by Sri Bimal Mohanty
VOL No. 43
September. 2004

ATTEMPTS TO DESCRIBE BRAMHAN - Part 17

"Based on the lectures by Sri Bimal Mohanty"

The Till such time, all that the soul can do, is to rise above any narrowness of thought or kArpanya and maintain his unflinching faith and intensifies his mumukhsyA. The thought that never leaves the soul amidst all these is that He is ChidAnanda, the supreme bliss that the inner heart has been craving for.

If this belief goes out of the mind, then all hope or all zeal also nose dives. But a determined sAdhaka keeps this hope of chidAnadatva or essential bliss of the soul, ever kindled in the heart.

And eventually, he receives the shower of His grace and

Yesha AtmA vivrnate tanum svAm

The Lord reveals Himself and then the aspirant is rewarded with Ananda.

This absolute union between the individual soul and the universal soul is the end of all sAdhanA.

It is also often asked, what is the nature of this Ananda? Is that feeling describable? Is it mere happiness or great ecstasy? Is it euphoria?

Unfortunately, a sampling of this feeling prior to complete union is not possible. Nor is it possible to taste it by the help of someone because of the limitations of the soul, that still exists prior to total liberation or mokshya. But there are indications given in our scriptures, and wisely interpreted by more enlightened souls like our saints and seers that tells us enough.

The answer is there in the very description of Bramhan as Satchidananda. Ananda is the final outcome when sat, the absolute truth or knowledge, has been realized in the chitta- the inner heart of hearts.

It is in the realm of knowledge or gnosis- that knowledge which is divinely revealed. It is that state when nothing unknown remains. It is when the mind is free and has no fear.

Of course, we have said, that this final stage is synonymous with Bramhan itself, and not yet within the reach of the jiva or soul until it has merged with Bramhan. But as the soul approaches this final stage, and the horizons of gnosis keeps expanding, the feeling of Ananda keeps increasing with this knowledge.

The jiva knows all opposites, all apparent conflicts, but has learnt to remain unaffected by any of them.

It knows the true meaning of pain as well as pleasure, but also knows that it has power to overcome both pain and pleasure.

It knows good and knows evil but knows to remain unconcerned with either.

It understands ugliness and understands beauty but knows to see through them.

It knows love and understands hate, knows positive emotions as well as negative reactions, but also knows not to get swayed by either.

It sees both devil and the divine as two sides of the same coin and is not perturbed.

It understands bondage and understands freedom and knows its place beyond bondage and freedom.

It knows to be in possession and knows the value of rejection, knows action and knows non-action but not affected by either.

It knows death and understands life and faces both for their worth for his sadhana.

It knows darkness as well as light and knows the realm that lies beyond both.

It knows virtue (dharma) as well as non-virtue (adharma) but knows of the world that transcends both.

It knows the nature of sound as well as that of silence, but knows to revel in the realm that lies beyond sound and silence.

(From the next issue we shall analyse the concept of forms and formlessness of Bramhan)