Taittiriya Upanishad Lecture 112 Ch3 10.5 on 08 July 2026
Full Transcript (Not Corrected)
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: Review of Ākāśa Upāsanas
In our last class, we were discussing some of the special contemplations (upāsanas) on ākāśa. Ākāśa is the best support, as far as we are concerned. There is a close relationship between space (ākāśa) and Ātman or Brahman. Every time we have to remind ourselves of it. What are the common features between ākāśa (space) and Brahman? Both are invisible (amūrta), both are non‑pollutable, both are non‑divisible, both are ekam (one without a second), both are all‑pervading, both are supporting all (sarvādhāra), both are sūkṣmāti sūkṣma (subtler than the subtlest), and both are non‑comprehensible – not to speak of the body, even to the mind also. That is why it is said: eto vāco nivartante aprāpya manasā saha. Therefore, if we can train our mind slowly, of course, to meditate upon space, our mind will get refined enough; then it becomes fit.
What does this upāsana yield? That is, contemplating upon ākāśa as Brahman – the nearest to Brahman – what result do we get? That “I do not exist”, and when I do not exist, the whole universe also vanishes with me – not to speak of nirvikalpa samādhi. Even when we are in deep sleep, the whole world disappears along with the disappearance of our mind. So that is the meaning of citta vṛtti nirodha. When we purify our minds of every grossness, then it becomes as pure as the purest, newest mirror, and what reflects there is pure consciousness, called puruṣa – padaṃ prasṛtaṃ svarūpāyāvasthānam.
So Ākāśa Upāsana takes us nearer to Brahman, and Brahman is only one step higher than ākāśa. Therefore, this Bhr̥guvallī in the Taittirīya Upaniṣad wants to give a group of Ākāśa Upāsanas. We have seen: contemplate this space ākāśa as alpavedyā (the smallest), then mahat (the greatest), then manaḥ (the subtlest of the intellects), then namaha – that is, you bow down to the will of God. That is called bowing down to everybody. Actually, one can bow down to everybody only when one sees the true Brahman within everybody. Then, as a result, the Upaniṣad adds: every desire will be completely fulfilled.
The Upāsana on Brahmanah Parimāra
We have come to one particular meditation which I wanted to discuss, and we stopped there in our last class. What is that upāsana? Ākāśa should be contemplated as Brahmanaḥ parimāra iti upāsīta. Parimāra means destruction. So space should be contemplated as the final merging place.
We are already familiar: the Ātman manifests first as ākāśa (space), then air, then fire, then water, then earth. And the same process will be reversed back. So what happens to the earth? It goes back. Or rather, if I die, what happens? Not only the body, but the entire personality consisting of body and mind – the three bodies (gross, subtle, and causal) – every body merges back into earth. Earth merges back into waters, waters into fire, fire into air, air into space. Of course, when a person reaches that level of spiritual progress, then that person finally will be pulled back irresistibly, like a huge magnet. As soon as the iron particle (any metal particle) approaches near – but it must be pure – then there is no obstruction for the magnet to pull it into itself, making even the small iron particle part of the huge magnet. That is the idea one wants to convey finally.
The Peculiar Wording
But the Upaniṣad puts it in a very peculiar way. What is the peculiar way? He says that Brahmanaḥ parimāra – parimāra means destruction. As the mantra goes here, there are people in this world – no saint will ever think anyone is an enemy to me – but there are people who do not like saints. Especially saints, excepting in Hinduism, have been tortured and killed. Whether you take Christianity – how they used to beat up Saint John of the Cross, how many difficulties Saint Teresa of Avila had to go through – every saint has to go through. And of course, when you come to Islam, you will see how many people have been beheaded, burnt, tortured, all in the name of religion, just because they realized “I am Brahmasmi”, “I am Allah”. So many stories are there like that.
Saint Teresa of Avila
But I want to make it a bit lighter by recollecting a beautiful incident from the life of Saint Teresa of Avila. She enjoyed perfectly good health throughout her life, and she became converted. She surrendered herself totally to God. Her attitude is sakhī bhāva – “I am your friend” – and Christ told her, commanded her rather: “You reconstruct My church. Reform My church.” So much corruption practically in every institution – because institution means organisation, organisation means power structure, power structure means greed, and so many people will be drawn. And so organisation, as Swami Vivekananda used to joke towards the end of his life, “An organisation is the most terrible enemy of Mahāmāyā,” because Mahāmāyā gives the final test of any spirituality – organisation. Because as soon as there are different opportunities, social opportunities – what they call social climbing – right from an ordinary worker, a manager, to head of a centre, to trustee, assistant secretary, etc., etc. – a very fascinating study of history is there. So there are so many people who were very good at the beginning, but slowly Mahāmāyā draws them to power. Power comes through position, and so much struggle is there, and nobody wants to hear the truth about it. Whenever somebody tries to lead a pure life, immediately many people recognise it, and they start becoming popular and famous, and that becomes intolerable to the people in the organisation.
Rare exceptions are there. There is a different story. I just want to mention that there is one great soul called Brother Lawrence. His teachings in The Practice of the Presence of God had become immensely popular. Once a bishop had come to visit him. Not only was Brother Lawrence practically illiterate, he was also lame. He also did not possess much intelligence, but he was totally dedicated to God. He used to practise the presence of God, and he used to pray: “Lord, you know what I am. They are sending me to do this job. I do not know how to do it. You please take care of me.” And that is how slowly he used to successfully complete transactions more than even the most intelligent person, all because he was following the will of God by complete surrender to God. Fortunately, a bishop had come – and he was a great bishop, pure – and he thought, “Let me test this child,” and he came, spent time, and he was so attracted that he visited many times and received some letters also, and that is what we are enjoying today – The Practice of the Presence of God.
But in the case of Saint John of the Cross, the people imprisoned him, used to beat him, and only after several months of such beating did God show him a way out.
Coming back to Saint Teresa of Avila: she used to cherish the attitude, the relationship of friend. She used to say, “I am the friend of Jesus” – with complete surrender, of course. So Christ commanded her, “You rebuild My church” – that is, to re‑establish the original spiritual principles whereby an organisation stands as a representation of God on earth. She had tremendous difficulty because the churches were so corrupt, so rolling in luxury, that it became a terrible blow to them. So they became inimical, and that caused trouble to Saint Teresa. One day she complained, “Lord, you only commanded me. Why are you treating me in this way?” And as if innocently, Jesus replied, “That is how I treat My friends.” Quick as a flash came the retort: “Now I know why You have so few friends. Which friend is going to be friendly with You if You are going to treat people like that?”
Saints and Enmity
Anyway, all this I am telling – organisations are one of the greatest temptations to test the true intent, and it is also an obstacle race; we have to get out of that. So the saints – they do not have any enemies. They never consider that there is somebody who is an enemy; that is no saint. Why? Because he sees only God everywhere, Brahman in everybody. There is Rāmakṛṣṇa's beautiful story: “Who is giving you milk?” And immediately the monk replied, “He who has begotten me, He alone is giving me milk again.” Sarvatra ātmadarśanam – everywhere he sees the hand of God only, and he accepts gladly whatever comes. He never blamed. Śudhīra never blamed the jāmindār. We blame the jāmindār and we wish his fourteen generations before and seven generations after – that means even now, if there are people, let them burn in hell. But Śudhīra totally depended upon Rāma: “It is Rāma's will which brought about this condition. Let Rāma decide what He wants to do.” Rāma's will – that is the test of saintliness.
So why am I talking so much about these things? Because a person who contemplates ākāśa as the destroyer (Brahmanaḥ parimāra, the destructive power of Brahman) – we can misunderstand. There could be two types of enemies. What is that? Some people – all of us – we do not like some people, and some people also do not like me. We like some people, some people also like me. But this is the story of an ordinary person. The story of an extraordinary person is totally different. A saint will never consider anybody inimical, but there are people who consider some saints as inimical. The family priest of Madhur Bābū Fakīr had kicked Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa several times and injured him, but Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa never raised the topic.
The True Meaning of Parimāra
So we have to understand properly: what does this Ākāśa Upāsana do? It is just like a mother who has several children. A true mother will have equal love right from a newborn baby to the grown‑up child, son or daughter. Love will never diminish by distributing. So a knower of Brahman, a contemplator of Brahman, cannot also make distinctions: “This person is my friend, this person is my fan, this person is my enemy who is trying to pull me down.” No, it is the Divine Mother. If you still remember the story of Rābiyā – once some people reported to her that such‑and‑such people are criticising you; they are enemies of yours – she replied, because she was not taking any action to protect herself, “I am so much absorbed in the contemplation of God, I have no time to find who wishes me well and who wishes me to be in the well.”
So we have to understand this beautiful concept. So, this Upāsana, what does it do? The whole universe is my creation, and they are all my children – living, non‑living, everything is my children – and I have to protect. In this context, we have to understand a little better. Does a saint – or let us say Brahman – neglect rivers, mountains, forests? Of course, from the Hindu point of view, a river is a living goddess. Forests are living goddesses – that is why we call it Vanadevatā, forest goddess. And every bit of water flowing, whether it is flowing or not, whether it is in a mud puddle or in a lake or in the ocean – it is all manifestation of Brahman's fourth manifestation in the form of waters. Every particle of the earth is Pṛthvīdevatā. So this is how a spiritual person's vision identifies more and more with the vision of Brahman. He will be saying: “The whole universe has come from me. So everything is me only.” So a person looks upon everything as one's own self. Where is the question of having friends or enemies or anybody? That is not possible.
So that is how we have to understand. This is the last upāsana – Ākāśa Upāsana – pad Brahmanaḥ parimāra iti upāsīta. The spiritual aspirant should contemplate ākāśa as what? Brahmanaḥ parimāra – the destructive power of Brahman. Ākāśa is the destructive power of Brahman. Thus one should contemplate, taking ākāśa as the support.
The Spiritual Effect
Then what is the purpose of this one? The spiritual meaning I have already discussed: everything in this world goes back to earth, which goes back to waters, which goes to fire, air, and finally ends up in ākāśa. That is the truth, and again it will emerge, re‑emerge. That is why sṛṣṭi is called beginningless – anādi. And then the Upaniṣad also goes on to say: paryenam reyanti viśandāḥ sapātmāḥ pariye apariyāḥ vṛtravyāḥ. So let a spiritual aspirant contemplate Brahman as the destructive agent, and all his enemies who hate him – also those who do not hate him – will perish. It means the very feeling of enmity will be wiped off the mind of the spiritual aspirant. So parimāra means destruction. Parimāriyantay – everybody connected with him, everybody, and who is excluded? No one is excluded. Everybody is the same; everything is Brahman only. Sarvatra Brahma darśanam. So what does it mean? It means, according to him, actually there is no second object – ekam eva. “I am that One.” So that is how we have to understand. All feeling of enmity would disappear.
Holy Mother's Example
If you still remember Holy Mother's sincerest prayer: looking at the moon – even in the moon we can detect some dark spots – Holy Mother had prayed: “O Mother, even in the moon there are some spots. Let there be no spot in me.” That is the prayer of Holy Mother. And we know once when she was in Jharambati, then some of her relatives wanted to buy some cloth produced by English people because it looked nicer, better, much smoother than the coarse cloth produced by Indian charkhā. But Holy Mother probably wanted to send one of her attendants to buy, but he was overcome with emotion: “Why should we purchase foreign goods?” – because he was full of Gandhi's ideal – “We must spin our own cloth; we must encourage people; then we can destroy these foreign products.” Then Holy Mother said in that connection – a beautiful saying: “After all, they are also my children. There is no 'our' and 'other people'. Every country is my country; every person is my child. Everything in this world” – including a cat. If you remember, one of her attendants mistreated a cat, and Holy Mother simply said (she did not scold him): “My son, I live also in that cat.” Which made him consider that not only that cat but every animal as Holy Mother herself. So he used to beg for milk, even for fish, to feed that particular cat – that became his spiritual renaissance.
We have to understand that way. So this meditation on ākāśa – it destroys; parimāra means the destructive power in spiritual sense – that means all the inimical feeling that we cherish in our hearts will be destroyed, because I become as expansive as the ākāśa (space) which covers everything, which is nothing but my own manifestation, gradually in the process of the five elements. We have to keep that in mind.
The Qualities of a True Devotee (Bhagavad Gītā)
To conquer this – that is the most important thing. In the Bhagavad Gītā we see: samaḥ śatrau ca mitre ca tathā mānāpamānayoḥ, śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkheṣu samaḥ saṅga-vivarjitaḥ, tulya-nindā-stutir maunī santuṣṭo yena kenacit, aniketaḥ sthira-matis bhaktimān me priyo naraḥ – in the twelfth chapter, which has only twenty verses, Bhagavān is trying to say: this person who has these particular qualities alone is to be considered as My real devotee. Whether he is approached with respect or with enmity, whether he is mistreated, disrespected, abused, whether it is hot or cold, whether it is happiness or unhappiness – everything is treated with equal sight.
A prostitute had to teach – a public woman had to teach – this lesson to Swami Vivekananda: Prabhu mere abhāguna chita na dharo – “O Lord, please do not take into consideration my defects. Samādharaṣī hai nāma tihāro – Your name is 'Equal‑sighted'. You do not say 'This person is a sinner, this person is a great devotee'.” No, but all the suffering that comes to a person who leads what is called unrighteous life (ādharmic life) is a correction, and that is a grace of God. Only God wants to wash him off, and sometimes that washing may be painful also.
Tulya-nindā-stutir maunī – whether somebody blames him or praises him – santuṣṭo yena kenacit – whatever comes, he is more than happy. Aniketaḥ – there is no fixed place; every place is a temple for him. Sthira-matir bhaktimān me priyo naraḥ – such a devotee, such devotion alone is to be cherished and developed. Then only will he become fit to be called “My devotee”, and I will take care of that person.
So there will be viśantāḥ sapātnāḥ bhrātṛvyāḥ – relatively, it may be relatives, it may be cousins, it may be long‑distance relatives, it may be from different religions, different races, different countries – but in the eyes of a saint, everyone is absolutely the same. Sometimes even the power of the saint works out so that that person can change even a person who is cherishing negative feelings towards the saint.
The Nandana Vana Hymn
That is why there is a beautiful hymn called Dhanyāṣṭakam: Sampūrṇaṃ jagadeva nandanavanaṃ sarvāpi kalpadrumāḥ. Imagine a beautiful garden called Nandanavana – the moment you behold it, your heart is filled with unspeakable bliss, unimaginable bliss. And what type of garden is that? Every plant – sarvāpi kalpadrumāḥ – kalpavṛkṣas – that means whatever desires you have, even the smallest plant in that Nandanavana is capable of bestowing upon you the highest bliss. You do not need many; even if one wish‑fulfilling tree is beheld, it will fulfil all desires forever, not to speak of a huge beautiful garden.
Adviṣṭa sarvabhūtānāṃ maitraḥ karuṇā eva ca – the Bhagavad Gītā is, after all, the essence of all the Upaniṣads. So we have to understand this in this manner.
Summary of the Three Categories of Upāsana
What is the upāsana? You consider ākāśa as the destructive power – that means which destroys all the obstacles in the path of a spiritual aspirant and makes him as expansive as the support like this space. Such a person can give shelter to everybody and anybody.
Now with this, we have seen:
- Ādhyātmika Upāsanas – contemplations considering every limb of our body, every part of our mind as Brahman. Ultimately, that is the result.
- Then we have seen that all of us are connected through the power of the unity of the presiding deity. For example, all the powers of seeing through our eyes – we are all connected through the Sun God. But the Sun God himself is only one particular manifestation of Hiraṇyagarbha. This person is called Ādhidaivika Upāsana.
- Then we have seen Ākāśa Upāsana – the third upāsana, where ākāśa means Saguṇa Brahma. This is Saguṇa Brahma Upāsana, where the person will become the absolutely fittest person to receive the final knowledge by the grace of the Divine Mother only, because these are all manifestations of the Divine Mother. Saguṇa Brahma is addressed by Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa as Śakti.
If you think that realisation of Brahman is another step, that would be wrong. As soon as a person knows “I am the Saguṇa Brahma”, automatically he will understand “I am also the Nirguṇa Brahma”, which is expressed as Aham Brahmasmi. So that will be the result if we do all these contemplations that have been inculcated here.
The Final Result: Identity with Hiraṇyagarbha
What is the result? The person will reach the acme of spiritual progress, and then he realises “I am Hiraṇyagarbha” – in that sense also Aham Brahmasmi. But once a person realises that, there is nothing more for him to do, because after reaching identity with Saguṇa Brahma, there is no need to say “I have one more step to take.” So that is being indicated now: reminding that all these upāsanas are only slowly purifying ourselves. Purifying ourselves means removing all the limitations within ourselves and becoming identified with the larger whole, until we become identified with this first manifestation, which is called ākāśa in one sense and Saguṇa Brahma in another sense. That Saguṇa Brahma – once a person automatically attains – do not think “I am going to obtain Saguṇa Brahma.” You are Saguṇa Brahma, but your ignorance does not make you understand. What is this ignorance? Feeling of limitation – “I am limited in body, mind,” etc. All these upāsanas remove the limitations. They do not give a positive result, because it is just like cleaning a mirror. The more we clean the mirror, the better the reflection.
That is why Brahman need not be attained, because we are already Brahman, but we think we are not Brahman. Through spiritual practices, especially upāsanas, we realise that we are Brahman.
Application in Modern Terms
The same contemplations we have to understand in the form of – more than ever, even today in this twenty‑first century (2026) – whenever you think Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, for example, or Rāma or Kṛṣṇa or Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, then you will have to understand: he is Brahman, he is Ānanda Svarūpa, he is one without a second, he is all‑pervading, he is all‑supporting. Only the form has changed, but the process is exactly the same. The terminology has changed. “I want to contemplate the space” – instead of that, what we say is “I want to contemplate on Rāmakṛṣṇa.” We substituted the word ākāśa with the word Rāmakṛṣṇa or Kṛṣṇa or all this.
The Puruṣa in the Sun and in the Heart
Now that is being indicated in the next mantra. What is this mantra? Sahāścayaṃ puruṣaḥ, eṣa ya asāv ādityaḥ – we have seen this earlier also: that the Puruṣa who is inside the man and the same Puruṣa who is also in the sun – both are one. So this is the result of upāsana. Always keep in mind: upāsana means what? We approach nearer and nearer to Saguṇa Brahma, and finally there would be no separation. Then the person feels “I am Saguṇa Brahma.” So there is absolute oneness.
This is possible only because it is a fact. Suppose I do not know; somebody taught me: “You and the sun – the consciousness in you and the consciousness in the Sun God is one and the same.” But the fact is: the consciousness is separate, and your consciousness is separate, everyone's consciousness is separate. If that is the fact, any number of contemplations is not going to make us one with the Sun God. If difference is a fact, it will remain. But if difference is only a figment of my imagination, through these contemplations I destroy that wrong notion, and then I do not get anything, but what was there – that will be revealed. So it is only to manifest our divinity by removing all the obstacles by following the four paths of Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Rāja Yoga, and Jñāna Yoga.
So that is being said: actually, the being – the consciousness in you and the consciousness in the Sun God – is one and the same. By this we also have to understand: I feel difference between myself and everybody and everything, but the Sun God itself does not feel difference, because the whole creation is nothing but only the Sun God – or even Ākāśa Devatā, you can say. So as soon as I understand consciousness is one (ekam eva advitīyam), then my understanding that I am different from everything else also becomes completely eradicated, destroyed. That is the power of ākāśa. That ajñāna (ignorance) will be destroyed. That is what the Upaniṣad wants to tell us through this particular fact: Eva ātmā, paramātmā – the individual soul and the cosmic Self is absolutely one and the same. And who is this? Sūrya Devatā (Sun God) – Sat Chit Ānanda.
So what does the contemplator become? Sat Chit Ānanda. The ānanda means limited happiness; we get limited happiness because of our identity with the instrument, which is a limited instrument. When I remove the instrument, I realise that Ānanda is actually my own Ānanda, being reflected in a mirror – like our face is reflected in the mirror, reflecting in a sweet, in a house, in money, and in everything else. When this limitation is removed, then I do not see any difference between myself and anything else. There is no other self except my own Self.
Then what happens to that person who contemplates on this ākāśa and goes through all these steps – that is, ādhyātmika, ādhibhautika, and ādhidaivika? That person realises Aham Brahmasmi. Then what does he gain? What does he not gain? There would be no desires left. That is said: sa evaṃ vit – one who knows “I am Brahman” – what happens to him? It is described in an imaginary form, only graphically imagined for our understanding, but the moment takes place almost unconsciously.
The Graphic Description of Liberation
Sa ya evam vidvān – he who understands – what does he understand? That there is no separate being called Brahman. “I am Brahman.” All this while I was thinking that Brahman is somewhere there, but now I understand there is no separate Brahman. I am that Brahman. Then what happens? A beautiful graphic description: Asmāt lokāt pretya – after dying to the world – that means after the death of ignorance, after withdrawing from this world – he attains that true Self through stages (pañcakośas).
But what does the Upaniṣad say? Etam annamayam ātmānam upasaṅkramya, etam prāṇamayam ātmānam upasaṅkramya, etam manomayam ātmānam upasaṅkramya, etam vijñānamayam ātmānam upasaṅkramya, etam ānandamayam ātmānam upasaṅkramya. So what happens? First of all, as we have discussed many times, when this contemplator understands “I am Anna Brahma” – “I am Virāṭ Brahma” – that is, until then the person thinks “I am this individual body separate from everything else.” This contemplation removes all limitations and separations. From the grossest physical point of view, he says: “I am this entire creation in the grossest form.” So he expands himself to identify himself with everything.
Then he says: “This is not the final goal.” Then he looks and says: “This is an effect. Annamaya Kośa is an effect of Prāṇamaya Kośa; Prāṇamaya Kośa is an effect of Manomaya Kośa; Manomaya Kośa is an effect of Vijñānamaya Kośa; Vijñānamaya Kośa is an effect of Ānandamaya Kośa; and Ānandamaya Kośa is the manifestation of Ānanda Brahma Ātman.” So that is being described graphically. He rises above that feeling “I am the Annamaya Ātman.” That means he says: “I am the entire Annamaya Kośa. I am the entire Prāṇamaya Kośa.” This is not giving up; this is including, expanding. “I am not only Annamaya; I am Prāṇamaya, Manomaya, Vijñānamaya, Ānandamaya – and then I am really divisionless – ekam eva advitīyam.”
A Note on the Text
An important point we have to understand: this portion – etam annamaya mahātmanam upasaṅkramya – he is bodily lifted from the second chapter called Brahmānandavallī, with one small difference in word. In the second chapter, saṅkramati is the word used; here saṅkramya is used. The meaning is exactly the same.
The State of the Jīvanmukta
So what does it mean? A person who knows “I am Brahman” includes all the manifestations – that is called Saguṇa Brahma – and of course he knows “I am also Nirguṇa Brahma.” So having realised this oneness, he enjoys this world with ānanda, only bliss – ānanda, ānanda, ānanda – and no dis‑bliss. So having realised this oneness, he eats what food he likes, assumes what form he desires. He is no longer limited by any scriptural injunctions regarding food, drink, or conduct of life – a very marvellous description of the knowledge of Brahman. So he eats everything. How does he eat? He has acquired a huge mouth? No. Anybody eats – he is eating. Anybody is seeing – he is seeing. Anybody is hearing – he is hearing. Even an insect hears – he is hearing. There is no distinction. Everything is Brahman. So he attains that oneness with all – from Brahmā to the blade of grass. He finds satisfaction in the thought that every movement of any creature whatsoever is his own movement. In other words, he identifies himself with the entire creation.
The Advertisement for Brahmajñāna
So after going beyond – this is the finest realisation. What does the jñānī do? In fact, he does not do anything, but to motivate us, to inspire us, so that we aspire for Brahmajñāna, the Upaniṣad wants to put up a small advertisement: “If you subscribe to our channel, then you will get these benefits.” Imāṃ lokān kāmān kāmarūpī anusañcaran, etat sāma gāyan āste hau hau. So then he goes up and down these worlds, eating the food he desires, assuming the forms he likes. He sits singing the chant of the non‑duality of Brahman: “Hau! Hau!” – Ha means what? One – Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said – somebody from a small village far away from the sea happened to visit that place, saw the ocean, came back, and the villagers asked him. He said in the form of this... Ā means what? Āścaryavat paśyati kaścit iti – “It is the greatest wonder. How can I describe? How can a frog that is born, brought up, and grown up in a narrow well, how can it understand what is called the ocean?” This is the most beautiful story quoted by Swamiji at the Chicago Parliament of Religions. We are all like frogs in a well, thinking that what we know is the limit of knowledge. Beautiful thoughts – they will talk. There are a few things still there; we will talk about them 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!