Chandogya Upanishad 5.3-10 Conclusion 174 on 18 January 2026

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 the Summary

We have been trying to summarize the Chāndogya Upaniṣad. In that connection, in our last class, we have been dealing with how Vedas were divided into two sections: Karmakāṇḍa and Jñānakāṇḍa. Karmakāṇḍa, again, is subdivided into two parts. One is external mere rituals, and later on, when a person develops more and more śraddhā (faith), then he will be promoted to be encouraged to do mental rituals, which is called upāsanā.

The Progression of Spiritual Practice

So how long? That was the question taught and answered by every saint, especially Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. All the external rituals should be performed until a person becomes 50 or a little bit older, when the children are well established, are on their own feet, and now the parents need not worry about them anymore. That is the time when they should actually turn their attention to mental worship, also called mānasika pūjā.

Mānasika pūjā is equivalent to upāsanā. Of course, the way ancient ṛṣis had done these upāsanās is practically impractical because we do not even understand. But we can equate them with the modern pūjā, and we have various deities, avatāras, saints, sages—even sacred scriptures can also be worshipped. That's why in the Viśiṣṭādvaita Sampradāya, all the avatāras were subdivided into five different ways. I am not going to discuss about that. But even worshipping an image (that is called arcāvatāra), then incarnations (another type), great saints and sages (another type)—all these yield exactly the same result, provided we follow a particular pattern. That's very important.

The Path to the Highest Goal

So how does an earnest spiritual seeker really attain to the highest goal? Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa unambiguously put it that the last word about the perfection of sādhana is Advaita. In Bengali, he used to express it very beautifully: "Advaita jñāna añcale binde jāi chyatāy koro."

So that is the goal. Whether a person starts—and we all must start where we are, which is dvaita—we slowly progress into this Advaita and go beyond that and become one with Brahman. This is especially outlined from the sixth chapter of this Chāndogya Upaniṣad.

The Three Stages of Spiritual Practice

To understand how sādhana (spiritual practice) leads to knowledge of Brahman, we must study the life of a saint. Any saint, every saint has to pass through the same way, like a scientific experiment. Anybody who wants a particular result must follow the same steps.

When we observe and study the lives of saints, we see their life can be subdivided into three steps:

First Step: External Rituals

The first step is called external rituals. As they progress, then they elevate them to mānasika pūjā, that is called upāsanās—mental rituals. Upāsanā is the same thing that we do outside, but now must be combined with meditation on the deities, elevated to the mental level. This is called mānasika pūjā. This is the second step.

Second Step: Mental Worship (Upāsanā)

Human beings can only take these two steps. Then they will be ready to receive the grace of God.

Third Step: God's Grace

The third step is that God's grace alone can reveal Him. This is also called brahmajñāna, ātmajñāna, Brahma-jñāna, God-realization—synonymous words with the kingdom of heaven. The word "kingdom of heaven" should not be equated with our Hindu concept of going to svargaloka, etc.

The Life of Kshudhiram as Example

To understand what we have just now stated—that every saint's life has to necessarily fall into three stages, three steps, each step being a stage leading to the next higher step—let us study the life of Kshudhiram. We find the same pattern in Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. If we study carefully, we see the same repetition in the life of every saint.

Kshudhiram's Practice

Kshudhiram traditionally was a ritualist. He did rituals throughout his life, in his own life, and his profession was also that of a purohita, acting as a professional performer of rituals in other people's homes. So he practiced this.

What is this practice of external rituals? We have to understand they have to lead to śraddhā. This is where we find Naciketā's father, Vājasśravasa—he did not have complete faith. He had a desire to go to heaven, but he did not have sufficient faith in the scriptures. Because the scripture tells us not only what to do, but also what not to do.

The scripture pointed out to him: if you want to go to heaven, you will have to give up all that is earthly. But he was hesitant. But the same Vājasśravasa understood in course of time, and he represents Naciketā, who answered. Vājasśravasa represents the beginning of Naciketā, his son. By this time, he obtained everything—śraddhā. And then he wanted not only svargaloka; he wanted to go beyond svargaloka, and that is what śraddhā does.

The Results of Faith

So if somebody does external physical rituals with complete faith, what does it result in? In truth-speaking. Because truth-speaking is one of the conditions. We will talk about it as we are analyzing the summaries of every chapter.

So truthfulness, dāna (charity), yajña (converting one's life into a sacrifice), svādhyāya—all these things are beautifully outlined. Rituals done with faith must lead to purification of the mind, and purification of mind gives much more śraddhā, allows much more śraddhā to seep in. And then scripture also tells: now you have to do certain things, you have to avoid certain things—vidhi and niṣedha.

From Truth-Speaking to Truth-Seeking

Truthfulness—that is speaking. What is truth? That is one of the most important: "Satyaṃ vada, dharmaṃ cara, svādhyāyān mā pramadaḥ." We have studied in the first chapter of the Taittirīya Upaniṣad, called Śikṣā Vallī, especially the 11th section of it.

So what happens? External rituals lead to truth-speaking, and truth-speaking further purifies the mind. Truth-speaking leads to truth-seeking—inevitably. "I don't want anything excepting God." And the understanding comes that God cannot be obtained excepting through His own grace.

The Three Steps to God's Grace

So truth-seeking leads really to God's grace. These are the three steps:

External rituals → truth-speaking
Truth-speaking → truth-seeking
Truth-seeking → God's grace

This is what Rāma preached, what Śrī Kṛṣṇa preached, what Jesus Christ preached: "Let Thy will be done." That is what Muslims always say: "Inshallah, let the will of God be done." And that is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa taught: śaraṇāgati. "My children, take refuge in God, in the Divine Mother."

Holy Mother said the same thing. Swāmi Vivekānanda, to emphasize that point, four times in his hymn to Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa—that hymn which is called "Oṃ Hr̥daye Mr̥tam"—he emphasizes four times: "I know intellectually everything. I want You, but I cannot get You without Your grace. Asmat tvām eva śaraṇaṃ mama dhīnabandhu."

This also happens to be the last verse of teaching by Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa to Arjuna: "Sarvadharmān parityajya mām ekaṃ śaraṇaṃ vraja, ahaṃ tvā sarvapāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ."

Kshudhiram's Visions

As a result of this sincere performance of rituals, what happened in the life of Kshudhiram? He had visions of the very deities he was worshipping. And exactly Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa also had the same experiences. As an example, Divine Mother Śītalā herself appeared in the form of a small girl helping Kshudhiram, addressing him as "Bābā" and bending down the branches of the flowering trees so that her worship can be done in an easier manner.

And the same Kshudhiram, as we know, had a vision of Viṣṇu at Gayā. And here, God himself begged him: "I want to be born as your son." So the time has come for God to bestow His grace.

God's Grace and Renunciation

His grace comes in the form of stripping everything upon which man or sādhaka depends, so that his mind is not divided into two—dependence upon God as well as dependence upon the world. But God made him—He wants to be born. That means what? He wants to bestow His grace.

Not only that, He stripped Kshudhiram just before the third step as an indication of His grace—everything that he possessed. God deprived him of all his possessions, making him what? Not a pauper, not a beggar, not a miserable person, but giving him that attitude: "Rely totally on God. Don't think of anything." Like a child—a child doesn't even think, "I have to rely upon mother." No, it just lives in the present.

The Zamindar Incident

So how do we know? Because we all know the incident. A zamindar wanted him to bear false witness. And the moment Kshudhiram heard the desire of the zamindar, that very moment he knew the truth. Truth flashed in him: "Time has come for me to leave everything that I called my own until now and move on, totally dependent upon God, wherever He leads me."

Three Spiritual Reactions

Three reactions—unlike us—three spiritual reactions in Kshudhiram's life after this zamindar incident had come:

First, he knew that this zamindar will deprive him of everything. What was the reaction? "It is Rāma's will."

Second, should this zamindar be cursed? No. That is also—if something happens by Rāma's will, if at all we have to curse, we have to curse Rāma and not anybody else. Or, in our case, our prārabdha, the result of our past life.

Secondly, what did he do? His reliance upon God had increased so much. Without knowing where he is going to stay further in his life, he just left with his wife and, I think, one daughter, eight cloths he was putting on—everything, house, and he possessed 33 acres of wetland, quite a considerable wealth—everything, without thinking twice: "Ah, I had to leave everything." No, no regret. "Rāma knows best." That means a person will be joyful, not saying, "Oh, Rāma made me so sorrowful. All right, what can I do?" No. Whatever Rāma does, like a child, whatever mother does, is absolutely acceptable. Nothing else is acceptable.

Thirdly, his surrender to God had increased totally, and his whole life turned out to be practically the life of a jīvanmukta.

Kshudhiram's Final Moments

Then how did he pass away? "Antakāle ca mām eva smaran muktvā kalevaram." So remembering "Raghuvīra, Raghuvīra, Raghuvīra" on Vijayā Daśamī day, the last day of the Durgā Pūjā, after all the rituals were over, without giving trouble to anybody, he just half-sat, uttered three times "Raghuvīra, Raghuvīra, Raghuvīra," and he passed away.

Where do you think he would go? Not that he has to be reborn in Brahmaloka or he has to be reborn in the family of yogis and attain mukti.

Summary of Kshudhiram's Life

The life of Kshudhiram vividly illustrates how man progresses from rituals to upāsanā to parābhakti and attains mukti through complete self-surrender to God. And that alone brings God's grace completely.

Understanding the Chandogya Upaniṣad

Now we can turn to the summarization of Chāndogya Upaniṣad, understanding this: rituals lead you to upāsanā, and these two lead you to complete, total change for the better in the life of any sādhaka. And ultimately, as he progresses, he will be given many indications that he is progressing in the right path through visions, voices, future events, etc. Finally, he understands self-effort can take one thus far and no further, and he surrenders himself and puts himself in the hands of the Divine. This is the background. This is the light with which we have to understand this summarization.

Background Information

The Chāndogya Upaniṣad is an Upaniṣad and belongs to Chāndogya Brāhmaṇa of Sāma Veda of Hinduism. It belongs to Sāmaveda. It is one of the oldest Upaniṣads and it lists as number 9 in the Muktikā canon of 108 Upaniṣads. Muktikā Upaniṣad catalogues about 108 Upaniṣads, the most important, and then it places Chāndogya Upaniṣad as the ninth in the list.

But its conclusion is marvelous, that it tells: "One Māṇḍūkya meva alam"—the study of Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad is more than sufficient. One need not go through any of the other Upaniṣads. And that holds good, true, for any of the Upaniṣads, one Upaniṣad. Because the very word Upaniṣad means, as we attempt to approach nearer to Ātman, the grace of Ātman completely obliterates, destroys all the bondage, ajñāna, avidyā, and then one attains complete oneness with Ātman or Brahman.

Etymology and Structure

Why this? What is the meaning of Chāndogya? The name of the Upaniṣad is derived from the word chandas, which means a Vedic meter is called Chāndogya—poetic chandas—because it is written in a particular poetical manner.

This Chāndogya Upaniṣad is consisting of eight chapters, also called Prapāṭhaka. And each Prapāṭhaka has got several sections called khaṇḍas. And every khaṇḍa has a varying number of verses.

Chapter-by-Chapter Summary

Chapter 1: The Glory of Oṃ

The first chapter has 13 sections. The first chapter of the Chāndogya Upaniṣad extols, praises the chanting of Oṃ, which it explains to us is the essence of all. It represents the whole of creation. And how this Oṃkāra represents the whole of creation is beautifully explained by Swāmi Vivekānanda in his Bhakti Yoga, in the Mantra—the Auṃ section.

This Chāndogya Upaniṣad opens with the recommendation that: "Let a sādhaka meditate on Auṃ." And we can also recollect, Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad starts only with that same teaching. And in this Chāndogya Upaniṣad, first chapter, Oṃkāra is also called a loud chant, called Udgītha. Gītha means chanting. Ud means loud—a loud chanting. So the first chapter tells, teaches us.

We are only discussing the essence. Space—ākāśa—says the text, "Verily all things here are created out of space, and they are sustained by space, and they disappear back into space. For space alone is the greater than all these, because it is the ultimate cause."

Space is the final goal of human life. The term "space" is a symbol for the Vedic concept of Brahman. Incidentally, the word nirvāṇa used by Buddhism, by Buddha, also nirvāṇa means śūnya, complete extinction. What remains is unnamed, ununderstandable, inexpressible, infinite, unoriginated Brahman. Here it is said "space"—not in the sense of "Oh, space is only one of the products of Ātman. Ātman is the highest." This is for the sake of special sādhana.

So that is the essence of the first chapter.

Chapter 2: The Significance of the Chant

The significance of chant. The first section of the second chapter states that the reverence for the entire Sāma chant is sādhu, and it is abundance of goodness—sāman—and it also means sanmāna. So in every way, the chanting slowly leads us like japa. Japa leads to realization. The chanting is also another type of japa. It also leads us to God-realization.

The Chāndogya Upaniṣad in section 23 of this chapter 2 provides one of the earliest expositions on the broad, complex meaning of the Vedic concept of dharma. Because as we do, first rituals is called karmas. Karma—the word karma can give us two meanings. The ordinary meaning is: any action that we do is karma. But in the Vedic terminology, karma means scripture-ordained actions only.

So, so many activities—I am lifting my hand, I am walking—all these have to be converted as worship of God. "Yat karomi tat tad akhilaṃ śambho tava ārādhanam."

Dharma and Its Components

This 23rd section says that one must become an embodiment of dharma. Kshudhiram was an embodiment of dharma, part of which is satya, dāna, yajña, and tapas.

As an example, once Kshudhiram wanted to visit his nephew's place. Those days they had to walk. Early morning he started. By noon he reached a small village, and it was the beginning of the spring season, and he found new bilva leaves on a tree. It is what is called a deciduous tree, which sheds its leaves. But as soon as the right season comes, new, very tender leaves, very beautiful leaves start becoming visible to all of us.

Kshudhiram's heart lifted up: "I want to worship Lord Śiva." And then he collected and walked back, worshipped Śiva and sat down for food. And questioned by Candramaṇi Devī, he explained: "Because I could not have peace of mind without worshipping Lord Śiva."

So this walking several miles and again walking back several miles—if that is not tapasya, I don't know what. How much of faith he must have had! What do we do? We say, "Anyway, I have to return this way. When I return on my way, I will collect." That doesn't indicate much of bhakti. Some bhakti, okay.

So what does dharma include? It includes ethical duties such as charities (dāna), svādhyāya (study of the scriptures), hearing of the scriptures, meditating on the scriptures. Even on YouTube we can do it. Brahmacarya, self-control, and do whatever external rituals we have to do.

That is the essence of the second chapter.

Chapter 3: The Sun as Brahman (Madhuvidyā)

The third chapter wants to extol the sun that we see. As far as we earthlings are concerned, our Sūrya Devatā is the highest manifestation of Brahman. Because without the Sun, there can be no life. So Brahman is manifesting in the form of the Sun.

This Chāndogya Upaniṣad presents a special type of knowledge called Madhuvidyā—honey knowledge. So what does it say? The Sun is praised here as a source of all light and life and stated as worthy of meditation in a symbolic representation of the Sun as the honey of all Vedas and all life.

That is, the Brahman is stated in this section of the verses to be the Sun of the universe. And this natural Sun is a phenomenal manifestation of Brahman. And just as honey is a favorite to everybody, so honey means sweet. So when I am living, when I am happy, when I am healthy, and when I am acquiring knowledge, everything leads to happiness. Madhu means, first meaning is happiness. Second meaning is: the whole universe is coming out of the Sun, and it is sustained by the Sun, and it goes back to the elements of the Sun.

The Gāyatrī Mantra

So worship this Sun, and for that, a special mantra is devised. Thousands of years back in the Ṛg Veda, we find which one—Gāyatrī Mantra. That is why every twice-born Brāhmaṇa turns early morning, also at sunset—what is called the sandhyā times, dawn and dusk—towards the rising sun and towards the setting sun, and considering him as the physical, visual, external representation of Brahman. Because the whole earth is sustained only because of this Sun God—S-U-N, Sun.

So Sun is the symbol of Brahman. It is the essence of everything and every state, whether we are waking, dreaming, or having deep sleep state—all are sustained only by this Sun. So then Gāyatrī Mantra comes. And we have also dealt with that.

Svargaloka Within

Then the first six verses of the 13th section of Chāndogya, third chapter, describes svargaloka. And as we discussed during our talks on the Chāndogya: what is the svargaloka? It is not a geographical location. It is nothing but the same human body which each one of us have. And this human body is like Vaikuṇṭha, and it has many doorkeepers.

Who are the doorkeepers of this svargaloka? Our five sense organs of knowledge—eyes, ears, speech, and organs, mind and breath. So to reach svarga, asserts this text, understand these doorkeepers and then keep them under control. Otherwise, they cannot progress in life.

So the doorkeepers means what? We have to be alert where our sense organs are going, and we have to keep a watch. They will only go in the right direction—to think, to speak, to do what is right and never to do anything else. So to reach svarga, we have to control these, keep these doorkeepers, and only then this body becomes, turns itself into heavenly world, whether it is physical health, mental health, spiritual progress, everything.

The Light Within

This third chapter states: that light which shines above this heaven, higher than all, higher than everything, in the highest world, beyond which there are no other worlds—this is the same light which is found within the man, in the hr̥dakāśa.

That is what is expressed by Swāmi Vivekānanda in his Ātmāṣṭaka hymn: "Jyotiṣāṃ jyotiḥ ujjvala śviddhikandara tumi tamobhañjana hara."

So this premise—that the human body is the heavenly world, svargaloka, Brahmaloka, every loka, and Brahman is identical to the Ātman which is within every human being—is the very foundation of Vedānta philosophy. So the individual self and the infinite Brahman are exactly the same. One's own self is God, Brahman.

In this chapter also, we get Sāṇḍilya Vidyā. And we have also dealt with it. I am not going to refer to it. You will have to refer to your notes or go back to the earlier talks.

Chapter 4: Saṃvarga Vidyā and Truth-Speaking

Now we enter the fourth chapter, and here it is called Saṃvarga Vidyā. This is the story of Janaśruti and Raikva, the enlightened sage. We know Janaśruti sat happily at the feet of Raikva and learnt the Saṃvarga Vidyā.

In the Saṃvarga Vidyā, the text teaches us that the cosmic phenomena and the individual physiology are mere mirrors, and therefore man should know himself as identical with all cosmos and every being. Saṃvarga means where it is said as Vāyu Devatā—everything is coming out of Vāyu, is sustained by Vāyu, and reabsorbed by Vāyu. If we can identify with Vāyu and whatever is manifested out of Vāyu, we become identical with that manifestation.

The Story of Satyakāma

Then in this very fourth, we also have seen the story of Satyakāma. Important point is he is a real Satyakāma. The moment we hear the word Satyakāma, we have to direct that one—he was a seeker of satya, a desirer of only satya. That is why he did not hesitate to speak the truth about his lineage.

And then, whatever the Guru said, that is a commandment, divine commandment. He followed it. And the knowledge which was within—Swāmi Vivekānanda tells—it became manifest through the medium of the four fires. By the time he reached his Guru's place, the Guru respected him as a knower of Brahman. And he confirms: "Whatever you experienced is nothing but Brahman. You are a knower of Brahman."

The Story of Upakosala

Then this story of Satyakāma is followed by his disciple's story—a story of Upakosala. Here also, exactly Satyakāma did not teach because he wanted the truth of his student to come out from within himself. So Upakosala also tended the fires, and the fires taught him exactly as they taught Satyakāma Jābāla, and he also became enlightened.

This is the essence of the fourth chapter.

Chapter 5: The Noblest and the Best

Now we come to the fifth chapter: The noblest and the best. The fifth chapter of the Chāndogya Upaniṣad opens with this statement: "Yo vai jyeṣṭhaṃ ca śreṣṭhaṃ ca veda, sa vai svānāṃ jyeṣṭhaś ca śreṣṭhaś ca bhavati."

When a man knows the best and the greatest, he becomes the best and the greatest. And what is that best and greatest? "Tat tvam asi," which is going to be explained in the next chapter, the sixth chapter.

Pañcāgni Vidyā

And here also, we get this Pañcāgni Vidyā. In the sixth chapter, we get nearly ten sections, I think—so we get this Pañcāgni, or six, I think, six sections. Pañcāgni Vidyā—just we have concluded in our last class, only last but one class.

So the five fires and two paths theory. Sections three to sections ten, that is about eight chapters—Chāndogya Upaniṣad presents the Pañcāgni Vidyā, the doctrine of the five fires and two paths in the afterlife.

What does this Pañcāgni Vidyā tell us? That our life in this universe is a travel—coming and going. And wherefrom we are coming, if we can find out, we can go back and need not come back. That is the essence of the Pañcāgni Vidyā.

Its main purpose is to produce what is called viveka, vairāgya, śamādamādi ṣaṭka sampatti, and finally mumukṣutvaṃ—a deep yearning for the realization of Brahman.

Chapter 6: Tat Tvam Asi

Then we enter into the sixth chapter. Many people traditionally consider these last three chapters—sixth, seventh, and eighth—as the very essence of the essence, prasasya prasam.

So what is it? There was it in the form of a story—Śvetaketu and Uddhālaka Āruṇi. We know the story. I am not going to repeat that. In this section, "O Śvetaketu, did your teacher teach you Ātmavidyā?" No, only he put it differently: "So what is that which existed at the very beginning?"

And Śvetaketu was haughty, and through that mention also, the Upaniṣad is teaching as a lesson: haughty persons cannot receive. Only when Śvetaketu, we suppose, had become pure and had intense mumukṣutva, then only his father thought.

How do we know? Because his father was a great brahmajñānī, ātmajñānī. And an ātmajñānī doesn't feel, "I am so and so, this is my son, this is my wife, this is my house, these are my family members"—absolutely no.

The Great Mahāvākya

So in this, nine times the Mahāvākya, considered one of the most important Mahāvākyas of the four: "Tat tvam asi, Śvetaketu."

The sixth chapter of the Chāndogya Upaniṣad contains the famous "Tat tvam asi" Mahāvākya, regarded as the sum total or as one of the most important of all Upaniṣadic teachings. This Mahāvākya is repeated nine times at the end of sections eighth to sixteenth of the sixth chapter.

And it is like this: This universe consists of what—that first essence is. It is the only reality. It is the Self. And that, the word: "O Śvetaketu, tat tvam asi, Śvetaketu."

And this is considered as one of the most important. These things—everything has come out of Brahman, everything is sustained by Brahman, and everything goes back to Brahman. And if one knows this truth, this is called taṭastha lakṣaṇa—certain characteristics to make us understand what is Brahman.

Taṭastha and Svarūpa Lakṣaṇa

So this is not svarūpa lakṣaṇa. Svarūpa lakṣaṇa is "Satyaṃ jñānam anantaṃ Brahma." Taṭastha lakṣaṇa is this hr̥ṣṭi, sthiti, and laya.

So this is beautifully put forward in the third Anuvāka, third chapter of the Taittirīya Upaniṣad called Bhr̥guvallī: "Yato vā imāni bhūtāni jāyante, yena bhūtāni jīvanti, yat prayanty abhisaṃviśanti, tad vijñāsasva, tad Brahmeti."

"Tad vijñāsasva. Sa tapo'tapyata. Sa tapastaptvā. Annaṃ Brahmeti vyajñāt. Prāṇo Brahmeti vyajñāt. Mano Brahmeti vyajñāt. Vijñānaṃ Brahmeti vyajñāt. Ānando Brahmeti vyajñāt."

And then he crossed even that fifth kośa: "I am not ānandamaya kośa. I am Ānanda itself."

What is the difference? Kośa is what contains, which is different from us and which contains progressively more and more ānanda—viṣayānanda, limited ānanda. And what is this Brahmānanda? I myself am of the nature of Ānanda.

Tell the difference: "I have ānanda" versus "I am Ānanda." Tell the difference. This is the essence of the sixth chapter.

Chapter 7: From Outer to Inner Knowledge

Then we come to the seventh chapter: From knowledge of the outer world to the knowledge of the inner world.

The seventh chapter of the Chāndogya Upaniṣad opens with a conversation between Sanatkumāra and Nārada. Many people identify this Sanatkumāra, who is considered as one of the four spiritually born sons of Brahmā, Brahmājī.

And in Mahābhārata, there is a marvelous section. It comes in the Udyoga Parva, and it is called Sanatsujātīya. Sanatkumāra and Sanatsujātīya are synonymous names. And there he teaches this blind king Dhr̥tarāṣṭra the highest truth in a most marvelous language.

Nārada's Quest

So Nārada approaches Sanatkumāra, as we saw. Sanatkumāra asks, "What brings you here?"

Nārada says, "I want to realize my own self, ātmajñāna. And what did you understand so far?"

So he says, "I know all the secular knowledge, but secular knowledge without the grace of God cannot be, cannot lead one to ātmajñāna."

"And how do I get this? How does it lead, secular jñāna?" Because secular jñāna, if it is sincere, should lead us to the understanding that it is only God's grace. But God's grace, coming in the form of the teacher, through the medium of the teacher, alone can awaken me. That's what Nārada says clearly.

Unless this teaching is given, it is not the teaching. He studied even this Chāndogya Upaniṣad before coming to Sanatkumāra. "But now I am ready."

The Fifteen Steps

And so Sanatkumāra, step by step, through I think nearly 15 steps—from the speech to the nāma, to the manas, etc.—finally to the innermost core, which is the root cause of everything, which is called Brahman. So we know this one.

Slowly, Sanatkumāra guides him step by step to the highest realization of Brahman. And that should teach us the lesson: you cannot jump from where you are. We can only jump or slowly crawl to the first step, crawl to the second step. This is the only way. And as our intention is sincere, God's grace makes everything clear and guides us to the highest step.

Unity of Thought, Speech, and Action

So sādhana must involve three faculties. They must be united. And what are they? Thought, speech, and actions. That is how Sanatkumāra guided Nārada to the highest knowledge.

And according to Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, his beautiful enumeration of the word satyam—he says, so that there must be what is called thought, speech, and action. So all the three must be completely harmonized. There cannot be any difference between what we think, what we talk, and what we act. That is called guilelessness.

And that is the essence of how Sanatkumāra guided Nārada to the self-knowledge, Ātma Vidyā. "O Nārada, you are that."

So in the sixth chapter, "Tat tvam asi"—we can say, this is how. O Śvetaketu, instead of Nārada, you put Śvetaketu. Instead of his father, here it is Sanatkumāra.

So theory is fine, but practice is unavoidable. This is how you will progress. So this, what is called seventh chapter, is saṃvāda through dialogue—how to do sādhana step by step. And we also have to follow it.

Chapter 8: The Nature of Brahman

Now we come to the last chapter, the eighth chapter. So what is the nature of Ātman, Brahman, really speaking?

Here is the finest analysis of the three states—waking, dream, and deep sleep. And just like Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad, "Whatever has been, whatever will be, whatever is, and whatever is not, is all inside that place," tells this chapter. That place is called Brahman, Brahmapuri, hr̥dakāśa, Ātman.

The Importance of a Guru

The Upaniṣad states that the life of a student must be guided by a teacher. Without a teacher or what we call a guru, it is impossible to reach. A guru is a manifestation of God's grace. As we have to understand, this is the only means to knowledge for reaching Ātman.

So such a life of a student must be first led for purification of the mind. The sādhaka must purify himself.

The Five Practices

First of all, he must do yajña—fire ritual. Then he must offer the chosen iṣṭa—iṣṭam oblations to be offered during this fire ritual. Then satya—truth. So a community worship also should be done. That means iṣṭāpūrta must be done. Then maunam.

Maunam means quelling all the unspiritual thoughts, allowing only spiritual thoughts. That is the real maunam. Otherwise, close your mouth and go on thinking all rubbish inside.

Then anāśakāyānam—that is fasting. Now and then we have to fast, like Ekādaśī vrata, etc. And āraṇyam—hermit's life, solitude, which Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa beautifully puts: "Māje māje nija jñānasthāne jābe."

This section states all external forms of rituals are equivalently achievable internally when someone becomes a student of the sacred knowledge and seeks to know the Brahman.

The Story of Indra and Virocana

So in order to understand this, Prajāpati accepted both Indra and Virocana, asks them first to do 32 years of all this life consisting of satya, maunam, anāśakāyānam, and āraṇyam, etc., etc.

And then when they come, he teaches the truth about Jāgrat-avasthā. Then Virocana leaves at that stage, unable to understand. But Indra, while going back, he reflects, and then he comes back and he tells, "I have a doubt." Then another 32 years.

Then he teaches that your experience of dream state is also completely unreal. It is not Brahman.

Then again, Indra comes—another 32 years. Then Prajāpati teaches him that when you are in deep sleep, that is also a limited state. That is also a state of experience. And all states of experience is not Brahman. Only to be oneself is Brahman.

The Fourth State (Turīya)

So Indra was asked to live another five years, and then he says: "He who is not either the waking, dream, or dreamless, but without whom these three cannot function, that fourth, conventionally spoken as Turīya—that one who is free of all these three states—that is called Brahman."

And Indra became a realized soul. He became a brahmajñānī, and that's why we have to worship this Upaniṣadic Indra, not the Purāṇic Indra.

Conclusion

This is the summary of Chāndogya Upaniṣad, and different details you will have to go through the past classes.

Closing Prayer