Chandogya Upanishad 5.3 Introduction Lecture 158 on 23 November 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 Panchagni Vidya
We have taken up the study of the Panchāgni Vidyā. And we also should remember the story.
There was a king called Pravāhaṇa Jaivali. He was very famous as a knower of Saguṇa Brahman. And there was one Śvetaketu, and he was the son of Gautama. And he wanted to learn something—definitely he wanted to learn something.
So he approached this Pravāhaṇa Jaivali. And the king understood, and he asked him five questions.
The Essence of the Five Questions
The essence of the five questions is: First, these points we have already discussed, but we must recollect. Every time we hear a talk, and it is very closely connected with the previous talk. In Brahma Sūtras, this is called Saṅgati. Saṅgati means: what is the connection between the previous sentence and the present sentence and the future sentence? What is the connection between the previous paragraph and the paragraph which I have now pursued? What is the connection between the previous chapter and this chapter?
So if we can question this way: How did I spend my time? So what did I do? What was my previous action? What is my present action? And definitely the eye of wisdom is likely to open if we question ourselves.
The Problem of Self-Inquiry
A point: There are two problems here. First problem is we feel uncomfortable, because we know we are cheating ourselves. So we do not wish even to put the questions, because we intuit the answers. I am not going to answer properly. But we have to answer.
What am I doing with my life? What did I do in the past? And what was the result of what I did in the past? And what is it that I really want? And what is the connection between what I am doing and what I wish to do? Or even better, what I wish to become? And everyone wishes to become healthy, happy and prolong this: Sat, Cit and Ānanda.
So these are the questions we have to ask. These are the essence of what this Pravāhaṇa Jaivali wanted to ask of Śvetaketu.
The Story of Śvetaketu's Encounter
But like in the Chāndogya Upaniṣad, here also he was arrogant. He thought he was very intelligent. He knew everything. Probably he came with the idea: "This king is ignorant, and I would like to teach this king certain things. And of course, in return, he might give me some money or some cows, etc." Without expectation, no one would really go to anybody else.
Anyway, now the tables have been turned. Now instead of trying to teach, now he was forced to become a disciple. We are not sure whether he became a disciple.
Certainly a father of Śvetaketu called Gautama—definitely he was a very humble person. And he did not know about these things. So probably a father of the Śvetaketu, about whom we discussed in the Chāndogya 6th chapter, is totally different, because there he was a knower of Brahman. But here he doesn't even know what life is about. We will explore these things as the story continues.
The Five Questions
So for what purpose the Śvetaketu came, we are not sure. Seeing the king received him very respectfully, and then he asks five questions. And we have to ask five questions. And maybe in a way we can connect them with the five commandments of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa.
But in case we do not know what are these five commandments, we might formulate them in the form of five questions:
First question: What is the purpose? What is the goal of human life? And what should I do? How should I conduct my life in order to reach this goal as taught by Ṛṣis, wise people, or Avatāras, or Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, etc.? So the first thing is: what shall I do? So that is the first answer Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa gives: Cultivate holy company.
Second: But distractions come. All right. So now and then, go, detach yourself, go into solitude, and dive deep.
Third question: But when I go to solitude, when I sit for meditation, things become more or less clear. But then when I am engaged in the normal day-to-day activities, I get confused. So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa answers: Always continue to discriminate what is temporary and what is permanent—Viveka.
Fourth: Then lastly, M himself asks: How should we conduct our householder's life? And that is where Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: Live a detached life. And the example Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa gives is like a maidservant living in a rich man's house, doing everything, but even using employing words as if she belonged to the house, and the children there are her own children. She does everything like a mother does, but at the same time, she is 100% aware that her home is not this home, and "I'm only staying here temporarily; anytime I may be kicked out."
And we should interpret it: this body-mind is our house. And in this life, this is our house. And we should live like a maidservant. That means cultivate as much detachment as possible, because anytime Yamadharmarāja might come and take us away. This Saṁsāra Cakra is going to go on.
Śvetaketu's Inability to Answer
So when Śvetaketu was asked five questions: Do you know anything about life? Do you know what happens after death? Do you know where people go after death? Do you know at all whether people go anywhere after death? Do you know that there is—whether life continues even after death? And if so, where do they go? And what happens after they go there? Do they remain permanently, or do they again return back? And after returning, how do they return? What is the process by which they return? That means: how does a jīva get birth? And after death, where does he go?
The Essence of Yajña
So the whole point, the essence of this Panchāgni Vidyā is: whole life should be converted into a Yajña.
Oh! Yajña! Yajña means what, sir? Yajña means sacrifice. What is sacrifice? That is removal of the I, reduction of the I or egotism as much as possible by replacing with God, with something higher, permanent. That is called sacrifice.
Life as Continuous Sacrifice
So when we are eating food, we are reminded. And this is what most devotees, especially devotees of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa are supposed to do, and most of them do it. They do it: Brahmārpaṇam, loudly or Upāṁśu—that is, lips moving or mentally—and without thinking what they are supposed to do.
In fact, we are doing the sacrifice all the time. What is the problem? My ego or egotism becomes the fire. And unto this fire, what are you doing? I am seeing, I am hearing—all the five sense organs. This is my body. My body is meant to make me happy. My mind is meant to make me happy. My sleep is meant to make me happy. All the three states that we experience one after the other are meant to make me happy, to make me live longer and to give me that awareness that I am a very happy person.
We are doing that sacrifice. But because we are Alpaśaktimān, of little power, Alpajña, of little knowledge, so we cannot be the destination. But if I can somehow merge myself by surrendering, by practicing spiritual disciplines with God—in other words, by becoming God himself, by identifying with God—Jīvātmā, Paramātmā, Aikyam—that is the essence of the Bhakta's Śaraṇāgati or the Jñānī's Aham Brahmāsmi. The end result is exactly the same.
The Goal of Spiritual Life
So if I can remove that duality—me separate, God is separate, he is big, I am small, etc.—then I will cross over three limitations: limitation of Asat, limitation of Acit, limitation of Duḥkha. And that is the essence.
Whether we know it or not, then what is spiritual life? Consciously trying to align ourselves, to become one with God, is called spiritual life. Pursuing an unconscious life, that is called a secular life, a worldly life.
But the problem with the secular life is that even if I live a pure life, it will take a long time for me to become awakened. Even if I live a dharmic life, righteous life, even if I acquire a lot of what is called Puṇyam, then also the result will be temporary only. But it helps us to purify our mind. To live a righteous life means we become gradually pure. And as we discussed, purity is equivalent to detachment. And a person who has become—a one who doesn't have any desires.
The Nature of True Desirelessness
And how does a man become desireless? Because an unhappy person cannot say, "I am desireless." A person who feels, "I am a poor man, I am not infinite, I am very limited," he can never become happy. So even if he gives up, out of hopelessness, out of despair, his unhappiness will continue to possess him, make his life miserable life.
But if the same person says, "My father is God, my mother is God," or "God is my father and mother and Guru and everybody," then that person, he will be filled with that infinite bliss. So every one of us, if we can awaken—that is what Swami Vivekananda used to roar like a lion.
Converting Life into Sacrifice
So what is the essence of this Panchāgni Vidyā? The essence is: let us slowly convert our life into a sacrifice. Sacrifice means removing something, like a surgeon removes an extra growth, whether it is cancerous growth or whatever. And this Māyā is that cancerous growth. And by God's grace, Guru's grace, God comes in the form of the Guru, God comes in the form of complete faith in the scriptures, and He does the surgical operation. There is no other way.
But sometimes He puts us under anaesthesia. Sometimes He does it, the same thing, without anaesthesia. So we have to pray: "Kindly, put some anaesthesia"—but it will take long time. But without anaesthesia, that is called misery, and misery is the reflection of the love of God.
Anyway, so we must convert our life into Brahmārpaṇam. That is the idea.
Three Connected Ideas
And connected with that idea is:
- There is nothing called death.
- Third idea: myself and the whole universe, we are not separate. We are one and the same. The subject itself becomes the object. The object is nothing but the subject—only slight manifestations, that's all.
So we become both subject and object. And again to understand this properly: I, the one being, when I enter into the state of dream, I become both the subject as well as the object. But when I wake up, I fall into the error that I am separate, my parents are separate, my friends are separate, my possessions are separate, my body is separate, mind is separate, everything is separate.
No. When we are talking about Brahman, whether Nirguṇa Brahman or even better, Saguṇa Brahman, it means the Saguṇa Brahman is manifesting. I do not exist. You do not exist. Nothing else exists. It is Brahman.
Brahman when manifested in the form of names and forms is called Saguṇa Brahman. And the world without names and forms is called Nirguṇa Brahman. We have to keep these beautiful teachings in our mind.
Gautama's Humility
So the king asked first five questions—we will come to that—and then he explains. This Śvetaketu, he went back, crest-fallen, feeling very hurt and very proud, arrogant, and complains because the king also asks five questions and then, "Do you know this? Do you know this?" etc.
And for each question, Śvetaketu replies, "No, I do not know." But very respectfully: "Bhagavan, I do not know. I do not know." Five times he replies.
Then the king teaches the Śvetaketu then: "When I asked you, 'Have you been taught well?' you proudly replied, 'Yes, yes, I have been taught very well and by my own father.' What did you learn then?"
So he came and challenged his father: "This forest of the kings—he is only a king in name, but his character indicates he is not fit. Rājanya-bandhu. He asked me five questions. I was not able to answer even one single question."
Then his wrath turns against his father: "You told me that you taught me well, but you did not teach me this one."
A father—let us look at what the father says: "My son, had I known, I would have taught you. But I myself do not know. Just like you, even how to answer—let alone answer five questions—even one question I cannot answer."
Humbly admits. Humility is the greatest qualification of a pupil, a student.
Gautama Approaches the King
Then that humility says: "I must learn. I must sit at the feet of this king. He is my Guru, even though I am a Brāhmaṇa, but I should not allow this caste honor to come in the way of my learning."
That is why it is said in Sanskrit: even from the mouth of a babe, Brahma vākyam, Bāla vākyam. In Telugu there is a beautiful saying: sometimes the highest truth comes from the mouths of babes, and even in English language it is there.
So humbly he approaches. There is no mention of Śvetaketu there. And then the king received him very respectfully, and then he asks: "Certainly you have come to me. You have something to ask of me. Anything that is in the form of money or cows or lands or gold, I am prepared to give." Because the king was very intelligent, he suspected: "The father came after the son went away very angrily, upset. So the father must have come to question me about this thing"—probably he guessed.
So he specifically says: "Anything that is Mānuṣyam vittam"—that is, human wealth—then Gautama very humbly he says, "No, I do not want all these things. But you, when my son approached you, you put five questions to him. He was not able to answer. I taught him. I was not able to teach because I myself do not know. I am a sincere student. I want to learn sitting at your feet."
Breaking Social Conventions
In those days, it was against the custom. Brāhmiṇs were supposed to be Brahmavid, knowers of Brahman. But Kṣatriyas were supposed to sit. But then, as Swami Vivekananda points out, some of the greatest Upaniṣads have come only from the Kṣatriyas.
So it is not the custom. So he says, "Please stay for some time." And the king wanted to find out how sincere—because our capacity to learn depends upon our humility. Humility means vacating our own ideas, especially egotism, and humbly receiving from whatever source something higher comes. That is called humility.
That is why Rāmānujācārya, as the sixth qualification for those who want to practice Śaraṇāgati, he says: Kārpaṇya. Kārpaṇya means the greatest humility. "I have been able to surrender myself to God, all because of God's grace, not on my own," as Girish Chandra Ghosh used to say. It is the same thing. "Rāmakṛṣṇa, out of his infinite grace, had taken up—he had made me accept him or surrender myself to him. It is because of his grace I was able to surrender myself to him."
So this is the truth. Nobody can surrender to God because egotism is the manifestation of Māyā. Māyā comes in the form of egotism. Māyā comes in the form of I. And as Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says, Māyā comes in the form of a cloud. Even if God himself is sitting in front of me, I will not be able to see. I cannot see, because of that small covering which is covering not God, which is covering my eye.
So Gautama passed the examination. The king understood. He had no hesitation, and he taught him. And this is what is going to come in about from the third section to almost to the tenth section—eight sections.
The Significance of Panchagni Vidya
One of the most marvelous Vidyās is this Panchāgni Vidyā, and it deserves the high respect that it gets from everybody.
So the story highlights that this Panchāgni Vidyā was previously unknown even to Brāhmiṇs, and it was passed down by a philosopher king. Philosopher is not a Western philosopher; he is an Indian philosopher. What is an Indian philosopher? A Ṛṣi who practiced.
I am not referring to the university and college professors we are talking. A person who really contemplates. Either Hayagrīva, as we have seen in the case of Yājñavalkya—he worshiped Bhagavān Brahman as Hayagrīva. Hayagrīva means grīvā, means the neck like a horse. Sūryadeva. And from Sūryadeva he got that marvelous, another equivalent Upaniṣad called Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad.
So there are two Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣads: one belonging to Kṛṣṇa Yajur Veda, another belonging to the Śukla Yajur Veda. Fortunately for us, a difference is not too much—only a few mantras here and there. But the content is absolutely the same.
Panchagni Vidya as Upāsana
So this is called Panchāgni Vidyā. So what does it mean? So this Panchāgni Vidyā is an Upāsanā. And let us never forget: Upāsanā is something we have to sit and practice it, meditate upon it, until we become the knowledge. "I am a possessor of knowledge" is a wrong idea. That is what every professor, every teacher—that is the idea: "I know physics, I know psychology, I know medicine."
But here it means: I have become the knowledge. And that once knowledge becomes us, knowledge takes over us, and it will not allow us to do anything else.
The Five Sacrificial Fires
So this doctrine explains the cycle of birth and rebirth as a series of five sacrificial fires. These are not physical fires but symbolic stages of transformation.
The First Fire: Svargaloka (Heaven)
What is the first fire? It is called heaven or Svargaloka. So the sun is the sacred stick—we will talk about it actually later on.
So those who have performed some great Puṇyam by leading a Śruti-sammata jīvana—that which is approved by the scriptures—he will earn lot of Puṇyam, virtue. And then he goes, according to the amount of Puṇyam, he goes to higher and higher worlds. But then the results are very temporary, like staying in a middle-class hotel, high-class hotel, first-class hotel, 7-star hotel, 77-star hotel—imagine like that.
But even if a person is staying in the 7-star hotel, the amount that the person pays—that decides how long he is permitted to be there. Then he has to come back. What has to do? Again he has to earn sufficient fee so that he can afford either that heaven fees or some other fees.
Temporary Nature of Heavenly Pleasures
That is why Naciketa says: "Even if Yamadharmarāja, you Yamadharmarāja, even if you are in charge of man's life and will not take me away, but you never mentioned that I am not going to stay the same. Youth, body will never stay in the same condition." We have to understand. "So you may not come and claim me, but the body will attain its natural course. Day by day it becomes old."
As we age, our sense organs become weaker and weaker. They lose the capacity to squeeze the same amount of rasa or happiness, pleasure, joy from the same objects. The objects may be the same, but our capacity to enjoy them becomes weaker and weaker. Therefore, therefore all these women, all these chariots, all these kingdoms, all this wealth, all these beautiful women—that is, enjoyable objects—"Let them be worse, because even Yamadharmarāja cannot grant us: 'You will remain unchanged, time will stop for you.'" That is not possible.
So that is how we have to understand that life. Day by day, one day gone is one day gone. That is why Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, when he did not have the vision of the Divine Mother at the end of the day, he used to fall down on the earth and weep piteously: "Oh Mother, another day is gone, and yet I have not obtained your vision."
What was Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's thought? Not that "Another day is gone, but I have got another day, so I start again next morning and go on weeping for you." No. "Maybe this is the last. Maybe today death will encounter me."
Understanding Death
And we have to understand: death will never come tomorrow. Death will always come today. You ask any dying man: "Are you dying now today, or are you going to die tomorrow?" No person will reply, "So death is coming today, but I will die tomorrow." What will you do? You are going to entertain as a house guest and then keep him?
So it is only that day, only, people will die—that moment, that hour, that minute, that millisecond—only death will come. And everything in this world is subject to death only.
But what is death? Is it non-existence? No, it is a change. And do you remember every change that happened? Do you remember what tantrums you have given to your parents when you were a child? What you did? How much grief you have caused them, which they, out of their love, forgave? Do you remember? No.
So how much misery we are causing to other people, albeit unconsciously. Nobody knows about it.
So there is no death. It is continuous change. Birth is a change. Death is a change. Growth is a change. It is a continuous series of change, which is called limitation of time. And as time limits, automatically it also becomes limitation of space. A baby who is only 3 inches, and next year he will be 4 inches—so the difference between 3 inches and 4 inches is called space limitation.
So death also is nothing but a limitation. Limitation doesn't mean non-existence, but it is a change. So the whole universe is nothing but time in the grip of time. That is why appropriately time is called Mṛtyu. And some languages they say: Kāl hoge—that means "a time has come." That is what we have to understand.
The Two Paths: Śukla Gati and Kṛṣṇa Gati
So what happens when a person becomes virtuous? He goes to heaven, and certain ways are mentioned. One is called Śukla Gati, another is called Kṛṣṇa Gati—the bright path and the dark path. So Śukla Pakṣa, Kṛṣṇa Pakṣa, etc., etc., etc.
So when he goes, he stays there for some time until his merit is exhausted. And then he has to return back.
The Second Fire: Rain (Parjanya)
How does he return? So he becomes one with the clouds, and then the clouds become rain, and the rain comes down. And rain nourishes the earth. Therefore food grows, and the food is eaten by the male. And out of the best, the very essence of the entire physical body, the seed of the male called semen is produced.
And finally, that has to be mixed with the seed of the woman. One is called Śukla if it is man; it is called Śukla. And another is called Śoṇita. Śoṇita means blood—ovum, egg.
When these two become mixed up, again the baby starts growing. And which womb? Not any womb, not any Tom, Dick, Harry's womb, but according to his karma-phala—what he has done before going to Svargaloka. It is only a very temporary stay. Then he will be reborn.
The Cycle of Rebirth in Bhagavad Gītā
That is why, "Kṣīṇe puṇye martya-lokaṁ viśanti. Evaṁ trayī-dharmam anuprapannā gatāgatam kāma-kāmā labhante."
As I mentioned many times, Bhagavad Gītā is the very essence of every Upaniṣad. All the central ideas found in every Upaniṣad—important Upaniṣads—has been milked out of these Upaniṣads and presented in a simple language which we now call Bhagavad Gītā, the most popular scripture for the modern world—the Song of the Lord. Gītā means a song. Not only is it pleasant to hear, but it is highly beneficial.
And Kṛṣṇa himself has milked the very essence of the Upaniṣads, and he presented. And as I mentioned many times: Essence of the Vedas is the Upaniṣads. Essence of the Upaniṣads is Bhagavad Gītā. Essence of the Bhagavad Gītā is the Gospel of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. And the essence of the Gospel of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is the very first chapter of the Gospel. And the essence of the first chapter of the Gospel of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is the five commandments. And of the five commandments, the first commandment, which is the goal of life, is God realization. This is the essence. That is the essence of which we have discussed earlier.
The Third Fire: Earth (Pṛthivī)
So the first Agni, Agnihotra is the Svarga, and we have to return when the time comes. And the Jīva, he comes back after enjoying, becomes one with the cloud. Cloud means rain. That is the second fire. And that fire is also what is called—this rain is also called a sacrifice. Agni. Svarga is an Agni, and rain—that is also Agni.
And the rain falls on this earth, so that is called—is Bhūmi, Pṛthivī. That is also a sacrifice. How much the earth is conceived in our Purāṇas as Bhūdevī! So how much this Bhūdevī is contributing, sustaining. And we are misusing, not allowing other creatures to be nourished by her, like depriving some children for the sake of one's own selfishness.
And then the earth manifests in the form of food by the growth of plants, trees, fruits, roots, etc., and in so many forms—in solid form, liquid form, chewable form. That is what we call in Sanskrit Pañca Bhakṣya—five types of foods. Some are to be sucked, some are to be licked, some are to be drunk, some are to be chewed, etc.
The Fourth Fire: Man (Puruṣa)
So then the fourth fire is a man—that is, the male. And what does he do? He eats this food, grows healthily. And when the time comes, Prakṛti, the nature, goes to work, and she squeezes every part of the physical body.
Remember: no parents give birth to the Saṁskāras. Parents give birth only to the physical housing. The Saṁskāras, they belong to the each individual soul, according to what he cultivated in the past life.
So the male is the fourth Yajña. And it is a Yajña. Though people think, "I am doing it for my joy," but actually it is nature which is making this person. That is what in a great modern scientist he said: that nature asks every being to multiply into its own species. And then the Jīva asks, especially human being: "You want me to propagate my species?" "Yes, yes." "What do I get from you?"
"Okay." Then Prakṛti thought: "This man will not do, obey me, unless I reward him." So he says, "I will give you highest pleasure, intense pleasure." Man said, "Okay, now I will do it."
So both for man as well as for the woman, so that is how propagation takes place. That is why this urge for propagation, it is called the highest pleasure, intensest pleasure, because the very essence of this entire body is put into that seed.
That is why scientists, they develop—whether it is a bull or a buffalo or a dog, any animal—the best specimen of these animals, so that the offspring also will be the best specimen, and with different, differing qualities. Some are so fierce, some are so loving, etc., etc. No difference between human being.
But important point to remember: parents only give birth to the physical body, which is the—Deho devalayo prokto—so it is called the highest temple. And it is called Brahmapurī, as we have seen in the Upaniṣads, in the Chāndogya Upaniṣad itself.
The Fifth Fire: Woman (Strī)
And then the man cannot by himself do it. He has to have union with the woman. And the woman is called—whatever we offer, that is called offering oblation. And the woman, a grown-up person in the age of child-bearing capacity—into that woman, the Puruṣa, he sacrifices, he offers his seed. And that becomes mixed up with the woman's own seed.
So the woman is called the final vehicle through which the Jīva, who attained whichever Loka—Svarga or Naraka—again he is given a choice. Until he knows who he is, this process goes on.
The Central Teaching
Therefore, important lesson for us to learn is that there is nothing called death. It is—until we realize God, this evolution has to continue. That is the most important point.
The Cycle Continues
So what is the conclusion? The story concludes with the soul being born from the fifth fire, only to live until the destined time, and then return through the same cycle, starting again with the first fire of Svargaloka.
But the Upaniṣad takes for granted everybody is living a virtuous life, which is not—which doesn't correspond to the fact. So person may be a murderer, a cheater, a robber, a torturer. So he will go. But then, unlike some religions, they go to eternal hell. No. They will—everybody will be given a choice. Punishment is only teaching a lesson that you should not repeat this one.
So this teaching shows the interconnectedness of the entire universe and the cyclical nature of life, death and rebirth through the two-path doctrine of transmigration. What is this two path? Śukla Gati and Kṛṣṇa Gati.
And this comes—the story comes. Panchāgni Vidyā comes in Chāndogya Upaniṣad 5th chapter, beginning from the 3rd section, and in Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 6th chapter.
Summary of Key Concepts
So this Vidyā is a profound meditation. Meditation here means Upāsanā. Upāsanā means an attempt to approach God nearer and nearer. So this Upāsanā Vidyā, Panchāgni Vidyā explains the cycle of life, death and rebirth by viewing the entire universe and the human experience as a continuous series of five interconnected sacrificial fires or altars.
So very quickly I want to summarize this one. What are the five concepts that we have?
Five Key Concepts
First: Universe—that means our life—is an egg.
Second: Even if we go whether to heaven or hell, we have to come back again to this earth for further evolution. So that is called the path of descent.
Third: And then through experience, life after life, wisdom—and we get wisdom. So then we also strive for liberation.
Fourth: And then this knowledge or Upāsanā is intended to create detachment. And once we are convinced of this going up and coming down and this endless circle of Saṁsāra, then slowly Vairāgya will grow. That is called detachment from Saṁsāra and generate a desire for Mokṣa.
Fifth: And the last point is, even there were some Kṣatriyas who were great men of wisdom and knowledge. And whether it is a Brāhmaṇa or a Kṣatriya, so one must sit humbly at the feet of what we don't know and learn from them and practice them.
This is the essence.
Conclusion
From next class onwards, we will dive deep into the original mantras themselves. And once we try to do that, surprisingly we find many instances, events that have taken place in the life of the Holy Trio flash into our minds: "Oh, this was what Swami Vivekananda, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, Holy Mother—they mean by this incident."
Closing Prayer
ॐ जननीं सारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगदगुरुम पादपद्मे तयो: श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहु :
Om Jananim Saradam devim Ramakrishnam jagadgurum Padapadme tayoh shritva pranamami muhurmuhuh.
May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti. Jai Ramakrishna!