Mandukya Karika Lecture 097 on 05 April 2023

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

Om Jananim Sharadam Devim Ramakrishnam Jagadgurum Pada Padme Tayo Sritva Pranamami Mohor Moho Om Bhadram Karne Vishnu Yamadeva Bhadram Pashyam Akshavirya Jatra Sthirai Rangai Stushtu Agam Sastanubhi Yashemadevahitayadayoh Swasthina Indro Bridhashrava Swasthina Kosha Vishraveda Swasthina Starksho Arishtanimi Swasthino Brihaspatiradadhatu Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Hare Om Om Oh Gods, may we always hear with our ears what is auspicious. Oh worshipful ones, may we with our eyes always see what is auspicious. May we live our allotted life, hail and hearty, offering our praises unto Thee. May Indra of ancient fame bestow auspiciousness on all of us. May the all-nourishing potion be propitious to all of us. May Garuda, the destroyer of all evil, be well-disposed towards all of us. May Brihaspati ensure all our welfare. Om, Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all. By the grace of the Lord, we have completed the second chapter of the Mandukya Upanishad, with Mandukya Karikas. The second chapter is called Vaithathya Prakaranam. It has 38 Karikas and Vaithathya means the Mithyatvam. What is Mithya? That which appears but goes on changing, that which is a partial reality, that which is unsteady, that which can never be relied upon, that which always brings in its wake troubles, sufferings in the form of six waves, Shat, Urmi, Janma to Mrityu. And that is why our experience in this world, including the subject and what the subject experiences, both fall under the category of Mithya only. Gaudapada wants to show that all our experiences, which fall under three categories, the waking, the dream and the dreamless. These are the three experiences of every prani. But according to Advaita, perhaps we don't know, even the so-called non-living may also have these things. I am not sure. We don't need to bother ourselves about it. But every prani has these three experiences. Why am I mentioning it? Because we think that only human beings have, animals do not have, plants do not have, insects do not have, the three states. And what state do they have? Only waking state. No, that is not true. They also sleep, they also dream, they are also what we call Sushupti state. This can be proved also in future. At least that animals dream, that has been proved. Animals have deep sleep, that is also proved. But what type of dreams animals will have, we do not know about them. So anyway, whatever be the case, what is important for us, these are the three experiences. And we think in whichever state we are, that state alone is the reality, that state alone is the highest reality, that is a false view, because every state gives exactly the same understanding. But that which experiences these three states, and says, I am the waker, I am the dreamer, and I am the sleeper, that is unchanging, that is the eternal witness. And in this context, we have to remember clearly, there are two Ahams, I. One is a participant, I am the waker, is one. But I am the witness of the waker, that is the unchanging I. That is also, in a way of speaking, Turiyam. And if we can identify ourselves with that, by negating our participating I, that is called Mukti, then whether we are experiencing or not, is not important. Here is an important point. When we are experiencing something, the experience is not a problem, but the effects of the experience, because we identify ourselves with the experience, and it brings Raga and Dvesha. Attachments, likes, and Dvesha, dislikes, so that is the problem. But Jeevan Muktas, they also experience, just as I gave the example, whenever we are witnessing a cinema, a drama, and exactly what we experience in day to day, real life, is experienced while witnessing cinema or drama. The same thing. But what is the crucial difference? When we are experiencing life, we become emotional, involved, suffer, enjoy. But when we are experiencing a cinema, we only enjoy. Somebody is being murdered, and if the action is done very well, and it gives a tremendous amount of happiness, and that happiness is called aesthetic happiness. Aesthetic experience leads to only bliss. Whether it is a tragedy, comedy, positive, negative, whether it is a happy experience, suffering experience, everything leads only to bliss, because we are continuously aware. From the time we enter into the cinema hall, and from the time the cinema starts until it ends, every Jeevan Mukta experiences everything with the crucial difference that he doesn't, just like a cinema, on a screen, no, he is also as it were, his body is participating, his mind is participating, it is more like an actor in a drama. That would be a very apt example. Every actor, every actress is completely aware, I am only an actor, I am only an actress, I am only playing the act, I am supposed to act, but this is not reality, this is only make-believe, and that is how a Jeevan Mukta, there is no enemy, there is no killed, there is no killer, there is no grief, there is no happiness, everything is one continuous state of aesthetic bliss. And that is why this Kalananda is considered to be very near to Pramananda. Aesthetic experience of bliss is very near to Pramananda. So, if we can do sadhana and get to that stage where we participate, and this participation can be done only when we experience the highest reality called Nitya. Without experiencing Nitya, we can never experience Leela. That is what Sri Ramakrishna says, Nitya to Leela, Leela to Nitya. This is what Gaudapada was struggling to explain to us. This world is Nitya. But the important point we miss, because of some popular beliefs like Maya, Avidya, Ajnana, etc., that this world is first of all a very unhappy place, and to be in this world, completely involved, called Samsari, is one of the worst things that can happen to any one of us. So many bad things are happening, as if good things are not happening. That is the problem. But whereas Advaita asserts, it appears like this only because we do not have complete knowledge. It is like supposing an actor or actress in a drama forgets that I am an actor or actress, thinks it is really temporarily by temporarily losing his brain. Then that will be a real life, that would not be a drama at all. If we can understand, that becomes Leela. But that Leela aspect can be understood only once we understand there is no birth, there is no death, there is no happiness, there is no unhappiness. But don't mistake. That is there is continuous unbroken bliss. Continuous unbroken happiness goes by the name bliss, Ananda. We always have to keep in mind what is Ananda and what is Sukha, what is Dukkha. Sukha will be there, Dukkha also will be there. They can't be separated. But Ananda is an unbroken flow of happiness because I know everything is only one, Advaita. That is what Sri Ramakrishna wants to say that having reached Advaita, having realized I am Brahman, then do whatever you like, then whatever I do, whatever you do, it becomes a Leela. So in this second chapter, Gaudapada had conclusively proved through arguments, through Shruti Pramana, quoting from the scriptures, through Yukti, that is through reasoning also, and then through Anubhava, personal experience. Shruti, Yukti and Anubhava, that whatever we are experiencing in this world is continuously in a flow and so we cannot rely upon it. But once we reach the Nitya, then we understand when we experience a change in this world, it is like a change of a scenery in a drama. Nothing changes excepting the persons who are acting, they know it is a drama. The person who has written script, writer, he knows it is a drama and the stage is only a temporary place where a drama gets enacted and the audience also knows that this is a drama. So everybody knows it is a drama. That is why even the tragic dramas or cinemas, if they are well done, so well done, that it appears as if it is reality, we go to watch them again and again. Not only that, even now you can recollect many people, they go back to their childhood and watch what they have watched at that time because when we are young, then everything appears to be more enjoyable. So many times we see the same thing. Every time we might get the same experience, reaction, but we know we enjoy it because whether it is a tragedy or comedy, positive or negative, it is only an appearance, it is not reality at all. Now to recollect, just to be able to connect with this second chapter, Vaithathya, there are 38 karikas and the last karika ends like this. This is the state of a realized soul. Gaudapada summarizes, tattvam adhyatmikam drishtva, tattvam drishtvatu bhakshataha, tattvibhutaha tadaramaha, tattvat aprachyato bhavet. Having known the truth regarding what exists internally, that is, inside the mind, as well as the truth regarding what exists externally, that is to say, in this world made up of pancha bhutas, a realized soul becomes one with reality, derives his joy from it, and never deviates from the real. There are one or two points we have to keep always in mind. Once realization attains, he gets out of this samsara, bhranti, a delusion. Don't think he will get out of this body. Don't think he will die. Don't think that everything will be destroyed. Don't think he will become a monk or anything. That has nothing to do. But the bhranti, illusion, that what I am experiencing is real and the experiencer is also real. Remember, these are very fine intellectual points. If what is experienced is real, the experiencer also, who thinks that it is real, is also unreal. That is why the experiencer is different from the witness, saakshi. Saakshi is just like a witness in a drama or even a witness in a dream. Is it possible to become a witness of waking, dream, as well as sleep? Yes. Swami Turi Anandaji Maharaj, a great brahmagmani, emphatically declares that one can have all these three experiences and at the same time, he can also witness all of them. That is why he is not affected. That is why he enjoys all the three. So, summing up, what is the reality at the end of the second adhyaya called Vaithathya Prakarana, Gaudapada, this is the goal of each one of us. When you look inside, that is Brahman. When you look outside, that is Brahman. Who is looking? Brahman. What is he looking at? Brahman. What is the instrument of looking or experiencing? Brahman. Everything is Brahman. Then who can do that? Tatvibhutaha. Only a person who has become Tatvibhutaha, here tatva means Brahman, he became Brahman. Only one who knows, I am Brahman, and he sees inside, it is Brahman. Sees outside, it is Brahman. Sees everything, it is Brahman. Waking state, Brahman. Dream state, Brahman. Deep sleep state, Brahman. Then what happens? Tatha Ara Maha. He becomes, he will be swimming in the ocean of bliss. And then for sadhakas, that is the goal. That is why he said, this tatva, that is, this Brahmanhood, having, progressing towards that, Aprachutaha Bhavet. He should never slip away. Who can slip away? Once a person knows, I am Brahman, he can never slip away from it. But, it is a caution, that maybe, at times, our intellect makes us experience, I am Brahman. There is a beautiful incident. Once Swami Brahmanandaji Maharaj, was living at one time, at our Haridwar center. And there was one of our sadhus, who took leave, and he was doing intense tapasya, studying scriptures, and he felt somehow, that I am a realized soul. That is why, very important thing is, nobody should think, I am a realized soul. Otherwise, he will be madcap. Then who will tell? The Guru will certify. That is just as, Yajnavalika certified Janaka, Abhayam vayi, Praptosi Janaka. Hey Janaka, you have realized Brahman, you have become Advaitin, and you have become fearless. The Guru has to certify. Until that time, it is better to be absolutely, cautious about it. So this is Swami felt. And then, he started declaring it to others. This is the worst thing, anybody can do. If anybody declares, I am an Oira Brahman, the first thing you have to do is, 100% he is not an Oira Brahman. Swami Brahmanandaji used to, declare this. No gentleman, will come and declare, I am a gentleman. There is no need for a gentleman, to declare that I am a gentleman. Because, it is for others to judge, whether he is a gentleman or not. If he is a gentleman, everybody would recognize. If he is not, that also is cognized. So this Swami, went on declaring, I have realized Brahman. And then, one day, he came to meet his Guru, probably Raja Maharaj was his Guru. And then, he looked at him. And then later on, Raja Maharaj said, I looked at him. He had some kind of vision, an exalted experience, but he has not reached that state. I don't know whether it is the same Swami, or some other Swami, perhaps a disciple of Mahapurush Maharaj, he happened to declare exactly in the same way. Then once he happened to come to Velur Math, he met his Guru Swami, Shivanandaji Maharaj. And he said, Maharaj, I feel, that I am a real knower of Brahman. And Mahapurush Maharaj simply put one question. Sometimes, do you have doubts, that you are a knower of Brahman? And the Swami admitted, because nobody can tell a lie, to another knower of Brahman. And he said, Yes. Occasionally, a doubt comes to me, that I am not a knower of Brahman. Immediately, Mahapurush Maharaj, the axe had come down. Then, you are not a realiser of Brahman. What is the basis for this statement? When realisation is attained, there will absolutely be any doubt about it. Then, what was the point I made? Can he not declare, I am a knower of Brahman? There is no need, for simple reason. So, only another person, who realised Brahman, he knows who is a Jeevan Mukta. Only one Jeevan Mukta, can realise the other Jeevan Mukta. But for others, a non-Jeevan Mukta, can never know who is a Jeevan Mukta. Nowadays, it has become a fashion, my Guru is a knower of Brahman. And, such stupidity, I have to put an end. Because, are you a realised soul? No, no, no. I am far away from it. Then, how dare you declare, whether it is your Guru, or Swami Vivekananda, or Sri Ramakrishna, or Krishna, or simply you are saying, they are Avataras. What do you understand by Avataras? Nothing. All that we can say is, I heard that, they are incarnations of God. I have faith in the words of these great souls. But, I don't know. Because, only God alone can recognise God. One Jeevan Mukta, can recognise another Jeevan Mukta. There is a funny statement in English. Only a thief, set a thief, to catch a thief. Because, he can immediately recognise the other thief. One drunkard, knows the other drunkard. Anyway. So, Tatvee Bhutaha. Then, when a person knows, I am Brahman, then forever, all the fetters have fallen, all the karmas are destroyed, karmaphala is destroyed, and he knows, I am not the body-mind. Even if the body-mind are to survive, he says, I have nothing to do with it. I am completely different. I am the Brahman. I am not the body-mind. Then, a sadhaka should be, extremely careful, with a prayerful mode. O Lord, I don't know whether I am progressing or not. You please help me. I surrender myself to you. This is the meaning, of the summarisation, that Vaithatya. That is proving, this world is Mithya, is only to show us, there is something Satyam. Why? Because, every bit of Mithya, is ken, and is, based only upon Truth. And, here also, we get several examples, Gaudapada himself gives, if there were to be no rope, there would be, no mistaking of the snake. If there were to be, no desert, hot sand, there would be, no perceiving of, mirage. If there were to be, no silver, there will be, no mistaking, a silver shell. Without the substratum, without Satyam, Mithya, cannot be, at all experienced. So, this is to say, In this, the second chapter, comes to an end. How to progress towards that? Three steps are indicated, Shravana, Manana, and Nidhidhyasana. These are the only ways, to realize that I am Brahma. So, what does it mean? It means, Shravana means hearing. Hearing what? You are also hearing my talk, and you can hear anybody's talk, even when you are reading a book, that is also hearing only, because in your mind, your mind is reading, your mind is hearing, that is also Shravana. That is not the meaning of Shravana. Shravana means a person, who is endowed with fourfold qualities, that is Viveka, Vairagya, Shamadama, Dushyatka Sampate, and Momukshutva. Such a person is called Adhikari. And such an Adhikari, he must approach a Sadguru. Sadguru means, a great person, either far progressed in spiritual life, or a realized soul. Here, I have to give you a caution, it is not necessary for us, to wait for a realized soul. And we will never get a realized soul. An elementary school student, demands Einstein, to become his maths teacher, both will be failures. Einstein also cannot teach, what the child is expecting, and the child also cannot grasp anything. But somebody, who knows everything, from the elementary school class, to what is called, high school, or even college, that is more than sufficient. As a Sufi saint had said, anybody who knows, one step of the way ahead of you, can be your teacher. You don't need to wait, because authentically a person, who knows one step ahead of you, he knows the shortcuts, he knows the obstructions, and you can safely do that. Then what happens, when I reach the end of the second step? Don't worry, there is a law, if the field is ready, the seed must come. Somebody will come, and then he will teach you. So, this is the explanation, as I said, what is the Vaithathya Prakaranam about? It is the elaboration, of the seventh mantra, of the first Adhyaya, first chapter called, Agama Prakaranam, that is the Brahman, Toriyam, is neither the waking state, nor the dream state, nor the dreamless state, deep sleep state, nor in between states, neither an unconscious state, nor an all-conscious state, then what is it? Prapancha Upashamam, Advaitam, Shantam, Shivam. So here, all these are comprised, Prapancha Upashamam, that is when we have sufficiently understood, this world is ever-changing, that which is ever-changing, requires an ever-changing witness, and that is me. I know this much. I know that the world cannot be realized, but I don't know what is the next step, for the entire Nithyatma, of this ever-changing Samsara, is beautifully explained in 38 Karikas, in the second chapter. But the Shantam, Shivam, Advaitam, person becomes extremely beautiful, blissful, all-auspiciousness, when he reaches the state of Advaitam, and that word Advaitam, needs to be explained fully, through Shruti and Yukti, and that is possible, that is the task of the third chapter, that is why the third chapter, has been very well named as, Advaita Prakaranam. So as I said, these scriptural truths, must be heard, and then practiced, after hearing from the Guru, and that hearing process is called Shravanam, and the person has to practice, how long? As long as necessary, as long as all doubts, have not been removed. Complete conviction must come, that is called Mananam. Mananam means churn out, take out the essence, remove everything else, there should not be a least bit of doubt, and that is the process of Mananam. Once we know what it is, slowly we have to make it our own, that process is called Dhyanam, or Nidhidhyasana, means my whole life, my behavior, my speech, and my thought, everything must be, completely transformed, and I must think about God, I must speak about God, and I must only, worship God, sing about God, talk about God, and whatever I do, must be offering to God, that is called the process of Nidhidhyasana. And with this, the second chapter is over. Now, the elaboration must come. What elaboration? The word Shantam, Shivam, Advaitam, that word Advaitam, comprises of all these two, Shantam, Shivam, also of course, Prapancha Upashamam. Intellectually, we know this is Mithya, but unless we know the Satyam, just like when we are frightened of a snake, for example, and any number of people will come, tell us it is not a snake, it is a rope, we will not be convinced. But somebody who loves us, and who knows, who is dwelling there, he comes and tells, my child, don't be afraid, it appears like a snake, I know it is not a snake, in fact, I myself have put a rope, which looks like a snake, it is in the person's faith. This person is not going to deceive me, he will never tell lies to me. So, as a result of it, his first thing is, I must be seeing something wrong, then please help me, I know that you are telling the truth, now I am not that anxious, but still my heart is beating, for that purpose, I must know the truth. Then the person says, wait a second, I am bringing the light, and he brings the light, and with the help of the light, the person says, yes, it is true, what you said earlier, I trusted, I believed, now I know through personal experience, that Guru Vaakya is called Shruti, and understanding it, that this person is a person, who wishes my welfare, he will never tell anything, that is unhappy or anything, and this person is only telling for my good, it must be right, as a child has faith in his mother, mother says, don't go into that room, there is a bogeyman there, or Ram Krishna tells, a mother tells about a servant, this is your elder brother, and you go into his arms, he will take you to write, he will protect you, he will entertain you, he will take you out for a walk, he will do everything, joyfully the child jumps, this is your elder brother, you enter into his arms, even though he is not, the child has got complete faith, because who is an elder brother, not an elder brother, not a relative, a person who loves, he is the elder brother, or younger brother, or parent, whatever it is, it is not the relation, but it is the behaviour, so this person will have faith, it is not a snake, and by that itself, this person has got complete fearlessness, and now his heart is still, a little bit of remnant of doubt will be there, and that can be removed, only when the light is brought up, and that is called realisation, that is where complete surrender, to the lotus feet of the Guru, will help us attain that state, nobody can attain it by anything else, so this is what is the essence of the second one, then in the third chapter, and this has got 48 numbers of karikas or verses, that is, Gaudapada wants to explain, what is called Advaita, and this is what, Sriram Krishna also wants to convey, Advaita Gnan, Anchale Bendhe, Jai Ikshatai Kuru, your highest goal is to obtain this Advaita Gnanam, having obtained Advaita Gnanam, then do whatever you want to do, then no harm will come to you, so this is an elaboration of two Mahavakyas, one is Tattvamasi, and when a person experiences, he himself will declare, Aham Brahmasmi, but if he happens to be Jivanmukta, not only Aham Brahmasmi, Sarvam Kalvidam Brahma, everything that is experienced through this body-mind complex, is also nothing but Brahman, there is no world, it is only Brahman, appearing through the prism of time, space and causation, and everything is Advaitam, there is no Dvaitam at all, and this is going to be elaborated, in 48 verses, and that is what, we also want to explore, so we will start here, with this first Karika, in today's class, third chapter, called Advaita Prakaranam, the very first Karika, and Kaudapada, as I mentioned many times, his words can, first of all confuse, secondly, they are sometimes obscure, thirdly, it even can shock us, because he seems to be criticizing, something which we are all accustomed to, but no, we will read, here I want to caution, all of you, that when I am talking about Kaudapadas, I am following Shankaracharya, no doubt about it, but I am not sticking to Shankaracharya, mostly I am interpreting, in the form of, Sri Ramakrishna's, life and teachings, Swami Vivekananda's life and teachings, holy mothers, disciples, and every other saint and sage, and what is the speciality, that if we analyze, that there is, something called Brahman, and that is the goal of life, and that goal of life, is not directly called Brahman, it is called Moksha, that is the Paramapurushartha, Moksha is another name, for Nirvikalpa Samadhi, for Brahman, for God, for whatever you call it, Narayana, Shiva, etc, that is the first point, second point is, there are several ways, one is the path of knowledge, another is the path of devotion, another is the path of, dedicated action to the Divine Lord, serving the Lord, Shiva Jnana Jiva, another is exclusive control, what is called Patanjali Yoga Marga, and all of us have those faculties within us, what I wanted to emphasize, unlike some people, who emphasize, there is only one way, every other way is a by way, smaller way, town way, but every way, must bring us, closer to that royal way, national highway, motorway, which is the only way, which is called Jnana Marga, and Sri Ram Krishna thoroughly disagrees, Vedas, Upanishads, thoroughly disagree, Bhagavad Gita, thoroughly disagrees, I will give the quotation also, there is in Rig Veda, Ekam Sat, truth is one, Buddha Adanti, and people give it various names, call it Parabrahma, call it Saguna Brahma, call it God, call it Creator, call it Divine Mother, call it Narayana, Shiva, Rama, Krishna, Jesus, Buddha, by whatever name you call it, it doesn't matter, what matters is, whether our life is going to be converted, that is what exactly matters, nothing else matters, so this is the next point, we are all travelling towards that, and there are some fanatical people, who say there is only one path, and it is understood properly, it is right, what is that path, that I am not having right knowledge, what is right knowledge, everything is Brahman is the right knowledge, and right knowledge can be obtained only through destruction of the wrong knowledge, that is absolutely fine, but that is not Gnanamarga, here is the terrible mistake people commit, Gnanam is the goal, but Gnanamarga is one of the paths, which take us to that Gnanam, and as I was mentioning, if you collect the biographies of all so called God realized souls, and if you try to find out by through what path they had attained to this knowledge, that I am Brahman, you will see 99.9999999 you can go on at any number of times, N, it is only through Bhakti Marga, through the grace of God, by surrendering oneself, and that is what Vedas also tell, Upanishads also declare, Bhagavad Gita in fact ends Sarva Dharmaan Parityajya Mamey Kam Sharanam Rajah Aham Tvaa Sarva Paapey Bhiyo Mokshay Shiyami Maashucha Aham, I will release you, nobody else can release you, nothing else can release you, your effort also is my grace only, that is one. In Bhagavad Gita itself it says you are enveloped, bound hand and foot by my maya, that is a divine maya, Daivi Esha Munamayi Mama Maya, and it is Durathaya, you cannot cross it, but there is a way, whole hearted cry, O Lord, O Mother, O Father, please rescue me, and if we can surrender ourselves, God himself will tell, as Sri Ram Krishna says, the Divine Mother had employed, given us a servant to serve us, apparently to serve us, what is that servant, our mind, but secretly the Divine Mother instructed the servant that whatever this fellow is doing, report it to me, and she knows everything, whatever we are doing, because this very mind is acting like a spy, conveying all the secret messages, every second of the time, every millisecond to the Divine Mother, that means there is nothing the Divine Mother doesn't know, but when the same person take runs to the Mother, calling, O Mother, and then she stretches her hand, comes running, takes the child in, and then tells to the servant, now you serve my child, and do not tempt him, do not put him under any Maya, give him, that means as Vidya Maya, you manifest yourself to my child. So, this is what we are going to study, all interpretations, whatever I do, any Upanishad, or any hymn that we are taking, or any Suktam that I am talking about, all in the light of only this one, eight teachings of the life and teachings of Thakur Ma Swamiji, and nothing else. With this, we will start the first Karika. So, here Gaudapada is throwing a bombshell, as it were. Upasanashrito dharmo jate brahmani vartate praag upate ajam sarvam tenasau kripanah smrtah The Jiva, betaking itself to devotion, Upasana, thinks itself to be related to the Brahman, that is supposed to have manifested himself, he is said to be of narrow intellect, because he thinks that before creation all was of the nature of the unborn reality. Gaudapada, unfortunately, doesn't have that facility to express himself in simple words. What he is struggling to tell is that there is only one path, the path of Advaita, the path of Jnana Marga, and the what is called Upasana of Parabrahma, and anybody who is devoting himself to Saguna Brahma, and such people are called Bhaktas, and they are not, they are deluded people, they are to be pitied. tenasau kripanah smrtah But, really speaking, I would have, we would have to reinterpret it in this way, that every path, we all start with only Bhakti, and slowly develop some control over the mind, which is called Yoga, then slowly we transform whatever actions we do. That is called a change in our character. Change in our character means we are discharged the same activities with concentration, with complete good knowledge, and with above all, right attitude. And all this is forming a foundation, as it were. But then, this foundation will take us finally to the Divine Lord. Here, important point is, whether Karma Yoga will give us Mukti, Bhakti Yoga can give us Mukti, Yoga Marga can give us Mukti, or Gnana Marga can give us Mukti, that is not the point at all. Because the categorical answer in the light of the life of Sri Ramakrishna is no Yoga can ever take us to God. Why? Every Yoga is practiced with whose help? Help of the mind, help of the body. And what is the nature of the body and mind? Both are limited. When both are limited, through whatever we try, through a limited means, through the instrumentality of a limited instrument, it is impossible to become unlimited. It is impossible. Then, what happens? This is what Sri Ramakrishna says, if man takes one step towards God, God takes, moves towards this person ten steps. So, don't use your mathematical knowledge. I took one step, he is taking ten steps, but the distance is very much there. No. What it means is, God comes running. He sees the sincerity. And Sri Ramakrishna illustrates this with a beautiful story. It is very relevant for us in this context. There was a man, he wanted to travel to another village, so he came to the edge of his own village and then there he found that there are two pathways and he never came to this side. He doesn't know. There was a man sitting under a tree. Apparently, this traveler found out that this person can show me the right way. So he went there and he told him, Sir, I want to go to such and such a village. So, there are two pathways. I don't know which way to take. Will you please guide me? That fellow, as if he was deaf, he never heard. So this person repeated twice or thrice and then that person did not reply and this person, having decided this is a useless fellow, he started walking one particular path. He thought that pathway will take him to the place where he wanted to go. And when he advanced just a little bit, he heard shouts, Sir, Sir, Sir, please come back. And after a lot of shouting, Ramakrishna was a superb narrator because he was still in an annoyed state. I requested two, three times. He has not given any. They even needed to give him a reply. Probably, he did not even look, open his eyes and then look at me. So, he started still in that annoyed state but this man persistently was calling him back. So, he came back. Why are you shouting at me? He said that the path you have taken is not the right path. It is the other way which will take you quickly to the place you want to go. Now, this person's anger mounted. He said, I asked you thrice but you did not reply. Why? And then that person replied. So many people come and ask me. They are idle curiosity mongers. They have no intention of travelling. That's why I thought you might be one of the curiosity mongers. So, I kept quiet. But then I am observing. Then I saw really you mean to go to that place. So, I am telling you I know the way thoroughly. You go by the other way. What is the symbolism of this story? As I said many times, every story that Sri Ram Krishna narrated is nothing but pure, what we call symbolical, analogical. There is a parable as a deeper meanings. Who was the person who wanted to go? He is a sincere sadhaka. And who was the person who was sitting under the tree? Who knows? He is the Sadguru. So, this person, he did not know which path he should follow to reach his destination. In other words, God. And he shouted. The Guru did not reply. But he started taking his own path. Then the Guru understood. This person is very sincere. He meant what he said. So, this is called testing by the Guru. Then he called him and said, my child, that path is not suitable for you. This is the path that is most suitable to you. So, you progress towards this. This is our attitude. Whether you are following Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga or Raja Yoga, it doesn't really matter. The crucial question is are you endowed with Shraddha? If you are endowed, then it is absolutely fine. Even if you are going in the wrong way, as Sri Ramakrishna illustrates, a man wanted to visit Puri, which is south of Calcutta. But he started walking towards the north. Very soon, because of his Shraddha, God Himself came to him in another form and He said, this is not the right way. You go towards the south. And very soon, he reached there. So, these are all very marvelous parables. We have to squeeze the meaning very much. Here, Gaudapada is declaring that every Jeeva, his journey is towards Brahman. And then, for a long time, he will be only going round and round and round, not really progressing or I would say progressing a little bit. Why do I say? Because everybody is standing on the escalator called evolution. And right from the inorganic, to the organic, to microbes, insects, then plants, birds, animals, lower human beings, then Sattva, Guna, Sampanna, human beings, everything is a journey. But we can help ourselves. Like, you can travel very fast on the left side of the escalator in many countries. Anyway, what are we talking about? Upasana Ashritaha. Dharmaha. Here, Dharma means not Dharma and Dharma. Here, a peculiar world. Dharma means a Jeevatma. An individual soul. He is called Dharma. And he is following the path of Bhakti. Upasana means there is God. I, God, is infinite. I am finite. I am small. He is big. I am worshipping Him. So, He will be following this. Why? Because this man thinks Jaate Brahmani Vartate. That is, there is a state and it is called Ishwara state. That is called Avyaktara, unmanifest. The whole universe came from that. I also came from that. That is, Praag Utpatehe Sarvam Ajam. Everything that is born now is in a state of non-being. Non-being means non-born state just as a huge banyan tree is in an unmanifested state, in a seed. And from there only I am coming. Again, I will go back to that. But through scriptures, I know I have come from Brahman. So, I have to worship God and one day I will reach God. So, Sarvam, whatever is born, the whole universe, including myself, we came from the unmanifest. We go back to the unmanifest. But by God's grace, this circle coming out of the unmanifest and again going back to the unmanifest, which is called Samsara Chakra or in Siddhashvatara Upanishad, Brahma Chakra. It will come to an end only when I take refuge in God and I worship God and I am a Bhakta. This, such a person, Kripanaha Smritaha is considered, is to be pitied actually, a miserable being. That is not acceptable to most of us and why it is not acceptable, we will be talking about it in my next lesson. May Ramakrishna, Holy Mother and Swami Vikananda bless us all with Bhakti. Jai Ramakrishna.