Brahma Upanishad Lecture 01 on 30 March 2024

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

From today, we have started a new Upanishad. It is called Brahma Upanishad. Brahma Upanishad is one of the minor Upanishads. As I spoke earlier, let us recollect. Upanishads, small or big, there is nothing called minor or major. Then how did this word major come? Shankaracharya had chosen either 10 or 11 Upanishads to write his commentary, Bhashya. And therefore, whatever he commented upon came to be known as major Upanishads. In a way of speaking, they are also quite huge, especially Chandogya and Brihadaranyaka. But other Upanishads like Katha, Mundaka, etc., are quite big Upanishads comparatively. So that is why they are called major. And the rest of the Upanishads are called minor Upanishads. Now, I do not remember whether I discussed this point. The Muktika Upanishad, that is one of the important Upanishads, minor Upanishads, mentions 108 Upanishads. But there are versions 108, 112, 110, sometimes even more than that, 200 Upanishads. And included in them is one Upanishad called Allah Upanishad. So definitely somebody must have written, if Allah is Brahman, we have absolutely no problem with it at all. So these Upanishads which we have taken last time, Amritabindu Upanishad, etc., these are called minor Upanishads. But let us never mistake that their teachings are any less important. Absolutely very, very important. And of these Upanishads, there is Brahma Upanishad and it has been beautifully translated by revered Swami Madhavananda ji Maharaj as one of the minor Upanishads. If you are searching for Brahma Upanishad as translated by Swami Madhavananda, you may not get it. But if you search for minor Upanishads by Swami Madhavananda, and probably five or six Upanishads he selected, and this is one among them. And some other Upanishads are quite short actually, but this is slightly longer. But where is the importance of this Upanishad? So the Upanishads have been classified into Shakta Upanishads, Vaishnava Upanishads, Yoga Upanishads, Sanyasa Upanishads. And this particular Upanishad forms one of the Sanyasa Upanishads. What is a Sanyasa Upanishad? An Upanishad exclusively addressing Sannyasins. But as we discussed earlier, Sanyasin is not the lifestyle, the fourth lifestyle which is popular in Hinduism, like Brahmachari Ashrama, etc. And the fourth one is called Sanyasa Ashrama. We are not talking in that sense. Sanyasa is always a mental attitude, a person whose mind is completely centered, focused, concentrated, devoted, exclusively attentive only to God. Such a person is a Sanyasin, a person who has no attachment to anything that is outside. For example, M, Naga Mahasaya, and even at the very end, Ramchandra Datta, many of the householder disciples have become complete Sanyasins. Not to speak of these Mahasalas, that is the word we are going to come across here in this Brahma Upanishad. Remember, we have already got this one, Pippalada Rishi, and Mahasalas have come and put the questions, Krishna Upanishad. Here also, we get the same Rishi Pippalada, or Pippala for short. So, not only that, even some of the actresses that came into contact with Shri Ramakrishna, they also, in the end, have renounced the world, not in a formal way, but they went to solitude. They dedicated their entire life to worship, meditation, etc., and even a devotee who becomes totally devoted to the Divine Lord, that is Saguna Ishwara, Upasaka. But has absolutely no desire, no attachment of any worldly object. Such a person is called a Sanyasi. In Bhagavad Gita terms, he is called Tyagi. That is why, when somebody asked Shri Ramakrishna, one day he explained what is the essence of the Bhagavad Gita. And he said, you utter the word Gita quite a number of times, quite fast, and we hear Ta-gi. Gita becomes reversed. And then he explains, O man, renounce your attachment and turn your attention to God. Such a person is called a Tyagi. So, attachment and identity, they always go together. If a man is not attached to something, he doesn't identify himself. For example, there are many people who are not interested either in music or science or many other subjects. And therefore, they are neither happy nor unhappy. When they get the subjects, they are not unhappy. When the subjects are absent, they are not happy. But their favorite subjects, including collecting matchboxes or gardening, where there is interest, there is attachment. Where there is attachment, there is identity. That means, as if I have become the plant. The best example of this is Shri Ramakrishna's parable of a Brahmana killing a cow. He completely identified himself with the plants. And then when the cow came and ate, he identified, this cow has actually killed me. So the only thing is, I have to get rid of it. That's what he did. So, interest, attachment, identity, and the consequences, joy and grief, happiness and unhappiness, good and evil, all these things follow these attachments. One who has absolutely no attachments, he is called a bhikshu, a sanyasi. Some people, of course, they take external paraphernalia, insignia, like oak or cloth, but not necessarily. Many Buddhist monks wear yellowish type of cloth. So some brahmacharis, naishtika brahmacharis, they wear pure white cloth. Some jains, sanyasins, they wear, either there is no dress or they wear pure white cloth, Shwetambara or Digambara. So sanyasa is a state of the mind. Similarly, householdership is also a state of the mind. Just because a person is married, living in the household, it doesn't mean the person is a householder. So there are quite a number of people, in fact, Swami Vivekananda used to say that in the olden days, Vedic times, most of the rishis were only householders. But these rishis, it is their utterances and their utterances always followed by their experiences. Their experiences expressed or collected and they are called Veda. Veda means knowledge. Experience brings knowledge. So their knowledge collected together, that is what we call nowadays Veda. Veda has been classified into first three, Trayveda and now Chaturveda. That is why Brahma is another name for Veda and that is why Chaturmukha Brahma is not a person, is not an old man sitting there with a white beard. That means the embodiment of the wisdom that is there in the Vedas, that is called Brahma. And Brahmacharya Ashrama, a student is supposed to go and absorb some of this knowledge. So he who is devoted to pure knowledge, he is called a Brahmachari. Nothing to do with contaminants or anything, that will come later on. So this is called one of the Sanyasa Ashramas and this is one of the Sanyasa Ashramas. What is the subject matter of this Brahma Upanishad? Brahma Upanishad discusses purely Atman. What is the Atman? And how many stages it goes through. Remember Mandukya Karika, the very beginning itself. Omkara has four states. Jagrat, Sapna, Sushupti and only for the sake of understanding, the fourth state is called Turiyam. But really it is not a fourth state, that is a state which is inherent in all the three states. And this fourth state can be completely, totally independent, but the other three states are totally dependent upon it. So that is why it is called Turiya Vastha. So this Brahma Upanishad discusses the very nature of the Atman, but how does it teach about the Atma Gnanam? Because Atma Gnanam can never be taught. Gnanam can never be taught. Gnanam can never be given. Even as simple as cooking, you cannot give that Gnanam to somebody. If somebody says, you cook this dish very well, please teach it to me, then the person cannot really convey it. What he conveys is, you collect these materials, you cook in this particular way, and you grind the mix and grind the spices in this way, and then you pour it into the dish that is being cooked at this particular time, so much quantity, and then the person has to experiment. And then after a long time, then the person will come to have, Oh, this is the knowledge of this particular dish, and it has to be prepared in this particular manner. So what are we talking about? Gnanam can never directly be transferred. What are the examples? 1st January 1886, Ramakrishna wanted to give this Gnanam, knowledge, Chaitanya Hoka. So may your consciousness be awakened, and he touched. A little bit of change had come in most of them, and some of them, they had been given a little more, even visions, but they could not retain them. Out of His grace, Ramakrishna had awakened their consciousness. They had, as it were, a glimpse of what could be. If only they practice, they become pure, but at the same time, Gnanam can never be directly transferred. And if it is transferable, only the condition is, the other person is fully prepared, ready to receive it. Yogyata should be there. And that is why, even in what is called Gnanamargam, only the Shravanam, the truth, the highest knowledge, is only given in the form of Shravanam, in the form of Mahavakya. Then only, the person has to do a lot of Manana. But exceptional cases are there, like Ramakrishna, as soon as Totapuri had given him that Mahavakya, and instantaneously, he had become absorbed in it. So, knowledge cannot be directly transferred, but in most cases, it must be given through indirect means. So Shravanam, an expert cook, he only gives, you do this and this and this. An expert pickpocket does the same thing. And then the person has to practice and practice and practice. And then, one day, perhaps, he will become an expert. So this Brahma Upanishad is talking about the Atman. And one thing about these minor Upanishads, they don't go into greater details, like Brihadaranyaka or Chandogya Upanishads like that. Of course, these two Upanishads are the biggest Upanishads, running into more than 500 to 600 pages, even in plain English translation. So, here the minor Upanishads, what do they do? They go directly into that particular subject matter. Just now, I mentioned to you earlier that some Yoga Upanishads are there. What do they do? They are not talking about Brahman directly. They talk about Yoga practices. Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, Samadhi, Savikalpa, Nirvikalpa, etc. But they want to add some more details to these basic teachings. How many types of Pranayama are there and in what way they have to be done, like that. This is the speciality of the Yoga Upanishads. Sanyasa Upanishads, when should a person really renounce the world? And what are the qualifications only having which a person is really fit? And is a person fit for what type of Sanyasa? And Sanyasa is generally divided into four classes. So, Vividhisha, Vidvat, Hamsa, Paramahamsa. And gradually, the higher one includes the lower one. Paramahamsa includes Hamsa. Hamsa includes Vidvat. Vidvat includes the Vividhisha Sanyasa. So, these minor Upanishads, they don't waste our time, their time. Straight they go to the subject matter. If it is a Shaiva Upanishad, they only glorify the Lord. For example, in Shaita Ashtakara Upanishad, which we have done, a lot of glory of the Shiva is indicated. But if it is devoted to Vishnu, if it is devoted to Shakti, these are called Shakta Upanishads, there are some. And even Puranas are there, Shakta Puranas, Vaishnava Puranas, Shaiva Puranas. There are some Puranas, they are called Vedanta Puranas. For example, there is a Purana called Atma Purana. Very interesting title, Atma means my own story, my Purana. Or, if you want to take it, it is a Purana which describes the nature of the Atman in very simple language like Puranic language. So this is the, in brief, the minor Upanishads, they go straight to the heart of the matter. And this particular Upanishad, what is the heart? Brahma. What is Brahman? And how to meditate? And this, like your Kena Upanishad, it reminds me a lot of the Kena Upanishad. Remember, just now we have finished. Don't worry, if you don't remember, I will just remind you. So this is the basic question. Inspired by whom? Commanded or ordered by whom? The body, the mind, everything seems to be functioning flawlessly. By the command of whom the sun shines, the wind blows, the fire burns, and the king of death runs to take hold of the people who are born, etc. Whose power? And it is the power of the Brahman. And in the Kena Upanishad, we have to still remember, in the third chapter especially, there was a beautiful story. This is the story of the Uma. Uma stands for the knowledge giver, Guru, in the place of the Guru. There was a strange being. Just before that, there was a terrible war between the Devas and Asuras, gods and the demons. And the gods obtained victory. And they became very egotistic, proud. We obtained the victory. And then a strange being appeared. And then they got frightened. And then they wanted to know. And then first Agni comes, followed by Vayu, followed by Indra, and then Uma Haimavati. That strange, frightening being transformed Herself into Uma Haimavati. Not your Pauranic Parvati. This is the Divine Mother, knowledge giver, Gnanate, as we sing every day about Holy Mother. So, Sharade Gnanatayike. One who grants us that highest wisdom. Masa Raswati. By the way, I hope you remember. She is called Sarada. Sarada or Sarada. Sha and Sa are synonymously pronounced. They are interchangeable. So, what is Sarada? Sarada. What is Sarada? Da means He, She, He or She who gives. Sara, Da. One who gives the essence. What is the essence? Tat Tvam Asi. That is the essence of every Upanishad, whether people put it in a mild language. If you follow, obey God, you will go to Paradise or you will go to Kingdom of Heaven. You attain Satori, attain Samadhi. You remain as Drashta. It doesn't matter. But the essence is the same. Even Vaishnavas, when they say you go to Vaikuntha, it means exactly the same thing. Stupid fellows, they misunderstand this word going to Vaikuntha, not probing further. I really, I wonder how these fellows can become pundits. Vaikuntha means, what is the idea? Once a person reaches Vaikuntha, he never returns back. Once a person is in Vaikuntha, he never changes. Once a person is in Vaikuntha, he never lacks Bhakti or Jnanam. Once a person is in Vaikuntha, he is ever blissful all the time. So he becomes Sat Chit Ananda. If this is not Moksha, I don't understand what is called Moksha. Moksha means no return, no change. It is eternal. It is infinite. It is one without a second. And that is called Vaikuntha. Only to tell ordinary people like us who cannot understand, uniting with God, Okay, you will be with God. But what are the characteristics? Forever you are happy. Just because in the presence of God, in the presence of Ananda, you will be only Ananda Swaroopa. Just as in the presence of fire, you will always be one with the heat only. So these are misunderstandings. And many times I think that purposefully they torture these things to prove their own superiority. But whether it is Paradise, Kingdom of Heaven, Satori or Samadhi or Vaikuntha or Kailasa, etc. Once a person reaches there, there is no more coming back. That is called Moksha. Na punar janma pedhyate. Bhagavan Krishna crystal clearly clarifies it. That is the highest. One who attains to my state, which is the supreme. He will never come back again. That is called Moksha. Whether you choose to call it Vaikuntha or Kailasa, it doesn't really matter. Only so long as there is a body, there is a mind, you call it Vaikuntha or Kailasa. But once we go beyond the body and mind, not to speak of Vaikuntha and Kailasa, even in our deep sleep, we don't call anything, anything. We are just absorbed in it. Nobody says, I am enjoying bliss. Everybody has to say, I am bliss. That is the idea. So this Brahma Upanishad presents this Atman, but Atman cannot be taught directly. So what is it? Always teaching takes place through the known to the unknown. So we know the body-mind. We know in this world, we experience good and bad. At times we also experience what we call tremendous amount of bliss. And that is what is most important for us here. This Brahma Upanishad teaches about the Atman. And this Brahma Upanishad, as I said, directly goes through describing the four states of consciousness. As I said, the fourth is not really a state. It itself goes through the three states and yet ever remains separate. So it analyzes, just like Mandukya Upanishad, these four states. And then how to meditate upon this Nirguna Brahma. And this Brahma Upanishad is presented as a conversation between Sage Pippalada and Shravanaka Mahashala. So this here, Sage Pippalada, we saw him in the Prasna Upanishad. And this Brahma Upanishad is totally, completely without deviation, dedicated to Atma Jnana. So the text, that means, this Upanishad opens with Shravanaka Mahashala, a wealthy householder, meeting a sage, a realized soul called Pippalada. And this Mahashala, Shravanaka, calling the human body the divine city, Divyapuri, the divine city of Brahman, or Brahmapuram, and inquiring about how the human body is constituted and what is the source of power we find in our human personality, both body and mind. And then the answer given is, Brahman is the Self in human body. What do you mean by in human body? Not in human body only. It is in the mind, it is the mind. It is in the body, it is the body. It is in the Indriyas, it is the Indriyas. It is everything. It is in the tree, it is the tree. It is in the pillar, it is the pillar. Why did I bring this example of pillar? Remember, Prahlad was asked by his father, Is Narayana here? And then the very word Narayana is analyzed. So he who indwells in every living being, he is called Narayana. And you are also a living being. He is inside you. And not only inside you, outside you. Not only outside, in and out you, but he is everywhere, he is everything. He is everywhere, he is everything. Oh, is this in this pillar? Yes. What you call your I, egotism, is nothing but, that is called pillar here. And as soon as Aranya Kashyapu breaks, destroys his own ego, then out comes the potential divinity and then all his Ajnana is destroyed. Ignorance is totally annihilated. And that is what is called destruction of the Aranya Kashyapu. Aranya Kashyapu is the body and mind personality. B and M complex. And Prahlad realized it long back. So, Sage Prahlad teaches, Brahman, that is mentioned in this Upanishad, indeed is the Prana. Not only he runs the Prana, breath, life force, he is the Prana. And he is the Atman. The self-form is the shining Brahman that resides in one's body, giving it a glow and which controls everything. What is this peculiar thing? Shining, Devas. Dev means shining. Devas means Gods. Who are the Gods? They are conveyors of knowledge. See, the eye is a Deva and it is the light which brings us the knowledge of forms. Ear is the Deva. It brings us the knowledge of sounds. Nose is the Deva. Grana, Grana Indriya, brings us the knowledge of all smells, fragrances. And the skin is the bringer of all touches, heat, cold, and it is soft, it is hard, etc., etc. The tongue is the Devata, bringing together various tastes, sweet, salt, bitter, etc., etc. That is why these Devas are called shining. Shining means what? Light giving. Light means what? Just as when there is darkness, we can't see. When there is light, we can see. So just as if light is giving us knowledge. That is why this Nana is always compared to this light, Prakasha. So all the sense organs, they are shining. By whose light? By the light of the Brahman who is manifesting in the form of the Prana, in the form of the, what do you call? One Prana manifesting as Pancha Pranas. And He is the controller. He is the Buddhi, intellect. He is the mind. He is also the Chitta, the house of memory, the storehouse of memory. And all our ego is nothing but Brahman only. This is the constitution of the Antahkarana or Antarendriya, which is called Manaha, Chitta, Buddhi and Ahankara. So it is the Buddhi who controls everything. But who is the Buddhi? The Divine. That is why every twice born is supposed to pray at dawn and dusk. So Brahman is the Prana. Brahman is the sense organs. Brahman is all the Pancha Pranas. Prana, Apana, Vyana, Udana and Samana. And this Brahma Upanishad, not only that, many other Upanishads also, but Brahma Upanishad uses many similes using nature to describe how the soul and the human body really interact. The Brahman or Atman leads all these Gods. Gods means remember, sense organs within the human body and they follow him. And that is what this Brahma Upanishad is telling in a way similar to bees and the queen bee. This is one of the similes that is given, analogies that is given. So you see a bee hive is there. The central being in that bee hive is the queen bee. And all the other bees their function is to subserve, serve that queen bee because it is she who gives birth to thousands and thousands of eggs which will be the future bees. And then it has to be nourished and then it has to be protected, safeguarded. So the bees give a life for it. And here who is the queen bee? Atman is compared to the queen of the bees. That is all the sense organs, the body-mind complex and also the Prana. Prana is another name for sense organs actually. Prana enlivens all the sense organs. How? Through Prana, Apana, Vyana, Udana and Samana. Five functions of the Pranas. But if the Prana retires and then another analogy is given. Just like a kite or falcon soars through the skies and when he wants to and then goes to his nest to retire. Ramakrishna had given this beautiful example. There was a ship and that set sail in the ocean. But until that time it was anchored only to the shore. And a bird which got tired sat on the mast. And then when it was completely unaware the ship started sailing. And it sailed quite a bit. Then the bird completely refreshed. It woke up, found itself in the midst of the ocean. And then it was anxious to reach the land. So it flew to the east, couldn't find the land, came back and rested. Similarly it went to the other three directions. It did not find anywhere. And then it came and sat on the mast. And this is made into a beautiful Bengali song. So Mastule means that mast. So you sit, don't go anywhere. What is that mast? Atman, Pramhan. This is given also in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. So in the similar way Atman in the form of the Prana spreads out throughout the body and it also energizes the mind. How? Through Nadis. Just like in the temple there is the human body. What happens? Hundreds of oil lamps are lighted. So every light is because of the oil. And that oil is this Prana. But the Jyoti that comes only through the Atman. That is why Jyoti Rajyoti that which lights up everything, that light of the lights, Every day invariably at Vesper service we are singing this one. That Paramatman through this Prana and Prana in the form of the Nadis and in the temple that is the body-mind complex especially of human body and then it functions in the waking state, dream state but it retracts itself when it wants to that means enters into the Sushumna state. When the human body goes into deep sleep the Prana temporarily retires as it were just like a falcon soars to the skies when he wants to and then takes rest when it wants. But so many things are going on. Is the soul affected? The soul is not affected by anything, by any function and that is described here as rituals. The soul is not affected, Brahman is not affected, Atman is not affected by rituals and rites neither by good nor evil states this Brahma Upanishad. And you know in Sanskrit language when we have to substitute the English XYZ so we use the word Devadatta, Yajnadatta etc. So this soul that is the individual personality is like a child without desires experiencing joy innocently he loves the highest light, experiences the joy therein. That is to say this Devadatta, Swayamjyoti, we are not talking about a child but the metaphor is there, the analogy is there, the simile is there. Have you seen a child and you just give him anything it can be an elephant, in the eyes of the child a small piece of wood transforms itself into an elephant and he rides it into a horse he rides it into anything that he desires but he is very happy excepting when the child becomes hungry or something bites him or he is suffering from something then only he cries and the mother tries to understand what the baby is suffering from, tries to soothe him. So this soul in the deep sleep state is like a child there is no mind so there are no desires no sense organs functioning there but he is experiencing pure joy innocent, innocent means pure joy he loves the highest light experiences the joy therein and then what happens whatever has birth has also death so like a caterpillar this is a beautiful analogy given in many of the Upanishads which moves from its first leaf and that was the abode so it stays there it goes on eating and when it completes the eating and then it wants to move to the next leaf so what does it do it firmly plants its back legs rear legs on the leaf that it is already on, lifts up the four legs and then puts it firmly on the new leaf and then only it lifts the rear legs and then it brings them onto the new leaf what is this analogy for when the Jeeva leaves this body, if it is an ignorant Jeeva not enlightened Jeeva doesn't know that it is the Atman thinks I am the body-mind and it has to get another body so the previous body is like the leaf and it has eaten that leaf, that means it has used that previous body for experiencing Sukha, Dukha, Good and Evil happiness and unhappiness and likes and dislikes, Raga and Dvesha and it has accumulated some more Samskaras and they have to be fructified in the next birth so just like a moth caterpillar what does it do it holds onto this body and it builds a blueprint of the type of body it wants to enter in the next birth already and how does it do as it were coagulates solidifies all its past karma phala and chooses only some particular Sukha, Dukha because it is not possible to experience all the past karma phalas in one birth at least that is what the Vedas are telling us only an infinitesimal part of the karma phala consisting of both Sukha and Dukha and for that purpose what is the instrument you know for example if you want to hold grains, say a big bag full and you want to sew after filling it up you don't take a surgeon's needle and then try to sew so you take a big needle, thick needle with a thick thread and goes on doing it but when a person wants to sew a silk dress then he uses very fine instrument if the same person a surgeon wants to tie up after the operation the parts which have been cut or divided uses very fine type of sterilized needle like that so this is how the Jeeva moves from the present body to the new body and this is the analogy given like a caterpillar already the person knows where am I going to be born so accordingly it chooses it just as anybody wants to construct a house then chooses what type of house I want how big a house I want how many rooms I want how many stories I want how much land is necessary so he goes on preparing and then only he gives that land and then his idea to the civil engineer and then he only the engineer doesn't make the house for you you have to tell what you want and he prepares all the blueprints that is like that the Jeeva has already a blueprint so then firmly planting this body he first lands in that mother's womb where his body will be the exact instrument to fulfill all his past karma phala, some not everything just some dukkha some sukha and then he becomes a small seed potentially future Jeeva and then only he gives up this body so this caterpillar moving from one old leaf to new leaf old house to new house that is what Bhagwan Krishna also says that analogy is given there so the Atman is the source of everything it moves to the next abode means body until it finds the next abode it doesn't give up this particular body that is one meaning second meaning is so this Jeeva Atma is in deep sleep now it wants to enter into a new state of experience so he moves from the sleeping state into the waking state after sometime it wants to change its abode then from the waking state it moves into the dream state after sometime it wants to move into a new house it is tired of all the activities then it moves from the dream house into the deep sleep house abode this is how either giving up the prana or moving from one state of experience to another state of experience that is being said here so this Upanishad gives a complete and clear idea of the nature of the Atman which has four states of consciousness and four seats and four places for meditating upon for the better realization of the Atman in its Nirguna aspect that is very important for us so this is a sufficient background for us to move actually into the very first mantra sometimes this Upanishad is classified into four chapters sometimes some people only do it into three chapters but we do not need to bother about it too much so the introduction is given as I mentioned earlier there was a very great spiritual aspirant and he decided I want to have knowledge of my true self Atma Jnanam are also called Brahma Jnanam and it is said one should never attempt to obtain this knowledge all by oneself and I know several people and who attempted this and had gone completely wrong started producing texts which are completely so much confusing and yet because of the mastery of the language this man had become known as a great philosopher anyway so the tradition tells us you must enter into a tradition you must choose a guru, a teacher from the sampradaya then only you are guaranteed a sampradaya, a tradition guarantees that the teacher will not deviate from what his guru said just as his guru never deviated you may explain the thing with your own special examples you can change the language change the analogies add some beautiful parables or stories or examples but the core teaching must never be altered and if you are without a teacher then it is most likely that you can go wrong that is why a tradition is very important especially our Bhagwan Shankaracharya insists if anybody goes out of the tradition it is a dangerous path maybe sometimes a person like Ramana Maharshi for example and I heard foolish stupid fellows talking about I don't need any guru because Ramana Maharshi never required any guru and equating himself with Ramana Maharshi so this is how people go wrong but they will also be brought to the right path only after deviating suffering for a long time they come back to the traditional path now this was a great person he is called Shaunaka he was a householder he is called a Mahashala what is Mahashala? Shala means a big hall nowadays Shala also means a school but a big building earlier Mahashala means a huge place where continuously lot of Yajnas, Yagas and then especially Annadana because it is part of the tradition whoever comes to attend Yajnas, Yagas they must be fed properly and the people who are performing they must be given appropriate gifts called Dakshina a person who doesn't feed the guests doesn't satisfy the Ritwiks the priests with appropriate gifts Dakshina etc they will go to the what is called Ghor or Aurava as we have seen Nachiketa felt pity for his father because his father is not giving appropriate gifts so Mahashala means one who had performed all these things and they have given him the result. What is the result? first of all great Punyam, secondly Chitta Shuddhi, third Chitta Ekagrata four, Chitta Vaishaliyata and above all the last thing, fifth one a tremendous desire I have seen the results of all these Yajnas, Yagas because they are all Parama Sathyas and I have gone through them and then he became a wise person many people become wise after experiencing. What is the wisdom? even if I have to repeat these activities and I will get the same result I will go to the same hotel, same restaurant same cook once you have eaten whatever the cook has given he is going to serve you exactly the same thing a billion times first time there is something called experience, first experience and after that it is nothing but a repetition whenever you are hungry and every time you think it is a most marvelous thing but that is true but it is only the same material same rice, same dal, same everything and if you add some spice it is called South Indian cooking if you add some other spice it is called Japanese cooking and if you don't add anything it is called English cooking excepting a little bit of salt and pepper that's all so this having performed he obtained five he got punya as a result of that tremendous experiences happy experiences then he got also what we call chitta shuddhi, mind has become pure and as the mind became pure his capacity to understand becomes pure his concentration became very pure, his understanding has become very great and then he understood what I am searching what am I searching unbroken infinite eternal happiness that is called ananda beyond both sukha and dukkha I want that, in other words I want to be brahma I want brahma jnana and he was also a student of vedanta vikas vedas, without studying vedas he could not have done karma kanda, but don't think that the karma kandins do not study the jnana kanda they will go through the whole vedas, both karma kanda and jnana kanda but until they reach a particular state of preparedness their attachment will be only to the rituals, rites, etc and this person and that means similar persons also, they have to approach a sadguru, a rite teacher from a sampradaya, so he approached this great rishi who is the great rishi Angirasa or bhagavanta, he is also called pipaladam and he is a great realized soul because only a person can give what he has a person with money can give money a person with musical knowledge can give musical knowledge a person who knows how to cook he can give cookery knowledge but a person only who knows, who realized atman alone can give atma jnana any number of pandits pandits cannot give in fact they give only worldliness and that what Sri Ramakrishna says these pandits are compared to vultures, they soar very high but where is their mind so only rotting corpses and therefore what can they give knowledge of the rotting corpuses and if you want rotting corpus and ordinarily rotting corpus corpse then you come to me so they talk high words but what they convey is only what they know but here is a rishi rishi means mantra drashta and he is a realized soul and so Angirasa and he is addressed as bhagavanta bhagavanta pipaladam apruksha he approached, how did he approach first I will read out and probably in our next class we will discuss these are most marvellous things, I know we are discussing same points but until you realize god you have to hear it again and again, why do you need to hear again and again because as one of our swamis used to say you are hearing, you are here but you don't hear so in this is the first mantra we will discuss about it in the next class may Ramakrishna holy mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti Jai Ramakrishna