[Advaita-l] No difference across various forms of Brahman - Maitrayani Upanishad

[V Subrahmanian]

The Sringeri Jagadguru in this short video, in Kannada, emphasizes the need
for viewing all forms of Brahman as non-different, no high-low idea has to
be entertained:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUcIx5Z2KAc

There is the shruti pramana: [not cited in the above video]:

The Maitrayani Upanishat part is cited below:

https://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_upanishhat/maitri.html?lang=sa

तमो वा इदमेकमास तत्पश्चात्परेणेरितं विषयत्वं

प्रयात्येतद्वै रजसो रूपं तद्रजः खल्वीरितं विषमत्वं

प्रयात्येतद्वै तमसो रूपं तत्तमः खल्वीरितं तमसः

सम्प्रास्रवत्येतद्वै सत्त्वस्य रूपं तत्सत्त्वमेवेरितं

तत्सत्त्वात्सम्प्रास्रवत्सोंऽशोऽयं यश्चेतनमात्रः

प्रतिपुरुषं क्षेत्रज्ञः सङ्कल्पाध्यवसायाभिमानलिङ्गः

प्रजापतिस्तस्य प्रोक्ता अग्र्यास्तनवो ब्रह्मा रुद्रो विष्णुरित्यथ

यो ह खलु वावास्य राजसोंऽशोऽसौ स योऽयं ब्रह्माथ यो ह

खलु वावास्य तामसोंऽशोऽसौ स योऽयं रुद्रोऽथ यो ह

खलु वावास्य सात्विकोंऽशोऽसौ स एवं विष्णुः स वा एष

एकस्त्रिधाभूतोऽष्टधैकादशधा द्वादशधापरिमितधा

चोद्भूत उद्भूतत्वाद्भूतेषु चरति प्रतिष्ठा

सर्वभूतानामधिपतिर्बभूवेत्यसावात्मान्तर्बहिश्चान्तर्बहिस्

ह्च ॥ ५॥ चतुर्थः प्रपाठकः ॥


https://www.hinduwebsite.com/sacredscripts/hinduism/upanishads/maitrayana.asp#adh4


5. The Valakhilyas said: ‘O Saint, thou art the teacher, thou art the
teacher. What thou hast said, has been properly laid up in our mind. Now
answer us a further question: Agni, Vayu, Aditya, Time (kala) which is
Breath (prana), Food (anna), Brahma, Rudra, Vishnu, thus do some meditate
on one, some on another. Say which of these is the best for us.' He said to
them:

6. 'These are but the chief manifestations of the highest, the immortal,
the incorporeal Brahman. He who is devoted to one, rejoices here in his
world (presence), thus he said. Brahman indeed is all this, and a man may
meditate on, worship, or discard also those which are its chief
manifestations. With these (deities) he proceeds to higher and higher
worlds, and when all things perish, he becomes one with the Purusha, yes,
with the Purusha.'
FIFTH PRAPATHAKA. [image: Scroll Up]
<https://www.hinduwebsite.com/sacredscripts/hinduism/upanishads/maitrayana.asp#Cont>

1. Next follows Kutsayana's hymn of praise:

'Thou art Brahma, and thou art Vishnu, thou art Rudra, thou Prajapati, thou
art Agni, Varuna, Vayu, thou art Indra, thou the Moon.

Thou art Anna (the food or the eater), thou art Yama, thou art the Earth,
th-ou art All, thou art the Imperishable. In thee all things exist in many
forms, whether for their natural or for their own (higher) ends.

Lord of the Universe, glory to thee! Thou art the Self of All, thou art the
maker of All, the enjoyer of All; thou art all life, and the lord of all
pleasure and joy. Glory to thee, the tranquil, the deeply hidden, the
incomprehensible, the immeasurable, without beginning and without end.'

2. 'In the beginning darkness (tamas) alone was this. It was in the
Highest, and, moved by the Highest, it becomes uneven. Thus it becomes
obscurity (ragas). Then this obscurity, being moved, becomes uneven. Thus
it becomes goodness (sattva). Then this goodness, being moved, the essence
flowed forth. This is that part (or state of Self) which is entirely
intelligent, reflected in man (as the sun is in different vessels of water)
knowing the body (kshetragna), attested by his conceiving, willing, and
believing, it is Prajapati, called Visva. His manifestations have been
declared before. Now that part of him which belongs to darkness, that, O
students, is he who is called Rudra. That part of him which belongs to
obscurity, that, O students, is he who is called Brahma. That part of him
which belongs to goodness, that, O students, is he who is called Vishnu. He
being one, becomes three, becomes eight, becomes eleven, becomes twelve,
becomes infinite. Because I he thus came to be, be is the Being (neut.), he
moves about, having entered all beings, he has become the Lord of all
beings. He is the Self within and without, yes, within and without.'

[The Upanishad goes on to say that One alone became three, eight, eleven,
twelve, infinite forms. All tattvas like indriya, etc. are Brahman alone.]

Om Tat Sat

subbu