SECTION VIII - AKSHARA-BRAHMANA

Meditation on the Supreme Unconditioned Brahman

The second dialogue between Yajnavalkya and Gargi.

PREAMBLE

It may be recalled that in Section VI Yajnavalkya had avoided answering Gargi’s question ‘what is the ultimate cause of the manifested world (denoted by Brahman)? In this section she seeks permission of the assembly to question him again on the same issue. This time Yajnavalkya gives an answer. “The Unmanifested (denoted by akasa, Space) is the cause of the manifested world”. But what is the cause of the Unmanifested persists Gargi. What follows is a very profound description of the indescribable Brahman, the Ultimate Cause of all, manifested as well as unmanifested. This part of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is the outstanding contribution of Hinduism to the awakening of a spiritual thought process in the entire world.

TEXT

1) Then the daughter of Vachaknu said: 'Venerable brahmins, I shall ask him two questions. If he answers me these, then none of you can defeat him in discussing Brahman." The brahmins said: "Ask, O Gargi."

Gargi had been warned previously by Yajnavalkya not to push her enquiry too far. She therefore now asks the permission of those in the assembly to again question Yajnavalkya. All along the Upanishad covered the nature of the conditioned Brahman (Saguna Brahman). Now it proceeds to describe the Supreme Brahman devoid of attributes ( Nirguna Brahman).

2) Gargi said: "O Yajnavalkya, I shall ask you two straight forward questions. Answer me these."

Yajnavalkya agreed.

3) She said: "O Yajnavalkya, what pervades that Sutra which is above heaven and below the earth, which is heaven and earth as well as what is between them and which—they say—was, is and will be?"

Heaven means the upper half of the cosmic shell; earth means the lower half of the cosmic shell; the terms ‘were’ and ‘is’ mean the past, present and future. The idea is that the diverse objects of the relative universe become unified in the Sutra. Gargi wanted to know what is that which pervades the Sutra, as the warp and woof pervade a piece of cloth.

4) He said: "That, O Gargi, which is above heaven and below the earth, which is heaven and earth as well as what is between them and which—they say—was, is and will be, is pervaded by the unmanifested akasa.

The unmanifested universe, consisting of the Sutra or Hiranyagarbha exists in the unmanifested akasa or space at all times – during the states of projection (utpatthi), preservation (sthithi) and dissolution (laya).

5) She said: "I bow to you, O Yajnavalkya. You have fully answered this question of mine. Now brace yourself for the other." "Ask, O Gargi." said the Sage.

6—7) She said: "Yajnavalkya, what pervades that Sutra which is above heaven and below the earth, which is heaven and earth as well as what is between them and which—they say—was, is and will be?"

He said: "That, O Gargi, which is above heaven and below the earth, which is heaven and earth as well as what is between them and which—they say—was, is and will be, is pervaded by the unmanifested akasa."

"What pervades the akasa?"

This is a perplexing question to put Yajnavalkya in a state of predicament. The question seems to be unanswerable because the akasa is pervaded by the Immutable Brahman which cannot be explained. This means that if Yajnavalkya did not explain this he would be guilty of ‘non-comprehension’. If on the other hand he tries to explain the unexplainable he would be charged with the committing the blunder of ‘contradiction’ that is comprehending that which cannot be comprehended.

8. sa hovaca, etad vai tad aksaram, gargi, brahmana abhivadanti, asthutam ananu, ahrasvam, adirgham, alohitam, asneham acchayam, atamah, avayv anakasam, asangam, arasam, agandham, acaksuskam asrotram, avak, amanah, atejaskam, apranam, amukham, amatram, anantaram, abahyam; na tad asnati kim cana, na tad asnati kas cana.

8) He said: "That, O Gargi, the knowers of Brahman call the Imperishable. It is neither gross nor subtle, neither short nor long, neither red nor moist; It is neither shadow nor darkness, neither air nor akasa; It is unattached; It is without taste or smell, without eyes or ears, without tongue or mind; It is non-effulgent, without vital breath or mouth, without measure and without exterior or interior. It does not eat anything, nor is It eaten by anyone.

In order to avoid being charged with either ‘non-comprehension’ or ‘contradiction’, Yajnavalkya quotes the knowers of Brahman as his authority and affirms that Brahman is aksharam meaning that which does not change or decay.  Then by putting forward several negations Viz., neither gross nor subtle, neither short nor long, neither red nor moist, neither shadow nor darkness, neither air nor akasa, Yajnavalkya indicates that Brahman is not a substance. Redness is a quality of fire. Moisture is a characteristic of water. By the denial of redness and moisture it is indicated that Brahman is not q quality. Shadow and darkness indicate that which is indescribable.  He gives more examples of what Brahman is not e.g., unattached, with no smell or taste, no ears or eyes, no tongue or mind, no vital breath or mouth, non-effulgent, nothing can measure it nor doest it measure anything, does not possess interior or exterior, does not eat anything nor is it eaten by anyone.

Through these negative descriptions, Yajnavalkya implied that Brahman is devoid of all attributes and is one only without a second.

The Upanishad tries to indicate Brahman by the denial of qualifying attributes or characteristic marks. But this line of argument can be mistaken to mean that Brahman is void or non-existent. In order to prevent such misconception, Yajnavalkya gives next, inferential evidence – from orderliness of creation – to demonstrate Its existence. This line of thought flow is similar to the famous but controversial statement attributed to the great scientist Albert Einstein “God does not play dice”. Whether God plays dice or not we shall discuss later.

9. etasya va aksarasya prasasane, gargi, suryacandramasau vidhrtau tisthatah; etasya va aksarasya prasasane, gargi, dyavaprithivyau vidhrte tisthatah; etasya va aksarasya prasasane, gargi, nimesa, muhurta, ahoratrany ardhamasa, masa, rtavah, samvatsara iti. vidhrtas tisthanti; etasya va aksarasya prasasane, gargi, pracyo' nya nadyah syandante svetebhyah parvatebhyah, praticyo'nyah, yam yam ca disam anu; etasya va aksarasya prasasane, gargi, dadato manusyah prasamsanti; yajamanam devah, darvim pitaro'nvayattah.

9) "Verily, under the mighty rule of this Imperishable, O Gargi, the sun and moon are held in their respective positions. Under the mighty rule of this Imperishable, O Gargi, heaven and earth are held in their respective positions. Under the mighty rule of this Imperishable, O Gargi, moments, muhurtas (about forty eight minutes), days and nights, fortnights, months, seasons and years are held in their respective positions. Under the mighty rule of this Imperishable, O Gargi, some rivers flow eastward from the white mountains, others flowing westward continue in that direction and still others keep to their respective courses. Under the mighty rule of this Imperishable, O Gargi, men praise those who give, the gods depend upon the sacrificer and the Manes upon the Darvi offering.

The inferential evidence to prove the existence of Brahman given by Yajnavalkya is as follows.