ENQUIRY INTO THE FIRST CAUSE

The First Cause, or Adikaraṇa, is inherently omniscient, omnipotent, eternal, and infinite. The First Cause from the assertion of the Upanishads is Brahman, the Supreme Self, or the Absolute Existence. That Existence is inherently all-encompassing and all-pervading. As omnipotent and omniscient, He wills and creates the creation. As all-encompassing and all-pervading, everything is inside, nothing outside of Him; and ubiquitous, He fills every space and soaks into everything, and so He is the First Cause. To enquire into the First Cause, the enquirer, according to Adi Shankaracharya, must be of a trained mind subjected to Atmanigraha, or Self-control through continuous Atmavichara, or Self-enquiry. The enquirer, he says, must learn, practise and develop virtues of discrimination (Viveka) between ephemeral and eternal; detachment (Vairagya) from sensual gratification; discipline (Śamādhi), which includes concentration, forbearance, and mental quietude; and an intense longing for liberation (Mumukṣutva). Similarly, Swami Sivananda suggests in his commentary on Brahmasutras (Text, Word-to-Word Meaning and Commentary, Chapter-1, Section-1) that the enquirer seeking Brahman as the First Cause should cultivate certain qualifications:

(a) Nitya-anitya-vastu-viveka (discrimination between the eternal and the transient); 

(b) Ihamutrarthaphalabhogaviraga (indifference to the enjoyment here or hereafter and of the fruits of one’s actions);

(c) Shatsampat (sixfold virtues, viz., Sama—mind control; Dama—sensual detachment, or Uparati—cessation from worldly enjoyments or not thinking of objects of the senses or discontinuance of religious ceremonies; Titiksha—forbearance in any state of opposites; Sraddha—faith in the words of the preceptor and of the Upanishads; and Samadhana—deep concentration); and 

(d) Mumukshutva (longing for liberation). Such minimal virtues enable one to enquire about the First Cause. 

The First Cause of phenomenal existence is described in the Upanishads as Brahman (Supreme Self, Absolute Existence, and Ultimate Reality). It is the singular, unchanging, and all-pervading Brahman from which everything originates, by which everything is sustained, and into which everything eventually dissolves. Shvetashvatara Upanishad (1.1-3) delves into the questions that it raises on the First Cause of the phenomenal universe and answers them:

i) Is Brahman the primary cause? Whence are we born? By what do we live? Where do we abide at the end? Under whose guidance do we experience pleasure and pain?

ii) Should time, nature, necessity, chance, the elements, or the living self (Purusha) be regarded as the ultimate cause?
iii) The Upanishad reveals that the sages found the answer not through logic or science but through meditation and deep concentration (Dhyana-Yoga).
The sages and seekers in search of the answers dismissed the insentient factors like Kala (time), Svabhava (nature), Niyati (fate or necessity), Yadrccha (chance), and Bhuta (the physical elements), as they are ephemeral conglomerations of causes and effects, such as the body-mind complex, etc. They cannot account for conscious experience, nor can they explain why the Jivatma experiences states of opposites, joys and sorrows, birth and death, over which it has no personal control. The sages and seekers, the Upanishad says, seek to know something other than that—something unchangeable and eternal. They discovered that the true cause is the autopotency, which is hidden behind the qualities of nature. The ultimate answer to all five questions is Brahman—manifesting as both the immutable and the potency that projects, sustains, and dissolves the entire universe. The Upanishad says the sages and seekers, after eliminating the insentient material factors, meditate on Paramatma, or Brahman, or the Supremely Sentient, to realise His creative power hidden within His own qualities. That Brahman is uncaused and the cause, creator, sustainer, and absorber of all unmanifest and manifest existences. He is the Absolute Existence, the Ultimate Reality, infinite, eternal, and beyond space-time. The enquiry into the First Cause, according to sage philosopher Swami Krishnananda, is the ultimate philosophical pursuit of tracing the visible, changing universe back to its uncaused, absolute origin—which is Brahman, or Pure Consciousness (Essays in Life and Eternity, by Swami Krishnananda, Divine Life Society, Rishikesh). He says that the concept of God implies at the same time the concepts of the eternal and infinite, and such concepts cannot arise in the mind of anyone unless those concepts truly exist. Thoughts cannot arise from a vacuum. Consciousness does not have a specific location; rather, its nature is infinite. Brahman as the Supreme Being should be regarded as proof enough, ontologically, of the existence of a reality that is Absolute and transcendental as well as immanent. Further, it is seen that in the world everything is a manifestation of some cause behind it, so that one may hold that the world in its entirety, which discloses the nature of an effect on account of its transience and urge for onwards evolution, can be explained only in terms of a cause behind it, which itself cannot be transient or subject to evolutionary processes. Evolution is a tendency to outgrow oneself in a higher state of affairs, and evolution itself would be meaningless if it were not to end in an achievement, which is its purpose. Cosmic evolution is accountable only to the existence of One only; that existence is Absolute, or Ultimate Reality, or Cosmic Self.  He is uncaused, unchanged, unmoved, and unborn. He embodies spaceless infinity and timeless eternity. Rather than viewing causality as a simple timeline, he explained that human logic naturally demands a reason behind everything. Tracing this chain of cause and effect leads to specific realisations about existence.

1. Outline
The enquiry, or Brahmavichara, into the First Cause in the Upanishads is the ultimate philosophical search for the singular, unchanging reality that underlies the universe. Rather than looking for a physical or material building block, this enquiry shifts the focus inward, establishing that the First Cause of existence is Brahman, or Pure Consciousness, which is identical to Jivatma, or the individual inner self. The enquiry typically starts with existential, fundamental questions asked by seekers and sages. A classic example is found in the opening of Svetasvatara Upanishad (1.1-3): "What is the cause of the universe? Is it Brahman? From where are we born? By what do we live? Where do we find ultimate rest? Similarly, Kena Upanishad (1.1-2) asks, "By whom willed and directed does the mind light on its subjects? By whom commanded does Prana (life breath), the first, move? By whose will do men speak this speech? What intelligence directs the eye and the ear? It is the ear of the ear, the mind of the mind, the tongue of the tongue, and also the life of the life and the eye of the eye. Being disabused of the false notion, the wise, having left this body, become immortal." The Upanishads, after setting the questionnaires, fill in the singular answer "Brahman" as the ultimate cause, or the First Cause. The seekers and sages (known as Brahmavadis or seekers of Truth) scrambled to ascertain the Upanishadic answer by deliberating through meditation on the fundamental mysteries of existence. According to the Upanishads, the answers to these specific questions are:

What is the cause of the universe? The ultimate cause is Brahman (the Supreme Reality). The text systematically reviews and rejects material or mechanical alternatives—such as time, nature, necessity, chance, the five elements, or the individual soul (Purusha)—concluding that none of them can independently create or govern the universe. From where are we born? We are born from Brahman. Through His divine creative power, known as Deva-atman-shakti or Maya, the unmanifest comes into existence in the world of names and forms. By what do we live? We live and are sustained by the power and consciousness of Brahman. He is the inner controller (Antaryamin) hidden within all beings' heart cavities, directing our intellect, life force (Prana), and experiences. Where do we find ultimate rest? We find our ultimate rest, or final refuge, in Brahman during the dissolution of the universe (Pralaya) and through spiritual liberation (Moksha). The Upanishad states that the sages discovered these truths not through intellectual debate alone, but by practising one-pointed meditation and yoga, which revealed the supreme, self-luminous power hidden behind the veil of the material world. The Upanishads systematically examine and dismiss the transient material or objective forces as the primary cause of existence. The sages argued that the ultimate source cannot be Kala, or time, as it is a framework of change and must exist within something else; Svabhava, or nature, and Yadricha, or chance, cannot explain order, intent, and consciousness; and Bhuta, or the matter, cannot be, as it is inert and lacks independent awareness. The seekers and the sages, through deep introspection and meditation, concluded that the source of all manifest and unmanifest is Brahman, or Pure Consciousness. All that is manifest and unmanifest emerged from, is sustained by, and eventually dissolves back into Brahman. It is not created out of nothing, but rather projected out of Brahman's absolute existence or absolute willpower. Brahman is the witness-consciousness behind all moving and unmoving and is the First Cause. When everything is stripped away like a garment of the body-mind complex, including thoughts, emotions, and attachment or detachment, what remains is Pure Consciousness. Brahman is Pure Consciousness. To the perceptive questions of Kena Upanishad (1.1-2), the ultimate source of life, consciousness, and perception. Sages and seekers answer Brahman, the ultimate source of life, consciousness, and perception. The limitations of the body-mind complex, sense organs, and breath are insentient instruments lacking intrinsic subjective experience. The enquiry seeks the underlying catalyst or "engine" that powers human faculties to think, breathe, speak, and perceive. They say in the Upanishad, it is not the sense organ of the eye that sees, but the "Eye of the eye" (the consciousness behind it) that allows sight to happen. Similarly, It is "the Ear of the ear, the Mind of the mind, and the Life of life". It gives consciousness and life force to every organ of senses and perceptions. This driving force is Existence One only, or Brahman—the Supreme Self and Pure Consciousness. It explains that the mind cannot think; it is the Mind of the mind. The ear cannot hear; it is the Ear of the ear. Eyes cannot see; it is Eye of the eye. Breath and speech cannot function on their own; they are merely instruments powered by this underlying, divine reality. In short, it is not the physical eye that sees, but the "Eye of the eye" (the consciousness behind it) that allows sight to happen. Realising one's identity as Pure Consciousness rather than the transient entities leads to transcending limited adjuncts of space-time and realising Atma-jnana, or Self-knowledge.
Seekers need to discriminate between ephemerality and reality. "Reality is that which is," says Swami Venkatesananda (Introduction to Yoga-Vasistha, Divine Life Society, Rishikesh). In Yoga-Vasistha (1.3.1-16), while responding to the questions of Sage Bharadwaj, Sage Valmiki highlights the Ultimate Reality and the sense-perceived phenomenal world is an illusory reflection of the mind. He says that Jivatma is entrapped in the body-mind complex, and the entrapment traps it into phenomenal opposites of misery and happiness and birth and death. Kamana (desires) and Vasanas (mental impressions) act as the binding thread that traps consciousness inside the psycho-physical structures. Sage Valmiki, in response to Sage Bharadwaj, emphasises that the phenomenal dimensions are insentient and lack independent existence. They appear real only because of our sensory perceptions, impressions, emotions, and thoughts. True peace begins when one enquires into the true nature of these fleeting sensory experiences. He describes the cycle of Samsara Chakra, or the wheel of worldly existence, as the reflections of a cluttered mind with impressions, thoughts, and desires. Sage Valmiki teaches that "our latent desires (Vasanas) hold the elements of our physical body together, just as a hidden string holds a necklace of pearls." "If you cut the string of desires, the prison of the physical body loses its hold on your consciousness. However, Yoga-Vasistha says desires may be of impure and pure types. The former leads to sensory gratification and endless cycles of birth and death, and the latter leads to unveiling the veil of ignorance, pointing towards truth and illumination that dissolves darkness and the cycle of Samsara Chakra,or wheel of birth and death. The mind nurturing pure desires remains in a state of detachment, discipline, dispassion, discrimination, and equanimity. They are characterised by a natural leaning toward virtue, wisdom, and Self-enquiry. A disciplined mind moves inward into Hridaya Guha, or the cavity of the heart, to realise Atma-sakshatkar, or Self-realisation. The Upanishads say the cavity of the heart is the abode of Jivatma, or individual Self, and of Paramatma, or Supreme Self (Katha Upanishad, 1.2.20, 1.3.1; Chandogya Upanishad, 8.1.1, 3.14.3; Mundaka Upanishad, 2.2.6, 3.1.9; Shvetashvatara Upanishad, 3.13, 4.17; Taittiriya Upanishad, 1.6.1). The Upanishads explain that the heart is not a phenomenal entity but rather an essence of Pure Consciousness. The heart is described as Dahara Akasha (the subtle space of pure consciousness within), or Anahata Chakra, or the subtle wheel of consciousness—the emotional and spiritual core of human existence where the finite individual self interacts with the infinite.

2. Scriptures
The percipient statement from the scriptures affirms that the insentient Pradhana (Prakriti, or the Primal Matter) can never be the First Cause. Pradhana, by definition in Samkhya, is completely inert, unconscious matter. In Brahmasutra (1.1.5), Adi Shankaracharya highlights the phrase "Ikshateh nasabdam". He points out that “seeing or thinking is ascribed to” the First Cause of the cosmos in the Upanishads. For instance, Chandogya Upanishad states that before creation, Existence thought, "May I become many." An inert, unconscious "cosmic soup" cannot think, plan, or desire. Therefore, an insentient entity cannot be an independent creator. Similarly, It is not possible to find room in the Vedanta texts for the non-intelligent Pradhana, because it is not based on scripture, asserts Swami Sivananda (Brahmasutras, commentary). This is because the scripture attributes seeing or thinking to the cause. In the scripture it is said that the First Cause willed or thought before creation (Chhandogya Upanishad 6-2). The scriptures establish that the sentient Brahman, or Pure Consciousness, is the First Cause. Brahmasutras (1.1.5-11) proclaim that Brahman is the intelligent principle and is the First Cause. The scripture establishes Brahman not merely as the efficient cause (the intelligent designer or "potter") but also as the material cause (the underlying substance or "clay" from which all names and forms emerge) of the universe. The description of the First Cause begins immediately with the second aphorism, known as the Janmadyasya Yatah sutra (Brahmasutras, 1.1.2). This establishes Brahman not just as a passive witness but as the source from which the entire empirical reality emanates, by which it is sustained, and into which it ultimately dissolves. The text explicitly argues that Brahman is both the material cause (Upadana Karana) and the efficient cause (Nimitta Karana) of the universe. In the former, the clay turning into a pot or gold into jewellery, the universe is projected directly out of Brahman's own essence. In the latter, the magician controlling an illusion or the architect designing a structure, Brahman consciously wills and directs the creation. Swami Sivananda says in his Brahmasutras commentary (Chapter 1, Section 1, Topic 2, Janmadyadhikaranam) that Brahman is the First Cause of the creation, and He is eternally pure, wise, and free (Nitya, Buddha, Mukta Svabhava). He is the only cause, sustainer, and final resort in this world. Hence, He is omnipotent and omniscient.
Brahman's knowledge is permanent. He is not in need of any instruments of knowledge. He is not in need of a body. His knowledge is without any obstructions. Aitareya Upanishad (I-1-1.2) says, 'Atman willed, "Let me project worlds."' " So it projected these worlds. In Prasna Upanishad (6-3), it is said of the person of sixteen parts. "He thought. He sends forth Prana..."  Svetasvatara Upanishad says, "He grasps without hands, moves without feet, sees without eyes, and hears without ears. He knows what can be known, but no one knows Him. They call Him the first, the "Great Person" (Svetasvatara Upanishad, VI-8, III-19). Taittiriya Upanishad (3.1.1), which urges the enquirer of Brahman as the First Cause to look for "that from which these beings are born, by which they live, and into which they enter upon departing.” Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (2.3.6, 2.4.22, 3.9.26, 4.2.4), primarily through the dialogues of Sage Yajnavalkya, teaches that the First Cause is Brahman, or the Supreme Self, that cannot be grasped by sensual perception, logic, language, or thought. To find it, a seeker must use the method of radical negation: Neti, Neti ("Not this, not this"). By negating the object, one systematically strips away everything that can be observed—the body-mind complex, including senses, thoughts, and emotions. Negation reveals that once everything else is negated, the sublime Subject is eternal, infinite, unalterable, silent Witness-consciousness; the Seer of seeing; and the pivot of the entire manifest and unmanifest dimensions and beyond the unfathomable comprehension. Chandogya Upanishad (Chapter 6) equally puts the thrust not on non-existence, or Asat, but on Pure Existence, or Sat, which is the ultimate source, substratum, and phenomenal cause of everything that exists. Brahman, or Sat, willed, "May I be another." It then became the Fire Principle operating universally everywhere. That, in turn, willed it, and it became the Water Principle... Sage philosopher Swami Krishnananda, in his commentary on Chandogya Upanishad (Chapter 1, The Vaishvanara Vidya), says Brahman, or the Supreme Being, willed, "May I be many, may I grow forth." That first manifestation is Tejas (Fire/Energy) element, which manifests as heat, light, and electricity; the second manifestation is Ap (Water) element, which manifests as a liquid principle arising from energy; and the third manifestation is Annam (Earth/Food) element, which manifests as solid matter congealing from water. The process is called a triplication (Trivritkarana), giving rise to all gross physical objects and organic life in the universe. The Upanishad says the First Cause is "Tat Tvam Asi", which means "That Thou Art", and is identical to Atman, or the innermost Self.

3. Remarks
To identify an event that occurred immediately prior to another, science frequently views causality as a straight line in time. According to Swami Krishnananda, this linear approach puts us in a "hopeless pursuit" because it creates a vicious cycle in which the cause is only demonstrated by the effect, and the effect depends on the cause. It is necessary to move from physical science to metaphysics to investigate the First Cause. Second, according to Swami Krishnananda, a fundamental principle of this investigation is that a cause must be at least as rich as its effect and that everything must have a cause. Dead matter cannot be the First Cause since the universe exhibits consciousness, intelligence, and order. It must be the ultimate cosmic intelligence that permeates everything. Third, the subject-object divide collapses in an organic whole. Brahman, or the Supreme Self, is the source of the universe. According to Swami Krishnananda, a thorough investigation of the First Cause reveals that it is the very subject of knowledge—deepest consciousness—rather than a far-off, external object concealed in space. Lastly, the "Whole" is the First Cause. According to Swami Krishnananda, the Universal Whole—rather than another isolated entity—is the real cause of all events. The "First Cause" is the timeless, Absolute Reality of sustaining existence at this very moment, not an event that occurred billions of years ago.

-Asutosh Satpathy