Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 4.14-5 Lecture 69 on 19 September 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 Completion of Maitreyī's Doubts

In our last class, we were discussing the dialogue between Yājñavalkya and Maitreyī. Yājñavalkya cleared every single doubt of Maitreyī. So we must understand that Maitreyī completed its first two stages.

The Fit Adhikārī and the Guru

A fit adhikārī – a person fit for receiving the highest knowledge of Brahman – must approach a Guru, take shelter at his feet, and he must hear the highest truth. This is a fundamental law.

The Illusion of Artificial Intelligence

Nowadays, on the social media, we are hearing so many people talking about God‑consciousness. Even some of the most intelligent persons are shamelessly declaring that artificial intelligence is about to become, or has become, real intelligence – caitanya. As Yuval Harari pointed out, intelligence is different; wisdom is quite a different affair. Probably we can take this word "wisdom" as real jñānam – that is extremely rare.

The Guru-Paramparā System

So this is the Guru-Paramparā system all over the world, in every religion – especially if you study the Sufi religion, the mystical path in Islam. You find out what marvellous lives these great people had led, and how they tested their disciples. And then only when they found them fit, they accepted them, trained them continuously, transformed their understanding, and that is how they made the path easily transcendable by their chosen disciples.

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Sanyāsa

And for that purpose only, Rāmakṛṣṇa had taken sanyāsa. Remarking about this, Swami Śaradānandaji Mahārāja tells: the day, the night that Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa had received the Mahāvākya from his Guru Totāpurī Mahārāja, the Ganges started flowing joyously: "Today I am going to witness one of the greatest events in world history – another great soul is going to make my burden light."

Why Sanyāsa?

So we have to understand this very clearly. Why? Because if a person is married, then he will not be accepted – he is not acceptable by most of the people as an authority. Even if a person, a sanyāsī, is not a realised soul, but a real sincere sanyāsī is far higher than any householder. That is the view of Hindus – real Hindus. There are fake Hindus also – plenty of them. So this is the real view of every true Hindu.

Yājñavalkya's Sanyāsa

And even though Yājñavalkya need not have taken to sanyāsa after the attainment of the knowledge of Brahman – really, there was no need for anybody to take sanyāsa – but they wanted to keep the system propagated by the Vedas of the four divisions: the student life, the householder's life, the withdrawal life, and the all‑renouncing life – as an ideal. So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa taking to sanyāsa, Yājñavalkya taking to sanyāsa, is not for their own benefit – because they had already become free in the beginning itself. It is for the good of the world. So that is why Yājñavalkya had taken it, and he found out Maitreyī was an apt disciple. She was no longer playing the role of a wife, but a most earnest mumukṣu – yearning mumukṣu.

The Threefold Teaching – Śravaṇa, Manana, Nididhyāsana

And first he taught ātmā vā are draṣṭavyaḥ – "God realisation is the only goal of life," in Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's words. And then he also taught śrotavyaḥ, mantavyaḥ, nididhyāsitavyaḥ.

The Necessity of a Realised Teacher

That is, first the highest truth must be heard by a fit disciple from a realised soul, who is called a śrotavyaḥ – a real Brahmajñānī, śrotriyah, brahmaniṣṭhaḥ. Then whatever he received, he should not blindly follow. He should remove every single doubt from his mind.

Maitreyī's Doubt

We have seen how Maitreyī – she understood mostly, but when Yājñavalkya told "after the individuality is totally melted away in the universal, then there would be no consciousness" – perhaps he should have added "there would not be particular individual consciousness, but the individual will now have universal consciousness," which in Sanskrit words, if every placeable Sanskrit word, is Aham Brahmasmi. And Maitreyī had this doubt: "If I lose consciousness, what is the point?"

The Resolution

Then he cleared it – only when there is duality, then one is conscious of the other, one hears the other, one sees the other, etc. Meaning any type of thought in the mind – because the whole saṃsāra, transmigratory cycle, is nothing but a movement of thought in our minds. So long as there is a mind, that is not the final knowledge. But when mind is not there, who is even there to distinguish and say "I am different from everybody else"?

The River and the Ocean

So that is what I said – that once you have ascended to Advaita, then Advaita measurements do not apply there. But it does not mean you are dead. It does not mean you have lost your individuality – like a river loses itself. Previously it was called a river; now it goes by the name ocean – aham samudro asmi – "I am the ocean." That would be the realisation.

Maitreyī's Attainment

And Maitreyī understood it, and she must have attained that. How do we know? Because if the conversation had – the conversation between Maitreyī and Yājñavalkya – Maitreyī did not ask any further questions. Had there been any lingering doubts that needed clarification from the side of Maitreyī, surely we would have expected that Maitreyī would have enquired from Yājñavalkya. Therefore we presume that she was free of doubts, and that automatically takes one to the realisation of the Self – Aham Brahmasmi. Or to put it the other way: only after the realisation of the Self, all doubts, all karmas, everything will vanish: tasmin dṛṣṭe parāvare – and once that highest realisation "I am Brahman" arises, then all doubts – vidyante hṛdaya-granthīḥ, chidyante sarva-saṃśayāḥ. So all doubts, all camouflage which belong only to the transmigratory individual self, will be totally eradicated.

The Important Points of the Dialogue

So just for us to recollect what are the important points of this particular section, the dialogue between Yājñavalkya and Maitreyī:

1. God realisation is the only goal of life.
2. A Guru is an absolute necessity.
3. Only when the disciple is ready, the teacher – or the union, the meeting between the disciple and the teacher – will happen. As Swamiji used to say: "When the field is ready, the seed must come." Either the teacher will come to the disciple, or the disciple will find the right Guru.
4. Thus this Hindu system of Guru-Śiṣya Paramparā is an absolute necessity. When the disciple is absolutely fit, the teaching from a Guru only then will transform the disciple into a realised soul.

A Universal Truth

This is a universal truth – not only is it a universal truth in Hinduism; whichever is the religion – whether it is Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Judaism – that is the universal truth. Perhaps people have heard very little about Judaism; at least about Islam we have heard about Sufism, many Sufi saints. I have already sent many incidents and teachings from Sufism. Nowadays, of course, I am sending from the Buddha's teachings – especially from the Dharma, Dhammapada, Dharmapatha – the way of truth.

Introduction to the Madhu Brāhmaṇa

But today we enter into a new section in this second chapter. This is called Madhu Brāhmaṇa.

The Structure of the Text

Remember that this Kāṇḍa – Kāṇḍa means a chapter. There are six chapters, and in the second chapter this is the fifth Brāhmaṇa, called Madhu Brāhmaṇa. Why did this name come? Because the very mantras describe to us that everything is dependent upon everything else. Madhu means honey. Madhu means ambrosia. Madhu means that which gives us the greatest pleasure. Brāhmaṇa means a section – a section dealing with the Madhu Brāhmaṇa.

What Is Madhu?

What is the Madhu? Everything in this universe is completely, totally, one hundred percent dependent upon everything else. This is what nowadays the scientists call – how much they really understand by that word we do not know – is called the holistic view. If one little part is missing, then it is like one little part in a jigsaw puzzle – it makes no meaning at all to the entire puzzle – one little bit.

The Interdependence of Everything

So in this section, the second chapter, fifth section, there are nineteen mantras, and the essence, as I said, is the interdependence of everything upon everything else. In the shortest summary, this is what we should say: the object is dependent upon the subject; the subject is dependent upon the object. Even the very existence of either the subject or the object – they disappear. When the other disappears, no object – there is no subject. Of course, no subject, there is no object. So each one of us depends upon everything else.

The Example of the Body-Mind

We usually call ourselves human beings. Just to take this example: I am this body and mind. Without mind, body cannot exist. But without the body holding the mind, mind also has no existence. So both depend upon each other.

Dream and Waking

A dream depends upon the waking state. The waking state also depends upon a dream. These are the highest truths. What do I mean by dream? Everybody dreams: "I want to become a scientist, I want to get married, I want to have children. I want to grow healthily, wealthily, happily old, and I want to die in peace."

Thought and Mind

First, it starts with the thoughts. Thought means vṛtti. There is no vṛtti without mind; there is no mind without vṛtti. They are not two separate things. Mind becomes vṛtti, manas becomes vṛtti, vṛtti becomes the manas. But to illumine both, there must be the reflected consciousness called cidābhāsa.

The Sun and the Object

So the sun depends upon the object which receives the sunlight. Supposing I do not know that I cannot see the sun, and so far as I am concerned, the sun does not exist. So far as the sun is concerned, I do not exist. We are dependent upon.

The Philosophical Question

This is a beautiful saying. Rather, a philosophical question is posed in English philosophy. Supposing there is a remote thick forest, dense forest, and in the middle of that forest, there is a beautiful creeper which gives the most fragrant flower. Now, nobody had ever entered into that forest – just imagine – and then the flower had bloomed. It has the most divine fragrance, but nobody knows about it. So the philosophical question is: is that fragrant flower existent or not? Because there is nobody who is experiencing it.

Dependent Existence

So it is dependent. "Oh, here is a most fragrant creeper. It yields the most fragrant flowers" – that knowledge should come. Then only the existence will be revealed. So there must be a subject in order to experience the object.

Forgetting and Existence

That is why here is some food for thought: the moment I forget about some object, somebody – that somebody, until I remember that object, until I remember – does not exist at all. This is something we have to keep in mind.

Madhu Vidyā – The Honey Doctrine

So that is why this is called Madhu Vidyā. Madhu means honey. Honey is not the direct meaning of this word Madhu. What we have to understand: my very existence depends upon something else, and something else exists because it is dependent upon somebody to recognise it. In short, subject and object are interdependent, and the whole world can be the seer and the seen, the knower and the known, the experiencer and the experienced. That is how we have to understand.

God Depends on Awareness

Even God does not exist so long as I am not aware of God. It may look blasphemous, but it is an absolute truth. So when a worldly person is sleeping, there is no God. Of course you may analyse and say that state itself is God – but in that state of deep sleep, that person is not self‑aware: "I am God." When he becomes aware "I am God" in the deep sleep state, that state is called samādhi. Otherwise, upon waking up, the person becomes aware and says: "I slept well, and it was a very happy, happiest, most happy experience."

The Three States

See – just to illustrate – if there was no waking state, there would be no dream nor deep sleep. Similarly, all the three states are dependent upon the other two states.

The Interdependence of Identity

Now, how do we understand it in our normal day‑to‑day experience? One of the questions. Suppose you meet somebody. First, I will give this example. You meet somebody who does not know you, and then you want to introduce yourself. What do you say? "I am Mr. so‑and‑so. I am this particular body‑mind complex. My name is so‑and‑so."

Who Gave You That Name?

Who gave you that name? Your parents. So even though you did not tell about parents – and many times you do that: "I am a doctor, I am a lawyer, I am a computer scientist, I am an engineer, I am a student, I am a teacher, I am a husband, I am a wife." All these are completely dependent things.

Dependent Identities

An unmarried person cannot become either a father or a mother. And an unmarried man cannot say "I am the husband of so‑and‑so," etc. When we want to reveal our identity to somebody, we have to tell: "My parents are so‑and‑so. I have completed this college or university in this particular subject. I am working as a doctor or an engineer. I am a married person. I am the father of children, or I am the grandfather of so many."

Something Must Certify

Something should be there. "I am an engineer" – whatever it is, the job certifies "you are so‑and‑so," and the parent certifies "he is my son." Just imagine for a second you do not remember anything of these things because of some peculiar disease. All your memory is gone totally. Then who are you? Where do you live? Which house? The person will not be able to answer at all.

The "I" Depends on Relationships

Because what we call this self‑identity "I" depends upon the relationships of all these things: my father, my mother, my children, my job, everything in that particular city. "I live in that city" – there is a relationship. "I live in that particular locality, building" – everything is totally dependent. And the whole thing can be compressed into the subject‑object relationship.

The Deep Thought

So that is what this particular section wants to explain to us so beautifully – how little philosophers think about this deep thought – that without somebody to certify with their relationship to us, we are nobody.

The Body Also Depends

Even to say "I am a body" depends upon – so I must have hands, I must have legs, I must have eyes. If these parts are missing, to that extent my personal identity is lost. So even to say "I am so‑and‑so," I require all these interdependent relationships.

Parents Also Depends

Similarly, if we ask our parents, "Who are you?" – "Oh, I am your father." I am required to certify that he is somebody who is a father. Suppose he has nobody and does not know, completely forgets. That is why the disease called forgetfulness.

Total Forgetfulness

Total forgetfulness means if he is caught wandering in the streets, if the police want to assist him – "Sir, where do you live? Who are you?" – he would not be able to give the answer. So they will have to trace him out by sending a photograph, and somebody may identify. Usually they do, then they know "this is that person."

Everything Is Interdependent

So everything is interdependent. This is called the holistic view, and scientists understand it to some extent. But we do not understand – most of us do not understand, though we might pretend to understand.

The Butterfly Effect

When a butterfly flutters its wing here in some part of the earth, the course of the stars may be altered. How many of us understand what is the relationship? And this interdependent relationship is beautifully explained in a beautiful book that came many years back. The title of that book is The Silent Spring. Everything depends upon everything else. What a marvellous concept!

The Beginning of the Teaching

But that is not only the end – that is the beginning of this instruction in this particular section, the fifth section of the second chapter.

Vedānta's Analysis of Difference

According to Vedānta, anything that is dependent falls under dvaita – duality – and everything that is dual is bound by time, space, and object – deśa, kāla, vastu pariccheda – and everything is separate, different, distinct.

The Three Types of Difference

For that, Vedānta identified three types of differences:

1. Vijātīya Bheda – a mango and a coconut tree are totally different. An apple and a cherry tree are totally different.
2. Sajātīya Bheda – even if there are one hundred cherry trees side by side, vast difference can be found in health, in the capacity to give flowers, in size, in quantity, in everything. This difference is called Sajātīya Bheda.
3. Svajātīya Bheda – even if you examine one cherry tree, there are roots, there is a trunk, there is a huge trunk branched out into smaller and still smaller and still smaller branches. And then there are innumerable leaves. No two leaves are alike – and some are new leaves, some are just coming out and growing up.

The Varieties of Green

You must have seen the tender leaves – light green, dark green, or copper‑like green – and slowly it turns into some type of green. And how many types of green colour itself you can see! You just glance around – how many different greens can I identify myself?

Differences Within the Same Tree

So like that we can see the vast differences within the same tree. It is called Svajātīya Bheda – differences within oneself. Our own body is – our hands are not legs, legs are not the back, back is not the eyes or ears or tongue or nose, nostrils, etc. Every part has its own role to play, but they are all totally different.

The Collection

A collection – that is samūha or saṅghāta – that is called. The body – all the parts together – is called the body. All the people together in a small place is called a village. All the bigger villages, towns, cities, countries, the whole world – is all totally dependent upon each other.

The Whole World Is Interdependent

So that interdependence – the whole world is nothing but interdependent. Jīvātman is dependent upon the entire creation. Each one of us as an individual soul is dependent upon this entire universe. And to a great extent the scientists had understood. That is why it is called the holistic concept.

The Vedāntic Conclusion

But Vedānta does not rest there, and it comes to a very strange conclusion. What is that conclusion? That conclusion is: whatever is dependent is changeable. Whatever is changeable, that is mithyā.

Mithyā Is Not Non-Existence

Again, I have to remind you: mithyā is not non‑existence, but something which is changing all the time, not remaining exactly as it is. That is called mithyā. Everything is appearance, nothing is the truth – truth and appearance, mithyā and satyam.

The Need for a Changeless Witness

Because if something is changing – changeable means it is changing – it is changing means how do we know it is changing? Because there must be an unchanging agent who remains completely independent, not part of the changing phenomena, and then goes on witnessing. That is the truth – sākṣī. Sākṣī means one who does not change himself but can go on observing what changes are taking place – he can go on doing.

The Two Roles

So we are playing the roles of both – identifying with the changing on one side simultaneously, and identifying with that which is unchanging. So one is sākṣī jīva, another is kartā-bhoktā jīva – experiencer jīva, experiencer experiences, sākṣī witnesses that experiencer experiencing, identifying them both without changing.

The Conclusion

So what conclusion? Everything is dependent upon everything else, and whatever is dependent is changing, changeable.

The Example of Hunger

Let me give an illustration. Suppose you are hungry – and that is your present status. And then some food comes, then you start eating. That is where you have to listen carefully. You have eaten a few handfuls. There is no more food. So it brought about a change. Now partially your hunger, thirst are quenched. To that extent you are a changed person.

Partial Satisfaction

But still hunger is lingering, thirst is lingering. And until your stomach is full, both with food and water, still you are not satisfied – partially satisfied, not completely satisfied. So you may be expecting: "If I get some more food, it would be really nice." So you are a changed person now.

Fully Changed

Before food came, you were one type of person. A little bit of food entered into you, and then you are a changed person to that extent. If you are fortunate to obtain the required amount of food and water, and you are a totally changed person with respect to food and water.

Everything Changing Depends

So everything that is changing depends upon something. First of all, it is called mithyā. Mithyā means it is not permanent. Whatever is not permanent is not the truth. So the mithyā changing depends upon the satyam – truth.

The Rope and the Snake

Like a misperceived object called "snake" totally depends upon the rope. It is nothing but rope, which is the satyam, perceived because of certain conditions in three different ways: it is semi‑darkness, then there is a resemblance, and then whatever we superimpose upon that real object was already experienced by us beforehand. We can never superimpose something which was never experienced by us on anything that appears. So three conditions limit that object called rope, and that is what happens – that is called mithyā snake. But when light is brought, all the three limitations disappear.

The Dependency of Mithyā

So that is just an example. Everything is interdependent. Whatever is dependent is changing. Whatever is changing is called mithyā. And whatever is mithyā is totally dependent upon satya or truth. And that is what this particular section wants to illustrate.

The Eye-Opening Truth

So it is a marvellous fact that opens our eyes straight away. We are dependent. So we have no right to say "I alone exist, others do not exist." That is the truth.

The Critic

But even a funny example I can give you. Supposing there is a person who has developed the attitude of criticising everything – not a "critic" (the English word critic means thorough examination), but here not Q‑E, but I‑C – critic. So a critic will not be a happy person unless he finds some object, some people, to criticise. So he is totally dependent. Such a person, at the end of the day, if he does not encounter any object to find fault with, he becomes thoroughly disgruntled. And he goes on telling: "Today my day is wasted. I did not find a single person whom I can criticise."

The Need for Objects

Just see – for good or bad, we are totally dependent. You want to do good, you want to become a good donor – you must find out somebody to whom you can donate. Whether there is a poor man, you can share your wealth, clothes, or food, or objects, or your school books, your college books, your used furniture.

The Western Practice

In the Western countries, there is a marvellous phenomenon. When people want to buy new furniture, there is no space to put both old and new. If they had them, perhaps they might not have kept them back, but they give freely. Whoever wants, they can take it away – and often that furniture is absolutely usable, and there are people who do not have that. So happily, they bring their own vans, etc., and then take away whatever they want – including beautiful televisions, everything, anything, computers.

The Boot Sale

That is what they call it – I forget the term in America – what is called "boot sale" or something like that they call it. So that is a good thing. They are doing a good thing.

The Indian Contrast

In India, they will steal even an empty kerosene tin, not to speak of other things. But that also shows how poor these people are.

The Essence of Madhu Vidyā

So this is the essence, the essential point. Everything is changing, everything is dependent. Therefore, everything dependent is mithyā, and every mithyā must be based upon satyam. And if we can find that satyam, then only we can achieve permanent peace. Otherwise, it will be only a temporary peace for some time.

Everything Becomes a Source of Joy

So this is the essence of this Madhu Vidyā. Then once we realise, what happens? Everything becomes an absolute source of joy, because such a person understands satyam – everything is satyam.

What Is Satyam?

So what is satyam? Ātman, Brahman, God, Īśvara, Divine Mother. That is also called Kingdom of Heaven, Paradise, etc.

The Teaching

So what is the teaching? That everything is dependent; you are dependent. So get out of this dependency and achieve independence. In plain words, that is called realisation of God – in Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's words, etc. That is the goal of life.

Who Taught This Madhu Vidyā?

So then we have to go through who taught this Madhu Vidyā to whom. Idaṃ vai madhu dadhyaṅ aṅgirase aśvibhyām uvāca – there was a sage; he was called Dadhyaṅ. And he taught this Madhu Vidyā, honey doctrine, to two gods – they are called usually the divine physicians – Aśvini Kumāras, twins, Aśvini Devatās. So the ṛṣi Dadhyaṅ is also called Ātharvaṇa – that means he was famous as a knower of Atharvaveda, or perhaps he was the creator or the author of – we know Atharvaveda. We call it the fourth Veda, because he was a knower of the Atharvaveda.

Atharvaveda Not Always Accepted

As I said, for a long time this Atharvaveda was not accepted. That is why even in the Bhagavad Gītā: traividyā māṃ soma-pāḥ pūta-pāpāḥ, yajñair iṣṭvā svar-gatiṃ prārthayante – "Through these three Vedas, by performing yajñas prescribed in those three Vedas, many people attained heaven – pūta-pāpāḥ – they became devoid of any impurities, so they ascended to higher lokas, enjoyed them. So having enjoyed – te taṃ bhuktvā – then they have to come back – kṣīṇe loke mṛtyu-lokaṃ viśanti, kṣīṇe puṇye – and there, virtue or puṇyam, good merit, is exhausted; they will have to come back again. Only a realiser of God or Ātman need not come back after realisation.

What Does the Honey Doctrine Mean?

So what does this honey doctrine mean? That the entire world is mutually dependent on each other, and because it is thus dependent, the world is illusory – mithyā. And every illusion must depend upon a truth, its substratum – adhiṣṭhānam – that is called Ātman or Brahman.

A Special Teaching

And this teaching did not happen in the usual way. Usually a disciple goes to a Guru and asks, and the Guru teaches. But this Madhu Vidyā was taught in a special situation, and there is a story about this.

The Story of Dadhyaṅ

There was a ṛṣi called Dadhyaṅ. He knew this honey doctrine, Madhu Vidyā – that means he must have been a realised soul. Once these Aśvini Kumāras wanted to obtain this Madhu Vidyā. They approached the ṛṣi Dadhyaṅ, and they surrendered themselves to him, took refuge at his feet, and said: "Sir, teach us this Madhu Vidyā."

Indra's Warning

But the ṛṣi Dadhyaṅ had a problem. He was willing to teach. But then he learned this Madhu Vidyā, probably from Indra. So it is said: after imparting this knowledge to this Dadhyaṅ ṛṣi, Indra warned him: "Do not teach this doctrine to anyone without my permission." This knowledge must be kept secret.

Why Secrecy?

Why? Is it because of selfishness? No. Because only Indra meant only if the people are fit to receive – after examining, testing them – then only. Yājñavalkya tested Maitreyī. "I am giving you this whole wealth." It was a test. Suppose she said: "All right, I accept it, but tell me about Ātman." No – he would not have. "What shall I do? That which does not confer upon me immortality – I do not wish this. You teach me what you know" – that means "I want to become what you became."

The Example of Rāmānuja

So Indra warned this Dadhyaṅ ṛṣi: "Do not teach it to anybody, but keep it secret." Not only he gave a warning – because we see that Rāmānuja's Guru, he had initiated Rāmānuja into the Aṣṭākṣarī mantra, Oṃ Namo Nārāyaṇāya, and warned him: "You should not impart it to anybody." Then Rāmānuja asked: "What happens if I happen to impart it?" "Then that person will go to Vaikuṇṭha, but you will go to hell."

Rāmānuja's Compassion

Immediately, Rāmānuja ran and climbed to a higher area in the temple, and he must have been having a tremendously great voice, powerful voice, and called: "Hey, please come – I know how you all can go to Vaikuṇṭha!" And there was an authority in his voice. So the people all gathered, and immediately he said: "Repeat after me – Oṃ Namo Nārāyaṇāya, Oṃ Namo Nārāyaṇāya, Oṃ Namo Nārāyaṇāya. And you go on repeating it. I can guarantee you that at the end, straight Bhagavān Garuḍa will come and carry you to Vaikuṇṭha."

The Guru's Anger

The Guru came to know about this. He became angry. He called and asked: "I warned you – why did you do that?" Rāmānuja's large heart is expressed here: "Sir, by helping many other people to ascend to Vaikuṇṭha, and by that act if I have to go to hell, I would gladly go to hell."

Swami Vivekananda's Words

This was what Swami Vivekananda said: that if I could help even one dog on the street, I am ready to be reborn a thousand times. But we have to understand: such a person who helps other people to go to heaven – you think God is so ignorant, He will throw him into hell? Because if he goes into hell, then Nārāyaṇa Himself will go and serve.

Indra's Threat

So we have to understand this Indra's warning, and he said that he threatened: if this Dadhyaṅ ṛṣi teaches this Madhu Vidyā to anyone, he would cut off his head. Therefore, this sage explained his helplessness to the Aśvini Kumāras.

The Aśvini Kumāras' Solution

But the Aśvini Kumāras did not give up. They were the divine physicians. Therefore, they said that they had a solution. What was the solution? Because they are physicians, they said they could remove any part of anybody's body and replace it with something – what you call kidneys can be replaced, lungs can be replaced, hands can be replaced. Probably in future even the brain can be replaced. Already we are being replaced by algorithms, no doubt about it.

The Plan

Then what happens? After – when Indra comes to know, definitely he will come and cut off your head. "But what we will do: we will replace your head with either an elephant's head or a horse's head, and Indra comes and cuts off that animal's head. Then we will replace it with your head, which we are going to preserve." This is the solution.

The Horse's Head

So they would carefully cut off their Guru's head, hide it somewhere, then bring a horse's head, attach it, and then he should teach them through that horse head.

Hayagrīva Upāsana

And does a horse head really teach? Yājñavalkya himself was taught – what is called – he was a upāsaka of Hayagrīva, Sūryadevatā. So there was a great soul in Andhra – he was called Rāmarāya Kavi. He was one of the most brilliant persons. He wrote many commentaries on Śaṅkarācārya's bhāṣyas, but unfortunately he passed away at a very young age. Wonderful story – I will not narrate it in this session.

The Restored Head

But then this is the solution. So Indra will come – he said he will cut off the head of you – but you will be having a horse's head, and he will cut off this horse's head, and we will carefully preserve your original head, and we will restore this. So this way you teach us Hayagrīva Upāsana – Lord in the form of a horse's head only, the rest of the body will be human body only. So his head would remain safe in this way. This is the story.

The Teaching

So what happened? So this is how they did it. This is how the Dadhyaṅ ṛṣi imparted this marvellous Upaniṣadic secret to the Aśvini Kumāras. This is the story that we have seen.

Do Not Worry About the Story

Now do not worry about the story. Maybe it is taught as a – this one. What is meant is that you sacrifice by sharing. This is called Ṛṣi Yajña. Whatever you know can help other people – impart it to the fit people, of course. Then you are getting rid of the debt we owe to the other ṛṣis. And that is how a person becomes a ṛṣi himself or herself.

Conclusion

We will discuss these wonderful teachings in our next class tomorrow.

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!