The Upanishads cannot help being repetitive while discussing the nature of Brahman and the atma. They also reiterate that the ultimate purpose of human existence is to attain the higher knowledge by which the life of sorrow is crossed. The quest is so subtle and mystic to the inquiring mind that it has been pursued with renewed interest tirelessly generation after generation, pointed out Sri Krishnamurthy Sastrigal in a discourse.
In the Svetasvatara Upanishad, there is reference to ‘the Indescribable, the Vast, the One, the Self the Seer of which sees neither death, nor disease nor sorrow.’ How to grasp this essence? In symbolic vein, the atma within each one is explained as being ‘subtler than the subtle, greater than the greatest, and hidden in the heart of all creatures.’ The atma resides in the body, but also moves around everywhere with innumerable forms. His hands and feet, eyes, heads, mouths, ears are everywhere and He pervades everything in the universe. Though Formless, Brahman brings forth innumerable forms into creation. None can fathom why this is done. He then draws them back into Himself.
The Self in each and every being in creation co-exists with Brahman like two beautiful birds, inseparable companions, living in the same tree. While one of them experiences the world of creation, and is subject to the joys and miseries of the world, the other is representative of Brahman, the master of Maya, who remains the unseen, immobile and calm observer. He is so subtle that though He is the source of all scriptures, and one may be well versed in the scriptures, unless the truth is internalised and felt in the heart, He cannot be grasped. He is grasped only through transcendental experience.
