A most priceless of knowledge: Brahman and Self Realization

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>

> Brahman and Self-Realization : Who is this mysterious Brahman? Who

> is this Being, whom we call God, who is described so beautifully

> in the Upanishads, extolled for centuries by seers and sages in

> the sacred land of the Vedas? This essay explains the MYSTERY OF

> SELF REALIZATION.

>

> http://www.hinduwebsite.com/who_is_brahman.asp

>

>

 

Brahman and Self Realization

 

Who is this mysterious Brahman? Who is this Being, whom we call God,

who is described so beautifully in the Upanishads and extolled for

centuries by seers and sages in the sacred land of the Vedas? Who is

HE to attain whom people renounce everything, prepare themselves for

hardships, risk everything and pursue Him day and night?

 

In His thought, thought disappears. In His pursuit, all pursuit

comes to an end. Seeking Him one leaves behind all seeking. Who is

this Great Being, whom even gods find difficult to explain? Beyond

darkness and light, beyond all diversity and visibility, beyond all

qualities and quarters, beyond all activity and forms, beyond all

imagination and vision, beyond the silence of all silences, beyond

life and death, is Brahman, whom none can explain in human language

to our complete satisfaction.

 

When you find Him, you do not find yourself. When you are with Him,

you are without Him. When you see Him, you do not see anything else.

Your knowledge does not help you to reach there. Neither your wealth

nor your thoughts. The entrance to the world of Brahman is right in

front of you, but stands between Him and you is the veil of

ignorance.

 

Occasionally one may get a glimpse of Him like Indra, Vayu and Agni

had. Like a lightning, that is how HE is envisioned by the students

of Kena Upanishad. But none can really know Him with their limited

consciousness. How can a part know the whole, unless it becomes the

whole? When the part becomes the whole does it not cease to be a

part? This is the problem of Knowing Brahman.

 

Who is Brahman then?

Brahman, is the very self, the " I " ness that is every where, in

everything and around everything. There is no dichotomy in Brahman.

Brahman is one Supreme endless unitary feeling of " I " ness. In

Brahman, " you " are lost because " you " are not there. You cannot

explain your experience to others, because in reality there is no

experience. All is one endless vast immeasurable Self, in which at

the highest level there is one without the other. There is

consciousness without distinction. There is no feeling of

separation. Everything is Self, that is " I " . There is no " me "

or " mine " either, because egoism and possessiveness are part of the

separated consciousness.

 

We possess things because we cannot be the things. We seek things

because we cannot escape from the physical feeling of space and

duality. We look elsewhere for gratification because we have this

incompleteness in us which seeks fulfillment. In Brahman, there is

no object and subject, there is no experience and the experiencer,

no knower and the known.

 

Everything is one endless indistinguishable " I " ness. Brahman is " I

am " and " I am " is the Eternal Reality. " I am " , the non possessive,

non egoistic, non dualistic " I am " is the Truth, the Whole Truth,

the Purpose and the Goal of all life that seeks and extinguishes

itself in seeking. Brahman is " I am He Who I am " . Brahman is " I "

(Aham) and " Aham " is Brahman.

 

Experience of this awareness is what we call Self-Realization. When

we realize there is nothing else in this vast universe, except the

Eternal Self, we have reached the end of our journey. The journey

begins when we are separated from the Self and ends when we becomes

One with It.

 

All craving, competition, striving, envy, and comparison arise

because of the absence of this awareness. When a seeker realizes

that he is everything, with whom will he compete and for what end

will he strive? True renunciation comes out of this experience and

awareness. Without it, renunciation itself becomes a striving and in

that striving is the shadow of separation, egoism, effort and

comparison, the fear of failure and the desire for the fruit. The

following story from Sufi teachings amply illustrates the point.

 

A man knocked on the God's door. " Who's is there? " asked God from

within. " It's me, " said the man. " Go away then. There is no room for

two, " said God. The man departed and wandered in the arid desert

until he realized his error. Returning to the door, he knocked once

again. " Who's is there? " asked God as before. " You, " answered the

man. " Then come in, " God replied.

 

Brahman and Self Realization

http://www.hinduwebsite.com/who_is_brahman.asp