Talk:Introduction - Can we describe Bhagavān completely:A Note on the word ‘Brahman’

By Sri Vishal Agarwal

The word Brahman must be distinguished from ‘Brāhmaṇa’ denoting one of the four social classes of peoples (the other three being Kṣatriya, Vaiśya and Śūdra), and ‘Brahmā’, the Creator aspect of Īśvara. The final ‘n’ of Brahman is silent when the word is spoken, and the spelling used here is more of an academic convention in English. The phonetic nature of Indian scripts prevents any confusion between these three words but the phonetics of English (Roman) script are not adequate to depict these three words without creating confusion. Hence this clarification is given here.

All the three words are derived from the same Sanskrit root. The Upaniṣads and Purāṇas define Brahman in the following words –

“It is called the Supreme Brahman (para brahman) because it grows (bṛhati) and causes (the Universe) to grow (bṛhmayati).” — Atharvaśiras Upaniṣad 4

“That which is immense (bṛhatvāt), all pervading (bṛṁhaṇatvāt), the refuge and support of all that exists is called Brahman.” — Liṅga Purāṇa 1.70.16

Radhakrishnan elaborates the etymological meaning of Brahman –

“The word used in the Upaniṣads to indicate the supreme reality is Brahman. It is derived from the root bṛh, ‘to grow, to burst forth.’ The derivation suggests gushing forth, bubbling over, ceaseless growth, bṛhattvam. Śaṅkara derives the word ‘Brahman’ from the root, bṛhati — to exceed, atiśayana — and means by it eternity, purity. For Madhva, Brahman is the person in whom [good] qualities dwell in fullness, bṛhanto hy asmin guṇāḥ. The real is not a pale abstraction, but is quickeningly alive, or powerful vitality.”

Rāmānujācārya also defines Brahman in the following words, emphasizing the Saguṇa aspect:

“The Highest Being Who is the Ruler of all; Whose nature is the opposite of all evil; Whose purposes come true; Who possesses infinite number of auspicious qualities like knowledge, blessedness and so on; Who is All-Knowing, Almighty, supremely Merciful; from Whom the creation, subsistence, and dissolution of this universe result – He is Brahman (The Supreme Bhagavān).”

— Śrī Rāmānujācārya (1017–1137 CE) in Śrībhāṣya 1.1.2

As we shall see later, the two different definitions of Brahman (Śaṅkarācārya vs. Rāmānuja/Madhva) result from the different philosophies that these three Ācāryas of Vedānta espoused.

In this document, we will avoid using the word ‘God’ and will use the word Brahman unless other words including Bhagavān fit the context better.