An invitation to the mystical: An Introduction to Brahman

Imagine a wave rising from the ocean. For a moment, it has its own shape, and we can point at it and call it a wave. But was it ever really separate from the ocean? It was always water, just taking a different form. It exists as a wave for only a short time before dissolving back into the ocean.

We are a little like that wave. But I could just as easily have spoken about a breeze, a piece of sand or a small flame. In yoga, we explore the idea that beneath all the different forms in the world, including our own, there is one underlying reality that connects us all.

And that's Brahman.

"It is the form and essence of intelligence, and it is experienced through intuition. It is pure, simple, and transcendental. It is ultimate reality, ultimate truth, and ultimate tranquility, which is called Brahman. It is smaller than the nucleus and greater than the greatest." Verse composed and translated by Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati

Brahman is the ultimate reality, the source of the entire universe. The presence that holds everything. It goes beyond names and forms, beyond what we can fully comprehend. It is sometimes described as pure consciousness.

But what is ultimate reality? What is Brahman, really?

Perhaps we first need to look at what we call reality.

When we talk about reality, about the world around us, what we can see, hear and sense is not only limited but also influenced by our habitual thinking, our culture, our experiences and our beliefs.

"There may be aspects of reality that are fundamentally incomprehensible to us due to the limitations of our perception and cognitive capabilities." — Boris Krieger

So, what is reality if we all experience the world around us not only in a limited way, but also differently?

Yoga offers one way of looking at this question. In many philosophical traditions within yoga and Vedanta, reality is understood as that which is unchanging, that which remains true beyond the constant changes we experience in the world around us.

And what is that unchanging reality?

Brahman. The ultimate truth. The ground of all existence.

This ultimate reality cannot simply be understood through thinking alone. By trying to define Brahman, we risk limiting it to the boundaries of our own understanding.

Patanjali writes in Yoga Sutra 1.2: Yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind.

Perhaps we need to go beyond our usual way of thinking and become more present. To pay attention, to stop and be still. To look and listen without immediately trying to understand or explain everything we experience.

But what if we don't understand these philosophies? What if Brahman remains something we cannot fully grasp?

The goal is not to find or create a definition but to stay open.

This is where the mystical comes in.

I love the word mystic. I find it exciting. It suggests that there is more to existence than what we can see, measure or explain. That we don't need to have all the answers. That perhaps there is something beautiful in not knowing.

So, let this month be an invitation not to understand Brahman but to explore the mystical.

An invitation to become curious about what lies beyond our usual perception of the world. To make room for the possibility that there is more to reality than we can currently understand. To explore the idea that beneath all our differences, there is something that connects us all.

Something we might call Brahman, ultimate truth, or simply love.