by Sri Bmal Mohanty
VOL No. 29
June . 2003

ATTEMPTS TO DESCRIBE BRAMHAN - Part 3

"Based on lectures by Sri Bimal Mohanty"

  QUESTIONS FROM THE READERS

QUESTION 1 from Sri G K Bhagat and Sri R S mani

Why is it not possible to see Bramhan or ultimate God?

Ans :At the outset we should clear the misunderstanding itself. It is not true that no one can 'see' Bramhan or the God. All of us have seen Him and can see Him and will see Him again and again.

Perhaps your question arises from the obvious meaning of the word "seeing". If we understand by 'seeing', the common concept of having before us a physical picture which our mortal 'eyes', with their limited range can capture, then perhaps one can say that you can not see Bramhan. But that proves nothing. Neither the non existence, nor your ability to know Bramhan gets established.

Let us proceed logically. Firstly, it is beyond arguement that the tools of knowing that we possess, the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin, and also the mind are all grossly limited in their range. Anything that lies beyond their horizon one needs separate and more powerful tools to see, as the scientists discover hitherto unknown things by using instruments more and more powerful than human faculties.

Our indriyas or the bodily sensory tools can capture only gross aspects of any object. The subtler aspects need higher levels of perception, higher and superior than our bodily limitations.

By terms of definition Bramhan is essentially beyond limitation- ananta. Since nothing lies beyond Him and He is everything (which He is), then there can not be a boundary circle to confine Him. If it were so, then anything that lies outside this boundary would not be Bramhan. That would be existence of a second object beyond Bramhan . That is absurd.

The gross aspects of Bramhan is manifested everywhere around us. We see that always.

So how does one see God or Bramhan ?

There are two aspects to it. On one hand, using our limited faculties we try and see only a limited and gross version of Him. Has any body seen this? Yes, every one has and seeing Him all the time. Reflect upon your life, your experiences in life involving directly you or any one else. It is easy to see the presence of God while one is going through adverse situations or situations of great exhilaration.

We see God all the time but unfortunately do not notice him.

Think of a time when you were in dire straits. Every thing seemed lost and you were in the midst of gloom. Then something came up. The clouds cleared. Things got sorted out and today you are where you are. It is the presence of God beside you that brought this about. Every one has such experiences in life.

Think of a very dear and near one of yours. Think of something great happening to him or her, beyond the limits of expectation. The presence of God was there.

Think of a momentous transformation coming into the life of some one. Cure from an incurable disease or freedom from the clutches of drugs, evil people or any of such kind. Remember the relief to all. The presence of God was there.

Look at the sprouting of a seed in a barren land, the successful struggle of a handicapped, the faith of a desperate, the sounds of music, the beauty of nature, the kindness of a mother. The presence of God is there.

See the wonders of stars, planets, galaxies in the vast space, the functioning of minute cells in every living thing and you see God there.

We talk of all the happy things because it is easier to see them with a positive frame of mind. But even in extreme difficulties, great calamities and severe sufferings, the presence of God is there. It takes knowledge to understand that. But God was and is there.

Every one sees God every moment of life. Only few notice him. They say yah pasyati sah pasyati. He sees who tries to see.

Now on the other hand, to see more of Him, one has to obviously go beyond the limits of one's faculties and acquire higher sensory powers. This power is at the level of mental consciousness, known as supramental, cetana, etc. Then one sees Bramhan, through one's consciousness only. One becomes god-conscious. As the consciousness level grows, the intensity of god-knowledge grows. That is a kind of 'seeing' only. It grows like a snowball. Yoga sadhana is the means to attain this.

Can anyone see Bramhan fully, in totalness? The answer to this is both 'no' and 'yes' - a paradox. 'No' because, as long as the 'me' in myself retains its individuality trying to fathom Him, He remains still beyond my limits. But when this 'me', merges with Him and the 'I' becomes an inseparable part of Him, then I am verily Him. Nothing remains further to be known or seen. But by that time I have lost myself and have become Him. Who remains to see? What remains to be seen? That is the paradox.

It is said Bramhavid Bramheiva bhavati. The knower of Bramhan has become one with Bramhan.

QUESTION 2 from Sri Vinod Dhawan

Q. Are we to evolve together? Is it possible to co-operate when most of us exist on different mental levels? Is meditation, upon which we stress, is about personal development,personal progress within, personal evolution and salvation. Is it conducted in isolation.?

ANSWER : The answer is an emphatic YES. Even, it can be said with certainty that you can only evolve collectively and by drawing assistance from everything and every one around you. Never in isolation. Why has the Lord put us all together? The living beings, the world and the nature, the moving and non moving, the sentient and gross, everything around us are there with a purpose. The purpose is to attain perfection and assist each other in this quest.

In this creation everything is interdependent and interconnected in a matrix. Whether directly or in a subtle manner each one is linked with every other, irrespective of time and space. Each influences the other, and thereby his path of progress. The level of consciousness is different from 'being' to 'being'- never same with all, yet the highest is affected by the lowest, the knowledgable is influenced by the less knowledgable. It is always the case of individual development and collective development, both working out simultaneously. I need you as much as you need me for our evolutionary movement. If separated from the creation around us (which includes all humans, animals, plants et all) we shall have no support.

Everything around us is one and only Bramhan. We too are part and parcel of that Bramhan. When I do not have a separate individual existence, where is the question of my actions as separate from yours? Everything is interconnected.

A somewhat crude example is that when you exercise your hands or feet or mind, it is not that only those parts of your body are benefited. There is a total physical improvement. All the other parts of the body also improve. Conversely, any unhealthy development in any one part of the body effects all other parts. This is because all parts of the body are inseparable from that one body to which they belong.

Each one of us, all other entities in this creation are here to add and merge with the total picture. By that only we fulfill ourselves. By standing out separately we only feed our ego and arrogance. All around us - if only we see- we have examples to prove. A particular colour in the sky, no matter how brilliant it is, does not make a beautiful sunset. But supplementing others, its brilliance is achieved. A perfect musical note does not make a 'raga'. But supplementing other notes it enriches itself.

One is never alone. Everything works as an integral part of the Virat the Vishwa. All personal improvements become mere steps for further development. Conversely, lack of personal development becomes reason for unhappiness and misery. One is fully developed only when he is part and is one with the whole.

Individual sadhana, which is often looked at as a personal effort towards attainment of Satchidananda, (the truth, its realisation and the ensuing bliss), is indeed our effort to understand and realise this oneness of all with the Bramhan itself. When this realisation comes, the individual ceases to exist.