Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Structure and Theme Lecture 09 on 21 February 2026
Full Transcript (Not Corrected)
Opening Invocation
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.
Recap: The Śānti Pāṭha of the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad
So we have been discussing the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, and in our last class we have seen the meaning of the Śānti Pāṭha. What did we see? This is a very special Śānti Pāṭha — this is a Mahāvākya, unlike other Śānti Pāṭhas. In this Śānti Pāṭha, there is no prayer such as: "Lord, kindly remove all the obstacles; remove all my bad qualities; endow me with all divine spiritual qualities; let there be no difference of opinion between my teacher and myself."
We have seen in this Upaniṣad — rather, in the Taittirīya Upaniṣad — how there seemed to be a perceived difference between the teacher and the student. It looked superficially as though the teacher got angry. It is possible sometimes that the teacher and the student do not see eye to eye, as we say. "No, let such a thing not happen" — so that is also included.
But in this particular Śānti Pāṭha, what exists is only one — that is Brahman, that is Pūrṇam, the Infinite. And from the Infinite there cannot be an origination of something else. So what seemingly appears to be different from that Infinite — what appears to be finite — is a mistake. It is called Avidyā, Māyā; it is called Adhyāropa. And that is what the Upaniṣad, in the very first section, wants to deal with.
So it is a prayer that what is, is only one. You call it Brahman, you call it the world — it is only Brahman alone. Then why do we not see? Just because we experience something doesn't mean it is different from Brahman. And this is the theme of all the Upaniṣads. Even when we talk about the Nārāyaṇa Sūktam or the Puruṣa Sūktam — any Sūktam, for that matter — the Lord alone is. But because of the Māyā, which is our mind, we seem to see difference everywhere. And as we progress in spiritual life, that differentiation is slowly sublated, unity is seen. That is the progress from duality to qualified non-duality and finally to non-duality — from Dvaitam to Viśiṣṭādvaitam to Advaitam.
This Śānti Mantra clearly says the whole world is nothing but Jīva, so Jīvātmā and Paramātmā are one and the same — that is the gist of this Śānti Mantra.
And three times we say "let there be peace," because there are three sources of troubles. All problems stem from three sources: our body and mind, which is called Ādhyātmika; then the external world, Ādhibhautika; and from the presiding deities, when they are displeased with our ingratitude, which is called Ādhidaivika. "Let such a thing not happen" — that is the essence of this beautiful Śānti Pāṭha.
Actually, even if someone doesn't study this Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, even chanting this peace chant is enough:
Pūrṇamadaḥ pūrṇamidaṃ pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate, pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate.
What remains is that one Infinite reality — call it by whatever name you call it.
As I mentioned earlier, every Veda has its own Śānti Pāṭha. This Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad belongs to the Śukla Yajur Veda, and so this is the Śānti Pāṭha. But there is something very special here: this Śānti Pāṭha doesn't actually come at the beginning of the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad — it comes only at the beginning of the 5th Chapter. Therein Śaṅkarācārya has written quite an elaborate commentary upon it, but everybody chants this one. We had also seen that when we were studying the Īśāvāsya Upaniṣad, it is there as well.
Introduction to the Upaniṣad Proper: Methodology
The Purpose of the Scripture
Now we enter the Upaniṣad proper itself, but some introduction is very necessary. Before we enter, we have to know certain things.
First of all, we are creatures of this created world. I am a created being — that is why I call myself, my body, my mind — I am a Jīvātmā, I am an individual. And that is universal experience. But the purpose of this scripture, that is the Upaniṣad, that is the Veda, is totally different.
Purely speaking, this Jagat doesn't exist. What does it mean? It is called Mithyā — Brahman alone is the truth. So what does the Upaniṣad want to teach us?
The Pedagogical Method: From the Known to the Unknown
Just like in mathematics they teach different truths for different levels — for beginners they teach that parallel lines never meet at infinity, but for the advanced students they teach that parallel lines do meet at infinity — so too, we are experiencing the world. So if the scripture says the world doesn't exist, we will not believe it.
So they have adopted a method. "Yes, yes — the world exists, you exist, your experience of the world is very true." Then we say, "Yes, the scripture is talking sense now — I can understand it." Then it says: "But there is some truth about this world which you know unconsciously, but consciously you are ignoring. What is that? There is something called changefulness. Everything in this world is changing. You were not there before your birth; you won't be there after your death."
The Universal Desire for Eternal Life and Happiness
So you have to know: is this our life — that you live for a short time and then you die, and many times you suffer? What is the worth of life? We want to live forever, and we want to be happy forever. How do we know? Because that is the knowledge we have to gain.
"I have no birth, and if there is no birth there is no death, and I am Ānanda Svarūpa."
There is no happiness in any object. The same object, in our experience, sometimes gives happiness, sometimes gives less happiness, sometimes gives intense pain. So Ānanda is not the nature of the object — that we can understand. Then where is the Ānanda coming from? If happiness or bliss doesn't belong to the object, where is it coming from? Because I am experiencing it — it is a fact. Then you say it is coming from you. Then what does the object do? It merely removes the obstruction of your own happiness.
Just as you stand in front of a mirror and you put a big veil in front of you — you cannot see your own reflection, not because the mirror is incapable of reflecting, but because of the veil. The moment you remove the veil — or, I would put it this way, the more you start removing the veil, the more reflection you are able to see.
So Avidyā is the veil. In fact, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa gives this example: one day he was sitting in front of devotees and explaining this truth. He had a towel on his shoulders, took it out, and covered his face, saying: "See, you can't see me — even though I am so near." So even though God is everywhere, we can't see, because we have covered our eyes with a veil. That veil is called Avidyā, Māyā, etc.
So Ānanda also is from us only, and knowledge also is from us — from myself only.
The Three Key Terms: Sat, Asat, and Mithyā
Adhyāropa and Apavāda
So first the scripture accepts — that is called Adhyāropa, which is superimposition. Then later on, through certain methods — first rituals, then Upāsanās — we acquire the qualities necessary to approach a Guru. Such a person is called an Adhikāri. Then the Guru teaches him, and then finally convinces him: "The truth is — you are that," Tat tvam asi. But that is the Guru's teaching; we have to make it our own. The Guru says "you are that" — we have to say "I am that." For that purpose, first Śravaṇa, then Manana to remove all doubts, which means acquiring 100% faith like Girish Chandra Ghosh. And then only the last thing comes — Nididhyāsana.
Once we are convinced of something, that very conviction will not allow us to do anything excepting what we are convinced of. That is the greatness of conviction, which in Sanskrit is beautifully called Śraddhā.
Defining Sat, Asat, and Mithyā
So this is the process. To understand Brahman or the Self, one needs a very subtle intellect. So the Upaniṣad uses the methodology of Adhyāropa and Apavāda. Here we have to know three words in order to understand this Apavāda — the Upaniṣad gradually introduces us to three terms: Sat, Asat, and Mithyā. We have heard these words many times.
What is Sat? That which is truth, that which always exists — that is called Sat.
What is Asat? It never existed, it cannot exist — pure non-existence is called Asat. We have to be careful about this distinction if we want to understand the Upaniṣads.
Then there is another word: Mithyā. Many of us misunderstand the meaning of the word Mithyā. What is Mithyā? That is when we mistake something as something else.
Into the Brahma Sūtras, Śaṅkarācārya's introductory commentary — in one-and-a-half pages of commentary which has been expanded into hundreds of pages — is called Adhyāsa Bhāṣya. Adhyāsa means superimposition. The classical example is: there is a rope, but because of the semi-darkness and resemblance and our fear, we mistake it as a snake. And because we are convinced it is a snake, we get fear.
So because we are convinced "I am different from you, everyone is different," there would be fear, there would be loss. "Somebody can take away from me" — of course somebody also can give me something, but we are frightened somebody else may take away. Life itself can be taken away. How many murders, how many killings, how much beating, how many tortures are taking place in this world.
And is it real? Just like — you imagine you are watching all these things that are happening in our day-to-day life — it is a cinema! The same thing happens there also: people fall in love, people quarrel, people get married, people get divorced. Everything exactly happens. But we enjoy it. The capacity of the actors and actresses — if they act, and some of them are extraordinarily good, we forget it is acting and we think it is real. But we never think it is completely real. We are continuously aware, as a Sākṣī, that I am watching a cinema, I paid money for it, and therefore for two hours I immerse myself and enjoy it. And I enjoy it because I know it is not true.
This is the state of a Jīvanmukta. He seems to be flowing along with the current of this world, but he knows in his heart of hearts that this is all a big drama — and the manager of this drama is Śrī Raṅganātha Nārāyaṇa himself. That is why he is called Raṅganātha — Raṅga means a dramatic stage.
So we have to be careful:
- Sat means that which always exists without change.
- Asat means that which never existed — also called Tuccha, utterly unreal.
- Mithyā means we mistake something that is real for something else, and because it is a mistake, it will always be corrected. Satyam can never be changed — for eternity it will be truth only.
The Structure and Theme of the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad
Three Divisions of the Text
So this is the methodology used by the scriptures. In this Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, first the process of creation is given — so that children like us can understand at the kindergarten level: "Yes, yes, this is an apple." But what apple? It is made up of wood, made up of rubber, appearing to be like that — for the purpose of teaching. So this is called Adhyāropa.
Then Apavāda — the removal of our temporary mistake. And how does it do that? Neti, neti — "not this, not this" — that also comes in this Brihadāraṇyaka.
As I said, the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad is first of all divided into three parts:
- Madhu Kāṇḍa — also called Upadeśa Kāṇḍa.
- Muni Kāṇḍa — also called Yājñavalkya Kāṇḍa, where reason is used to convince people who are a little bit intellectual.
- Khila Kāṇḍa — where miscellaneous subjects are given.
The Process of Spiritual Evolution
The Upaniṣad takes a Sādhaka — not everybody, only a person who is suffering, who has suffered very much and seeks: "Is there any solution?" And ultimately he starts believing in God. He prays: "Let me come to you." At that time, this Apavāda starts.
"God exists, but you can't all of a sudden right now see God. You have to purify your mind." The problem is in the mind; the solution is also in the mind.
Karmakāṇḍa: Rituals and Their Role
The Desire for Higher Worlds
Are you happy in this world? Yes, I am very happy — then the Upaniṣad is not for that person.
Are you happy? "Sometimes I am happy, sometimes I am unhappy." So do you want always to be happy? Of course, everybody wants it. Then there is a way: "You do this, don't do this" — that is called Vidhi and Niṣedha. Then if you follow, you get more happiness.
But nobody can remove unhappiness forever. So soon, the person learns: even if I follow all the directions of the scriptures, birth and death cannot be avoided. But the desire to overcome death doesn't immediately flash in that person's mind — he says: "Even if I have to be born, I want to have higher happiness." So he starts believing the scriptures after some time. He says: "There are higher worlds and I want to attain to those higher worlds. What is the way?"
Agnihotra and the Fruits of Ritual
So perform certain rituals. A person who wants to go to Svarga — what is Svarga? A place of higher happiness for a longer duration of time. For that purpose, there is a ritual called Agnihotra. One must do that Agnihotra, and if one does it correctly, the result is guaranteed — like when a person does exactly a scientific experiment, he gets the exact result. And that is the Śāstra.
As the Bhagavad Gītā tells so beautifully: if you do these scripture-commanded rituals, you will go to higher Lokas. But because these are all the results of certain Karmas, and Karmas are limited, their effects are also limited. As soon as the result — the Puṇya — is exhausted, they will have to come down again. So the person says: "I want to go again to that hotel!"
After some time, the person becomes more purified, because these rituals unconsciously and indirectly are slowly purifying that person's mind. And then he understands: "The same scripture which is taking me to heaven — the same scripture is telling me: 'You don't need to go and come down. You go and stay there permanently.'" That is called Realisation of God — you become one with God, and you will be eternally happy, infinitely happy.
Jñānakāṇḍa: The Path of Knowledge
Becoming an Adhikāri
Then, slowly, the longing comes — it takes time; that is called evolution. For that purpose, you have to do Sādhana. For that purpose, you require to acquire certain qualities called spiritual qualities, and you have to get rid of certain others — what are called demoniac qualities — for example, attachment to the world.
Loving and attachment are opposite sides. You can love, but you can be detached. But if you are attached, that is not love — that is slavery.
So slowly, as Śaṅkarācārya puts it — and I think nobody can put it so beautifully — a person becomes an Adhikāri. Adhikāri means he becomes fit to receive the instructions from the teacher. His mind becomes mature. Otherwise it is useless.
That is why Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to tell some people: "Go and enjoy the buildings and the gardens" — not because he wanted to kick them out, but because even if they came there, they would get bored. "I also will get bored — it is wasting your time and wasting my time." Of course, when Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is speaking with some other people, there is no question of wasting time. Even if there is one person who is listening and 99% are sitting there not listening or even sleeping, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's time is not wasted. But the atmosphere becomes polluted — that is why we have to cultivate Satsaṅga.
The Role of the Guru
So this person approaches a Guru. And what does the Guru do? Don't think that straight away he is going to initiate the disciple into a Mahāvākya.
We have seen it in the Praśna Upaniṣad: "You live for some time with us, then we will see." In many other Upaniṣads also, we have seen this. Some Upaniṣads, of course, go straight away — like the Īśāvāsya and the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad. But if you take the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad, Brahmā taught it to his son, and his son taught it to his disciples, and like that it goes on.
We have seen the Kaṭha Upaniṣad — Yamadharmarāja himself was the Guru and Naciketā was tested before he was accepted. We have seen the Chāndogya Upaniṣad — in all three of the important chapters — the sixth, seventh, and eighth. In the sixth chapter, for example, we have seen how Śvetaketu was taught good lessons: first he was scolded, then he became humble, and then his own father started teaching him the highest Vidyā. Similarly, in the seventh chapter Sanatkumāra started teaching Nārada. And in the eighth chapter, we have seen how Prajāpati kept Indra for one hundred and one years — what a marvellous thing for us to understand!
But if anybody comes like Narendranāth — who came to Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa — or like Nāgā Mahāśaya, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa will immediately want to pass on the highest knowledge, because he understands: "These people are ready to receive. They are like highly cultivated fields, ready to receive the seed at the right season."
Upāsanā: The Bridge Between Karma and Jñāna
What Is Upāsanā?
So the Guru, how does he do it? He develops certain techniques. As a married person — Gṛhastha — these people are supposed to have gone through the physical rituals called Karmakāṇḍa. But before entering into the Jñānakāṇḍa, there is a bridge which connects the Karmakāṇḍa with the Jñānakāṇḍa — that is called the Upāsanā Kāṇḍa. Some students, at least, find this Upāsanā very important.
Now what is this Upāsanā? Upāsanā is, first of all, a mental process — it is called mental contemplation. And what is that contemplation? That you take any familiar object, however small it is, and impose upon it some of the biggest ideas.
For example: the Śivalinga; for example, the Śālagrāma; for example, a Yantra; for example, a cross. The cross — what does it represent? That breaking up of egoism. Just imagine: a huge vertical line, and it is crossed. What is that vertical line? "I." What is that cross? "Not me — let Thy will be done." Jesus Christ had first cried out: "If possible, please pass on this cup to somebody else" — "cup" meaning suffering. But he understood that was not the will of the Father. Immediately he said: "Let Thy will be done." Similarly, we also have to accept. "Let Thy will be done" is a marvellous concept — it is: I reduce, we reduce our egoism.
As I mentioned so many times: in front of every Hindu temple there will be a flagpole, that is called Dvajastambha. That represents the ego of all of us. Everybody has to give up his ego there — only then, when he goes inside, will that be called, properly, Darśana.
Expanding the Vision of the Divine Through Upāsanā
So this is how all of us have to give up. What does this Upāsanā — mental contemplation — do? "O Lord, everything is you, everything belongs to you. In fact, there is nothing else excepting you" — that should be the realisation.
The Guru teaches: you take the Guru himself. He is an ordinary person, but even the Guru cannot be taken straight away as an ideal. First comes Mother — a marvellous idea! We have seen it in the Śikṣāvallī of the Taittirīya Upaniṣad, the eleventh chapter:
Mātṛ devo bhava, pitṛ devo bhava, ācārya devo bhava, atithi devo bhava.
We have seen how it works. So what does it mean? The nearest object — nearest to us — first is Mother. Not that every mother is a Brahma Jñāni or a Jagad Guru. No. But I have to impose that idea.
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was advising the Holy Mother that all those things offered in the Kālī Pūjā — "Offer it to your mother. But when you offer, do not offer to her as your ordinary mother — you must consider her as Mother Kālī herself." So this is what is called Mātṛ devo bhava — "Let your mother be Brahman to you."
Once we succeed — after some time — then expand. First one person, then the second. Who is the second person? Of course, the Father. He is the protector, he is the provider, he is everything for us. Therefore Father is the closest next to Mother. We are what we are because of the union between Father and Mother — therefore the father should be looked upon as Brahman.
Most of our fathers and mothers are ordinary persons. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's father and mother were highly evolved souls — that is a rare exception. But mostly, the idea is: it is a target practice. "I decided to look upon my Mother as the Divine Mother."
In fact, you meditate upon your own mother — and probably you may be afraid to jump into the lap of Holy Mother, but you won't hesitate with your own mother. You can imagine: you are a child — how many times you jumped into the lap of the mother, you touched her. So imagine Holy Mother slowly transforming Herself into your own mother, and then you jump! But now the idea is: "She is as powerful, as gracious, as Holy Mother." Take that idea, combine these two, and meditate — and you will see that the fear in our meditation will go away.
Similarly, you can merge Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa in your own Father, and you can demand anything of your Father. Not as of now, but when we were children: "I want chocolate, I want to buy that, Bābā I want that" — and he will not hesitate to give you, and you will not hesitate or think: "Will he give? Will he not give?"
So that is the idea. And then the teacher — whatever we are educated in, it is all because they passed on what they knew. Some of them are extraordinarily talented in conveying what they know in understandable language. They are called talented teachers. Otherwise, some teachers know more than others but don't know how to convey it to their students — like the Paṇḍit who failed to teach Pāṇinīya Vyākaraṇam to Swami Vivekānanda in Rājasthān.
So if we have succeeded in looking upon our mother and father, then we add a third person — the teacher. That means we are expanding our God-vision more and more. And when we succeed in that — then, to everybody. That "everybody" is called Atithi: Atithi devo bhava. So whenever you meet anybody, anywhere, known or unknown, they have to be looked upon — because it is only God who is manifesting as everybody in this world.
That is the essence of the Sahasraśīrṣā Puruṣaḥ: every head belongs to God, every hand belongs to God, every leg belongs to God, every body belongs to God, every mind belongs to God. There is nobody who can be separate from the Infinity.
So that is called slowly expanding our consciousness.
Introduction to the First Brahmāṇa: The Meditation on the Horse
For that purpose, slowly — in the first chapter, called Prathama Adhyāya — every section in the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad is called a Brāhmaṇa. (Brāhmaṇa has nothing to do with the Brāhmin or Brahman — it simply means a section.)
First of all, we are given the idea of a horse. One has to meditate upon a horse — the Aśvamedha Yajña. And why on a horse? This is a beautiful subject matter which we will talk about from 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!