Bhagavad Gita Ch15 part 10 on 01 August 2021

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

OM VASUDEVASUDAM DEVAM KAMSACHANURAMARDANAM DEVAKIHI PARAMANANDAM KRISHNAM VANDE JAGADGURUM SARVO PANISHADOKAO DOKDHA GOPALANANDANA PARTHO VATSHA SUDHIR BOKTA DOKDHAM GEETAM RITAM MAHAT MOOKAM KAROTI VACHALAM PAMGUM LANGAYATHE GIRIM YAD KRIPATA MAHAM VANDE PARAMANANDA MADHAVAM We have been discussing how Bhagawan Krishna is trying to convey the message to us that accepting me, accepting God, accepting Brahman, nothing else exists. Then the natural question that follows is who am I? What is this world? And who are you? What is the relationship between you, me and the world? And the Lord is telling that there are no three things. Whatever exists is only one. In order to prove that, the last few verses, first he is telling that you think you are an individual. You think you are separate from me. But no. MAMAYIVAM SHRAO JEEVALOKE Every Jeeva is only my part. But with God, this word part doesn't make any meaning. Infinite is not a collection of infinite number of parts. We cannot legitimately call it even infinite. Who is there to call? It's our human mind which says this is finite and there must be an infinite. Just as this is light, so there must be darkness. So the Lord says that I alone am manifesting in the form of every Jeeva, individual personality which we usually call me, I. And then with the help of the body-mind, I go on enjoying this whole universe, every object in this world. So truly speaking, there are only two things. I and everything else. I am the subject, everything else is the object. The object is inert, without consciousness and it is changing. It is material. It is endowed with qualities. It comes and goes and it is completely dependent upon me, the pure consciousness. Whereas the subject is just the opposite of the object. Therefore, says I only use this body-mind. Now the big question comes, what for? In the Mandukya Karika, Acharya, he elaborates this one and says, Srishti, what is called Leela, it could be Prabhus, the Paramatmas, Brahman's desire. It is a divine sport. It is his desire. It is his manifestation. It is Kala. Naturally, the question comes, why does God require? Is he bored because of infinite time? No, there is nobody to be bored. To be bored, there must be a mind and there must be another something to bore it. This division doesn't exist in God. Therefore, these are all puerile explanations for puerile minds. That's all. But we are endowed with a body-mind. Therefore, these questions are very natural to us. The Lord wants to clarify and say, I am sporting in this world as you. I know it, but you do not know it. That was what was discussed in the earlier shlokas until the 9th, 7th, 8th and 9th. In these three verses, Krishna says that Brahman alone is manifesting in every body as Siddha Vasa, with reflected consciousness, also called as Jeevatma, what we call I. And this fact is the starting point of our spiritual sadhana. That's why in India, when we meet people, now many Westerners are also learning it, we say Namaste, salutations to you. The salutation is not given to the other inert body, inert mind, this rotting, ever-changing body-mind, but that which is behind, without which body-mind cannot exist, cannot function, but with which it can accomplish a lot to that pure consciousness which is behind, like electricity is behind the fan, behind the heater, behind the magnetic power, behind the heater, wherever electric gadgets are working, the electricity, invisible, silent, and because of it, everything works. Without it, nothing can even be cognized. So without consciousness, I cannot cognize myself, much less the body or much less the world itself. So from the, until the 11th shloka, it is said that the Jeeva is none other than this one. Now from the 12th to 15th, we are entering into the beautiful topic. Okay, Jeeva is Brahman because Jeeva, individual being, has a bit of consciousness, though reflected consciousness, doesn't matter, but there is consciousness. Incidentally, there is no difference between pure consciousness and reflected consciousness. Just to give an example, suppose there is brilliant sunlight, your room is dark, you are in a dark room, suddenly there is a mirror and there is a small chunk, a hole through which the rays of the sun are entering, directly falling upon the mirror and that mirror reflects the sunlight. Not only it lets us know I am the mirror, but at the same time, it also illumines everything according to its power of reflection, scope of the circumference of the reflection. So is there any difference between the reflected light as well as the original light of the sun? If you discriminate, analyze, absolutely none. The only difference is the mirror is small, therefore the reflection is small. The sunlight never becomes small, but it can only be reflected in that limited adjunct according to its capacity. So that is how there is absolutely no difference between Jivatma and Paramatma. In the next four verses, 12th to 15th, we are entering the next topic. What is the topic? Brahman alone is manifesting in the form of the Jagat, in the form of the inert universe. Naturally, my words can be, if you heard carefully, I said inert universe and that inert universe, Jada Jagat, Jada Prapancha is only from the individual point of view, not from the Paramatman point of view. There is no such division. This is inert. This is with Chit. Everything is nothing but Sat, Chit and Ananda Swaroopa. So what are we talking about? The next question that comes is Jiva is Paramatma, okay, at least part of the Paramatma, okay, but what about this world? Well, Krishna is, Krishna means Bhagawan. Now our thing, Krishna is an individual. He is the Paramatma manifesting in the form of Krishna. So Paramatma is Krishna also. Paramatma is Rama also. Paramatma is Jesus also. Paramatma is Buddha also. Paramatma is a mosquito also. Paramatma is everything. But if you say this is Krishna, you never say Krishna alone is Paramatma. Krishna is also Paramatma. Vaikuntha, in Vaikuntha, Paramatman is also there. Never say he is there alone. What is this world? Nothing but Brahman. Brahman manifesting. When Vedanta uses, by Vedanta, I mean Advaita Vedanta uses the word manifestation, you have to understand like gold manifesting as ornaments. What is the ornament? Is there something separate from the gold? Gold is an object. Is there an object called a ring, a bangle? Absolutely no. Gold in a particular form, with a particular name, with a particular utility. Utility because you can't put a ring around your neck nor can you put a necklace around your finger unless you are truly neckless. This Paramatma manifesting means Paramatma himself is playing. Just as we play, we the waker of consciousness being, place in the dream, I have become the participant, dream, I, dreamer, I. I have become the dream world. I am the subject. I am the object. And when I wake up, I understand I alone have created, have manifested, have become. Besides me, nothing happens. The waker, as soon as he realizes I am the waker, the entire creation and experiences and all the individual objects disappear at the same time. So manifesting means, creation means, not like a potter creates a pot, but like gold becoming an ornament. This is the Advaitic philosophical viewpoint and we are always discussing because I believe in Advaita and I think Advaita is the highest reach that human intellect can really reach. What is the question? If Paramatma is the Jeeva, then what about this world? There cannot be any division in God. All must be God only. Sarvam Brahmaiva idam. Bhagavan is everything and that Sarvatma Katvam, all pervadingness, all beingness is briefly dealt with in these verses, in these four verses and for this purpose, Bhagavan Krishna devises an easy method of teaching. What did he do? He divides this entire universe. Remember the question, what is this universe? It is nothing but Paramatma. But this universe is divided into two, the external and the internal. The external is also made up of five elements. The internal is also made up of the five elements. That means the external universe, this body as well as the mind, everything is the manifestation of Bhagavan in the form of the world, Bhagavan in the form of the individual, Bhagavan in the form of the mind. Everything is nothing but God. This is divided into two categories. One is called inert universe. Another is called universe with a bit of reflected consciousness. Chetana Prapanchaha, Achetana Prapanchaha. Krishna says that I alone am in the form of Chetana Jeeva, I alone again am appearing in the form of the Achetanam Jagat also. So like you know in cinemas, there is the same actor, he is playing the roles of two, the hero and the villain at the same time. I do not know what is the technique, how they make it, but the villain and the hero are fighting each other and so both of them, dress is different, appearance is different, but exactly the same person. What is the point? The point is that when the hero is fighting with the villain, he says I am the subject, this villain is the object, vice versa. When the villain is thinking I am the person, I must finish this hero, I am the conscious being, I am the subject, I am the experiencer and this villain, this hero is the object. So as if I am the pure consciousness, subject and everything else is object, which is inertness opposed to subject. So each one is thinking like that. So we also, just as we do, the same conscious being divides itself into the conscious being as well as inert being in our dream state. Similarly, in this waking state also. We are talking now about the waking state, Jagrat Prapancha, but this analogy of the dream is very useful for us. So Krishna divides the entire object, objective universe into two, that with life, with consciousness and without life, without consciousness. I am the inert, consciousnessless universe. I am also that universe, what we call the living beings, individual beings, Jivas. We have seen from verse 7 to 11, 5 verses, how Jiva is Brahma. Now how is this world? Why do we need to deal with this subject? Because we have to understand that excepting God, nothing exists. God is everything, therefore everything is God. So the logic is this. Bhagawan being the cause of everything, Bhagawan alone is the effect of everything and the cause and the effect cannot be different and therefore Bhagawan alone is this universe also. So that is what he is trying to tell us. And for this purpose, again the Bhagawan divides that how he has become the external world, how he has become our body, how he has become everything within this body, how he has become everything within the mind, three points. Bhagawan has become the so-called external universe. Bhagawan is manifesting as the creator of the external universe, as the creator of the body, as the creator of the mind and Bhagawan is sustaining the external world, the body and the mind and these three points, Bhagawan as if separate, divided himself into the external world, into the body, into the mind but from outside he is creating, he is sustaining. First, how he is the creator? That we have briefly seen yesterday. It is the twelfth verse. That light that is in the sun and illumines the whole universe and that light that is reflected in the moon and is likewise in fire also, know all these three, all the three lights, all the three powers as mine. What is worthy to be taken note of is, here he says, Tejaha, Tejaha means light, Tejaha means power, power to create and to sustain. First, how he creates the external world? How? In the form of the sun, in the form of the sun and not in one form. The sun as if divides himself into the sun, the moonlight and the light of the fire, the power of the sun, power of the moon and power of the fire but all the three are nothing but one Paramatma and it is collectively called the sun. The sun reflects in the moon and through that he sustains and he also manifests in the form of the fire because whenever you see, you cannot fire, you cannot light up a wet fuel, only dry fuel we can light up. What is the meaning of dryness? Dryness means the power to become burnt, to light up fire, to manifest as fire. How does he do? By withdrawing, by making dry. What is it that makes dry? The sun, the heat of the sun and how is the heat of the sun? How does it do it? Through the aid of the air. The air dries up. How does the air dry up? Because of the power of the sun. The heat carried by the air, that is what dries up everything and whatever is dried up removes the obstacle for the manifestation of fire and that is what is called fire. Through the power of the sun, the same power manifesting through the moonlight and the same power manifesting as the fire in these three different forms. But everything is nothing but the sun. But then who is the sun? Maam. So he says Maamakam, Tad Tejaha, whatever power, whatever light, whatever heat, whatever power is manifested in the sun, in the moon and in the fire is none other than me and this is what is called Srishti. Can you imagine if there were to be no sun, whether there would be any creation, whether there would be any sustenance, whether there would be any dissolution? It is impossible. Let us take a few words and discuss it. Bhasa Yathe, Brahman alone manifests as the sun, moon and fire. That's why Hindus worship the Lord in every form. The whole universe is nothing but Brahman and Brahman, how does it manifest? In the form of the sun, moon and fire. And what is the universe? It is the manifestation of the sun, the moon and the fire. So the power of the sun in the form of the sunlight, moonlight and power of the firelight, these three is equivalent to Srishti creation, external creation. We will come to the internal creation too. So this is how the Lord, without the sun there would be no life, there would be no plants, there would be no earth, there would be no air, there would be no fire, there would be no water and there would be no earth. And that is why the Hindus are asked to sacralize everything, to divinize everything. That's why Hindus worship animals such as Hanuman, even mice, birds, of course human beings in the form of Gurus, in the form of Bhavataras and wherever greatness. We salute Einstein, we salute Max Planck, we salute Shakespeare, we salute Beethoven, we salute Kalidasa, Bhavabhuti and Pravindranath Tagore and of course not to speak of saints like Ramana Maharshi, Mirabai, Tulasi Dasa, Kabir Dasa, Purandara Dasa etc. And not to leave out Rama, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus etc. These are and then Acharya, Shankara, Ramanuja, Mathwa. Why? Because these are all special manifestations. I would like to draw your attention to one particular point. There is nothing called redundant in this world. Even mice, they are nuisance but how much we are alive only because of the mice. Why? Silently like the workers in many places, at night only they come out and then they clean the whole lot, whatever is rotting, whatever is smelling, they silently remove, clean everything. Only now we are able to appreciate whether it is worms, ants, everything. David Attenborough's beautiful documentary, nothing in this world is redundant, nothing is waste, every single thing has got its own purpose. If something doesn't have its purpose but it served its purpose at one point of time and that's why we have to salute everything. So Hindus worship human beings, Hindus worship trees, those worship rivers, mountains, the five elements. Is there anything the Hindus do not worship? Everything is worship. Why? The reason is that the Jagat or the world doesn't exist separate from Bhagawan. That means what? If we have the Jnana Chaksham, the eyes of the knowledge, Jnana Anjana, the Kali Ream of knowledge, then everything can be seen as nothing but God. So to make this point clear, Krishna takes a few important manifestations of which we already talked about, the sun, the moon and the fire. What are these? These are natural forces, elemental elements. Without them it is impossible. Of course there are other things like Pancha Bhuta, the space, the air, of course the fire, the water and the earth. But I mentioned just now, if there is no sun, would there be space? Would there be air? Would there be water? That's why we call them solar winds. Will there be fire? Will there be water? Will there be earth? Will there be life? Absolutely nothing at all. Even if all these things are there, if there is no life, no consciousness, who is going to recognize? Yes, the world exists only because I cognize it. I am aware of it. Without me being aware, the whole world is destroyed in a billy second. The brilliant example is when I am in deep sleep, the world doesn't exist. World means another name for limitation, another name for bondage. Since the world doesn't exist, I am unlimited, I have no problem. If I don't have a problem, then I don't need a God. So along with world, God also disappears totally in that state called Nidra Sushupti. What are these forces? We have to understand the sun means all the five elements. But the sun manifesting, as I already mentioned, the power of the sun, solar energy. Now that is the most cleanest energy. That's why so much of research is going on. How to use this inexhaustible, cleanest, purest, most healthy solar power? And then second is moon power. Third is power of the Agni. Let us briefly analyze whatever, first of all, what is called that power of the sun. Power, energy, whatever you call it. We are, especially in the tropical countries, so much blessed to have abundance of the sun. And yet we are fools not worshipping the sun as a divinity himself because we owe our life, our intelligence, our energy, our very existence because of the light. And if I exist, and if I have life, if I have consciousness, and if it is all due to the sun, then what is the sun? Is it a burning gas? Not at all. It is the living manifestation of Paramatman as Srishti, Stithi, and Laya as Sat, Jit and Ananda. So, Jagad Bhasayate, the sun, illumines the whole world. And because of the light, our consciousness functions. Imagine consciousness without light. It is practically blinded. And where is this sun? It is mind-boggling. It is nearly 9 crore miles away. And the moon is supposed to be 2.5 lakh thousand miles away, kilometers away. And yet this sunlight, every single day, day and night, are divisions only from the human point of view, become reflected in the moon. That is called Chidabasa. And the original sunlight becomes moonlight. And even this moonlight is so powerful that on a full moon day, one can even read books. It is said even this light hurts. One rarely sees because we are blinded by one kind of pollution. That is called light pollution, dust pollution, light pollution. If they are removed, if you are fortunate to go to such a place like the Middle East, at night you see full moon as if the whole world comes to light. And if you can look through the eyes of David Attenborough, as soon as sun sets, another type of life springs into action. And that is also part of the universal play of this life. This is the sun, power of the sun. And whenever you have battery lights, solar lights, electric lights, it is all nothing but the power of the sun being taken advantage of through some instruments or medium, hydroelectric power, etc. And the moonlight, what does it do? It becomes so wonderful. Without moonlight, just imagine, sunlight is there, fire is not there, moon is not there, the world will be burnt to death. But what does the moonlight do? Soothes the body-mind. It brings tremendous joy. That's why poets go into ecstasies describing the beauty of the moon. It evokes tremendous amount of love. All the poetry, I would think, is because of the moon. Not only that, it sustains all the nourishing plants. That nourishment, rasatmakaha, which we see in our day-to-day food material, is all directly moonlight converted into this beautiful digestible food. And the moonlight, let us not forget, is nothing but sunlight modified and diluted for the purpose of our life, our activities, etc. If I am very energetic, that is due to sunlight. How come? Because it is the sun which produces food and we eat that food. And what is that food? It is nothing but energy. Without food, there is no energy. And that energy comes from food. Food comes from plants. And plants produce food because of the solar energy. See how beautifully this is reflected in the teachings of this Bhagawan. So here also we have Agni. This is the most wonderful thing. But I will come back again to this. Sun is the root cause of everything. And that's why in the Vedic tradition, in Vedas, every Aryan's day begins with the worship of the sun. You know the famous Sandhya Vandana? Every early morning, Sandhya time, dawn and dusk, one has to face the sun. It is not merely spiritual. It is also extremely physical. Our Rishis know that at these two times, the rays of the sun are extremely beneficial. And that's why even today, without the sunlight, people suffer from a mental disease. You know what is the disease called? It is called S.A.D. Sadness will be there. Depression will be there. They will be in the lowest, darkest modes. What is this S.A.D.? Seasonal Affectation Disorder. What is it due to? Sufficient lack of sunlight. What is the remedy? Somehow substitute the sunlight with the help of some particular kind of electric light, which gives a particular type of probably ultraviolet or whatever, I am not sure, in the form of electric light. That is the only possible remedy. But if somebody can meditate upon the sun, closing the eyes, I wholeheartedly believe that gives the same effect. Our ancient Rishis have recognized it. And then here is the everyday, every upper class Hindu or Aryan who does this Sandhya, that is Surya Upasthanam, meditating, contemplating upon the sun. Here is the Rig Vedic Mantras. OM MITRASYA CHARSHANI DHRIDAH SHRAVO DEVASYA SANASIM SATYAM CHITRA SHRAVASTAMAM MITROJANAM YATAYATI PRAJANAM MITRO DADHARA PRATHIVIM UTADHYAM MITRAH KRISHTI ANIMISHA VIJASTE SATYAYA HAVYAM GHRIDHAVAT VIDHEMA Similarly, Vespaland and Surya, Devata is omniscient, supports earth, heaven and all beings, every life, the entire universe, entire creation. I offer my oblations of ghee, clarified butter to secure lasting blessings from that Supreme God, that universal friend who sustains Dharma, insulates us against diseases, worldly difficulties and keeps us away far from sins. And he gives us longevity and happiness. This comes in the Sandhya Vandanam. If there are Brahmins who are still doing Sandhya Vandana, they can understand it. It is the sun alone sustaining the living beings. Therefore, MITRO DADHARA PRATHIVIM UTADHYAM. MITRA means the sun. The sun alone sustains the earth. That means sustains life. That means sustains the creation. So in this verse, Paramatma is manifesting in the form of creation. What is the essence of what we just now discussed, 12th verse? The sun plus moon plus fire. That means the power of the sun, the sunlight, moonlight, firelight. That means the power of the sun plus the power of the moon plus the power of the fire is what we call this entire universe. This is about creation. Now we are entering into the second form. God has got three functions. One is creation. Second is sustenance. Now Lord Krishna is talking about the second form. He who creates. The mother gives birth to the baby and she only sustains the baby while the baby was in the womb. But for many years, in fact the whole life, it is only the mother. It is only the mother's body. Our bodies are nothing but the mother's body. Father's contribution is very little. It is only very little. It is the mother's sustenance. The Surya, Bhagawan, our divine mother. She means Surya in the form of the divine mother. Motherliness is sustaining this whole universe. How is He doing? Verse number 13 Then what do I do? Soma Bhutva Sarvaha Aushadhi Prasatmaka Pushnami Entering the earth, I sustain all beings by my energy at the sun and becoming a sapid moon. I nourish all herbs. I endow every food material, every plant, every fruit, every leaf, every root with what? With Prasa. Prasa means life. Life-giving, life-sustaining, health-giving, health-sustaining material in the form of vitamins, etc. We know that when a person doesn't have sufficient sunlight, then vitamin defects, vitamin A, vitamin D, especially vitamin D3 is very very defective and that leads to lot of physical, biological problems affecting our mind also. So without this power of the sun and the moon and of course the resultant of these two, which is the fire, natural powers, forces or energy, we cannot think of a creation or its survival. So in this verse, the first line talks about the contribution. What does the Shakti do? So he says, Gaam means the earth. He enters in the form of solar energy. Oh, the sun penetrates and then what does he do? Pervades all the directions, blesses all the Jeevarasis with what? Hojas, Prana Shakti. How does he do it? Through the food, through directly sunlight, so external sunlight on our skin and internal sunlight in the form of food, etc. So as I discussed earlier, if we have insufficient sunlight, we are likely to suffer not only from physical diseases, from mental diseases also. Not only that, our whole life is controlled through what is called biological rhythmic activities. So biorhythm this is called. And even today, our bodies are tuned only to the rise and set of the sun and not to anything else. Why not? Because the moon also is nothing but the sun. The fire also is nothing but the sun. So it is the sun who sets this biological rhythm. And that's why when the sun goes down, what happens? Do not take heavy meals because when the sunlight is not there, energy is not there, activity is less. We can only sleep and recoup the energy. So digestion will become very difficult. Ramakrishna had a beautiful saying, Get none, eat to your stomach full. But at night, Just very light food which we can digest. Now the whole world is following the opposite. All day they will have some little breakfast, some people even skip breakfast for getting very cheap tickets in the British Airways so that they weigh 5 grams and then, oof, if you say, they will float away. This is the latest idea of looking beautiful and glorious. Just the opposite of Victorian idea of what is beauty. This is not going to work at all. People will become what is called various, subject to various diseases. Entering the earth. In the daytime, I energize people, energize the plants. And at night, I sustain all beings by giving sweetness and full of rasa, that which sustains energy to all the plants by giving rest to people and making the earth cool, etc. So that people can recoup, forget the whole burden, limitation of the life and get up every day afresh. Every day, the beginning of life. That is what in Sandhya Vandana we have to understand. That is why we are asked to get up before sunrise and we are asked to, if possible, go to bed as soon as the sun sets, early to bed, early to rise. But now the whole modern world eats very lightly during the daytime and heats terribly and so many undesirable things are happening health-wise, mental health-wise, every-wise. And that is what makes us otherwise. So this solan energy is also called pranic energy because it is the solar energy in the form of the air, in the form of water, in the form of heat, in the form of everything, it gives us prana or energy. And that is why the sun, in one way, is responsible for keeping this body, this annamaya kosha, very healthy. But who is responsible for the health of the other four koshas, four sheaths, the manomaya, vijnanamaya, and pranamaya, manomaya, vijnanamaya, and anandamaya, that is also the sun only. I want to remind you that when Ramayana war was going on, Rama found extremely difficult. He was tired. Then Agastya comes and then advises him, Oh Rama, I am teaching you most secret, well-guarded secret, but you have to destroy the evil. That's why pray to Aditya, the sun god. That is why they are called Suryavamsas also. What is that? Incidentally, most kings in India derive their lineage either from Suryavamsa or Chandravamsa. Why do they do that? Because the whole creation is nothing but a combination of the sun and the moon. So many things are involved in what we are discussing here. So here Agastya comes and says he teaches a beautiful hymn and it is called Aditya Hridayam, the heart of the sun, not the burning gas, but that devata, that sustaining consciousness which manifests in the form of the sun and that is called Aditya. So here is just a few samples. When you get time, you please go through this Aditya Hridaya and it is believed everyday recitation of this is very good both for physical health, for mental health, for spiritual health, for aesthetic health, for moral health, every type of health. Here is just a few samples. It is available on the internet. Rama was having Ravana in front of him and he was tired of this battle and he was mightily depressed. How to do it? Many celestial beings have come to witness this fun. Indian mythologies are wonderful. All these devatas, they have all come to see this Rama-Ravana Yuddha. Along with all those celestial beings, along with them, a great sage called Agastya, he approached Bhagavan Rishi. He approached Rama Rama. What does he say? I am going to tell you a most ancient, a most sacred, a most sacred and a most valuable hymn to you. It is a contemplation on Bhagavan, the son. This is called Aditya Hridaya. It is conducive to all sorts of punya, virtue, happiness and Sarvashatru Vinashanam. It destroys, by the grace of the sun, destroys all the enemies, not only external but internal. And it gives you the greatest victory. What is the victory? You will know who you are. You must repeat it all the time. Pray to God. What is this? The greatest auspiciousness will come and that result you get is Akshayam means infinite. That means you will become, you will get Moksha, etc. So, this is how the greatness of sun is expressed not only in the form of what is called Savitri Upasana, Saraswati Upasana, Gayatri Upasana, three times Gayatri, Saraswati, etc. And now, we are turning the same sun out of his compassion for his own creation, for himself of course, in the form of the creation. What does he do at night? He is protecting everybody. How? He becomes Rasatmaka, full of juices, healthy juices, not only physical healthiness, every type of healthiness. And Somabhutva, what is the embodiment of all this health at night? In the form of the moonlight. And so, even the waxing and waning of the moon is just the right thing. That's why there are some people all over the world, they understood this intuitively. They plant many seeds only when the moon is light and many Ayurvedic pundits gather, helps, etc. or the medicines for various types of diseases only when the moon is present. On a particular day, the moon should not be, need not be full moon, need not be what is called first moon, but it could be second moon, seventh moon, eighth moon, eleventh moon, etc., etc. Just to give you some, if anybody, any one of you has visited Velur Mutt in winter season, there is the power of the moon can be seen in the form of the ebb tides, the tides, the whole Ganges, as if one second it is flowing towards the sea, second, there is a conflict from the sea, the power of the sea, the power of the moon in the form of the sea throws out this, throws back, you go back to your home and then the down-flowing water and the opposite home-turning water of the same river clash and it raises even 15 to 20 to 30 feet and then it is a very fearful sight, delightful sight. Please witness it when you happen to visit Velur Mutt next day. Perhaps the same thing can be seen at any river wherever you are in America or UK or wherever it is. What does this moon do? Aushadhi Sarvan Pushnami Becoming embodiment of healthy juices, I make all the plants extremely suitable food for the birds, for the animals, for worms, for human beings, for babies, for diseased people, old age people, for everybody. That is why Soma is a wonderful word in the Vedic times. There is a particular herb called Soma and the juice extracted from it is highly delightful and intoxicating also and that is extensively used and offered to the celestial beings also. Somobhutva Rasatmakaha So what are we talking about? The Bhagawan manifests in the form of the sun and sun manifests in the form of the moon also and the moon manifests in the form of the fire also through the combined forces of these three in different ways has created this external world is sustaining the external world without that the power of the sun all the three that means without the power of the creator Paramatma the world would not have existed but we are in the world so it is existing. What is it for? Not only I am manifesting in the form of the individual I am also manifesting in the form of the entire world I am the Jeeva I am the Jagat I am the Paramatma There is no division Jeeva plus Jagat plus Paramatma Individual soul plus the world plus Paramatma They are not three things It is manifestation of the infinity in the form of these three triangles Now the Lord not only is sustaining the world from outside He is also sustaining the world from within How? He is supplying food Sun means food If you ever eat a piece of bread and it is buttered it is also jammed so this butter and jam really it becomes a jam and when it goes inside what is that? It is nothing but a piece of the sun What is this piece of sun? Energy Food is nothing but energy That is how He is sustaining but when we eat food so graciously provided by God our problem is only eating and when we eat it has to be digested and who is that who digests it? Can I digest it? No So the Lord is manifesting in the form of Prana in the form of Apana in the form of internal fire called digestive fire Jatavedaha Vaishvanaraha It is Jirnagni digestive power perhaps it is called in medical circles hydrochloric acid As the fire Vaishvanaraha fire I enter into the bodies of all living creatures In fact as soon as the creature is created born the fire is already along with that birth inside When a baby even drinks milk even in the womb who digests it? It is the Divine Lord Who supplies it? The Divine Lord in the form of the sun in the form of food in the form of the mother's milk and then who digests it? It is the Lord in the form of the digestive fire called Jataragni or called Vaishvanaraha I enter into the bodies of all living creatures Aham Paramatma not Krishna Paramatma Vaishvanaraha Bhutva becoming the fire called Vaishvanaraha Where do I enter? Praninam Deham Ashritaha Entering and sustaining inside the bodies Prana Apana Samayuktha I take the help of Prana and Apana What is Prana? Breathing in What is Apana? Breathing out This Prana in Vedantic terminology is divided according to its functions into five categories Prana Vyana Udana Apana Samana But it is only one energy one Prana one life energy giving different functions One is to carry food another is to digest another is to distribute it throughout the body where necessary another is to throw out the unregistered poisonous food and another is to assist us to make the Jeeva exit at the time of death so that he can enter so that particular Prana it helps us to exit and again helps us to enter through a particular nodule All this is being included in this 14th verse Aham Vaishwana Robhutva residing in the body of all beings the digestive power and taking the support of exhalation and inhalation Prana and Apana I digest fourfold food there is an external fire power in the form of heat in the form of light or electric lights electric fires etc very necessary in the form of seasons also winter season summer season and spring season atom season rainy season etc but this fire has manifestation also internally in the form of the digestive juice in this 14th verse Agni power is talked about as the internal power external fire and internal fire and this internal fire is known by different names one is Jathara Agni another is Vaishwanara Agni whenever we eat food that mostly most of the food we eat is cooked food rice is cooked nobody eats simply raw rice wheat is cooked vegetables are cooked most of the time especially Indians until the prana departs from every one of them so much they boil it it is only that's why it doesn't sustain really but there is a secondary cooking as soon as we drink milk or drink water or eat food it has to be cooked again that cooking is done by fire which is the internal fire that is called the digestive fire that is called Vaishwanara Agni without that digestive problems will be there and there is what is the point of it point is that you are created by God you are able to live because of God and you are able to breathe in breathe out you are able to get energy by eating food only because God in the form of the digestive fire He cooks turns that food into energy and in the form of the five pranas distributed in every single way that's why Brahmarpanam has to be done today I will tell you a few examples and then close this talk one day Ramakrishna was eating and before that I have to tell you that for every realized soul everything he does is Brahmarpanam God it is God who is doing it is God who is the body who is the mind it is God who is the world and there is no I there is no me God is doing that is the essence see God in everything that is the essence of the 24th verse of the 4th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita we have seen that one that is the greatest what is called Igna Brahma Igna and one who succeeds in that Igna he attains Samadhi called Brahma Samadhi but it is called Karma Samadhi Brahma Karma Samadhina that means through every action everything is perceived as none other than Brahman now there are some people who perform specially Agnihotram it is called food offering that is I am not the eater the eater is God himself within my body in the form of Agni Paramatma in the form of Agni is receiving food that is supplied by Paramatma in the form of the external stone and fire this is called Pranagnihotram and some people do it every single day but I will just give you one or two examples one day Sri Ramakrishna was eating and there were many dishes and then a devotee she had a doubt that why Sri Ramakrishna supposed to be a very spiritual person is so fond of so many dishes and then Sri Ramakrishna is an Antaryami he can understand all the thoughts he did not say anything he took a little bit food in his hand and was about to put in his mouth suddenly a big snake came and snatched it the devotee was frightened and then he understood Ramakrishna was not the eater he is offering it to that Vaishwana or Agni this is called Pranagnihotram and then one day Swami Brahmananda's life was coming to an end 2-3 days before his passing away and he was very thirsty and he said shall I give you Maharaj some lemonade and Brahmanandaji without opening his eyes said pour Brahman into Brahman so far these great souls they see God outside they see God inside and in between they see only God they do not see anything excepting God a little bit of this Agni Pranagnihotram I will speak about and then continue our Gita talks in our next class Om Vasudeva Sutam Devam Kamsa Chanur Amarthanam Devaki Paramanandam Krishnam Vande Jagadguru May Ramakrishna Holy Mother and Swami Vikananda bless us all with right understanding Vidhya Bhakti Ramakrishna