Taittiriya Upanishad Lecture 65 2.1-2 on 13 August 2025

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

Opening Invocation

ॐ जननीम् शरदाम् देविम् रामक्रिष्णम् जगत् गुर्म्

पादपद्मे तयोः स्रित्वाः प्रणमामि मुहुरुमु

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 to Brahmanandavalli

We are studying the first section of the second chapter of Taittiriya Upanishad, very beautifully called Brahmanandavalli. We have seen that the result a person obtains by knowing that "I am Brahman" - he will be swimming in an ocean of bliss forever, infinitely.

Satyam Jnanam Anantam. Anantam means for all time to come, eternally swimming in bliss. Now how to realise? For that purpose, the Upanishad has started Panchakosha Vyavarana.

The Concept of Panchakosha Vyavarana

The Five-Story Building Analogy

What is this Panchakosha Vyavarana? Nothing but if anybody has been thrown from a many-storied building to the lowest floor and he needs to get back to the highest floor from where he has come down - so he has to start climbing back. That process of climbing back is called moving forward from the gross to the subtle to even more subtle, etc.

In this imagery, it is like a five-storied building. And very apt illustration because the building is consisting of five stories and there is a roof. Above the roof, it is only Akasha. So the building is completely limited, finite. But the Akasha is infinite. So if one wishes to identify with the Akasha, with the infinite, he has to climb one after the other.

The Process of Spiritual Ascent

And in the process of climbing, what happens? As soon as this person who is none other than a spiritual aspirant moves from the ground floor to the first floor, so long as he is at the ground floor, the ground floor becomes the complete reality, Satyam. But as soon as he moves to the first floor, first floor becomes the Satyam called here Atma. And the ground floor becomes unimportant, only an aid for that person to come up.

So long as this person is on the second floor, that second floor is the entire world reality. But when he starts climbing, slowly he becomes detached. As every step he puts on the staircase on the way to the second floor, so he becomes as if, as it were, detached.

And when he reaches the second floor, then the first floor, like the ground floor, becomes Anatma. And the second floor becomes his entire world of reality. Thus he moves from the second to the third. Then third floor becomes his reality. Fourth floor becomes the reality. Fifth floor becomes the reality.

And then he goes to the roof to say, "I am not limited by any one of these buildings, stories." So this is an analogy, beautiful analogy, we have to keep in mind for easiness of grasping, understanding.

The Identification Process

So this is the process: as long as we are identified, we experience the external world, then that is the entire world of reality. And in that entire world of reality, I, the individual, becomes the most important reality. Even if I am having the slightest headache, as if the whole universe is suffering because of our identity with this individual body.

So we must start looking upon - this is not an individual body, is not mere body of flesh and bones, but it is Brahman himself. It is like a temple. And the sanctum sanctorum will be within. So that sanctum sanctorum is called the Buddhi Guha. That is called Hridayakasha. And that Hridayakasha represents the presence of the highest truth.

So treat this body as sacred, not something to be misused. Any selfish desire, when it is fulfilled, it makes us more identified with the gross body and naturally with the external world.

Spiritualizing the Koshas

Now the process is to spiritualize the body, spiritualize the mind, spiritualize the causal body, or in the words of the Taittiriya Upanishad:

• Spiritualize the Annamaya Kosha
• Then Pranamaya Kosha

But in this process, we move nearer to the Atman. Pranamaya Kosha is nearer to Atman than Annamaya Kosha. So as we discussed earlier, first of all, we have to make our own body sacred, pure.

The Universal Perspective

What happens? So as we come to think of our own body as sacred, then every other body also appears in the same light. Because when we conceive of the reality about our own body, we conceive of the reality of other bodies also exactly in the same light.

If I think I am the physical body, everything else is the physical body. A house is a physical body. A mountain is a physical body. Every living, non-living creature is a physical body.

But the moment I consider myself as sacred, so everything becomes completely sacred. That is why, just a small example I am giving: you go to any Vishwanatha temple in Varanasi, any temple, it doesn't matter. And the moment you enter, you become highly conscious. "This is a sacred temple because the Lord Vishwanatha resides here." That idea makes our own body sacred. Anything in the precincts of the temple is considered as sacred.

And that is why, let us not think any worldly thought. Let us consider ourselves blessed. And if we can also taste a bit of the Ganges water, then we feel we have become purer, holier.

So the whole idea: our concept of our body makes outside also sacred, holy, pure and vice versa. But we start with our own body.

The Journey Through the Koshas

So thus we travel from:

• Annamaya to Pranamaya
• To Manomaya
• To Vijnanamaya
• To Anandamaya

And then when we look up, we find even Anandamaya is also like the roof. But I have nothing to do. Just as I am separate from the roof, I am separate from the first floor, I am separate from the second, third, fourth, fifth floors, I am also separate from the roof.

So that understanding that "I am separate from everything" comes. I can identify with the infinite, which is represented by Akasha, in this example of the building. Similarly, the Anandamaya kosha.

Then we perceive Anandamaya kosha is also limited. It is also sustained by somebody, something else. It has an origin and it has a death.

The Death of Anandamaya Kosha

How is Anandamaya a death? Whenever our happiness comes to an end, that is the death of Anandamaya kosha. Because remember, in the course of our discussions, we are going to see the details, more details. But whenever a person is happy, he is in the Anandamaya kosha.

When a person is determined to accomplish something, he is in the Vijnanamaya kosha. When a person is deeply thinking, he is in the Manomaya kosha. When a person is active in accomplishing something, he is in the Pranamaya kosha. And when a person is using his body, that means all the ten organs - five of knowledge and five of action - he is identified with the Annamaya kosha.

So the journey is from the effect to the cause. That is one way of understanding.

The Expansive Nature of Higher Koshas

Another point is: as we go deeper, it becomes subtler, more expansive, more accommodating, and much more is contained than before. Our mind contains the whole world, but our buddhi can contain the entire creation and much more, even the thought of God. But when we reach Anandamaya kosha, then as long as we are in the Anandamaya kosha, the whole universe appears to be an embodiment of bliss.

But even that Anandamaya kosha is limited because it is interconnected with the other pancha koshas. So they do not allow this Anandamaya kosha to be pure Ananda. So that is also limited.

But that is far away from our sight.

The Nature of Ananda

And the next point we have to understand: even if I am enjoying for one millisecond of happiness, I am in the Anandamaya kosha and it is Brahmananda only. Why? Because there are no two types of happinesses. One is Brahmananda, another is Vishayananda. No, there is only one type of Ananda.

When Brahmananda is severely restricted, that is called Vishayananda - restricted by time, space and causation. And when it lasts a little bit longer, that is called Pranamaya kosha. So that is also Brahmananda.

When we are in the Anandamaya kosha, still that kosha is very subtly making us identify with this personality called Aham. So Aham + Anandamaya kosha is also a bondage, a limitation - much finer limitation, much vaster limitation, but it is also bondage.

Sattva Guna and Anandamaya Kosha

That is why Ramakrishna: Sattva guna is to be identified with Anandamaya kosha. So Sattva, when we are in happiness, that is called Sattva guna, we are in Sattva guna. And Sattva guna gives also Jnanam. What is it? "I am happy. I am aware that I am a happy person."

And even Anandamaya kosha, there are variations: Priya, Modha, etc. We will discuss about it in the Anandamaya kosha. So there can be no variations in Brahmananda.

But Anandamaya is experienced by us at the level of Annamaya, Pranamaya, Manomaya, Vijnanamaya. And even at Annamaya kosha, even at the level of Annamaya kosha, there are vast variations are there.

You put a sweet on your tongue and that is one type of very short time-bound happiness. We call it happiness because Ananda when bound, when limited by time, space and causation, it is called happiness. And when Ananda becomes even less, that is called unhappiness.

Unhappiness is not something special. It is less of happiness is called unhappiness. More of unhappiness is even more unhappiness. So less of unhappiness is Ananda, happiness. More of happiness is Ananda.

At every kosha, reality becomes higher, subtler, vaster, more expansive. And that is how we have to understand there are no two Anandas, only Brahmananda. But when it is limited, we call it Vishayananda, Medhananda, Kalananda, then Dharmananda. Only then we come to the Brahmananda.

Finding Our Real Nature

So the point is: first find out what is your real nature. So that is why many Hindus they remember their Gotra. So we have descended from Vishwamitra Gotra, Gautama Gotra, Bharadwaja Gotra, etc. to say they were such great Rishis. So I have to approximate my life as their life. The more I approximate, the more joy and self-satisfaction will come.

So like that we have to remember from which Gotra we are coming down? Brahma Gotra. Because we are coming, descending from Brahman. And that is what we have discussed in our last class and another point also.

So we will now with this background go deeper into this first Anuvaka.

Brahmananda Valli First Anuvaka - First Section

The Creation of Elements

From this Atman, Self here means Atman. Atman Brahman synonymous words. That is to say the highest reality, the supreme reality. This is our original causeless cause Brahman.

So that Brahman has decided to play with himself. So he became a little bit grossified and that first manifestation of grossification is called Akasha.

And this Akasha became even more grossified. That became Vayu.

Vayu became even more grossified. Became Agni or Fire.

Agni became even more grossified. It became Apaha or Waters.

And Waters became even more the grossest - this earth. Prithvi or Prithvi.

So we have to remember at first the unmixed Apanchikrita subtlest five elements and these five elements with each grossification they have become identified with one particular quality:

• Akasha with Shabda
• Vayu with Sparsha
• Agni with Rupa
• Apaha with Rasa
• And Prithvi later on called Annam with Gandha or smell

Shabda, Sparsha, Rupa, Rasa, Gandha.

Corresponding Sense Organs

And in order for us to experience them corresponding individual sense organs:

• So the ears, that is the Shabda
• Then the Tanmatra that is the Tvak - Tvakmatra that is the skin Sparsha
• Then the eyes for perceiving the forms
• Then the tongue for experiencing the taste
• And the nostril for experiencing the smell

Panchikaran Process

So Bhagawan became five elements first - very subtle five elements. Then these very subtle five elements mixed in a peculiar process discovered by our Rishis called Panchikaranam and they mixed with each other. Every element contains every other element. Akasha contains not only Akasha part but one-fourth of the Vayu, Agni, Abaha, Prithvi. So 50% of its own nature and 12.5% each of the four of the other four elements. This is called Panchikaranam.

And out of these mixture - so out of the subtle elements came the Karana Sharira and the Sukshma Sharira. Out of the Panchikrita five elements came this entire universe creation.

The Human Body and Elements

Therefore through this process of explanation, then my body belongs to Prithvi and earth contains all the five elements - remember. So but in only less number of what is called amount of quantity. So the preponderance is earth.

Waters even much more subtler. Fire even brilliant light comes. And when we come to Vayu Devata in Samvarga Vidya in Chandogya Upanishad, Vayu Devata is taken as Hiranyagarbha and that equation is also very beautiful.

Then we go to the Akasha which contains, sustains, pervades everything - subtlest of all the elements. But even then it is a creation and therefore it is a limitation. From our viewpoint it is unlimited. From Atman's point of view it is what is called part of the creation and it is from the cause and therefore the entire creation is nothing but Brahman.

Understanding Brahman's Nature

First of all, how do we know what is the nature of Brahman? Satyam Jnanam Anantam Brahma. Now you take a living initiate, a fine painting or a beautiful piece of music like a trained human being.

So a human being has got that special equipment with which in the course of the evolution he obtained this finest body, finest brain, finest mind etc. And with the help of those instruments so many people have realised God. And so every human being is extraordinarily fortunate to be born as a human being because God realisation is possible only in a human body with this kind of equipment.

So slowly trace ourselves - that is the purpose I told you. So the entire universe is nothing but the product of earth. When we say product of earth like curds is the product of milk, so the curds do not contain anything that is not milk but contains everything that milk is. So whatever the qualities of the Brahman, characteristics of Brahman, this earth contains only in a grossified manner.

And as we go deeper we will see that more and more of the characteristics of Brahman are being manifested, we are experiencing, we will experience and then our understanding becomes better, our joy becomes more expansive. And finally when we reach Anandamaya only then we understand even this Anandamaya - Maya means plenty of, full of Pratyaya. But even that is a measurement. Measurement is a limitation. So we don't want measurement. We want to be that original cause and that is called Brahman.

The Purpose of Creation

And the purpose of this creation is: slowly purify our mind, our body, then through that purified body and mind whatever we look at appears to be purified, holy, pure - that means it is God. We are able to see God.

When we go to the Pranamaya level, then we become even more identified with the Sukha, happiness, Dukha, unhappiness, good and evil of other people. That is why we feel sympathy.

And when we try ascend to the level of the mind, we are able to understand much, much better. And when we came to Jnanamaya Kosha that is our understanding becomes almost perfect and that leads us to Anandamaya Kosha.

So this is how slowly as we go up we become less gross, more expansive, and our qualities of Sat, Chit and Ananda become even more manifest.

With that background let us go quickly through these mantras.

The Manifestation of Creation

From Elements to Plants

So what happened? The five elements have been produced and the last element which contains all the other elements called Prithvi or Earth.

And from the Prithivyam Oshadhayaha - so from the Earth came all the plant kingdom, herbs, and it is called Oshadhaya. I will come to that point. So plant kingdom and the plants became Anna.

And from the food - so everything in this world, every living creature, it is born out of food and it is sustained by food and it goes back into food. But the scripture wants to point out we are not talking about the other manifestations of creation but specially human being. And that too not any ordinary human being but a human being over the countless number of lives, past lives, slowly he is evolving himself - more Sattva Guna and more final understanding etc. That is what is being said here.

The Transformation Process

So Brahman became the space Akasha, further classified into air, further classified into fire or Agni. And Agni or fire manifested itself even in grosser form that is called waters. And waters became this earth. From the earth plants and herbs have come out.

Or we have to always be careful what should be we be careful about. In this world when parents give birth to a baby, a baby is separate. So there are many similar elements with regard to the body but with regard to the mind, sanskaras, vast differences could be there even among twins. Like Ravana, Sura, Vibhishana and Kumbhakarna - they were all born of the same parents but what a difference it makes.

By the way you must recollect: whenever we look at any person we are not judging that person or we are judging that person not by how his body is, how his mind is - that is a very shallow view. But we are judging how good that person is, how pure that person is, how loving that person is, how unselfish that person is. We are attracted only to the person's these beautiful qualities.

The Three Gunas

So always we have to keep this point in mind: wherever there is more manifestation of Sattva we are attracted to that because Sattva represents love, joy and less selfishness.

Rajas is a mixture of love and hate, good and evil etc., selfishness and unselfishness.

Tamoguna is pure selfishness, very, very crass, gross etc.

So that is the - these are the points always we have to keep in mind.

Earth to Plants to Food

So from this last element called earth, plants and herbs. From plants and herbs these plants and herbs food - I was mentioning you know.

So when parents give birth baby is totally different but that's not what we mean. It is like milk becoming curds. So here what does it mean? The earth is not producing plants and herbs and remaining separate. Earth itself is manifesting in the form of plants and herbs.

Gangadevi is manifesting in the form of water. Annapurnadevi is manifestation of Annam only. And the fire god is manifestation of fire. The air god Vayudevata is manifestation of air. So Akashadevata - that is the point we have to keep in mind.

The earth is manifesting as plants and these plants is real food for the parents. The parents they eat the food and out of the eaten food a part of it becomes the seeds in both of them - Purusha bija and Stri bija. And when they come together so the offspring is born.

So Anna purushaha - what are we? We are nothing but food. And therefore the Shruti concludes Sarva esha purushaha. You look at any person - Anna rasamaya is a manifestation, embodiment of nothing but product of food.

Medicinal Plants - Oshadhi

And the upanishad uses it Oshadhi byo annam. Prithivya oshadhi means actually medicinal plants. Why is it? Because hunger is a disease. Without hunger we don't feel like eating food. And when we eat food and that food we become - the food we are what we eat.

So when we are suffering from the disease called hunger, thirst or cold or heat or lack of oxygen etc. etc., so all the elements become the medicine - medicines. What does the medicine do? Keeps the health of the person intact.

So we are living - we came out of the food and we live by the food and at the end we also go back to the food. That is going to be told very soon.

The Human Form - Annamaya Kosha

So here Purusha means a human being because why a human being? What is it make this Annamaya kosha itself think like that. What is Annamaya kosha? Whatever idea we have about oneself - I am a human being, man or woman, I have got a head, I have got right hand, I have got a left hand, I have got right leg, left leg and most important I have got this back bone.

And incidentally science tells us so whether it is monkeys, chimpanzees, dogs, cows - they all crawl on four legs. But in course of time the chimpanzees, the gorillas etc. they started standing up. Why were they standing up more? For the sake of observing whether there are any enemies. When they are crawling or walking on four legs very difficult to find out. But if a person has got height then from a mountain top, from a roof top, from a big roof of a tower - easy to observe any dangers are there.

So slowly this gorilla started standing up and then it became a practice and in course of time - so we only go through those stages. As a baby we crawl, then we hold something and start walking, standing up and walking and in course of time we can even run.

The Bird-like Form of Human Body

So whenever we think of ourselves we - our body entire body comes now. Find out the imagery of this body what purpose. This is nothing but Annamaya sharera.

So my head - Dasya idamayava siraha

And I am Dakshinah pakshaha

I am Uttarah pakshaha

I am Atma idam urcham pratishta

And with regard to this Tadapi esha shloko bhavati - so there is a head for each human being and his right arm is the right wing, left arm is the left wing, the trunk is the middle part of the body and the lower part of the body is the tail that supports the body, that what is called guides the body. But the backbone is called the Atma - that is the trunk is the most important part.

So about this there is a big mantra. This is how an upasaka has to imagine every kosha - not only Annamaya kosha but all other koshas including Anandamaya kosha.

The Purpose of Imagery

So for the sake of upasana the upanishad uses a metaphor likened by commentators to describe its parts - the head, right and left sides, the trunk and the lower limbs - here it means legs. Then the upanishad compares the human body to a bird.

So for the sake of upasana remember the story when a guru asked one of his common disciple that "you meditate on Brahman" and he came after few seconds "I cannot imagine what is Brahman." Then the intelligent guru asked him so "what do you love most?" - very intelligent teacher. And he said "I have a buffalo I love it so much." "Ok now you meditate on that buffalo but that buffalo must be Brahman. You must think that buffalo not as an animal but as Brahman."

How do you think things so just like personal god - the head of the buffalo and there are four legs are there, front two legs, back two legs and there is a tail and there is a backbone. Exactly that we are asked to do here.

Bhagavad Gita also says so thinking of God as one of the human bodies. Is it going to help us? Bhagavad Gita says you think of God in the form of a stone but think of not stone but God. And that image comes out alive.

Sri Ramakrishna's Experience

If you study - not read but study - the life of Sri Ramakrishna, how he used to examine the image of the divine mother like anyone of us. But very, very fast he started that she was looking and she was moving. Then he went and put his finger at the nostril of the mother and he found like us she was breathing. But only thing is he could not find the shadow like we find our shadows when we are moving in the light of a lamp. Why? Because he was seeing it only through his mind's eye. That is called Brahma darshana.

So it started like that. Later on in a cat, in a dog, in himself, in whoever he is seeing - so Ramakrishna started seeing the same divine mother. This is the beautiful story.

That is why Hindus worship images for the ease of upasana. But whenever we look at an image or a pratima made out of clay or plastic nowadays - that is called fibreglass - it doesn't matter. We are not thinking divine mother is fibreglass. We are taking the help of this image to think of that unthinkable somehow to bring her image, her qualities into our mind. That is how we are doing this worship.

The Bird Imagery Explained

So this imagery of the bird is followed throughout but we have to remember it is for the purpose of upasana. So just as a bird cannot fly unless there are two wings - right and left wings - and then the tail and the backbone etc. and head, so we also cannot progress into spiritual life unless we do upasana.

Slowly this our own image first - it is our image. Then it will be God's image. Finally the image will disappear, only God remains.

So that is why in the course of evolution - so it may be another explanation - first we were birds and then slowly we became animals and then from animals monkeys, chimpanzees, gorillas and then human beings. Maybe. But the main point is it is for the easiness, what is called for the as a help for meditation, upasana.

So our right and left arms are compared to wings and the lower part of our body is compared to the tail. The tail is called the support because without the tail a bird cannot navigate. The whole body is balanced like an aeroplane. If a wing or the tail of the plane goes then the plane.

Entering the Second Section

Now we are entering into the second section. First I will read out the entire...

[The text appears to continue but becomes fragmented and repetitive towards the end, suggesting the original transcription may have been incomplete or corrupted at this point]

The Nature of Food and Body

The physical body is fundamentally a modification product of food. So it is very easy to understand whatever creature it is. How did it come? For example, how did I come from my parents? And how did they produce me? Because they ate food and a part of that food became, as I said, a seed. Both as the male seed and female seed. So everything in this world is a modification, every living creature. But I said even non-living things like mountains, etc.

यः कास्च प्रदिवेगं शुता - Whatever we experience, we see, we hear, we read of all creatures. And whatever is born of food, it must be sustained by food. अथाः अन्ने नयव जीवन्ति अथाः एन अपी अपीयन्त्यतः - So when it breaks down, disintegrates, it must go back to food.

I illustrated it already. Just I will mention that one to you. So my body is born of food. We are talking about the body. External object is born of food. And it is sustained by food. Until prana departs, this body has to be sustained by food. And after being sustained by food, there comes a time, this body cannot function any further because it becomes aged, changed, aged, old. So it has to be given up.

What happens? The body is made up of food. Therefore, it will go into food. And I also told you about that earlier that when a wild animal is looking at you or me, it doesn't look "this is an Indian, this is an American, this is a man, this is a woman, this is young, this is old." But everything is food. They have also that beautiful discrimination which food is more profitable, easier to follow. A fat man cannot run very quickly and is very satisfying food also. That is one reason we have to not to become fat.

Food as the Eldest

So this food is called jayashtam. Annakumbhi bhutanaam jayashtam. Tasmat sarva ushadam uchyate. Our food alone is the eldest of all beings. And therefore it is called the universal medicine for all.

We will discuss about this in our next class.

Closing Prayer

ॐ जननीम् शरदाम् देविम् रामक्रिष्णम् जगत् गुर्म्

पादपद्मे तयोः स्रित्वाः प्रणमामि मुहुरुमु

Oṁ jananīṁ śaraḍhāṁ deveṁ rāmakriṣṇam jagad-gurum

pādapadmetayosritvā pranamāmi-muhurumuhu

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