The unity of the individual soul and the universal soul is the fundamental theme of the Upanishads.
According to our Upanishads, only the One exists; everything else (the entire creation) is only an illusory superimposition. This leads to the concept of māyā. The world has only subordinate value. It constitutes an empirical reality. There is the classic example of the snake: at dusk, we find a piece of rope on the road and we become victims of false identification. We see not a rope, but a snake. A little later the illusion is dispelled and we see a rope and not a snake. Similarly, if we live in God, manifestation vanishes. If we live in the world, God no longer exists.
4/24/20242 min read
According to our Upanishads, only the One exists; everything else (the entire creation) is only an illusory superimposition. This leads to the concept of māyā. The world has only subordinate value. It constitutes an empirical reality. There is the classic example of the snake: at dusk, we find a piece of rope on the road and we become victims of false identification. We see not a rope, but a snake. A little later the illusion is dispelled and we see a rope and not a snake. Similarly, if we live in God, manifestation vanishes. If we live in the world, God no longer exists.
Adi Shankara Bhagavatpada is concerned with the metaphysical aspect of the question. His entire philosophy leads to the confirmation of the identity of the jiva and Brahman, of the individual soul and the universal soul.
It cannot be said however that the jīva is equal to God; it is not in manifestation that the identity is established. The part must not be regarded as equal to the whole. But the underlying Reality which is present in the jiva and in the universe, is the same. Thus the ontological idea comes to the fore and we have the "Reality behind the reality" (satyasya satyam).
Manifestation (nature or mayā) is only a lesser degree of reality. It is the substratum (necessary so that the illusion might occur) which is absolutely real. There is thus in the empirical reality an indefinable mixture of existence and non-existence. courtesy ahambrahmaasmi. org
The Puruşa or antaryamin (the Inhabitant of the city, the Inner Controller) resides in each being; He is essentially one. We can find Him always the same, omnipresent and all-pervading. It is the same infinite Soul, eternal, and universal, which is the life of each individual. All that is manifest is steeped in this spiritual entity, "chit."
The Universal Principle is called Atman in man and Brahman in the cosmos, the two terms designating one and the same ontological reality. The unity of the individual soul and the universal soul is the fundamental theme of the Upaniṣads. - Swami Siddheswarananda
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