Mandukya Karika Lecture 010 on 04 August 2021

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

Om Jananim Sharadam Devim Ramakrishnam Jagadgurum Pada Padme Tayo Shritva Pranamami Mohur Mohur Om Bhadram Kanne Vishrunuyama Devaha Bhadram Pashyam Akshabhirya Jatraha Sthirai Rangai Stushtu Vagum Sastanubhi Vyase Ma Devahi Tanyadayu Swasthina Indro Hridharshavaha Swasthina Purusha Vishwa Vedaha Swasthina Starkshyo Arishtanimi Swasthino Brihaspati Hridadhatu Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Hare Om Om, O Gods, may we hear auspicious words with our ears. May we see auspicious things with our eyes. Worshipping the Gods with steady limbs, may we enjoy a life that's beneficial to all. May Indra of ancient fame bestow auspiciousness on us. May the all-renouncing Pooshan be propitious to us. May Garuda, the destroyer of evil, be well disposed towards us. May Brihaspati ensure our welfare. Om Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all. In my last class, we discussed something very important. We discussed first of all about the six pramanas and of the six pramanas, five pramanas can give us knowledge only about the world. That means objective knowledge, not the subjective knowledge. Only the sixth pramana, which is called Vaidika Pramana, Veda Pramana, Agama Pramana, Shabda Pramana, only that can give us knowledge about the Atman. Why? Because all the five pramanas, right means of knowledge, can only tell us about what information can be got through the five sense organs. And every knowledge got through any one of the sense organs is limited and that applies to mind also. And therefore, this is useless for our purpose, for the student of Upanishad, Atma Jnana. For the seeker of Atma Jnana, it is useless. For the seeker of God, for the seeker of any higher loka, it is completely useless. Not only that, every object, that means the whole world is nothing but, is filled with five types of objects. Shabda, Sparsha, Rupa, Rasa, Gandha. What does it mean? Smells, tastes, forms, touches and sound. These are the only five and all these have got, every object represents a combination, more or less a combination of these five, including our body as well as our mind. Now, every object, without exception, have got five defects. What are they? First of all, they are material, that means they are objective, concrete, can be experienced. Anything that can be experienced through the external five sense organs is called Bhautika. Then Drishyatva, so they can be objectified. Oh, I am seeing a table, so there is a table, that is an object. But I see a table, that is called Drishyatva. Then Samunatva, every object has got certain qualities. What it is, I have explained, but I will explain a little bit further, as a devotee requested me to do that. Fourth one is Savikaratva, every object in this world is changing. And there is a law, if I know some object is changing, that means I am myself not subject to changing. Because one changing subject cannot experience a changing object, because both are changing. So if I know the table, this moment and I am changing next moment, what I experienced one second before is gone because I have changed completely, this is a new me. So the object also is gone and therefore by logic the conclusion is that there must be a constant, unchanging subject, witness, experiencer, in front of whom he can see all the changes that are taking place. To know that something is changing, a subject must know what it was before and what it is now and what it is going to be in the future. So that is why a subject can never change, that is what is called Vikaratva, Vikara means change. Then Agamapayitva, because everything is changing, that's why things come, things go. This can be also explained in a slightly different way. I am seeing a table this second, next there is a sound, my mind is diverted towards that sound. What happened? Before I saw a table, there was another thought in my mind, for example a tree. As soon as I saw this object, immediately there is a change, the table has come and as soon as I heard the sound, the table has disappeared because everything changing is also, the subject is witnessing different things, not only change in one object but he is witnessing one object upon another object, one after the other. So this is called Savika Agama Apayitva, Agama means arrival, Apayitva means departure. These are the five defects. Now how Sagunatvam is bad? So every object, supposing there are for example two trees side by side and if you are asked to describe what is this, what are the two trees? One is a mango tree, another is a apple tree and how do you know? One is apple and another is mango. Therefore, each must have some distinguishing quality, small tree, that's why the differences are of threefold that is Vijathiya, Sajathiya and Saguna, Swagatha. What is Vijathiya? There is a mango tree, there is a coconut tree. So these are completely two different species, both are distinguished because of these two qualities. The qualities of a coconut tree and a mango tree are completely different, no relationship. Then Sajathiya, there are two mango trees, both are mangoes, one is small, one is big, one is large, another is small, one is having more fruits than the other. So that is how we distinguish or this is belongs to, this yields sweet mango, this yields not so sweet mango, these are called qualities, this is called Sajathiya. Vijathiya means different species, Sajathiya means belonging to the same species. Then suppose there is only one mango tree but mango tree has got different parts, the root is there, the trunk is there, the big branches are there, smaller branches are there, smallest branches are there, leaves are there, blossoms are there, fruits are there, small fruit and half ripe fruit, completely ripe fruit etc. etc. There is so much of difference, this is called Swagatha, differentiations within oneself. Now every object in this world can be distinguished from the other objects, so how do we distinguish? Through these qualities, either of colour or of sound. What is the example for a sound? Suppose you are a music lover, somebody is playing a flute and someone is playing a Veena and someone is singing, whether a person is singing or playing on instruments, all that we hear is sounds but we distinguish the sounds, this is the sound of an instrument and this is a particular instrument and this is the voice of a human being, a bird, an animal etc. This is called Swagunathwa, so that is how what helps us to distinguish one object from another object is called Guna. Now what is wrong with the Guna? Supposing, I will give an example first, suppose there is a bright red fragrant rose, early morning you saw, beautifully blossomed, fully blossomed etc. and as the afternoon proceeds, the colour changes, the smell becomes less, fragrance becomes less and everything about that flower changes, ultimately it shrivels. Some flowers do not last even a few hours, not to speak of few days but every second there is a minute change, millennial change is there. So this is how a Guna is that which is continuously changing, small, big, red, yellow, everything in this world is changing, Gunas are also changing and the mother of all Gunas, Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, all these Gunas, small, big etc., active and lazy etc. and good person, evil person etc., they all stem from the original Prakruti which is a combination of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. So what are we talking about? Every Guna, the whole Prakruti is subject to change and that which is changing cannot give us right knowledge. What is right knowledge? Once you get that right knowledge, it will never change. That is why, Trikaala Abadhitam Sathyam. Sathyam means truth, truth means real knowledge, real knowledge will never change. So if everything is changing, every second we have to say previous knowledge was wrong knowledge, what I am experiencing now is right knowledge but even what we are experiencing this second will be quite different from the next second. For example, you are watching a horse running and it is towards your left and it is running at 30 miles per hour speed. So if somebody phones to you, where is that horse now? You say that is at such a point of space and the same person asks, where is it now after a minute and now by this time it has already passed half a mile or so. Then you have to say it is at this point. One minute before you said it was there, now you changed. So you did not change, you are simply describing the changed circumstances. So every guna is subject to change, Savikaaratham and therefore it cannot be relied. Therefore, you cannot have right knowledge. So Trikala Avadhitham Sathyam can apply only to one fact and that fact is called Brahman. It is infinite and it is Nirguna, Nishkriya and Kalatitha, Deshatitha and therefore it cannot be changed. Once you have that right knowledge, then you will never change that one and that is why that is the highest state. So this is how we have to understand Gunatham is that which is changing. I will conclude this answer by just giving not such an elegant example. You bought first class Rasagulla or first class Payasam you made at home and when it is hot, it is extremely tasty. What do you say? It is very very delectable, delicious, very sweet. After two hours, it is cold, it is not that tasty or taste has changed. After one day, it starts smelling. So what is your knowledge of that Payasam or sweet? It is continuously changing, not only changing that means your experience, your reaction is also changing and if we go on changing in our reaction, then that is not right knowledge at all. Right knowledge, Samyak Jnana, Satya Jnana is that which never changes. So these are the problems. Then here is a person, he understands all these things. He seeks that which never changes and he approaches a Guru, right teacher and provided he is an Adhikari. Sadhana Chaturstaya Sampanaha and then he is accepted by a Sadguru. A Sadguru is none other than God in the form of human being as an instrument of God who is the embodiment of knowledge, Chit Swaroopa that is flowing through the mouth of the Guru. That's why it is called Shruti but with the right explanation according to the understanding capacity of the student. So with Shraddha in the scriptures, in the Guru that what comes out of Guru's mouth is Parama Satya, not only that, it is the greatest benefit to me, of the greatest benefit to understand this. That is the, with that attitude person sit for a long time. How long? Depends. If it is Narendranath, he will understand it very soon but if it is Dayatmananda, it will take a long long time but by the grace of God, I don't need to understand. If I die in Kashi, I will understand or Shiva will understand it better than me. I will become one with Shiva. So Shravana and then think deeply with faith. Guru told me and what Guru told me, taught me is completely opposite to what I experienced. Guru said Brahman is one. I see many. Guru said you are Brahman. I see that I am a body-mind complex. Guru said you are Sarvajna. I know I am Alpagna. Guru said you are Sarvasattiman. I say I am Alpashaktiman. So every teaching of the Guru is contradicted by my experience Pratyaksha Anubhava but I have faith what Guru says is right and what I experience is wrong. So I have to do Manana and after long time I understand that Guru is not talking that what I experience through the body-mind is wrong but there is something who is the experiencer of everything. He is talking about not about the experience. He is talking about the experiencer, Sakshi, Karta. So then we are convinced. Then how to make it my own? Through Sadhana and that is called Nidhidhyasana. Make that knowledge my own. So this is our Shravana, Manana, Nidhidhyasana. Before we start I already mentioned but just to remind ourselves what is the essence of this Mandukya Upanishad? Brahman is the only reality. All else is unreal. This entire universe consisting of this ever-shining sun, moon, stars, billions and billions of cosmoses. How many? They say, the astronomers say at least 100 billion galaxies and ours is a very tiny galaxy and our sun is the most tiniest, dimmest star in the whole of the billions of galaxies and in that within our galaxy our earth is the smallest and we are filled with the greatest Ahankara thinking that I am the whole world. In a way it is true also. So this whole universe I am experiencing is Mithya and before we understand what is Mithya, we will have to you understand three words Satyam, Tuchyam, Mithya. Satyam means Trikala, Abadhitam, Satyam. Whatever doesn't change in the three times. What are the three times? Past, present and future. What are the three times? Waking state, dream state and deep sleep state. Who is witnessing? Me, the Jivatma. I was in the waking state. I was in the dream state. I was in the deep sleep state. Again now I am in the waking state. I am not changing. I am like a person going from room number A to room number B to room number C then again back to room number A. Rooms are changing. I am not changing. So I was witnessing the past. I am witnessing the present and I will be witnessing the future. The thing is that when something happens that would be the present time. Okay, so whatever now are changes that means the witness, the seer, the subject, he alone is real. What is Tuccham? That which never exists, that which never was not existing, is not existing, will not be existing. What is the example? The son of a barren woman, the horns of a hare, Gandharva Nagara, a big city in the sky, etc. etc. Words are there. Word meanings are there. Sentences are there. But there is no such object called a Pandya Putra or Shashashringa or Gandharva Nagara or Marumarichikam, a mirage in the deepest desert. So all these non-existing idea falls under Tuccham. But in between there is something called Mithya. What is Mithya? So for example, a person sees in semi-darkness a rope and he had seen elsewhere a snake. He is frightened of the snakes. Now he imagines that the snake has replaced the, not replaced, I see only the snake. So that original rope, it retains its existence but lends its form to an imaginary other thing seen elsewhere. Anyatra Darshatam. This is called Adhyasa. So this is what is called Mithya. Means what? It is incomplete knowledge. Why this third category called Mithya? Because it is an experience. It will not go away even if you say it is all wrong. It is a day-to-day experience. So what is wrong with it? Wrong it is, as I mentioned many times, partial knowledge. Partial knowledge and partial knowledge is always changing knowledge and changing knowledge is unreliable knowledge. Unreliable knowledge lands us into trouble sooner or later. So this is called Mithya. So what does it mean? It means what we are witnessing, the person who is witnessing is Brahman. The person who thinks he is witnessing is also Brahman. So Jeeva is Brahman. Jagat also is Brahman. But because the Jeeva through the limitations of time-space causation in dim light witnesses Brahman, he mistakes it like we mistake a stump for a either a drunkard or a thief or a policeman or a lover etc. etc. This is not completely false, not Tucham. It is not Tucham because we experience it. It is not Satyam because we only experience it partially but when the right light is brought then we understand we have complete knowledge. Oh this is not a snake, this is really a rope. So keep these three words Satyam, Tucham and Mithya. We need not talk about Tucham but we need to talk only about Satyam and Mithya. That's why Shankaracharya summarized the whole of the scriptures that were in the past, present and will be in future. Brahma Satyam, Brahman alone is real, Satyam. Jagat Mithya. But you have to understand the Jagat Mithyatva is only to transcend our limitations. Once that pure light is brought up then what happens? Jeevo Brahmaiva. Jeeva no longer thinks I am a Jeeva. He thinks it is only I am Brahman. But here is very very important point. Did Brahman really become the world? No. Brahman can never become the world. But then what is the world? Because of my impure mental limited mind which is made up of, constituted of time, space and causation. When I look Brahman appears to be endowed with Nama Rupa Jagat. So Brahman has never become a world, can never become the world. Infinite can never become finite. Indivisible can never become divided. Therefore what is the point I am laboring? There is the world that I claim I experience is not really there. It is nothing but like that rope. But I see a snake. My seeing the rope as a snake is like my seeing Brahman as the world. I hope you got the point. There is no world. The world is where? In my brain. So where should the stick fall? Not upon the snake but upon my head and then I will awaken and if I don't do it myself my Sadguru will do it and if I don't allow him to do it he will become a sad guru. So this is these three words you have understood it and ultimately there is no creation at all. This is the point I was laboring. There is no world. If there is no world there is no creation. If there is no creation there is no creator. If there is no creator everything is whatever is Paramatma. That is the highest truth and nobody could put it in such a beautiful language as Godfather in the Vaitatya Prakaranam 32 There is no dissolution, no birth, nobody in bondage, nobody aspiring for knowledge, no seeker of liberation and nobody who is liberated. This is the final and absolute truth. Now this is the essence of this Upanishad called Mandukya Upanishad. Now the glory of this Mandukya Upanishad is is the depiction of the glory of Aum. The Upanishad has a unique method of approach to the truth. It provides symbol for meditation in the monosyllable Aum comprising of three syllables A, O, M detailing its philosophical implications. So this Aumkara is equated with the universe. The universe consists of three states waking, dream and deep sleep and the whole world is nothing but Aum. Aum is the greatest doorway, the greatest mantra, the greatest symbol leading one to the highest realization that I and Paramatma are one and the same and this Mandukya Upanishad excels in this and Gaudapada excels in explaining it to us. Wonderful psychological truths are there. As we go through we will explore them. This Mandukya Upanishad belongs to the Atharva Veda and its pre-eminent characteristic is brevity. That means it has got only 12 mantras but the greatest amount of thought has been pressed compressed into these few 12 mantras and this Mandukya Upanishad has been praised so highly. There is another Upanishad called Muktika Upanishad. This Muktika Upanishad it enumerates how many Upanishads are prevalent at the time of its writing and then remarking upon all the Upanishads it tells us You don't need thousands of scriptures. One Mandukya Upanishad is more than sufficient. For those who are desirous of liberation Mandukya is quite enough for the attainment of liberation and as I mentioned earlier this Upanishad was commented by Gaudapada in the form of 215 verses called Karikas. A Karika now is not a literal explanation of every mantra. It is rather a subjective explanation in one's own words and telling what the Upanishad wants to tell in a great detail and this how many Karikas are there 215 and these 215 Karikas are divided into four categories four Prakaranas, four chapters called Agama Prakarana, Vaithatya Prakarana, Advaita Prakarana, Alatha Shanti Prakarana. Briefly Agama Prakarana means it contains 12 mantras of Mandukya and about 29 Karikas of Gaudapada. Now why is it called Agama? Agama means Veda. So this is completely dependent upon scriptural statements telling us the highest truth and that's why it is called Agama Prakarana and the rest of the three chapters there is no Upanishad. Only Gaudapada's Karikas are there. So second chapter is called Vaithatya. Tathya means truth. Tatha Asti. It is like this but Itatha, Vigata, Tathatva, Satyatva. There is no truth in it. It is Asatya. That's why it is called Vaithatya. The whole world comparing it to a dream, waking state is no better than dream state and dream and waking states are no better than deep sleep state compared to each other, studying, contrasting each other the whole world is nothing but a chimera in our brains. Thought waves in our brains and nothing real. That is the contention. That's why it is called Vaithatya Prakarana. Asatya Prakarana. Prakarana means chapter. Then the third one is called Advaita Prakarana. If the whole world is unreal then what is real? Brahma Satyam. Jagat Mithya is beautifully through logic proved in the second chapter called Vaithatya Prakarana and Brahma Satyam Advaita Prakarana is proved in the Advaita Prakarana and the last Alatha Shanti Prakarana is to prove the whole world is in the form of innumerable thought waves just as you light up a stick of fire, dip it, put some cotton, dip it in oil and light it. Hold it steadfastly. You will see light at one point only but if you go on whirling it round and round soon a circle comes. This is only an example. So it could be circle. It could be a square. It could be a triangle. You can make a man. You can make many things. Now is there a square light? No. Is there a triangular light? No. Is there a round light? No. What is there is only one point. So this pure consciousness when as if it is whirled round and round by Maya and takes on the form all the names and forms and qualities and utilities of what we call the entire world. So to prove everything that we experience is only pure thoughts in our mind and with the subsidence of the mind all thoughts will go away. That's what we experience every day in our dream state. So these are the four prakaranas in brief which we will slowly but in depth we will explore. Now every Upanishad has to start with a Shanti Patha. This Upanishad belongs to Atharva Veda. Therefore Atharva Veda like Prashna Upanishad, Mundaka Upanishad, this Mandukya Upanishad also has to follow the rule. Whichever Shanti Patha is there to chant the particular Veda that Shanti Patha has to be recited first. What is the Shanti Patha here? Very briefly we will dwell on this meaning. Why briefly? Because we have dealt with this meaning when I was dealing with Mundaka Upanishad I have given quite an elaborate explanation of it. Please go back or go to the website, download it and then study it. But then since we are studying Mandukya also like Mundaka we have to again go through this but it is a prayer. Now every Shanti Patha it is called Shanti Patha. Why Shanti? Because the teacher must be endowed with peace, the student must be endowed with peace and the environment also should be endowed with peace. Only when all these are endowed with peace and in harmony with each other then the teacher will be able to teach and the student will be undistractedly able to understand, assimilate, retain and make it his own. So that is why it is called Shanti Patha. Now in the Vedic times people were not worshipping Ramakrishna. They used to worship natural phenomena. Don't again mistake when I use the word natural phenomena doesn't mean the scientific view of the sun and moon and Varuna Deva etc. Our Rishis knew, not believed, they knew that God is manifesting in the form of the Pancha Bhutas and as we were exploring in the 15th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, the sun, the moon and the fire, they were representative of all the Pancha Bhutas. So these Pancha Bhutas made this world. We are part of that world but we have got consciousness also as Pancha Bhutas have got consciousness also because the Pancha Bhutas are nothing but the manifestations of Bhagawan Himself, Paramatma Himself. So in those days Brihaspati, Garuda, Surya, Indra, Brihaspati etc. they were used to be praised. Are these figments of the imagination? No sir, they were none other than the manifestations of God who now transformed themselves, transfigured themselves into the modern gods and goddesses Saraswati, Lakshmi, Vishnu, Shiva, Karthikeya, Vranesha etc. So it is a wholehearted prayer. I will come to the prayer but first Vaishanti Patha. So I already explained there are three important reasons. What is the first important reason? Oh Lord, make my body our body. Make the body of the students, the bodies of the students, the body of the teacher very peaceful, very healthy and capable of transmitting this. Let no obstacle obscure the transmission Shruti Parampara from the teacher to the student. For that the grace of God is to be invoked. How? In the form of many gods and goddesses were there. Some of them have been chosen specially. That's what we will discuss. So this is the first is removal of obstacles. Second is for the successful completion of this study. I started the Pandukya Upanishad and you are listening. So who knows tomorrow something can happen to me, to you or there may be broadband may be falling away either side. So any obstacle can come. Let us only pray to God that all obstacles be removed but that alone will not do. I must have the capacity even if my first capacity is to understand myself. Second capacity is to express myself in appropriate words so that they can be easily understood by all of you. That is very important for all of us. So the second is for the successful completion of the transmission of this Brahma Vidya. Then the third most important is this removal of obstacles and successful completion can never be had unless there is a special grace of God and this special grace of God is beautifully put here in this Svetashvatara Upanishad. Yo brahmanam vidadhati purvam yo veda amscha prahinoti tasmai tamha devam atma buddhi prakasham mumukshu ruvai sharanam aham prapadye He the Paramatma ordained Brahma the creator from of old even before creation and sent forth unto him the Vedas. That means Paramatma imparted the Vedas to Brahma and I will hasten unto that God who standeth self-revealed in the spirit and in the understanding. Where is this God? In spirit and in my understanding. I will take refuge in that Lord for my salvation. That is what Sri Ramakrishna did. Oh mother here is your dharma, here is your adharma, here is your good, here is your evil and then he goes on and on. Ultimately he says mother you give me pure bhakti. You make me do what you want me to do. You make me understand what you want me to understand. You make me speak what you want me to speak. That's why whatever came from the mouth of Sri Ramakrishna is nothing but the teachings of the Divine Mother which is another name for Brahman. Brahman and Shakti are Abheda. So we have to take shelter at the feet of God. So these are the three purposes we have said. Now with this background let us delve deep into this Shanti Mantra. What is it? Bhadram karne bhi shunayam devaha and I want to insert a point here. Very important point that is how many sense organs we have? Five sense organs and the mind also is there to unify all the partial informations that percolate, flow through these five sense organs. The eyes can only convey the forms and colors and the ears can only convey the sounds etc. But all these are emulgated, are unified, made harmonious and made a what is contingent piece of knowledge and then only we act or we can react. So that is very important. I'll give you a funny example. Suppose you are walking in a jungle and suddenly you see in a place a goat. You see a goat and next moment you hear a terrible roar of a lion. Now these are two separate. You are seeing, you are seeing a goat but you are hearing the roar of a lion and then if you connect these two inharmoniously a goat is roaring and then go towards it then you will be shallowed up, you will be bleating like the goat for some time. So what is it? A goat cannot roar like that and what sound we heard must belong to a ferocious animal and the mind makes a wholesome meaning and it climbs the nearest tree to avoid possible danger is there. So that which harmonizes is called the mind. Now of all the five sense organs, two sense organs are most important. 99% of the worldly knowledge we get is obtained only from these two. What are they? The eyes and the ears and I explained in my past lessons also. Of these five sense organs, two are most important. Of these two, the eye and ear, if they compete, do you know what dominates? It is the ear. That is why it is called Shruti. That which is heard is called Shruti. 98% of our knowledge. Why did I say 98? Because our knowledge comes 99% through the eyes and through the ears but if we have to put a percentage, I would say 98% of knowledge comes through the ears and only 1% comes through the eyes and the rest from what is called 1% comes from the other three sense organs. So these are the two most important. That's why even when you close your eyes, you can hear a distant roar. You can't see for two miles but when a lion roars, you can hear. There are 20 miles away, there is a thunder and you can hear it and 100 miles away, there is a huge satellite rocket is traveling. A bomber is traveling. Perhaps you can hear it with your ears. It's most powerful. So most of our knowledge comes through Karna Parampara, Shruti Parampara. That's why the knowledge is flowing from our ancestors to the modern times from the mouth of the teacher to the ear but then from ear it comes to the mouth after passing through the heart that means understanding. This is how we get without changes at least our Vedic Shrutis are there. It's an important point. That's why what is it that prayer comes Padram Karnevi Shunayama Deva. O ye Gods, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious. Then O worshipful ones. Then the next one is that may we see what is auspicious. Now here comes very important word. What is auspicious? Whatever promotes our happiness that is called auspiciousness. Whatever promotes our happiness even if it involves some kind of unhappiness for now but in future it ensures a greater happiness for a longer period period of time and that is called auspiciousness. Ultimately what is auspiciousness? From the worldly point of view more happiness. From spiritual point of view the life's journey from a lower state of consciousness to a higher state of consciousness comes and that is called auspiciousness and studying of the scriptures are done not by every Tom, Dick and Harry. It is done only by sincere spiritual aspirants and they don't last longer time if they are not very sincere about it at all. So this is auspiciousness always means knowledge of God, knowledge of the Self. Whatever promotes this knowledge of our true nature, our Self, Paramatma, God it is Shiva Jnanam that is called the auspiciousness. So may we hear what is auspicious. Even if it doesn't promote worldliness may we hear what conduces to real auspiciousness. So this is what is called auspiciousness. O Gods and this auspiciousness can come. That means our mind can turn towards God, towards spiritual life only by the grace of God. That's why, Bhadram Kanneve through our ears Bhadram Shunayama Deva. O Gods please bestow your grace so that we can hear what is auspicious real real good through our ears. So also O Gods, Ejathra means worshipful ones. Devatas have to be worshipped. We are the worshippers. So O worshipful ones you please bestow your grace so that what we hear is also what would be auspicious. Now we can also interpret this one in a slightly different way. We don't always hear or see what is auspicious. For example, you hear something either worldly or seemingly harmless but gossip etc or you hear downright something extremely worthless dangerous but we have to turn it into auspiciousness. How can we turn? Oh these people are wasting their time. O God bless me that I don't waste my time. These are the things which spoil my mind, make my mind impure. So this is how we can transform inauspiciousness into auspiciousness. Similarly, there are many sides especially nowadays. The way people dress, the way people talk, the ideas that are percolating throughout the world it is nothing but pure worldliness and bad news everywhere. One plotting against the other, trying to grab other's property etc and unimaginable suffering being torturing other people etc in so many ways because of the extraordinary knowledge that we have at our fingertips. All these things can be turned into auspiciousness if we open our eyes, pray to God and see that I may not become like that. This is how everything can be turned into auspiciousness. One example I will give you. Ramakrishna used to say that here are people and they were brothers. They grew up, they divided their land. For the sake of one inch of land, they go to courts and then they get become ruined. They even go into jails or kill each other, murder each other. This is very common thing. Don't they open their eyes and learn their lessons? Here are a couple. The woman is giving birth to child after child. Child after child is dying early and yet they do not wake up to the fact of the ephemerality of the world. This is how we can change inauspicious into auspicious but we can actively seek what is auspicious. Then we have to pray to different these things. We only talked about the ears and the eyes but here again the other three also included. Complete health, complete strength in their peak of useableness. Every organ of my body and mind. So that with wonderful words with our bodies and minds may we satisfy the gods by hymns, by worship etc. Then how do we live our life? A allotted lifespan and who does it? Our Bhattavidhi or Brahmadeva. He is Karma Adhyaksha. He will say you have done this in your past so this is your birth to death shelf life. Let us think only about God. Then Swastinaha. Naha means us. Indraha Hrithashyama. Hrithashyama means of ancient widespread fame. Let Indra bring us auspiciousness. Similarly Purusha. Purusha means one who nourishes us. The Surya Deva, the sun god. So Vishwaveda and the sun god knows everything. The birth, the growth, the death. What a person does during the daytime, during the night time. How does he do it? During the daytime as the sun he witnesses. As the moon and the stars during the night time. Day and night, 24 hours he watches us and he is witness to whatever we are doing. That is called Vishwaveda. So let this nourisher without whom we can never live on this earth. This earth itself will not exist. May he bring auspiciousness to us. Arishta meaning. Arishta means obstacle. He who removes all evils, all obstacles. Tarkshya means Garuda Deva. The Vishnu Vahana. Let him bring auspiciousness. How? Let him carry Bhagawan Vishnu into our hearts and as soon as the sun god comes, just as the darkness is completely destroyed. So as soon as this Garuda brings carrying Bhagawan, Garuda is another name for Guru also. So all the evil, all darkness will fly away. May he bring auspiciousness to us. Swastinaha Brihaspati Dadadu. Brihaspati the Guru of gods. Let him bestow upon us all wisdom, all auspiciousness so that we are able to progress towards our cherished goal which is God realization. Om Shanti Shanti Shanti. Threefold peace come. Peace means from threefold causes of misery be destroyed by the grace of God. Adhyatmika, Adhibhautika and Adhidaivika. Obstacles and problems be vanished by the grace of God and this is a wholehearted prayer. We should do this prayer before we do anything early morning, afternoon, evening etc. With this I will close today's talk and Shankaracharya gives two Mangala slokas which are the very essence of the entire Mandukya Upanishad which we will hopefully able to complete in our next class. Om Bhadram Kanne Vishwanyamadeva Bhadram Pashyam Akshavirya Jatraha Sirairangai Stushtu Agam Sastanopihi Yashai Madevahitanyadayoh Swastina Indro Hridhashavaha Swastina Pusha Vishwavedaha Swastina Starksho Arishtanemi Swastina Brihaspati Dadadu Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Hari Om Tat Sat Sri Ramakrishna Namastu. May Ramakrishna, Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with Bhakti.