Chandogya Upanishad 4.12-13 Lecture 142 on 28 September 2025

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

Opening Invocation

ॐ जननीं सारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगदगुरुम पादपद्मे तयो: श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहु :

Om Jananim Saradam devim Ramakrishnam jagadgurum Padapadme tayoh shritva pranamami muhurmuhuh.

ॐ आप्यायन्तु ममाङ्गानि वाक्प्राणश्चक्षुः

श्रोत्रमथो बलमिन्द्रियाणि च सर्वाणि।

सर्वम् ब्रह्मोपनिषदम् माऽहं ब्रह्म

निराकुर्यां मा मा ब्रह्म

निराकरोद निराकरणमस्त्व निराकरणम् मेऽस्तु।

तदात्मनि निरते य उपनिषत्सु धर्मास्ते

मयि सन्तु ते मयि सन्तु।

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः॥

oṃ āpyāyantu mamāṅgāni vākprāṇaścakṣuḥ

śrotramatho balamindriyāṇi ca sarvāṇi.

sarvam brahmopaniṣadam mā’haṃ brahma

nirākuryāṃ mā mā brahma

nirākaroda nirākaraṇamastva nirākaraṇam me’stu.

tadātmani nirate ya upaniṣatsu dharmāste

mayi santu te mayi santu.

oṃ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ

Translation

May my limbs, speech, vital force, eyes, ears, as also strength and all the organs become well developed. Everything is the Brahman revealed in the Upanishads. May I not deny Brahman. May not Brahman deny me. Let there be no spurning of me by Brahman. Let there be no rejection of Brahman by me. May all the virtues that are spoken of in the Upanishads repose in me who am engaged in the pursuit of the Self. May they repose in me. Om. Peace. Peace. Peace be unto all.

The Nature of Divine Revelation

Just as he himself had been revealed the truth through the medium of fire—really it was Brahman only, Īśvara only, Hiraṇyagarbha only—who was revealing himself through the medium of the other Devatās: Vāyu Devatā, Agni Devatā, Āditya Devatā, and Prāṇa Devatā. The same thing is being repeated here. The same teaching is also being repeated here.

Review of Previous Teaching

We have seen until now what the Gārhapatya Agni had said in our yesterday's class. Then we also started chapter 12, the Dvādaśa Khaṇḍa, the Dakṣiṇāgni part of the three fires. It revealed itself to Upakośala, and it has not said exactly the same words like the Gārhapatya fire said—"I am going to teach you one fourth"—but that is what one fourth of the Brahman is being taught.

The Anvāhārya Pacana (Southern Fire)

So we will just recollect what we have studied. Anvāhārya Pacana is the name of the southern fire, the Dakṣiṇāgni. It is a fire which the person who tends to the fires sits facing the east. So he keeps a small fire into which, according to the scriptures, he has to offer uncooked grains, etc., towards his right side, which becomes dakṣiṇa. That is why the Agni itself is called Dakṣiṇa Agni.

So it revealed itself. It is not fire anymore; it is a Devatā, and that is called Hiraṇyagarbha.

The Importance of Qualified Teaching

So it started teaching some more aspects of Brahman. What is the idea? When I tell you these are Brahman, whenever you look at them, you will have to consider them as Brahman. What are those things this Dakṣiṇa Agni is revealing now?

Now we have to also note down here: the same truth when it is taught by an unqualified person will not have any effect. But the same words used by a realized soul instantaneously will bring an effect—only in the case of a person who is also ready. The giver must be ready to give, must have something to give. As well, the receiver must also be ready to receive.

Both conditions should be fulfilled. Both the copper wires—the transmitter and the wire to which it has to transmit—both have to be of the same fiber. Then only transmission can take place.

The Example of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Kalpataruā Day

That is why even on the 1st of January 1886, which usually we celebrate as the Kalpataru day, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa touched his devotees, saying, "May your consciousness be awakened." And when he touched everybody, they experienced something. Then two people came near, expecting and hoping Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa would also give them. He was ready to give them, but they were not ready to receive. Then Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa himself had said that it will not happen today, but later on, "I will be able to give you something."

So Upakośala was ready. So Bhagavān himself, taking them as it were as instruments, was revealing the truth. What truth? That whatever we are beholding, it is nothing but manifestation of Brahman.

Teachings of the Dakṣiṇāgni

So this Dakṣiṇāgni—what did it teach? Āpaḥ, diśaḥ, nakṣatrāṇi, candramā iti.

The Four Elements Revealed

Āpaḥ: The fourth element called the waters. Earlier we have seen Pṛthvī, the earth. Now he is talking about āpaḥ.

Diśaḥ: We have seen Satyakāma Jābāla had been taught in the very first by Vāyu Devatā that the East is Brahman, West is Brahman, etc. Here, instead of saying East and West, he is telling simply diśaḥ. Diśaḥ is a plural number, meaning all the quarters. That means all space is nothing but Brahman. Whichever way you turn, it is nothing but Brahman.

Nakṣatrāṇi: All the stars. Because they are shining, wherefrom are they deriving their shining property? We have to understand where there is shine, there is also heat. Heat is the manifestation of Agni. Even if a few sparks are visible, first thing is you will see the light, but as you approach, the heat also is felt. So even though there are some stars which are trillions and trillions of years away, and some so far that their light has been traveling for trillions of years and has not even reached our perceptive limit—so nakṣatrāṇi, all the stars—they are shining because we can see them. Some we can see a little bit at daytime also.

Candramā: Then of course Candramā we can see clearly many times, the shape of the moon, especially the full moon, etc.

The Puruṣa in the Moon

So: āpaḥ, diśaḥ, nakṣatrāṇi, candramā. And what is this Dakṣiṇāgni, which is also called Anvāhārya Pacana? Because only uncooked grains are offered to it, it is called Anvāhārya Pacana. Pacana means cooking; anvāhārya means food which is not cooked.

And then, like earlier Gārhapatya Agni—these are all my forms. And earlier we saw Gārhapatya Agni saying that pure consciousness, that which makes all of us existent and shining and full of bliss—that is asti, bhāti, priyam, or sat, cit, ānanda—it is all nothing but I am. The fire is telling, "I am that Puruṣa who is in the Āditya."

And here the Anvāhārya Pacana Agni, Dakṣiṇāgni, is telling that "ya eṣa candramasi puruṣo dṛśyate so'ham asmi sa eva aham asmi"—that pure consciousness which is making the moon shine, so that candra, even candra can produce, the moon can produce, a little bit of warmth. So that which we see, that pure consciousness, that is nothing but manifestation of Brahman. It is a manifestation of me.

"Sa aham asmi"—so these are all my forms. I am only manifesting as what? As the waters, as the directions, as the stars, and as the moon.

And it is being repeated for emphasis: "sa eva aham asmi iti." So the water, the waters, the stars, and the moon are my special forms. And the person that is seen in the moon, I am he. I am he indeed.

Understanding Hiraṇyagarbha

So this Dakṣiṇāgni, Anvāhārya Pacana Agni, had revealed some part of the Brahman. We have to understand it as Hiraṇyagarbha. Why do we have to understand Hiraṇyagarbha? Because these are all experienceable, manifested forms. When we go to Hiraṇyagarbha, that is also a manifested form, but it is so subtle we won't see all these. All these are completely merged in Hiraṇyagarbha, just as all the products of clay merge and only manifest as unformed clay. All the ornaments merge and they are melted and manifest their unformed character. Like that we have to understand.

The Realization of Upakośala

So we also have to guess, as we mentioned earlier, that as soon as this upadeśa came, the guru was a realized soul. He knew. That's why with confidence he is telling, "I am that Puruṣa who is seen in the sun, in the moon. I am indeed that Puruṣa." And that Puruṣa—I as that moon, candra—am manifesting in the form of waters, the quarters, and the stars, etc. So you also have to contemplate. Remember, these are for the upāsanā.

So we presume that Upakośala, being a fit student, immediately had practiced and realized the truth. Having realized the truth—which truth? That person seen in the moon, or if we take the earlier example, that person seen in the sun, Āditya—he is me. I am indeed that Āditya. So Upakośala, like the fire, through this act of contemplation, must have realized, "I am the Āditya, and these are all my parts: the tejas, annam, etc."

And here also, Upakośala must have realized, "I am the moon, I am the water, I am the quarters, I am the stars, and I am, of course, the moon."

So with this, the twelfth section is over.

Chapter Thirteen: The Āhavanīya Agni

So another three sections are there. Now we move on to the thirteenth section, the third fire.

The Three Fires

So in the case of Satyakāma Jābāla, four Devatās came in the form of different teachers: the Vāyu Devatā, Agni Devatā, Āditya Devatā, and Prāṇa Devatā. Here they are condensed into three fires.

The Āhavanīya Fire

So the last fire, which is called Āhavanīya—Āhavanīya is a fire every day when a householder, especially a Brāhmaṇa, has to do certain rituals. He has an original fire which is named very aptly as Gārhapatya Agni. From there he will have some firewood, dry firewood called samiths ready, and he will take a small burning faggot and bring it and then light it up, and into this he has to do his main rituals, whatever he has to offer—ghee or other materials.

So they believed in that, as we believe in offering fruits, sweets, roots, and so many other things. So they used to offer these things into the fire. So the last fire, the third fire, is called Āhavanīya.

Āhavanīya means that which is borrowed for the sake of daily rituals. And then at the end, when the rituals are over, again symbolically they will take a little bit of that fire back to the Gārhapatya Agni and close down, or they blow out the fire. Every day morning they have to do this. Perhaps in the evening they will again put out the fire, and then before that, symbolically they will take a small burning faggot and return it to the Gārhapatya Agni—similarly also for the Dakṣiṇa Agni.

The Teaching of the Āhavanīya Agni

Now we are coming to the thirteenth section where this Āhavanīya fire teaches. "Atha ha enam āhavanīyaḥ anuśaśāsa"—anuśaśāsa means like earlier teaching, śaśāsa, instructed in the next contemplation.

So what did this Āhavanīya fire teach? Upakośala: prāṇaḥ, ākāśaḥ, dyauḥ, vidyut iti. Again, four things as the main important representations of Brahman.

The Four Manifestations

Prāṇaḥ: The vital force.

Ākāśaḥ: Space, one of the very first five elements.

Dyauḥ: That is the upper space or higher loka.

Vidyut: Lightning.

So "ya eṣa vidyuti puruṣo dṛśyate so'ham asmi sa eva aham asmi."

Detailed Explanation of Each Element

Having instructed that prāṇaḥ—because you are alive because of Brahman—and you have this space... Whatever activities you want to perform, whether you want to do yajñas, yāgas, or go on pilgrimage, for every action space is necessary.

And dyauḥ—and there are upper worlds. How many? Nearly seven upper worlds are there. In totality, there are fourteen lokas. That is one model. Three lokas are there: Bhūḥ, Bhuvaḥ, Svaḥ.

So whenever a person looks up, we only see our space. But Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa so clearly experienced one after the other. He was transcending from one lower loka to the higher loka. Then he had the vision of the Saptarṣi Maṇḍala, seven ṛṣis. And there only he saw seven ṛṣis merged in deep samādhi for the welfare of the world. So we do not see them. When we are ready, we will also see them.

The Philosophy of Space and Existence

So when you see anything is alive, salute it, because that is manifestation of Brahman. What about non-living things? You salute them because astitva—the very existence—is also part of that.

So ākāśaḥ—space—it is so subtle. It has certain qualities like indivisibility, non-attachment. So you cannot slice the space, divide the space. Space is not contaminated by anything. Everything is in space: good smell, bad smell, good, bad. But the space itself remains completely uncontaminated. And it is very, very subtle. And it is almost infinite.

Why do we say almost infinite? Because infinite is infinite. But when the infinite becomes an effect, invariably an effect is finite. That is why it is called mithyā. So everything is limited. Infinite is unlimited. But when it manifests, it becomes limited.

How does it become limited? It doesn't become limited, but just like you open your eyes and see a vast creation in front of you. But you put a cardboard in front of you with just that much of an aperture which is of the size of a needle. So then that vast space that we experience outside with open eyes is completely limited, becomes very small. And that is not that the space has become less, but my instrument has become less. That is the meaning of creation.

Nothing becomes limited, but it appears to be limited. The body limits it, prāṇa limits it, mind limits it, buddhi limits it, ānandamaya kośa limits it. That is the lesson we have to learn, especially in the Taittirīya Upaniṣad.

Dyauḥ: The Upper World

So ākāśaḥ, dyauḥ—the shining upper world. The very word dyauḥ means what? Dyuti. Dyuti means shining. Dyuti means splendorous. All these meanings are there. That is why it is called dyauḥ.

The higher up we go, more light comes. Even in this physical space, the higher up we go, more unobstructed light will be there. Is it really there? If you go to 50,000 feet in our hemisphere, will you see any light? No, you will not see. Is it not a contradictory statement then? No, because for the light to manifest, there must be an object.

Since space doesn't have any object at that height, there is nothing to reflect. But if you look at the satellite, the outer surface of the satellite, it will be like a 50,000-watt bulb. The surface will be shining because there is an object which is manifesting the light. But if you look outside your own vehicle, then you will not get it because not even dust is there. Dust also is absent there. So that is a marvelous truth we have to understand.

Vidyut: Lightning

So that is called dyauḥ. And then now and then we see lightning, especially in the rainy season. It becomes more manifest. But then you also have what they call northern aurora, northern lights. Such beautiful lights will be playing like some cinema show. And to see them, people go to Norway and other northern regions. Sometimes on the cinema screen also, you can see huge blobs of different colors—colored light will be flying. So they are all vidyut.

The Instruction to Upakośala

So I am telling you: when you see a living person, that is manifestation of Brahman. When you look at space, Bhagavān is manifesting as what is called space. When you look up—and Vedic people, or people at the time of the Vedic times, they used to believe in this, most of the people—so they know, and even today we look up when we are praying to God as if God is somewhere in the upper world and looking down upon us.

So all these four—prāṇa, ākāśa, the higher world, as well as lightning—when you experience them, you consider Brahman himself is manifesting in that form.

And then, like the earlier two fires, Gārhapatya Agni and Dakṣiṇāgni or Anvāhārya Pacana Agni, here also the Āhavanīya Agni is telling that all these four—prāṇa, ākāśa, dyauḥ, vidyut—are my forms. I am manifesting in that form.

That pure manifestation of Brahman in this lightning, especially in the lightning—that which is seen—this fire is telling, "That is me, and indeed I am that vidyut." So you contemplate upon this. So Upakośala must have contemplated.

Understanding Elements and Elementals

So in this light, if we see, what do we understand? Gārhapatya Agni is the sun. Then Dakṣiṇāgni is the moon. Then Āhavanīya Agni is the vidyut.

And out of these—the sun, the moon, and the lightning—all the things that we see, and whatever we see, is called creation. And this creation is called by two names. What are the names? One is called elements; another is called elementals.

Elements versus Elementals

Elements and elementals—what is the difference? Elements are only five: the space, the air, the fire, the waters, and the earth. And they have two forms, as we know. The original form, that is the subtle form, Tanmātras. They are called Tanmātras. And of course the pañcīkṛta—that is, they combine together, and every element contains every other element. Every element first contains 50% of itself and one-fourth of the other four. This is called pañcīkaraṇa, or five elements mixing together. We have discussed about it earlier.

So these are called—both of these subtle elements and the combined elements—they are called elements. And they are manifesting as me, as you, as the tree, as the insect, as the bird, as the amoeba, as the mountain, as the river, as the forest. So the manifestation of Ātman is called elements. And the manifestation of these elements is called elementals. That is the creation.

The Purpose of Contemplation

So what is the idea? Because everything is the manifestation of that one supreme reality called Brahman. O Upakośala, you go on contemplating upon them. And through this contemplation, you will attain maturity. And when you become mature, then your teacher will tell you about the final truth.

So with this, the thirteenth section is also over.

The Results of Meditation

And as usual, the earlier first fire, Gārhapatya Agni, said, "If you contemplate like this, then you will get this result." The same thing is repeated by the second fire. The same thing is repeated by the third fire.

And what is that? What did it repeat?

The Requirements for Success

"Sa yaḥ etam evaṁ vidvān upāste"—yaḥ saḥ, whoever; etam, this upāsanā that we have taught; evaṁ vidvān.

Vidvān means first you listen from your teacher. Then develop 100% śraddhā in that teaching. That is called śravaṇam. By definition, śravaṇam always means hearing something from a qualified teacher and believing it 100% with śraddhā. That is called śravaṇam.

A person may be very intelligent, but he doesn't believe. And such a person, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to call scholars. And what realization they have, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to call gṛdhra-dṛṣṭi.

Gṛdhra-dṛṣṭi: The Vulture's Vision

Gṛdhra-dṛṣṭi—two new words we will learn. Gṛdhra-dṛṣṭi. Dṛṣṭi means perception. For example, a lustful person sees every other person through the eyes of lust. A person who is greedy and wants more money, he will look at every person. And he can also many times understand who has real money and who is only pretending that he is a rich man—borrowed clothes, borrowed car, everything.

So gṛdhra means vulture. Vulture's sight. They soar very high. Where is their sight? At the rotting corpses far below.

And gṛdhra-dṛṣṭi is followed by gṛdhra-vṛtti. Vṛtti means here what? Conduct, thoughts, thoughts and actions. So gṛdhra-dṛṣṭi, gṛdhra-vṛtti—that is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa meant.

A vulture soars so high. But do you know where it is? Its sight is fixed on the rotting corpses. That is its food. So food means enjoyment, survival—not only survival, but enjoyment also.

The True Meaning of Vidvān

So that is being said here. Whoever is a vidvān—who listens to the teachings of the teacher with complete faith... "I may not understand, but what my teacher has taught me or is teaching me is 100% truth." And what is he teaching is called Veda.

The word Veda is a very interesting word. "Vedāham etaṁ puruṣaṁ mahāntam ādityavarṇaṁ tamasaḥ parastāt"—vedāham. So "I know." So a person who has faith is as if he knows.

The Example of the Baby and the Mother

A baby is in the house, and there is a room where electrical equipment is there, all the switchboard, etc., and some of the wires may be hanging loose. The mother knows if a baby goes, enters into that room, then he may even lose his life. So she tells him, "Don't enter into that room. There is a bogeyman inside that room. He will take you, kidnap you and go away." And the baby believes 100%. It never doubts the mother's words.

So the mother is telling out of her love for the baby, for the welfare of the baby. Similarly, Veda is considered—in fact, Veda is pronounced as mātā. Śāstra is a mātā. She is a million times greater than our earthly mother, because Veda Mātā always wants our welfare—so the highest welfare, parama puruṣārtha.

The Characteristics of a True Vidvān

So like that, such a person is called vidvān. Anybody who is a college or university professor is not a vidvān. He has got gṛdhra-dṛṣṭi and gṛdhra-vṛtti.

So this vidvān, having complete faith, then śravaṇam must lead to mananam and nididhyāsanam. The function of manana is to ponder deeply, to churn what he heard from the teacher. And any remaining doubts must be completely destroyed, because our ancient ṛṣis have recognized that each one of us have got layers and layers of the mind.

Even modern psychologists recognize that: the conscious mind, subconscious mind, unconscious mind. But Swami Vivekananda said, "You people know only these three. But there is a superconscious mind where the mind is always unconsciously aware of the highest reality." And that expresses.

The Superconscious Mind

How do we know that the mind always is unconsciously conscious about that highest reality? Because unconsciously the prayer will be there, which is set in words, expressed in words: "May I always be immortal. May I be sarvajña, all-knowing. May I be ānandamaya, ānanda-svarūpa—not merely being happy, borrowed happiness. Let me be, let me realize my identity with the ānanda."

So such a person does upāsana, manana, and gets rid of the doubts. When a person is convinced, that becomes a reality. And that reality—after that he need not struggle. His struggle is to become one with that reality. But for that, so many obstructions may be there. The struggle is not doubting the reality, but to remove the obstructions.

Every spiritual sādhanā is only to remove the obstruction. Naturally, this happens only when a person gives up an unholy lifestyle, what is called adhārmika jīvana. So he never—cannot even unconsciously think of hurting, harming. That is called, some of us call it, living in dharma. So such a person, he contemplates.

The Power of Contemplation

Śaṅkarācārya's marvelous statement: in whichever form a person contemplates, he becomes that form. So if a budding, aspiring musician meditates on an expert musician, an ustād, he will become an ustād. And after several lives, suddenly the baby will be recognized, and people will be astonished. So many such child prodigies are there.

When Mozart was only four or five years old, he started composing symphonies. He was so small and the piano is so big. Literally, he had to run from one end of the piano to the other in order to play what he had in mind. It is a wonderful life, a marvelous life.

So you will see some people, they are truthful. Some people, they are so scholarly. Some people—music just flows naturally. Some people, they start composing what is called metrical, rhythmic poetry. We are struggling and struggling, and it doesn't come to us.

The Nature of True Upāsanā

Such a person alone is called vidvān, and every vidvān is endowed with śraddhā and upāsanā. He starts. Upāsanā means what? I told you a wonderful point here: as soon as we are convinced, we have no doubt—that becomes our reality. That means we cannot desire what we think is unreal.

Nobody will ever desire anything unreal. "So I will give you fake Coca-Cola. I will give you a fake 500-rupee note." Nobody will accept it.

So this is what is being said: upāsanā. Upāsanā means upa-āsana—slowly approaches near, and he becomes one with that contemplated object. And then he says, "I am that Puruṣa." There is absolutely no doubt about it, and naturally he cannot reach that state unless he becomes a pure person.

The Fruits of Meditation

That is being said: upāsanā. Apahatapāpakṛtya—apahata means that which is completely destroyed. Pāpakṛtya—any trace of papa (sin). Because of his karmaphala, he lives the allotted span of life. So you have no choice. This person, he leads that impeccable life, pure life. That is called apahatapāpakṛtya. No trace, not even the slightest trace of pāpa can be seen in that person.

Living the Full Life

Naturally, sarvam āyuḥ eti—so he lives the full allotted life. What type of life? He lives healthy, happy, and light will be coming out of that person's very body. That is what is said: jyog jīvati.

Jyok means splendor, light, effulgence. Such a person—not that physically some light comes, but as if whatever he says becomes immediately understandable by worthy people. He can solve problems. He can interpret the scriptures because he knows what he is talking about.

So jyog jīvati, as if he is a shining star. That is why even ordinary persons, when they get some brilliant ideas, unthought-of ideas, usually in the pictures it is a light bulb, a dead bulb which is not burning, suddenly starts glowing. It is a symbolism.

The Life of a Householder Sage

So here, such a person—like the father of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, like Śrī Ramana Maharshi—one look at him and many people fell flat at his feet. Jyog jīvati. Not only that.

If such a person happens to take up a householder's life—and many of the ṛṣis, they did not make this distinction—this is a wonderful point you have to remember. In the Vedic times, this distinction—"This person is a sannyāsī and he is far superior to us, and this person is a householder"—all this distinction came most likely from the Buddhistic time onwards, because he glorified the monk. Even an unqualified monk is such a great person.

But that is why Swamiji said, "From the time of Buddhism, from the rising of Buddhism, a downfall of India had come," for various reasons which I am not going into, but Swami Vivekananda had pinpointed them.

The Vedic Ideal of the Ṛṣi Life

So Buddha glorified the monastic life, but in Vedic times we don't see it. What do we see? Ṛṣi jīvana—a life of ṛṣis. They may be married, but they lived like sannyāsīs. There were, of course, a few people whose lifestyle is—because they did not like a family life, they don't like anybody's company—but they lived such a life.

Rāmakṛṣṇa says these ṛṣis used to get up early in the morning, go to seek solitude, solitary places, spend the whole day completely merged in the contemplation of Brahman, come back, return at dusk, and have some light, healthy food—maybe fruits, roots, vegetables, etc.—and get up early morning, day after day, year after year, until they passed away.

Such persons are called mantra-draṣṭā. Who is a ṛṣi? A discoverer of truth. Mantra means truth.

Worthy Descendants

So such a person, he doesn't simply live; he becomes a shining light, a guiding light for everybody. And if he chooses, and by the will of God, to remain a householder, he might have children. But he will never have what is called avara puruṣāḥ. Avara puruṣāḥ means worthy human beings—unworthy people, unspiritual people, worldly people will never be born.

So avara puruṣāḥ na kṣīyante—nobody unworthy will be born. That means even the act of marriage is a sacrament, and even when the husband and wife meet, that is an act of divine union, a sacrament. And we get a glimpse of it at the end of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad—what a husband and wife do when they are about to unite. Very interesting study; if you want, you can refer to it. It comes at the very end of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad.

The Protection of the Fires

So such a person, he will be getting only worthy children. And then the fires are telling, "He worshipped his lifelong, he surrendered to us. So upāyaṁ tam upabhunjāmaha, upāpayaṁ tam bhunjāmaha," is the mantra, but we have to do anvaya, the proper way of arranging the words.

"We, the fires, tam, of such a spiritual aspirant who is doing the upāsanā, of such upāsakas, upabhunjāmaha, we protect such a person, asmin ca loke, amuṣmin ca loke." So long as he is here, we are going to look after him, and so long as he lives here, we will provide everything for him.

As Bhagavān, Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa says, "Teṣām ahaṁ samuddhartā"—so I am also—"nitya-yukta-upāsate, teṣāṁ nityābhiyuktānāṁ yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham." "I provide for them what they require, I bring it to them, and what they keep, we protect, so that nobody can take them away."

This is the meaning: "We, the fires—he protected us, we protect him—not only in this asmin ca loke, amuṣmin ca loke also."

The Universal Application

Yaḥ etam evaṁ vidvān upāste—not only in those olden times, even today, etam vidyā evaṁ vidvān. So he has complete faith, and he understands it properly, and he contemplates Bhagavān in the form of Kālī, in the form of Nārāyaṇa, Viṣṇu, Kṛṣṇa, Christ, Buddha, Allah—whatever form—and he will become that form.

Summary of the Teaching

He who, knowing this, meditates on the fire, frees himself from sinful actions, obtains the world of the Anvāhārya fire, reaches his full age, and lives brightly. His descendants do not perish. We support him in this world and in the other also.

So whoever, knowing this, meditates on the fire, he will get exactly the same results. Beautiful mantras. We will discuss this further in our next classes.

Closing Prayer