The Atman is the soul. The soul is self-evident It is
not established by extraneous proofs. It is not possible to deny the soul
because it is the very essence of the one who denies it. The soul is the basis
of all kinds of knowledge, presuppositions and proofs. The soul is the
innermost self. The nature of the soul is formless and non-dual. The soul is present in the form of consciousness.
The consciousness
is within, consciousness is without; consciousness is before, consciousness is
behind; consciousness is on the right, consciousness is on the left; consciousness
is above and consciousness is below. Consciousness is not an object, as it
is invisible, beyond the reach of the physical eyes. Consciousness is ultimate
truth. And ultimate truth is Brahman. Brahman—The One Without A Second.
Upanishads declare: “Neti Neti—not this, not this, not that.” This does not mean
that Brahman is a negative concept, or a metaphysical abstraction, or a
nonentity, or a void. It is not another. It is all-full, infinite, changeless,
self-existent, self-delight, self-knowledge and self-bliss. It is essence. It
is the essence of the knower and the known.
Sage Sri, Sankara said: - The Brahman is impersonal, without Gunas or attributes (Nirguna), formless (Nirakara), (without special characteristics (Nirvisesha), immutable, eternal and non-agent (Akarta). It is above all needs and desires. It is always the Witnessing Subject. It can never become an object as it is beyond the reach of the senses. Brahman is non-dual, one without a second. It has no other beside it. It is destitute of difference, either external or internal. Brahman cannot be described, because description implies distinction. Brahman cannot be distinguished from any other than it. In Brahman, there is not the distinction of substance and attribute.
In Mandukya Upanishad Brahman and Atman are defined as
same:-
सर्वं ह्येतद् ब्रह्मायमात्मा ब्रह्म सोयमात्मा चतुष्पात् / sarvam hyetad brahmaayamaatmaa brahm soyamaatmaa chatushpaat –
Mandukya Upanishad, verse-2
Translation:
sarvam(सर्वम्)- Whole/All/Everything; hi(हि)- Really/Just/Surely/Indeed;etad(एतद्)- This
here/This; brahm(ब्रह्म)- Brahm/Brahman;ayam(अयम्)- This/Here; aatmaa(आत्मा)- Atma/Atman; sah(सः)- He;ayam(अयम्)- This/Here; chatus(चतुस्)- Four/Quadruple;
paat(पात्)- Step/Foot/Quarter
Fragmented Verse:
सर्वम् हि एतद् ब्रह्म अयम् आत्मा ब्रह्म सः अयम् आत्मा चतुस पात् / sarvam hi etad brahm ayama aatmaa brahm sah ayam aatmaa chatus paat
Simple Meaning:-
All indeed is this Brahman; This Atman is Brahman; He, this Atman has
four steps/quarters.
While Brahman lies behind the sum total of the objective universe, some
human minds boggle at any attempt to explain it with only the tools provided by
reason. Brahman is beyond the senses, beyond the mind, beyond intelligence,
beyond imagination. Indeed, the highest idea is that Brahman is beyond both
existence and non-existence, transcending and including time, causation and
space, and thus can never be known in the same material sense as one
traditionally 'understands' a given concept or object.
Imagine a person who is blind from birth and has not seen anything. Is
it possible for us to explain to him the meaning of the colour red. Is any
amount of thinking or reasoning on his part ever going to make him understand
the sensation of the colour red? In a similar fashion the idea of Brahman
cannot be explained or understood through material reasoning or any form of
human communication. Brahman is like the colour red; those who can sense it
cannot explain or argue with those who have never sensed it.
Brahman is considered the all-pervading consciousness which is the basis
of all the animate and inanimate entities and material. (brahmano hi
pratisthaham, Bhagavad Gita 14.27)
In Advaita Vedanta: - Brahman is without attributes and
strictly impersonal. It can be best described as infinite Being, infinite
Consciousness and infinite Bliss. It is pure knowledge itself, similar to a
source of infinite radiance. Since the Advaitins regard Brahman to be the
Ultimate Truth, so in comparison to Brahman, every other thing, including the
material world, its distinctness, the individuality of the living creatures and
even Ishvara (the Supreme Lord) itself are all untrue. Brahman is the effulgent
cause of everything that exists and can possibly exist. Since it is beyond
human comprehension, it is without any attributes, for assigning attributes to
it would be distorting the true nature of Brahman. Advaitins believe in the
existence of both Saguna Brahman and Nirguna Brahman; however they consider
Nirguna Brahman to be the absolute supreme truth.
Chandogya Upanishad:- One who meditates upon and realizes the
self discovers that everything in the cosmos-- energy and space, fire and
water, name and form, birth and death, mind and will, word and deed, mantram
and meditation--all come from the Self.
So, it clearly says the one who meditate upon the self (consciousness)
discovers that everything in the cosmos-- energy and space, fire and water,
name and form, birth and death, mind and will, word and deed, mantram and
meditation--all come from the Self. Therefore , there is a need to know the
fact that ,the true self is not physical but the soul in order to realize the
fact that : the cosmos-- energy and space, fire and water, name and form,
birth and death, mind and will, word and deed, mantram and meditation--all come
from the Self, which is in the form of consciousness.
Atman is Brahman. Brahman the Absolute is alone real; this waking is
unreal; and the three states are non-different from Brahman.
