Why is Brahman indivisible?

Brahman is indivisible. Summation and subtractions are not applicable to brahman.. they are apllicable only in the real world of maya (which is an appearance in pure consciousness). If you think there is a big Laddu which is Brahman and each grain of that laddu is like jivatma then that analogy is not correct because the laddu grains can be added to form the laddu. But the individual jivatma’s cannot be added to form brahman. Because the individual jivatma and Brahman are the same. Thats why the laddu example is not great.

An example is very difficult to give because Brahman is very tricky to understand as it is not an object that you can point to so how you can give an example to illustrate?

However a slightly better example is if you try to understand by the light analogy. Think of it this way…. there is one light source and infront of it a big opaque object with many tiny holes..

light coming from each of these tiny holes is the same light. The light source is Brahman and light coming from these tiny holes are jivatma. But the jivas think themselves to be separate which is due to ignorance.

You might ask from where ignorance comes… I have also thought about this and my best explanation so far I could gather is that it comes from Brahman only. So the Atman chooses to enter into the covering of ignorance and again finds a way to get rid of it by knowlege and merges back to same Atman. Actually there is no merging back happening in the real sense because it is the same Atman or Brahman. It is like water merging back to ocean — which is meaningless — because the water is the same ocean. This process of getting into ignorance and getting rid of it is just a play/game/lila.

Even in the real sense if you see, the performated sheet above is not going to last for ever. It will decay with time and the holes will become bigger and the intermediate opaque part will wane and wane with time and finally there will be no holes and it will be only the light. This process is similar to the individuals who are in a long journey of spiritual evolution and one day the ignorance will also wane away and there will be only brahman left.

This type of explanation is consistent with all the slokas in Bhagvad Gita. For example sloka 15 verse 15, where it is menitoned “I am seated in every individual heart and from me comes memory, knowledge forgetfulness….. “ It is just like the source of light is seated in every hole on that object.

Those who practice Advaita Vedanta seriously and who have clarity dont reject the path of devotion, as found in Dvaita, because it is sometimes easy to focus on an external entity than to focus inward on brahman. These are 2 different paths because in both paths you need to experience love to attain enlightenment. You may ask why? Well as you see the holes in the above picture is surrounded by solid matter which is nothing but ego — the cuase of the ignorance. Ego can only be destroyed by love. Ego cannot be destroyed by knowledge alone. Path of devotion makes it easy to have this unconditional love and the goal becomes easy to reach. Its like a short cut. Its the secret knowledge. Because however knowledgeable one may become to attain enlightenment or Jivan mukti one has to cultivate love in his heart.

But there comes a tricky situation here… not understanding the concept of Brahman also makes spiritual progress very difficult. No matter how much devoted you are.

You may ask why? The explanation is that so long as you are not clear about you being the unified indivisible brahman, how will you attain that state? Even in the normal state if you are not aware that you are capable of doing a certain task, you will not be able to do. It may be an exam to pass or something else. In same way if you don’t know that you are brahman how can you even be brahman… so you are perpetually caught in the illusion of a separate jivatma cut off from the Supreme God or Brahman and even though the ego has melted due to extreme devotion, but the slavery mentality persists and the ignorance continues to exist.

Knowing both sides is very important. Then it is easier to make progress in either path.. be it bhakti or knowledge. Perfect example is Ramakrishna Paramahamsa who did idol worshipping and he also understood Brahman thoroughly. If you ever find a genuine devotee you will see that he intuitively agrees to the concept of singular Brahman. To understand Advaita Vedanta you will need to be open to new ideas and stretch your intelligence… and once you see this concept you can’t come back to your previous dual state.

Also one more thing .. those who practise Advaita Vedanta dont claim that the world is false… the chirping of the bird is real… only that it is an appearance in your consciousness… just like the dream is also an appearance in your consciousness. note that when you are dreaming at that time whatever you experience…. the softness of pillow and hardness of hammer… are both as much real as they are when you are awake. Both the dream world and world when you are awake are real... but they are appearances in your consciousness. The only thing that remains constant in the dream and waking state is you. Just like the reflection of cloud is appearance in water. Cloud sails away , moon comes in night … darkness disappears in morning and the sun appears, but the water remains the same. Ashtavakra Gita explains this concept.

The fundamental basis in which true followers of Advaita Vedanta or even a true seeker in the path of devotion attain knowlege is endless debates, questions and discussions and they dont claim you have to believe blindly. Answers exist… if only one makes an effort to find them.

The greatest damage has been caused by the commentaries on Bhagvad Gita which gives different interpretations. Read the slokas again, contemplate on their meeaning, don’t rely on commentaries and then you see it is very simple and clear. The indivisibility of Atman mentioned in Bhagvad Gita is again the indivisibility of that light source or Brahman. It is the interpretation/commentary which makes the individual soul different from the divine soul. Which sloka in Bhagvad Gita says they are different? Both are actually the same thing.

Its your choice at the end of the day if you are happy with the commentaries or you want to contemplate deeper and establish consistency and true meaning.