Retreat Realisations 2010 Part 1

I sometimes jot down thoughts while on retreat. Here are some from last weekend's retreat. Looking forward to this weekend's one!

Retreat Realisations 2010

athato brahma-jijñasa
Vedanta-sutra 1.1.1

Attaining the human form and utilising its energy and abilities only to satisfy the urges of the mind and body, as all other lifeforms do, is like going to Italy, only to eat at Pizza Hut.

Attaining the human form and not utilising its unique intelligence to understand the nature of the self, the observer beyond the body and the mind, and the nature of reality, existence and being, is like going to Perú and not visiting Macchu Picchu.

Therefore, having attained the very rare human form of life, you should utilise it to inquire into and understand BRAHMAN.

So comes the question: What is Brahman?

janmadyasya yatah
Vedanta-sutra 1.1.2

Brahman is the original source of everything.

sarvam khalvidam brahma - everything is brahman.

What then can we say about Brahman? Since everything is composed of Brahman, Brahman must impart some quality to it. Just as everything that is composed of sugar is sweet, and everything that is composed of water is wet - what is the essential quality of Brahman that is imparted to everything? This we can understand by analyzing the common denominator of everything. Since everything is composed of Brahman, the quality imparted by Brahman must be shared by everything. What is the common denominator of everything? It is...

This is the fundamental quality of Brahman: Existence. Everything exists. It is. Brahman is the substance that imparts existence.

This is confirmed by the following description of Brahman: om sat-chit-ananda para brahma.

Sat - existence - is the quality of Brahman.

Indeed:

Sastra yonitvat
Vedanta-sutra 1.2.3

Scripture describes Brahman in this way.