Taittiriya Upanishad Lecture 98 Ch3 Introduction on 01 April 2026
Full Transcript (Not Corrected)
Opening Prayer (Śānti Pāṭha)
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 the Third Chapter: Bhṛgu Vallī
So we have just started the third chapter of the Taittirīya Upaniṣad, called Bhṛgu Vallī. An important story has been introduced here — this kind of story we did not get either in the first chapter or in the second chapter. But we have to understand: there was a teacher and there were students, and the teaching has been given; only the explicit mention has not been done. But there is a special reason why this story has been given in this third section.
Śaṅkarācārya, as usual, gives a brilliant introduction to this third chapter called Bhṛgu Vallī. He says: the third chapter, Bhṛgu Vallī, deals only with some practical implications of the teaching which has already been given in the second chapter.
Recollection of the First Chapter: Śikṣā Vallī
We have to recollect: the first chapter is called Śikṣā Vallī, where śikṣā means training, instruction — how to read the letters properly, like a small baby goes to nursery school. So there is a great benefit in learning things in the proper manner. Every language has got some vocabulary. The English language has only 26 letters, but the Sanskrit language has probably the highest — I don't know, 52 letters are there. That is why it is the most flexible language. Once a person knows Sanskrit, he would be able to learn any language quite quickly, with proper pronunciation, intonation, etc.
So the first chapter gives not only a training in how to pronounce the scriptures especially, but also there are so many preliminary upāsanās, slowly and gradually leading a person in how we have to connect the entire universe. They are called upāsanā.
What Is Upāsanā?
What is an upāsanā? Slowly, the individual has to transform himself or herself into the universal. "I am not this particular individual, but I am the entire universe" — that is the purpose of any and every upāsanā.
As I mentioned earlier, only in the earlier days — at the time of our Ṛṣis, when these Upaniṣads had become very popular — the type of gods and goddesses that we imagine today, with anthropomorphic qualities, human-like qualities, had not developed yet. They took the raw nature: the sun, the moon, the stars, the rains, the seasons. And they divided them all into five categories: space, air, fire, water, and earth — and that includes entire creation, whether it is gross or subtle or causal.
But we have lost many of the connections with the earlier upāsanās. It doesn't really matter. In this very 19th century, Rāmakṛṣṇa, who is considered as an avatāra of God, had adopted — so instead of worshipping Brahman directly, he had taken Mother Kālī as a symbol of Brahman, and he contemplated, and ultimately realised: Kālī is Kāla. Kāla is time. Time is the very first creation, and that modified itself, manifested itself as this entire universe. So that is the hint Rāmakṛṣṇa gives.
It doesn't matter — you choose how to think about God. And you have to have a certain concept about God, so that these concepts do become instruments in progressing in spiritual life.
Instruments of Learning: Music, Science, and Spirituality
We do require instruments. For example, if you want to become a musician, what is the most important instrument? Knowledge about the saptasvaras — the seven notes that emanate from the bottom of the throat, or the sounding mechanism, to the highest pitch that we can carry. Each one of us: Sa, Ri, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni, Sa — āroha and avaroha.
And then, if you want to become a scientist, certain instruments are necessary: a keen sense of observation, collection of material, and thinking deeply about them. Then you gather certain ideas about them and you test them — are these ideas only my imaginations, or do they tally with facts? That is called hypothesis, experimentation, derivation of the result, and perfecting it, so that anybody who follows the same steps must get the same result.
Only in that sense had Swami Vivekānanda said: religion — only in the sense of following these footsteps, step by step, what the guru teaches through the guru-śiṣya-sampradāya, śruti-paramparā.
So times have changed, the symbols have changed, but the process, the instruments, have not changed. For example, even these Ṛṣis — they had a body, they had a mind. This universe that we experience was exactly the same universe they were also experiencing: ākāśa, vāyu, agni, jala, and pṛthvī. The same. Nothing much has changed really, either in the thinking or in the experimentation. Only now we have got sophisticated instruments, but knowledge itself is precious.
The Role of the Guru and Personal Experience
A Ṛṣi is one who discovers knowledge. And by discovering it, one person becomes the beneficiary — but he doesn't benefit anybody else. So just like a student sitting at the feet of a scientist, the scientist, the teacher, will pass on his experience in the form of understandable language. He might even provide certain instruments: "These are the instruments I have used, but you will have to follow the steps and then prove to yourself that it is a truth." Only when it is proved by each one of us does it become a truth.
So just as we believe when the scientist declares, "This is the truth," and then others experiment, trying to pull him down or to verify whether it is correct or not — and when they arrive at the same truth, they will have to helplessly declare: "This scientific truth is proved, and anybody can prove it." We have to apply the same thing in the realm of spirituality also.
As I tell very often — a bit lightly, funnily — that Rāmakṛṣṇa ate very nice sweets: it doesn't benefit me. I have to procure the sweets, I have to eat them — then only do I know exactly what he felt like. So whether it be Brahman himself, or Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, or anybody else — Rāmakṛṣṇa, Swamiji, Holy Mother — they can only say what is good for us and the way we have to proceed. They can point out the direction, give detailed instructions. But ultimately we have to experience it. Experience is the only proof of one's progress in spiritual life.
And that experience is going to be outlined here, graphically, in the form of a story.
Summary of the Three Chapters
The first section, called Śikṣā Vallī, tells us how to study the scriptures, how to pronounce the words, how to speak properly with sandhi and pariccheda, etc. Then it takes one step further — how the whole universe, mother and father, teacher and student, etc., has an unbreakable, invariable connection: between the earth and water, between the waters and the fire, between the fire and the air, between the air and the space, etc. So very scientifically they arrived at these conclusions.
Be careful: when we say "religion is science," it is not to be compared with science only in the sense of equipment. It is only in the sense that it follows the spirit of science — each one of us has to experiment. Or when many people have experimented and found the same result, we have to develop śraddhā, deep faith, that so many people's lives have been converted, and they are very, very happy, blissful people now.
How do we know? Because we ourselves can find them out, if we are fortunate. And then find out: if this man, not dependent upon any external instrument, is still so blissful compared to most people — even people who have many more things in their possessions — there must be something. If happiness, bliss is the effect, there must be a cause. And what is the cause? A certain outlook on life. And that is called philosophy.
What is philosophy? A certain outlook on life. But it is not dry intellectual philosophy — it is a fact, arrived at through various spiritual experiments. That is what we have to keep in mind.
The Meaning of Upāsanā: Transcending Individuality
So many upāsanās have been taught. And we have to remember again and again: what is an upāsanā? Shedding selfishness, becoming more unselfish — that is upāsanā. Shedding our identity with our individuality and gradually identifying ourselves not with the part but with the whole — that is called upāsanā. Ultimately we should be able to say, "I am God." That is the final identity with everything.
The Meaning of Mithyā
The next point we have to learn from the Upaniṣads — and in this Upaniṣad too — is that this world is mithyā. And as soon as you hear that word mithyā, certain ideas pop up into your minds. The true meaning of mithyā is: really speaking, just as a pot is nothing but clay with a particular name, form, and utility — just as an ornament is nothing but gold alone with a certain name, form, and utility — just like that, this world is nothing but Brahman with names and forms, and is called "world." World without names and forms is called Brahman. This is the understanding we have to arrive at.
So what is mithyā? To think that this world is not Brahman — that is called mithyā. So the mithyātva of the world is not outside; it is in our understanding.
I am repeating it because we all think: a tree is real, a house is real, an animal is real, another human being is real — everything that we see is real, and it is outside, and even if I don't see it, it is real.
It is true that everything is real — but not as we think about it. A tree is not real. Brahman in the form of the tree — that is the real. An animal: Brahman in the form of an animal. Brahman in the form of a house. Brahman in the form of a river. Brahman in the form of a mountain. That is reality.
What is mithyā? Our understanding that "this is not Brahman, this is different from Brahman" — that is called mithyā. And because it stems from our ignorance, and ignorance is that which comes and goes, the whole universe has a starting point, a staying point, and a disappearing point. We have to understand that.
The Second Chapter: Brahma Vallī / Ānanda Vallī
The crux of the matter is put in the second chapter, which is called Brahma Vallī, Ānanda Vallī. The essence of that is: everything is Brahman. And how do we know? Brahma veda brahmaiva bhavati — one who realises "I am Brahman, there is nobody else excepting Brahman, Brahman alone is real" — he is the person who does not know what is death, what is ignorance, and he does not know what is called unhappiness.
And in that context also, in the second chapter: what is our problem? Brahman appears to have slowly become manifested, and the grossest manifestation is called annamaya kośa. And this grossest effect is derived from a slightly subtle cause which is called prāṇamaya kośa, which in its turn is derived from its subtler cause which is called manomaya, which is derived from jñānamaya, which is derived from ānandamaya. That ānandamaya itself is derived from Brahman himself. So that has been taught so beautifully.
And what is the benefit? He says: a person who knows "I am Brahman" — he becomes fearless. And one who thinks "I am not Brahman, I am separate from Brahman" — such a person is always experiencing only fear: fear about life, fear of ignorance, fear of not getting what one wants, fear of losing what one already has.
These are peculiar technical terms: yoga means to get what we do not have; kṣema means to preserve what we have so that we do not lose. So a person becomes fearless. Not only that — as we cultivate higher and higher knowledge, our mind becomes broader. Broader means less selfish. Less selfish means more identity with a larger whole, until we succeed in identifying ourselves with the truth which is Brahman. And such a person becomes fearless, and he becomes free even while living — jīvanmukta. That has been beautifully expounded.
The Third Chapter: The Story of Bhṛgu and Varuṇa
So ānandamīmāṃsā also we have seen. And what is the result? Such a person becomes fearless, because fear comes from the idea that there is somebody else besides me.
And in this third chapter, practically an example has been given — in the person by the name Bhṛgu. This Bhṛgu, when we study this third chapter, is only the son of a great Ācārya called Varuṇa. Varuṇa was not only an intellectual Ācārya — he was a realiser of Brahman, a brahmagñānī.
The story doesn't tell us — the story is actually not told at all like in the Kaṭhopaniṣad, so a little more detail is given. And we have seen in the eighth chapter of the Chāndogya Upaniṣad how the story of Virochana, Indra, and Prajāpati is so graphically described throughout. But here, very briefly: there was a person called Varuṇa. He was a householder — which proves that householders also can be knowers of Brahman — and he had a son called Bhṛgu.
This Bhṛgu is a very famous Ṛṣi. Bhṛgu Maharṣi is one of the Saptarṣis — the seven Ṛṣis. Bhṛgu Maharṣi has been praised by Bhagavān himself: maharṣīṇāṃ bhṛgur aham — "I am Bhṛgu among the Maharṣis."
So this Bhṛgu — he became a Maharṣi by obtaining the instructions from another teacher. The emphasis of this story is very simple: do not try to obtain brahmagñānam by yourself; you require a Guru.
On the Need for a Guru: Ramana Maharṣi and Rāmakṛṣṇa
Remember: once somebody asked Ramaṇa Maharṣi — and he did not have any gurus — and somebody raised the topic and asked him, "So I also can..." And Ramaṇa Maharṣi gave a beautiful reply: "How do you know I did not have a Guru? In my earlier lives, that means I had a Guru. The Guru had given me instructions, I followed them, and I was about to get the knowledge of Brahman, but the body — because of some prārabdha — had come to an end. And in this life, very early, even when I was only 16 or 17, I obtained this knowledge." So Ramaṇa Maharṣi said: "I did have Gurus — may not be in this life."
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa had practised sādhanās twice. First, without any Guru, without the help of any scripture — God in the form of Mother Kālī, the divine Mother, was the soul guide. And he declared categorically: "Mother taught me everything. Mother has given me everything, including a so-called nirvikalpa samādhi — which later on, all the Guru-paramparā, beginning with Bhairavī Brāhmaṇī, Totāpuri, Govinda Singh, etc., only taught me what Mother had already given me."
Now the question that comes is: why did Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa need a second sādhanā? Because if Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa had not had the second sādhanā, we also would have — like this devotee of Ramaṇa Maharṣi — said: "Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa did not have any Guru," and so most people would go astray. How many people have the capacity to have that power of intuition?
Swami Sāradānandaji writes in his beautiful Śrīlīlāprasaṅga — "The Great Master" — that Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, from his intuitive mind, came out with certain sādhanās we have not seen anybody practising; I have not read about it. He used to take a lump of clay and a rupee coin and say: "Māṭi, ṭākā; ṭākā, māṭi" — there is no difference as far as man's happiness is concerned.
In fact, I would go further: these māṭi and ṭākā have no influence at all in three aspects. First of all, where I am going to be born — because by the time I obtain this ṭākā, māṭi, ṭākā, I am already born. Then, ṭākā doesn't have anything to do with how long a person is going to live — this is called āyu. A rich man or a rich baby may die; a rich old man may die; a poor baby may die; a poor old man also may die. There is no exception to it; nothing can save us — only prārabdha, pūrvajanmakarmaphala.
Then we have the third one: sukha-duḥkha. This is a point most of us miss — that we think a person who has possessions will become happier. No. A person who has a worrying mind will be worrying even in what we call an air-conditioned room, and a poor man will be worrying in a non-air-conditioned room, suffering from heat or mosquitoes, etc. The worrying is equal; the outer circumstances do not matter. Sukha and duḥkha do not depend upon any external possessions or lack of possessions — they depend totally upon one's thoughts, saṃskāras, upon the mind in other words.
That is why it is said beautifully: "Mind alone is the root cause of both bondage as well as liberation, happiness, unhappiness, good and evil." Every imaginable duality is originating from the mind only. There is nothing else.
Approaching the Guru
This is the point we have to understand practically. One has to go to the Guru, and if we are honest, we will get a right teacher. There is also a relationship here: a right student will get a right teacher; a bad student always gets only a bad teacher.
But obtaining a teacher doesn't automatically give us the experience. But a good teacher can influence us — anybody can influence us: a good book, a good person, a good environment can influence us. But how we are using that influence, whether we want to progress in life or not — that doesn't depend upon any of these things. We have to be crystal clear about these ideas.
So the story is that one has to approach a Guru. How to approach a Guru — we will see all those things.
Śaṅkarācārya on Tapas as the Means to Brahma Vidyā
So what is the important point? Parisamāptā ca brahmavidyā — Śaṅkarācārya tells in his commentary: Brahmavidyā has been taught. But: ataḥ paraṃ brahmavidyā sādhanam tapaḥ kartavyam — what is the way to realise that "I am Brahman"? Brahmavidyā means knowledge of Brahman; sādhanam — what is the most important instrument to know that "I am Brahman"? And then Śaṅkara abridges the very essence of it: tapaḥ kartavyam — tapas, austerity, has to be explained or elaborated.
Now, what is this tapas? Usually our idea is: "He is a very austere person" — that means he eats very little, his needs are very few, he lives a very simple life. That doesn't by itself make a person a great tapasvin — though he is very economical also.
Very interestingly, somebody has written a book on why monasteries become very soon very rich. And then he went and studied several monasteries and came out with these findings: these monks receive, from devotees, quite a good amount in donations, etc. But what is their expenditure? The same cloth he may be using for 20 years. The same food — there is no luxurious food, may be occasionally a small break. But they don't spend much. So the needs upon which worldly people spend a lot of money — these monks spend very little. Naturally the income is greater than the expenses, and therefore there is no doubt they become very rich. And that very richness can also become a cause of downfall, or it can become a cause of great social service. It all depends upon the individuals.
By the way, if you do not remember, there is a marvellous book on this very subject — it is called The Book of Mirdad, M-I-R-D-A-D. It is almost like a story in the form — so beautiful, so easy to read, but with profound spiritual ideas. Find it out, and I recommend you read it: how monasteries do prosper, how monasteries also can degrade when selfishness enters into it. That is the summary of this particular book.
The True Meaning of Tapasya: Deep Thinking
So Śaṅkarācārya tells us: brahmavidyā sādhanam tapaḥ. Austerity means hard living or simple living — but what is simple living? Poor people also are enforced to live simply, not because they chose it, but because they are forced. But it does not make them great tapasvis.
What is tapasya? Deep thinking. Knowledge doesn't come by the number of books one has, by the number of beautiful table lamps one has, the number of sofa sets one has. It comes only from a keen mind ready to concentrate until I understand. Understanding means making the knowledge one's own, and the only means is full śraddhā, full concentration, prayer to God: "O Mother, bestow upon me the understanding of this one truth." This is called tapas.
But tapas — austerity, or deep thinking — has to be done, and if it has to be done, certain things are necessary.
The Pañcakośas as Instruments of Tapasya
We have been given this beautiful body consisting of five sense organs of action, five sense organs of knowledge — what I call the five doors of input, five instruments of output — and of course the mind, which collaborates all the knowledge that comes, makes it one understandable whole, sets a particular goal ("This is what I want to achieve"), and commands the body and mind to do it, to go on doing it.
So body and mind should be absolute — in other words, body and mind, in the light of what we had studied so far, should be understood in the form of pañcakośas. So the pañcakośas have to be cleaned, purified. And we must remember what is the relationship between one kośa and the other — they are all totally interrelated.
And in the form of these pañcakośas, always our journey will be like an uphill climbing. You know those mountain climbers about whom we hear — who conquered even climbing to Mount Everest, etc.? They set up a base camp, then at a higher altitude another camp, until they become acclimatised, and they won't move from the lower camp to the higher camp. So gradually, exactly in the same way:
First we have to set up the base camp, which is called annamaya kośa. From there we have to set up the prāṇamaya kośa — and we must become acclimatised — and then we have to become another camp called manomaya kośa, another called vijñānamaya kośa, another is called ānandamaya kośa. These are but only camps. But the final destination is beyond even this fifth camp — and that is where we go, even beyond this ānandamaya kośa.
So that is what the teacher in this third chapter, called Bhṛgu Vallī, wants to tell us.
The Practical Lesson: Approaching the Guru with Humility
So what did we see? We have seen, first of all, a real example, graphically given. We do not know — history is lost for us — whether this Bhṛgu Maharṣi that we know as one among the Saptarṣis, or the Bhṛgu Maharṣi who is known in the Purāṇas, whether it is the same. It doesn't really matter.
The essence of this third chapter is: if we want the highest, or if we want even the lowest — which is higher than where we are — we have to approach a proper instructor, sit at his feet humbly, have faith in him, and try to learn and practise it.
This is what Swami Brahmanandaji wanted to convey to us. Even if you wish to become a good pickpocket, you will have to have a skilful pickpocket as your Guru — not to speak of this brahmasākṣātkāra. So the teaching is over, but now the Upaniṣad wants to emphasise tapasya.
Tapasya as Vicāra: Making Knowledge One's Own
Tapasya means vicāra — deep thinking — until what? Until we make that instruction our day-to-day experience. Anything that we experience once becomes ours permanently. One need not have the experience all the time. If anybody had tasted sugar once, he knows what sweetness is — whole life, janma-janmāntara in fact. But the same sweetness can come in different formations — that is a different issue. But he knows what is sweet.
So like that, we must know the final knowledge. What is it? The very ultimate knowledge is called brahmavidyā. What is the knowledge? That "there is a Brahman sitting there and he is infinite, he is eternal, he is one without a second — satyaṃ jñānam anantaṃ brahma" — that is not brahmavidyā. Brahmavidyā is: "I am satyaṃ jñānam anantaṃ brahma." Otherwise, anybody can read: "Brahman is brahmalakṣaṇa" — anybody who reads the second chapter of this Taittirīya Upaniṣad knows without doubt satyaṃ jñānam anantaṃ brahma, but it doesn't make any difference.
But to make any difference, we have to do a practice. That is why Swami Vivekānanda called it Practical Vedanta.
Upāsanās and the Significance of Anna
Not only that — to make ourselves progress in spiritual life, we will have to practise. Several upāsanās are there.
In today's class I am going only to give a hint. What is the first hint? That tapasya is the very essence of this Bhṛgu Vallī, because Bhṛgu obtained everything. So when he approached his Guru — not his father, he approached his father not as father but as the greatest teacher of brahmavidyā — and in the proper manner he approached. This is all implied in this story, which we will discuss.
But for any vidyā, we require tapas. You want to become a scientist — tapasya means deep thinking, and it is the only way. You want to become a great cook — tapasya is the only way. You want to become a good driver — tapasya is the only way. And a good driver is a good example, because in India, if anybody can pass a driving test successfully in great cities — like especially Vārāṇasī — and doesn't meet any accident, at least not from his part, then he can pass a driving test anywhere in this world. This is the greatest testing ground for all could-be drivers forever — I hope so!
So: what is tapasya? It is needed to learn anything — even if you want to be a pickpocket, deep thinking and concentration and alertness are required. If a pickpocket is not alert that the police is watching from behind, he will be caught on the very first step itself.
So for brahmavidyā, it is needless to say, tapasya is needed. That is why it is called jñānamayaṃ tapaḥ — what is tapasya? Obtaining the right knowledge. Why do I use the word "right knowledge"? Because it can apply to any department, doesn't matter.
Anna Upāsanā: The Upāsanā of Food
And then there are certain beautiful upāsanās — and one of the upāsanās is anna upāsanā, the upāsanā of food. Because earlier we have seen: annaṃ brahmeti — anna is to be considered as Virāṭ Brahman. So that is why, in our day-to-day life, our very sustenance...
Anna means, here, food which sustains our body. Then only will the body get prāṇa, or energy. Then only are we able to think. Then only are we able to act. Then only are we able to achieve something. Then only are we able to experience something. For all this, this body called brahmapurī is the greatest instrument. But for this body to be healthy, at its peak of usefulness — what is the anna?
Anna means food — so for the physical body, physical food. For the five sense organs: a good form, a good smell (fragrance), a good taste, a good sound, a good touch. And in fact, the whole life is spent by scientists or anybody only to fulfil these conditions: "How can I be happier?"
But we have to extend this idea and say: not only the body — most important is, how do I cope in life? First thing in life that we understand is: life is very uncertain. What is going to happen the next second, nobody knows.
The Story of Sītā: On Life's Uncertainty
Mother Sītā was happily sitting in her palace, extremely happy — "My beloved Rāma, my husband, is here." But then Rāma, interestingly, was also using spies to find out what others are thinking about him, whether somebody is rebelling. Every rājā, every king has to do that. And then the spy — a truthful person — came and truthfully reported: "This Rāma, his wife had stayed with Rāvaṇa for one year. Nobody knows what happened there. I would not have allowed my wife to return to me." Some such remark he passed.
And Rāma became very sad — he knew the character of Sītā. How did he know? Because he had tested Sītā through agniparīkṣā. But he was a king, so he thought: if people think like that, it is not one particular person — there would be many followers of that kind of particular view. So Rāma knew: "I have to give up." So he called Lakṣmaṇa and said, "I cannot keep Sītā" — as if a most terrible thunderbolt had suddenly fallen on the head of Lakṣmaṇa. He knew — who knows better than Lakṣmaṇa the character of Mother Sītā? So he could not do anything.
All this happened in the twinkling of a second. Who is going to know what is going to happen? That is why we have to be extremely careful.
Anna as Universal Sustenance
So anna means that which sustains. What sustains the body is anna. What sustains the mind is anna. What sustains a scientist is anna. What sustains a musician is anna for him. What sustains a spiritual person is ann for him. So therefore, here, indirectly it is told: your body and your mind are the only available instruments for you, so you will have to use them in the proper way.
So, like the anna upāsanā — in India, never criticise food, never say it is tasteless. If it is suitable, healthy food, doesn't matter — you offer it to God and as prasādam you take it. That is the most wonderful thing. So never throw out food. If somebody is serving you, you don't go on saying, "Give me more, give me more" — no, you can't take it. Otherwise, even if you take it forcefully, even if you enjoy it and take it, your body, whatever is not required, will throw it out. So never waste food.
And not only that — people go on criticising food and giving it very bad names, etc. In the Upaniṣad we are told: these are very bad habits. Not only that, you must grow more and more, you must go on increasing the food. Why? There is a wonderful relationship here.
The Coming Wars: Food, Water, and Energy
If anybody comes to it — and this is a subject which I would like to speak about in the next class — the next war will be for food and other things. Already this war, the present war that is going on, is all about oil. Oil is the main ingredient for what? For transportation, for running machines, for running electricity, etc. And what do these electricity etc. do? They manufacture anna — anna means instruments for our body, for the five sense organs to enjoy themselves. Otherwise life is meaningless. So this electricity is needed, energy is needed. It is a fight about energy.
Then the next fight, very soon, will be the lack of drinkable water. Without jala we cannot survive. So food is one, land is one, water is one, and right, clean, unpolluted atmosphere is another. And if any place is found like that, the evil people will not hesitate to suppress them, to kill them, to bomb them, so that they will be the masters of all these things.
So: go on multiplying the food so that not only you enjoy, you also distribute. And if you distribute, you will get food. These are marvellous ideas that we are going to discuss.
The Holistic Universe
And then the whole universe is a holistic universe. So the eater and the eaten, and the prāṇa, and the water, and the ākāśa, and vidyut — these are called related, or what is called holistically interconnected things. You will have to contemplate upon them as upāsanās. It is happening — it is a fact of life. The Upaniṣad is only trying to point outwards.
These are some of the subjects which I will discuss in the next introduction to this third chapter, and then it would be easier for us to understand, in the light of these hints, what we are talking about.
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!