Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.1.4 Lecture 26 on 19 April 2026
Full Transcript (Not Corrected)
Opening Invocation
ॐ जननीम् शरदाम् देविम् रामक्रिष्णम् जगत् गुर्म्
पादपद्मे तयोः स्रित्वाः प्रणमामि मुहुरुमु
Oṁ jananīṁ śaraḍhāṁ deveṁ rāmakriṣṇam jagad-gurum
pādapadmetayosritvā pranamāmi-muhurumuhu
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.
Recap: The Psychology of Love and the Ātman
In our last class, we discussed and completed the psychology of love. What is true love?
Tad etat preyaḥ putrāt, preyo vittāt, preyo'nyasmāt sarvasmāt, tad antarataraṃ yad ayam Ātmā — the self is dearer than a son, dearer than wealth, dearer than everything else, because it is the innermost. We also have to add: the self is dearer than the body, than the mind.
How come? Because if the body stops giving happiness and starts giving unhappiness, then we earnestly pray to God: "Let this body be dropped away." Similarly, when the mind is highly disturbed, creating only the feeling of suffering, we want to overcome it — either by drinking, or by diverting our attention. If nothing works, then by going to the deep sleep state. So long as we are in that deep sleep state, nothing in this universe can really trouble us. We are not even aware.
And this statement — that in deep sleep there is no body consciousness, there is no awareness of the mind — clearly indicates that what we call happiness, unhappiness, and both of them together; good and evil; birth and death — everything belongs to the mind in the form of thoughts, and has nothing to do with Ātman. And without any object, we experience the highest bliss. That bliss is beyond both happiness and unhappiness.
The Difference Between Bliss and Happiness
Many times we commit the terrible mistake of identifying this bliss with continuous happiness. These concepts are completely different — opposite to each other. Happiness always comes with unhappiness. It is sandwiched happiness. Joy, pleasure, is sandwiched between not having happiness before, and not having happiness or pleasure later on. Therefore, it is called Anātmā.
And as we discussed, Anātmā can never be dear to everybody. We want unbroken happiness, which is called peace, Śānti. And that is what we experience in deep sleep.
The Meaning of Ahaṃ Brahmasmi
Then the mantra goes on telling that if a person understands "I am the very embodiment of bliss, because I am the Ātman" — because the Ātman is — sometimes these English words like "the Ātman" do not make much meaning unless we come to the definition, add the definition. Simply saying "I am Ātman" is meaningless. "I am Brahman" is meaningless. What should we say then? "I am Sacidānanda Ātmā. I am Satyam Jñānam Anantam Brahma." Then it makes meaning.
"I am Sat — I have no death. I am Cit — I have no ignorance. And I am Ānanda Svarūpa." What type of Ānanda? Anantam — infinite happiness, infinite bliss. Therefore, these words only we have to keep in mind.
The Realised Soul and the Perishing of Anātmā
So if there is a person — what we call, in popular language, a realised soul, like Rāmakṛṣṇa, Swami Vivekānanda, etc. — then if these people give the teaching to other people whose happiness lies in Anātmā, obtaining Anātmā, experiencing Anātmā, enjoying or suffering from Anātmā — "that whatever you love is going to perish" — then is a Brahma Jñānī going to tell these words to other people? No.
What it means is: "My children, everything in this world is temporary." That word "temporary" means it was not before, it will not be later on — only momentarily it is there. That conveys the same idea: that if a great realised soul has to tell his students, "What you hold as dear will perish" — whether he says it or whether he doesn't say it, Anātmā is going to perish.
In fact, it is not going to perish at some future time. If you analyse deeply, after some time — because we have got these superficial understandings — there is birth, there is sustenance. For example, here is a person. He is born 99 years back. So he was born and he is continuing to live, and at the 100th year or so, he is going to die. Imagine like that.
It is a wrong concept that for 99 years or 100 years, this person is continuously in the same state. Every millisecond, our bodies are changing. Minds are changing. Change is another name for death. We have to be using this terminology with clear understanding: "I am dying. My body is dying. My mind is dying. Therefore, I — who associate with the body-mind — am also dying." If I go on being aware of these facts, then definitely there would be progress in spiritual life.
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa on Weeping for God
That is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, in so many words, conveys: that people shed potfuls of tears at the death or separation or enmity of what they hold dear — wife, husband, children, friends, etc. But who is going to weep for God?
This is the translation by Swāmī of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's words — that the scripture and a realised soul are one and the same. If the scripture were to tell us that what you hold dear will perish — or, even better language: is perishing every second — that would be the correct translation. Then it is not that the person is telling. If he doesn't tell, there is no perishing; if he tells, then only perishing starts — no. He is only stating a statement of fact: "This is what is happening. Be aware of it." That is what it meant.
So you will be weeping. Why? Because the truth is, Anātmā actually doesn't exist. But because you think it exists, nonexistence will be nonexistence only — whether you think it is existent or nonexistent.
Ātmānam Eva Priyam Upāsīta: Meditate Upon the Self Alone as Dear
Therefore, what is the conclusion? Ātmānam eva priyam iti upāsīta — one should meditate upon the self alone as dear.
"As dear" means what? Like Jaḍa Bharata, who became the dear by loving the dear — he loved that perishable object, and in the next birth he himself was imbued with that saṃskāra. And he realised: "What for did I come and where did I end? I was thinking of God until the moment I perceived this young one lying down after its mother's death." So immediately he took it up. That tremendous power of concentration on God now turned upon this so-called helpless object.
That is why we all love babies so much — because they are whole for some time. That means, if they feel like weeping, they weep; if they feel like laughing, they laugh. There is no hypocrisy there. They become one with their feelings, whereas we learn how to hide our feelings. Rarely do we become one with our feelings.
When I mean — "I am so happy to see you get a promotion, win a lottery ticket, get married to a great person, or land a wonderful job" — genuinely, only a few family members, not every family member, may feel happy about it. Jealousies will come. But a Brahma Jñānī will be happy with the happiness of everybody. And a Brahma Jñānī will feel tremendous sympathy, as if he himself is suffering.
Holy Mother's Compassion
Holy Mother's incident — I hope you will recollect. Once a poor old woman came to Holy Mother and started weeping inconsolably. Holy Mother did not know the reason. She asked, and the old woman said, "My young son — only son, upon whom I was hoping against hope that when I become old he will take up a job and look after me, and he would have looked after me — suddenly he died." And Holy Mother burst into equal sobbing. Both of them started sobbing.
What happened? Holy Mother felt: "This is my son who has really died." So every Brahma Jñānī, as we discussed earlier, identifies everybody as one's own, as my own self. There is no pretence about it, there is no artificiality in it. So we have to understand. But how does he love? Not as Anātmā, but as Ātmā. And Ātmā is only one. Therefore, there is no difference.
"Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thine own self" — this is what Bhagavān Jesus Christ is trying to tell.
The Result of Meditating on the Ātman
Therefore, what is the result? Ātmānam eva priyam upāsīta — one should meditate upon the self alone as dear. And what does he get by that Upāsanā? Ātmānam eva priyam upāsīta — ya Ātmānam eva priyam upāste, na hi asya priyaṃ pramāyukam bhavati — he who meditates upon the self alone as dear, what he holds as dear will not perish.
Because what he is holding as dear is the Ātman. And he holds it as: "You are the Ātman. I am contemplating upon you." No — "I am you. So there is no I and you. What is, is only one." So that is the result. What else do we want? And Ātman is of the nature of unending, unbroken, eternal, infinite bliss.
We All Love Only the Ātman
So we all love only Ātman. Even the worldly person doesn't love any object — let us remember it. First we love happiness. And if any object is giving me happiness, I love that object as a secondary love. Primary love always belongs to happiness. And secondary love belongs to that instrument, that object, through which I can derive that happiness.
And that is why one's own happiness, one's own nature, is the nearest and dearest. Ātman is the nearest to all of us, because all of us are Ātman. That is not a proper language — there is no "all." But we have to use it, because at this moment we are living in a world where I think I am one among this infinite number of objects. Therefore, there is no "all." Everything is only one Ātman.
Like a thousand reflections in a mirror — if one person stands before a thousand mirrors, there will be as many reflections as the number of mirrors. But depending upon the quality of the mirror — some may be convex, some may be concave, whatever it is — and some may be very clean, some may be covered with a small amount of dust, and some may be covered with full dust — so the reflections will vary only depending upon the quality of the mirrors. And our minds are like mirrors. That is what Patañjali in his Yogaśāstra says: citta vṛtti nirodha — make the mind pure. Pure means there should be no other thought other than that. Then what happens? Thereafter we dwell upon it without any break.
How so? Because what we are looking for from birth to death is not an object but happiness. And here is infinite bliss. Therefore, the Yogī doesn't want to have any interruption: "I am of the nature of happiness. That is what I am — the Ātman." And Ātman also is the dearest because it is the nearest to every one of us. Here, "nearest" means not something which is near in terms of time, distance, space, or objective distance. That is: "I am the Ātman and Ātman I am" — in that sense only. And therefore, Aham Sacidānanda Svarūpaḥ. That is what we have to understand. Everything other than the Ātman perishes.
Structure of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad
This is the essence of Mantra 8, in the fourth section of the first chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. Now the next two mantras — the 9th and 10th — are the very essence of this Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad.
We said at the beginning, in the introduction, that the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad is divided into six chapters. And every two chapters — 1st and 2nd, 3rd and 4th, 5th and 6th — are given particular names.
The first two chapters go by the name of Upadeśa Kāṇḍa, or Madhu Kāṇḍa. Why is it called Madhu? Madhu means honey. Honey means what? Everything is Brahman. "I am, I love Ātman. And what is everything? Everything is also nothing but Ātman. Since I love the Ātman, therefore everything is Ātman. Therefore I love everything as my one single infinite self." That is why everybody becomes dear. For a Brahma Jñānī, there are neither friends nor enemies, neither nearer nor distant people. There is only one reality: Brahma Eva Asti — there is nothing but Brahman. That is what is said in the 6th chapter of the Chāndogya Upaniṣad also: Sadeva Saumya idam agre āsīt — Sat, pure existence, pure knowledge, pure bliss, Sacidānanda.
Which the 2nd chapter of the Taittirīya Upaniṣad, Brahmanandavalī, defines, changing one word: Satyam, Jñānam, Anantam. The word Satyam corresponds to Sat. The word Jñānam corresponds to Cit. And the word Anantam corresponds to Ānanda — unbroken, unlimited, which means infinite. And here he has used the word Anantam in the Brahmanandavalī.
The Progressive Ānanda of the Kośas
So there would be a desire. After going through the ritualistic portions, etc., and slowly as the mind becomes purer, first a person develops and progresses: "I want happiness in this world." Second, he progresses further: "I want higher happiness, obtainable in the higher lokas." We can also equate that the Ānanda which one gets in the Prāṇamaya Kośa is much subtler, more pervading, and more happiness.
Because remember: the Ānandamaya Kośa, only when it becomes a little bit covered up, is called Vijñānamaya. A little more covered up — or grossened, becoming gross, meaning covered up more and more — it becomes Manomaya. And it becomes more covered up, which is called Prāṇamaya.
So I can put it this way: one obtains some amount of happiness in Annamaya Kośa, one obtains more happiness in Prāṇamaya Kośa, higher than that in Manomaya Kośa, higher than that in Vijñānamaya Kośa, and higher than that in Ānandamaya Kośa. And finally — all these are, remember, finite. Finite because: "I enjoy this object called Annamaya. Similarly Prāṇamaya, similarly Manomaya, Vijñānamaya, and similarly Ānandamaya." When I am still making all these Pañcakośas — considering them, classifying them — as Anātmā, what does Anātmā mean? Different from me, because of ignorance. But all these are manifestations of that one single Ātmā.
Ānandaṃ — it is Ānandaṃ, and Ānandamaya Kośa is both Ātman and Anātman. That is how we have to say it. However great the Ānanda we derive from the Ānandamaya Kośa, it is still finite only. So just try to imagine, if you can — you try to compare the great happiness, finite happiness, with the infinite. There is no comparison at all. So therefore this one has to realise. That is why it is called Upadeśa Kāṇḍa.
The Three Kāṇḍas
So the first two chapters — 1st and 2nd — are called Upadeśa Kāṇḍa. And the 3rd and 4th are called Muni Kāṇḍa, Yājñavalkya Kāṇḍa, because Yājñavalkya plays the central role of the Paramāguru who teaches to various people — especially to two people: one, his own wife Maitreyī, and second, the greatest of all these kings, Janaka Mahārāja. And then the last two chapters are called Khila Kāṇḍa — an assortment of Upāsanās, and helpful Upāsanās, where how we can obtain or sacralise — make everything sacred — by doing certain types of rituals combined with certain types of contemplations.
So why am I giving this long introduction? Because these mantras — the 9th and 10th in this fourth section of the first chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka — are the very essence. And here only we get that famous, most popular Mahāvākya: Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi. And this is confirmed.
As I said, please keep in mind always: the first and second chapters form the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad as if the very essence of all the scriptures — Brahma Satyam, Jagat Mithyā. And that Brahma Satyam is expressed here as Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi. It comes in the tenth mantra, the next mantra.
Mantra 9: The Seekers' Question
But the ninth mantra is a question raised by certain seekers of Ātma Vidyā or Brahma Jñānam. The answer is given in the tenth. And it continues until the second chapter, third section, sixth mantra, where it says: "What is the way?" So here, the Mahāvākya — "You are Brahman" — all right, I believe in it. But how do I know that I am Brahman? I have to get rid of Ajñāna. How do I get rid of my ignorance?
And that is where, in the second chapter, third section, sixth mantra, comes the most famous Sādhana: neti neti — "not this, not this." Every Anātmā has to be negated. That is, in popular words: "I am not the waker. I am not the dreamer. I am not the sleeper." In the Taittirīya Upaniṣad: "I am not the Annamaya to Ānandamaya Pañcakośas." And when I deny, what remains — that is called Satyam.
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Analogy of Neti Neti
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa symbolises this through a beautiful analogy. It was midnight. A servant had to urgently find his master. So he enters into a room — a big room full of objects. But he knows the master is sleeping: "I have to find him out." Perhaps the servant has never entered this room. So there is no light also.
So the person goes on touching: "Not this." "This is not my master." So he touches a pillar, maybe a table, maybe something else. Ultimately, he touches the bed. "This is the bed." So in the bedroom, the bed is the place where the master has to be found. So he touches the master. "So, after denying everything, negating everything, what remains? This is the master."
This is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa wants to convey through that explanation of that word neti neti. So the servant went on saying: "Not this, not this." And after negating everything, what remains? That is called the master. Here in this analogy, the servant is the seeker and the master is none other than Brahman. This is what we have to understand.
A Brief Translation of Mantras 9 and 10
So very briefly, let me read out, before I give an introduction to both the 9th and 10th mantras.
Tad āhuḥ — they say. Who says? There were some seekers — earnest seekers of Brahma Vidyā. They came to know from Guru Upadeśa, from their own logical reasoning, from their own worldly experience: "Everything is Anātmā. Anātmā means Anitya. Anitya means unreliable. Unreliable means everything is full of suffering, sooner or later. So therefore we want to go to, or know, that by knowing which, we will be Satyam Jñānam Anantam Brahma. I can claim: I am Brahman. Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi." That is where this question in the 9th mantra is going to lead.
So these people were discussing, and then they were telling: yad brahma vidyayā sarvaṃ bhaviṣyantīti manuṣyā manyante — "Men think: through the knowledge of Brahman, we shall become all." So these people said: "We all heard about Brahma Vidyā, especially from the scriptures, and our teachers also say the same thing. What is that? There are manuṣyāḥ — people. What people? Not ordinary people, but people who have realised Brahman — their declaration, like Vāmadeva: so aham sarvaṃ abhavam — 'I have become everything.'"
So: brahma vidyayā sarvaṃ bhaviṣyantīti — by obtaining the knowledge of Brahman, we become everything. Because besides Brahman, there is nothing else. Satyam Jñānam Anantam Brahma. So people are convinced. They are teaching the same thing. Here, "men think" — not ordinary men, but seekers, earnest sincere seekers like Naciketa — think that if we can get the knowledge of Brahman, through the knowledge of Brahman, we shall become all. That means what? "We will have no death. We will have no ignorance. And our bliss will be unbroken."
Kim u tat brahma avet? — "Now that Brahma, what did it know? I am all. So by what knowledge? What did that Brahman know? That it became everything." Well then, what did that Brahman know, through which it became all?
Asmāt tat sarvam abhavat iti — "Because of which it became all." That means: Ekam, Sat, Satyam Jñānam Anantam. So it became — rather it understood: "I am Satyam, deathless. I am Jñānam, ignorance-less. I am Anantam — infinite, unbroken bliss." How did Brahman come to know about it? Because if Brahman came to know about it, then if we follow what Brahman did to become all, then we also will come to know about it.
As I said, beautiful explanations will come later on. So, with this, the answer is given in the 10th mantra.
Summary of the 10th Mantra: Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi
And then, what is the summary of this 10th mantra? So here also, there are beautiful Sanskrit mantras, which we will very briefly, and only selected, we will study now, just to get a glimpse.
You know, it is like a famous speaker is going to speak. Every famous speaker or writer is famous because they are great. And how did they become great? Because the greater a person, the clearer he will be — either while speaking or writing. There would be no ambiguity. Study Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, study Swami Vivekānanda, and study some of the scholars — you will understand what difference there is. Rāmakṛṣṇa can explain the most profound truths with the simplest analogies.
So the essence of these answers given here: what is it? First, so, you have to become Brahma. What does it mean? Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi — I am Brahman. What does it mean? Not that you are not Brahman now, or in the past — and you are going to become Brahman in the future by some peculiar process, or action, Karma, or Upāsanā. No. Simply: you are, you were, you will be Brahman. But due to Ajñāna, Avidyā, you are thinking: "I am not Brahman."
That "I am not Brahman" is expressed as: "I am a man. I am a woman. I am a dog" — because even dogs are highly conscious that they are dogs, they are completely identified. A mosquito is completely identified: "I am a mosquito." How do you know? You interact with it, and it will let you know.
The Preface of the Upaniṣad's Teaching
So, what is the conclusion? We are summarising both the 9th and 10th mantras as an introduction. I was talking about famous speakers or writers. What do they do? Every writer has a preface where, in crystal clear terms: "This is the subject I am going to discuss. These are the important points, and I am going to elaborate them and present before you what is called the explanations, and at the end again I will give you the conclusions." So by reading that preface, we can understand. The same thing is followed by speakers: "I am going to speak to you about these things."
This is how, here, we have to summarise. That is why I am giving the summary. And this summary is according to Advaita Vedāntic interpretation — please keep that in mind. Because the same Upaniṣads are also commented upon by Madhvācārya, Rāmānujācārya, and especially Rāmānujācārya's famous commentary on the Brahma Sūtras called Śrī Bhāṣyam — a beautiful name. But they don't accept Nirguṇa, Nirviśeṣa, Nirākāra Brahman. But Advaita alone accepts: Brahman alone is the only truth, and you cannot describe it.
The Four-Part Summary of the Teaching
So therefore, what is the essence of it? What does it mean?
First: Brahman alone, for some mysterious reason, is caught in the net of Avidyā or ignorance, and it enters into this Anātmā, this jagat, creation. Creation is called Anātmā. This world is called Anātmā. Anything that doesn't remind us of God — that is called Anātmā. Anything that makes a difference — "I am different from you" — that is called Anātmā. So that Brahman forgot its Brahmanhood, and through ignorance, it is thinking: "I am Jīvātmā." And after long evolution, it understands: "I want to go home. What is my home? To know who I am." So it does so through many lives, both through good and bad experiences. Every experience, remember, is a lesson taught, and a deep Saṃskāra is produced. That is why God created everything — good and evil — not for fun, but for its own evolution.
Second: So what is this Brahma Jñāna? First Brahman knows, then forgets. First Brahman knows "I am Brahman," then it forgets and says "I am non-Brahman, Anātmā. I am the individual. I am a prāṇī, I am a living creature," etc. But after many lives of experience, slowly it turns its attention inward, and then practises Karma Yoga and Upāsanā Yoga. And through them both, it removes the Avidyā. By the removal of Avidyā, automatically Vidyā manifests. Like, when light is brought, the snake we are experiencing instantaneously — the arrival of the light and the disappearance of the snake both take place simultaneously. Then we see: "It is a harmless piece of rope." And in the same way, it was a rope, it is a rope, it will be a rope — but I can mistake it for a snake and suffer from the consequences of it.
Third: So Brahman — that is, each one of us — we think we are not Brahman. We think, when we believe also in God, that Brahman is sitting somewhere in Vaikuṇṭha, in Kailāsa, in Devī Loka, in Paradise, etc. But no — it is only our thoughts. Clearly speaking, "I am Brahman. Where are you? In Brahman's loka, not Brahma Loka, but Brahman's loka." So what is the essence of this 9th and 10th verse? Brahma Eva — Brahman alone, because of ignorance, thinks "I am not Brahman" — that is called Saṃsāra, that is called transmigration. Brahma Eva — and the same Brahman, now called Jīvātmā, through the acquisition of right knowledge, by the destruction of wrong knowledge, mucyate — that means it is freed from Avidyā. Avidyā is called bondage.
Fourth: Then, what is this definition of self-knowledge? Anātma Adhyāropa Nivṛtti — Brahma Eva Ātma Jñānam. What is this self-knowledge? It is the complete destruction of superimposition on the Ātman — that it is not the Ātman. The knowledge "it is not the rope, it is a snake" — that is called Adhyāropa. What does the light do? Apavāda — it removes that notion. As soon as light comes, the snake — or what we are thinking is a snake — that wrong notion disappears, and with that wrong notion, the fear and the distress also disappear.
A Warning Against Dualistic Ignorance
Then, fifth — a warning against dualistic ignorance: Atha yo'nyāṃ devatām upāste, na sa veda, yathā paśur evam sa devānām — that is to say, he who thinks "God is different from me, Gods are different from me, somebody is different from me" — na sa veda — he is an ignorant person. That knowing itself is called ignorance. And what is the result? Yathā paśur evam sa devānām — he becomes like an animal, to be used for the purpose of the master.
So every Devā — Gods and Goddesses — if we go on worshipping with the knowledge "I am different, they are different, I am a servant and they are my masters, I am helpless and they have the power to help, I am an ignorant person and they know everything, my powers are less and they can do anything they like" — as long as this notion persists, then we are like paśus. Just like a cow is dependent upon the master, a dog is dependent upon the master, a horse is dependent upon the master — so we become dependent upon Gods.
But this word "Gods" should be interpreted broadly. If I am depending for my sustenance upon my job, I am a slave to my job, because I am not doing it happily, joyfully, with my own mind — I am doing it because I am helpless. "I want to earn money." So I become a Paśu, a servant, an animal, a dependent, to the master — the office manager, the CEO, whatever it is. Anything upon which we depend.
So when we are enjoying a sweet: "Unless I have this sweet, I can't be happy. Only this sweet can give me happiness." That means I have become like an animal to that sweet — who is the mistress, a sweet — and I am a slave, a servant. So, so long as we think there is a difference between me and the Gods, or the God that I worship, until that time we depend. But the moment I come to know "I am Brahman, I am the Ātman," then that dependence will automatically disappear. Dependence means fear. Like light destroys the fear of the snake, so true knowledge destroys this slavery.
The Final Realisation: Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi
And finally, this person realises: "I am Manu, I am the Sun, I am the Moon." These are small examples, but what it means is: everything in this universe — that is me, the entire creation — that is me. Just as we realise, upon waking up, that I created my own world in the dream state and I played with myself — everything in the dream is my own self, nobody else is there — but this knowledge comes only when we wake up.
Same knowledge — "I am not the body, I am not the mind, I am not the waking state, dream state, or dreamless state" — comes only when I wake up from this state of ignorance.
So all these statements that we are going to read in the mantras show the spiritual movement intended by the text: from Deha Vimāna — that is to say, identity with the body, "I am the body," what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to call Ahaṃkāra and Mamakāra, āmi, āmār — must be replaced by tumi, tomār, naham, naham, tuhu, tuhu. So from Deha Vimāna to Ātma Vimāna — that is, "I am the Ātman." From Jīvātma Bhāva to Brahma Bhāva — "I am Brahman." From Bheda Dṛṣṭi — seeing everything as separate from me — to Sarvātma Dṛṣṭi — "I am everything, Aham sarvam abhavam." So from dependence to freedom.
The Seeker Need Not Become Brahman — He Already Is
Just let us remember, when we are studying: the seeker, in fact, need not travel to Brahman, produce Brahman, or become Brahman newly. No. He merely discovers, through the removal of ignorance, that he has never been anything other than Brahman. So this is the very heart of this teaching.
And this we will have to elaborate a little bit more as part of this introduction to the very heart of this 9th and 10th mantra. And if we can understand this, then we have understood the very essence of every Upaniṣad — not only the Bṛhadāraṇyaka, but every Upaniṣad — whether the Upaniṣad speaks the word Tat tvam asi, or Prajñānam Brahma — consciousness is Brahman — or "I am Ātmā Brahman" — that this "I am so and so" is none other than Brahman — or Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi — I am Brahman.
These are called Mahāvākyas. And this is a famous Mahāvākya. And so, until we reach that knowledge which will never again be covered up — Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi — thereafter, he becomes completely free. That means he will be outside the bondage. He will be swimming in the ocean of bliss, in the words of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa.
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa at Jairāmbāṭi: An Illustration of Bhāva Samādhi
Once Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, after his marriage, went to Jairāmbāṭī. He used to experience frequent bouts of what is called Bhāva Samādhi. We have to distinguish between Bhāva Samādhi and real Samādhi — Nirvikalpa Samādhi is different. Most of this is Bhāva Samādhi.
What is Bhāva Samādhi? For example, if Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is singing, or hearing a bhajan — "My Divine Śyāmā, Māki, āmār kālo re, kālo rūpe Digambarī — so is my mother, black or blue, she is the infinite Divine Mother" — the moment he hears it, he is absorbed in that idea, he becomes one with that Śyāmā Mā. So this is called Bhāva Samādhi. So in that Bhāva Samādhi, sometimes he used to see also people who were about to come and meet him, and it used to turn out to be like that.
So, from Bheda Dṛṣṭi to Abheda Dṛṣṭi, Sarvātma Dṛṣṭi — from dependence to complete freedom.
So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa went to Jairāmbāṭī, and he had this Bhāva Samādhi. And that Bhāva Samādhi created a tremendous amount of hunger. And this happened after he had just finished his night dinner. So everybody went to bed — and then, because in villages there is no entertainment, no TV to keep a person awake, so they eat early and they also get up early and they will have a lot of work to do; no instruments are there.
So suddenly Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa came out of the Bhāva Samādhi and he started: "I am very hungry, give me something, I am really starving." Everybody got up hastily, and of course it is Mother Illā's house, where the son-in-law is valued so much. Then they were surprised, because they also know Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's stomach is very delicate. So he said, "Just now you have eaten stomach-full!" Immediately Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said, "When did you eat? I am just coming from Dakṣiṇeśvar." Then they understood — Mother Kālī, the Bhāva of Kālī, had possessed him.
So they had no option but, hastily, they prepared what we call halwā — a sweet — that is the nearest thing they could prepare. And immediately it was a big quantity — probably quite a huge quantity of food — and they placed it before him, thinking that he will only take a small bit of it. But to their great disappointment, he ate the whole lot. And they were terribly worried, because they knew about the condition of his stomach — he will have stomach problems.
But next morning, absolutely nothing. Everything was totally digested. How come? Because Bhāva can cause terrible loss of energy, therefore terrible hunger, therefore terrible power of digestion. Until the last, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa enjoyed relatively very good health. He could eat and he could digest also. Only later on, because of his Bhāvas and his touching the devotees, he lost some of his health benefits.
Conclusion
So the ultimate thing we will have to understand is Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi — how this is going to progress, we will talk about in our next class.
Closing Prayer
Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum
Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh
May Rāmakṛṣṇa, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekānanda bless us all with Bhakti.
Jai Rāmakṛṣṇa!