Before we go to the topic of Brahman or Supreme Consciousness, we will take a moment to talk about the Universe & the concept of God. Origin of the Universe still continues to puzzle humans. Many say that the Universe was created due to an explosion in space – The Big Bang. Will the results gathered by the James Webb Satellite Telescope (JWST) disprove the Big Bang theory today? Where did all the creatures originate? Which came first? Chicken or the Egg? Tree or the Seed? Is there a First or Primal Cause? Can there be a Causeless Cause – (Spirit/Parabrahman)?
Hence, in order to satisfy this human curiosity, a name was given to that causeless cause and it was GOD and humans have accepted that God created everything. Who introduced the concept of God first is unclear. For some God has a Form to the others He is Formless. But then, who created God? What was God doing before he created the Universe? Did God come into existence after the creation of the Universe? God is unknown but continues to be described as Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent, etc., which again cannot be understood, as the human mind cannot understand what is infinite. However, a few do understand that the introduction of God as a creator is just an intellectual proposition – meaning an intellectual idea or opinion.
Vedas say that the state of being before the creation was way beyond what we can comprehend through our senses. There was emptiness, and everything we can observe today, was not there. There was neither space nor time. There was neither matter nor energy. Universe sprung from VOID. This is a very important concept in the Vedic cosmology.
“Earlier there was absolutely nothing. There was no heaven, no earth and no atmosphere.” Taittiriya Brahmana 2.2.9.1
How do we then understand this Unknown?
Suppose we need to travel from Point A to Point B and the location of Point B is unknown to us. We ask for a Landmark (a recognizable or known object) and navigate from there to reach Point B. So mystery of the “unknown” can be unraveled in terms of what is already “known”. Knowledge proceeds from known to the unknown! So where is this unknown God? The answer is that the supreme Godhead lies within us, our original pure nature. It is our “ignorance” that veils this Supreme Self or Godhead. It is Vedanta that gives us the knowledge to discover our Self. Ved is “knowledge” & Anta means “culmination or end”.
Moreover, Vedanta only gives a pointer (knowledge) to the supreme Self. It is not possible to understand God/Brahman through words, feeling & thoughts. The supreme self (God) is Infinite. Finite efforts cannot achieve the Infinite. Terrestrial knowledge however subtle cannot take us directly to the Supreme Reality. It can only take us to the subtlest terrestrial experience. From then on, we have to experience the Reality subjectively (meaning- using our own perspective, thoughts).
The Imperishable Brahman:
In Vedanta, this unknown is called “Brahman” which is also known by various other names: Atman, Supreme Consciousness, Supreme Reality, Parabrahman, Supreme Self, Absolute Truth etc. From THAT (Imperishable Brahman) all comes forth, to THAT all returns!
Bhagavad Gita VIII.9 uses some powerful terms to describe Brahman and these terms can be used as pointers for a seeker.
कविं पुराणम् अनुशासितारम् अणोर् अणीयांसम् अनुस्मरेद् यः ।
सर्वस्य धातारम् अचिन्त्य-रूपम् आदित्य-वर्णं तमसः परस्तात् ॥ ९ ॥
प्रयाण-काले मनसाऽचलेन भक्त्या युक्तो योग-बलेन चैव ।
भ्रुवोर् मध्ये प्राणम् आवेश्य सम्यक् स तं परं पुरुषम् उपैति दिव्यम् ॥ १० ॥
kaviṃ purāṇam anuśāsitāram aṇor aṇīyāṃsam anusmared yaḥ |
sarvasya dhātāram acintya-rūpam āditya-varṇaṃ tamasaḥ parastāt || 9 ||
prayāṇa-kāle manasā’calena bhaktyā yukto yoga-balena caiva |
bhruvor madhye prāṇam āveśya samyak sa taṃ paraṃ puruṣam upaiti divyam || 10 ||
He who meditates on the Omniscient, Ancient, Ruler, Minuter than Minute, supporter of all, the inconceivable form, effulgent as the Sun and beyond darkness; He who meditates on this resplendent, Supreme Purusha, at the time of death, with a steady mind, devotion and strength of yoga, fixing the entire prana in the middle of the eye brows, he reaches Him (the supreme resplendent Being).
Kavim – Omniscient: Kavih literally means Poet. In this context it means the all-knowing Consciousness, the Omniscient. The intelligence of all beings is derived from this Cosmic Intelligence.
Puranam – Ancient: Brahman is ancient as it precedes time and prior to him there is no time. Time is the interval or period between two experiences. At the first experience there can be no concept of time. Time is born at the second experience. However, Brahman existed in the very first experience before time emerged. Hence it is considered Ancient.
Anuśāsitāram- Ruler of the World: The world consists of various laws of nature and work without fail. They seem to bow before some mysterious controller and this controller or ruler is Brahman.
Aṇoraṇīyāṃsam – Minuter than the Minute: Brahman being the subtlest of the subtle.
Sarvasyadhātāram – Supporter of All: Brahman is the underlying reality of everything. Material supporting everything. Ocean supporting the waves for example.
Acintyarrūpam – Incomprehensible Form: Brahman is formless, infinite in nature. Humans cannot fathom its infinite stature and hence inconceivable.
Adityavarṇaṃ – Effulgent as the Sun: Sun is self-effulgent, ever the same. It does not need any light to be seen and no other light can illuminate it. Brahman knows itself by itself.
Tamasaḥ parastāt – Beyond Ignorance or Darkness: Brahman is beyond this darkness of ignorance just like the sun is not affected by the patch of clouds seeming to hide it.
Two simple examples of Brahman or Supreme Consciousness:
- In our homes power/current flows through a pair of wires. This current is used to run various gadgets like fridge, washing machine, fan, electric cooker, lights etc. Does the current decide which gadget to run? No. We decide that. But without that current or power, can we run these gadgets? No. The current or power is “like” Brahman. He does not decide how we use Him.
- Another popular example that is often quoted in Vedanta is of the Pot & Clay. When a Potter makes a Pot, he can make it different shapes & sizes- he can give it different names & forms – Nama (Name) & Rupa (Form)! Essentially, it is only Clay in the form of a Pot! So, the pot is only Nama & Rupa, whereas the underlying substance or substratum is the Clay! Because of the Clay the Pot exists! Even if the Pot is broken, it does not affect the clay, which was always there, before the Pot was made and will continue to exist even after the Pot is broken.
When Vedanta says that the world is an illusion, it means that the physical world does exist and is not absolutely real – it is just Nama & Rupa, meaning Name & Form. Just like the Pot depends on an underlying substance (Clay) for its existence, the world depends on an underlying substance called Brahman – pure existence or existence itself. The world is “Mithya- Apparently Real” while Brahman is “Satya – Absolutely real”. So Brahman or the Supreme Consciousness is the substratum, background of the panorama of the universe, just like a screen in a movie theater. The changes that take place in the Universe does not affect Him. He is only a WITNESS (SAKSHI)! He just observes!
Please watch this short You Tube Video for a quick understanding of Brahman or Consciousness. (<click here)
Reference: Snippets taken from the Vedanta Treatise by Swami Parthasarathy. (A book on Vedanta by the Master Himself!)
Update: 11th September, 2024 (Four Key Mantras on Brahman from Upanishads are given below):
Upanishads on the Supreme Consciousness or Brahman – “Two Mantras that say Brahman (God) has no physical forms (body or organs)”
1. Svetaśvatara Upanishad VI.8: He has no physical body and organs; there is no one who is equal or higher than Him. His diverse supreme powers and His impromptu action comes from His energy arising from the intellectual capability & strength that is inherent in Him”
It is Maya that undergoes a change to bring about a favorable condition for creation. When those causes that brought about dissolution becomes used up, Maya again jumps starts the creative process due to the impact of consciousness or Brahman that brings about this transformation in Maya. All manifestations lie inside Maya in subtle form of which God is well aware of and therefore He is the main factor in the creation process. He is the cause of all manifestations and at the same time there is no evident mark (lingam) from which we can infer the existence of Him.
2. Svetaśvatara Upanishad III.19: “Without hands and feet, He grasps and moves fast; he sees without his eyes, hears without ears. He knows everything that is to be known, but there is on one who can know Him. He is called the primordial & the all-pervasive Being.
This chapter of this Upanishad conveys that both Brahman & Ishvara – Cosmic Soul/Spirit & the Individual soul are one and the same. He is bodiless, without decay, ancient, infinite and is present in all. Brahman has no birth or death and is eternal.
Upanishads on the Supreme Consciousness or Brahman – “Two Mantras that define the immaculate Supreme Consciousness or Brahman
1.Svetaśvatara Upanishad VI.11: The one Deva or God is concealed inside every being and is unseen, all pervading, is the inner self (ātmā) of all beings, controller of all actions, who resides in all beings, the witness (sākṣī), without duality and qualities (Gunas).
Just as a spider surrounds itself with the threads produced & woven by itself, so does the Deva or God surround Himself with effects of Prakriti or primal matter. At the same time, even-though He creates manifold matter, He is untouched or influenced by them. Hence He is called a “witness” – an Observer! Those who understand that He always resides in them, are rewarded with eternal happiness. He is known to have many forms and He assumes the very form, his devotees ascribe to Him.
2. Iśa Upanishad Verse 8: He is omnipresent, effulgent, without body, cannot be harmed, without sinews, pure & untouched by evil. He is a seer who knows the past, present & future, thinker, all-pervading, self-born (svayambhūh) & allocated works to his different creators (prajā-patis) based on their nature.
We live in a world of duality that leads to sorrow. Brahman is unity and is pure being. One who realizes this unity of Brahman is liberated from delusion caused by duality. This Upanishad teaches us about the unity of God with this world and understanding that Jivatman or the Individual soul is a tiny part of Paramatman or Divine Spirit/Cosmic Soul who is spread throughout this Universe. This pure being or Supreme Consciousness resides in all.
The above two mantras indicate that Brahman is above all kinds of flaws and is ever pure!
Quote from Bhagavad Gita: XV.20:
Translation: Thus, the most profound & confidential science has been transmitted by Me. O’Anagha; once this is known, a man becomes wise & enlightened; all his duties are completed.
Commentary: The Bhagavad Gita is infused with knowledge of Vedanta and it describes the realization of Brahman. Once Brahman is realized there is nothing else to know. It marks the culmination of knowledge! As a dear friend Krishna address Arjuna with two affectionate names: Bharata & Anagha. The name Bharata denotes that Arjuna is a part of the honorable Bharata race and Anagha means he is sinless & without any fault. Only the one who is sinless can understand Brahman by removing the contamination within. Chapter 15 of Bhagavad Gita tells us about Brahman that is transcendent & immanent! The Supreme Self which has no physical body of its own, pervades both the Cosmos & the terrestrial planes. It is embedded inside every human being, deep in his core (cavity of the heart is the term often used). Due to ignorance we as humans are not aware of it as we are continuously captivated by the outside world. However with single pointed focus one can merge with the Brahman but this requires absolute determination. Once this merger is achieved, the seeker is rewarded with only pure bliss!