Taittiriya Upanishad Lecture 113 Ch3 10.5-6 on 15 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: The Conclusion of Bhṛguvallī

We have been studying the last chapter – Bhṛguvallī – in the Taittirīya Upaniṣad. Now we have seen so many upāsanas, but the Upaniṣad wants to conclude. First of all, it wants to convey to us that when a person has practised these upāsanas – including, we must understand, transcending all the pañcakośas, including the ānandamaya kośa – then what does he realise? He realises jīvātma-paramātma aikya jñānam – the knowledge that there are no two beings called jīvātman and Paramātman. What in my ignorance I used to think – that I am separate from everything else, of course from God, from Brahman – is sheer ajñāna (ignorance). But then with every expansion, finally I realised there is no difference – I am one with everything.

That is beautifully expressed, which we have also discussed in our last classes. This is called a Mahāvākya. A Mahāvākya – every vākya conveys some meaning, and every vākya must have a subject, an object, and a verb. Here also, whether you take tat tvam asi or aham brahmāsmi: aham is the subject, brahma is the object, asmi is the verb – “I am Brahman.” Even though expressed through speech in this way, the truth is there is no need to tell “I am so‑and‑so” when I know – no other object exists besides Me.

That is expressed in this: sā aścayaṃ puruṣaḥ, aśa āsav ādityaḥ – that Puruṣa – I am Puruṣa, that pure being, pure consciousness in the form of Sat-Cit-Ānanda within me – this which we call “I” – and also the same Sat-Cit-Ānanda in that devatā called Āditya (the sun) – there is absolutely no difference. Put it another way: I am the sun. There is no need to say when I become one with something else. But this is a teaching; therefore, this is being expressed.

The Simile of the Ocean

“Sir, will you kindly describe the Samādhi which you call Samādhi?” – a devotee once asked Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. And then Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa gave an analogy, or rather a simile: a man who had seen the ocean came to people who never even heard about it but never seen or experienced an ocean. How can he express? “Ahhh!” – like that.

So the Upaniṣad wants to tell, after transcending all these, remember our limitations. The greatest limitation is the annamaya kośa; the smallest limitation is the ānandamaya kośa. But this person was being guided by a competent Guru who himself was a realised soul, and there is no other chance – as Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to say: once a water snake bites, neither the frog dies nor the water snake is happy. But if it is a cobra, then within at most two or three times this fellow will struggle, then he dies. So the ahaṃkāra dies to merge with the Mahāahaṃkāra, which is Brahman. The finite merges into the Infinite, and that is the experience beautifully expressed.

The Oneness of the Individual and the Cosmic

So it does not mean a realised soul is only identifying himself with the sun. “I am the sun, I am the moon, I am the entire universe” – ahaṃ manoḥ, ahaṃ brahma, ahaṃ bhuvanāḥ – as Triśaṅku Kurūśī expressed, “I am everything.” That means there is nothing besides Me. Even that word “everything” is only to a person who is experiencing everything and who thinks “I am a small, infinitesimal part of that everything.”

So sā aścayaṃ puruṣaḥ – there is only one Puruṣa – alpavedyā. Puruṣa means He who is alpavedyā. Aśa āsav ādityaḥ – He is in the sun, in the moon, in a blade of grass, in a small piece of stone. He is there in fact in the atom, in the particles, in everything. There is nowhere where He is not. Wherever we say “is” – that “is‑ness” is Brahman.

So this person, through these upāsanas, is transcending the cakras. Slowly he realised, “I am Brahman.” That is being expressed here: sā aścayaṃ puruṣaḥ, aśa āsav ādityaḥ – sa ekaḥ – there is no difference. And this sa ekaḥ – “both are one” – is a teaching, not an experience, but it is the expression of an experience. Actually, even we should never say “I experience myself as a human being.” Are you going to go on thinking to yourself or telling to others, “Do you know I'm a human being?” You do not do that. But to teach “this is a cow, this is a goat, this is a tree” – for the sake of teaching, all these expressions have come, because this experience is not ours – it is only āṭāśaya.

The Advertisement for Brahmajñāna

Naturally, as I mentioned last time, some advertisement is necessary. The Upaniṣad uses this. What is the advertisement? Every advertisement has to tell a utility – describe: “If you buy this car, then your journey will be faster, pleasant” – like that, some benefit has to be described. That is one.

Then what happens to this person? That is being described beautifully here. So sa yaḥ sa ya evaṃ vidvān – one who realises – what is the realisation? Aham Brahmasmi. And when did he realise? Asmāl lokāt pretya. The meaning of the word pretya means “after dying”. But usually when we hear the word “dying” or “after death”, we think of the physical body dying, losing its vital force. But that is not the real meaning. The real meaning is: having realised “I am not the physical body, I am not the vital force, I am not the mind, I am not the deciding factor, I am not even the ānandamaya loka” – in other words, the same thing: “I am not the waker, I am not the dreamer, I am not the sleeper.” That is the meaning of dying. That means he is, as it were, gone.

Turya – Not a Fourth State

Then a doubt might come: just like outside India there are many other countries, so outside these three states of waking, dream, and dreamless there might be another state called Turya. Many times we discussed this point: there is no state called Turya. That which includes all the states without the slightest differentiation is called Turya. “I am Brahman, I am pure consciousness” – that is called Turyāvasthā.

So when does a person attain to that state? So long as a person identifies “I am this body, I am this mind, I am this causal body” – so long he is limited. Even though in these three limitations there is a degree of difference. When a person is identified with the waking state, his limitation is tremendous. When he identifies with the mind, the limitation is much less, but when he is in the deep sleep state it is much reduced because the entire cosmos has disappeared, as it were, along with the body and mind. That is why he says: “I am not aware of the body and mind” – that is the meaning of “I do not know anything; I know nothing about the waking state and dream state.” That is what it really means. But I know I am in this deep sleep state – what is that state? There is no second, and it is not limited by time, space, or any object. And it is indescribable bliss that is going to be described.

The Upaniṣad is never tired of repeating, any number of times, until each one of us understands. This is what Swami Vivekananda had expressed: “I will not rest until every jīva knows he is Brahman.” How does he do that? Through the teachings of various teachers, etc.

The Meaning of Asmāl Lokāt Pretya

So asmāl lokāt pretya – arising from this world, asmat – “this” means the present world with which I am totally identified. When we are in the waking state, we are totally identified with the gross external world. When we are dreaming, we are identified with only our own mind – not with anybody's mind, but with this mind only. But when we are in deep sleep, only with our causal body. It is called causal body because it is the cause of both the waking and dream.

So this person is not separating himself, but he is understanding that the waking world is part of the dream world; the dream world is part of the dreamless world. But this dreamless world, with both the waking and dream potentially hidden, is also a limitation. But I am that who has become these entire states – I am the physical body, I am the mind, I am the causal body – not only of myself, but the entire creation. That knowledge – “I am everything” – is called Aham Brahmasmi.

So when a person – that is going to come here. We have already described it in brief; I am only recollecting. He who knows that everything is contained in Me – I am everything, and I create for the sake of sport all these pañcakośas or three bodies, etc. Then only when a person can remain in that state where there is no second – only one, I am the only One – he is called a jñānī of Brahman.

The Ascent Through the Five Kośas

We have also discussed: sa ya evaṃ vit – he who has realised – meaning not knowing by studying scriptures, books, or hearing it from lectures, but actually experiencing it – asmāl lokāt pretya. So what happens, like a person climbing a five‑storied house, that is being described: etam annamayam ātmānam upasaṅkramya – similarly, that is transcending: “I am not only this annamaya kośa; I am not only prāṇamaya kośa; I am not only the manomaya kośa; I am not only the vijñānamaya kośa; I am not only the ānandamaya kośa – etam ānandamayam ātmānam upasaṅkramya – knowing that all these are My lower expressions.” So he understands at last: sarvaṃ ahaṃ sarvam abhavam – that is my nature. Aham Brahmasmi means I did not newly become Brahman – I was, I am, I will be – but I was ignorant of it for some time.

So he attains the Self which consists of all these pañcakośas.

The Advertisement Continues – The State of the Jīvanmukta

Then this is the advertisement – the Upaniṣad wants to tell us: “So what would be the result?” “Okay sir, I try to practise all these upāsanas – then what do I gain?” “Oh, you gain Brahma jñāna.” “Okay, I understood it; you repeated it umpteen number of times, but what do I actually get?”

He says: having realised this oneness, knowing his oneness with all from Brahmā to the blade of grass, he finds satisfaction in the thought that any action of any creature – whether it was in the past, or it is now, or going to be in the future – is Me only. I in the form of an amoeba, I in the form of a human being, I in the form of the greatest realised soul. I am the fool, I am the wise man, I am a child, I am a learned person, I am the subject, I am the king – I am everything. There is nothing that is not Me.

So the Upaniṣad wants to say: such a person is called a jīvanmukta.

The Will to Return – Bodhisattva Ideal

Why is it necessary for us to know? Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says that when a person attains nirvikalpa samādhi, most of the people who attain do not wish to come back. But some people cherish a will from the very beginning – these are called bodhisattvas in Buddhistic literature. “If God gives me an opportunity, I would like to come back.” This is what Swami Śivānandaji used to say: “I intensely prayed to Thākur that next time when You come, I would like to come and serve You, participate in Your divine līlā of establishing dharma. And out of His boundless grace, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa had granted it. So I will come from next time onwards.” Now, according to Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, six antaraṅgas – Āryaśvara Koṭīs – next time there would be seven; the number will be increasing perhaps, we do not know.

Whereas if you ask Swamiji – “To hell with that, I never want to come back.” Even Holy Mother said – when Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said “Whenever I come down, you have to come down to hold my hukā” – Holy Mother replied: “I am not hooked to your hukā. I am free. I don't want to see your face again – enough troubles you have given me.” But Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa loved and said: “We are like a huge creeper on a pond; you pull any side of the creeper, the whole entire creeper has to move.” Of course, Holy Mother knows that they are not separate – she cannot separate herself from Brahman and Śakti; the inseparability of Abheda.

The Jīvanmukta's Life – Iman Lokān Kāmān Kāmarūpī Anusañcaran

Now this Bhṛguvallī wants to say: such a person who lives even after experiencing what is called that knowledge – Aham Brahmasmi, which is incidentally called nirvikalpa samādhi – so what does he do? He becomes a jīvanmukta. Body and mind are still functioning, but this person is free. He is not a jīva anymore; he has become free from that “I am a jīva” notion. He attains pūrṇatvam – fullness – Aham Brahmasmi. It is not a temporary experience. Nobody can say: “I attained pūrṇatvam once, but now I have forgotten; I want to attain it once more, only once more.” No. Then what does he realise? “I was always Pūrṇa; am I always Pūrṇa; will always be Pūrṇa.” This is called Jīvanmukti.

And ānanda also means pūrṇatvam, because even trying to understand from an ordinary point of view: suppose you are very thirsty and you get cold water and you drink a full glass, and then you become full – your thirst is gone; temporarily, in that respect, you become pūrṇa. You don't say “I lack it” – “I am Pūrṇa, I want to drink some more water.” But if you are given only a small glass of water in this burning heat, then you feel “somewhat my thirst is quenched, but I still am not Pūrṇa.” So there would be no desire left out because he becomes everything. What does he become? He becomes the enjoyer, he becomes the enjoyed.

That is being expressed in the form of a song. The Vedas chanted in a particular way, in a sing‑song way, is called Sāmagāna. That is going to be described here: that Ātma ānanda, Brahman ānanda, is expressed by this jīvanmukta in the form of this song.

The Chant – Hāū, Hāū, Hāū

So you will see hā u, hā u, hā u – so there will be a small numeral: you will see if you see the original text, after ha there will be a numeral 3 – it is for the sake of singing. So three times, three measures of akāra – hā u hā u hā u, hā u hā u hā u, hā u hā u hā u – it is for the facility of singing because Sāmagāna means for singing only; it is written like that. Then ho is repeated thrice.

Aho means āścaryam – “till now I was thinking I am finite; now I know I am the infinite.” So it is an experience which was never felt by me before. Just as when we see something marvellous for the first time, that is called āścaryam. Second time – aho is āścaryataram because the understanding dawns upon this person: “This is not one of the objects which are so marvellous, so wonderful – there may be other objects.” Then this person understands: “This is the final object; there is no more to be experienced, to know that Aham Brahmasmi is the final experience.” So the third aho is what we call in English language – comparative degrees: positive degree, comparative degree, superlative degree. These are to express: “I cannot express what I am experiencing.” That is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says – “Ahhh!” That is being described here.

So once that experience comes – “I am Brahman” – ānanda svarūpa – there is nothing else; I am ānanda. So imāṃ lokān kāmān kāmarūpī anusañcaran, etat sāma gāyan āste hā u hā u hā u.

The Jīvanmukta's Movement Through the Worlds

Then this jīvanmukta, he goes up and down uttering these words. Actually, he is not uttering these words – they just come out. You see, sometimes when you behold some sight without our meaning to say something, something immediately comes out: “How shocking!” – if you see a horrible sight – “How marvellous!” or “Oh my God!” – these are expressions that come. So from the jīvanmukta, the first time he glimpses his own nature: “Oh, this is Me! How, what a wonderful thing, what a surprising thing! I never knew that I am like this – this is my real nature.”

So what does he do? Iman lokān kāmān kāmarūpī anusañcaran, etat sāmagāyan asti.

Before we proceed further, I would like to add a small bit of helpful commentary. What it means is that this person goes on moving through this infinite creation, including all the narakas (hells), all these – bhūloka (our earthly world) and all the above six higher worlds called the heavenly worlds. So Gandharvaloka, Manuṣya-Gandharvaloka, Prajāpati Loka, Indra Loka, Bṛhaspati Loka, Brahma Loka – these are only descriptions of increasing degree and quality of happiness in the highest world. So he goes on moving about because he is everywhere. He just has to – “I want to go to Brahma Loka” – he need not go because he is everywhere. Simply, he opens his mouth. Now, I would like to imagine I am in Brahma Loka like an elderly person playing with his grandchildren – he wants to close his eyes and say, “Now I don't see anything.” So this is a play.

The Joke About God and Holidays

What I wanted to add is: a jīvanmukta has erased every type of desire from his mind, and there is no place where he can go because he is everywhere. Where can he go? That is why there is a joke about God: “I am better than God. I can do what God cannot do. What is that? God cannot go on a holiday, but I can go on a holiday – because I am limited, I can move from one place to another place. But Brahman cannot go anywhere – poor Brahman, because He is everywhere; He need not go anywhere.”

So not that a jīvanmukta – what it really means is, so long as he lives, first of all, he will be living in Brahman ānanda. Secondly, whoever comes into contact – especially mentally – whoever equates to his presence, to the extent that is possible, he will also share the same amount of knowledge and ānanda. That is why when people used to rush, whether it was to Kṣudhirām, whether it was to Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa or Holy Mother or Ramana Maharṣi, they all felt in his presence totally uplifted.

An Incident of Swami Vivekananda

There is a beautiful incident. Swami Vivekananda was moving as this jīvanmukta, especially in his last days. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said: “I have covered up your Brahma jñāna, kept it in a box; and when Mother's work is complete, then I will open the box and then you can enjoy.” So Swamiji was in that state, just wearing some kaupīnam. He used to roam about the whole Belur Maṭh. Of course, in those days Belur Maṭh – frequent visitors were not there; it was a place difficult to go, and if somebody heard about it, he had to search for that place because it was not famous at all at that time. Now it has become very famous.

So he used to roam about, he used to tend to some gardens – especially he was very fond of some pet animals. He had a goat, he had a duck, and once this duck caught cold in the rainy season, and he exclaimed: “This is nothing but Kālikāla!” – when a duck catches cold in the rain, that must be definitely a kālikāla. So he used to roam about.

This incident happened in his very presence, according of course to the receptive capacity of the people who came near him. They would experience definitely higher states of consciousness.

One evening, Swamiji was sitting in front of the Maṭh building – there was a mango tree; underneath there were some benches, and in the evening they used to gather and marvellous talks used to take place many times. At that time, Swami Premanandaji used to do the worship in the shrine. So he went out into the Ganges to bring some Ganges water for the sake of the worship with a big pot. So he filled it up. When he went, everything was normal, and then what happened? Swamiji entered into a great mood, and then he started telling: “Where are you seeking for Brahman? Here, here, here is Brahman!” – and he went into samādhi. Everybody was totally uplifted according, as I said, to the capacity of their reception. At that time, Brahmanandaji, through the Maṭh building, came out just at that time, and then he heard these words: “Where are you seeking Brahman? Here, here, here is Brahman!” – and he went into samādhi for nearly fifteen minutes. Everybody was in that state. Swamiji became aware of the external world and immediately he noticed it and said: “All right, now carry on.” Then Baburam's mind also came down. That was a memorable experience for everybody.

The Presence of a Mahāpuruṣa

In the very presence of a Mahāpuruṣa, one can attain to that state. Although unknown, many people used to rush to Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa – not because to hear his words, not merely because he was a marvellous singer, not merely to hear his glorious singing with the sweetest voice anybody had ever heard on this earth – M himself was mesmerised – but no, because they used to feel something which is unearthly, that means unworldly. For that purpose, many people used to rush to Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, including some of the Brahmā devotees – not everybody. They could not say what it was, but they definitely felt it whenever they came. It was not a one‑time experience – many times experience.

So this jīvanmukta – not that he has some desires: “I want to go to Brahma Loka; I want to assume this particular form; I want to experience this particular object” – no. In fact, a jīvanmukta will have no individual mind of his own, no individual saṃskāras. All of them have merged themselves into one saṃskāra which is called Brahma saṃskāra – that is, “I am Brahma.” That is the only thought in their minds.

The Meaning of Kāmarūpī and Kāmanī

So what does he do? Very beautifully, this Bhṛguvallī is describing: imāṃ lokān kāmān kāmarūpī anusañcaran – then he goes up and down these worlds, eating the food he desires, enjoying the object he desires to enjoy, assuming any form that he likes. What is kāmanī? Kāmanī means kāmato annam asyāyīti kāmanī – that is, just a desire happens, pops up into his mind. It is already present, and that is the object of his desire is called annam, as we also discussed earlier. Annam does not mean only the food that we eat by the mouth; annam means any enjoyable object. In fact, he is the eater; he is also the object of eating – that is what very soon we are going to come to.

Kāmarūpī – any form that he assumes. Again, we have to substitute that word: “he assumes” – God assumes through that previous jīvanmukta's body. What does it mean? There is a beautiful description of a jīvanmukta by Ādi Śaṅkarācārya – Jīvanmuktānanda Laharī – and in Vivekacūḍāmaṇi, towards the end, we get descriptions of the enjoyment, the bliss, in many ways.

Becoming One with Every Company

Suppose this jīvanmukta happens to be among small children – he becomes a small child. They will not feel that he is a grown‑up man. You know, at every age, we reject people who are under‑age or over‑age. Rabindranath Tagore describes this beautiful situation of an adolescent: an adolescent is halfway between childhood and youthhood, grown‑up‑hood. So he wants to be with the elders – sometimes elders reject him: “You are a young boy, go and play with your age‑group people.” He wants to play with small children – small children say: “You are grown up.” Grown‑up people say: “You are a small child.” He does not know what to do. So Rabindranath Tagore beautifully described the state of adolescence – longing sometimes to be with younger children, sometimes with grown‑up people – both of them outright reject that person.

So kāmarūpī means assuming any form he wants. First of all, he does not assume – it is God's will. What does he do when he finds himself among children? He becomes a child. When the same person finds himself in the company of young people, he becomes a most noticeable young person. When he is in the presence of a Mahārāja or king, every Mahārāja instinctively realises there is no greater Mahārāja – emperor – than this person. When he finds himself among scholars, they find he is the greatest scholar because all the Vedas emanate from him only. And when he finds himself among fools, he will be the most foolish person. So whatever be the object, he will become one with that, completely identified, and very naturally – that is the state, but always swimming in the ocean of bliss. Wherever he goes, not only he enjoys, but by his very presence, other people also enjoy it together.

Kāmarūpī as Let Thy Will Be Done

This is the meaning of kāmarūpī – not that “Oh, now I would like to dress myself like this; I want to see how I look like.” He has no self‑will – there is only God's will: Let Thy will be done. That is called kāmarūpī – whatever God wants to do with him. That is beautifully expressed in the Bengali song: O Mother, yeman korao temni kori – “Whatever way You want me, so I do.” Yeman nācāo temni nāci – “Whenever and however You want me to dance, I will do that.” Yeman bolāo temni boli – “You make me speak” – because a jīvanmukta does not say “I am an individual; I am speaking” – it is only Brahman who makes Him a beautiful instrument, a medium for teaching people, for slapping people, for even killing people.

What did Śrī Kṛṣṇa do? He said: “It is My will that all these people will be destroyed. So I assume the form of Time so that I can play with this world.” That is why – kālaḥ kalarūpaḥ kālo'haṃ lokakṣaya kṛt pravṛddhaḥ – “I manifest in this form of Time; kāla means death. All these people – eighteen akṣauhiṇīs, which is a great number in those days – I have already killed them in the form of Time. Time has already killed not only people in the past and present – everybody who will be born after a billion years is already dead after a billion and a hundred years.” So we have to understand this.

So he becomes a great bhakta, becomes a great jñānī, becomes a great yogī, becomes a great karma yogī – whatever he wants. What does he do? He sits singing the chant of the non‑duality of Brahman: Hā u, hā u, hā u. No, we should not misunderstand – he is not doing it. That is Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's favourite expression: “I know nothing. My Mother knows everything. I just eat and sleep. I don't know anything else.” Now we have to apply that: kāmarūpī anusañcaran – that is what every jīvanmukta will do.

Ramana Maharṣi's Example

Once somebody chided Ramana Maharṣi: “Mahatma Gandhi is inspiring everybody so that India can become free, and Ramana, you are not doing anything – you are only teaching Aham Brahmasmi, find out who you are.” But Ramana Maharṣi smiled – he never got angry, annoyed, upset. He said: “Do you think that only shouting, standing on platforms alone is an inspiring act?” He meant even by the very presence, very wish, one can inspire.

That is why Swami Vivekananda said: “There are realised souls whom the world never knew – they never come out into the public eye, but every thought that they think becomes a most marvellous, powerful thought, like a billion nuclear bombs – it goes and brings about revolution.” That is what actually the Divine Mother does it: loke bole tumar karma tumi kora, loke bole ami kori – very important statement, repeated umpteen number of times. Whatever is happening now, do not get disturbed – “Why is this Prime Minister behaving like this? Why is this President behaving like this? Why are these evil people doing so much evil?” – because we do not know our past, present, and future, let alone other people. It is all the will of the Mother.

Swami Vivekananda learned his lesson in Kashmir, at Śārabhāvanī, when he felt: “I would have defended and then I would have probably saved this temple of the Mother.” Mother said: “Is it you who is going to protect Me, or am I going to protect you?” And he came back; he wrote Kālī – the most marvellous mystical song: every shaking step destroys a world for Earth. It is Her will – sṛṣṭi, sthiti – and where there is creation, there must also be destruction. We should never forget it.

The Mantra of Non‑Duality – Aham Annam, Aham Annādah

So this chant proclaims the oneness of the seer with all – subject and object, and the principle that unites them. So there is a subject, there is an object, and there is something that unites them. Whenever I say “I am enjoying this food” – I am the subject, food is the object, but there is some power, some instrument which unites me (the subject) with the food (the object) and brings about an Advaitic realisation – that is called ānanda.

So he says: Aham annam, aham annam, aham annam – unthinkingly out comes the expression: “I am the food, I am the food, I am the food.” What is food? Whatever is experienced, whatever is an object, that is called annam. “I am all that is experienced. I am all that anybody can experience. There is nobody separate from me. I am everything that is enjoyed, experienced – I am every bhogya.”

Not only that – who is the enjoyer? Aham annādaḥ, aham annādaḥ, aham annādaḥ – annam means food, food means object of experience; annāda means the enjoyer, the experiencer of that object – the subject. “I am the eater of the food, I am the eater of the food, I am the eater of the food. I am also the experiencer, I am the one bhogī. There is nothing called object, there is nothing called subject – I myself have become the subject, I myself have become the object, and I myself have become that middle part which unites, which joins the subject with the object.”

So Śaṅkarācārya, I think somewhere in Vivekacūḍāmaṇi, somewhere says: among boys a jīvanmukta is like a boy; among the learned he is like a learned one; among the dumb he is like a dumb person. Thus internally he is ever blissful.

Therefore, aham bhoktāsmi – “I am the enjoyer.” aham bhogyam asmi – “I am the enjoyed.” pramātā aham asmi – “I am the knower.” prameyam aham asmi – “I am the known.” And not only that: aham ślokakṛt – ślokakṛt means he who brings about these opposites and makes them what is called an indivisible whole. śloka – that is what – so we should not mistake this word śloka. The Bhagavad Gītā contains around seven hundred ślokas like that; that is what he is telling. And everything is being repeated: aham ślokakṛt, aham ślokakṛt, aham ślokakṛt, ahagur ślokakṛt, ahagur ślokakṛt, ahagur ślokakṛt – so “I am that which brings the subject and object together, producing thereby the entire creation. Entire creation is nothing but the subject, the object, and their combination. I am their uniter – I am the uniter, I am the uniter.”

Aham Asmi Prathamajā Ṛtāsyā

Not only that: aham asmi prathamajā ṛtāsyā – “and that which was born before the creation has started – vyakta (manifest), avyakta (unmanifest) – in this world, that means before creation, I am the Saguṇa Brahma, I am the Īśvara, I am the Hiraṇyagarbha, I am the Śakti according to Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa.” And then he says: aham asmi prathamajā – “I am the firstborn” – the Nirguṇa Brahma is manifesting now in the form of the Saguṇa Brahma. And then he says long, long before any gods or pañcabhūtas are created – aham asmi – “I manifested as the Saguṇa Brahma.”

Not only that: aham amṛtasya nābhāyā – “and the support of immortality” – because I am immortality. Anybody who seeks immortality – I only pretend that I have forgotten that I am immortal, but as if I want to attain my own nature, I will do spiritual practice, and then I bestow upon myself the spiritual progress, and finally, as if I unveiled the knowledge of Brahman to myself. It is all divine play – it is called Līlā.

So he says amṛtasya nābhāyi – nābhi means what? “I am the hub round which the entire creation moves about.” That means, in the form of Sat, Cit, and Ānanda, I alone am manifesting as everything.

The Glory of Bestowing Help

There are some more beautiful thoughts, and that is the glory of bestowing help to other people – either in the form of food, or objects, or money, or support, or prayer in some way or the other. So the Upaniṣad wants to tell: to listen to all the descriptions of a jñānī of Brahman is wonderful, but that person – do you know what he did? This is what he did. Do you know how he lived? This is how he lived. And anybody who wants the same result has to live exactly like a previous jīvanmukta lived.

That is what Jesus Christ says to a rich young man who said: “So teach me how I can enter into the kingdom of heaven.” He said: “Whatever you have, distribute it” – that is called karma yoga. And then: “Oh, I have been following all the religious injunctions from my childhood.” “In that case, take up the cross and follow Me” – that is develop what is called sannyāsa – detachment from everything, which means you identify yourself with everything; that is called true sannyāsa. That is called “taking up the cross” – cut off this limitation, this limitedness, this finiteness – try to understand you are the Unlimited – “and follow Me” – that means you take the footsteps of a jīvanmukta; then you will also become another Jesus Christ.

Beautiful thoughts. 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!