is itself a real conceptual phenomenon chained to the rock’s existence.
Contextual Conceptions (relational unfolding)
- The rock lies on the ground → conception of “support” → conception of “foundation.”
- It blocks a path → conception of “obstacle” → conception of “struggle” or “challenge.”
- A mason builds with it → conception of “wall” → conception of “protection.”
- A man throws it → conception of “weapon” → conception of “violence.”
The same object becomes a different unfolding depending on relation. The same rock shifts ontologically without changing materially, because conception is the fudemental substratum.
Equal and Opposite
The moment a conception arises, it necessitates the simultaneous existence of its counter-conception.
Example: The conception of “up” instantaneously implies “down.” Even if a being cannot physically go “down,” the ‘up-down’ axis is already made and exists in all frames of existence. These frames include, theoretical, mental, or metaphysical. This reflects a primordial law of dual emergence.
As for the rock example:
- Hardness ↔ Softness
- Favorite ↔ Not-favorite
- Memory ↔ Forgetfulness
This is what makes the expasive lattice, the conceptual cascade.
Summary of One Chain
The Causal - Brahman
From the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (Verse 2.3.6) comes the phrase Neti Neti (“not this, not this”), signifying that Brahman can only be defined by negation rather than affirmation. Since Brahman is infinite and unbounded, attempting to intellectually grasp or define it directly is limited and misleading.
This method creates a paradox: when one questions if Brahman “is,” the answer is negation; similarly, asking if Brahman “is not,” also results in negation, affirming Brahman’s limitless existence beyond dualities. Thus, Brahman simultaneously embodies apparent opposites: existence and non-existence, creation and non-creation, everything and nothing. Yet these polarities do not cancel each other; this reality self evidently exists, making our task to engage with the clearly expressed aspects of existence.
It is akin to asking a fish, “What is water?” It cannot possibly describe something that it is constantly in, navigating through, made up of, and nonexistent without. Just as a fish cannot understand water while being completely immersed within it, we too, as finite beings within infinite consciousness, cannot circumscribe Brahman in thought even though we are never separate from it.
To preserve its status as nirguna (attributeless). It is said to be pure awareness, untouched by manifestation. However, If Brahman is Neti Neti, and all we can say is what it is not, then until the mind collapses in realization, Brahman is epistemically indeterminate.
The Locus of Choice: Superposition
Truth cannot be truth whether someone knows it or not. Truth of Brahman can only be realized not asserted. If the knower and the known are not seperate, then knowledge of Brahman has to be Brahman. Therefore, realization and Brahman are interlinked making experience (action) a necessary condition for truth.
From this follows a key insight: every karmic outcome carries the quality of superposition. Until a choice is made and lived through, multiple conceptual futures coexist in potential. This is why, even within a largely determined karmic framework, the jīva retains bounded agency. The freedom of the soul is not in escaping karma but in navigating through its recursive potentials. This dynamic, where conceptual futures collapse into actualization, is the very mechanism that allows transformation, growth, and ultimately moksha.
The Subtle
The subtle realm (Sūkṣma) is infinitely expansive and serves as the foundational layer for all conceptions. It encompasses the origins of all spiritual myths, both those known and yet undiscovered. As noted in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (Verse 2.3.5) (4):
“Now the formless prāṇa and this space/ether within the inner self. This is immortal, this ‘what,’ (indeterminate) this ‘that’ (transcendent) . Of this formless, of this immortal, of this ‘what,’ of this ‘that,’ this is the essence.”
Despite being indeterminate (in quantity) and transcendent, the sages (Rishis) and spiritual masters have identified and articulated limits within this infinite subtlety for practical purposes. These limits allow us to focus on relevant and workable concepts, making the subtle knowable and actionable for spiritual upliftment. The subtle realm thus becomes the primary area of study and exploration.
The Gods
Gods (Devas) are ontologically real entities, arising from precise conjunctions of conceptions. They are not merely symbolic or metaphorical representations, nor are they solely energetic constructs. Instead, they exist as intelligent agents capable of governance and influence within reality due to the relative location of their conceptual frameworks.
The Locus of Intelligence
The Bhagavad Gītā (2.63) teaches: “From loss of memory comes the destruction of discrimination (intelligence).” In this context, memory (smṛti) is not just personal recollection but the containment of what is known, it is the storehouse of conceptual impressions that form the foundation of discernment (buddhi). Intelligence arises when what is known is applied with clarity, context, and purpose. Intelligence is not uniform across all beings. The gods possess varying degrees of intelligence, which are determined by the conceptual domains they govern. A deity’s intelligence is not a random attribute but a direct reflection of the conceptions they embody and uphold. The intelligence of a god is revealed through its ability to maintain and manifest the integrity of its conceptual field. This applied intelligence is inseparable from the Locus of Choice. Just as the jīva acts through bounded choice within the framework of karma, the gods exercise intelligence through the dynamic interplay of their conceptual design. In both cases, intelligence emerges as the alignment of memory (conceptual awareness), choice, and action, a recursion that continuously shapes the unfolding of reality.
The Order of Gods
Gods emerge within the subtle cascade, arranged hierarchically from primordial (closest to Brahman) down to those directly interfacing with the gross (physical world).
Yet, despite their hierarchical structure, each God functions as a recursive pathway back to Brahman, and no deity should be deemed inherently superior or inferior to another. It should be said that even if a God has a primary role and an intelligence to suit that role, they are still interconnected in the complete latus of conceptions
Each God and their domain have unique benefits and limitations:
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Immediate Accessibility: Gods governing concrete, relatable aspects allow quick engagement but may have limited scope in revealing subtler realities.
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Abstract Accessibility: Gods governing abstract realms provide profound spiritual depth and insight, although requiring deeper effort and concentration.
Devotional absolutism: Viewing one’s chosen deity as the supreme and ultimate expression of reality is a valid and effective recursive approach toward experiencing Brahman.
Attempting to exhaustively catalogue all conceptions and their corresponding Gods is impractical. Instead, Krama Kalpanā proposes a flexible, illustrative framework. Spiritual traditions may rearrange or reinterpret the hierarchy of Gods according to their unique perspectives, provided the foundational principle, that Gods reflect structured conceptual combinations, is consistently maintained.
While disagreements on specific placements and interpretations may arise, the central focus should remain on understanding the metaphysical structure of reality itself.
Primordial
These deities are closest to Brahman and govern existential laws, universal archetypes, and the original recursion of duality. Nearly impossible to access in pure form.
Adi Shakti | Sadāśiva |
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Narayana/ |
Īśvara (Saguna Brahman) |
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Vāc | Ananta |
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Structural
These deities govern that which most concerns a human’s existence. Without these conceptions there is no life. Difficult to access fully. Aids the practitioner with effort. Some require more prerequisites than others.
Ma Kālī | Viṣṇu |
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Bramha | Agni |
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Śiva (Rudra) | Yama |
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Variable
These deities govern worldly, psychological, and fluctuating conceptions. These are closest to the gross realm, and aids the practitioner the quickest. (Gods like Gensha and Hanuman have direct Primordial forms)
Lakṣmī | Kāmadeva |
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Ganesh | Hanuman |
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Planets |
Skanda |
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Extra Dimensions – Lokas
Conceptual clusters that form dimensional spaces within reality. These dimensions are temporary stays due to karma’s facilitating nature. A practitioner has the ability to temporarily access these dimensions through different methods of worship to extract or enjoy its essence. The Atma (soul) upon death of the body, will have its own experience within a Loka depending on the actions done by the body it inhabited, molding its next placement on the gross world as the next life.
Typically Primordial Gods have abodes, each dimension exuding the conceptual nature of the deity. This includes Vaikuṇṭha (ParaVishu’s abode) and Kailāsa (Shiva’s home) as some examples of this.
The realms of the ancestors, Pitru Loka, realms of spiritual effort, Tapa Loka, and the realms of great minds, Jana Loka, are examples of realms where the human experience is stored. The names, forms, and functions of every human can reside in one of these planes as an immortal stored database which can be accessed or worshiped.
This is not talking to the dead. Every life has a conceptual signature and an energetic story. Conceptions do not fade, therefore those past can be embodied in the present
Svarga Loka is what is equivalent to Heaven, Naraka Loka is what is equivalent to Hell. Other Sub Lokas that have this pleasure-pain signature exist as well.
You (if you are imagining yourself going up stairs to heaven or falling to the pits of hell) do not go through these realms like in other faiths, your Atma does. It is temporary and designed to mold the next life
What makes something Occult?
The methods to access a lot of these dimensions and deities to get their benefits can span anywhere from simple mental intention to complex ritual invocation. These invocations and their practices, depending on their nature, give the label of Occult.
The Problem of Evil
In Krama Kalpanā, Evil exists:
Ontologically, psychically, and energetically, it is neither denied, dismissed as illusion, nor reduced to symbolic abstraction.
Suffering is real. Pain, violence, injustice, and harm are genuine expressions of specific conceptions within the recursive cascade. They arise within the Subtle just as any other category of conception does, and they manifest in the Gross with tangible consequence. They are not mere perceptual errors or false appearances. They are ontologically anchored possibilities within the structure of experience.
The roots of Asuric phenomena and afflictive forces such as Nazar (evil eye) can be actualized and embodied by engaging with these conceptions. The access to Evil is real because its presence within the cascade is real.
However, just because Nazar and curses exist within this framework does not mean they appear under normal circumstances. If the individual does not put in the work for spiritual attunement they cannot know the difference between a mystical emanation and a psychological one. To impose a curse effectively takes an incredible amount of skill not found in most places. You are better off focusing on the ability of discernment and the spiritual strength of your own self than worrying about what others can do to you.
Important Distinction:
Good and Evil are subjective realities. Their appearance is context-bound. They are shaped by culture, perception, and emotional proximity. What is “good” to one may be “evil” to another.
Dharma and Adharma, by contrast, are objective principles. They arise from the logic of cosmic structure, and the fit between conception, action, and outcome within the grand system.
Although Good often correlates with Dharma, and Evil with Adharma, the two are not identical. Their overlap is common but not guaranteed.
For example:
Violence, typically seen as Evil, can be Dharmic in the context of self-defense or righteous war (e.g. Bhagavad Gītā).
Mercy, often seen as Good, can be Adharmic if it protects destructive forces or breaks the integrity of order.
In this framework, Evil is not a mistake, but a necessary polarity in the play of conceptions. The practitioner must not flee from it or abstract it away, but instead understand its place within the recursive system. Only through this clarity can Dharma be upheld, and Mokṣa be attained with full awareness of reality.
The Gross - Material & Physical
The physical world is the expression of the conceptual cascade and the last fold in Brahman’s recursive unfolding. This is the domain of human embodiment, where perception is shaped by energy, sensation, measurement, and material form.
Here, names (nāma), forms (rūpa), and functions (karma) actualize into observable reality. It is in this realm that individual mind, ego, and thought emerge, not as illusions, but as valid expressions of ontologically real conceptions refracted through embodiment.
The Gross Realm is not a veil, nor is it false. It is Brahman expressed through specificity, and should never be regarded as separate or inferior. Every form is real because its structure is conceptually backed, recursive, and purposeful.
It is here that one is meant to realize their place in the design, to act accordingly, and to evolve through lifetimes. The gross world is not the end, but the mirror, where Dharma is tested and Truth is lived.
There Is No Absolute Māyā
In many Hindu philosophies, the concept of māyā (illusion) is used to explain why the world as we experience it is not ultimately real. Some schools declare the physical world illusory, while others view the self or individuality as false. Regardless of the focus, māyā serves as a tool to redirect the practitioner away from ordinary experience toward a “higher” truth.
However, what remains consistent across Sanātana Dharma is that the definition of māyā constantly shifts, adapting to the needs of each tradition. Sometimes it negates the world, sometimes the ego, sometimes both. This inconsistency reveals a key insight: māyā is not a universal ontological truth, rather it is a flexible linguistic device tailored to the goals of each path.
Krama Kalpanā Perspective
In Krama Kalpanā, māyā is not a cosmic error nor a trap of ignorance. It is simply the conception of illusion itself. Apparent illusions are not dismissed; rather, they are understood as real within their domain of manifestation.
Illusions are real because their manifestation is precise, even if their referent differs across domains.
Even what appears false or illusory in the material realm can be traced back through the recursive chain to a valid conceptual origin like a trauma, belief, karma, symbol, or forgotten impression.
Thus, hallucinations are not denied; they are re-situated within their appropriate domain. What is false in one layer may still be true in another and can serve a purpose, reveal hidden dynamics, or catalyze inner transformation. There is no absolute illusion.
In Krama Kalpanā, nothing arises without cause, and no cause lacks meaning.
Revisiting the Snake-Rope Analogy
The classical Advaita Vedānta analogy (popularized by Swami Śaṅkarācārya) states:
“A rope is mistaken for a snake; through the light of knowledge, the rope alone is revealed.”
In Krama Kalpanā, this analogy is reinterpreted:
The snake is real within its own conceptual stratum. The rope embodies potentialities of a snake through associative conceptions. Just as a rock can become Rudra through ritual invocation, a rope can momentarily channel the conceptual energy of a snake through psychological projection. Both are real, each within its respective experiential and conceptional layer.
Then, What Is Reality?
Reality in Krama Kalpanā is not a binary of true or false but rather relative. Reality is structured through recursive conceptions:
- There is the objective gross layer, measurable and agreed upon.
- There is the subjective psychic layer, personally experienced.
- There is the causal conceptional layer, universally foundational.
Your Experience in All of This
Separateness:
Your biological existence operates through the five senses, which localize awareness within the boundaries of the body. This sensory localization, combined with the workings of the mind, generates the experience of separateness, or the sense that you are distinct from the world and cosmos.
This separateness is not an illusion, but a designed conceptional condition. It is a purposeful modality of experience within the cascade of reality.
The Locus of Ignorance:
Truth manifests infinitely across all realms, embedded in every layer of existence. However, biological intelligence is structurally limited, and it can only grasp a portion of total reality at any given time. This limitation naturally generates ignorance, not as a flaw, but as a precondition of experience.
Ignorance in Krama Kalpanā is not a veil to be shunned, but a reality to be navigated. It is a functional conception within the recursive structure of Brahman.
Separateness and Ignorance in the Conceptual Framework:
Within Krama Kalpanā, both separateness and ignorance are ontologically real conceptions, they are integral parts of Brahman’s unfolding design. They are not deviations from truth but functional starting points in the journey of experience.
Just as a game begins with defined rules and starting conditions, separateness and ignorance define the entry state of beings into the manifested play of existence. This is Līlā.
Brahman’s Day and Brahman’s Night
The cascade is not infinite, nor is the manifested universe eternal. Each cycle of reality unfolds during Brahman’s Day and dissolves into Brahman’s Night. This cyclical emergence and withdrawal are proof of recursion within the Absolute. When Brahman ceases its forward manifestation, all that has been created returns into the Source. Thus, nothing is ultimately separate from Brahman.
Before Brahman’s Night
As the cycle of emanation nears its end, karmic recursion accelerates and each soul’s unresolved fated points intensify, forcing circumstances that make liberation no longer optional but inevitable. The liberated collapse cleanly into Brahman without residue, while the unliberated are pressed into extreme conditions until their distortions resolve; nothing remains unfinished, nothing is carried as an attribute of Brahman. Every being, by design, is driven to liberation before dissolution, making Brahman’s Night the universal return into indivisible radiance.
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Satya Yuga = wide, spacious recursion (karma is slow, long cycles, beings experience alignment easily).
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Treta → Dvāpara = contraction, karmic patterns compound more quickly.
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Kali Yuga = maximum acceleration. Karmic recursion is so dense that distortions cannot hide; they are forced into confrontation.
What Triggers Brahman’s Night?
Karma, the force of causation, is kinetic. It generates effects in sequence, sustaining the motion of reality. However, when all possible conceptions within a given cycle are fully actualized, karma has no new domain to operate upon. At this critical point:
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Karma folds back upon itself
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The conceptual cascade reverses
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The manifested structure dissolves
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And all returns to Brahman
This marks the transition into Brahman’s Night. period of rest, and unmanifest potential
Isn’t Brahman Infinite? Then Why Are Conceptions Limited?
Brahman is indeed limitless, but its emanation occurs through structured logic. The beginning of this gross manifestation demands the same foundational conceptions (e.g., time, space, causality). These must be established to form a coherent system of reality. All though Brahman is not limited to this foundation, any apparent manifestation is.
However, variation arises through the deities.
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Gods are primordial intelligences within the cascade
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They express creative agency by forming the structure and flavor of each universe
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This includes laws of physics, moral logic, dimensional layering, and metaphysical archetypes
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Gross manifestation in this universe can be completely different in the next universe
The Artist and the Canvas
Brahman is like a divine patron:
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It buys the canvas, the colors, and the brushes. Providing all the raw potential.
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But Brahman does not paint.
The Gods are the artists:
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Each paints a different picture with the same tools
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Each is limited by the constraints of that canvas
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Each composition is observed by Brahman as a unique self-expression of its own potential.
When the painting is complete, the canvas is set aside, and a new cycle begins. Another Day of Brahman has begun, another Līlā.