Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Introduction Lecture 01 on 24 January 2026
Full Transcript (Not Corrected)
Opening Invocation
OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI
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 to the Study
As we announced earlier, from today we will be studying some selected portions of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. The question may arise: why only some selected portions?
First Reason: Avoiding Repetitions
Every Upaniṣad, unless they are very, very short Upaniṣads—and this Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, as its very name indicates (Bṛhad means "the biggest," and Āraṇyaka means "a huge forest")—so this Upaniṣad is so big, repetitions are unavoidable. We will not need to go through all the repetitions. That is the first reason.
Second Reason: Extensive Upāsanas
As we have been discussing in most of the Upaniṣads, this Upaniṣad too contains lots of upāsanas. Since we have been discussing about upāsanas in the Taittirīya, in the Chāndogya, and in earlier Upaniṣads too—in Muṇḍaka, in Kaṭha, etc. (only in Īśāvāsya Upaniṣad we do not get them, excepting at the last part)—so this Upaniṣad is full of tremendous upāsanas. We will briefly touch here and there, just to remind ourselves of the inner meaning of it, and also because nobody can progress in spiritual life without going through the spiritual practice of these upāsanas or contemplations.
The only caveat is that we have to transform those upāsanas into understandable and practicable upāsanas of today's society, today's mindset.
Third Reason: The Essence of Mahāvākyas
This Upaniṣad is so big that if we have to go through every mantra, it would take a long time. It is neither necessary nor advisable.
Why? Because, I'll tell you: there are, as we all know, many mahāvākyas. What is a mahāvākya? A mahāvākya is that which indicates the complete unity or identity of the individual soul—each one of us, everything in the created being—with Brahman, because the effect is one with the cause.
In fact, the effect is only perceived name and form. But if you remove the name and form, what remains is the cause alone.
The Four Mahāvākyas
There are many mahāvākyas, but four have been chosen, and what they are and how they apply to us, we will be discussing quite briefly later on. But the important point is: this Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad contains one of the most wonderful of the four mahāvākyas, which is called Aham Brahmāsmi ("I am Brahman"), and the essence of the whole Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad is Aham Brahmāsmi.
The Path to Knowledge
To obtain that knowledge, we have to:
- Desire that knowledge
- Approach a guru
- Learn how we should progress or practice spirituality
- Put it into practice through rituals, through contemplations combined with rituals externally
Then the next step would be doing them mentally, internally, which is called Vānaprastha Āśrama.
The Four Āśramas
- Learning stage is indicated by the first stage of human life called Brahmacaryā Āśrama
- Practicing them externally, physically is called the householder's life, Gṛhastha Āśrama
- Slowly retiring and devoting more time, lessening the external rituals but performing them mentally in even more concentrated way, is called Vānaprastha Āśrama
- That leads to the next logical step, which is called complete renunciation, which is called Sannyāsa Āśrama
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Teaching on the Gītā
As I said, the essence of Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad is Aham Brahmāsmi. As Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's one sentence captures the essence of the whole Bhagavad Gītā: reverse that word Gītā and repeat it fast, and then you get the word Tyāgī. Gītā reversed is Tyāgī. Tyāgī means tyāga.
Tyāga means: "Oh man, renounce your false knowledge about yourself and try to obtain self-knowledge, true self-knowledge, with the grace of your Guru, who is none other than Bhagavān."
Understanding the Four Mahāvākyas
So that is why, even if somebody listens only to a little bit of Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, it is Aham Brahmāsmi. But interestingly, this Aham Brahmāsmi comes at the end of the four mahāvākyas. There is an order in which the mahāvākyas, though independent, should be followed.
Definition of Mahāvākya
What are these four mahāvākyas? Mahāvākya: vākya means a sentence or a saying. Mahā means "the greatest." There cannot be anything greater than this saying. There are hundreds, but our wise ṛṣis have chosen only four, from four different Vedas, from four different Upaniṣads.
Each mahāvākya is the very essence of all the Upaniṣads, so to say. So if we understand these four mahāvākyas, it is as if we have understood, at least intellectually, the essence of all the Upaniṣads.
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Five Commandments
For example, the entire Gospel of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa also has many mahāvākyas. Many examples are also there. But Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's five commandments state: the goal of human life is to know God. What does Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa mean? He used the word Īśvara sākṣātkāra, or God Realization.
What he means is: sākṣātkāra means darśana. Darśana means becoming one with the deity. You cannot think of God standing in front of you, nearer or further away, and you are standing. He is big, you are small. That is only ignorance, because you are limiting God to a particular place, particular size, particular time. He has become an object limited by your mind, time, space, and causation.
But the real understanding is that He is infinite: Satyam, Jñānam, Anantam, Ekam Eva Advaitīyam. He is one without a second.
And if that be true, I cannot be different. Nothing can be different. So I am one with the entire creation. I am one with God. There are no three. I am.
This is the essence of mahāvākya.
The Four Mahāvākyas in Detail
We discussed earlier also that there are four mahāvākyas. But really, as I said, there are many mahāvākyas. But four have been chosen, and that has become a tradition.
1. Prajñānam Brahma (Lakṣaṇa Vākya)
First mahāvākya: Prajñānam Brahma.
As I said earlier, I see an order in it. This is the first mahāvākya, leading to the second mahāvākya, leading to the third mahāvākya, leading to the final mahāvākya—complete identity with reality.
Location: Ṛg Veda, Aitareya Upaniṣad, 3rd chapter, 1st section, 3rd mantra.
Meaning: Wherever we see consciousness, that consciousness is nothing but Brahman. The word for consciousness is jñānam. In one framework, this is called cit: sat, cit, ānanda. But if we take Taittirīya Upaniṣad, especially the second chapter: satyam, jñānam, anantam. Jñānam is the consciousness. If we are not conscious, then we do not know even our own existence.
This Prajñānam Brahma is very well known in the circle of scholars as Lakṣaṇa Vākya—a statement of definition. This mahāvākya defines the nature of reality. It tells us that the ultimate reality is not an object, but pure consciousness itself.
Illustration: If you put on the light in a dark room, and imagine the room has got hundreds of objects—generally many objects will be there—every object is different from every other object. But the light that illuminates, that reveals these objects, is one.
Similarly, I see a tree through my consciousness. I cannot see unless consciousness activates it. It is the consciousness which looks at it. As we have seen in the Kena Upaniṣad also: Śrotrasya śrotram, cakṣuṣaḥ cakṣuḥ—it is the eye of the eye, it is the ear of the ear, the ear of all the sense organs.
Without consciousness, we cannot even become aware of our own selves. And that consciousness doesn't differ even if you are perceiving a billion objects, billion stars, billions of galaxies. The consciousness which perceives is one, and that which the consciousness perceives can be any number.
That is why it is called Lakṣaṇa Vākya. Prajñānam means pure consciousness.
2. Ayam Ātmā Brahma (Sākṣātkāra Vākya)
This leads to the second step. Where is this consciousness? And what is my relationship with it? That is beautifully expressed in this second mahāvākya, which is called Ayam Ātmā Brahma.
Location: Yajur Veda, Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad, 1st chapter, 2nd mantra.
This is called the statement of contemplation. We have to contemplate: I am that consciousness. Because I am—even to say "I am," I have to be aware, and only after consciousness, everything comes. Therefore, first I know "I am," and then I am seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, smelling, working, walking, grabbing, etc.
Everything that I do is added to that "I am." That "I am" is nothing but this pure consciousness. Ātmā means my own consciousness is Brahman. There is no difference between my consciousness and Brahman.
So first is: consciousness is Brahman. Second step is: I am that consciousness. Therefore, if prajñānam is Brahman, I am Brahman.
That's why this is called Sākṣātkāra Vākya, direct realization statement. It points directly to the self within and identifies it with the totality or Brahman. It is often used in deep meditation to bridge the gap between the internal and the external. That means whatever I see, that is also Brahman.
3. Tat Tvam Asi (Upadeśa Vākya)
The second mahāvākya is commanded by the guru. When the disciple approaches the guru, and when the guru finds the disciple ready—he who is endowed with the fourfold qualifications, such a one is known as adhikārī, a fit disciple to receive śravaṇa—and that śravaṇa is the mahāvākya śravaṇa. The guru tells. What does he tell?
Location: Sāma Veda, Chāndogya Upaniṣad, 6th chapter, section 8, beginning with mantra number 7.
Tat Tvam Asi Śvetaketo. Nine times it is repeated as part of the upakrama-upasaṃhāra.
How do we know what is the subject matter being discussed in the Upaniṣads? It is called finding out what is the subject matter by applying the six indications, ṣaḍliṅga: how it begins, how it ends, how it is repeated, how it is phrased, etc. We have seen that also.
Meaning: If we separate the words: Tat means "that" (Brahman), Tvam means "you" (the individual consciousness—not the body, not the mind, but the pure consciousness within you), and that Brahman consciousness, Asi, you are one. Because in the infinite consciousness of Brahman, there is no different consciousness, different awareness.
This third mahāvākya is also called Upadeśa Vākya, instructional statement. In this famous dialogue, the sage Uddālaka Āruṇi instructs his son Śvetaketu, repeating this phrase nine times to emphasize that the Tat (the cause of the universe) is the same as the Thou (the individual). The jīva and the paramātmā are one and the same.
The Practice of Manana
This is called śravaṇa. The teacher instructs: from now onwards, think deeply, become one with it. That's called realization. And for that, the disciple has to do deep manana, and that manana is called—the first part of the manana is to remove any possible doubt. And it may take a long time.
Many of us have to know: even to understand that I have a doubt—because most of us claim, "I have no doubt, I have complete faith in God"—and that is a mistaken statement, ignorantly issued statement. Because if I have faith in God, and that God is everywhere, and that God knows everything, and that God has all the power to help me, to rescue me, to save me, and He is of infinite compassion, dayā-sāgara—I should not have fear.
Prahlāda had never fear. Hiraṇyakaśipu had always fear. Because Prahlāda knows: God is everywhere, so He is right within.
Examples from the Epics
That is why when Draupadī prayed in the Kaurava sabhā, immediately Kṛṣṇa made His appearance. When did He come? He was there only, but He became visible. And Draupadī had complete faith.
So there is a beautiful analogy here. Kṛṣṇa, as the Bhāgavatam describes to us, used to play with the gopīs. Once the gopīs were observing Kātyāyanī vrata, and part of that vrata is they should take bath with clothes on. But they disobeyed that commandment. They left their clothes outside and went to take bath. I think they were thoroughly enjoying themselves. But Kṛṣṇa came to help them.
So He stole all the saris and took them up into a high branch of a tree. And when the gopīs came out, they were astonished. Then they looked up, because immediately their suspicion turned: somebody must have taken them. Then they looked up, saw Kṛṣṇa, and they covered their private parts with hands.
Bhagavān said that you have to lift up your hands and take refuge in Me. Women feel shy to show themselves like that. But what Kṛṣṇa said: "I know you believe, you say, you claim, that I am antaryāmī. But you never think that I know everything about you. You think your body is unknown to me. Is there any secret part of your body, outside or inside, of which I am not knowing? If I am sarvāntaryāmī, then I am sarvajña."
Then they realized, surrendered themselves totally. And that is what some people say of Draupadī: she lifted her hands and said, "Lord, do whatever you like." And immediately, infinite numbers of latest design saris started appearing, and Duśśāsana fell down unconscious because he was not able to do what he wanted to do—all by the grace of Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa.
The Importance of True Belief
What are we talking about? This Aham Brahmāsmi—a person has to first of all clear all doubts. Do I really believe in God? Do I really believe that He is an infinite ocean of bliss, and He is my mother and father? Do I believe in it? If I believe in it, then I cannot do anything immoral. I cannot even think of doing anything immoral. All my selfishness should be destroyed.
Am I still having all these things? In fact, manana is to find out what is obstructing my way forward. And there is only one thing: my inadequate understanding of what is God, what is my goal. And if I want to become God, then I must become identical with everything. And the practice of that—identification with everybody, everything—is called sarvātma-bhāva, Brahma-bhāva. And that is called, a modern scientist (I do not know how much they understand) holistic attitude.
4. Aham Brahmāsmi (Anubhava Vākya)
Location: Śukla Yajur Veda, chapter 1, section 4, 10th mantra (1.4.10).
By the way, we all know there are four Vedas, but actually, because of some peculiar story, there must be actually five Vedas. So: Ṛg Veda, Sāma Veda, Atharva Veda—and what about Yajur Veda? There are two Yajur Vedas, because of the story of Yājñavalkya. So one is called Kṛṣṇa Yajur Veda (we have seen Taittirīya Upaniṣad, etc.), and another is Śukla Yajur Veda, to which this Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad belongs. Īśāvāsya Upaniṣad also belongs.
So there must be: Ṛg Veda, Kṛṣṇa Yajur Veda, Śukla Yajur Veda, Sāma Veda, and Atharva Veda. But because most of the contents, excepting very few differences, both Vedas practically are copies of each other of the same content, and that is why they are not considered as two separate distinct Vedas, but one particular Veda.
But this is called Anubhava Mahāvākya—that is to say, who can say "I am Brahman"? Only when the manana is totally over, all doubts are cleared. And when all doubts are cleared, the indication would be: I do not want anything, excepting realization of my true nature. Why?
Because manana convinces us that everything is unreliable, therefore mithyā, therefore unreal, therefore changing. I cannot rely upon it. This concept of what is changing, I have discussed in my past classes.
The Impermanence of Worldly Things
Never expect that my family members will be with me forever, my friends will be with me forever. That is not the only thing. Can I rely upon love? How many times do loving couples quarrel? How many times do parents and children quarrel? So sometimes they quarrel, sometimes they make up, sometimes they love. So nothing is permanent. So I cannot rely upon this.
Of course, this body is not permanent. Mind is always restless. And therefore there is only one thing which never changes, which runs through all the three stages—jāgrat, svapna, suṣupti—that is called pure consciousness, also called prajñā, prajñānam.
So this is called Anubhava Vākya. At the end, by the grace of God, when a person truly says: "I do not exist." Neti, neti. "I am not the body"—body idea disappears. "I am not the mind"—mind idea disappears. "I am not neither the sthūla, nor sūkṣma, nor kāraṇa śarīras"—that is the essence of the Nirvāṇa Ṣaṭkam by Śaṅkarācārya: Mano buddhi ahaṅkāra cittāni nāham... Śivo'ham, Śivo'ham.
The Tenth Man Story
That is why it is called: when everything is negated, what remains? Like in the story of "you are the tenth man, I am the tenth man"—that is called anubhava. Then the fear that one of us is lost—none of us is really lost. And that brings tremendous amount of joy.
Even in ordinary matters, you know: you urgently need an object—a piece of paper, a letter, a password, whatever it is—and you are desperately searching, you have forgotten where it is, and suddenly it comes at some point of time. And what a relief! What a great joy comes!
So this is called Anubhava Vākya.
The Progressive Order of the Mahāvākyas
This is how I would like to think:
- Prajñānam Brahma should lead to the next one
- Ayam Ātmā Brahma—you are that consciousness
- The guru comes and says: you are not merely individual consciousness; there is no such thing. You are that infinite consciousness—Tat Tvam Asi
- Which leads to, after of course sādhana and the grace of God—Aham Brahmāsmi
The Result of Realization
And what happens? Bhidyate hṛdayagranthiḥ, chidyante sarvasaṃśayāḥ, kṣīyante cāsya karmāṇi, tasmin dṛṣṭe parāvare.
Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa says: Tato yāti parāṃ gatim—when My grace falls upon any devotee, it ends in that supreme state of mind from which there is no return at all.
So this is the essence: Aham Brahmāsmi. And that is what we need to understand by going through all the steps, step by step: Prajñānam Brahma, Ayam Ātmā Brahma, Tat Tvam Asi, and Aham Brahmāsmi.
Overview of Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad
Now let us have a bird's-eye view of Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad.
Textual Background
This Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad belongs to the Śukla Yajur Veda. Yajur Veda has a division: Kṛṣṇa and Śukla, the black and the white. Every Veda, whether it is Ṛg Veda, Sāma Veda, Atharva Veda, has many śākhās, and many śākhās have also disappeared in course of time.
Kṛṣṇa Yajur Veda, as we said, has Taittirīya Śākhā, Kaṭha Śākhā, where those particular respective Upaniṣads belong. Śukla Yajur Veda belongs to Kāṇva Śākhā and Mādhyandina Śākhā.
Normally, different śākhās have different mantras. But a special feature here is that Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, whether it is Kāṇva Śākhā Bṛhadāraṇyaka or Mādhyandina Śākhā Bṛhadāraṇyaka—both śākhās, excepting for some minor differences here and there—the two are almost the same.
This Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad belongs to the Kāṇva Śākhā of the Śukla Yajur Veda, White Yajur Veda.
The Author: Yājñavalkya
And who is the author? Yājñavalkya is the author of this entire Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad.
And we have also seen a story of this very same Yājñavalkya at the beginning of the Taittirīya Upaniṣad—how that Upaniṣad obtained its name.
The Story of Yājñavalkya
So what happened? There was a great person, extraordinarily brilliant, and that is completely provable when we go through the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. It is called the Yājñavalkya-Vaiśampāyana legend—one of the most famous legends in the whole history of the Vedas.
The entire Śukla Yajur Veda is attributed to this Yājñavalkya. And this Yājñavalkya has another name, called Vājasaneya. Why? The teaching given by Yājñavalkya is called Vājasaneyī. Yājñavalkya is known by Vājasaneya, another name. And what is given out by Vājasaneya is called Vājasaneyī.
The Conflict with the Guru
So why this name? The reason for this name is that, as we know, Yājñavalkya was a disciple of a great ṛṣi. That was even before the Taittirīya Upaniṣad came out. And that ṛṣi had many disciples—that means Yājñavalkya had many brother disciples.
And the guru had committed a serious crime earlier. And now he wanted to expiate—what we call, get rid of that sin; they believed in it. So for that purpose, he wanted to perform a special rite. So he called all his disciples and said, "My children, I am not able to perform it. You perform it on my behalf."
Version One: The Display of Ego
One portion of the story goes: Yājñavalkya was the best of the students, with vast memory like a modern AI. And he was most intelligent, most studious, but somehow a bit of egotism—"I am superior to all of this"—has entered into him.
So it is said he exclaimed, addressing his guru: "Gurudeva, there is no need for others to work for it. I alone can perform this ritual."
The guru perceived the arrogance, egotism, and he said, "You are not worthy to be my disciple. The greater the learning, the greater must be the humility. The more one obtains knowledge, the humbler he becomes, because the more the curtain is removed, we see how much more—and still more—is there, and in comparison I am nothing."
It is said of Darwin that, "Sir, you have discovered some of the best things." And he said, "No, I am like a person sitting by the side of a sea. Somebody is thirsty, I just give a little bit of water from the sea, but the water is the source, and it is infinite."
The Guru's Punishment
So the guru, as a punishment for that, he said, "Whatever I have taught, you have learned from me—give it back to me."
Yājñavalkya immediately vomited, as it were, all this knowledge. And then the other disciples assumed the forms of tittiri (partridge birds), and each one could swallow as much as that bird can swallow.
So that is how the science that Yājñavalkya vomited came to be known as Taittirīya. Tittiri means partridge bird.
But that cannot be the real story. There is no question of vomiting. If you know something, there is no question of giving it back. But you can say, "I won't use it"—like modern patents. If somebody has given you some knowledge, you cannot use it. And then we have that injunction: you cannot sell your Office 365 to anybody. It is only given to you, and you have to—if you want to use it, that is how it is called "owning the software."
An Incident from Holy Mother's Life
And such a strange situation rarely occurs. But there is an incident in the life of Holy Mother. Once a disciple who temporarily had gone out of his mind—who was initiated by Holy Mother—said, "Here is the mantra. You take the mantra. I don't want your mantra. Take it back."
Holy Mother said, "Alright, write it on a banana leaf and offer it back to me."
But can a mantra be really taken? Then the disciple started weeping, realizing what an enormous mistake he committed. He started sobbing and said, "Mother, what is going to happen to me?"
And Mother said, "My son, whether you discarded me or not, I will never forsake you. You have nothing to fear. I am your mother, and you will always be my child."
So really speaking, some external object can be given back, but knowledge cannot be given back. But we can say: do not use this one, do not teach it to anybody.
Version Two: A Gentler Interpretation
The other version is much milder and a better version. His teacher asked him: "I am not able to do it. The other disciples, I have asked them to perform a special rite to expiate my sin which I committed in the past. But you will teach them in my stead, because you have learned everything."
So he summarized the whole thing—like nowadays AIs do the summarization, correction, etc.—and he gave them in digestible forms. And that is how they have accepted it, because the tittiri means their capacity to understand is very, very small. That is what we need to understand here.
The Mystical Meaning
In our physical world, knowledge is abstract. Once you know something, you cannot unknow it. However, in the mystical context of this story, the Veda is seen as a living, potent substance. Therefore, it only means: the more we learn, the humbler we become. We have to contemplate whether we are growing or not growing.
So that part which Yājñavalkya gave up goes by the name of Taittirīya Saṃhitā and belongs to Kṛṣṇa Yajur Veda, in black or dark Yajur Veda.
Yājñavalkya's Tapasyā
Now, as I said, Yājñavalkya turned to Sūrya Deva, praised him. By his grace, the dormant truth, potentiality, became manifest in the form of this marvelous understanding.
So one should be careful of ego. Another meaning of it: that when human teachers are no longer an option—that is, if no teacher is available—sincere seekers can find the truth through direct contemplation of the divine, either in the form of the sun or—by the way, we had only the Sarasvatī Pūjā two days back—praying to Mother Sarasvatī.
And according to Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, Mahāsāradā is the embodiment of Sarasvatī. She is specially born to give knowledge in a most digestible form. The Gospel of the Holy Mother is the essence of all the Vedas in easily digestible, summary format.
The Origin of Vājasaneyī
So whenever we read Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, we are reading a part of the Śukla Yajur Veda. That's what we have to understand.
The name of Sūrya in Sanskrit is called Vājasani. Vāja means food, sani means giver. "Giver of the food" is the meaning. We know well that because of the sun only, life is possible. Life is possible because of food, and all food comes, directly or indirectly, from the sun only. Since the sun gives us food and energy, he is called Vājasani.
Therefore, the disciple of Vājasani is Vājasaniya, and the teaching given by Vājasaniya is called Vājasaneyī. Hence the entire Śukla Yajur Veda is often called Vājasaneya Saṃhitā.
Lessons from the Story
This story explains there can be a split between the guru and śiṣya, which is most unfortunate. That is why we are studying, praying, with a śānti pāṭha: Saha nāv avatu, saha nau bhunaktu... Mā vidviṣāvahai—may we not hate each other.
So there is also a split. That is the first split. Second split is the two main branches of the Yajur Veda. So one Yajur Veda became two Yajur Vedas, going by the names Śukla and Kṛṣṇa. And Vaiśampāyana—that is, Yājñavalkya—was one of the greatest teachers of the Yajur Veda.
The lesson we have to learn: the display of ego and the perceived insult to his fellow students deeply angered the guru. Ego manifested in Yājñavalkya. So it is not good to be disrespectful either to the guru or the other students.
Structure of Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad
And this Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad is divided into three chapters. Each chapter is called a kāṇḍa, and each section is called a brāhmaṇa. Many Upaniṣads use different names. For example, in Taittirīya Upaniṣad, we have seen vallī: Śikṣā Vallī, Brahmānanda Vallī, Bhṛgu Vallī, etc.
Each chapter has many sections, which are called anuvākas. Here they are called brāhmaṇas. Brāhmaṇa doesn't mean the caste brāhmaṇa, but it simply means sections within a particular chapter.
The Three Kāṇḍas
The entire Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad is divided, for the sake of convenience, into three parts:
- Madhu Kāṇḍa
- Muni Kāṇḍa (also called Yājñavalkya Kāṇḍa)
- Khila Kāṇḍa
Madhu Kāṇḍa: The Teaching of Interconnectedness
In the first part, the Madhu Kāṇḍa, the primary teaching is upadeśa of Brahma-jñāna. Therefore it is called Upadeśa Kāṇḍa.
In this world, everything is interconnected—the holistic attitude. All the five elements, the sun and moon, human beings, etc., in this world are completely dependent on one another. Total interdependence is the world. The birds do not exist, we do not exist.
We have seen this one. Especially there was an American writer, and she wrote—I think it is Silent Spring, something like that; I cannot recollect now—and she outlined: people were using DDT. The result of which was birds and worms died. Because worms died, birds died. Because birds died, pollination died. Because pollination died, the trees on both sides of a river, particularly, they all died, and the river overflows and destroys everything. Forests die.
So this is called: everything is connected. So you cannot destroy one thing and then try to keep other things.
Holistic Approach in Medicine and Life
And this is very well, nowadays, being understood. Āyurveda is a holistic medicine therapy, because it takes the whole—which can, which is supposed to be cured—for a particular health problem, health issue. Whereas the allopathic medicine, it extracts what it identifies as the main counter-agent. But because of the lack of the other components, it produces violent reactions.
Nowadays people are understanding it. That is why Chinese have adopted beautiful methodology. Hindus have adopted, the Muslims have adopted their own system, but it is all holistic therapy.
So everything in this world is dependent upon everything else. Guru is dependent upon the disciple and vice versa. Parents are dependent upon the children and vice versa. And the manufacturers and the customers, and the scientists and the politicians—everyone is completely connected with each other.
Pañca Mahā Yajña
And this marvelous concept of interdependence has been beautifully brought out in Vedānta in the form of Pañcarṇa, Pañca Mahā Yajña—a beautiful concept. We will briefly discuss about it in our next class.
Closing Prayer
Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum
Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh
May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti.
Jai Ramakrishna!