Paramahamsa Upanishad Lecture 02 on 03 March 2024

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

We have started the Paramahamsa Upanishad and the very name of the Upanishad suggests to us that who can be a Paramahamsa. It is the goal that we must all become Paramahamsas. Paramahamsa means Paramatma. Paramatma means Brahma. And how do we become Paramahamsa? So in our scriptures, only these two matters. What is the goal of life and how to attain it. And that in various ways, various types of language. But the essence is that we are in an undesirable condition and there is a way out to get out of this bound condition or undesirable condition. Every condition of binding is not at all desirable even for a millisecond. If we ask anybody, do you wish to suffer just for a second? Nobody will say. Just a little bit of suffering? No. Why? Because that's not our nature. And nobody says the opposite. I want to be separated from happiness even for a millisecond. Why? Because that's our nature. We do not wish to die. That's our nature. We do not wish to be having ignorance. We want to have right knowledge. That's our nature. We want to be blissful. That's our nature. And to know that we are that divine beings that is explained in every Upanishad and to become what we are, to know what we are. That is called becoming Paramahamsa. Doesn't matter whether we are putting on type of cloths, ochre cloths, householder's cloths. It doesn't really matter. Even our very bodies are dresses only. So this Paramahamsa Upanishad is considered one of the minor Upanishads. It belongs to Shuklai Yajurveda. And we have seen earlier, even though it only contains four mantras, every mantra is quite long. It describes beautifully all the characteristics of a spiritual person. When we use the word spiritual, we might get a wrong impression that a spiritual person or spirituality is meant only for a particular type of person. No. Spirituality means how each one of us can be healthy and have wisdom or be wise and be happy and grow in happiness all the time. That is the meaning of spirituality. So there was a great spiritual seeker. He was called Narada. And this Upanishadic Narada and the Bhagavata and Mahabharata Narada seems to be different types of persons. Maybe or maybe the same person, out of infinite compassion, after realizing his own real nature, has taken a vow, I will be moving throughout the three worlds and wherever I find some worthy recipient, I am going to pass on what I have passed through. Naram Dadadheethi Naradaha And he once approached Brahmaji, who is what is called Supreme Knower of Brahman, because he himself is Saguna Brahman, and asked this question, I would like, I would wish to be a Paramahamsa Yogi. How can you help me in becoming a Paramahamsa Yogi? Of course, like a scientist, the characteristics of a Paramahamsa or Sthita Pragna or Samadhi Purusha have to be described. And that is the same thing which Shankaracharya describes in the Vivekachudamani, Jeevan Mukta Lakshana. And there is a specific book beginning with the name Jeevan Mukti Viveka, describing all about Jeevan Mukti, Hideya Mukti, etc. So Narada approached and he was a Yogi Purusha, Adhikari Purusha, that is a fit person to receive, and unless we are fit, it is useless even to explain things. So Brahma finding Narada, fit recipient, explains that attaining the stage of Paramahamsa Yogi is the only goal of life, first. Secondly, it is not easy. It is an arduous task. And such Yogis are a rarity. This has been supported and reiterated in the Bhagavad Gita. Only one among millions really strives to take to spiritual life. And among those who are striving, among the millions of those who are striving, only a few people attain. It doesn't mean others do not attain. It means when they are fit, then they will become. But meanwhile, we cannot stop because nobody can stop saying, I don't want happiness, I don't want health, and I don't want right knowledge. That is inbuilt within us. Evolution is what is called the inescapable fact of life. Even science acknowledges that. Then yesterday we discussed some important points. Characteristics. A Paramahamsa Yogi is immune to the existence of his body. That means he doesn't say, I am the body. So he has transcended that body consciousness. That means the body, a Paramahamsa Yogi, he treats as a corpse. It means we also have to say it is a living corpse. But we need to keep it alive so that it can help us in moving forward. So whatever is necessary to keep it healthy, pay that much time, that much attention, no more. So Paramahamsa is beyond false pretensions. We are all not Paramahamsas. Therefore we have false pretensions. This false pretension has beautiful meanings. One meaning is to say that I am the body and mind is a false pretension from the Paramarthika view. But the other is our ego doesn't want to accept our faults, our defects, our shortcomings. But the first thing we need to do is to diagnose ourselves. Our Guru also helps us in diagnosing provided we have faith in him and really take his help. So the Upanishad, Paramahamsa Upanishad states there are certain things. We have associated words like Hamsa, Paramahamsa, Sannyasi, etc. only with some external insignia like ochre cloths, like carrying three dandas, etc. But a real Paramahamsa, it is a state of the mind of right knowledge. It has nothing to do with externality. That is why rarely we find Sri Ramakrishna or Holy Mother putting on ochre cloths. Yes, on a few occasions He did put at the request of the devotees. Holy Mother, in fact, She issued a beautiful statement. Many times every so-called Sannyasi or Sannyasini who puts on these external insignia, their egotism becomes stronger. So especially when they look down upon the householders or devotees, lay people, this person did not bow down to me, this person bowed down to the other person, not to me. These are all very petty type of bloating of the egotism, signs of the egotism. So a Paramahamsa does not carry any external staff. But there, in this Upanishad, that external staff, that means a stick, is compared to a staff of knowledge. And that is why He is called Ekadandi. Normally Ekadandi means, Eka means one, Dandi means one who has got one staff. Some people carry three pronged stick. But here it is three sticks, they bind together. They are called three Dandis. Here Ekadandi. Dandi means knowledge of the Self. He has only knowledge of the Self. That means He perceives everything as Brahman only. So the Paramahamsa who understands the difference between a staff of knowledge and the external staff made out of wood, such is a Paramahamsa. And He is firmly fixed in knowledge because He realized it. It is not intellectual knowledge, conviction, even supported by Yukti or reasoning. But it is His own experience in Nirvikalpa Samadhi. And He is always content. And established within means He perceives inside or outside only God, like Prahlada. And this Paramahamsa's consciousness is permeated with perfect bliss. And He knows that I am Brahman. Not only that He knows I am Brahman, He also knows there is nothing more to be achieved. Not only that, He also knows everything else. We are saying everything else, He doesn't say everything else. Everything is nothing but pure Brahman only. In the eyes of Shiva, everybody is a Shiva. That is why the question that arises here is, why should Shiva give liberation to people who are worldly, who are greedy, who are jealous, who are murderers, who are thieves. These are all our distinctions. From the eyes of Shiva, Neither I am the body nor I am the mind. I am pure Shiva. That is our abiding knowledge for Shiva. So He doesn't see anything other than Shiva. So this is the essence. Now we will explore with exploration. We may not get many things new, but we go on enjoying. Just like we love to prepare the same material with different spices, etc. The important thing is if we analyse protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals. The rest is what we call make it pleasant to swallow. And that is the only explanation. Otherwise, even boiled things will do more than do. Now, like any other Upanishad, this Upanishad also is a Shanti Mantra. This is the Bhadram Kanne Bhi, which we chanted at the beginning. And since we have gone through this in the Mandukya as well as other Upanishads, but still we will go through. What is the essence of Shanti Mantra? Let there be no obstacles is the first purpose. Let everything be favourable is the second. Let God's grace make me a fit student. And the same grace of God descend upon my teacher so that he will be able to teach me in the right way. So that I can understand it. And above all, anything is possible only by the grace of God. So even worldly prosperity, for that we pray as we have been discussing in the Shri Suknam. Not to speak of spirituality. This is the great lesson we have to learn and keep in mind when we study, when we follow Sri Ramakrishna especially. He started his spiritual life with complete self-surrender. Oh Mother, I am a fool. I do not know what to do. I do not know what to speak. I do not know anything. You please guide me. I surrender myself to you. Here is your Dharma. Here is your Adharma. Here is your good. Here is your evil. Here is your virtue and vice. Everything. So he surrendered everything. And the Divine Mother knew that this is a heartfelt prayer. And Sri Ramakrishna really meant it. And so he called me like a child. When it is hungry, it only cries. And the Mother knows. One type of crying, feeding time. Another type of crying, cleaning time. Another type of crying, playing time. So the Mother knows. And she takes care of the baby in every single way. She carries the baby. She cleanses him. She puts him in a new dress, etc. And that is what exactly the Divine Mother had done to everybody. But in our example, she did this to Totapuri. She endowed him with that buddhi. I want to become spiritual. She brought a real teacher, Sadguru, to him. And he was made to go through hard disciplines, physical as well as spiritual. And she gave him the strength to successfully perform all those disciplines. And she removed all unbeknownst to him. But he did not realize. He became a little bit proud. I got everything by my own efforts. Ultimately, the person who was given Nirvikalpa Samadhi was brought back to even the basic state, where he could not concentrate for one millisecond. And then Divine Mother revealed Herself to him and said, that it is I. Your body is Me. You do not exist. Who wanted to do the spiritual practice? Me. And who came in the form of the teacher? Me. And who gave the strength to the body and mind to perform? Me. And who removed the obstacles? Me. Finally, who realized the truth? Me. Just like a person, all of us, we dream. We went to that place. Who went? I went. Each one of us. In my dream, I do not say, you went. I say, I went. So, I woke up. I had a dream. I woke up. I, that is the Divine Mother. When we wake up from this long dream called the waking state, we realize, accepting Brahman, that is the purpose. So, we require the grace of God. And as we say in Sanskrit, any auspicious thing has many obstacles. So, we have to pray to God, that I want to come to you. Please remove the obstacles. In fact, if we interpret this word obstacle properly, like obstacle race, an obstacle race is not an obstacle for the racers. It is to prove their stamina, their worth. And it strengthens them. And for that, they must have practiced a lot of times before participating in this game, competition. So, this is the purpose. Ultimately, complete self-surrender. And even surrendering ourselves to God is only the ultimate grace of God. With this idea, very briefly we will discuss. We are in this world. We have got five sense organs. And the most important organs of these are two. One is the eyes. Another is the ears. So, the amount of knowledge we can derive from the eyes is very little. Only the amount of knowledge we get from the hearing is enormous. How do we understand this? How much can you see and get knowledge? Very little. But our reading books, that is one type of hearing only. We hear from our teachers. We hear it from the nursery school, elementary school, middle school, then college, then university, whole life. We attend talks. For example, you are all hearing it. And you think only you are hearing. I am also hearing what I am speaking. So, that is why it is said, very first sense organ. It means all the other ten organs. Five of knowledge inputs and five of actions. Jnanendriyas and Karmendriyas. So, may we hear what is auspicious. May we see what is auspicious. This is a prayer to Gods. And these Gods are called Yajatraha. Yajatraha means worthy of being worshipped. Because it is because of them our very existence is made possible. So, may we hear. Do we always hear only what is good? No. Somebody praises me. Then we have to remember Lord Krishna's advice. Lord, you are manifesting. If there is something, some great quality in me, that is your glory manifesting through this instrument. Somebody criticizes me, blames me, finds faults with me. And such a person is my greatest helper. Without paying a single penny, where if you are an American or an English person, you have to go to Harley Street, pay 100 pounds per hour, sit or lie down like a zombie on the couch. And then he will tell you what your wife or your friend can tell you without any fee. So, if somebody is criticizing us, it helps us in two ways. The first thing is, there may be truth in it. So, he is only reminding me or he or she. Me means, it can be a man or a woman, a sincere spiritual aspirant. And he can say, do I have that effect which this person is accusing me of? And if it is true, I have to humbly thank him, accept his criticism, and then try to correct myself. Supposing a person is only a malicious person, and he is criticizing, he doesn't find any fault, but he is finding without seeing any fault, because that is that person's habit, then we can develop what is called forbearance. How we react normally, we hate such persons. And then whole life, we consider them as unsavoury, worthy of death as soon as possible. No, this person is really helping. This is how every great person goes on proving himself as a great person. A great person becomes great not merely because he is endowed with greatness, but because he has the tremendous willpower to overcome every obstacle in a glorious way. So whatever we hear, let us turn it, transform it into spiritual aid. Similarly, whatever we see, that also we can transform into worship of God. You see a beautiful flower, the glory of God. And you see a crocodile or people like crocodiles shedding what you call crocodile tears. Then also you have to learn, I should not be like that. So our modern newspapers can aid us very much. Go on seeing, don't become one-sided, learn the lesson. So every spiritual aspirant should question himself or herself. So what lesson have I to learn from this event? Even if it is happening at a remote place, at a distant place. For example, the war that is going on between Russia and Ukraine and between Israel and Gaza. What lesson can we learn? So we can learn a lot of lessons. So this is, turn it towards God. And can we do anything about these events? That is the greatest lesson we have to learn. Do we have any power to stop it? No. So does anybody have the power? Do these leaders who are proclaiming hatred and we will fight till the end even if we die. And many of them are dying also in that process. Do they have any power to stop it? We have to awake to the fact. There is somebody who is running this entire show. Ishwaraha Sarvabhutanaam Hridyeshe Arjunatishtati Brahmyan Sarvabhutani Yantrarodhani Maya The director of this entire Jagannataka is a different person. So therefore, let me learn the lesson. Turn towards God and say, let Thy will be done. Even Christ, He also was supposed to have prayed. If possible, let this cup be taken away from me, the cup of crucifixion. But God let him know, no, this is my will. And Christ accepted and said, let Thy will be done. O Gods, worthy of being worshipped because worthy of having the power to grant whatever we are praying for. Otherwise, they are not Gods. And then if I have to enjoy life, progress in life, then my body must be healthy. There must be, in fact, we have got five bodies called Panchakoshas. My Sthula Sharira, Pranamaya Sharira, Manomaya Sharira, Ignanamaya Sharira and Anandamaya Sharira. What do these correspond to? Five layers. It is very beautiful. There is a physical body. It is called Annamaya Kosha. Then we have to keep our Pranas, our will power and our energy. Prana means energy because I have undertaken a great spiritual task and I must transcend to the mind. What does the mind say? The mind called Manomaya Kosha should never flag, never hesitate, never lose that enthusiasm. There is a beautiful word in Sanskrit language called Arambha Shuraha. Especially Indians are well known for that. They are like heroes. They start and then this hero becomes zero after a few days. That means that there is no physical strength, etc. That is why Swami Vivekananda realized it and then very aptly he said that we must develop physical strength, intellectual strength, etc. So we must have tremendous will power and then we must have the right goal. For that crystal clear understanding is necessary. Doubtless understanding is necessary. That is the function of the Ignanamaya Kosha. And then whatever be the circumstances, we must never lose our enthusiasm which is called Anandamaya Kosha. Or if we interpret it in a different way, we must have physical development, intellectual development, aesthetic development, moral development and finally spiritual development. These in a rough way correspond to the Pancha Koshas. That is what he said. With absolutely healthy, strong, steadfast Indriyas. Eleven Indriyas. Five of action, five of knowledge and one of the mind. So long I have been given this opportunity, may we worship and may we obtain the pleasure of God in the form of the various powers of God. And how long? So long until God has granted us, until my last breath. And who gives this? Our own past karma in reality. Willed by Gods you are going to live until that moment. Until that moment, let us surrender ourselves to God in the form of the Gods. Worship them because they are responsible for my birth, for my growth, for my strength, for my pleasure, everything. This is the general prayer to all the Gods and Goddesses. But specifically, four types of Gods are meant. One is Swasti, Naha, Indraha, Vriddha Shrava. Vriddha Shrava means the person, the being, the God. Herein it is called Indra. He was one of the knowers of Brahman, as we see in Kena Upanishad. Referring to the Upanishadic Indra, not the what we call mythological Indra, Auranic Indra, where he is running after women, power, position and intolerant, jealous, fearful. No, here he is a God and God is the manifestation of particular power of God. He is called Vriddha Shrava because he is the most ancient one, well known everywhere as a knower of Brahman. May He bless us. Swasti means in every way help us, bestow His grace upon us, so that we can realize Brahman for which purpose I have come to my teacher. Similarly, Swasti Naha. Swasti means all sorts of auspiciousness. Naha means to us. Pousha means Surya Deva. Poushati, Pushyati, Poushati, He who nourishes us. And because of Him, life is possible. And then Vishwa Veda, He knows everything. He knows my past, present and future. Remember, in other, especially Sri Suktam, Agni was also called Vishwa Deva. Agni is none other than Surya. Surya, Agni, Chandra, Jyoti, these are all different names of Surya Deva. Or Hiranyagarbha is another name. Sutratma is another name. So this He who nourishes, may He nourish me with physical health, intellectual strength, etc. And we get this idea in several of the Upanishads, especially towards the end of the Isavasya Upanishad, the spiritual aspirant who worshipped in the form of Gayatri, that divine Lord called Surya Deva, because of whom this creation, maintenance and sustenance and dissolution, all because of Him. I am seeing at this globe, the star that is burning. But this is a gross form of dying. But within that, the Antaryami, Bhagawan Himself is residing. I want to become one with Him. And this veil of Maya, of Jnana, it is as if in front of my eyes there is a big veil, and I have to get rid of it. I cannot remove it. Only you can remove it. That is why Hiranyamayena, this attraction, delusion comes. Delusion always comes with the greatest attractive power. If we are not attracted, there is no struggle at all. There is no battle, there is no war. We don't even need to renounce it, because we can only renounce what is very difficult to get rid of. But if we are disgusted with something, we don't need to do anything. Because all that we need, we don't need to think about it. So there are some strong attachments to body and mind, and enjoyable things, etc. That is called Maya. And that Maya is a very delightful Maya, pleasant Maya, glowing Maya. Hiranyamayena. Like gold, Ramakrishna's words, Kama and Kanchana. First Kanchana, then only comes Kama. I must have the means to obtain things. Even if you want to eat a sweet, you should be able to first of all get it. And for getting, you have to work very hard. So as if a huge veil is covering up your face, O Divine Lord, Antaryami, and this Antaryami Brahmana in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad gives a beautiful description of it. So may you bless me, so that I will be able to remove that disc which is covering your face, so that I can't recognize who you really are. And obviously in the Ishavasya Upanishad, the Divine Lord had heard this earnest devotee's prayer and graciously removed the covering because the truth cannot be covered. It is only the seeker who is having the cover. We are having Maya. God doesn't have Maya. Maya doesn't cover God, cannot cover God. But we are covered by Maya. As Sri Ramakrishna puts it, if you put even a small finger in front of our eyes, then we will not be able to see anything at all. The entire world that lies outside us. So he removed. And then what did he see? He says, I don't see anything because I see myself. You are so aham asmi. What is there within you, I thought you are separate. I thought I am separate. Now I know that we are one and the same. So, O Surya Deva, Ocean, and you know everything. That means you know my defects. Therefore, please remove those defects. Make me fit so that I can see you as yourself. And who is yourself? Myself only. Then, swasthinas taarkshyo arishtanemi is another prayer to Garuda. Who is Garuda? Taarkshya means of immensely speedy flight. And he got another epithet. It is called arishtanemi. He means destroyer of all obstructions. He is also in the mythologies, famously known as the vahana of Bhagwan Vishnu. Vishnu means he who is all-pervading. So when Garuda comes, he brings God to us. We cannot go to God, but God can be brought to us in the form of our Guru. So he who brings God to us is called Garuda Taarkshya. And that means God only comes in the form of our own teacher. That is why Guru Brahma, Guru Vishnu. And he can really destroy all the obstructions. So may he bestow, so that may he bring the Divine Lord to me as I am unable to go to him. And may he do this by removing all the obstructions. Brihaspati is the God of wisdom. Deva Guru. He knows everything. And therefore, he is also a manifestation of Bhagwan only. Therefore, may Brihaspati bless me so that I can obtain the right knowledge. What is that right knowledge? That Aham Brahmasmi. This is the, in brief prayer, we can of course expand it, but this is the summary more than enough for us to understand. Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Thrice so that there are three sources of trouble or obstacles. The bodily obstacles and then external obstacles from the external world. Obstacles from Gods whom we neglect to worship. So they bring the obstacles. Or it can be interpreted physical, mental and spiritual problems. May God's grace completely destroy these three sources of all problems so that me also, me and my teacher may interact together and so that what he is teaching can be understood rightly by me and remove all doubts and with a firm conviction only my will power will increase and I can reach that divine. So this is a prayer purely for God's grace and this is a beautiful prayer. Now we are entering into the mantra number one. So this worthy student called Narada he approached Bhagavan Tam. Who is this Bhagavan Tam? Brahma himself because Brahma, from Brahma only we get in Mundaka Upanishad also and he gave this Upanishadic knowledge to his disciple and his disciple gave it to his disciple and that Guru Shishya Sampradaya is coming unbroken. That is why we say Whether you call him Sadashiva or Mahavishnu it doesn't really matter. So this Narada approached and we get this Narada story in Chandogya Upanishad also and there is also a beautiful Upanishad other Upanishads in the name of Narada especially Sanyasa Upanishad Narada Parivrajaka Upanishad and this name of Narada comes in Bhagavatam, in Mahabharata etc. He is a world teacher. Ramakrishna also says having realized Brahman they deliberately kept the ego of knowledge or a devotee purely with the motive of doing good to this entire world. So this Narada Bhagavan Tam Bhagavan himself but here teacher Brahma because one who knows Brahman becomes Brahma. Upagatya means approached came near. What does it mean? So there is a beautiful word that Upa means Sameepa but how traditionally according to scriptural this thing a disciple is supposed to carry some firewood So Samitha Samith Panhi Shrotriyam Brahmanistam What does this Samith? Samith in those days people used to perform Yagnas Yagas this firewood especially this particular wood called Samith not any firewood but from a particular type of plant or tree that used to be specified so that we can put what is called bring out the fire and then in that fire oblations have to be offered. Internal meaning is I am ready to burn all the Ahankara or different forms of Ahankara so that I become worthy of receiving what you are about to tell me I carry on my head Pidivat Upetiya Pidivat means according to the Sampradaya according to the teachings directions of the scriptures Upetiya otherwise Sadguru the great teachers do not teach as an example let us recollect the story of Prajapati means Bhagwan Brahma himself in Chandogya we get this beautiful story once declared a Atma Apahatapapma there is this Atma Self even sin means duality and he who realizes this Atma all his desires Sarvan Kama all the desires will be completely fulfilled that means the person will not have any desires and who will not have desires only a person who has obtained everything when a person obtains 100% of something only then he becomes completely desireless if somebody has got 1% lot of desire 50% 50% desire 99% 99% desire but 100% when a person gets like you fill up a tumbler full of water there is not a space even for one drop more to be added it will overflow this is just an analogy so a person who realizes the infinity there is nothing besides the infinity this infinity is ok but a little bit of that I want to add then it becomes really infinite stupid type of logic must be stopped by all of us so he has become he had only one desire so Prajapati declared that whoever realizes that I am Brahman all his desires will be totally fulfilled and there were two people representative of Gods representative of the demons Indra was the representative of the Gods and Virochana was the representative of the demons they approached him and then they were not fit, so the teacher asked 32 years at the end of 32 years he asked bring a pile of a big utensil full of water and then fill it up with water and look and see what you are able to see and they saw their reflections and then Prajapati taught them that is Atman, what you see when you look into the water or into a mirror and that is the Purusha and Virochana went back satisfied, what do I see I see my own body so body is the Atman these are called Charvakas and then he started propagating most of us in this modern world including the scientists first of all the scientists they don't see anything else excepting body and mind so this is the Atman so cherish it treasure it and do everything, cater to it eat, drink, make merry and there is no rebirth there is no future birth there is no Punya there is no Papa the only goal of life is to enjoy Charvaka and Indra also at first set out then he became thoughtful but this body it is always changing it can become blind it can become deaf I don't see how this could be Atman he came back and Prajapati knew he was not yet fit to receive another 32 years when he came he said that which you see in your dream he is the real Atman and Indra was satisfied, he was going back again he became thoughtful that means he was doing Mananam after hearing this and then he got doubt even in dreams I can be unhappy I am growing and I will die one day I see death also so that cannot be the Atman so he went back another 32 years and he came and said that experience of yourself which you have in deep sleep that is the Atman you are that and Indra was this time more satisfied he went back but then he did Mananam said when I am in deep sleep I do not know whether I am alive it is no difference from a dead person and that cannot be the Atman then he came back then Prajapati said you are not yet ready another 5 years so 3 into 32 plus 5 years 101 years at the end he said that which is witnessing the physical body the subtle body the causal body and you are that like as we see in the Mandukya Upanishad and then Indra understood he became a Nohara Brahman that is one story in Upanishad he became a Nohara Brahman that is the second story so what is meant is Narada was a fit person and he wanted to become a realized soul and he approached another realized soul because if you want money prosperity you have to go to a prosperous person if you want knowledge you must go to a person who has knowledge a person who does not have what we want that person cannot give us so the general rule is a person can give only what he has so this Narada approached and he was a fit student so tad vidhi pranipatena surrendered himself that means whatever you tell me that is vedavakya, truth for me pranipatena pranipatena that is surrender pariprasnena and right questions should not ask anything other than what for you have come and saivaya and he has to serve the teacher means observe the teacher what he does at all times Narada was such a adhikari purusha what we call in the Vedanta viveka, vairagya shama, dishatka, sampati and momoksha and the teacher immediately recognized so Narada was asked what do you want to know and he said atha this is my greatest quest and only quest I don't have any other quest, this is the only quest yogina there are so many spiritual people paramahamsa and there are some paramahamsas among the yogis and I want to become one of them kovayamargaha this way for me to become a realized soul as we discussed earlier paramahamsa is one who knows aham brahmasmi what is the condition of these paramahamsas of these paramahamsas what sthiti exactly same sthiti means their status their condition please describe to me he asked, he begged he questioned what is the path of the paramahamsa yogis and what are their duties, that means how they should live a duty is something which has to be done, there is no other way was the question Narada asked on approaching the divine teacher Lord Brahma tam bhagwan aha and because the disciple was worthy like when Janaka asked instantaneously Yajnavelika started replying otherwise he would have told him that you go and do preparations, you become fit when you are fit, I am always there, you come this is what Swami Vivekananda used to say that when the field is ready, the seed must come it is not a question of whether it will come or not tam bhagwan aha bhagwan means God himself why God should we not say Brahma should we not say Sadguru, no Bhagwan means Brahma with Brahma eva bhavati, the knower of Brahman is none other than Brahma, he is only God, that is how the devotees of Sri Ramakrishna look upon Sri Ramakrishna, look upon Holy Mother, look upon Swami Vivekananda, look upon the direct disciples as none other than manifestations of God only what is the Guru teaching to this disciple, let us confine ourselves, the Guru's reply to the worthy disciple I appreciate you because you are asking the only question that is worthy of being asked any person who asks the right question is one of the greatest persons on earth because only a knowledgeable person can ask a knowledgeable question so I am appreciating you so instead of saying that in these words, this is the Sanskrit expression whatever you ask, you I am Paramahamsa Margah the pathway, that means how to become a Paramahamsa you must have some prior knowledge, what is called Paramahamsa I want to become Paramahamsa means how do you desire unless you know what is the value of becoming a Paramahamsa you must have a knowledge of the Paramahamsa every desire it only comes only by the preceding knowledge you can't go and ask something about which you know nothing so Paramahamsa Margah that is what I quoted earlier among millions of people only one or two attempt and of those who attempt of the millions who attempt only one or two really reach the goal, all others also will reach later on the path of the Paramahamsa that you ask of is accessible with the greatest difficulty by people that means you must have that qualification worthiness beautiful explanations we will talk about it in our next class Om Jananim Sharadam Devim Ramakrishnam Jagad Gurum Pada Padme Tayo Sritva Pranamami Mohur Mohuhu Ramakrishna, Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with Bhakti Ramakrishna