Vibhu (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

:विभु) means – 'mighty', 'powerful', 'eminent', 'supreme', 'able to', 'capable of', 'self-subdued', 'firm' or 'self-controlled'; in

Nyaya (Sanskrit: न्याय, ''nyā-yá''), literally meaning "justice", "rules", "method" or "judgment",manas'' or mind. This word has its root in the term, bhū ( भू), meaning – 'become', 'arise', 'come into existence'; thus ''vibhu'' means – 'expand', 'become manifest', 'appear', 'pervade'.

Vedic significance

From

Atharvaveda The Atharva Veda (, ' from ' and ''veda'', meaning "knowledge") is the "knowledge storehouse of ''atharvāṇas'', the procedures for everyday life".Laurie Patton (2004), Veda and Upanishad, in ''The Hindu World'' (Editors: Sushil Mittal and G ...

it is learnt that Sudhanvan Angirasa had three sons, Ribhu, Vibhu and Vaja, collectively known as

Ribhus Ribhus ( Sanskrit: ऋभु, ṛbhu, also Arbhu, Rbhus, Ribhuksan) is an ancient Indian word whose meaning evolved over time. In early layers of the Vedic literature, it referred to a sun deity. It evolved to being a wind deity, thereafter referre ...

who were intelligent sages. They carried the luminous power of knowledge to this world, which knowledge pervaded the world as nectar. Ribhu or Ribhukshan was skillful at handling knowledge; Vibhu or Vibhawa was skillful in pervading and diffusing, and Vaja handled embodied plenitude with similar skill; all three dwelled in the solar-region and are considered to be the rays of the sun. They are the three leaders of rites and the possessors of opulence, and the three deities of several Rig Vedic hymns. A mantra of the

Rig Veda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts ('' śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one ...

reads as follows:- :एकस्य चिन्मे विभ्वस्त्वोजो या नु दधृष्वान् कृणवै मनीषा , :अहं ह्युग्रो मरुतो विदानो यानि चयवमिन्द्र इदीश एषाम् , , (

I.165.10) In the Rig Veda, the word, ''vibhu'', means – 'all-pervading unified entity that permeates or extends throughout a spatial expanse', as is in the afore-cited mantra wherein the phrase - एकस्य चिन्मे विभ्वस्त्वोजः which means - " Though I be but one, let my might be extensive. " Though the words, ''vibhu'' and ''

prabhu ''Prabhu'' means master or the Prince in Sanskrit and many of the Indian languages; it is a name sometimes applied to God. The term is also used by devotees of the Hindu God Lord Krishna/ Vishnu as a title and form of address. It is also appen ...

'', appear in the

but these words have a fixed psychological significance – ''vibhu'' means - 'coming into existence to pervade the whole being as ''

ānanda Ānanda (Pali and Sanskrit: आनन्द; 5th4th century BCE) was the primary attendant of the Buddha and one of his ten principal disciples. Among the Buddha's many disciples, Ānanda stood out for having the best memory. Most of the texts o ...

'', and ''prabhu'' means - 'coming into existence as a specific object or particular experience within the range of one’s consciousness'. A sage of the Rig Veda (II.xxiv.11) asserts that:- :विभु प्रभु प्रथमं मेहनावतो बृहस्पतेः सुविदत्राणि राध्या , :इमा सातानि वेन्यस्य वाजिनो येन जना उभ्यें भुञ्जते विशः , ,

Brihaspati Brihaspati ( sa, बृहस्पति, ), also known as Guru, is a Hindu deity. In the ancient Vedic scriptures of Hinduism, Brihaspati is a deity associated with fire, and the word also refers to a rishi (sage) who counsels the devas (god ...

, the lord of the heaven of light and the guardian of '' rta'', is present in all things and beings (''vibhu'') same as the

Brahman In Hinduism, ''Brahman'' ( sa, ब्रह्मन्) connotes the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality in the universe.P. T. Raju (2006), ''Idealistic Thought of India'', Routledge, , page 426 and Conclusion chapter part X ...

of the

Vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, ...

Philosophical significance

In the

Kaushitaki Upanishad The ''Kaushitaki Upanishad'' ( sa, कौषीतकि उपनिषद्, ) is an ancient Sanskrit text contained inside the Rigveda. It is associated with the ''Kaushitaki'' shakha, but a Sāmānya Upanishad, meaning that it is "common" ...

, while describing the world of Brahman, there is the mention of the hall of Brahman called ''Vibhu'' (or built by ''Vibhu'' here meaning – 'egoism') arriving at which hall the glory of Brahman reaches the one who seeks liberation, where the seeker thinks himself to be Brahman, and thinking thus approaches the throne ''Vikakshanā'' ('perception'), in other words, the seeker having become liberated experiences Brahman, his own true nature. Gaudapada in his ''kārikā'' on the Mandukya Upanishad stating:- :निवृत्तेः सर्वदुःखानामीशानः प्रभुरव्ययः , :अद्वैतः सर्वभावानां देवस्तुर्यो विभु स्मृतः , , describes the fourth state (''

turiya In Hindu philosophy, ''turiya'' ( Sanskrit: तुरीय, meaning "the fourth") or chaturiya, chaturtha, is pure consciousness. Turiya is the background that underlies and pervades the three common states of consciousness. The three common st ...

'') as the ordainer (''iśana''), as the supreme lord (''prabhu''), as the non-dual (''advaita'') and the all-pervading (''vibhu'') god (''devata'') of all beings. Here, the word, ''avyaya'', means that which is not subject to change; and ''turiya'' is ''vibhu'' because it pervades all the three states. According to all six orthodox

Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute th ...

''darśanas'' which comprise

Hindu philosophy Hindu philosophy encompasses the philosophies, world views and teachings of Hinduism that emerged in Ancient India which include six systems ('' shad-darśana'') – Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa and Vedanta.Andrew Nicholson ( ...

, with the exception of

Ramanuja Ramanuja (Middle Tamil: Rāmāṉujam; Classical Sanskrit: Rāmanuja; 1017 CE – 1137 CE; ; ), also known as Ramanujacharya, was an Indian Hindu philosopher, guru and a social reformer. He is noted to be one of the most important exponents ...

’s 'theory of atomic dimensionless soul', the '' ātmān'' is ''vibhu'' ('omnipresent'). The followers of

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle bein ...

, who believe that the ''ātmān'' assumes the size corresponding to the size of the body it occupies, also believe that in the final state of liberation it remains unalterable, but they reject the Hindu theory of ''vibhu'' which to them does not explain if the soul is same at all times everywhere why for is there the experience individual self. Vedāntists argue that for the atman to be unchangeable in the state of liberation then it must be regarded either as ''anu'' ('minute') or as ''vibhu'' ('pervasive'). The contention of the Yoga school that the ''

jiva ''Jiva'' ( sa, जीव, IAST: ) is a living being or any entity imbued with a life force in Hinduism and Jainism. The word itself originates from the Sanskrit verb-root ''jīv'', which translates as 'to breathe' or 'to live'. The ''jiva'', ...

tman'' and the '' paramatman'' are both mere consciousnesses and both are all-pervading (''vibhu'') and that ''

moksha ''Moksha'' (; sa, मोक्ष, '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'' and ''mukti'', is a term in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, enlightenment, liberation, and release. In its soteriologic ...

'' is merely the cessation of pain is also refuted – एतेन योगः प्रत्युक्तः (

Brahma Sutras The ''Brahma Sūtras'' ( sa, ब्रह्मसूत्राणि) is a Sanskrit text, attributed to the sage bādarāyaṇa or sage Vyāsa, estimated to have been completed in its surviving form in approx. 400–450 CE,, Quote: "...we c ...

II.i.3).

Advaita Vedanta ''Advaita Vedanta'' (; sa, अद्वैत वेदान्त, ) is a Hindu sādhanā, a path of spiritual discipline and experience, and the oldest extant tradition of the orthodox Hindu school Vedānta. The term ''Advaita'' ...

rests on the premise that only the substratum (

) is real, the phenomenal world all with its properties and relations is unreal and due to '' maya''. Substance, in its pure subtle state is the constitutive cause of things, and in its rational state it is the substratum of qualities, actions, etc., and exists in nine forms – earth (''prithivi''), water (''jala''), fire (''agni''), air (''vayu''), space (''akasha'') ('which five constitute the physical world'), direction (''disha'') ('without which no movement is not possible'), time (''kaal'') ('the substratum and the causal factor of all psycho-physical product and worldly behaviour'), mind (''manas'') and self (''ātmān''); the first four and mind are ''paramanus'' ('infinitesimal') and the rest are ''vibhu'' ('ubiquitous'), simple and infinite. Vindhyāvāsī, giving up the doctrine of the three psychical organs, associates the processes of the faculty of knowledge (''buddhi'') and I-consciousness with the thinking organ (''manah'') which three were the great all –penetrating ''vibhu''. Vyasa too held mind (''citta'') to be all-penetrating (''vibhu''). Shankara explains that " the Self (Brahman), which is by nature all-pervasive (''vibhu'') assumes the form and qualities of the ''buddhi'' when apparently moving in the cycle of empirical existence. " Brahman, who is omnipresent (''sarvagata''), is without attributes; Brahman with attributes is

Ishvara ''Ishvara'' () is a concept in Hinduism, with a wide range of meanings that depend on the era and the school of Hinduism. Monier Monier Williams, Sanskrit-English dictionarySearch for Izvara University of Cologne, Germany In ancient texts of ...

, who is ''vibhu'' possessing ''mahāmāyā'', and who through his diverse powers creates all this diversity experienced through the senses.

References

{{Indian philosophy, state=collapsed Vedanta Sanskrit words and phrases Hindu philosophical concepts Buddhist philosophical concepts Yoga concepts