Chandogya Upanishad 4.14 Lecture 143 on 04 October 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.

Introduction to Upakosala's Story

We are studying the story of Upakosala—one of the most marvelous stories. It is really not a story, but the highest teaching on sādhana: how to do spiritual practice.

As I mentioned earlier, in the Vedic times, people used to contemplate nature. The temples and all the worship of different forms of God with different names had not yet become prevalent. The sun, the moon, the stars, the lightning, the wind, the fire, the waters, the earth, and everything on this earth—everything was fit enough to be contemplated with Brahma-dṛṣṭi, with the idea: "This is God's creation. Therefore, it is God only, manifest as all this." And actually, that's what we have to do.

Two Ways of Perception: Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi-Vāda

This Brahma-dṛṣṭi—seeing God as the manifestation in the form of this creation—is what we need to develop. Interestingly, in Vedānta, there are two types of sight mentioned:

Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi-Vāda – Seeing things as they were created by God
Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi-Vāda – How our perception shapes what we see

Understanding Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi-Vāda

First of all, we perceive something because it is already existing. We are seeing—our dṛṣṭi is there—because it is already there. Already, before we even lay our eyes upon it, it is created by God. And whatever is created by God is absolutely the very mirror of God, the reflection of God.

But then what happens? We look at it and our mind plays tricks. Then we form our own opinion about it, and our opinion shapes and influences how we look at things.

A Simple Example

Suppose somebody had insulted you. From that time onwards, our idea about that person becomes: "This person must be a very wicked person." We have not seen him at other occasions, at other places, and in other circumstances. But just from experiencing "he hurt me," we conclude "he must be a bad person." And we usually do not want to change this view.

But then, by God's grace, we see him one day—he has literally saved us from death. Then our eyes will open. Then we say, "Oh, how much I have mistaken about this person! I was cherishing the wrong opinion about him. Clearly, he is a very good person."

So this seeing a person as he is, seeing an object as it is—not as we think it is, but as it is—that is called Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi-Vāda.

The Meaning of Upāsana

The whole spiritual practice is: how can we change our view by approximating it to what God has created? This is called Upāsana. Āsana means right perception. Upa means we are approaching through our spiritual practice to the right perception. And what is the only right perception? Everything is Brahman.

Recollection of the Previous Teaching

Here we have been discussing the story of Upakosala. In our last class, we completed the 13th section of the 4th chapter of the Chāndogya Upaniṣad.

Just to recollect: there were three fires. As I said, every orthodox Hindu, especially Brāhmaṇas, are supposed to maintain three types of fires:

Gārhapatya Agni
Dakṣiṇa Agni
Āhavanīya Agni

Now, all these three Agnis were devotedly served by Upakosala for twelve long years.

The Teacher's Departure

As we know from this story—and it is very important to recollect—the teacher had bid farewell to every other student, but not to Upakosala. And then he went away on a pilgrimage. Even though his wife pleaded with him, "Why don't you also do the same thing to Upakosala?", the guru knew better. So he smiled and went away.

I also explained: just as Upakosala received the highest instruction through the fires that he served, so too did his teacher Satyakāma Jābāla receive instruction. Who was the teacher of Upakosala? Satyakāma Jābāla. Satyakāma knew: "My disciple, my beloved disciple—Saumya." How do we know? Because he addressed him exactly as the Guru Gautama Ṛṣi addressed Satyakāma Jābāla: "Your face is shining like a knower of Brahman."

But he knew that this is what Upakosala was going to receive. Probably that might have been the reason for his absence also.

Upakosala's Depression and Divine Grace

Anyway, coming back to our subject: Upakosala became depressed. The guru-patnī, the teacher's wife, asked him, "Why are you so despondent?"

Then he confessed: "My mind is full of depressive thoughts, worrying thoughts. I have no appetite." And that is a psychological fact: when we are worried, we cannot enjoy. Even if we are eating something, doing something, we can do that, but we won't enjoy it, because this worry covers up everything with a sad tint.

The Fires Reveal Themselves

But then the fires whom he was worshiping—who were the fires? Bhagavān, the adhiṣṭhātṛ-devatās themselves. They were highly pleased with the service of Upakosala, like they were pleased with Satyakāma Jābāla. And they decided: "We must teach him Brahma-vidyā. And let us reveal ourselves, because we are adhiṣṭhātṛ-devatās, presiding deities—not ordinary deities."

As I explained, there are devatās who were human beings who, because of their extraordinary virtue, became devatās to enjoy the righteous result of the righteous life they have led. But the manifestation of God, or God manifesting Himself—having created, He becomes the protector. That is called sthiti, sustenance, maintenance. He punishes the wicked. That is the work of the Saguṇa Brahma in the form of sustainer.

So they were highly pleased: "Let us reveal to Upakosala what we revealed to Satyakāma Jābāla." And then they revealed themselves.

The Teaching of the Three Fires

The Teaching Begins

What is worthy of noting? These fires said: "These are our forms." Each of them tells: "These are my forms. And the one whom you see in the sun, in the Āditya, in the lightning. I am That!"—all the three fires tell this. So beautiful, so meaningful.

The Āhavanīya fire said—that was where we stopped in our last class—"Prāṇa, Ākāśa, and the upper world (dyauḥ), and the lightning (vidyut): four kalās, four parts. Prāṇa, Ākāśa, and the upper world, and the lightning—these are my forms. And finally, vidyuti—in that lightning, that is the consciousness who is manifesting as lightning, as prāṇa, as ākāśa, as the upper world. That is me. Indeed, I am that vidyut."

So the other two also said: "I am all these—the forms of manifestations, different forms of the sun (Āditya), also different forms of the moon. And I am that Puruṣa who is the consciousness behind the Āditya, the sun god, behind the moon, the moon god. And they are sustaining us, and they also punish us."

The Promise to the Meditator

And then, anyone—not only Upakosala, not only Satyakāma—anyone, like the imitation of Christ or imitation of Buddha, or like any scientific experiment: if someone does it from A to Z exactly the same way that one is instructed to do, the result must be exactly the same.

That is what he said: "He who, knowing this, meditates on the fire frees himself from sinful actions, obtains, attains, ascends to the world of the Anvāhārya fire (the third one), and reaches his full age. He lives in this world—as long as he lives in this world, he lives a full, happy, meaningful, bright life. He lives shining." He will be like a person you can pick out and say, "His face shines like that"—that is what his guru told him: "Your face shines like a knower of Brahman."

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's body used to emit the most marvelous light, and people, like moths, were attracted towards him.

The Blessings Continue

And then the Upaniṣad continues: such an upāsaka, contemplator—not only does he live happily, but if he is a householder, he will have bright children. What type of children? His descendants do not perish, because we will protect him. We support him in this world and in the other also. We also support his children because of his puṇya.

And whosoever, knowing this—that this is the result—contemplates on the fire, or Agni-devatā... These English words can be misleading: "on the fire." You lit up a fire with some firewood or some logs? No! This is Agni-devatā. Everything is a devatā in the eye of a Brahma-jñānī.

Illustration: The Brahma-Jñānī at Dakshineswar

Everything. When a Brahma-jñānī came to Dakshineswar—even when the cooks refused to share or to allow him to sit with them because he was looking so ghoulish—he happily went. He never minded. He went to a refuge where plenty of food was there: dogs, birds, worms, enjoying the feast. And he also sat down. It must have been fresh food—or it doesn't matter. Happily he was enjoying.

How was he looking upon the dogs? As himself! How do we know? Because the Bhagavad Gītā repeatedly quotes this: if there is a Brāhmaṇa who is a vidvān, and a cow, and an elephant, and then a dog, and an eater of a dog—sarvatra Brahma-dṛṣṭi. So that is what exactly this person will see.

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Recognition

How do we know? Because the story continues in The Great Master by Swami Saradananda. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa pointed out this ghoulish-looking sādhu and said to Hriday, "This man is a knower of Brahman." And at least Hriday knew what his uncle was telling, even though he never fully understood.

So Hriday followed him and said, "Sir, make me your disciple, or teach me." Then, after walking a long way—maybe a few miles—the ghoulish-looking monk stopped. And then there was sewage water flowing there by the side (of course, it is all discharged into the Gaṅgā water). And he showed Hriday: "When you have a perception that this filthy water and this sacred Gaṅgā are exactly one and the same, then know that you have attained the perfect knowledge."

But who can look upon them as the same at this stage? Because everything is Brahman only. So this dirty water is also Brahman. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa mentioned it many times: "Āpo Nārāyaṇaḥ—water is Nārāyaṇa."

If this water is there, some water is fit only for washing clothes; some is not even fit to be touched. But every water is Āpo Nārāyaṇaḥ. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was not talking about brackish water; he was talking about water. Water is Nārāyaṇa. But brackishness, muddiness—all these things are something which doesn't belong to the water but which gets mixed up with water. They are dangerous. Nobody advises, "You go and drink that."

Protection in This World and Beyond

Anyway, coming back to our subject: this knower of Brahman is protected not only in this world, not only himself—even his descendants will be worthy of him. They will also follow his footsteps.

Anusaraṇa vs. Anukaraṇa

We have to be aware of two important words:

Anukaraṇa – mere imitation
Anusaraṇa – true following

There is a huge difference between these two words.

Anusaraṇa means you follow the footsteps of a great soul. Follow the footsteps—that means try to mold your life: behave like that person, think like that person, speak like that person, act like that person.

Anukaraṇa means you just put on some external paraphernalia, just like the other person, look like the other person, but never become like the other person. Anusaraṇa is good. Anukaraṇa is absolutely worthless—it is very dangerous.

The Journey After Death

Anyway, coming back to our subject: the fires—fires means adhiṣṭhātṛ-devatās, presiding deities—they said, "We are going to protect this person, his family, his children. But once his lifespan has come to an end, then we accompany him."

How do we accompany him? "Ehi, ehi iti"—"Come, come!"—as the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad describes. We have to borrow what is not said here from what is said elsewhere: "You are welcome, you are welcome." And then, we will come to that later on in this very Chāndogya Upaniṣad story—that these fires take him from a lower world, our world, to the upper world. Somebody else comes and then they take him from that upper world to an even higher world. Like that, there is a description.

This is also called Śukla-gati, as opposed to the other state, which is called Kṛṣṇa-gati.

As the Bhagavad Gītā states:

Śukla-kṛṣṇe gatī hy ete jagataḥ śāśvate mate

Ekayā yāty anāvṛttim anyayāvartate punaḥ

"If anybody goes through Śukla-yāna, he will attain liberation. But if anyone is fated to go through this Kṛṣṇa-gati, 'āvartate punaḥ' (he returns again): 'Kṣīṇe puṇye martya-lokam viśanti' (when merit is exhausted, he returns to the mortal world)."

So with this, the thirteenth section is over.

The Fires' Final Words (Section 14 Begins)

With just this recollection—and then, before the fires disappeared—they said:

Te ha ūcuḥ Upakosala—"Eṣa saumya te asmad-vidyā ātma-vidyā ca. Ācāryas tu te gatim bhaktayati."

"A-jagāma ha asya ācāryaḥ. Tam ācāryo abhyavāda Upakosala iti."

So the Upaniṣad continues:

"Te"—those fires—"then they," all the three fires:

"Upakosala, Saumya"—"Dear friend, we have taught you whatever is necessary for you: the knowledge of both ourselves and also the knowledge of the Self, or the manifestation of the Self. But then, the rest you have to learn from your teacher."

"But the teacher—your teacher Satyakāma Jābāla—will teach you until you attain your absolute goal."

Then the teacher returned and said to him, "Upakosala..."

Sanskrit Analysis

We will just go through the Sanskrit, because it is so beautiful:

Te agnayaḥ ha ūcuḥ—"Those fires, having taught everything that they knew, those fires addressed him: Upakosala."

Not only that—Saumya: "O dear one, O worthy one, O pure one."

Asya—"Is with you."

Eṣā—"This knowledge that we have given you."

Asmad-vidyā—"That is all about our true nature."

Not only that—ātma-vidyā: "That is also Self-knowledge, true Self-knowledge. We are also manifestations of Brahman, manifestations of Ātman. So we have taught you, and you have done well. And you also have done contemplation, and you also have become fit."

Then he says, "Up till now we have taught you, but what we have taught should be completed only by your guru."

The same thing happened in the case of Satyakāma Jābāla also.

Ācāryas tu—"But your teacher."

Ācārya—"The teacher."

Gatim bhaktayati—"He would be able to tell you the further pathway."

Then, they withdrew into themselves—that means they disappeared. Upakosala came back to consciousness. And where was he? All this time, he was at home only.

Contrast with Satyakāma Jābāla

Unlike Satyakāma Jābāla, he was not asked to go and tend the cows. I am wondering: just like his guru, Satyakāma Jābāla had disciples. To maintain the disciples, he must have had cows. We don't know—the story doesn't tell us. Maybe he had a few cows. Maybe they were very healthy. Maybe they did not need—or he did not want—a huge number of cows. So he did not send Upakosala for tending, just as he was sent by his teacher, Gautama Ṛṣi.

The Teacher Returns

Meanwhile, Upakosala became enlightened. His face was shining.

Ā-jagāma hi asya ācāryaḥ—this Upakosala's ācārya, Satyakāma Jābāla, ā-jagāma—he returned from his pilgrimage.

And then, as soon as he came, he had one look at this Upakosala.

Tam ācāryo abhyavāda—so we presume, as soon as the Āchārya-deva came, Upakosala must have made ṣaṣṭāṅga-praṇāma, especially—he understood, "This is all the grace of guru-kṛpā. And the guru only came in the form of these three fires." He must have made ṣaṣṭāṅga-praṇāma with gratitude.

The Guru's Omniscience

And the ācārya knew what was going to happen. Remember: a knower of Brahman knows everything—the past, present, and future. That's why they are called kavis. Kavi is not a poet; kavi means trikāla-darśī: he knows about the past, present, and knows also what is going to be the future.

We are also sometimes—we also become—knowers of the future. Suppose your children, they are not studying properly, and they are only watching, playing, and spending time in this absolutely horrible social media. Then you know the future. You told them; there is no reformation. They don't listen to you. They just keep quiet, and they go on doing whatever they want to do. And you already know in your heart of hearts: their future is not going to be bright.

But on the other hand, if you find somebody who is absolutely devoted and very disciplined, pays attention to his studies, very respectful towards the parents, has faith in God, in the scriptures—you know this person's life is going to be much better than many other people's. Though we do not know the special details, we know a general trend that is going to happen.

The Ācārya's Greeting

So, the ācārya had one look at him. He must have been highly pleased for two reasons: one is the legitimate reason, another is my reason.

What was the legitimate reason? "What I expected to happen had happened. God is gracious to my child. His face also was shining like a knower of Brahman, just as my face also glowed like a knower of Brahman, just as my ācārya recognized me. So I am also recognizing my disciple."

So what did the ācārya, as soon as he returned, do?

Abhyavāda—he addressed Upakosala.

Saumya iti—how do we know? That will come in the next part of the mantra: Upakosala iti.

Then the teacher returned and said to him, "Upakosala..."

The Second Mantra

And then the next part of the śloka, the second mantra, goes:

Bhagavo iti ha prati-śuśrāva.

Brahma-vid eva saumya te mukham bhāti. Ko nu tvā anuśaśāsa iti.

This is part of the second mantra.

Upakosala's Response

What happened? Bhagavo—so as soon as the ācārya addressed him, "Upakosala," immediately: Bhagavan iti prati-śuśrāva—Upakosala replied, "Bhagavan, you are my Lord. Guru Brahma, Guru Viṣṇu..."

And then, the guru is repeating exactly what his own guru repeated after seeing Satyakāma:

Brahma-vid eva saumya—"Most beloved child of mine."

Te mukham—"Your face."

Brahma-vid eva bhāti—"Is shining like a knower of Brahman."

Because knowledge always brightens a person, especially spiritual knowledge.

"Oh, so—sa—in my absence, because I know I have not taught you, ko tvā anuśaśāsa iti—'Who indeed instructed you in Brahma-vidyā so that you learned Brahma-vidyā?'"

He questioned, knowing fully well who has done it. The ācārya knows everything.

Upakosala's Shy Response

And then Upakosala became, as it were, a little bit shy, or evasive, or frightened. He says:

Ko nu mā anuśaśyād bhoḥ—"Who else can teach?"

Or there may be a meaning—I don't know; it is not explained in the commentaries like that—that means, excepting you, who can really instruct me?

Digression: Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa and Narendranath

Remember the incident in the life of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa: Narendranath's father suddenly died, so he was so busy trying to provide some means of very plain food for his family, and he knew how much they were starving. We know this story now. So from morning till evening he was searching for a job, and then he was getting tired. Sometimes he used to tell fibs: "I have eaten food." He would just buy a small paan and then, chewing it nicely, putting on a very smiley face...

Remember, Narendranath was a great actor. Even during Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's time, he acted in the dramas of Keshab Chandra Sen. So he knew how to act, so that a little bit of his portion can go towards the other family members. That was his condition.

Then he was not able to visit Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa as much as Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa wished. Then what happens? Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa understood: "My Naren cannot come to me, so I have to go to him."

What did he do? In his subtle body, he used to come instantaneously to Narendra and drag his subtle body—Narendra's subtle body—and then he used to give whatever instructions the Divine Mother wanted him to convey. And then, in the same way, he used to return back.

Remember, at the request of Hriday, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa promised him, "I will be present at the Durgā Pūjā in your place." So according to that promise, Hriday had performed Durgā Pūjā. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa instructed him extensively, in great detail.

But towards the sandhyāratī (vesper service), Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to appear. He used to travel through his sūkṣma-deha, sūkṣma-śarīra (subtle body). And he doesn't take even a fraction of a second—like our minds do not take even a fraction of a second. If you have somebody in Australia or in America or Canada, you can just think your thought, and you are there.

Like that, he used to be present. Only Hriday used to perceive, nobody else. And Hriday used to see: at vesper service time, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to take a fan—I think it is also a subtle fan—and fan the Divine Mother. And Hriday felt tremendously uplifted by these visions. This happened many times in the life of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa.

I am not going to quote all those things.

Upakosala Reveals the Truth

What is important for us here is that Upakosala became a little bit, as if, frightened, so as if he was hiding the truth. So he says, "Sir, who else can teach me? You must have taught me." But how? Because Upakosala's mind has become pure, and his teacher came in the form of the three Agnis, and then he taught him, just as Satyakāma Jābāla was also taught.

And then he says, showing the fires that were there—how were the fires? Absolutely calm and quiet, just like any time. How the fires maintained themselves, they were looking not like divine beings.

Then he is telling here, showing these fires, pointing out to these fires—Upakosala, pointing out to whom? To his teacher, Satyakāma. He was telling:

Ime—the word agnayaḥ is not there here, but we have to understand, add it in brackets—ime: "These fires."

Nūnam—"Definitely, indeed."

Īdṛśāḥ—"They are looking like this, as though nothing happened, as though they don't know anything, as though they are just normal fires."

"But in your absence"—anyadṛśā iti ha agnaya abhyavadan—"so when anyadṛśāḥ, when you were absent, then iti ha agnayaḥ, these very Agnis were anyadṛśāḥ—of a different form. They became teachers, or you have taken the form of these Agnis in order to instruct me."

How Bhagavān Appears

Anyadṛśāḥ—Bhagavān comes. How does Bhagavān come?

Ye yathā māṃ prapadyante tāṃs tathaiva bhajāmy aham

Mama vartmāni anuvartante manuṣyāḥ pārtha sarvaśaḥ

"Let anybody worship me in whichever form, but he has to worship me with absolute devotion and sincerity. Then I also reveal to them in that particular form."

That means what? If somebody worships Īśvara in the form of Kṛṣṇa, he will not get Rāma-darśana usually. He will get the darśana of only Kṛṣṇa. If he is a worshiper of Rāma, he will get Rāma-darśana. If it is of the Divine Mother, he will get darśana of the Divine Mother.

So it is like that. So these very fires, when you were not there, you alone appeared in the form of these—through the medium of these fires—and you alone have taught me. And I know that.

So he pointed out, and then he kept silent. He answered.

The Teacher's Question

Now the teacher is asking:

Saumya—"My dear boy."

Kila—"Indeed."

Te agnayaḥ—"Those Agnis, fires." He did not say agnayaḥ te—"means we have to deduce that he is referring to those fires."

Saumya—"My dear boy, so what did they teach you, instruct you? Please tell me."

So then, Upakosala, he replies.

Upakosala Recounts the Teaching

So what does he reply? The same thing that we have repeated for the sake of clarity. We do the same thing.

Three fires—remember:

First Fire: Gārhapatya

What did he say? "This earth, the fire, the food, and the sun god—for Hindus, the sun is a god. The fire, the Gārhapatya fire, he is telling: that consciousness which is manifesting through the medium of the Āditya or sun—so I am not different from it, because I am only Him; He is only me." That is what he said.

Second Fire: Dakṣiṇa

Then, what did he say? He instructed: "What else?" That means, then, these four: "These are four manifestations of mine." Whose manifestations? Two names are there: "They are all my forms, and therefore that pure consciousness Brahman manifest in the moon—I am not different from it. I am only manifesting. For sure, I am that Puruṣa."

Puruṣa here means that which is infinite, that which is all-pervading, both inside and outside and in all the directions, all the space. So that is what Dakṣiṇāgni had instructed.

Third Fire: Āhavanīya

Then, the third fire—what did it say? So the third fire, it instructed: "Four parts of me—I am manifesting in those parts. What are those four parts? I am the prāṇa, I am the ākāśa, I am the dyauḥ (upper world)—that is, I am the vidyut, I am the lightning. I am only manifesting in these four parts. And whichever is the Īśvara or Brahman manifest in that vidyut, that lightning, I am that Puruṣa, and that Puruṣa is me."

The Nature of Puruṣa

Puruṣa is not male. Puruṣa is pure consciousness, all-pervading consciousness. We cannot contemplate it fully—why? Because even the very thought returns, failing to reach Brahman. Because the limited can never reach the unlimited. That is the simplest truth. Mind is limited by time, space, and object or causation.

"I am that Puruṣa."

So thus, these three fires taught him. Then, not only that—they also taught: what is the result for any upāsaka? What is the result? We have seen that one:

The Results of Contemplation

"He who, knowing this, meditates on the fire, frees himself from sinful actions, obtains the world of the Gārhapatya fire, reaches his full age, and lives brightly. His descendants do not perish. We support him—we three fires support him—in this world, as long as he lives. And after, when the body—after the body falls—in the other world, we conduct him there. And whoever contemplates on all of us, we take him there."

So there are also these things:

Atha pāpa-kṛtyām apahate—"Becomes free from every type of pāpa," that is, sinful action.

Lokī bhavati—"He becomes a most marvelous person."

Sarvam āyur eti—"He lives until his full span of life."

Not only that: with full meaning, full joy, full manifestation of divinity.

Jyog jīvati—"His face will be shining like a knower of Brahman."

Na asya apare puruṣāḥ kṣīyante—"And his descendants, if he happens to be a householder, he will have children, and no inferior children." That means worthy children alone will be born to such a contemplator. "And we will also not only protect the father, but we will also protect the offspring also."

And then, at the death, fall of the body: Parāsmai tam upabhṛjyāmaḥ—"We are going to protect him in this world."

And then what happens? "We are going to conduct him to higher and higher and higher worlds. We, the fires."

Asmin loke amuṣmin loke—"We are going to protect him not only in this life, but wherever he goes, not only..."

Ya etat evam vidvān upāste—"Whoever understands this and then contemplates, he is called a vidvān."

Universal Application of This Knowledge

A vidvān is not a person who has mere scriptural knowledge, dry knowledge, but he translates it into action. And whoever does it—not 5,000 years back only, not 1,000 years back, not only now, in future also—is like a scientific formula. Whoever takes the same steps will get exactly the same result.

So all the three fires, they revealed twelve aspects of Brahman here for contemplation.

The Twelve Aspects for Contemplation

What does it mean? It means that whenever this upāsaka looks at these twelve components, then he is supposed to cover them up with Brahman and then say, "I am looking at this; it is nothing but Brahman." And as he contemplates, he goes on becoming that, just as we go on looking upon our guru as Brahman.

Guru Brahma—what happens? Even though the guru is Brahman, that is not the point. But so far as we are concerned, he has to be contemplated as Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, and Para-Brahma. And then, slowly, our mind becomes transformed. And then we feel that really he is a manifestation of Brahman; I am also a manifestation of Brahman.

The Twelve Components

So what are they?

This earth
Fire
Food
And the sun
Waters
All the directions—the east, the west, the south, the north, above, below, etc.
All the stars - Nakṣatrāṇi
Candramā (the moon)

Whenever this upāsaka looks at them, then the same upāsaka looks: "I am alive only because of God's manifestation as prāṇa in my body." Not only that: any prāṇa, wherever prāṇa is manifesting, that is God Himself manifesting.

Look at the space—not the sky, space, ākāśa. Then that is nothing but manifestation of Brahman, Saguṇa Brahma.
Dyauḥ—"I look up; there are different worlds there."

Are they? How do you know there are no worlds? There are different—definitely—higher worlds are there, as proved by Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. When his mind was ascending through the path of samādhi, finally it reached Saptarṣi-loka. There are worlds. We will not be able to see until our mind becomes pure, but we must have complete faith.

Then somebody says, "My mind went, transcending the lower world, ascending to the higher world, still higher world, still higher world, until it reached Saptarṣi-maṇḍala."

What happens after Saptarṣi-maṇḍala? Yato vāco nivartante aprāpya manasā saha—"There mind will not go." But the person's pure Ātman—"I am Brahman"—that experience will be there.

Holy Mother's Experience

Even Holy Mother, she was narrating her experience. Once: "My mind went very deep into meditation. Suddenly I found myself by the side of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, and everybody was paying so much reverence, homage to me. I was so happy by the side of Īśvara. I am Sarasvatī, I am Mahālakṣmī, I am Pārvatī, I am Śivānī, I am all the Śaktis."

And then, the time had come for me to come down. "I looked down, and I saw this filthy human body lying down. My mind felt extreme reluctance to enter into that body. But I know my children are waiting; I have still some duties left out. So I forced my mind to come down."

Like this, how many experiences Holy Mother had! Do you think she told every one of them again and again? Very few of them.

Swami Vivekananda's Experiences

All these great souls will tell—and especially in the life of Swami Vivekananda—he always kept a closed mouth, mum, about most of his experiences. Only by mistake, if it slipped out...

And these experiences must generate faith in us: there are other worlds, other life, and there is another way of living there. Other beings are there—both higher beings and also lower beings.

The Crying Souls at Madras

Remember Swami Vivekananda, when he was walking on the shores, on the beach at Madras, then he heard thousands of souls: "Please pray for us! Please rescue us! We did a lot of sinful actions; as a result, we cannot describe how much pain we are undergoing. Please help us!"

Being a maharṣi, what did Swami Vivekananda do? He had nothing to offer to these suffering souls. He took the sand from the beach, and with sincere prayer: "O Lord, please pardon them! Save them! Give them an opportunity to recover themselves!" And his prayer was heard.

How do we know? Swami Vivekananda said, "Thereafter, I have not heard that cry after I prayed for them."

The Practice of Seeing Brahman Everywhere

So we must have that faith. Whatever you look at, whenever you look at:

The earth
Fire
Food
The sun
The moon
Waters
The directions—all directions
The stars
Prāṇa
The space
The upper world
The lightning

"This is manifestation of Brahman. This is manifestation of Brahman. All these are manifestations of Brahman."

The Wonderful Result

What is wonderful is that as soon as a person tries to remember God—this is called practicing the presence of God—because everything reminds us of God, then what happens? There is nothing left out where we do not find God. We see the same God manifest everywhere, and then we cannot forget, because almost 24 hours we are only perceiving—in our waking state, in our dream state, etc.

So this is a beautiful contemplation.

The Teacher's Final Instruction (To Be Continued)

And then what? The teacher had taught him—really that we will see.

So then, the teacher said, "They only taught you partially. They made you pure. They made you fit. Now I will teach you that Brahman, etc."

This topic we will take up tomorrow.

Closing Prayer