Nature of Brahman

Divine Life Society Publication: Dialogues From The Upanishads by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda

Om Sri Sadguru Paramatmane Namah

Brahma Jnana

Saunaka, the great Grihastha, questioned Angirasa: "Kasminnu bhagavo vijnate sarvamidam vijnatam bhavati—O Bhagavan, what is that, which being known, all this becomes known?" It is Para-vidya by which the Immortal Brahman is known.

By acquiring Brahma Jnana, what is not heard becomes heard; what is not seen becomes seen; what is not thought of becomes thought of; and what is not known becomes known.

You can bore diamond with a bristle. You can tie an infatuated elephant with a slender silken thread. You can bring the sun down for the play of your child. You can make the flame of fire burn always downwards. But it is difficult to control the mind.

He who has no Atma Jnana is only a confirmed fool, even though he is a learned Pandit with knowledge of the six schools of philosophy, even though he is a research scholar of Oxford or Harvard University. Their intellects are still stony and barren.

One may know by heart all the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras, the Gita, the Shad Darshanas, the Angas, the Smritis, western philosophy, etc. There is no salvation for such a learned man without the realisation of one’s identity with Brahman through constant, intense meditation—not even in hundreds of crores of years.

Nature of Brahman

Who Himself sees all, whom no one beholds, who illumines the intellect, etc., but whom they cannot illumine. That is Brahman. That is Atman. That is Shyam. That is Ram.

That unheard Hearer, the unseen Seer, the unthought Thinker, the unknown Knower, is Brahman.

That unborn, undecaying, undying, immortal, fearless (ajam, ajaram, amritam, abhayam) essence is Brahman.

That from which the world has come out, That in which this world subsists, That in which this world gets dissolved is Brahman.

That in which there is neither east nor west, neither light nor darkness, neither pleasure nor pain, neither hunger not thirst, neither elation nor sorrow, neither gain nor loss is Brahman.

He who dwells in this eye, who is within this eye, whom the eye does not know, whose body is the eye, who rules the eye from within is thy Self, inner Ruler, Immortal (Atma, Antaryamin, Amritam).

He is the Eye of the eyes, Ear of the ears, Prana of Pranas, Mind of minds, Light of lights, Sun of suns, King of kings, Emperor of emperors.

That something than gaining which, there is no greater gain, than knowing which there is no greater knowledge, than whose bliss there is no greater bliss, that must be known as Brahman or Atman.

There is something dearer than wealth. There is something dearer than a son. There is something dearer than a wife. There is something dearer than Prana (life). That something is thy Self, Inner Ruler, Immortal (Atma, Antaryamin, Amritam). That something is Brahman.

 Excerpts from: Nature of Brahman - Dialogues From The Upanishads by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda