TROTA | CHAPTER FOUR | SWAMI KRISHNANANDA

|| 4 | THE NATURE OF REALITY ||

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|| 4.01 | BRAHMAN AS EXISTENCE OR BEING ||

Long ago , the Rigveda has proclaimed :

" The One Being the wise diversely speak of " .

All philosophy proceeds from this , all religion is based on this .

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We , moreover , hear such declarations as

" Truth , Knowledge , Infinity is Brahman " ,
" Consciousness , Bliss , is Brahman " ,
" All this is , verily , Brahman " ,
" This Self is Brahman " ,
" Immortal , Fearless , is Brahman " , and the like .

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And we are further aware of assertions like

" That from which these beings are born , That by which , after having been born , they live , That into which they re-enter and with which they become one — know That , the Brahman " .

Omnipresence , omniscience and omnipotence are said to be the characteristics of GOD .

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These serve the purpose of defining the twofold nature of Brahman , the Reality — its essential nature ( svarupa-lakshana ) and accidental attribute ( tatastha-lakshana ) .

The former is the independent and imperishable truth of Brahman , the latter is its superimposed dependent quality which is subject to change in the process of time .

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Being is truth in the transcendent sense without reference to anything else .

It does not pay heed to the difficulty of the human that one cannot transcend the limitations of relativistic consciousness and so naturally takes the value and meaning of the relative order to be the truth .

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The highest value of truth is equated with pure being , for non-being can have no value .

" Existence ( Being ) alone was this in the beginning , one alone without a second " . ( Chh . Up , VI . 2 . 1 )

Brahman is that which is permanent in things that change .

It is without name and form , which two are the characteristic natures of the world of appearance , and is essentially existence-absolute .

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Existence can never change , never perish , though things in which also it is , perish .

Hence existence is the nature of Reality and is different from the things of form and name .

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Existence is secondless and has no external relations or internal differentiations .

It is unlimited by space , time and individuality .

It is related to nothing , for there is nothing second to it .

It has nothing similar to it , nothing dissimilar , for That alone is .

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The whole universe is a spiritual unity and is one with the essential Brahman .

It has no difference within or without .

Brahman is alike throughout its structure , and hence the knowledge of the essence of any part of it is the knowledge of the Whole .

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The knowledge of the Self is the knowledge of Brahman .

Everything that is , is the one Brahman , the Real of real , satyasya satyam .

By knowing it , everything becomes known .

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" Just as by the knowledge of a lump of earth , everything that is made of earth comes to be known , all this modification being merely a name , a play of speech , the ultimate substratum of it all being the earth , similarly , when Brahman is known , all is known . "

" Where there is an apparent duality , there is subject-object-relation ; but where the Atman alone is , how can there be any relation or interaction of anything with anything else ? "

" There is knowledge , and yet , there is no perception or cognition , for that knowledge is indestructible , it is unrelated consciousness-mass . " ( vide Brih . Up ) .

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It is the eternal objectless Knower , and everything besides it is a naught , an appearance , a falsity .

Brahman is Existence which is infinite Consciousness of the nature of Bliss .

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" Brahman is Existence , Consciousness , Infinitude . " ( Taitt . Up , II . 1 )

" Brahman is Consciousness , Bliss . " ( Brih . Up , III . 9 . 28 )

" That which is Infinitude is Bliss and Immortality . " ( Chh . Up , VII . 23 , 24 )

These sentences give the best definition of the highest Reality .

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Brahman is Consciousness — prajnanam brahma . It is the ultimate Knower .

It is imperceptible , for no one can know the knower , no one can know That by which everything else is known .

" There is no seer but That , no hearer but That , no thinker but That , no knower but That . "

It is the eternal Subject of knowledge , no one knows it as the object of knowledge .

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This limitless Self-Consciousness is the only Reality . The content of this Consciousness is itself .

This is the fullness of perfection and infinitude .

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" Brahman is Infinite , the universe is Infinite , from the Infinite proceeds the Infinite , and after deducting the Infinite from the Infinite , what remains is but the Infinite . "

This sentence of the Upanishad seems to pile up infinities over infinities and arrive at the bewildering conclusion that after subtracting the Whole from the Whole , the Whole alone remains .

The implied meaning here is the changeless and indivisible character of the Infinite Reality , in spite of forms appearing to be created within it .

The Infinite is non-dual and there can be no dealings with it .