Brahman

Brahman (Devanagari: ब्रह्मन्) is a Sanskrit neuter noun, distinct from the masculine Brahma (the creator deity) and from Brahmin (a member of the priestly varna)[1]. The root brh carries the sense of growing, expanding, or swelling, suggesting a power that grows or pervades[1]. In the Vedas, the word originally referred to sacred utterance and ritual power[2]. Over time, especially through the Upanishads, it came to name the ultimate reality or absolute ground of existence[2].

Brahman is not simply a deity among others; it often points to the deepest metaphysical reality behind existence.

Brahman is central to Hindu philosophical theology, especially Vedanta[3]. Different Vedanta schools interpret Brahman differently[3]. Advaita Vedanta teaches that Brahman is the only ultimate reality, that the apparent world of multiplicity is a provisional appearance, and that the individual self (atman) is in essence identical with Brahman[3]. Vishishtadvaita Vedanta teaches that Brahman is the supreme person (often identified with Vishnu) and that selves and the world are real, internally related to Brahman as body to spirit[3]. Dvaita Vedanta teaches that Brahman, selves, and the world are all eternally real and distinct[3].

In devotional life, Brahman is often approached through a saguna form: with attributes, as Vishnu, Shiva, Devi, or other named deities[4]. Philosophical inquiry can also approach Brahman as nirguna: without attributes, beyond conception[4]. Many traditions hold both modes together rather than treating them as alternatives[4].

Brahman is not a deity in the sense of one being among others. It is what makes anything be at all[2]. Mantras such as So'ham (I am that) and Aham Brahmasmi (I am Brahman), drawn from the Upanishads, express the realization that Advaita Vedanta points toward[5].

Comparative philosophy of religion places Brahman alongside concepts such as the Christian Godhead, the Islamic dhat, the Daoist Dao, and the Greek to en (the One) as candidates for ultimate reality across traditions, while emphasizing that each carries its own framework and should not be flattened to a shared template[6]. Indological scholarship traces the development of Brahman from Vedic hymn through Upanishadic philosophy and the classical Vedanta schools[2]. Modern Hindu philosophers and theologians continue to develop interpretations of Brahman in conversation with science, ecology, and comparative theology[4].

• The Principal Upanishadsby Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
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• The Hindus: An Alternative Historyby Wendy Doniger
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