KAIVALYA UPANISHAD: “The Homogeneity of Brahman” - 12. Swami Gurubhaktananda.

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Monday 20, July 2026, 21:30.           
KAIVALYA UPANISHAD: “The Homogeneity of Brahman” 
from the Atharva Veda: 26 Mantras: 
Reflections:  Swami Gurubhaktananda: 
Mantram - 16: The Efficient Cause of All. 
Post: 12.

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Mantram - 16: The Efficient Cause of All. 

5.

yat param brahma sarvaatmaa, = That supreme Brahman is also the Self in all, 

6.

vishwasyaa yatanam mahat; = the ample support of the universe, 

7.

sookshmaat sookshmataram nityam,=  subtler than the subtle, and eternal – 

8.

tat twam eva twam eva tat. = “That alone thou art; thou alone art That!” 

Commentary:

The last mantram gives us a little hint as to what our real spiritual roots are. We learnt that God is immanent in the gross creation. That immanence is shown to be not just ‘synthetic’ but totally identical to it – God ISCreation. God was found to be the material Cause of the gross world. Well, if that is the case can that identity be extended to us, the living beings of the world? Is Brahman also the same as our very own Self? 

It may sound blasphemous, but the answer is “Yes!” and this section sets out to show us precisely that identity – that the individual soul is in fact the Supreme Brahman in the deepest possible sense of the word. All Upanishads state this identity, but Kaivalya Upanishad brings this home to us most gently, logically and step by step. 

1.

At the very outset, the conclusion is stated. What we are trying to prove is stated categorically as a fact here – that the Supreme Brahman is the Atman or the Self. This statement can only be understood at the end of verse 19, after all the facts have been given to us bit by bit in each of these four mantras. 

4.

This is the Mahavakya of this Upanishad. The same truth of Identity is expressed here in cryptic form as a Mahavakya – that the individual Self is the same as the universal Brahman. A Mahavakya is a concise, emphatic expression of this identity. How do we intellectually grasp the Truth represented in these two lines? That is the purpose of this section. The first direct step to take us to that understanding is to establish that God is not 

only the Upadana Karana or material Cause (15), but also the Nimitta Karana or Efficient Cause of this entire world, i.e. He is the Designer of this whole world in every detail. This fact gets established here by showing all the three conditions of an efficient cause are present in Brahman: 

1.

The word “Param” is used here as it was in the Katha Upanishad: to denote that which is inner most in all beings.  

2.

Secondly, it is shown to be all-pervading substratum. 

3.

providing the basis for all Creation as its and thirdly, Brahman is shown to be the subtlest factor in all creation. 

These three conditions are sufficient to show that Brahman is the efficient cause of everything in creation, including all living beings. The efficient cause of a thing is always subtler than Its effects. At the pinnacle of creation is Brahman, who is the Cause of this whole universe, being the subtlest of all principles. 

The next three mantras fill in the gaps in the logic that takes us from Brahman as the material and efficient Cause to Brahman as identical to our own inner Self. 

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Mantram -17:
The Experiencer is Brahman 
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