{"id":499,"date":"2019-03-19T16:41:33","date_gmt":"2019-03-19T16:41:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vedantaandscience.com\/?p=499"},"modified":"2019-03-19T16:41:42","modified_gmt":"2019-03-19T16:41:42","slug":"brahman-and-ishvara","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vedantaandscience.com\/?p=499","title":{"rendered":"Brahman and Ishvara"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Many times, Brahman and Ishvara are\nused interchangeably. But, are they the same? &nbsp;Yes, the underlying nature of Brahman and\nIshvara is the same, but how they function and operate is different. Awareness,\nthe underlying reality of everything in the universe is the common nature\nbetween Brahman and Ishvara. The difference between Brahman and Ishvara is\nsummed up by Vedanta as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nirguna Brahman: Nirguna Brahman means\nBrahman without qualities or attributes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Saguna Brahman = Ishvara: Saguna\nBrahman or Ishvara means Brahman with qualities and attributes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this article, we will show the connection between Brahman and Ishvara. We will try and understand what is meant by Awareness and how this is the core nature of Brahman and Ishvara. We will also see how Brahman with no attributes becomes Ishvara with attributes and qualities. We will also try and understand what are the qualities and attributes of Ishvara. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>1. <strong>Brahman &#8211; The Non-Dual Self Awareness<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first question to start the\ndiscussion is \u2013 what is Awareness? What is Self-Awareness? Awareness is the\ninnermost core of any living being. It is like an Awareness bulb shining within\nour inner core. If any object, it could be an image, sound, touch or feeling,\ncomes in the presence of this bulb of Awareness, you will be aware of that\nexperience. Here are some examples of awareness that we experience daily. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>How do we know the\ntree is green?<\/em> Because we are aware of it.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>How do we know sugar\nis sweet?<\/em> Because we\nare aware of it.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>How do we know we\nhave two legs and two hands?<\/em> Because we are aware of it.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>How do we know the\nweight of the chair is 20 lbs.?<\/em> Because we are aware of it.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>How do we know the\nsmooth touch of silk?<\/em> Because we are aware of it.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>How do we know we\nare listening to music?<\/em> Because we are aware of it.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The common\nthread to all these questions is Awareness. It would seem Awareness is a\nprerequisite to observe any kind of object. Without awareness, we would not\nknow any objects which are perceived by the 5 senses organs \u2013 eyes, ears, nose,\ntongue, and skin. These objects from the sensory organs must encounter\nAwareness, and then only we can observe the object. For an analogy, let us\nthink of the sun. If there is no light emanating from the sun, the entire world\nwill be dark; anything and everything become visible only when there is light.\nIn the same way, when any form encounters the light of Awareness, we become\naware of the object. If there is no light of Awareness, you will perceive\nnothing, not even the sun.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Awareness is the most powerful force\nin the universe. It has the power to connect with a form present in the mind\nand fill up the object with Awareness. If you analyze Awareness, you will\nconclude that Awareness is made up of a Subject, Intelligence, and an Object\nwith the following functions<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>There must be a Subject, who is Aware of the experience. This\n     subject is the \u2018knower\u2019 of the Awareness<\/li><li>There must be an Object, which must be experienced. This\n     object is the \u2018known\u2019 part of the Awareness<\/li><li>There must be Intelligence by which the subject gets to know\n     the object. This is the \u2018knowing\u2019 part of the Awareness<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Knower, Known and Knowing\/Intelligence\nare the 3 powers of Awareness. It must be clear that <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Awareness = Subject + Object + Intelligence <\/li><li>Power of Awareness = Power of Knower + Power of Knowing +\n     Power of Known <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Awareness is made of Subject,\nIntelligence, and Object and it has three different powers &#8211; Knower, Knowing\nand Known. It must be understood that the Subject, Intelligence, and Object and\nthe three powers are not something outside in the world, but they are within\nAwareness and they only make up Awareness. If any one of them is missing,\nawareness will not work and will be incomplete. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>If there is an object to be observed but there is no subject,\n     there will be no awareness, as there is no one to see the object. <\/li><li>If there is a subject but no object to see, there will no\n     awareness as the subject has no object to observe<\/li><li>If there is an object but the subject has no way of knowing\n     what this object is, no awareness will take place. This \u2018knowing\u2019 must\n     have intelligence. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Wherever there is awareness, the\nSubject, Intelligence and Object must be present with all the three powers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What is\nSelf-Awareness? <\/strong>Our inner core is full, complete and it is stand alone. For Awareness to\nbe full and complete, it must be Self-Aware. Self-Awareness means that the\n\u2018Awareness is aware of Awareness\u2019. Another way to put this is that \u2018Self is\naware of the Self\u2019. It is like saying \u2018I am aware of the tree\u2019. Here \u2018I am\u2019 can\nbe referred as the subject and the tree is the object. In Self-Awareness, the\nsubject is Awareness and the object is Awareness. Awareness plays the role of\nsubject and object. In other words, both the subject and object are the same.\nThere is one entity only which is non-dual. This complete, self-standing Self\nAwareness is our inner core. There is no separation between the subject and\nobject \u2013 it is one and homogenous. It is Self-Shining. This Self-shining\nAwareness is the Bulb of Awareness and it is our inner core. It is not\ndependent upon anything else and it generates its own light of Awareness. And\nit is the Bulb of Awareness.&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Self-Awareness\nis non-dual, homogenous and it has many inherent characteristics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>It is Formless<\/li><li>It is Unchanging<\/li><li>It has Infinite Energy source<\/li><li>It is Unborn<\/li><li>It has the 3 powers of Awareness \u2013 the power of knower, knowing and known<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Brahman is the name given to this\ninner core of Self-Awareness. This inner core is present in every living being.\nSo, it is present within you, me and within everyone. This Self-Awareness just\nshines like of bulb of Awareness, and it does not do anything, except radiating\nAwareness. Nothing affects Self-Awareness, it is always at peace. Peace is its\ninherent nature. Because Self-Awareness does not anything, all the qualities\nand attributes mentioned are lying dormant within Self-Awareness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>2. <strong>Ishvara &#8211; The Reflected Awareness<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If our nature and inner core is\nSelf-Awareness, why don\u2019t we know it, why don\u2019t we feel it? The simple answer\nis that we are ignorant of our inner core. Ignorance has the power to cover\nSelf-Awareness. When we forget, who we really are, ignorance pops up and covers\nour inner core. Ignorance is like a veil covering Awareness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By this time, it has become evident\nthat Self-Awareness does not do anything, it just keeps shining. When this\nSelf-Awareness is covered by ignorance, this Self-Awareness gets reflected in\nthe ignorance. Ignorance is like a mirror in which reflection takes place. What\nyou get then is the Reflected Awareness. When the sun is reflected in a mirror,\nyou still have the sun and you also have a reflected sun. This is exactly what\nhappens here.&nbsp; You have Brahman, the\nnon-dual Self-Awareness and the Reflected Awareness. This Reflected Awareness\nis called Ishvara. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>It is quite strange to know that our ignorance\nis the cause of Ishvara, which is Reflected Awareness. If there was no\nignorance, there would be no reflected Awareness, and then there would be no\nIshvara also. If there was no ignorance, the only thing present would be\nBrahman, the self-shining Self-Awareness. So,<strong><em>our<\/em><\/strong> ignorance is the\ncause of Ishvara. <\/li><li>Even if there is Reflected Awareness, nothing\nhappens to the non-dual Self Awareness or Brahman. It will continue to shine,\nirrespective if there is ignorance or there is no ignorance. This is like the\nsun which will shine even if it is cloudy, or it is the night. Nothing can stop\nthe sun from shining. Similarly, Self-Awareness will continue to shine if there\nis ignorance or ignorance. <\/li><li>It must be understood that in the presence of\nignorance, there is no effect on Reflected Awareness. Reflected Awareness\nremains pure and unaffected. This does seem counterintuitive.&nbsp; It would be reasonable to assume that\nignorance will rub off some of its ignorance on the reflected Awareness or\nIshvara. Then again, we know Ishvara is pure, limitless and just cannot have\nany ignorance.&nbsp; How to understand this?\nThe classic example given is if you pour water in a red bottle. The water will\nappear to be red. It seems the redness of the bottle has affected the water.\nOur ignorance can lead to this conclusion. If you have proper knowledge you\nwill know that the water in the bottle is always colorless and the red color of\nthe bottle has no effect on the water. It is with this logic, we can understand\nthat Ignorance has no effect on the Reflected Awareness. Reflected Awareness or\nIshvara is pure and limitless. <\/li><li>Ignorance has two sides, an input and output\nside. The Reflected Awareness appears on the input side of ignorance. We will\ndiscuss the output side of ignorance in some other article. &nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>We have seen that Self-Awareness is nondual,\nin which \u2018Self\u2019 is both the subject and object. Unfortunately, because of our\nignorance, we have forgotten that our inner core is nondual, and we are both\nthe subject and the object. Since we no longer know that we are both the\nsubject and the object, it simply means that there is a separation of the\nsubject being \u2018in here\u2019 and the object being \u2018out there\u2019. Ignorance converts\nthe non-duality into the duality of the subject in here and the object out\nthere. Ignorance has that power. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the non-dual Self Awareness, the\npower behind the subject is the Power of the Knower and the power behind of\nobject is the Power of the Known. In non-duality, the subject and object are\nthe same. Therefore, logically the power of the knower is the same as the power\nof known. There are homogenous with no separation. This is what happens in\nnon-dual Self Awareness or Brahman. We have just seen that because of\nignorance, the subject and object separate creating duality. With this\nseparation, even the power of the knower and the power of known get separated.\nThey are no longer one entity, but the power of the knower and the power of the\nknown appear as two separate entities in Reflected Awareness. Even the 3<sup>rd<\/sup>\npower of Knowing is available in the Reflected Awareness. Each of these 3\npowers of Awareness is very much active in Ishvara. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Vedanta teaches us that Maya <em>Shakti<\/em> is the power or force behind\ncreation and intelligence of the universe. As has already become evident in the\nlast few parts of the discussion, that power of known, the power of knowing and\nthe power of known are now available in the Reflected Awareness. These 3 powers\nare nothing, but the Maya Shakti as mentioned in Vedanta. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maya Shakti = Power of Knower + Power\nof Knowing + Power of Known<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This Maya Shakti is within the\nReflected Awareness and Ishvara wields this Maya Shakti to operate and control\nthis universe. Maya Shakti is the quality and attribute of Ishvara. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ishvara = Reflected Awareness + Maya\nShakti.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let us discuss each of the 3 powers of\nIshvara to understand their nature and function. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>1. Power of Knowing or Intelligence<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The knowing or intelligence component\nof Awareness is extremely powerful, in fact language and words may not be\nenough to describe its awesome power. Here are some examples that indicate its\nstrength and power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example 1:<\/strong>\nI am seeing a tree. A more Vedantic way to put it will be \u2018I am the seer seeing\na tree\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a simple experience we have\nevery moment, but it shows the extraordinary power of Awareness. Let us breakup\nthis experience into the different components of Awareness<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ego = I am<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Subject = Seer<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Object = Tree<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Intelligence = Seeing is the power of\nAwareness, which makes it possible for \u2018I\u2019 to know the tree. Without the power\nof Seeing, none of us will see any object. Someone may argue that the eye\nprovides this power. The eye does nothing other than converting the image into\nan optical signal, and bringing the signal to the mind. What is the ability\nthat decodes this optical signal into the understanding that this object is a\ntree? It is power of the Seeing which is within Awareness which allows us to\nknow that there is a tree. This intelligence in Awareness knows that the\noptical signal is a tree. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Awareness = Seer + Seeing + Seen<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example 2:<\/strong>\nYou are reading a book or \u2018You are the reader reading a book\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This power of intelligence is within\nAwareness and is available to everyone. Let us decode the experience of\nreading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ego = You<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Subject = Reader <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Object = Book<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Intelligence = Reading is a power\nwithin Awareness which allows the Subject or Reader to connect with the\ncontents of the book. It is within Awareness because you are aware that you are\nreading &#8211; first, to know the words and sentences, and then to know what is\nbeing read. We are so used to reading that we do not think of this ability as\nanything special. If there was no power of reading within Awareness, there\nwould be no way you could read anything. With this power of \u201creading\u201d we are\naware that we are reading, and this awareness completes the reading experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Awareness = Reader + Reading + Read<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example 3:<\/strong>\nYou are visiting a friend or \u2018You are the visitor visiting a friend\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Subject = Visitor<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Object = Friend<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Intelligence = you are aware that you\nare visiting a friend. This power of knowing that you are visiting is part of\nthe Intelligence within Awareness, and it is also about knowing that this\nperson is a friend. If you did not have this power within you, you will never\nknow this person is your friend, and you have specifically made an effort to\nvisit him.&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Awareness = Visitor + Visiting +\nVisited<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We can continue to give any number of\nexamples to highlight the power of Awareness.&nbsp;\nWe can take any verb in the English language and add the \u2018ing\u2019 to this\nverb. This word when connected with a Subject and Object will have the power of\ncreating a awareful experience within the mind. Some more examples: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Awareness = Eater + Eating + Eaten<br>\nAwareness = Sleeper + Sleeping + Slept<br>\nAwareness = Fighter + Fighting + Fought (an Object)<br>\nAwareness = Player + Playing + Played (an Object)<br>\nAwareness = Learner + Learning + Learned<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The intelligence within Awareness has\nan unlimited range of power, it is impossible to comprehend. We can comprehend\nonly what experiences our mind can handle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Awareness is not limited by the\ncapacity of our mind. It is much more, and this Awareness has an infinite\namount of intelligence, it has the infinite amount of knowledge about\neverything that is possible. What is amazing, this unlimited intelligence, this\npure intelligence, this Awareness is available within everyone\u2019s mind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>2. Power of the Knower or the Subject<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the earlier section, we saw the\npower of knowing, the intelligence of knowing.&nbsp;\nThere must be a Knower to see an object and perceive what it looks\nlike.&nbsp; This is done by the Subject within\nAwareness. The Subject is the Knower of the experience. This Subject is not\nonly the Knower of seeing, but is also the knower of hearing, the knower of\nreading, knower of sleeping, etc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>When it is the knower of seeing, the Subject is a Seer<\/li><li>When it is the knower of hearing, the Subject is a Hearer<\/li><li>When it is the knower of reading, the Subject is a Reader<\/li><li>When it is the knower of running, the Subject is a Runner<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>There is only one Subject, and it is\nthe Knower of so many things. In fact, it is the Knower of everything. All this\nfall within the category of Awareness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our minds are limited and therefore\nthe power and range of the Knower is limited. Awareness is beyond the mind and\nthis Subject within Awareness is Knower of everything that is possible. There\nis nothing that Awareness does not know. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Where ever there is Awareness, there\nmust be a Subject. This Subject is the Knower and this Knower has the power of\nknowing everything that is possible. We should never confuse this Subject with\nEgo. This Subject is part of Awareness and this Subject does NOT have an ego.\nIf I say \u2018I am the Knower\u2019 or \u2018I am the Subject\u2019, the \u2018I am\u2019 is the Ego. The\nKnower and the Subject is not part of the Ego, buts it is part of Awareness. In\nAwareness there is no attachment and no ego, it is simply aware.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>3.Power of Known or Objects<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Object component of Awareness is\nalso extremely powerful, and it can take any form that we experience in the\nmind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you see a round circle, then\nawareness cannot take shape of a square. If it does not, you will never\nexperience the round circle. Awareness must also be a round circle with the\nsame exact dimensions. If you see a tree, then awareness must also take the\nshape of the tree. This tree must be filled up with the Awareness. If the tree\nis half-filled with awareness or the awareness does not have the same shape as\nthe tree, you will not be aware of the tree. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you want to observe any object with\nform, <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The form must be filled in with Awareness and nothing but\n     Awareness. If the form does not have Awareness, then the observer or\n     subject will not be able to experience the object with that form. <\/li><li>The Awareness must take the exact shape of the\n     form.&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Awareness by\nitself is formless, but it has the potential to take any form. If you look into\na powerful microscope, awareness can take the shape of a molecule or if you\nlook at the universe through a telescope, awareness can take shape of the stars\nand galaxies. Big or small, awareness can take the shape of anything. Awareness\nhas the potential to take any form. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Awareness is\nthis powerful force in our mind, which can take up any shape or form. Another\nway to put it:&nbsp; all possible \u2018potential\nforms\u2019 are available within Awareness. They are inherently present in Awareness,\nand they take a required form when you experience that form in your mind. How many\ndifferent \u2018potential forms\u2019 are present in Awareness?&nbsp; Countless, infinite!!&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Ishvara<\/em> or the Reflected Awareness has the\npower of knower, the power of knowing and the power of known. It wields these\npowers to operate and controls the universe out there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Brahman is\nthe self-shinning non dual Self-Awareness. Because of our ignorance, Brahman\ngets reflected in ignorance as Reflected Awareness. This Reflected Awareness is\nIshvara. Maya Shakti is lying dormant in Brahman and because of our ignorance,\nthis Maya Shakti is activated and this shakti is wielded by Ishvara to create, manage\nand control the universe. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Many times, Brahman and Ishvara are used interchangeably. But, are they the same? &nbsp;Yes, the underlying nature of Brahman and Ishvara is the same, but how they function and operate is different. Awareness, the underlying reality of everything in the universe is the common nature between Brahman and Ishvara. The difference between Brahman and Ishvara &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/vedantaandscience.com\/?p=499\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Brahman and Ishvara<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5coVQ-83","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vedantaandscience.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vedantaandscience.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vedantaandscience.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vedantaandscience.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vedantaandscience.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=499"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/vedantaandscience.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/499\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":500,"href":"https:\/\/vedantaandscience.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/499\/revisions\/500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vedantaandscience.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vedantaandscience.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vedantaandscience.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}