Brahman or God or Self, Truth, Consciousness or Existence or whatever you call is not an object perceivable to our senses, mind or intellect. We cannot see it through our physical eye, neither can we taste or hear or smell or even think of Him. Thus, the first approach always has been of negation- not this, not this. He is that, what is not. For example, in the Upanishads, the Masters says- That which cannot be seen, smelt, heard etc but by whose presence the senses or mind works is Brahman.That alone know as Brahman, and not that which people here worship. If you think: "I know Brahman well," then surely you know but little of Its form; you know only Its form as conditioned by man or by the gods. Therefore Brahman, even now, is worthy of your inquiry.Thus Tatastha laksana becomes a must. In the katha upanishad also, we see the reference of a constellation Arundhuti. This constellation being very very far from us is like a dot in the night sky. To reach(see) it,we take the help of other bigger constellations near to this and thus reach the desired Arundhuti. That which helps us in the Self Inquiry in the very outset but looses its relevance once the goal is reached might be defined as the Tatastha laksana.
With this negation comes the right perception of that which IS and which cannot be expressed. This brings us a step further where we can have the benefit of the Swarupa laksana. Within this time, because of a continuous search, our mind also has become much clear where we can hold the idea of that which is transcendental.
The Upanishads holds the knowledge of the Self or God within it. But, there is lesser references of the means to attain the Absolute. Hence, the Br. Su. is an effective tool by which our search gets translated into attainment. The first Sutra starts with a question- 'Athata Brahmajignyasa' and ends with a confirmation- 'Anabritti Sabdat Anabritti Sabdat' - ( liberation from the cycle of birth and death, complete liberation from attachment and aversion, worldly happiness and sadness, fame and defame and from all conflicts and confusions and attainment of the eternal supreme peace while immersed into the ocean of bliss forever.
Now, why does the scriptures specially the Br. Su, advocate guided practice in accordance with the shruti or the Vedas? Once, I came across a reference made in the Vedas thus- ' Navedbin Manute Tam Brihantam'- ( one who doesn't meditate the Brahman according to the hymns of the Vedas, cannot know Brahman'. I was very shocked initially because that suggested only a very narrow minded approach. But, now, my experiences say how correct and perfect those words are of the Vedas. Here, I include all the spiritual texts available in the world when I refer to as the Vedas. When we approach something which cannot be seen or heard or touched or thought of, its the Master and the words of the scriptures which are our only guidelines. We cannot create our own path according to our wish when we reel within the limitations of time, space and casualty.
As to the idea of individual soul, I have to say, the Soul is one and thus infinite but is reflected in every being in equal proportion. The sun falls on a beautiful rose and also on wine bottle. But, there is no two. And while reflecting through the wine bottle, the sun doesn't become impure. Hence, there is one soul. Another example, there are ten pots of water. And within those ten pots, we will see ten suns, but they are one and indivisible. When we break one pot, there remains nine.....eight...seven....then ultimately, one reflected sun and one sun. When the last pot is broken, the one who remained earlier remained thereafter, unchangeable. Gone are the reflections, but the true object remained. That is the Existence, the substratum of every being.
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