Brahman
Brahman (IAST)
Translation: "
The Absolute"
From
Mandukya Upanishad (Verse 2)
A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy
Sanskrit: ब्रह्मन्
Transliteration:
Brahman
Translation: "the ultimate Reality; the ground of the universe; the Absolute; the Divine; “great” (from the root bṛh – “to expand, greater than the greatest”)"
Definition:
- The Absolutely Great; that which is greater than the greatest. “That which puts an end to differences.” The Absolute Reality or all-pervasive supreme principle of the universe. It has nothing similar to it and nothing different from it, and it has no empirical distinctions from the acosmic viewpoint.
- Vedāntic term for the Absolute Reality. The Absolute or all-pervasive supreme principle of the universe. The nature of Brahman is described in the Upaniṣad and in Vedāntic philosophy as Sat (existence absolute), Cit (consciousness absolute), and Ānanda (bliss absolute).
- Advaita Vedānta says it is not possible to explain Brahman in words. It transcends all concepts and ideas and is therefore Nirguṇa – beyond conceptualization. It is declared to be the only Truth. Other Vedānta(s) explain that words may not entirely define what Brahman is, but they do describe its glorious attributes and is therefore Saguṇa – “with glorious attributes.”
- In the Upaniṣad, it is conceived of in two modes: the Reality of which the universe is but an appearance (Niṣprapañca) and the all inclusive ground of the universe (Saprapañca). It is described positively as existence (Sat), knowledge (Cit), bliss (Ānanda), and infinite (Ananta) and negatively as “not this, not this” (Neti-Neti). It has nothing similar to it and nothing different from it, and it has no empirical distinctions from the acosmic viewpoint. According to Advaita Vedānta, Brahman is known in two forms: that as qualified by limiting conditions owing to the distinctions of “name and form” and as what is free from all limiting conditions whatever. Both Viśiṣṭādvaita and Dvaita Vedānta conceive of Brahman as endowed with auspicious qualities (Saguṇa).
The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy
Definition: "
Brahman, in Hinduism, the ultimate reality, possessed of being, consciousness, and bliss, dependent on nothing else for existence.
Brahman is conceived as a personal deity (
Brahmā) in
Viśiṣṭādvaita and
Dvaita Vedānta and as a-personal and quality-less in
Advaita Vedānta, in which “being, consciousness, and bliss” are interpreted negatively. While
Brahman is conceived as
Saguṇa or “with qualities” in
Viśiṣṭādvaita and
Dvaita, for
Advaita,
Brahman is
Nirguṇa or quality-less. For
Viśiṣṭādvaita, ‘
Brahman’ secondarily refers to the world dependent on
Brahman strictly so called, namely all minds and material things that constitute
Brahman’s body. For
Advaita, each apparently individual mind (or other thing) is identical to
Brahman;
Dvaita does not construe the world, or anything else, as
Brahman’s body. Enlightenment, or
Mokṣa, with its consequent escape from the cycle of rebirths, for
Advaita involves recognizing one’s identity with
Nirguṇa Brahman, and for
Dvaita and
Viśiṣṭādvaita involves repenting and forsaking one’s sins and trusting a gracious
Brahman for salvation."
Sanskrit: ब्रह्म
Transliteration:
Brahma
Commentary: "In the previous
Mantram (Verse 1) the whole of the objective existence has been indicated as the form of
Om or
Brahman. But lest it might be understood that
Brahman is only in the objective existence and has no relation with the subject,
Śruti in this
Mantram clearly states that
Brahman is not only the visible objective world but is also the very self of the subject. It is the
Ātman. By this the
Śruti clearly indicates that the objective existence is nothing but an emanation of the Reality that is even behind the subject. This Reality manifests in the subject in four states of consciousness, viz, the awakened state, the dreaming state, the state of dreamless deep sleep, and the superconscious state. These four states of consciousness are called here the four feet of
Brahman."
Transliteration:
Brahman
Commentary: "If all is Self, because
Brahman is Self, it is impossible to regard anything as an object. All objects, again, coalesce into the Subject, because
Brahman is the Subject, the Seer, the
Draṣṭā-Puruṣa, the final Beholder, the Consciousness that is at once the Seer as well as the seen.
Brahman never becomes an object. If it is not an object, and if, also, all things are It –
Sarvaṃ Hy-Etad-Brahma, then all things should be the Self. There is, then, in this experience, a Universal Beholding, a Cosmic Seeing, which means seeing without an object outside the Seer. This is an uncommon way of perception, because, here, we have a perception without a perceived object. This is knowledge without a known. All becomes knowledge when there is no object outside knowledge,
Jñānam,
Jñeyam,
Jñānagamyam, says the
Bhagavad-Gītā. It is knowledge as well as the known, that which is to be obtained by knowledge. It is the ocean of knowledge because outside it, there is no object. It is on account of this reason that we call it the Self or the
Ātman. The nature of the
Ātman is knowledge, not known-ness, not objectivity. This Universal
Ātman is
Brahman; not the individual
Jīvātman, but the Universal
Paramātman is
Brahman –
Etad-Brahma. This
Brahman is the very Self which is Universal. To give a common analogy of the omnipresent space contained in a vessel: Space is universal, and it may appear to be limited on account of being apparently contained within the walls of a vessel, or a room. Can you say that space is limited because it is inside a hall? It is not really limited by the erection of brick walls, and when a vessel moves in space, we cannot say that the space also moves inside it. Likewise, the
Ātman does not move, when you move. You may travel distances, but the
Ātman does not move, because it is Universal; the Universal cannot move –
Sarvaṃ Hy-Etad-Brahma;
Ayam-Ātmā Brahma.
This Brahman, which is the Universal Ātman, is attainable by a process of personal experience. This process of experience by which we can attain the Ātman which is Brahman, designated by Om, with a definition of which the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad commences, is a process of analysis and synthesis – Anvaya and Vyatireka – of the Self, the Subject. As was pointed out earlier, we are not concerned with objects here, but with the Subject, because the Subject is the means of the attainment of Brahman. Why? Because Brahman is the Supreme Subject; it is not an object. We cannot reach Brahman through objects; we attain It through the Subject alone. So, the analytical and synthetic processes of experience, of which we are making a study in the following verses of the Upaniṣad, are of the Subject, the Self, and not of objects with which we are not concerned in this endeavor here, because objects are not, when we consider the nature of the Universal Subject."
The Serpent Power (Arthur Avalon)
"Ātma as such has no states, but in worldly parlance we speak of such. So the Mandukya Upanishad speaks of the four aspects (Pada) of the Brahman.
Caitanya, or Consciousness in bodies, is immanent in the individual and collective gross, subtle, and causal bodies, and transcends them. One and the same
Cit pervades and transcends all things, but is given different names to mark its different aspects in the
Jīva.
Cit, being immutable, has itself no states; for states can only exist in the products of the changing
Prakṛti-Śakti. From, however, the aspect of
Jīva, several states exist, which, though informed by the same
Cit, may from this aspect be called states of consciousness."
"In the manifested world, Consciousness appears in three states (
Avasthā), viz.: waking (
Jagrat), dreaming (
Svapna), and dreamless slumber (
Suṣupti). In the waking state, the
Jīva is conscious of external objects (
Bahiṣ-Prajñaḥ), and is the gross enjoyer of these objects through the senses (
Sthūla-Bhuk). The
Jīva in this state is called
Jagari – that is, he who takes upon himself the gross body called
Viśva. Here the
Jīva consciousness is in the gross body."
"In dreaming (
Svapna) the
Jīva is conscious of inner objects (
Antaḥ-Prajñaḥ), and the enjoyer of what is subtle (
Pravivikta-Bhuk) – that is, impressions left on the mind by objects sensed in the waking state. The objects of dreams have only an external reality for the dreamer, whereas the objects perceived when awake have such reality for all who are in that state. The mind ceases to record fresh impressions, and works on that which has been registered in the waking state.
The first (Jagrat) state is that of sense perception. Here, the ego lives in a mental world of ideas, and the Jīva consciousness is in the subtle body. Both these states are states of duality in which multiplicity is experienced."
"The third state, or that of dreamless sleep (
Suṣupti), is defined as that which is neither waking nor dreaming, and in which the varied experiences of the two former states are merged into a simple experience (
Ekī-Bhūta), as the variety of the day is lost in night without extinction of such variety. Consciousness is not objective (
Bahiṣ-Prajñaḥ) nor subjective (
Antaḥ-Prajñaḥ), but a simple undifferenced consciousness without an object other than itself (
Prajñana-Ghana). In waking, the
Jīva consciousness is associated with mind and senses; in dreaming the senses are withdrawn; in dreamless slumber, mind also is withdrawn. The
Jīva, called
Prajñā, is for the time being merged in his causal body – that is,
Prakṛti inseparably associated with Consciousness – that is, with that state of Consciousness which is the seed from which the subtle and gross bodies grow. The state is one of bliss. The
Jīva is not conscious of anything, but on awakening preserves only the notion, “Happy I slept’; I was not conscious of anything.” This state is accordingly that which has as its objects the sense of nothingness. Whilst the two former states enjoy the gross and subtle objects respectively, this is the enjoyer of bliss only (
Ananda-Bhuk) – that is, simple bliss without an object. The Lord is always the enjoyer of bliss, but in the first two states, He enjoys bliss through objects. Here He enjoys bliss itself free from both subject and object. In this way, the
Suṣupti state approaches the
Brahman Consciousness. But it is not that in its purity, because it, as the other two states are both associated with ignorance (
Avidyā) the first two with
Vikṛti, and the last with
Prakṛti."
"Beyond, therefore, the state there is the “fourth” (
Turīya). Here, the pure experience called
Shuddha-Vidyā is acquired through
Samādhi-Yoga.
Jīva in the
Suṣupti state is said to be in the causal (
Karaṇa) body, and
Jīva in the
Turīya state is said to be in the great causal (
Maha-Karaṇa) body."
तुरीयतीत (Turīyatīta)
"Beyond this there is, some say, a fifth state, “beyond the fourth” (
Turīyatīta), which is attained through firmness in the fourth. Here, the
Īśvara Tattva is attained. This is the
Unmesha state of consciousness, of which the
Sadakhya Tattva is the
Nimesha. Passing beyond “the spotless one attains the highest equality,” and is merged in the Supreme
Śiva.
The above divisions –
Viśva,
Taijasa, and
Prajñā – are those of the individual
Jīva. But there is also the collective or cosmic
Jīva, which is the aggregate of the individual
Jīva of each particular state. In the macrocosm these collective
Jīva are called
Vaiśvānara (corresponding to the individual
Viśva body),
Hiraṇyagarbha and
Sūtrātman (corresponding to the individual
Taijasa body); and
Īśvara is the name of the collective form of the
Jīva described as
Prajñā. Cosmically, these are the conscious Lords of the objective, subjective, and causal worlds, beyond which there is the Supreme Consciousness.
Supreme
Yoga-experience and Liberation is attained by passing beyond the first three states of ordinary experience.
The
Yoga-process is a return-movement to the Source which is the reverse of the creative movement therefrom. The order of production is as follows:
Buddhi, then
Ahaṅkāra, from the latter the
Manas,
Indriya, and
Tanmātra and from the last the
Bhūta. As the seat of the Source is in the human body, the cerebrum in which there is the greatest display of Consciousness, the seat of Mind is between the eyebrows and the seats of Matter in the five centres from the throat to the base of the spine. Commencement of the return movement is made here and the various kinds of Matter are dissolved into one another, and then into Mind and Mind into Consciousness. To the question whether man can here and now attain the supreme state of Bliss, the answer in
Yoga is “yes”."
"The Indo-Āryan thinkers, as early as the times of the Rig-Veda, recognizd the eternal Unity of Existence which "holds in Its embrace all that has come to be." This Unity pervades the universe and yet remains beyond it. All objects, animate and inanimate, are included in It. Gods, men, and subhuman beings are parts of It. As the unchanging Reality behind the universe, It was called
Brahman by the Hindu philosophers; and as the indestructible Spirit in man, It was called
Ātman.
Brahman and
Ātman, identical in nature, were the First Principle.
Derived from a root which means "to expand," the word
Brahman denotes the Entity to whose greatness, magnitude, or expansion no one can put a limit or measure. The word
Ātman is used to denote the immutable inner Consciousness, which experiences gross objects during the waking state, subtle objects during the dream state, and during dreamless sleep, when the subject-object relationship ceases to exist, an ineffable bliss. This is the unchanging and transcendental Consciousness in man, present in his every act of cognition, no matter what the level or state of the experience.
Bādarāyana Vyāsa, in the Brahma Sutras, describes
Brahman as that "from which proceed the origin, the sustenance, and the dissolution" of the universe. He further states that the Vedas are the source of this Knowledge of
Brahman, and that in
Brahman all Vedāntic texts find their agreement and harmony. It is
Brahman alone that appears as the universe. We read in the Upanishads: "All is, indeed
Brahman"; "The soul is
Brahman"; "
Brahman is Consciousnes and Bliss"; "There is no multiplicity whatsoever."" (p. 25)
"Nirguna Brahman is characterized by an absence of all attributes. It is Pure Consciousness and the immutable foundation of the universe. Again, in association with
Māyā,
Brahman appears as Saguna Brahman, which, from the standpoint of the Absolute, is mutable and impermanent. The knowledge of the former is called the Higher Knowledge, and that of the later, the lower knowledge. The Higher Knowledge brings about immediate Liberation, resulting in the utter cessation of all suffering and the attainment of supreme Bliss. The lower knowledge leads to the realization of the position of
Brahmā and thus paves the way for ultimate Liberation. It offers the highest happiness in the material world. But still it is not Immortality. The attainment of the Higher Knowledge, or
Parā Vidyā, is the goal of the spiritual life. But the lower knowledge, or
Aparā Vidyā, is not to be neglected or despised. As long as a man is conscious of the ego and the outside world, and as long as he takes these to be real, so long must he cultivate this knowledge. The Bhagavad Gitā says that if a man who is identified with the body follows the way of the Unmanifest, he only courts misery. The Mundaka Upanishad exhorts the pupil to cultivate both the Higher Knowledge and the lower knowledge. "The fetters of the heart are broken, all doubts are resolved, and all works cease to bear fruit, when He is beheld who is both high and low."" (p. 78-79)
- Grimes, John (1996). A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy: Sanskrit Terms Defined in English. Albany: State University of New York Press
- Audi, Robert (1999). The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, Second Edition. New York: Cambridge University Press
- Sharvananda, Swami (1920). Mundaka and Mandukya Upanishads: With Sanskrit Text; Paraphrase with Word-For-Word Literal Translation, English, Rendering and Comments. Mylapore, Madras: Sri Ramakrishna Math
- Krishnananda, Swami (1996). The Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad. Retrieved from https://www.swami-krishnananda.org/mand_0.html. p. 36-37.
- Avalon, Arthur (1950). The Serpent Power: Being the Shat-Chakra-Nirūpana and Pādukā-Panchakā. Adyar, Madras: Ganesh & Co. (Madras) Ltd. p. 78-82.
- Nikhilananda, Swami (1949). The Upanishads: Volume I—Katha, Iśa, Kena, and Mundaka. New York, New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers. p. 25, 78-79.
