Taittiriya Upanishad Lecture 08 on 10 July 2024

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

We are studying the Taittiriya Upanishad. In our last class, we started the meaning of the Shanti Patha, also called Peace Chant. This Taittiriya Upanishad belongs to the Krishna Yajur Veda. So, the Peace Chant for this is "Shanno Mitraha," which I have just now chanted. However, this particular Upanishad has two Shanti Mantras. The first Shanti Mantra, "Shanno Mitraha," is called Purva Shanti Patha. That which comes in the last section of this first chapter, called Sikshavalli, is called Uttara Shanti Patha.

Why two Peace Chants? The first Peace Chant is a prayer for the grace of God, only for the grace of God. The second, we have successfully completed this first chapter of this. Therefore, our thanksgiving. This is a beautiful prayer. So, twice it is sung. There is a very slight variation. I speak you as direct Brahman, but I have spoken you as direct Brahman. That is how the slight variation is there.

From the second and third chapters, we have got, Sahana Vavatu, Sahanao Bhunaktu, "May the Lord protect us together. Make us intelligent and capable of both. The power of teaching on behalf of the teacher. And the power of receiving, understanding, retaining, remembering and using it for the right purpose on behalf of the disciple." So we started the Purva Shanti Patha. The first one that comes, "Shanno Mitraha," just now.

What is the purpose of any Shanti Patha, Peace Chant? So just to remind us, four ends are served through the chanting of the Shanti Patha. But only through one instrument, that is the grace of Ishwara. Let there be the grace of God. Without the grace of God, everything is impossible: life in this world, life in the other world, life beyond the world. All are impossible.

So what are the four ends? First of all, removal or destruction of all the obstacles. Secondly, even if there is no obstacle and many people have no obstacles, but at the same time, the instruments are not fit. So the body is not fit, mind is not fit. So these are the instruments, what we call 11 instruments. 10 of the body, 11th is the mind. So let all these 11 sense organs be completely fit. And so that is also possible. Of course, we do our part, but the grace of God is most important.

Why is this grace of God important? If I do exercise or whatever is necessary to keep the instruments fine, is it not possible? No, because we do not know our present unconscious. We also do not know what are all the things that we have done in the past. So they may come as suddenly unexpected guests. And when such things come, because we are not expecting them, and because we are not prepared, and we are unable to cope with them, the only way out is the grace of God.

So removal of obstacles, fitness of the instruments, these are the two purposes. Then that will not do. Third, for everything there is a right condition. The society must be alright. The climate must be alright. If it is full of mosquitoes, for example, and the teacher wants to teach, and the student is also ready and eager, but these external conditions are just now. Half an hour before, in Varanasi, such a terrible thundering and flash, lightning flash. If it continued, it would have created some problem for our class. But so far, now they have subsided. We do not know whether they will come. At any time, we can expect.

So right conditions for the transmission of knowledge, for the reception of knowledge. That is the third end. Nobody can realize God excepting by His grace. Even the Upanishads, even Katha Upanishad, crystal clearly tells us that he whom the Atman chooses, that person alone becomes capable of realizing. Sri Ramakrishna puts it very simply, "O police sergeant, please turn the light on your own face because he can see everybody, but nobody can see unless he himself deliberately turns.

So, Brahma Gnanam. Why? Rationally also, any amount of limited instruments can give us unlimited results. Only if the infinite, by its grace, swallows and removes all three limitations of time, space, and object, is it possible to realize. These are the four: removal of all obstacles, making the instruments (in this case, body and mind) completely fit, creating just the right conditions not only for me, but also for my teacher and for me. And of course, the very purpose of all this study of the Upanishads, etc. Not only Upanishads, even in what is called secular science. You must have heard about Stephen Hawking. Oh, he was such a brilliant brain, but he was overcome with a neuromotor disease, and it was very difficult for people to understand what he was speaking. Because of computer-generated speech, understanding what he wanted to express, only those who lived with him for a long time and understand what it means, they are able to converse with him and convey it to others. If that is the condition of a teacher, then it is very difficult. If it is the condition of the student, it is almost impossible. So, grace of God from the beginning, in the middle, in the end, Poornaha. There is no other way. Sri Ramakrishna used to emphasize nobody can realize God without God's grace. And so, the prayer is very important, not only for spiritual ends, but for all secular ends also.

So, Shanti means peace. Peace means the grace of God alone brings that condition which fulfills these four things. Now, we will just go. We have got that Hinduism has a very beautiful concept that this world is created by God. So, this creation is of three types. First of all, each one of us, individuals called Adhyatmika endowed with body and mind. Secondly, this body-mind must interact with the entire world. So, the external world consisting of billions and billions, almost an unlimited amount of knowledge. So, to experience the world, God only is manifesting. And then, He is the presiding deity. But God or Ishwara, Ishwara is what is called the English equivalent of God, which means He is the creator, sustainer, and destroyer. So, He manifests in this world in the form of what we call the presiding deities. And of all these presiding deities, the most important is called Panchadevata. So, Adhishtana Devata, Panchadevata. We hear of so many: Lakshmi, Saraswati, Brahma, Vishnu, Maheshwara, etc. They are nothing but other names for this Panchadevata. Why? Very simple logic. If an ornament is made out of gold, it is the gold alone that sustains the ornament. It was unmanifested gold. Then, it becomes manifested gold in the form of an ornament with a particular name, with a particular purpose. For example, you can't put a ring around your neck. Neither can you put a necklace around your finger. You can put, but it doesn't serve the purpose. So, every manifestation has a particular purpose. So, there may be limitless, any numberless amount of manifestations, but they are all sustained only by the cause, the original cause. It may be clay, it may be wood, it may be gold, it may be iron, whatever it is. So, there is nothing else that exists. So, Panchadevatas, that is what I wanted to convey.

So, Hinduism has developed this marvellous theory. This Atman manifests in the form of Akasha, space. Then, Akasha manifests in the form of Vayu, or air. Air manifests again and becomes fire. Manifestation means the unmanifest becomes manifest. That which is invisible slowly becomes experienceable. So, Vayu manifests as Agni, or fire. Fire then manifests as water. Fire, also known as Tejaha, transforms into water. Water emerges from fire, which is why water is the remedy for fire. Further grossified, water becomes Prithvi, or earth.

Thus, this is a prayer. The Shantipata is a prayer. Hinduism teaches that for every organ we have, there is a presiding deity. This means all sense organs combined universally are called the presiding deity. For instance, the sun is the presiding deity of the power of sight. The act of seeing is done through the eyes. So, everyone's eyes, whether it is the eye of an Amoeba or even Brahma's eye, are manifestations of Surya Devata. Similarly, the power of touch, whether sensing cold, heat, softness, or hardness, resides in our skin individually. Universally, this power of experiencing through the skin is called touch, twak.

Agni refers to form. Fire, water, and earth are visible to us. We can feel air but cannot see it. As for space, no sense organ can fully comprehend it—not through sight, nor hearing. However, we understand space through our actions, through movement. Anything that moves does so because of space. Without space, movement is impossible. That is the concept.

These are the Panchadevatas, the five deities. The entire universe, whether the external world or our individual bodies and minds, arises from these five elements. Chemistry acknowledges important elements, about 103 or so, some newly discovered. Hinduism categorizes these into five elements, which are the manifestation of Ishwara's powers.

When these elements settle, they form the mind, including ego and intellect. When external, they manifest as gross matter. Panchikarna, though a technical term, signifies dividing into five parts corresponding to these five elements—the power of hearing, feeling, tasting, smelling, and touching.

During Aratrikam in temples, five items are offered to God, symbolizing, "O Lord, this 'I' does not exist, nor does 'anyone' exist, except You. You manifest in the form of these five elements. The entire universe—be it earthly, heavenly, or hellish—falls under the creation of these three Gunas: Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas."

These Panchadevatas, the five deities, are represented by the Sun, Moon, Fire, Varuna, Indra, Vishnu, and others. In essence, "O Lord, You manifest as every presiding deity. Without You, we do not exist. Your existence is our existence. Our consciousness is Your consciousness. Our joy is Your joy. There is nothing separate that we can claim as 'mine.

So, if we understand this philosophy and this triangle—the individual, the external world, and He who presides and directs—harmonizing or making it possible to experience, for example, sunlight. Sunlight manifests in two forms: it manifests as the external world and also in a particular form that enables my eye, for instance, to experience it as the same deity manifesting in the form of a tree.

What is an animal? It is also nothing but the Sun God. How? Because without the Sun, there is no life. The Sun is the cause of creation, and creation is facilitated through activity. Activity requires energy, which comes from the Sun in the form of light. As discussed earlier, the plant kingdom possesses a special capacity given by God—photosynthesis. We, and many animals, do not have this capability. We are like children receiving pre-digested food from our mother, which is a significant concept we will delve into later.

How did the Upanishad itself get its name? When we consume a plant, it is essentially the product of the plant kingdom's energy absorption from sunlight. Sunlight equals energy, where light and heat are inseparable at a higher level. Plants gather this energy and store it in everything—from roots, bark, leaves, blossoms, flowers, fruits, to what we call nectar, later known as honey. Everything is essentially energy. Honey serves as an energy source because it is pure sugar.

This exemplifies the role of Surya, the Sun God, who is also known as Agni Devata. Agni, in turn, originates from Vayu Devata (the deity of air). Air requires space to move—it is always in motion. For fire to exist, air must churn rapidly, creating heat. Fire then evaporates water, leaving behind salt through distillation, thereby providing pure water that travels hundreds or thousands of miles, ensuring water reaches every living creature via gravitational force.

Without water, life would be impossible. This continuous distillation process, driven by heat, defines the nature of fire. From water, a portion becomes gross and solidifies into what we know as Prithvi or Bhumi—earth. Even scientists acknowledge aspects of this Hindu division of creation.

Our bodies and minds are outcomes of Pancha Devatas (the five deities) and are sustained accordingly. For instance, when hungry, it indicates a lack of energy, necessitating food consumption. Similarly, thirst signals a need to replenish water levels.

So, I must drink. And if there is less heat, then I must seek more warmth somehow or other. We must bring homeostasis. Of course, every minute, we have to breathe in and breathe out Prana Vayu, Prana, 16 times. That is a very important concept. And then, after that, the energy we receive, Prana Shakti, in the form of breathing in and out, must be expended. Receiving energy and expending energy is called activity. Activity is the manifestation of life, and life goes on. Wherever there is life, there is activity. Activity means energy, and energy must be obtained and expended. God replenishes us as much as necessary, whenever necessary, wherever necessary, and in whatever form necessary to sustain us all.

So, we are not only created but also sustained by the Panchadevatas, and ultimately, when this body falls, it merges back into the five Devatas. Similarly, the mind, which is a subtle body, merges into the subtle elements. Each part returns to its origin. This is the outline. The prayer in this peace chant is for these instruments, which are the outcome of the Panchadevatas, presided over and sustained by these Panchadevatas, to be universal expressions of individual Indriyas, also known as the presiding deities. We must pray for success in whatever endeavour we undertake.

With this background, let us proceed. What is the first one? Shanno Mitraha. What is Mitra? Mitra is the presiding deity of Prana. He is introduced to the Prana. Prana is Mukhya Prana, which is life, but it becomes subdivided according to Hindu religion into five parts: Prana, Apana, Vyana, Udana, and Samana. These are the five functions of energy. The first one is breathing in and out. Who is in charge of that power of breathing in? Those who have experienced breathing problems, like asthma, understand this better.

One activity of Prana, Praak Gamanavan, is defined as Prana, which moves at the very front itself. This is the most important point. According to Ayurveda, when there is a disturbance between breathing in and breathing out, we become uneasy, which is what we call disease. The presiding deity of Mitra, Devata, for Shanno Mitra, Shanno, means what? May they bless us, may they be blissful to us, by ensuring their functions in our body are carried out correctly. That is their blessing, nothing else.

Varuna Devata represents the Apana aspect of Prana. Apana pushes out, which is necessary not only for breathing in but also for breathing out. Even to expel something disagreeable, we require that power. If Apana Vayu is not functioning properly, we will become very unhealthy, and so on.

So, how nicely these concepts are explained. What is the meaning? Oh, presiding deities called Mitra and Varuna, in whatever activity I am doing, please help me to breathe in and out in a measured, peaceful, and harmonious way. Whether I am hearing from my teacher, reading a scripture or a book, watching a movie on the cinema screen, or meditating (most importantly), this control of in-breathing and out-breathing is called pranayama. When prana is controlled, what happens? This in-breathing and out-breathing have a tremendous influence upon our mind.

When both nostrils can breathe in and out evenly and peacefully, the mind automatically awakens. For example, the conjunction of the night with the day is called sandhya, the intermediary time between the end of darkness and sunrise, and between sunset and nightfall. Naturally, because we are connected with the entire universal system, our mind automatically calms down somewhat during these times. Swami Pramanandji explained that when you observe during the day or when engaged in activities that your in-breath and out-breath are flowing evenly, you will find your mind harmonious. To that extent, the mind becomes very peaceful. At that time, if you notice it, you should, if possible, leave everything and utilize that condition for reading, listening to a talk, or meditating. It will be wonderful.

Of course, he was not advocating that if you are a spiritual aspirant working in a hospital and an emergency call comes in, you should immediately stop the vehicle and sit in Padmasana to meditate. That is not what is meant. However, whenever you can postpone something non-urgent, sit there and utilize that condition for spiritual activities. This harmonious in- and out-breathing is possible by the grace of God, Ishwara, in the form of Mitra and Varuna Devata, who are the presiding deities of in-breath and out-breath.

What is this in-breath and out-breath? The two primary functions of the prana-shruti. Remember this one. Then Aryaman, meaning Surya, is the presiding deity of the power of seeing. As I said earlier, every presiding deity of every sense organ and every organ of activity is not mentioned here, but this is what we have to recall and understand. O Surya Devata, be pleasant to us. He is the presiding deity of the Chakshu Indriya. Similarly, space is the presiding deity of the power of hearing, hearing properly. The word "see" is a beautiful English word. When you want to observe something very well, you require this power. But when you are hearing something and someone asks if you are able to follow it, they might say, "Are you able to see it?" meaning clearly able to understand.

By the grace of Surya Devata, the great Devata, without whom Srishti (the creation itself) is not possible, we pray. Let me see well. The organs of knowledge, sense organs of knowledge, are called Jnana Indriya. We also have a prayer for the Karmendriyas, the organs of action.

I call the sense organs of, senses of knowledge inputs and sense organs of activity like the hands, the legs, etc. as the outputs, what we want to do with this present knowledge. So may the Sun God be pleased with us, bless us and let my life become very auspicious. It is possible only by His grace. Then Indra, Shanna Indra. Indra is the, what is called for the Karmendriyas. Indra represents the presiding deity of the hands. Remember the story in the gospel, a Brahmana was very fond of raising garden and one day a stray cow strayed into the garden, ate his precious plants and he bit it to death. And then the sin in Hinduism, killing a Brahmana, killing a cow, killing a baby or killing an unborn baby and killing a woman, these are considered most heinous sins in the world. So this Brahmana, he had faith, a little bit of faith in this, but he did the deed. Then he learnt a little bit of hard, some of our classes also. So he said, Indra is the, my hands killed the cow and the presiding deity of my hands is Indra, let the sin go to Indra. And immediately Indra wanted to teach him a lesson. He came as an admirer and this man was puffed up with pride that somebody is praising my garden. Slowly Indra led him to the place where the dead cow was lying and then he was telling, I did this, I did that with my own hands, I planted, etc. Now he cannot say, all that work was done by my hands and this work alone is done by Indra. So Hindus have that faith. So whatever hands are the most precious instruments, karmendriya, better than legs, better than, not that they are not needed, but then with what is the difference between all the animals in this world and human beings? I would say there are two. The capacity to communicate one's experience in the form of knowledge to others and the hands. So flexible hands. Now robots are being created with this flexibility. The greatest struggle for the scientists, robo-creators is the movement of the most importantly the hands, the hands which can give a severe blow to somebody's head. They will also, when they handle a baby, how delicately they do that. This is seen in every animal. The same tiger which can crush even an elephant's head, but when it is carrying its young one, how delicately it carries. You have to see how wonderfully it adjusts opening its mouth so that nothing happens to the young one. Of course the young one also, it cooperates by hanging limply. It is also very important. We at least have to become like that, kittens like that. And this is one of the best way of surrendering to God. Be like a kitten. Ramakrishna's beautiful advice to all of us. So the hands, because I have to serve the Guru, I have to do the worship, I have to fetch the water and serve him, I have to fetch the scripture, I have to turn the pages. Hands are absolutely, if a small insect is biting you, so you cannot do it with your legs or anything. You require the hands. Of course the extensions of hands also are there. So let the presiding deity of the hands called Indra, and Indra represents all other sense organs of action. But these are all sense organs of knowledge, sense organs of action, and prayers, separate prayer, just indicating a few examples to the presiding deities. But what about the mind? And the most important part of the mind is called Brihaspati. And Brihaspati, Brihahapati actually, so he is the presiding deity of intelligence. He is also considered in the Puranas as the Deva Guru, as the teacher of the Devatas, whereas Shukracharya was considered as the teacher of all the demons. So the adhishtana devata for the buddhi is called Brihaspati. That's why a person who is very well learned, he is called Brihaspati. And if anybody talks without knowing anything, just wants to show off without mastering anything, sarcastically he is also called Aparabrihaspati. Sakshat is what is called embodiment of Brihaspati, etc. So this Brihaspati is also called Vachahapati, or master of the speech, because speech comes from the thoughts. And thoughts are manifestations of one's understanding. And understanding is the function of the intelligence. Right intelligence leads to right understanding. Right understanding manifests in the form of right thoughts. And right thoughts again manifest in the form of right speech. Then only comes actions. Even if the disciple has to ask the Guru, he must have that buddhi, that intelligence. Because I have seen some people, so they said something is bugging me, and I want to iron it out with you. And very simple, first they say very simple. And the interview is for one hour. 55 minutes they take only to put the questions. And they start from the creation, how these questions have arisen. And then after that, sometimes they don't even listen to me. They say, oh, you have answered our questions so beautifully, we will be eternally grateful. And he starts looking at his watch, and I start smiling, and then we say, may God bless you, and you reach your place safely. And I don't say, I want to meet you again. Anyway, so this is Vachahapati also. For the Guru-Sishya, teacher and the student, the most important thing is, the Sishya can understand only when all these organs are functioning properly, especially the buddhi, and Brihaspati's grace is necessary. And if he is able to understand, the grace of Brihaspati has been bestowed upon him, there is no doubt. So whenever anybody we are talking, I have seen people, horrible people, so they start a Mahabharata. What do we want to say ultimately? What is the crux of the matter? Anybody who is able to put a precise question, and that is what we have to learn. Now people understand when I tell you, that now, chat GPT. And what is the most important advice? Put your question, this is called prompt. Give the prompt properly. I have tried it. So I want to correct my transcriptions. What do I do? So here is the transcription. Please correct spelling mistakes, punctuation, and proper grammar. Only when we put these three prompts, then more or less a very good job is done. So there are so many things are there. You want to create a macro code. The intelligence is necessary to put the right questions. Then only the teacher will be able to understand. Our conversation also should be exactly like that only. For that, it is very important for us when we are talking, what is it that we want to convey? And American textbooks are so beautifully formulated in the simplest language that the crux of the matter, the summary of the matter is presented by expert teachers in such a way. It is a joy even to read it. So we have to be intelligent enough to understand what the heck do I really want? And for that, of course, the grace of Brihaspati is there. But we have to use our own attempt prompt. So ask yourself, what is it that I want to know? What is it I want to attain? What is it that I must do? Ask the questions straightforward. The minimum amount of words that are necessary, there is no need. It is a marvelous thing. I'm giving you a hint. So you just are reading a book and then you go on asking at every paragraph, what does the author want to say? If I have to squeeze the entire paragraph or paragraphs into a few sentences, this is what when they are teaching us English language, so composition, et cetera, in your own words, paraphrase, so summarize. And that is what Richard G. Petit is also able to do successfully. So this helps us a lot. Our intelligence will increase. Along with that, our capacity to reason out also will very much improve. So this is a prayer for Brihaspati. May you bestow your grace upon me. Then it is Vishnuhurukramaha. Vishnu is the presiding deity of the legs. Padayoho Vishnuho of the legs. Vishnu is the presiding deity. All the moving power of the legs, walking power of the legs is called Vishnu. So wherever we want to go, we have to go. Whether we want to serve, we want to go to the school, we want to do anything, bathroom also, whatever we want to do, the legs must be able to function. And without the grace of God, it is not possible. And when God's grace is not there because of some bad karma, we may be paralyzed or we may be having very, very marvelous romantic pains. Anything is possible. So all the limbs called the legs, wherever if we have to go long distance or the capacity to sit without movement, all this is possible only when there is power in the legs. And so that is very important. Urukramaha means, in Vishnu is called Urukramaha, means huge strides, big strides. What does it mean? It really means He is everywhere. So He need not walk like us. He is only to manifest. So the famous story, He assumed the form of Vamana and then He bestowed His grace on Bali. Bali means self-sacrifice. When Bali had offered everything to Him, He became absorbed in Vishnu. That is the final this thing. There are beautiful things. We will talk about them in our next class. May Ramakrishna, Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with Bhakti. Jai Ramakrishna.