Brahma Upanishad Lecture 15 on 18 May 2024

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

So in our last class, we are studying the fourth mantra, which is quite a big mantra of the Brahma Upanishad. Eko manishi nishkriyanam. Bahunam ekam santam. Bahudha yeh karoti. Tamatmanam yeh anupasyanti dhiraha. Tesham shanti shashvati netaresham. So the one intelligent active being among the many inactive. He who makes the many from what is one. The wise man who finds out this self. There is eternal peace, but not for others. A description of the highest supreme reality, which is Brahman. It is one. Ekaha. Why? Because it is infinite. And whatever we see cannot be a separate thing. Cannot be a different thing. There is no multiplicity. And he is not only in the form of infinite existence, he is also in the form of infinite consciousness. Manishi means a wise person. But here wisdom means the pure chit, pure knowledge. Knowledge of oneself. Nishkriyanam bahunam ekam. So we think I am active, you are active, somebody else is active. But if we really analyze, as Shri Ram Krishna says so beautifully that somebody is cooking vegetables. And the water had become hot. And the vegetables start moving up and down. And the vegetables are jumping up and down. We are moving up and down. We are moving up and down. Sideways, upside down, etc. But really speaking, it is the heat that is making them do. So the same idea is reinforced in the Bhagavad Gita. Ishwarah sarvabhutanam hridyeshe arjuna tishthati, brahmayen sarvabhutani, yantrarodhani mayaya. So if any car thinks that I am moving, if any machine thinks I am functioning, it would be, of course it will not think. This is only as an example. But it cannot think really. So this artificial intelligence can also say I am very intelligent. No, you are not intelligent. You try to argue and then it will say you are a stupid fellow, you are an idiot. Like that it can reply. But no, for certain, it is all our own intelligence put into that machine to react in a particular way. So it has not become self-conscious. That is important. So none of us can really act. As we had discussed this point that it is only completely ignorance that makes us think we are working. The body is coming from Him. The mind is coming from Him. The sense organs are coming from Him in the form of pancha, bhutas, five elements. So nothing belongs to us. The whole universe is nothing but Brahman. Only one is there. So the idea is we should not think there are more than one. But it is all one only. Like reflections. You stand in front of a mirror. It is a very good analogy. And you move your hand. All the reflections from all the mirrors, they all move their hands. But only children can mistake. Dogs can mistake sometimes. But an intelligent person should not mistake. So bahunam nishkriyanam ekam. Or we can also say we see multiplicity. But they are only just nama and rupa and guna and kriya. They do not belong. It is only Brahman who is there. In the hands of an expert chess player, the queen, the king, the soldiers, the chariot, everything is only just a lifeless piece to be moved at the will of the person who is playing. Ekam santam. We should recognise that fact. That is called realisation. But bahudha ekaroti. They are playing in different ways. Like waves. There are so many small waves, big waves, tsunami waves, so many waves. Like clouds moving in the sky. But they can assume or in our imagination chariot is going, a horse is moving, an elephant is moving, etc. But those who are intelligent, dhiraha, dhi means buddhi, the capacity to know that there is only one, tam atmanam, this atman, which is appearing as if it has become many, as if. Eyan upashyanti dhiraha. They understand but it is only one. It is the only intelligence and it is, really speaking, it is not even active. First we say it is active. First we say there is a creation. But then later on, we deny that very thing. So this is very important in the Advaita Vedanta. First we accept something from the viewpoint of the ignorant person and slowly take him up step by step into a higher reasoning, understanding. Then he says, even this what is called cause and effect relationship, one and the many, creation, sustenance and dissolution is nothing. So those who really understand, they are called real seers. There is a word called seer. Equivalent word is rishis, those who see the truth. And what do they get? They alone attain shanti, shastrati. We also attain shanti, especially when we fulfil a particular desire for the time being, with regard to that one particular desire, we attain peace of mind. That means the desire will not arise for some time after its fulfilment. It could be one minute, it could be an hour, it could be few hours, etc. But shastrati, it is eternal because the supreme reality is eternal, therefore the peace also is eternal and we have to understand here, here the word peace, shanti is equivalent to ananda. So ananda is one, then ananta is another word that is used by the Taittiriya Upanishad in the very second chapter called Brahmanandavalli. Brahman is pointed out, not defined, but pointed out, satyam, jnanam, anantam. What is sat, chit and ananda? Here slightly changed, satyam is equivalent to sat, jnanam is equivalent to chit, anantam is equivalent to anantam. So they attain to that state. What is that state? To absorb and know I am that Brahman. Even that also is human language only and they remain. Whatever happens to the body, we can see this in the life of everybody. Just to make us understand, I narrated many times and we should narrate it, recollect it as many times as possible. Swami Brahmanandaji was sitting in an open space under a tree in winter season somewhere in North India and a merchant was passing by. He saw the Swami doesn't have any warm clothing, so he brought out a brand new blanket and kept it in front of the Swami, bowed silently and moved away. He was a devotee. Another devotee came, bowed down silently and took away the prasadam. Swami Brahmanandaji was watching both of them with equanimous, equal-mindedness and there is a beautiful incident in the life of Swami Brahmanandaji. He was about to give up his body. So when we are dying, we can't say that we are about to give up the body. The body is about to give us up because we don't desire to give it up, but it definitely desires to give us up. So one day a doctor must have come and he must be having a Nama, either Shiva or Vishnu, it doesn't matter, probably Shiva and Swami Brahmanandaji looking at him said, Doctor, the name you are wearing on your forehead, that alone is the reality, everything else is unreal. And then somebody sympathized with him, Maharaj, you are suffering so much and then he said, My son, when you attain to a state like mine, you will have to put up all these things. But we know from Sri Ramakrishna's life that they can lift up their minds, like Ramana Maharshi who had to undergo a very painful operation, but doctor wanted to administer anesthesia, but he said, No, you carry on, I am okay. And then the doctor, he looked a bit skeptical perhaps, I don't know, or he had faith in Maharshi, but he carried on the operation and Maharshi was looking as if the doctor was operating on somebody else. So these are very marvelous states. So Shanti means just to abide as oneself in oneself, that is called Shanti. How to attain that one? Because that is the goal, how to know our own true nature and that is being said here, आत्मानम् अरणिम् कृत्वा प्रणवं च उत्तरारणिम् धिहान निर्मथन अभ्यासात् देवं पशेत निगोधवत् Having made oneself the, once again here, Arni and the Pranava or the Omkara, the upper Arni, and rubbing them together through the practice of meditation. See the Lord in His hidden reality and we have come across similar type of mantras in Shwetha Shwetha as well as Kaivalya Upanishad. I will quote at the proper time but let us first analyze. आत्मानम् अरणिम् कृत्वा And this is called Yagna. This is called also Pooja. In fact, most people don't go and study what is Pooja. The first step and Pooja has four steps. The first step is called purification, cleanliness. So everything, our own body or three bodies, that's why three times we sip water, taking the name of God, Om Vishnuhu or Govindaya Namaha, Keshavaya Namaha, Achyutaya Namaha and or Om Namah Shivaya, doesn't matter. Thinking that our cross body, subtle body, causal body has become pure. That is the first step in the Pooja. Second step is called Nyasa from where this Sanyasa, the word Sanyasa has come. Nyasa means giving up identity with something which we thought is ours or me or mine and saying, Lord, all this time I was ignorant, I did not know. But actually this belongs to you. So the hands belong to you. The legs belong to you. The eyes belong to you. The ears belong to you. Just as an example only I am giving, the whole body belongs to you. The mind also belongs to you. Nothing belongs to me. This process of disassociating me or I with the body saying I am this, I am the body, I am the mind, etc. That is called the process of Nyasa from which the word Sanyasa. Sanyasa means some is what is called prefix. So the whole thing completely without any remnant, 100% giving up that idea of identity is called Sanyasa. Samyak Nyasaha Sanyasaha. So that is what is to be practiced. How do we practice? So our body-mind, we have to keep it as if imagining, you know, in the olden times, they take out two pieces of wood. Both are made up of a particular type of wood called Arani. So it is very easy to bring out fire from there. So you keep it there, one below and then take the upper one. So like our house ladies, you know, they churn the butter like that. Go on churning. So from one side to the other side, left to right, right to left, etc. That is called churning. And then after some time, it gets very quickly heated and then slowly it becomes very hot. Then you put a little bit of cotton or a few very fine wooden splinters and then it will burn. Sometimes coconut fiber and immediately it catches fire. And then afterwards you add. This is how every time Yajna is done, Arani is prepared. But that is only what is called an analogy. Here what is it? My body-mind and that is the lower piece of wood, Arani wood. What is the upper piece with which we churn? This body-mind, that is called Pranava. Pranava means what we call Unkara. So earlier also we have seen Unk. If it is Mandukya Upanishad, then it is divided into four Matras. A, U, Ma, as well as Ardha Matra, unsounded, silent. And then waking state, dream state and deep sleep state. Equate A with waking, U with dream state and M with the deep sleep state. And it belongs. Unkara is Brahman. So they are one. It belongs to Brahman. And who am I then? I am Brahman. So when I am ignorant, I say I am the waker, I am the dreamer, I am the sleeper. But when I attain illumination, then what do I do? I say that I am Brahman and I am Unkara. I am the Ardha Matra, Turiya, the fourth state. The fourth state is not separate from the three states, but that which is the very foundation, what sustains waking, dream, dreamless, deep sleep. And that is called, really speaking, Turiya state, pure conscious. I am conscious during the three states. But what I am conscious of, that is not me. And once we are successful in this contemplation, then we forever reach the Turiya avastha and forever remain there. Even if somebody is a Jeevan Mukta, he understands. So all these states belong to the body-mind, not to me. But finally they are none other than Brahman itself. So this is the methodology. If he is a Jnani, treading the path of Jnana Yoga, this analogy is there. But from the bhakti point of view also, that I have to be churned. Like Shri Rasa Mudra or the milk ocean is churned out completely and then at the end it contains the finest butter. But in this case, the butter is called nectar, amruta, that which confers the blessings of deathlessness or eternity. So that is what he says, dhyana nirmathana abhyasa. Abhyasa means practice. How long should we practice until we understand who we really are? And for that the body-mind must be analysed. What is this nirmathana, churning? First of all, we have to take each element. What is this body made up of? Panchamahabhutas, five gross elements. And that too, what we call mixed up elements, panchikarana. So first of all, we see the grossest, which is called earth. And then you take water. Here I will tell you something very interesting. You take a bucket and try to fill with anything, earth, pebbles or bricks or stones or wooden pieces, anything. So you can only put a few things because there will be a lot of gap in between these pieces. But if it is subtler, so what is the cause of the earth, bhumi? That is called water. You pour water in the same bucket. It will fill with much more water because it is very, very permeable. And then what is the cause of this water? Agni. Agni is much more permeable, much more subtle. Only these three we can experience, see. We can see the earth. We can see water. We can see fire. But we cannot see vayu. We can feel it, but we can't see. That is the vayu. Much more pervading, but even subtler than that is called akasha. Akasha means emptiness. We can't see it. We can't feel it. But we can infer it from understanding or hearing sounds. Akasha devata is the adhishtana devata for all sounds or karnendriya. So, first of all, our cross body. Merge it in water, merge water in fire, merge fire in air, merge air in akasha. So this is how one has. Then what happens after akasha? The akasha has come from atman. So we will have to take it to that level. This is what is called mathana, churning the ocean. And that is what is very beautifully described in the Upanishads, in the Kathopanishad also, as well as in Bhagavad Gita. So the sense objects must be merged in the senses. Senses must be merged in the mind. Mind must be merged in buddhi. Buddhi must be merged in mahat. Mahat must be merged in that which is unmanifest. And that unmanifest must be merged in the purusha or atman. This is being told. And this many Upanishads we get. As I said, just I gave you Kaivalya Upanishad one. So in the Kaivalya Upanishad it is said, and we have studied that one. Atmanam aranim krutva, pranavam cha uttararanim. Exactly it is the same words. Jnana nirmadhana abhyasat, through continuous practice of it. Panditah paapam dahati, paapam dahati panditah. A wise person, he completely gets rid of all the identity with the three bodies. And when he gets rid of identity, then whatever belongs, paapa, punya, everything disappears along with that. Same idea we get in Shweta Shvatara, because we have also done Shweta Shvatara. Swadheham aranim krutva, pranavam cha uttararanim. Jnana nirmadhana abhyasat, devam pashyet nigo dhavat. This Deva, the shining, that is chitsvarupa, the Atman, Brahman. It is nigo dhavat, as if it is completely hidden. But how to do? So, let one take one's persons, what is called body-mind complex, that is the lower piece of wood. And exactly the same thing, that is pranava, ankara, uttararanim. Jnana nirmadhana abhyasat, that is common word in all the three places we are studying. So, through continuous practice, that is merge the gross in the subtle, subtle in the subtler, subtler in the subtlest and even go beyond that one. Pashyet nigo dhavat, that which until now remains hidden, because it is the subtler than the subtlest. Anoranyan mahato mahiyan. By making the body, the lower piece of wood, and ankara, the upper piece, and through the practice of the friction of meditation, one perceives the luminous self, hidden like the fire in the wood. Very beautiful analogy, fire is there in the wood. And we get in the next mantra, how it is hidden. Several examples are given, at least four examples are given. So, there is wood and we don't see any fire there. But if we go on churning it, and especially the arani, a special type of wood, there are certain pieces of wood, certain types of stones, which when you create a friction, immediately the heat comes out. Even if you rub your two hands very quickly, forcibly, and you will see, you will feel the heat. That is why when we feel cold, what do we do? We just rub it very quickly and put it on our cheeks or some place where we are feeling the cold. This is one way of doing that. So, this is practice. What is it? Meditate all the time. Do japa all the time. Try to remember that you came from God and you are living because of God. Ultimately, you have to return back to God. That was the beautiful expression in the Bhrigu Valli. We will see, perhaps we might see in future also. So, where is this hidden? Atman hidden. So, earlier he said, nigo dhavat pashyet. That is what earlier also we have seen. devam pashyet nigo dhavat. So, here also we get in the next mantra. Actually, it is the fourth mantra, but I have divided it into several smaller parts. tileshu tailam dadhinivasarpehe apahashrotaha swaraneeshu chaagnehe evam atmaatmani grihyate asau satyena enam tapasa yo anupashyat As oil is hidden in the sesame seed, as the butter is hidden, not visible, invisible in the curds, as water in the flowing waves, and as fire in the semi wood, so is the Atman in one's own self, to be discovered by one who searches for it through truth and austere practice. Here also, the question that might pop up after studying these kind of statements, not only Brahma Upanishad, but by many other Upanishads also, the essence is the same, but here Brahma Upanishad, it calls as it were, the very gems, selected gems, from so many other Upanishads and like a brilliant garland, it makes a beautiful garland and beautiful mantras also. That is why somebody said, Brahma Upanishad is enough for anyone to contemplate upon. So how is it hidden? Tileshu Tailam. Tailam means oil. So tila means some seeds, and it can be any type of, it could be palm oil, it could be coconut oil, or it could be sesame oil, any type of oil, it doesn't matter. Tileshu Tailam. So you take the seeds, you don't see anything, but there is oil. Then you take what is called milk, and then you will see in the curd, Sharpi means curds. So do you see the butter? You definitely, if it is unadulterated milk and curds is made out of it, what we call in the West, Greek yogurt, very thick, you can feel so much of that sweetness, that oiliness itself. So tadini, tadini eva sharpihi. Tadini means in the curds, sharpihi, the butter is there. But that is why our house ladies, they go on churning it, especially early in the morning. And Aapaha Shrotaha. So Shrota means you will see so many waves, because if there is wind, usually the water gets churned into some kind of waves. But we give it a particular name, waves. But if you analyze what is the wave, what is a wave? Water plus wind is called wave. But it is nothing but water. So well-dried Arani firewood, just as we have been discussing earlier. And Agni is there. And you just sit there and say, Oh fire, come out, you will not find it. Because it is there, but we have to bring it out. How? By churning. That was what we have discussed earlier. So that is how our ancestors used to create fire. And every time they do a special type of worship called Yagna, they will have to produce the new fire. The old fire will not do. So there are some mantras, there is a process, and they have to do it. But of course, even without that also. So you can take a modern example. Take a matchbox and there are matches. So you want fire. What do you do? Oh match, so you produce fire. No, you will have to strike it against the... that there is a coating is there, you know. As soon as sufficient pressure is applied, immediately the fire which is there, it will come out. So like that. So Arani is well dried, not soggy, watery, wet. Otherwise, a lot of smoke only comes out. These are some of the things. Within each one of us, there is that divine potentially hidden. Evam, exactly in that way. Atma atmani grihyate asau. Asau, Atma, this Atma, this Brahman, which we have been describing all this time, this very name of this Upanishad is called Brahma Upanishad. So how to? Atmani grihyate, within ourself, how this body is to be thought that it is a modification of water. And water is a modification of fire. Fire is a modification of air. Air is a modification of space. Space is a modification of Atma. So this is how you merge it. That is called contemplation. So when a bhakta takes the japa mala, and then he remembers Om Namo Bhagavate Ramakrishnaaya. Oh Lord Ramakrishna, I salute you. What is the salutation? Namaha, not me. I do not exist. Only you do exist. So go on contemplating. This body belongs to you. This mind belongs to you. This whole earth belongs to you. Nobody belongs to anybody excepting you. So this is how the contemplation should go. This is called Sharanagati. And it is the same process when Gnanis do. They have a special type of mantra. It is called Mahavakya. I am Brahman. Aham Brahmasmi. What is that? This Aham which has been identifying itself. I am the body. I am the mind. So how do we identify? When I am feeling what is called tired, then I identify with the body. When I am feeling hungry, thirsty, I am identifying with what is called my pranamaya kosha. When I feel happy or unhappy, I am identifying with the manomaya kosha. And when I am saying I think I have taken a wrong decision and that we are identifying with the vijnanamaya kosha. Egotism. When I am hurt, when I feel proud, so I am identifying with the vijnanamaya kosha. And when I am in deep sleep state, then I am identified with the anandamaya kosha. So when I am in the waking state, I am identified with the gross body. When I am dreaming, I am identified with the subtle body called the mind. And when I am in deep sleep, I am identified with the causal body called karna sharira. So we have to understand that I am not these three. They all belong to the divine lord. Therefore, if I am not identified, that means they don't belong to me. Then to whom they belong? Only they belong to God. Nobody else. So this I also is only chidavasa, reflection of the pure consciousness. And without pure consciousness, this reflected consciousness cannot exist. Therefore, that is called reflection. But really speaking, the reflection is nothing but pure consciousness only. This is called mathara, that is meditation, contemplation. But the contemplation has to follow certain rules and regulations. So simply sitting and then without any idea, we cannot go above. So that is why it is said, satyena enam tapasa eva anupasyati. Two most important qualities are mentioned here. One is called satya. That is to say that I am a seeker of truth. Satya means what is truth. And what is the definition of satya? Trikala abadhitam yat tat satyam. Whatever doesn't change in the past, present and future. That means it is eternal. And that means it is infinite. And that is called satya. But how do we reach this satyam? Tapasa eva anupasyati. Only tapasya has to be anupasyati. And Swami Vivekananda is exactly reflecting these two, satya and tapasya. What is he telling? Just before he talks about the Raja Yoga, we have got three important sentences. The first tells us the goal. Each soul is potentially divine. I am divine. You are divine. And let us remember even what is called the non-living is also potentially divine only because it is reflecting the existence. So where there is existence, there must be consciousness and there must be ananda. Only they are not manifest like a baby. Baby Einstein. So he is going to be a future Einstein. But the baby has to grow up. So we don't see that grown-up Einstein. In the baby, it will take time and it will take training also. So each soul is potentially divine. Then that truth must be made into a goal to manifest this divinity within and by controlling nature, external and internal. We can divide this sentence into two parts. To manifest this divinity is the first part. How? With the divinity within. How? By controlling nature, external and internal. How to control? Our external means body, possessions and internal means our thoughts, our mind, our emotions, etc. So this is the goal. Truth is the goal. So this is called satya drishya. And then how to do? Tapasya. Every yoga member is a tapasya. Why? Because it's so difficult to obtain. We have to do a lot of sadhana. That is why he says do this either through work or worship or psychology or philosophy by one, more or all of these and be free. And this is to be equated with tapasya. So any religion, any yoga, anything that we do that is called tapasya. In fact, we cannot live in this world without tapasya. That is without effort. You want to live, you have to breathe. You want to breathe, try. If a person is very deeply affected by asthma, it's very difficult. Somebody is suffering from rheumatic pains or arthritis, then very difficult for that person to move the body at all. So this is how we have to do a lot of tapasya, effort. And this is for ordinary things. But if we want to reach higher goals, then we have to pay the price through controlling nature, external and internal. This is what Swamiji said. Karma yoga, bhakti yoga, raja yoga, jnana yoga. And every religion, false, only emphasizes one or the other of these yogas. That is very important. So in this mantra, each soul is potentially there. Potentiality means hidden. And he gave four examples. Just like butter is hidden in what is called curds, yogurt. So we have to find it out. Evam atma. So this asavatma, this goal, this paramatma. Atmani grihyate. How? Satyena enam tapasa yo anupasyate. Through austerity, et cetera, one has to do that. Then we'll move on to the next antara. This is, first half of it is talking about the creative force of the divine. And the second half is talking about, so we are going through three stages. What happens when the jiva enters into the deep sleep state that is being described here? urna nabhehi yatha tantun shriyate samharatyapi jagrat swapne tatha jivo gacchati agacchate punaha As just as the spider weaves out the web and again withdraws it when necessary. So when necessary, it brings it out. And when the purpose is not served, then it will withdraw also. So also the jiva comes out and goes back again to the wakeful and dreaming states, respectively. Very beautiful. Once more. So this example of the spider is given in Brihadaranyaka. It is also given in Mundaka Upanishad to indicate God is the material cause as well as the intelligent cause. You know for the creation of any object in this world, two causes are posited. Actually, one third cause also is there which is implied more than. What are the causes? Material cause. And what is the second? Intelligent cause. For example, if we take a pot as an example, then clay is the material cause. So without clay, a pot cannot be made. Without wood, furniture cannot be made, etc. Now, every pot, everything that is made out of clay is nothing but pure clay. And we call it, this is a pot, this is a plate, this is a tumbler, and this is a utensil, etc., etc. But these are all names. But Chandogya Upanishad so clearly tells us the material cause alone is there. So in this example of the pot, so the clay is the material, but clay doesn't manifest consciousness. So how does it become the pot? An intelligent cause is necessary. It is called nimitta karana. And what is the intelligent cause? Potter. There is a man and he made it his livelihood. So he knows exactly what type of clay is there and mixes with water, goes on kneading it until it becomes fit to be shaped into a form of a pot, etc. So he is called the intelligent because he knows that we can make pots out of it and he knows what type of pot, of what size, what shape, and what purpose, etc., etc. So only an intelligent being can do it. This is called nimitta karana. And the third cause I mentioned is we require some kind of instrument, implement. So in this case, potter's wheel, that is called karana. What karana? Instrumental cause. So karana, karana. Karana means an instrument. Your hand is an instrument. Your leg is an instrument. Your mind is an instrument. Your, what is called buddhi, is an instrument. So that is why in the Vishnu Sahasranama, very first name is Vishwam, is the material cause. Whatever we say is nothing but Bhagavan Vishnu. He is the material cause. So here what we need to understand is, in this world, the causes can be separate. Material cause is separate. Intelligent cause is separate. And instrumental cause is separate. But before the creation, there are no three separate things. Therefore, God is the material cause. Or Brahman is the material cause. Brahman is the instrumental cause. Of course, Brahman is even the intelligent cause. That is why he said it is explained in practically many of the Upanishads. So Brahman found himself. He said, I am alone. I wish to be menu, many, bhaushya. And then from his sankalpa, desire. So he himself was the material cause. He himself is the intelligent cause. He himself is the instrumental cause. That is why whenever we see, see here, if you want to see the intelligent cause of a pot, you may not find him. You may or you may not find him. If you want to see the instrumental cause, the potter's wheel, you may or may not find. But if you want to see the material cause, you don't need to go anywhere because the very perception of any pot, because it is made out of clay, you are looking straight at the clay, but you are using the word pot, plate, etc. So this is just like a spider. How does it do it? So it is the intelligent cause and it does it effortlessly. Test it once. I want to build my house here. And then immediately the threads start coming out of it and then it weaves so skillfully, so intelligent. And it is so strong, it is said, that even big, big insects, once they are caught, they cannot get out of it. Some kind of sticky substance is there. So that is how the Oorna Navi. Oorna Navi means navel. Oorna means pierce in which the threads, etc., come out. So like that, this is an example given, Shriyate, and it weaves up a beautiful net, net of Maya, so that many of the insects fall down there and becomes food. Samharatyapi, but it wants to shift its house. And what does it do? It is like your mobile home. So many people are there and within a few hours, everything can be constructed. And one fellow has constructed it like that and he went on a holiday. When he came back, empty space only he found. Because somebody, some thief, cleverer than him, just put all the pieces together, put in the truck and drove it away. So this Oorna Navi, spider, knows about it. What is this example for? Says, one example is how Brahman, He creates when He wants and He is the material cause, He is the intelligent cause, He is the instrumental cause and then He withdraws into Himself. But here specifically, so every living creature goes through three states, waking, dream, dreamless. Jagrat, Swapna. So Shrupti is not mentioned here, but it is implied here. Jagrat, Swapni, Tatha Jeevo, Gachchati, Agachchati, Punaha. So what happens? First He will be in the waking state, then He is in the dream state. Jagrat and Swapni. Then what happens? He goes into deep sleep and then what happens? He comes out of the deep sleep state. Where does He enter? Waking state. And from waking state to the dream state. From the dream state to the deep sleep state. From the deep sleep state, again the same circle continues. But what is the point of this mantra? It is to find out that just as a spider, it can weave a net, it can withdraw it, but it can also do without doing anything. So also it is comparable to a Jeeva. Jeeva is none other than a reflection of Brahman. Chidavasa. So He has the body, He has the mind, He can enter at will into the waking, into the dream, and again into deep sleep. And when the time comes, He can also merge Himself in the Brahman. And again through Brahman, He can again start. Srishti sthiti vinashanam, shakti bhute sanatane, kunashraye unamayi, narayani namostu. It is possible. And that is what He wants to tell. That where is this God to be contemplated upon. Okay. Just like a spider, a Jeevatma is behaving like that. It experiences these three states and it also sometimes goes back. And when does it go back to Brahman? Only three states? No. In between the two states, there is a state that is called the state of pure consciousness. Is it in the waking state? No. Is it in the dream state? No. It is in between. Why do we say that? Because to distinguish that this is the waking state and this is the dream state and this is the deep sleep state, we require a no man's land which is completely different. That underlying consciousness which for a short time as it were has none of these three characteristics of the three states that is called the pure state is one way of explaining. Another way is it can also be between two thoughts. How do we distinguish? That was the last thought and this is a new thought. So how do we distinguish between the old and the new thought? Because there must be some no man's land where the old thought ends and the new thought begins and that is called pure consciousness. So this is how the jiva is moving and then here we are talking about not ordinary jiva, we are talking about a sadhaka, a person, a spiritual aspirant and this spiritual aspirant must pay more and more attention to those states which is ending and before beginning, where was I? That is the real contemplation. For that we substitute it may be Sri Ramakrishna, it may be Narayana, it may be Shiva, it may be Shakti etc. And this is beautifully described. Many times we have seen the heart is compared to a cave and what is this heart cave? What Sri Ramakrishna compares to a visitor's room in a zamindar's house. Zamindar can be anywhere but he is frequently to be found only in what we call this visitor's room most of the time because he has to administer, look at the accounts etc. So most of the time he is available and that is comparable to the cave of the heart. Vangusta Matraha Purvamchananam Hridaya is called Hridaya Guha and that is where we have to find out. A beautiful description of it is given in the Narayana Subh which we had done and that is being repeated whether is Brahma Upanishad is the Rishi had taken it from there we do not know but this is most famous one. Padmakosha Pratikashagum Sushiram chaapya dho mukham Hridayam tad vijaniyat Vishwasya ayatanam mahat The heart, inner chamber of heart resembles the calyx of a lotus that is the stem of a lotus full of cavities and also with its face turned downward now that to be the great habitat of the entire universe, whole universe what is the Rishi trying to tell us that the root cause Brahman is to be obtained in the visitor's room and where is that visitor's room it is called the cave of the heart and in that cave is continuously shining that Paramatma and how is it and that is being said Padmakosha Pratikashagum just imagine and this is beautifully described in the tantric scriptures which Sriram Krishna describes how the kundalini is awakened his own experience of awakening of the kundalini we have a little bit of elementary knowledge that there are three roadways so there is called Ida Areela Pingala and then Sushumna so long as our minds are tied down to the three lowest chakras Muladhara Swadhishtana and Manipura that means our mind is eating defecating and producing children when these three sense organs are active and that is the whole world that is what Sriram Krishna kept capsized like woman and gold or Kama Kanchana that is what he said sex and money money and sex so three lower chakras but when a person has acquired the capability he will go through the Sushumna Nadi a special path a motorway opens and that is what is being described which we will talk about in next class