Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.1.4 Lecture 21 on 04 April 2026
Full Transcript (Not Corrected)
Opening Invocation
OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH
OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.
OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.
Conclusion of the Third Section: Prāṇa Upāsanā
We have completed the third section of the first chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. This third section has 28 mantras.
This third section deals especially with Prāṇa Upāsanā. As we have seen earlier, the first section is to become one with Virāṭ in the form of a horse — not an ordinary horse, but a very sacred horse. Every part of the horse has to be meditated upon as a part of this entire creation. And if we succeed, when we succeed, we become Virāṭ, the entire creation. The same thing is dealt with also in the second section, which is called the upāsanā of Agni as Virāṭ — the upāsanā of Agni as Virāṭ.
Then we have come to the third section. Here, Prāṇa has been praised. We have to understand: here, Prāṇa means Hiraṇyagarbha. And Hiraṇyagarbha is this entire universe. And therefore, by meditating upon Prāṇa, we become identified with Prāṇa.
Prāṇa as Hiraṇyagarbha: Universal Identity
This Prāṇa is praised as the most unselfish of every other organ. And it is confirmed by the Śruti, by this Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad: the Prāṇa of a mosquito, of a mouse, of an elephant, of a human being, of even a jīvanmukta, is absolutely the same. The identity of the Prāṇa differs according to the knowledge of the created beings, but the Prāṇa is exactly the same.
When a person has succeeded in thinking, "I am the Prāṇa in everybody," he becomes totally identified with the entire creation — which is equal to identification with Hiraṇyagarbha, or Īśvara, or Saguṇa Brahma. And this Prāṇa has been praised — that means Hiraṇyagarbha has been praised. And these stories praising Prāṇa and Hiraṇyagarbha are factual statements that are valid even today, and they are very useful even today for upāsanā.
What happens when a person succeeds in thinking, "I am the Prāṇa of everything, I am Hiraṇyagarbha, then I am Īśvara, I am Saguṇa Brahma"? That is how far a sādhanā can proceed. But once the sādhanā proceeds only up to that extent, then Saguṇa Brahma alone can give us that final knowledge: "I am Brahman." That is why the very last śloka in the Bhagavad Gītā — meaning, you become one with Saguṇa Brahma, then you take refuge in me, means become one with me, means you destroy your separate individuality — then says, "I will save you." In what form? In the form of the knowledge. What knowledge? Ahaṃ brahmāsmi. That is called mukti, that is called the supreme state of realisation.
The Abhyāroha Mantras: The Twenty-Eighth Mantra
And then, as I said, there are 28 mantras in this third section, and the last, 28th mantra is the famous Abhyāroha mantras. Āroha means slowly going up; abhyāroha — one by one. And as I mentioned, there are only three prayers: "I want to become Sat, I want to become Cit, I want to become Ānanda."
So here, whoever is performing this yajña — he is called Prastotā, the main singer of the Sāmaveda — these three mantras are to be repeated, as japa:
Asato mā sadgamaya. Tamaso mā jyotirgamaya. Mṛtyor mā amṛtaṃ gamaya.
"O Lord, you take me from this limited identity. Take me beyond time and space. May I become one without a second — that is, I will be crossing over death, the second that is the essence of the asat. From asat, may I reach sat — means infinite, eternal existence. And then let me have this knowledge: I am Brahman. Tamaso mā jyotirgamaya — and let me enjoy without any break, let me be ānanda-svarūpa. Ahameva ānanda-svarūpoham asmi."
Therefore, the final prayer asks to be led from mortality to immortality, from ignorance to knowledge, from suffering to eternal bliss. So whoever does the upāsanā of Prāṇa in this manner will become Universal Prāṇa, or Hiraṇyagarbha, or Īśvara, and sādhanā can go only that much. Then Īśvara grants him brahmānubhūti — the experience "I am Brahman."
With this, the third section has come to an end.
Introduction to the Fourth Section: The Most Important Section
Now we are entering into the most important section of the entire Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. As I mentioned earlier, this is called Madhu Kāṇḍa, or Upadeśa Kāṇḍa. The main teaching of the entire Upaniṣad is compressed in this first chapter — and in this first chapter, in this fourth section — because this is where we get the Mahāvākya Ahaṃ brahmāsmi.
And very interesting points have been raised. If I do not know "I am Brahman," what is the problem? What would be the difficulty? Yes: if I do not know ahaṃ brahmāsmi, I have to say "I am so-and-so." And when I say "I am so-and-so," I see an infinite number of things, and therefore I have fear always — either fear of not getting what I want, or fear of losing what I already have. The yoga-kṣema problem will come.
But if I know "I am Brahman," this problem of yoga-kṣema will be overcome. Because as an individual I have death; as the universal I have no death at all.
The Wave and the Ocean: Illustrating Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi
Just like infinite number of waves — every wave thinks, "I am a small wave, I am a helpless wave, and the bigger wave is coming to swallow me up." That is what actually happens. So "I am different from the ocean." But when this small wave realises that "I am not a wave, I am water" — as a wave, I am different, the ocean is different; as water, there is no difference between me and the ocean. As pure consciousness, I am Brahman.
But if I think "I am a little bit of consciousness along with body and mind" — because the moment we say "a little bit of consciousness," the body-mind idea must step in and we mix up: "I am the body, I am the mind, and I am also a bit of consciousness" — so this fear will come if I think I am not Brahman.
Then fear produces desire. What is the desire? Fear has been given a very beautiful meaning: fear means suffering, and the opposite of suffering is called ānanda. So long as I fear, I suffer. And the only way I am trying to overcome this suffering is the inability to think: "I am not able to think that I am everything." That is the root cause of all my problems. But if I can think "I am everything," I will have no wants, then I will have no fear.
That is why that beautiful statement: fear arises from the second. The moment a second is there — do I want it? I may not get it, or it may get me. That fear will be there. A desire will come. Every desire is nothing but the fulfilment or removal of the fear. What is that fear? "I am not full. I am incomplete. I want to become complete. I want to become pūrṇa."
That is why the Śānti Mantra: pūrṇāt pūrṇamudacyate — this whole universe is nothing but a manifestation of infinity only. It is never finite. But if I do not know that truth, I think I am finite. And this sense of unwholeness creates fear in me. Fear means desire. Desire means: I may lose what I have, I may not get what I want. Life is nothing but a struggle to keep what I have and to obtain what I do not have.
Virāṭ's First Experience: The Origin of Fear
So here: the moment Sṛṣṭi, creation, started, that first being is called Virāṭ. The Virāṭ felt fear. Why did he feel fear? Because he thought he was alone. Then he looked around and found out there was nobody, there was nothing accepting him. Then he realised: "Since there is nothing else but myself, what am I afraid of?" So fear only exists when we think there is a second person to hurt us, harm us, deprive us of happiness, etc.
And then — the second. So this self, this pure consciousness — where is that Brahman? That is called the hidden self. So here the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad says: the self entered all bodies. Everything that is created, both living and non-living, up to the very tips of the nails. A beautiful example is given: a sharp knife, or sword — or in this case, a razor.
Śaṅkarācārya on Advaita: The Core Essence
So if we see God only as a deity to be worshipped externally, we are like an animal to the gods — meaning, we are servants to our own ignorance. And Śaṅkarācārya brings out the essence of this one. This is the very core essence of Advaita, non-duality.
So our great Ācārya emphasises: the difference between the individual and — "I am the individual." Everyone thinks, "I am." And "Brahman" is caused only by: "I am an individual, and Brahman is the universal, I am different from Brahman." This is caused only by ignorance. But the movement through sādhanā, through upāsanā — various upāsanās.
What Is Upāsanā? The Example of Rāmakṛṣṇa
Nowadays, you worship Hanumān, do upāsanā of Hanumān — that is a better word, actually, than pūjā. Because when we use the word pūjā, immediately the idea comes: there is a temple or shrine room, and there are various objects there — flowers, fruits, cloths, water, and various utensils of pūjā. That is what comes to our mind.
But no — upāsanā means the first thing we have to understand: I sit quietly, I calm all my thoughts by closing my eyes. It is a symbol — I am closing my mind, my thoughts, to everything else excepting my Iṣṭa Devatā.
So by doing upāsanā of Hanumān, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa became Hanumān. And Hanumān was doing upāsanā of whom? Śrī Rāma. So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa first became Hanumān, then he became Rāma. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa first became Rādhā and became Kṛṣṇa. And who are Rāma and Kṛṣṇa? The same Brahman imagined by a limited mind. So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa became Rāma and Parabrahma. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa became Kṛṣṇa and Parabrahma. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa became Kālī and Parabrahma. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa became everything.
He said: "I have seen that something has grown and grown and grown and has become completely, fully identified with this entire creation." That is what he expressed so many times. I also have voiced that thought. The Mother showed him: "Are you not eating through all mouths?" Eating is not merely the act of eating — that is, experiencing the entire universe through the five sense organs and through the five sense organs of action, and through thoughts. What do we do through thoughts? We create our own world.
In fact, the whole world that we live in is our own creation, because everybody has their own opinion about every object in this world. So I live in my own world. A baby lives in its own world. An old man lives in his own world. A jīvanmukta lives in his own world. But ultimately, a jīvanmukta alone knows: "Everything is Brahman. I am Brahman." And then he has already realised through nirvikalpa samādhi: "I am the all," and fear and limitation both vanish together.
The Fourth Section: Puruṣavidha Brāhmaṇa
Before we go further into the commentary, first I want you to taste a few of these mantras. So let me first read out a few mantras of this fourth section of the Brāhmaṇa. This section has got 17 mantras. But this particular fourth section of the first chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka is called Puruṣavidha Brāhmaṇa. It is also called Brahmavidyā Brāhmaṇa. Brahmavidyā is taught especially in this fourth section. That is why that word Mahāvākya — Ahaṃ brahmāsmi — comes here in this Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. And Tat tvam asi comes in the Chāndogya Upaniṣad. They are the other Mahāvākyas.
So let me read out so that we can all enjoy a little bit of this. And I am not going to read out everything because there is a lot of explanation about sṛṣṭi, creation.
But one point the section itself tells: having created, then what we call nowadays Brahmā — the creator — and in this case it is Prajāpati Puruṣa — he realised: "I am the creation." Not only "I have created," but "I am the creation." Like clay can say, "I am every pot, every single pot." Gold can say, "I am every single ornament," etc. That is how we have to understand.
The First Mantra: Ātmā eva idam agre āsīt puruṣavidhaḥ
So the very first mantra in this fourth section: Ātmaiva idam agre āsīt puruṣavidhaḥ — "In the beginning, this universe was indeed the self alone, in the form of Puruṣa."
So agra means "before." Before — what was there? Ātmā was there. Let us remember: Ātmā and Brahman are one and the same. So who was there? Only Brahman was there. That is why he is called Mūlakāraṇa — the causeless, ultimate cause of this entire universe. Whenever we say "he is the creator," we must immediately also put in the second line: not only is he the creator, he is the creation. That is very important.
That is what Swami Vivekānanda meant: "Each soul is potentially divine." So in the beginning, before this creation started, was indeed the self — Brahman, Ātman alone. And he was called Puruṣa.
The Meaning of Puruṣa
There is a meaning of the word Puruṣa — we will come to that later on. One very popular meaning is: puriśete iti puruṣaḥ — "because he is to be sought after." And where is he to be sought after?
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: if you want to meet a big landlord, he is always to be found only in a particular visitor's room, most of the time. And here we have to say — not most of the time, but during our sādhanā period — we have to close all thoughts, desires, hopes, expectations of the entire external world and look within. That is why in the Chāndogya Upaniṣad we have seen: this is called Brahmapurī, a city of Brahman. And that is why we call it the sanctum sanctorum.
And he is there within seven walls. What are those seven walls? They are called the seven cakras. It is also beautifully called in Sanskrit: garbha gṛha. Garbha means — just as a foetus is so carefully produced, nourished, and looked after by the mother in her womb — our human body has a womb. That is called the mind. And within that mind there is another womb — that is called dahara ākāśa. And that dahara ākāśa is none other than this Brahman. So that is the meaning of Puruṣa.
That is why we have seen in both the Puruṣasūkta and the Nārāyaṇasūkta also:
sahasraśīrṣā puruṣaḥ sahasrākṣaḥ sahasrapāt, sa bhūmiṃ viśvato vṛtvā atyatiṣṭhad daśāṅgulam.
That infinite Puruṣa transcends this created world — as if this is only just an infinitesimal part of him — indicating: within everything that is created, we can see the same Brahman, if we have the eyes to see that Brahman.
The Pañcakośas: Layers of Perception
If we are thickly covered with, for example, dehātmabuddhi and the annamaya kośa, then I see the entire universe as consisting of body — physical, concrete object. When I progress a little bit and go inside, to the cause of this annamaya kośa, I see that I am the prāṇa within everybody. But this prāṇa is maintained, caused, and directed in how it functions by the thought — that is called manomaya kośa. And these thoughts are directed by a particular intent, purpose — that is called vijñānamaya. And the ultimate goal of every activity — and every activity starts with a thought — is nothing but to be myself, which is ānanda. That is called ānandamaya kośa.
But I don't want to limit myself with every thought, because every thought is a limitation. So I want to become that ānanda itself, not identify merely with the thoughts of ānanda. What are the thoughts? Priya, then moda, then only ānanda comes. No — I want to be that Brahman, another name for ānanda, sat-cit-ānanda.
Brahman Before and After Creation
So this is the meaning: Brahman alone was there before creation. What about now? Even now, Brahman alone is manifest, but in the form of the created, the creation.
Then what happened? This Brahman first became Saguṇa Brahma — that is, he divided himself into the subject and the object. The first manifestation of the creation is called Saguṇa Brahma. That Saguṇa Brahma has now become the entire creation.
But when that first manifestation of Saguṇa Brahma came, as if he looked around — and what did he see?
Sah anuvekṣya na anyat ātmanaḥ paśyati — looking around, he saw nothing other than himself.
Aham asmīti agre vyāharat, tataḥ ahaṃ nāma abhavat — so he first uttered, "I am — I." Who are you? He understood: "I am me. I am I."
"I Am": The Name of God
In the Bible also, we have this expression. When Moses saw the burning bush, he understood it was God. And then he asked, "What's your name?" And he said, "My name is: I am." What else can he say? "I am not the body. I am not the mind. I am not even the causal body. I am not the sthūla śarīra, sūkṣma śarīra, kāraṇa śarīra." When these three are removed, what does one say to oneself? "I am." Even to say "I am" is only for the purpose of teaching — it has nothing to do with Brahman sitting and saying, "I am, I am."
When do you say "I am so-and-so"? Only when you come across someone who doesn't know you. Not only who doesn't know you — even if everybody knows you, your mother knows you so well, but then unconsciously you say "I am." Only thing is: now you have no fear, you have only complete fearlessness. "My mother is here, so she will protect me. She will give up her life for my sake." And that very unconscious thought — you don't consciously think about it — that unconscious thought gives you so much of joy.
How do we know? Because even if it is pitch dark, the baby sleeps like an unconscious person. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa describes so beautifully: when the child doesn't see the mother, she gets confused, she starts crying.
A Story from Dakṣineśvar
A beautiful incident occurred when the Kālī temple at Dakṣineśvar was opened. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was a young man — he was not even a priest, but he was the brother of the main priest, Rāmkumār. And a huge crowd had come; it was a great event.
Then suddenly a small child was crying. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa noticed, came running, and probably took the child in his arms and said, "Who is the mother of this child?" Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's voice was very, very powerful — it could carry a long distance, a very piercing voice. And immediately the mother was there — probably she was also searching, just a few feet away. And immediately the child saw, and his face turned into joyful recognition: "My mom is there."
Later on, that person recollected: "Could it be Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa himself who was protecting me from the very beginning?" So then — that is the same thing that happened. So here, the person says "I am," and if there is nobody else, there is no cause for fear.
Yoga and Kṣema: The Twin Fears
As I mentioned earlier: fear means desire. Desire means only two things — I want something I may not get, and I have something I may lose. That first is called yoga. The second is called kṣema. So I am subject to yoga-kṣema. That is why Yamadharmarāja says: if a Brāhmiṇa guest is neglected, then āśā pratīkṣā — nothing but yoga and kṣema — both will get destroyed totally.
So here, Saguṇa Brahma looked. And what was the first thing? "I am." Because Saguṇa Brahma means: "I am conscious" — that means I am not one with Brahman. I may be very close to Brahman, but I have deviated, separated myself. That ignorance is called sṛṣṭi. We have to keep in mind: whether you call it creation or whether you call it ajñāna, it doesn't matter. But the moment that sṛṣṭi — that separation — happens, fear comes. But the first thing is: "I am."
As I said, he looked around. Accepting him, nobody was there. But he realised: "I am." That is why even today, the very first thing any creature says — ask a mosquito, suppose it can converse: "Who are you?" How does it start? "I am." Then only: "I am a mosquito, I am this species of mosquito, I am small, I am big, I am this, I am that," etc. But that stage has not yet come, because a mosquito has billions of things which can crush it — even air can crush it, heat can crush it. But here, Saguṇa Brahma was there.
The Bṛhadāraṇyaka's Graphic Description
So the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad graphically describes: sah anuvekṣya na anyat ātmanaḥ — so, accepting himself, he did not see anything. Na apaśyat — looking around, he saw nothing other than himself. Then, from that day onwards: sah aham asmīti agre vyāharat, tataḥ ahaṃ nāma abhavat — so that Saguṇa Brahma thought, "I am — I." Because he can't say even "I am a body" — pure consciousness.
From that, the name aham arose. That is why: tasmāt api etarhi āmantrito 'ham ayam iti agre vyuktaiva atha anyat nāma prabhrūte yat asya bhavati — "Therefore, even now, when addressed or asked, one first says: 'Here I am.' Not really 'I am,' and only then does he speak any other name that he bears." What is the other name? Not "Rāmakṛṣṇa" — "I am a man, I am a woman, I am so-and-so, I am not so-and-so," all these things come.
So irrespective of country, irrespective of religion, irrespective of age, irrespective of class — aham, "I am." Even today, "I am" is first. And then later on come: "I am a doctor, I am a patient, I am old, I am sick, I am about to die, I am young," etc. So, that is what we are doing.
Thereby, the Upaniṣad is indicating: the moment you say "I am," you are absolutely fine. But whatever comes after "I am" — that is called ajñānam. "I am" is sat. What comes after "I am" — that is ajñānam.
How Did Hiraṇyagarbha Become Puruṣa?
So now the question comes: the Upaniṣad is telling us how he became a Puruṣa. So he gives a peculiar name. We need not go into the technical details of it, because there are two ideas about Hiraṇyagarbha. One idea is: he is the first creation — Saguṇa Brahma. The other is: it is a position in saṃsāra, just like a person goes to Brahmaloka.
And we have to keep in mind: when a person goes to Brahmaloka, it is not like going into the USA, somehow obtaining a visa, etc. No. Going to Brahmaloka means identifying oneself: "I am Brahmā. I am the creator." That identification itself is the loka, or the world. So when somebody says "I am ignorant," he is living in which loka? Ajñānavidyāloka.
So the question is: how did Hiraṇyagarbha become Hiraṇyagarbha? The first view is: Brahman became Saguṇa Brahma — that is the first view. And the second view is: in the creation, he was also a human being, and he did a lot of jñānas, etc., and he rose up to Brahmaloka — he became Brahmā. So another name for Brahmā is Hiraṇyagarbha. That is what is said: because he burned up, consumed all evil before everything else, he is called Puruṣa — the one who burns or consumes. That is to say, he did a lot of puṇyam. He became the purest. He became identified with the highest, purest mind. The purest mind is called Brahmā. And the purest mind becomes like the cleanest mirror reflecting one's own image, one's own form. That is what we have to understand.
Encouragement: Anybody Can Become Brahmā
And then the Upaniṣad continues: "Thus knows he who knows this" — that is to say, this is to encourage each one of us: you can also become Brahmā. Anybody can become Brahmā. Naturally, some foolish question will come: "If everybody becomes Brahmā, how many Brahmās will there be?" That is not the way to look at it.
So if every river — small or big — and every raindrop falls into the ocean, how many oceans do they become? Only one ocean. That is how we have to understand this beautiful thought. So the idea is: anybody can become Brahmā, on the condition that he must become pure.
And just for your reference: let us refer to the eighth section of the second chapter of the Taittirīya Upaniṣad called Ānandamīmāṃsā. And then, a beautiful idea — there are higher worlds. The highest world is called Brahmaloka. And there, he gets the highest dualistic happiness. But then, immediately, the Taittirīya Upaniṣad also tells us that he is not only a Śrotriya — a person who knows "I can become Brahmā." How does he know? Because he is devoted to this scripture. He has faith. The scripture is telling: "You are the Saguṇa Brahma. You are the Nirguṇa Brahma also."
But sādhanā, as I have said so many times, can take us only up to the Saguṇa Brahma. After that, sādhanā will not work, because that is Advaitam — pure Advaitam. But we should not worry: "What am I supposed to do after becoming Brahmā?" You don't need to do anything. Automatically, that state itself will take us to the other state.
Key Titles of Hiraṇyagarbha: Aham and Puruṣa
So these are a few mantras I wanted to share with you. But there is an important point. What is it? The Upaniṣad praises Hiraṇyagarbha by giving some titles. What is the first title? Aham. That is what Ramaṇa Maharṣi finds out: "Who are you?" And then, some foolish fellows — years and years of meditation — say: "I am this, I am that." No — you are not this, you are not that. Simply say: Aham. Not saying, not thinking, but becoming aham. That is called becoming Hiraṇyagarbha. So that is what we have to become. Aham. Aham.
So this Hiraṇyagarbha — he became Puruṣaḥ. How did he become? Because he did sādhanā. And what did the spiritual practice do? He burned all his pāpams, or impurities. As he went on burning the impurities, what remained is called purity.
The Three Steps of Purification
So we can even say there are three steps. Burn away sthūla prapañca — not literal burning, but in knowledge. "I am not the physical body, sthūla śarīra." The entire sthūla prapañca will disappear. Then the next thing is: "I am not the sūkṣma śarīra." The entire svapna prapañca, the dream world, will disappear. "I am not even the kāraṇa śarīra." The entire kāraṇa prapañca will also go.
And that state — the universal state — is called Īśvara. As we have seen: if it is individual — bereft of these three, that is, the physical individual sthūla śarīra, individual sūkṣma śarīra, individual kāraṇa śarīra — such a person is called Prājña. And if it is universal, he is called Īśvara, Saguṇa Brahma.
So that is the first meaning: aham. Second meaning: Puruṣa — "I am the Self, I am everything." And how did he attain? By burning out, destroying all his impurities. So the difference between oneself and everything else is because of this ajñāna. And the more we identify ourselves — and that is the purpose of every upāsanā, and that can be done only through upāsanā — upāsanā should not only transform our mind and thoughts, but our physical, external behaviour and selfishness should disappear, as we have seen. Then we become the purest. Our mind becomes the purest.
That is what Patañjali Ṛṣi refers to: yogaḥ citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ — when the mind is bereft of every thought, it becomes like a pure mirror. And that is what we have to achieve. So this is what is called washing away all these. That is why he is called Puruṣaḥ.
And as I said, he becomes so by burning his impurities. Auṣadhi means burning — that is why we say auṣadha. Auṣadha means medicine. What does it do? It burns away the disease. That is why it is called auṣadhi.
Ātmaivaidam Agre: Life as a Drama
So there is: ātmaivaidam agre āsīt puruṣaḥ — Hiraṇyagarbha-Virāṭ is the first creation, and that is why: "I am," he says.
So our life's struggles are nothing but just as we see a dream. But what is the difference? When we see a dream, then we think it is real. But when we see a cinema, we know — at least adults know — that it is a cinema. But when Hiraṇyagarbha sees this sṛṣṭi, he knows: "This is my seeing a cinema, a drama." That is why it is called Raṅganātha. So that is the meaning that we see.
Fear and Loneliness in Saṃsāra
Then the Upaniṣad tells: tasmāt ekākī vibheti — so the Upaniṣad is trying to tell us: "Why are you feeling lonely?" Because when do we fear? So when you find there is nobody — you are travelling in a forest, you are alone — you become full of fear.
Remember the story of Dādā Madhusūdana. A boy was very much afraid. What was that forest? Saṃsāra. And we are always frightened — always frightened. Only we forcibly suppress our fear, we want to overcome our fear. Fear means unhappiness. That is why we always have to be away from ourselves — when we are alone, we are terribly lonely, frightened. And that is called loneliness. Because we have never cultivated: "What am I? Who am I?" That idea has never been cultivated.
That is why, even today, a person becomes fearful when that person is alone. And then the Upaniṣad derives certain things, outlining our condition. So even today, a bachelor thinks: "I am alone, I want a companion." So he gets a companion — not understanding that that is not going to solve loneliness. Loneliness is a psychological condition. Any amount of external element cannot cure any psychological condition. That is why even a rich person is frightened, a poor person is frightened. Only a jñānī is never frightened — because he never thinks there is anybody besides himself.
The Yogi and Alexander: A Story of Fearlessness
A murderer comes — "Oh, this is me only, acting in this sense." There is a beautiful story. Alexander had conquered a part of India, and he heard the name and fame of a Yogi. He came there and he talked with him. And then it was winter season, it is said. And Alexander sent news: "You must come and see me." The Yogi said: "I have no time to come and see you. You come and see me." And Alexander had no way but to accept and come.
And so Alexander was pleased after talking a little with that Yogi and said, "What can I do for you?" He said: "You get the hell out of the sun ray which is warming me up in this winter season. You are standing — your shadow is making me shiver with cold." Only a Yogi can say that. So it is said Alexander came and met him several times.
And then he was forced to go back, because his soldiers rebelled — years and years of separation from their families, wives, children, etc. Then he had no option. Then he requested: "Please come with me, I will look after you." The Yogi said: "No, I am quite happy here, I will not come."
Then Alexander, in his normal behaviour, took out his sword and said: "Don't you know who I am? I can cut off your head." And the Muni — the Yogi — laughed and said: "I have never heard a greater lie than this. Who can kill me? I am birthless, therefore I am also deathless. I am pure consciousness." That is the idea.
Closing Remarks
We will discuss about it in our next class. But this fourth section is the most important section. If we can get the essence of it, then the rest of it is only an explanation, as I have mentioned in my introduction.
Closing Prayer
Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum
Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh
May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti.
Jai Ramakrishna!