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Line 16: − + + + − == Wiki material ==+ − − Brahman is trans empirical, subject-objectless consciousness, which is not conditioned by space, time and causality - the empirical categories. True knowledge is intuition which is supra-intellectual integral experience. Apara Vidya or False knowledge or lower knowledge is discursive, intellectual and categorized.<ref>Course on Vedanta Philosophy at IIT Bombay</ref> + − In major schools of [[Hindu philosophy]] it is the material, efficient, formal and final [[Four causes|cause]] of all that exists.<ref name="ptraju" /><ref>Mariasusai Dhavamony (2002), Hindu-Christian Dialogue: Theological Soundings and Perspectives, Rodopi Press, ISBN 978-9042015104, pages 43-44</ref><ref name="fxclooney">For dualism school of Hinduism, see: Francis X. Clooney (2010), Hindu God, Christian God: How Reason Helps Break Down the Boundaries between Religions, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0199738724, pages 51-58, 111-115;<br>For monist school of Hinduism, see: B Martinez-Bedard (2006), Types of Causes in Aristotle and Sankara, Thesis - Department of Religious Studies (Advisors: Kathryn McClymond and Sandra Dwyer), Georgia State University, pages 18-35</ref> It is the pervasive, genderless, infinite, eternal truth and bliss which does not change, yet is the cause of all changes.<ref name="james122" />{{Sfn|Fowler|2002|pp=53-55}}<ref name="jeffreybrodd">Jeffrey Brodd (2009), World Religions: A Voyage of Discovery, Saint Mary's Press, ISBN 978-0884899976, pages 43-47</ref> Brahman as a metaphysical concept is the single binding unity behind the diversity in all that exists in the universe.<ref name="james122" />{{Sfn|Fowler|2002|pp=50-53}}+ + − + − + − − + − + − + − − Line 49:
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Line 55: − + + + + + + + − The concept ''Brahman'' is referred to in hundreds of hymns in the Vedas.<ref name=mauricebrahman>[[Maurice Bloomfield]], [https://archive.org/stream/vedicconcordance00bloouoft#page/656/mode/2up A Vedic Concordance], Harvard University Press, pages 656-662</ref> For example, it is found in [[Rig veda]] hymns such as 2.2.10,<ref>Original: वयमग्ने अर्वता वा सुवीर्यं '''ब्रह्मणा''' वा चितयेमा जनाँ अति । अस्माकं द्युम्नमधि पञ्च कृष्टिषूच्चा स्वर्ण शुशुचीत दुष्टरम् ॥१०॥<br>Source: [https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/ऋग्वेद:_सूक्तं_२.२ ऋग्वेद: सूक्तं २.२] Wikisource</ref> 6.21.8,<ref>Original: स तु श्रुधीन्द्र नूतनस्य '''ब्रह्मण्य'''तो वीर कारुधायः । त्वं ह्यापिः प्रदिवि पितॄणां शश्वद्बभूथ सुहव एष्टौ ॥८॥<br>[https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/ऋग्वेद:_सूक्तं_६.२१ ऋग्वेद: सूक्तं ६.२१] Wikisource</ref> 10.72.2<ref>Original: '''ब्रह्मण'''स्पतिरेता सं कर्मार इवाधमत् । देवानां पूर्व्ये युगेऽसतः सदजायत ॥२॥<br>[https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/ऋग्वेद:_सूक्तं_१०.७२ ऋग्वेद: सूक्तं १०.७२] Wikisource</ref> and in [[Atharvaveda|Atharva veda]] hymns such as 6.122.5, 10.1.12, and 14.1.131.<ref name=mauricebrahman/> The concept is found in various layers of the Vedic literature; for example:<ref name=mauricebrahman/> Aitareya [[Brahmana]] 1.18.3, Kausitaki Brahmana 6.12, Satapatha Brahmana 13.5.2.5, Taittiriya Brahmana 2.8.8.10, Jaiminiya Brahmana 1.129, Taittiriya [[Aranyaka]] 4.4.1 through 5.4.1, Vajasaneyi Samhita 22.4 through 23.25, Maitrayani Samhita 3.12.1:16.2 through 4.9.2:122.15. The concept is extensively discussed in the Upanishads embedded in the Vedas (see next section), and also mentioned in the [[Vedas#Vedanga|vedāṅga]] (the limbs of Vedas) such as the Srauta sutra 1.12.12 and Paraskara Gryhasutra 3.2.10 through 3.4.5.<ref name=mauricebrahman/>+ + − + − + + + − + − + − + − + − + − + − + − + + + + + − + + + + + − + + + + − + − |} − + + + − + − − − + − − + − − + + + + + + + + + + + + − Paul Deussen notes that teachings similar to above on Brahman, re-appeared centuries later in the words of the 3rd century CE [[Neoplatonism|Neoplatonic]] Roman philosopher [[Plotinus]] in Enneades 5.1.2.<ref name=pauldeussen314/>+ − + + + − ===Brahman as a metaphysical concept===+ − Brahman is the key metaphysical concept in various schools of Hindu philosophy. It is the theme in its diverse discussions to the two central questions of [[metaphysics]]: what is ultimately real, and are there principles applying to everything that is real?<ref>Edward Craig (1998), [https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/metaphysics/ Metaphysics], Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ISBN 978-0415073103, Accessed (June 13, 2015)</ref> Brahman is the ultimate "eternally, constant" reality, while the observed universe is different kind of reality but one which is "temporary, changing" [[Maya (illusion)|Māyā]] in various orthodox Hindu schools. Māyā pre-exists and co-exists with Brahman – the Ultimate Reality, The Highest Universal, the Cosmic Principles.<ref name=aegough>Archibald Edward Gough (2001), The Philosophy of the Upanishads and Ancient Indian Metaphysics, Routledge, ISBN 978-0415245227, pages 47-48</ref> − In addition to the concept of Brahman, Hindu metaphysics includes the concept of [[Atman (Hinduism)|Atman]] – or soul, self – which is also considered ultimately real.<ref name=aegough/> The various schools of Hinduism, particularly the [[dualism|dual]] and non-dual schools, differ on the nature of Atman, whether it is distinct from Brahman, or same as Brahman. Those that consider Brahman and Atman as distinct are theistic, and [[Dvaita Vedanta]] and later [[Nyaya]] schools illustrate this premise.<ref>Roy W. Perrett (Editor, 2000), Indian Philosophy: Metaphysics, Volume 3, Taylor & Francis, ISBN 978-0815336082, page xvii;<br>KK Chakrabarti (1999), Classical Indian Philosophy of Mind: The Nyaya Dualist Tradition, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791441718 pages 279-292</ref> Those that consider Brahman and Atman as same are monist or pantheistic, and [[Advaita Vedanta]], later [[Samkhya]]<ref>John C. Plott et al (2000), Global History of Philosophy: The Axial Age, Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120801585, pages 60-62</ref> and [[Yoga (philosophy)|Yoga]] schools illustrate this metaphysical premise.<ref>Julius Lipner (2004), The Hindu World (Editors: S Mittal and G Thursby), Routledge, ISBN 0415215277, pages 22-23</ref><ref>Laurie Patton (2004), The Hindu World (Editors: S Mittal and G Thursby), Routledge, ISBN 0415215277, pages 45-50</ref><ref>JD Fowler (1996), Hinduism: Beliefs and Practices, Sussex University Press, ISBN 978-1898723608, pages 135-137</ref> In schools that equate Brahman with Atman, Brahman is the sole, ultimate reality.<ref name="acdas"/> The predominant teaching in the Upanishads is the spiritual identity of soul within each human being, with the soul of every other human being and living being, as well as with the supreme, ultimate reality ''Brahman''.<ref>William Indich (2000), Consciousness in Advaita Vedanta, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120812512, page 5</ref><ref>Paul Hacker (1978), Eigentumlichkeiten dr Lehre und Terminologie Sankara: Avidya, Namarupa, Maya, Isvara, in Kleine Schriften (Editor: L. Schmithausen), Franz Steiner Verlag, Weisbaden, pages 101-109 (in German), also pages 69-99;<br>[http://www.vedantaadvaita.org/AdvaitaVedanta_3.htm Advaita Vedanta - A Bird's Eye View], Topic III: Philosophy of Advaita Vedanta, D. Krishna Ayyar (2011)</ref>+ − In the metaphysics of the major schools of Hinduism, Maya is perceived reality, one that does not reveal the hidden principles, the true reality – the Brahman. Maya is unconscious, Brahman-Atman is conscious. Maya is the literal and the effect, Brahman is the figurative ''Upādāna'' – the principle and the cause.<ref name=aegough/> Maya is born, changes, evolves, dies with time, from circumstances, due to invisible principles of nature. Atman-Brahman is eternal, unchanging, invisible principle, unaffected absolute and resplendent consciousness. Maya concept, states Archibald Gough, is "the indifferent aggregate of all the possibilities of emanatory or derived existences, pre-existing with Brahman", just like the possibility of a future tree pre-exists in the seed of the tree.<ref name=aegough/>+ − While Hinduism sub-schools such as Advaita Vedanta emphasize the complete equivalence of ''Brahman'' and ''Atman'', they also expound on Brahman as ''[[saguna Brahman]]'' – the Brahman with attributes, and ''[[nirguna Brahman]]'' – the Brahman without attributes.<ref name="dx.doi.org">Anantanand Rambachan (2001), [http://dx.doi.org/10.7825/2164-6279.1250 Heirarchies in the Nature of God? Questioning The "Saguna-Nirguna" Distinction in Advaita Vedanta], Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies, Vol. 14, No. 7, pages 1-6</ref> The ''nirguna Brahman'' is the Brahman as it really is, however, the ''saguna Brahman'' is posited as a means to realizing ''nirguna Brahman'', but the Hinduism schools declare ''saguna Brahman'' to be ultimately illusory.<ref name=williamw/> The concept of the ''saguna Brahman'', such as in the form of [[avatar]]s, is considered in these schools of Hinduism to be a useful symbolism, path and tool for those who are still on their spiritual journey, but the concept is finally cast aside by the fully enlightened.<ref name=williamw>William Wainwright (2012), [http://stanford.library.usyd.edu.au/entries/concepts-god/ Concepts of God], Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, (Accessed on: June 13, 2015)</ref>+ − ===Brahman as an ontological concept===+ − Brahman, along with Soul/Self (Atman) are part of the ontological<ref>that is things, beings or truths that are presumed to exist for its philosophical theory to be true, and what is the nature of that which so exists?; see: Edward Craig (1998), [https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/ontology/ Ontology], Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ISBN 978-0415073103</ref> premises of Indian philosophy.<ref>Edward Craig (1998), [https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/ontology/ Ontology], Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ISBN 978-0415073103, Accessed (June 13, 2015)</ref><ref>Stephen H. Phillips (2001), [http://www.jstor.org/stable/1400164 Could There Be Mystical Evidence for a Nondual Brahman? A Causal Objection], Philosophy East and West, Vol. 51, No. 4, pages 492-506</ref> Different schools of Indian philosophy have held widely dissimilar ontologies. [[Buddhism]] and [[Carvaka]] school of Hinduism deny that there exists anything called "a soul, a self" (individual Atman or Brahman in the cosmic sense), while the orthodox schools of Hinduism, [[Jainism]] and [[Ajivika]]s hold that there exists "a soul, a self".<ref>KN Jayatilleke (2010), Early Buddhist Theory of Knowledge, ISBN 978-8120806191, pages 246-249, from note 385 onwards;<br />Steven Collins (1994), Religion and Practical Reason (Editors: Frank Reynolds, David Tracy), State Univ of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791422175, page 64; Quote: "Central to Buddhist soteriology is the doctrine of not-self (Pali: anattā, Sanskrit: anātman, the opposed doctrine of [[Ātman (Hinduism)|ātman]] is central to Brahmanical thought). Put very briefly, this is the [Buddhist] doctrine that human beings have no soul, no self, no unchanging essence.";<br />Edward Roer (Translator), {{Google books|3uwDAAAAMAAJ|Shankara's Introduction|page=2}}, pages 2-4<br />Katie Javanaud (2013), [https://philosophynow.org/issues/97/Is_The_Buddhist_No-Self_Doctrine_Compatible_With_Pursuing_Nirvana Is The Buddhist 'No-Self' Doctrine Compatible With Pursuing Nirvana?], Philosophy Now;<br />John C. Plott et al (2000), Global History of Philosophy: The Axial Age, Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120801585, page 63, Quote: "The Buddhist schools reject any Ātman concept. As we have already observed, this is the basic and ineradicable distinction between Hinduism and Buddhism".</ref><ref>M Prabhakar (2012), Review: An Introduction to Indian Philosophy, Philosophy in Review, 32(3), pages 158-160</ref> − Brahman as well the Atman in every human being (and living being) is considered equivalent and the sole reality, the eternal, self-born, unlimited, innately free, blissful Absolute in schools of Hinduism such as the [[Advaita Vedanta]] and [[Yoga (philosophy)|Yoga]].<ref name=barbarasca>Barbara Holdrege (2004), The Hindu World (Editors: S Mittal and G Thursby), Routledge, ISBN 0415215277, pages 241-242</ref><ref>Anantanand Rambachan (2014), A Hindu Theology of Liberation: Not-Two Is Not One, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-1438454559, pages 131-142</ref><ref>Ian Whicher (1999), The Integrity of the Yoga Darsana: A Reconsideration of Classical Yoga, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791438152, pages 298-300;<br>Mike McNamee and William J. Morgan (2015), Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Sport, Routledge, ISBN 978-0415829809, pages 135-136, '''Quote''': "As a dualistic philosophy largely congruent with Samkhya's metaphysics, Yoga seeks liberation through the realization that Atman equals Brahman; it involves a cosmogonic dualism: purusha an absolute consciousness, and prakriti original and primeval matter."</ref> Knowing one's own self is knowing the God inside oneself, and this is held as the path to knowing the ontological nature of Brahman (universal Self) as it is identical to the Atman (individual Self). The nature of Atman-Brahman is held in these schools, states Barbara Holdrege, to be as a pure being (''sat''), consciousness (''cit'') and full of bliss (''ananda''), and it is formless, distinctionless, nonchanging and unbounded.<ref name=barbarasca/>+ + − Line 139:
Line 160: − + − − + − − − − The theistic sub-school such as Dvaita Vedanta of Hinduism, starts with the same premises, but adds the premise that individual souls and Brahman are distinct, and thereby reaches entirely different conclusions where Brahman is conceptualized in a manner similar to God in other major world religions.<ref name=mmyers/> The theistic schools assert that moksha is the loving, eternal union or nearness of one's soul with the distinct and separate Brahman ([[Vishnu]], [[Shiva]] or equivalent henotheism). Brahman, in these sub-schools of Hinduism is considered the highest perfection of existence, which every soul journeys towards in its own way for moksha.<ref>Betty, Stafford (2010) "Dvaita, Advaita, And Viśiṣṭadvaita: Contrasting Views Of Mokṣa", Asian Philosophy, pages 215-224</ref> + − − − + − − + − + − Line 175:
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Line 199: − − − + − − − + − The Bhakti movement of Hinduism built its theosophy around two concepts of Brahman – ''Nirguna'' and ''Saguna''.<ref name=karen21>Karen Pechilis Prentiss (2014), The Embodiment of Bhakti, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195351903, page 21</ref> ''Nirguna'' Brahman was the concept of the Ultimate Reality as formless, without attributes or quality.<ref name=jeaneanefxxvii>Jeaneane D. Fowler (2012), The Bhagavad Gita, Sussex Academic Press, ISBN 978-1845193461, pages xxvii-xxxiv</ref> ''Saguna'' Brahman, in contrast, was envisioned and developed as with form, attributes and quality.<ref name=jeaneanefxxvii/> The two had parallels in the ancient panthestic unmanifest and theistic manifest traditions, respectively, and traceable to Arjuna-Krishna dialogue in the [[Bhagavad Gita]].<ref name=karen21/><ref name=fowlernirgunasaguna>Jeaneane D. Fowler (2012), The Bhagavad Gita, Sussex Academic Press, ISBN 978-1845193461, pages 207-211</ref> It is the same Brahman, but viewed from two perspectives, one from ''Nirguni'' knowledge-focus and other from ''Saguni'' love-focus, united as Krishna in the Gita.<ref name=fowlernirgunasaguna/> ''Nirguna'' bhakta's poetry were ''Jnana-shrayi'', or had roots in knowledge.<ref name=karen21/> ''Saguna'' bhakta's poetry were ''Prema-shrayi'', or with roots in love.<ref name=karen21/> In Bhakti, the emphasis is reciprocal love and devotion, where the devotee loves God, and God loves the devotee.<ref name=fowlernirgunasaguna/>+ − Jeaneane Fowler states that the concepts of Nirguna and Saguna Brahman, at the root of Bhakti movement [[theosophy]], underwent more profound development with the ideas of [[Vedanta]] school of Hinduism, particularly those of [[Adi Shankara]]'s Advaita Vedanta, [[Ramanuja]]'s Vishishtadvaita Vedanta, and [[Madhvacharya]]'s Dvaita Vedanta.<ref name=jeaneanefxxvii/> Two 12th-century influential treatises on bhakti were ''Sandilya Bhakti Sutra'' – a treatise resonating with Nirguna-bhakti, and ''Narada Bhakti Sutra'' – a treatise that leans towards Saguna-bhakti.<ref>Jessica Frazier and Gavin Flood (2011), The Continuum Companion to Hindu Studies, Bloomsbury Academic, ISBN 978-0826499660, pages 113-115</ref>+ + + − ''Nirguna'' and ''Saguna'' Brahman concepts of the Bhakti movement has been a baffling one to scholars, particularly the ''Nirguni'' tradition because it offers, states David Lorenzen, "heart-felt devotion to a God without attributes, without even any definable personality".<ref name=davidlorenzenns/> Yet given the "mountains of ''Nirguni'' bhakti literature", adds Lorenzen, bhakti for ''Nirguna Brahman'' has been a part of the reality of the Hindu tradition along with the bhakti for ''Saguna Brahman''.<ref name=davidlorenzenns>David Lorenzen (1996), Praises to a Formless God: Nirguni Texts from North India, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791428054, page 2</ref> These were two alternate ways of imagining God during the bhakti movement.<ref name=karen21/>+ − − == Comparison of Brahma, Brahman, Brahmin and Brahmanas == − [[Brahma]] is distinct from Brahman.<ref name="BondKunin2003p231"/> Brahma is a male deity, in the post-Vedic Puranic literature,<ref name=pandeyp40>{{cite book|author=R. M. Matthijs Cornelissen|title=Foundations of Indian Psychology Volume 2: Practical Applications|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=BkkgeKXyiOIC |year=2011|publisher=Pearson |isbn=978-81-317-3085-0 |pages=40 }}</ref> who creates but neither preserves nor destroys anything. He is envisioned in some Hindu texts to have emerged from the metaphysical Brahman along with Vishnu (preserver), Shiva (destroyer), all other gods, goddesses, matter and other beings.<ref name="Doniger1999p437"/> In theistic schools of Hinduism where deity Brahma is described as part of its cosmology, he is a mortal like all gods and goddesses, and dissolves into the abstract immortal Brahman when the universe ends, thereafter a new cosmic cycle (kalpa) restarts again.<ref name=pandeyp40/><ref name="Fowler2002p330">{{cite book|author=Jeaneane D. Fowler|title=Perspectives of Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Hinduism|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=8dRZ4E-qgz8C |year=2002|publisher=Sussex Academic Press|isbn=978-1-898723-93-6 |pages=330 }}</ref> − − − − {{Reflist|33em}}+ +
Created new page for Brahman with title corrected
===एकं सत् ॥ The One Existence===
===एकं सत् ॥ The One Existence===
Worship of the nature and devatas such as the ''Agni'', ''Aditya'', ''Indra'', ''Rudra'', ''Visnu'', ''Brahma'' and others becomes internalized in the Upanishads to the meditation on the supreme, immortal and formless Brahman-Atman. The many names of devatas with forms and weapons gradually merged into defining a One Existence, a supreme being called now as Paramatma, Brahman etc.<blockquote>एकं सद्विप्रा बहुधा वदन्ति (Rig. Veda. 1.164.46)</blockquote>Devatas who held positions in the outer worlds are now declared to be everywhere, even as the innermost being of each human being and within every other living creature.<blockquote>एकमेवाद्वितीयं ब्रह्म (Chand. Upan. 6.2.1)</blockquote>What was One reality or ''ekam'' sat of the Vedas now transformed to the ekam eva advitiyam brahma'' or "the one and'' ''only one, sans a second''" in the Upanishads. Discussion of Brahman-Atman and Self-realization develops in the Upanishads as the means to moksha (liberation, freedom in this life or after-life). Worship which was primarily of the nature and natural elements (like fire, clouds and rains, air) was followed by deities having a form and qualities called Saguna Brahman which gradually led to worship of "Tat" (That) a nameless, formless Supreme Entity without attributes and qualities called as Nirguna Brahman.
Worship of the nature and devatas such as the ''Agni'', ''Aditya'', ''Indra'', ''Rudra'', ''Visnu'', ''Brahma'' and others becomes internalized in the Upanishads to the meditation on the supreme, immortal and formless Brahman-Atman. The many names of devatas with forms and weapons gradually merged into defining a One Existence, a supreme being called now as Paramatma, Brahman etc.<blockquote>एकं सद्विप्रा बहुधा वदन्ति (Rig. Veda. 1.164.46)</blockquote>Devatas who held positions in the outer worlds are now declared to be everywhere, even as the innermost being of each human being and within every other living creature.<blockquote>एकमेवाद्वितीयं ब्रह्म (Chand. Upan. 6.2.1)</blockquote>What was One reality or ''ekam'' sat of the Vedas now transformed to the ekam eva advitiyam brahma'' or "the one and'' ''only one, sans a second''" in the Upanishads. Discussion of Brahman-Atman and Self-realization develops in the Upanishads as the means to moksha (liberation, freedom in this life or after-life). Worship which was primarily of the nature and natural elements (like fire, clouds and rains, air) was followed by deities having a form and qualities called Saguna Brahman which gradually led to worship of "Tat" (That) a nameless, formless Supreme Entity without attributes and qualities called as Nirguna Brahman.
===Nirguna Brahma Swaroopa===
=== Nirguna Brahma Swaroopa ===
Brahman is the material, efficient, formal and final cause of all that exists. It is the pervasive, genderless, infinite, eternal truth and bliss which does not change, yet is the cause of all changes. Brahman is "the infinite source, fabric, core and destiny of all existence, both manifested and unmanifested, the formless infinite substratum and from which the universe has grown". Kathopanishad states 1.2.15 and 16 that<blockquote>सर्वे वेदा यत्पदमामनन्ति तपाँसि सर्वाणि च यद्वदन्ति । यदिच्छन्तो ब्रह्मचर्यं चरन्ति तत्ते पदँ संग्रहेण ब्रवीम्योमित्येतत् ॥ १५ ॥</blockquote><blockquote>एतद्ध्येवाक्षरं ब्रह्म एतद्ध्येवाक्षरं परम् । एतद्ध्येवाक्षरं ज्ञात्वा यो यदिच्छति तस्य तत् ॥ १६ ॥ (Kath. Upan. 1.2.15)<ref>Kathopanishad ([https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%A0%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%AA%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B7%E0%A4%A6%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%8D/%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%A5%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%A7%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%83/%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%80%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%80 Adhyaya 1 Valli 2])</ref></blockquote>That which all the Vedas declare, that which all austerities utter, That desiring which they lead the life of Brahmacharya, That Word I tell thee briefly : it is Aum. That word is even Brahman; that Word is even the Supreme. <ref name=":022">''Sanatana Dharma : An Advanced Textbook of Hindu Religion and Ethics''. (1903) Benares : The Board of Trustees, Central Hindu College</ref>
Brahman is the material, efficient, formal and final cause of all that exists. It is the pervasive, genderless, infinite, eternal truth and bliss which does not change, yet is the cause of all changes. Brahman is "the infinite source, fabric, core and destiny of all existence, both manifested and unmanifested, the formless infinite substratum and from which the universe has grown". Kathopanishad states 1.2.15 and 16 that <blockquote>सर्वे वेदा यत्पदमामनन्ति तपाँसि सर्वाणि च यद्वदन्ति । यदिच्छन्तो ब्रह्मचर्यं चरन्ति तत्ते पदँ संग्रहेण ब्रवीम्योमित्येतत् ॥ १५ ॥</blockquote><blockquote>एतद्ध्येवाक्षरं ब्रह्म एतद्ध्येवाक्षरं परम् । एतद्ध्येवाक्षरं ज्ञात्वा यो यदिच्छति तस्य तत् ॥ १६ ॥ (Kath. Upan. 1.2.15)<ref>Kathopanishad ([https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%A0%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%AA%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B7%E0%A4%A6%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%8D/%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%A5%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%A7%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%83/%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%80%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%80 Adhyaya 1 Valli 2])</ref></blockquote>That which all the Vedas declare, that which all austerities utter, That desiring which they lead the life of Brahmacharya, That Word I tell thee briefly : it is Aum. That word is even Brahman; that Word is even the Supreme. <ref name=":022">''Sanatana Dharma : An Advanced Textbook of Hindu Religion and Ethics''. (1903) Benares : The Board of Trustees, Central Hindu College</ref>
===प्रणवम् ॥ Pranava===
===प्रणवम् ॥ Pranava===
Formless and nameless be the description of Nirguna Brahma, however, his nature is Infiniteness, Absoluteness, Eternity, Changelessness finally it constitutes All That is (अस्तीति). (Shev. Upan. 4.18) That which is beyond number and name is denoted by one sound called Pranava. Tattriyopanishad, Shikshavalli contains the stuti of Pranava in the eighth anuvaka as follows
Formless and nameless be the description of Nirguna Brahma, however, his nature is Infiniteness, Absoluteness, Eternity, Changelessness finally it constitutes All That is (अस्तीति). (Shev. Upan. 4.18) That which is beyond number and name is denoted by one sound called Pranava. Tattriyopanishad, Shikshavalli contains the stuti of Pranava in the eighth anuvaka as follows
That Brahman is the basis of the whole universe (Adhishtata) is emphasized in the Taittriya Upanishad. In the Mandukya Upanishad is mentioned, the first time in the history of thought, the distinction between the Brahman and Isvara. Isvara is like a supreme devata in relation to the universe and viewed through human perspective, whereas Brahman is Supreme or Absolute, as He is in Himself, viewed independently. In later Vedantic literature the two are often spoken of as Saguna Brahman and Nirguna Brahman. That is, the same Brahman is viewed from two different standpoints--the relative standpoint and the independent standpoint.
That Brahman is the basis of the whole universe (Adhishtata) is emphasized in the Taittriya Upanishad. In the Mandukya Upanishad is mentioned, the first time in the history of thought, the distinction between the Brahman and Isvara. Isvara is like a supreme devata in relation to the universe and viewed through human perspective, whereas Brahman is Supreme or Absolute, as He is in Himself, viewed independently. In later Vedantic literature the two are often spoken of as Saguna Brahman and Nirguna Brahman. That is, the same Brahman is viewed from two different standpoints--the relative standpoint and the independent standpoint.
Mundakopanishad, says Brahman is "That which cannot be seen or grasped, which has neither origin nor properties, which has neither eyes nor ears, neither hands nor feet, which is eternal, all-pervading, omnipresent 'and extremely subtle, Imperishable which the rshis regard as the origin of all beings."
Mundakopanishad, says Brahman is "That which cannot be seen or grasped, which has neither origin nor properties, which has neither eyes nor ears, neither hands nor feet, which is eternal, all-pervading, omnipresent 'and extremely subtle, Imperishable which the rshis regard as the origin of all beings."
==Wiki material==
Brahman (Samskrit : ब्रह्मन्) connotes the highest Universal Principle, the [[Absolute (philosophy)|Ultimate Reality]] in the universe.<ref name="james122">James Lochtefeld, ''Brahman'', The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A–M, Rosen Publishing. ISBN 978-0823931798, page 122</ref><ref name="ptraju">PT Raju (2006), Idealistic Thought of India, Routledge, ISBN 978-1406732627, page 426 and Conclusion chapter part XII</ref>
Brahman is trans empirical, subject-objectless consciousness, which is not conditioned by space, time and causality - the empirical categories. True knowledge is intuition which is supra-intellectual integral experience. Apara Vidya or False knowledge or lower knowledge is discursive, intellectual and categorized.<ref>Course on Vedanta Philosophy at IIT Bombay</ref>
Brahman (Samskrit : ब्रह्मन्) connotes the highest Universal Principle, the [[Absolute (philosophy)|Ultimate Reality]] in the universe.<ref name="james122">James Lochtefeld, ''Brahman'', The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A–M, Rosen Publishing. ISBN 978-0823931798, page 122</ref><ref name="ptraju">PT Raju (2006), Idealistic Thought of India, Routledge, ISBN 978-1406732627, page 426 and Conclusion chapter part XII</ref>{{Sfn|Fowler|2002|pp=49-55 (in Upanishads), 318-319 (in Vishistadvaita), 246-248 and 252-255 (in Advaita), 342-343 (in Dvaita), 175-176 (in Samkhya-Yoga)}}
In major schools of [[Hindu philosophy]] it is the material, efficient, formal and final [[Four causes|cause]] of all that exists.<ref name="ptraju" /><ref>Mariasusai Dhavamony (2002), Hindu-Christian Dialogue: Theological Soundings and Perspectives, Rodopi Press, ISBN 978-9042015104, pages 43-44</ref><ref name="fxclooney">For dualism school of Hinduism, see: Francis X. Clooney (2010), Hindu God, Christian God: How Reason Helps Break Down the Boundaries between Religions, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0199738724, pages 51-58, 111-115;
For monist school of Hinduism, see: B Martinez-Bedard (2006), Types of Causes in Aristotle and Sankara, Thesis - Department of Religious Studies (Advisors: Kathryn McClymond and Sandra Dwyer), Georgia State University, pages 18-35
</ref> It is the pervasive, genderless, infinite, eternal truth and bliss which does not change, yet is the cause of all changes.<ref name="james122" />{{Sfn|Fowler|2002|pp=53-55}}<ref name="jeffreybrodd">Jeffrey Brodd (2009), World Religions: A Voyage of Discovery, Saint Mary's Press, ISBN 978-0884899976, pages 43-47</ref> Brahman as a metaphysical concept is the single binding unity behind the diversity in all that exists in the universe.<ref name="james122" />{{Sfn|Fowler|2002|pp=50-53}}
Brahman is a [[Vedic Sanskrit]] word, and is conceptualized in Hinduism, states [[Paul Deussen]], as the "creative principle which lies realized in the whole world".<ref>Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814684, page 91</ref> Brahman is a key concept found in [[Vedas]], and extensively discussed in the early [[Upanishads]].<ref name=sphilips>Stephen Philips (1998), Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Brahman to Derrida (Editor; Edward Craig), Routledge, ISBN 978-0415187077, pages 1-4</ref> The [[Veda]]s conceptualize Brahman as the Cosmic Principle.<ref name="Hananya Goodman 1994 page 121">Hananya Goodman (1994), Between Jerusalem and Benares: Comparative Studies in Judaism and Hinduism, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791417164, page 121</ref> In the Upanishads, it has been variously described as ''[[Satcitananda|Sat-cit-ānanda]]'' (being-consciousness-bliss){{sfn|Raju|1992|p=228}}<ref>Eliot Deutsch (1980), Advaita Vedanta : A Philosophical Reconstruction, University of Hawaii Press, ISBN 978-0824802714, Chapter 1</ref> and as the unchanging, permanent, highest reality.{{Sfn|Fowler|2002|pp=53-55}}{{sfn|Potter|2008|p=6-7}}{{refn|group=note|[[Advaita Vedanta#Criterion of Sublation|"not sublatable"]],{{sfn|Potter|2008|p=6-7}} the final element in a dialectical process which cannot be eliminated or annihilated (German: "aufheben").}}{{refn|group=note|It is also defined as:
Brahman is a [[Vedic Sanskrit]] word, and is conceptualized in Hinduism, states [[Paul Deussen]], as the "creative principle which lies realized in the whole world".<ref>Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814684, page 91</ref> Brahman is a key concept found in [[Vedas]], and extensively discussed in the early [[Upanishads]].<ref name="sphilips">Stephen Philips (1998), Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Brahman to Derrida (Editor; Edward Craig), Routledge, ISBN 978-0415187077, pages 1-4</ref> The [[Veda]]s conceptualize Brahman as the Cosmic Principle.<ref name="Hananya Goodman 1994 page 121">Hananya Goodman (1994), Between Jerusalem and Benares: Comparative Studies in Judaism and Hinduism, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791417164, page 121</ref> In the Upanishads, it has been variously described as ''[[Satcitananda|Sat-cit-ānanda]]'' (being-consciousness-bliss){{sfn|Raju|1992|p=228}}<ref>Eliot Deutsch (1980), Advaita Vedanta : A Philosophical Reconstruction, University of Hawaii Press, ISBN 978-0824802714, Chapter 1</ref> and as the unchanging, permanent, highest reality.{{Sfn|Fowler|2002|pp=53-55}}{{sfn|Potter|2008|p=6-7}}{{refn|group=note|[[Advaita Vedanta#Criterion of Sublation|"not sublatable"]],{{sfn|Potter|2008|p=6-7}} the final element in a dialectical process which cannot be eliminated or annihilated (German: "aufheben").}}{{refn|group=note|It is also defined as:
* The unchanging, [[Infinity|infinite]], [[Immanence|immanent]], and [[transcendence (religion)|transcendent]] [[reality]] which is the Divine Ground of all [[matter]], [[energy]], [[time]], [[space]], [[being]], and everything beyond in this [[Universe]]; that is the one supreme, universal spirit.<ref>{{cite book | last = Brodd | first = Jefferey | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = World Religions | publisher = Saint Mary's Press | year = 2003 | location = Winona, MN | pages = | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 978-0-88489-725-5 }}</ref>
* The unchanging, [[Infinity|infinite]], [[Immanence|immanent]], and [[transcendence (religion)|transcendent]] [[reality]] which is the Divine Ground of all [[matter]], [[energy]], [[time]], [[space]], [[being]], and everything beyond in this [[Universe]]; that is the one supreme, universal spirit.<ref>{{cite book | last = Brodd | first = Jefferey | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = World Religions | publisher = Saint Mary's Press | year = 2003 | location = Winona, MN | pages = | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 978-0-88489-725-5 }}</ref>
* The one supreme, all pervading Spirit that is the origin and support of the [[Phenomenon|phenomenal]] universe.<ref>John Bowker (ed.)(2012), ''The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions'', Oxford University Press.[http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780192800947.001.0001/acref-9780192800947-e-1183]</ref>}}
* The one supreme, all pervading Spirit that is the origin and support of the [[Phenomenon|phenomenal]] universe.<ref>John Bowker (ed.)(2012), ''The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions'', Oxford University Press.[http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780192800947.001.0001/acref-9780192800947-e-1183]</ref>}}
Brahman is discussed in Hindu texts with the concept of [[Ātman (Hinduism)|Atman]] (Soul, Self),<ref name=sphilips/>{{Sfn|Fowler|2002|pp=49-53}} [[Personal god|personal]],{{refn|group=note|[[Saguna Brahman]], with qualities}} [[Absolute (philosophy)|impersonal]]{{refn|group=note|[[Nirguna Brahman]], without qualities}} or [[Para Brahman]],{{refn|group=note|Supreme}} or in various combinations of these qualities depending on the philosophical school.<ref>Klaus K. Klostermaier (2007), A Survey of Hinduism, Third Edition, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791470824, Chapter 12: Atman and Brahman - Self and All</ref> In [[Dualism|dualistic]] schools of Hinduism such as the theistic [[Dvaita Vedanta]], Brahman is different from Atman (soul) in each being, and therein it shares conceptual framework of [[God]] in major world religions.<ref name=fxclooney/><ref name=mmyers>Michael Myers (2000), Brahman: A Comparative Theology, Routledge, ISBN 978-0700712571, pages 124-127</ref><ref>Thomas Padiyath (2014), The Metaphysics of Becoming, De Gruyter, ISBN 978-3110342550, pages 155-157</ref> In [[Nondualism|non-dual]] schools of Hinduism such as the [[monism|monist]] [[Advaita Vedanta]], Brahman is identical to the Atman, Brahman is everywhere and inside each living being, and there is connected spiritual oneness in all existence.<ref name=jeffreybrodd/><ref name="Arvind Sharma 2007 pages 19-40">Arvind Sharma (2007), Advaita Vedānta: An Introduction, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120820272, pages 19-40, 53-58, 79-86</ref><ref>John E. Welshons (2009), One Soul, One Love, One Heart, New World Library, ISBN 978-1577315889, pages 17-18</ref>
Brahman is discussed in Hindu texts with the concept of [[Ātman (Hinduism)|Atman]] (Soul, Self),<ref name="sphilips" />{{Sfn|Fowler|2002|pp=49-53}} [[Personal god|personal]],{{refn|group=note|[[Saguna Brahman]], with qualities}} [[Absolute (philosophy)|impersonal]]{{refn|group=note|[[Nirguna Brahman]], without qualities}} or [[Para Brahman]],{{refn|group=note|Supreme}} or in various combinations of these qualities depending on the philosophical school.<ref>Klaus K. Klostermaier (2007), A Survey of Hinduism, Third Edition, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791470824, Chapter 12: Atman and Brahman - Self and All</ref> In [[Dualism|dualistic]] schools of Hinduism such as the theistic [[Dvaita Vedanta]], Brahman is different from Atman (soul) in each being, and therein it shares conceptual framework of [[God]] in major world religions.<ref name="fxclooney" /><ref name="mmyers">Michael Myers (2000), Brahman: A Comparative Theology, Routledge, ISBN 978-0700712571, pages 124-127</ref><ref>Thomas Padiyath (2014), The Metaphysics of Becoming, De Gruyter, ISBN 978-3110342550, pages 155-157</ref> In [[Nondualism|non-dual]] schools of Hinduism such as the [[Monism|monist]] [[Advaita Vedanta]], Brahman is identical to the Atman, Brahman is everywhere and inside each living being, and there is connected spiritual oneness in all existence.<ref name="jeffreybrodd" /><ref name="Arvind Sharma 2007 pages 19-40">Arvind Sharma (2007), Advaita Vedānta: An Introduction, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120820272, pages 19-40, 53-58, 79-86</ref><ref>John E. Welshons (2009), One Soul, One Love, One Heart, New World Library, ISBN 978-1577315889, pages 17-18</ref>
==Etymology and related terms==
==Etymology and related terms==
[[Sanskrit]] ''Brahman'' (an ''n''-stem, nominative ''{{IAST|bráhmā}}'') from a [[root (linguistics)|root]] ''{{IAST|bṛh}}-'' "to swell, expand, grow, enlarge" is a neutral noun to be distinguished from the masculine ''{{IAST|[[brahmán]]}}''—denoting a person associated with Brahman, and from [[Brahmā]], the creator God of the Hindu Trinity, the [[Trimurti]]. Brahman is thus a gender-neutral concept that implies greater impersonality than masculine or feminine conceptions of the deity. Brahman is referred to as the supreme self. Puligandla states it as "the unchanging reality amidst and beyond the world",{{sfn|Puligandla|1997|p=222}} while Sinar states Brahman is a concept that "cannot be exactly defined".{{sfn|Sinari|2000|p=384}}
[[Sanskrit]] ''Brahman'' (an ''n''-stem, nominative ''{{IAST|bráhmā}}'') from a [[Root (linguistics)|root]] ''{{IAST|bṛh}}-'' "to swell, expand, grow, enlarge" is a neutral noun to be distinguished from the masculine ''{{IAST|[[brahmán]]}}''—denoting a person associated with Brahman, and from [[Brahmā]], the creator God of the Hindu Trinity, the [[Trimurti]]. Brahman is thus a gender-neutral concept that implies greater impersonality than masculine or feminine conceptions of the deity. Brahman is referred to as the supreme self. Puligandla states it as "the unchanging reality amidst and beyond the world",{{sfn|Puligandla|1997|p=222}} while Sinar states Brahman is a concept that "cannot be exactly defined".{{sfn|Sinari|2000|p=384}}
In [[Vedic Sanskrit]]:
In [[Vedic Sanskrit]]:
*''Br<u>a</u>hm<u>a</u>'' (ब्रह्म) (nominative singular), ''br<u>a</u>hm<u>a</u>n'' (ब्रह्मन्) (stem) (neuter<ref name="neuter">Not Masculine or Feminine (see [[Grammatical gender]]).</ref> [[gender]]) from root ''bṛh-'', means "to be or make firm, strong, solid, expand, promote".<ref name=jangondaetymo>[[Jan Gonda]] (1962), Some Notes on the Study of Ancient-Indian Religious Terminology, History of Religions, Vol. 1, No. 2 (Winter, 1962), pages 268-269</ref>
*''Br<u>a</u>hm<u>a</u>'' (ब्रह्म) (nominative singular), ''br<u>a</u>hm<u>a</u>n'' (ब्रह्मन्) (stem) (neuter<ref name="neuter">Not Masculine or Feminine (see [[Grammatical gender]]).</ref> [[gender]]) from root ''bṛh-'', means "to be or make firm, strong, solid, expand, promote".<ref name="jangondaetymo">[[Jan Gonda]] (1962), Some Notes on the Study of Ancient-Indian Religious Terminology, History of Religions, Vol. 1, No. 2 (Winter, 1962), pages 268-269</ref>
*''Br<u>a</u>hmān<u>a</u>'' (ब्रह्मन) (nominative singular, never plural), from stems ''brh<u>a</u>'' (to make firm, strong, expand) + Sanskrit ''-man-'' from Indo-European root ''-men-'' which denotes some manifested form of "definite power, inherent firmness, supporting or fundamental principle".<ref name=jangondaetymo/>
*''Br<u>a</u>hmān<u>a</u>'' (ब्रह्मन) (nominative singular, never plural), from stems ''brh<u>a</u>'' (to make firm, strong, expand) + Sanskrit ''-man-'' from Indo-European root ''-men-'' which denotes some manifested form of "definite power, inherent firmness, supporting or fundamental principle".<ref name="jangondaetymo" />
In later Sanskrit usage:
In later Sanskrit usage:
*''Br<u>a</u>hm<u>a</u>'' (ब्रह्म) (nominative singular), ''brahman'' (stem) (neuter<ref name="neuter" /> [[gender]]) means the concept of the transcendent and immanent ultimate reality, Supreme Cosmic Spirit in Hinduism. The concept is central to Hindu philosophy, especially Vedanta; this is discussed below. ''Brahm'' is another variant of ''Brahman''.
*''Br<u>a</u>hm<u>a</u>'' (ब्रह्म) (nominative singular), ''brahman'' (stem) (neuter<ref name="neuter" /> [[gender]]) means the concept of the transcendent and immanent ultimate reality, Supreme Cosmic Spirit in Hinduism. The concept is central to Hindu philosophy, especially Vedanta; this is discussed below. ''Brahm'' is another variant of ''Brahman''.
*''Br<u>a</u>hmā'' (ब्रह्मा) (nominative singlular), ''Brahman'' (ब्रह्मन्) (stem) ([[masculine]] [[gender]]), means the deity or [[Deva (Hinduism)|deva]] [[Brahma (god)|Prajāpati Brahmā]]. He is one of the members of the [[Trimurti|Hindu trinity]] and associated with creation, but does not have a cult in present-day India. This is because Brahmā, the creator-god, is long-lived but not eternal i.e. Brahmā gets absorbed back into [[Purusha]] at the end of an aeon, and is born again at the beginning of a new [[Kalpa (aeon)|kalpa]].
*''Br<u>a</u>hmā'' (ब्रह्मा) (nominative singlular), ''Brahman'' (ब्रह्मन्) (stem) ([[masculine]] [[gender]]), means the deity or [[Deva (Hinduism)|deva]] [[Brahma (god)|Prajāpati Brahmā]]. He is one of the members of the [[Trimurti|Hindu trinity]] and associated with creation, but does not have a cult in present-day India. This is because Brahmā, the creator-god, is long-lived but not eternal i.e. Brahmā gets absorbed back into [[Purusha]] at the end of an aeon, and is born again at the beginning of a new [[Kalpa (aeon)|kalpa]].
These are distinct from:
These are distinct from:
*A ''brāhm<u>a</u>ṇ<u>a</u>'' (ब्राह्मण) (masculine, pronounced {{IPA-sa|ˈbraːhməɳə|}}), (which literally means "pertaining to prayer") is a prose commentary on the [[Veda|Vedic mantras]]—an integral part of the Vedic literature.
*A ''brāhm<u>a</u>ṇ<u>a</u>'' (ब्राह्मण) (masculine, pronounced {{IPA-sa|ˈbraːhməɳə|}}), (which literally means "pertaining to prayer") is a prose commentary on the [[Veda|Vedic mantras]]—an integral part of the Vedic literature.
*''[[Ishvara]]'', (lit., Supreme Lord), in Advaita, is identified as a partial worldly manifestation (with limited attributes) of the ultimate reality, the attributeless Brahman. In [[Visishtadvaita]] and [[Dvaita]], however, Ishvara (the Supreme Controller) has infinite attributes and the source of the impersonal Brahman.
*''[[Ishvara]]'', (lit., Supreme Lord), in Advaita, is identified as a partial worldly manifestation (with limited attributes) of the ultimate reality, the attributeless Brahman. In [[Visishtadvaita]] and [[Dvaita]], however, Ishvara (the Supreme Controller) has infinite attributes and the source of the impersonal Brahman.
*''[[Deva (Hinduism)|Deva]]s'', the expansions of Brahman/God into various forms, each with a certain quality. In the Vedic religion, there were 33 devas, which later became exaggerated to 330 million devas. In fact, devas are themselves regarded as more mundane manifestations of the One and the Supreme Brahman (See [[Para Brahman]]). The Sanskrit word for "ten million" also means group, and 330 million devas originally meant 33 types of divine manifestations.
*''[[Deva (Hinduism)|Deva]]s'', the expansions of Brahman/God into various forms, each with a certain quality. In the Vedic religion, there were 33 devas, which later became exaggerated to 330 million devas. In fact, devas are themselves regarded as more mundane manifestations of the One and the Supreme Brahman (See [[Para Brahman]]). The Sanskrit word for "ten million" also means group, and 330 million devas originally meant 33 types of divine manifestations.
==History and literature==
==History and literature==
===Vedic===
===Vedic===
''Brahman'' is a concept present in Vedic [[Samhita]]s, the oldest layer of the [[Vedas]] dated to the 2nd millennium BCE. For example,<ref name=barbarah29/>
''Brahman'' is a concept present in Vedic [[Samhita]]s, the oldest layer of the [[Vedas]] dated to the 2nd millennium BCE. For example,{{Quote|
{{Quote|
<poem>
<poem>
The ''Ṛcs'' are limited (''parimita''),
The ''Ṛcs'' are limited (''parimita''),
But of the Word ''Brahman'', there is no end.
But of the Word ''Brahman'', there is no end.
</poem>
</poem>
|Taittiriya Samhita VII.3.1.4|Translated by Barbara Holdrege<ref name=barbarah29>Barbara Holdrege (1995), Veda and Torah: Transcending the Textuality of Scripture, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791416402, page 29</ref>}}
|Taittiriya Samhita VII.3.1.4|Translated by Barbara Holdrege<ref name=barbarah29>Barbara Holdrege (1995), Veda and Torah: Transcending the Textuality of Scripture, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791416402, page 29</ref>}}The concept ''Brahman'' is referred to in hundreds of hymns in the Vedas.<ref name="mauricebrahman">[[Maurice Bloomfield]], [https://archive.org/stream/vedicconcordance00bloouoft#page/656/mode/2up A Vedic Concordance], Harvard University Press, pages 656-662</ref> For example, it is found in [[Rig veda]] hymns such as 2.2.10,<ref>Original: वयमग्ने अर्वता वा सुवीर्यं '''ब्रह्मणा''' वा चितयेमा जनाँ अति । अस्माकं द्युम्नमधि पञ्च कृष्टिषूच्चा स्वर्ण शुशुचीत दुष्टरम् ॥१०॥
Source: [https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/ऋग्वेद:_सूक्तं_२.२ ऋग्वेद: सूक्तं २.२] Wikisource
</ref> 6.21.8,<ref>Original: स तु श्रुधीन्द्र नूतनस्य '''ब्रह्मण्य'''तो वीर कारुधायः । त्वं ह्यापिः प्रदिवि पितॄणां शश्वद्बभूथ सुहव एष्टौ ॥८॥
[https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/ऋग्वेद:_सूक्तं_६.२१ ऋग्वेद: सूक्तं ६.२१] Wikisource
</ref> 10.72.2<ref>Original: '''ब्रह्मण'''स्पतिरेता सं कर्मार इवाधमत् । देवानां पूर्व्ये युगेऽसतः सदजायत ॥२॥
[https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/ऋग्वेद:_सूक्तं_१०.७२ ऋग्वेद: सूक्तं १०.७२] Wikisource
</ref> and in [[Atharvaveda|Atharva veda]] hymns such as 6.122.5, 10.1.12, and 14.1.131.<ref name="mauricebrahman" /> The concept is found in various layers of the Vedic literature; for example:<ref name="mauricebrahman" /> Aitareya [[Brahmana]] 1.18.3, Kausitaki Brahmana 6.12, Satapatha Brahmana 13.5.2.5, Taittiriya Brahmana 2.8.8.10, Jaiminiya Brahmana 1.129, Taittiriya [[Aranyaka]] 4.4.1 through 5.4.1, Vajasaneyi Samhita 22.4 through 23.25, Maitrayani Samhita 3.12.1:16.2 through 4.9.2:122.15. The concept is extensively discussed in the Upanishads embedded in the Vedas (see next section), and also mentioned in the [[Vedas#Vedanga|vedāṅga]] (the limbs of Vedas) such as the Srauta sutra 1.12.12 and Paraskara Gryhasutra 3.2.10 through 3.4.5.<ref name="mauricebrahman" />
[[Jan Gonda]] states that the diverse reference of ''Brahman'' in the Vedic literature, starting with Rigveda Samhitas, convey "different senses or different shades of meaning".<ref name=jangondameaning>[[Jan Gonda]] (1962), Some Notes on the Study of Ancient-Indian Religious Terminology, History of Religions, Vol. 1, No. 2 (Winter, 1962), pages 269-271</ref> There is no one single word in modern Western languages that can render the various shades of meaning of the word ''Brahman'' in the Vedic literature, according to Jan Gonda.<ref name=jangondameaning/> In verses considered as the most ancient, the Vedic idea of ''Brahman'' is the "power immanent in the sound, words, verses and formulas of Vedas". However, states Gonda, the verses suggest that this ancient meaning was never the only meaning, and the concept evolved and expanded in ancient India.<ref>[[Jan Gonda]] (1962), Some Notes on the Study of Ancient-Indian Religious Terminology, History of Religions, Vol. 1, No. 2 (Winter, 1962), pages 271-272</ref>
[[Jan Gonda]] states that the diverse reference of ''Brahman'' in the Vedic literature, starting with Rigveda Samhitas, convey "different senses or different shades of meaning".<ref name="jangondameaning">[[Jan Gonda]] (1962), Some Notes on the Study of Ancient-Indian Religious Terminology, History of Religions, Vol. 1, No. 2 (Winter, 1962), pages 269-271</ref> There is no one single word in modern Western languages that can render the various shades of meaning of the word ''Brahman'' in the Vedic literature, according to Jan Gonda.<ref name="jangondameaning" /> In verses considered as the most ancient, the Vedic idea of ''Brahman'' is the "power immanent in the sound, words, verses and formulas of Vedas". However, states Gonda, the verses suggest that this ancient meaning was never the only meaning, and the concept evolved and expanded in ancient India.<ref>[[Jan Gonda]] (1962), Some Notes on the Study of Ancient-Indian Religious Terminology, History of Religions, Vol. 1, No. 2 (Winter, 1962), pages 271-272</ref>
Barbara Holdrege states that the concept ''Brahman'' is discussed in the Vedas along four major themes: as the Word or verses (''Sabdabrahman''),<ref>See Rigveda Chapter 1.164;<br>Karl Potter and Harold Coward, The Philosophy of the Grammarians, Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies: Volume 5, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, ISBN 978-8120804265, pages 34-35</ref> as Knowledge embodied in Creator Principle, as Creation itself, and a Corpus of traditions.<ref>Barbara Holdrege (1995), Veda and Torah: Transcending the Textuality of Scripture, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791416402, page 24</ref> Hananya Goodman states that the Vedas conceptualize Brahman as the Cosmic Principles underlying all that exists.<ref name="Hananya Goodman 1994 page 121"/> [[Gavin Flood]] states that the Vedic era witnessed a process of abstraction, where the concept of ''Brahman'' evolved and expanded from the power of sound, words and rituals to the "essence of the universe", the "deeper foundation of all phenomena", the "essence of the self ([[Ātman (Hinduism)|Atman]], soul)", and the deeper "truth of a person beyond apparent difference".<ref name=gavinflood84>Gavin Flood (1996), An Introduction to Hinduism, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0521438780, pages 84-85</ref>
Barbara Holdrege states that the concept ''Brahman'' is discussed in the Vedas along four major themes: as the Word or verses (''Sabdabrahman''),<ref>See Rigveda Chapter 1.164;
Karl Potter and Harold Coward, The Philosophy of the Grammarians, Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies: Volume 5, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, ISBN 978-8120804265, pages 34-35
</ref> as Knowledge embodied in Creator Principle, as Creation itself, and a Corpus of traditions.<ref>Barbara Holdrege (1995), Veda and Torah: Transcending the Textuality of Scripture, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791416402, page 24</ref> Hananya Goodman states that the Vedas conceptualize Brahman as the Cosmic Principles underlying all that exists.<ref name="Hananya Goodman 1994 page 121" /> [[Gavin Flood]] states that the Vedic era witnessed a process of abstraction, where the concept of ''Brahman'' evolved and expanded from the power of sound, words and rituals to the "essence of the universe", the "deeper foundation of all phenomena", the "essence of the self ([[Ātman (Hinduism)|Atman]], soul)", and the deeper "truth of a person beyond apparent difference".<ref name="gavinflood84">Gavin Flood (1996), An Introduction to Hinduism, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0521438780, pages 84-85</ref>
===Upanishads===
===Upanishads===
The primary focus on the early Upanishads is ''Brahmavidya'' and ''Atmavidya'', that is the knowledge of Brahman and the knowledge of Atman (self, soul), what it is and how it is understood.<ref>R Prasad and P.D. Chattopadhyaya (2008), A Conceptual-analytic Study of Classical Indian Philosophy of Morals, Concept, ISBN 978-8180695445, page 56</ref> The texts do not present a single unified theory, rather they present a variety of themes with multiple possible interpretations, which flowered in post-Vedic era as premises for the diverse schools of Hinduism.<ref name=sphilips/>
The primary focus on the early Upanishads is ''Brahmavidya'' and ''Atmavidya'', that is the knowledge of Brahman and the knowledge of Atman (self, soul), what it is and how it is understood.<ref>R Prasad and P.D. Chattopadhyaya (2008), A Conceptual-analytic Study of Classical Indian Philosophy of Morals, Concept, ISBN 978-8180695445, page 56</ref> The texts do not present a single unified theory, rather they present a variety of themes with multiple possible interpretations, which flowered in post-Vedic era as premises for the diverse schools of Hinduism.<ref name="sphilips" />
[[Paul Deussen]] states that the concept of ''Brahman'' in the Upanishads expands to metaphysical, ontological and soteriological themes, such as it being the "primordial reality that creates, maintains and withdraws within it the universe",<ref name=pauldeussen243>Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814677, page 243, 325-344, 363, 581</ref> the "principle of the world",<ref name=pauldeussen243/> the "absolute",<ref>Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814677, page 358, 371</ref> the "general, universal",<ref>Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814677, page 305, 476</ref> the "cosmic principle",<ref>Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814677, pages 110, 315-316, 495, 838-851</ref> the "ultimate that is the cause of everything including all gods",<ref>Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814677, pages 211, 741-742</ref> the "divine being, Lord, distinct God, or God within oneself",<ref>Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814677, pages 308-311, 497-499</ref> the "knowledge",<ref>Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814677, pages 181, 237, 444, 506-544, 570-571, 707, 847-850</ref> the "soul, sense of self of each human being that is fearless, luminuous, exalted and blissful",<ref name=pauldeussen52>Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814677, pages 52, 110, 425, 454, 585-586, 838-851</ref> the "essence of liberation, of spiritual freedom",<ref>Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814677, pages 173-174, 188-198, 308-317, 322-324, 367, 447, 496, 629-637, 658, 707-708</ref> the "universe within each living being and the universe outside",<ref name=pauldeussen52/> the "essence and everything innate in all that exists inside, outside and everywhere".<ref>Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814677, pages 600, 619-620, 647, 777</ref>
[[Paul Deussen]] states that the concept of ''Brahman'' in the Upanishads expands to metaphysical, ontological and soteriological themes, such as it being the "primordial reality that creates, maintains and withdraws within it the universe",<ref name="pauldeussen243">Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814677, page 243, 325-344, 363, 581</ref> the "principle of the world",<ref name="pauldeussen243" /> the "absolute",<ref>Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814677, page 358, 371</ref> the "general, universal",<ref>Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814677, page 305, 476</ref> the "cosmic principle",<ref>Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814677, pages 110, 315-316, 495, 838-851</ref> the "ultimate that is the cause of everything including all gods",<ref>Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814677, pages 211, 741-742</ref> the "divine being, Lord, distinct God, or God within oneself",<ref>Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814677, pages 308-311, 497-499</ref> the "knowledge",<ref>Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814677, pages 181, 237, 444, 506-544, 570-571, 707, 847-850</ref> the "soul, sense of self of each human being that is fearless, luminuous, exalted and blissful",<ref name="pauldeussen52">Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814677, pages 52, 110, 425, 454, 585-586, 838-851</ref> the "essence of liberation, of spiritual freedom",<ref>Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814677, pages 173-174, 188-198, 308-317, 322-324, 367, 447, 496, 629-637, 658, 707-708</ref> the "universe within each living being and the universe outside",<ref name="pauldeussen52" /> the "essence and everything innate in all that exists inside, outside and everywhere".<ref>Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814677, pages 600, 619-620, 647, 777</ref>
Gavin Flood summarizes the concept of ''Brahman'' in the Upanishads to be the "essence, the smallest particle of the cosmos and the infinite universe", the "essence of all things which cannot be seen, though it can be experienced", the "self, soul within each person, each being", the "truth", the "reality", the "absolute", the "bliss" (''ananda'').<ref name=gavinflood84/>
Gavin Flood summarizes the concept of ''Brahman'' in the Upanishads to be the "essence, the smallest particle of the cosmos and the infinite universe", the "essence of all things which cannot be seen, though it can be experienced", the "self, soul within each person, each being", the "truth", the "reality", the "absolute", the "bliss" (''ananda'').<ref name="gavinflood84" />
According to [[Radhakrishnan]], the sages of the [[Upanishads]] teach Brahman as the ultimate essence of material phenomena that cannot be seen or heard, but whose nature can be known through the development of self-knowledge (''[[Ātman (Hinduism)|atma jnana]]'').<ref>pp.77, Radhakrishnan, S, ''The Principal Upanisads,'' HarperCollins India, 1994</ref>
According to [[Radhakrishnan]], the sages of the [[Upanishads]] teach Brahman as the ultimate essence of material phenomena that cannot be seen or heard, but whose nature can be known through the development of self-knowledge (''[[Ātman (Hinduism)|atma jnana]]'').<ref>pp.77, Radhakrishnan, S, ''The Principal Upanisads,'' HarperCollins India, 1994</ref>
The Upanishads contain several ''mahā-vākyas'' or "Great Sayings" on the concept of Brahman:<ref name="EoH 270">{{cite book|last=Jones|first=Constance|title=Encyclopedia of Hinduism|year=2007|publisher=Infobase Publishing|location=New York|isbn=0816073368|pages=270}}</ref>
The Upanishads contain several ''mahā-vākyas'' or "Great Sayings" on the concept of Brahman:<ref name="EoH 270">{{cite book|last=Jones|first=Constance|title=Encyclopedia of Hinduism|year=2007|publisher=Infobase Publishing|location=New York|isbn=0816073368|pages=270}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable"|-
{| class="wikitable sortable" |-
! Text!! Upanishad !! Translation !! Reference
!Text!!Upanishad!!Translation!!Reference
|-
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| '''अहं ब्रह्म अस्मि'''<br>''aham brahmāsmi'' || [[Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]] 1.4.10 || "I am Brahman"||<ref>Sanskrit and English Translation: S Madhavananda, [https://archive.org/stream/Brihadaranyaka.Upanishad.Shankara.Bhashya.by.Swami.Madhavananda#page/n171/mode/2up Brihadaranyaka Upanishad] 1.4.10, Brihadaranyaka Upanishad - Shankara Bhashya, page 145</ref>
|'''अहं ब्रह्म अस्मि'''''aham brahmāsmi''||[[Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]] 1.4.10||"I am Brahman"||<ref>Sanskrit and English Translation: S Madhavananda, [https://archive.org/stream/Brihadaranyaka.Upanishad.Shankara.Bhashya.by.Swami.Madhavananda#page/n171/mode/2up Brihadaranyaka Upanishad] 1.4.10, Brihadaranyaka Upanishad - Shankara Bhashya, page 145</ref>
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| '''अयम् आत्मा ब्रह्म'''<br>''ayam ātmā brahma'' || Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.4.5 || "The Self is Brahman" ||<ref>Sanskrit and English Translation: S Madhavananda, [https://archive.org/stream/Brihadaranyaka.Upanishad.Shankara.Bhashya.by.Swami.Madhavananda#page/n737/mode/2up Brihadaranyaka Upanishad] 4.4.5, Brihadaranyaka Upanishad - Shankara Bhashya, pages 711-712</ref>
|'''अयम् आत्मा ब्रह्म'''''ayam ātmā brahma''||Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.4.5||"The Self is Brahman"||<ref>Sanskrit and English Translation: S Madhavananda, [https://archive.org/stream/Brihadaranyaka.Upanishad.Shankara.Bhashya.by.Swami.Madhavananda#page/n737/mode/2up Brihadaranyaka Upanishad] 4.4.5, Brihadaranyaka Upanishad - Shankara Bhashya, pages 711-712</ref>
|-
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| '''सर्वं खल्विदं ब्रह्म'''<br>''sarvam khalvidam brahma'' ||[[Chandogya Upanishad]] 3.14.1 || "All this is Brahman"||<ref>Sanskrit: [https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/छान्दोग्योपनिषद्_२ छान्दोग्योपनिषद् १.१ ॥तृतीयॊऽध्यायः॥] Wikisource<br>English Translation:Max Muller, [https://archive.org/stream/upanishads01ml#page/48/mode/2up Chandogya Upanishad 3.14.1] Oxford University Press, page 48;<br>Max Muller, {{Google books|KXf_AQAAQBAJ|The Upanisads}}, Routledge, pages xviii-xix</ref>
|'''सर्वं खल्विदं ब्रह्म'''''sarvam khalvidam brahma''||[[Chandogya Upanishad]] 3.14.1||"All this is Brahman"||<ref>Sanskrit: [https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/छान्दोग्योपनिषद्_२ छान्दोग्योपनिषद् १.१ ॥तृतीयॊऽध्यायः॥] Wikisource
English Translation:Max Muller, [https://archive.org/stream/upanishads01ml#page/48/mode/2up Chandogya Upanishad 3.14.1] Oxford University Press, page 48;
Max Muller, {{Google books|KXf_AQAAQBAJ|The Upanisads}}, Routledge, pages xviii-xix</ref>
|-
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| '''एकमेवाद्वितीयम्'''<br>''ekam evadvitiyam'' ||Chandogya Upanishad 6.2.1|| "That [Brahman] is one, without a second" ||<ref>Sanskrit: [https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/छान्दोग्योपनिषद्_३ छान्दोग्योपनिषद् १.२ ॥षष्ठोऽध्यायः॥] Wikisource<br>English Translation:Max Muller, [https://archive.org/stream/upanishads01ml#page/92/mode/2up Chandogya Upanishad 6.2.1] Oxford University Press, page 93;<br>Max Muller, {{Google books|KXf_AQAAQBAJ|The Upanisads}}, Routledge, pages xviii-xix</ref>
|'''एकमेवाद्वितीयम्'''''ekam evadvitiyam''||Chandogya Upanishad 6.2.1||"That [Brahman] is one, without a second"||<ref>Sanskrit: [https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/छान्दोग्योपनिषद्_३ छान्दोग्योपनिषद् १.२ ॥षष्ठोऽध्यायः॥] Wikisource
English Translation:Max Muller, [https://archive.org/stream/upanishads01ml#page/92/mode/2up Chandogya Upanishad 6.2.1] Oxford University Press, page 93;
Max Muller, {{Google books|KXf_AQAAQBAJ|The Upanisads}}, Routledge, pages xviii-xix</ref>
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| '''तत्त्वमसि'''<br>''[[tat tvam asi]]'' ||Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7 et seq. || "Thou art that" ("You are Brahman")||<ref>Sanskrit: [https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/छान्दोग्योपनिषद्_३ छान्दोग्योपनिषद् १.२ ॥षष्ठोऽध्यायः॥] Wikisource<br>English Translation:Robert Hume, [https://archive.org/stream/thirteenprincipa028442mbp#page/n267/mode/2up Chandogya Upanishad] 6.8, The Thirteen Principal Upanishads, Oxford University Press, pages 246-250</ref><ref>AS Gupta, [http://www.jstor.org/stable/1397392 The Meanings of "That Thou Art"], Philosophy East and West, Vol. 12, No. 2, pages 125-134</ref>
|'''तत्त्वमसि'''''[[tat tvam asi]]''||Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7 et seq.||"Thou art that" ("You are Brahman")||<ref>Sanskrit: [https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/छान्दोग्योपनिषद्_३ छान्दोग्योपनिषद् १.२ ॥षष्ठोऽध्यायः॥] Wikisource
English Translation:Robert Hume, [https://archive.org/stream/thirteenprincipa028442mbp#page/n267/mode/2up Chandogya Upanishad] 6.8, The Thirteen Principal Upanishads, Oxford University Press, pages 246-250
</ref><ref>AS Gupta, [http://www.jstor.org/stable/1397392 The Meanings of "That Thou Art"], Philosophy East and West, Vol. 12, No. 2, pages 125-134</ref>
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| '''प्रज्ञानं ब्रह्म'''<br>''prajnānam brahma''||[[Aitareya Upanishad]] 3.3.7 || "Knowledge is Brahman"||<ref>Sanskrit: [https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/ऐतरेयोपनिषद् ऐतरेयोपनिषद्] Wikisource<br>English Translation:Max Muller, [https://archive.org/stream/upanishads01ml#page/246/mode/2up Aitareya Upanishad 3.3.7, also known as Aitareya Aranyaka 2.6.1.7] Oxford University Press, page 246</ref>
|'''प्रज्ञानं ब्रह्म'''''prajnānam brahma''||[[Aitareya Upanishad]] 3.3.7||"Knowledge is Brahman"||<ref>Sanskrit: [https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/ऐतरेयोपनिषद् ऐतरेयोपनिषद्] Wikisource
The Upanishad discuss the metaphysical concept of Brahman in many ways, such as the Śāṇḍilya doctrine in Chapter 3 of the Chandogya Upanishad, among of the oldest Upanishadic texts.<ref name=hume314/> The Śāṇḍilya doctrine on Brahman is not unique to Chandogya Upanishad, but found in other ancient texts such as the Satapatha Brahmana in section 10.6.3. It asserts that Atman (Soul, Self inside man) exists, the Brahman is identical with Atman, that the Brahman is inside man – thematic quotations that are frequently cited by later schools of Hinduism and modern studies on Indian philosophies.<ref name=hume314/><ref name=gjha314>[https://archive.org/stream/Shankara.Bhashya-Chandogya.Upanishad-Ganganath.Jha.1942.English#page/n165/mode/2up Chandogya Upanishad with Shankara Bhashya] Ganganath Jha (Translator), pages 150-157</ref><ref>For modern era cites:
English Translation:Max Muller, [https://archive.org/stream/upanishads01ml#page/246/mode/2up Aitareya Upanishad 3.3.7, also known as Aitareya Aranyaka 2.6.1.7] Oxford University Press, page 246
</ref>
|}The Upanishad discuss the metaphysical concept of Brahman in many ways, such as the Śāṇḍilya doctrine in Chapter 3 of the Chandogya Upanishad, among of the oldest Upanishadic texts. The Śāṇḍilya doctrine on Brahman is not unique to Chandogya Upanishad, but found in other ancient texts such as the Satapatha Brahmana in section 10.6.3. It asserts that Atman (Soul, Self inside man) exists, the Brahman is identical with Atman, that the Brahman is inside man – thematic quotations that are frequently cited by later schools of Hinduism and modern studies on Indian philosophies.<ref name="gjha314">[https://archive.org/stream/Shankara.Bhashya-Chandogya.Upanishad-Ganganath.Jha.1942.English#page/n165/mode/2up Chandogya Upanishad with Shankara Bhashya] Ganganath Jha (Translator), pages 150-157</ref><ref>For modern era cites:
*Anthony Warder (2009), A Course in Indian Philosophy, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120812444, pages 25-28;
*Anthony Warder (2009), A Course in Indian Philosophy, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120812444, pages 25-28;
*DD Meyer (2012), Consciousness, Theatre, Literature and the Arts, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, ISBN 978-1443834919, page 250;
*DD Meyer (2012), Consciousness, Theatre, Literature and the Arts, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, ISBN 978-1443834919, page 250;
*Joel Brereton (1995), Eastern Canons: Approaches to the Asian Classics (Editors: William Theodore De Bary, Irene Bloom), Columbia University Press, ISBN 978-0231070058, page 130;
*Joel Brereton (1995), Eastern Canons: Approaches to the Asian Classics (Editors: William Theodore De Bary, Irene Bloom), Columbia University Press, ISBN 978-0231070058, page 130;
*S Radhakrishnan (1914), The Vedanta philosophy and the Doctrine of Maya, International Journal of Ethics, Vol. 24, No. 4, pages 431-451</ref>
*S Radhakrishnan (1914), The Vedanta philosophy and the Doctrine of Maya, International Journal of Ethics, Vol. 24, No. 4, pages 431-451</ref>{{Quote|
{{Quote|
This whole universe is Brahman. In tranquility, let one worship It, as ''Tajjalan'' (that from which he came forth, as that into which he will be dissolved, as that in which he breathes).
This whole universe is Brahman. In tranquility, let one worship It, as ''Tajjalan'' (that from which he came forth, as that into which he will be dissolved, as that in which he breathes).
|Chandogya Upanishad 3.14.1<ref name=hume314>Robert Hume, [https://archive.org/stream/thirteenprincipa028442mbp#page/n229/mode/2up Chandogya Upanishad] 3.14.1-3.14.4, The Thirteen Principal Upanishads, Oxford University Press, pages 209-210</ref><ref name=pauldeussen314>Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814684, pages 110-111 with preface and footnotes</ref>}}
|Chandogya Upanishad 3.14.1<ref name=hume314>Robert Hume, [https://archive.org/stream/thirteenprincipa028442mbp#page/n229/mode/2up Chandogya Upanishad] 3.14.1-3.14.4, The Thirteen Principal Upanishads, Oxford University Press, pages 209-210</ref><ref name=pauldeussen314>Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814684, pages 110-111 with preface and footnotes</ref>}}{{Quote|
{{Quote|
Man is a creature of his ''Kratumaya'' (क्रतुमयः, will, purpose). Let him therefore have for himself this will, this purpose: The intelligent, whose body is imbued with life-principle, whose form is light, whose thoughts are driven by truth, whose self is like space (invisible but ever present), from whom all works, all desires, all sensory feelings encompassing this whole world, the silent, the unconcerned, this is me, my Self, my Soul within my heart.
Man is a creature of his ''Kratumaya'' (क्रतुमयः, will, purpose). Let him therefore have for himself this will, this purpose: The intelligent, whose body is imbued with life-principle, whose form is light, whose thoughts are driven by truth, whose self is like space (invisible but ever present), from whom all works, all desires, all sensory feelings encompassing this whole world, the silent, the unconcerned, this is me, my Self, my Soul within my heart.
|Chandogya Upanishad 3.14.1 - 3.14.3<ref name=hume314/><ref name=maxmuller314>Max Muller, [https://archive.org/stream/upanishads01ml#page/48/mode/2up Chandogya Upanishad 3.13.7], The Upanishads, Part I, Oxford University Press, page 48 with footnotes</ref>}}
|Chandogya Upanishad 3.14.1 - 3.14.3<ref name=hume314/><ref name=maxmuller314>Max Muller, [https://archive.org/stream/upanishads01ml#page/48/mode/2up Chandogya Upanishad 3.13.7], The Upanishads, Part I, Oxford University Press, page 48 with footnotes</ref>}}{{Quote|
{{Quote|
This is my Soul in the innermost heart, greater than the earth, greater than the aerial space, greater than these worlds. This Soul, this Self of mine is that Brahman.
This is my Soul in the innermost heart, greater than the earth, greater than the aerial space, greater than these worlds. This Soul, this Self of mine is that Brahman.
|Chandogya Upanishad 3.14.3 - 3.14.4<ref name=pauldeussen314/><ref name=maxmuller314/>}}
|Chandogya Upanishad 3.14.3 - 3.14.4<ref name=pauldeussen314/><ref name=maxmuller314/>}}Paul Deussen notes that teachings similar to above on Brahman, re-appeared centuries later in the words of the 3rd century CE [[Neoplatonism|Neoplatonic]] Roman philosopher [[Plotinus]] in Enneades 5.1.2.
==Discussion==
===Brahman as a metaphysical concept===
Brahman is the key metaphysical concept in various schools of Hindu philosophy. It is the theme in its diverse discussions to the two central questions of [[metaphysics]]: what is ultimately real, and are there principles applying to everything that is real?<ref>Edward Craig (1998), [https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/metaphysics/ Metaphysics], Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ISBN 978-0415073103, Accessed (June 13, 2015)</ref> Brahman is the ultimate "eternally, constant" reality, while the observed universe is different kind of reality but one which is "temporary, changing" [[Maya (illusion)|Māyā]] in various orthodox Hindu schools. Māyā pre-exists and co-exists with Brahman – the Ultimate Reality, The Highest Universal, the Cosmic Principles.<ref name="aegough">Archibald Edward Gough (2001), The Philosophy of the Upanishads and Ancient Indian Metaphysics, Routledge, ISBN 978-0415245227, pages 47-48</ref>
In addition to the concept of Brahman, Hindu metaphysics includes the concept of [[Atman (Hinduism)|Atman]] – or soul, self – which is also considered ultimately real.<ref name="aegough" /> The various schools of Hinduism, particularly the [[Dualism|dual]] and non-dual schools, differ on the nature of Atman, whether it is distinct from Brahman, or same as Brahman. Those that consider Brahman and Atman as distinct are theistic, and [[Dvaita Vedanta]] and later [[Nyaya]] schools illustrate this premise.<ref>Roy W. Perrett (Editor, 2000), Indian Philosophy: Metaphysics, Volume 3, Taylor & Francis, ISBN 978-0815336082, page xvii;
KK Chakrabarti (1999), Classical Indian Philosophy of Mind: The Nyaya Dualist Tradition, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791441718 pages 279-292
</ref> Those that consider Brahman and Atman as same are monist or pantheistic, and [[Advaita Vedanta]], later [[Samkhya]]<ref>John C. Plott et al (2000), Global History of Philosophy: The Axial Age, Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120801585, pages 60-62</ref> and [[Yoga (philosophy)|Yoga]] schools illustrate this metaphysical premise.<ref>Julius Lipner (2004), The Hindu World (Editors: S Mittal and G Thursby), Routledge, ISBN 0415215277, pages 22-23</ref><ref>Laurie Patton (2004), The Hindu World (Editors: S Mittal and G Thursby), Routledge, ISBN 0415215277, pages 45-50</ref><ref>JD Fowler (1996), Hinduism: Beliefs and Practices, Sussex University Press, ISBN 978-1898723608, pages 135-137</ref> In schools that equate Brahman with Atman, Brahman is the sole, ultimate reality.<ref name="acdas">AC Das (1952), [http://www.jstor.org/stable/1397304 Brahman and Māyā in Advaita Metaphysics], Philosophy East and West, Vol. 2, No. 2, pages 144-154</ref> The predominant teaching in the Upanishads is the spiritual identity of soul within each human being, with the soul of every other human being and living being, as well as with the supreme, ultimate reality ''Brahman''.<ref>William Indich (2000), Consciousness in Advaita Vedanta, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120812512, page 5</ref><ref>Paul Hacker (1978), Eigentumlichkeiten dr Lehre und Terminologie Sankara: Avidya, Namarupa, Maya, Isvara, in Kleine Schriften (Editor: L. Schmithausen), Franz Steiner Verlag, Weisbaden, pages 101-109 (in German), also pages 69-99;
[http://www.vedantaadvaita.org/AdvaitaVedanta_3.htm Advaita Vedanta - A Bird's Eye View], Topic III: Philosophy of Advaita Vedanta, D. Krishna Ayyar (2011)
</ref>
In the metaphysics of the major schools of Hinduism, Maya is perceived reality, one that does not reveal the hidden principles, the true reality – the Brahman. Maya is unconscious, Brahman-Atman is conscious. Maya is the literal and the effect, Brahman is the figurative ''Upādāna'' – the principle and the cause.<ref name="aegough" /> Maya is born, changes, evolves, dies with time, from circumstances, due to invisible principles of nature. Atman-Brahman is eternal, unchanging, invisible principle, unaffected absolute and resplendent consciousness. Maya concept, states Archibald Gough, is "the indifferent aggregate of all the possibilities of emanatory or derived existences, pre-existing with Brahman", just like the possibility of a future tree pre-exists in the seed of the tree.<ref name="aegough" />
==Discussion==
While Hinduism sub-schools such as Advaita Vedanta emphasize the complete equivalence of ''Brahman'' and ''Atman'', they also expound on Brahman as ''[[saguna Brahman]]'' – the Brahman with attributes, and ''[[nirguna Brahman]]'' – the Brahman without attributes.<ref name="dx.doi.org">Anantanand Rambachan (2001), [http://dx.doi.org/10.7825/2164-6279.1250 Heirarchies in the Nature of God? Questioning The "Saguna-Nirguna" Distinction in Advaita Vedanta], Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies, Vol. 14, No. 7, pages 1-6</ref> The ''nirguna Brahman'' is the Brahman as it really is, however, the ''saguna Brahman'' is posited as a means to realizing ''nirguna Brahman'', but the Hinduism schools declare ''saguna Brahman'' to be ultimately illusory.<ref name="williamw">William Wainwright (2012), [http://stanford.library.usyd.edu.au/entries/concepts-god/ Concepts of God], Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, (Accessed on: June 13, 2015)</ref> The concept of the ''saguna Brahman'', such as in the form of [[avatar]]s, is considered in these schools of Hinduism to be a useful symbolism, path and tool for those who are still on their spiritual journey, but the concept is finally cast aside by the fully enlightened.<ref name="williamw" />
===Brahman as an ontological concept===
Brahman, along with Soul/Self (Atman) are part of the ontological<ref>that is things, beings or truths that are presumed to exist for its philosophical theory to be true, and what is the nature of that which so exists?; see: Edward Craig (1998), [https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/ontology/ Ontology], Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ISBN 978-0415073103</ref> premises of Indian philosophy.<ref>Edward Craig (1998), [https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/ontology/ Ontology], Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ISBN 978-0415073103, Accessed (June 13, 2015)</ref><ref>Stephen H. Phillips (2001), [http://www.jstor.org/stable/1400164 Could There Be Mystical Evidence for a Nondual Brahman? A Causal Objection], Philosophy East and West, Vol. 51, No. 4, pages 492-506</ref> Different schools of Indian philosophy have held widely dissimilar ontologies. [[Buddhism]] and [[Carvaka]] school of Hinduism deny that there exists anything called "a soul, a self" (individual Atman or Brahman in the cosmic sense), while the orthodox schools of Hinduism, [[Jainism]] and [[Ajivika]]s hold that there exists "a soul, a self".<ref>KN Jayatilleke (2010), Early Buddhist Theory of Knowledge, ISBN 978-8120806191, pages 246-249, from note 385 onwards;
Steven Collins (1994), Religion and Practical Reason (Editors: Frank Reynolds, David Tracy), State Univ of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791422175, page 64; Quote: "Central to Buddhist soteriology is the doctrine of not-self (Pali: anattā, Sanskrit: anātman, the opposed doctrine of [[Ātman (Hinduism)|ātman]] is central to Brahmanical thought). Put very briefly, this is the [Buddhist] doctrine that human beings have no soul, no self, no unchanging essence.";
Edward Roer (Translator), {{Google books|3uwDAAAAMAAJ|Shankara's Introduction|page=2}}, pages 2-4
Katie Javanaud (2013), [https://philosophynow.org/issues/97/Is_The_Buddhist_No-Self_Doctrine_Compatible_With_Pursuing_Nirvana Is The Buddhist 'No-Self' Doctrine Compatible With Pursuing Nirvana?], Philosophy Now;
John C. Plott et al (2000), Global History of Philosophy: The Axial Age, Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120801585, page 63, Quote: "The Buddhist schools reject any Ātman concept. As we have already observed, this is the basic and ineradicable distinction between Hinduism and Buddhism".</ref><ref>M Prabhakar (2012), Review: An Introduction to Indian Philosophy, Philosophy in Review, 32(3), pages 158-160</ref>
Brahman as well the Atman in every human being (and living being) is considered equivalent and the sole reality, the eternal, self-born, unlimited, innately free, blissful Absolute in schools of Hinduism such as the [[Advaita Vedanta]] and [[Yoga (philosophy)|Yoga]].<ref name="barbarasca">Barbara Holdrege (2004), The Hindu World (Editors: S Mittal and G Thursby), Routledge, ISBN 0415215277, pages 241-242</ref><ref>Anantanand Rambachan (2014), A Hindu Theology of Liberation: Not-Two Is Not One, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-1438454559, pages 131-142</ref><ref>Ian Whicher (1999), The Integrity of the Yoga Darsana: A Reconsideration of Classical Yoga, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791438152, pages 298-300;
Mike McNamee and William J. Morgan (2015), Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Sport, Routledge, ISBN 978-0415829809, pages 135-136, '''Quote''': "As a dualistic philosophy largely congruent with Samkhya's metaphysics, Yoga seeks liberation through the realization that Atman equals Brahman; it involves a cosmogonic dualism: purusha an absolute consciousness, and prakriti original and primeval matter."
</ref> Knowing one's own self is knowing the God inside oneself, and this is held as the path to knowing the ontological nature of Brahman (universal Self) as it is identical to the Atman (individual Self). The nature of Atman-Brahman is held in these schools, states Barbara Holdrege, to be as a pure being (''sat''), consciousness (''cit'') and full of bliss (''ananda''), and it is formless, distinctionless, nonchanging and unbounded.<ref name="barbarasca" />
In theistic schools, in contrast, such as [[Dvaita Vedanta]], the nature of Brahman is held as eternal, unlimited, innately free, blissful Absolute, while each individual's soul is held as distinct and limited which can at best come close in eternal blissful love of the Brahman (therein viewed as the Godhead).<ref>Francis Clooney and Tony Stewart (2004), The Hindu World (Editors: S Mittal and G Thursby), Routledge, ISBN 0415215277, pages 166-167</ref>
In theistic schools, in contrast, such as [[Dvaita Vedanta]], the nature of Brahman is held as eternal, unlimited, innately free, blissful Absolute, while each individual's soul is held as distinct and limited which can at best come close in eternal blissful love of the Brahman (therein viewed as the Godhead).<ref>Francis Clooney and Tony Stewart (2004), The Hindu World (Editors: S Mittal and G Thursby), Routledge, ISBN 0415215277, pages 166-167</ref>
Other schools of Hinduism have their own ontological premises relating to Brahman, reality and nature of existence. [[Vaisheshika]] school of Hinduism, for example, holds a substantial, realist ontology.<ref>Randy Kloetzli and Alf Hiltebeitel (2004), The Hindu World (Editors: S Mittal and G Thursby), Routledge, ISBN 0415215277, page 554</ref> The [[Carvaka]] school denied Brahman and Atman, and held a materialist ontology.<ref>Michael Myers (2000), Brahman: A Comparative Theology, Routledge, ISBN 978-0700712571, pages 30-31</ref>
Other schools of Hinduism have their own ontological premises relating to Brahman, reality and nature of existence. [[Vaisheshika]] school of Hinduism, for example, holds a substantial, realist ontology.<ref>Randy Kloetzli and Alf Hiltebeitel (2004), The Hindu World (Editors: S Mittal and G Thursby), Routledge, ISBN 0415215277, page 554</ref> The [[Carvaka]] school denied Brahman and Atman, and held a materialist ontology.<ref>Michael Myers (2000), Brahman: A Comparative Theology, Routledge, ISBN 978-0700712571, pages 30-31</ref>
===Brahman as an axiological concept===
===Brahman as an axiological concept===
Brahman and Atman are key concepts to Hindu theories of [[axiology]]: ethics and aesthetics.<ref>R Prasad and P.D. Chattopadhyaya (2008), A Conceptual-analytic Study of Classical Indian Philosophy of Morals, Concept, ISBN 978-8180695445, pages 56-59</ref><ref>GC Pande (1990), Foundations of Indian Culture, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120807105, pages 49-50</ref> ''Ananda'' (bliss), state Michael Myers and other scholars, has axiological importance to the concept of Brahman, as the universal inner harmony.<ref>Michael W. Myers (1998), [http://www.jstor.org/stable/1400017 Śaṅkarācārya and Ānanda], Philosophy East and West, Vol. 48, No. 4, pages 553-567</ref><ref>Robert S. Hartman (2002), The Knowledge of Good: Critique of Axiological Reason, Rodopi, ISBN 978-9042012202, page 225</ref> Some scholars equate Brahman with the highest value, in an axiological sense.<ref>TMP Mahadevan (1954), [http://www.jstor.org/stable/1397291 The Metaphysics of Śaṁkara], Philosophy East and West, Vol. 3, No. 4, pages 359-363</ref>
Brahman and Atman are key concepts to Hindu theories of [[axiology]]: ethics and aesthetics.<ref>R Prasad and P.D. Chattopadhyaya (2008), A Conceptual-analytic Study of Classical Indian Philosophy of Morals, Concept, ISBN 978-8180695445, pages 56-59</ref><ref>GC Pande (1990), Foundations of Indian Culture, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120807105, pages 49-50</ref> ''Ananda'' (bliss), state Michael Myers and other scholars, has axiological importance to the concept of Brahman, as the universal inner harmony.<ref>Michael W. Myers (1998), [http://www.jstor.org/stable/1400017 Śaṅkarācārya and Ānanda], Philosophy East and West, Vol. 48, No. 4, pages 553-567</ref><ref>Robert S. Hartman (2002), The Knowledge of Good: Critique of Axiological Reason, Rodopi, ISBN 978-9042012202, page 225</ref> Some scholars equate Brahman with the highest value, in an axiological sense.<ref>TMP Mahadevan (1954), [http://www.jstor.org/stable/1397291 The Metaphysics of Śaṁkara], Philosophy East and West, Vol. 3, No. 4, pages 359-363</ref>
The axiological concepts of Brahman and Atman is central to Hindu theory of values.<ref>Arvind Sharma (1999), [http://www.jstor.org/stable/40018229 The Puruṣārthas: An Axiological Exploration of Hinduism], The Journal of Religious Ethics, Vol. 27, No. 2, pages 223-256</ref> A statement such as ‘I am Brahman’, states Shaw, means ‘I am related to everything,’ and this is the underlying premise for compassion for others in Hinduism, for each individual's welfare, peace, or happiness depends on others, including other beings and nature at large, and vice versa.<ref>JL Shaw (2011), [http://www.sjsu.edu/people/anand.vaidya/courses/comparativephilosophy/s1/Freedom-East-and-West-by-J-L-Shaw.pdf Freedom: East and West], ''SOPHIA'', Vol 50, Springer Science, pages 481–497</ref> Tietge states that even in non-dual schools of Hinduism where Brahman and Atman are treated ontologically equivalent, the theory of values emphasize individual agent and ethics. In these schools of Hinduism, states Tietge, the theory of action are derived from and centered in compassion for the other, and not egotistical concern for the self.<ref>Katherine L Tietge (1997), ''Ontology and Genuine Moral Action: Jñaña (Intuitive Perception) Ethics and Karma-Yoga in Sankara's Advaita Vedanta and Schopenhauer's On the Basis of Morality'', Ph.D. Thesis, Dept. of Philosophy, Southern Illinois University (USA), [http://philpapers.org/rec/TIEOAG Archive Link]</ref>
The axiological concepts of Brahman and Atman is central to Hindu theory of values.<ref>Arvind Sharma (1999), [http://www.jstor.org/stable/40018229 The Puruṣārthas: An Axiological Exploration of Hinduism], The Journal of Religious Ethics, Vol. 27, No. 2, pages 223-256</ref> A statement such as ‘I am Brahman’, states Shaw, means ‘I am related to everything,’ and this is the underlying premise for compassion for others in Hinduism, for each individual's welfare, peace, or happiness depends on others, including other beings and nature at large, and vice versa.<ref>JL Shaw (2011), [http://www.sjsu.edu/people/anand.vaidya/courses/comparativephilosophy/s1/Freedom-East-and-West-by-J-L-Shaw.pdf Freedom: East and West], ''SOPHIA'', Vol 50, Springer Science, pages 481–497</ref> Tietge states that even in non-dual schools of Hinduism where Brahman and Atman are treated ontologically equivalent, the theory of values emphasize individual agent and ethics. In these schools of Hinduism, states Tietge, the theory of action are derived from and centered in compassion for the other, and not egotistical concern for the self.<ref>Katherine L Tietge (1997), ''Ontology and Genuine Moral Action: Jñaña (Intuitive Perception) Ethics and Karma-Yoga in Sankara's Advaita Vedanta and Schopenhauer's On the Basis of Morality'', Ph.D. Thesis, Dept. of Philosophy, Southern Illinois University (USA), [http://philpapers.org/rec/TIEOAG Archive Link]</ref>
The axiological theory of values emerges implicitly from the concepts of Brahman and Atman, states Bauer.<ref name=nancybauer/> The aesthetics of human experience and ethics are one consequence of self-knowledge in Hinduism, one resulting from the perfect, timeless unification of one's soul with the Brahman, the soul of everyone, everything and all eternity, wherein the pinnacle of human experience is not dependent on an afterlife, but pure consciousness in the present life itself.<ref name=nancybauer/> It does not assume that an individual is weak nor does it presume that he is inherently evil, but the opposite: human soul and its nature is held as fundamentally unqualified, faultless, beautiful, blissful, ethical, compassionate and good.<ref name=nancybauer/><ref>Arvind Sharma (2000), Classical Hindu Thought: An Introduction, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195644418, pages 57-61</ref> Ignorance is to assume it evil, liberation is to know its eternal, expansive, pristine, happy and good nature.<ref name=nancybauer>Nancy Bauer (1987), [http://www.jstor.org/stable/1399082 Advaita Vedānta and Contemporary Western Ethics], Philosophy East and West, Vol. 37, No. 1, pages 36-50</ref> The axiological premises in the Hindu thought and Indian philosophies in general, states Nikam, is to elevate the individual, exalting the innate potential of man, where the reality of his being is the objective reality of the universe.<ref name=nikam/> The Upanishads of Hinduism, summarizes Nikam, hold that the individual has the same essence and reality as the objective universe, and this essence is the finest essence; the individual soul is the universal soul, and Atman is the same reality and the same aesthetics as the Brahman.<ref name=nikam>NA Nikam (1952), A Note on the Individual and His Status in Indian Thought, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 2, No. 3, pages 254-258</ref>
The axiological theory of values emerges implicitly from the concepts of Brahman and Atman, states Bauer.<ref name="nancybauer">Nancy Bauer (1987), [http://www.jstor.org/stable/1399082 Advaita Vedānta and Contemporary Western Ethics], Philosophy East and West, Vol. 37, No. 1, pages 36-50</ref> The aesthetics of human experience and ethics are one consequence of self-knowledge in Hinduism, one resulting from the perfect, timeless unification of one's soul with the Brahman, the soul of everyone, everything and all eternity, wherein the pinnacle of human experience is not dependent on an afterlife, but pure consciousness in the present life itself.<ref name="nancybauer" /> It does not assume that an individual is weak nor does it presume that he is inherently evil, but the opposite: human soul and its nature is held as fundamentally unqualified, faultless, beautiful, blissful, ethical, compassionate and good.<ref name="nancybauer" /><ref>Arvind Sharma (2000), Classical Hindu Thought: An Introduction, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195644418, pages 57-61</ref> Ignorance is to assume it evil, liberation is to know its eternal, expansive, pristine, happy and good nature.<ref name="nancybauer" /> The axiological premises in the Hindu thought and Indian philosophies in general, states Nikam, is to elevate the individual, exalting the innate potential of man, where the reality of his being is the objective reality of the universe.<ref name="nikam">NA Nikam (1952), A Note on the Individual and His Status in Indian Thought, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 2, No. 3, pages 254-258</ref> The Upanishads of Hinduism, summarizes Nikam, hold that the individual has the same essence and reality as the objective universe, and this essence is the finest essence; the individual soul is the universal soul, and Atman is the same reality and the same aesthetics as the Brahman.<ref name="nikam" />
===Brahman as a soteriological concept: Moksha===
===Brahman as a soteriological concept: Moksha===
{{Main|Moksha}}
{{Main|Moksha}}The orthodox schools of Hinduism, particularly Vedanta, Samkhya and Yoga schools, focus on the concept of Brahman and Atman in their discussion of [[moksha]]. The Advaita Vedanta holds there is no being/non-being distinction between Atman and Brahman. The knowledge of Atman (Self-knowledge) is synonymous to the knowledge of Brahman inside the person and outside the person. Furthermore, the knowledge of Brahman leads to sense of oneness with all existence, self-realization, indescribable joy, and moksha (freedom, bliss),<ref>Anantanand Rambachan (1994), The limits of scripture: Vivekananda's reinterpretation of the Vedas, University of Hawaii Press, pages 124-125</ref> because Brahman-Atman is the origin and end of all things, the universal principle behind and at source of everything that exists, consciousness that pervades everything and everyone.<ref>Karl Potter (2008), The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies: Advaita Vedānta Up to Śaṃkara and His Pupils, Volume 3, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, pp 210-215</ref>
The orthodox schools of Hinduism, particularly Vedanta, Samkhya and Yoga schools, focus on the concept of Brahman and Atman in their discussion of [[moksha]]. The Advaita Vedanta holds there is no being/non-being distinction between Atman and Brahman. The knowledge of Atman (Self-knowledge) is synonymous to the knowledge of Brahman inside the person and outside the person. Furthermore, the knowledge of Brahman leads to sense of oneness with all existence, self-realization, indescribable joy, and moksha (freedom, bliss),<ref>Anantanand Rambachan (1994), The limits of scripture: Vivekananda's reinterpretation of the Vedas, University of Hawaii Press, pages 124-125</ref> because Brahman-Atman is the origin and end of all things, the universal principle behind and at source of everything that exists, consciousness that pervades everything and everyone.<ref>Karl Potter (2008), The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies: Advaita Vedānta Up to Śaṃkara and His Pupils, Volume 3, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, pp 210-215</ref>
The theistic sub-school such as Dvaita Vedanta of Hinduism, starts with the same premises, but adds the premise that individual souls and Brahman are distinct, and thereby reaches entirely different conclusions where Brahman is conceptualized in a manner similar to God in other major world religions.<ref name="mmyers" /> The theistic schools assert that moksha is the loving, eternal union or nearness of one's soul with the distinct and separate Brahman ([[Vishnu]], [[Shiva]] or equivalent henotheism). Brahman, in these sub-schools of Hinduism is considered the highest perfection of existence, which every soul journeys towards in its own way for moksha.<ref>Betty, Stafford (2010) "Dvaita, Advaita, And Viśiṣṭadvaita: Contrasting Views Of Mokṣa", Asian Philosophy, pages 215-224</ref>
==Schools of thought==
==Schools of thought==
===Vedanta===
===Vedanta===
The concept of Brahman, its nature and its relationship with Atman and the observed universe, is a major point of difference between the various sub-schools of the [[Vedanta]] school of Hinduism.
The concept of Brahman, its nature and its relationship with Atman and the observed universe, is a major point of difference between the various sub-schools of the [[Vedanta]] school of Hinduism.
====Advaita Vedanta====
====Advaita Vedanta====
{{Main|Advaita Vedanta}}
{{Main|Advaita Vedanta}}[[Advaita Vedanta]] espouses [[nondualism]]. ''Brahman'' is the sole unchanging reality,<ref name="acdas" /> there is no duality, no limited individual souls nor a separate unlimited cosmic soul, rather all souls, all of existence, across all space and time, is one and the same.<ref name="jeffreybrodd" /><ref name="barbarasca" /><ref name="rdalal">Rosen Dalal (2014), Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide, Penguin, ISBN 978-8184752779, see article on Brahman</ref> The universe and the soul inside each being is Brahman, and the universe and the soul outside each being is Brahman, according to Advaita Vedanta. Brahman is the origin and end of all things, material and spiritual. ''Brahman'' is the root source of everything that exists. He states that Brahman can neither be taught nor perceived (as an object of knowledge), but it can be learned and realized by all human beings.<ref name="Arvind Sharma 2007 pages 19-40" /> The goal of Advaita Vedanta is to realize that one's Self (''[[Atman (Hinduism)|Atman]]'') gets obscured by ignorance and false-identification ("[[Avidya (Hinduism)|Avidya]]"). When Avidya is removed, the Atman (Soul, Self inside a person) is realized as identical with Brahman.<ref name="dx.doi.org" /> The Brahman is not outside, separate, dual entity, the Brahman is within each person, states Advaita Vedanta school of Hinduism. ''Brahman'' is all that is eternal, unchanging and that is truly exists.<ref name="acdas" /> This view is stated in this school in many different forms, such as "''Ekam sat''" ("Truth is one"), and all is ''Brahman''.
[[Advaita Vedanta]] espouses [[nondualism]]. ''Brahman'' is the sole unchanging reality,<ref name=acdas>AC Das (1952), [http://www.jstor.org/stable/1397304 Brahman and Māyā in Advaita Metaphysics], Philosophy East and West, Vol. 2, No. 2, pages 144-154</ref> there is no duality, no limited individual souls nor a separate unlimited cosmic soul, rather all souls, all of existence, across all space and time, is one and the same.<ref name=jeffreybrodd/><ref name=barbarasca/><ref name=rdalal>Rosen Dalal (2014), Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide, Penguin, ISBN 978-8184752779, see article on Brahman</ref> The universe and the soul inside each being is Brahman, and the universe and the soul outside each being is Brahman, according to Advaita Vedanta. Brahman is the origin and end of all things, material and spiritual. ''Brahman'' is the root source of everything that exists. He states that Brahman can neither be taught nor perceived (as an object of knowledge), but it can be learned and realized by all human beings.<ref name="Arvind Sharma 2007 pages 19-40"/> The goal of Advaita Vedanta is to realize that one's Self (''[[Atman (Hinduism)|Atman]]'') gets obscured by ignorance and false-identification ("[[Avidya (Hinduism)|Avidya]]"). When Avidya is removed, the Atman (Soul, Self inside a person) is realized as identical with Brahman.<ref name="dx.doi.org"/> The Brahman is not outside, separate, dual entity, the Brahman is within each person, states Advaita Vedanta school of Hinduism. ''Brahman'' is all that is eternal, unchanging and that is truly exists.<ref name=acdas/> This view is stated in this school in many different forms, such as "''Ekam sat''" ("Truth is one"), and all is ''Brahman''.
The universe does not simply come from Brahman, it ''is'' Brahman. According to [[Adi Shankara]], a proponent of [[Advaita Vedanta]], the knowledge of Brahman that [[shruti]] provides cannot be obtained in any other means besides self inquiry.<ref>Anantanand Rambachan (1994), ''The limits of scripture: Vivekananda's reinterpretation of the Vedas.'' University of Hawaii Press, pages 125, 124</ref>
The universe does not simply come from Brahman, it ''is'' Brahman. According to [[Adi Shankara]], a proponent of [[Advaita Vedanta]], the knowledge of Brahman that [[shruti]] provides cannot be obtained in any other means besides self inquiry.<ref>Anantanand Rambachan (1994), ''The limits of scripture: Vivekananda's reinterpretation of the Vedas.'' University of Hawaii Press, pages 125, 124</ref>
In [[Advaita Vedanta]], nirguna Brahman, that is the Brahman without attributes, is held to be the ultimate and sole reality.<ref name=acdas/><ref name=williamw/> Consciousness is not a property of Brahman but its very nature. In this respect, Advaita Vedanta differs from other Vedanta schools.<ref>[Sangeetha Menon (2007), ''Advaita Vedānta''], Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy</ref>
In [[Advaita Vedanta]], nirguna Brahman, that is the Brahman without attributes, is held to be the ultimate and sole reality.<ref name="acdas" /><ref name="williamw" /> Consciousness is not a property of Brahman but its very nature. In this respect, Advaita Vedanta differs from other Vedanta schools.<ref>[Sangeetha Menon (2007), ''Advaita Vedānta''], Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy</ref>
Example verses from [[Bhagavad-Gita]] include:
Example verses from [[Bhagavad-Gita]] include:{{Quote|
{{Quote|
<poem>
<poem>
The [[Yajna|offering]] is Brahman; the oblation is Brahman;
The [[Yajna|offering]] is Brahman; the oblation is Brahman;
</poem>
</poem>
|Bhagavad Gita|}}
|Bhagavad Gita|}}
====Visishtadvaita Vedanta====
====Visishtadvaita Vedanta====
The Brahman of [[Visishtadvaita]] is not exactly same as individual Atman, rather it is synonymous with [[Narayana]], the transcendent and immanent reality.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}} Brahman or Narayana is [[Saguna Brahman]], one with attributes, one with infinite auspicious qualities, and not the Advaita concept of attributeless [[Nirguna Brahman]].{{citation needed|date=June 2015}}
The Brahman of [[Visishtadvaita]] is not exactly same as individual Atman, rather it is synonymous with [[Narayana]], the transcendent and immanent reality.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}} Brahman or Narayana is [[Saguna Brahman]], one with attributes, one with infinite auspicious qualities, and not the Advaita concept of attributeless [[Nirguna Brahman]].{{citation needed|date=June 2015}}
====Dvaita Vedanta====
====Dvaita Vedanta====
{{Vaishnavism}}
{{Vaishnavism}} Brahman of [[Dvaita]] is a concept similar to God in major world religions.<ref name="mmyers" /> Dvaita holds that the individual soul is dependent on God, but distinct.<ref name="mmyers" />
Brahman of [[Dvaita]] is a concept similar to God in major world religions.<ref name=mmyers/> Dvaita holds that the individual soul is dependent on God, but distinct.<ref name=mmyers/>
Dvaita propounds Tattvavada which means understanding differences between [[Tattva]]s (significant properties) of entities within the universal substrate as follows:{{citation needed|date=June 2015}}
Dvaita propounds Tattvavada which means understanding differences between [[Tattva]]s (significant properties) of entities within the universal substrate as follows:{{citation needed|date=June 2015}}
#Jîva-Îshvara-bheda — difference between the soul and Vishnu
#Jîva-Îshvara-bheda — difference between the soul and Vishnu
#Jada-Îshvara-bheda — difference between the insentient and Vishnu
#Jada-Îshvara-bheda — difference between the insentient and Vishnu
#Jada-jîva-bheda — difference between insentient and the soul
#Jada-jîva-bheda — difference between insentient and the soul
#Mitha-jada-bheda — difference between any two insentients
#Mitha-jada-bheda — difference between any two insentients
====Achintya Bheda Abheda====
====Achintya Bheda Abheda====
The [[Acintya Bheda Abheda]] philosophy is similar to [[Dvaitadvaita]] (differential [[monism]]). In this philosophy, Brahman is not just impersonal, but also personal.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}} That Brahman is Supreme Personality of Godhead, though on first stage of realization (by process called [[jnana]]) of Absolute Truth, He is realized as impersonal Brahman, then as personal Brahman having eternal [[Vaikunta|Vaikuntha]] abode (also known as Brahmalokah sanatana), then as [[Paramatma]] (by process of [[yoga]]-[[meditation]] on Supersoul, Vishnu-God in heart) – Vishnu ([[Narayana]], also in everyone's heart) who has many abodes known as Vishnulokas (Vaikunthalokas), and finally (Absolute Truth is realized by [[bhakti]]) as [[Bhagavan]], Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is source of both Paramatma and Brahman (personal, impersonal, or both).{{citation needed|date=June 2015}}
The [[Acintya Bheda Abheda]] philosophy is similar to [[Dvaitadvaita]] (differential [[monism]]). In this philosophy, Brahman is not just impersonal, but also personal.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}} That Brahman is Supreme Personality of Godhead, though on first stage of realization (by process called [[jnana]]) of Absolute Truth, He is realized as impersonal Brahman, then as personal Brahman having eternal [[Vaikunta|Vaikuntha]] abode (also known as Brahmalokah sanatana), then as [[Paramatma]] (by process of [[yoga]]-[[meditation]] on Supersoul, Vishnu-God in heart) – Vishnu ([[Narayana]], also in everyone's heart) who has many abodes known as Vishnulokas (Vaikunthalokas), and finally (Absolute Truth is realized by [[bhakti]]) as [[Bhagavan]], Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is source of both Paramatma and Brahman (personal, impersonal, or both).{{citation needed|date=June 2015}}
===Vaishnavism===
===Vaishnavism===
{{Main|Vaishnavism}}
{{Main|Vaishnavism}}All [[Vaishnava]] schools are [[panentheistic]] and perceive the Advaita concept of identification of Atman with the impersonal Brahman as an intermediate step of self-realization, but not [[Mukti]], or final liberation of complete God-realization through [[Bhakti Yoga]].{{citation needed|date=June 2015}} Gaudiya Vaishnavism, a form of Achintya Bheda Abheda philosophy, also concludes that Brahman is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. According to them, Brahman is Lord Vishnu/Krishna; the universe and all other manifestations of the Supreme are extensions of Him.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}}
All [[Vaishnava]] schools are [[panentheistic]] and perceive the Advaita concept of identification of Atman with the impersonal Brahman as an intermediate step of self-realization, but not [[Mukti]], or final liberation of complete God-realization through [[Bhakti Yoga]].{{citation needed|date=June 2015}} Gaudiya Vaishnavism, a form of Achintya Bheda Abheda philosophy, also concludes that Brahman is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. According to them, Brahman is Lord Vishnu/Krishna; the universe and all other manifestations of the Supreme are extensions of Him.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}}
===Bhakti movement===
===Bhakti movement===
{{main|Bhakti movement}}
{{main|Bhakti movement}}The Bhakti movement of Hinduism built its theosophy around two concepts of Brahman – ''Nirguna'' and ''Saguna''.<ref name="karen21">Karen Pechilis Prentiss (2014), The Embodiment of Bhakti, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195351903, page 21</ref> ''Nirguna'' Brahman was the concept of the Ultimate Reality as formless, without attributes or quality.<ref name="jeaneanefxxvii">Jeaneane D. Fowler (2012), The Bhagavad Gita, Sussex Academic Press, ISBN 978-1845193461, pages xxvii-xxxiv</ref> ''Saguna'' Brahman, in contrast, was envisioned and developed as with form, attributes and quality.<ref name="jeaneanefxxvii" /> The two had parallels in the ancient panthestic unmanifest and theistic manifest traditions, respectively, and traceable to Arjuna-Krishna dialogue in the [[Bhagavad Gita]].<ref name="karen21" /><ref name="fowlernirgunasaguna">Jeaneane D. Fowler (2012), The Bhagavad Gita, Sussex Academic Press, ISBN 978-1845193461, pages 207-211</ref> It is the same Brahman, but viewed from two perspectives, one from ''Nirguni'' knowledge-focus and other from ''Saguni'' love-focus, united as Krishna in the Gita.<ref name="fowlernirgunasaguna" /> ''Nirguna'' bhakta's poetry were ''Jnana-shrayi'', or had roots in knowledge.<ref name="karen21" /> ''Saguna'' bhakta's poetry were ''Prema-shrayi'', or with roots in love.<ref name="karen21" /> In Bhakti, the emphasis is reciprocal love and devotion, where the devotee loves God, and God loves the devotee.<ref name="fowlernirgunasaguna" />
Jeaneane Fowler states that the concepts of Nirguna and Saguna Brahman, at the root of Bhakti movement [[theosophy]], underwent more profound development with the ideas of [[Vedanta]] school of Hinduism, particularly those of [[Adi Shankara]]'s Advaita Vedanta, [[Ramanuja]]'s Vishishtadvaita Vedanta, and [[Madhvacharya]]'s Dvaita Vedanta.<ref name="jeaneanefxxvii" /> Two 12th-century influential treatises on bhakti were ''Sandilya Bhakti Sutra'' – a treatise resonating with Nirguna-bhakti, and ''Narada Bhakti Sutra'' – a treatise that leans towards Saguna-bhakti.<ref>Jessica Frazier and Gavin Flood (2011), The Continuum Companion to Hindu Studies, Bloomsbury Academic, ISBN 978-0826499660, pages 113-115</ref>
''Nirguna'' and ''Saguna'' Brahman concepts of the Bhakti movement has been a baffling one to scholars, particularly the ''Nirguni'' tradition because it offers, states David Lorenzen, "heart-felt devotion to a God without attributes, without even any definable personality".<ref name="davidlorenzenns">David Lorenzen (1996), Praises to a Formless God: Nirguni Texts from North India, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791428054, page 2</ref> Yet given the "mountains of ''Nirguni'' bhakti literature", adds Lorenzen, bhakti for ''Nirguna Brahman'' has been a part of the reality of the Hindu tradition along with the bhakti for ''Saguna Brahman''.<ref name="davidlorenzenns" /> These were two alternate ways of imagining God during the bhakti movement.<ref name="karen21" />
==Comparison of Brahma, Brahman, Brahmin and Brahmanas==
[[Brahma]] is distinct from Brahman.<ref name="BondKunin2003p231">{{cite book|author1=Helen K. Bond |author2=Seth D. Kunin|author3=Francesca Murphy |title=Religious Studies and Theology: An Introduction |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=HokZ5UW5fZsC&pg=PA231 |year=2003|publisher=New York University Press |isbn=978-0-8147-9914-7 |pages=231 }}</ref> Brahma is a male deity, in the post-Vedic Puranic literature,<ref name="pandeyp40">{{cite book|author=R. M. Matthijs Cornelissen|title=Foundations of Indian Psychology Volume 2: Practical Applications|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=BkkgeKXyiOIC |year=2011|publisher=Pearson |isbn=978-81-317-3085-0 |pages=40 }}</ref> who creates but neither preserves nor destroys anything. He is envisioned in some Hindu texts to have emerged from the metaphysical Brahman along with Vishnu (preserver), Shiva (destroyer), all other gods, goddesses, matter and other beings.<ref name="Doniger1999p437">{{cite book|author=Wendy Denier|title=Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ZP_f9icf2roC |year=1999|publisher=Merriam-Webster |isbn=978-0-87779-044-0 |pages=437 }}</ref> In theistic schools of Hinduism where deity Brahma is described as part of its cosmology, he is a mortal like all gods and goddesses, and dissolves into the abstract immortal Brahman when the universe ends, thereafter a new cosmic cycle (kalpa) restarts again.<ref name="pandeyp40" /><ref name="Fowler2002p330">{{cite book|author=Jeaneane D. Fowler|title=Perspectives of Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Hinduism|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=8dRZ4E-qgz8C |year=2002|publisher=Sussex Academic Press|isbn=978-1-898723-93-6 |pages=330 }}</ref>
Brahman is a metaphysical concept of Hinduism referring to the ultimate unchanging reality,<ref name="BondKunin2003p231" /><ref>{{cite book|author=William Sweet |title=Approaches to Metaphysics |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=cyCme74cZ1IC |year=2006|publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-4020-2182-4|pages=145–147 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=H. James Birx |title=Encyclopedia of Anthropology |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=8m_vBQAAQBAJ |year=2005|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=978-1-4522-6536-0 |pages=1279 }}</ref> that, states Doniger, is uncreated, eternal, infinite, transcendent, the cause, the foundation, the source and the goal of all existence.<ref name="Doniger1999p437" /> It is envisioned as either the cause or that which transforms itself into everything that exists in the universe as well as all beings, that which existed before the present universe and time, which exists as current universe and time, and that which will absorb and exist after the present universe and time ends.<ref name="Doniger1999p437" /> It is a gender neutral abstract concept.<ref name="Doniger1999p437" /><ref>{{cite book|author=J. L. Brockington|title=The Sanskrit Epics|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=HR-_LK5kl18C |year=1998|publisher=BRILL Academic |isbn=90-04-10260-4 |pages=256 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Denise Cush |author2=Catherine Robinson |author3=Michael York |title=Encyclopedia of Hinduism |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=kzPgCgAAQBAJ |year=2012|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-18979-2 |pages=114–115 }}</ref> The abstract Brahman concept is predominant in the Vedic texts, particularly the Upanishads;<ref>{{cite book|author=Edward Craig|title=Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Brahman to Derrida|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=lS2cSqwMtf8C |year=1998|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-18707-7 |pages=1–4 }}</ref> while the deity Brahma finds minor mention in the Vedas and the Upanishads.<ref>{{cite book|author=Julius Lipner |title=Hindus: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=HDMLYkIOoWYC |year=1994|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-05181-1 |pages=43–44 }}</ref> In the Puranic and the Epics literature, deity Brahma appears more often, but inconsistently. Some texts suggest that god Vishnu created Brahma (Vaishnavism),<ref>{{cite book|author=S. M. Srinivasa Chari |title=Vaiṣṇavism: Its Philosophy, Theology, and Religious Discipline|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=evmiLInyxBMC |year=1994|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-1098-3 |pages=147 }}</ref> others suggest god Shiva created Brahma (Shaivism),<ref>{{cite book|author=Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty |title=Siva: The Erotic Ascetic |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=dnfZ_MBErlQC |year=1981|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-972793-3 |pages=125 }}</ref> yet others suggest goddess Devi created Brahma (Shaktism),<ref name="kinsley137">{{cite book|author=David Kinsley |title=Hindu Goddesses: Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=HzldwMHeS6IC |year=1988|publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-90883-3 |pages=137 }}</ref> and these texts then go on to state that Brahma is a secondary creator of the world working respectively on their behalf.<ref name="kinsley137" /><ref>{{cite book|author=Stella Kramrisch|title=The Presence of Siva|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=O5BanndcIgUC&pg=PA205|year=1992|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=0-691-01930-4 |pages=205-206 }}</ref> Further, the medieval era texts of these major theistic traditions of Hinduism assert that the ''saguna''{{refn|group=note|representation with face and attributes)<ref>{{cite book|author=Arvind Sharma|title=Classical Hindu Thought: An Introduction|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=gDmUToaeMJ0C |year=2000|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-564441-8|page=4}}</ref>}} Brahman is Vishnu,<ref>{{cite book|author1=Mark Juergensmeyer |author2=Wade Clark Roof |title=Encyclopedia of Global Religion |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=WwJzAwAAQBAJ |year=2011|publisher=SAGE Publications |isbn=978-1-4522-6656-5 |page=1335}}</ref> is Shiva,<ref>{{cite book|author=Stella Kramrisch |title=The Presence of Siva |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=O5BanndcIgUC |year=1992|publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=0-691-01930-4 |pages=171 }}</ref> or is Devi<ref>{{cite book|author=David Kinsley |title=Hindu Goddesses: Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=HzldwMHeS6IC |year=1988|publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-90883-3 |pages=136 }}</ref> respectively, they are different names or aspects of the Brahman, and that the Atman (soul, self) within every living being is same or part of this ultimate, eternal Brahman.<ref>{{cite book|author=William K. Mahony |title=The Artful Universe: An Introduction to the Vedic Religious Imagination |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=B1KR_kE5ZYoC |year=1998|publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=978-0-7914-3579-3 |pages=13–14, 187 }}</ref>
Brahman is a metaphysical concept of Hinduism referring to the ultimate unchanging reality,<ref name="BondKunin2003p231">{{cite book|author1=Helen K. Bond |author2=Seth D. Kunin|author3=Francesca Murphy |title=Religious Studies and Theology: An Introduction |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=HokZ5UW5fZsC&pg=PA231 |year=2003|publisher=New York University Press |isbn=978-0-8147-9914-7 |pages=231 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=William Sweet |title=Approaches to Metaphysics |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=cyCme74cZ1IC |year=2006|publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-4020-2182-4|pages=145–147 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=H. James Birx |title=Encyclopedia of Anthropology |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=8m_vBQAAQBAJ |year=2005|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=978-1-4522-6536-0 |pages=1279 }}</ref> that, states Doniger, is uncreated, eternal, infinite, transcendent, the cause, the foundation, the source and the goal of all existence.<ref name="Doniger1999p437"/> It is envisioned as either the cause or that which transforms itself into everything that exists in the universe as well as all beings, that which existed before the present universe and time, which exists as current universe and time, and that which will absorb and exist after the present universe and time ends.<ref name="Doniger1999p437"/> It is a gender neutral abstract concept.<ref name="Doniger1999p437">{{cite book|author=Wendy Denier|title=Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ZP_f9icf2roC |year=1999|publisher=Merriam-Webster |isbn=978-0-87779-044-0 |pages=437 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=J. L. Brockington|title=The Sanskrit Epics|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=HR-_LK5kl18C |year=1998|publisher=BRILL Academic |isbn=90-04-10260-4 |pages=256 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Denise Cush |author2=Catherine Robinson |author3=Michael York |title=Encyclopedia of Hinduism |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=kzPgCgAAQBAJ |year=2012|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-18979-2 |pages=114–115 }}</ref> The abstract Brahman concept is predominant in the Vedic texts, particularly the Upanishads;<ref>{{cite book|author=Edward Craig|title=Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Brahman to Derrida|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=lS2cSqwMtf8C |year=1998|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-18707-7 |pages=1–4 }}</ref> while the deity Brahma finds minor mention in the Vedas and the Upanishads.<ref>{{cite book|author=Julius Lipner |title=Hindus: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=HDMLYkIOoWYC |year=1994|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-05181-1 |pages=43–44 }}</ref> In the Puranic and the Epics literature, deity Brahma appears more often, but inconsistently. Some texts suggest that god Vishnu created Brahma (Vaishnavism),<ref>{{cite book|author=S. M. Srinivasa Chari |title=Vaiṣṇavism: Its Philosophy, Theology, and Religious Discipline|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=evmiLInyxBMC |year=1994|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-1098-3 |pages=147 }}</ref> others suggest god Shiva created Brahma (Shaivism),<ref>{{cite book|author=Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty |title=Siva: The Erotic Ascetic |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=dnfZ_MBErlQC |year=1981|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-972793-3 |pages=125 }}</ref> yet others suggest goddess Devi created Brahma (Shaktism),<ref name=kinsley137>{{cite book|author=David Kinsley |title=Hindu Goddesses: Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=HzldwMHeS6IC |year=1988|publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-90883-3 |pages=137 }}</ref> and these texts then go on to state that Brahma is a secondary creator of the world working respectively on their behalf.<ref name=kinsley137/><ref>{{cite book|author=Stella Kramrisch|title=The Presence of Siva|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=O5BanndcIgUC&pg=PA205|year=1992|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=0-691-01930-4 |pages=205-206 }}</ref> Further, the medieval era texts of these major theistic traditions of Hinduism assert that the ''saguna''{{refn|group=note|representation with face and attributes)<ref>{{cite book|author=Arvind Sharma|title=Classical Hindu Thought: An Introduction|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=gDmUToaeMJ0C |year=2000|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-564441-8|page=4}}</ref>}} Brahman is Vishnu,<ref>{{cite book|author1=Mark Juergensmeyer |author2=Wade Clark Roof |title=Encyclopedia of Global Religion |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=WwJzAwAAQBAJ |year=2011|publisher=SAGE Publications |isbn=978-1-4522-6656-5 |page=1335}}</ref> is Shiva,<ref>{{cite book|author=Stella Kramrisch |title=The Presence of Siva |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=O5BanndcIgUC |year=1992|publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=0-691-01930-4 |pages=171 }}</ref> or is Devi<ref>{{cite book|author=David Kinsley |title=Hindu Goddesses: Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=HzldwMHeS6IC |year=1988|publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-90883-3 |pages=136 }}</ref> respectively, they are different names or aspects of the Brahman, and that the Atman (soul, self) within every living being is same or part of this ultimate, eternal Brahman.<ref>{{cite book|author=William K. Mahony |title=The Artful Universe: An Introduction to the Vedic Religious Imagination |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=B1KR_kE5ZYoC |year=1998|publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=978-0-7914-3579-3 |pages=13–14, 187 }}</ref>
[[Brahmin]] is a [[Varna (Hinduism)|varna]] in [[Hinduism]] specialising in theory as priests, preservers and transmitters of sacred literature across generations.<ref>{{cite book | last=Doniger | first=Wendy | title=Merriam-Webster's encyclopedia of world religions| publisher=Merriam-Webster | location=Springfield, MA, USA | year=1999 | isbn=978-0-87779-044-0 | page=186}}</ref><ref>James Lochtefeld (2002), Brahmin, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A–M, Rosen Publishing, ISBN 978-0823931798, page 125</ref>
[[Brahmin]] is a [[Varna (Hinduism)|varna]] in [[Hinduism]] specialising in theory as priests, preservers and transmitters of sacred literature across generations.<ref>{{cite book | last=Doniger | first=Wendy | title=Merriam-Webster's encyclopedia of world religions| publisher=Merriam-Webster | location=Springfield, MA, USA | year=1999 | isbn=978-0-87779-044-0 | page=186}}</ref><ref>James Lochtefeld (2002), Brahmin, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A–M, Rosen Publishing, ISBN 978-0823931798, page 125</ref>
The [[Brahmana]]s are one of the four ancient layers of texts within the [[Vedas]]. They are primarily a digest incorporating myths, legends, the explanation of Vedic rituals and in some cases philosophy.<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/77126/Brahmana Brahmana] Encyclopædia Britannica (2013)</ref><ref>[[Klaus Klostermaier]] (1994), A Survey of Hinduism, Second Edition, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791421093, pages 67-69</ref> They are embedded within each of the four Vedas, and form a part of the [[Hindu texts|Hindu]] ''[[śruti]]'' literature.<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/brahmana "Brahmana"]. ''[[Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary]]''</ref>
The [[Brahmana]]s are one of the four ancient layers of texts within the [[Vedas]]. They are primarily a digest incorporating myths, legends, the explanation of Vedic rituals and in some cases philosophy.<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/77126/Brahmana Brahmana] Encyclopædia Britannica (2013)</ref><ref>[[Klaus Klostermaier]] (1994), A Survey of Hinduism, Second Edition, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791421093, pages 67-69</ref> They are embedded within each of the four Vedas, and form a part of the [[Hindu texts|Hindu]] ''[[śruti]]'' literature.<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/brahmana "Brahmana"]. ''[[Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary]]''</ref>
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