The title is taken from the Chandogya Upanishad in which a very insightful sermon on the nature of the Brahman and Atman are expounded. This article will deal with these two notions central to the Vaidika Dharma. To get things started, I will comment on the writings of Julius Evola from Revolt Against The Modern World, in which he describes the historical development of the Brahman from the original Aryan view to the pantheistic interpretation of later Vedanta.
Julius Evola asserts the spiritual Weltanschauung of the Aryan declined when the Brahman and the Atman were conceived in pantheistic terms as the primordial principle from which all life proceeds and into which all life is reabsorbed. This he sees as lamentable due to the corollaries of this position which erode at the foundation of the noble path. These include the loss of spiritual personality, and the doctrine of the equality of all creatures rooted in this pantheistic interpretation. Also, asceticism now is seen as a method of escapism rather than true transcendental fulfillment. This is contrasted to the original Aryan view in which the Brahman is seen as a magical force or power described in the Atharva Veda and Brahmanas that the Aryan directs through his rites. Also the original doctrine of the Atman is reaffirmed in original Buddhism when the atman is seen as nirvana, which is the state to be ultimately achieved. What was promoted was a heroic theme in which the attainment of immortality was to be won.
I have two perspectives on this, and I will use Kantian philosophical language for the purpose of elucidation, not for the purpose of expounding an actual doctrine. From a practical perspective, I find the original Aryan Vedic view to be ideal. The original ideas of the Brahman and Atman are very affirmative. The Brahman as the ultimate force or magical power that is so strongly tied into the Dharma of the Aryans lays the foundation of a religion in which power, mystery, beauty, and wisdom achieve their crowning glory. It also confers an ontological status based upon what conditions of existence attract the Brahman. Therefore conditions of Aryan birth, male birth, and attachment to the Eternal Way allow us to be conduits for this Brahman. The Atman as the highest goal to be attained gives us the psychology of striving to further and further perfection. These doctrines should be core to the traditional Indo-European perspective.
The problem is from a theoretical perspective. From a theoretical perspective, I have a strong desire to posit a first cause. This first cause will be seen as the necessary being through which all contingent beings have their being. There is this strong desire to see the Brahman as both the necessary being and how the Brahman was described in the previous paragraph. The dilemma that arises is if I posit the Brahman as a necessary being then I create a metaphysics that leads to one that Julius Evola was critical of for practical reasons, and if I retain the Brahman in the manner that I want, and also posit a necessary being, then this necessary being will overshadow the Braham, because there can only be one necessary being, and the Brahman must be contingent upon it, therefore lowering the power of the Brahman.
The way that I am thinking about proceeding is to take these original ideas of the Brahman and Atman and work them into a phenomenological description of reality, and thus interpret other phenomenological experiences around these to get to a greater insight of what is, and how it is, and why it is. I would like to end with a war hymn in the Atharva Veda which is a battle charm for confusing the enemy.
Agni shall skillfully march against our opponents, burning against their schemes and hostile plans; Gâtavedas shall confuse the army of our opponents and deprive them (of the use) of their hands! Ye Maruts are mighty in such matters: advance ye, crush ye, conquer ye (the enemy)! These Vasus when implored did crush (them). Agni, verily, as their vanguard shall skilfully attack! O Maghavan, the hostile army which contends against us--do ye, O Indra, Vritra's slayer, and Agni, burn against them! Thy thunderbolt, O Indra, who hast been driven forward swiftly by thy two bay steeds, shall advance, crushing the enemies. Slay them that resist, pursue, or flee, deprive their schemes of fulfillment! O Indra, confuse the army of the enemy; with the impact of the fire and the wind scatter them to either side! Indra shall confuse the army, the Maruts shall slay it with might! Agni shall rob it of its sight; vanquished it shall turn about!
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