Prajñānam Brahma ~Sarvapriyananda

"The Advaitic understanding unfolds in three careful stages: 

1.We undeniably experience the universe through our senses, appearing to interact with an external world.

2.However, all objects must appear in Consciousness—nothing can exist “outside” awareness, as even the concept of “outside” appears within Consciousness.

3.If objects can only exist within Consciousness and cannot be separated from it (unlike a book from its bookmark), they must be non-different from Consciousness itself.

This leads to the profound meaning of Prajñānam Brahma: Consciousness is not merely experiencing the universe as something separate from itself; rather, it is experiencing itself as the universe. The apparent multiplicity and separation we experience is explained through the concept of Maya, while the underlying Reality remains one undivided, infinite Consciousness. 

This understanding resolves the seeming contradiction between our experience of multiplicity and the non-dual nature of reality. The universe isn’t denied or dismissed—it’s recognized as the play of Consciousness itself, appearing to itself, through itself. This is the essence of the Mahāvākya (great utterance) Prajñānam Brahma, which points to the ultimate oneness of consciousness and reality.

~Sarvapriyananda in 'Mahavakya' (bolding is mine)

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"Pancadasi 5.1: Yenekṣate śṛṇo-tīdaṁ jighrati vyākaroti ca, svādva svādū vijānāti tat prajñānam udīritam (That by which a person sees, hears, smells, and speaks, and can distinguish between pleasant and unpleasant tastes, either bitter or sweet, and so on; this is called prajñānam, or consciousness.) 

This verse refers to the Mahāvākya, Prajñānam Brahma, found in the Aitareya Upanishad. Prajñānam Brahma means Consciousness is the ultimate and infinite reality. Brahman means expansion without limit, or vastness.

"Pancadasi 5.2: Catur-mukhendra-deveṣu manuṣyā-śva-gavādiṣu, caitanyamekaṁ brahmātaḥ prajñānaṁ brahma mayyapi (The one Consciousness which is in Bramha, Indra, and other gods, as well as in human beings, horses, and cows; that is Brahman. This means this consciousness in me is also Brahman.)

Vidyaranya Swami illustrates the omnipresence of Consciousness through a series of examples, starting from Brahma (Catur-mukha, the four-faced one) to all divine beings, humans, and animals. This one Consciousness (Caitanyam ekam) pervades all existence—past, present, and future. While our individual minds and experiences differ, creating the appearance of separate consciousnesses, the underlying awareness remains singular and undivided."