by Sri Bmal Mohanty
VOL No. 27
March / April. 2003

ATTEMPTS TO DESCRIBE BRAMHAN - Part 1

"Based on the lectures by Sri Bimal Mohanty"

We have been all these days talking about sadhana with the central or ultimate objective of Bramhan realisation. We have said that all different types of yogas, all austerity practices and for that matter, all religions end in front of Bramhan. Different names, different approaches, different beliefs that so many thought-streams hold before us, all in their essentiality culminate in that state of ultimate super-consciousness. Whether nirvana, or deliverance, or satchidananda or mokshya, they all end in the same thing which the sanatan philosophy names as Bramhan .

To acquire knowledge of Bramhan is like acquiring the key to that final door, which when opened, the sadhaka will be face to face with his final goal- the paramam padam. Hence Bramhan is the only thing that is to be known, worth knowing and is the final knowledge- Jnaanam jneyam jnaanagamyam - as The Gita says.

And the Vedas confirm
Tat vijnaate sarvamidam vijnaanam bhavati.
That having been known indeed all that there is to be known becomes known.

In this quest of the jiva or the individual soul, Yoga is the motive force, the most potent exercise of the mind without which no kind of spiritual enlightenment can be possible. Whether one is seized with the various ritualistic practices, whether the details of physical and mental exercises, whether the different paths starting from hatha to karma, bhakti, jnana, raja or Sri Aurobindo's integral approach, every one is at least unanimous about one thing. Everyone's aim is to reach that super-conscious state of Bramhan, through Yoga.

All paths of yoga devote considerable efforts in first explaining what is Bramhan simply because that happens to be the object to which we are going to get enjoined. Yoga means to get enjoined with your objective. So unless a fair knowledge of your very destination is known one can easily remain a wanderer and become frustrated in one's journey. This applies very much so, even to the concept of integral yoga and quite obviously so. Knowledge of Bramhan helps to understand better the character, the purpose and movement of this path better.

That is why attempts to acquire knowledge of Bramhan is of such paramount importance. If we are not engaged constantly in understanding the very concept of Bramhan, all our efforts, any kind of spiritual effort shall remain swallow, and most importantly out of focus.

Try to engage yourself in the path of Yoga- any kind of yoga- without some concept of its very goal and purpose, which is Satchidananda or the Bramhan. You will find that not a single action or a single step in life will appear convincing or logical. One does not undertake a single step in a journey without knowing where he is heading for, unless ofcourse he wants to become an aimless wanderer.

But, from where and how shall we know about Bramhan? Here the answer comes from Bramha Sutras - literally meaning sutras or pointers towards Bramhan. This scripture is regarded as one of the three authentic bases for the sanatan philosophy- the prasthana trayam - The Upanishads, The Bhagavad gita and the Bramhasutras - the three foundation pillars on which the Sanatan philosophy verily rests.

So to know about Bramhan we have to go to each of them.

In Bramhasutras one of the sutras makes a very catagorical and emphatic pronouncement when it says:

Sastrayonitwat

This hard hitting aphorism clearly states that sastra or the Srutis are the only source of Bramhan knowledge. It admits no other source as authentic.

Srutis refer to the canonical scriptures, the belief in whose authority is incumbent on and common to all aspects of sanatan philosophy. It comprises of the Vedas, the Vedangas and Upanishads