Para Brahman
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Para Brahman or Param Brahman (
Para Brahman is conceptualised in diverse ways. In the
Etymology
Para is a Sanskrit word that means "higher" in some contexts, and "highest or supreme" in others.[3]
Brahman in Hinduism connotes the Absolute, the Ultimate Reality in the universe.[4][5] In major schools of Hindu philosophy it is the immaterial, efficient, formal and final cause of all that exists.[5][6] Brahman is a key concept found in the Vedas and is extensively discussed in the early Upanishads[7] and in Advaita Vedanta literature.[8]
Advaita Vedanta
In Advaita Vedanta, the Para Brahman is defined as nirguna brahman, or Brahman without form or qualities.
According to Eliot Deutsch, Nirguna Brahman is a "state of being"[14] in which all dualistic distinctions between one's own soul and Brahman are obliterated and are overcome.[12] In contrast, Saguna Brahman is where the distinctions are harmonized after duality between one's own soul and Brahman has been accepted.[12]
Advaita describes the features of a nondualistic experience,[12] in which a subjective experience also becomes an "object" of knowledge and a phenomenal reality. The Absolute Truth is both subject and object, so there is no qualitative difference:
- The knowers of Truth declare knowledge alone as the Reality——that knowledge which does not admit of duality (the distinction of subject & object), in other words, which is indivisible & one without a second, & which is called by different names such as Brahma (the Absolute), Paramatma (the Supreme Spirit or Oversoul) & Bhagavan (the Deity). (Bhagavata Purana 1.2.11)[15][note 1]
- "Whoever realizes the Supreme Brahma attains to supreme felicity. That Supreme Brahma is Eternal Truth (satyam), Omniscient (jnanam), Infinite (anantam)." (Taittiriya Upanishad 2.1.1)[note 2]
The Upanishads state that the Supreme Brahma is Eternal, Conscious, and Blissful
- "The One is Bliss. Whoever perceives the Blissful One, the reservoir of pleasure, becomes blissful forever." (Taittiriya Upanishad 2.7.1–2)[note 3]
- "Verily know the Supreme One to be Bliss." (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2.9.28)
In Vaishnavism, Vishnu is considered to be Para Brahman, especially in his form of Mahavishnu.[16] He is also depicted as the Paramatman, according to the Narayana Sukta in the Yajurveda.[17] The Mahabharata describes Vishnu to be the Para Brahman, and is also identified with both purusha and prakriti.[18] In the Bhagavata Purana, Krishna is described to be Para Brahman.[19]
"O Infinite Lord of gods, Cosmic Abode, You are the unperishing, being and non-being—and what is beyond. Original God, You are the Primeval Person, You are the supreme resting place of this universe, the knower, the knowable, the supreme abode. You pervade the universe, O Infinite Form!" — Bhagavad Gita 11.37-38
Shaivism
In Shaivism, Shiva is regarded to be Para Brahman, especially in his form of Parashiva, the supreme form of Shiva.[20] According to the Shiva Purana, Shiva is described to be the only deity to possess both nirguna and saguna attributes, causing him to be the only one worthy of the epithet Ishvara.[21]
Kashmir Shaivism
In Kashmir Shaivism, Svachhanda Bhairava is considered as the supreme form of Shiva. Kashmir Shaivism consider Svachhanda Bhairava as Para Brahman. Kashmir Shaivism holds turiya, or the fourth state of consciousness, as the state of Brahman. It is neither wakefulness, dreaming, nor deep sleep. It exists in the junction between any of these three states, i.e. between waking and dreaming, between dreaming and deep sleep, and between deep sleep and waking. In Kashmir Shaivism there exists a fifth state of consciousness called Turiyatita – the state beyond Turiya which represents Parabrahman. Turiyatita, also called the void or shunya is the state where one attains liberation otherwise known as jivanmukti or moksha.[citation needed]
Shaktism
In
The
Mahā Kāli's own form is referred to as Para Brahman (parabrahmasvarūpiṇī) in the Devyāgama and different
See also
- Nondualism
- Achintya Bheda Abheda
- Adi Parashakti
- Ātman (Hinduism)
- Bhakti
- Brahma
- Jiva
- Jnana
- Parbrahm Ashram
- Mahaganapati
- Oachira Temple
- Mahavishnu
- Narayana
- Om
- Padanilam Parabrahma Temple
- Paramatma
- Parashiva
- Svayam Bhagavan
- Vedanta
- Yoga
Notes
References
- ISBN 978-0-520-28847-8.
- ^ White 1970, p. 156.
- ^ Monier Monier-Williams, A Sanskrit-English Dictionary: Etymologically and Philologically Arranged with Special Reference to Cognate Indo-European languages, Oxford University Press, Article on Para
- ISBN 978-0823931798, page 122
- ^ ISBN 978-1406732627, page 426 and Conclusion chapter part XII
- 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 - ISBN 978-0415187077, pages 1–4
- ISBN 978-8120817227, pages 129–130, 216–231
- ^ Sullivan 2001, p. 148.
- ^ Fisher 2012, p. 116.
- ^ Malkovsky 1997, p. 541.
- ^ a b c d e Deutsch 1973, p. 13.
- ^ Deutsch 1973, pp. 9–14.
- ^ Deutsch 1973, p. 12.
- ^ A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda (13 July 2021). "Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.2.11".
- ISBN 978-3-940381-70-5.
- ^ Ritajananda, Swami (15 July 2022). The Practice Of Meditation. Sri Ramakrishna Math. p. 89.
- ISBN 978-3-385-32443-5.
- ISBN 978-91-7149-635-5.
- ISBN 978-1-934145-11-1.
- ^ J.L.Shastri (1950). Siva Purana - English Translation - Part 1 of 4. pp. 62–63.
- ISBN 978-0-7914-8011-3.
- ^ Pargiter (1904), Canto XCII.
- ^ Vijñanananda (1921), Book 1 Chapter 9.
- ^ Kalika Kulasarvasva, [1] Kalika Sahasranama.
- ^ Avalon (1913a), Chapter 4.
- ^ Brihan Nila Tantram (1938), [2].
- ^ Avalon (1913b), [3].
Sources
- Deutsch, Eliot (1973), Advaita Vedanta: A Philosophical Reconstruction, University of Hawaii Press
- Fisher, Mary Pat (2012), Living Religions: A Brief Introduction
- Malkovsky, B. (1997), "The Personhood of Samkara's" Para Brahma"", The Journal of Religion, 77 (4): 541, S2CID 170842690
- Sullivan, B.M. (2001), The A to Z of Hinduism, Rowman & Littlefield, ISBN 8170945216
- White, C.S.J. (1970), "Krsna as Divine Child", History of Religions, 10 (2): 156, S2CID 162216194
External links
- "VEDA - Vedas and Vedic Knowledge Online - Vedic Encyclopedia". www.veda.harekrsna.cz. Archived from the original on 1 June 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2008.