Who is Brahman?

 

Who is Brahman

Gajaraj Swamigal: Who is Brahman, how does one attain the state of Brahman?

Sage Agastya: It is a big question you have asked today. This day that you have posed the question is a special day. This question you have asked today is the highest peak on the mountain of knowledge.

This type of question is a question that is posed by one who is known as a pure Brahmin[1]. This profound knowledge was given secretly by those who were known as Brahmins because of their purified state to those selected disciples who possessed good character, that came seeking knowledge.

This type of knowledge was imparted in the ashrams or hutments in the forests outside human habitats. That is why one of the Upanishads that is an aspect of the Vedas, the Aranya Upanishad is also called ‘Aranya Brahmana.’

 The meaning of ‘aranyam’ is forest. This sermon was given in the peaceful environment of the forest where people meditated.

I will now tell you the meaning of Brahman. In Kaliyuga, forests or nature are not found easily. In such a situation, I will consider the place that I am as forest and changing your heart into a beautiful and natural state of purity, I will impart this knowledge to you.”

Nobody can imagine what Brahman is. Because, that which is called Brahman has no form. That is why it is called formless or unfathomable.

The Supreme Being (Brahman) or the Absolute is that which is beyond time and space. This is not something that can be understood by human intelligence. It is like the wind, which in itself has no form. Yet because of the wind, we see the movement in the trees, the plants, the hair, and the clothes. Because we see this, we understand that it is wind that causes everything to move. In the same way, we understand that there is a Supreme power based on what we see of the creation and based on His play in creation. That is how we know the Supreme one (Brahman).

That is how we can imagine Him and believe in Him. Those who are not believers, know that only they exist. They are not able to understand Brahman, who is above them.

Time is also Brahman. The universe is also Brahman. Time is normally separated into three - ‘the past,’ ‘the present’ and ‘the future.’ The past is an event that has already happened in nature and in the mind.

That which has already occurred, that which we can no longer get, keeping that events that have already occurred as a measure, we consider the present.

Imagining what might happen in diverse ways; and that we have not yet achieved or experienced, we then call it the ‘future.’

What is happening now, we consider as the ‘present.’ If we look at it closely, what is ‘present’ is actually an illusion. This is because, that which you are experiencing is that which has already happened! It is something that cannot be constrained in ‘time’ because what is happening now is already the ‘past’ by the time you realize it!

To understand the passage of time, man has invented the clock. This is something that was invented based on the level of his understanding.

People of today know only how to measure time as seconds, time, days, months, or years. People of the current times are unable to even imagine what it is that occurs before seconds or what is the passage of time after the years.

The wise ones of my time understood the rules of the cosmic law and were able to explain the concept of time that is measured in four cyclic divine years (yugas).

According to this, these four time spans continue to come one beyond the other like a wheel. A wheel has no beginning or end. No start or end.

That which has no beginning or end, does not have rules of past, present, or future.

That state is called the state of the void. That which cannot be seen; that which can be understood but not made to be understood; that which can be experienced but cannot be explained to others; that is what we call the Supreme being or the Absolute.

What must one do to attain this state of the Absolute? What path must one follow? What must one follow? I will now tell you in a short summary, all this to the extent necessary for Kaliyuga.

Different Sages have given different paths based on their own knowledge and experience to people to attain the Absolute.

The most important paths that have been given are Bhakti marga (path of devotion), Karma Yoga (path of service), Laya Yoga, Raja Yoga and Gnana Yoga.

In the Dvapara Yuga, Kanna (Krishna), a great yogi and Gnani, who was the personification of Vishnu, taught karma Yoga to the people of those days through Bhagavad Gita, to the children of the ruling class and people in layers.

After that Maha Yogi Patanjali gave the Raja Yoga. Only a few are able to understand Gnana Yoga. The one who can gain wisdom must be born in a good family, one who is born in a devotional family owing to good deeds he has done in his previous life. Gnana Yoga is the highest among all the Yoga’s.

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[1] Brahmin: It is important to note that the Sage clearly states, a Brahmin ‘because of their purified state.’ It must not be misunderstood with the popular notion of being ‘Brahmin’ by virtue of one’s birth. That is not an accepted or accurate idea of a Brahmin.