Taittiriya Upanishad Lecture 125 Summary on 07 October 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: We Become What We Meditate Upon
In our last class, we have been discussing something extraordinarily marvellous: we become whatever we meditate upon – Brahman. Here is a beautiful psychological fact.
Substituting Brahman as the Target
We are substituting Brahman as the target of our thinking. Is it necessary that we have to think only of Brahman? What it really means is: this is my goal. This is what I would like to achieve.
The Lives of Great Souls
And if I study the lives of great souls, what do I find? A whole life with only one unwavering goal. Whether a person wants to become a doctor, or a teacher, or a professor, or a musician, or a scientist – whatever it be – the whole soul is longing to become that. This is the price we have to pay.
The Upaniṣadic Teaching
Only we are taught by the Upaniṣads that it would be easier for us to think of our goal as Brahman. But what is our concept of Brahman? That should be the most important contemplation, and this is called Guṇadhyāna. And this is a much, much higher step.
The Four Steps of Contemplation
As we discussed elsewhere, there are four steps:
- Nāmadhyāna – contemplation upon the name.
- Rūpadhyāna – contemplation upon the form.
- Guṇadhyāna – contemplation upon the qualities.
- Svarūpadhyāna – contemplation upon one's own true nature.
Names, Forms, Qualities
Name means names. God has infinite forms, infinite names, infinite qualities. We have a choice. In fact, Swami Vivekananda used to say: "How I wish that every single individual has his or her own religion." By religion he means the concept about God.
The Most Important Point
So the most important point is not whether we call our goal Brahman or we call it a particular target. A scientist probably does not think about God, but he will be thinking "I want to become a great scientist." But even that is only a general idea.
Being Specific
Who – I want to become a physicist, or a biologist, a zoologist, a chemist, or a computer scientist? A musician – particular. Say take the example of a musician. Then what type of music do I want to follow? Western music, Karnāṭaka music, North Indian music, Hindustani music. Then is that all? No – there is further division.
The Gharānā
Which style of Hindustani singing is most appealing to me, and I want to make it – they call it in North India gharānā, a particular great master. I develop a particular style, all within the Hindustani musical range, but a particular style of singing.
Kumar Gandharva
For example, there is a very special style sung by one great Maharashtrian singer, Kumar Gandharva. And many people like it. I also like it very much.
Further Specificity
So then which particular rāga do I want to express? Joyful songs or longing songs? Many of the Western music – modern music, not classical music – what they call jazz music or blues music, and some of the so‑called American Blacks have developed it, and it is really very emotion‑provoking.
We Have to Be Specific
So what I mean to say is that we have to be specific, because human capacities are extremely limited.
Contemplation and the Body
So then contemplate. Go on contemplating day and night: "This is what I would like to become." And slowly, simply saying "I would like to become" – thoughts will not do. So the body must be strong.
The Training of a Singer
I have noticed something very interesting. When a person wants to learn Western music, the first thing they will teach is how to strengthen the vocal cords, and then how to breathe deeply – and that itself takes a lot of time. Of course a natural voice is a most desirable component. But after that it has to be trained – and how they can keep it, especially some of the opera singers, how they do that!
Worldly Ambition Takes Lives
If a worldly ambition can be so diversified, man can only become an expert in one small area – and that too takes lives and lives. How much time should it take for a spiritual aspirant!
Worldly Goals Are Motivating
And most important – because any worldly goals can be very highly motivating. "I would like to become famous, powerful." Of course, when a person becomes an expert, Lakṣmī Devī, name and fame, they all come.
The Great Masters
Even today in the Western classics, especially in the musical field, how many maestros like Beethoven, Mozart, etc.! They are the people – can never forget their names.
Mozart
And about Mozart, they say even as a child he was a prodigy – even when he was only of small height and the piano is too large, so he had to run from one end to the other end, he started composing. How did he do it? How was he capable of doing it? Many symphonies he had created. How could he do it? The only explanation is that in past many, many lives he had practised.
The Bhagavad Gītā on the Rare Seeker
That is why Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa is trying to convince us: mānuṣyāṇāṃ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye, yatatām api siddhānāṃ kaścin māṃ vetti tattvataḥ.
The Summary
To summarise whatever we have been discussing: man becomes what he thinks day and night. That is the essential thing.
The Example of Mīrābāī
As an example – what was Mīrābāī thinking? The moment her mother told her – a very illustrative point for us.
The Marriage Procession
One day the small girl Mīrā – by seven or eight years old, or five years old – heard great music going on in the street. A great procession was going on. She did not know. She asked her mother. Then mother replied: "A marriage ceremony is going on."
What Is a Marriage Ceremony?
And Mīrā did not know – of course, like Holy Mother – "What is this marriage ceremony?" "Oh, there would be a small girl like you; she would be wed to a young person."
Who Is My Bridegroom?
Immediately Mīrābāī instinctively asked: "Who is my bridegroom?" Of course, the mother immediately pointed out there was a small statue of Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa.
The Statue
And that too came there miraculously. Once a sādhu approached Mīrābāī's father, who was a small king in his own kingdom – a small king – and the sādhu carried this small image of Kṛṣṇa, and the king had tremendous respect for sādhus. He entertained the sādhu for some time. After a few days, the sādhu said: "You please keep this, my cherished idol, here. I am going on a pilgrimage – I cannot carry it."
This Kṛṣṇa Is Your Husband
And that was the image Mīrābāī's mother showed and said: "Why, this Kṛṣṇa is your husband."
The Point
Now what is the point? From that moment, Mīrābāī had no other thought. She was convinced: "I have my own bridegroom, and that is Kṛṣṇa." And throughout life, her mind never deviated from that idea: "Kṛṣṇa is my beloved, and that is it. I want to see Him. I want to play with Him. I want to feed Him. I want to be totally absorbed in Him."
Mīrā's Song
And she tells her experience: Mere to Giridhara Gopāla, dūsaro na koi – "I know no other person excepting my beloved Giridhara Gopāla."
Ready to Give Up Her Life
Even for that purpose, she was ready to give up her life. Even her brother‑in‑law – or it might be even her husband; history is very vague about it – they thought she was bringing a bad name to their respected families, and then they deliberately sent poison openly and told her: "You drink this poison, and we wish you to die."
The Poison
And she laughingly took it, joyfully received it – and of course she would never eat anything, drink anything without offering Brahmarpaṇam, Kṛṣṇārpaṇam. So she offered it to her beloved Kṛṣṇa and then drank.
Kṛṣṇa the Poison Drinker
Of course, Kṛṣṇa was the greatest poison‑drinker in the world. He played on Kāliya, and he became accustomed. Pūtanā had fed him with nothing but pure poison. So not only did he become immune, he could save anybody. So he converted the whole thing into Amṛta. Viṣapyāla rānane bhaja pi vatu mīrā āśire.
Mīrā's Joy
Mīrā was laughing: "If by drinking this, this body – which is the greatest obstacle – can go away, I would be eternally united with my beloved Kṛṣṇa." That was her thought.
Merging in Dvārakā
Of course, Kṛṣṇa wanted to play, and it is one of the rare instances – she went to Dvārakā, and singing, she entered into the shrine, embraced Dvārakeśa, which is Kṛṣṇa. And next day when the priest came, they did not say anything excepting the Dvārakādhīśa, Kṛṣṇa.
The Example of Āṇḍāḷ
Similarly, Āṇḍāḷ. Āṇḍāḷ was an incarnation of Rādhā, an incarnation of Mīrā. And when Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa went to Bṛndāvan, he met one great Kṛṣṇa bhakta. An old woman was there, and she used to call him "my Dulāl, my beloved child." She understood, and Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa told about her: "This Gaṅgā Māi has attained Mahābhāva" – one of the greatest spiritual stages. Vaiṣṇavas consider it an extremely high state. Only people like Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa – only people like that can entertain that bhāva. People's bodies like ours will be current to immediately ashes if that Mahābhāva – even if we see it come to it from a long distance.
Upāsana
So you see, that is called Upāsana. So we have been discussing: as we think, so we become. That is the essence.
Brahman as the Greatest
And then we have seen so many: Brahman is the greatest. Brahman is the mind – that means the intelligence. Brahman is namaskāra. Then namyante asmai kāmāḥ.
Do Not Go Here and There
So slowly, slowly Brahman is this. And in our case also, if we have some desires, do not go here and there, and do not go on begging.
Lakṣmī, Annapūrṇā, Gaṅgā, Vāyu
If somebody wants money, let them contemplate on Mother Lakṣmī and say Lakṣmī is the goddess of wealth. She does not give wealth. She comes in the form of wealth. Mother Annapūrṇā comes in the form of food. Mother Gaṅgā comes in the form of water. Vāyu Devatā comes in the form of oxygen, etc.
God Himself Comes
God does not give – God Himself comes into us in that particular form that is required.
The Last Upāsana – Brahman as the Destructive Agent
So we have discussed so many, but then we have come to one particular thing. What is it? If someone can contemplate Brahman as the destructive agent. And we should do that. Each one of us should do that. How?
Jealousy
Suppose we look into ourselves, then we can find so much of jealousy: "Oh, why is that devotee so much appreciated by the Swamis? I am not appreciated. My devotion is no less." So go – I am thinking like that. Jealousy will come. And that is the last enemy of spiritual life.
The Greatest Saints
Even the greatest saints – they are weak so far as this jealousy is concerned. That is why even among the greatest saints we find – of course, a person who realises Brahman, he will not have any jealousy, because he knows "I am only playing in that form and as well as in this form, as well as in every form."
The Sadhu Being Pelted
As Swami Vivekananda found out, one sādhu being pelted by small boys at some place in North India. And the sādhu was laughing even though blood was flowing all over his body. Why? For him, it was not – he was not being pelted by stones. He was playing with the Father. It was the Father in the form of the boys who was pelting him. "Okay, this is Your joy, then I will be very happy to give You that joy." That was his attitude. Very, very hard for us to understand.
Whatever We Contemplate, We Become
So if one contemplates on Brahman as Mahat, great, he will become great. If one contemplates on Brahman as the very source of music, or as Sarasvatī, he will become a great singer, or player, or great musician, maestro, ustād.
Mother Sarasvatī
If the person wants knowledge, then let him meditate on Mother Sarasvatī as an embodiment of knowledge. So many of our sādhus, they did it.
Swami Vivekananda at the Parliament
Even Swami Vivekananda remembered Mother Sarasvatī at the vast erudite Parliament of Religions. For a moment, even he was slightly frightened. Then he remembered Mother Sarasvatī, forgot the whole world.
Swamiji's Absorption
When Swamiji used to sing or speak, like Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, he used to forget the whole world: "I am not talking to somebody. It is the Divine Mother who is speaking, singing through me." Swamiji used to be absorbed. And as a result, the people who were nearby, they also used to be absorbed.
Swamiji's Voice
When Swamiji used to talk, people used to gather – not because the subject is great, because his voice was so musical. Even utter nonsense comes out of his mouth – it sounds so sweet, so enchanting, so elevating.
Swami Turiyānanda's Words
That is why Swami Turiyānanda used to tell: "When I hear you people speaking, I feel like falling down dead. But when Swami used to speak, dead persons want to get up and hear – 'Let me hear and then be dead.'"
No Power in Our Speech
There is no power in what we speak. Because our lives do not correspond to what we are thinking, what we are speaking. These are all totally – our thoughts are different, our speech is different, and our deeds are different. And this is, according to Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, called asatyam, untruth.
Satyam
How do we know? Because by satyam he meant that which accords – what a person thinks, what a person speaks, what a person does – there would be no deviation at all. One in three, three in one.
The Secret of Upāsana
So whatever way we contemplate Brahman as, that we become. That is the secret of Upāsana. Whatever we contemplate upon, we ourselves become that.
The Body as a Fit Instrument
So if somebody wants to be a good singer, meditate upon Mother Sarasvatī herself. And in course of time – it may not be this birth, because our bodies, our lungs, our sound mechanism should also cooperate. The body must be a fit instrument for our talents. Otherwise, we may know everything, but our body will not be able to express it.
The Upāsana of Brahman as the Destructive Agent
So in the last Upāsana: Tad brahmaṇaḥ parimara iti upāsīta. Parimara means what? As a destructive agent. That is what we have to understand, and it is so marvellous to think about it.
The Mantra
Tad brahmaṇaḥ parimara iti upāsīta. Paryenam ariyante dviṣantaḥ sapātnāḥ, pariye 'priyā bhrātṛvyaḥ. Let him contemplate. Let a spiritual seeker contemplate upon Brahman as a destructive agent, and all his enemies who hate him – also those who do not hate him, who do not like him – they will perish. Are all those who are not liked by the spiritual aspirant. That is what it means.
A Very Interesting Point
So this is a very interesting point for all of us. We, if we carefully examine our life, we find we like some people, but they may not like us. And some people may like us, but we may not like them. Some people, of course, we love each other, we like each other, we keep company of each other. That is a totally different issue altogether.
A Spiritual Person
So whatever it is, we are talking about a spiritual person, not an ordinary person. Is it possible for an ordinary person that he wants his enemies to be destroyed, the people who hate him should be destroyed, and the people whom he hates should also be destroyed? No real spiritual aspirant would ever think of God in that particular manner. That is absolutely certain. We will have to understand that fact.
The Spiritual Meaning
Then what does this mantra in this Taittirīya Upaniṣad really mean? We have to understand it spiritually, not worldly‑wise.
Yudhiṣṭhira – Ajātaśatru
Parimriyante paritaḥ sarvamriyante anena. If you still remember the Mahābhārata, Yudhiṣṭhira is called Ajātaśatru. That means: no enemy – nobody who wants to become an enemy of Yudhiṣṭhira is ever born. That means everybody is a well‑wisher and the greatest friend of Yudhiṣṭhira.
Duryodhana
What about Duryodhana? Yes, Duryodhana – of all the brothers, he had no quarrel with Yudhiṣṭhira actually. He has only one person, that is Bhīmasena. And of course, he wanted to grab the whole kingdom, and that is why his greatest enemy was Arjuna. Duryodhana never considered Yudhiṣṭhira as his arch‑enemy. He only considered Arjuna. He was the greatest hero, and without conquering him, it is not possible to get anything of the Pāṇḍavas' inheritance.
Karṇa
So that is why he cultivated the friendship of Karṇa. Karṇa was none other than Kuntīputra, the eldest son of Kuntī. Neither only she knew it, neither Karṇa knew it – Kṛṣṇa knew it, Bhīṣma knew it. Nobody else knew it. But even Karṇa did not know. So he thought he was the son of a charioteer.
Duryodhana Would Not Have Fought
So even Duryodhana, he would not have had any fight. If the Pāṇḍavas had conceded and said: "Okay, we will not trouble you. Take the entire kingdom – our fifty percent also which is due to us, you take it. We will go, become beggars, and we will somehow survive, and we will never ever fight with you." Then Duryodhana would be the unrivaled emperor of the whole Kaurava kingdom.
Ajātaśatru
But such was the nature of Yudhiṣṭhira. He was called Ajātaśatru. No enemy was ever born to him. And even a spiritual aspirant, he should become an Ajātaśatru.
The Prayer
So this is a prayer: "O Lord, I want to become an Ajātaśatru." Then how can he become Ajātaśatru? If people hate me, then let me never repay them with hatred. Let me only develop, pray for them, wish their welfare, and do everything that is good for them.
Yudhiṣṭhira's Example
And which Yudhiṣṭhira did. If you understand Mahābhārata, even after they were exiled – Pāṇḍavas were exiled into the forest – Duryodhana went to torment them by a river bank, and a Gandharva conquered him, bound him. Then Yudhiṣṭhira commanded Bhīma – extremely unwilling to unbind Duryodhana. He said: "What we should have done, the Gandharva had done." But then Yudhiṣṭhira said: "No, he is our cousin. His shame is our shame." How can Duryodhana ever cherish any antipathy towards such a person? But Arjuna, Bhīma, Nakula, Sahadeva, they were of a different timber. It is a different issue.
The Meaning
So what it means is: "O Lord, may I hate nobody. May nobody hate me. And in spite of that prayer, if somebody chooses to hate such a person, that is their outlook. That would be the cause of their ruin." This is the meaning.
Everything Is Brahman
Let me meditate, contemplate on Brahman – that everything is Brahman. So where is the enemy?
The Bhagavad Gītā
That is what Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa says: adveṣṭā sarva‑bhūtānāṃ maitraḥ karuṇa eva ca, nirmamo nirahaṃkāraḥ sama‑duḥkha‑sukhaḥ kṣamī. So samaḥ śatrau ca mitre ca – with equanimous mind under both. If some śatrus are there – "I do not consider them as my enemies. They might – that is their choice. But they need not. But that is their nature to do that."
The Story of the Sādhu and the Scorpion
There is a beautiful story. I just now remembered. Swami Brahmananda used to tell the story. He heard it from somebody when he was on his probably wandering life. The story goes like this.
The Scorpion
Once a sādhu was sitting under a tree on the bank of a river, and there was a scorpion crawling on the branches of the tree, and because of wind or whatever, it swept and fell into the current. The sādhu saw it struggling for life. Immediately he went and then picked it up, and instinctively it stung him. But the sādhu brought it up and kept it, left it near the tree. Again it climbed, again it fell. And the sādhu did the same thing second time, third time.
The Passer‑by's Question
A passer‑by, he was witnessing the whole lot, and he asked: "Sir, it is an ungrateful creature, and every time you rescue it, it is stinging you, and it is extremely painful. Why do you do that?"
The Sādhu's Reply
Then the sādhu replied: "It is the nature of the scorpion to sting. It is the nature of a sādhu to help. So if the scorpion is not willing to give up its nature, why should I give up my nature? I am a sādhu."
Another Story
Like this, so many stories are there. Even the other story – when a sādhu was beaten unconscious. And when he was slowly being brought back to consciousness by his brother disciples, one of them asked: "Do you recognise who is feeding you milk?" Immediately said: "The same being who beat me into unconsciousness is now feeding me." Innumerable parables are there to help us.
The Nature of Brahman
So when a person wants to realise Brahman, what is the nature of Brahman? Ekaḥ – Brahman is only one. Sadeva saumya idam agre āsīt – Sat eva. Only pure existence alone was there. Ekam eva advitīyam. There is no other other than Brahman. Whether it is unmanifest or manifest, there is only Brahman. That is the goal.
The Jīvanmukta
And once a person reaches that goal, knows that "I am Brahman" – even if he is alive, when he is called a jīvanmukta, his vision of seeing sarvatra samadarśī will never disappear. So for such a person to feel that, like ordinary people like us, "this is my enemy, I do not like this person," and "these people hate me" – such thoughts would never ever arise.
Our Greatest Critics
On the other hand, our greatest critics, our greatest enemies, they would help us to advance in spiritual life if we understand it properly.
Why Did God Create Suffering?
Why did God create so much of suffering? As Holy Mother says, that is the greatest gift of God. Misery is a gift of God. Why? Who remembers God? When do we remember God? Only when we are in a suffering condition, not otherwise.
The Final Meaning
So therefore he says the final meaning is destructive agent – nāśa karaṇam. But nāśa karaṇam of what? If we meditate upon that nāśa śakti, saṃhāra śakti, destructive agent, the Upaniṣad says all our enemies will be destroyed. Why is the Upaniṣad talking about the destruction of all the enemies? It does not mean physically wiping out the concerned person, but wiping out the enmity.
The Change in the Aspirant
As a result of this Upāsana, something happens in the minds of the aspirants – that is, the attitude, the understanding of this aspirant becomes changed completely. The thought that "this person hates me, I dislike this person" – and not only that, "I like this person, and these are my beloved people" – that also will go away.
The Maidservant Attitude
A person who practises: "I am a maid‑servant, and this house does not belong to me. This country, this earth does not belong to me. I have got my own country." Mono cello nija niketane, saṃsāra videśe, videśir veśe, bhramo keno akāraṇe.
Root and Branch Change
So there would be a root‑and‑branch change in my attitude. And what is that attitude? Everything is Brahman – sarvaṃ khalvidaṃ brahma.
The Hymn of Śaṅkarācārya
So there is one hymn by Śaṅkarācārya – wherein, I do not remember the name of that hymn, I think it is Viṣṇu Stotra – wherein he says: Viṣṇur hasati. When somebody is laughing, it is Viṣṇu. Viṣṇur rodati – when somebody is weeping, it is Viṣṇu who is weeping. And when somebody is making troubles for me, it is Viṣṇu. When somebody is insulting me, it is Viṣṇu. Sarvaṃ Viṣṇumayaṃ jagat. And only a person who has this highest vision of seeing God in everything – he alone, he alone is really a real Brahmajñānī.
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Experience
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa had a wonderful experience. Once he saw a small insect – something like a butterfly – and some small boy had stuck a small piece of stick in its body, and for that insect, for that small butterfly‑like insect, it must be the greatest agony in this world, like the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Then Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was telling, recollecting: "At first I was very much pained. Then suddenly I went into samādhi. And then I understood: it is Rāma who became the boy. It is Rāma who became the small stick. It is Rāma who became that butterfly. Like that, everything is Rāma. Rāma was sticking Himself into Himself. Nobody else is doing."
The Highest Vision
But that is the highest vision. That is our goal.
The Result of the Upāsana
So as a result of this Upāsana, Brahman as the destructive agent, everything that is an obstruction to spiritual progress will be completely destroyed. It becomes our greatest aid in looking upon everything equally as Brahman – good and evil, profit and loss, friend and enemy, honour and dishonour. Everything becomes the same, because it is a līlā. It is a play.
The Drama Example
When somebody is playing in a drama or in a cinema, so he tries to kill. Sometimes even a better example would be: sometimes the same actor would be both the hero as well as the villain. And then both times both of them fight with each other. First the villain seemed to be winning. Later on the hero squashes the villain. Whom is squashing? That is what in the second chapter of the Bhagavad Gītā.
The Sthitaprajña Lakṣaṇas
In the sthitaprajña lakṣaṇas, Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa teaches to Arjuna: ya enaṃ vetti hantāraṃ yaś cainaṃ manyate hatam, ubhau tau na vijānīto nāyaṃ hanti na hanyate. He who thinks "I am a doer" and he who thinks "I am the experiencer, enjoyer or experiencer" – he who thinks "I am the killer", means I am the doer, I am the agent of this action – and he who thinks "I am the enjoyer of the result of this action" – both of them are completely mistaken. Jñāna‑samoha. What is the thing? Nobody is there to kill. Nobody is a killer.
Better Than a Dream
Just like a drama. Even better than a dream. Why? Because in a dream, we do not think that we are witnessing a drama. But whenever we witness a drama or a cinema, then we are at the same instant, we are also experiencing the events in the drama – enjoying or feeling, experiencing the appropriate feelings of joy, of sadness, of tragedy, of comedy. But we are continuously aware at the same time: "This is not real. This is only an entertainment. It is something which never happened, but as if it is real."
The Dream
But that vision we do not have in the dream. In the dream, we think it is absolutely as real as things happen in the waking state.
The Teaching of Varuṇa
So this is what the Taittirīya Upaniṣad, this great teacher Varuṇa was trying to teach – what happens to this person. And then we have to understand all these things properly. Until we reach that state, then we have to practise.
The Characteristics of a Great Devotee
And this is what in the Bhagavad Gītā again, in the twelfth chapter. What are the characteristics of a great devotee? Adveṣṭā sarva‑bhūtānāṃ maitraḥ karuṇa eva ca, nirmamo nirahaṃkāraḥ sama‑duḥkha‑sukhaḥ kṣamī. Adveṣṭā sarva‑bhūtānāṃ – a true spiritual aspirant never hates anybody, because he knows: sahasraśīrṣā puruṣaḥ, sahasrākṣaḥ, sahasrapāt. Everybody is nothing but that one Brahman playing as the enemy, as the friend, as the onlooker, as everything, including himself.
Becoming One with Brahman
And if we do this practically, a person is guaranteed to become one with Brahman – not like Brahman, but absolutely become one with Brahman. He says: "I am Brahman – Aham Brahmasmi." Until that time, the truthfulness of his teacher – Tat tvam asi – the word that prevails. But once a person reaches this state, then he says Aham Brahmasmi, and then he says aham eva asmi – "I alone am, nothing else."
Expressing It
Of course, because we are talking, we have to express it that way: "I am." But having merged in Brahman – as if really not merged. All spiritual progress is to remove only the ignorance that "I am not Brahman". The more we remove that "I am not Brahman" concept, the more we regain our true vision.
Not the Truth
The question of saying "I was a saṃsārī, I was bound, but by God's grace I have become unbound, I have become free" – that would be maybe a helpful thought while progressing. But that would not be the truth about it at all. This is called Brahmānanda anubhava.
The Mahāvākya
What happens? Then the Upaniṣad continues. So this is called Mahāvākya. This Mahāvākya – what is Mahāvākya? It is the identity of the so‑called Jīvātman, individual soul, with Paramātman.
Part of Ajñāna
And remember, until ignorance is totally destroyed, we all feel that we are separate. "I am a spiritual person" – even that is part of ajñāna. "This is a bound soul. He is caught in the net of Māyā." That is also part of ajñāna only.
Nobody Is Caught
Nobody is caught in the net of Māyā. Māyā is mithyā. Mithyā does not exist at all, but we think it exists, and it creates all these effects. That is also part of our delusion.
Śaṅkarācārya's Commentary
Śaṅkarācārya beautifully talks about this in his Bhagavad Gītā commentary, especially the second chapter, sixteenth śloka: nāsato vidyate bhāvo, nābhāvo vidyate sataḥ, ubhayor api dṛṣṭo 'ntaḥ, tv anayos tattva‑darśibhiḥ.
The Mirage
So he gives a beautiful example. Supposing a person is travelling in a desert land. Suddenly he sees a huge mirage, and then he thinks – until finally he realises it is only an illusion. There is no such fact outside. It is his own thinking, he is under that illusion.
The Dry Sand
Then he comments that even when a person is thinking "there is a vast quantity of water," the dry sand remains absolutely dry. Not even one grain of sand ever becomes wet with water, because it is only an illusion. So an illusion cannot affect anything, much less Brahman.
Nobody Is Non-Brahman
Therefore, what happens? There is nobody – truly speaking, from the viewpoint of a knower of Brahman – who is not Brahman. Everybody is Brahman.
The Prince's Dream
And the beautiful teaching is: even when we are under the illusion, our teachers tell us repeatedly that "you are not non‑Brahman, you are not a‑Brahman. You are Brahman, whether you know it or not." Even when the prince is having a what is called nightmarish dream – some people had dragged him into a dungeon, beating him black and blue, and he is about to be killed – but it is only his thought. He is nicely sleeping on his own bed after eating, finishing a very tasty royal meal. The dream does not change him, but as soon as he wakes up, he understands it. So the whole world is also called a beautiful dream.
The Realisation
So finally, when a person progresses, what happens? Sa yaś ca yaṃ puruṣe, yaś cāsāv āditye, sa ekaḥ. Then the sādhaka realises that pure Caitanya, consciousness – which is making us feel "I am so‑and‑so" in oneself – is the same as the consciousness manifesting in the sun.
Why the Sun?
Why is this example of the sun given here? Because the whole creation is nothing but the effect of the sun. The sun only comes in the form of food, and that food we cannot eat it. But there is a species of creation called plants. And through the wonderful process of photosynthesis – photo means light – so that light of the sun is converted into energy.
Solar Panels
In fact, if we connect the dots, so on our what is called roofs, we can install solar panels. What do these do? They absorb the rays of the sun and then reconvert them – that heat and light – into energy, that is called electric energy. And it is stored, and then when the sun is going down, we can do it.
The Future
Marvellous advances are being made in the solar panels. Probably in another few years, every household will be equipped with these tremendous solar panels. But they will not – they need not look like the ugly solar panels. They look like most marvellous paintings. That technology is going to come sooner or later. They look very like very beautiful buildings, but it is all the solar power converters absorbing, and it will provide more than sufficient energy to light up and to fulfil – whether it is our fridge or our air conditioner and our lights, our cooking, everything sufficiently.
AI
The science is making a lot of advances. But now that AI is improving, and it will do even more, there is absolutely no doubt about it.
No Two Consciousnesses
So what is this Mahāvākya telling? That there are no two consciousnesses – the same consciousness. Which is within you, and because it is in you, you feel that it is my individual consciousness. And another person also thinks exactly the same way. But when we advance, then we understand there are no two separate or individual consciousnesses.
The Mirrors
Every consciousness is a reflection. Like if there are ten mirrors, a hundred mirrors, the same sun is reflected, and each reflection may think "I am a separate small sun; the real sun is there." No – they are all nothing but reflections. And what is this mirror? Our mind, which is made up of pure sattva – that is where cidābhāsa, cit, is reflected on these mirrors. But when the mirror is broken, then the cit remains. And that is what happens when a person realises that his individuality melts away and he realises "I am that pure consciousness."
Tattvamasi to Aham Brahmasmi
The teaching of the teacher, Tattvamasi, now becomes one's own experience: Aham Brahmasmi. Then what happens? He transcends everything, and whoever has the same realisation, then he will not be reborn again. And that is going to be described, which we will talk about 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!