Brahma Upanishad Lecture 05 on 13 April 2024

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

So we will continue the Brahma Upanishad. Brahma Upanishad is a dialogue between Sage Pippalada and a great worthy disciple called Shaunaka, the great Mahashala. The Brahma Upanishad is exclusively dedicated entirely to Brahma Vidya. And as usual, the text is in the form of a conversation. So the question was, where is this blessed Brahman we are all seeking? And in reply, I am summarizing the entire essence of the Brahma Upanishad. Brahman is the Self in human body. It is in the mind and it is in the entire Jagat. Not only that, Brahman is the human body. Brahman is the mind. Brahman is the entire Jagat. That is all that exists. Nothing else exists. So we have discussed so far. And now we will continue from where we left off in the last class. So with this only the first part is over. We will discuss what it means. Brahman. Now Pippalada is explaining how Brahman is not only the body, the mind, the prana, the sense organs and everything that it grasps through the sense organs, through what we call the experiences of every Jeeva. And we divide the whole universe according to our Vedas. First of all, there is the presiding deities. Then how do they rule? How do they control? How do they run this entire show? Through a particular knowledge called Vedas. And that is being said that just as a human being or an animal will always have what we call sthana, the breasts. Of course in the female they are prominent, but they will be there in male also. So these two breasts, that means Deva and Veda, they go together. In fact there is nothing else excepting knowledge and knowledge only manifests. So we have to emphasize this point again and again. A man is what his knowledge is. A man is what knowledge is. If a person thinks good thoughts, for example, and why does he think good thoughts? Because his knowledge is good and vice versa. A person thinks evil because he is evil. So we are what we think. You tell me your thoughts, I will tell you what you are. You tell me what books you are reading, I will tell you. I will tell you what type of person you are. You tell me what type of friends you have, I will tell you what type of person you have. The whole thing is nothing but pure knowledge. I don't mean that it is right knowledge. A few people like the liberated Jeevan Muktas, those who are free even while living, they have perfect knowledge. And the people who are in Samadhi, they have perfect knowledge. But rest of us, we have three types of knowledges. First is incomplete knowledge. Second is what we call doubtful knowledge. And the third is completely wrong knowledge. So actually, knowledge is divided into four parts. Right knowledge and wrong knowledge is divided into incomplete knowledge, doubtful knowledge, and just completely false knowledge. So whatever be the knowledge, that is the most wonderful point. If a person really has false knowledge, he doesn't say, I have false knowledge. He thinks that is the knowledge. So he behaves accordingly. If a person has wrong knowledge, he will also behave according to his knowledge. And if a person has doubtful knowledge, he will also behave. That means he is indecisive, what to do, what not to do. Many times we have come to this situation where we are unable to take a decision. When any person is capable of taking a firm decision, that means he doesn't have any doubt. But that firm decision doesn't indicate he is always having right knowledge. It could be it is not doubtful knowledge, but it could be incomplete knowledge, of which he thinks he has complete knowledge. Or it could be false knowledge, but he thinks it is the right knowledge. Only the person of doubtful knowledge, he cannot take any action, because his mind is divided into two. But a person with right knowledge, and there can be only right knowledge, without these three types of knowledges. So what we are having in this world is what we call only knowledge. Of which type? The second type of knowledge, doubtful knowledge, incomplete knowledge, completely wrong knowledge. And that is why we are called Baddhas, bound people. But it is all a divine sport of the Divine Mother. But this Devas and Vedas. That is why the God Brahma is always represented with the Veda. Veda means knowledge. And if he has got knowledge, he becomes Deva. Knowledge means that which shines, that which shows us right or wrong knowledge, that which seems to be the light, that is called knowledge. So this is the description of the Brahman. Brahman is the source of all knowledge. And Brahman is not having knowledge. Brahman is knowledge. And Brahman is not Devas, having Devas. Brahman is manifesting as Devas. And the word Deva we have seen earlier. So the presiding deities can be called Devas. But in our individual body, who are the presiding deities? All the sense organs. So especially the sense organs of knowledge. Because first they have to supply us with knowledge, right or wrong. And then only, as if we think about it. Do we want it? Do we not want it? Or can I be neutral about it? These reactions are possible only after having knowledge. That's all. But knowledge and these Devas. Knowledge is also shining. Devas are also shining. Universal shining is called God. Individual shining is called the Indriya or Prana. And then further people are continuing the teaching. What is the teaching? What is he talking about? What was the question? The disciple had a question. Teach me about Brahman. And then what is the nearest thing? Our body and our mind. What is our problem? That I am the body, I am the mind. That is the problem. What is the solution? You are not the body. You are not the mind. Then whose body is that? Whose mind is that? It is God's. The entire universe came out of Pancha Bhutas. Both gross as well as subtle. And our so-called mind, Buddhi, Chitta, Ahamkara. They have come from the Tanmatra, the subtle parts of the five elements. And the entire universe which includes our body is the result of the combination of the five Bhutas, the five elements. And where have these five elements come from? From Brahman, directly. And that is why there is nothing but Brahman. That is the final realization. But where we are located at the moment, what is our knowledge? I am the body, I am not the mind. I am the mind. So the Guru has to tell, remove this idea that this body belongs to you and you are the body. That this mind belongs to you and you are the mind. Remove these false notions. Everything belongs to God only. Remember, in Totapuri, unable to meditate, he had decided to give up the body. He could not give up the body. And why could not he give up the body? Because he doesn't have the power either to keep or to give up. Because it belongs to some other owner. And that owner is the Divine Mother. So he tried attempting suicide. Let me, as one of our recent Swamis. So he decided. He was very old. He decided, enough is enough. I will swim my way to Ramakrishna. He was a wonderful Swami. Swami Damodarananda. And I had the good fortune to be with him for some time. So he, I did not hear it, but some devotees, he declared many months before, I am going to swim my way and then reach Ramakrishna. And he was at Belur Math. So one midnight, before anybody could understand, he walked to Belur Math, left off his clothes, and then he swam his way to Ramakrishna. Next morning they found out his body. It is permitted for the Sannyasis. But the point is that we are all bound people. Brahma Gnanam will come. The further we are away from attachment to body and mind, the nearer we will be to the real owner. That is the point. And Totapuri had to learn this lesson the hard way. And then he came back enlightened because even that hard way is the grace of the Divine Mother only. So that is being said here that Vedas, Devas are the direct manifestations of Brahman. And a crude imagery is given just as a human being or even an animal two sides of the breast will be there especially in the females. So that is the very natural condition of this. We are also animals in that way. And therefore this Veda as well as Deva. And they are upwards and reverse of the same coin. How does Brahma create the world? With the help of the Vedas. How does he create Devas? With the help of the Vedas. So this is being said that you have studied Vedas and that is true knowledge because it is coming from God Himself. Not coming from God. God Himself is manifesting in the form of knowledge. This idea is so beautifully clarified in the Bhagavad Gita. Upon whomsoever I become pleased. I bestow upon him the right knowledge. And when we have right knowledge then life becomes smooth. That is why the very purpose of Gayatri Mantra is let me not drive my own chariot. Let me travel with the guidance of God in the form of Further continuing the Rishi Ippalada is instructing. Now we do so many things in the waking state. Here the Rishi wants to emphasize which all of us go through including the lowest of the life form. Amoeba. Of course we may not be able to observe it. But wherever there is a life wherever there is a prani every prani has to go through these three states waking, dream as well as dreamless state. And that is being partially said here. But in the next chapter we have complete description of it. The four states. Even though the fourth state should never be called fourth state. It is only for enlightening a little less intelligent people like us. We say you know what is waking. You know what is dream. You know what is deep sleep. So there is another state like that. So it is not a state. It is that which comprises all the three states. And yet because when a person goes beyond these three metaphorically it is said that it is the fourth state. It is called state of Brahman, Turiyam and the whole Mandukya Karika is only to lead a person to that state of Turiyam. So in this waking state particularly good and evil obtained for the shining being man's self as ordained. Who is this man's self? Jeevatma. When the Jeevatma goes through the waking state why is it so? Because that is the state. Waking is the state. When the body is fully functional the mind also is fully functional. The Karana Sharira is also fully functional. All the three states are fully functional in the waking state. What about the dream state? The physical body is not working. It is there. But it doesn't take part. Then what is the dream state? All the impressions gathered during the waking state of course not only in this life not only today but from the past ever since my birth, ever since I became aware but even the many many many past lives that we have. So this is the state where we can do real sadhana. Whether I want to become a great worldly person or a great spiritual person whatever I want to become waking state is the Moola Karana. Then what role does dream state as well as deep sleep state really do? The dream state just takes the impressions mixes them and God has given all of us a tremendous amount of freedom there. So you can take your body and then you cut off your hands and then you take the wings of a bird and then you attach yourself it doesn't take long time after it is only imagination and very soon you are flying throughout the in your village, in your city above. So this is possible you can travel anywhere within second because it is a thought world you want to go to the Surya Loka you are there I want to go to America you are there so that is the time limitation is far better that means unlimited and the speed is very fast you can reach any place you want because it is just a thought but a physical body will be remaining there only it is not functioning so it has its own limitations what is the limitation? Our waking state experience is the limitation so if you have never heard about something you will never be able to even to imagine that one then person enters into deep sleep state and that is a peculiar state unbroken bliss you can't even say it is a limited bliss though it is limited but we are not there to say just experience it and for a long time so that is when the body gets relaxed, rested the mind gets rested and that is what is being referred here especially the waking state Yatra Jagrathi when this person, this Purusha that means Jeevatma here Shubham Ashubham good and evil and he does it why does he do it? because of past samskaras what is the result of his doing? he will experience Punya and Papa Punya and Papa come in the form of Sukha and Dukha and Sukha and Dukha bind us by attachment and hatred likes and dislikes Niruktham Asya Devasya this is what has been ordained very beautiful word, Niruktham means what I will do whatever I like but I get only the type of results I desire that is not going to happen is a profound statement in this world everybody is trying and this is what Yasadeva had spoken with uplifted hands I am shouting that the people want only to be happy but they never produce the causes of happiness people do not wish to be suffering but assiduously with tremendous effort they only create causes what was Yasadeva talking about acquisition of Papam and Punyam what is the proportion Punyam is only very very little Papa huge everybody says I want to be happy but is everybody happy most people are not happy what is the reason because they never have faith in the scriptures now this is something very important for us when we do actions we cannot expect most of the results right in front of our eyes what we have done in the past we don't know and even if we do something if you do some evil you may be completely scot free you may escape but don't think you can escape don't think so many clever people that is how they say I will not be caught but there is somebody within you God has implanted CCTV within you within each one of us so you record good or bad and at the end I give the power to you that you also reward or punish the person in Sanskrit terminology this is called Chitragupta but waking state is most important can we do sadhana in the dream state yes we can do it how? we have to make the sadhana so consistent and intense during the waking state and if we create sufficient intensity that carries on and very wonderful things we have to understand about this supposing assiduously some sadhaka, some practitioner goes on avoiding certain things because he understands these are unspiritual things but if he had practiced it for quite some time even in the dream when he encounters those objects he will be going on rejecting them how does he do that? because he has received that impressions in the waking state and this is what so beautifully has been explained by Patanjali Rishi there is a sanskara that is called Nirodha Sanskara so when we go on saying no no no then that saying no no no gradually becomes very strong and even when in the dream state when a person encounters let us say tempting object or something which can mislead him but because of this practice of saying no no during the waking state this Nirodha Sanskara slowly it becomes like a big thorn and even in the dream state also same thing is carried out can we do sadhana in the deep sleep state most people's answer would be no because we are not there but I think that is not correct yes we can do it what type of sadhana we can do it if we go on doing sadhana both in the waking state and continue it in the dream state also in the deep sleep state also only it takes a different form what is it as a result of this strong spiritual practice the person is able to first of all dream most marvelous things maybe he is having a divine visions sees God I am not indicating that God comes there but sometimes God does come in the dream state but that is not what I am talking about this person's sublime thoughts subconscious thoughts they produce beautiful dreams after all every day we dream and why do we dream what we dream because what we think during the waking state they only get repeated we remember in the gospel of Sairam Krishna suddenly one day Sairam Krishna asks M do you dream and then strangely just a few days before M had a marvelous dream just to recollect so M somehow was seeing the shore of an ocean and he has to go to cross by a boat and the waves were so huge no boatman was willing to take them across suddenly M saw an old Brahmana just walking very fast on the surface of the ocean so M asked him Sir where are you going I am going to Bhavanipur the city of the Divine Mother and M says oh I also want to go but there is no boat how are you going then Sairam Krishna in the dream remember he was telling mark how I walk beneath my feet there is a bridge and you follow I am in a hurry I have to reach very soon but if you follow my footsteps you will also reach of course with that a dream has become broken and then when he narrated this Sairam Krishna says my hairs are standing on an end so you must get initiated by a Guru so Sairam Krishna himself initiated M anyway what is the point that was a guide God in the form of a Guru had appeared and said I will show you my lotus feet is the honoring guide you remember my feet and then you remember my behavior and then your life will be transformed and you will also reach the same place that means whichever place whichever state I reached you will also reach the same state what are we talking about the people or the Rishi is talking about the importance of the waking state Shubha and Ashubha good and evil Dharma and Adharma Punya and Papa but most important is Dharma and Adharma and the result of Dharma and Adharma is Shubha and Ashubha and it is inevitable this is called Karma Siddhanta that theory which is the very foundation of not only for Hindus whether people understand it or not it is there only they do not attribute it excepting few people so there is some religious saying also is there you reap what you sow but this is a very common saying but God always is pleased this is what most of the Judaic religions will be saying that he gave us some laws Vidhi and Nishedha 10 commandments do this and do not do this and anybody who follows Vidhi and Nishedha if they follow then God will be highly pleased if they do not and then the punishment will come what is it? the very Karma phala God need not punish God has given the power to Karma itself if this is good Karma let Karma give him happiness and if it is the opposite let it give suffering so much of suffering is there so that is being said Niruktham, it is inviolable it is impossible so we have to take care of this waking state so the scriptures are seen to speak of good and evil and not only to speak in the waking state even in the dream state of man and prescribe purificatory ceremonies that is to say usually we are ignorant people we do evil but then is there anything we cannot go back in time and get it but there are some what is called purificatory ceremonies and they are called prayaschittas and they can be performed but really man in his wakeful state alone whether here on earth or here after forms the essential theme of all Vedic ordinances and injunctions it is man wide awake who projects out of himself and for himself and all rules of conduct all conceptions of rewarding or punishing agents as devatas and so on here the scripture the shruti is entering into a most marvelous statement so earlier we said brahman manifests as the devas as the law of karma good and evil and he endowed all the devatas with power all the karmas also with power as if the karma itself is god or goddess and it has the power to bestow either happiness or unhappiness good or evil but then in this last part of it what is the pipaladarshi is telling it is only a man of right reasoning right knowledge who understands that I created the world I project out of myself and for myself all rules of conduct that means what so I have the right knowledge I know what is right and what is wrong do you think that everybody has got this right and wrong yes, what is that right and wrong if I get happiness that is most welcome the opposite I do not welcome it even a mosquito will not welcome suffering it always wants only to live and to be happy and to have that knowledge how to live and be well happy so man has got that exceptional quality so then what happens unconsciously he projects I know what produces happiness, I also know by proxy what produces unhappiness so I am responsible for both happiness and unhappiness, no man is ignorant about it even a baby the baby is completely aware what is happiness, what is not happiness even only old baby so there is cold baby is suffering hot baby is suffering hungry baby is suffering and mother takes the baby comforts and either fans or hugs and provides warmth and nourishment and the baby is very happy baby may not know what to do, what not to do, until he grows up a little, it grows up a little but definitely it has experience of both happiness and unhappiness no prani is devoid of this happiness, but in the case of human beings a special quality is attributed by Rishi Pippalada and he is not alone Vedavyasa is telling in the Mahabharata and everywhere it is being said so what is it that we are responsible and then we do it ok, I will give a small example when I do something I may not be aware what I am doing most of us are blissfully ignorant, but if somebody comes and slaps me or when I am helpless when I am weak somebody robs me somebody takes away what doesn't belong to him, what belongs to me somebody gives me unhappiness, you know I become angry when I become angry then I curse that fellow, may this happen to you, may that happen to you and that is the knowledge human being knows only when he in the case of applying it to himself or herself we do not think deeply about it so who created heavens? human being who invented hells? human being how did he do it? because of his practical experience during the waking state so this is what people are the ones to say you are the soul responsible to yourself and what you do that is manifesting is going to manifest as your future so you are the architect of your own fate and this is the ultimate essence of Karma Siddhanta you alone are responsible and oh I don't know, no don't say you don't know, that you know it when somebody gives you happiness and you wish all the best when somebody gives unhappiness, you curse him to go to hell but the same thing others also can do, when we behave in the same way to other people we are not devoid of knowledge but we think we are so clever, we can cover ourselves, this is what is being said the entire world, we create our own world, you go to swargaloka, who created the swargaloka? only yourself you go to naraka, who created creates the naraka, hell only yourself so we are responsible and that is most wonderful na samprasaro antaryami this being or the self is fully extended into every form that we experience that is, who is this person, this being this self, Iplada is telling you, the jivatma you are responsible there is a beautiful garden in your house, you extended yourself into that I hope we are getting some understanding, supposing a person is rich how did he become rich? because of his actions, and good actions not any action and suppose he has a beautiful garden now, when a person is very happy very healthy and relaxed no danger, then he looks, oh what a beautiful garden God has given me, or I have created for myself but remember this is an attitude of the mind but when the same person is in tremendous problem danger, somebody is chasing him, then that very garden itself becomes a place of hell, that is what Iplada Rishi is telling samprasaraha it is the jivatma who creates this whole world and there is a profound vedantic truth here there are two types of visions Ishwara Srishti and Jiva Srishti when we first encounter something that is called Ishwara Srishti and Ishwara Srishti always be is good only, shubham only but when we start interacting with that and interpreting it in different ways good, not good neutral, etc then we are creating Jiva Srishti so we are responsible for our own Srishti, so that is why in Vedantic language you know how many worlds are there infinite number of worlds, how can there be infinite number of worlds because every world is ruled by a person and he is called Brahma and who is that Brahma I am Brahma for my loka you are Brahma for your loka, everybody is a Brahma for their loka and something very interesting even there are lucky mosquitoes and there are unlucky mosquitoes so this unlucky mosquito enters into a rich man's house first of all, day and night mosquito medicine is being spread, secondly he has got fine muslin mosquito, huge mosquito curtain, there is no way that any mosquito can enter so that is unlucky mosquito but there are so many poor people are there and they have no way to protect themselves so they must be I don't know what type of punyam these mosquitoes have done, but one type of punyam I can guess is that there are so many sages and holy people in this world these mosquitoes must have attacked them drank the blood of those fellows and they become lucky mosquitoes the point is we are squarely responsible by our actions either to expand ourselves, contract ourselves, go to hells, go to heavens etc and antaryami, who is the antaryami Brahman is the antaryami indweller but here the self itself my true nature is the antaryami antaryami is the indwelling controller of things and beings and in our state of ignorance we become antaryamis creating or controlling means what so if anybody says there is a beautiful talk on Bhagavatam now we don't want to go if anybody else says there is a disco dance I want to go there and visit there in fact Sri Ramakrishna gives this beautiful analogy two friends and one goes to a bad house one goes to the Bhagavatam soon both of them changed their opinions and then one person suffered another person started enjoying it so we are responsible for this point and waking state is most important that is the we have to keep in mind and what does this person do and this person has got several names who is this person each one of us called jivatma we are compared to different animals sa khagaha karkatakaha pushkaraha, purushaha jivanaha, himsa, para abram brahma atma, devata so this purusha jivatma is the bird, he is the crab he is the lotus, he is the purusha he is the prana he is the destroyer he is the cause and the effect he is brahman, he is atman he is the devata making everything known that is to say if a person is ignorant to some extent he becomes what you call his own creator of his own world but if a person is fully enlightened, he is everything what is the point of this particular expression that there is only one self if you are enlightened, you are brahman if you are not enlightened, then you are bound soul, jivatma but if you are slowly progressing, you are a little bit enlightened, a little bit bound so these descriptions are given how this jivatma is behaving, what is the first description, is called khaga, ga means to travel kha means space akasha literally moving in the sky flying in the sky that means a bird, khaga is called a bird the self in man is compared to the bird because it moves in space without any support other than itself remember in the gospel of Ramakrishna he gives how the kundalini moves through the chakras so different varieties of movement, like a snake like a bird like a frog or like a worm like a monkey etc, this has been described in some of the yoga scriptures, Ramakrishna says, I have experienced once some great swami had come to the Akshineshwar, a sanyasi and when Ramakrishna was describing, he was amazed oh, this is what we read in the scriptures but you have experienced all these things directly how the kundalini starting from muladhara it travels, either crawls like an ant or jumps like a frog or flies like a bird or moves zigzag way like a snake or like a monkey it jumps and then with one jump it might enter into the sahasrara various methodology, methods of describing how our awakening takes place but here what is important is we are also birds in fact in our dream state we can be worried what is it that we fly in our imagination, especially in our imaginations our consciousness of course is beyond space and therefore this analogy is not being described from the viewpoint of the that brahman which is beyond time, space and causation but this is the idea of the jivatman so then karkataka like a crab, literally crab, the self in man is said to be the crab because moved by desire it moves at all angles with the help of its sense organs notice it so supposing a person is hungry I am just making up as an analogy and you go there, huge table is there, full of eatable materials and then the fellow is so hungry so he is looking at the right and grabbing looks in front and grabs looks to the left and grabs and if something is there on the table behind he reaches there also and grabs so like a crab his movement in every direction to fulfill his desires, so he can be like a crab also so that is what is said like a crab karkataka, like a pushkara or he can be like a lotus what does it mean lotus man's self like the lotus blooms in space, time and causation but draws its sustenance and substance beyond them that is to say there is somebody who is an embodiment of energy but like a lotus where from it gets its substance from the deep soil which is its mother as it were and from the light of the sun above but the most important point is every jivaatma can be like a lotus flower so he can be in the samsara but he can also completely remain unattached even while doing it so recollect the examples of whether it is Naga Mahasaya them are so many direct disciples of Sri Ramakrishna many of them after being trained by Sri Ramakrishna lived like the lotuses in the samsara panka that means the dirt is the most marvelous thing so the jivaatma is also called pushkara actually pushkara means a lake but here pushkara means lotus so this is better with the symbolism of the words man's self like the lotus blooms just as a small bud day by day it grows and in course of time it becomes bigger so it requires time and it grows bigger it requires space and it is sustained both from below and from above and it reaches its full potentiality that's what Swami Vivekananda said each soul is potentially divine so jivaatma will not remain a jivaatma forever as I said many times we are standing on an escalator some people are sitting also it doesn't matter escalator is continually moving but if somebody gets up and starts running and that will happen to each one of us we can make better progress so that is being said pushkara so the causal sphere of being is symbolized by waters where is this lotus growing? in waters this symbolism of water has been realized by our sages everywhere even there is a story of the world being submerged in what is called a huge body of water at the end of the kalpa every country practically has a story so no arc is there but here water represents the Paramatma who sustains all of us so or it also lotus is also pure unattached like the so in course of time like a lotus growing everybody has to manifest his or her potential divinity that is why it is also called pushkara then another beautiful this himsa, himsa means literally injury or killing propensity and it is strange why is jivatma comparable to the killing propensity because earlier we discussed who is the creator jivatma, who is the brahma means creator and who is the sustainer in our traditional mythological language brahma is the creator vishnu is the sustainer and shiva is the destroyer and every jivatma is also he is the brahma he is creating his own world and who is maintaining it himself and who is destroying it himself take a simple example at the end of the day and you are tired perhaps you are working in the office you come home you have your dinner and then you watch some beautiful movie let us say or you watch a favorite of your cricket match or whatever and you go to bed and immediately you don't go into deep sleep you have a dream and who created the dream, you and the dream is maintained by whom by you, what type of maintenance the type of likes you have at least in dream so you will be creating your own dream and that is sustained by you but ultimately where there is srishti where there must be sthiti and where there is sthiti there must be also laya so creation, sustenance dissolution must move one after the other and again after dissolution there must be creation etc that is being said here himsa literally means describing the state of laya the third state going back and that is how we have to understand but there are some other meanings are given especially Swami Madhavanandaji takes this particular meaning in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad there is something called that man's self that is the jivaatma in its aspect of sustaining itself, sthiti through hunger and food, hunger and food are called mrutyu laya, himsa so if you are hungry, you suffer and if you don't get food you suffer you are thirsty, you suffer you are feeling hot, heat then you suffer, if you are feeling cold you suffer so there is so much of suffering is there so that aspect somehow you have to sustain yourself you have to procure food you have to procure water you procure warm clothing or you have to procure cold drinks whatever it is that this suffering is equated here with himsa, the word himsa or the aspect of self dissolution as we discussed earlier laya, insufferable from self creation may seem to impart to self this characteristic of killing, then para and apara is another characteristic para means supreme supreme means the unmanifest, apara means what we are experiencing right now, the manifest and the unmanifest and the bondage and liberation the world and God, so we can interpret these things, jivaatma alone is creating extending both the manifest and non-manifest the seen and the unseen the bondage as well as liberation everything is this part of this jivaatma of course then that which is temporary that which is changing is called mithya but a mithya must always be based upon satya that satya is called atma, the self has been perhaps specifically mentioned here so we have a jivaatma gets rid of that feeling of jiva, bind bound by time, space and causation that is called limited by time, space and causation that is also called desha parichcheda, kala parichcheda vastu parichcheda but always he is the atman who is never bound by anything so that is the wonderful meaning given to this jivaatma, in his real nature jivaatma is paramatma and the same paramatma in the form of jivaatma is called devata devata means the individual body, individual mind and especially in the form of prana and in the form of the sense organs remember deva or devata is another name for sense organs that is derived from the word div to shine so sense organs illumine, give right knowledge sunlight gives right knowledge and brahma vidya gives brahma knowledge how do they function? through the nadis which we described earlier so this is called the glorious devata, shining one because of its consciousness and what is all this description for that one who understands I am both the creator and the creator whoever knows what has been described here that is the waking, dream dreamless as well as the and I am the brahman I am the purusha and as jiva I am the creator myself and I am also the created just as in our dream we become the creator as well as the created so whoever knows all this and we know it only at the end of the our spiritual practice and only by the grace of the guru or by the grace of god what happens he who realizes this so it means he realizes I am brahman that is called brahma dhama the abode of brahman not brahma, brahman and he becomes kshetragna as we saw in the bhagavad gita 13th chapter he kshetragna is one but everything is a kshetra upaiti with this the first chapter is over and it confirms there is no other nowhere there is except that one we will continue in our next class om jananim sharadam devim ramakrishnam jagad gurum pada padme tayo saritva pranamami mohor mohoho may Ramakrishna holy mother and swami vekaranda bless us all with bhakti Jai Ramakrishna