MYSTERY MESMERISM &

DIABLERIE

not here not home after three a m not like him at all to disappear like that not like zim the
stiffs asking for him tonight maybe they found him not good zimboy trouble following
you bro were looking for zim mask they said thought at first they were some goons to
evict us need to see zim right away they said we wouldnt be here at this hour knocking on
you fekking door if it werent an emergency situation you might say they said is zim in
some kind of trouble I said and they said no were just some people who care about him
and who are you I said none of your fucking beeswax fatboy they said just like that so no
doubt zim aint home for reasons related shouldnt have let truman sleep in zims bed but
godley wouldnt move from the couch covered with dried saliva skin flakes truman
wouldnt sleep there wanted to get back up now three a m to go see the barmaid at close
told him no fucking luck not with that floozy knowing she was zims gal but couldnt tell
truman that dont know why I couldnt just let it sort itself out let its own pattern emerge

no need to author the future not sure what zim sees in that cooch a can pair of gams I
guess truman says his step father smacked him trubes then said he snapped and hit the old
man back tagged him in the puss knocked him down I said way to go truby but truby said
no it was awful man the old man just sat there and started to cry it was worse he said than
the asshole getting up and knocking the shit out of him seeing a grown man cry real ugly
man never want to watch a grown man cry they dont know how its real ugly and stuff
did your mom ever hit you truman asked and I said nothing cuz I couldnt remember I
remember how she once came home and told me shed be dead if it werent for me she had
a bag of kentucky fried chicken in one hand and a black dress in the other I remember cuz
she put the dress down then put the chicken bag down and the grease straight away
soaked on to the dress like she didnt care eat this she said and I did and then I asked her
what do you mean youd be dead and she said never mind and then later I asked her again
and again she said never mind and then finally late at night I walked into her room and
asked her again and she said from the quiet dark of night she said I didnt mean what you
think she said I just meant that without you I would have probably ended things long ago
but with you I cant see myself ever doing that because what would you do without me
she said and what would I do without you and so you are my blessing she said as you are
my curse she said and so when truman asked me I thought that this was kind of like
getting smacked but not a story I could tell him and so when he asked me I just said
nothing and he said youre lucky man cuz nothing hurts worse even if it dont hurt and so
we got stoned and listened to some grinderman and then the goons showed up at the door
asking for zim didnt come in cuz of godley who was begging to get at those arseholes
should have let her unless they had hardware and then what truman all he could talk

about was the biddy behind the bar he was in love he said intoxicated with love he said
and I said yea youre bloody cockeyed bro fucking lit up like a christmas tree im going
back at close he said at 3 a m he said I said let it go man you aint in for no cooch I told
him you will fuck it up going over there all fucked up that place was a bally full of
kinkers man knowing full well zim was probably there and that would be a problem but I
couldnt tell him that lets just listen to some tunes man I said what he said your fucking
grinderman he said Im sick of grinderfuckingman and with that he went off into zims
room and I should have stopped him but I didnt dont know what zim sees in that
barmaid really but its like he found something he has missed for a long time thats what it
seems to me the way some things happen they surprise you never expected them to have
any meaning at all and then there they are all full of meaning and shit some songs like
that some thoughts like that too heres the site selling jimis dick zim was right plaster cast
how in the fuck the godfather of whopper it says kinda gnarly it says doesnt even look
like bull less than six inches nah cant be my dad sorry jimi just rumor should have stayed
at work and made a few extra bucks spent all of zims jack the jack for the landlord going
to get killed for that no rent now slow tonight at robertos and all lit up myself still cant
believe someone fucking shot at bobbie some cholos in the car behind zim guy unzipped
his pecker for me still I took their orders went to the back said to bobby some dudes
looking for trouble bobbie said let me deal with it bobbie went to the window next thing I
know bam gun goes off saw the bullet zip through the kitchen thought it was a moth or a
bird or something the shit falling bobbie slipped on the grease and screamed fuck get
down as the cholos drove off laughing and stuff cant believe it missed bobbie missed
everyone real bullet though holes still there both walls bobbie looked all shook up mouth

quivering eyes about to pop out me and doug the fry cook actually started laughing when
bobbie left think we were nervous but watching him fall was funny i took the opp to get
out when bobbie asked for a volunteer to leave early they are never sorry to see me go
there let the fat albino go he makes people sick just to look at him bet they say pillsbury
doughboy whiteape I heard one girl say not to me but to someone else whitegorilla
maybe she said why not what else would they call me creampuff bleachblob albinowino
babyhuey cowpunk is what marchese used to call me at school until the day he was killed
in his corvette driving the wrong side of the freeway never found all of him hit a truck
head on chunks of marchese up beneath the wheels once he was gone the others pretty
much left me alone sometimes wondered if they thought I did it the power in me never
heard a word not a cowpunk after that someone started a rumor my dad was jimi hendrix
and so with that came my celebrity status so to speak for a while anyway jimi sex video
out now only zim knows jimi made a thing about it Truman asking me fuck you zim
probably should watch it look for a familiar face wouldnt that be something holy fuck
hey joe going to get a gun and shoot my old lady down wonder what its like to kill
someone cant imagine seems easy in games but in real life not sure with a gun maybe
distance would help knife more difficult feel it on the skin bet its harder than it seems
never cut deep enough cut deep and hit the bones and tendons creepy feel to that I bet
forget scragging or doing it with a tire iron couldnt do it dont see how they do it to those
muchachas how they did it to that pig but what if I could will it like thinking something
to happen send someones car into the other lane would I do it dont think so other people
innocents would get killed too karma need to believe in coincidence let the contingent
rule faith in the stochastic look to take control and we would lose the miracles that would

never be revealed the chance happenstance could not look to songs to see the parallels
grinderman showing me the way like a bible don't the stars look good tonight in the pale
moonlight dont the moon look big and bright in the pale moonlight

the goons looking for zim

looked serious after him I bet for stealing from the paper taking from the geriatric
denizens all a game for zim something he started couldnt stop the guy killing the women
in town how do I know its a guy could be a woman but women never do these kinds of
things not against other women men woman would never kill a fucking pig with a
chainsaw no fucking way why did zim show me that only a muc would do that kill things
and kill other men what we men are supposed to do I guess army guys being told it is ok
to cry but like truman said cant do what you never learned how to do so that is fucking
them up more than sending them out with gun and bayonet stick with the story that we
are beasts kill or be killed we are killing animals not human beings we are the only true
gift of god that way they wouldnt be so fucked up instead we coddle them give them
drugs give them disorders that need to be treated fucks them up for life treatment worse
than the disease being human is the disease but no woman would kill those girls guys got
it in them though guys do the sickest shit why says something right there not sure we
need to worry about the everyday events all a blur at another perspective all the shit and
the killing and the goons and the money and the moms and dads all a swirl from another
vantage point a larger pattern emerging will always be a fringe always be the chaos at the
edge not everyone will accept the truth never get total acceptance the way it always is
human dissention I knew zim would be leaving only a matter of time it was going to get
kicked out anyway ask mom for the jack she said never to ask her again what do they do
send a police escort give you time to move things maybe keep it all for payment need to

get my computer out songs couldnt lose them if anything what about godley cant take her
she is going to kill someone me I suppose someday only a matter of time kill me by the
throat never get a word out for help one elp maybe that would be it can see in her her
killing clock ticking where do I go cant go back to moms though she would never say no
more than a few times but then shell be harping on me to get a real job to do this that of
course shes right but I couldnt bear hearing it what am I going to do funny never seem to
worry about it know I should but just cant think about it for long need to keep developing
that is where it all comes from getting deeper and deeper just beginning to see things for
what they are dont understand why people are mean to each other tonight at the drive thru
the guy pulled out his wanker at me another guy a gun just for laughs stupid fucks the
way the curs spoke at the door looking for zim still got the shivers feeling weak about it
need some gage to take it away nick baby dig lazarus dig all my life putting up with the
same shit every day comes a day when no shit happens and it seems weird wrong world
out there doesnt matter anymore though no there no here here is where ever we decide it
to be as is there music the link the bridge between inner and outer the cloud the
consciousness of the future only steps away I think the neural clouds in the brain
arranged to mimic the chords and notes and patterns of music the universal language the
one thing we share with ourselves and the world language is not so complex zim thinks I
am addicted to porn not true only need it at times to finish things off no sodomy no
lebotomy porn is the force behind computing today money to create the apps and saw no
porn no google its just the mud we have to step through to get to the real place when you
are building there is always a mess at first porn got us here but now it is a useless mess
garbage really so moms yesterday occupation stories she was thin and beautiful a real

porn star found video covers in her closet one day when she discovered that I had seen
them she went berserk for days she tore down everything in the house the window shades
off the windows the shelves off the wall threw everything out of the cabinets off the
counters everything I left for a few days came back and it was all back together again and
she never said a word about it mom is as fat as a cow now ass like an ottoman thighs like
palm trees cellulite like gravel bags arms sagged and sagging black mask on her face
nothing pretty about her yet somehow bull was born bull was created bull was incarnated
beneath the lights one day with who knows who with who knows what with a bull
perhaps Cleopatra perhaps a dozen guys joined together to create the bull maybe thats
possible gave me a bullspecker thats all I got and whiter than yellowman whiter than
jacko way whiter than keita some killed in mali for being white called peeled potato
monkey ghost fathers leave the mothers mothers dont give milk babies left in cow
pastures at night to be trampled or accepted some sacrificed cut up sold for parts as
witchcraft in some places all I got is a masacote make some money off that mom would
freak out for sure wouldnt want to see her go berserk zim said he liked my idea for cloud
computing first time heard him say he liked something know its the way of the future
how to go about it patent would be wrong just need to develop a trojan to carry it out start
it off like napster but this time no one could stop it throw up firewalls and shit but there
are too many portals out there now too many machines no way to stop it only need a
fraction of them to work pure democracy of information the final freedom the final stage
of knowledge and then we shall all be released from this boring solipsism what did the
one solipsist say to the other what are you doing here rich or poor wont matter anymore
complete the fusion between music and brain between thought and world zim doesnt buy

it of course too cynical dismisses anything that smacks of truth as being too authoritarian
always need to challenge everything that is his role tried to tell him the other day that the
world has always been the same what is different is our approach there have always been
clouds and trees the rivers and the snowflakes but we could never understand them the
world is a messy place yet we always sought approximations as a way to gloss over the
rough edges but now we can marvel in the messiness and begin to understand it zim calls
it finding a new ghost in the machine patterns underlying chaos why not go back to the
bible he said to me I told him our minds have changed finally we can see a change in our
minds when we stop killing each other I will accept a minor change he said and of course
he was right but of course he was wrong what does he know I think for him prejudice is a
result of what happens to others has never experienced anything except what he has
brought on himself never been hit never felt the blow and felt stunned you got hit from
something you have no control over whatsoever life for him is a tourist vacation and yet
he is the one who has two goons chasing him tonight music theory resonance between the
world and the mind the patterns in music the patterns in the mind a link between matter
and substance mind and matter brain and mind if only I could make him see he will
someday stuck on jimmie right now must be something with his own pappie cant see why
your spend so much time on some old fart a hundred years deadold my dad was a porn
stud his is a scally bum must be tough to know the face of the one who failed you where
do old porn stars go mom a nurse dad maybe a car salesman grocery clerk no postal
worker government jobs whats his resume lasting wood and strong tongue cuntpirate
pussyeater cummachine arseholereamer mostbangforthemoney no lobotomy yes sodomy
maybe still a movie star guys last longer bellies no matter wonder if perspective changes

for them porn films become life for them what happens when the cameras stop mine
probably dead now aids syphilis smack or something zims dad still always around a
shadow you think you see a face in an alley zim on the street all day gotta wonder if he
runs into him maybe took the paperboy job to be out there keeping an eye on his pappie
got a feeling zim is gone for good could sense it earlier a vibe the way he was nice to me
ignoring me at the same time kept trying to piss him off but he never took but not without
godley no he wouldnt leave her never so he will be back cant imagine knocking on doors
all day long asking for payments could never do that people avoiding you telling you to
fuck off all the shit you must walk in on people fighting drunks people fucking who
knows zim says it works for him going to write a book about it I asked him maybe he
said what you going to call it dont know he said how about no one fucks the paperboy I
suggested why that he said cuz its true I said how would you know he said so you have
been fucked I said wouldnt tell you zim said then its a good title I said hes always got his
bloody nose in a book told him you dont need to read anymore its all out there on the web
like voting we vote but we really dont have to our single vote wont make any difference
your single idea aint going to make any difference its all been said and done and its all
posted on the web sometimes he looks at me as if Im a real loser you dont need to know
the notes to beethovens symphony to know the symphony I said and so the same with all
knowledge but now all knowledge is like music it is all out there not just in the minds of
a few people it is all there right at each of our fingertips part of the world what need is
there for books all the info is out there at your fingertips changes made refreshed no need
for permanency for libros and libraries text is transient not something to be worshipped
entombed as we do history the same no history no more permanent no more real than the

text that conveys it and so it to evaporates yet some piece of it is always there but where
is there and where is here fact is no text no here no there no there there and it will only
get better more ubiquitous more ethereal I said to zim trying to find words I knew would
piss him off somethings are just right some things just the way they are no sodomy no
lobotomy he said if I spent as much time and energy doing stuff as I did defending the
fact that I did nothing id be something he hates truman though not sure why doesnt get
truman I guess truman is a buckaroo alright but truman knows hes fucked up knows hes a
dick most of the time the guy has some fuse ticking in him but hes as sweet as they come
when it all comes down to it what zim doesnt know is trubys a bujarron cruises for chics
at night then hangs with guys down at the pts near the beach on sunday mornings going
to get a nail I told him likes the older guys limo drivers guys picking up their wives and
kids at the airport says hes not a cabron he said hes got a talent guy should be an engineer
can build anything in his mind stuck building pipes for the city sewer man date killer that
so what do you do I yank human shit and dead animals from your pipes hes been doing it
so long will never leave got tickets to nick cave in dublin nick wont come to the states so
gotta go there truman wont commit sure my dad was an irish freak dont know why can
feel it what happened when those gametes came together to make me must have been
some kind of explosion to create this had to have been a irish fuckstar with a donkey
weeney plugging my mum which way I wonder heels over head round back upside down
go mum go as grinderman says go baby go seems like the guys got the tougher job gotta
keep the wood up stiff and hard all that time jism on cue only got one chance money shot
got viagra now so I bet that helps girl can just lube it up and pretend who gets paid more
girl I bet guys do it for free at least a few times until it become work guys always ugly

10

anyway must mean they aint hired picked off the street next step it seems after cloud
computing is it has got to be over fucking and sperm altogether what if you got ideas and
information on its own filling the universe why put some fucked up humanoids in the
way to fuck everything up so why do we give a fuck huh never could really figure that
out why give a shit in the first place grinderman is bad waits is cool but orbison is the
beast last halloween zim said I looked like roy with plastic surgery musics the key though
can play a tune in my head and think about this play a tune in my head and think about
this and read this all same time can play a tune in my head and think about this and read
this and think about thinking about this and think about reading this and think about
hearing tune in my head cant play two tunes in my head though what does that mean bet
jimi could difference between him and bull that and my whopper chopper zim always
says that but he cares more than anyone tearing himself apart with it all youd think the
world depended on him for something keep trying to tell him its already all figured out
you aint figuring it out you are simply coming up with a new way to describe whats
already there your brain is just catching up with the world the most complex systems
have simple patterns most simple systems have complex patterns my patterns for song
recombination only one example I said and my virtual cloud computing will be an even
better example I said and we are just beginning to describe the world the way we see it
and nothing is more beautiful than that but zim says the greater our excitement the more
convincing our ideas are fleeting only problem he says is we will use our excitement and
belief we are right to do something wicked i told zim you aint going to help or change the
world no how and hed look at me like im some ass some dumbfuck my mom said once if
I could find a way to do something i might actually end up becoming something great

11

shes a nurse now when I visit the old men tell me how much they love her see they found
people who walk on all fours in kazakhstan say its genetic evolutionary reversal dont
walk like apes though walk like retards trying to walk on their hands and feet one guy
kinda fast cant keep their heads up either say that is a human trait as well all tied to one
gene reminds me of grinderman song he crawled out of the ooze he defied evolution he had
green flippers and sang the blues he caused a revolution

if women walked around with their

cans up in the air like that theyd get fucked all the time and why do men like butt fucking
when women got a cunt zim says all men are gay thats why something about the prostate
zim said pubic hair never grays zim could have been a doctor me i wouldnt want to be a
woman not with the whistles and catcalls all day barks and yowls if you are ugly cant win
either way life like a ballyhoo but I like zims idea about mans evolution aquatic apes
came from the rivers like the elephants that came from the manatee and we came from
the waters too makes my fishdogs warm that theory does see they moved the pandas out
of chengdu care more about animals than people I think during the fires here more calls
to fire department for animals than people or houses wonder why animals helpless and
we kill people all the time we like ourselves less than critters animal content on the
internet second only to porn nothing else comes close let the tribes in africa starve so
chimps can live see new proof that aliens exist little twerps always look the same people
always waiting for them to come and teach us something how not to destroy our planet
ever think they are here cuz they destroyed theirs but we know we dont got the answers
might as well bet on some green men to help us send them music to communicate used to
be mozart now they are sending u2 songs must think aliens are dumber than we thought
but I bet I belong in ireland bet I would find a good life there maybe a new start if zim

12

gone and the apt is history maybe now is the time to go no jack though could get a new
job set a goal make a plan six weeks until the concert need what a few thousand on top of
airfare to live for while say three thousand total thats five hundred a week on top of what
I need to live here say I stay at moms eat her food work forty hours a week could do it
why didnt I think of this earlier needed to have the impetus of homelessness needed zims
goons banging on the door needed the threat of ruination in order to make a move going
to get old some day cant always live this way I guess thats why its time to move on
truman would freak hes an el cajon boy for life would never leave hope he comes for the
concert though it will be good to say goodbye to someone before saying goodbye wild
thing is zim would probably go loves that shit and zim and me are kind of a community
in a way the only community we got anyway family in a way thats what I think fuck me
of course hed go he could walk the bloomsday streets holy shit what an idea what a great
fekking idea of course hed go smelling the smells jimmie smelled walking the streets
fingering the brick or some irish lass godleys here so he will be back just got to wait
truman wont care truman didnt really want to go wont leave el cajon but zim bet zim is
ready to go maybe he will pay for the tickets doubt it never know why would he for
christs sake he just might go on a spree rake in a few thousand off the route then blast off
to Dublin when he sees what a mess we got here he just might of course he will fuck yea
we live on joyce street for christs sake but you lived here first zim said true but we live
here now just you and me zimski come home zim we gotta do it just you and I we gotta
plan

13

[his speech falls into trance like pattersn speaking in tongues, mesmerized and
hypnotized by the fractal patters he is watching] Hinduism Maya Brahman
music he is listening to

Brahman (brhman-, nominative brhma ) is a concept of Hinduism. Brahman

is the unchanging, infinite, immanent, and transcendent reality which is the Divine
Ground of all matter, energy, time, space, being, and everything beyond in this Universe.
[1]
The nature of Brahman is described as transpersonal, personal and impersonal by
different philosophical schools. In the Rig Veda, Brahman gives rise to the primordial
being Hiranyagarbha that is equated with the creator God Brahm. The trimurti can thus
be considered a personification of Hiranyagarbha as the active principle behind the
phenomena of the universe. The seers who inspired the composition of the Upanisads
asserted that the liberated soul (jivanmukta) has realized his identity with Brahman as his
true self (see Atman (Hinduism)).
The word "Brahman" is derived from the verb brh (Sanskrit:to grow), and connotes
greatness. The Mundaka Upanishad says:
Om- That supreme Brahman is infinite, and this conditioned Brahman is infinite. The infinite
proceeds from infinite. Then through knowledge, realizing the infinitude of the infinite, it remains
as infinite alone.

Note that "Brahman" is different from "Brahmin", the priests/holy men. In fact
"Brahmin" is derived from "Brahman" in the sense that a 'Brahmin is the one who knows
Brahman'. The confusion between the terms can be dated back to the translation of the
Upanishads into modern English.

14

Contents
[hide]

1 Conceptualization
2 Etymology
3 Semantics and pronunciation
4 Brahman and Atman
5 Enlightenment and Brahman
o 5.1 Advaita Vedanta
o 5.2 VisishtAdvaita Vedanta
o 5.3 Dvaita Vedanta
o 5.4 Modern Evolutionary View
6 See also
7 Notes and references

8 External links

[edit] Conceptualization
Brahman is the Absolute Reality or universal substrate (not to be confused with the
Creator god Brahm) is said to be eternal, genderless, omnipotent, omniscient,
omnipresent, and ultimately indescribable in human language. The sage-seers of the
Upanishads had fully realised Brahman as the reality behind their own being and of
everything else in this universe. They were thus Brahmins in the true sense of the word.
These rishis described Brahman as infinite Being, infinite Consciousness and infinite
Bliss (satcitananda). Brahman is regarded as the source and essence of the material
universe. In its purest reality it is unmanifest (Nirguna Brahman) and thus beyond being
and non-being. The Rig Veda records that in its initial manifestation (Saguna Brahman)
as pure primordial Being Brahman is Hiranyagarbha (lit. golden womb), a fertile substrate
(which Radhakrishnan calls the 'world-soul') out of which all worlds, organisms and even
Gods and other divine beings (devas) arise:
"Great indeed are the devas who have sprung out of Brahman." Atharva Veda

Para Brahman corresponds to the concept of Godhead and Saguna Brahman to God as the
Primordial Being.[2]
It is said that Brahman cannot be known by material means, that we cannot be made
conscious of it, because Brahman is our very consciousness. Brahman is also not
restricted to the usual dimensional perspectives of being, and thus enlightenment,
moksha, yoga, samadhi, nirvana, etc. do not merely mean to know Brahman, but to
realise one's 'brahman-hood', to actually realise that one is and always was of Brahman
nature (cf. the Mahayana concept of Buddha Nature). Indeed, closely related to the Self
concept of Brahman is the idea that it is synonymous with jiva-atma, or individual souls,
our atman (or soul) being readily identifiable with the greater soul (paramatma) of
Brahman.
15

Generally, Vedanta rejects the notion of an evolving Brahman since Brahman contains
within it the potentiality and archetypes behind all possible manifest phenomenal forms.
The Vedas, though they are in some respects historically conditioned are considered by
Hindus to convey a knowledge[3] eternal, timeless and always contemporaneous with
Brahman. This knowledge is considered to have been handed down by realised yogins to
students many generations before the vedas were committed to writing. Written texts of
the Vedas are a relatively recent phenomenon.
Connected with the ritual of pre-Vedantic Hinduism, Brahman signified the power to
grow, the expansive and self-altering process of ritual and sacrifice, often visually
realised in the sputtering of flames as they received the all important ghee (clarified
butter) and rose in concert with the mantras of the Vedas. Brahmin came to refer to the
highest of the four castes, the Brahmins, who by virtue of their purity and priesthood are
held to have such powers.
Among Hindu sects, Advaita Vedanta is the first instance of monism in organized religion
and Hinduism is the only religion with this concept. To call this concept 'God' could be
imprecise. The closest interpretation of the term can be found in the Taittariya Upanishad
(II.1) where Brahman is described in the following manner: satyam jnanam anantam
brahman - "Brahman is of the nature of truth, knowledge and infinity". Thus, Brahman
is the origin and end of all things, material or otherwise. Brahman is the root source and
Divine Ground of everything that exists, and does not exist in Hinduism. It is defined as
unknowable and Satchitananda (Truth-Consciousness-Bliss). Since it is eternal and
infinite, it comprises the only truth. The goal of Hinduism, through the various yogas, is
to realize that the soul (Atman) is actually nothing but Brahman. The Hindu pantheon of
gods is said, in the Vedas and Upanishads, to be only higher manifestations of Brahman.
For this reason, "ekam sat" (Truth is one), and all is Brahman. This explains the Hindu
view that "All paths lead to the one Truth, though many sages [and religions] call upon it
by different names."
Several mah-vkyas, or great sayings, indicate what the principle of Brahman is:
prajnnam brahma[4]
ayam tm brahma[5]
aham brahmsmi[6]
tat tvam asi[7]
sarvam khalv idam brahma[8]
sachchidnanda brahma[9][10]

"Brahman is knowledge"
"The Self (or the Soul) is Brahman "
"I am Brahman"
"Thou are that"
"All this that we see in the world is Brahman",
"Brahman is existence, consciousness, and bliss".

Another way to describe Brahman, as mentioned in the Brihadaranyaka Upanisad, is to

say, "Brahman is not this.. Brahman is not that.." Until everything in the infinite universe
has been eliminated and only Brahman remains -- implying that indeed Brahman in
infinite set universes is like the empty set. Thus all and none in one that is not but still is
everywhere and nowhere in particular.

16

[edit] Etymology
Sanskrit brhman (an n-stem, nominative brhm) is from a root bh " to swell,
grow, enlarge". brahmn is a masculine derivation of brhman, denoting a person
associated with brhman. The further origin of bh is unclear. According to Pokorny's
IE Etymological Lexicon IE root bhreu-, bhreu-d- denotes to swell, sprout (cf Slovenian
brsteti - to sprout.)Bragi. Some, including Georges Dumzil, have said that the Latin
word flmen "priest" may also be cognate.[citation needed]

[edit] Semantics and pronunciation

Here the underlined vowels carry the Vedic Sanskrit udtta pitch accent. It is
usual to use an acute accent symbol for this purpose.
In Vedic Sanskrit:

brahma () (nominative singular), brahman () (stem)(neuter[11] gender)

means "growth", "development", "expansion", "swelling"; also the Great Cosmic
Spirit.
brahmnda () (nominative singular), from stems brha (to expand) + anda
(egg), means universe as an expansion of a cosmic egg (Hiranyagarbha), or the
macrocosm. Brahmanda Purana discusses cosmogenesis. Srimad Bhagavatam
also discusses cosmic manifestation and fundamental principles of material nature
in detail.[12]
brahma () (nominative singular), brahman () (stem)(neuter[11] gender)
means "growth", "development", "expansion", "swelling"; also the Great Cosmic
Spirit.
brahm (nom.sg.), brahman (stem) (masculine gender) means "priest" (compare
Latin flamen = "priest"). But in this sense, the neuter form's plural Brahmi was
also used. See Vedic priest.

In later Sanskrit usage:

brahma (nominative singular), brahman (stem) (neuter[11] gender) means the

concept of the transcendent and immanent ultimate reality of the One Godhead or
Supreme Cosmic Spirit in Hinduism; the concept is central to Hindu philosophy,
especially Vedanta; this is discussed below. Also note that the word Brahman in
this sense is exceptionally treated as masculine (see the Merrill-Webster Sanskrit
Dictionary). It is called "the Brahman" in English.
Brahm () (nom.sg.), Brahman () (stem) (masculine gender), means
the deity or deva Prajpati Brahm. He is one of the members of the Hindu trinity
and associated with creation, but does not have a cult in present day India. This is
because Brahm, the creator-god, is long-lived but not eternal i.e. Brahm gets
absorbed back into Purusha at the end of an aeon, and is born again at the
beginning of a new kalpa.

One must not confuse these with:

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A brhmaa (, masc., pronounced as /br:h m / - the N being

retroflex), (which literally means "pertaining to prayer") is a prose commentary
on the Vedic mantrasan integral part of the Vedic literature.
A brhmaa (masc., same pronunciation as above), is a member of the Hindu
priestly caste; in this usage the word is usually rendered in English as "Brahmin".
This usage is also found in the Atharva Veda.
Ishvara, (lit., Supreme Lord), in Advaita, is identified as a partial worldly
manifestation (with limited attributes) of the ultimate reality, the attributeless
Brahman. In VishistAdvaita and Dvaita, however, Ishvara (the Supreme
Controller) has infinite attributes and the source of the impersonal Brahman.
Devas, the celestial beings of Hinduism, which may be regarded as deities, demigods, spirits or angels. In Vedic Hinduism, there were 33 devas, which later
became exaggerated to 330 million devas. In fact, devas are themselves regarded
as more mundane manifestations of the One and the Supreme Brahman (See Para
Brahman). The Sanskrit word for "ten million" also means group, and 330 million
devas originally meant 33 types of divine manifestations.

Brahm is sometimes found as a variant form of Brahma or Brahman. Also note that a
distinct term Para Brahman is generally used to indicate the higher Supreme Brahman.
In Hindi, one might find Brahma as being pronounced as /brm h/, and consequently
BrhmaNa as /br:m hN/.

[edit] Brahman and Atman

Philosopher mystics of the Upanishads identify the micro-soul-spark, Atman, the inner
essence of the human being, with Brahman, the Great Spirit. While Advaita philosophy
considers Brahman to be without form, qualities, or attributes, VishishtAdvaita and
Dvaita philosophies understand Brahman as one with infinite auspicious qualities. In
Advaita, the ultimate reality is expressed as Nirguna Brahman. Nirguna means formless,
attributeless, mega-soul, or spirit-only. Advaita considers all personal forms of God
including Vishnu and Shiva as different aspects of God in personal form, Saguna
Brahman i.e. God with attributes. In VishishtAdvaita and Dvaita, God is Saguna Brahman
with infinite attributes and is the source of the formless, attributeless, impersonal Nirguna
Brahman. In Vaishnavism, God's energy is personified as Devi, the Divine Mother. For
Vaishnavites who follow Ramunjacharaya's philosophy, Devi is Lakshmi, who is the
Mother of all. For Gaudiya Vaishnavas, She is Radha. For Shaivites, Devi is Parvati. For
Viswakarmas, Devi is Gayatri or Vac or Saraswati. For Shaktas, who worship Durga or
Kali, Devi is the personal form of God.
The phrase that is seen to be the only possible (and still thoroughly inadequate)
description of Brahman that humans, with limited minds and being, can entertain is the
Sanskrit word Sacchidnanda, which is combined from sat-chit-nanda, meaning "Being
- Consciousness - Bliss".
The description of Brahman from Mandukya Upanishad:

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sarvam hyetad brahmyamtm brahma soyamtm chatushpt - Mandukya Upanishad, verse-2

Translation:-

sarvam () - whole/all/everything; hi ()- really/surely/indeed; etad ()- this here/this;

brahma ()- Brahma/Brahman; ayam ()- this/here; tm()- atma/atman; sah()he; ayam ()- this/here; chatus( )- four/quadruple; pt()- step/foot/quarter

With the sandhi expanded:-

sarvam hi etad brahma ayam tm brahm sah ayam tm chatus paat

Simple meaning:-

All indeed is this Brahman; He is Atman; He has four steps/quarters.

[edit] Enlightenment and Brahman

While Brahman lies behind the sum total of the objective universe, some human minds
boggle at any attempt to explain it with only the tools provided by reason. Brahman is
beyond the senses, beyond the mind, beyond intelligence, beyond imagination. Indeed,
the highest idea is that Brahman is beyond both existence and non-existence,
transcending and including time, causation and space, and thus can never be known in the
same material sense as one traditionally 'understands' a given concept or object.
Imagine a person who is blind from birth and has not seen anything. Is it possible for us
to explain to him what light is like? Is any amount of thinking or reasoning on his part
ever going to make him understand the sensation of light? In a similar fashion the idea of
Brahman cannot be explained or understood through material reasoning or any form of
human communication. Brahman is like light; those who can sense it cannot explain or
argue with those who have never sensed it.

[edit] Advaita Vedanta

The universe does not simply possess consciousness, it is consciousness, and this
consciousness is Brahman. Human consciousness has forgotten its identity, that of
Brahman, as if a drop of water from a vast ocean thought itself separate, and that the only
path to merge back into that Brahman or supreme consciousness is through the paths of
devotion, moral living, following the eight-fold path of Ashtanga Yoga meditation, often
expressed in various systems of spiritual practices known as yogas.
If one seeks Brahman via true knowledge, Atman seeks truth and accepts it no matter
what it is. Atman accepts all truths of the self/ego, and thus is able to accept the fact that
it is not separate from its surroundings. Then Atman is permanently absorbed into
Brahman and become one and the same with it. This is how one forever escapes rebirth.
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In Advaita Vedanta (absolute monism), Brahman is without attributes and strictly

impersonal. It can be best described as infinite Being, infinite Consciousness, and infinite
Bliss. It is pure knowledge itself, similar to a source of infinite radiance. Since the
Advaitins regard Brahman to be the Ultimate Truth, so in comparison to Brahman, every
other thing, including the material world, its distinctness, the individuality of the living
creatures and even Ishvara (the Supreme Lord) itself are all untrue. Brahman is the
effulgent cause of everything that exists and can possibly exist. Since it is beyond human
comprehension, it is without any attributes, for assigning attributes to it would be
distorting the true nature of Brahman. Advaitins believe in the existence of both Saguna
Brahman and Nirguna Brahman, however they consider Nirguna Brahman to be the
Absolute Truth.
When man tries to know the attributeless Brahman with his mind, under the influence of
an illusionary power of Brahman called Maya, Brahman becomes God (Ishvara). God is
the reflection of the Brahman in the environment of illusion (Maya). Just like reflection
of moon, in a pool of water. The material world also appears as such due to Maya. God is
Saguna Brahman, or Brahman with attributes. He is omniscient, omnipresent,
incorporeal, independent, Creator of the world, its ruler and also destroyer. He is eternal
and unchangeable. He is both immanent and transcedent, as well as full of love and
justice. He may be even regarded to have a personality. He is the subject of worship. He
is the basis of morality and giver of the fruits of one's Karma. He rules the world with his
Maya. However, while God is the Lord of Maya and she (i.e. Maya) is always under his
control, living beings (jva, in the sense of humans) are the servants of Maya (in the form
of ignorance). This ignorance is the cause of all material experiences in the mortal world.
While God is Infinite Bliss, humans, under the influence of Maya consider themselves
limited by the body and the material, observable world. This misperception of Brahman
as the observed Universe results in human emotions such as happiness, sadness, anger
and fear. The ultimate reality remains Brahman and nothing else. The Advaita equation is
simple. It is due to Maya that the one single Atman (the individual soul) appears to the
people as many Atmans, each in a single body. Once the curtain of maya is lifted, the
Atman is exactly equal to Brahman. Thus, due to true knowledge, an individual loses the
sense of ego (Ahamkara) and achieves liberation, or Moksha.
Relevant verses from Bhagavad-Gita which establish the Advaita position:
The indestructible, transcendental living entity is called Brahman, and its eternal nature
is called adhyatma, the self. (Bhagavad Gita 8.3)
Similar to a person who is not attached to external pleasures but enjoys happiness in the
Atman (soul), the person who perceives Brahman (all-pervading consciousness) in
everybody feels everlasting joy. (Bhagavad Gita 5.21)

[edit] VisishtAdvaita Vedanta

Brahman of VisishtAdvaita is synonymous with Narayana, who is the transcendent and
immanent reality. Brahman or Narayana is Saguna Brahman with infinite auspicious

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qualities, and not the Advaita concept of attributeless Nirguna Brahman. "Sarvam
khalvidam brahma, tajjalaniti santa upasita": According to Ramanuja, considering the
appearance of the word "tajjalan iti" (Roots: tat + ja = born + la = dissolved), this
statement from the Chandogya Upanishad does not simply mean that the universe is
Brahman, but that it is pervaded by, born from and dissolves into Brahman. An analogy:
fish is born in water, lives in water, and is ultimately dissolved into water; yet the fish is
not water.
The concept of Brahman in VisishtAdvaita is explained as an inseparable triad of
Ishwara-Chit-Achit. Ishvara, the Supreme Self (Paramatman) is the indwelling spirit
(Antaryami) in all. Both the Chit (sentient) and Achit (insentient) entities are pervaded
and permeated by Ishvara. Brahman is the material and efficient cause of the universe.
The concept of Brahman in VisishtAdvaita can be seen as a hybrid of Advaita and Dvaita
positions. Like all other Vaishnava schools of thought, VisishtAdvaita is also
panentheistic unlike the pantheism of Advaita. It also proposes a qualified substantial
monism approach as opposed to the absolute monism of Advaita.
Brahman is, Antaryami, the real self of all beings. Everything other than Brahman form
the Sarira (body) of Brahman. The inseparable relation between the body and the soul is
similar to that of substance and attribute which are inseparable. So Brahman is the prakari
and the universe is the prakara, mode of Brahman. Hence anything that describes a
sentient or insentient being has its connotation only with Brahman, the real and ultimate
self. The relationship between Ishvara-Chit-Achit can be further understood as follows:
1. The Sarira-Sariri Concept
The key concept of VisishtAdvaita is the Sarira-Sariri Bhaava, the body-soul relationship
between the universe and Ishvara. There are three realities, namely, Ishvara (the Lord),
Jiva (individual souls), and Jagat (insentient matter). They are not separate entities but
together they form an organic whole. This is similar to the concept of body-soul
relationship, but on a cosmic scale. Thus, Ishvara has the Chit (sentient) and Achit
(insentient) entities for His body and being the Supreme Self, exercises complete control
over it.
2. Substance-Attribute Concept
In VisishtAdvaita, Ishvara is the original substance, of which Jiva and Prakriti are
attributes. An attribute cannot have an existence independent of an underlying substance.
The substance-attribute concept establishes an uninterrupted, non-reciprocal relationship
between Ishvara and the two modes.
Followers of VisishtAdvaita refute Advaita thought that if it is indeed true that the one
undivided Brahman, whose very nature is pure spirit, is the foundation of Maya and also
embodies the liberating force of knowledge, then it is illogical to say that the very same
Brahman falls under the influence of the illusory power of Maya and gets covered by
ignorance. Thus establishing that Jiva and Ishvara are indeed separate entities. Since both

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their identities and capabilities are different, the Jiva and the Lord are essentially distinct.
In other words, if Brahman is indivisible, changeless, and supreme, then a force of Maya
cannot appear within Brahman, modify it, and put it into ignorance.
Bhakti Yoga is the sole means of liberation in VisishtAdvaita. Through Bhakti (devotion),
a Jiva ascends to the realm of the Lord to become one with Him. Karma Yoga and Jnana
Yoga are natural outcomes of Bhakti, total surrender, as the devotee acquires the
knowledge that the Lord is the inner self. A devotee realizes his own state as dependent
on, and supported by, and being led by the Lord, who is the Master. One is to lead a life
as an instrument of the Lord, offering all his thought, word, and deed to the feet of the
Lord. One is to see the Lord in everything and everything in Him. This is the unity in
diversity achieved through devotion.
In Bhagavad-Gita, Krishna is Ishvara and denotes Saguna Brahman, and the term
Brahman means Nirguna Brahman:
I (Ishvara) am the basis of the impersonal Brahman, which is immortal, imperishable
and eternal and is the constitutional position of ultimate happiness. (Bhagavad Gita
14.27)
I (Ishvara) am transcendental, beyond both kshara (the fallible, perishable world) and
akshara (the infallible). (Bhagavad Gita 15.18)

[edit] Dvaita Vedanta

Brahman of Dvaita (attributive monism) is synonymous with Hari or Vishnu, who is the
most exalted Para Brahman (Supreme Brahman), superior to liberated souls and even the
impersonal Brahman. Dvaita schools argue against the Advaita concept that upon
liberation one realizes Brahman as a formless God is erroneous, quoting from Vedanta
Sutra:
The form of Brahman is unmanifest, but even the form of Brahman becomes directly
visible to one who worships devoutly (tat avyaktam aha, api samradhane pratyaksa
anumanabhyam)[citation needed].[13] (Vedanta Sutra 3.2.23)
Within His divine realm, devotees see other divine manifestations which appear even as
physical objects in a city (antara bhuta gramavat svatmanah). (Vedanta Sutra 3.3.36)
Dvaita propounds Tattvavada which means understanding differences between Tattvas
(significant properties) of entities within the universal substrate as follows:
1. Jva-shvara-bheda - difference between the soul and Vishnu
2. Jada-shvara-bheda - difference between the insentient and Vishnu
3. Mitha-jva-bheda - difference between any two souls

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4. Jada-jva-bheda - difference between insentient and the soul

5. Mitha-jada-bheda - difference between any two insentients
The Acintya Bheda Abheda philosophy is similar to Dvaita (differential monism). Both
Dvaita and Acintya Bheda Abheda schools are panentheistic and perceive the Advaita
concept of identification of Atman with the impersonal Brahman as an intermediate step
of self-realization, but not Mukti, or final liberation of complete God-realization through
Bhakti Yoga.
The Advaita concept of a Jivanmukta is mocked as an absurd oxymoron because a person
who has surmounted the realm of perception and realized the Absolute (as Advaita holds)
should not continue to exist within and interact with the realm of perception that one has
realized as being not real. The suggestion that such bondage to the world of perception
continues for a while after the occurrence of God-realization, because of past
attachments, is not tenable. Such attachments themselves are artifacts of the perceived
world that has supposedly been sublated, and should not continue to besiege the
consciousness of the self-realized. A Jivanmukta, or liberated person, should not even be
physically present in the material universe. A person who is living in the world cannot be
said to be free of sorrow born of material contact, and also cannot be said to experience
the joy of liberation. The very act of being in a gross material body is not accepted in as a
Jivanmukta i.e. a person liberated from the cycle of birth and death. The soul upon
liberation does not lose its identity, which remains different from God, nor does one
become equal to God in any respect. A mukta indeed becomes free from all suffering, but
one's enjoyment is not of the same caliber as His, nor does a mukta become independent
of Him. The permanent differential aspect of Atman (soul) from the Lord is established
from:
Never was there a time when I (Ishvara) did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in
the future shall any of us cease to be. (Bhagavad Gita 2.12)
In Dvaita, liberation (Moksha) is achieved by flawless devotion and correct
understanding. Devotion to a personal form of God, Saguna Brahman, indicated here is
the transcendental form of Krishna or Vishnu (see Vaishnavism). This conclusion is
corroborated by the Bhagavata Purana, written by Vyasa as his commentary on Vedanta
Sutra.
O my Lord, Krishna, son of Vasudeva, O all-pervading Lord, I offer my respectful
obeisances unto You, the Absolute Truth and the primeval cause of all causes of the
creation, sustenance and destruction of the manifested universes (om namo bhagavate
vasudevaya janmady asya yatah 'nvayad itaratas cartheshv abhijnah svarat).
(Bhagavatam 1.1.1)
Vyasa employs the words "janma-adi -- creation, sustenance and destruction; asya -- of
the manifested universes; yatah -- from whom;", in the first verse of the Bhagavata

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Purana to establish that Krishna is the Absolute Truth. This is clear testimony of the
author's own conclusion that the ultimate goal of all Vedic knowledge is Krishna.

[edit] Modern Evolutionary View

According to modern spiritual teachers like Sri Aurobindo, Brahman is both the
unmanifest and the manifest; the One and the Many; the Being and the Becoming. It is
actually more than their sum, but their combination and their integration. All (and more)
is then Brahman. And yet Brahman cannot be known by mind. One must move to the
highest point of spiritualized mind, even above Intuition to have the vision of the integral
oneness of the unmanifest and manifest that is Brahman. When we move to the soul, our
minds move to the supra-mental heights where we perceive the integral view of Brahman,
which is the ultimate perception of the Reality, the Absolute. Thus, in life everything is an
expression of Brahman, even that which is unevolved and is in the process of evolving.
To modern scholars, all viewpoints are but perspectives of the mind of the ultimate
reality, Brahman.

[edit] See also

Aum
Ishvara
Mysticism
Hinduism
Vedanta
Para Brahman
Saguna Brahman
Nirguna Brahman
Monism

[edit] Notes and references

1. ^ Brodd, Jefferey (2003). World Religions. Winona, MN: Saint Mary's Press.
ISBN 978-0-88489-725-5.
2. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishna._The_Supreme_Personality_of_Godhead
Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
3. ^ Veda means 'knowledge' and not merely epistemic knowledge but knowledge of
the eternal truth that one's ultimate nature is pure consciousness and independent
of material form (cf. Gnosis
4. ^ Aitareya Upanishad 3.3
5. ^ Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.4.5,
6. ^ Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10,
7. ^ Chhndogya Upanishad 6.8.7 et seq.
8. ^ Chhndogya Upanishad 3.14.1
9. ^ Nrisimhauttaratpini, cited in Swami Nikhilananda, The Upanishads: A new
Translation Vol. I.
10. ^ In the Bhagavad Gt, Krishna also describes the nature of Brahman. For
example, he says "And I am the basis of the impersonal Brahman, which is

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immortal, imperishable and eternal and is the constitutional position of ultimate

happiness" (brahmano hi pratishthaham...) B-Gita (As-it-Is) 14.27 Translation by
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
11. ^ a b c Not Masculine or Feminine (see Grammatical gender).
12. ^ http://srimadbhagavatam.com/sb Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: rmad Bhgavatam
13. ^ api - but, samradhane - intense worship, pratyaksa - as directly visible,
anumanabhyam - as inferred from scripture

[edit] External links

Detailed essays on Brahman at Hinduwebsite.com

AbstractAtom.com - Information on the philosophy of Brahman
Essence of Upanishads: Atman and Brahman
Worship of the Supreme Brahman
Brhmaand Pujan All Line Free Book
Brhmaand Pujan Critics, News-Reviews

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