Taittiriya Upanishad Lecture 07 on 03 July 2024

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

We are studying the Taittiriya Upanishad. In our last class, we were talking about Shraddha. Earlier than that, all the important concepts, which alone can make the study of any Upanishad successful, have been elaborately discussed. In our last class, especially, the foundation of progress in any field of life, secular or spiritual, is Shraddha—intense faith. What is Shraddha? It is, in essence, indirect knowledge. And if a person possesses Shraddha, what are the benefits? What are the implications of Shraddha? We discussed seven implications in our last class.

First, a person endowed with Shraddha has a new concept of truth. Previously, this world alone was considered real. Now, through indirect knowledge, God alone is perceived as real. Remember, this person hasn't realized this truth yet; they are simply endowed with Shraddha. They believe, as Sri Ramakrishna used to say about Girish Chandra Ghosh, '125% faith achieves everything.' Thus, faith is everything—a new concept of reality and truth.

Secondly, Shraddha does not allow a person's mind to deviate until they reach their goal. It's not that the person controls Shraddha; rather, Shraddha controls them like a spirit possessing a person.

Thirdly, Shraddha endows a person with tremendous strength because faith is, in other words, equivalent to strength. It enables a person to overcome every obstacle on their path and ensures they reach their goal.

Fourthly, Shraddha makes a person willing to sacrifice everything; nothing can deter them until their goal is reached.

Fifthly, a person with Shraddha is endowed with infinite enthusiasm. Shraddha ensures that they never forget the goal of life and where they stand in relation to it, constantly reminding them, especially of the passing of time. Even a million obstacles cannot cloud their memory.

Lastly, Shraddha makes a person always joyful because, as Yama tells Nachiketa in the Katha Upanishad, 'O Nachiketa, with the mindset of one endowed with Shraddha, you seem to have realized Brahman even before the teachings began, certified by your Guru.' Such a realization is only a matter of time.

To illustrate this, let's remind ourselves of Totapuri Maharaj, Sri Ramakrishna's Guru, who took 40 years to achieve Nirvikalpa Samadhi. In contrast, Sri Ramakrishna, by the grace of the Divine Mother and with the teacher's guidance, immediately attained Nirvikalpa Samadhi. Totapuri Maharaj himself wondered if it was possible for anyone to achieve Nirvikalpa Samadhi so quickly, given his understanding of phrenology—the science of studying bodily characteristics to predict a person's character. Sri Ramakrishna exemplifies this mindset.

So we have to understand, nothing can stop a person, and if a person is endowed with Shraddha, he is as good as he has already reached the goal, because he is enthusiastic, joyful, and he cannot behave other than what his Shraddha asks him to behave. In this light, if we study the Katha Upanishad, the father of Nachiketa, even though he was endowed with some faith, he was not prepared to follow the instructions of the ritual, to fulfill the conditions of the ritual, which are, 'What are you going to do if you are going to step into heaven with all these earthly cows?' But that Shraddha had not come. That is why the Katha Upanishad tells his son—who is the son? It is not that there were two persons, a father and a son, but the earlier person, the father, is supposed to have the oscillating mind, not so much endowed with 100% faith. But Nachiketa was the same mind, mature. Now he is endowed with Shraddha. He must have questioned, 'What am I doing? Why am I not giving away when I go to heaven? What am I going to do with all these? Anyway, I will not even remember that I had a body, possessions, a house, some cows.' No. So that is Nachiketa, actually. Nachiketa is a ripened mind, what Sri Ramakrishna calls Pakami. Why did he become Pakami? Because he was possessed of Shraddha. And so what did he do? As if symbolically the Upanishad is telling us, his father cursed him, 'I give you to death.' And as if he had gone to death. It is like asking, there is a huge compound wall, a very big compound wall, and those who are inside, they can't see what is outside. And a person had a curiosity, 'Today I want to know what is on the other side of this big compound wall.' So he brings a ladder, and then he climbs to the top, and everything becomes crystal clear to him, what is on the other side. So like that, a person endowed with Shraddha, as if he has already stepped to the other side, that is he reached the goal. If a person is endowed with Shraddha, that will not allow him to be untruthful, immoral; his whole character will change according to the Shraddha. And why is our character not changing? Because we profess Shraddha, but really our faith is very, very small. So these are the benefits of Shraddha. So every sadhana that we do is only to achieve this Shraddha. And Swami Brahmananda tells us, 'Faith'—you have used the word faith, but we should have used the word Shraddha. Shraddha is like the dawn, and when a person sees the eastern horizon turning into a pinkish colour, the person will know, 'Very soon the sun of knowledge will be rising there.' But that 100% faith will come only just before the knowledge of Brahman dawns upon a person. But we have to struggle; anybody has to struggle until that time.

So Sri Ramakrishna says, 'What can one not achieve through simple faith?' We have to pray—I have indicated two particular Sukthams, Shraddha Suktham and Medha Suktham. And we must have faith even in these Sukthams. We must have Shraddha even in the Shraddha Suktham. But even if we start with a small amount of Shraddha, like a muscle, as we go on exercising, just as it becomes strong, so too does this Shraddha become stronger and stronger. It grows day by day. And certain experiences also prove to us that what we are keeping our faith in is not blind faith, but that it is reality.

So with this, I think I have more or less covered all the preliminaries. I will give a small introduction. Actually, this is a recapitulation of what we had done earlier. All the Upanishads, as we know, are known as Vedanta. 'Veda' means Vedas, and 'anta' means that which practically comes at the end of the Aranyakas. We all know that every Veda is divided into four parts: the Samhita, Brahmana, Aranyaka, and Upanishad. So at the end of the Aranyaka, practically (but not necessarily), when a person withdraws his mind from all externalities and then focuses with contemplation on the one goal and strives for a long time, then that person's mind becomes fit. He achieves purity, discrimination, dispassion, concentration, and his mind becomes expanded, identifies. That is called moral life, and it is perfectly ready for the final step. That final step usually comes at the end of the Aranyakas. That is why Vedanta means 'that which comes at the end.' But some of the Upanishads do come in the middle as well.

So the meaning of the word Vedanta is that text which comes at the end of the Vedas or, better translated, the very essence. What does the Veda want to teach us? That is called Upanishad—that you are divine, your life is meant to manifest this divinity, and there are pathways by treading which, according to your nature, you will be able to know that you are divine. That is called Upanishad.

So this Taittiriya Upanishad is a part of the Taittiriya Aranyaka under the Taittiriya branch of Krishna Yajur Veda. Krishna Yajur Veda is the Veda, and it is called Krishna because there is another version. That story we will come to a little later. 'Krishna' means black—Black Yajur Veda and White Yajur Veda—all because of a brilliant pupil called Yajnavalkya. This Taittiriya Aranyaka has 10 chapters or Prapathakas. Out of these 10, the first 6 chapters do not teach much Vedanta but various rituals plus Upasanas. The 7th, 8th, and 9th chapters of this Taittiriya Aranyaka alone constitute what we now call Taittiriya Upanishad. The 10th chapter of this Taittiriya Aranyaka is called Mahanarayana Upanishad.

So this Mahanarayana Upanishad is a marvellous Upanishad. Many of the Viraja Homa Mantras, when a person wants to renounce the world and take to the life of a Sannyasi, require many fires to be lit and offerings to be made with appropriate mantras. These are called Viraja Homa Mantras, and most of them are available in the Mahanarayana Upanishad. There are also marvellous passages there.

So the 10th chapter separately is called Mahanarayana Upanishad. Why is it called Upanishad? That also leads finally to the same goal, which is to know each soul is potentially divine. Each soul is none other than divine. But the 7th, 8th, and 9th chapters of this Taittiriya Aranyaka are known as Taittiriya Upanishad. Shankaracharya has written commentary only on these 7th, 8th, and 9th chapters.

This Taittiriya Upanishad is again divided into three parts. The first is called Sikshavalli, the second is called Anandavalli or Brahmavalli (Brahmanandavalli), and the last is called Bhrigavalli. So Sikshavalli is also called Varuni Upanishad. The word 'Varuna' comes in the third part of the Taittiriya Upanishad, popularly known as Bhrigavalli. Bhrigu was the son of a Naira Brahman called Varuna, which gives us the understanding that householders can realize God. Here was a person who led a pious household life and was endowed with the knowledge of Brahman, but by that time he had a son who also wanted to become a Naira Brahman. So he approached him. Because of that name Varuna, that which belongs to Varuna is called Varuni. So this is called Varuni Upanishad or Varuni Vidya because what is summarized in the third chapter of this Taittiriya Upanishad is nothing but the essence, the summary of the earlier two chapters called Sikshavalli and Brahmanandavalli.

The Upanishad is in prose form, divided into paragraphs instead of verses. A paragraph, small or big, is known as Anuvaka. The first chapter is the first part of this Taittiriya Upanishad called Sikshavalli. The Vedic name is Sivirga, but for our purpose, Siksha means training, and Valli means a chapter. This chapter consists of three main teachings. The first part teaches how to speak properly, how to pronounce Vedic words, sentences, and mantras correctly. Previously, a cultured person was easily recognized by their proper intonation, voice strength, and pronunciation.

This Taittiriya Upanishad is highly chan-table. If any Upanishad is sing-able with a particular intonation, it is called Sama Veda. If an Upanishad is in prose form and is highly chant-able, like the Taittiriya Upanishad, it is also considered melodious. So this chapter serves as preparation (Sadhana Pradhana). Just as every child, especially a Hindu child, starts their education with a religious ceremony called Vidya Abhyasa, where the name of God is written first, either in a heap of rice or in a flower, etc., so Sikshavalli is preparatory.

Then, as the child grows up and starts to read easily, forming concepts in the mind, eventually, they will be able to formulate their ideas. Because if we have any idea, it has to be properly articulated in the form of words and sentences. Only then are we considered cultured and educated. This is the first part—how to pronounce. Our ancient Rishis placed great importance on this idea: even if one syllable is mispronounced, the result may be the opposite of what we expect. There are stories about this, like Ritra's story, but I won't go into it now. For example, in Ritra's story...

The first part of the first chapter, called Sikshavalli (pronounced 'Sikshavali' with a short vowel, not a long one), focuses on pronunciation. Our ancient Rishis studied the mechanism of sound production from the throat to the lips, determining how many places the air touches. To understand how words or letters are produced, they categorized all consonants into five types. This sets the stage for what is to come—what is called our sound. Without sound, language cannot be constructed. Sound must be present, and when sound interacts with different parts of the sound mechanism, its nature changes. Even in the West, scholars have studied this science, dividing music into seven types of notes. As I mentioned, when pronouncing things in a chanting or singing manner, udatta, anudatta, and swarita tones are applied. The first part, therefore, emphasizes understanding this particular science of pronunciation.

Moreover, while pronouncing certain concepts, when two letters combine, they change their nature. This provides a clue on how to perform Upasana (meditative worship). Similarly, when two words combine, it's called Sandhi; when two words combine, it's called Samasa. Utilizing these combinations can elevate one's practice—turning them into a higher training ground. Upasanas focus purely, as mentioned earlier, on four aspects: purity, concentration, deeper understanding, and ultimately expanding our minds.

Thus, the first part of Sikshavalli trains each of us on proper pronunciation, where possible. The second part teaches how to take ordinary events in daily life and turn them into subjects for contemplation. Here's a hint: when the proper text comes, we'll delve deeper into this. For instance, a student visits a teacher's house, learning proper pronunciation from the teacher over time. This relationship can become a subject for contemplation. The teacher represents one part of Upasana, the student another. The way the teacher teaches connects both, leading to their identification, resulting in Vidya—knowledge. 'Ah, this is how it's pronounced.

After some time of imitating the teacher, the student pronounces exactly as the teacher had taught. This is the end result I am hinting at. There are many prayers for the right students, of course implying prayers for the right teachers as well. Like a cow that has given birth to a calf, the mother produces a lot of milk and longs for the baby to drink as much milk as it can, so the baby can survive, grow strong, and mature properly. Similarly, a teacher who masters a subject feels a longing, like a mother, saying, 'I have this milk of knowledge.' That's why Bhagavan Krishna, not just Krishna, the glory of Bhagavad Gita,

sarvopanishado gavo dogdha gopalanandana:

parthovatsa: sudheerbhoktha dugdham gitamrutam mahat

Every teacher has an unconscious deep desire: 'Let me share it with appropriate, fit students.' Passing on knowledge makes the teacher feel like they have become a disciple. This is a natural desire.

Now, the second part: in the first chapter called Sikshavali, it is divided into twelve sections, each section called an Anuvaka. The first section is only Shantipatha, and the twelfth section is also a Shantipatha, so there are two Shantipathas in this Sikshavali. What is the first part? The prayer, which we are going to discuss very soon today itself. It is a prayer, as I chanted earlier. The same thing is modified slightly at the end of the Sikshavali, which is called the twelfth section. With that, the Sikshavali is complete, with slight modifications. What is the difference? The first time, this chant is for removing obstacles to gaining the grace of God and for endowing all necessary qualifications. Most importantly, everything is achievable only through the grace of God. That is the essence of every peace chant.

Having taught the disciple in the eleventh Anuvaka, there is a blueprint given, similar to what we call a certificate when a student completes university education. The certificate signifies, 'Now you are well-educated.' Just before the student leaves, this addresses the life course for most people: seeking a job and perhaps getting married. It teaches how to live life—not just how to teach others. My purpose is to lead you to the highest goal of life, and for that, there is a particular way to behave in life. This is called a convocation address. A senior, often the vice-chancellor or another eminent figure, is invited to deliver their experience to all outgoing students. This convocation address provides a marvellous blueprint for entire life. It is applicable not only to Hindus but to everybody, as there are no specific instructions like 'You must call God by this name' or 'Meditate on God in this form, or else you will go to hell.'

The teacher thinks, 'I have successfully completed my duty.' Both the teacher and the student chant together the peace chant, which is more or less like the first Anuvaka, but with the difference that we prayed to you, you listened to our prayers, you granted our prayers, and you made us successful. The teacher succeeded in conveying their experience, and I have succeeded in understanding it in the right way. Now, of course, I have to go and practice it. Many, many thanks. This is called Thank-Giving Shantipata, the second Shantipata that we get there.

In essence, these are the three elements: prayer to overcome obstacles and become fit, training in pronunciation, how to contemplate with their help to enter a higher realm of consciousness, and finally, after leaving the teacher's house, how to live life until death comes. If we can follow the teacher's instructions as outlined in the 11th Anuvaka, then we are sure to break all the shackles of this world and attain the realization that I am divine. Previously, this was a teaching from my teacher; now, my own experience confirms my teacher was right. He taught me correctly.

Now, let's delve into the Shantipata, which is very important for us. As I chanted earlier with intonations:

Om Shanno Mitraha Shem Varunaha Shanno Bhavat Aryamaha Shanna Indro Brihaspati Shanno Vishnu Rukramaha

That is the first part.

Namo Brahmane Namaste Vayu Tvameva Pratyaksham Brahmase Tvameva Pratyaksham Brahma Vadeshyami Ritam Vadeshyami Satyam Vadeshyami

That is the second part.

Tanmaam Avato Tad Vaktaram Avato Avatomaam Avato Vaktaram

This is the third part.

Om Shante Shante Shante

Repeated three times, this is the fourth part.

Now, let's discuss each of these desires. Each one of us, whether worldly people or spiritual aspirants, has been gifted two instruments: the body and the mind. Whether we aim for worldly success or spiritual growth, these instruments must be fit. Every day, a carpenter sharpens his tools before starting work. Similarly, every worker does the same, including an agricultural worker sharpening his sickle. Likewise, our bodies and minds must be made very fit.

Hindus have a unique understanding: this entire universe is a manifestation of God. As I mentioned earlier in other classes, what we call God in other languages, God means 'he who creates'. Other religions do not talk much about the three aspects of God—only the first aspect: he is the creator. If he is the creator, then who is the sustainer? The same God must be the sustainer or maintainer. And then what is the third function? 'I am manifesting as my child, nourishing and sustaining my child, and in the end, my child has to come back to me.' That is, the effect must return to the cause—srishti (creation), sthiti (sustenance), and laya (dissolution).

Ishwara divides himself as if, remember, we follow Shankaracharya's Advaita school of philosophy. For us, God himself appears to divide himself into three. What are these three? First, each one of us as individuals—'I', 'you', 'she', 'he', 'they'—these are our bodies. Then, for the body, the body consists of the five sense organs of knowledge, five organs of action, plus the mind. These are the eleven indriyas, which are our sense organs through which we interact with the world: pancha jnana indriya, pancha karma indriya, and mind.

Now, Hindus call this the first part—adhyatmika (pertaining to the self). Then, with whom am I going to interact? How am I going to be sustained? For that purpose, the same Ishwara who made our bodies and minds also manifests as the external world—the world consisting of the living and non-living. Even though we are part of that world, we distinguish ourselves as 'this is me' and 'that is the world'. That philosophical distinction has to be maintained.

Hindus have a concept called "adhibhautika," which refers to the external world with which we have to interact. We are in the world, but we feel that we are not of the world; we are dealing with the world. The third component of Ishwara is that He manifests as different powers for the maintenance of this world. He is the sun, the moon, the air, the space, the water, and He is in the form of what we call the presiding deities. We cannot function without them.

I will give you a small example. God has endowed me, Ishwara has endowed me, with an eye. What is the function of the eye? It can see forms and colours; forms are the most important thing. To see the forms, I also require light, and for my eye to function, it must have the special power of perceiving or seeing. There is a presiding deity called the sun, and the sun gives light and heat to illuminate the external world. At the same time, He also gives my eye the power to see.

Who is the sun? He is the light, He is the heat. The collective power of every eye, whether it belongs to a man, a mouse, or a mosquito, is the collective seeing power of every living creature, and that presiding deity is called the sun. The sun manifests as the illuminator and the power of perceiving forms within each one of us in the form of the individual eye. If the sun's power does not function in the eye, it becomes a dead collection of cells, and we cannot see. A blind person may have perfect eyes, but the Surya, the sun, his power, is not manifesting in that person. That is how he is the presiding deity. If I want to see something, there must be something in the external world. The same sun is the sustainer of the entire creation outside and the power of seeing within each of us.

I am only giving the example of the eye. There are also presiding deities for the ear, the nose, the tongue, and the skin. These are called presiding deities. If the student wants this instrument called the body-mind to be a perfectly honed instrument, then he must pray to the gods. It is you who are manifesting as me. I cannot sustain or exist without you. All this time, I thought I had nothing to do with you and you had nothing to do with me, but now I know that it is you who are manifesting as me and sustaining me. In the end, when this body, this instrument, becomes incapable of functioning, you will take it back, break it into its original components, purify it, reconstruct it, and recombine it into another body, another mind.

Prayer to these presiding deities is very important. Why? Because I must become a fit instrument, and all obstacles must be removed. These are the two important purposes of every Shanti Patha. With this, in today's class, we will just talk about a few things. First, we say "Om." Before starting any activity, we have to remember God; only then will it be auspicious.

There are a few words like Hari Om, Om, Tat, Sat, and Atha that, when uttered, serve as prayers. These prayers acknowledge that without God's grace, it is impossible for us to function, let alone reach our goals. We begin with "Om," and then start with "Shanno Mitraha." "Shem" means auspiciousness. What is auspiciousness? Mitraha, who is the Mitra? Mitra is the presiding deity for the day. According to Shankaracharya, Mitra Devata, also called Surya Devata, is the presiding deity of Prana Shakti.

From a scientific point of view, if there were no sun, there would be no life at all. Whenever we eat something, it provides us with energy. Food is essentially energy produced by the sun. Plants can directly convert the sun's power into energy through photosynthesis, but we and other animals cannot. We depend on plants and other animals for our sustenance. Even a tiger, which does not eat grass, eats animals like deer and buffaloes, which in turn eat plants. Thus, indirectly, we receive the power to sustain our life from the sun.

The presiding deity for Prana Shakti, especially during the daytime, is called Mitra. He is the presiding deity of Prana Shakti. Pranaha, or the first breath, is the act of breathing in and out. When we breathe in, oxygen enters our body. Without breathing, we cannot do anything. This marvellous understanding comes from the Upanishads. When we breathe in, we take in air, which means oxygen, not carbon dioxide. The Vayu Devata (deity of air) is essential for our sustenance, especially for making our Prana active. Let the presiding deity called Mitra bless me and bring auspiciousness. Let me be endowed with a sufficient amount of Prana.

The next presiding deity is called Varuna. Prana Shakti within each human being is subdivided into five categories: Prana, Apana, Vyana, Udana, etc. Breathing in alone is not enough; breathing out is also necessary. When we breathe in the Prana in the form of Vayu, it is called Vayu Varuna Devata, the god of air. Air means oxygen, and oxygen means life. Varuna Devata is in charge of one of the five functions of Prana.

Apana means Adhoga Manava, which refers to a downward movement. It requires a special power called Adho. When I breathe in, it has to go within my body, and that downward movement is Apana. Additionally, when we need to discharge something, such as sweat, urine, or stool, a certain type of energy or force must push it down and out. This particular function of the Prana is called Apana Visarjana Kriya.

So, what is it? O Devatas, O Mitra Devata, O Varuna Devata, when I am listening to teachings or performing actions like lifting something, I require breathing in and out. For breathing in, I rely on Mitra Devata; for breathing out, I need Varuna Devata. If the lungs do not function properly, we may be able to breathe in, but that could be our last breath. O Varuna, O Mitra, whatever activity I am doing, especially when I am listening to my teacher's words, my breathing in and out must be absolutely Sama (balanced) and without agitation. An agitated mind can be observed through irregular breathing. When a person becomes emotional, they breathe very quickly, but when they are peaceful, such as during sleep, their in-breath and out-breath are almost equal.

Swami Brahmananda used to say that when you sit for meditation, observe which nostril is more active. Is the intake of breath stronger, or is the exhalation stronger? Shwasa means taking in, and Nishwasa means throwing out. For effective meditation, both must be equal. If they are not, there is a practice called Pranayama. Controlling the breath is called Pranayama, and breath is related to Prana, not just air. Prana is connected to the mind, and the mind is related to thoughts. By practicing Pranayama, we can bring our breath under control, which helps in making the mind steadfast. Great teachers often advise practicing Pranayama for this reason.

These are wonderful concepts, and we will discuss them further in our next class.