Chandogya Upanishad Lecture 36 on 22 September 2024

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

So we are studying the Chandogya Upanishad of the Samveda. Just now we have been able to complete the fifth section also. So this entire sixth chapter is called SADVIDHYA. And in this last section, which is the fifth section, there are four mantras. What does the Rishi want to say? That we, each of the jivas, pranis, especially human beings, we are all made up of the same bhutas, but in the Chandogya, only three elements. The entire universe is a manifestation of the three elements. And as I mentioned, they have to be counted as five elements only. What is the reason? Because we could not move unless there is space, which is not mentioned in this Chandogya. Also, we could not live without breathing air. And therefore, even vayu, the air, or more properly speaking, appropriately speaking, all these five are devatas. Without food, which represents prithvi, we cannot survive. Without water, we cannot survive. Without fire or warmth, heat, we cannot survive. If it is so cold, life is impossible. Without air, of course, we cannot live. Without space, so that we can move or express our energy, we cannot move. So everything points out that without which we cannot live is called a devata. So the entire universe is the outcome of these three elements and they are sustained by the three elements and they continuously go back to these three elements. Let us keep in our mind that it is not only after death. So when the food goes out, what we call eliminated food or excreta, purisham, or the water in the form of what we call the urine and then the heat. Every time we use up energy, the heat goes out. Then we breathe in and we take what we need and then we add something, convert into something and push it out. And of course, we are moving in space and then we are vacating. Every movement is a vacation or giving up of the first place where we were and moving into a new place. The whole universe is continuously moving. That is called change. So because the three elements are the mulakarana, that is the cause of this universe and therefore the effect cannot be separate from the cause. So we come out of this and we live by this and we go back into the same thing. So the cause gives birth to the effect and the effect stays because of the cause and again it goes back into the cause. Again it comes out. This is called samsara chakra or brahma chakra. Brahman only. For that, the rishi wanted to teach this one. Every time we eat food, it is divided into three. The grossest part goes out in the form of excreta and we have discussed it quite clearly. Really, it is not a waste. It has a very useful function and it does this function and then it is given out and that which is the middle part, what does that become? The flesh and that which is the finest part, it goes to become the mind. So our body and our mind. This is with regard to the prithee or earth or herein called annam. Same thing happens, waters. They are divided into three parts. The grossest part helps us to take food in, to make it soft and to help it to digest and to carry it to different parts. For example, the blood. So the function of the blood is to carry this energy and supply it according to the needs of each part of the body. Then only it is able to function. Whether it is the eye or the ear or the hand or the stomach or the legs, etc. So the first part, it is smooth and severe thing and goes out to rejoin the original, this one. But what original? The waters, apaha, jalam, etc. And the middle part of it becomes blood which will make us alive. If we do not have sufficient blood and including the what is called white cells, red cells, bloodlets, platelets, etc., then death will be the result. And that which is the finest part of the waters, it goes to become prana because prana is the one which moves very fast. Then tejaha, agni, when eaten. And then Shankaracharya helps us. Nobody just eats fire. But it means that which increases the heat, fat, oily substances, ghee, butter, oil, anything. And the finest part of it, it becomes the bones. And the second part, the what is called grossest part of it, becomes the bones. And a subtle bit of that one, the fatty food that we consume goes to become the marrow, bone marrow. And that which is the fine and that is what gives strength. That is why I mentioned those who do puja, chanting, they will have to eat a lot of fat foods, etc. Then only it is possible. So then the fourth mantra, it concludes, who Uddalaka is telling to Shweta Ketu, his student here, O Sowmya, O pleasing one. Why is he pleasing? Not because he is the son. Because he is a brilliant student, not only intellectually great, spiritually also great. What does he say? So what is this mind? It is nothing but full of food. What is the prana? Nothing but waters. That is why an illustration comes to prove that one can live without eating for a long time, at least 15 days according to this. But if one drinks water, then he will survive. If he doesn't drink, he will not survive for a long time. So food, then water, then what is called air? Without air, no more than few seconds. Without water, very short time. Without food, quite some time. How come? Because we have accumulated enough amount of fat or food material. So the body, if the external food is not supplied, it consumes itself. That is why a person becomes weak, but he is able to survive. And that is the example he gives. And then now Shweta Ketu understands it. What is the point? The whole point is that everything in this world, our body, our mind, our prana, these are what is called the outcome, a manifestation of these three elements called the earthly element, the watery element and the fiery element. That is the point. And they are the causes and body, mind and prana are the effects. So these effects come because of these causes, three elements. And in their turn, these three elements are the effects and they are nothing but pure Atman or Brahman. That is the Tat Tvam Asi. You are not the body because that is an effect. You are not the elements because that is also the effect. Whatever is the original cause, that alone you are. And that is what he wants to tell. And through this also, the Rishi Uddalaka Aruni wants to prove. Shankaracharya was once asked, give me the essence of all the scriptures as you understood it. And he summarized the whole thing. Like as we said in the Taittiriya Upanishad, Brahma condensed all knowledge into three Vedas, all the three Vedas into three lines of the Gayatri Mantra, all the three lines into Bho, Bhuvaha and Svaha and all these Vyavhruthis, they are called Vyavhruthis, into A, U and Ma, which when combined becomes Om. So Sarvam Omkaraevacha, as we studied in the Mandukya Upanishad, in the very first mantra itself. So this is what he wants to tell. Do not be deluded by the effects. Go to the cause because the effect is time bound, is limited. It was not there. It came at some point of time and then it will remain for a short time and then again it will go back. So we should not rely upon what is changeable. We should always rely upon the Moolakarana. That is the first reason. Second reason is there are infinite number of expressions or effects and if we want to gain knowledge of these things, infinite time is necessary and we don't have infinite time. But if we can know the original cause, if we have knowledge of what is called Brahman, so Brahmavid Sarvavid Bhavati. This is a beautiful topic, very very beautifully discussed in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. So if we have opportunity, when the opportunity comes, we will talk about it. But here, the Rishi, the teacher wants to tell that everything in this world is nothing but the manifestation of different dresses of the three elements and the three elements go to make up our body and mind. So don't say I am not the element and by saying that I am the element, you are indirectly saying that I am Brahman. Brahman became the elements, elements became all of us. So anybody says I am the elements, I am made up of the elements, I am the elements and the elements came from Brahman, so I am Brahman. That's what Shankaracharya summarized the whole thing, Brahma Satyam. The Brahman alone is the reality, truth, everything else is temporary, that's all. That is what we have to understand. So having given these illustrations, food, water and eating oily substances etc. which go up to make up our body, our mind and our prana, what we call the vital force, the living principle and Shweta Ketu understood it and that is why the teacher addresses him, Sowmya, my dear. So we have to understand every householder addresses his children, only they don't say, very often they say honey or things like darling, like that. Here you are a pleasing one, pleasing because you are worthy of my teaching. Having heard this, in the fifth section, Bhueva Ma Bhagavan Pignapayatu Ithehi. So he understood what he felt, he has not understood everything and he requires further instructions to clarify, maybe some doubts have come. Therefore Bhueva, once more, more elaborately Ma means mom, me, Bhagavan. Bhagavan means your God, Guru Brahma, Guru Vishnu. Pignapayatu, may he enlighten me, may he give me more knowledge. Gnana is changing knowledge. Pignana is ultimate knowledge. May Bhagavan enlighten me to make me understand whatever you have told me so far, understood. So the teacher was pleased. Alright my son, I will definitely do it. Here son means not a father addressing but a teacher with affectionately, you belong to me, you are like my son. So what is the conclusion? Both body and mind and Prana are Karyam's products, not the Atman. So Vacharam Banam Ikaro Namadheyam. One doubt naturally should come. If it doesn't come, I am reminding you that if the cause is the effect, what is wrong with the effect? After all the effects are nothing but the cause. So what is the problem? Problem is infinite. Earlier he said pure existence or Brahman, another name for Brahman, Ekam Eva Adritiam. It is nothing but one without a second. Now what is our experience? It is infinite number of things we see and so we develop Raga and Dvesha, likes and dislikes and that is our problem. Not only curious thing, we develop likes and dislikes towards everything in this world including our body, including our mind, we develop likes and dislikes. What is the example? For example, you know, we think we are the body, there is no doubt about it but unconsciously we favour. We may be using more of the right eye than the left eye and of course those who are right-handed, they use more of the right hand than the left hand and those who are of the left-handed, they use more of the left hand. Similarly, legs, peculiar belief is there, men always stretch out, put out the right leg, women always put out the left leg. In the great master, there is a different, what is called, reference to this. When Shri Ramakrishna started meditating, he became like a woman unlike Radha Devi. All we observed is always the left foot of Shri Ramakrishna comes forward first. I don't know how far it is true but I believe since great people are telling, it must be true. So what is the doubt? The doubt is when we see not one but many. Many can create problem, that is our bondage. Bondage means suffering and nobody wants suffering. That is why the three Abhyaroha Mantra, Asatoma Sadgamaya, Tamasoma Jyotirgamaya, Mrutyorma Amrutangamaya. So automatically I want to be myself because when we are experiencing many-foldedness, I separate myself from everything as if I cut myself into a billion pieces and identify with one particular piece only, denying, developing likes and dislikes towards everything else. So that is why this is called Mithya. Mithya means what? One fact, I have reminded you again and again that if something is false, it must depend upon the truth. If somebody is telling a lie, how do we know it is a lie? Because it can be distinguished from the truth. Without that it is not possible. So when we are experiencing many-foldedness, then it must be based upon one, the concept, the knowledge of one. But the effect is different. One makes us completely, absolutely happy, but many make us miserable. And that is why the whole teaching is Brahman, the one, alone is the truth. Jagat means the many-foldedness is Mithya. And if it is true, then what does it do to me? How does it affect me? And you, the Jiva, who you think you are, the Jivatma, you are na aparaha. Jivo brahma eva na aparaha. You are Brahman, no other than. This is the essence of the fifth section, sixth chapter of the Chandogya Upanishad. Now we will proceed to the sixth khanda. Here it is, the section is called khanda, whereas in Taittiriya it is called Anuvaka. And this sixth khanda or section has got five mantras. And here what does the teacher want to do? And it starts like this. So the topic is the physical nature of the mind, the prana and speech. So the mind, the prana and the speech, that is the body, the mind and the prana. They are what is called elements. Elements means effects. Effects means not the cause. And just as we discussed just now, many-foldedness always creates problems, suffering, bondage in the form of I am different. The very cognition, there are many things. So we can't say, I don't say I am many things. I say I am one among the many and the rest are different, separate, distinct from me. And that is what creates the problems. So the whole sixth chapter which we are going to delve into wants to give first of all an example and that is what he is telling. There are five mantras. This is the example he has given. Which is the subtlest part of curds rises when they are churned and becomes butter. The observational powers of rishis are amazing and we don't know when they invented this ghee. So animals as we discussed were the wealth of in those days. It was what is called the agricultural civilization and our rishis and munis, they were extraordinarily wise and they recognized the whole universe, especially the five elements. They are the causes of this entire universe. So the whole life is an attempt to become one with these five elements and this they want to do in the form of the pancha maha yagna or in the form of upasanas, that is contemplation of the space, of the air, of the fire, of the waters, of the earth. Akasha devata, pancha devata. That is why in India, Shiva representing pancha devatas. One of them as I mentioned, he represents what is called jyotirlinga, beautiful. So these are the things that we have to understand. Five elements, only they are worshipped in the form of chosen deities like Vishnu, Shiva, etc. And how do we say they are the five elements? Because every devotee of every chosen deity, what does he say? He says first of all, I worship Brahman in the form of Shiva. And who is Shiva for that particular devotee, if you ask, he says he is the creator, he is the sustainer and he is the dissoluter. That means the whole universe creation comes from Shiva and he only sustains it and everything goes back to Shiva. If it is Vishnu, same story. If it is divine mother, same story. So that is what we see in the second mantra of the Sarvamangala. So now, he wants in those days, agricultural civilization, especially in those days, very interesting, nature becomes the worshipful god because people's life depended upon the sun, upon the moon, upon the rains, the whole agriculture depended upon these factors. And nowadays, neglecting them, the machines have become our cars, our comfortable homes, our fridges, our aeroplanes and our mobile phones. These have become devatas. How do we know? Because if mobile is lost and this fellow fails, my four pranas have gone. That means the mobile has become devata. What is devata? Without which I cannot survive. So we cannot survive without car. How much angry we get. And then internet devata. In the internet devata, Google Ma is the Saraswati. She knows. She is the goddess of knowledge. She knows everything. So for anything we do not know, immediately we invoke the Google Ma and then try to put questions. And it gives, most of the time, it gives quite good, right information also. Anyway, including Chandogya Upanishad, Isavasya Upanishad, Pradhanika Upanishad and all my talks, everything is available on the internet. So what is the problem? The problem is they make us forget the real nature. What is the nature? Here is a secret. When the rishis were worshipping, through that upasana, contemplation, they came to realize, I am the earth, I am the waters, I am the fire, I am the air and I am the akasha and therefore I am the Brahman. And here we are not going. We are only identifying. I cannot live without you. We become totally enslaved to these things and then some clever people are taking advantage of this and then they are trying to control us through these machines. So instead of our controlling the machines, the machines are controlling us. And they say, that is also, I believe, Divine Mother's will. It is a phase that we have to go through, this general artificial intelligence. When that becomes prominent, then we are taken over by these robots, by these machines and the machines dictate, shall I eat this food or that food? And whoever, whichever manufacturer is controlling that aspect through algorithm says, you eat my junk food and you will be very happy. So you put the question, shall I think or not? No, no, no, no. Don't exert. You are a very delicate flower. So we will think for you. So this is how we are being enslaved, our whole personality, body, mind, because we are what we eat physically, mentally, spiritually, in every way. Anyway, I am just in a mood to expand, not necessarily really. Coming back to our topic, so the Aruni Uddalaka, he gives a beautiful example. In the agricultural times, the cows were very important for agriculture and the products of the cow, every part of the, every product of the cow, the curds, the milk, the butter and the urine and even the feces. This is called Panchagavya, Panchamruta, very important. So that was, they believed even the cow's urine, cow dung, have special properties. That is, how do we know? Because cow dung is used. Every day the people in the villages spread inside and outside and then why? Because they believed, I don't know right or wrong, that it is antiseptic, what is called antibacterial and it prevents a lot of diseases, very healthy, etc., etc. Anyway, whatever it is, the cows is the Devata, Golakshmi, Gomatha, etc. Now, the examples they give, because whenever we give examples, examples are given from our contemporary experience only, from nothing else. So in those days, the butter was very important because from out of butter, the ghee, clarified butter, that is called ghee is given and that ghee is the main material, either it is offered directly into the fire and that's what we discussed earlier, eating Agni means eating ghee, etc. and it goes, it strengthens the fiery element within each one of us but they want first milk and milk is made into curds, curds are churned and then butter comes out. So that part of the action, where the butter comes and then what happens, you know, the butter stands out, it floats even though it is in the buttermilk, it never gets attached and that is a point Sairam Krishna wants to give. A man of knowledge, he becomes like a butter but when the same person was immature, he was compared to a curd, that is butter is there within, each soul is potentially divine but it is not coming to the fore, it has to be churned. Remember the Bhagavata story of the milk ocean being churned and out of it came everything that is valuable. So when the butter is churned, then up rises the finest butter, until that time though even though it is there but it is in an invisible form in the milk. So giving this example, whenever we eat finest foods, what does it mean? It means when the food goes to make up our mind, our prana etc., then they also become subtler and greater, that is the point. Just as the butter floats, Sairam Krishna used to give that once a person is a realized soul, he will be like the butter, keep him in the ocean or milk of the worldliness, he will never become attached to it, he will not sink, that is the idea. So the more we churn our minds in the intake of Sattvika, foods etc., our mind becomes. So what was the first point? Our mind is nothing but a type of food that we eat. What is the second point? When our minds are churned, then out of it comes pure knowledge, pure devotion etc., that is the point we have to keep in mind. With this, let us read out, Dadnaha means of course, Saumya, O pleasing student, Mathya Manasya. Mathya means Mathana, that is churning. What happens as we go on churning, it is a daily phenomenon, either you do it with a mixie or in villages they do it till there is a pot and then they go on churning it. Our mothers, our sisters used to do it. Yo Anima, that is, Anima means here, the finest part of it, Saha Urdhvam, Samudeshati, it rises to the surface and then first what comes? Butter and in course of time, that butter, Tatt, Sarpihi Bhavathi, it becomes clarified Ghee, that is, that which is butter is, you have seen the butter, sometimes we are supplied along with the bread and especially in winter season, you are trying to put a little bit of the butter on the bread, it will not come at all. If at all, if you take a huge axe and then give a blow, a small chip of it falls on your bread. But put the same thing in microwave for 5 seconds, then what a fine way it happens. What does the microwave do? It micro churns and then immediately it melts. So, good example, when milk is turned into curds and the curds is churned, first what comes is Sarpihi Bhavathi. Sarpihi means butter, it becomes butter and that butter when it is churned, it becomes clarified Ghee to be used in Homas, Yagnas, Yagas, etc. That my dear, the Arun, Uddalaka Aruni addressing Swetha Ketu, his apt student. So, that which is the subtlest part of curds rises when they are churned and becomes butter. What is this example for? The mind is very, very subtle. It is above it, above the body. That is why like the food is compared to the stomach and then what does the stomach do when food is eaten? It churns it as it were, which we call the process of digestion. And then what happens? The finest part of it goes to become mind. And where is the mind? Whether you call it the heart is the mind or you call the brain is the mind, it is far above everything else including walk or speech. So, in the previous section, what is the connection between the food and the subtle body and gross body? What is it? It is nothing but made up of food and food means here the three elements and in the sixth section, more focus is on the subtle body, that means mind. And then what is this example? This curd is the example. So, as the curd is churned, what is called? Butter rises, that is called Serpe and it rises above, it floats because the subtle one doesn't mix up with the gross. So, here two words we have to, if we can remember, that is melted butter is called Aajiyam, but the solidified one is called, after melting is called Ghritam, that is butter becomes Aajiyam, but this after melting it is called Ghritam and this Ghritam is that which is offered in the fire. Nobody offers butter, everybody offers only clarified butter, which is another name for what we call Ghritam. In my last class, I also mentioned Ayurveda physicians believe that ghee conduces to the longevity of all of us. Giving this example of the curd, then he proceeds. Who? Uddalaka. Proceeds means that example is like an analogy and then he wants to come to the real teaching. What is the teaching? Evam eva khalu somya, annasya, asya manasya, yo anima, sa urdhvaha samudhishati, tat manobhavati. In the same manner, my dear student, that which is the subtlest part of the food, that is eaten, rises and becomes the mind. Remember, this is a repetition of what we have already been told in the beginning. So this connection between food and the mind is not very evident because food is very gross and we chew it, we cook it, we chew it. Some foods are eaten just raw, some foods have to be cooked like rice etc. and eaten and then some foods drunk like the juice of whether it is orange juice, tomato juice or whatever juice. So we have to keep it in mind. So the connection between food which is gross and the sokshma sariram or subtle body, that is to say here our mind, our buddhi, our chitta and our ahankara. Let me explain a little bit. This is called inner instrument or subtle body. Subtle body, the gross what is called the collective name for the subtle body is called what in English language we call mind. But according to Vedanta, this mind is consisting of four parts. The first is manaha, second is chitta, third is buddhi, fourth is ahankara. And again this is called antahkarana, inner instrument. Again these four parts are again made into two parts. Ahankara is one part. So mind plus ahankara, chitta plus ahankara or the other way around, ahankara plus manaha, ahankara plus chitta, ahankara plus buddhi. What is the relationship? Whenever we encounter something, not only what we do not know, even what we know, this is the strangest phenomena. Suppose I am talking to you, every second the mind is working. Who is this person with whom I am talking? We take it for granted only when the person comes, we recognize and then there is no need to recognize that person because we have already been introduced or we know that person. No, every millisecond the mind asks who is this person I am talking to and then oh very quickly the answer comes. This is so and so. Why? Because it is repeated. First time it will take a slight time, but second time quick, third time quick, fourth time quick, quicker. Therefore we do not notice. The mind is asking who is this, who is this, who is this, this is so and so, this is so and so, etc. So whenever, but sometimes we also do that. You are talking with somebody whom you thought you know, suddenly that person utters something and then to whom am I talking? Who is this person? Do I recognize this person? I thought this person was like that, but suddenly these words that came out, for example, that person blurts out, you scoundrel, are you idiot? And immediately, is this person? Am I hearing right? Has something gone wrong with my hearing, etc. Is this person? I never heard this person talking like that. Who is this? Who is this? Anyway, just to illustrate. So what happens? First time the Ahamkara wants to know what is this object? This is called sankalpa, vikalpa, atmika, manaha. Could it be this? Could it be that? We already discussed it, but just to remind. And then as we get more knowledge, more light, more near, the O, that chitta means that which stores previously encountered objects, and every object has got its own file, like your CBI has got a file, like that there is a file there. And then immediately, is this the person? Yes, yes. And a last doubt is removed. Ahamkara goes to, with this information, with this file, to the buddhi, is what do you say? Yes, yes, there is no doubt. This is the one. So nishyatmika buddhi. So first of all, who is this? Secondly, this person resembles this particular impression, that is the remembrance, smriti, memory. Thirdly, buddhi confirms. Every time this peculiar process goes on and on and on. That is why this antahkarana. So whatever we eat, you eat something, mind becomes tamasic, memory power goes, with whom you are speaking, what he or she is speaking, what you are speaking to that person, everything becomes upset. Everything depends upon food. Remember, not only physical body's food, but even mental food, such as studying the scriptures, listening to talks, etc., etc., makes a great deal of difference. This is what we call the difference between the gunas, sattva, rajas and tamas. Anyway, coming back, the teacher is telling, my dear child, in the same manner, like the butter rises when curds are churned nicely, that which is the subtlest part of the food that is eaten rises. So what does it mean? There is a tremendous connection between the food we eat and our mind and our smriti and everything, our wisdom, everything, our buddhi. That's how we pray. So the teacher feels that he should give an example. He gives this example of the curds, because even today, through examples, it is easier to grasp something. So there is a deep connection between not only food and the gross body, food and prana, food and speech, but food and the, what we call, subtle body, which is the most important part in spiritual sadhana. But it requires what? Churning process. Just as the butter cannot come out without churning, then it is not possible to bring out this finest buddhi, memory, everything. So how very important is the food, the type of food that we eat? That is why even today, I don't know how far they understand, we are what we eat. So if somebody eats what is called impure food, grossest food, one can even go mad also. So therefore, he says that this butter, when curds is churned, it becomes butter. So first he gives this example and then he moves to In this example, it is easy for us to understand. And then what does he say? That eva meva das khalo, indeed, O dear one, annasya asya manasya. Asya manasya, the food that is consumed, annasya. Anna means food. Asya manasya means consumed and digested. Only after digestion, yo anima, the subtlest part of the food, urdham samudeshati, it rises, samudeshati means rises, rises to the top. That means it becomes very subtle. And the name of that subtle part of the food is called tat manah bhavati. That becomes our mind. This is all to indicate and in the next chapter we get, that's why how important it is to be careful. So our scriptures divide food into Satvika, Rajasika and Tamasika. Gradually, we have to rise from the Tamasika to the Rajasika and from Rajasika to Satvika and then only there is a chance for us to go beyond. The mind is the most precious thing within us. Why? Mind alone is the root cause of both, what we call bondage and liberation. And this mind is of two types. One is shuddham, another is ashuddham. One is pure, another is impure. And in the Jeevan Mukta Viveka, we have been discussing with some devotees, says what is the pure mind? Vidya Ranya. The author says that which ultimately helps us to get out of this worldly bondage and makes us realize who we really are, that is called pure mind and the opposite is called impure mind. But how do we become pure? Powerful churning is necessary. So that is what he says when we churn after eating food and especially this is the meaning of Viveka. Whatever we experience, we must churn it and then it becomes the food. Just as the food becomes the finest part of the mind, so Shankaracharya says, so the food nourishes the mind. Nourishes means what? It makes it pure, it makes it think higher things, it makes it an ideal because it doesn't make the mind. Remember, food doesn't make our mind. That mistake we should not commit. It only supports the mind. Why do we say? Because this body also, it comes from parents and it is sustained by food and actually speaking, body also food. It comes from food but actually we only bring the body also. That means the blueprint of the body but the mind, no blueprint. Whatever type of mind we cultivated in the past, it comes. But it may be a mixture of purity and impurity. So when we choose food, discrimination in food, pure food, the mind has a chance to become purer and purer and it rises and rises and rises until it reaches God, until it becomes one with God. This is the teaching about the food. Similarly, he is going to teach about the other two elements. So this is with regard to which element? Prithvi, annam. Now about the waters. So prana bhagati. Here, the subtlest part of the water that is drunk rises and becomes prana. This also we have seen in the previous section. The grossest part becomes the urine. The middle part, it goes to become the blood and the highest part, it goes to become Vak or Tejas. So the second mantra talks about the prithvi. The first mantra, second mantra in this section is talking about the prithvi tattva, that is the earthly element. Now this third mantra talks about the watery element. So water, jalam consumed after eating and the churning takes place and the finest part of it becomes prana. So that is why drinking and prana, water and prana, drinking the water and the what is called sustaining the prana as a close relationship. That is why so many people advise go on drinking more and more water. So the point is that water is life. That is why we look for water whenever we want to discover even those extra planets where we want to settle, if at all something like earth is available there. So this is the jala tattvam or the philosophy of the waters. Again, this is to indicate and it is a repetition more or less of what we studied in the previous section and about Tejas also. He says that the subtlest part of the fire that is eaten rises and becomes speech. Remember, subtlest part of the fire that is eaten. Fire that is eaten means oily types of foods that we eat rises and becomes speech, sustains speech and it makes it strong, weak and inspiring or perspiring, whatever it is. And so the finest part of it goes. Similarly, in this fourth mantra, in this sixth section, we talked about what is called first element, which is called fire. So when oily foods are consumed, it goes to become Vaak. But what type of Vaak, speech, that depends also. So what does this chapter wants to say? He concludes it in the fifth mantra, So he says, thus my dear Shweta Ketu, the mind consists of food because food becomes mind. The prana consists of water because water becomes prana and the speech consists of fire because oily types of food go to strengthen speech, good or bad. And immediately Shweta Ketu understands because the subject is being repeated with analogies and examples and then he understands. So he says, please venerable Sir, Bhuiyeva Ma Bhagavan Vignapayatu Iti. Please instruct me further. And then Tatha Somya Itiha Vacha. So please venerable Sir, instruct me further. Okay, so be it my dear. So this mantra is the repetition of the last mantra of the fifth section already. So what is the point? The point is all these manifestations or effects are what is called Maya. The ultimate cause Brahman, Brahma Satyam, Jagan Mithya. Jagat is made up of three elements in this according to this Chandogya Upanishad and therefore you do not cling. Your body and mind and speech are made up of these three elements. They are only effects. The effects are unreliable, changing. So go back to their cause and remain just as after getting over dangerous spots, one reaches home safely and one's own bed after eating, one sleeps after hard work, etc. So the essence of this sixth section is that Brahma Satyam, Jagat Mithya, Brahman alone is real. The three elements are not real. Om Jananim Sharadaam Deivim Ramakrishnam Jagat Gurum Padapadvetyo Sritva Pranamami Muhurmuhu May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with Bhakti. Jai Ramakrishna.