Chapter XV - The unitarian formula

1. Om the one.

From all our investigation into the origin, rise, and extent of meaning of the word Om in its orthography, etymology and theology, it is evident that the Indo-Aryan mind was early infused with the idea of an absolute Om corresponding with the Greek On and wn[Greek: ôn], and En and also Aeon of the Gnostics, Latin Ens, Unum and Entity, Romance On and un, and one in English, whose unity was the source of all diversity in the plurality of creation, agreeably to the text aham bahu Syam = Ego multus sim of the Sruti.

2. The Universal soul, = Vìswatman.

It was at first known as one and then as the self or soul by the silent and innate intuition of the intellect, as it is declared in the Mandukya Upanishad II. 2, 5.  ~~,  ~~

Max Müller says (A. S. Lit. p. 23 and 322): "The Atman was next conceived as the Spirit = air, atma and anime." "That one breathed breathless by itself: other than it nothing since has been." Thus says the Sruti Müller p. 560). "This one Atman (atmos) fills, animates and pervades the whole"; as the poet sings "spreads unspent" throughout the infinity of worlds:

 "Which are but parts of one undivided whole  Whose body nature is, and God the soul." (Pope).

 ~~

3.  Called as Tat = that

The inherent one of all ones "to on onton", the unit of unities, the Ens of entities, the soul of the world "Viswatman" was yet without a name, nor did they know how to call him, than by the designation of tat = "that," which they say is expressive of the idea of Brahma  ~~. Because says Vachaspati, the nature of the one Om, was unknown even to the learned  ~~; and therefore it was specified by the demonstrative pronoun that "tat," which sometimes preceded the  ~~ as  ~~ &c. (Greek to on). The necessity of pronouncing Om with tat sat in the beginning of every Vedic rite, is strictly enjoined in Bhagavad-Gita.  ~~

4.  The Impersonal and Personal God.

The word "tat" in the neuter gender, was used for the one self, which as an element or material cause, had evolved all things out of its immaterial essence, and expressed an impersonal God, which the creed of the early philosophers had established in the Vedas. It was at a much later period that the belief of a personal God, is said to have been introduced by the sage Sandilya in the Ch'handogya and Swetasvatara Upanishads, where the self  ~~ is used in the masculine gender, and the masculine pronoun Sa and tam (Greek "ho and ton," Lat "is"), was substituted for tat (Greek to Lat id) in the subjective mantra  ~~; but in the objective mantra it is neuter as  ~~.

5.  Of the Brahma Samaja.

The Brahma Samaj has preserved both the formula of the Impersonal God ( ~~) as their motto, as well as addressed their prayers to the personal God by use of the masculine pronoun sa and tam instead of tat. Thus in the opening hymn of Ram Mohun Roy's Prayer Book  ~~ So in Devendra Natha Thakur's hymn  ~~ This is in accordance to the creed of all civilized nations to apply the masculine pronoun to the Deity. The Koran has "ho=he" in its formulas of "Ho'lahad" "Ho'lghani" &c., and so also the ho of the Bible. Tat like On is sometimes used alone and by itself for God, at the opening of books and chapters, and upon the tops of pages with the Sat following it as  ~~.

6.  Ditto in the Feminine Gender.

But those who have heard the preachings of Keshab Chandra Sen, may well remember his exclamations as  ~~,  ~~, in imitation of the Roman idolatrous philosopher's acclamation to God, "tu pater, tu mater, tu mas, tu femme" &c., in Cudworth's Intellectual System. There is no masculine or feminine representative of the pronoun tat or any other pronoun in the vernaculars, where they are all of the common gender, hence  ~~,  ~~,  ~~,  ~~ &c, used for tat by the Heathen Hindus, are applied alike to their gods and goddesses, while the Sanskrit sah = ho in Greek, Arabic and Hebrew designates the masculine Deity only. Mohammed says in the Koran, "ye are ashamed of your female children, but not of assigning female attributes to the Deity."

7.  Ditto in the Neuter Gender.

The following passages will serve to show the early creed of the impersonal God, from the application of the neuter pronoun tat to him in the Mandukya Upanishad. (11. 2)

  ~~

  ~~

  ~~

  ~~

  ~~

  ~~

  ~~

  ~~

Meaning said:—

"The sun, moon and stars what are they? But a glimpse of light caught from That (Tat)." &c.