Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.3 Lecture 79 on 24 October 2026 Q&A

Discussion on Dana, Avatara and Yuga Avatara, and the Three Akashas

Question 1: What Kind of Dana Should We Do for Spiritual Progress?

Participant: Namaste, Swamiji.

Response (Maharaj): Yeah, please tell.

Participant: Just now you mentioned that for spiritual progress, dana also will help. So what kind of dana should we...?

Give Whatever Is in Excess

Response: Okay, what kind of dana we should be doing? So whatever we have in excess. So if you have money, give money. I'm not telling give everything away. I'm telling whatever is not necessary.

Many people accumulate, isn't it? So that is a bad thing. Accumulation means the person is not a spiritual seeker. Do you understand now? Yeah.

Dana Through Energy, Skill, and Time

Response: So in whatever way. Suppose a person doesn't have money but he has got energy – do some seva. Suppose a person is a retired teacher, then go and teach some nearby poor children. Always you will find somebody.

Or, like in the West, if you have time, go and visit old age homes, sit with somebody and read to them. So many volunteers are there who do that job.

Or if nothing is there, as Holy Mother used to tell beautifully: Jar ache mapo, jar nai japo. If somebody has that, measure it out. That means give, distribute. If somebody doesn't have, pray for them – at least that much we can do.

Attachment and the Fear of Losing One's Wealth

Response: But many people say, "We are ready to pray, not to distribute what we have." Such is the attachment to our body, to our mind, etcetera. And we are not sure whether I am going to live, and all the useless relatives will be taking our money. Keep that in mind always.

Yeah, so any type that you can do, you do it with the idea that you are serving the Divine Lord – not by taking pity upon the people and then doing it. Plenty of opportunities are there.

Participant: Thank you so much.

Question 2: Why Did Gauri Pandit Say Thakur Is the Source from Whom Avataras Descend?

Participant: Thank you. Pranam, Swamiji. Okay, so this question is unrelated, but it has to do with Thakur when he was, I guess, in Dakshineswar. Two pundits of the time were called – like – Vaishnavacharan and Gauri Pandit. Yeah, and Vaishnavacharan – and there was like a debate or meeting where they will examine Thakur, and Vaishnavacharan declared that Thakur was an avatara. Yes. Then after that, Gauri Pandit came and he also agreed with what Vaishnavacharan said. Yeah. But then he added, after a little bit later studying closely, that Thakur was he from whom avataras descended.

So yeah, so I wanted to understand, because from my understanding, avatara is the descent of what we may call Brahman, or you know, correct, into a human body. So how is this? What is this extra – like, or is it his devotion or his experience with Thakur that made him even say something?

Ishvara, Yugavataras, and the Night Duty Guards

Response: You have to understand some particular teaching from our Puranas, etcetera. God is the creator, Ishvara, so he is called Jagadishvara. But that, you know, we sing it: Jagat Bhita Yuga Ishvara Jagadishvara Yoga Sahay.

So even though one Ishvara is there, it is said in the Puranas that one view is he will be like Saptarshi, and they will be like night duty guards. So one night one person will do the duty, another night – and there night is thousands and thousands of yugas, you have to understand.

So that Ishvara specially manifests in a particular – every yuga – in one particular way. You read that one: Jagat Bhita Yuga Ishvara. Yugaishvara means special manifestation for that particular yuga only. But there are – the original source is Jagadishvara.

Each Yuga Needs Its Own Avatara

'Response: So to understand it – my understanding I am telling – every yuga ideas change, and therefore the particular avatara, Yugavatara – that's why we call it Yugavatara. That yuga avatara must be an embodiment who will be suitable for that particular yugas mindset.

So otherwise, if he goes and goes on teaching like Yajnavalkya – "go and sit under a tree" – then it won't be effective; he will go mad. So suitable to that particular age, his teachings must be there. So he will be full of that spirit. That is how we have to relate it.

So when this person understood "you are the source of the avataras" – means you are an avatara for this particular age, but your source is Ishvara only. Is it clear now?

Participant: Yes.

The Analogy of a Corporation and Its Regional Heads

Response: Otherwise, imagine a huge corporation. CEO will be there, and to every region, every country, he will appoint somebody as head. That particular head is representing only the original CEO, isn't it?

Participant: Yes.

Response: So it is something like that – manage with this called management techniques. Yeah. And he – since he created this huge corporation, and very corrupt corporation. So we have to understand: every age the spirit is different.

That is why Sri Ramakrishna's beautiful saying: we must never forget – the coins which were valid in the Nawab's time are not valid now. I hope now you are clear.

Participant: Yes. Yes. Thank you, Maharaj.

Question 3: Can the Three Akashas Be Associated with Waking, Dream, and Causal States?

Participant: Maharaj, one question. Bahya Akasha, Chittakasha, and Chidakasha – can these three be associated with waking state, dream state, and the causal state?

Response: Exactly. That is correct.

Bahya Akasha – when do you see these stars?

Participant: When I'm awake.

Response: Under two circumstances. Daytime is one. When somebody hits you with a hammer – right. Second time. But both happen only in the waking state. In the waking state.

Chitta – in your dream, what is working?

Participant: Only mind.

Response: And mind is creating the entire world.

Participant: Yes.

Response: And that world is contained in the Chittakasha. Otherwise, how do you fly like a bird in your dream, right? How do you reach India, Coimbatore, in a second? So that is called Chittakasha.

And when we think about God, that particular thought – of spiritual thought – is the special property of Chidakasha. Okay, Paraji.

Question 4: Can the Three Akashas Also Correspond to Adhyatmika, Adhibhautika, and Adhidaivika?

Participant: And can these three akashas – can they also correspond to Adhyatmika, Adhibhautika, and Adhidaivika?

Response: Exactly correct.