by Sri Bmal Mohanty
VOL No. 28
May. 2003

ATTEMPTS TO DESCRIBE BRAMHAN - Part 2

"Based on the lectures by Sri Bimal Mohanty"

Para mode is said to be divine. It is the movement of consciousness between an enlightened divine entity and the source of knowledge- the Divine itself. The speed at which consciousness transmits itself is said to be unexplainable.

To simplify our understanding we may think that the transmission of entire knowledge of the creation that took place between Krishna and Bramha the creator along with the creation was Para.

The mode of transmission of the knowledge of Bhagavad Gita from Krishna to Arjuna can be imagined as to be madhyama and pasyanti with Para when the Viswaroopa was revealed.

But it is futile and foolish to look for proofs in these matters. These are divine spiritual experiences exclusive to the giver and the recipient. For us it should be sufficient to understand that transmission and receipt of knowledge takes place in different forms and time frames determined by the stage of consciousness of the recipient. That at least is not difficult to understand.

Now we come back to our study of srutis. Here the mode is vaikari. The spoken or written word is used. The language is the essence. Since sruti is the only source available to us to know about Bramhan and the only mode associated with sruti is vaikari, it will be of great help if we know something about the words and the language used in sruti.

The real brilliance of the srutis is based on the language in which these are written or spoken, which is sanskrit. We of today hardly understand this great language which was once the medium of speech and writing of the society. All these are now things of past. Every one practically today relies on translations to understand sruti. Unfortunately in the world today, there is no language that exists that can match the expanse and reach of sanskrit. As a result most of the words in the Vedas and Upanishads are only half understood by common people. The esoteric or hidden meaning which is a characteristic of all sanskrit words are seldom comprehended.

The relation of sanskrit and sruti is a very special relationship in our spiritual thought process. In order to clear the fundamentals, it is worth dwelling upon this awhile before we proceed further.

There is one aspect of our scriptures, which is worth keeping in mind. That happens to be a unique feature not adopted in other philosophies. On one hand it puts down very clear-cut directions for general people to follow - mostly as rituals. On the other hand, for the purpose of higher knowledge, it talks in terms of very, very cryptic sutras, short ideas or pointers pointing to a particular subject- just touching it so to say - and leaves everything to self deduction by intuition, logic and discerning power of the mind, higher mind and the supramental faculties of a still supermind.

The brilliance of this concept takes into account on one hand the majority of common human category who are in the fringes of their spiritual quest. They can start from the very basic meaning of all things. On the other hand those advanced minds, the jinyasus or the seekers of higher knowledge are handed out mere cryptic sentences which opens the window towards the truth but does not limit the expanse of vision. There is no boundary drawn of the horizon in front of you. This is in keeping with the theory that the comprehension of consciousness, the truth or the Bramhan is verily without limits. No one can say "this and this alone". Rather it is to be said "this and beyond this" or simply "that".(Tat). The sanskrit word "Tat" often used for Bramhan defies any kind of limiting adjuncts.

It is worth repeating many times over. Bramhan is never "this and this alone", but always "this and beyond this"

In this kind of exercise of text in our shastras, the seers (Kavis) are ofcourse greatly supported by this unique language sanskrt in which it is written. Most words in sanskrt are derived from a root or a Dhatu or base metal which can be moulded by expert hands and intellectual minds into any number of connected meanings. Most sanskrt words have many meanings springing out from the same root.