Summary:

CH 1, SECTION 1, VERSE 6: Brahman is the eternal, all-pervasive, unchanging Awareness that appears as the manifold universe without undergoing change. It is not an object of perception but the very subject — the invariable reality behind all experience — which the wise clearly recognize.

CH 1, SECTION 1, VERSE 6: Nature of Higher Knowledge

यत् तत् अद्रेश्यम् अग्राह्यम् अगोत्रम् अवर्णम्
अचक्षुः-श्रोत्रम् तत् अपाणिपादम्
नित्यम् विभुम् सर्वगतम् सुसूक्ष्मम्
तत् अव्ययम् यत् भूतयोनिम् परिपश्यन्ति धीराः (१.१.६)
yat tat adreśyam agrāhyam agotram avarṇam
acakṣuḥ-śrotram tat apāṇipādam
nityam vibhum sarvagatam susūkṣmam
tat avyayam yat bhūtayonim paripaśyanti dhīrāḥ (1.1.6)

Brahman is that which is not the object of sense perception or organs of action, which is unborn, which does not have any attributes, which does not have eyes or ears nor hands or legs, which is eternal, which becomes many (manifold creation), which is all-pervasive, the most subtle, that which is free from decline and disappearance, which is the cause of all beings and which the qualified people see very clearly.

In previous session, we discussed what Consciousness is NOT, that way you don't imagine it as an object for example.

This session continues verse 6, and talks about…

What Brahman (Awareness) Is:

Brahman is “dhīrāḥ paripaśyanti”, that which the wise “see” clearly…

1. Nityam (Eternal): It is eternal. It is not bound by time. Awareness is free from beginning and end.
2. Vibhum (which becomes many): All the negative descriptions we've heard so far (invisible, ungraspable, etc.) in previous lesson might make you wonder if Awareness is śūnya (emptiness or non-existence). It isn’t because emptiness can't manifest as many, but Awareness does. It appears “as though” many, taking the form of the entire cosmos without actually changing its nature. Like gold manifests as ornaments – Consciousness manifests as time-space and objects. Thus where is Consciousness? Everywhere (sarvagatam).
3. Sarvagatam: All-pervasive, meaning Brahman is not confined to any one location “over there”, just as space itself has no location. Brahman's pervasiveness differs from space's: space pervades objects – but space isn’t the object. Whereas Brahman pervades everything as its very reality. Brahman is the invariable constant across knower (ego), known (object), and knowledge (thought). Additionally, if an all-pervasive reality excluded you, then it wouldn't be all-pervasive.
4. Susūkṣmam (Subtlest of the Subtle): You can't observe Consciousness because the observer is already Consciousness. What’s the difference between space subtlety and brahman subtlety? Space is subtle, but can be objectified. Brahman is subtle, and can’t be objectified, as it’s the subject in whom objectification arises.
5. Avyayam (Imperishable / never changes): Brahman is free from addition/subtraction because it is the only “thing”.  Meaning, can’t say world is a part of Brahman with three-fourths existing elsewhere.  Not can you say, “I'm only experiencing fraction of Consciousness, or there’s a higher state of Consciousness”.

So far, we've discussed what Brahman is NOT (previous session), and what Brahman is (this session). Next session will continue with verse 6, where we'll do an inquiry to help you recognize your very self as this Brahman…

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Recorded 8 July, 2025