Bhrama to Brahma: Illusion to absolute

Bhrama is defined as illusion. A magician performs tricks using sleight of hand and shows up things from nothing – a bouquet of flowers out of nowhere with bare hands. The magician conjures up this illusory show and mesmerizes the audience –even a bird flies out from his bare hands. It is important to note that these objects showed up all at once.

In this world around us that we live in, each of us witness a phenomenon of cause-and-effect – the seed for the flower, the parent for the offspring, and more. A pot thus created from clay appears new but is only a brand-new shape with rearrangement of the clay molecules by a dexterous potter. All things constant and no wastage, the weight of the clay is indeed the weight of the pot. All these created objects have a limited shelf-life.

This world around us that we witness, mostly seen but we also hear, and touch, and taste, and smell is similar to the magician’s tricks. Except that the magician is the Supreme God who is invisible and adept at showing us things that we want to see.

While my focus is to see and admire the tree, my spouse’s is towards the beauty of the flower, and our child towards the colourful fruit.

Worldly things around us are not permanent in nature. The living room furniture with different shapes is created from wood. Time can destroy the furniture but the underlying wood stays; furniture appears real as long as it exists. The process of inquiry to comprehend the true existence of everything around – the substratum, is
critical to our evolution as human beings.

Brahma is the only truth providing clarity as the underlying substratum and the essence of universal truth. Intellectual comprehension first, followed by realization of the same helps to free us from all bondages to attain infinite happiness. This has to be our own experience.

Aham Brahmasmi is the singular truth that each of us is Brahma; until then we continue to live in a state of Bhrama. Advaitha Vedanta in accordance with this Mahavakya suggests that we realize this in our pursuit of truth through inquiry along the
knowledge path. An internal realisation with deep profoundness is the journey from illusion to absolute – Bhrama to Brahma.