Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s10.t6.34

v1.c7.s10.t6.34

Among the various theories on Brahman-Atman relationship as proposed in the Upanishads, there is a dominant one ie the Brahman-Atman unity theory (Brahmatmaikyam). The proponents of the theory posited that Brahman and Atman are essentially one and the same, and “everything is nothing but Brahman”. In other words, everyone has an individual self (“small self”), and others’ “small self”, to one, are external objects, while one’s “small self”, to others, is also an external object. Thus, countless “small selves” and related things in actuality constitute the myriad external phenomena and objects. In illustrating this, *Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upanishad* 3.7.15 states that “He who, dwelling in all things, Yet is other than all things, Whom all things do not know, Whose body all things are, Who controls all things from within, He is your soul, the inner controller - The immortal.” In here, one’s self and the “inner controller” of all things are actually one and the same. Verse 2 of *Mandukya Upanishad* puts it still more clearly: “All this, verily, is Brahman. The Self is Brahman”.