By: Swami AchyutanandaBrahmn is described as vast, infinite, and boundless. But no adjective can truly be attached to Brahmn if it is limiting in any way. Every adjective confines Brahmn to a particular quality. Therefore, nothing definite can be said about Brahmn. Upanishads describe it as avanmanasagocara, beyond the reach of speech and mind.But does that mean that Brahmn does not exist? No. It exists, but It cannot be expressed in words. We can speak about countless things in the world because they are objects of our knowledge. But Brahmn is not an object of knowledge. It is that Consciousness by which everything else is known.Here arises a profound question – if Brahmn cannot be described, how can it be realised? Vedanta answers it in a profound way. In the worldly sense, the word ‘Vedanta’ means the end or conclusion of Vedas. In the philosophical sense, however, Vedanta refers to the portion of Vedic teaching that discusses the highest or ultimate knowledge.The central question of that highest knowledge is: ‘Who am I?’ We generally identify ourselves with the body, mind, intellect, personality, name, identity, and so on. But Vedanta says – you are not, in your true nature, what you ordinarily take yourself to be. Therefore, we must examine our conventional understanding of ourselves. The Upanishadic prayer says: “Lead me from the unreal to the Real/from darkness to Light/from death to Immortality.”Here, ‘unreal’ does not mean something that has absolutely no existence. Rather, it refers to that which is changing and impermanent. The names and forms of the world are constantly changing; therefore, they cannot be regarded as absolute Reality. The question is: Is there something that always remains the same, something changeless, limitless, and infinite? Vedanta answers – that is Brahmn. It is described as Sat – Chit – Ananda – existence, consciousness, and bliss.Yet an important subtlety remains. If we call Brahmn ‘eternal’, It may seem to exist for an infinitely long time. But Brahmn is beyond time. If we call It all-pervading, it may seem to exist everywhere in space. But Brahmn is beyond space too. In other words, Brahmn is beyond space, time, and causation.Therefore, we can indicate what Brahmn is not, but we cannot define It by limiting It to some description of what it is. Brahmn is simply what it is. We exist to be conscious – not because our existence or consciousness comes from some independent source separate from Brahmn. According to Advaita Vedanta, Brahmn itself is the foundation of our existence and consciousness.When It is associated with the limiting adjunct called the mind, it is perceived as the knower. Again, when something becomes an object of knowledge through limiting adjuncts of name and form, it appears as the known or object of knowledge. Thus, arise: Knower, knowledge, known. Our ordinary knowledge and experience of the world operate through this triad.A beautiful analogy is that of a colourless, transparent crystal. If a red flower is placed beside it, the crystal appears red. But the crystal itself has no red colour. The redness appears because of the limiting adjunct. When knowledge culminates in supreme Self-knowledge, the separate distinction between knower, knowledge, and known dissolves. One realises that underlying everything there is only that one Consciousness.
Disclaimer: Views expressed above are the author’s own.