Chandogya Upanishad Lecture 74 on 02 February 2025

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

OM JANANIM SHARADAM DEVIM RAMAKRISHNAM JAGADGURUM PADAPADMETAYOH SRIDHVA PRANAMAMI MUHURMUHU OM APYAYANTUM AMANGANIVAKPRANASYAKSHUH SHROTRAMADHU BALAMINDRIYANICHA SARVANI SARVAM BRAHMAHU PANISHADAM MAHAM BRAHMANIRAKURIYAM MAMA BRAHMANIRAKARO ANIRAKARANAM ASTVANIRAKARANAM ME ASTU TADATMANI NIRATE YAUPANISHADSU DHARMAH TE MAI SANTU TE MAI SANTU OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTI HA RE HE 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 In our last class, we were studying the 19th section called Shraddha, which is the successor of Manana, which alone can lead to Brahman. Without Shraddha, Manana is impossible. So Shraddha precedes Manana. This is the essence of the 19th section. And the mantra goes like this. So this is the dialogue between Sanat Kumara and Narada. When one has faith, only then is it possible for one to reflect. And one who does not have faith will not be able to reflect. Only one who has faith can alone reflect. One must desire to understand faith, that is, to develop faith. And Narada replies after hearing, Venerable Sir, I desire to develop faith. Yesterday, we had been having quite a long talk. In fact, previous class also. So what is the essence of what we discussed? Proof of Shraddha. We all say we have Shraddha. No, we don't have Shraddha. Because how do we understand? That alone which transforms any one of us is called Shraddha. Shraddha is the only transformer. Because only when we believe something, we pursue it. We think about it, then we pursue it, then we realize it, then we become it. We cannot live a minute without Shraddha. But that Shraddha is called belief. And usually that belief is about secular matters, our health, our Ayurveda, our life in the world, all these desires. Even for that, some amount of faith is needed. So the classic example of a person with blind faith, that is extremely important for us. Sri Ramakrishna preached nothing but harmony of religions. And why did he preach harmony? Because there was no harmony. If there was, he would not have preached it. And what is the essence of that harmony? That we must not only have faith in the scriptures, but we must also use reason how to understand it is true, what is written in the scriptures is absolute Satyam. But it is very important to understand by using reason. Because even if it is something true, without the capacity to understand and which alone is aided by reason, through reason, that faith is called blind faith. So what did both Swamiji and Buddha say in this matter? Which matter? That is blind faith. Even though we repudiated it, but still we have to understand it properly. Buddha said, do not believe because I say it. Do not believe because your elders say it, your mother says it, your father says it or somebody whom you have faith in says it because the scriptures say it. Do not believe. You keep your ears open. Listen to what they say. Do not reject, but think, is it really true? How do I understand it? Use your reason to enlighten what you heard about it. That's what exactly Swamiji also said. That's what Sri Ramakrishna used to advise. Test a sadhu by day, by night. So this is the relationship between faith and reason or even better revelation and reason. Revelation is Parama Satya, absolute truth. But reason should make us understand so that there is a law of gravity. Gravity is Parama Satya, but how to use it, how to overcome it, that requires tremendous amount of reason. In a way, reason is a practical application of Shraddha. So Swamiji said that all religion is going beyond reason, but reason is the only guide to get there. Beautifully expressed. Then we also discussed mind and heart. It is a beautiful song. My heart believes it is possible to attain God, but my mind says it is impossible. God is infinite. I am finite. God is all-merciful. I am purely embodied selfishness and God is Sarvajna. I am not even Alpagna. That is little knowing. So all these things, how is it possible? But then the realized souls tell that you must convert your mind also into the heart. How to do that? Through Shraddha. So Sri Ramakrishna illustrates. Yesterday I told you that story. A thief who comes to know there is invaluable treasure in the next room and the partition is very thin. Really if he is a thief, Sri Ramakrishna's words are precise words. If a person, a child, even if he comes to know, he will not attempt. If a person, a sanyasi who is not interested, he will not attempt. But a thief is one who wants to get exactly what he is seeking is there. Could he sleep? Could we sleep if we are also seekers? So that much we have discussed yesterday and there are quite a number of things and I am going to deal it right now. So how do we develop the Shraddha and sometimes synonymously I am using the word faith. So faith always grows very gradually. It is like developing our very weak and sick muscles by going to the gymnasium. Going to the gymnasium itself is something. So if you take instructions from what is called a physical instructor, if you are unable to walk even 10 feet, then he will say first you walk 5 feet. Then next day 6, he goes on slowly acclimatizing our body what best we can do and once we reach our very best that becomes a starting point for the next development. So that's why Swamiji said life is a gymnasium. What we learn from the teachers, from the books, from parents, from elders, from trustworthy people and to put it into practice to experiment and then experience the results that is called Grahastha Shama. So we are told that intellectual, mere intellectual acceptance is never enough. So we are told by the scriptures and by men of God that is to say saints, holy people that the Lord dwells within everybody and we may believe this but doubts continually arise. One of the doubts is he may be residing within other people, every other person but certainly not within me. So doubts come. If God is living within me, how can I be like this? So for that purpose Shraddha has to be slowly developed. How do we develop? What are the exercises? Psychology of Shravana and Manana through meditation and spiritual discipline by Parayana, everyday reciting. We start with very little belief but as we go on that is the psychology of human being. Even if you are starting a life, tell it often enough to yourself. You come to believe. So there was a priest. He had a garden, beautiful fruit garden and things you want to go and steal as usual. So he created a legend that I have seen a ghost there and slowly he went on telling such and such a person had a heart attack. The other person had something because he tried to come into the garden like that. So slowly people started believing and a few months passed and one day the priest heard a commotion outside his window. So he peeped out, saw people running towards his garden. So he asked, he shouted, hey what is going to happen? He said somebody had seen a very big frightening ghost, scary ghost in your garden and it is still there. So we are all trying to go there and see it. So this priest also joined, started running towards it. And then somebody who knew about this priest who started this rumor, how come you only started the rumor? He said who knows. Now I am also thinking perhaps there is a ghost. So I go on thinking about God. I develop slowly, slowly like exercising muscle but not by merely thinking about God but by doing appropriate things. Let me control my tongue. Let me control my sleep. Let me not utter harsh words. Slowly, slowly, little by little, teeny weeny bits and then very soon, so slowly some result will come. Hey fellow, previously you were so rude but now you are becoming much gentler. So this exercise really works. So he gets a little more. What does he get? Self-confidence and then he slowly grows and then faith in God. How did you develop faith in Hinduism or in Christianity? Because you are born and brought up. Just imagine a child, a Christian child, very babyhood is brought up by a pious Hindu family and he will shed all his narrow ideas and if the Hindu baby also is adopted by a fanatical religious person, he will also develop the same fanaticism, more likely. So you see this, go on repeating. That is why the definition of mantra is Mananatrayate. So go on repeating with concentration. Slowly what happens? You start believing in it. As you start believing, your concentration will improve. As the concentration improves, then your joy also will improve and then slowly you find slow but sure transformation is taking place in our Gunas. Slowly the negative qualities are being replaced by positive qualities. So that is how one develops faith in God or in devil or anything. You go on hearing lectures on atheists, reading books. Even if you are fairly advanced in spiritual life, you start doubting whether God is there or not. That is the structure of our psychology. So therefore, go on reading the scriptures. Go on attending satsangs. Go on praying to God and it is what is called self-hypnotization but in a good sense. So this is what happens. But then complete faith in God is like a person who has been doing exercise for many years and one day he finds he gets Olympic title. Somebody asked Swami Brahmanandaji that why not God gives us that complete faith and then he said it is only it comes complete faith comes only just before God realization like the dawn is seen before the rise of the sun. So it should not discourage us until that high state of faith comes. We need a working faith, a faith in the unseen, faith in the Karmaphala. In fact, one of the best things about Karmaphala is you go on doing whatever you think is good with a good motive, with an unselfish motive. Even if you do not believe in God, then slowly, slowly belief in reality starts to generate like a seed which is cultivated slowly turns into a seedling, then a plant, then a tender tree and a mighty banyan. Just look at the seed of a banyan tree. You will understand. So this faith is very, very like a tiny seed. We have to form it, cultivate it. Very interestingly, all these great saints or realized souls or rishis or advanced spiritual persons, they are also just like us. No difference at all. That is why there is a beautiful saying every saint was a sinner in the past and every sinner will be a saint in future because everything depends upon the mind forced to become a saint in the end. That is the purpose of evolutionary escalator. You like it or not, it will take you out of the morass and ultimately reach your home. And Christ also said somewhere, This faith, firm belief in the presence of God, existence of God, presence of God is the essence of spiritual life. So these are very beautiful words. I was reading Mahapurusha Maharaj. Every day I am sending this WhatsApp message of his teachings. Then Mahapurusha Maharaj heard somebody exclaiming, Oh, we are not fortunate enough to see the direct disciple, Shri Ramakrishna and then Mahapurusha Maharaj said, Is it a less good fortune that you are able to see us, the direct disciples of Shri Ramakrishna, who had the great good fortune of seeing, living and talking and transforming ourselves by His grace. Not only that, there was another conversation. Sorry, let me continue this one. Then Mahapurusha Maharaj continues. Just think of the future generations. They will not be able to see even us, but they will read and they will be transformed. But continuing this subject, Swami Premanandaji once remarked, You don't understand how great you are to some monastic sannyasins and brahmacharyans. And they were surprised. What are you talking about? We just joined. We haven't seen Shri Ramakrishna. He says, No, in future, you will be the people who will be talking about Shri Ramakrishna. And by just hearing from you, people will develop tremendous shridda in Shri Ramakrishna, in scriptures, etc. What we have done is very little compared to how many people you are going to transform. Anyway, what is the essence of what we are seeing? Some transformation must come and it will come through daily practice, daily japa, daily parayana, daily study. Because what we hear continuously, that moulds our life most of the time. So how to gain His faith? Shri Ramakrishna tells something very interesting. Once he said, Unless a man is absolutely guileless, he cannot so easily have faith in God. Most of us, when things are going very nicely, that is one of the tragedies of human life. When things are going nicely, Oh, God exists. I am so happy. I am a devotee of God and something is offered. But the moment life gets upset by small incidents, immediately we start to doubt. What do we doubt? There are several stages in doubting about God. First of all, we start doubting His ability. Does He really know? Does He also sleep like us? So is He not seeing me? Every day I am worshipping and offering so many things to Him. So is He able, is He capable of seeing me? And this fellow does not think how much more suffering other people are going through. He only thinks about himself. So selfish we are. If I am suffering, there is Maddukkham Sarva Jagataha Dukkham, Mannatho Jagannathah, Madguru Jagadguru, my Guru is Jagadguru and Mannatha Jagannathaha and my Dukkha is Jagaddukkha. Even if somebody is very, very happy, so those idiots, they don't know what is called Sukha and then go on telling they don't understand. Even God doesn't understand me, what to speak of other people. But I understand both myself and God very nicely and so I must be even greater than God. This is practically what is happening. So first we know, is He merciful? If He is merciful, why He is not coming and rescuing? That is one of the stages. Second, later on, so He may be merciful but He doesn't have the knowledge that I am suffering. That is next higher stage. Even if He has knowledge, so probably He is not inclined, He doesn't have the power to do it. Because to do something, power is necessary. And next is, even if He has got, He knows, He is kind and compassionate and He also is capable of doing, power is there, maybe He doesn't feel like doing it. And what does He say? When you study some of the teachings of the direct disciples of Shri Ramakrishna, when two monks quarreled and came to him, Swami Brahmanandji laughed and said, so God watches all of us fighting and killing each other. For Him, it's a two puppies are playing. Puppies. So one fellow kills the other fellow. For us, it is the Param Sathyam and for God, two puppies are playing. How does it square? It doesn't square at all. So these are doubts we get. Finally, what is our conclusion? We progress so far, very fast in this doubting. We have the ultimate realization, God doesn't exist. So many people lose faith. So that is what Shri Ramakrishna is telling, unless a person is absolutely guileless, he cannot so easily have faith in God. And for such people who are steeped in worldliness, there is God somewhere far, far away from the mind. Ramakrishna also tells about it. For the worst type of devotee, God is far away. For the highly, a little bit highly developed soul, God is within each one of us. But for those who are the highest devotees, accepting God, nothing else exists. In Srimad Bhagavatam, in the eleventh chapter, from second to, I think, fifth chapters, there is a conversation between nine yogis and there was a conversation between Vasudeva and Narada and he recollects a story, the conversation between a king and these nine yogis. Marvellous episode, the teachings of the entire teachings of the Bhagavatam are summarized there as it were in very mellifluous Sanskrit words. So you read the life story of Krishna or Jesus or Buddha or Chaitanya Mahaprabhu or Sri Ramakrishna is called Leela Dhyana. That's why Swami Shardanaji wrote Sri Sri Ramakrishna Leela Prasanga. Leela Prasanga, meditation on the Leelas of Ramakrishna, so that we can meditate. So in the beginning, we also have this Laya, then Vikshepa, then Kashaya, then only Ananda will come. Therefore, do not give up. Anyway, we have to spend some time. Why not also spend some time in doing Japam, etc., etc. So Sri Ramakrishna used to say, God cannot be realized without a childlike faith and he says, God bestows His grace on a devotee who has this faith of a child and Ramakrishna immediately corroborates this saying, a beautiful story. You all know, I hope you know the story of a child, a young boy whose father used to worship Lord Krishna and one day he had to go out. So he asked his young son, tomorrow onwards for a few days, you do the worship and then see that God is fed. He means, he meant, what he meant, that you make some offerings, see mother will make some offerings, take it inside the shrine and you offer and pray and then see that God is eaten. Means what? You sit and do some mumbling Japam and after 15-20 minutes, I don't understand how 50 items are consumed in 15 minutes unless God is a very fast swallower of everything. Anyway, hastily the Prasada is brought out. If anything is less, you search for some rats or cats. So the boy, for the boy, whatever his father says, absolute truth. So he went and then he did the usual Puja and then he said, God, now come down as you used to come down when my father was doing and eat the food. But nothing is happening. The stone image remained like a stone only and the boy also was getting hungrier. So he asked, he started praying intensely. Then he started weeping piteously, copiously. You, why are you discriminating between me and my father? You are eating when my father was offering. What crime have I committed that you are not eating when I am offering to you? Seeing his earnestness, God came down smiling and he did something unexpected. He ate the whole lot and the boy was very happy seeing God and these details you will not get. Only listen to my talks, then you will get. Then he came out happily. Yes, yes, God has eaten everything. They were astounded. Such a huge plate of offering. Even if they doubted he eats, he cannot finish it. So they went inside. Not one single grain was left out and they were puzzled. They did not know and then father came back. He asked, then he understood. The boy had that complete faith and real stories are also there in the what is called the stories of the Shiva Bhaktas. It was a small girl and exactly the same incidents happened. So Shiva was being worshipped and then her father told her, see that Shiva is fed and he was not coming down. So she started beating her head again and again on the Shiva Linga. You are not kind, compassionate and then Shiva came out smilingly, ate the food. I think so. But he took away that girl to Kailasa. Come with me. You deserve to come to Kailasa. This is an incident that really happened in many people's lives. Only it is not recorded, that's all. But this Shiva Bhaktas, 63 Shiva Bhaktas, there are beautiful biographies written by especially Swami Sivananda of the Divine Life Society. Very, very inspiring book. So we know the story. This boy had faith, simple, guileless trust in the Lord and so God only has. Of course, we also know the story of Dada Madhusodhana. Please remind yourself or ask somebody. Absolute faith makes the impossible possible. So true faith, if a person has got, it brings tremendous unquestioning faith in God and this is illustrated. We all know that story. A milkmaid used to supply from the next village to a Brahmana who claimed that he was a devotee of God and she used to come late some days and the Brahmana was impatient for his morning cup of coffee. He could not withstand because the caffeine was working havoc within him. So he asked, why are you so late? She said, what shall I do, sir? There are no boats. I have to wait only when the boat comes. And this fellow wanted to exhibit his beautiful scholarship, high scholarship to this illiterate girl and then he said, what? By uttering the name of Hari, one can cross this Bhavasagara, Samsara Sagara, this ocean of Samsara and you cannot cross a small teeny weeny river and she had tremendous faith. A great Pandit is telling and a Brahmana is telling, it must be true. From next day onwards, she used to come even before and her face was more joyous than ever. He asked, how come you are able to come very quickly and how come that you are more happy now? Sir, you don't know what nice good you have done to me. Previously, I had to waddle and pay to the boatman. Now, without spending a single penny, I was able to cross the river. He said, how do you cross the river? You only told me, take the name of Hari, and then I just walk on the water. This fellow could not believe, so he showed me. So she went there, right now I will show you, took him to the edge of the river and took Hari's name and joyfully started walking on the waters. And the Brahmana, he was trying, he was also uttering the name of Hari. Hari means to die also, one meaning. He was slowly drowning also, but he was lifting up his cloth, so he should not get wet. The milkmaid looked back and said, Sir, that will not do. You take the name of Hari, at the same time, you lift your cloth also, both do not accord. Beautiful story. Like that, so many stories are there. We can recollect when the time comes. So, Ramakrishna said, that one who has that tremendous faith, he can do wonders. And then Christ also said, if ye have faith, you shall say unto this mountain, remove hence to a yonder place, and it shall remove. In fact, what he said was, if you have the size of the faith of a mustard seed, then you say to mountains, I want you to move from this place to the other place, they will obey instantaneously. So, remove hence to yonder place, and it still, it shall remove, and nothing shall be impossible unto you. For faith, nothing is impossible. There was a Christian monk, and he was once asked, Lord, what is the way to the knowledge of God? Thereupon God replied, faith is the only clue to it. So, you cannot know God, unless you have implicit and firm faith in God. So, Ramakrishna used to say, God can be attained through faith alone, and through no other means. He who has faith is all, and he who has faith, who lacks faith, lacks all. It is faith that works wonders, for faith is life, and doubt is death. These are all mantras for us to meditate. Swami Brahmanandaji said, faith, without it, none can attain God. So, a strong faith in the reality of the teaching of the holy scriptures is an absolute conditional necessary, as is firm faith in the power of the mantra, or in the name of God. So, that is why, Guru Shastra Vakyeshu, Satya Buddhi, Avadharana, Shraddha, Eya Vastu Upalabhyate. Only through that kind of faith, then Vastu here means God can be obtained, not otherwise. So, unswerving trust in the spiritual teacher or Guru is also repeatedly stressed, because Hinduism does not make any distinction between Guru and scripture. In fact, God is called scripture. Some people directly worship God only through the scripture. For example, the Sikhs, they worship Guru Granth Sahib. They don't believe in forms of God, but scripture, Guru Granth Sahib is God Himself, and that is absolute truth also. So, Bhagavad Gita is none other than God's word. It is not God's word, but God in the form of the words. So, according to Sairam Krishna, an aspirant doesn't have to work as hard at spiritual disciplines if he has unswerving faith in the Guru. And for this, he tells a story. Again, to illustrate the degree of faith we should strive for. So, what is that story? Once a Guru told his disciple that Rama alone has become everything. And there are many stories. Later, when a dog came along and snatched the disciple's bread, the man ran after it, crying, O Rama, wait a minute. I shall butter your bread for you. What it means is, O Rama, this bread upon which I myself am living is so hard, your teeth, means a dog's teeth, are likely to break that bread. So, let me put some butter on it. So, even Rama has to be buttered, whether in the form of a dog or whatever. So, let me butter you. Such was his faith in the words of his Guru. But you also know, the same incident is reported in the life of Pavahari Baba. And he used to say, Remain at the door of your Guru like a dog always remains at the feet of his master. And Swamiji liked it so much, he came and told to Mahapurusha Maharaj. And Mahapurusha Maharaj many times used to repeat that. And then in his Mahapurusha Maharaj's room, there is a photo of Sri Ramakrishna. And when devotees gather, especially some monks, they used to show that photo of Sri Ramakrishna and say, that is my master. And pointing to himself, this is his dog. And then he had a dog. So, I am the master of this dog. So, like that, remain. Swamiji liked these sayings of Pavahari Baba very much. So, such was his faith in the words of his Guru. Faith in one's self. So, here it comes. Faith in one's self and faith in God. They are synonymous. Because one's capacity and ability to realize God is the foundation for every other form of faith. Swamiji says, the man who cannot believe in himself cannot believe in anything else. Faith in one's self is synonymous with faith in the Lord dwelling within. So, we also have to understand, but what does faith mean? Faith not in our smaller self, this egotistic body, mind, personality, plumed self, Ankara, but in the divine perfection, which Swamiji called each soul is potentially divine. That is the faith we must have. To have faith when everything is going on well is really not too difficult. But the true test of genuine faith is to have complete trust in God in the midst of trials, troubles and temptations. Recollect the story of Prahlad. Not only that, why did God create? This is one of the questions posed by non-believers in God. If God is truly existing, why did he create so much of evil? Evil means suffering, undergoing a lot of trials, tribulations, etc. But what did Holy Mother say? She says, blessings of ignorance are obstructions. We have to say, any obstacle comes or any sorrow, suffering, unfavorable circumstances in life, they are the greatest blessings God is sending to us. Obstructions, disappointments, dry periods are sure to come and with them also doubts creep into the mind. What did our Mother, Divine Mother speak? Misery is a gift of God. When He wants to bestow His grace upon somebody, He sends miseries. What is the greatest example of this saying of Holy Mother? Look at the life of Sairam Krishna. Just before God bestowed upon Kshudiram the gift of Sairam Krishna, that is, I myself wanted to be born as your son. That was the vision Kshudiram had at Gaya Vishnu temple. But for that purpose, what did God do? Kshudiram was living in a village called Dehri, 2-3 miles away from Kamarpukur. He had 30 or 35 acres of wetland and a large house, smaller houses, quite well to do compared to so many people. But then, we know the story, he could not tell a lie in the court for the sake of a zamindar. And the moment the zamindar requested him to bear false witness on his behalf, Kshudiram knew, my stay at Dehri has come to an end because if I refuse, he will throw me out and I can never tell a lie, an untruth. And that is what exactly happened. Now from studying that incident, we can question ourselves into three questions we can put. First of all, who was responsible for the ousting of Kshudiram from his ancestral house, lands, everything he lost? First question. Second question is, what is the result of this event? Third question is, what did that person's life become, Kshudiram's life become afterwards? What is the first question? He had complete faith in his Rama, Raghuvir. So, it is the will of the Raghuvir, like the weaver by Rama's will. Kshudiram is a living illustration of this weaver, not only in good sense, but whatever happens, it is Rama's will. Happily, he accepts. How do we know we accept God's will? If any event makes us unhappy, even though we are spouting the words that it is God's will, we are cheating ourselves. If it is God's will, it must be extremely good. If mother is giving castor oil, it must be very good. It may be unpleasant, but the end result will be very, very good. So, he understood it is Rama's will. I should leave this place and go somewhere. He did not know. And then, what was the result? He did not blame him. He had the power of cursing. He could curse. Ramakrishna said, whatever words come out of a truth-speaking person, they will come true. May you die. If simply that thought came also, the Jamindar would have suffered. No, he said it is Rama's will. Therefore, he has not done anything wrong to me. Whatever Rama does is good. That was his reaction to that event. First, he lost and he did not blame the Jamindar and he accepted the will of Rama and totally relied. Swamish Aradhanji describes that event. His reliance on Rama grew by leaps and bounds. In this world, nothing is certain. Only Rama's grace alone is the only saving factor. And that is what happened. He came to Kamarpakur. Immediately, his friend offered him two houses, which we see even now, and a small, one-bigh of, less than one-bigh of land, which he named Lakshmi Jala. And that was sufficient for quite some time for his growing family. So, these are the three things. He did not blame. He thought it was all the will of God. And the will of God must be good. So, his reliance upon the will of God has grown tremendously. And that is called real, true faith in God. Shraddha in God. That is what the Holy Mother says. Every misery is a gift of God. And every gift of God leads us only to the highest bliss. But in the midst of these trials, we should try to recall the glimpses of God that we have had. Try to feel again that faith and love that accompanied them. And then, power of prayer. We have to go on praying because we are still beginners only. So, Swami Brahmanandaji said, pour out your whole heart in prayer to Him. Ask to see and to know Him. He will take away all your doubts and show you, reveal to you His true nature. Seek and it should be revealed to you. Knock and it will be opened to you. So, this ideal attitude to strive continuously whatever be the circumstances put or put into words by the medieval monk Thomas A. Kempes, we all know, imitation of Christ. There is none whom I can fully trust. None that can reasonably help me in my necessities. But only Thou my God, Thou art my hope, Thou my confidence, Thou art my comforter and in all things most faithful unto me. This is what some of the thoughts that we have to understand regarding Shraddha. So, just I will stop with this. From next class onwards, we will go back to the origin of these things. But this particular chapter, 19th chapter is wonderful chapter on Shraddha. That is why Kata Upanishad is the best illustration. Shraddha Avivesha. And the moment it possessed him, Najiketa was as good as Yamadharma Raja, his Guru, Brahma Gnana Guru. Immediately he certifies as if you have already reached, even the instructions have not started. And that is the teachings of every great sage and saint in this world. And as I said, there is a Shraddha Suttam. Every aspirant must go on reciting, O Mother, If you don't want to recite that Shraddha Suttam, you repeat this mantra. And it is a mantra and by the Divine Mother's grace, slowly we will develop. Only one last point, when we pray for Shraddha, it doesn't mean she gives only Shraddha. Like a gang, one good quality Mother gives, all other good qualities come along with it. And if we have one bad quality, then every other bad quality will be, friends will be, lot of friends will be there. I will stop here. A few questions, whatever, if it is there. May Shri Ramakrishna Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with Bhakti. Jai Ramakrishna.