Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 4.6-9 Lecture 63 on 29 August 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 Maitreyī-Yājñavalkya Brāhmaṇa

We are studying the Maitreyī-Yājñavalkya Brāhmaṇam – the section called Maitreyī-Yājñavalkya. Earlier, Yājñavalkya started teaching to Maitreyī when, after she rejected every possible worldly good and expressed a deep desire – "I want to follow your footsteps and I want also to obtain ātmajñānam – self‑knowledge" – then Yājñavalkya understood.

The Temptation of Worldly Goods

How did he understand? Because he, like Yamarāja tempting Naciketā with all worldly goods – worldly goods means we have to understand worldly happiness. Worldly happiness means limited happiness. Everything in this world, every object can give only very limited happiness, which is called pratibimba ānanda. Bimba means original, and pratibimba means reflected. Every person is a mirror, and the original consciousness – which is another word for Brahman, who is Brahman – Sat-Cit-Ānanda. When Brahman is reflected in our body‑mind complex, especially in the mind, then we get sometimes happiness, sometimes unhappiness, depending upon how much limited that reflection is. The less manifestation of the reflection, the less happiness we experience; more of the reflection, more happiness. But even the highest reflection, which is symbolised by the ānandamaya kośa, is totally finite – limited by time, space, and object – deśa, kāla, vastu pariccheda.

Maitreyī's Choice

But Maitreyī had overcome the temptation – she wanted complete happiness, and that is what she was getting through the teaching. Nobody can give liberation directly. Liberation comes only when a person comes to know "I am not the body, I am not the mind." Even though that is a general statement, there is an exception, and we always have to keep as devotees that exception in mind. That exception is Kāśī. I do not know whether any other such place is available where we can really get mukti by dying, but Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, Holy Mother, the direct disciples – of course, the Śiva Purāṇa, etc. – categorically state: whoever dies, whichever creature dies – even an amoeba dies – it gets mukti. Rather, not "gets mukti", but it realises "I am free all the time. But for some time I forgot my own nature."

Recollection, Not Acquisition

So obtaining recollection of what one is does not change one's position, but it only brings back into complete picture what we already are. We are not losing anything through ignorance; we are not gaining anything through knowledge – but it is just bringing back our true memory of who we are. Yājñavalkya understood that Maitreyī is a fit disciple. When an individual becomes a fit adhikārī, a fit person, then śravaṇa will take place. Until that time, even hearing the highest truth will not stick. If there is oil on a surface, sticky substance cannot stick to anything so long as that oil is there – so we have to wash this oil thoroughly, and then only something can stick.

The Camera Film Analogy

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to give the example of a camera film. There is something special there – whenever the light falls upon that film, then it remains permanent, so long as the coating on the film is firm. You cannot take a second picture on that film. I do not know whether any magic can be done now, but that is the general condition.

From Our Point of View and Brahman's

So then – if we are all Brahman, if everything is Brahman, even to say the word "all" – from our point of view, all of us; from Brahman's point of view, there is no "all." Not only there is no "all", there is no "one" also. One goes with "all"; "all" goes with "one." If one is removed, everything disappears. So that is mukti, and that mukti Maitreyī wanted, and we also want – only we are not expressing it directly.

What Do People Really Want?

How do we say? Do you ask an ignorant person, or do you ask an evil person: "Do you want mukti?" Of course yes – but his understanding is: "If I obtain this object, if I remove this obstacle, then my happiness will be full." Of course, we know that is not going to happen. As soon as one obtains something, it loses its charm. As soon as one obstacle is removed, a thousand obstacles will pop up. So that is not going to be possible. The only thing is we have to get rid of all citta-vṛttis – citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ, that is called yoga. Then what remains is only the Puruṣa – one's own Self, true Self.

The First Teaching: Nothing Other Than Ātman

First of all, Yājñavalkya taught that there is nothing other than Ātman. Everybody loves only one's own Self. That word "Self" should be understood not as the individual self, but as the infinite Self – true Self. And how do we know? Because everybody desires: "Let there be no death, let there be no ignorance, let there be no misery or suffering."

Buddha's Teaching

If you study the teachings of Bhagavān Buddha: life is full of suffering. Even Brahma Loka is full of suffering. In comparison with worldly happiness, it is an incomparably higher state. But from the viewpoint of Brahman, Brahma Loka is nothing but a small happiness. So if you can understand what is the comparison between infinity and finiteness, then you can understand. Brahman is infinite; Brahmaloka is finite. Any amount of enlargement of the finite – we cannot make it infinite. It is not possible.

The Goal: Know That I Am Brahman

So and then he said that is the goal. So ātmā vā are draṣṭavyaḥ, śrotavyaḥ, mantavyaḥ, nididhyāsitavyaḥ – "The goal of life is to know that I am Brahman." For that purpose, one should approach a proper teacher who is a śrotriya and who is a brahmaniṣṭha – one who is not only a realised soul, but should have thorough knowledge of the scriptures. Scripture means not that he should memorise the Ṛgveda, Yajurveda, etc. – not that he should have scholarship. No – śrotavya means he knows the essence of the scriptures. What is the essence of the scripture? That is sarvaṃ khalvidaṃ brahma – "There is no other thing other than Brahman." That is the essence of all scriptures.

Śaṅkara's Equation

Only with a bit of elaboration, Śaṅkara gave that answer: Brahma satyam, jaganmithyā, jīvo brahmaiva nāparaḥ. We have to understand this beautiful equation. There is God alone is real. Everything else is temporary. The temporariness – that word used by Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa – "everything is temporary" – is equivalent to the Sanskrit word mithyā.

What We Think We Are

So that is what Yājñavalkya had taught: "You must know who you are, and you must hear about who you really are." Because at this moment, however good a person you are, you are still thinking: "I am a disciple, I am an ignorant person, I am of limited knowledge, of limited power, and I go through all these changes – birth, growth, old age, disease, death, etc." This is – however advanced we are in intellect – this is our experience. Everybody has to go through it, and everybody thinks this is the reality. But no – the teacher will tell you that is a temporary understanding, not a correct understanding. That this reality we call the world is a temporary understanding that "this is real." Just as so long as we are dreaming, we think this is true, this is reality – because I am experiencing it, I am the proof. No – when you wake up, when I wake up, I realise that everything is temporary.

The Tragedy of Life

We have to understand, and we do understand – but we do not go beyond a certain limit to probe into this mystery. And that is the tragedy of life. That is what these avatāras come – in the form of Kṛṣṇa, etc. – in order to teach us this lesson.

The Dream Experience Proves Otherwise

So we are coming back. Yājñavalkya wants to teach that this understanding that "the world is real" – because how do I know the world is real? Because I think: "Since I am real, what I am experiencing is real. Therefore, everybody is real; what everybody is experiencing is real; and what we are all experiencing is the world. Therefore, the world is real." Even though dream experience conclusively proves that is not the truth. Deep sleep further confirms that what we call the world is not true. Only in the waking state we think it is reality, but when we change from waking to dream, dream is the reality; the waking state becomes unreal. When we enter into the deep sleep state, both states become completely unreal. This is how we have to understand.

The Three Steps: Śravaṇa, Manana, Nididhyāsana

So first you have to hear, then you must struggle: "Am I convinced?" What my teacher says – "I am Brahman" – that is called Mahāvākya. For that, the teacher initiates the person, especially in the path of Advaita Vedānta: Tat tvam asi. But even in the path of Bhakti, the Guru gives the mantra in the form of an iṣṭadevatā. What is the idea? The iṣṭadevatā is God, and He is infinite, He is all‑pervading. The moment we are told "He is all‑pervading", I say or I think or I understand: "So I am here. Everything is God, excepting myself." All‑pervasiveness includes everything – there is no exception, there is no exclusion. But still, our individual sense of individuality does not easily disappear. So slowly a person has to be taken up step by step.

The First Step: Effect and Cause

So what is the first step? It is to prove that this world is an effect, and every effect must have a cause – and that cause is unchanging, infinite. But the effects are many, changing, temporary, and unreliable, consisting of good and bad dualities. So that is why every Upaniṣad practically brings up the idea of creation – not to prove that creation is real, but to prove that creation is really a misunderstanding of the highest truth.

The Endless Cycle of Cause and Effect

So he goes on telling how, through logic, that this world is nothing but an effect. We see everything in this world. You see a man – oh, he has got his parents. You see a puppy – it has its parents. You see the young one of a monkey or a cat – a kitten – and it has parents. You see a big tree – it has come from a seed; the seed has come from a big tree. So this endless cycle of cause and effect, cause and effect, cause and effect is going on and on and on.

Establishing Rapport

So creation is brought out – that is, the intelligent teacher does not want to upset; he wants to establish a rapport. Just like a psychologist, at first he does not deny the outburst of the mad patient. He says: "Yes, yes, you are right, you are right. That person really is trying to harm you. You are thinking right." And then slowly confidence grows in the madman: "My teacher understands me." And there is a relationship established – rapport. And then slowly he trusts the psychologist or psychiatrist. Once he accepts – what is it? "My psychologist is my greatest well‑wisher, and he is in a position to understand me much better than I myself understand, and if there is any person who can help me, he is the only person who can help me."

The Rapport Between Guru and Disciple

Once I had a talk with a psychologist in Bangalore – a very well‑known psychologist – and then he told me, Swamiji, I asked him: "How long will it take to cure a patient's madness?" And he told me: "Swamiji, nobody can tell that. It all depends upon how soon a rapport is established. With some patients, a few days; some others, a few months; some others, many, many years. The cure, the recovery starts only when the rapport is totally established."

Transposing to Guru and Disciple

Now transpose this situation between the Guru and the disciple. A disciple slowly develops a rapport. What we read – Guru Brahmā, Guru Viṣṇu – is the highest culminating point only. At first, there is a blind faith. Then as the disciple is slowly trained, he gives up his wrong notions, and sometimes doubts creep up, and he undergoes terrible suffering. But slowly he develops a rapport. These three things happen: "My Guru loves me, and whatever he is doing is for my good, and he is in a position to help me. Nobody else can help me. And for that, I have to surrender myself to him." So śiṣyas te 'haṃ śādhi māṃ tvāṃ prapannam – this is called Prapatti Mārga by Śrī Rāmānuja. Each one of us have to go through that period without any doubt.

We Are All Patients

So like that, we are all actually patients only – not suffering from other diseases, but from this terrible disease called Māyā or ignorance. So creation is accepted as a temporary condition to establish rapport by the Guru, but he very intelligently connects it with Brahman. Now scientists do not connect it with God at all – they say it is blind nature. But a spiritual person needs to connect everything in this world, including his own individual personality, with God.

Creation Is Manifestation of Brahman

So for that purpose, the Guru goes on telling – Maitreyī must have been a very advanced student, so straight Yājñavalkya goes into a beautiful explanation, which we have seen in our last class. What is it? That creation is the manifestation of Brahman. What is creation? It is Brahman with name and form – that is called creation. Creation without name and form is Brahman. For that, I give the analogy of a wax garden: from a child's point of view, man is different, trees are different, animals are different, insects are different – everything is different in that. But a grown‑up man looks at it: what is the value of a tree? The value of wax – that is all. There is nothing else. What is the value of an ornament? Only the value of gold. Of course, we have to accept – if it is a small ring around our fingers, that much gold, that much value. If it is a waistband, then it is much more costly. Again, it is nothing but the value of gold only.

Tracing Back to Brahman

So slowly you accept: "Yes, this world is real, and this world is coming out of Brahman." So slowly he wants to say: "If the world has come out of Brahman, what is the point?" The point is – I am also part of the world, so I also definitely am coming from Brahman, from God. So my father and mother are none other than God. This is how slowly I recognise – though he is my ancestor and everything – my grandparents came from their parents, and my grandparents gave birth to my parents, and they gave birth to me. Thus I trace back my origin to that ultimate cause, which is Brahman. And that is a great progress in spiritual life.

If I Am from Brahman, Then Everything Is

But along with that, another progress also is made. What is it? If I am coming from Brahman and I am a manifestation of Brahman, then what about my father, my mother? What about my neighbours? What about everything in this world? Apply the same rule: everything – just as every nāma-rūpa in the wax garden is made up of wax – everything in this world, the whole creation, is nothing but made up of only manifestation of Brahman. And in what way is Brahman manifesting? In the form of Sat, Cit, and Ānanda.

The Three Examples – Drum, Conch, and Vīṇā

For that purpose, since Maitreyī was an advanced student, Yājñavalkya gives three examples, which we have briefly discussed in the last class. He gives the example of sound. You know, as many creatures or species, so many different sounds. But if we can understand or listen attentively – not only just as – let me first give an example: if you are growing up in a family of ten members, we recognise "this is the voice of my mother, this is the voice of my father, my brothers, my sisters," etc. So first sāmānya dhvani – common sound – then according to the person – so "this is a baby's cry, this is a grandmother's voice, this is parents' voice" – we gradually separate.

Common Sound and Variations

So common sound now is divided, attributed specially. Each sound differs – the sound that comes from the throat of that particular person. The sound of a baby and the sound of a grown‑up person can be the same – now we have to apply it universally. Even parrots have a common sound, but every parrot has some special variety – that is the second variation.

Three Levels of Variation

First variation: common sound made by a parrot – and you understand, if you hear, suppose there are three parrots – all the three parrots will make parrot sound, bring out parrot sound. But each parrot has some slight variation – that is the second level. We have to accept it, and if we hear for some time, we can distinguish: "This is parrot number one. This is the sound of parrot number two, parrot number three." This is the second variation. The third variation: each single parrot sometimes screeches with a high voice, sometimes with a low voice, sometimes with a normal voice – so it has got different variations – three variations, two variations we have seen, with one common sound.

Applying to Musical Instruments

Now apply it to some musical instruments. In this case, the examples taken are of a drum, of a vīṇā, and of a conch – a drum, a conch, and a vīṇā sound. Any one of us, unless we are tone‑deaf, can distinguish when a drum is being beaten – that is the common sound. So that is not what we have to understand – common sound is common to the whole creation. But every instrument produces its own peculiar common sound that is common to that particular instrument. But when the same instrument is played at different notes – higher notes and lower notes – then it gives variations.

The First Point: Sound

What is the point? The first point is we understand that this sound – it is a sound. That is how we hear it. Whatever we hear is a sound. And then the second thing is every single living creature – instruments of music, vocal or instrumental – they have their own peculiar common sound. That is the second. So for example, drum has its own common sound. Even if there are one hundred drums, rhythmically in the same pitch, if they are playing, it is very difficult to understand with closed eyes, but still there will be variation. We need not go into those details.

The Three Levels of Sound

So first: common sound, which applies to the entire universe. Second: special sound common to each – a human being – human sound, whether it is Chinese or Russian or Indian or American – whatever – that is the second thing. But even that second sound is common especially to that particular race or animal or creature – within that sound, there are variations – individual variations.

What Yājñavalkya Wants to Convey

So what does Yājñavalkya want to convey? He wants to say: the first thing that is common is existence. Take pure existence like wax – unshaped wax – like that. What is the first thing? As I explained in elaboration, if you go on going back – "this is a table" – and it is made up of wood. Wood is divided into atoms, atoms into particles, particles into sound waves, sound waves into mental thoughts. Very interesting analysis – according to Vedānta, everything is citta-vṛtti only. Even what scientists boast as particles or whatever – we take the atoms as common measurement. So the whole creation is nothing but atoms – living as well as non‑living. Then slowly the inorganic atoms somehow manifest themselves into living organic material. And then slowly variation – we can say almost infinite variation – until it reaches the peak in the form of the most enlightened human being – vidvat mahābrāhmaṇaḥ.

How to Analyse the Universe

So this is how we have to understand it. In the same way, first you go on analysing the whole universe: how do we analyse or make it one? The whole universe is a manifestation – I experience it. So do not call it "this is a tree, that is an animal" – call it an object. An object – whether living, non‑living – one object. Whatever is experienced, subjected to my knowledge, is an object. So everything is an object. So the whole universe is nothing but objects. Then go on expansion. So you say: "All this – I am a human being." So identify – we are all Indians, but we all belong to the human race – wherever we are, even if they are on Mars or whatever it is, however peculiar they may look, they are all human beings.

Expanding to Living Beings

Then slowly expand – not only human beings – we are living beings. Once we reach that level, prāṇamaya kośa, then we find there is no difference between one prāṇī. Every creature does not want to die, does not want to be asleep so that it can be eaten by preying animals – and wants to live, wants to be happy, and expresses its intelligence. So consciousness in the form of intelligence – to survive and to try to be happy. Even fighting is for the sake of being more happy. So this is how we identify with every living creature, including the trees, the plants – anything that is living.

Expanding to Non‑Living

But still there is another division – non‑living – so‑called non‑living – the mountains, the rivers, etc. Then we have to identify whatever object is there – it is all there. What is the common thing? The common thing is that one particular word – "I am," "you are," "a tree is," "a rock is," "waters is," "water is" – that "is‑ness" will be there. Let us trace ourselves to that "is‑ness" first.

Intelligence in All Creatures

Then we notice every living creature has also got the power of discrimination – intelligence, however small it is – God has endowed it with intelligence. So let us identify with that intelligence. What is that intelligence? In other words, it is called Cit – that is consciousness as reflected in the mind, especially through the instrument of Buddhi. That is called intelligence. And what is surprising is – even take a small species like crows – it is not that every crow is absolutely intelligent. There are some crows which are extraordinarily intelligent, and they even say they develop a sense of intuition.

Jim Corbett's Observations

Just by the way, I am referring because I used to read a lot of books – so Jim Corbett, a person who used to go and hunt and kill man‑eating leopards, tigers, etc. in the north‑eastern area – he used to observe greatly, and he used to say: "There is one particular leopard and it killed so many human beings, and then many people tried to trap it, but somehow some intuition comes to it – some people are coming – this particular smell – and it just disappears." It took a long, long time to kill some of them, and some of them he could not kill, nor could anybody else kill at all. So within this species, some mosquitoes are squashed immediately; some mosquitoes escape for a long time or maybe completely – we do not know. But that is Cit in the form of intelligence manifesting. That is the point.

Intelligence Varies Among Species

And that intelligence is not exactly the same – even in ants, etc. So there are some more evolved ants, more evolved dogs, more evolved every creature. That is how we identify some good variety of trees and make them even more sweet by mixing, hybridising, etc.

Sat, Cit, Ānanda

So wherever there is "is‑ness" – astitva – then there is intelligence called Cit. And wherever there is Cit, that inevitably leads to Ānanda – the experience of bliss. Let us keep this in mind.

Maitreyī's Intelligence

So Maitreyī was a highly intelligent woman, because without having that intelligence, she already found out: everything is unreliable, temporary, and the cause of tremendous unhappiness and suffering. So she chose the wise path, like Naciketā, and said: "I do not want any wealth." Just think for a moment – if any ordinary person gets so much wealth, even a spiritual person will be tempted. But this Maitreyī was never ever tempted. "I want to follow your footsteps, because I see that you have become an embodiment of bliss, and I want to be an embodiment of bliss. I do not want to be a slave to objects which people think will give happiness." So temporary things can give only temporary happiness – no temporary thing can give permanent happiness. She understood.

Sanyāsāśrama

So she has to sacrifice – that is called Sanyāsāśrama. After Gṛhasthāśrama, it is the Sanyāsāśrama. Then he is giving these examples – only three examples he has taken: a drum, and then a conch, and then a vīṇā.

Variation in Every Instrument

As I mentioned, that means these three objects are existing there, and every conch does not produce exactly the same sound. Every drum does not produce the same sound – however expert the maker of drums, every drum he makes, taking care that they would be of the same type, some variation will be there. But that is not the important point. The important point is: a drum sound can be separated from every other sound in this whole universe – from every single living creature. Even wind makes a sound when it passes through the leaves and the branches of bamboos, etc. It is like a bansī voice, sometimes very ferocious and frightening.

Understanding the Example

But the point we want to remember – so every example we have to understand, and if we understand one example properly, we can move forward. So take the example of the drum. As soon as we hear at any place, any time: "Oh, this is a drum being beaten" – that is the first understanding: "There is a sound coming" – common sound. Then what is this common sound? It is a sound produced especially by a drum – that is the second stage. What is the third stage? This drum is being played at various places, touching the drum at various places, and producing from what is called the seven notes – from the lowest note to the highest note.

Without the Common, You Cannot Understand the Special

But what does Yājñavalkya want to say? That without understanding the common sound, especially the special sound completely of that particular object – say drum sound – whatever variations the drum is making, all that understanding or even enjoyment depends upon our understanding. This is the variation in the common sound of a drum.

The Vīṇā Example

Take the other example: Vīṇā. So Vīṇā – you can play so many rāgas – the seventh svara note or the middle note which is called pañcama – like a cuckoo's sound – and the lowest ṣaḍja – like that. So everything is made by this Vīṇā only, or flute only – whatever it is. Without understanding the common thing, we cannot understand the specialised sound.

The Teaching Leads to Existence

Now, what does this teaching lead us to? He says: without understanding that there is existence – "is‑ness" – you cannot understand the variation of that "is‑ness." Without understanding "this is wax," you cannot understand "this is a tree, this is a bird." What we may not say it, but we mean it. So you point out in that wax garden to an intelligent person and say: "What is this?" – "It is a wax tree. It is a wax fruit. It is a wax bird. It is a wax dog. It is a wax human being." Just because they are different, just because it is a human being, its value cannot be more, because its value is the volume of the wax only – that is all. Everything is made up of wax. Takes the characteristic – all the characteristics of the wax – liquefy it, it starts melting the whole thing down.

The Spiritual Journey Begins

So the first thing is: be aware of the existence. Then only our spiritual journey starts. "I am" – what is this? "I am" – what is that "am"? "Here is a tree" – what is the "is‑ness"? "The tree is" – what is that "is"? What is the difference between "am" and "is" or "they are"? What is the big deal of difference? Existence – that is existence. This is existence. This is also existence. Then only further enquiry will come.

The Common Teaching

Now I hope I have been able to convey to you through these three examples – every example is pointing to the same teaching. What is that teaching? First, you grasp the common sound for that particular instrument. Then you understand the variations of that common sound according to the musical scale. Exactly in the same way: this tree – you first understand it exists. That existence is manifesting in the form of an object, and that object has got three things – it has a form, it has some qualities, and it has a name accordingly.

The Mango Tree Illustration

So I will give you the illustration of a mango tree. "This is a mango tree. That is a mango tree. The other one is also a mango tree." What is the common thing between all these three? Only "is‑ness." What is the difference? Special form – "This mango tree is small. That mango tree is big. This mango is round. That mango is oblong. The other mango is big. This mango is small." Then we come to the qualities – big, small is also a quality only. "This is very sweet. This is sweet and sour. And this is more sour than sweet – that is why it is used as a pickle." So all these become understandable only when we understand the nature of the mango.

The Common Foundation

So mango's sweetness, mango's sourness, mango's colour, mango's size – all these depend upon that common background foundation, which is called "this is a mango tree." Now you analyse further: what is the difference between this mango tree and this coconut tree? What is the common? Is there something common? Yes – that is called coconut tree; this is called mango tree. Is there a commonness? Yes – a coconut tree is, a mango tree is, a piece of rock is, a stone is, a bird is, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is, God is – so there is no difference. That "is‑ness" without any variation is called Brahman, and Brahman with all variations – according to the form, quality, and separate name.

Forms, Qualities, and Names

So form and qualities and names – these are called qualities. All the three are called qualities for facilitating the separation. You bring, for example, Laṅḍā mango; you bring Dāśaharī mango; you bring Cauṣā mango – anybody who knows about these three, without second instruction, he will go and run and bring it. So slowly, what is Yājñavalkya trying to say? That what is the problem in saṃsāra? Variation – when I see manyfoldness called nānātva, all my suffering starts there. But as soon as I try to find what is this commonness instead of seeing the difference – so you can see, say for example, "that is a tree, this is a tree, the other one is a tree" – all tree species – trees, tree species, dog species, animal species, human species, bird species, insect species – so we are classifying a whole lot of things and reducing the complexity for our understanding.

The Common Thing: Is‑ness

Then what is the common thing between all "is‑ness" and this "is‑ness"? As I mentioned, it is again divided, subdivided into two: with life, without life – that is jīva-caitanya and jaḍa. So jaḍa – inert thing – a piece of wood does not mean it does not have consciousness – it does not mean it does not have ānanda. How is it possible? Just I will give a small example. Suppose you need something to scratch your back – then you take a piece of wood, long wood – your hand cannot reach, especially if somebody has got small hands – and with the help of that wooden piece, you are able to scratch it. Now what have you done? You have extended the function of the hand – transferred that to that piece of wood, and it is acting as your long hand. So a telescope is a long‑sighted eye. A microscope is the ability to see the smallest things. A car is an extension of our legs, etc.

Even Inert Things Are Extensions

So through this, you understand that even a piece – what we call an inert piece – in fact, most of our houses are inert – so‑called inert. Our cars are inert, our aeroplanes are inert. Just imagine if they develop their own consciousness – suddenly you are at 35,000 feet high in an aeroplane – it develops consciousness: "What the heck am I carrying? What do I get except groaning and suffering? I will throw all these fellows out – just see what happens!"

The Common Thing Is "Is"

So the common thing – from species you prove, you come to the common thing called "is." Now what is the nature of that "is"? It is – if you observe carefully – every "is‑ness" is endowed with consciousness, which is manifest in the form of intelligence, and this intelligence is always seeking how to be happy. So Sat, Cit, Ānanda.

Maitreyī Understood

This must have been understood by Maitreyī, because the further conversation is there. This is the essence of why these three examples of a drum, a conch, and a vīṇā are given in this most ancient of the Upaniṣads, called the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad.

Conclusion

We will take up some more details 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!