There is a lot of confusion over the meaning of the word
Brahman! Sometimes it is ignorantly mistaken for the word Brahmin or Brahma! It
does not at all denote the Brahmin or the god of creation, the four headed
Brahma! The word Brahma is what the Vedic texts and the Vedanta or the
Upanishads speak about! It is for this reason that the Upanishads are
defined as Brahma Vidya. “ Upanisha diti
Brahma vidya” All he Upanishads excel in
describing and defining this BRAHMAN in various ways to impress upon the aspirant
to meditate on it. Narayana Upanishad calls Pranava or Omkara as the
Brahman. “pratyaganandam brahmapurusham pranava swarupam akara ukara
makara iti” Siksha Valli of Taittiriya Upanishad echoes the same idea. “ Om iti
Brahma Om itidigam sarvam” (mantra18). Pranava or Omkara is Brahma itself. The
visible and all things imagined in the universe are filled with the sound of
Om. In Ananda valli of Taittiriya Upanishad, the qualities of Brahman and how
one can attain that state is clearly described. “ Om
brahmavidapnotiparam thadeshabhyukta satyam jnana manantam brahma” (2nd
mantra). One who realizes the Brahman becomes the Brahma. RigVeda clearly says
that the qualities of Brahman are Satyam-Truth, Jnanam- Knowledge,and Anantam
endless state or eternity. Every Upanishad again and again emphasizes the qualities of Brahman in its
own inimitable style! The Gita too describes it as “ ajo nityaha saswathoyam
purano na hanyathe hanyamane sareere”
What is Brahma?
In essence it cannot be described or defined in words! ‘anirvachaniya’ While the Vedas and Puranas have been read
and reread and repeated, Brahman or the Absolute has never been so defiled.
None has yet been able to express it by speech or conceive it by mind! Says the
Upanishad, “yato vacho nivarthanthe aprapya manasa saha” where the words fail
and the Mind cannot reach. What is the nature of the Brahman? It has no
attributes, is motionless, immovable. Unshakable and firm as Mount Meru!
Brahman is unattached to good or evil and it cannot be judged by any standard
of good or evil. He is beyond knowledge and ignorance, Dharma and Adharma,
mind and speech, concentration and meditation! He is beyond knowledge, the
known and the knower. Brahman or the Absolute is similar to the wind carrying
odours good of bad but remaining untainted by them! The
Brahman or the Absolute is beyond
whatever is connected with Maya!
We say very
often that the world is an illusion and God is the Reality! “ Brahma satyam
jagan mithya” This is easier said than realized! What does that mean exactly?
Sri Ramakrishna says that it is like the burning of camphor which leaves no
residue. The Supreme Being without any action—creation, protection,and
destruction is called Brahman or Purusha. When the same Supreme Being is
thought of as active and involved in these three acts, he is called as Shakti,
or Maya or Prakriti. But both are interdependent. One cannot do without the
other! The relationship between the Purusha and Prakriti is similar to that of
the Master of the House and the Lady! It
is the Lady who does everything at home obtaining the sanction of the Master of
the House. The Absolute is a mere witness to everything that
happens-‘sakshibhuta’
Is there any
difference between the actionless Brahman and the active Shakti? There is no
difference at all says Sri Ramakrishna. The Absolute, the very essence of
Existence,intelligence, and Bliss is at the same time the All Knowing, All
Intelligent, and all Blissful Mother of
the Universe! Absolute and Personal God are one and the same like the fire and
its burning power! They are like milk and its whiteness. The distinction
between the Brahman and shakti is a distinction without a difference. One
cannot conceive the one without the other! Brahman with attributes is called ‘
Saguna Brahman’ with energy or Shakthi
Then he is called Iswara or Personal God!
No comments:
Post a Comment