The Vedas accept their inability to expound the nature of the Supreme Brahman when they state that he is beyond thought and speech. Yet they try to describe the indescribable Infinite Presence, claiming all along that this is only a feeble attempt to do so, pointed out Sri B. Sundarkumar in a lecture.
The Upanishads speak of Brahman as Satyam (eternal truth), Jnanam (Knowledge) and Anantam (infinitude). The epithet of Lord Krishna as Sat (eternal existence) Chit (consciousness) Ananda (bliss) in the Krishna Ashtotra Sata Namavali hails the Upanishad statement.
The Upanishads have explored many means to describe the form and qualities of this Transcendental Truth using the experience of this world which can be recognised by the human mind.
For instance, the Isavasya celebrates the uniqueness of the Lord: “By the Lord is enveloped all that is in this entire universe. It is far, it is near. It moves and it does not move.” If it is somewhere far away, how is one to bring it close to us? The universe is the only tangible reality to the human grasp and so the Upanishad statement that the Lord is hidden by this universe also unfolds His constant presence that is available to those who seek Him.
In this attempt to explain the unknown from the known, the common analogy used for the seeker of Truth is that of a person who is lost in the forest in unfamiliar ground and is in search of a river. A knowledgeable forest dweller, sure of the nooks and corners might point out to a tree and say it is the river since he knows a river flows in the land below the tree. The river is not visible to the person; yet its presence is indicated by the tree which is visible.
Scriptures adopt the method of logic to prove God's Absoluteness. They ask us to probe the cause of the universe and its inhabitants for there can be no effect without a cause. This enquiry leads to the primordial cause.
The elephant Gajendra, when caught in distress tried all means to extricate itself; but finding its efforts did not work, it sought the help of the root cause of everything. This primordial cause has no cause but is the cause of everything else.
