CERTAINTY OF UNCERTAINTY
Certainty of uncertainty points out that one can be certain that the phenomenal world cannot be pinned down as either fully real or fully unreal. It remains an illusion, and it will remain so. Existence cannot be extracted from non-existence. Similarly, a mirage cannot be superimposed on water. It is dependent on an external entity for its manifestation: existence, birth, growth, decay, and absorption. Brahman , or Supreme Self, is certain in a way that cannot be perished, changed, or shaken; the world of objects, thoughts, and events is uncertain by nature. Brahman is uncaused, not subject to space and time. Its Reality is independent, ultimate, and absolute. It is Swayam-prakasa , or Self-luminous, and Swayam-jyoti , or Self-effulgent ( Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, 4.3.1-7; Katha Upanishad, 2.2.15; Mundaka Upanishad, 2.2.10-11; and Shvetashvatara Upanishad, 6.14). The Upanishads illuminate that Brahman needs no external light, mind, or instrument for its own recognition....