Chandogya Upanishad 4.1 Lecture 127 on 09 August 2025

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

Opening Invocation

Oṁ jananīṁ śaradāṁ devīṁ rāmakṛṣṇam jagad-gurum pāda-padmetayōśritvā praṇamāmi-mohurumō

Oṁ āpyāyantu mamāṅgāni vākprāṇas cakṣuḥ śrutra-mathu bala-mindriyāṇi ca sarvāṇi sarvam brahmau paṇiṣadam māham brahma nirākuriyām mā mā brahma nirākarot anirākaraṇam astva nirākaraṇam me astu tadātmani nirate yau paṇiṣadsu dharmā te mayi santu te mayi santu

Oṁ śānte śānte śānte

Hāre he Oṁ

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 Samvarga Vidya

So we are studying a beautiful Upasana called Samvarga Vidya. In our last class we had introduced the story and this occurs in the 4th chapter of the Chandogya Upanishad from sections 1 to 3 of the Chandogya Upanishad.

Every subject is Samvarga Vidya. Vidya means Upasana. Upasana means a spiritual insight that has to be acquired by us.

Understanding Worldliness and Spirituality

To make things very simple, let me put it this way. What is worldliness? Worldliness is to think that there is something separate, distinct outside me and I am seeking highest happiness and continuous living or deathlessness and all knowledge and all happiness from the outside world. So long as we think the outside world is the source of happiness, that attitude, that type of life is called worldliness or Samsara or we are caught in the net of the Mahamaya.

But when we understand that we cannot with absolute certainty enjoy anything. Anything can happen to anybody at any time, at any place, in any manner and through experience when we learn this and then we become disillusioned, disappointed. I thought I can get what I want from this world but now I know for certain I am not going to get.

I want to get but I know I am not able to get it. I will never get it. But along with this discrimination comes another piece of eye-opening knowledge that what I am seeking I can get but not where I was seeking in my past life.

Now the scripture or the teacher is going to tell me it's available. In fact you are in mine, the source, devotion of Sat, Chit and Ananda but for that you will have to change your understanding. And that understanding can be achieved, can be obtained only by practicing certain disciplines and that discipline is called Vidya.

Whether we worship personal God with a particular name, form, qualities or same personal God without qualities like Akasha, etc., the result will be the same. The more refined we become, the more we travel within, inside, our capacity to understand truth becomes much better, much larger and much holistic. And that can be achieved only through certain means, practises and that is called, call it worship, call it contemplation, doesn't matter.

The Essence of Samvarga Vidya

So this Samvarga Vidya, what is it? If I have to put it in simple words, what do you mean by Samvarga Vidya? I say first find out the effect and merge it in its cause. This merging of effect into its cause and if that cause into which we merge the effect still has its own cause, go on travelling, merging the effect into cause, at that stage that particular cause we reached, we understand it as an effect and we seek its cause. Until we reach that particular cause, reaching which there is no further cause, that is the final cause, that is called infinity, there cannot be anything beyond infinity.

The Two-Fold Model

So this Samvarga Vidya focusses on two aspects. As I discussed in our Upanishadic classes and you have to remember not only this Chandogya but also Taittiriya that I interchange because the ideas are repeated in slightly different format in various Upanishads. So according to Taittiriya we are all nothing but food, food means an object and at the same time everyone is a food, everyone is also an enjoyer of food, food and eater of food.

So sometimes the eater of the food himself, itself becomes food and is eaten by somebody else or to put it even in more plain words, I enjoy the world and the world also enjoys me, I look at you, you look at me. When I am looking at you, I am the subject, that means I am the eater, another word for eater is enjoyer, so I am the eater, you are the eaten or enjoyed and when you are looking at me, you are the eater, you are the enjoyer and I am the enjoyed. So the whole world is this intricate business of subject becoming both subject and object, object also becoming both object and subject and the whole creation is again subdivided into another model called the triangular model called the Adhyatma, Adhibhautika and Adidaivika.

The Process of Merging

So in this particular Samvarga Vidya, two aspects Adhyatma and Adidaivika are taken. So how does it go? So we have got what is called this body, merge the body, Annamaya Kosha into Pranamaya into Manomaya into Vijnanamaya into Anandamaya, that is one model, Panchakosha model. Another is, merge this gross body into subtle body and merge this subtle body into the causal body and what remains outside that experiencing these three bodies, that is our true self.

So this merging gross into the subtle, subtle into the subtlest or causal, that is called Samvarga, means merging. So the earth is merged into waters, waters is merged into fire, fire is merged into Vayu, air. In this particular Vidya, the idea that one can go, climb up to the air, Vayu, Devata, that is all mentioned but it is not mentioned but we have to understand why you should be merged in the Akasha or space and space again has to be merged into Atman or Brahman and that is the end of the affair.

This going back from where we have come, that is called Samvarga Vidya and as I said on the Adhyatma level, I merge myself into my origin cause which is earth, earth into waters, waters into fire, Tejas, fire into Vayu. But at the Adi Daivika level, Hiranyagarbha is the root cause of this entire creation. So, merge the individual in the Virat, merge Virat into the Hiranyagarbha and that is the merging at the Adi Daivika level.

So these two are expounded in this Samvarga Vidya. As I said Samvarga means merging, merging means merge the gross into the subtle, merging means merge the effect into the cause until you reach the causeless cause. In this case it is Vayu but we have to take it Vayu means what? Prana.

Prana means what? Hiranyagarbha. So these are related, coordinated words we have to understand. So identify, simply put identify yourself with the Vayu Devata or Hiranyagarbha and once you are capable of doing that the rest will be extremely easy.

That is you come to know I am the Atman, I am the Brahman. That is the essence of this particular Samvarga Vidya and we have introduced a story. We have progressed.

The Story of King Janashruti

Introduction of the King

There was a king called Janashruti. He was the great grandson of a person named Janashruta. He was a king and he was endowed with tremendous Shraddha and he was extraordinarily charitable person and he gave with the greatest love and he constructed lot of what you call pilgrim inns, Dharmashalas for people whether they are beggars or travellers.

They can take rest, they will be provided food and he has some desire that let people come to know I am the provider because I am the king. I look upon myself as the grandfather of all my people and it is my duty to look after them. Let no one suffer in my kingdom and he gave himself generously and many years have passed.

Through this what is called Karma Yoga his mind has become pure and the right time has come and one summer night perhaps he was taking rest on the roof of his palace or whatever reason and God was very gracious. So he provided some holy company and God provides holy companies in different ways.

Examples of Divine Grace

For example, there was one Devarshi or what is called Rishi, Maharshi, Devendra Nath Tagore, Devendra Nath Tagore's father and he was depressed because of some circumstances.

One day he was on the banks of the Ganga and God was very gracious to him and there was a peanut seller. So he wrapped up some peanuts and sold it to somebody in a piece of paper and then that person must have thrown that paper away and that paper unravelled itself, came and touched the feet of Maharshi Devendra Nath Tagore. And out of idle curiosity he opened that paper and that happened to be the first page of Isavasya Upanishad wherein it is written.

We don't know which language because Maharshi knew English also very well. They were all highly cultured and educated family. So he unravelled, unfolded the paper, smoothed it and read out that the whole universe is nothing but God.

So he learnt to look upon this entire creation as nothing but Ishwara. And that brought about tremendous transformation in him.

So I also mentioned there was one great saint in Bengal and one day he was a Zamindar, very rich person.

So one day he was returning to his Zamindari with a horse and with a servant. So when he reached the outskirts of a small village, he had to bypass, a washerman was washing his clothes and his daughter was helping him. But somehow a washerman that day has not started the real process of cleaning the clothes.

So his daughter reminded him, Baba, already it is so late, when are you going to clean up the clothes, dirty clothes. But the washerman understood it, I have to start my work. But this Zamindar overheard those words of that small girl and he understood it because these words used had a double meaning.

Oh father, already you are old, when are you going to destroy your sanskaras. So immediately those casual words awakened his spirit of suppressed vairagyam, dispassion. Immediately, then and there, he called his servant, gave him even the costly dress he was having and he went his way to Vrindavan, found out a Guru and became an enlightened soul.

So we don't know, Tulasi Das's wife, she chided him because he could not stay away from her. If you had one hundredth of this love which you possess for this ephemeral body, if you have that much of love for God Rama, your life would have been blessed and that changed. Bilvamangala's life was changed, St. Augustine's life was changed.

The Divine Intervention

So the time has come for this Janashruti because he had attained sufficient amount of purity of mind, Chitta Shuddhi and he must have developed through these Karma Yoga activities. What is called Sadhana, Chatursthaya, Sampathi, fourfold Viveka, Vairagya and control over the body and mind and deep desire for liberation, Mumukshutvam, he must have obtained and God's grace came in the form of two flamingos or birds flying above the roof where this king was taking rest.

And what the king was hearing, don't go on questioning whether the king knew the birds' language or the birds were speaking in human language.

In the Upanishads, it's a very common thing we are going to explore in future also. The story of Satyakamajabala as well as Upakosala where birds have taught Brahmavidya, fire had taught Brahmavidya, a bullet had taught Brahmavidya, etc. We will be exploring.

That is when the time comes, as one of the English poets says, to see the whole universe in a dew drop on a small flower. So if our mind is ripe, we can see the truth even in the slightest suggestion, awakening can come. So the king was ready and God's grace came in the form of, we have to supply in the form of two birds, but those birds were nothing but great Rishis wanted to awaken this.

So for that, this king had to approach a Guru. So a conversation was going on. So one of the birds, one was flying in the front, one was flying at the back.

The Conversation of the Birds

So the bird which was flying at the back addressed the bird that was flying in the front. Now very interesting word, Aksha means eye, Bhalla means short sighted. That means, oh flamingo, you are an old flamingo.

So your eyesight might have become a little bit less effective. You might not be able to see. So what was the second bird trying to convey? Don't you know, this king Janashruti, he has done so much of good work.

His name and fame and his virtues, that is Brahma virtues, spiritual splendour, like daylight, it is spreading to the heavens. And be careful not to touch that flame, go anywhere near that flame in your blindness, unable to see. If you fly even nearer to that flame, you will be scorched completely.

Then the first bird, as if it were retorting back, said, what are you talking about? As if this person is an inferior person. Then the other bird was replying, don't go on thinking. This king Janashruti is a great man.

His greatness is nothing. His splendour is nothing. His knowledge is nothing in comparison with another person.

Oh, is it so? And what is the name of that person, sir? Because I never seem to have heard about his name. His name is Raikwa and always he will be found under a cart and he doesn't have any horses or bullocks to pull that cart. We don't know.

Maybe he was pulling himself. I have seen people, all the things they will put in an auto rickshaw. I have seen on YouTube, a tramp, all his belongings he puts on what is called a wheelchair and he is pulling the wheelchair himself using that wheelchair as a cart.

Introduction to Raikwa

So this Raikwa, he is compared to a person who had attained 100% knowledge. For that, Upanishad uses a word that is called Krita. You know, Hinduism divides history or age of the world into four categories.

Krita Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dwapara Yuga and Kali Yuga. So taking that clue, that is Krita Yuga is 100% pure, that means 100% happiness because in Krita Yuga, Dharma will be 100%. In Treta Yuga, Dharma will be 75% and because it is only 75%, the corresponding happiness also will be only 75%.

And if I come to Dwapara Yuga, it will be only 50% and so his happiness of the persons in Dwapara Yuga will be only 50%. And when it comes to Kali Yuga, it is only 25% or even less. Therefore, the happiness of people will also be only correspondingly much, much less. So there is a game there.

In that game, they throw certain like chess pieces, some flat pieces they throw, some people will get 4, some people will get 3, some people will get 2, some people will get 1. So whether a person gets 1 or 2 or 3, the person who got 4, he is superior to all these because 1, 2, 3 are already included in that 4. Or as Shri Ram Krishna tells, if somebody has got 1 rupee, then he has got, do you have 4 annas? Yes, I have got 4 annas. Somebody comes and asks, do you have 8 annas? Yes, I have 8 annas. Somebody comes and asks, do you have 12 annas? Yes, I have got 12 annas because 1 rupee includes all that value.

Raikwa's Spiritual Journey

So this Raikwa was compared to that Krita or 100% and his knowledge is 100% and he must have obtained it through some Vidya and in future we are going to look at it and that Vidya is called Samvarga. That means this Raikwa, he must have merged himself in the earth and he must have as earth, that is by practising this Samvarga Vidya and he must have learnt it from his Guru. Having learnt it, sincerely he practised it.

Having practised it, he became one with the earth and then he found out this earth is not the final cause, this is only a secondary cause. So he must go to the primary cause. So he practised further, then he merged himself into Aapaha waters.

Earth, as earth he became one with waters and having reached waters, having identified himself, Aham Aapaha, that is I am that Devata called Jala Devata. Not Pauranik Jala Devata, but Brahma Vidya Jala Devata, Pancha Bhutas, Pancha Devatas. Having reached that one, no, this is also not the final cause, then he merged, he did further Upasana and he merged himself with Agni or Tejas and then he identified, I am Agni.

Like a great sage, he declared, I am Manu, I am Indra, I am all the Gods and Goddesses, etc. Aham Manu Abhavam, I have become Manu, etc. We will see it, we have seen it already in the Taithiriya Upanishad, we will see also further.

So he identified with Agni Devata, then as usual found out that that is also a secondary cause, not the final cause. So he further practised and he became, merged himself with Vayu. Here Vayu means, Vayu in our bodies, individual bodies manifests as Prana with five functions, Prana, Apana, Vyana, Udana and Samana.

But as collective, this universal Prana is called Hiranyagarbha. That is a beautiful word Hiranyagarbha. Earlier also I mentioned to you that universal Prana in one way of saying is called Sutratma.

Universal, same universal Manu, all the minds, universal cosmic mind, that is called Hiranyagarbha and universal intellect, Vijnanamaya Kosha. All the Vijnanamaya Kosha combined is called Mahatattvam. So Sutratma, Hiranyagarbha and Mahatattvam to indicate three separate identities, but they are all one in three, three in one, Hiranyagarbha means everything and from Hiranyagarbha only the whole creation has come.

So as it were, he became the Saguna Brahma who is Raikva and then a person, as Swami Turiyanandaji puts it so beautifully, a person who realises I am Saguna Brahma, automatically he will merge himself, unconsciously pulled and realises Aham Nirguna Brahma Asmi, Brahma Asmi. We don't need to say if it is Saguna, we have to say it is Saguna. If it is Nirguna, we don't need to say I am Nirguna.

Aham Brahma Asmi. So that must have been the realisation of this Raikva and he was a Brahmachari, he was a more or less young person and he had got some bodily disease, what is called very itchy type of skin he developed. So most of the time he sits there and he scratches himself under the cot and if he has to move, actually he never moves anywhere, he made it his permanent residence.

But these two words, one word was informing as if to the first word. Don't you know that there is a great realised soul called Raikva and this Raikva is called Samyuganam, that is always associated with a cot. And in comparison with the glory, with the splendour, with the Brahmavarchas, with the knowledge of this Raikva, as if the Janashruti's glory is absolutely nothing.

In comparison, without comparison it is very great, more than a billion, billion, billion people's glory, may be one or two in the world can equal this Janashruti. But this Raikva, oh my God, he was a realised soul and this conversation was uttered by some Rishis or some Gurus to awaken the desire to realise Brahman in the mind, heart of this Janashruti.

The King's Awakening

So then what did this Janashruti do? He was pondering the whole night, what I have heard, he understood, it is absolute truth, it is some divine beings, may be Gods, may be Rishis, may be some sacred people, for my benefit they have uttered.

So what I have realised is not sufficient, I must go seek this person, surrender myself to him and then beg his grace and ask him to teach, like Janaka begs the grace of Yajnavalkya, please teach me. Very interesting, in future we will come to that Brihadaranyaka Upanishad also. So whole night he was pondering and he decided, my knowledge is very less, I have been satisfied myself, I have been very content to know that I am great, but today some great soul's grace had fallen upon me, I woke myself up, so I must approach this Guru.

So as I mentioned in my last class, the kings in the earlier days used to be awakened by some people who flatter them, you are Indra, you are Chandra, nobody in this world is equal to you, even the worst type of puny, what is called Jamindars, also sometimes pay money to be praised like that. Why? Because nobody is willing to praise them, so the only way he can get his desire fulfilled is by paying some money, and of course there are people who do. And even now we see there are Presidents, there are Prime Ministers, and whatever they do, those surrounding followers expecting some favour or trying to repay gratefulness etc., they go on praising irrespective of its reality, truth or not.

Even today we see it everywhere, these what is called spongers are available everywhere. So these people came, started awakening the king, but the king was never asleep, so he could not tolerate his praise. He said, stop, do not go on praising me, in comparison to this Raikava, my glory is nothing, I am nothing, please go and find out.

The Search for Raikwa

So he had what is called his important attendant, told him to go and find out. This person went, we do not know how many hours, how many days, searched everywhere, that means he was searching in the wrong places, because it is said he was the most famous person and he was a glorious person. So many people should have heard about such a glorious person, but then nobody had ever heard, because how many people have heard about Sri Ram Krishna at Dakshineswar? Only when Keshav Chandra Sen came into contact with him and Divine Mother had bestowed that subtle intellect by which he could understand the greatness, the glory of Sri Ram Krishna, and immediately he acknowledged, the unrivalled spiritual emperor at present in this world, nobody can be compared, he can only perhaps be compared to incarnations of God, and this is a different subject, but by Mother's grace, Keshav Chandra Sen had understood it.

And unstintingly he started preaching it, and through that, first Calcutta, then slowly slowly the word started to spread, and even in the distant what is called Sindh, one Hiralal was there, and he came to see Sri Ram Krishna. He saw him when he was living in Calcutta, and he went back to Sindh, he became the editor of a magazine, and again he came after hearing Sri Ram Krishna is not likely to survive for long, doctors had diagnosed him with cancer etc. All the way, long distance from Sindh, this Hiralal, he came there, Sri Ram Krishna loved him, and Hiralal had tremendous love for Sri Ram Krishna, Bhakti, so a blessed soul.

So this King Janashruti was telling, this is nothing, you don't praise me, I want to find out, I want to go to him, find him out, and these servants went out, could not find, and they said, we could not find out, nobody knows about him. Then the King was a very intelligent person, he told, did you search for a saint, you should not be searching in a rich man's house, you should be searching in a crematorium, or in a forest, in a solitary place where Brahmanas, that means great spiritual people, they prefer to live there, go and search. And the servants, the attendants, got the hint, and this time, they focused only on solitude, they came to a village, and then they asked, yes, there is one person called Raikwa, he stays in the corner of our village, he is always to be found under a cot.

So this fellow servant immediately ran, and he said, sir, after bowing down, are you Raikwa, the man with the cot, and he said, yes, Kshatta, that means, O attendant, yes, yes, I am that Raikwa, you need not ask further. Immediately, the servant came back, the attendant came back, and reported, yes, we have found out, this way to say is called Raikwa, and he is in such and such a place.

The First Approach to Raikwa

And immediately, the king had taken some $600, let us say, Ishka, it is called, just for the sake of understanding, so a great amount of money, and some horses, some carriages, and a few other things, which he thought, he went there, offered them to Raikwa, and requested him, so humbly, very humbly, O Bhagawan, please teach me, how you have attained that knowledge, what type of practise you would advise me, so that I can also obtain the same realisation as you had obtained.

And this Raikwa was not happy, perhaps, that means, you must understand, these great people do not have private individualities like us, they became one with God, so they know intuitively, so they understood, this person is still stingy, is not ready. So, he addressed him, O Shudra, that means, O King, I know you are a great king, I know you have done, which many other kings do not do, you are compared to them, you are unparalleled, but for this Vidya, you are not fit, so go back. So, addressed him, as if, what is called, insulting him, O Shudra, but we should not misunderstand the word, Shudra, in that way.

The King's Self-Reflection

So, this Janashruti, he goes back, he reflects, the story does not tell all these things, we have to fill up the gap, by contemplating upon that story. He must have taken time, he must have contemplated, why did this great Guru refuse to teach me that Vidya, because these people, they are not individuals, they do not say, I have that knowledge, and I will decide whether I will teach you or not. We have to understand this fact very clearly, Sairam Krishna never says, I will not teach you, but sometimes he will behave, as though he has decided, and as though, as an individual, he is talking.

For example, when some people come, politely, very diplomatically, he will say, go and look at the buildings, go and look at the beautiful gardens, and in those days, the gardens were maintained very beautifully by all the servants. So, what was Sairam Krishna telling? He was telling that, even if I speak, that is not going to do any good to any of you, and only my time is wasted, your time is also wasted, you better do something, which will make you a happier person. But a sincere person comes, immediately he will start, even if the person is not asking, immediately he will tell, and if you observe this, your understanding of the Gospel of Sairam Krishna would be in a much, much better way.

So, this Janashruti, he understood, there is some lack, I am not fit, what is it? So, he must have prayed to God, he must have analysed himself, he must have found something is lacking, maybe egotism was there, I am a great king, I am a very generous king, and my glory surpasses every other king's or emperor's glory, everybody knows about me, let people eat my food, that means those who have eaten, definitely they will talk. This king provides very good food, so thank God, may God bless him. Like that, there are many good people who are very grateful, of course, there will be people who are extremely ungrateful, they will never acknowledge what is called gratefulness.

The Second Approach

So, this Janashruti made himself ready, next time he took one thousand, what is called golden coins, many more chariots, horses, attendants, and this time he had a beautiful daughter, and he must have thought that this daughter of mine wants a spiritual life, she is not like ordinary daughters who want to marry some hero or some great king and enjoy life like any other worldling, no, she is also very spiritual, after all the father is spiritual, nothing is talked about the queen, maybe she is also a very great spiritual person, the entire family may be a very highly advanced spiritual family, so the daughter, only daughter, because they don't mention any son or anything, so the king took, and then he went and again bowed down, offered all these things, and very respectfully asked, Bhagwan, please, Shadi Maam is a beautiful word, we get this word in Bhagavad Gita also, Arjuna having given a big lecture, that if the war is no good, it is better to live even on begging food, but this war has a lot of disadvantages, and Krishna went on listening. And then very soon Krishna, he became like a mirror, showing all the faulty reasoning, and for what purpose Arjuna was talking like this, without head or tail, then he understood, I am not happy, if I am rational, I should have been happier, but I am not happy, even if I get all the three worlds, I will not be happy at all. That means Krishna exposed him for what he is, in spite of his rational thinking, and as I said earlier, what Arjuna told about the disadvantages of war, what happens when wars take place, culture goes down, the good habits that people have developed over many, many centuries, they all go to dogs very fast.

Just imagine, within 10 years, how much the culture has been influenced by so-called Western culture, of course, we also must have been longing for that of culture, because the external influence cannot really affect us, if our Samskaras are otherwise. So if there is an influencer, and there are some people who are ready to be influenced, then only it will take place. So like that, this Janashruthi's family, like Balarama Vasu's family, must have been an entirely spiritual family, and then he brought his daughter, maybe she was desiring to marry a spiritual person, maybe it is God's will that this Raikva also wants to get married.

So he brought and said, the king said, humbly, I am offering all these things, not in pride, not as a prize of your teaching, but as my humble offering to you, and I am offering also my daughter to you. So, please be gracious to marry her, but teach me that knowledge or that Vidya by which you have become really great, a great realised soul. I want that one only.

Understanding Raikwa's Acceptance

So then, here also, some people may misunderstand, oh, first time the king did not bring the beautiful daughter, second time when he brought, Raikva looked at her, he was pleased. The terrible mistake would be committing that Raikva became enamoured of this woman, and then he decided to teach like ordinary priests, they will do anything if you offer money. Like that, these people also, this king also is offering me, so now I am satisfied, I am going to get a wife, so I have no objection, that means we are underestimating a realised soul.

Any realised soul, the first fact about any realised soul we have to understand is, they don't take decisions, it is God who works through them, they become instruments. So Raikva, it must have been God's will because many Rishis and Munis led ideal householder's life, but they also never left spiritual practises, so that is the distinction between modern so-called householders and the Rishis and Munis. So the Guru understood, the disciple is ready, and now if he teaches, that teaching will definitely bear fruit, and with that idea, he said, alright, I will teach you, but he put it in a funny way.

He said, by offering me your daughter and all these gifts, you are making me teach, but it is said in a lighter way, not really, because otherwise you can misunderstand, misinterpret that I know the value of my knowledge, but I have been overcome, tempted by your gifts. So I am giving something precious, like Jesus says, throwing pearls before swine, so even though I know you are not a worthy person, still I am giving this. No, the Raikva is not talking, it is the Divine that is talking, because the Vidya belongs to the Divine, and the King also, that God's grace is there, now you are ready, only when the giver is ready to give, and the receiver is ready to receive, then only the proper transmission will take place, otherwise no.

The Nature of Divine Teaching

This is one of the great truths that our Upanishads teach us, and that is why we have seen in the 8th chapter of the Chandogya Upanishad, that when Hirvachananda, even Indra came to learn of the self-knowledge, Brahmavidya, the teacher Prajapati had asked them to observe 32 years of Brahmacharya, which means a very austere life. Brahmacharya means only thinking about God, making their hearts pure, and studying the scriptures. So during that period also, we have to imagine, they were not simply sitting and meditating, they were also receiving what is called the academic education of the Upanishads, etc., after 32 years of this austerity.

So then Prajapati called him and said, alright, I will give you the very first step. There were four steps, Brahman about the gross world, Brahman about the subtle world, Brahman about the causal world, or Jagrat, Swapna, Sushupti. And finally, Brahman who is a witness to all the three worlds.

Yet, without Brahman, these three worlds cannot be experienced, but Brahman is not one with the three worlds, he ever remains completely unlimited, whereas the three states are completely limited. So he started, we know what happened to Hirvachana, after the first lesson itself, he misunderstood the whole thing, that this Jagrat Prapancha, this gross body, alone is the Atman, I am that Atman, I am the body. So cater to the body, take care of it, avoid all dangers, enjoy as long as you want, and that is the philosophy Prajapati promised to teach, and that is how he misunderstood the whole lot, and he went.

We know, we have seen, how Indra, at first satisfied, then he gradually realised that this cannot be, because through deep thinking, called Manana, Indra understood that it is defective, the teaching is defective or incomplete. So he came back, so three times he had to do, first time 32 years, second, third time 32, 32, and last 5 years, total 101 years, so this Raikava must have understood, Janashruti is also ready for this particular teaching, and immediately he started teaching. This is the background, and once you keep this background in mind, this story part of it, we do not need you to dwell, which we will say in our next class.

Closing Prayer

Om jananim sharadham deviham

Ramakrishnam jagadgurum

bhaadapadmetayosritva

pranamami mohor mohoho

May Ramakrishna Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti.

Jai Ramakrishna.