Taittiriya Upanishad Lecture 93 Ch2.8 on 25 February 2026
Full Transcript (Not Corrected)
Brahmanānda Valī: The Gradations of Bliss
Lecture on Taittirīya Upaniṣad, Chapter 2, Section 8
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: The Subject Matter
We are studying the 8th Anuvāka — the 8th section of the 2nd chapter of the Taittirīya Upaniṣad. It is called the Brahmanānda Valī, and in this particular chapter the gradations of the bliss of Brahman are being discussed.
Key Principles of Ānanda
The important points we have to remember here are as follows.
First, whatever we are experiencing here is nothing but Brahmanānda only. But if it is limited, depending upon an instrument, then it is called limited Ānanda — Viṣayānanda, Pratibimbānanda, etc. — but there is only one Ānanda.
Another very important point: is there something opposite to this limited Ānanda? Actually, no. What it means is more suffering, or less Ānanda. So less suffering is more Ānanda. It is nothing but like a dimmer switch — if we pull the switch down to the lowest point, then practically no light comes out, but it is not the absence of light. It is the covering of the light. That is why it is called a dimmer switch.
Another point: these limited Ānandas are temporary — they come, they go. When our mind becomes one with the object, when the distinction "I and this object are separate" dissolves, we are able to maintain that unity only for a very short time. That is why it is called Kṣaṇika Ānanda. Then subject and object both remove themselves from the ever-shining, ever-manifesting Ānanda that is Brahmanānda. But since it is only for a short time, and only according to the thickness of the covering, we call it Kṣaṇika Viṣaya Ānanda. But everything is only that Brahmanānda.
The Inborn Desire for Freedom
The next point: we are not concerned here with the analysis of ordinary Ānanda. It is an inborn desire — "Let me be myself. Let me be my own self. Knowing, who knows everything. Let me be always happy." These are unconscious desires of even the very first manifestation of life. In fact, life is a struggle for freedom, in the words of Svāmī Vivekāanda.
And if we question further — what is that freedom? Freedom from what? Freedom from bondage. What is bondage? Limitation. What is limitation? That is ignorance — forgetting that we are Brahman, and that this world is not different from me. There are no two things called Brahman and the world. Everything that includes me — everything — is Brahman.
The Five Categories of Ānanda
But as we all experience, and as I have pointed out many times, all Ānandas can be subdivided into:
- Viṣaya Ānanda — objective happiness
- Medhānanda — intellectual happiness
- Kalānanda — aesthetic happiness
- Dharmānanda — moral happiness
- Brahmanānda — the happiness that comes from God-realisation, or the realisation of Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi
A sub-point to be noted is that there is infinite variation from object to object. A simple example: if there are a hundred sweets, the same sweet made by a hundred people — each one can taste differently. That means it can give different happiness. That is why there is a quality sweet and there is an ordinary sweet. So we can extend that example everywhere.
Not only are there variations in every object, but even within ourselves, what we experience is also quite different. If you have tasted a sweet when you are fully hungry, and then tasted the same sweet when your stomach is not hungry, and then tasted the same sweet when your stomach is aching or you have a headache — how much difference does it make! That is why, unable to understand, we attribute the fault to the object, not realising that a knower of Brahman can enjoy everything.
When he looks at a murderer, what does he say? "How wonderfully I acted as a murderer!" When he becomes a benevolent, charitable, all-loving person, he says, "Oh, how nicely I am acting!" Why do we call it acting? Because it is not real. What is not real? What changes is not real. What does not change alone is the real.
The Purpose of the Eleven Gradations
These are the points. Then the Upaniṣad wants to convey: "Oh man, it is your natural — very nature of your own self — to experience graduated, higher and higher happinesses, until you get a glimpse of your real self and remain in that state, which is called Brahmanānda." So, as a sample, eleven examples are given. That is what we have to understand.
At every comparison, first of all, it is a measurement of happiness. Every measurement — whether it be distance, whether it be time — we have to have a unit of measurement. It may be one second, or a minute, or it may be a milligramme. There must be some standard by which you can measure. Without a standard it is impossible to measure.
The Standard of Measurement: The Ideal Human Being
So the Upaniṣad takes this as the standard: here is a person who is young, and not only that, he is a sādhu — extraordinarily good. He is adhyāyaka — he had studied the scriptures, and continuously he is examining his own mind: "Is there something higher which I need to acquire?"
And he is āśiṣṭha — highly idealistic. Not only highly idealistic, he is a very positive-minded person. Such a person, even if he fails a billion times, a trillion times, is not going to lose hope. He is going to tell himself, "Well, I tried a billion times. I did not get what I want. Let me try a new method." So that is called āśiṣṭha — a very, very positive-minded person.
Dṛḍhiṣṭha — that means he is mentally extraordinarily strong. Once he understands, "This is my ideal, my goal, this is what I want to attain," he is ready to give up his life but not his effort.
Baliṣṭha — physically and in every way strong. Just imagine: he is the unchallenged emperor of this whole earth — not merely India or Europe or America, but every single country is under his unchallenged, unparalleled rule. And here also he knows it. A baby prince does not know it, but this person knows it. Not only that, he is a very positive person, so he enjoys it. He knows it, and from that knowledge comes his enjoyment.
You see, there are people — many people — who are billionaires but may be eating very simple food, and yet they can derive great happiness. We think they should be enjoying exotic types of food — not necessary, may or may not be — but the knowledge, "If I want, I can have whatever I want," and then, "I am quite happy, I derive all this happiness" — they derive great happiness from whatever they are experiencing. Sometimes they wear very ordinary clothes, like Einstein, whom many labourers mistook as a servant in the university.
So here is such a person. He has the knowledge, he is positive-minded, and he is really enjoying the greatest human happiness that is possible. That is one measurement.
The Eleven Gradations of Bliss
1. Mānuṣa Ānanda — Human Bliss
The happiness of the ideal human being described above: young, learned, virtuous, positive, strong, ruler of all the earth, and fully enjoying with knowledge. This is the base unit of measurement.
2. Mānuṣya Gandharva Ānanda — Bliss of the Human Gandharva
Then, followed by this measurement, the word "hundreds of times" is used. So the second — much higher, not merely 100% but immeasurably higher — yet for our purpose of understanding, imagine 100 times this one. This is the happiness derived by a person who is living in that higher loka, called Mānuṣya Gandharva — a Mānuṣya who became a Gandharva.
3. Deva Gandharva Ānanda — Bliss of the Divine Gandharva
100 times more happiness than the Mānuṣya Gandharva. So Gandharvas also have variations among themselves. So the third is 100x100x100, go on multiplying, it is only trying to make us understand there are higher states of ananada and it can be achieved through two means, One, You perform yagna, yagas, karmas, meditations, upasanas, and another you just just think of God, you experience higher and higher happiness. The nearer we move towards God the lesser will be attachment to world. And that detachment from the world is discrimination. Real discrimination must be followed by true giving up. When a person says he I have given up anger, he will not even think, it becomes his nature in course of time. Imagine a person , he is right here on earth and he is endowed with 100% discrimination, 100% dispassion, and 100% devotion to faith and devotion to God. He will also experiencing . One specialty, this statement 'Strotriyasyacha akamahathyasacha' is repeated through the 10 description. this is tow say man of God enjoys 100% ananda, everything is included in that. This is second method, just by controlling the mind.
4. Pitṛ Ānanda — Bliss of the Ancestors
Higher than Deva Gandharva are our ancestors — those who have led a scriptural life: a Christian life, a true Hindu life, a true devotee's life. Then they go to that loka and enjoy 100 times more than the Deva Gandharva.
5. Ājāna Ja Devānām Ānanda — Bliss of the Ever-Born Gods
Higher than that is called Ājāna Ja Devānām. They are a type of Deva and enjoy 100 times more than the Pitṛs.
6. Karma Devānām Ānanda — Bliss of the Karma Devas
Higher than that is the 6th one. They have become Devas but by the grace of the Devas, by pleasing the Devas — they are called Karma Devas.
7. Devānām Ānanda — Bliss of the Gods
There are some people who have done so much that they attain to the Devānām Ānanda — the happiness of the Devas of whom Indra is the leader. That is the 7th one.
8. Indrasya Ānanda — Bliss of Indra
The 8th one is the lord of all the Devas — like the lord of the earth, he is called Indra. One meaning of the word Indra is "he who is the best among the Devas." That is why Indra is the word used in Sanskrit to indicate what is best. He gets 100 times more than the Devas.
9. Bṛhaspateḥ Ānanda — Bliss of Bṛhaspati
Even Indra had a Guru. That Guru's name is Bṛhaspati. Bṛhaspati is an embodiment of knowledge, and he gets 100 times more bliss than Indra's.
10. Prajāpateḥ Ānanda — Bliss of Prajāpati
There is a higher person than Bṛhaspati. He is called Prajāpati, and this Prajāpati gets 100 times more Ānanda than what Bṛhaspati derives.
11. Brahmā Loka Ānanda — Bliss of the Creator's World
And finally, the 14th world — what we call Brahma Loka, also called Hiraṇmaya Loka — such a person gets the highest dualistic happiness. There is no higher. He is one who identifies himself with Brahmā — not Brahman, but Brahmā, the creator.
The Principle of Identification
Here, all identification is at play. When we say a person has gone to Indra Loka, it means he has identified himself with Indra by contemplating continuously on Indra. Similarly, a person who contemplates Bṛhaspati becomes one with Bṛhaspati and naturally derives whatever Ānanda is natural to Bṛhaspati. One who goes still higher and identifies himself with Prajāpati — he derives one step lower than Brahma Loka Ānanda. But one who, through even higher contemplation, experiences "I am Brahmā," he goes to Brahma Loka Ānanda, and that is incomparable.
Are These Lokas Real or Mental States?
It is only a comparison. Now one question we have to resolve: does a person, after the fall of this body, actually go gradually step by step to these lokas? Are they real, or are they all mental states?
Because after hearing what I explained in the previous classes, this doubt may arise in some people. For that the answer is: they are also real, and our mental state is also real. How do we explain this? Because to experience higher Ānanda, we also require a higher instrument. The instrument is most important.
For example, a person is minus-10 myopic. If you prescribe only minus-5 glasses to correct only 5 points, then his vision becomes very unclear. Only when you prescribe the correct glasses can he see clearly. It is like that. We have to be very careful. But then they are both real — the lokas are also real, they are also states of mind, and they are also part of the joy of a God-realised soul. All three points we have to keep in mind.
The Mirror Analogy: Pratibimba Ānanda
Again, as we discussed, we have to say that there is only one Ānanda — that is called Brahmanānda. Everything else is called reflected happiness, and every object in this world becomes a mirror.
If I am eating a sweet, the sweet becomes a mirror. And when I become one with it — when I look into the mirror — what do I see? A very important point: I see my own reflection. So like that, we have to extend that example. Imagine a first-class fruit — mango, for example — becomes as if it is a mirror, reflecting appropriate Ānanda. And when I eat it, I am destroying that mirror. That reflection becomes one with me.
What I was thinking — "I am going to derive the mango Ānanda from this mango fruit" — now that mirror, the mango, is gone. The reflection is gone. And I experience my own Ānanda. Pratibimba is nothing but my own self. But that is possible only when I destroy the mirror also. Along with the destruction of the mirror, automatically the reflection also gets destroyed.
So everything is Ātmānanda, Brahmanānda, Svarūpānanda, Jñānānanda — simply called Ānanda. So why are we not experiencing it? Because of ignorance, called ajñāna. What is ajñāna? Ajñāna is identity with something external to us. These are classified as three bodies: the gross body, the subtle body, and the causal body.
The Five Kośas and Their Ānandas
That knowledge — "I am Ātmānanda" — is covered. When this Ātmānanda is experienced through the medium of the gross body, it becomes Viṣayānanda. When it is experienced through the sūkṣma śarīra — that is the subtle body, which is called the mind — then we experience the other three Ānandas. What are the three other Ānandas? Medhānanda, Kalānanda, and Dharmānanda. They all belong to the mind.
And when I identify myself with the causal body, then all these mirrors will get destroyed. Only a very fine reflection will be there. I am identified totally with that fine reflection, and that is called the Ānandamaya Kośa.
This is how we have to understand the Pañcakośas, and each Kośa gives a different type of Ānanda, a degree of Ānanda, which we will come to again very soon.
Roughly speaking:
- Annamaya and Prāṇamaya give Viṣayānanda
- Manomaya gives Medhānanda
- Vijñānamaya gives Kalānanda
- Ānandamaya gives Dharmānanda
- And beyond that is Brahmanānda, when a person transcends even the Ānandamaya Kośa
So the goal is to know that I am Ātmānanda, or Brahmanānda, or it is also called Bimbānanda. Bimba means the original object that stands in front of a mirror, and its reflection is called pratibimba. So by nature, Ahaṃ Ānanda Svarūpaḥ — when a person says "I am Brahman," that is what happens.
Ānandamaya Kośa and Deep Sleep
Now another question arises: when a person, through spiritual practice, goes to the Ānandamaya Kośa — which is identified with deep sleep, where there is no connection with the gross body or the subtle body — is he experiencing Brahmanānda, Ātmānanda, or reflected happiness?
Yes, that is why it is called Ānandamaya Kośa Ānanda — it is only Kośānanda, not Ātmānanda. So that is what we need to understand. Everything that we experience is nothing but Ānanda, and this Ānanda is nothing but knowledge. It has nothing to do with anything else. Simply, the knowledge "I am happy" is a piece of knowledge.
Even if a person is in the direst hell — and every knower of Brahman experiences this — that is why when Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was experiencing unbearable pain in the throat, and when he wanted to test one of his would-be monastic disciples, Svāmī Turyānanda, at that time Hari Mahārāj understood. He said, "No, sir, I see you are swimming in the ocean of bliss." That means, "I see you are Brahman. I see you are that God who has nothing to do with these three bodies. You are that — in that state of Turīya." That is what we have to understand.
Summary of Ānanda Principles
Just to remind ourselves: everything we experience is reflected happiness, called Pratibimba Ānanda. And Pratibimba Ānanda can be experienced only if there is someone — some object — in front of a mirror, and that mirror is comparable to the mind.
That is called Bimba-Pratibimba. Brahmanānda is nityam — all reflected happiness is anitya: permanent, unchangeable versus impermanent, changeable. If we talk about them from the viewpoint of the Kośas — Annamaya, Prāṇamaya, Manomaya, Vijñānamaya, Ānandamaya — they are called Kośānandas.
And Brahmanānda is incomparable, called niratiśaya. What is called reflected happiness is expressed as Priya, Moda, Pramoda — all limited, called sātiśaya. Brahmanānda is unlimited, and that unlimitedness is called niratiśaya.
In other words, one is called Viṣaya Ānanda and another is called Aviṣaya — a subjective happiness, happiness of one's own true nature.
Two Paths to Higher Ānanda
And then, to experience anything that is reflected happiness, we have to work. But to experience Brahmanānda, we need not work — in fact, we should get out of work. Then only that knowledge comes. That is why Śaṅkarācārya is so adamant, so opposed — karma is limited, and through the limited one cannot attain the unlimited. Through the made, that which is unmade, uncreated, cannot be experienced.
But these two means exist:
- You perform yajñas, yāgas, karmas, meditations, upāsanās, and then you can attain higher states.
- You simply think of God and experience higher and higher happiness. The nearer we move towards God, the lesser will be our attachment to this world. And that detachment from the world is called discrimination — real discrimination, which must be followed by giving up.
When a person says "I have given up anger," he will not even think about it. It becomes his nature in course of time.
The Śrotriya: The Spiritual Aspirant
So as a sample, eleven Ānandas are given. But how many Ānandas are there? Just as Brahman is infinite, there are an infinite number of Ānandas. But as we have studied many times, the same Brahmanānda — from the very beginning, from Mānuṣa Ānanda up to Brahmaloka Ānanda — can be experienced by a true spiritual aspirant who has acquired viveka and vairāgya and a deep faith.
Because without faith, we cannot understand what the goal is. One must have the knowledge that there is something to be attained. And that knowledge comes from Śruti. Therefore, a person who knows "God exists, His Ānanda is infinite, therefore I must strive to attain that Ānanda — or to become that Ānanda" — such a person is called Śrotriyas.
And what is the condition? The condition is that he should happily give up the lower for the higher. That is described as akāmahatasya — "so I want, for example, Gandharva Ānanda. Then I have to renounce the lower, like the filth of a crow — not even think about it." Such a person experiences not only Gandharva Loka but even Brahmā Ānanda — not Brahmaloka Ānanda, but Brahmā Ānanda. He understands it, and he exhibits it.
That is why I have given you a beautiful description: when Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was eating a very well-made sweet, he doesn't experience merely sweet Ānanda — he knows this sweet is Brahman experiencing Brahmanānda. And when he is seemingly suffering from throat cancer, unbearable pain, he experiences that also as Brahmanānda. Hard for us to understand — the first point we can, but the second point is that there is no duḥkha.
The Analogy of the Actor
You know, suppose a person is acting and he is being beaten black and blue in a drama or in cinema, and he is crying, shouting, "Oh, unbearable!" They can show blood also — not real blood, blood-like — and some people act in such a way that some audience can even faint. So realistic. But they are enjoying it — the more realistic, the more the audience appreciates, the more happiness they get.
Another example: a person is singing a song of pathos. Don't mistake it for a pathetic song — pathos is different; being pathetic is different. So a person is singing a sad song: "Oh, my beloved has neglected me; she has given me up to run after somebody else whom I know as a worthless fellow." Of course, that is the common thinking of any disappointed fellow.
Every barber in the barber shop thinks that he is the cleverest fellow — he could give advice to Narendra Modi or President Trump, and in a second all the worldly problems will disappear. He will be discussing this 24 hours a day, and sometimes he becomes so enthusiastic he can nick the customer also. So a Kṣatrikā mata can do that. But the point we have to remember: there is nothing called duḥkha.
Remember the story of a wandering monk who was being pelted by stones, and Svāmī Vivekānanda could not see blood running all over his body, but that man went off laughing. And when questioned, you remember what he replied: "Thus plays the Father." So if the Father is playing him as the pelter, then who is playing the role of the pelted? It is the same person. That is what we have to understand. For a Brahmajñānī, he is the subject, he is the object — he is the tormentor, he is the tormented — everything. He is the murderer, he is the murdered.
But really — no. Because in a drama, when somebody is killing somebody, there is no such thing as "this person is a killer, this person is being killed." In drama, both the killer and the killed can be brothers. Sometimes the same actor — like N. T. Rāmarāo — played the roles of both Duryodhana and Kṛṣṇa. I don't know the technique by which they did it, but that is how it was.
The Reality of the Lokas: Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Experience
So we also discussed: there are real lokas. How do we know that? When Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's mind was ascending through the path of Samādhi to go to the Saptarṣi Maṇḍala, he vividly described how many lokas he had to cross. The denizens and citizens of the lower worlds cannot even look up — only the higher citizens can look down. The lower citizens of the lower lokas cannot look up.
And finally there is that highest — what is called Bhāva Loka, Bhāvamukha Loka — where God himself is residing, there in the form of the Seven Ṛṣis. From there only, every Avatāra comes down in each Yuga, with one particular form, name, and a particular mission in life.
So let us remember: mentally also we can ascend to any loka, and physically also there seems to be a real loka. Because we did not experience it, it is hard for us to believe. That is why we have to believe these scriptures. Rāmakṛṣṇa's life is a scripture. And Rāmakṛṣṇa gives a hint in describing the various cakras.
The Cakras and the Ascent of the Mind
So the mind is the mirror. When our mind is now identified with possessions, it is called Mūlādhāra — even possessions can give a limited type of Ānanda. When a person's mind is more identified, his Kuṇḍalinī is said to be residing in Mūlādhāra.
But when it ascends a little more, by lessening the impurity — the dust that is ajñāna — it ascends to a bit higher: Svādhiṣṭhāna. That is the joy of procreation — that joy is much, much greater.
When he ascends still further, then Maṇipūra — the joy of all the senses put together, the complete deha, not one single part.
Then, when the same mind closes permanently the paths of Iḍā and Piṅgalā and ascends to the next higher state, which is called Anāhata — this is where Yogis hear the sound called Anāhata Śabda, that is why it is called Anāhata.
Āhata means "struck." Anāhata means "unstruck sound" — unsounded sound. Nobody is making it, but it is there. What is that? Soham, Soham, etc.
That is where the first step in spiritual life truly begins. It becomes less enamoured with objects — even with the body, even with the mind — more identity with the subject, and gradually ascends.
So the higher the Kośas, the cleaner is the mirror-mind, and so much more higher is the joy. Roughly speaking: Annamaya and Prāṇamaya give Viṣayānanda, Manomaya gives Medhānanda, Vijñānamaya gives Kalānanda, Ānandamaya gives Dharmānanda, and Brahmanānda of course when a person goes even beyond that.
The Mahāvākya: The Unity of the Individual and Brahman
Then comes a Mahāvākya: He who is here in man and He who is in yonder Sun — both are one. This is a statement which we find in several Upaniṣads — not only in this Taittirīya Upaniṣad, but practically in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka. For example, we have seen in the Īśāvāsya Upaniṣad — I think it is the 15th or 16th mantra — where the man prays. He looks at the Sun and prays, "You are covered with a golden disc. Please remove it — I cannot remove that cover."
What is that golden disc? Māyā. What is that golden disc? Higher mind. "Remove this mind. Then the distance between you and me will disappear. And the mind disappears. I am a satya-dharma — I practised truth and dharma from the very beginning of my life, and I have never deviated from it. I am totally devoted to it. I know there is no difference between you and me, but that is my conviction born of faith. I want a direct experience, but there is something obstructing. You must remove it."
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Gift of Spiritual Awakening
That is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa had done on the 1st of January, 1886, when he touched everybody and said, "May your spiritual consciousness be awakened." But because they were not ready, the effect lasted for only a very short time. Yet the immediate effect was that they were all cutting capers with joy, shouting like madmen — some were dancing, some were singing, some were praising, some fell down unconscious. But they were all experiencing an Ānanda which was never experienced by them before, by the grace of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa.
And what is the purpose? The purpose is not to give them that state permanently, because they cannot hold it. On a 10-watt fuse, suddenly if you pass a 100-volt current, it cannot hold. But it was to give their faith a firmness — "such a thing exists" — because one's own experience can never be denied. So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa had given a glimpse of what they could achieve if only they practise spiritual discipline and take shelter in him. Even for Svāmī Vivekānanda it took nearly four and a half years.
Ascending Through the Kośas to Brahman
So here is a person who has identified himself. We have seen earlier, by transcending from one Kośa to the other, "I know Āditya." Here Āditya is the Sun God — it is not merely the star Sun that we see here. That is also Āditya, but imagine what tremendous power — just to meditate for some time upon our Sun. He is the creator. He is the sustainer. He is the destroyer. How many worlds, how many lives are coming out, staying for a short time, and then going back. He is called Prajāpati. He is called Hiraṇyagarbha. He is called Īśvara.
But only out of His infinite grace — only when He removes that veil — can we really see. The sādhaka in the Īśāvāsya Upaniṣad surrendered himself totally. He says, "Yes, I know that there is no difference between you and me." How did you know? "My Guru taught me. I know that because He has realised. But then I want to experience. That was His experience, which He taught me. But I must experience for my own self."
"Oh Lord, out of Your infinite compassion — that covering which stands between me and You, which is called Hiraṇmayena Pātreṇa — it is shining, shining means so attractive. This power of Māyā, aghaṭana-ghaṭana-paṭīyasī — capable of making the impossible possible, capable of making Brahman appear as Brahmā, creating Brahmā in Brahman — please remove, because He who is the master of Māyā can also undo it."
The Bhagavad Gītā on Māyā and Grace
This is what the Bhagavad Gītā is also telling us, which is nothing but the essence of all the Upaniṣads:
Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā — "There is a Māyā, and that is called daivī māyā, divine Māyā, consisting of the three guṇas, impossible to remove."
Māmeva ye prapadyante — "Those who worship Me, adore Me, contemplate on Me — what happens? Māyāmetām etām māyām — they alone can cross, can remove that veil."
How can they remove it? No — they cannot remove it. I remove it for them.
The Child and the Mother: A Final Parable
Like a mother — when she sees the baby crawling, untied, and cannot do anything — immediately she rushes and takes the child into her arms, and the baby is happy and dances. This is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: when a child is tired of playing and starts crying, "I want to go to my mother," nothing can console him. Then the mother herself will come.
Like that, there was a touching incident when the Dakṣiṇeśvara Kālī temple was inaugurated. The mother of M also visited, and M was there, probably four or five years old. Temporarily he was separated from the mother. He was searching — "Mother is not there, everyone is a stranger" — and he started crying.
A young priest suddenly came, took up the baby in his arms, and in his powerful voice — this was Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa — shouted, "Who is the mother of this baby?" And the mother was very near. Immediately she came rushing and took him.
So the mother of M had the darśana of the future Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa — the young priest — at that time. And M later wondered: was this the same Rāmakṛṣṇa who, when I was a young child, came and brought me to my own mother? Symbolically: is he the person who brought me to my own Divine Mother?
Actually, M did not believe in the forms of God. But Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa not only brought his mind — as he brought the mind of Toṭāpuri — he made M ultimately surrender to the Divine Mother. Śaraṇāgata, Śaraṇāgata — that is the only way.
Beautiful poems are there. We will talk about them in our next class.
Closing Prayer
ॐ जननीम् शरदाम् देविम् रामक्रिष्णम् जगत् गुर्म्
पादपद्मे तयोः स्रित्वाः प्रणमामि मुहुरुमु
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!