Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.1.4 Lecture 23 on 11 April 2026
Full Transcript (Not Corrected)
Opening Invocation
ॐ जननीम् शरदाम् देविम् रामकृष्णम् जगद्गुरुम् ।
पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्महुः ॥
Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum ।
Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh ॥
ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते ।
पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ।।
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ।।
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: The Fourth Section of the First Chapter
We are studying the fourth section of the first chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. In this fourth section, there are 17 mantras.
Recap: The Three Layers of Creation
What did we discuss so far? First of all, the creation and its cause. This entire creation is nothing but the manifestation of Hiraṇyagarbha. First it was Īśvara, then Hiraṇyagarbha, then Virāṭ.
This entire creation is consisting of three layers: a gross universe, the subtle universe, and the causal universe. At the universal level, the gross universe is called Virāṭ. At the subtle level, the same universe is called Hiraṇyagarbha. And at the causal level, the same universe is called Īśvara. All three are one and the same.
The difference is how we are able to identify ourselves. For example, if we are in the waking state, then we think we are part of the Virāṭ. When we are dreaming, then we identify with the subtle world, the subtle mind, and are therefore part of the Hiraṇyagarbha. When we are in deep sleep — that is called the causal body experience, the state of deep sleep — then we are identified as part of the Īśvara.
But in reality, all these divisions are only from our viewpoint. This is what the Upaniṣad wants to convey.
The Core Teaching of Advaita Vedānta
According to Advaita Vedānta philosophy, the description of this universe is to tell us really only one important matter: 'Each soul is potentially divine'. That is to say, the creator has not created this world like a potter creates a pot. It is more like clay becoming different pots. There is no such thing called "pot" except in looking at the same clay in the form of a particular shape, to which we give a particular name and use for a particular purpose.
So what is the essential teaching? This very fourth section says: having created, the creator realized that, "I am not separate from my creation. I am the creation." That is the most important point. That means: 'I am none other than the creator'. And who is the real creator — even though he remains in the background — is Brahman. That is how the famous dictum arises. 'First comes the realization that I am not separate from Brahman —Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi '.
Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi: The Declaration of Non-Duality
Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi — because Brahman is anantam, infinite. Infinite cannot exclude anything and say, "You are outside me." And it cannot even say, "You are inside me." This inside, outside, whole and part — these are all expressions of ignorance only.
There is no "I." There is no "you." It is only our human language that has to use these words, and that makes all the difference. "This is my country. This is your country." Previously, what we now call Bangladesh, Pakistan, and even Ceylon were part of India. But some division was made, and then we say, "You don't belong to me.I also don't belong to you. You are Ceylon, East Bengal and you're Pakistan." But before all this, everything was the same continent, the same earth, the same people.
This is how one single mother and father produce four or five children. They have some property, then they divide the properties equally among the children. Then they become separate families, and that is how — more and more distance, division, and separation take place. But if we go to the original, then we understand: this is nothing but everything is one—One cause is manifesting in the form of so many effects.
That is what Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa wants to convey to us, especially in the thirteenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gītā (verse 13.3 first line):
"क्षेत्रज्ञं चापि मां विद्धि सर्वक्षेत्रेषु भारत । (verse 13.3 first line)
kṣhetra-jñaṁ chāpi māṁ viddhi sarva-kṣhetreṣhu bhārata
"I am the only Kṣetrajña, and everything else is only Kṣetras — infinite number of Kṣetras."
That is a teaching for the beginners. But in the end, it is nothing excepting me— Nothing else exists, only me— I am appearing , to whom?
The Creator's Aloneness and the Origin of Fear
Again, we have to understand: this division is not appearing in the eyes of Brahman. Brahman doesn't say, "I am separate, creation is separate." No. Brahman doesn't even say, "I created." Brahman knows that I am only one. And that is what we have seen
आत्मा वा इदम् अग्र आसीत् पुरुषविधः। (Brhadaranyaka Upanishad verse: 1.4.1)
ātmaivedam agra āsīt puruṣa-vidhaḥ ।
So then he looked around. "I am alone" — because he is the cause. Cause is always alone; effects can be many. Then he became a little bit concerned. "I am alone." He became frightened. Then he looked around. There is nothing else excepting me, so I cannot harm myself. I cannot kill myself.
I hope you understand, this peculiarity of the language we are using. "I cannot kill myself" — if I kill myself, I become the killer. The killer is not the one killed; But another person, a second person, is killed. Since there is no second, there is nobody who is the killer, and there is nobody who is killed.
य एनं वेत्ति हन्तारं यश्चैनं मन्यते हतम् । उभौ तौ न विजानीतो नायं हन्ति न हन्यते ॥ 2.19॥ (Bhagavad Gita)
ya enaṁ vetti hantāraṁ yaśh chainaṁ manyate hatam। ubhau tau na vijānīto nāyaṁ hanti na hanyate ॥
We have discussed this point — just (to) recollect. So, finding himself alone, he became a little bit frightened, lonely. Then he looked around and said, "Why should I be fearing? Because there is no object second from me, separate from me, which can harm me, which can kill me, which can rob me."
Fear, Worship, and the Problem of Duality
Therefore:
द्वितीयाद्वै भयं भवति। (Brhadaranyaka Upanishad verse: 1.4.2)
dvitīyād vai bhayaṁ bhavati ।
"So long as there is a second." And not only something else — but even if I think God is different from me, God becomes an object of fear for me.
We have seen in the Taittirīya Upaniṣad:
भीषास्माद्वातः पवते, भीषोदेति सूर्यः । (Taittirīya Upaniṣad, Brahmananda Valli : Chapter 2, Section 8, Paragraph 1)
bhīṣāsmād vātaḥ pavate, bhīṣodeti sūryaḥ |
So long as a person thinks he is an ignorant person — because he thinks "I am separate, God is separate" — then God becomes an object of fear. Then he becomes an object of worship. Then I become one who has to work like a slave, who is frightened of God. I depend upon him. All these problems will arise.
But then, this is how sṛṣṭi comes. And that is what we also do. "I am alone. I cannot bear my loneliness." Therefore, if I have a colour TV, then I will be very happy — something to keep company for me, to entertain me, to make me forget my loneliness. Every effort that we do, including work, is only to forget the loneliness.
So this is how (it happens). Then I am not happy, so I desire something. I want a companion, a living companion. Then man and woman come together and they start a saṃsāra. And the tree gives a lot of seeds, and those seeds will give further birth to many other trees — even one tree gives the cause of many seeds. This is how the saṃsāra vṛkṣa grows.
That is why in the fifteenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gītā — it is the Puruṣottama Yoga:
ऊर्ध्वमूलमध:शाखमश्वत्थं प्राहुरव्ययम् । (Bhagavad Gītā 15.1 first line)
— this whole saṃsāra is equated with the most widespread tree called Aśvattha, and the branches themselves become the seeds, the roots.
The Creator's Realisation: "I Am the Creation"
This is how sṛṣṭi has come. But then he understood — who? The creator understood. What did he understand? What did he realize? "I am the creation. There is nothing separate from me."
So what is the lesson? We also have to learn. At the lowest stage of our development, we think we are all different — everyone (and) everything, living or non-living, is different from everything else. When we progress further — this state where everything is experienced as different from everything else that is called Dvaita, or duality.
But there are two types of Dvaitins, believers in Dvaita: those who believe in God and those who do not. When Vedānta is talking about Dvaitavāda, it is not talking about people who do not believe in God. It is talking about people who have tremendous faith: "I am a created being. I have a creator. I choose to call him — He is my mother, my father, my creator; He is my sustainer, my protector. And when the time comes, He will give me rest. Sṛṣṭi, sthiti, laya — all these are the activities of my creator."
So a strong faith — like a baby who wants to run to its mother, to its father, for protection, for sustenance, for entertainment. All of us have that unconscious urge, which is expressed in the famous Abhyāroha Mantras, which we have seen here in this very Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad in the third section, twenty-eighth mantra:
ॐ असतो मा सद्गमय ।
तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय ।
मृत्योर्मा अमृतं गमय ।
(ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥)
Om Asato Maa Sad-Gamaya | Tamaso Maa Jyotir-Gamaya | Mrtyor-Maa Amrtam Gamaya | (Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih ||)
So this creator realized. He looked and said, "There is nothing other than me. Then what is this world? That is me. What are human beings? That is me. What are these rocks? What are the rivers? What are the forests? What are the deserts? They are all me."
The Fifth Mantra: The Dissolution of Selfishness
This is the important message given in the fifth mantra of the fourth section.
सोऽवेत्, अहं वाव सृष्टिरस्मि, अहं हीदं सर्वमसृक्षीति; ततः सृष्टिरभवत्; सृष्ट्यां हास्यैतस्याम् भवति य एवं वेद ॥ ५ ॥
so’vet, ahaṃ vāva sṛṣṭirasmi, ahaṃ hīdaṃ sarvamasṛkṣīti; tataḥ sṛṣṭirabhavat; sṛṣṭyāṃ hāsyaitasyām bhavati ya evaṃ veda || 1.4.5 ||
This is one of the most beautiful mantras. What is the meaning? When one realizes this, then all selfishness will vanish. Then the sādhaka understands, "I am Hiraṇyagarbha. I am the Saguṇa Brahma." And then immediately afterwards, "I realize the Saguṇa Brahma is not separate from Nirguṇa Brahma." Then comes ahaṃ Brahmāsmi. This will come in the tenth section — but jusr I am foretelling what is going to happen "Aham Brahmasmi".
The Three Types of Creation
So what happened — having created this entire universe, and the creation was of three types — first of all, creation of living and non-living creatures. Then, creation of the different worlds for people to experience different worlds. Then creation of what are called the presiding deities, the Devas, so that they can reward all of us according to how we spent our life, doing good or doing evil. That is how Lokas are divided.
The Loka has come into existence only to exhaust our karma phala. If there is no karma phala, there is no Loka. Karma phala —> Loka. Puṇya karma phala leads to unnata Loka, the higher worlds of happiness. And if sinful lives are led, then suffering will follow.
The Fourteen Worlds (Lokas)
According to Hindu mythology, the whole creation is divided into fourteen Lokas. Ours falls will fall in the seventh — or really ours will fall in the eighth, because this is where we can create our Karma. Above that, there are six higher worlds ending with Brahmaloka: Tapoloka, Janaloka, Satyaloka, etc. And below us, there are seven worlds bearing degrees of suffering. They are called hells, and the lowest of them is called Pātāla.
The Seventh Mantra: The Self Enters All Bodies
Now, having created, then what did the creator do? How did he know, "I am everything"? That process is beautifully given in the next śloka, which is the seventh. What I said here, I will just quote only a little bit:
आ नखाग्रेभ्यः, यथा क्षुरः क्षुरधानेऽवहितः स्यात्, विश्वम्भरो वा विश्वम्भरकुलाये; तं न पश्यन्ति । अकृत्स्नो हि सः, प्राणन्नेव प्राणो नाम भवति, वदन् वाक् भवति, पश्यंश्चक्षुः भवति, शृण्वन् श्रोत्रम् भवति, मन्वानो मनो नाम भवति; तान्यस्यैतानि कर्मनामान्येव । (the middle section of 1.4.7)
ā na-khāgrebhyaḥ, yathā kṣuraḥ kṣuradhāne'vahitaḥ syāt, viśvambharo vā viśvambharakulāye; taṁ na paśyanti. akṛtsno hi saḥ prāṇann eva prāṇo nāma bhavati, vadan vāg bhavati, paśyan cakṣur bhavati, śṛṇvan śrotram bhavati, manvānaḥ manaḥ bhavati — tāni asyaitāni karmāṇāṃ nāmāni eva.
What is the meaning of this? The Upaniṣad says: the Self entered all bodies up to the very tips of the nails. That means the Self — here, the Creator, Īśvara — he entered the whole body , is nothing but the creator. The whole sūkṣma śarīra, the sūkṣma prapañca, is nothing but the same Īśvara; and the causal body — the individual causal body and the universal causal body — which goes by the name of Īśvara. So he fills up (everything). That means what?
The Analogy of the Sword and Its Sheath
The Upaniṣad gives a beautiful example— Suppose there is a beautiful sword, and the sword has to be protected at all times even to protect ourselves because accidentally we may injure ourselves. So it has to be kept in its own scabbard — the covering, usually made of light leather or light wood, etc. But the point is — if it is properly made, there will not be a gap — it is just an entrance, (fits) like that.
But this example is not enough because if we think — the scabbard is different (and) the sword is different, —however, this scabbard may be a protective case for the sword, but still there are two separate things.
If you remember, when Akṣay was dying, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was present there and he saw a soul coming out of Akṣay — as if a soul had been taken out of its scabbard, or (as if) a person left the old dress and came out with his naked boby. That example is to say that we are invariably associated with the Divine Lord in the form of consciousness. But that is not enough.
The Deeper Teaching: "I Am Everything"
That is why the Upaniṣad — this Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad — tells us something even deeper. What is it? He understood: "I am also the sword, I am also the scabbard, I am also the good person, I am also the evil person, I am also the Deva, I am also the Asura. I am everything — besides me, nothing else exists."
If we want to understand this statement which the Upaniṣad is presenting, we have to always bring out that analogy of our dream. Just as when we are experiencing a dream, everything is different — me, the individual, the main character, I am dreaming, and the whole universe is experienced only from my perspective. I don't know what the other person thinks. I think this is what the other person is thinking, (but) I don't know the truth. If I have to know the truth, I have to become the other person. But even in a dream, we can never do that.
So what is our opinion — our considered opinion, which we believe wholeheartedly? "This person is good, this person is evil, this person loves me, this person doesn't" — all these things are our own creations. So long as we are in the dream, then we consider everything as separate from me. Then I wake up.
Then we recollect the dream. Then what do we understand? What is our knowledge? — My own consciousness, taking the help of thoughts, has become the entire dream world. I, was the creator of the dream world; I am the dream world. There is not a single object in my dream world, which is not me.
So the first thing is the recognition, the cognition: "I have created; I am the author of my own dream." But until we wake up, we will not understand that. Similarly, here also, until we identify with the creator himself through Upāsanā — and that is why the Āśvā Upāsanā, Agni Upāsanā, Prāṇa Upāsanā, all these upāsanās are given.
Śaṅkarācārya on the Core of Advaita
This is what Śaṅkarācārya tells us — this is the core of Advaita. He tells us that the difference between the Jīva — me, you, the individual and the Brahman— is only a notion created by ignorance. The moment we realize that "I am everything," all fear and limitations will vanish.
The Path Through the Kośas: Taittirīya Upaniṣad Parallel
In order to understand how we do that, we have to take the parallel example of the Taittirīya Upaniṣad—and then we have seen In the Brahmānanda Vallī, first of all: "I am the body." —And this body is made up of anna. Therefore, this is called the individual Annamaya Kośa. Then we understand that every living creature's body is nothing but made up of food — it has come out of food, it is sustained (by food), it is protected (by food), it is strengthened (by food), it is cured by food only, and in the end it becomes food.
We are all nothing but both eaters of food (and food itself). We eat other creatures. We cannot live on dead things. We cannot live by eating mud — of course, we are eating nothing but mud, but in the form of plants, roots, bark, leaves, fruits, flowers. So we are nothing bu complete food only, and nothing else.
Since my whole physical body is nothing but food, then the same thing will become food to everybody. Whenever somebody is looking at me, I am the object, that person is the subject. I am the eater and I am the one being eaten. Only we don't use those words. But if we encounter anytime a tiger, then we understand: from the viewpoint of the tiger, we are nothing but food and it has its own judgment.
But what I want to tell you is: at the same time, we are both the eaters, or enjoyers, or the subjects — and we are also the objects. So for each other, we are both subjects and objects. And then when we understand this: who is the subject? Īśvara. Who is the object? Īśvara.
The Dream Analogy and the Wisdom of Advaita
That is why beautiful thoughts about the dream — very analytical, deep thinking about the dream — again and again brought up, especially by Advaita Vedānta, is extraordinarily insightful. Not only that, it is very helpful.
Just now I gave you an example. I label somebody as very good. Why do I label that person as very good? Because he brought pleasure to me. This is my standard of judgement. However good a person, if he doesn't do good to me — he may be doing good to everybody else — I do not consider that person as a good person, especially if he creates so-called suffering for me. It may be —really he is creating suffering, (or) it may be — I am only thinking he is creating—it doesn't matter. My belief is the truth, and it guides me to come to a firm opinion about that other person.
How poor, how ignorant we are — that this may not be the truth! In fact, it is not the truth. The same person whom we label as evil, when he goes home, he has a loving family, parents, wives, husbands, children, brothers, sisters, co-religionists, and maybe they are living in great love. He never even thinks of harming them. But only in relation with myself, we judge everything.
So the ultimate judgemental values are only two—so if some object of experience gives me — living or non-living - is an object, any object of experience is an object —it could be living, it could be non-living also. Can a non-living object be a cause of happiness? Absolutely.
Rāmakṛṣṇa's example: if a thorn entered into you while walking in a solitary place, and you did not anticipated it, and you did not carry any instrument — then you see a bush and pluck a stronger thorn, and with the help of that thorn you remove the smaller thorn which has already entered your foot or somewhere. So, you see, the smaller thorn had become the object of suffering, and the bigger thorn — also a thorn — has become the object of happiness. So what we think is most of the time wrong. That is why every scripture tells , "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy own self," and Hinduism tells — that you love everything:
मातृ देवो भव। पितृ देवो भव।आचार्य देवो भव । अतिथि देवो भव ।
Matru Devo Bhava, Pitru Devo Bhava, Acharya Devo Bhava, Atithi Devo Bhava ।
And that we will get some upsanas in the Bhrigu Valli, which we will see in our Taittirīya (Upaniṣad) class.
The Creator's Realisation and the Liberation of the Sādhaka
But what I am trying to tell you is: just like when we wake up, we realize — "though the person who gave me so much of suffering in my dream, actually I only became that person and I gave suffering only to myself. Another person, who is equally created by me, had given me happiness. Both of them are my thoughts only, excepting a thought — and I am the author of those thoughts."
When a person has this realisation, what happens? — The suffering also becomes a great entertainment. How wonderfully I dreamt! How I dreamt I had fallen from the top of a huge mountain, and when I was coming down, how much fear I felt — "I will be smashed into smithereens!" But somehow I fell upon a bushy plant and it stopped the impact, and then I came down. Maybe I had done a lot of puṇyam, that bush happened to be carrying plenty of first-class berries, full of juice, maybe strawberries, who knows(?), or (maybe) blackberries. So I started tasting them, forgetting the whole lot.
So if we can meditate upon the dream, we understand: I am the creator of the dream, and there are both positive and negative elements in the dream, and everything is me. My friend is me, my enemy is me. This is what Īśvara realized: "The whole creation is nothing but my dream, called Leela."
We Are Brahmās: Creators of Our Own World
Then, whoever understands , then the Upanishad proceeds further:
ततः सृष्टिरभवत्; सृष्ट्यां हास्यैतस्याम् भवति य एवं वेद ॥ (ending portion of 1.4.5)
tataḥ sṛṣṭirabhavat; sṛṣṭyāṃ hāsyaitasyām bhavati ya evaṃ veda
He who understands what we discussed just now — that "I am the creator of the entire world, and I am really the Virāṭ, the Hiraṇyagarbha, and the Īśvara" — then he becomes free. And actually, the world is created by us. All this time we are talking about how Brahmā created the world. Now we have to understand we are Brahmās. Just as with regard to every dream we have, we are the Brahmās. You cannot accuse your family members or your neighbours — much less your enemies — "You came and created my bad dreams especially, or even good dreams."
So just as we realize, when we realize — that I am born in this family, I had this opportunity — maybe sometimes (a) wonderful opportunity, sometimes (a) very limited opportunity. That means— I am is born into a poorer class of family, may be lower middle class, may be even lower class, may be what we called untouchables class. Who created (this), if you have to believe Hinduism— 'who created? — The person created( it). How did he create — Through his actions in the past life. So he might have done so much of harm, and as a result of that now — 'you will have to suffer, you have to pay up. That is called karma phala. And for that, you will have to have a body, and for that, that body (may be) born under circumstances to such and such parents who may not be loving, who may be drunkards, who may be living in a slum area, who are always quarrelling and drinking., beating the family members, this is the story actually happening everywhere, I have to say.
So people are getting jobs, people are losing jobs. A person who got a job lives in a higher world. A person who lost the job, or did not get a job, he lives in a lower world — that is what he thinks.
Karma, Jīva, and the Timeless Creation
Who created? Why this creation? Because our Upaniṣad itself creates: Bhagavān has no desire to create — that is the first point. The second point: this creation is timeless, anādi, there is no beginning. Then why at all? Creation is done - only one answer — 'all of us, called jīvas, have created our own karma phala. As a result of our karma phala, we have to experience the results. And to experience those results, we have to take particular instruments — body, mind, parents, the type of family, the opportunities, the climate. Everything comes at the correct (place) — like solving a jigsaw puzzle: every piece has its own allotted place.
So who created this world? If it is a happy world, if it is an enjoyable world —who created it? —I have created it, through my past actions. And how does it happen? I will get that type of mind which squeezes happiness even from — this is a wonderful thing, which we have discussed iit n our Taittirīya Upaniṣad when the Ānandamīmāṃsā section, is being talked about.
Suppose there is a person with very ordinary food, an ordinary house, ordinary dress, nothing much — only he has to live, may be upon begging food., but he is living in Brahmaloka, or even in Brahmānanda loka. How is it possible? Because of the way he views himself. "I am Brahman" — then he is getting Brahmānanda. "I am Brahmā" — then he gets Brahmānanda. "I am Indra" — then he gets Indrānanda. "I am Narakāsura" — then he has to experience Naraka's duḥkha-kasta, (suffering).
The Fruit of Understanding: Viveka and Spiritual Progress
This is how we have to understand. And if we can understand it, tremendous difference comes. Viveka will come. Who is responsible for my happiness and unhappiness? I am responsible. So what do I want? I want unbroken happiness. If I want unbroken happiness, I have to live without any intervention of death — and not only that, I must have that knowledge: "I am alive, I am alive, and I am a very happy person." That is called jñānam.
So for that, I have to slowly give up the limitations. What is progress in spiritual life? Giving up slowly the limitations. First, the sādhaka is advised to give up the Annamaya identity, then the Virāṭ identity — attain Virāṭ — that means reduce your selfishness. Then you will see the cause of this Annamaya — Virāṭ, Annam — and then only he tries to identify the next higher cause, which is subtler, more pervasive, and difficult to attain.
Then he becomes very enthusiastic, he gets tremendous willpower, and then he goes to that level, and then another world appears to him. And the he gets a glimpse: Manomaya Kośa or Hiraṇyagarbha, then Vijñānamaya Kośa (also called Mahat), then Ānandamaya Kośa (called Īśvara), and then he goes: "I am ānandam — I am not the Ānandamaya Kośa."
The Seventh Mantra: How the Unmanifest Becomes Manifest
So, anybody who understands that this creation is my creation — "I am the creation, I am not only the creator; I am the created , I am both the creator and the creation, and there is no difference between us" — so, how did this creation become differentiated? That is being discussed in the seventh mantra of the fourth section of the first chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad:
तद्धेदं तर्ह्यव्याकृतमासीत्तन्नामरूपाभ्यामेव व्याक्रियतासौ नामायमिदरूप इति । (beginning portion of 1.4.7)
taddhedaṁ tarhyavyākṛtamāsīttannāmarūpābhyāmeva vyākriyatāsau nāmāyamidarūpa iti
What is the first manifestation? — अव्याकृतम , avyākṛtam —The unmanifest. Everything is unmanifest, and it is given various names—Māyā is one name; Saguṇa Brahma is another name. Remember: Saguṇa Brahma is the first emanation of the creation. Nirguṇa Brahma — no creation. Saguṇa Brahma is the very first manifestation, or grossification, of Nirguṇa Brahma as — little gross, but that gross is the subtlest from our viewpoint. That is called Īśvara. He is called Saguṇa Brahma (Sa-Guna). He is also what is called Māyā. The only difference is: he is Māyādhīśvara, the Lord of Māyā.
That is what Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa says (in Gita):
दैवी ह्येषा गुणमयी मम माया दुरत्यया ।
मामेव ये प्रपद्यन्ते मायामेतां तरन्ति ते ॥ 7.14॥
daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā. Mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te
Very clearly he says: "I am the Lord of Māyā, and taking the help of Māyā, I create this world. So if I want to give liberation to somebody, then I can give."
Saguṇa Brahma and the Grace of the Divine Mother
There are some Advaitins who do not believe that Īśvara can give liberation — only by knowing ahaṃ Brahmāsmi — one can attain liberation. But Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said nobody can pray to Nirguṇa Brahma. You can only pray to Saguṇa Brahma, which he used to call his Divine Mother. And the whole creation is her sport. She is playing like children play with kites. And through prayer to her, she may grant liberation to some souls — not to everybody? Yes, everybody will be liberated, but they have to have that understanding: "I am not happy. I want to be liberated." Otherwise, like that stupid fish which is caught in the net of the fisherman, they go deeper into the mud at the bottom of the net and say, "We are very safe here, because we can't see anything. Therefore, nobody can see us."
How long will that illusion last? Only so long as the fisherman doesn't pull up the net. They fail to understand that the mud in which they are taking shelter, itself is embedded in that net. Along with that net, the whole thing comes out. The mud will dissolve, it will fall down in the lake, and only the fish will remain.
From the Unmanifest to the Manifest: Nāma and Rūpa
So, in the beginning it was unmanifest. And the unmanifest has slowly become manifest — first as Ānandamaya Kośa, then Vijñānamaya Kośa, then Manomaya Kośa, then Prāṇamaya Kośa, then Annamaya Kośa, the whole thing. This is what the Upaniṣad wants to tell.
And what is this manifestation? It comes in the form of three , even though two are mentioned here— One is called Nāma, another is called Rūpa. First comes the form, and then to distinguish one form from other forms, we give it a particular name: small pot, big pot, square pot, oblong pot, etc.
So, Nāmabhyāṃ eva vyākriyate — separated, divided. Therefore, the entire world is nothing but name and form. Therefore, Vidyāraṇya, the great Advaitic teacher, in his great book Pañcadaśī, gives a beautiful definition.— What is this world? Sat, Cit, Ānanda plus Nāma plus Rūpa is called the world. What is Brahman? Sat, Cit, Ānanda without Nāma and Rūpa — that is called Brahman. The world is not different. We give it a form and we are stuck with that form; we give it a name and we are stuck with that name.
The third is not given here, but in the Taittirīya Upaniṣad we will get it. The third is called Kriyā — or Karma, as it is called there (so — e Nama, Rupa, Karma). What is Karma? Karma means utility. If I am creating a pot, I don't create only one pot: for drinking, one type of form of the clay i; for eating, another type of form of the same clay— like a plate. If I want a spoon, than that is another another form. If I want to store, another form. If I want to cook, another form. If I want to fetch water, another form.
So first Rūpa (form), then Nāma (name to distinguish it from others), then everything — every Rūpa — is purposefully with an intention, created for the sake of fulfilling a particular desire of ours, to help us enjoy this world.
The Self as the Razor in Its Sheath; the Fire in Its Source
Then the Upaniṣad also tells us:
स एष इह प्रविष्ट आ नखाग्रेभ्यः, यथा क्षुरः क्षुरधानेऽवहितः स्यात्, विश्वम्भरो वा विश्वम्भरकुलाये; तं न पश्यन्ति । अकृत्स्न । (next portion of 1.4.7)
sa eṣa iha praviṣṭa ā nakhāgrebhyaḥ, yathā kṣuraḥ kṣuradhāne’vahitaḥ syāt, viśvambharo vā viśvambharakulāye; taṃ na paśyanti | akṛtsno |
"This Self has entered into these bodies, up to the tip of the nails, as a razor may be put in its case, or as a fire which sustains the world may be in its source." What is that source? It can be in the sun; it can be in dry wood. But when the fire is in the dry wood, do we see it? No, people do not see it — for viewed in its aspects, only limited aspects it is incomplete.
The Functions of the Self: The Mantra Explained
But then, the next part of the mantra tells us something very, very important:
स एष इह प्रविष्ट आ नखाग्रेभ्यः, यथा क्षुरः क्षुरधानेऽवहितः स्यात्, विश्वम्भरो वा विश्वम्भरकुलाये; तं न पश्यन्ति । अकृत्स्नो हि सः, प्राणन्नेव प्राणो नाम भवति, वदन् वाक् भवति, पश्यंश्चक्षुः भवति, शृण्वन् श्रोत्रम् भवति, मन्वानो मनो नाम भवति; तान्यस्यैतानि कर्मनामान्येव । (the middle section of 1.4.7)
sa eṣa iha praviṣṭa ā na-khāgrebhyaḥ, yathā kṣuraḥ kṣuradhāne'vahitaḥ syāt, viśvambharo vā viśvambharakulāye; taṁ na paśyanti. akṛtsno hi saḥ prāṇann eva prāṇo nāma bhavati, vadan vāg bhavati, paśyan cakṣur bhavati, śṛṇvan śrotram bhavati, manvānaḥ manaḥ bhavati — tāni asyaitāni karmāṇāṃ nāmāni eva.
When it does the function of living, it is called prāṇa. When it speaks, it is called the organ of speech. When it sees, the eye. When it hears, the ear. When it thinks, the mind. These are merely its names according to various functions.
Just as the same prāṇa, when it enters in the form of oxygen into our body, then what are we going to experience? Original prāṇa — mukhya prāṇa — oxygen, nothing but prāṇa . But once it enters, what does it do? It takes on five functions: prāṇa, apāna, vyāna, udāna, samāna, and all the various activities of the body such as chewing, digesting, creating energy and distributing it, and whatever is undigested is forcibly throwing out. All for the good health of this body.
Similarly, Bhagavān: he created, then he entered every body, and then we do not recognise him because we see only the functions. What is that person doing? He is looking. But who is looking? Bhagavān is looking.
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa: "Everything Is My Divine Mother"
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was lying down, very sick, at Kashipur. One day, he entered into deep Samādhi. After quite some time, he came out. His devotees were there. Latu Mahārāj was half reclining, and Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's sight fell upon him: "There, I see God himself is reclining."
And when Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to speak and people were helped, they would thank him. They used to say: 'Thank you very much Sir, (you) helped us very much.' He used to say, "I do not know anything. Who spoke is my Divine Mother. When I speak, it is my Divine Mother. When I breathe, is the Divine Mother. When I eat, it is my Divine Mother. Everything is the Divine Mother."
What is that Divine Mother? Here, it is called Brahman. Here, it is called Īśvara. When we look at the manifestation of Īśvara — Saguṇa Brahma — in the form of various activities, we do not recognise him. We say the eye is seeing, the ear is hearing, the mind is thinking., etc But really speaking, who is seeing is the energy behind. This idea is beautifully explored in the Kena Upaniṣad.
श्रोत्रस्य श्रोत्रं । चक्षुषश्चक्षु: । मनसो मनो:
So he is the mind of the mind, the thinking power of the mind. He is the seeing power behind the eye. He is the hearing power behind the ear. He is the walking power behind the leg. He is the grasping power behind the hand. So, the whole body and mind, whatever it is doing, is all because of that Saguṇa Brahma. How does he do it? —Saguṇa Brahma in the form of Prāṇa, Prāṇa in the form of consciousness. Consciousness manifest universally is called Īśvara.
Conclusion: Freedom Through Recognition of the One
This is what the creator realised: "Not only did I create — I am the creation. Just as we understand, not only did I have a dream — I am the dream. I became the dream."
स योऽत एकैकमुपास्ते न स वेद, अकृत्स्नो ह्येषोऽत एकैकेन भवति; (the next section of 1.4.7)
sa yo’ta ekaikamupāste na sa veda, akṛtsno hyeṣo’ta ekaikena bhavati;
If somebody mistakes that here is a single person, an individual — here is a seeing person, here is a singing person, here is a writing person, separately — he will remain bound. But the same person, when he says, "Everything is the activity of the Saguṇa Brahma, Īśvara" — then he becomes Īśvara. Then he becomes free. That is what the Upaniṣad wants to say.
And then we are going to come to:
आत्मेत्येवोपासीत, अत्र ह्येते सर्व एकम् भवन्ति । (the next section of 1.4.7)
ātmetyevopāsīta, atra hyete sarva ekam bhavanti |
That sādhaka who worships, does Upāsanā such that — the Self alone is to be meditated upon for all these functions indeed. The whole creation is indeed unified in it, one with it. It is only Saguṇa Brahma — who is the creation, who is the creator, who is the sustained, who is the sustainer, who is the absorber, and who is the absorbed. There is nothing else excepting him. If we can understand this, we will become free.
Beautiful mantras are there. I have only chosen very important ideas. And I will also give a glimpse — because Śaṅkarācārya elaborates in detailed bhāṣyas on some of these mantras. I am going to take the essence and try to explain to the best of my ability, which we will continue from our next class.
Closing Prayer
ॐ जननीम् शरदाम् देविम् रामकृष्णम् जगद्गुरुम् ।
पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्महुः ॥
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.