The Truth About Brahman

[jmaf6556]

Hi everyone,

I've come across many posts inquiring into Brahman and His relationship with maya, the jiva, etc. I too have been confused by this and have come to a conclusion.

Think of a graph of a logarithmic spiral and compare Brahman to the origin, theta=infinity, and maya, the jiva, etc., to the spiral. The origin transcends and underlies the spiral. This means as many texts say, there is no reaching Brahman, the Self -- the unchanging infinite is here now everywhere always, and the changing finite is forever growing into it. I've read liberated beings merge with the Creator who itself is finite and part of something more!

[smaranam]

I've read liberated beings merge with the Creator who itself is finite and part of something more!

Namaste

When you say "the Creator who itself is finite and part of something more" here I am quite sure it means BramhA in this context. BramhA presiding over rajo guNa, a guNa-avatAr of the Supreme Bramhan, creates the universes.

To align what you have said with SanAtana Hindu Dharma, the beings going via that route go to Bramha-loka (a.k.a. Satyaloka), stay with the current BramhA (Bramhadev) for the rest of the kalpa*, at the end of which the universe is dissolved completely and only MahAvishNu/the Supreme Lord remains, absorbing all beings in Him in whatever state they are at end-of-kalpa. When this BramhA, having finished His duty reaches moksha (enters VaikuNTha), those who had attained His abode i.e. Bramha-loka (a.k.a. Satyaloka), may also get moksha. The beings entering Satyaloka (which is part of and the highest of the 14 material worlds) are not liberated, but quite elevated. Not all beings take this route to liberation.

Beyond the 14 material lokas (worlds) is the Paravyoma - the spiritual world untouched by anything material. This paravyoma (the spiritual sky or VaikuNTha) is eternal, unlimited, infinite unlike Lord BramhA's Satyaloka which is of finite duration, a perishable state.

om namo bhagavate vAsudevAya

----
*kalpa = a creation cycle - duration of one universe, consisting of 14 manvantars where each manvantar = 71 chaturyuga. Each chaturyuga = 4 yuga (Sat Yuga, TretA Yuga, DvApar Yuga, Kali Yuga)

REF: Shrimad BhAgvat mahApurAN

[Kalicharan Tuvij]

pranam

There is another dominant view in Hinduism, which is non-hierarchy based. According to this Brahman is one among equals. Or, we can say, like one among the many "parallel processors" of Reality, one among the Twelve Adityas the children of the Whole, Aditi.

In this view, clearly more near to Hindu ethos, it is the Harmony that rules, not any Hierarchy. Every God here can be Infinite. Some finitely infinite, others infinitely finite. You cannot take one out of them out of the equation. What I mean here is, for example, the existence of Shiva necessitates the existence of Narayana, and vice-versa.

regards.