WHAT IS BRAHMAN?

The Vedas and the Upanishads have tried their best to describe the supreme Brahman and failed miserably! They ended by declaring that it is that  where the words fail to describe and even the Manas returns disappointed and crestfallen! “ Yato  vacho nivartante aprapya manasa saha”. No Upanishad has specifically described the Brahman as this or that! Some vakyas of Upanishads are, “ Satyam jnanam anantam Brahma”, “ Om ityekaksharam Brahma”, “ anoraniyan mahato mahiyan”-smallest of the small atom and the greatest of the great! The Soul, which is considered as the chip of the same block Brahman, has no beginning, middle or end- adi madhyanta rahita! It is never born but manifests in different forms in the universe-”ajayamano bahudha vijayathe”. The Upanishad also points out that one who says he knows does not know the Brahman! On the other hand he who says that he doesn't know the Brahman, knows It!

A father had two sons whom he wanted to learn the Vedas and the Upanishads. When they came of age, as brahmacharis, they  were sent to a famous religious preceptor to learn the Vedas and Vedanta. It is not an easy thing to master the Vedas and Vedanta in a few years  The youngsters served their mentor and after a successful completion of the course of their studies returned home. The father was really proud of his children who were away from home for the purpose of gaining the knowledge of the Vedas and the Upanishads. The father, a devout enthusiast of Vedanta asked his boys if they had studied Vedanta. They replied in the affirmative at which the father felt very happy. He presumed that they must have grasped the essence of all the Upanishads by going through Kena, Khata, Isavasya, Taittiriya, Chandogya, Brihadaranyaka Upanishads and others under their preceptor. He was overjoyed and wanted to know what exactly they have assimilated during the course of their study under their teacher.

He looked at his elder son and said, “ Tell me what is Brahman.” The elder son soon started quoting from the Vedas, the Upanishads and the scriptures! He replied, “ O Father, it is beyond words and thought. It is so and so. I know it all”. In support of his statement he quoted again the Vedantic texts. The father listened to him patiently. “ So you have known Brahman!”, said the father and asked him to Go about his work. Then he called his younger son and asked him the same question. There was no reply from the younger son! The father thought that the son had not heard his question! But it was not so. The son had maintained discreet silence!

The boy continued to remain silent! Not a word emerged from his mouth! The father understood the message of his son. His silence was eloquent!  The father said that the boy was right. Nothing can explain the Absolute and the unconditioned Brahman! The moment one tries to speak of it, he talks of the infinite in terms of the finite, “ the Absolute in terms of the relative, the unconditioned in terms of the conditioned”. The father complemented his younger son and said that his silence was much better than reciting a hundred verses and quoting of a hundred authorities!

Sri Ramakrishna points out how difficult and impossible it is to describe what is Brahman!  It has to be experienced, not described! The experience has made the sages and saints spell bound!   Sri Ramakrishna gives an apt illustration. At a feast, a number of guests arrive. There is a lot of noise as these guests start talking since the meal is not yet served. Soon after the food is served  every member is absorbed in eating and enjoying and there is absolute silence! Sri Ramakrishna points out that the silence is comparable to ‘Brahmananda!’ When  Brahman is realized there is no speech; it results in silence and total indescribable bliss!