What Is Brahman? Vedanta’s Ultimate Reality Explained

Not to be confused with Brahma—the Hindu god of creation—Brahman literally means “great” or “the vast.” It is that which is greater than the greatest—beyond all experience, accommodating all things. This greatness is not a matter of size but of being unlimited by time, space, or any object, because Brahman is the reality in which time and space themselves appear.

Brahman cannot be described in words because Brahman is not an object of experience. How is one to describe something that is attributeless, actionless and not available to the senses? Vedanta uses scripture as a "word mirror" that points to Brahman as the Self—the eternal subject.

Ultimately, Brahman can only be described using a process of negation (neti-neti) or by using indicators/pointers (lakshanas). One classic example of the latter is the analogy of the clay and the pot, where it is shown that the essence of the pot is clay and that the pot itself is just name and form.

Similarly, the essence of who/what we are is Brahman (the clay), while the body-mind (the pot) is just an object known by Brahman (pure awareness). When the pot is broken it is no longer a pot, and yet the clay (the truth of the pot) remains.

Nevertheless, it's not a question of whether or not Brahman can be known. Brahman can be known because Brahman is self-evident. Brahman is the "I am" when I say "I am a man," "I am a son," "I am an employee," etc. We needn't be taught that I exist, because "I" as the Self, is the one thing that can never be denied.

In his translation and commentary on the Upanishads, Swami Nikhilananda writes:

As Brahman is the essence of Being, so It is the essence of Consciousness or Light. Brahman needs no other light to illumine Itself. It is self-luminous. "It is pure; It is the Light of lights; It is That which they know who know the Self."..."When He shines, everything shines after Him; by His light everything is lighted."

Referring to Brahman as "Him" shows it has religious overtones. Brahman is often categorized as both God with qualities (Saguna Brahman) and God without qualities (Nirguna Brahman). The former is God as creator, sustainer and destroyer of the universe (Brahman plus maya), while the latter is God as pure, attributeless awareness—the Self. However, there is only one absolute and that is Nirguna Brahman. Nirguna Brahman is not another kind of Brahman—it's Brahman without the superimposition of maya. Knowledge of Nirguna Brahman is the culmination of God knowledge and considered the highest form of devotion.

The three traditional epithets for Brahman are existence, consciousness and bliss. These are not separate attributes of Brahman but instead synonyms, such that we say Brahman is existence-consciousness-bliss, or in Sanskrit, sat-chit-ananda. Sat is existence absolute, that is, the "I am" or the is-ness of our everyday contact with objects. Chit is consciousness absolute and is also sometimes translated as "pure knowledge "or "knowledge as such" (but shouldn't be confused with the mind or the workings of the mind). Lastly, ananda is bliss absolute. "Bliss" in this case equates to perfect satisfaction as a result of the absence of any limitation. "Limitlessness” or "absence of division" is sometimes used instead of bliss in order to remove the confusion with Brahman being some kind of state of ecstasy (Brahman is not a state or a feeling). So, when Brahman is described as bliss, it’s really showing that its nature is absolute freedom. All objects are of the nature to bind, only formless Brahman is of the nature to be limitless.

In summary, Brahman is not something to be attained later, in another world, or in a special state of mind. It is the limitless, unchanging reality that is your very Self—the existence by which all things are, the awareness by which all things are known, and the freedom in which all things appear and disappear.

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Root & Meaning

From Sanskrit root bṛh (“to expand,” “to grow,” “the greatest”) + suffix man (indicating the abstract). Meaning: “the vast,” “the infinite.”

Scriptural References

• Taittiriya Upanishad (2.1.1) – Declares Brahman as satyam jñānam anantam (truth, knowledge, infinity).

• Chandogya Upanishad (6.2.1) – States sarvam khalvidam brahma (“All this is Brahman”).

• Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (2.4.6, 3.8.8) – Teaches that Brahman is imperishable, infinite, and the Self of all beings.

• Mundaka Upanishad (2.2.11) – Describes Brahman as the light by which all is illumined.

• Bhagavad Gita (13.13, 14.27) – Presents Brahman as the highest reality, the basis of immortality and eternal dharma.

• Vivekachudamani (254–260) – Affirms Brahman as existence-consciousness-bliss, beyond maya and limitation.

Traditional View

Brahman is the only reality; the world and individuality are dependent appearances. Realization of Brahman ends the cycle of samsara.

Vedantic Analysis

Brahman is self-revealing consciousness. As the witness (sakshin) of all, it can never be negated or objectified.

Common Misunderstandings

• Thinking Brahman is a deity among other deities.

• Assuming Brahman is an abstract void or nothingness.

• Believing Brahman is “somewhere else” to be reached.

Vedantic Resolution

Brahman is your very Self; nothing is apart from it. The seeker does not “merge” with Brahman — one simply recognizes one has always been That.