Chandogya Upanishad Lecture 79 on 22 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 22nd section which is very aptly named as Sukham which is which section is part of the 7th chapter of Chandogya Upanishad and this particular 7th chapter is called Bhumananda. So having heard from Sanath Kumara the Guru Narada says venerable Sir I desire to understand all about Sukham. That is what we have been discussing quite elaborately. So there is only one mantra and it goes like this Yadavai Sukham Labhate Athakaroti Na Asukham Labdhva Karoti Sukham Eva Labdhva Karoti Sukham Tu Eva Vijignasitavyam Iti Sukham Bhagavo Vijignasa Iti Yadavai Sukham Labhate Athakaroti When a being obtains happiness or hopes to obtain happiness then only he plunges into any action. If a being thinks that I am not going to get happiness he will never undertake it because that is not our nature that Sukham Labdhva means what? It means that which gives us the opposite unhappiness, Dukham. Nobody deliberately will take up Dukham excepting in one case. If present Dukham can give me long lasting future Sukham then people are willing to take it up and that is what we are doing whole life. A child goes on for more than 20 years studying very hard in the hope that there would be a chance to become more happy. So it is repeated Sukham Eva Labdhva Karoti. When a person not only hopes to obtain happiness but when he obtains happiness that becomes a strong tendency, Samskara and he is likely to repeat it. So whatever we think rightly or wrongly that which gives us happiness either immediate happiness or in future happiness then such a person undertakes actions. Here especially we have to understand there are two types of actions. One is called transactional activities, another is called scriptural activities. So in our day to day life our studies etc these are called transactional activities whereby we hope to get happiness albeit we are under the delusion, we may be under the delusion that this happiness will be whole life happiness, long lasting happiness. But if a person is thinker, rational, capable of thinking deeper very soon he understands anytime the fate can change, anything can change at any given time. That's why my formula anything can happen to anybody at any time, at any place, in any way. So but the hope is there and we also discussed why is the hope there because seeking of happiness is not seeking something else but seeking our own true nature. Only the scriptures know that infinite happiness is our nature, we do not know. So we commit to two mistakes that we do not know that we are of the nature of infinite happiness. We think that is the first mistake is called avidya, agnana, maya etc. Second mistake we commit is happiness is coming from another source which is not me and Vedanta dispels this illusion also or delusion that an object may act temporarily as a remover of the obstacle but real happiness comes only from within ourselves. And therefore Sanat Kumara instructs Narada Sukhant eva vijijnasita vya mithi. As I mentioned earlier Sanskrit grammar this is called tavya pratyaya, kartavya, vijnasita vya etc. That means it's a commandment, you must do that. So you must understand what is the nature of happiness and you must try to obtain it. Not that there is no desire in Narada's part not to obtain happiness but that which yields what is called one-off payment and eternal happiness. So you must understand thoroughly what is happiness and you must also strive to become that not to obtain but to become that and Narada because he had progressed so much he understood and then he says Sukham bhagavo vijijnasa iti. So I would like to obtain that happiness by realizing my own self. So oh Narada every activity of every jiva is propelled by Sukham or happiness and for the last I think two classes we have been elaborating on this concept of happiness. So there are certain definite laws of happiness. We will try to discuss them but we have to explore the nature of happiness how it can be attained using or based upon Vedanta philosophy or called Vedanta to know a structured understanding of human experience and consciousness. So we have two elements here introduced just now. One is experience another is consciousness or a state of our mind and these two are very closely related. Just to simplify the meaning they are very two words with profound meaning. Every day we try to be happy while eating, while talking, while doing some activities, while sleeping, while watching some entertaining movies, listening to music etc. Now that experience should not be need not be denied because this happiness that we are deriving may be momentary but it is nothing but manifestation of Brahmananda. That is the first point we have to keep in mind. Second point is how much happiness we derive how long we can retain it depends upon our state of consciousness. So we are very conscious oh this happiness came and disappeared but if we think deeply so is it the same for every experience I am going to have or are there some differences degrees not only quantitative degree but qualitative degree both differences are there or not. A thinking person can easily understand and this actually we are going to see in the second chapter of the Taittiriya Upanishad that's why the entire chapter is called Ananda Valli but when it comes we will do but here we will condense the whole concept but just to give an outline what the Taittiriya Upanishad second chapter called Ananda Valli, Brahma Valli, Brahmananda Valli that's why it is called usually Ananda Valli or Brahmananda Valli because it starts with the word Brahma just like Sriksham Yakhyasya Maha that's why it is called Srikshavalli. Third chapter of the Taittiriya starts with that is why that is called Bhrigu Valli. Valli means a chapter and the second chapter starts with Brahma with Aapnoti Param and therefore it is called Brahma Valli. So there in it is stated Brahman, Aapnoti Param, Brahma with Anoira Brahman, Param that means the supreme, supreme means infinite, eternal, unbroken, happiness. How? Not from any duality but being oneself by the realization I am God, I am Brahman and God is of the nature of truth, knowledge and infinite happiness. There Anantam and in this seventh chapter Bhumananda they are the same Anantam Sukham, Ananta Sukham. So there are certain definitive understanding scientific analysis of happiness. So what do we understand from this second chapter? There was supposing there was a young man and he was young, he was full of wonderful qualities, he was very strong, he was very healthy both physically and mentally and he was an idealistic person, he was completely unselfish person, everybody loves him, he loves everybody and he owns the entire earth and such a person's happiness who fulfills these conditions, fits these qualifications, it is called one unit of human happiness and there are other beings in higher spheres. So some of these people having done virtuous actions they go to the next higher loka. So in this as an example this Taittiri Upanishad it names the next higher, it is called Manushya Gandharva Loka. Loka means a higher world where a person experiences higher type of happiness. Lokyate ithi lokaha, experiences therefore whatever we experience that is called our particular world, a baby's world, a young man's world, a young woman's world, an old man's world, old woman's world, a poor man's world, rich man's world, a saint's world and a very worldly person's world, a demonic person's world, a divine person's world, every individual is living in his or her own world and whichever world we are living at any given moment that is our state of consciousness. So that is what is going to be discussed. So Taittiri Upanishad continues that if such a person through good deeds enters into Manushya Gandharva that is a Manushya human being who is promoted to enter into a higher world assuming a higher body and mind that means higher world means higher state of consciousness and that corresponds with what we call these levels. So many levels are there. Panchakosha Vyavarana is one of them but here probably about 12 or 13 units are given but in the Tantra philosophy what we call the Kundalini so the three lower chakras. Chakra means states of consciousness. So most often people are going round and round the three lower chakras but when a person and by the way we have to understand that we who have taken initiation who are doing japa dhyana who are doing we are trying to do some service all of us also can be under the thumb of these three chakras only three states of consciousness only we are not aware of it but when a person says that these worldly things I am disgusted with them I want higher world or unworldly happiness spiritual happiness then there is a way to be found and the wave opens up that is called Sushumna the path of the Sushumna and the first higher state he reaches is called Anahata then his happiness is far superior and then he ascends he goes to the Vishuddha then Ajna then finally to Sahasrara. So Anahata, Vishuddha, Ajna, Sahasrara. So even here at every step there is a quantitative as well as a qualitative difference will be there depending upon the progress of the person we can compare it that way. So the second chapter outlines finally he says all these are nothing but just one smallest drop of that infinite ocean of happiness that is Brahmana Ananda that is the one important point but the next more important point is when we are experiencing any Sukha we only experience individually one item at a time even if you are served with five six items but we can only experience one item at any given time so when I am eating I derive the happiness of hopefully of eating and I am listening I am deriving happiness of listening so each sense organ it only derives even if we are listening music from the background while eating or studying it doesn't mean that a person is simultaneously capable of doing it which is known by the false name multitasking no that is not possible because there is a fundamental principle of the mind the mind at any given time can only cherish keep only one idea that is why concentration is possible otherwise you can think of hundred things and at the same time concentrate on God also no only one idea at any given time that is why they say you get rid of all thoughts repeat one single thought one single pratyaya that is called Dhyana which matures into first a lower type of Samadhi then a higher type of Samadhi so we have to keep all this in mind the essence of what we talked is by ascending to higher and higher states of happiness levels of consciousness our experience of the same Ananda also in a quite different way I just want to illustrate at every point to make these points very clear supposing a young man and a young woman are in love with each other but even if they really love each other deeply there there are moments when they cannot love constantly continuously there is a break but same love when the mother is her father is loving her children his children then that is a far superior love because the more the selfishness the more it is restricted the more it is selfless the more deeper and wider and long lasting that's why mothers ideal mothers like whole life she will be loving only even when she gets angry that is also a sign of her love only this is just a thing for us to understand as we lift up our state of consciousness meaning what we identify with a higher state of consciousness then the higher the state the higher will be both qualitatively and quantitatively will be our happiness this is how we have to understand and this has been put in Vedanta or in these Upanishads into these different degrees of lokas so we will analyze those things there are certain laws and earlier also I have told you many times happiness is divided into five levels each much higher than the lower and gives both quantitatively and qualitatively more happiness just to remind you Vishayananda lowest then Medhananda intellectual happiness then Kalananda that is aesthetic happiness then Bhajanananda or Dharmananda or what is called the joy that comes out of self-control Shamasukham or moral life what is moral life control the lower impulses and attain larger identity with the larger whole which we call the object that is the distinction between the subject and object becomes very gradually it is minimized of course the highest is infinite happiness when a person succeeds in identifying himself or herself with Brahman and that is the final there is nothing higher and there is nothing greater so that we have the goal of life is through a development of four steps Dharma is the very first step then obtain all the means of happiness that is called Artha then enjoy them in a particular way hemmed in by rules and regulations for example don't swallow whatever comes do Brahmapanam thank God this is what they call in Christian this one whenever they eat they have to give the thanksgiving we thank you like that and then comes the highest happiness where we are not aware of any object accepting one's own self so this is how we have to understand it so what is this first understanding of this law of happiness every being consciously or unconsciously are in pursuit of happiness and it is the happiness that makes us want to live what for we are living for happiness how do we get happiness through knowledge is a marvelous point when a person thinks he's happy supposing there is a person and he is kept in prison and there is no hope of his being released but he's a mentally very highly advanced person so even there he can derive he can squeeze the highest happiness even in that place how fortunate i am i am alone nobody to disturb me what about food they gave me some simple food that's more than sufficient for my living i can think of God remember Balagangadhar Tilak had written his Karma Rahasya on Bhagavad Gita the several thousand pages voluminous book where when he was imprisoned by the British government so everybody Mahatma Gandhi used to say when i am arrest put in jail her majesty is kind enough to look after me i can sleep i can rest i can pray more i can do my charkha more so anybody who wants higher happiness he the first two thing he seeks is non-disturbance that is called solitude that is why Shri Ramakrishna says that no one then go into nirjana sthana nirjana means not merely physical absence of disturbing element even if you go to the forest don't think people may not be there but there will be wild animals there would be birds there would be all sorts of rustling noises in fact the most disturbing place can be a forest if you are thinking quiet forest i think you will be mistaken most of the time so a solitude nirjana means what i do not depend upon any object any person i solely depend upon God and where is that God so this is a fundamental principle of happiness what is it every being every prani right from the amoeba even to the most evolved human being consciously or unconsciously we want to live why do we want to live because we are in pursuit of happiness this pursuit is identified even by scientists as one of the most basic curses in human beings driving every one of their actions and every one of their motivations even when individuals are not fully aware of their intentions their activities are generally directed towards seeking some form of positive experience even if you are sitting in a chair you will if you clearly notice it you are shifting from one side to the other side what is the purpose because you are seeking a more comfortable position where you can get more rest rest means ananda actually so vedanta tries to explain that the motive behind every is only one that is called the pursuit of happiness so in this context happiness includes all forms of positive experience from the simple sense pleasures to the highest to bliss of brahman just now we discussed five levels of happiness this aligns with the idea that every human being desires happiness and wishes to avoid sorrow of course non-human beings they also wish happiness but they do not know they cannot think human beings alone consciously can plan and we have to evolve into conscious beings that is why swamiji quoting the westerners he had said there are three stages of evolution first is called instinct second is called reason third is called intuition finally every prani evolves into that stage of intuition so how to attain happiness what there are certain obstacles are there what is the first obstacle ignorance which we call in general terms agnanam avidya maya what is it that we think because of this avidya that our efforts to achieve boundless and endless happiness is never possible no man will ever say i'm seeking infinite happiness because he's convinced he cannot obtain eternal happiness infinite happiness is convinced and this is why what is it that prevents us that is called maya maya is also called cosmic ignorance so everybody is under the net of mahamayas jala and then there are minor obstacles are there what is that very very very few people are aware of the workings of their own mind and they are completely ignorant about the future this well accords with our karma siddhanta so even if somebody is putting forth efforts it is all unconscious efforts this point we will again take it up in the course of our talk then one of the greatest limitations every one of us we encounter is called powerlessness even in democratic countries we think we are free that illusion that we are free is created by some few people few companies who are controlling everybody's this one don't think that democracy means everybody is free to do whatever they like whatever they speak no in some countries freedom of speech even can put one in a jail or even can they can kill take iran for example take pakistan for example so a person has to obey whom whoever is in power and whatever the ideas of that powerful personality is that is why so many this is state controlled powers in the name of religion especially fanatical religion you should do this you should not do that democratic countries are supposed to give that freedom but no they will not tolerate these are called religious controlled country states or ideologically controlled states in some countries you cannot express your opinions accepting praising say that particular ideology say communism for example so even what is happening in the what is called the usa america how are these people elected all the billionaires will join together is very costly to become and they elect one person and that person's sweet opinions will be implemented as far as possible affecting literally billions of people so what is the point they are completely powerless and i am telling you in nearest example in varanasi is the worst city in the whole world from external point of view so much of noise 24 hours practically it is going on and on and on and in the name of religion these fellows they use dj nice day and night and many very often they started 11 o'clock and people are supposed to sleep no consideration for other people what can we do we are powerless the governments will not stop the police will not protect and these people is nonchalantly they go on doing things so that is one of the obstacles what about scarcity so many people want and we are the world is going to experience terrible scarcity because the population is growing food will be scarce electricity energy will be scarce and even health issues health or medical hospital everything is completely scarcity water scarcity good water to drink you think that we have got so many oceans so many rivers and we are blessed but a time may come when people will fight wars then land scarcity forests are they are cutting down why because population is increasing so these are all limitations one's own ignorance then powerlessness the capacity or incapacity the inability to think deeply about things and only following imitating other people then scarcity and limitedness powerlessness all these obstacles prevent each one of us fulfilling our desires and consequently they give rise to sorrow so the presence of ignorance powerlessness obstacles scarcity mean that we are separated from the boundless ocean of such ananda now we will discuss there are five laws of happiness to overcome these obstacles we have to work hard and then only we by the grace of god may be able to realize true happiness so there are five key points are there so five levels of consciousness this is the first point we have to realize the first law of happiness states that all beings exist at different levels of consciousness and for every level of consciousness there is a definite and fixed degree of happiness that means that happiness is not a uniform experience but is relative to one state of awareness simple example suppose in a group we serve very tasty food to everybody as much as they want there is a child and there is a youth and there is a middle-aged person and there is an old person both men and women do you think that that food will give exactly the same quantity and quality of happiness so many people they cannot even be happy maybe they are worried or some people may be very happy some people they cannot be happy even if they do not have present worries even hearing some news and then they are worried my future may be affected because human beings have the peculiar capacity to focus more on the future than on the present time so the first law of happiness states that every being whether it's a mosquito has a mosquito consciousness a dog a dog consciousness a horse horse consciousness so a child child consciousness an old person old man's consciousness everybody is dwelling at any given moment at a particular state of consciousness and that consciousness alone filters out how much happiness each person can experience even you can extend as an example dreams so if four people are sleeping in the same room and there is nothing to worry everything is okay but four people's dreams if we compare some people may be in hell some people may be in a well some people may be quite happy no none no one of their dreams will be exactly alike so that is why every being every pranay what is a pranay that which is endowed with consciousness life means prana plus consciousness they always go together so long as there is a prana there is a consciousness so every being is at a particular level of consciousness and therefore the same external circumstances can give the varieties of happiness or unhappiness depending on the state of consciousness according to this law the degree of happiness one experiences is directly related to their level of consciousness each level has its own remember fixed degree of happiness and as i mentioned earlier this is where the concept of koshas come second chapter and more importantly in the third chapter if a person is dwelling on the level of the body then he will get one type of happiness and the same person transcends body consciousness becomes identified with prana energy then he will experience much higher happiness and if he is a thinking person even better happiness and if he is a pure and well thought out idealistic person he will experience much much greater happiness but if he can raise his consciousness to a higher level including even when we are in the sushupti state deep sleep state what is happening we have naturally instinctively automatically have entered by negating all duality or merging all duality into one's own self temporarily though that is why it is called karana avastha so at that stage is called prajna and that happiness is called ananda maya kosha but consciously if a person can attain to that state that i am the for example i am not only my family my family member i am one with my village one with my state one with my nation one with the whole world one with both animals etc and such a person's identity and consequently the happiness be far far greater sri ram krishna's life is a tremendous examples we will get there if you ask yourself can i get some remember some examples from sri ram krishna's life etc so the taittiriya upanishad as i mentioned earlier deals in greater detail both in the second and third chapter then the same taittiriya upanishad also is telling us that our identity not only individually but collectively in vedanta that is called vst means microcosm and samasti macrocosm swami vivekaranda in his talks on the manayoga so he devoted entirely two chapters microcosm macrocosm and in the therein he says that both are built on the same plan so what does it mean really it means we are not only individuals but we are also part of the world when we say i am in the world i am referring myself to and the samasti or even if you take the family so when i am in the family i am identified with my entire family wife husband parents children grandchildren etc and if anybody is happy we are happy anybody is unhappy we are also unhappy this is called we are both individual at the same time collective even in these small units of family units not to speak of the bigger much bigger unit called society but even bigger unit will be the entire nature and this is what scientists are realizing now if we harm even individually any part of the nature then we are harming the entire samasti so there is probably some of you have heard about what is called the butterfly effect if a butterfly flutters its wings in varanasi so in the remotest planets a tremendous change will take place it is unimaginable unthinkable how scientists have arrived at that stage nothing in this world is predominant really speaking so this is this relationship between vesti and samasti that is also beautifully explored in this taittiri open shat so when bhrigu says i have attained to the virat so both in a vesti way i am identified with but in a samasti way i am also identified with the entire universe in the physical most aspect so also other koshas so virat then hiranyagarbha then ishwara that is one model but what is called virat annamaya kosha is called virat samasti annamaya kosha then there is a pranamaya kosha manomaya kosha vignanamaya kosha these are the three levels of hiranyagarbha same hiranyagarbha in the lowest manifestation is called pranamaya kosha and a little higher called manomaya kosha and still higher that is called vignanamaya kosha and ishwara is identified with the annamaya kosha so each of these cosmic levels must be looked upon as a kind of vast though invisible orbit around the cosmic divine center along which each individual soul moves encountering different objects and getting different types of experiences but important point is there is our level of consciousness so this is the first law what is the first law every being is seeking happiness consciously or unconsciously and what is the further point in that that every being is at a particular given level or state of consciousness and that particular individual derives his or her happiness only depending upon at what level what degree that person is identified that is the first law now we come to the second law which is even more interesting so independence from external events what does that mean the second law of happiness categorically states that the degree of happiness associated with each level or sub level of happiness is independent of external events just because somebody is sitting in a air-conditioned room and eating what other people call the best of the food can turn poison into in his mouth if his state of consciousness is completely negative and then he is terribly depressed and he is having a lot of psychosomatic problems but a poor man eating the poorest food and he may be a devotee of god and every devotee every sannyasi is supposed to be like that everything that the person obtains is a prasadam from god then because of that consciousness it is not dependent upon how good the food for example is but at what level is is enshrined nagamahasaya if you remember once he went to holy mother carrying some mangoes on him he would not give it to anybody and then mother was eating just at that time and she asked somebody to get that basket in front of her otherwise he would not give it to anybody and then she made him sit down she was eating she was also putting with her own hands into the mouth of nagamahasaya and of course his consciousness has gone beyond the body level and then he used to from that day he was telling mother's grace is superior to even father's grace meaning sairam krishna's grace so the same experience depending upon our state of consciousness can elevate what is the point of the second law that external events have nothing to do with that and this we can easily connect with karma siddhanta nobody can give you happiness that means no object can give you happiness no object no person can also give you or me unhappiness our purva janma karmas they come in the form of what we say certain things like the family where we are born jati ayu bhoga and these are social circumstances may be born in a fourth class family third class family second class family first class family etc etc but there are so many saints born in the untouchable castes and they are far superior they're living with brahman in brahman and experiencing brahman happiness remember the madcap who came to dakshineswar and even the beggars refused to allow him to sit with them so happily he went to the refuge camp that he where the even the beggars were throwing their their food and happily he was putting one hand on a dog and what do you think he was experiencing brahmanandam paramasakadam that was what he was because what is he experiencing not food brahman what was that dog brahman he was brahman wood was brahman and that foul smelling maybe food also was brahman and by the way they just a piece of information during those days at dakshineswar for many many years plenty of first class food used to be thrown out because rani rasmani thought hundreds of people will come and share the prasadam of the mother but very few people used to come at the beginning but since they did not know they used to prepare huge quantities of food and offer it to the divine mother and so many many days the food that was given used to be thrown in the ganges and the ganges water would become colored by that food this example of this madcap is only it has nothing to do so karma phala if we have done punyam punyam what does it do it elevates our consciousness to a higher degree of consciousness if it is papam it drags our level of consciousness to a lower degree and accordingly even if a poppy is provided with the best materials which others think best materials in the world is likely only to experience what you call unhappiness only because his state or level of consciousness is very very less it means the happiness is not determined by external circumstances but by their internal state of consciousness so therefore as long as a person remains at a certain level of consciousness they can only access and experience the degree of happiness natural spontaneous to that level regardless of their circumstances there are beautiful points we will discuss in our next class may the ramakrishna holy mother and swami vikananda bless us all with bhakti jai ramakrishna