Chandogya Upanishad Lecture 59 on 14 December 2024

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

OM JANANIM SHARADAM DEVIM RAMAKRISHNAM JAGADGURUM PADAPADMETAYOH SRIDHVA PRANAMAMI MUHURMUHU OM APYAYANTUM AMANGANIVAKPRANASYAKSHUH SHROTRAM ATHO BALAMINDRAYANICHA SARVANI SARVAM BRAHMAHU PANISHADAM MAHAM BRAHMANIRAKURIYAM MAMA BRAHMANIRAKARO ANIRAKARANAM ASTVANIRAKARANAM ME ASTU TADATMANI NIRATE YAUPANISHAD SU DHARMA TE MAI SANTU TE MAI SANTU OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTI HA RE HE OM OM 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. I am engaged in the pursuit of the Self. May they repose in me. OM PEACE PEACE PEACE BE UNTO ALL So we are studying the 7th chapter of the Chandogya Upanishad. This chapter is specifically called Bhumananda which is the same as Atmananda, Brahmananda, Poornananda, Anantananda etc. So we have entered into the 7th Kanda and I have given a quite a long introduction. This 7th section is also known as Vijnanam. That is O Narada, Sanat Kumara has instructed that superior to even Dhyanam which we discussed in our last class is Vijnanam. How beautifully step by step the teacher is leading him. If this is the effect then this is the cause and when we once reach, understand that cause, it will become an effect in its turn and we have to go what makes that effect possible. Every effect is nothing but a manifestation of the cause but there is a vast difference. Effect is inferior and cause is superior. Effect is gross, cause is subtle. Effective is less pervasive, cause is more pervasive. The cause can be without effect so to say but the effect can never be without cause. For example, gold can be without transforming itself into any ornament but an ornament, I mean golden ornament cannot exist without gold, without clay, a clay pot or any number of pots have no existence at all. When we say this is an ornament, this is a clay pot, the easiness belongs to the gold and also to the clay etc. So when a person wants to concentrate, what is the way, how does he concentrate, there must be a subject for concentration and that subject has to be chosen. We cannot simply pick any subject from the air and then go on focusing upon it. Of course, that is what we are doing with tremendous success, getting deeper and deeper into the Mahamaya's net. This is called Kalpana, imagination and imagination leads us into the greatest trouble. As Lata Umara so beautifully expresses, imagination is the root cause of every problem in this world. So I imagine I am the Jeeva, forgetting I am the Atman, that is the greatest downfall, pitfall. Similarly, everything, if I can get married to a spouse whom I think is the most wonderful person, that's an imagination because every Jeeva is limited, is full of Dukkha, so no object in this world can ever give us what we are expecting. When we understand it, our mind turns inward from outside to inside, from the non-Atman to Atman, from non-God or from the world to God. So Vijnanam Vava is superior to Dhyanam and without understanding, it is impossible to meditate and what is this Vijnanam? It is called Shastra Gnanam. Knowledge is divided into two types, Gnanam and Vijnanam. Paradoxically, in the modern scientific terminology, Vijnanam, so that is material science, Bhoomi Vijnanam, biology, zoology, chemistry, physics, they are called Vijnanams. But according to the Upanishads, Gnanam means theoretical knowledge or worldly knowledge and Vijnanam means scriptural knowledge, Shastriya Gnanam. That is what we have to understand. So before we concentrate, we have to understand what is my goal? Why am I meditating or concentrating? What benefit do I get? So everything about what I would wish to concentrate upon should be crystal clearly known to me and the more I know about it, the more I can discriminate whether it is worth concentrating or not. For another example, throughout I am going to give plenty of examples. When a man thinks that money can solve every problem, then he will focus upon how to get more money. But nothing can be further from truth because if a person's physical health is very bad, then any amount of wealth in any form is completely useless. This has been beautifully illustrated by P. G. Wodehouse in all his stories and novels. Upper class people, very weak and no stamina, but they have plenty of money inherited. So they depend upon a host of servants and the servants make the best of things. It is like we the devotees offer the best of things to God. Knowing fully well, God doesn't eat. Only He looks at it, purifies it and then we can enjoy to our heart's content or stomach's content without any pangs of guilty conscience. So like that the servants use it to prepare the very best, bring out the best wines and formally offer and the fellow just tastes a few spoonfuls and rest is maha prasadam to all the servants. So we think that money can solve every problem. Money can remove all sufferings. Money can bring the greatest security and happiness. Nothing can be further from truth. Though I do not wish to enter into politics, political news, how Israel had found out what the enemies thought the most secure bunkers underground and they found out. Did the bunker save you? How many people have been killed by this, what is called modern science of knowledge or AI, whatever it is. This is only just for illustration's purpose. Most important is body. Even more important is the mind. Even more important is the scriptural knowledge and that is what Vijnanam means. Visesha Shastriya Jnanam and we have seen it is when a person knows about it, he gives a long list of what we have seen earlier, all the Vedas and what is called auxiliary sciences, how to understand the Vedas, how to perform Vijnanas and Yagas. So many things I do not want to go into the details because we have seen but there are a few things that I would like to briefly dwell upon before we enter into the next khanda or section. So here the Rishi is telling about Vijnanam. Even we must have Vijnanam. Devam means heavenly world. That of course we will have to say. So even this world. So do we know anything about these Lokas? Loka means that which we experience or a person experiences is called a Loka. What does it mean? It means that a child lives in his own world. He can't enjoy driving a Cadillac car or Rolls Royce. He can only play with this. So that is his limitation but a grown-up young person, fully alert, he can do it. So if we are living in our not in the same world where each one of us living, man living in the Mars world and women are living in the Venus world, child is living in a child's world, a mosquito lives in a mosquito world. So what we understand is world means that we what we experience and what we experience is a mixture of happiness and unhappiness and nobody wants unhappiness. Even the dumbest lowest amoeba doesn't want destruction, doesn't want any unhappiness. So according to its knowledge it will try to ward off any unhappiness, any suffering. Now what is important for us is do we know how to reduce our suffering and how to increase our happiness? So that is why according to one popular what is called division of our scriptures, all the whole creation is divided into 14 Lokas. Seven upper worlds and the lowest of this upper world is called our Manushya Loka and then seven Naraka Lokas we call it. Naraka means where people suffer increasingly more and more of which Patala affords the highest or the intensest suffering and Brahma Loka or also called Sathya Loka gives us the highest imaginable dualistic or worldly happiness. Now how to go there? How to reduce unhappiness? How to go there? We will not know. We will never know. We will not even know there are upper worlds. That means there is higher experiences of happiness. That is what upper Lokas mean. So we will have to have the knowledge. We cannot see it. Even the most powerful telescope, even if you send a satellite to the highest point in the space, it cannot discover because it is subtler, the higher, the subtler. So that knowledge we can get only from the scriptures. So we have to understand knowledge of every existing world we can get only from the scripture. Similarly, if somebody doesn't know what is Naraka or hells, then blissfully he will be ignorant and blissfully he will go on doing whatever he wants to do. It is scripture which tells. Don't even think of doing such a thing because you will pay the price by experiencing the resultants of your own karmas. So all this knowledge we will get only from the scriptures. Then I am only selecting a few how this Upanishadic teaching can help us understand better. Then five Panchabhutas. The whole creation is a manifestation in different degrees of these Panchabhutas. That is why it is called Pra-Pancha, made up of only these five bhutas, the physical world, our physical bodies, etc. But the mind also is made up of the same Panchabhutas, what they call undivided, unmixed up Apanchi Kruta Tanmatras. So pure Panchabhutas. But what we see, my body or the entire external outside world and that is what we call creation, is a combination, what is called an outcome of these Panchabhutas. But where from the Panchabhutas are coming? They are nothing but the manifestation of the Atman and that is what we have seen in Chandogya sixth chapter. That is what we have seen the Panchabhutas in the Taittiriya Upanishad, especially in the second chapter called Brahmananda Valli. Now what is important for us is we have to understand that we individuals do not really exist. We are only a combination of different parts in different degrees of the compositions of these Panchabhutas and that is why they are the presiding deities. They are not inert things. They are living manifestations of consciousness. So if we can understand it and when you look at a mountain, when you look at a river, when you look at a vast field, is earth, when you look at fire, when you look at all the air that is blowing and when we look at the space, we will not get the knowledge that they are Atman, vibrating, living and we are only the children outcome of those Panchabhutas. Therefore, they are the Devatas. That is why Panchapuja, Panchabhutapuja, Panchadevatapuja in the form of these five Devatas is very important. Where from do we get all this knowledge from the scriptures? So that is what the Pancha, Vayu, Akasha, Apaha, Tejaha, Prithvincha, earlier Divancha means Bhooh, Bhooha, Swaha, then Devascha. There are beings, luminous beings, shining beings. That is the meaning of Deva means Deva, to shine. They are existing. This is not what is called Chandamama stories. They are not Amarachitra Katha stories. They are not Puranic stories but concrete realities. They are existing. So they are coming, their outcome of what is called Bhagavan Himself, Atman Himself and what about human being? Each soul is potentially divine. That includes even from amoeba to the highest realized soul. Only a realized soul realized I am divine. Previously I was potentially divine. Now I am fully divine and then the scripture goes on telling Pashuhu, animals, Vyamsa, birds, Trina because these are the living creatures but living creatures cannot live. They depend upon food, water, warmth and then air etc. So Trina, Vanaspateen, then Swapadani, there are creatures who move on four legs, some on two legs, Akita, so insects, so Patangaha, butterflies etc. Pipelukam, even the ant, all these are also manifestations of the divine. Then most important, how to live life? That is where the next few sentences in this mantra exemplifies. Dharmancha Dharmancha. How do we know what is right, what is wrong? What is Dharma, what is Adharma? Because Dharma leads us, gives us the result of Puniyam. Puniyam gives us Sukham. Adharmam gives us Paapam. Paapam or sin gives us suffering. How do we know? So if I am suffering now, that is the result of what I had done in the past. And so how do we get what is Dharma, what is Adharma? Do this and do not do this. The ten commandments, Vidhi and Nishayadha, we get only from these scriptures. Satyancha, Anrutancha. What is truth? Satyam. Anruta means whatever is changing. That is the definition given in the Brahmananda Valli of the Taittiriya. When something never changes. Trikala, Abadhitam, Satyam. Trikala, Abadhitam, Anrutam, Asatyam, Mithya. So truth and untruth. Where from do we get? So God alone exists. Everything else is temporary, unreal, mithya. Ramakrishna's most important teachings discriminate between what? Between the real and the unreal. God alone is real. Real means Satyam. Satyam means He alone exists in the form of Sat, Chit and Ananda. Everything else is but temporary, Anruta. Whatever is not Satyam is called Anruta. So how do we know? Only from these scriptures. What is our day-to-day life? This world is real even though we are seeing birth, growth, death, unhappiness, unhappiness, heat and cold, friends and enemies. Every millisecond everything is changing. It's very interesting for me how two enemies, what we call born enemies, two countries, they become friends when they join against another country whom both of them hate. So there is hatred and there is friendship also. Very interesting. So similarly that is what he says. What is Satyam? God alone is Satyam. And what is Anruta? Whatever we do not recognize as God. Here we have to understand, keep a point. Really speaking there is nothing other than God. So what we call the world is nothing but Brahman only. Sarvam Kalvidam Brahma. But what is the problem? The truth is everything is God but our present experience is everything is temporary. That is called changing. That is called unreal. That is called dependence. So where from do we get that each soul is potentially divine? From scripture. Who said that? Swamiji. And what Swamiji said? Who was Swamiji? A Rishi. And what a Rishi says, what comes from the mouth of a Rishi is called Shastra or Upanishad. Nothing else. And then Sadhucha, Asadhucha. So this is very interesting because Sadhu means how to live a real good spiritual aspirant's life. Sadhu by very definition, one of our Swamis used to tell beautifully, he is a good Sadhu. And then he said is a redundancy is there. Goodness and Sadhu, there is no bad Sadhu. By definition Sadhu means good. And who is not good? He is not a Sadhu. So Sadhu and Asadhu. So what is this Sadhu and Asadhu? There is a person who is a gentleman, who is trustworthy and who never harms anybody and who bears everything. Even in the most ordinary English terminology, a gentleman, perfect gentleman who will never insult, who will never cheat anybody. Rather he helps anybody. And whoever is opposite to this gentlemanly behavior, he is called a Sadhu. And Sadhus enjoy and Asadhus, they really suffer. Then Hridayagnam, that is what is pleasant and Ahridayagnam, what is unpleasant. Why is it necessary? When I'm eating good food, do I not know what is pleasing to me? So there is a health rule. Whatever is tasty is generally unhealthy and whatever is not tasty, that is very healthy. And it develops incidentally willpower also. So all these things we get knowledge. What is present at this moment, something may be present. That is what defining what is called Tamasika food. He says, Edagre Amrutabham. So what appears to be like a nectar but Pariname Vishameva and that which turns into poison in the end and that is called Rajasika food. But what is unpleasant in the beginning and much more unpleasant in the end, that is called Tamasika food. And what is Sattvika food? Even when you look at it, it pleases the mind. When we eat it, it increases our Sattva Guna. That is why Sattvika food is so much praised. We are going to get it in this very Chandogya Upanishad. What is Sattvika food? When food is Sattvika food, our perception, capacity to understand, our memory, our devotion to God, everything will increase. And whatever gives us right understanding increases our devotion to God and makes us more discriminating people, gives us willpower to give up what is not conducive to our good health. That is called pure food. And when the food becomes Sattvika food, Smriti, our memory, what memory? I am potentially divine. That becomes enduring and that is the effect of Sattvika food. But that which appears immediately, oh so pleasing, I cannot resist it. But in the end, it turns out to be So that is the description, part description, the Bhagavad Gita you will see of the food. So what is meant is what appears to be immediately attractive and pleasing may turn out to be even a life ender. But that which is difficult, that which is not so pleasant at this moment, this we get only from the scriptures, even sometimes from the doctors, even sometimes from common sense also. Then that is food that we eat. Where from it is coming? Prithvi, Prithvi Devata. I mentioned many times, Mother Annapurna, she is not giving food, she is food. So when we are eating food, we are eating Prithvi Devata. When we are eating food, and another name for Prithvi Devata is Mother Annapurna. She is not like a human being sitting there and giving some food either to family or to poor people or to beggars. Mother Annapurna, when we are eating, that is Mother Annapurna we are eating. But Mother Annapurna in the form of food, you understand this clearly, those who eat non-vegetarian. When a person is eating a chicken, that is the annam for him, a living. But living has to be killed, otherwise we cannot really eat. Similarly, when we drink water, whom are we drinking? Jala Devata. When we are breathing, Vayu Devata. When we are warming ourselves, Agni Devata. Whenever we are moving, it is the Akasha Devata. Everything is nothing but God. Where from am I getting this knowledge? From the scriptures. So not only annam, Prasam. Prasam means waters. Prasam also means Ananda. Where from this Ananda is coming? Our existence is derived from Sat aspect of God. Our knowledge is derived from the Chit aspect of God. Our Ananda is derived from the Ananda aspect of God. Sat, Chit, Ananda. Beautifully expressed in those three prayers, which most Hindus should know or know some of them. And again coming Imancha, Lokancha, Amuncha. This world. Why do we see so much of differentiation? Because of what we did in the past. And Amuncha. There is another Loka, other Lokas. Both upper Lokas and lower Lokas. Where from we get? Therefore, Idam Sarvam. All this knowledge. We get this knowledge only from Vijnana. Vijnana means Shastra Jnana. And that's why faith in the scriptures is very important. Therefore, O Narada, so Vijnanam Upasva. You contemplate. Knowledge is none other than God. Scriptures are another way of God. That is why we worship books. The Sikhs who follow the Sikh religion, they do not worship idols like Hindus. But they worship Guru Granth Sahib, that book itself. But what is a book? That which contains knowledge. So some Hindus worship Vedas. We worship Bhagavad Gita, Gita Jayanti. So it is not the physical container. What is contained, that knowledge. It is not that we worship Guru. But that which is, blesses us, makes us blessed people. That knowledge, that is called Guru. That is why Mother Saraswati is the embodiment of all knowledge, both Laukika and Alaukika. So all this Vijnanam. Therefore, you must consider everything is Brahman. Vijnanam is Brahman. Another name is Saraswati or Sharada or Sarada. Therefore, O Narada, please worship. And then he must have meditated. Yes, whatever knowledge I have is all, nothing but knowledge of God, coming from God. And he bestowed that, that he gave me that intellect, that buddhi, that medha, that buddhi, for me to understand. So that is what Narada did. And then he understood that everything in this world, every bit of knowledge in this world is nothing but manifestation of the Chidamsha, Chit, the part called Chit, of Bhagavan. And anybody who is manifesting, he is nothing but that Vijnanam. With this, he had reached the end of that particular Upasana. Then a new world opened. He said, but where from this, what is the cause? This Vijnanam is only, this knowledge is only an outcome, is an effect. So he asks as usual, Bhagavan, is there something higher? And then he says, of course, there is something much higher and then we will tell you about it. But as every section tells us, if a person did Upasana, a Upasaka becomes equal or attains oneness with the Upasya or the meditated ideal, then if the person is lingering secular desires, worldly desires, so far as his knowledge goes, he will be shining every world of knowledge, whether he is invited by Oxford University or Harvard University or by NASA people or in the greatest, what we call a scientific community or musical community or literary community, he will be respected, he will be honoured, he will get rewards, he will get money. He is free because he is free from the ignorance, Agnana, of those subjects as far as those subjects are concerned. But how did he get this knowledge? That is going to be the question. So he doesn't feel any constraints, restrictions because people will gladly welcome such a person. He who literally identifies every piece of knowledge with God, call him Brahma because Brahma is another name for Veda or call that person, man or woman, as Saraswati. That's why Shankaracharya called even his greatest, Sureshwaracharya's wife, before he became there, his disciple, Vyabharathi. He worshipped her as mother Saraswati. Anybody that worships mother Saraswati sincerely and prays. That is why Kalidasa, he will get what he wants. Kalidasa prayed to mother in the name of Kali and she became the greatest poet. So also Wordsworth, Keats, Shelley, Shakespeare, any poet, good poetry, whatever it is, is all manifestation of the God called Saraswati and don't think it is male or female. God is a neuter gender, neither male nor female. So if somebody is a master of a particular section or of science, any type, then in that field he becomes free and he will be happy and he will enjoy prestige, power and he will be respected, honored. That's why anybody who is a master is always respected by somebody or other. Therefore, Onarada contemplate Vijnanam Brahmeti and then he must have done it and then he must have understood there is something higher because this Vijnana cannot come unless another condition is fulfilled. So Asti Bhagavo Vijnanadvabhuyahaiti. There is something superior, subtler, more pervasive than Vijnana. Of course, Sanat Kumara says Vijnanadvabhuyo Asti. So seven steps, seventh step Narada has been made to pass and then he found eighth step. So he asks Sanat Kumara, his Guru, addressing Bhagavan because a knowledgeable person is Guru, Guru Brahma, Guru Vishnu, etc. So Vijnanadvabhuyo Asti Iti. Is there something? Yes, yes. Definitely. Beyond the Vijnana, the cause of Vijnana, there is something else is there. And out of your grace, Tatme Bhagavan Iti. May you instruct me in that so that I may also cross that step. Same thing has followed. Now we are entering into the eighth section. It is called Balam. Balam means strength. So Balam means power. Balam means that tremendous both body power, mental power. And if you remember, Swamiji had given the greatest emphasis. He said all the miseries that India has undergone, even today it is undergoing, all because of weakness. Because a weak person will be trampled by any Tom, Dick, Harry, anybody, Swamiji says, who decides to kick and they were able to kick Indians. Why? Because there is no strength, neither physical, bodily, nor intellectual, nor moral. So we have to keep in mind two types of India. A spiritual India, where there are few people extraordinarily strong and knowledgeable like Narada and Jeevan Muktas, there are most of the people so scattered, non-unified, utterly selfish, not even patriotic and trying to do. This is a slavish mentality. Swamiji had criticized. I am only taking words from him, putting in my own language. Who is a slave? A slave is a person with a slavish mentality. What is a slavish mentality? That is, if you can catch somebody's hair and pull him down, a slave will do that. But if he fails to do that, he will fall at the feet, worship him. You are my God. So when these white-skinned people came, they fell at their feet and said, you are Dwara. Dwara means Lord. So superiority. Even today we are suffering. Even though we are such a big country, any small country, who takes into its head and we are simply saying, oh be good, be pure, be spiritual, don't hurt minority. We are minorities. We are Hindus, we are minorities. Will they do that? Two strong countries like US or China or Russia, let them try, then you will see. So everybody is frightened of Balam, strength, physical, mental, moral, spiritual, every type of strength. That is what is going to, Sanath Kumar wants to, what is called, unravel in his next instruction to Narada. So he says, So Balam, strength is even the cause, greater. Why? He will give you what is called a synopsis. This is the methodology I am following. I will give you a brief introduction and then we will actually go. You must have noticed, after giving the introduction, it becomes very easy for us to understand. Only few words, even if you do not understand Sanskrit words, but the gist of the chapter, we can understand very well. Even if you forget everything, just remember this, that all knowledge depends upon strength. So the Upanishad also introduces something very important concept here. I want to forestall it just now. Suppose there is a disciple, he is honest, but he is weak. So if he is a weak person, he cannot get up. He does not have the strength even to get up. If he is a weak person, he cannot serve the Guru. If he is a weak person, he cannot think properly. If he is a weak person, let alone he cannot even eat well, cannot even digest well and much less intellectual power. And that is what the Upanishad itself reminds us. Do you remember the sixth chapter where we have seen the Guru asks you to fast for 15 days. So Shweta Ketu, he went and fasted. Now you have been taught, you have mastered all the Vedas, etc. Came back very proud after 12 years. He says recite them, but nothing comes out because only prana somehow is keeping the life alive, but the brain is not working. He has not lost, but he cannot access because of the weakness of the body and body weakness brings memory, weakness of memory. That's why old age memories are not lost, but accessing them becomes more difficult because of the weakness of the body and also brain, etc. So then the father asks him, now you go and you eat for 15 days and after 15 days you ask the same question. Now you recite the Vedas and gada gada gada, like water flowing, he recites everything. The memory has come back because the strength has come back. The brain has become very active, body has become very active. So Sri Ramakrishna also tells it that when Isha Chandra Vidya Sagar asks, are there differences in the manifestation of Shakti? Shakti means Bala, we can take it, all sorts, not only physical, mental, moral, spiritual, etc. Then Sri Ramakrishna tartly replies, have you grown two horns that we have come to see you because you are very strong in intellectual knowledge, very moral person. Isha Chandra Vidya Sagar was also a very strong moral person, very compassionate person and very social service oriented person. That's why his other title is Daya Sagar, not only Vidya Sagar, but Daya Sagar. So this is what Sanath Kumara wants to convey and this is the introduction I am going to give. There is a need to connect one's understanding with the realities of life because we all know we should not tell lies, we should not cheat but people do that. Why? Because there is a weak understanding, weakness is there because of bodily weakness and brain weakness, intellectual weakness, moral weakness, etc. So here Sanath Kumara says that strength is superior to understanding. What does he mean? By strength he means a blend of the functions of the mind and the functions of the body. We understand, we are very good in understanding many things but we do not implement them through our body because that is what the Christian saying is there, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. This is exactly Sanath Kumara wants to say that we know many things, this should be done, that should not be done, Vithi and Nishedha, but body is weak and as a wise crack he had said, I can resist everything except in temptation. What else is there to resist? But when the body and mind become strong, they come together and there is an energy of superior character. Suppose there is a person with a strong mind but not a healthy body, weak body, that is what happens in old age, in disease, etc. Mind is very strong, very active but body cannot do what the mind is desiring to do. But there are some people, they are like buffalos in strength, bodily strength but there is no brain there. A combination, judicious combination of both are very necessary. So a healthy body, a healthy mind in a healthy body, that is what it says. So it requires a strong and firm mind to animate the body to carry out what the mind really knows. Strength is the union of the power of the mind with the power of the body and that is called willpower, union of consciousness with its object. Strength or power is superior to everything that is mentioned earlier. Why? Because of strength, person understands. Because of understanding, he can concentrate. Because of concentration, he can remember. Because of remembrance, he can make a determination, I want to do this. And because of that, he thinks deeply how to carry it out. Then he expresses it in words. Then the knowledge will also help him, Nama. So you see, so that is what is said here and as I mentioned earlier, this strength is a specific reference to the condition of a disciple in relation to the Guru whom he serves. In Bhagavad Gita, how one should obtain knowledge is also said. What is it? Tad viddhi pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya upadekshyanti te jnanam jnaninaha tattva darshanaha How should one really get knowledge from the Guru? By pleasing him and then by asking questions. How is Guru pleased? Tad viddhi pranipatena. First of all, have faith in him, surrender to him totally. That is called pranipata. Then pariprasnena. You can ask questions. When? Not immediately after entering into his room, have these questions. Have you any answers? No. Sevaya. Just serve him. And to serve, a person requires tremendous amount of strength, not only physical, intellectual, everything. That is what he said in this Upanishad. In this particular eighth section, he is telling when a disciple, a sishya, becomes strong, then he is able to get up. The moment the Guru looks at him, the sishya understands. If you remember the incident of Padmapada, he was collecting firewood or doing something on the other side of a small river and his Guru called him. Please come. He called him by his name and then I think his name was Sananda or something and immediately thought my Guru is calling me. He requires something. I should not delay. That tremendous seva immediately jumps into the river and because of his Guru bhakti, wherever he was putting a foot, a lotus was springing up and supporting his feet. You can understand. In no time, he has reached and said Gurudeva, are you calling me? Yes, yes. I am able to start the class and then you sit. Such a person gets the grace of God. He need not even ask. So that day class was to be conducted. Other three disciples were snickering. What is the point of this Sananda? Because he is a dullard. Even if our Guru takes class, he will not understand and Guru understands everything that is going on in the minds of the disciples. So he looks at them and then when this Sananda joins them, so immediately he says, yesterday I had explained a very difficult topic. Can you recollect what I said and paraphrase it in your own words? And then the disciple by Guru's grace not only understood, so he had just opened his terminal and asked chat GPT, what is the summary of yesterday's our Guru's class? And gada, gada, gada and all the summary points have come up with marvellous precision and he has uttered such words. Other disciples were struck dumb. Then they understood that our knowledge is nothing. We are priding. It's all Guru Kripa. That is very important and then I recollect Sri Ramakrishna was being served by Latu Mara Swamad Bhutananda. As you know, he was an unlettered person. As Latu Mara was messaging his feet, Sri Ramakrishna says, my boy and Latu Mara's Ishta Devata was Sri Rama and he was asking, my boy, do you know what your Rama is doing right now? Latu Mara said, what do I know? Means I am a foolish fellow. I can never understand. Then Sri Ramakrishna says, he is passing elephants through the eye of a needle. But by Guru's grace, Latu Mara has understood. What is it? I am like that eye of a needle. Sri Ramakrishna is passing the highest knowledge to me. That is what my Rama is doing and that is what if you study Latu Mara Swamad Bhutananda as we saw him, you will be astonished by the amount of Veda and Vedanta that has come through his mouth. It is simply marvellous beyond my description. So even when the Guru glances at the disciple, he must immediately jump up like Hanuman. He jumps up. Guru Deva, what can I do? He understands. When Brahmananda used to say, there are three types of disciples. The worst third class of disciple is even after telling, he will not move, he will not understand. Second disciple is much better. After the Guru asks him, you do this, spells it out what to be done, immediately he will do it. But Swami Brahmananda says, the first class disciple is he who even before the Guru thinks what he needs, what should be done, he will guess, my Guru will get up and he will be needing this thing. Of course, by observation also we can understand every day. So then he will keep everything ready and Guru will be very much pleased with him. So Uttishthan Paricharita Bhavati, he does whatever is necessary to serve the Guru. And then he says, Paricharan Upasatta Bhavati, and serving Guru in such a spirit, Upasatta Bhavati, his intellect becomes open to receive the grace of God. And the grace of Guru, the grace of God through the instrumentality of the Guru comes in the form of knowledge. Dadami Buddhiyogam Tam Enamam Upayanthite. So that is Paricharan Upasatta. So he becomes closer to Him. Upasidhan, as soon as he understands, what does he become? Drashta Bhavati, he becomes immediately religious. Shrota Bhavati, he listens and with tremendous faith. Mantha Bhavati, he thinks deeply. Boddha Bhavati, he awakens to the fact of what the teacher had taught. Kartha Bhavati, he moulds his whole life. Vijnata Bhavati, because his eighth section is called Vijnanam Brahma section. So Vijnata Bhavati. So these first three, Drashta, Shrota, Mantha and then Boddha. Shramana, Manana, Nidhidhyasana, where Agnivalike has been taught to his disciple, Maitreyi. He says, Arre Atmava, Arre Drashta Vyaha, Shrota Vyaha, Mantha Vyaha, Nidhidhyasita Vyaha. All Upanishads, they borrow from each other. Same ideas, they present sometimes in toto and sometimes they change a bit of language. So only when a disciple is endowed with strength, not only physical, that is the first condition, then intellectual, then moral, then spiritual, then he becomes a realized soul. Drashta Bhavati, Vijnata Bhavati. How? Through the process of first he listens, then he puts into practice, etc. etc. Vijnata Bhavati. So even to serve Guru, even to practice spiritual discipline, one requires tremendous strength. These ideas we will discuss in our next class. Because further beautiful details are there, in next class we will discuss. Om Jananem Sharadam Devin, Ramakrishnam Jagadgurum, Pada Padmetayoh Sritva, Pranamami Muhurmuhu. May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with Bhakti. Jai Ramakrishna.