Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.1.4 Lecture 22 on 05 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.
Introduction to the Fourth Section
We are now in the fourth section of the first chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. In our last class, we discussed about the creation and its cause.
This is the most important section in the whole of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. Here only — in this fourth section only — we get this greatest Mahāvākyam: Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi. Why do we say "greatest Mahāvākyam"? Are not all the Mahāvākyams the same? True, but then only two Mahāvākyams are more popular than the other two.
Ayam Ātmā Brahma and Prajñānaṃ Brahma — even though considered as Mahāvākyas — are not that popular. But Tattvamasi, and even more popular than Tattvamasi, is Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi.
Especially Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, and all of us — we belong to the Kṛṣṇa Yajur Veda Śākhā, and our Guru Totāpuri was the Advaitika Guru of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, and he belonged to the Śṛṅgeri Maṭha. The Śṛṅgeri Maṭha uses only this Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi. So it is a very special Mahāvākyam for all of us.
The Purpose of Creation
That Mahāvākyam comes in this fourth section, and then we discussed about the creation. The Upaniṣad is talking about creation. But the importance is not creation. The importance is to be able to say Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi — that is the final goal.
But first we have to be awake. Each soul is potentially divine, and therefore the goal of life is to manifest that divinity — slowly, gradually, but definitely. And for that, Sṛṣṭi helps us greatly. How does it help us? What happens when the creation comes? That is beautifully discussed here.
The moment Brahman started creating — as if. Remember, from the Advaitika point of view, there is no creation. And we also have to remember there is an actual creation, which is called Pariṇāma Vāda. And there is only seeming, apparent creation — we are thinking there is creation, we are thinking I am a human being, I have a body, I have a mind. But that is not the truth. That theory belongs to the Advaita Vāda and is called Vivarta Vāda.
A famous example — if you remember — a rope appears to be a ferocious, dangerous snake, but not so. So that is being discussed.
Saguṇa Brahman and the First Recognition of "I Am"
In our last class we discussed that, as soon as Brahman and creation — according to this theory — is only just a thought, just as we dream, our entire creation of the dream world is nothing but our imagination, which is nothing but our thoughts. So first, Brahman had become Saguṇa Brahman.
And as soon as he became — what? He found himself. Aham. Asmi. I am. That is why we discussed it in our last class.
So if you have to ask anybody, "Who are you?" — the very first thing is: I am. After that: I am an Indian, I am a Hindu, I am a man, I am married, I am a monk, etc. First: I am. The second point — he felt, he looked around. Who? Saguṇa Brahma looked around, and there was nobody. And then fear came. Why did the fear come? I am alone.
Then, next, he realised it immediately. But there is no source of fear, because there is no second thing. That is why the famous idea — and this is confirmed later on by Yājñavalkya when he was teaching Janaka Mahārāja: "O Janaka, you have attained fearlessness." Another way of saying this is: you are Brahman. Brahman is everything. There is nothing besides Brahman. And you are that Brahman. And you realised that Brahman. Ahaṃ Brahma Asmi. And therefore there is no question of fear, etc.
Fear, Loneliness, and the Condition of Saṃsāra
So this is what happens first: I am. Then there is fear. Then he looked around and said, "There is nobody else accepting me, and therefore there is no danger for me." And then he became completely fearless.
Remember — this is what happens — we are all frightened, all the time frightened, at every second, every millisecond. "Oh, I have to become old. There may be an accident. I may die. I may have a disease." I am afraid of everything, and every fear is based upon two things: Yoga and Kṣema — I may not get what I would like to, and I may lose what I have.
But when a person realises there is nobody to take anything away from me, and there is nothing which is separate from me which I have to attain or obtain or make my own — everything is me only — gradually the Upaniṣad is leading us to that highest truth.
Recapitulation: The Three Conditions of Saguṇa Brahma
Then, first — Pīrat means the universal, meaning Saguṇa Brahma — felt fear because he was alone. Then he realised: since there is nothing else but myself, what am I afraid of? Fear only affects a person when we think there is a second something — it may even be non-living.
So I am walking on a mountain. Suddenly a stone might fall. There may be an avalanche, or I may slip and fall down. Or a stone blown by the wind can come and hit me. I am walking in the forest — a fearful animal can come and kill me. Actually, there is no need to be either on a mountain or in a forest. Even when I am walking or driving anywhere, anybody or anything can do anything to any one of us at any time.
That is why Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa advised us always to discriminate. Everything in this world is impermanent, excepting God — that is a commandment, one of the five commandments. Anything can happen to anybody at any time, at any place, in any way.
So that fear we are suppressing — we are trying not to think about it — but it is consuming us from the very birth. The very first cry of a baby is nothing but: "Oh, I may die. Because I am born, I will surely die." It is not merely for food; it is for the very existence. That is why we saw in the Taittirīya Upaniṣad: "May I never encounter death. And may I know I am deathless. And may I always be happy, because I am Pūrṇaḥ. There is nothing that I do not have. I am the infinite." Pūrṇam means infinite. And from infinite, whatever we imagine to come out is nothing but infinite only.
The Self Entering All Bodies: Praveśaśruti
Then the Upaniṣad says that God created the hidden self. The Upaniṣad says the self entered everything that is created — all bodies, up to the very tips of the nails. And the Upaniṣad gives a beautiful example. When we study language, we have to understand that if something is mentioned by name, that means that object was existing at that time. So the example given here is: the self is like a razor in a case, or like a sword in a scabbard.
This idea of a razor we find even in the Kaṭha Upaniṣad also: Uttiṣṭhata jāgrata prāpya varān nibodhata — and then it is like walking on a sharp razor every second; I might be cut into pieces. Kṣurasya dhārā niśitā duratyayā, durgaṃ pathas tat kavayo vadanti — that means razors were there, cases of razors were there, swords were there, scabbards were there. So those words they were using.
So the Upaniṣad says: where is the self? It entered all bodies, up to the very tips of the nails. And with this, Śaṅkarācārya gives a beautiful commentary. It is called Praveśaśruti: Tatsṛṣṭvā tadeva anupraviśat — "Having created this entire world, Bhagavān himself had entered into it." We will come to that. I am only giving a hint of what important points are there in this fourth section.
God as Object of Fear Versus God as One's Own Self
So if we see God only as a deity to be worshipped externally, that means we see him as different. We see him as great. We see him as an object of fear. "He is big. I am small. He is very powerful. He can do whatever he likes. Whereas I am a helpless creature." So long, we quake with fear.
And we have seen: Brahman exists as both the cause of fear as well as fearlessness. So long as a man thinks "I am not Brahman, but Brahman is different," Brahman becomes a cause of fear. But when a man realises there is nothing else excepting "me," and "I am everything" — that is the meaning of Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi — such a person becomes absolutely fearless.
But at this moment, we think we are having fear, and so we require protection. And so we go on worshipping different gods and goddesses — it could be divine mother, it could be divine father — but we are quaking with fear.
So the Upaniṣad tells: if anyone sees God only as a deity to be worshipped externally, cherishing the idea "God is God there — not Brahman, but the ruling, presiding deities — they are different from me." Earlier they used to call them Ākāśa Devatā, Vāyu Devatā, Agni Devatā, Jala Devatā, Pṛthvī Devatā, or it could be Indra, Varuṇa, Aśvinī Kumāras, etc. Or nowadays we say Śiva, Viṣṇu, Gaṇeśa — the very name Gaṇeśa, he is called Vighneśa, one who can not only destroy all the obstacles but also create obstacles if he is not pleased with somebody. So these are beautiful ideas we have to understand.
We Become Like Animals in Serving the Gods
The Upaniṣad is telling: we are like animals. Why? What does an animal do? If anyone has a cow, it just gives us milk, it gives us offspring, so we can go on getting more milk or cultivate our lands. Same thing applies to buffalo, same thing to horses, to donkeys, to camels, to any imaginable — even dogs, as guarding dogs, as watchmen.
So all these — we become slaves, we become like animals. Just as animals serve us, so we go on worshipping and we offer food, etc., to gods. So that is how they are fed. And so they do not want to lose us. That means, if any one of us is attempting to become God-like, to become spiritual, it is said they create obstructions so that they may not lose us, so that we go on eternally serving them.
All these things are due to what? That "I am different, everything else is different, gods are also different, I am an individual, and Brahman is great, more powerful" — all these ideas. But the moment anyone realises "I am the all," fear and limitation will vanish.
The Pūruṣavidhā Brāhmaṇa: The Section on Pūruṣa
So yesterday we were dealing — this is only an introduction — but the first Peri Mantra. This is also known as Pūruṣavidhā Brāhmaṇa, the section dealing with Pūruṣa.
In the beginning — that is, before creation — there was only the Self. I am just recollecting the ideas we already discussed. So, looking around, he saw nothing other than himself. Then what did he say? "Oh, I am — I." He first uttered. Therefore, even today, if you talk to anybody, first he starts: "I am talking to you." I am — that is the universal introduction. After that: "I am an American, I am a Hindu, I am a man, I am an officer, a doctor," etc. Something is added. Therefore, even now, when addressed or invited, one first utters I am, and only then speaks everything else — other names.
What is the other name? I am a man. So if you were to speak with a mosquito, it will say, "I am a mosquito," in its own language. It is telling us all the time. How do we know? Because the moment I lift my hand, it is telling: "I am a very small insect. I am a mosquito. Don't kill me. I want to survive. I have no other goal in life. I can only survive by drinking the blood of animals, and you are just food for me. So do not harm me." That is indicated by its music — saying: "Now you go to sleep, don't take notice of me," or "I want to bite."
The Meaning of Pūruṣa
Then he gets the name Pūruṣa, and here the Upaniṣad derives some meaning. One meaning we have seen earlier: Puri śete — he who is shining within, in the innermost cave of the heart of everyone, because of whom we are able to function. That is one meaning of the word Pūruṣa. Or, Puraṇāt pūruṣaḥ — he who pervades everything, meaning there is nothing else excepting him, Ātman. That is another meaning of Pūruṣa.
But here, from the human point of view — who is this? Saguṇa Brahma or Hiraṇyagarbha. Previously he was a human being, and he gradually became purified by performing many yāgas and yajñas, and so he destroyed all his sins — that means he became pure. And when he became sufficiently pure, he was the first person to become pure, so he claimed the Olympic medal: Ahaṃ Brahmā — I am Brahma.
So that is why: "Indeed, he who burns up anyone who wishes to rival him" — thus knows he who knows this. So we can also become Brahma. That is one meaning given.
The Second Mantra: Aloneness, Fear, and Fearlessness
The next idea, we have seen in the second mantra. So this Prajāpati or Saguṇa Brahma looked around, and then he did not see anything else excepting him. And then he felt fear, because "I am alone."
Even today, all of us suffer from this loneliness. In fact, the goal of life looks as if it is only to overcome this fear — we are trying to do some work, including marrying, divorcing, everything — to run away from feeling that uncomfortable emotion: "I am lonely."
Then, what happened? He looked around, and he did not say anything. "Since there is nothing other than me, why should I fear? Oh, I am alone — but nothing to fear, because there is nothing excepting me. That means, I am everything."
So, since that time — so the Saguṇa Brahma thought: "From whom should I fear?" Fear really arises only from a second. And so the Upaniṣad indirectly is telling: anybody who enters the saṃsāra has to pay the price. The sorrow of saṃsāra is fear — that is one of the first limitations of Saguṇa Brahma, meaning all of us.
What is the second thing? Prati means intense joy. But this Brahma — he did not feel any. In modern mythological literature he is called Brahma. Earlier he is called Saguṇa Brahma. Saguṇa Brahma has other names. Brahma — he only became Brahma, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara. They are not three persons but three functions of Saguṇa Brahma. As the creator he is called Brahma. As the maintainer he is called Viṣṇu. And as the absorber, reabsorber, recycler, he is called Śiva.
The Third Mantra: The Desire for a Companion and the Beginning of Creation
So then he said: "I am, but I am not happy." What is the problem with saṃsāra? "I am not happy." You ask even the richest person: "Are you happy?" "No, I am not happy." Why? "Because I have a body. I have become old. I would never have wished to become old. And one day I will have to die."
That is why it is said in the USA — many billionaires are creating special cells of themselves, hoping against hope that after 50 or 500 years, science will discover a way of rejuvenating, and so until that time the most important DNA chromosomes of themselves have to be kept there. But how much profound ignorance is involved there? Yes, they may recreate you. But are you a very happy person now? Is your happiness continuous happiness, or is it broken? The same thing will happen. Even if you are recreated next second or after 1,000 years, you cannot escape this fear. Why? Because saṃsāra means: "I am small, everything is big, and everything is a danger for me."
So with this word — "I am lonely, I am alone, I am not happy, I want a companion" — that means: I want to create this whole universe. So the Upaniṣad is telling us that Hiraṇyagarbha was troubled by loneliness. That is why even today, even an old person of 70, 80, 90 — they think they can overcome loneliness by getting some companion, not understanding their profound ignorance that loneliness is a condition of the mind. And so long as we are in the two states of waking and dream, we can never solve that problem.
But how do we solve the problem? Go beyond the mind. And that process is called Yoga. And we must remain permanently there. So that is why, even today, we all feel loneliness.
And the third mantra in this fourth section is telling us: so this Brahma did not find delight. Saguṇa Brahma did not find delight. Why? Because "I am alone" — that is what he felt. Therefore, a solitary person does not find delight.
So naturally, a grown-up youth feels: "I am lonely. I am not happy with myself." Excepting a would-be sannyāsi, or a person who is a real sannyāsi — they do not feel, because "I am always in God, with God." Which Kabīr thus so beautifully expressed: when a person realises that what I am searching is my own self — like that musk deer which is searching for that intoxicating fragrance as if it is coming from somewhere, not realising it is coming from its own self.
So the solution is: we have to become ourselves, or we have to understand, we have to know: there is nothing other than me.
The Decision to Create: One Becoming Many
So this Saguṇa Brahma was not at all happy. He did not enjoy being alone. And even today — what did this Saguṇa Brahma do? He decided: "Let me have a companion." Dvitīya means a second. And let us remember: "Let me have a companion. Let me have a wife. Let me have a husband. Let us have children." All these fall under "the second." Why? Because we are alone.
Even a married person is alone. He has to eat alone, he has to sleep alone, he has to worry alone. If he has some health problem, he has to take medicine himself — nobody can do anything for him, excepting perhaps supplying food or supplying medication. But the actual experience — nobody can dream for me, nobody can sleep for me, nobody can do anything for me. Only I have to do it, everything. But such is the ignorance — thinking that if I have a companion, my problems will be solved.
But here the Upaniṣad wants to say that this is how Sṛṣṭi comes. What is Sṛṣṭi? Creation. What is creation? One becoming many. That is called creation.
So Saguṇa Brahma did not find delight — therefore a solitary person even today (that means we are all Saguṇa Brahmas only) does not find delight. So he decided: a companion, a second. He thought he would solve the problem. Then not only one — so first a partner, then children, then friends, then people of the same religion, same country, same language, same beliefs, same political party, the same everywhere.
But if everybody belongs to one political party, time will not pass. So there must be rival political parties — and they must quarrel, they must create wars, they must pretend. So all these things will happen gradually. What do they do? They increase only fear. Fear means unhappiness. That is not the way. But this is how creation has come.
The Splitting of Brahman: Male and Female
Here in this particular one — the fourth section, third mantra — it is telling us how the creation has started. So this Saguṇa Brahma, he looked around, there is nobody else, but "I want a companion, so let me create a companion, because I am the creator." So what did he do? He became as large as a man and a woman in close embrace. That means — what did he do? He saw himself alone. So what did he do? He split himself into two parts.
So the Upaniṣad gives a telling example. You take any nut — for example, peanut. If you open the peanut, there are two parts combined together, and both of them together is called seed. Why are they both called seed? Because if there is only man, there cannot be children. If there is only woman, there cannot be children. Both must join together; they must become united. Both become seeds for the future generation.
So since there is nobody, he became two. And one part of himself he called "I am the male," and the other part he called "You are the female." Does it look like fancy imagination? No — that is what we are doing in our dream. Every day, day after day, I create myself as an infinite number of things — living and non-living — and live in that creation of my own, which later on upon waking up we call our dream world. And that is what Brahma also has done.
From that, a husband and wife arose. That means they are mutually dependent. Husband is no husband if there is no wife. Wife is no wife if there is no husband. Male is no male when there is no female. Female is no female when there is no male. This is called duality.
So then the Upaniṣad gives a beautiful statement. Therefore this female self is said to be empty as a half split grain. That is what Yājñavalkya states later on: "Therefore this space in a woman is indeed filled by the man," indicating man and woman have to come together for further creation.
The Various Species and the Process of Further Creation
So they united together as husband and wife. So first, as it were, the first creation is human beings. So the human male and human female joined together, husband joined with wife, and from there all human beings are born. This is one version of creation. Do not go on comparing, because different Upaniṣads give us different models of creation.
If you look at the Taittirīya Upaniṣad: space was born, and space manifested as Vāyu — Air. Air manifested as fire. Fire manifested as water. Water manifested as earth. And earth manifested herself in the form of everything that we experience in this creation.
And then so Hiraṇyagarbha — the next idea the Upaniṣad is telling — Hiraṇyagarbha has not only created the world, but he himself became the world itself. This is a marvellous idea, especially to be found in Hindu religions, especially in the Advaita Vedānta. Why do we say so? Because if you take Christianity, the God, the creator, is totally separate. If you take Islam — excepting what we call the mystical side of Islam, which totally is with one idea, with the Advaitika view: "I am Allāh, I am Brahman, I am the creator" — but from the orthodox point of view, they say you are a slave. Allāh can do whatever he likes with you. He can even kill you. So that is how the interpretation goes, which causes so much of problem. Some are superior, some are inferior; male is superior, female is inferior. All these ideas, even today, you open your eyes and you will see all these things.
Hiraṇyagarbha Becomes the Entire Creation: Nimitta Kāraṇa and Upādāna Kāraṇa
So Hiraṇyagarbha, now he became all human beings. This is one version. As I said, our problem is we should not focus on creation. Our problem is to tell that everything in this creation is nothing but Brahman. That is the idea the Upaniṣad wants us to drive home. Finally, we will have that experience. Then slowly we become purer.
We become rich. Saguṇa Brahma — identify ourselves with Saguṇa Brahma through Upāsanā. Upāsanā means feeling that I am the chosen deity I have been so long meditating upon. "I am Saguṇa Brahma." And hereafter: "I am Nirguṇa Brahma." This is only linguistic expression; that is all.
So Hiraṇyagarbha understood: not that "I am separate and I created" — like a mother gives birth to a baby, like a potter creates a pot. The potter ever remains separate from the pot; the pot ever remains separate from the potter. That is why two important technical points have been given: that the creation, or the origin of creation, can be from two viewpoints. The intelligent cause — the intelligence which is the cause of creation — is called Nimitta Kāraṇa. And what is called material cause is Upādāna Kāraṇa.
So Brahman must be both the material cause as well as the intelligent cause, and there is no difference, because he himself is the intelligence. He himself — like ourselves becoming everything in our dream world — became the cause. Like clay is the material cause which is manifesting in different forms. That idea — "What is a pot? Nothing but Nāma, Rūpa, and Karma" — that idea is going to come in this very fourth section. Everything in this universe is nothing but a form, a name, and a utility. That is what we say in other ways: mind is time, space, and causation. Only here: Nāma, Rūpa, and Karma. Karma means utility.
So Hiraṇyagarbha himself had become — and because he was Hiraṇyagarbha — Hiraṇya means gold, gold means purified understanding, purified understanding is right knowledge. He has the right knowledge: "I did not create the world. I am the world." That is the idea.
So I realised later on — first he says Ahaṃ Brahmā, and then he says Sarvaṃ khalvidaṃ Brahma: everything is nothing but Brahman only. So anyone — the Upaniṣad goes on telling — whoever worships Hiraṇyagarbha and becomes one with Hiraṇyagarbha, and when he becomes Hiraṇyagarbha, he knows: "I am Hiraṇyagarbha." And like Hiraṇyagarbha, he knows that "I am the whole creation; there is nothing other than me." Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi. Sarvaṃ khalvidaṃ Aham eva — I alone am everything.
The Three Divisions of Creation and Their Sustenance
Now, simply creating human beings will not do. So then creation had taken place in four divisions. First creation is human creation. Second is animal creation. Third is divine creation — that means gods and goddesses. And then they have to be sustained. Human beings require food. Animals require food — animals meaning animals, plants, birds, insects, anything other than human. And gods also require food, and we are the suppliers of food by adoration, by pūjā, etc.
So all three have to be sustained, and what sustains us is called food. That is why in Bṛhatī we are going to see: Annaṃ Brahmeti vijānat — "Know food as Brahman." So creation — first human beings, then non-human beings, then somebody to bring about laws and enforcers of law, somebody who can maintain this creation so that chaos and destruction may not happen. They are called presiding deities. They are called Ādi Daivika. Another way of saying: Ādhyātmika, Ādi Bhautika, Ādi Daivika — individualism, then the whole external creation, and the presiding deities who have to maintain this process of creation, maintenance, and reabsorbing continuously, every millisecond.
So this creation is not a one-off aspect. It is going on every millisecond, every creation is going on continuously, unstoppably.
Brahmāṇī and the Creation of All Species
So here we should not put more attention only on creation. It is to tell what the creation is. It is Hiraṇyagarbha himself transformed into all these things. So if I come to know about it, I know I am Hiraṇyagarbha. So this is the glory of Hiraṇyagarbha — everything is nothing but Hiraṇyagarbha.
So this is the essence of the discussion up to the third mantra in this fourth section. Then details of creation come. As I said, I am not going into that. It does not really interest us.
But what I want to say — some beautiful description is given of how the other creatures have been created. So Brahma, the creator, created a female version from himself. Then he became united, and both of them produced human beings. Then a peculiar thought has come to the wife of Hiraṇyagarbha, or mother Sarasvatī. There is a Purāṇic story also: mother Sarasvatī, she was the wife of Brahma. Who created her? Brahma. And one who creates is called the father. And then father married the daughter. So Śiva, for some peculiar reason, cursed him: "You are violating moral laws by marrying your own daughter, and so it is incest, and therefore you will not be worshipped in this world," etc.
The point is not that story. The point is how the creation has come. So the wife here — that is the female Brahma, Brahmāṇī. Brahma, Brahmāṇī. Śiva, Śivānī. Nārāyaṇa, Nārāyaṇī. So this Brahmāṇī — what did she think in this Upaniṣad? "That he created me." I am overcome with shame. So what did she do? She became a cow. Immediately the father, Brahma, became the bull. So all the species called cows were born. Then she became a female horse. He became a male horse. Then he became a bull, and she became — she became a goat, he became the goat. And this is one way of saying that she became the female mosquito and he became the male mosquito. So everything.
So the sum and substance of it is: both of them created, generating every single species in the universe, down to the very ends. That includes — that means we have to understand — the whole creation is nothing but the manifestation of the creator, and he himself has become this one.
The Fifth Mantra: Avedaṃ — The Realisation "I Am the Creator"
And then in the fifth mantra of this fourth section is a very marvellous mantra. So Avedat — then that Brahma realised, that Hiraṇyagarbha realised, after this vast projection of creation called life: "The Pūruṣa, Hiraṇyagarbha realised — I indeed am the creation, for I projected all this."
And then the fifth continues: "He who knows this as such" — as such means what? That I am the creator. In fact the whole creation is nothing but me. He becomes a creator in this very creation of Virāṭ.
Summary and Key Takeaways
That is the beautiful description of creation in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad until the sixth mantra of the first section of the fourth chapter — six mantras. So a few key points:
He became the creation. He found himself alone. Then he said: "What is my name? Aham — I am." Then he found himself alone. "I am alone, therefore I am frightened." Then he looked around and found out there is nothing besides me, and therefore his fear vanished. Therefore, when there is a second, fear will come. Then he felt lonely. "I should not be lonely. I want a companion." So he got married, as it were — Brahmacārī Brahma became married Brahma — and then from them they took various forms. Every species, and in fact everything — both living and non-living — has become. This is how Sṛṣṭi has come.
What is the important takeaway from today's discussion? I am everything. There is nothing besides me. And when one realises this, then all selfishness will vanish. I become the true Hiraṇyagarbha, true Saguṇa Brahma, and then immediately after I will realise: the Saguṇa Brahma is none other than Brahman — Ahaṃ Brahma Asmi.
We will talk about it in our next class.
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.