Christianity proposes the trinity of Father-Son-Holy Spirit and it is interesting to attempt to see what this may be related to in Advaita Vedanta? If one takes the Son to be the child in us, the Father to be ageless wisdom in us, and Spirit to be the finest and holiest level of being in us.... then the mystery begins to unravel?
Study any young child and it can be observed that they are essentially pure consciousness, therefore the Son perhaps represents consciousness, which in Advaita is the Atman. Wisdom depends upon knowledge and understanding. Knowledge is very cold. When one meets a pure intellectual in ordinary life you can observe how they look at oneself, study one, as an object of knowledge. They love knowledge more than they love people, and they never see the 'you', only you as an object of knowledge. Observing intellectuals more closely it can be detected that they are operating in a two-way direction, they look out at the object of knowledge, and look within, relating what they are seeing to what they already know. Knowledge is already within themselves, and to them the whole enjoyment lies in connecting the knowledge outside with the knowledge inside. Therefore perhaps the Father represents Knowledge in Advaita? There is a third type of person one meets in life who are almost wholly inturned. Their attention is turned within upon themselves. They are the enjoyers of their own being. This is the season of the Christmas Party, and people are encouraged to 'enjoy themselves'. If you go to a party in the next few weeks observe the moment when someone is laughing, or expressing pure enjoyment, or happiness.... you may well observe that they are completely turned in, turned momentarily in upon themselves. They are in love with their own being. They are enjoying their own being. Therefore the Holy Spirit perhaps represents the happiness-joy-bliss of pure Being?
Playing with the words, one arrives at: Consciousness is the Son, Knowledge is the Father, Bliss-Happiness is the Holy Spirit. Consciousness is Sat, Knowledge is Chit, Bliss is Ananda. Advaita is always reminding us that our true nature is Sat-Chit-Ananda. Therefore it can be concluded that Atman, which is pure consciousness only and is looking out, lacks knowledge, which looks simultaneously in two directions, in and out, in order to regain contact with our true being which is inturned within. Perhaps this partially explains why Advaita states that only knowledge, aided by the study of Jnana Yoga, leads to self-realization?
Usually Sat-Chit-Ananda is translated as Being-Consciousness-Bliss, but I suggest that this is a slightly incorrect translation of the sanskrit, due to a slightly incorrect understanding of our true self? It is better to understand the self, as far as it can be put into words, which is doubtful, as Consciousness-Knowledge-Bliss?
Just to throw everything into confusion again, just as one is beginning to think one understands Advaita... the young god of consciousness, the ancient-ever-new god of knowledge, the holy inturned god of being.... are all masks of Visnu. Visnu is playing with us. He is hiding behind these three images. He projects himself as these three forms. Then he peeps out from behind and lets you catch a glimpse of himself, just to make you realize that it is all an illusion. Visnu is utterly, utterly sly. Because you react, and conclude you can never trust the sly man, Visnu intentionally induces mistrust in you, intentionally confuses you, so that.... you have to discover everything for yourself. That is his unseen sly aim... to create a self-evolving being.... You. You may desire to evolve. You may, as a limited nature, long for perfection. But it is prudent to remember that all evolution is in Prakriti. The self is already perfect and doesn't evolve. The self is not Prakriti. The self is not a nature. The self has no nature, no characteristics. It is all a trick.
This explains why Vaisnavism, the worshippers of Visnu as the supreme godhead, come closest to Christianity... both are dualistic systems proposing self and god as separate beings, with the individual wholly dependent upon the god. Both Visnu and the Christian God appear in the form of Father-Son-and Holy Spirit. But Advaita goes one step further when it unequivocally states, self and Brahman are the same, not two, without duality. It is Purusha, the real spirit which, being the highest witness, is located above the three gunas, above Brahma-Visnu-Siva (which are personifications of the three gunas), and it is this highest witness, the Purusha which sees everything as mere Prakriti (Nature).
Beyond Purusha is Brahman, the self.
When the Shankaracharyas are addressed as 'your holiness'... it may simply be an indication that they have, at least, reached the level of Purusha, Holy Spirit, and realize that everything in Nature is merely the action and inter-action of the three gunas?
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