Taittiriya Upanishad Lecture 111 Ch3 10.4 on 01 July 2026

Opening Prayer (Śānti Pāṭha)

ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् ।पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः

Oṁ jananīṁ śaraḍhāṁ deveṁ rāmakriṣṇam jagad-gurum

pādapadmetayosritvā pranamāmi-muhurumuhu

ॐ सह नाववतु ।

सह नौ भुनक्तु ।

सह वीर्यं करवावहै ।

तेजस्वि नावधीतमस्तु मा विद्विषावहै ।

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥ हरि ॐ

OM SAHANAVAVATO SAHANAV BHUNAKTO SAHAVIRYAM KARAVAVAHAI TEJASVINAVADHITAMASTUMA VIDVISHAVAHAI OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTIHI HARIHI OM

OM May Brahman protect us both. May Brahman bestow upon us both the fruit of knowledge.

May we both obtain the energy to acquire knowledge.

May what we both study reveal the truth. May we cherish no ill feeling toward each other.

OM PEACE PEACE PEACE BE UNTO ALL

Introduction: The Ākāśa Upāsanas

We have been dealing with some of the upāsanas which are called Ākāśa Upāsanas. As many times I remarked, whatever we think deeply with concentration, with faith, we become that. "Tell me your thoughts, I will tell you who you are." That is the understanding we have here. This upāsaka—the contemplator—is given some of these upāsanas, and every upāsana makes him endowed with a particular spiritual quality. It really brings the sādhaka—the spiritual aspirant, the spiritual practitioner—to complete self-surrender (śaraṇāgati) and the feeling that "I am one with Brahman. There is no difference at all. It is absolutely one and the same." That is what we need to understand here.

Ākāśa as Support

So Ākāśa is the support. I also mentioned how Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa described a bird flying in the infinite—almost infinite, we say, because even it is not infinite, since it is a product of Ātman. But compared to anything else, it is the most pervading. So Ākāśa is one of the greatest supports for contemplating Ātman—Brahman is the closest, because Ākāśa is the first manifestation of Brahman.

Similarities Between Brahman and Ākāśa

There are so many similarities between Brahman and Ākāśa. What are they? Both are completely non-pollutable, because there is no part; they are non-divisible. And they are one without a second. They are all-pervading, and both Brahman and Ākāśa—which is its own child, as it were—Brahman's child—sarvādhāram—is the support.

The Need for Space

Pause for a moment and think: supposing you want to have a house, a hall, a football stadium, anything—a mountain. You want to put a mountain; you buy a mountain and put a mountain, but you need a place. And where is that place? Earth. And where is this earth? It is all inside, outside, pervaded by Ākāśa. As we discussed, the space alone had become the air, and it had become the fire. Fire had become waters. Waters have become earth. And whatever we experience in this world is nothing but pure Ākāśa, pure Brahman.

Ākāśa Contains and Supports Everything

So Ākāśa contains everything, supports everything. If there were to be no Ākāśa, then the entire creation would disappear in a trice. And both are sūkṣma, ati-sūkṣma—subtler than the subtlest—almost nobody can even imagine: "What is this Ākāśa? What is one without a second? What is all-pervading?" Because it is so subtle, not available to be experienced by the body, not even by the mind:

यतो वाचो निवर्तन्ते अप्राप्य मनसा सह.

yato vāco nivartante aprāpya manasā saha.

How Do We Infer Ākāśa?

But how do we infer that there is a space? Because whenever you see a tree, a house, a person, even a mosquito, even an atom—you will have to understand: where is this atom? It must be contained in something. That container which contains the whole of creation is called Ākāśa. But of course, Ākāśa is also contained by the Ātman. This is how we have to understand.

I Am Ākāśa

So if we can think, what happens? "I am the Ākāśa. I am the support of all." What happens? Like a mother who has got twenty-three children—even though every child is different, they are all her children, her flesh and blood, and she feels her identity with everybody. That is why we are so close to our mother. So mother is the support while we are in the womb. When we come out of the womb, for a long time, mother is the support.

The Goal of the Upaniṣad

So the Upaniṣad wants to prepare every spiritual aspirant: if you want to realise God—God-realisation—you must know that God is the only reality, and the reality of God is the only truth—satyam; that is the only knowledge—jñānam anantam; it is the only one—ekam eva advitīyam, as we have seen in the Chāndogya Upaniṣad.

I Am Everything

And therefore, what is the point here? "I am everything." If I am Ākāśa, I am everything. I am all the vāyu, I am all the agni, I am all the jala, I am the entire earth. There are no different countries, different races, different religions; there is no young or old, dull and bright, rich and poor, happy and unhappy. I am everything.

The Six Contemplations on Ākāśa

And a person who succeeds one by one—it will take time—by doing upāsana, contemplation on this Ākāśa in six different ways. Very beautiful topic. So we will see how the teacher is asking the student: "You have progressed a lot, but you also have to progress a lot. You have to acquire those divine qualities." So what happens when a sādhaka practises these upāsanas—contemplations? We will study briefly.

The Six Meditations on Ākāśa

What are the six meditations that we are going to study in this Bṛhadvalli? The third chapter of this Taittirīya Upaniṣad:

1. As Pratiṣṭhā—support. 2. As Mahā—glory. 3. As Manas—divinest intellect, discernment, understanding. 4. As Namah—serving everybody. There is no "serving everybody"—if I am serving Ākāśa, Ākāśa serves everybody. We will discuss a little more in detail. Then, if I serve somebody, then according to the theory of karma, that somebody also will serve me. If I am serving everybody, then everybody will also be serving me. 5. Then Tad Brahmeti Upāsīta—so Ākāśa as Brahman. Here "Brahma" means not the supreme reality, but the greatest, the all-pervading, the supreme. In the creation, remember Ākāśa also is the first product of creation only, so it falls under the umbrella of creation only. But it is the greatest. How it is greatest, of course, we will discuss in a little bit more detail. 6. And then the last one—the sixth upāsana—Tat Pramāṇaḥ Parimārā—that this Ākāśa is the destructive agent. The sādhaka has to meditate. What does it mean? That means what we call Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara—the presiding deity of taking us back into our cause. So everybody ultimately has to go back to Ākāśa. Why? Because we all have come from Ākāśa.

The First Upāsana: Pratiṣṭhā (Support)

So with a little more detail, we will talk first: Prathiṣṭhāyām Upāsīta—so let an upāsaka, a sādhaka—what type of sādhaka? One can be a Saguṇa Upāsaka; one can be also—sakāma, niṣkāma—with some desires, without some desires. So if anybody goes on thinking, let us say, about God, about Nārāyaṇa, about Śiva—"You are the support of everything." If we remember that story which I have mentioned many times—once Śiva and Pārvatī were sitting on Mount Kailāsa, and playfully Mother Pārvatī from behind closed the two eyes of Śiva. And immediately a third eye had sprung out. And then just for a moment, then she uncovered. Then Śiva told her: "Devī, what have you done? You know, my one eye is Sūrya, manifesting as the sun. My second eye is manifesting as the moon." Means the whole creation—it is, I am the Ākāśa, I am the Vāyu, I am the fire, I am the waters, I am the earth, and whatever we see—all the stars, all these, we have seen this what is called Nakṣatra Upāsana also—everything is me. Only in the mythologies it is represented, instead of saying "Brahman," it is Śiva or it is Viṣṇu, etc.

The Names of God

And if you read the thousand names of Śiva or Viṣṇu or Lakṣmī or Kālī, everything is there. Beautiful Bengali songs are there: "Who knows Your nature, O Mother? It is not possible. Only Śiva knows—the whole creation—Brahmāṇḍa." Kāli-rudhāre Brahmāṇḍa-bhāṇḍa—as if there is a big pot which contains the entire universe, and that pot is supported like a mother supports the baby inside her womb. That means Kālī is the final reality, ultimate reality, supreme reality—Satyam, Jñānam, Anantam Brahma—and the Kālī we are describing here is Saguṇa Brahma. So everything is contained in the Divine Mother.

God as Generator, Organizer, Destroyer

So the idea of God covers everything. So God—G-O-D—G means Generator, O means Organizer, D means Destroyer—Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara. So everything is the outcome of Ākāśa, and everybody, everything has to go back to the Ākāśa finally—whether it is temporarily or permanently. And this is how a spiritual aspirant progresses. First, he identifies himself with: "I am not this individual body; I am the cosmic body." Then he understands: "This is also an effect." Then he goes to its cause, which is called Prāṇamaya Kośa. Then when a person identifies with the subtler Kośa, then the outer Kośa—Annamaya Kośa—becomes what we call mithyā, anātman, non-self—not really, but much better identification. Identification with this what is called Virāṭ—the entire creation—is the very first step, lower step, gross step. Higher than that, it is subtler. Like that, if man goes on progressing, we will get it in this Bṛghuvallī also. We already got it in the second chapter—Brahmanandavallī: etam ātmānam evam ātmānam upasaṃkramya—so here also, the same thing is repeated with a slight change. Ultimately, everybody merges in Brahman only.

Contemplating Ākāśa as Support

So this Ākāśa must be contemplated as support because just imagine: there is no place where there is no space. Every place is contained in space, both inside and outside. I gave the example of a cave made out of cold water. So there God has created them for the sake of the young ones of huge whales, sharks, etc., where the temperature is the most suitable temperature for the young ones to grow. So like that, what is that ice cave made up of? Only water. So inside water, outside water—what separates them? So-called icy water. Now that ice also is one manifestation—condensed manifestation—of water only. Like heat, we say "this is heat," then there is steam, then there is ice. So water can be in any one of these forms. And we also, in the waking state—like ice, you can say—and in the dream state, we become normal water; and in the deep sleep state, we become container—everything outside, inside, in between. Everything is nothing but pure water, pure Brahman, pure Ākāśa.

The Result of This Contemplation

This is how let the upāsaka contemplate Brahman as the support. And then what does it say? "Ākāśa supports me. Without Ākāśa, I cannot live. Therefore, I belong to Ākāśa. I am not separate from Ākāśa. I am one with Ākāśa—space." He becomes space. What happens in day-to-day life, in real life? This person becomes a most generous person. He helps as many persons or creatures as he could. There are some people who take so much pity upon small birds. Maybe a bird has broken a leg, and a small puppy has been run over by a car or a truck, and lovingly they take them home, they tend to them, and then they become terribly attached to that, and that creature also saves their lives sometimes.

Supporter and Supported

So this is how supporter-supported relationship is created through these contemplations. So the upāsaka becomes a supporter in one sense, he becomes the supported. And what else happens? Such an upāsaka will be supported. And of course, such an upāsaka, what does he say? "I am not supported by X-Y-Z; I am supported by Ākāśa. Ākāśa is nothing but Brahman. So I am supported by Brahman—God." Every devotee thinks of God as all-pervading only. So wherever the devotee comes today—"I am in Tirupati"—so God is here in the form of Veṅkaṭeśvara. Tomorrow I visit Vṛndāvana—the same God in the form of Kṛṣṇa. And if I come to Vārāṇasī—the same God will be manifested as Śiva—different names, but the quality is the same: all-pervading. So if something is all-pervading, there cannot be more than one all-pervading. So everything is one—names and forms.

The Lake Analogy

That is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa wants to illustrate beautifully by giving that: there is a small lake or a tank, and different people use different languages to call that. Some call it water, some call it aqua, some call it pāṇī, some call it jala. This is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is telling. So God supports everything, but I also must contemplate: "I am totally dependent upon God." And that is why too, I realise: "I am dependent. If He is not supporting me, I will not be able to survive"—also in the form of my body, my mind, my pañca-prāṇas, everything.

Śaṅkarācārya's Commentary

So Pratiṣṭhām—as support. But here Śaṅkarācārya says—what does he say? "Do not look up and then say 'You are Ākāśa.' Ākāśa is a Devatā—presiding deity. Tat Ākāśam Upadevatā—we have to consider Brahman in the form of space, and Brahman is the Pratiṣṭhā in the form of space. It is the support of everything." What does this person, as a result of this contemplation, obtain? Pratiṣṭhāvān bhavati—so two meanings are given. So he becomes support to others, and he will also get support from others.

The Law of Karma

Yathā karma tathā phalam—"As the action, so also will be the result." So Bhagavān will support such a devotee who supports others to the best of his ability—the poor, the needy, etc. How do we know in the Gītā?

अनन्याश्चिन्तयन्तो मां ये जनाः पर्युपासते | तेषां नित्याभियुक्तानां योगक्षेमं वहाम्यहम् ||

ananyāś cintayanto māṃ ye janāḥ paryupāsate | teṣāṃ nityābhiyuktānāṃ yogakṣemaṃ vahāmyaham ||

"Those who think of Me and are totally dependent upon Me, I bring whatever is necessary for them." We do not go beyond this meaning, but what it really means is: what do you think these devotees go on repeating—"Nārāyaṇa, Nārāyaṇa" or "Śiva, Śiva"—but when a poor person comes, he will not even glance at him. That is a totally wrong understanding. He who thinks "God is my support"—that idea of support becomes a spiritual quality, and whatever he is, he will be doing his best to help others as much as he can. He does not withhold, he does not calculate; he gives. Therefore, God also—that is the karmaphala in the form of God—comes to him.

The Greatest Giving

So if somebody is totally absorbed in God, that is the greatest good. Naturally, the question comes: "What is this person giving to others?" We think physically—if a person gives money or food or an object, that is called giving. Ramana Maharshi was asked: "Bhagavān, why are you not supporting Mahatma Gandhi?" And then he smiles. I do not know how many people understood it. "You think just because I do not talk about Gandhiji, that I do not talk about that subject of non-cooperation, etc., I do not support." What he meant is—by the very presence of persons like me—he is not telling out of egotism, but the fact: Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was the greatest giver. How come?

The Three Levels of Giving

A person who gives one day's support, one day's food to somebody, is really great. A person who makes another person teaches him something by which he can support himself for his whole life is a greater person. And a person who teaches good manners to somebody else and transforms his life is much more great than only who supports through material help. But a person who gives Ātma-jñānam is the greatest giver in the whole world. So only the persons who have can give. This is a very important part.

The Spirit of Karma Yoga

"Okay, I want to give, but have you that what is called Karma Yoga spirit—that I will give without thinking how much I have to give, when to give, how to give?" No, the person just prays to God and gives. There are so many stories, but you can say: what story can I remember where a person gave away everything?

The Story of the Three Āḻvārs

I will just mention a small incident. This happened to some Āḻvārs—"Āḻvār" means greatest devotees of God. One day an Āḻvār was walking alone. It was night; it started raining, and he found, outside a village house, a small shed where water would not fall upon him. So it was sufficient for him to lie down. He was lying down. Very soon, a few minutes later, another person comes, and the person who is lying down immediately understands—he sits down so the second person also could sit down. Then afterwards, a third person comes, and all the two stand up. Therefore the third person also can be accommodated; at least they will not be tormented by the falling rain, etc. It was cold also; they were shivering, and they were supporting each other by their own human warmth. And suddenly it became dawn. Actually, all the three Āḻvārs were in search of the company of some other Āḻvār. They were thinking: "I would like to meet and spend my time in the company of the other Āḻvār." All the three were thinking of all the three, and when the light came—because in darkness they could not recognise—they were shocked: how God brought them together, and they wanted to meet each other, and under this strange circumstance.

The Spirit of Sharing

But for the sake of our story illustration, what it means is that without knowing "this is an Āḻvār," "he is a human being," "he needs shelter," and "this is not my shelter"—and then immediately he sits down, and two can sit comfortably. But when the third came, they had to stand, share the same space. How are they doing joyfully? Their hearts must be so filled with joy that "I am able to serve Atithi Nārāyaṇa—atithi-devo bhava"—and that is the spirit. If a person contemplates Ākāśa as support, he will become that; he will not calculate.

The Widow's Mite

If you remember, Christ in the temple noticed an old woman who had only one penny—she donated that was her entire wealth, and she gave the whole thing in the service of God in that charity box. And immediately Christ draws attention: "She has only that much, and she had given away all that she had joyfully. She is the greatest giver." God notices everything. So that is the contemplation: Ākāśa as support. And this person slowly becomes Ākāśa. He becomes both the contemplator of Ākāśa—support—and in his turn, he will also be supported. And this is how we have to understand all the other things that we are going to discuss.

The Second Upāsana: Mahā (Glory)

So then we have to see Ākāśa Devatā as the second one—as Mahā. Mahā means glorious one. So Ākāśa Devatā—Ākāśa means space; space means emptiness. But really speaking, it is the subtlest form of creation which contains in its womb the air, the fire, the water, the earth—the entire creation is nothing but inside the womb of this Ākāśa. Therefore, He is the glorious one. Ākāśa is the Saguṇa Brahma. We have to understand that way.

The Result of This Contemplation

So if one contemplates, what does this person become? Then he identifies himself with the entire creation. That means he identifies himself with the earth, waters, fire, air, finally with Ākāśa. Of course, the ultimate identification is with Brahman, because Ākāśa is nothing but Brahman. But this person shines as the greatest being in this world. That is why any great person—a title is added: Mahātma, Mahān—that Mahā—glorious one, greatest one.

The Glory of Ākāśa

So Ākāśa Devatā must be contemplated. If we see any greatness in anybody, then it is the glory of the Ākāśa, because everything is the outcome of this Ākāśa space only. Of course, everything is the outcome of Ātman only. As in the tenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gītā, at the very end, Bhagavān says: "Wherever you see any special glory, it belongs to Me. I am manifesting Myself."

यद्यद्विभूतिमत्सत्त्वं श्रीमदूर्जितमेव वा | तत्तदेवावगच्छ त्वं मम तेजोंऽशसम्भवम् ||

yad yad vibhūtimat sattvaṃ śrīmad ūrjitam eva vā | tat tad evāvagaccha tvaṃ mama tejo 'ṃśa-sambhavam ||

Mama tejasaḥ means "I am manifesting in that partial manner"—in a great mountain, a great river, the greatest source of light—sun—greatest manifestation of moon—anything great.

The Vision of Swami Akhaṇḍānanda

Incidentally, once Akhaṇḍānandaji was wandering in the Himalayas. Then we see that one evening, as the sun was setting and it was a full moon day, he was sitting in such a way that he could see both sides of a mountain, and the eastern side was glowing like molten silver and the western side was glowing like molten gold because the rays of the setting sun were reflecting in that pure white as a mirror, and the rising full moon is manifesting as the pure white. That was such a marvellous sight that Swami Akhaṇḍānandaji was, as we say, drinking in that sight, completely forgot the whole world. Suddenly Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa appeared and said: "This is Hara-Gaurī—Śiva and Pārvatī." After all, we think that this is a mountain. No—it is nothing but every mountain is nothing but manifestation of that Brahman, Supreme Brahman alone.

The Rule of Contemplation

So Ākāśa Devatā is never empty, but it contains everything—the Sat, Cit, Ānanda manifestation is Ākāśa. Whoever contemplates upon the Ākāśa as Mahān becomes also Mahān. That is the general rule we have to understand. Whatever way a person thinks deeply and becomes one, he will become that. You go on meditating on anger, you will become an angry person. Meditate upon some desire, you will become that desire. You meditate upon goodness, you become goodness. I mentioned the story of Swami Brahmanandaji meditating in the deep summer season—midsummer—on the Himalayas, and his whole back had become ice cold. And when Mahārāj indicated, "Touch my back"—I do not know afterwards whether the brahmacārī stopped touching him—but very touching incident.

The Third Upāsana: Manas (Intelligence)

So let one contemplate as Mahā. First as what? Pratiṣṭhā—support. Second as what? Mahān—glorious. Then the Upaniṣad also, I think, or the Ṛṣi wants to play with the birds: there Mahān here—Manas tat—that Ākāśa Devatā—Manasa iti upāsīta. What is the result? Manasvī bhavati—because remember, all the subtle five elements have come out of the same Ākāśa only—all the Pañcabhūtas of which we are talking about the external concrete Pañcabhūtas. But first of all, there was a creation of subtle elements called tanmātras, and out of that, the subtle body is formed—the mind—what is called manas, buddhi, citta, ahaṅkāra—mano-buddhi-ahaṅkāra-cittāni.

Meditating on Ākāśa as Manas

So now let the upāsaka contemplate this Ākāśa as Manas. Manas means the highest form of intelligence. The same thing is put in another mantra with which we are very familiar:

धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात्.

dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt.

So the Gāyatrī mantra is nothing but that: "May I meditate upon this finest, subtlest intelligence"—and then what does he become? He will also be able to grasp the subtlest spiritual truths. And if a man can really understand the subtlest spiritual truths, there is no wonder that he will be able to understand even the grossest things. However much we tried to hide, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa at one glance can find out everybody in this world—no doubt about it.

The Five Forms of Buddhi

So let the upāsaka contemplate on Brahma—Ākāśa Devatā—as the mind, and he will be endowed with mind. So what is the mind here? Mind in this context means the understanding capacity, the concentrating capacity, the remembering capacity. Remember, while expounding upon this Gāyatrī mantra, I said that if that buddhi—we become one—or the Mother manifests as our buddhi, it manifests in five forms. First of all, smṛti-rūpeṇa—we must be, it will be remembered. We will never forget anything that is important, and it must be remembered when we require it. Many times we remember it when the occasion slips away—no important usefulness has been achieved: "Oh, I should have remembered"—like students who remember all the answers after they come out of the examination hall. No, then it must be used with the proper attitude, and it must be used for a particular purpose. Then one must remember: "It is not me; it is not mine. It belongs to You. And You are manifesting. I know nothing about it."

Sri Ramakrishna's Humility

When devotees sometimes appreciated Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's teachings—because they definitely helped somebody or the other—they used to express their thanks: "Thank you," like that. And Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to say: "I know nothing. I eat, I make merry like a child. My Mother knows. You thank my Mother." Sometimes he used to make fun also. So when they appreciate, he says: "Thank you, thank you." Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's English vocabulary consisted of only a few words, but he uses it in such a beautiful way that people used to be charmed by the way he pronounces.

Imitating a Great Person

Coming back: if I meditate upon a great person as the embodiment of spiritual intelligence, I will also get that intelligence. Look at it this way: supposing a person wants to imitate a great writer like Kālidāsa—what can he do? Go on meditating. And what did Kālidāsa do when he wanted to write the Raghuvaṃśa? He prayed to the divine couple—the father and mother of this entire creation:

वागर्थाविव सम्पृक्तौ वागर्थप्रतिपत्तये | जगतः पितरौ वन्दे पार्वतीपरमेश्वरौ ||

vāg-arthāv iva sampṛktau vāg-artha-pratipattaye | jagataḥ pitarau vande pārvatī-parameśvarau ||

"I am going to write, and the correct word with the correct meaning should just splash in my mind—not by thinking deeply for a long time; immediately it should come like the flow of torrential rains. And how do I get it? Because Pārvatī and Parameśvara—the parents of this entire creation—are like vāk and artha, like the word and its inseparable meaning. I surrender myself to Them; let Them manifest within me in this form. And definitely They will only write." Then Kālidāsa completed this Raghuvaṃśa. What do you think he will do? He says: "This is You only manifested. You only wrote. And it belongs to all the glory—all the Mahān—everything belongs to You only."

Being an Instrument

So every day we have to say: "O Mother, Jananīṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadguruṃ, Pādapadme Tayoḥ Śritvā Praṇamāmi Muhurmuhuḥ—may You speak? Let me be an instrument." Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa—Swami Vivekananda—he had remembered Mother Sarasvatī when he had to give that first talk at the Chicago Parliament of Religions, and he remembered the Mother. Mother means Śāradā Devī, Mother means Sarasvatī, Mother means Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, Mother means God. And then he did not speak; they spoke. God spoke through the instrumentality of Swami Vivekananda. He knows it. That is why he used to say: "I am only His master's voice."

The Result

So meditate upon this Ākāśa Devatā as Ākāśa Brahma—as Manana-śakti—as the power of understanding capacity. What would be the result? Manasvī bhavati here. Manasvī has another meaning: one who is well respected by others. Here, no—one who is capable of deep thinking and understanding the deepest truths. When Einstein discovered his special theory of relativity, that is the result of his deepest thinking; he becomes a medhāvī, because that medhā—Medhā Devī:

मेधा देवी जुषमाना नः ... ...

medhā devī juṣamāṇā naḥ ...

This capacity to understand in all its completeness is the result of Mother—the Divine Mother herself—the power of intelligence manifesting through the seeker. So as the seeker contemplates, what does he become? They become one with that Devatā. So slowly he is shedding his human identity and assuming: "I am Pratiṣṭhā—Ākāśa. I am Pratīṣṭhā as Ākāśa. I am glorious as Ākāśa. I am a deep thinker like the Ākāśa." So already 50% has become Ākāśa.

The Fourth Upāsana: Namah (Adoration)

Then Namo iti Upāsīta. This is the fourth contemplation upāsana: Namyante asmai kāmāḥ—"Let the seeker contemplate upon Ākāśa Brahma—Ākāśa Devatā—as adoration, and all desires will bow down to Him, present themselves." That is to say, when a person thinks: "You are the source of the fulfilment of every desire in this world, therefore I bow down to You. If I am getting good food, tasty food, it is the glory—the real name will not come to me; it will come to You, because You are the giver." Mother Annapūrṇā is coming to me in the form of food. Mother Gaṅgā—the mother of waters—in the form of the Divine Mother is coming to me in the form of Gaṅgā Devī. The Agnidevatā is coming in the form of keeping a warmth already present in our body as homeostasis. Then Vāyudevatā is coming to me, sustaining me—sixteen times He enters every minute so that His child can be supported, will not his body fall down. Of course, even to move one billionth of a metre, I require space—empty space—means emptiness. You do not say "empty space"—that is redundant.

Meditating on Ākāśa as Namaskāra

So I meditate upon Ākāśa Devatā as namaskāra. What does this person become? Because he salutes everybody—atithi-devo bhava: "I will serve you whatever in whatever capacity, whatever I have." Remember the story in the Karma Yoga of Swami Vivekananda, how this family of four birds—the father bird, mother bird, son bird, daughter-in-law bird—they all fell down into the fire so that they could fulfil the injunctions of the scriptures, and they became the devatās as a result.

The Result

So whoever contemplates upon Ākāśa Devatā as namaskāra—what is namaskāra? "Whatever I have does not belong to me, na mama, but it all belongs to You. You are only coming to me in the form of the fulfilment of every desire." So what happens? That Ākāśa Devatā comes to take care of his child, because every seeker is only a child, and then they will do namaskāra to him. That means any service that such an upāsaka requires, it is all supplied to him at the right time.

The Six Months of Nirvikalpa Samādhi

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was completely unaware of his physical body. After Totāpurī Mahārāj had left for six months, he was in continuous Nirvikalpa Samādhi. And if food does not go, then the body will not survive. The Divine Mother sent an outside sādhu. The Divine Mother endowed him with the intelligence. The Mother somehow wants to preserve this body, and through this body, a lot of Her work will be done. So he used to be present at regular times with a stick in his hand and with simple ready-made food. And then he used to beat—sometimes shout, sometimes beat. And when a little bit of external awareness comes to Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, immediately he would push small amounts of food. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said later on: sometimes a small bit of food used to go inside, and that sustained the body for six months. This sādhu came mysteriously, and the sādhu also disappeared mysteriously. It was only the Divine Mother who had brought him.

Everything Is the Divine Mother's Will

In fact, every event in the life of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was the will of the Divine Mother. Why Śudhiram went to Gayā? Why God appeared and said: "I would like to be born as your son"? And Śudhiram had lost all by the will of God. And when he came, he was given just enough so that Śudhiram's mind would be totally devoted to God only. And in such a family, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was born. So from the beginning to the end, who was guiding, who was manifesting—Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa in Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa—as Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa—as the Divine Mother only? For whom was this temple built? It was only the Divine Mother. Why this Rāṇī Rāśmaṇī came? Beautiful story I told you earlier, but you remember. So it is all the Divine Mother's will, and then he understood: the whole thing is for this sake—for this means for the Divine Mother's līlā to be happening.

The Fifth Upāsana: Brahma (Infinite)

Then the next upāsana will be: Ākāśa Devatā should be contemplated as Brahma. Here "Brahma" means infinite, all-pervading. And one who succeeds—what does he become? When such a person becomes Brahmavān, he expands. That means he identifies himself with the entire creation. Like Nāgamahāśaya used to identify himself with even the white ants, with the snake, with everything. He became expanded. How many people were there who could understand at that time? How many people are there who could understand at this time?

Swami Vivekananda's Identification

Swami Vivekananda—he identified himself with everybody. That is why when there was a terrible earthquake in Turkey and 50,000 people died in that earthquake, before any news could be published, Swami Vivekananda felt restless, started weeping, because he said: "I am feeling the misery of 50,000 people." He became one with everybody. Of course, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa became one with everybody. There are so many incidents.

The Result

So one who contemplates upon Brahman as limitless—Brahman means limitless—then he becomes limitless, and his glory, his possessions, his families—he does not say "I am a Hindu," does not say "I am an Indian," does not say "I am a human being," does not say "I am a man," does not say "I am a particular person." "I am every creature wherever there is life. What about where there is not life? That also I am." So this is the one.

The Sixth Upāsana: Parimārā (Destruction)

Then we come to the last—what is this beautiful thing we have to discuss a little bit further: contemplate Ākāśa Devatā as the final cause of destruction. The superficial meaning it gives is: one who contemplates upon the Ākāśa Devatā as the final destroyer, when all his enemies will be destroyed without even his knowledge. But it has a deeper meaning, and that deeper meaning is: from his mind—from such an upāsaka's mind—the very idea of enmity will be totally eliminated. This is a beautiful point. We will talk about it in our next class.

Closing Prayer

ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् ।पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः

Oṁ jananīṁ śaraḍhāṁ deviṁ rāmakriṣṇam jagad-gurum pādapadmetayosritvā pranamāmi-muhurumuhu

May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with Bhakti. Jai Ramakrishna!