by Sri Bimal Mohanty
VOL No. 32
October. 2003

ATTEMPTS TO DESCRIBE BRAMHAN - Part 6

"Based on the lectures by Sri Bimal Mohanty"

This concept of Bramhan being the only substance that everything else is made of, as has been declared in the Bramhasutras as we discussed earlier, further eliminates everything else that can claim existence outside Bramhan. This is indeed one of the infallible canons of sanatan philosophy. Those who imagine anything else beyond Bramhan are all under the cloud of ignorance.

Ekam Bramham parambramham dvitiyam naiva vidyate.

One does not search out or look for Bramhan. One simply opens one’s eyes of wisdom and sees Bramhan every where. Then why do we run to places of worship, hermitages, forests and mountain tops in search of Him? These serve their purpose only as conditioning exercises for the mind indeed. They are all worth for the subtle impact they have in bringing the mind into focus. In the ultimate analysis, Bramhan has to be experienced around and within wherever one may be. That is the message of Isavasya.

Now think of the practical connotation this philosophy brings in. If all are mere extentions of the same body, the peaceful coexistence of all, without hurting any one or anybody becomes imperative. If my mind understands that my left hand and my right hand both belong to the same person which is me, how can the right hand hurt the left hand? That is simple enough to understand. But it becomes slightly more difficult when we extend it outside to our own body. To understand that you, me and any other person outside us is also an integral part of one single entity called Bramhan, requires a higher degree of discipline of mind. The mind has to understand that you and me are the same, the husband is one and same with the wife, the mother and the child are the same, a friend and a friend are the same, the master and the servant are the same, the plants and animals around me are indeed same as me, but all only with a different form, and character.

It is ofcourse difficult to harbor such a feeling without practice by normal people like you and me. To truly and selflessly love everyone as one would love himself or herself is never very easy. So what our scriptures advise us? They say, to begin with if you can not cultivate a downright positive feeling of oneness and of love, simply try to shut out forcefully from the mind all the negative feelings, whenever such feelings raise their head. This is called abhyasa yoga in the very practical sense. Slowly and surely, the more powerful positive thoughts will start asserting over the negative thoughts and this understanding of oneness with all starts taking root. When such understanding comes, hurting another being in any manner whatsoever appears so ridiculous. One can not harbor hatred or violence to any one, as that will mean hating yourself only. That is the basic concept that flows from the original thought of Bramhan being all and everything. That then becomes the foundation of true non-violence or ahimsa and peace or shanti- the two basic canons of any true religion.

Why do you think sanatana dharma is so obsessed with these two words, ahimsa and shanti? Because it believes in this singular entity that is Bramhan, to be everything. When no second entity exists, with whom will there be conflict?

But inspite of that, we see conflict every where. Obviously it is so because our individual self is yet to recognise its oneness with Bramhan. This is the play of our ignorance. The result is misery and suffering, lives after lives. Ignorance is the reason.

Hence the necessity of spiritual sadhana.

At this point of our discussion, another very interesting observation is worth mentioning.

Many of us, during our meditation and mantra japa utter daily two words over and over again. Om Shanti. These two simple words come so naturally to us and we utter them many times without much serious thinking. Every prayer of ours ends with Om Shanti. No mantra is considered complete unless we end with Om Shanti. Let us explore these two words a little more deeply as they are relevant to what we have understood from that sloka from Isavasya Upanishad.

Om is the name for Bramhan. Later when we shall discuss Mundaka and Mandukya Upanishads we shall dwell upon Om more in details. And then we have shanti. Shanti means peace. What is the true meaning of peace? Peace does not mean cessation of all activities or a state of closed-eye existence. Such a state is impossible.