Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 2.1-3.6 Lecture 52 on 19 July 2026

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

Opening Invocation

ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.

Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ, pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.

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 Analysis of Deep Sleep

So we are studying the second chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. Ajātaśatru was instructing Gārgya in the true nature of the jīvātman. For this purpose, he had taken the example of a person who was in deep sleep, and they went to that person and then woke him up by violently shaking. Then the king asked: "Do you know when this person was in deep sleep, where was he and how did he go there? And how did he again come back to this world?" This was the topic, and this is called the analysis of the three states of consciousness, which each one of us undergo every single day.

The State of Deep Sleep

So during deep sleep, all karmas and all individuality are completely suspended. Why are they suspended? Because there is no duality. Without duality – "I" and "others", subject and object, experiencer and experienced – that division is totally annihilated. But then, as I said, suṣupti avasthā is closest, nearest to being Brahman, but it is not the state of nirvikalpa samādhi. That is why it is called kāraṇa śarīra (causal body), because it is also a temporary state.

But during that state, where does the jīvātman really reside? What does he do? So, before going into deep sleep, this jīvātman gathers the body and the mind and then withdraws himself into hṛdayākāśa. So that hṛdayākāśa is called Paramātman, nirviśeṣa caitanya. So temporarily, albeit completely helplessly, not consciously but forcefully, he was withdrawn into the hṛdayākāśa. There he rests for some time, but then the karma – which means body and mind, which means prārabdha awaiting in a causal form – at the right time, the person is violently pulled back from that state which is of indescribable bliss. He is pulled back into waking or dream – it could be either: from deep sleep he might slowly enter into the dream state, then into the waking state (there is no fixed routine), or he might wake up totally into the waking state and then as usual thereafter go into dream state.

Why Analyse Deep Sleep?

But this is what Ajātaśatru wanted to tell. And why did he want Gārgya to learn about this deep sleep state? As I said many times, that is the nearest understandable state. Why is it understandable? Because every one of us – every living creature, every prāṇī, including perhaps amoeba (I say "perhaps" because we have no knowledge what amoeba thinks) – there is a teeny‑weeny bit of mind there. Where there is mind, consciousness will be there, because without consciousness, mind cannot function. And so it gets tremendous amount of rest. Scientists have conclusively proved every animal sleeps – specifically, how whales sleep: one eye keeps open for danger, enemies, and another eye completely merges into deep sleep, and how it manages to do that – God has given that special talent to it. Horses also do the same; I think many other animals are the same. So this is how Bhagavān has ordained: every creature has to go through these three states.

The Three States Compared

In the waking state, we are furthest from Brahman. In the dream state, a little bit nearer. In deep sleep, we are the nearest. So that is why the deep sleep state is being explained by Ajātaśatru to Dṛptabālāki – now he is no more dṛpta (arrogant); he has become a very humble student.

So what does the Upaniṣad – because Ajātaśatru is only a medium through which the Upaniṣad is coming out – what does the scripture want to convey to us? That there is a state which is indescribable, but we can point out the nearest state is deep sleep. And by analysing the deep sleep state, what is the first thing that we see?

1. There is no projection – a person may be ignorant but is free from all projection (vikṣepa śakti).
2. There is no duality.
3. The person has no desires.
4. The person is supremely happy – unbroken happiness called bliss, ānanda, is experienced by him until he wakes up.

The next point we have to remember is: whether it is an amoeba or a tree or an animal or a human being – any being – they are all exactly the same. Among human beings, whether it is the greatest president of the greatest, most powerful country, or a person who does not even have clothes to put on, who sleeps out on the street and who is satisfied with the barest minimum possible – all these differentiations manifest either in the waking and also in the dream state. But as soon as a great emperor, an animal, a child, a great learned man – any other creature, we have to add – enter into this deep sleep state, they all become completely one. There is absolutely no difference at all, because there is no duality there. And that is the most marvellous state. That is why every one of us longs for deep sleep.

The Purpose of the Instruction

So that is the purpose for which this instruction was being given. Ajātaśatru was teaching about suṣupti so that we can have a glimpse, an idea, a fore‑knowledge of what it is to be one with Brahman. During deep sleep, all karmas and individuality are suspended, and the jīvātman fully withdraws into the heart‑space, hṛdayākāśa, resting in its original, pure, and unqualified Paramātman, nirviśeṣa caitanya.

Then the Upaniṣad goes on telling that during waking, dream, as well as deep sleep, what is common is that prāṇa is working. Minus prāṇa, waking cannot be experienced, dream cannot be experienced, and also deep sleep cannot be experienced. So it is common to all. Prāṇa is everywhere, all over the body until the person is dead – it is all over the body, all over the senses, all over the mind in all the three states.

Prāṇa Is Not the Jīvātman

So one lesson that Gārgya has to learn is: even after violently shaking, if prāṇa were the jīvātman by any chance, he should have woken up. But even violent shaking took a long time for that sleeping person to wake up. This is to convey the message: the jīvātman, the real Paramātman, the divinity, is not even the prāṇa.

Now the Upaniṣad wants to tell that this prāṇa, which is otherwise also called Hiraṇyagarbha – remember, if that prāṇa is working in an infinitesimal manifestation in each one of us, that is individual prāṇa. We are not talking about individual prāṇa; we are talking about collective prāṇa, because as soon as mind and body are absent, this individuality disappears because duality disappears. Along with the absence of waking and dream, when there is no duality, the distinction "I" and "all of us" also vanishes. At that time, he will be absorbed into Mahāprāṇa, which is also called Hiraṇyagarbha.

The Śiśu Brāhmaṇa – The Calf Simile

And this is why prāṇa is compared to a baby (śiśu). Why is it compared to a baby? Look at any baby – in future, a baby might turn out to be the most diabolical person on earth, but that is not the point. During deep sleep, prāṇa is equal to everybody. Even while it is manifesting in our body, in our mind, through our sense organs, bringing knowledge from outside, carrying it through the nāḍīs to the mind inside – the prāṇa does not attach itself to anything. It is absolutely detached, whether the prāṇa is in a Mahārāja or in a so‑called cruel animal.

Actually, we should never use that word "cruel animal". Some animals are not cruel – they kill because they have to eat. And who is more cruel? Human beings. Tigers and lions and wolves and hyenas, etc. – really, when their stomachs are full, they do not become violent. Even after our stomachs are full, we do not cease to be violent, wicked, thinking harm. What more harm can we do, and in how many ways can we do it? You can see every day news is nothing but violence being perpetrated by a powerful person upon a weak person, or one powerful nation upon other weak nations. This is all the play – as we have to say, because we are helplessly watching. Nobody, even the greatest political analyst, has any power to influence any of the events. They go on in their own way. Posthumously we might analyse them – "this could have happened, that could have happened, it could have been prevented" – but it is all completely useless when a person is dead because of the evil action of somebody. There is no point in thinking "this could have been done, that could have been done." Even if one creature dies, it is equivalent to the whole world of that creature dying, as it were.

Self‑Transformation

That is why Hindus say: try your best to change, and that change must start with your own life. Do not think "I am somebody holy, pure, I am a sage, but somebody else is a wicked person." All transformation starts with only self‑transformation.

So prāṇa is compared to a baby. The Upaniṣad indirectly through this wants to instruct us: be unselfish, be pure, because a baby is represented – for a baby, there is no enemy, no friend, until some wrong negative experience is given to the baby. So a baby does not look upon somebody as dangerous, inimical, etc., until we teach it – because we are doing it. Even our thoughts – we may not teach physically – our very thoughts can influence others. If good thoughts of really pure people can influence us, wicked thoughts also can influence us when our minds are open like radio receivers to receive them.

Two Meanings of Śiśu

So the description of this Mahāprāṇa or Hiraṇyagarbha as śiśu (baby) is for the purpose of saying that we must become pure. That is one meaning.

The second meaning is: this prāṇa – because of prāṇa, the body functions, sense organs function, mind functions. This body‑mind complex is called a combination of kārya-kāraṇa-saṅghātaḥ. Body cannot be alive without sense organs; sense organs cannot function without the body; both are sustained by prāṇa; and this whole body‑mind complex is sustained by the mind. So this body is called kārya, mind is called its kāraṇa – a combination of this body‑mind complex (BMC). This is supported by prāṇa. So prāṇa is metaphorically described as an innocent calf.

Actually, even though I used the word "baby" (śiśu), because the literal meaning of śiśu is "baby", the Upaniṣad is very clear in telling it is like a calf. So suppose a calf is tethered to the physical body by the rope of food, and it is further glorified by comparing the sense organs to the seven ṛṣis seated in the head, likened to an upside‑down vessel, who gather knowledge and bring glory to the individual.

The Structure of the Second Chapter

This Śiśu Brāhmaṇa – in the second chapter there are actually six brāhmaṇas. The first chapter we have concluded; the second chapter we have entered. In the second chapter, the first three sections are where deep sleep is analysed. Then the next section is talking about comparing this Mukhya Prāṇa or Samāṣṭi Prāṇa to a śiśu – innocent, pure, unselfish, unworried, only enjoying the greatest bliss.

So the example of the calf is given here. A calf in that cowshed has a particular place; it is tethered by a rope; it is sustained by food; and it has its own peculiar private individuality. So we are also like that – this prāṇa is tethered to the physical body, because if certain organs of the physical body are incapable of functioning – for example, a person cannot breathe in and breathe out (asthma) – then prāṇa cannot be sustained. If a person does not eat, it cannot be sustained. So this prāṇa sustains the body‑mind, but it also requires an instrument to work with. So body‑mind complex plus prāṇa are interdependent. Like a calf tethered to a particular post and fed a particular type of food – that comparison is given here.

The Seven Ṛṣis as Sense Organs

So this prāṇa sustains our both body and mind complex. And it is also indicated here that all the seven ṛṣis – whenever we are asked "Where are the Saptarṣis (seven ṛṣis)?", we point out somewhere and say there is a star constellation where you find eight stars – seven stars are a bit more visible, and by the side of the seventh star, which is compared to Vasiṣṭha, there is one very dimly visible smallest star which is compared to Arundhatī. But the Upaniṣad wants to tell us that all the sense organs are compared to seven ṛṣis.

Why are they compared to ṛṣis? Who is a ṛṣi? A ṛṣi is one ṛṣati jānāti iti ṛṣi – one who knows. One who obtained knowledge is called a ṛṣi. In Hindu scriptures, this word ṛṣi is not confined only to spiritual knowledge. There was a great ṛṣi who was an expert in mathematics – Vedic mathematics – which very few people have studied. Very short formulas can do huge calculations. Some Śaṅkarācāryas, especially belonging to the Purī tradition, have studied this and demonstrated even in Western countries that a calculator is not necessary; it is enough if you memorise and use some short formulas – huge numbers can be manipulated. That is why Sanskrit is called the most appropriate language – like C++, Python, or so many computer languages – but the best suited because it is grammatically so accurate. But unfortunately, so far nobody has used it as a communicator in computers.

Knowledge Is Sacred

So the Upaniṣad wants to point out: every sense organ goes out, gathers knowledge – gathers knowledge of what the world consists of – five forms: colours, smells, tastes, touches, and sounds – śabda, sparśa, rūpa, rasa, gandha. If you remove these five elements, then the world will not be there at all. So God not only has created the world consisting of these five forms – if you still remember our old talks, the five elements: ākāśa and its special quality is śabda (space carries sound), then vāyu – sparśa, agni – rūpa, jala – rasa, and pṛthvī – gandha. All the five elements manifest the appropriate five aspects of the world. So the whole world is nothing but consisting of these five elements and five forms – sound, taste, touch, smell, etc.

Now the Upaniṣad wants to tell: who is a ṛṣi? He who knows. As I said, if a person is an expert and creates some new ways of singing, he is called Saṅgīta Ṛṣi. If a marvellous poet, he is called a ṛṣi. If he is a marvellous engineer, he is called a ṛṣi. If he is a mathematician, he is called a ṛṣi. So any person who obtains some new knowledge is called a ṛṣi. Because according to Hinduism, knowledge is sacred. We always misunderstand the teachings of Vedānta: "Oh, worldly knowledge is absolute Māyā, a binding factor." That is rubbish – that is not the teaching at all. Knowledge is always sacred.

The Five Sense Organs

So this is food – but it is sacred food because it makes me alive. The sounds are marvellous, divine, because they give me knowledge. The smell makes me alive, and the smell can also sustain my happiness. Like that, every sense organ brings a particular type of sensory knowledge, and every type of sensory knowledge is sacred. Simple example: you pump some beautiful smell – rose scent or whatever scent – and put it all over your body, and you feel that "now I am smelling very nicely." But you go to the shrine and the smell of beautiful ghee‑rice is coming out – "Ahhh! I smell the sacred prasādam of Bhagavān." I see the incense stick – I smell that; it reminds me of God. So anything – śabda, sparśa, rūpa, rasa, gandha – if it is associated with God, it helps us progress, evolve. But the same things, when they are directed towards worldly objects without taking into consideration God, those very things will keep us bound for some time. Nothing can keep us bound forever, because by nature we are pure souls.

So these sense organs are called seven ṛṣis. What are these seven ṛṣis in our body? Sense organs – seven sense organs: two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, and the mouth. The mouth means taste – actually it can also be a sense organ, what is called an organ of action; it can also be an organ of knowledge. When we are eating, "this food is tasty" – the same tongue, the same mouth acts like an organ of knowledge. But when the same mouth starts to speak, it acts as vāgindriya. So vāgindriya is one of the sense organs of action. So our body is nothing but five inputs and five outputs – five organs to bring in knowledge, five organs to put them into action – what to do, what not to do. "I want to smell this, I want to see this, I want to taste this, I want to hear this, I want to touch this." Our whole transactions are nothing but this.

That is why the seven ṛṣis are mentioned – we may come to that later on. Ṛṣi means the instrument of knowledge – all our sense organs: the eyes, the ears, the nostrils, and the mouth (of course the skin is excluded, but the skin also we will have to consider). All these gather knowledge and they help us, though temporarily they bind us, but ultimately they bring us nearer – those very sense organs make us glorious by bringing us nearer to God.

The Division into Mūrta and Amūrta

The next section in this second Brāhmaṇa – the second chapter, sections are there – the whole creation is divided into mūrta and amūrta. In brief, there are five elements. The whole creation is nothing but a combination of space, air, fire, water, and earth. In these, the air and space are not visible – they are experienceable but not visible. That is why they are called amūrta. Mūrta means visible; amūrta means not visible, not directly manifest, but indirectly manifest.

So the universe is fundamentally only these five elements, and these five elements become our mind and become our physical body. They become every object in this world, and each one of us reacts and acts and reacts to this objectified world – that is called saṃsāra. Then we develop attachments, likes, dislikes, and goals – everything depends upon this.

Mūrta and Amūrta Defined

So the Upaniṣad wants to tell, first of all, the whole universe is divided into mūrta and amūrta. Mūrta refers to the gross, mortal, limited, and visible elements – earth, water, and fire – while the amūrta (invisible) refers to the subtle, immortal, unlimited, and invisible elements – space and air. The physical body being mūrta – and amūrta – the physical body is visible, but our mind is not visible. That is why it is called the subtle body, and much less visible is the causal body.

Because this mind contains impressions from innumerable lives – it is hidden for each one of us – how much are we aware of our impressions? And even when we are aware, are we aware whether they are helpful or whether they are leading us, dragging us downwards? Simply a man says, like an ignorant baby, "I want to eat" – whether that is taking him down or helping him to evolve into a higher life – that is a different issue.

Memory and Its Role

So these vāsanās – that is nothing but our past experiences coloured – they can also be called mūrta and amūrta, visible and invisible. So if I have interacted with some person and it is there in the memory, that is called visible memory. But what happened ten days back, one year back, when I was a child – many things we forget, which is of course a great thing, because otherwise if we are flooded with every memory, we will go mad.

So this entire creation consisting of the five elements, both gross and subtle, is divided into visible – which is earth, water, and fire (because we can see the earth, we can see the water, we can see the fire) – but air we cannot see, much less space. Nevertheless, they are experienceable. That is why air and space are called amūrta. So amūrta and mūrta – that is the entire creation.

Satyasya Satyam – The Truth of Truth

So why this division? Because that is a fact. But now, the Upaniṣad wants to introduce that this whole world that we are experiencing – the whole world which consists of both mūrta and amūrta, visible and invisible – is given a particular name: satyam – truth.

But what is it that is manifesting as both mūrta and amūrta, visible and invisible? That is Paramātman. Paramātman is the cause; its creation is the effect. Paramātman is the main – Paramātman is not caused by anything else, but this universe is caused by the Paramātman. That is why it is called kārya or effect, or vikāra.

Swami Turiyānanda's Statement Revisited

Now what is the point? Yesterday we discussed it – I hope you remember. So Swami Turiyānanda is saying: "Brahma satyam, jagat satyam." Before realisation, we have only half‑baked knowledge – that this creation is a trap, is a net, and we are ignorant. Ignorance is trying to trap us by making us think "I am the body, I am the mind" – that is called mūrta and amūrta – by making me identify with the mūrta which is the physical body (visible, experienceable by everybody) and this amūrta which only I can have a little glimpse into. So this is called satyam.

What is the point? The point is to say: do not say it is unreal. That is why Śaṅkara was constrained to define it: it is neither real nor unreal – neither sat nor asat – it is something indefinable. So what is this asat? That is called mithyā. Yesterday I told you what mithyā is. When we experience any object and understand it only as the mūrta and amūrta, the effect, but not the cause – and our understanding is mithyā, half‑truth. But when a person goes to the very cause of this mūrta and amūrta – visible and invisible – which is nothing but the real Soul, Paramātman, then he understands: if Brahman is satyam, this world cannot be untruth. Why? Because there cannot be two things called truth and untruth.

The Logic of Satyam

A beautiful logic is involved here. Brahman is satyam jñānam anantam. And if we accept this world is also satyam, then there are two – Brahman is one and this world is another. No – Brahman half‑understood is called the world, creation; and creation fully understood is called Brahman. That is why the Upaniṣad wants to tell: Paramātman is Satyasya Satyam.

But why does the Upaniṣad use the word satyam? It could have used the word mithyā, because – "O man, before realisation, what you think is real is mithyā." Mithyā means half‑truth, like a snake is a half‑truth. But when light is brought, then the snake in its full nature is nothing but rope. The knowledge of the rope in semi‑darkness is half‑truth, which manifests in the form of the snake – prajñā sarpa brahmānti. But in daylight, when full knowledge comes – nirvikalpa samādhi is experienced, when Brahma knowledge – Aham Brahmasmi – comes – after that, the question of mithyā does not arise.

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Example

Because when I open my eyes, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says, "I see Brahman. When I close my eyes, I see Brahman." Do not think "when I close my eyes, I am able to experience Brahman; when I open my eyes, I am experiencing something else." What is opening the eyes? It is called nāma-rūpa. Same I gave yesterday the illustration of a wax garden: for a baby who does not have full knowledge, the tree, the animal, the bird – everything is different. But for a grown‑up person, everything is wax. But because this wax is not in a mere lump form, but it is manifested in the form of many forms and therefore many names – it is called forgetting the wax, only focusing upon names and forms – that is called mithyā.

So you look at any object – "this is a man" – but as long as you look at the name and form of this person called "man", then your knowledge is called mithyā. But after realisation, everything is nothing but pure Brahman. So Brahman without nāma-rūpa is Brahman; Brahman with nāma-rūpa is the creation, is the world.

The Practical Teaching

That is why the Upaniṣad introduces this word satya: Satyasya Satyam – "the truth of the truth." The Upaniṣad is telling: once you know the truth, then you see the same truth, because this world is not mithyā. Until realisation, it should be considered as a mithyā, because mithyā is something which is negative in its effect; therefore we should try to give it up. But after realisation, it is nothing but pure truth – ekam sat advitīyam – there is nothing second.

The Method of Apavāda (Negation)

So until we realise the truth, what should be our sādhanā (spiritual practice)? For that, it is written in this Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad here only – the process in Vedāntic terms is called apavāda. Apavāda means negation. Negation means what? Many times we translate this word apavāda or neti neti as "not this, not this, not this". But according to our knowledge from the teachings of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, when we say "not this", what I know is not complete knowledge – I need fuller knowledge. So therefore, until that time, I will not be satisfied. That is called neti neti – na iti, na iti – twice. The word is used twice. And Śaṅkarācārya, of course, adds his own commentary saying: why is the same word used once – once will not do? Why use it twice? For that, his answer is: complete absolute negation.

Negation as Incomplete Knowledge

And negation means what? I am trying to explain this in the light of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's words. Negation means: "this is not the complete knowledge of God" – otherwise it degenerates into unreality. What I know is Brahman only, but my knowledge of Brahman is half‑baked knowledge, inadequate knowledge, not full knowledge. That is called neti neti – that is called niṣedha, that is called apavāda.

So for this, Vedānta uses a peculiar methodology called prakriyā. What is it? First, it says that everything is adhyāropa – everything is "oh, this is true, this is true – body is true, mind is true, everything is true." So you are the body and mind. But now you go on using this body and mind for a better purpose, because what is it you want? You want greater happiness for a longer time, and there is a method. For that, you have to train the body and mind. So for that, Karma Kāṇḍa is given, and when we practise Karma Kāṇḍa and experience the result of Karma Kāṇḍa, our happiness would be the greatest.

The True Meaning of Neti Neti

So that is what is meant. Neti neti means "this is not real, this is not real." Often I think it is an incomplete expression. What would be the complete expression? "This is not the whole of reality. This is not the whole of reality." We are not saying it is not reality; we are saying it is incomplete reality, incomplete knowledge. So let me acquire more and more knowledge – complete knowledge. But this incomplete knowledge creates attachments, detachments, hatred, love, etc., making us stick to this world. That is to be given up through certain methodology called sādhanā. For that, upāsanas are indicated slowly.

So the sense organs are elevated to a ṛṣi, just as we discussed now. And then, "Oh, all the ṛṣis are in me. That means I am the ṛṣi. Every ṛṣi is a knower of truth. So I am a knower of truth. And who can be a knower of truth? Only God can be a knower of truth. So I am God – I am divine." For that purpose, I have to give up incomplete knowledge and I have to acquire complete knowledge. So progressing like a scientist – "this hypothesis is quite good, but something else has to be modified" – like that we go on modifying. That is the meaning of neti neti.

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Thorn Example

And Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa gives this example: if your foot is stuck with smaller thorns, take out a bigger thorn, and with that thorn you remove all the smaller thorns. And what do you do with that other thorn? Even that thorn which helped us, which helps a person to get rid of all the other thorns, should be thrown out.

And that is explained by one commentator: first neti – go on saying "this is not Brahman, this is not Brahman, this is not Brahman, this is not Brahman." But when I go on progressing, then I see that this entire mūrta and amūrta, kārya-kāraṇa-saṅghāta, entire creation has been negated. But negated by whom? By one thought in the mind – and even that thought, which is in the form of "I am the negator", is represented by the second neti: "I am not even the negator. I am neither the affirmer nor the negator." And when one practises this, the I totally self‑destructs, and what remains is pure truth, which is Brahman.

Conclusion and Preview

So this is going to be the development. We are going to see – what I want to see now in the next class is actually quote some of these mantras, because as I said, even the very utterance of the mantras can be very helpful, because they are coming from the mouth – that is why they are called mantras from the mouths of ṛṣis, realised souls. The Gospel has come from the mouth of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, the greatest avatāra according to Hindus. So whatever came out, that is the truth – paramasatyam, ultimate truth. Whatever came out of Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa's mouth is the ultimate truth.

So we have to surrender ourselves to the Lord, but we can obtain His grace. And slowly we acquire the capacity – it is only His grace which can really work in the form of knowledge. His grace comes in the form of knowledge. So some of the mantras – only selected – even I may not read entire mantra, but only the relevant portion of it, because there are lots of descriptions which neither we need nor we remember. We will do this in our next class.

Closing Prayer

ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् ।पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः

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!