Namaste,
There has been quite a bit of discussion lately about the nature of Brahman. Does it have attributes and form in a real sense? Or is it without attributes of any kind? Is He a being endowed with the ability to think, feel, and act (as we are), or is it just an impersonal thing that defies all description? Some of this discussion becomes heated, often by those attached to their monistic view and responding to any scrutiny with "oh, this is becoming an I'm right and you're wrong discussion!" or "You are being argumentative!" But it is more complicated than that. The shrutis are right, and those who disagree with them are wrong, and this has always been the traditional Hindu view. So, what do the shrutis have to say on the subject of Brahman? Here, I will go over a brief survey of mainstream pramANas whose authority is accepted by all major schools of vedAnta. I will focus primarily on shruti, and will not even quote from questionable sources. Let us put aside preconceived, sectarian notions of what brahman must be, and consult the shrutis.
First, a word about logic. The idea of an entity without attributes is a paradox. We know of no entity in nature that exists and yet has no attributes. An entity without attributes cannot be the subject of speech, writing, or any other form of expression. As one member noted somewhat tongue-in-cheek, isn't being without attributes, itself an attribute? Perhaps, but when we speak of something being "all-pervading," "of the nature of bliss," "the supreme light," etc, these are attributes. One cannot envy the task of the Advaitin, who must prove the existence of something that fundamentally defies the basic law of existence!
Fortunately, the shrutis are not so constrained. On the contrary, the saMhitA-s are full of hymns glorifying God's deeds, activities, and majesty:
viṣṇornu kaṃ vīryāṇi pra vocaṃ yaḥ pārthivāni vimamerajāṃsi |
yo askabhāyaduttaraṃ sadhasthaṃ vicakramāṇastredhorughāyaḥ ||
I WILL declare the mighty deeds of Viṣṇu, of him who measured out the earthly regions, Who propped the highest place of congregation, thrice setting down his footstep, widely striding. (Rg veda 1.154.1)
ayaṃ sahasraṃ ṛṣibhiḥ sahaskṛtaḥ samudra iva paprathe |
satyaḥ so asya mahimā ghṛṇe śavo yajñeṣu viprarājye ||
He, with his might enhanced by Ṛṣis thousandfold, hath like an ocean spread himself. His majesty is praised as true at solemn rites, his power where holy singers rule. (Rg veda 8.3.4)
The taittirIya AraNyaka containing the famous puruSha-sukta has the following:
sahasrashIrShA puruShaH sahasrAkShassahasrapAt |
sa bhUmiM vishvato vRtvA atyatiShTaddashANgulam|| TA 3.12.1 ||
With countless number of heads, eyes, and feet, the puruSHa pervades the Earth and extends far beyond. (taittirIya AraNyaka 3.12.1)
vedAhametaM puruShaM mahAntam AdityavarNaM tamasastu pAre |
sarvANi rUpANi vichitya dhIraH nAmAni kRitvA'bhivadanyadAste || TA 3.12.7 ||
I have realized the supreme puruSHa, brilliant as the solar hue
and beyond the veil of darkness. All the forms are formulated,
categorized and sustained by that wise and glorious being. (taittirIya AraNyaka 3.12.7)
An objective individual, unbiased by sectarian expectations, can admit that a supreme person with countless heads, eyes, and feet, brilliant as the sun, is an entity with attributes, not a formless entity lacking them. Even the upaniShads speak of such a supreme person as a being with form and having countless limbs:
With hands and feet everywhere, with eyes, heads and mouths everywhere, with ears everywhere, That exists, pervading everything in the universe. (shvetAshvatara upaniShad 3.16)
The same upaniShad also describes Him as as the repository of all good qualities and the Lord of the gunas:
sa vishvakR^id.h vishvavidaatmayoni\-
rGYaH kaalakaalo guNii sarvavid.h yaH .
pradhaanaxetraGYapatirguNeshaH
sa.nsaaramoxasthitibandhahetuH .. 16..
He is the creator of everything as well as the knower of everything. He is His own source, He is all-knowing, and He is the destroyer of time. He is the repository of all good qualities, and the master of all sciences. He is the controller of Matter and Spirit, and the lord of the Gunas. He is the cause of liberation from the cycle of birth and death, and of bondage which results in its continuance. (shvetAshvatara upaniShad 6.16)
Now the bRhadAraNyaka upaniShad is more explicit on this point, for it explicitly names the world of matter as one of the forms of Brahman, and then describes more attributes of Brahman, the knowing of which leads to moksha:
II-iii-1: Brahman has but two forms - gross and subtle, mortal and immortal, limited and unlimited, defined and undefined.
II-iii-2: The gross (form) is that which is other than air and the ether. It is mortal, it is limited, and it is defined. The essence of that which is gross, mortal, limited and defined is the sun that shines, for it is the essence of the defined.
II-iii-3: Now the subtle - it is air and the ether. It is immortal, it is unlimited, and it is undefined. The essence of that which is subtle, immortal, unlimited and undefined is the being that is in the sun, for that is the essence of the undefined. This is with reference to the gods.
II-iii-4: Now with reference to the body: the gross form is but this - what is other than (the corporeal) air and the ether that is in the body. It is mortal, it is limited and it is defined. The essence of that which is gross, mortal, limited and defined is the eye, for it is the essence of the defined.
II-iii-5: Now the subtle - it is (the corporeal) air and the ether that is in the body. It is immortal, it is unlimited, and it is undefined. The essence of that which is subtle, immortal, unlimited and undefined is this being that is in the right eye, for this is the essence of the undefined.
II-iii-6: The form of that 'being' is as follows: like a cloth dyed with turmeric, or like grey sheep's wool, or like the (scarlet) insect called Indragopa, or like a tongue of fire, or like a white lotus, or like a flash of lightning. He who knows it as such attains splendour like a flash of lightning. Now therefore the description (of Brahman): 'Not this, not this'. Because there is no other and more appropriate description than this 'Not this'. Now Its name: 'The Truth of truth'. The vital force is truth, and It is the Truth of that.
Note there that it is not merely the world as body of Brahman that has form and attributes. The last mantra is clear that the form within is also endowed with attributes.
The Upanishads are therefore clear that He has attributes, but that does not make Him mortal, for He is also free from evil attributes, as the chAndogya states:
VIII-vii-1: The Atman which is free from evil, free from old age, free from death, free from sorrow, free from hunger and thirst, whose desire is of the truth, whose resolve is of the truth, he should be sought, him one should desire to understand. He who has found out and who understands that Atman attains all the worlds and all the desires. Thus spoke Prajapati.
It is impossible to go over every passage describing the attributes of this Brahman, but suffice it to say that whenever Brahman is described, it is often in sense of having attributes of one sort or another, including attributes of physical form. There are of course, other mantras emphasizing lack of attributes and form, as in the case of mundaka upaniShad 2.1.2-3:
II-i-2: The Purusha is transcendental, since He is formless. And since He is coextensive with all that is external and internal and since He is birthless, therefore He is without vital force and without mind; He is pure and superior to the (other) superior imperishable (Maya).
II-i-3: From Him originates the vital force as well as the mind, all the senses, space, air, fire, water, and earth that supports everything.
Here, the mantras require some understanding. "Form" in this context refers to a form made of matter. That this is so is obvious from context, for it still describes the Brahman as "puruSha" or person, implying form, cognition, and personality. He is without "prANa" and "manas," because He is the source of prAna, manas, indriyas, AkAsha, tejas, jalam, pRithivi, etc. The point is, in Him there are none of these things because these are material evolutes which have their source in Him. A thing without the ability to think and perceive cannot be the origin of things which allow one to think and perceive. Thus, it is not literal "formlessness," "senselessness," or "mindlessness" that is being argued here. What is being stated is that Brahman does not have the manas and indriyas that are evolutes of matter. Yet He is still "puruSha," meaning that He has cognitive and perceptive abilities that are transcendental, unblemished by the forces of time which affect matter.
In conclusion from this brief survey of shruti mantras, an objective person has to conclude that brahman is an entity who is the supreme person with all-pervading form, and not a formless, attributeless entity which is more appealing to "veiled Buddhists." The shrutis are the authority on these matters for Hindus, and we cannot ignore their statements merely because we do not like them. Nor can we argue that an omnipotent entity cannot have form and qualities, because brahman is a suprasensory entity whose nature cannot be known from perception and deduction, only from shabda-pramaana.
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