Taittiriya Upanishad Lecture 103 Ch3.3-6 on 06 May 2026 Q&A
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Question 1: The Nature of Sukha and Ānanda
Person A: We keep using a lot of these words — Sukha and Ānanda. Sukha refers to material pleasures.
Maharaj: Correct, correct. So first, a correction: you said very rightly, "I am a PhD." PhD means "permanent head damage."
That which has limitation — time, and then space, and then object — that is called Sukha. So the limitation of Sukha is called Duḥkha, in other words. And this has a varying degree, you know. You eat raw sugar, that is one degree of happiness. You eat Rasgullā, that is another degree of happiness. You think deeply, that is called Medhānanda. You appreciate aesthetic happiness, then moral happiness — all these are varying. Brahmānanda doesn't vary. So Ānanda — in a way, Sukha — happiness is, we equate it with excitement and depression. Sukha is excitement, and Duḥkha is the opposite: excitement and depression. That is the difference.
Question 2: Sthira Buddhi, Prāṇa, and Self-Effort
Person A: And then, could you just elaborate a little bit on Sthira Buddhi?
Maharaj: Sthira Buddhi means when the mind completely merges in the thought of Ānanda — that is called Sthira Buddhi.
Person A: So how shall I know for a fact that I want to, now undoubtedly, continue listening properly to your talks and doing my Manana later on? How do I know whether this is the final Sthira Buddhi, or am I going to still be doubting?
Maharaj: You have to practise. Keep in mind: am I thinking, or listening? Or am I deviating? Is some other thought intruding? Not only listening — reading also, meditating also, doing japa also, doing pūjā also, any activity. That's why a Zen Master used to say — somebody asked a Zen Master, "What is the secret of your happiness?" He said, "When I eat, I eat. When I sleep, I sleep." That means: when I eat, I only think of eating, pay attention to eating only. When I sleep, I will have no disturbing dreams. Even if I sleep for one hour, I get complete rest. Actually, if I can sleep like Śrī Rāmakrishna — for one or one and a half hours — then we don't require so much sleep, really. We require it because our sleep is disturbed by various dreams. So, continuous awareness of what I am doing — that is called Tapasyā.
Person A: Yes, yes, yes. And my final question is about prāṇa. You have described how prāṇa can be up sometimes and down sometimes. Is it referring to the emotional energy which we can sometimes feel?
Maharaj: Yes, thoughts. Thought is the influencer of the prāṇa. Suppose you have to meet somebody — willy-nilly, your prāṇa goes up or down?
Person A: Those people who I don't want to meet — it goes down.
Maharaj: Any action which you love, which gives you happiness, you are enthusiastic — your prāṇa goes up. Anything that you think is going to make you unhappy, your prāṇa immediately goes down. Sometimes fear also makes a person — almost out of fear, people can die. So fear is also a thought only. So you see, thought influences our prāṇa. That is why thought is the cause of the prāṇa.
Person A: I did say it was my final question, but can I ask just one more thing? Which is about — I need not really break my head about this, because even doing Upāsanā, Sādhanā, everything — even that is Īśvara Anugraha. Does it mean, then, that it is a lack of self-effort?
Maharaj: We have to have a clear understanding when we use the word Anugraha. God has given me a wonderful opportunity to think of Him — that is His Anugraha. But whether I am thinking of God joyfully, that should be our effort. Don't think that somebody has to make the butter and I will be lying down. "I don't want to open my mouth — somebody has to pry my mouth open and push it in."
Question 3: The Pañca Kośas and the Steps of Upāsanā
Person B: Mahārāj, I have one question. All these five Kośas — when an aspirant is practising Anna Brahma Upāsanā itself, all the five Kośas will come into play, right, Mahārāj?
Maharaj: Even though all the Pañca Kośas are involved in every aspect of our living, we are paying special attention to one particular Kośa. That is how — so when you are climbing, that's a beautiful analogy — climbing, going to the first floor or second floor or whatever it is. You are convinced that there is a first floor; that's why the steps exist. But your attention should be on the...
Person B: The next step.
Maharaj: The steps — and the next step, ideally. That is why some people, in their haste, may fall down also. They miss a step, especially while going down. They are in such a hurry. They can fall down and break their necks — or they can also break other people's necks! It really happened in Belur Math. One Swami was, what is called, sitting down and making praṇāms. Another Swami came right behind him and was making praṇāms to Ṭhākur standing. The person in front did not know. So he got up very quickly, and as a result the Swami behind fell immediately. I think he broke a bit of his back or leg — I don't remember. So never stand directly behind somebody who is there. Keep a little bit of distance. Pay attention to the steps. Then, unless Prārabdha is there, the journey will be pleasant.
But the most important point is: if I am annam, what is the second step? Everybody is also annam. That is called Anna Brahma Upāsanā, Prāṇa Brahma Upāsanā.
Upāsanā means becoming identified with the whole.