Chandogya Upanishad 5.3 Introduction Lecture 159 on 29 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 Pañcāgni Vidyā

We are studying the Pañcāgni Vidyā. This is a most marvellous concept.

What is this concept? Concept of Yajña. Very briefly, I would like to point out some of the most important aspects or how to understand what is a Yajña.

The Crude and Real Concepts of Yajña

So whenever we hear the word Yajña, we remember we go either to an āśrama or some public place and a fire is lit and there would be Vedic chanting and some things are being offered into that fire. So this is the crudest external concept of Yajña.

What is the real Yajña? I must become one with Brahman. In the external ritual, we see fire being lit and anything that we know, anything that is offered into the fire instantaneously becomes reduced to ashes. That means it becomes one with fire. That is the central concept.

So Brahman is the fire and whatever we do, whatever we offer, however we live, everything is to be considered as a Yajña. And this concept of Yajña must be thoroughly understood and practised. That is why Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa says whole life must be turned into a Yajña. I will come to that concept, but I am only giving the real essence of what is Yajña.

The Essence of Yajña: Manifesting Divinity

What is Yajña? We have forgotten who we are. We have forgotten the knowledge given by Swami Vivekananda: Each soul is potentially divine. We think we are not divine. The goal of life is to manifest this divine.

Instead of manifesting divinity, we do just the opposite, perpetuate, enlarge our ignorance in the form of family, children, friends, relatives, religion. Everything that we do is only sinking us deeper and deeper.

But what is real Yajña? Real Yajña, the fire is Brahman. And who is offering something into the fire? Brahman. And what is being offered into the fire is also Brahman. That means Brahman himself is performing the Yajña. Who can conceive a better idea of life than this most exalted view about what is called creation?

Brahman's Self-Sacrifice

Very briefly, Brahman who is Nirguṇa had sacrificed himself and became Saguṇa. He who is without form transformed himself into a form. Nirākāra had become Sākāra. Remember, how can God be? Who is formless can be formed. And if God is with form, how can he be formless? Because these concepts defy our normal logic. Logic, the very purpose of logic most people don't realise is to go beyond logic.

So Brahman who is Nirviśeṣa had become Viśeṣa endowed with Guṇas. And then he became Saguṇa. And Saguṇa became Sṛṣṭi, Sthiti, Laya.

The Teaching of Caṇḍī

This concept has been so beautifully outlined in the Caṇḍī. And the devotees of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa recite these particular verses every single time whenever Ārātrikam is done:

Sṛṣṭi Sthiti Vināśānāṁ

Śakti Bhūte Sanātane

Guṇāśraye Guṇamaye

Nārāyaṇi Namo'stu Te

Divine Mother is not creating like parents create a baby, make a baby. She is becoming like clay becoming a pot. She herself is the material cause. She herself is the intelligent cause. And that material becoming, manifesting that material which is formless, which is nameless, which is purposeless now has become Sṛṣṭi, Sthiti, Laya—formful, nameful and of utility. That is called sacrifice.

Birth, Life, and Knowledge as Yajña

So birth is a sacrifice. Brahman being born is a sacrifice. Brahman living, self-forgetting "I am Brahman" is the greatest sacrifice. And again Brahman getting the knowledge, "I am not a Jīva, I am Brahman," remembering that "I am Brahman"—that is also part of the Yajña. Only in the devotees' language we call it Līlā.

The Realm of Līlā and Nitya

So one is Nitya, one is Līlā. But we are in the realm of Līlā. And therefore we cannot conceive what is called Nitya. Our concept of Nitya also falls into the concept of Līlā only. Because whatever is conceived in the mind in the form of pratyaya or vṛtti or a thought is nothing but a limitation.

So all the way it is Brahman. Brahman as Nitya or Brahman as Līlā. Even this concept "Brahman is Nitya and Līlā" is a concept, is part of the Līlā. Because when we become one with Brahman we don't think "I am the Līlā." Because to think, mind is necessary. Where there is no mind there cannot be anything.

So I do not know I am Brahman. You do not know you are Brahman. Nobody knows he or she is Brahman. But to think that "I do not know Brahman, you do not know Brahman, nobody knows Brahman" is a self-pretence, solitaire game. And that process of that game, that continuation of that game, that is also called Yajña.

Life as Yajña: Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa's Teaching

So all the way from creation to dissolution, knowledge becoming ignorance, ignorance being gotten rid of and again turning into knowledge, that is also Yajña. The whole life is Yajña. That is why Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa categorically says:

Yajñārthāt karmaṇo'nyatra loko'yaṁ karma bandhanaḥ

If we do not perform life, look upon life as a Yajña, then it becomes bondage, it binds us, it clements us, it makes us unhappy. The moment we, having faith in the scriptures, in our own Guru, we turn our attention: "I do not understand but I believe because Guru tells, because scripture tells."

Scripture as Another Form of Bhagavān

And scripture is none other than another form of Bhagavān is a scripture. This marvellous truth—Brahman becomes Avatāra, Brahman becomes the entire creation and Brahman becomes Bhāgavatam—has been experienced by Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. It is a profound experience.

As you know, one day Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was sitting in the Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa temple. It was evening, dusk and a paṇḍit was reciting the Bhāgavatam. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa suddenly had experienced a vision: a ray of light emanated from Kṛṣṇa's feet and touched the Bhāgavatam, touched Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's heart and again went back and merged itself in the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa.

Since that time Rāmakṛṣṇa preached that concept of Yajña: Bhāgavata, Bhakta, Bhagavān—these three are indivisible. Where there is one, there is the other. That is the concept of Līlā. And to grasp that and to remember it and to act according to that, that is the essence of any Yajña. What a marvellous concept.

Connection to Puruṣa Sūktam

And this beautiful concept, how do we know? How do I know? Why am I talking about it? Because we have already talked about it when we were discussing the Puruṣa Sūktam. The whole Puruṣa Sūkta is nothing but this concept of Yajña. And that is explained to us in this Chāndogya Upaniṣad in the form of the Pañcāgni Vidyā.

The Universe as a Yajña Śālā

The main essence of the Pañcāgni Vidyā is that the whole universe is a Yajña Śālā. This is a temple. A ritual called Yajña is going on all the time. And it is not that we are aware. We are doing the Yajña. Bhagavān himself is the fire. Bhagavān himself is the creation. Bhagavān himself is the dissolution. Bhagavān himself is the Dharma, Artha, Kāma and Mokṣa. Bhagavān himself is the ignorance. Bhagavān himself is the knowledge. There is nothing other than Brahman.

Understanding Ignorance as Līlā

When we say Sarvaṁ Khalv Idaṁ Brahma, we have to understand ignorance is also a Līlā of Brahman. Why do we call it? Everybody is struggling. And this misunderstanding, the concept of ignorance as Brahman, that is Brahman and ignorance are diametrically opposed like light and darkness. They can never be together. That is also part of the Līlā. But this concept of Yajña clarifies it.

The Ācāryas' Explanations

How do we understand these lofty concepts? For that, our Vedic Ṛṣis, especially some of the Ācāryas like Gauḍapāda Ācārya, Śaṅkarācārya, every Ācārya practically expounded including the Dvaita Ācāryas like Rāmānujācārya: What is this Sṛṣṭi Sthiti Laya? It is Līlā. Whose Līlā? Brahman's Līlā. And Līlā means what? Līlā means as if God forgot himself, became the Jīva and undergoing misery.

The Story from Adhyātma Rāmāyaṇa

And this concept is beautifully illustrated again in the Adhyātma Rāmāyaṇa or Yoga Vāsiṣṭha Rāmāyaṇa. There is a beautiful story about this Rāmāyaṇa.

So Rāma had taken Sītā along with him, went to Daṇḍakāraṇya. And then we know the popular story. Some events had happened. Then Śūrpaṇakhā went and complained to her brother Rāvaṇāsura. And he came with a chariot. He pretended to be a monk. And he carried Sītā. This is what the story says.

But what is the explanation? What is the commentary? What is the spiritual interpretation? Who was really speaking? This Rāvaṇāsura. Rāvaṇāsura was none other than the Dvārapālaka of Bhagavān Viṣṇu. Who was Rāma? Bhagavān Viṣṇu. Who was Sītā? Mother Lakṣmī.

So were Jaya and Vijaya so ignorant that they do not know who Mahālakṣmī was? They knew very well. And that is why there is a Māyā. There is an illusory golden deer. And Sītā is also illusory. Rāma is also illusory. Kṛṣṇa is also illusory. Rāmakṛṣṇa is also illusory. Holy Mother is also illusory.

Holy Mother's Teaching on Māyā

Maybe you are surprised me talking like this. You have to remember. Remember the incident where one day one of the disciples of Holy Mother found her cutting vegetables. Exactly behaving like one of the most worldly women in the world. As any mother or wife does. Cutting vegetables. Trying to cook food. Trying to feed husband and children. And getting sometimes annoyed scolding somebody and appreciating somebody.

And this disciple heard the direct disciples declaring that Holy Mother is none other than Jagat Jananī. He got a doubt. Unfortunately he was in the presence of Divine Mother. Then he asked out of ignorance only: "Mother, why are you behaving like this?" And she smiled and replied beautifully: "Yes, my son. This is all Māyā. And who am I? I am Mahāmāyā."

What is Mahāmāyā? "I closed my eyes voluntarily. And pretending to be not the Divine Mother. But caught in my own meshes. In my own net. And I am pretending the whole lot." What a marvellous concept.

Is There Really Saṁsāra?

Try to understand if you can understand it. Really is there Saṁsāra? No, it is Mithyā. It is declared as Mithyā. Then why do we feel that I am a Saṁsārī? Yes, it is also part of the Līlā. Whose Līlā? "I am suffering. And you come here and lecture me that this is all a sport. I don't understand. I am really suffering." Yes, yes. Your feeling that you are really suffering is also part of the Māyā only.

Hari Mahārāj and Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa

Remember, many incidents like that. Once Hari Mahārāj came to Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa during his last days. And Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was trying to pretend he was suffering. And Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa with a feeble voice started complaining: "See, how much I am suffering for your sake."

Then Hari Mahārāj said, "No, sir. I see you are swimming in the bliss of Saccidānanda." And Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa had to smile and say, "This rascal found me out."

Now tell me who is right, who is wrong. Don't answer. Because the answer is both answers are right. From Pāramārthika viewpoint, that is Saccidānanda Parabrahma ever established in knowledge in Ānanda. That is true. But he is appearing, pretending to appear to be suffering. That is also true.

Surrender to the Divine

We cannot understand this Līlā. So we have to surrender ourselves to the divine and say, "My brain is reeling. Please don't confuse me. You give me liberation. I can never understand with a limited mind the unlimited." There is no other way.

Sṛṣṭi Sthiti Laya as Yajña

So what are we talking about? The concept of Yajña. What is Yajña? The one Brahman trying to become as if he became the many. One became many. Nirguṇa became Saguṇa. And all knowledge became all ignorance. Sṛṣṭi Sthiti Laya is nothing but ignorance. Guṇa is nothing but ignorance.

So this is male, this is female. This is good, this is evil. This is life, this is death. This is Naraka, this is Svarga. All these things are nothing but a great Yajña going on called Mahāmāyā.

The Jīva's Participation in Līlā

"Sṛṣṭi Sthiti Laya is Yajña. Okay sir, you are talking so nicely. Maybe you are right. But I am a poor Jīva and suffering." That is also, you are thinking that you are a poor Jīva is also part of that Līlā only. Because you Brahman want to think, pretend: "I am a poor Jīva. I know nothing. I am suffering." The Saccidānanda wants to pretend: "I am nothing but full of misery."

"So that, oh, okay. So you can't understand this. But is there any way out of the misery?" Yes, yes. "What is that way?" You perform Yajña. "What is Yajña?" That everything is the will of God. To practise this is called Yajña.

So this Yajña is being done by Brahman. Everything is Brahman doing Yajña all the time. I, you, we, nothing exists excepting Brahman.

The Analogy of Dream

How to understand this concept, lofty concept? The analogy of dream. Suppose you are a king. You have eaten nicely. And then you are sleeping on a royal bed. Maybe water bed. I don't know whether water bed is really that comfortable. God alone knows.

And you are having a dream. And then some people come, bind you, take you to dungeon and beating you black and blue. And red also. And yellow also. Your imagination. And you are crying your heart out: "I am a poor miserable creature. Somebody come and rescue. If nobody is there, oh God, come and rescue me."

And then suddenly your dream breaks. And you break into big smile.

The Dreamer as Brahman

Now the point is you are the Brahman. You are the one. You are the maker. And you created that world which is called Svapnaka Jagat. And you created yourself into the many. One became many. Male, female, good, evil, happy, unhappy, puṇya, pāpa, naraka, svarga. You became everything.

And somebody comes and loves you: "You are very good." Somebody comes and hates and wants to eliminate you. That is also very painful, very miserable. All these things as if it is real. So somebody has beaten you in your own dream created by you. And you are crying your heart out: "Oh somebody come and rescue me, save me."

And then maybe your own crying woke you up. And then you look back. And then what do you do? Break into a big smile. "Oh what a world I have created. What a dream I have created." It becomes extraordinarily enjoyable. And once you know that nothing is the reality, it is all nothing but Līlā. So every dream is comparable to a Līlā.

Waking State as Dream

Like that the whole wake, only when we wake up we understand. Similarly this waking state is also a dream. From the waking point of view, dream is a dream. From the dream point of view, dream is waking state. Waking state is the dream state. In Suṣupti neither of them are real. You alone are there.

So we are continuously, all of us, every living creature is continuously going through this cakra of waking, dream and dreamless state.

Even a Mosquito Goes into Samādhi

Do you ever doubt? Do you ever think that a mosquito doesn't go to sleep? Yes it goes also to sleep. It goes also into Samādhi. Does a mosquito go into Samādhi? When does it go into Samādhi? Well, when you are sleeping or indifferent or inattentive and it sits on your neck or hand and is squeezing Saccidānanda Rasa, at that time it closes its eyes, forgets the whole world, forgets the danger to its life. And then that is the highest state, Samādhi state as far as the mosquito is concerned. And that is the best time to give Mokṣa to the mosquito.

So you see, that is why the study of dream opens our eyes, gives us deep insight. And if we can apply that insight to the waking state, then life becomes much, much easier to bear about. And that is practical Vedānta. This is very good.

Converting Every Action into Yajña

So as I said earlier, what is Yajña? That is, Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa says, convert your every action into Yajña. What is our Yajña? What is our Jīva's Yajña? What is our individual's Yajña? To consider that I do not really exist. My body belongs to God. My mind belongs to God. My property belongs to God. Everything that I think I own belongs to God. To keep this idea constantly in the mind, and as if I am just a mere instrument: Nimitta mātraṁ bhava savyasācin. That is called a Yajña.

Recalling the Puruṣa Sūktam

And these concepts that we have discussed, very briefly I want to remind you what we have discussed in the Puruṣa Sūktam. I just selected appropriate mantras. And very quickly I will go through them.

The Sacrifice of Puruṣa

So how did this creation start? What happened?

Deva tad yajñaṁ tanvānāḥ abadhnan

Puruṣaṁ paśum

And the Devas carried out the sacrifice, and Brahman was made as the sacrificial cow.

Taṁ yajñaṁ barhiṣi praukṣan

Puruṣaṁ jātam agrataḥ

Ena devā ayajanta

Sādhyāḥ Ṛṣayaś ca ye

The Devatās sprinkled the Puruṣa, because that is a part of the ritual. Before sacrificing an animal, they will have to sprinkle holy water, worship it, because that is going to be offered to Bhagavān Himself. Like preparing prasādam for God. And then they, the Puruṣa, who was this Puruṣa? The first born, that is Brahmā, the creator.

So the Devas, they sprinkled the water, made him ready, and on that sacrificial fire, they put him on the sacrificial fire. And the sacrifice was conducted further. And then out of it came the Sādhyas, kind of divine beings, and the Ṛṣis. Sādhyāḥ Ṛṣayaś ca ye.

Creation from the Sacrifice

Tasmād iṣṭānā sarvahutaḥ

Saṁpṛktaṁ pṛṣadājyam

Paśūgṁs tāṁś cakre vāyavyān

Āraṇyān grāmyāś ca ye

So, from the sacrifice, called the all-embracing, curd and ghee came out. That is, food came out. Animals meant for fire sacrifice were born. Birds that travel in the air were born. Beasts of the forest were born. And also born were those that live in villages—that is human beings. That means all the living creatures.

First, all the food was created. Second, all the living creatures were created. Created means Brahman or Brahmā himself became every living thing. He became the food. He also became the eater of the food.

Aham Annam: I Am the Food and the Eater

That realisation we saw and we will see also in Taittirīya Upaniṣad:

Aham annam, aham annam, aham annam

Aham annādaḥ

"I am the eater of the food. I am also the food that is eaten."

In your dream, if you are eating food, who is the eater? You. Who is being eaten? The food that you are eating, consuming, that is also you only.

The Vedas and All Creation

From the sacrifice, Ṛg Veda was born. Sāma Veda was born. Yajur Veda was born. And by extension, we have to understand, Atharvaṇa Veda was also born. From that, the horses came out. And animals with one row of teeth. That came out. And then other animals with two rows of teeth. And then sheep. And then goats. That means the whole of creation had come.

That means that Puruṣa, that Nirguṇa Brahma, first became Brahmā the creator. And then Brahmā became the entire creation. And Brahmā then again became Viṣṇu to maintain. And Viṣṇu again became the Śiva or Rudra for absorbing, reabsorbing the material.

The Play of the Pañca Bhūtas

It is all the play of God in the form of the Pañca Bhūtas. But we have forgotten all these concepts. We think we are individuals, small, of little knowledge, of little power, of plenty of obstacles, of many, many limitations. So we want to pray to God: "Deliver me from all these limitations." Because entire creation.

Bhagavad Gītā on Karma Yoga

Therefore, in the third chapter, ninth śloka, what does Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa say?

Work must be done as a Yajña to the Supreme Lord. Otherwise work causes bondage in this material world. Therefore, O son of Kuntī, for the pleasure of God, perform your prescribed duties without being attached to the results.

That means what? What should be done? I am not eating. It is God who is supplying food. It is God who is cooking food. It is God who is digesting the food which is offered to Vaiśvānara Agni.

And not only eating. Eating is only the symbol for one particular action. Every action that we do. Breathing, moving hands and feet, seeing, hearing, etc.

God Alone is the Doer

So that is continued in the next śloka. That is the ninth śloka. It continues:

Those who are practising steadfastly the Karma Yoga always think, "I am not the doer." Even while engaging in seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, moving, sleeping, breathing, speaking, excreting, grasping, opening or closing the eyes—so with the light of divine knowledge, they see that it is only the material senses that are moving among us to their objects.

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Vision at Kasipur

Once at Kasipur, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa went in Samādhi. He was suffering from terrible pain. And then he went into Samādhi. He came out. Then he said, "Now I feel no pain. I see Lāṭu with his head resting on his hands, half reclined. I see God himself, Brahman himself lying in that form." Who is lying? Not Lāṭu. Brahman himself. But in the form of Lāṭu. That is the Brahman vision. Sarvaṁ Khalv Idaṁ Brahma.

The Lotus Leaf Untouched by Water

So that is what. Then finally, Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa summarises the whole lot. What does he say?

Those who perform their actions, thinking that it is God who is performing in the form of the sense organs, body and mind. Abandoning all attachment, they remain untouched by sin. Just as a lotus leaf is untouched by water.

Not Jīva Sevā but Brahma Sevā

This is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa advocated. Not compassion to human beings and other beings. He says no. So even when you are eating, are you doing Jīva Sevā? Yes, you are doing Jīva Sevā. No, you are not doing Jīva Sevā. You are doing Brahma Sevā. Brahman's Sevā. Because who are you? You are Brahman only. But you don't know. But so consider: "I am eating, offering it to Brahman. I am saying Brahman has given me that sight. And Brahman is saying Brahman."

Swami Brahmānandajī's Final Teaching

A very touching incident was there. Swami Brahmānandajī was about to pass away. At that time he remembered his real nature. He was suffering from intense diabetes. And he was feeling terribly thirsty. So one attendant says, "Mahārāj, shall I give you some lemonade?"

And then this incident. Then Brahmānandajī simply said, "Pour Brahman into Brahman." What is the lemonade? Brahman. Brahman. And Brahman is being poured into Brahman. Whatever is offered is also Brahman. Whoever is offering is also Brahman. And unto which it is being offered is also Brahman. The same thing.

Every Action as Oblation

Our life is a fire. And so many offerings. Everything. We are seeing. That is offering of the eyes. We are hearing. That is oblations in the form of sound. Etc. etc. I am moving my hands. I am performing Ārātrikam. I am moving my legs. I am doing Pradakṣiṇam.

Śiva Mānasa Pūjā

This marvellous concept again is brought out so beautifully in the Śiva Mānasa Pūjā. Because Śambhu is doing his own work. And in between I come and do. I am doing something like that. That is the idea of the concept of the Yajña. That is what we have to understand.

Prāṇārpaṇa: Sri Rāmakṛṣṇa's Life Sacrifice

And then everyday the devotees of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, most of us, we only sing the Ārātrikam song. And in that I think it is the ninth probably line. Ninth? No. Tenth:

Prāṇārpaṇa Jagatataraṇa Kṛntana Kalidor

Prāṇārpaṇa

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is born as a sacrifice. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's life is a lifelong sacrifice. That is called Prāṇārpaṇa. Offering one's own life. Every breath until death is an offering unto Brahman. That is the Prāṇārpaṇa.

For what purpose? Jagatataraṇa: "I am serving the Jīvas who are in ignorance and who want to get out but who cannot get out." This is the concept of Yajña.

Not I, Not I, But Thou, Thou

And why is it so much expounded? So that slowly we say not me, not me, but thou, thou. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's simplest concept of Yajña, performance of Yajña is to practise not I, not I. That is called Yajña. And to feel gradually thou, thou. Everything is you.

Who is killing whom? Nobody is killing nobody.

Enaṁ vetti hantāraṁ yaś cainaṁ manyate hatam

Ubhau tau na vijānītaḥ nāyaṁ hanti na hanyate

Nobody is dying. Nobody is killing. There is no killer. There is no killed. There is only one Ātman. Paramātman. Parabrahman. Nothing else is there. What is all these things? Līlā.

And if we want to get out, this performance of Yajña is also a Līlā. But we pretend as if we do not know who we are. So this is called participation in the Līlā of Bhagavān. What a marvellous concept. You just think about it.

Summary: Creation as God's Yajña

So to summarise again whatever we discussed, the entire creation is a Yajña of God, where he himself sacrificed himself and became this entire creation. Like we become the entire world of our Svāpnika Jagat, dream world. And we divide ourselves. I, you, me, it, with life, without life. And we perform our Līlā.

The Measure of Time

And remember, so long as the dream lasts, don't say it lasts only for one minute. It lasts for whole life. But when we wake up, then measure time. "Oh, it never lasted more than a few seconds." But that is a concept from the waking point of view.

Similarly, "I slept for six hours like a log." That is also a concept from the viewpoint of waking state only. While we are in deep sleep, we don't say "I slept" because there is no mind. And mind is consisting of time, space, and causation. Therefore, we do not have any time, space, and conception.

And when we are happy, we go beyond time, space, and causation. That is why happiness is going out of time and space. And that is why we are so happy. And upon waking up, seven hours passed like very short time. Maybe one second. The counting starts only upon waking up.

Waking Up from Ignorance

So the whole concept of Yajña is that it is not that we became ignorant. It is not that we are trying to wake up from ignorance. It is not that one day we wake up from ignorance and realise we are Brahman. Like a drama, a rich man becomes a poor man and he suffers. Sometimes, due to his self-effort, he becomes a big officer. He might become the son-in-law of a king. Like that, the whole concept is like a drama.

The Actor's Complete Immersion

And if every actor acts so realistically that we forget that it is a līlā, it is a drama, and we think that actually it is happening, that is the Yajña. Every actor and actress, every director, every writer, every person who participates in that drama should make it as if it is the only reality. And the audience must forget and become absorbed in that as if that is the only reality. And at the end of the drama, we enjoy it.

Rasānanda: Aesthetic Happiness

And this is called Rasānanda. This is called Rasānanda. Aesthetic happiness. Knowing it is not real, but feeling it is real. That is the concept of Yajña, of which we will discuss in our future classes.

Learning from Saints and Sages

Because when we study the lives of great people, especially saints and sages, this idea of the concept of Yajña becomes more and more evident. So if we study, we can also do the same thing.

The Heart Essence of Yajña

So this tremendous revolutionary idea to forget that it is only a pretence, but to feel wholeheartedly it is real, yet in the depth of our heart knowing that it is nothing but a pretence. And that is the conscious self-forgetfulness of Brahman. That is the very heart essence, sum of the concept of Yajña.

Closing Prayer