The next in a series of excerpts from the book Sanatana Dharma: The Eternal Religion which we publish. This book was originally printed nearly one hundred years ago in Varanasi (Benares) for use as a textbook by the students of the Central Hindu College – now known as the Benares Hindu University. Its original title was Sanatana Dharma, An Advanced Text Book of Hindu Religion and Ethics.
One of the most subtle and profound teachings of Sanatana Dharma is that ultimate reality is neither simply one nor simply many, but a unity that appears as duality without ever ceasing to be one. The Vedas, Upanishads, and Smritis consistently return to this mystery: how the formless Absolute gives rise to a manifested universe without becoming divided.
In this excerpt, we explore the relationship between Nirguna and Saguna Brahman, Purusha and Prakriti, and the meaning of Brahman as Satchidananda—Being, Consciousness, and Bliss—dwelling as the Self in all beings.
Unity in duality-Duality in unity
Now we read: “Verily, O Satyakama, this is the Supreme and the Lower Brahman” (Prashna Upanishad 5:2). And again: “There are two states of Brahman, with form and without form–formless; changing and unchanging; finite and infinite; existent and beyond [existence]” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2.3.1).
This second, lower, with form, changing, finite, existent Brahman is not “another,” but is Brahman conditioned–and therefore limited, manifesting–and therefore Saguna, with attributes.
The Rigveda, in the hymn before quoted, declares this arising of a seeming duality in the Absolute: “By the great power of tapas uprose The One” (10.129.3). Again, the Wise are asked: “What was that One, who, in the form of the Unborn, has established these six regions?” (Rigveda 1.164.6).
The One: that is His Name, for That wherein He arises is numberless, beyond number, and being the All is neither one nor many. Manu describes that arising in stately slokas:
“This was in the form of darkness, unknown, without marks (or homogeneous), unattainable by reasoning, unknowable, wholly, as it were, in sleep. Then the Self-existent, the Lord, unmanifest but making manifest, This–the great elements and the rest–appeared with mighty power, dispeller of darkness. He who can be grasped by that which is beyond the senses, subtle, unmanifest, ancient, containing all beings, inconceivable, even He Himself shone forth. That unmanifest cause, everlasting, in nature Sat and Asat, that produced the purusha famed in the world as Brahma” (Manu Smriti 1.5-7, 11).
“This” is the universe, but here in darkness, i.e., in the unmanifested condition, as Mulaprakriti, the Root of matter, “unknowable.” This becomes manifest only when the Swayambhu, the Self-Existent, shines forth.
The emergence is simultaneous; for He cannot become manifest save by clothing Himself in This, and This cannot become manifest save as illumined, ensouled, by Him. This Two-in-One, by nature Sat and Asat [“Being and non-being am I,” (Bhagavad Gita 9:19)], the Self and the Not-Self, Purusha and Prakriti, everlasting but appearing and disappearing, is the cause of all things.
“When He has shone forth, all shines forth after (Him); (by) the shining forth of Him all This shines forth” (Katha Upanishad 2.2.15).
Satchidananda Brahman
We have seen that He is the Saguna Brahman, and He is declared to be in His own nature Sat, Chit, Ananda (Satchidananda), Pure Being, Pure Intelligence, Pure Bliss. He is called Akshara, the Indestructible One, on whom the other–Prakriti–is woven; He is the Atmantaryamyamrita [Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 3.7-8], the Self, the Inner Ruler, Immortal, who dwells in the earth, the waters, the fire, the atmosphere, the wind, the heavens, in all that is, in the devas, in the elements, in the bodies of all beings, the all-pervading.
“Unseen He sees, unheard He hears, unthought of He thinks, unknown He knows. None other than He is the Seer, none other than He is the Hearer, none other than He is the Thinker, none other than He is the Knower. He is the Self, the Inner Ruler, Immortal. That which is other [than This] perishes” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 3.1, 23).
He is “the Self abiding in the heart of all beings” (Bhagavad Gita 10:20). This is the clearest idea to grasp. The conditioned Brahman is the Self-conscious Universal Ego as against the Non-Ego, Spirit as against matter, the “I” everywhere, always and in all things, identical in nature with the Nirguna Brahman, but manifested, with qualities, and always united to mulaprakriti.
In the language of symbols, so largely employed by the Sanatana Dharma, Ishwara is represented by a triangle pointing upwards, the triangle symbolizing His triple nature, Sat, Chit, Ananda.
We see this–especially when interlaced with a second downward-pointing triangle, which will presently be explained–in many temples.
This idea of the eternal Subject, the Spirit, the Self, the “I,” being firmly grasped, the student must next seek to grasp the eternal Object, matter, mulaprakriti, the Not-Self, the Not-I.
We have already seen in the Manu Smriti that, in the unmanifested state, this is homogeneous and unknowable; it is therefore often compared with the ether, formless but the root of all forms, intangible but the root of all substances. Its inherent nature is divisibility, as that of the eternal Subject is inseparateness; it is multiplicity, as He is unity. While He is the Father, the Life-Giver, she is the Mother, the Nourisher. Matter is the womb in which the germ is placed.
“For me great Brahma is the womb, and in that do I place the egg [seed]. The origination of all beings comes from that” (Bhagavad Gita 14:3)–explained by Shankara as the prakriti of three gunas.
FAQ
What does “unity in duality” mean in Sanatana Dharma?
It means that while the Absolute Reality (Brahman) appears as a world of opposites—spirit and matter, subject and object—it remains inwardly one and undivided. Duality is a mode of manifestation, not a division in the Real.
What is the difference between Nirguna and Saguna Brahman?
Nirguna Brahman is Brahman without attributes—formless, changeless, beyond manifestation. Saguna Brahman is the same Brahman appearing with qualities, as the conditioned, manifest source of the universe.
What is meant by Purusha and Prakriti?
Purusha is the eternal Subject, the conscious Self or Spirit. Prakriti is the eternal Object, primordial matter or root-nature. Creation arises from their inseparable union, though they appear distinct.
What does Satchidananda mean?
Satchidananda describes the essential nature of Brahman as Sat (Pure Being), Chit (Pure Consciousness), and Ananda (Pure Bliss). It is not three things, but one indivisible reality experienced in these three aspects.
How does Brahman dwell in the universe according to the Upanishads?
Brahman dwells as the Inner Ruler (Antaryamin), the Self within all beings and all elements. Though unseen and ungraspable by the senses, It is the knower, seer, and hearer in every experience.