BRAHMAN — THE UNITY
The Lord and the world, even when they seem to be distinct, are not really different from each other; they are one Brahman.
“ONE UNMOVING“
God is the one stable and eternal Reality. He is One because there is nothing else, since all existence and non-existence are He. He is stable or unmoving, because motion implies change in Space and change in Time,and He, being beyond Time and Space, is immutable. He possesses eternally in Himself all that is, has been or ever can be, and He therefore does not increase or diminish. He is beyond causality and relativity and therefore there is no change of relations in His being.
“SWIFTER THAN MIND“
The world is a cycle of Divine Consciousness flowing across space and time (samsāra). The law of progression arises from movement and dissolves upon halting movement. The movement is driven by the energy of active consciousness, which creates oppositions of unity and multiplicity, divisions of Time and Space, and relations and groupings of circumstances and Causality. Though actual in consciousness, these things are symbolic of the Being, similar to how a creative mind’s fantasies are genuine representations of itself but not real in relation to itself or other realities.
Mental consciousness did not create the universe.
It is far more powerful, fast, and unconstrained than the mind. Pure omnipotent self-awareness of the Absolute, unaffected by relativity laws. The laws of relativity, sustained by the gods, are transient inventions. They appear eternal because to the longevity of the world they regulate, which is incalculable to us. These rules govern motion and change, not the Lord of the movement. Gods are described as constantly pursuing their course. However, the Lord is unaffected by His movement.
“THAT MOVES, THAT MOVES NOT”
The motion of the world works under the government of a perpetual stability.Change represents the constant shifting of apparent relations in an eternal Immutability.
It is these truths that are expressed in the formulae of the one Unmoving that is swifter than Mind, That which moves and moves not, the one Stable which outstrips in the speed of its effective consciousness the others who run.
TRANSITIONAL THOUGHT
Many are real if One is supreme.
World is real, not mental.
Unity is timeless truth, diversity a play on it. Knowledge, Vidya, refers to unity, while ignorance, Avidya, refers to diversity. Diversity is not misleading unless it is separated from its fundamental and eternal oneness.
Brahman is one in essence, not number. Numerical oneness can limit multiplicity or be pluralistic and divisible, with the Many as its parts. Not the unity of Brahman, which cannot be lessened, enlarged, or divided.
In the universe, the many are considered components of Brahman, similar to how waves are part of the sea. In reality, these waves are the sea, with varying frontal or surface appearances due to its motion. Each object in the universe represents the whole universe in a unique way, and each soul is Brahman, viewing itself and the world through a cosmic consciousness centre.
Not single, but identical. It remains constant over time and space, and beyond. Equally appropriate phrases for its essential unity are numerical oneness and plurality.
In Chit, these concepts are symbols of the Absolute’s self-awareness, which views itself infinitely and formulates its views.
Chit embodies knowledge, expressive will, receptive perception, and formative representation, forming one force. Being, not the Void, performs Chit. What is seen becomes. It perceives itself beyond Space and Time, but in their conditions.
Creation involves Brahman projecting into space and time, rather than creating anything from nothing. Creation is a process of becoming, not just making, in terms of conscious existence.
Each individual is Brahman in various forms, interacting with Itself through divine consciousness. In existence, each individual is Brahman.
Brahman, as the Absolute or Universal, may stand apart from itself in relativity. The subordinate awareness views the individual as distinct from the universal and the relative as distinct from the Absolute. Without a separative movement, individuals easily become lost in the universal, and the relative disappears into the Absolute. It encourages individuals who see themselves as “other” from the transcendent Brahman and the rest of the Many to react accordingly. He separates himself from identification and enforces the play of Being in the Ego.
The individual can view themselves as either eternally distinct from the One, one with It yet distinct, or fully reconnected to the pure Identity. He cannot perceive himself as independent of a Unity, as this would contradict the existence of truth in the universe and beyond.
These three attitudes represent Brahman’s three truths, each legitimate and complementary to the others. It is difficult to comprehend their coexistence, but it can be experienced through identity with Brahman in consciousness.
When proclaiming Oneness, we must remember that Brahman transcends mental divisions and is a truth of Being that is absolute, infinite, and unaffected by thought. Our mind is symbolic and cannot comprehend the Absolute without negating it, leaving it barren of all seeming contents in the universe. But the Absolute is neither a void or negative. This includes everything in Time and beyond.
Even oneness represents multiplicity.
Both Vidya and Avidya are eternal Chit powers. Neither Vidya nor Avidya is the sole source of knowledge. Oneness, not plurality, is the fundamental foundation of all relationships. Oneness supports plurality, whereas multiplicity does not reinforce oneness.
We should view oneness as our self and the core nature of Being, while multiplicity is a manifestation of Self and a process of becoming. Consider the Brahman as the Self of all, and view the Many as becomings of the One Being. The Self and the be-comings are both Brahman, hence each cannot be considered apart from the other. Both are real, but one has a constituent and comprehensive reality, while the other is derivative or reliant.
THE RUNNING OF THE GODS
Brahman representing Itself in the universe as the Stable. , by Its immutable existence (Sat), is Purusha, God, Spirit; representing Itself as the Motional, by Its power of active Consciousness (Chit), is Nature, Force or World-Principle (Prakriti, Shakti, Maya).The play of these two principles is the Life of the universe.
The Gods are Brahman representing Itself in cosmic Personalities expressive of the one Godhead who, in their impersonal action, appear as the various play of the principles of Nature.
The “others” are sarvāṇi bhūtāni of a later verse, all becomings Brahman representing itself in the separative consciousness of the Many.
Everything in the universe, even the Gods, seems to itself to be moving in the general movement towards a goal outside itself or other than its immediate idea of itself. Brahman is the goal; for it is both the beginning and the end, the cause and the result of all movement.
But the idea of a final goal in the movement of Nature itself is illusory.
For Brahman is Absolute and Infinite. The Gods, labouring to reach him, find, at every goal that they realise, Brahman still moving forward in front to a farther realisation. Nothing in the appearances of the universe can be
entirely That to the relative consciousness; all is only a symbolic representation of the Unknowable.
All things are already realised in Brahman. The running of the Others in the course of Nature is only a working out (Prakriti), by Causality, in Time and Space, of something that Brahman already possesses.Even in Its universal being Brahman exceeds the Movement. Exceeding Time, It contains in Itself past, present and future simultaneously and has not to run to the end of conceivable Time. Exceeding Space, It contains all formations in Itself coincidently and has not to run to the end of conceivable Space. Exceeding Causality, It contains freely in Itself all eventualities as well as all potentialities without being bound by the apparent chain of causality by which they are linked in the universe.
Everything is already realised by It as the Lord before it can be accomplished by the separated Personalities in the movement.
TRANSITIONAL THOUGHT
THE WATERS
Seven Chit components are active in the cosmos.
We habitually focus on our Mind, Life, and Body. These create a divided, mutable existence with fragile harmony, driven by positive and negative forces between Birth and Death. All life goes through perpetual birth or becoming. Each birth involves the death or dissolution of the previous becoming to create a new one. Thus, the state of existence known as mrityu (death) is a stage that must be overcome.
This is not our full being, hence it is not pure.
Our superconscious existence includes three constituents: sat, cit-tapas, and ānanda.
Sat, the essence of our existence, is boundless and undivided, unlike the impermanent nature of physical matter. The divine equivalent of matter is Sat.
Chit-Tapas is pure Consciousness energy, independent of physical limitations, unlike Prana, which is restricted by its nourishment.Tapas is the celestial equivalent of vital or lower nervous energy.
Ananda refers to the ecstasy of pure conscious existence and energy, in contrast to the feelings and emotions that are influenced by external factors such as life and matter, causing both positive and negative reactions, joy and despair, pleasure and agony. Ananda is the divine counterpart to the lower emotional and sensual being.
For the holy Sachchidananda, existence is united and self-existent, unaffected by Birth and Death. Therefore, it is termed amrtam. We strive for immortality and seek happiness after transcending death.
The causal Idea or supramental Knowledge-Will, vijñāna, links the higher divine to the lower mortal existence. The causal idea guides the mysterious actions of the mind, body, and universe, ensuring its proper arrangement. The Veda refers to it as the Truth, Right, or Law, and Vast, describing its nature as an infinite cosmic Intelligence covering all activities.
Since Vijnana is Truth, split consciousness returns to One. It also recognises the truth in diversity. The divine equivalent of the lesser split intelligence is Vijnana.
The Vedic Rishis refer to the seven powers of Chit as the Waters, which flow into or out of the human consciousness.
These entities coexist eternally and inseparably, but can interact and reincarnate. Since they are connected to physical nature, they must evolve from it. They can withdraw into pure infinite Being and re-emerge.
The eternally recurring cosmic cycles involve the infolding and unfolding of the One in the Many and the Many in the One.
The Upanishad encourages us to recognise Brahman in both the universe and ourselves.
Brahman must be seen as both stable and moving. This must be seen in the everlasting Spirit and its changing expressions in the universe and relativity.
We must view all aspects of space and time, including past, present, and future, as one Brahman.
We must view Brahman as transcending time, space, and causality, encompassing all things and the world. We must view it as the entity that inhabits and controls the universe and its contents.
The ultimate Brahman, Lord, Continent, and Indwelling Spirit is the object of all knowledge. Realising it leads to perfection and immortality.