22. The word Akasa refers to Brahman on account of the characteristic marks of Brahman being mentioned.
The Upanishad asks: “What is the goal of this world?” and answers: “Akasa.” It then states that all beings arise from Akasa alone, dissolve into it, and that it is greater than all and their ultimate goal.
At first glance, this might seem to refer to elemental ether, since other scriptures speak of air, fire, and the rest arising from ether and returning to it at dissolution.
However, the force of the words “all beings” and “only” would then be weakened. To preserve their full meaning, the passage must refer to the fundamental cause of everything, including elemental ether itself.
That cause can only be Brahman.
Other Upanishadic passages also use the word Akasa in this higher sense, describing it as that which reveals all names and forms. This confirms that Akasa can function as a name of Brahman.
The text further describes it as greater than all and as the ultimate goal of existence. These are unmistakable characteristics of Brahman alone.
Therefore the Udgitha spoken of in this teaching is not to be meditated upon as a symbol of physical space, but as a symbol of Brahman, the infinite reality from which all beings arise and into which they finally return.