Monday, June 29, 2015

WHAT IS BRAHMAN?



                                                                           
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!  
                                                      

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