Taittiriya Upanishad Lecture 114 Ch3 10.6 on 22 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

The Conclusion of Bhṛguvallī

We have practically entered the end – the last, third chapter of the Taittirīya Upaniṣad – we have been studying. First of all, we studied the Mahāvākya. A Mahāvākya is a statement of realisation, a statement of teaching by the Upaniṣad that there is no difference between jīvātman and Paramātman, between the individual soul and the supreme reality. In other words, excepting Brahman, there is nothing else. And this realisation comes to a person – he who understands: "I am the same being that is manifesting as the sun, the being, the shining being who is in the sun, and that same being who is in the hṛdayākāśa, cidākāśa, as manifesting as pure consciousness within me – there is no difference. It is one without a second."

The Process of Realisation

A person realises. How does he realise? That is being repeated here. Just to remind ourselves, because we have already studied it: asmāt lokāt pretya, sa ya evaṃ vit – one who understands. That means before understanding: "I am Brahman, I am the Infinite, there is nothing else besides me. Everything that is being experienced, that is nothing but Brahman." So what happens? Asmāt lokāt pretya – he gets out of that bond of ignorance, the limit of ignorance. Loka means this identity with anātman. Then he completely rises above it. The Sanskrit word pretya means "having died", but that is not the meaning here – it means "having risen above the body‑mind identity".

And here we have to note that rising beyond the body‑mind means rising beyond the entire creation, the entire world (sṛṣṭi), because our body is the only means of experiencing what is outside. There is no outside without the body‑mind complex.

The Ascent Through the Five Kośas

How did this person attain? That is being reiterated: etam annamayam ātmānam upasaṅkramya, etc. So from the identification "I am the body", he rises to that identification: "I am not only this particular individual body, but I am the entire creation" – and at this level, I am the gross body – I am the universal, collective gross body. So here upasaṅkramya means "rising above". Rising above does not mean as we popularly understand – supposing you are climbing some staircase, as soon as you put both feet on the next higher step, the step below it remains separate. Not like that. That means I am expanding. So when I expand and feel "I am the universal body", I am called Virāṭ – that is called Anna Brahma state, which we had seen how Bhṛgu had ascended. Then he includes everything – everything grows.

Then he goes one step higher, which is prāṇamaya kośa, and that includes the annamaya kośa (Virāṭ annamaya kośa). And then he goes to the mind: "I am the universal mind, I am the universal ahaṃ understanding" – vijñānamaya kośa. Then he attains the highest bliss possible by any dualistic person. Then he transcends that – everybody's happiness, even the happiness of an insect, is my happiness, because there is no insect; I am that insect. I am only manifesting. Even to say "I am manifesting" is also not an adequate word. When I say "I am everything", there is no everything – ekam eva advitīyam – I am one without a second. But to make people like us, who are ignorant, who see everything different from everything else, this expression is given here.

So etam ānandamayam ātmānam upasaṅkramya – he becomes one with the entire universe.

The Jīvanmukta's Expression

Then, as if he is surprised – is he surprised? He is a jīvanmukta. Such a person is called a jīvanmukta. Is he surprised? No, he is not surprised. Maybe he will be surprised: "How come that I have forgotten I am Brahman?" But again, these are all our thoughts on the state of a jīvanmukta. He is not surprised, because our guess – that is, people who are still experiencing dualism, our best purified guess – is that that jīvanmukta, we are only imagining his state. Remember, it is not our realisation. That jīvanmukta must be feeling: "What a beautiful sport I am having! I am the immovable, indescribable, supreme reality called Brahman; I am also this manifested universe, which is called līlā."

And Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa describes this state: the Divine Mother commanded Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa after a continuous experience of nirvikalpa samādhi for six long months. As I mentioned, from somewhere a holy man comes and feeds Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa with a little bit of food, standing by the side of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. Whenever he finds Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's consciousness comes a little bit to the body, he forcibly tried to put a bit of food into his mouth. But most of it used to fall off, because even if somebody puts food into our mouth, we have to swallow it – even sometimes that swallowing is not possible. But that little food that went inside was sufficient to sustain his body, because the activity of the body is minimum – almost like the hibernation of a bear, etc.

The Mantra of Non‑Duality: Aham Annam, Aham Annādaḥ

So, as if he is surprised – as I said, he is not really surprised – what does he say?

Ahamannam, ahamannam, ahamannam – the plain meaning of annam is food. Food here means whatever is experienced. "I am the experiencer. I am the experience. I am the food" – meaning I am that which is experienced. I am the object – I am the object, I am the object, I am every object. Aham annam, aham annam, aham annam.

But there must be somebody to experience: aham annādaḥ, aham annādaḥ, aham annādaḥ – "I am the eater of the food." So these are very singable types of mantras – Sāmagāyan. That is why this is called Sāmagāna. From the Ṛgveda, whatever mantras are amenable to singing in a particular way, those mantras together are called Sāmaveda.

So then, everything is an object – I am that object. Not only that – I am the subject. Annāda means eater of food – means experiencer of everything through all the five sense organs. There are no more than five senses.

Aham Ślokakṛt

And then: aham ślokakṛt, aham ślokakṛt, aham ślokakṛt. Aham asmi prathamajā ṛtasya, pūrvaṃ devebhyo amṛtasya nābhāyi. Yo mā dadāti sa ideva mā avāḥ, aham annam annam adantam admi, aham viśvaṃ bhuvanam abhyabhavām, suvarṇa jyotiḥ. Ya evaṃ veda iti upaniṣad – with this, Bhṛguvallī is over; the Taittirīya Upaniṣad is also over.

The Meaning of the Mantra

"I am the food. I am the eater of the food. I am the object which can be experienced, and I am the one who experiences it."

As I quoted last time, such a jīvanmukta – how does he behave? If he happens to be in the company of boys, children, he becomes a child. If he happens to be in the midst of great learned people, then he becomes one of the greatest learned persons. And if he happens to be in the midst of the dumb – that means fools – he becomes a greater fool. He will be a king in every respect. Thus, internally he is ever pure, because who is the dumb? Brahman is the dumb. Who is the boy? Brahman is the boy. Who is the scholar? Brahman is the scholar. Who is the king? Brahman is the king. Who are the subjects? Brahman is the subject. Everything is Brahman.

So in Sanskrit: aham bhoktāsmi – "I am the enjoyer." Aham bhogyam asmi – bhokta means enjoyer, bhogyam means enjoyed. Pramātā aham asmi – "I am the knower." Prameyam aham asmi – "whatever is known, whatever is to be known, everything is me."

Not only that: aham ślokakṛt – ślokakṛt means what? A very beautiful word – the word śloka. The moment you hear the Sanskrit word, you are familiar with these ślokas from the Bhagavad Gītā, etc. Whatever ślokas are there in the Upaniṣads are usually called mantras; and whatever mantras are there in the Smṛti granthas (secondary texts) are called ślokas – but the meaning they convey is absolutely the same. That is why there is no difference between the Bhagavad Gītā, the Bhāgavatam, so many mythologies, and the Upaniṣads. The Gospel of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is one of the greatest Upaniṣads. That is why very often I say: the essence of the Vedas are the Upaniṣads; the essence of the Upaniṣads is the Bhagavad Gītā; the essence of the Bhagavad Gītā is the Gospel of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. And the essence of the Gospel of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is the very first chapter, wherein every single teaching that we find throughout the Gospel of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is to be found there, as if it is the summarisation.

The Bhagavad Gītā's Opening

As an example, in the Bhagavad Gītā, as soon as Arjuna surrendered himself to Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa, then immediately Kṛṣṇa started. So the very first thing: "You are grieving for those who need not be grieved, should not be grieved." So that is how it starts, and that is the essence of the entire Upaniṣads: "Why are you grieving?" Grieving means you are bound. But you should not grieve, because you are nitya muktaḥ – aśocyān anvaśocastvaṃ prajñāvādāṃś ca bhāṣase, gatāsūn agatāsūṃś ca nānuśocanti paṇḍitāḥ – a realised soul. Here paṇḍita does not mean a learned scholar; paṇḍita means a realised soul. He who knows "I am the Ātman" knows there is nothing else excepting Ātman. There is no Bhīṣma, Droṇa, or anybody else – not even you, Arjuna, not even me, Kṛṣṇa. Everything is Brahman only. Such a person – ānanda, ānanda, ānanda – joy, greater joy, greatest joy.

The Meaning of Ślokakṛt

So in the context of the Upaniṣad, śloka means the mantra. But in this context, in this Bhṛguvallī, ślokakṛt means: "I am manifesting both as the subject and object, the enjoyer and the enjoyed, the knower and the known." That is the meaning we have to take. So "I am that which – I am manifesting myself as food. I am manifesting myself as the eater of the food." That means I am the uniter – aham ślokakṛt, aham ślokakṛt, aham ślokakṛt. When I know what I am, I realise nothing else is separate from me – I am everything.

Aham Asmi Prathamajā Ṛtasya

Aham asmi prathamajā ṛtasya – "I am that which was born before anything." Prathamajā – prathama means first, jā means born. Aham asmi – "I am the firstborn." And a beautiful name is given: ṛta. This ṛta means Saguṇa Brahma – "I am the Saguṇa Brahma, I am the Īśvara, I am the Hiraṇyagarbha, I am the Virāṭ, I am that which was born before anything."

Anything means – we have seen in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka, Mūrta and Amūrta Brāhmaṇa. Mūrta means that which is clearly experienceable – that is the earth, waters, and fire. Remember, the whole creation is the cause of the entire creation – so earth, water, sun, fire – pṛthivī, jala, and agni. But two – air and space – remember, do not mistake, they are not experienceable – do not say that. They are experienceable but not visible. I can see the fire, I can see the water, I can see the earth. I cannot see the air. But without air – how do I know air exists? Because if air does not exist, that means if oxygen does not exist, I will not exist. So how do I know that space exists? Because even if I turn my head a little bit like this, that requires space, emptiness. Space means emptiness – do not say "empty space"; that is redundant. So that proves ākāśa means emptiness, but this emptiness means pure consciousness. Without pure consciousness, nothing can work. So that is the meaning we have to take.

I Am the Saguṇa Brahma

"I am the Saguṇa Brahma." In the words of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, "I am the Śakti." In the words of the Upaniṣads, "I am Saguṇa Brahma, or Hiraṇyagarbha, or Virāṭ, or Īśvara – all these words will do as well." So "that which was – I am the first one." First one means what? Before this creation – creation means what? That which is visible, that which is also not visible – mūrta and amūrta. So that is the meaning: I am Brahmājī – in the Purāṇas, it is "I am called Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, etc." I am the creator – Brahmā.

Pūrvaṃ devebhyo – "these gods, etc., were born long after I was born" – or rather, to put it directly, I am only first: I was born, or rather, the first manifestation of Brahman is Saguṇa Brahma. And my manifestations as Saguṇa Brahma are all the gods, the whole physical world, and the individual body – Ādhyātmika, Ādhibhautika, and Ādhidaivika.

Ahaṃ pūrvaṃ devebhyo – "I am the firstborn of even the gods."

Aham Amṛtasya Nābhāyi

Aham amṛtasya nābhāyi – nābhāyi means for the sake of singing it is nābhāyi, but it means nābhi – nābhi means navel, navel means the central part, and because of that central part – the hub – everything, the whole wheel, is attached to the hub. "I am the central hub. I am the center of immortality – amṛtasya nābhi. I am the hub of immortality. I am the center of immortality." So the immortality that is in every being is centered in me. Nābhi means the center, the source – source of what? Source of amṛta – immortality. "I am the center of immortality."

That means – what is this amṛta? Knowledge – the knowledge that "I am Brahman. There is nothing besides me. I am the Nirguṇa Brahman. Thereafter I am the Saguṇa Brahman. I am the creation – everything." So I myself am appearing as this created mortal universe – mortal jīvas, mortal objects. The entire creation is nothing but me, and it is my manifestation. And if I am immortal, if everything is my manifestation, then everything also must be immortal, deathless. That is what it means – in other words, as Śaṅkarācārya puts it so beautifully: mat-saṃsthaṃ prāṇinām amṛtatvam ityarthaḥ.

What is it? When people come to know me as what – that "I thought I am different, God is different" – that is our present state. But when through practices like Bhṛgu had done, when they come to know, when they come to realise me, that "I am Brahman" – because I am of the nature of immortality – anybody, they become amṛta. What does it mean? It means if people do not know me as Brahman, as the eternal, as the infinite, they remain finite. Finite means limited, limited means ignorant, ignorant means bound. Bound means they are born again and again, experiencing both happiness and unhappiness in turns.

The Glory of Annadāna (Giving Food)

Now this realised soul again wants to remind: "How did I become a person of knowledge? How did I realise 'I am Brahman?' Because I had practised – I trod a certain pathway, I walked a particular way. And that way is absolutely the same in the past, present, and future – there is no Christian, no Muslim, no Hindu, no Sikh, no Buddhist – everyone has to walk the same pathway. The symbols they take as inspiration may be different – one may worship Nārāyaṇa or Śiva or Allāh or Jesus – but everybody has to rise from limitation to non‑limitation. Everybody has to slowly give up selfishness, for it is a journey from selfishness to unselfishness. There is no other way."

But a beautiful way is telling. So it also starts with slowly trying to give up selfishness, which means – what is selfishness? "This much is only me." What is unselfishness? "You are also me. The other person also me – everything that we see" – gradually, of course.

Yo Mā Dadāti Sa Ideva Mā Avāḥ

So the jñānī wants to remind, especially annadāna. Annadāna means anna – food. What is the basis of life? Food, water, and air – these are all the basis of life. Of them, every day we have to eat. So one who gives food – that is why we have seen earlier: annaṃ bahu kurvīta – "One should try to produce and accumulate more food. One should never criticise food. One should always try to increase food – no criticism, no wastage of food." And whoever comes – because when a person is hungry, he will come – then I must always be ready with a happy, smiling face. Why? Because I am only eating through the mouth of the other person.

The Examples of Jesus and Kṛṣṇa

How did Jesus Christ satisfy five thousand people even though there was only a little food? Like Kṛṣṇa – taking one small grain that was sticking to the pot after the whole food had been distributed and the pot was cleaned, but by His will a small grain was found sticking. And then this grown‑up man eats, saying, "I am completely satisfied." How does that smallest grain of rice satisfy his hefty body and Durvāsā and his one hundred disciples? The explanation is: Kṛṣṇa is not identifying with the human body; He was identifying with the smallest insect – and one grain of rice for that insect is as if it has eaten over‑full to its stomach. And that is how: "Oh, I am perfectly satisfied." The moment He did that, all the one hundred people felt: "Even if one grain of rice is pushed into our mouth, our one hundred years of food that we have eaten is going to come out" – that means we cannot eat any longer.

The Law of Giving

So this is annadāna. But it does not mean only distributing food unselfishly and gladly – we have seen earlier also: if somebody with respect, with joy gives food, then food also comes to him with joy and respect, and best food. If somebody serves best food, best food will come back – this is called karmaphala, the effect of action. If somebody gives – even though there is good food – middle‑class, second‑class food – only second‑class food as a result will come back to him, and not so much joy, not so much respect. We have discussed these points. If somebody with insults, with a frown, with annoyance, with pure selfishness, even though food is available, gives only a little – he will get back exactly the same treatment.

So he says here – the Upaniṣad is again and again trying to inculcate into us: yo mā dadāti sa ideva mā avāḥ – "He gives me as food to someone who comes to me as a hungry person." So what happens in this manner? Food protects me – yaḥ kaścit anārūpayā nasthitam mām dadāti prayacchati – the one who gives me, who is in the form of food.

The Giver Gives God

So this realised soul is telling: "I am also the food. Therefore, whoever gives me in the form of food – and to whom? To another person – atithibhyaḥ – for people who are hungry, who are seeking food." So then – mahāṃ dadāti – beautiful word – they are not giving food; they are giving God. Because food keeps a person alive – avinaṣṭaṃ yathā bhūtaṃ mām annam avati. "I become avinaṣṭaṃ." What is the result of treating others, sharing with others whatever I have, with joy – the best that I can give? Then it becomes: I never get exhausted to this person, to this giver. That means I always remain with this giver – plenty, and the best, and all the time.

Protecting Food Means Sharing

And then the Upaniṣad tells: thus he protects me – the food. Protecting food means what? Not keeping in the fridge – "I can eat for ten days or fifteen days." No, that is not the meaning. Here it means: you give, and it is stored in the form of karmaphala through the other people. And as we discussed right now – if I had given with joy, food comes to me and gives me joy; if I had given with honour, food comes to me with joy and honour; and if I gave plenty, food comes to me in plenty.

The Consequence of Selfish Eating

On the contrary: aham annam annam adantam admi – "He who eats food selfishly, without giving to others, food as food – I eat him, because I am the food." What does it mean? "I eat him" means what? So even if he eats his own food, I become poison to that person. I create unhealthiness in such a person, because he has not treated me well, he has not shared me with others. So even if you eat selfishly, elsewhere it is said in the Gītā – such a person is called a thief, who when he got food from the gods, without offering that food to others. Who are the others? Gods come to that person in the form of hungry people.

The Shoemaker's Dream

I think we have seen one beautiful example. Once a shoemaker dreamt that Jesus Christ was coming to him next morning. So he prepared the best food he could and waited joyfully. First, a hungry small child came, and the man said, "This boy is hungry – let me give it." And then later on, he was waiting, waiting, waiting. A hungry dog came and looked soulfully – you know, some dogs, how soulfully they look at you – you simply melt like butter in Vārāṇasī at this time. So he gave some more food. He waited – no Jesus Christ. Then towards the evening, when he was terribly disappointed, a hungry widow came, and he gave away the whole food, cursing: "Jesus, You told me You would come, but You never came!" That night again, he had a dream in which Jesus Christ, fully satisfied, appeared. And this man shouted at Him: "What is this, Lord? You promised, but You did not come!" And Jesus Christ revealed: "Why did I not come? I came to you thrice – in the form of a hungry child, in the form of a hungry dog, in the form of a hungry widow – I Myself have come. You think that I have to come in that particular form? You know Me – no, I can come in any form at any time. You must be ready."

The Result of Giving

Therefore, here the Upaniṣad is telling: by giving annam to others, always that annam will be there. But what type of giving? Joyfully – as if I have to share it with my own child – how does a mother feel? And the best food mother serves. Like that, then it comes back as the result of karma – exactly in the same way: plenty of food, best food. Not only that, he will also be endowed with the power to enjoy it while eating and to digest it very soon, like Bhīmasena.

So the one who gives annam to others – sa āvāha – āvāha means as if he is really saving the food. Nowhere – I have to interpose and say that food means what? Anything. Somebody is requiring some money – give money. Somebody is requiring clothes – give clothes. Somebody is requiring medicine – give medicine. Somebody is requiring teaching – go to a school as a teacher and help those village boys who require that kind of teaching and at the same time are not able to get it. Give whatever you give in whatever form – the result will be puṇyam.

Puṇyam as a Credit Card

Puṇyam – I always compare to a credit card. What is that credit card? If you have a credit card, you go to any country, any time, walk into any shop, you will get wherever you go – whichever country, whatever currency, whatever objects you want to buy – you can obtain them through this credit card. Puṇyam is like that credit card. You take any type of birth in any world, any country, and if you have done this puṇyam, it will always be with you – inevitably it will come. But we must have that complete faith in the promise of the scriptures. And scripture is nothing but God telling in the form of the scriptures.

So ratuḥ annam vratate yaviprayaḥ – saving in refrigerators or in storage bins – that is not the way. Distributed, it will come to him.

Aham Viśvaṃ Bhuvanam Abhyabhavam

Aham viśvaṃ bhuvanam abhyabhavam – "I, as the Supreme Lord, overpower the whole world. I eat this whole world" – a beautiful Sanskrit expression. Without the help of great commentators like Śaṅkarācārya, we may not be able to understand it.

Aham viśvaṃ bhuvanam abhyabhavam – "I only am manifesting in the form of this universe" – sṛṣṭi (creation), sthiti (maintenance, sustenance), and laya (again taking it back). What does God take back? If our parents, when they look at the dress they gave me last year or twenty‑three years before – it has become old, worn out, dirty – then they take it out. And it is not also perhaps suitable, as I am growing up. Then they provide a new dress. That taking away – that is: "I take them lovingly into my lap, wash them" – as Holy Mother used to say – "these are all my children. In the end, I will have to, even if they are rolling in the mud, give them a good bath, then I will dry them, and then I will take them into my lap. Feed them the best that I can give."

The Mother's Grace in All Forms

I am the food that I feed them with. Mother Annapūrṇā is the food, and she is bestowing her grace in the form of – she comes to us in the form of food only. And Mother Gaṅgā comes in the form of waters, and the fire comes in the form of light and necessary heat – certain temperature is necessary for us to sustain. Different animals require different degrees of this. And God – for Brahman in the form of oxygen – for different creatures, He is only sustaining the entire creation, and He is manifesting in the form of pure space, so that we can express ourselves, we can grow up from a tiny bit to the tallest person, climb the highest mountain peak. So in the form of pañcabhūtas, He is providing us, protecting us, sustaining us, and if necessary, He takes us back into His lap, and He removes whatever is not useful, and He gives again a new dress.

The Bhagavad Gītā also expresses this – like a person whose dress is worn out, he throws it out and he gets a new dress. It is Bhagavān who gives a new dress whenever it is necessary. So He is the one.

Abhyabhavam – Overpowering the World

Abhyabhavam means what? "I have become the world. I am maintaining the world, and I take them back" – even in the grossest sense, but in a spiritual sense, it is I who wants to sport in their form. I sported – now like children becoming hungry – "I want to go to mother and she will feed, then I can go back to sleep, and again I can start my play again next day."

Aham viśvaṃ bhuvanam abhyabhavam – "I overwhelm, take unto myself the entire jagat." So it is – Śaṅkarācārya gives two meanings: vandaniyam – "the greatest adorable being in this world, because He is the Ānanda Svarūpa"; sambhajaniyam – "that which is sought by every being, from Brahmājī down to a blade of grass."

Dissolution and the Spider Simile

"I pervade this entire universe, and then – pralayakāli – at the time of dissolution, so it can be at the time of physical death or at the entire Brahmājī himself – when the night comes, Brahmājī's night, so he will also go back along with him. The entire creation, which is in his own stomach as it were, goes back into sleep. That going back is called dissolution – īśvarasvarūpiṇa in the form of Īśvara, rudrasvarūpiṇa in the form of Rudra – I withdraw everything into myself."

Then says how? It is like a spider – ūrṇanābhi. We have been discussing that one. A spider moves and then brings out the thread, weaves a beautiful net, stays there for some time, and again wants to move house – withdraws the entire net into itself. Nothing is wasted, and moves to another corner, and again spreads its own, brings out. Like that, Bhagavān is compared to a spider. The entire universe is within Him – so sometimes He manifests it, sometimes He withdraws it into Himself. But the idea is: it is the spider, and the net is not separate – they are exactly one and the same.

To make that idea more clear, the example of sparks from a blazing fire is given in many Upaniṣads, even in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. That means: like the sparks coming from a blazing fire, the sparks are not separate; they are of the same nature as the fire. So this is the meaning of bhuvanam abhyabhavam – "I create, I maintain, I sustain, and I take them back." And this eternal sport is going on. Remember, this is all the experience of a realised soul called jīvanmukta – free even while his body and mind are functioning.

Suvarṇa Jyotiḥ – Radiant as the Sun

Then suvarṇa jyotiḥ – "I am radiant as the sun. I am effulgent." Effulgence here means "I am of the nature of consciousness – caitanya svarūpa. My light, like the sun, is always shining" – or "I am only shining in the form of all the stars, everything that is shining – even the small spark that we get in the kitchen – that is also my self. Every lamp, every electric light is nothing but from Him only it is coming." So my light is like that light of the sun, because I am the sun. Where from it is coming? It is from my own nature – prakāśa. So that is my own nature.

Ya Evaṃ Veda – The Final Qualification

Ya evaṃ veda – "Whoever realises that 'I am Brahman', after he transcends – how does he realise? Slowly he expands himself until he breaks all bonds, all limitations." So now the Upaniṣad says: ya evaṃ veda – "Whoever knows, like Bhṛgu, attains to the same state like Bhṛgu."

Whoever gains this knowledge of Brahman – whether he is a Brāhmaṇa, Kṣatriya, Vaiśya, Śūdra, Hindu, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, young, old, married, single, vānaprastha, sannyāsī, male, female – without any restriction. Yaḥ – that means anybody is fit to obtain this Brahmajñāna – knowledge of Brahman.

The Fourfold Qualifications

So who can gain this knowledge? Śaṅkarācārya adds a little bit, of which we have already discussed: śānto dāntaḥ, uparataḥ, titikṣuḥ, samāhito bhūtvā – "One who has become peaceful, with control of the body, control of the mind" – which we called earlier the fourfold qualities to become a fit person to pursue this knowledge of Brahman. An adhikārī – a fit person – sādhanā-catuṣṭaya-sampanna – endowed with the ninefold qualities: discrimination, dispassion, kṣamā, dama, titikṣā, uparati, śraddhā, samādhāna – such a person becomes... That means indirectly, if a person wants to realise Brahman, he must acquire all these qualities.

Then whether he is a child, an old man, a learned man, an ignorant person, Hindu, non‑Hindu, or anybody – what does he become? Tasyaitad evoktaṃ phalam – "That person is surely going to get this result." What is that? That he will be swimming in the ocean of Brahman ānanda, because anybody's happiness is his happiness – enjoyment by anybody at any time, past, present, and future – he becomes that.

Final Liberation

And to summarise: sa ca mukto bhavati – "he becomes totally free. There would be no rebirth for him." And if by God's grace he wants to use that body‑mind, he is called a jīvanmukta. There is nothing else but jīvanmukti – iti upaniṣad.

So we have come to the end of this Bhṛguvallī, end of the Taittirīya Upaniṣad. Here ends chapter 10 of section 3 of the Taittirīya Upaniṣad – iti Bhṛguvallī samāptā. Thus, the Bhṛguvallī has come to an end. We will summarise the entire Taittirīya Upaniṣad in our next class.

Closing Prayer

ओं स॒ह ना॑ववतु स॒हनौ॑ भुनक्तु स॒हवी॒र्यं॑ करवावहै ते॒ज॒स्विना॒वधी॑तमस्तु॒ मावि॑द्विषा॒वहै᳚ | ओं शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः हरिः ओं

Oṃ saha nāvavatu sahanau bhunaktu sahavīryaṃ karavāvahai tejasvināvadhītamastu mā vidviṣāvahai | Oṃ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ hariḥ oṃ

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.

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!