Jnana Vahini

The word Brahman is derived from the root word, Breh, meaning to expand, to increase, to enlarge, etc. Brehat means big, large, gross, high, etc. Purusha has, as its root, Priy meaning to fill, to complete. Pur means a town full of inhabitants, that is to say, the body, in a figurative manner of speaking. He who completes or is immanent in or who fills it is the Purusha.

The word Atma has, as its root, Ap, meaning to acquire, to earn, to pervade. So, he who knows the Atma acquires everything; he attains all knowledge. He is then fixed in the natural state of Sat-Chit-Ananda (Being-Awareness-Bliss). Sat-Chit-Ananda means the true form of Brahman. Svarupa means its highest essence. So, Brahman is formed by the essence of Ananda (Bliss), Jnana (Wisdom) and Shanti (Peace).

The Taittireyopanishat has declared, “Everything is born through Ananda. Through Ananda, all this is living. In Ananda alone all this is merged; in Ananda all this rests.” Like the category Brahman, the category Antar-Atma (Conscience) also is possessed of the same attributes. It is also Ananda-born, Ananda-filled and Ananda-merged. The way Antar-Atma is so filled with Jnana and Ananda, the same is said to be of Manava Svarupam (the nature of man). This Ananda gives peace and happiness to man. Santosham (happiness) is his right-hand; Ananda is his form; and Brahman is his basis.

Bhuma means ‘Limitless’, Eternal Brahman. The Chandogyopanishat declares that Ananda inheres only in the Bhuma, the Eternal, the Brahman. Again, another word used by Jnanis to describe their experience of Brahman is Jyoti-svarupam, meaning, “whose nature is splendour, who is Self-Illuminating.” Even tens of millions of suns cannot equal the Splendour of the Paramatma. The word Shanti-svarupam indicates that Paramatma is Shanti Itself. In Sruti, it is proclaimed “Ayam Atma shanto,” meaning Paramatma is Prashanti Itself. Isn’t it?

This is the reason why Paramatma is characterised as the form of Nitya-shuddha (Eternally Pure), Nitya-buddha (Eternally Wise), Nitya-mukta (Eternally Liberated), Nitya-trupta (Eternally Content), Nitya-vijnana (Eternally Knowledgeable), Nitya-Chaitanya (Eternally Conscious), etc. Shuddha means pure and holy. Brahman is Vijnana (Assimilated Knowledge) Itself and so, He is the embodiment of Nitya-buddha (Eternally Wise). He is Ever Free and never attached to anything and hence, He is the embodiment of Nitya-mukta (Eternally Liberated). Nitya-trupta means, Eternally Content (i.e., always full and complete). When the Brahman is experienced, that very moment, all hunger ceases, all desires come to an end and, so, He grants eternal contentment. So, He is the embodiment of Nitya-trupti (Eternally Content). Vijnana (Assimilated Knowledge) is the name given to the direct experience of the Brahman; It is an exceptional knowledge (Jnana), unlike the common fund of information got from the study of books. Also, the net result of the systematic study of any branch of learning is referred to as Vijnana. The Jnana of the Brahman, which is quite distinguished, is known by a variety of names, like Jnana (Experiential Knowledge), Vijnana (Assimilated Knowledge), Prajna (Supreme Wisdom), Chit (Pure Knowledge), Chaitanya (Pure Consciousness), and Sanvittam (Non-dual Awareness or experience oneness with Consciousness). Chaitanya means Shuddha Antahkarana (Pure Mind, with all tendencies exhausted); its opposite word is Jada, the Inert. Chaitanya means Atma-jnanam, that is to say, Atma-jnanam makes everything Conscious, Active. Brahman is the true form of Eternal Consciousness, Nitya Chaitanyam.

A Jnani will feel that the Atma immanent in everyone is his own Atma; he will be in the blissful state that he is himself all this. He will see no distinction between man and man, for he is beyond the Maya (delusion) of the formless Brahman. All the distinctions of caste, creed and religion are only for the body but not to the Atma. These are but the marks of the individual being. The Atma is Niskara, that is to say, it has no parts or marks. It is Nirmala, Unblemished. Nirmaludu is the one who is free from Kama, Krodha, Lobha, Moham, Mada and Matsarya (desire, anger, greed, affection, pride and envy). It is Nishkriya, activity-less. It is Prakriti (sensory world) that undergoes all these modifications or at least gives the impression that it is so modified. The Paramatma is but the Eternal Witness. So, He is called Nishkriyudu.

Of what can you say, “This is Satya (Truth)?” Only of this — which persists in the past, the present and the future, which has neither beginning nor end, which does not move (as it is all-pervading in time, space and object), which is the sole essence of everything, which is in unified form and is indivisible. Well, let us consider the body, the senses, the mind, the Prana (life-force) and all such. They move and change; they begin and end; they are inert, Jada. They are born out of Trigunas (three Gunas, i.e., Tamas, Rajas and Sattva). So, they are all Asatya (untrue, false). They only cause Bhrama (delusion). They are not absolute realities. They are only transactional or subjective realities.

Absolute Truth has no beginning and no end. It is beyond the reach of Time and Space, it is A-parichchinna, that is, Limitless or Boundless, also Indivisible and Indestructible. It is Always and Ever Existent; it is the Basis, the Fundamental, the Self-revealing. Knowing It, experiencing It, is Jnanam. It is A-nirdesyam, that is, Beyond Description. How can Para-brahman, which is above and beyond the intellect and the mind, be described through mere words?

It is also termed Adrushyam, Invisible to the naked eye. That which is seen physically is impermanent. So, the Eternal Brahman can never be grasped or seen by anything elemental and physical. It is through Brahman, the eye is able to see; so, how can the eye perceive Brahman itself? It is not bound by the limitation of space. The mind is bound by the limitations of time, space and causation. How can the time and space that are created with limits by Para-brahman limit Him?

The terms Amala, Vimala, Nirmala applied to Paramatma or Para-brahman connote the same meaning. By adding the letters such as A, Nir at the beginning of the word, gives the meaning ‘Not’ or ‘No’. So, A-mala implies ‘absence’ of impurity, Nirmala, ‘without’ impurity. So too, A-chintya, ‘incapable’ of being conceived, A-vyavaharya, ‘without’ any activity. As the activity or work happens with the existence of more than one, whereas the Brahman is the One and Only Existence and hence, Brahman is Avyavaharya.

Know that the Jagat (this ever-changing world) is the Svarupa (Form) of the Virata-purusha (the Lord shining as varied forms in this perceptible Universe). The Para-brahman, who projected it, is also present in it as the Antaryami (Inner Motive Force or Inner Controller). Brahman means the one who is Latent. In the Nirguna aspect, Brahman is Mahakarana (the Primal Cause). So, the Ishvara (the Supreme Being, God) is Karana-brahman (Causator), Hiranyagarbha (Causator of the Universe; literally ‘Universal Womb’), that is to say, Adi-purusha (Primordial Being or Supreme Being) is Karya-brahman (Manifested Brahman). Grasping this profundity is Jnana.