[Advaita-l] How can Brahman/consciousness be all pervading including living and non living things?

[Kartik Vashishta]

Please consider posting to the group or at least include me....I have the
same questions and will benefit.

On Mon, Mar 1, 2021 at 7:22 PM Setu Srivatsa via Advaita-l <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> Namaste Sir!
> Thanks a lot a lot sir ! Sir can I mail you personally for furthur doubts
> when I get??Please sir!
>
> On Mon, Mar 1, 2021 at 9:34 PM Venkatraghavan S <agnimile at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > Namaste,
> > "But what I am stressing and not understanding is what exactly is Nirguna
> > Brahman ? It can't be Consiouness because to be Consiouness it has to
> have
> > a form to experience."
> >
> > nirguNa Brahman, by its very definition is not something that is
> > experienceable - अन्यदेव तद्विदितात् अथो अविदितादधि  - it is neither the
> > known, nor the unknown, because it can never be the object. Rather, it is
> > the subject of every cognition - the cognitions may vary, but the subject
> > does not - व्यावृत्तासु अनुवर्तमानम् अहमिति अन्त:स्फुरन्तं सदा - that
> > unvarying subject, which is never experienced, but without which no
> > experience is possible, is Brahman.
> >
> > "If you define as existance,then all objects are temporary."
> > Objects can be temporary - the clay becomes the pot, which breaks into
> > pot-shards, then gets crushed as powder, then gets wet by rain etc.
> > However, in each of the varying names and forms clay, pot, pot-shards,
> > powder, wet mud etc, there is one unvarying thing that remains even when
> > the objects are being born, sustained and destroyed - existence, which
> > manifests itself as "existence of X". That existence is Brahman.
> >
> > "How can everything rocks stones ornaments all be prevaded by impersonal
> > Brahman??"
> > The last question has been addressed already in the previous email.
> >
> > Regards,
> > Venkatraghavan
> >
> > On Mon, Mar 1, 2021 at 10:37 AM Setu Srivatsa <sethusrivatsa at gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> >> Namaste sir. Sorry for the late reply. Thanks a lot for the detailed
> >> reply. But what I am stressing and not understanding is what exactly is
> >> Nirguna Brahman ? It can't be Consiouness because to be Consiouness it
> has
> >> to have a form to experience. If you define as existance,then all
> objects
> >> are temporary. And how can Brahman pervade all objects when it can't be
> >> Consiouness or Bliss? And when Shankacharya says Chidananda Rupa Sivoham
> >> And Aham Nirvikalpo Nirakara Rupo, isn't it contradiction??? How can
> >> everything rocks stones ornaments all be prevaded by impersonal
> Brahman??
> >>
> >> On Saturday, February 27, 2021, Venkatraghavan S <agnimile at gmail.com>
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >>> Namaste,
> >>> In reply
> >>> 1) As you said, the Upanishads speak of the self as existence,
> >>> consciousness, bliss. The self as existence is manifest wherever
> anything
> >>> appears to exist - whether an inert object, plant, insects, animals,
> humans
> >>> etc - whenever we say anything it exists, the existence that appears in
> >>> anything is really Brahman. In terms of the consciousness aspect, it is
> >>> manifest wherever there is a medium capable of reflecting it - ie
> >>> possessing a subtle mind (mind, sense organs and prANa). Just like
> sunlight
> >>> is reflected in a polished surface and not otherwise, consciousness is
> only
> >>> capable of reflection in a mind. In terms of the bliss aspect of the
> self,
> >>> it is manifest wherever there is a mind capable of reflecting it AND
> such a
> >>> mind is relaxed and free, however momentarily, from agitation. Thus,
> even
> >>> though consciousness is all pervading, to be aware of it requires a
> certain
> >>> type of medium and certain conditions. Just because Its manifestation
> >>> occurs only in certain places and at certain times, that does not
> limit the
> >>> spatial, temporal, objectwise limitlessness of Brahamn.
> >>>
> >>> 2) Consciousness is awareness devoid of the mind - one is aware within
> >>> the contours of the mind, because the mind is restricted spatially, ie
> only
> >>> within the body. We have to understand what is meant by all pervading
> - the
> >>> word pervading indicates that there are two entities - that which
> pervades
> >>> and that which is pervaded. That is not the intention of advaita. What
> is
> >>> meant is that Brahman IS all.  As said above, existence appears in
> every
> >>> object, leading one to conclude "the object exists", however really
> >>> speaking there are two aspects to that cognition - the existence
> aspect and
> >>> the appearance of the object. The existence aspect is the self, which
> is
> >>> real, the appearance aspect is unreal. A false mixing up of the real
> with
> >>> the unreal leads us to the erroneous notion that it is the object that
> >>> exists, when it is really consciousness that existence, and the object
> is
> >>> an unreal projection on consciousness. When this is understood it is
> easy
> >>> to see how Brahman is all - because it is the existence that is
> manifest in
> >>> every object.
> >>>
> >>> 3) See above.
> >>>
> >>> 4) One can see the self in all non-living beings as existence. When we
> >>> try to understand what existence really means, the only reference point
> >>> that we have to the existence of anything is our own existence - the
> >>> certainty that we have in our existence we really cannot have in the
> >>> existence of anything else. That certainty of our own existence is
> nothing
> >>> but the awareness of our existence. Therefore, existence boils down to
> >>> awareness.
> >>>
> >>> Similarly, when we start off with awareness and try to understand what
> >>> it means, it boils down to existence.
> >>>
> >>> Further, when we try to understand the nature of bliss, we start off
> >>> with love. Bliss manifests as a result of love that we feel for
> anything -
> >>> when the object of our love is attained by us, we are happy. When we
> lose
> >>> it, we are sad. When we fail in our attempt to attain it, we are angry.
> >>>
> >>> However, upon analysis, we realise that the love that we feel for
> >>> anything only exists so long as it brings happiness to us, when that
> thing
> >>> stops bringing us happiness - even when we possess it, it stops being
> dear
> >>> to us. The love for any object is therefore conditional. The only
> >>> unconditional love that is felt is for our self - in every experience
> of
> >>> bliss, it is because "I" have attained that object that gives me
> happiness.
> >>> Thus, the true source of bliss is love, and the true source of love is
> our
> >>> self. That self, as seen above is nothing but awareness-existence,
> hence -
> >>> existence-awareness-bliss.
> >>>
> >>> As seen above, when we try to seek to understand what each aspect
> means,
> >>> we realise it ends in a one, undifferentiated entity.
> >>>
> >>> The entire universe is a body for that entity as the manifestation of
> >>> that entity requires the body, just like the manifestation of the mind
> >>> requires a physical body.
> >>>
> >>> Kind regards,
> >>> Venkatraghavan
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> On Fri, 26 Feb 2021, 14:10 Setu Srivatsa via Advaita-l, <
> >>> advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
> >>>
> >>>> Hello everyone. Please accept my humble Pranams. I dont know how to
> ask
> >>>> doubts on this platform. But I have few doubts on Advaitha. Can you
> >>>> please
> >>>> help me.
> >>>> Brahman is defined as Existence,Consciousness and
> Bliss(Satchitananda).
> >>>> Aitareya Upanishad 3.1.3 says Brahman is consciousness and pure
> >>>> awareness.
> >>>> Isa Upanishad 1 says it's all pervading.
> >>>>
> >>>> 1)But how can Brahman or Awareness or Consciousness be there and be
> all
> >>>> pervading in Non Living things like Pots,Ornaments etc which have no
> >>>> sense
> >>>> of awareness or Atman?
> >>>>
> >>>> 2)How can Brahman be all pervading as Isa Upanishad says when it's
> just
> >>>> pure awareness ? It only exists individually as Awareness or life
> force
> >>>> or
> >>>> Atman in all beings. Atman is just awareness. I am not the
> >>>> body,mind,intellect. This same I is in all. How does that mean this
> >>>> awareness is all pervading???
> >>>>
> >>>> 3)What is the Sat feature of Brahman?? What exactly is that existence
> >>>> that
> >>>> is conscious of all things including non living things??
> >>>>
> >>>> 4)How to see one's self alone in all non living things which don't
> have
> >>>> Atman and in what sense the whole Universe is our body as per Brahma
> >>>> Vidya
> >>>> Meditations??
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> >>>
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