Brahman is not the unknown and
unknowable of the agnostics thought it is said, Brahman is incomprehensible.
Brahman cannot be known or seen. Brahman is beyond the reach of mind, intellect
and senses. It is more than known as it is realised by one's own Self. Brahman
is always the silent, witnessing consciousness. He is the subject, knower and
seer. Anything perceived by the senses and conceived by the mind cannot be
Brahman. An object of the world only can be perceived by the senses and thought
of by the mind. The seer can never be seen. The knower can never be known (by
the intellect or the mind). Brahman is unknowable in the objective sense.
Brahman is unknowable by the mind, intellect and senses. He is certainly
knowable through direct intuitive perception in Samadhi as the Self or Atman by
the pure mind which is Brahman itself.
Till you attain the highest
Nirvikalpa state wherein you will find and feel, All indeed is Brahman, there
is nothing but the Self (Sarvam Khalvidam Brahman) you will have to practise
again and again, enquiry, reflection and meditation. You must feel His presence
in all names and forms. This is a sublime, soul-stirring experience that cannot
be either imagined or described in words. You will have to experience it
yourself in Samadhi when the mind, intellect and the senses cease functioning.
The knower of Brahman only
possesses tremendous spiritual strength. Real strength comes through knowledge
of the Self. The knower of Brahman becomes absolutely fearless. He knows that
his Self will not be affected in the least by external conditions. He is fully
aware that the Self is invincible and invulnerable. The knower of Brahman can
move the whole world. It is the well-defined meaning of all writings on
Vedanta, that the Self or soul of every one who knows is Brahman. Glory to such
exalted personage!
May you ceaselessly meditate on
the sublime truths contained in the sacred Upanishad of the seers of yore!
- Swami Sivananda