Nirguna Brahman

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Nirguna Brahman, (literally, the attributeless Brahman, Devanagari: निर्गुण ब्रह्म) refers to reality which pervades through the universe. It is considered without any form in Advaita and without material form in Dvaita schools of philosophy. In either case, it is considered beyond sensory and mental comprehension.

Advaita Vedanta philosophy says that for human eyes Nirguna Brahman is viewed as Saguna Brahman, or Brahman with personal attributes, and is commonly worshipped as Vishnu, Shiva or Devi by Hindus.

Dvaita philosophy, however, considers Vishnu to be Nirguna Brahman and jivas as conditioned by gunas, though not Saguna Brahman. Ramanuja, Madhva, Caitanya, and all other Vaisnava acharyas differ strongly with Shankara's doctrine of Saguna Brahman (Brahman with material adjuncts, upadhi) and his two levels of reality (vyavaharic and paramarthic) since they, in their opinion, believe that his views lack support of Vedanta Sutra.

According to the Vaishnava acharyas, Ishwar or Supreme Being is always nirguna in terms of his being free from the influence of the material gunas, either as indeterminate Brahman, or as Vishnu/Krisna or any of his avataras. They do not understand any verse in Bhagavad Gita to describe the jiva as Saguna Brahman. Sri Caitanya says through the pen of Krishnadasa Kaviraja that Shankara, in asserting his opinion as to the meaning of the Sutras, has in effect said, vyasa bhranta, "Vyasa is crazy, therefore let me explain what the sutras of Vyasa should have said."

The jiva is no doubt identified with the gunas of prakrti (matter) and in this sense saguna, but the idea that the jiva is Brahman who has become subject to identification with material nature is another idea altogether. According to Sri Caitanya the jiva is Brahman in that it is a particle of a shakti of Brahman. In this sense it is identified with Brahman, but the jiva is also simultaneously different from Brahman in that it is only a particle of one of Brahman's shaktis. The Divine energy (shakti) and the Divine himself (shaktiman) are both one and different from one another (Achintya Bheda Abheda). Thus there exists the possibility of an illusioned jiva (individual soul), but not that of an illusioned Brahman.