Wiki Vedanta - User contributions [en]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 1.15-20 Lecture 49 on 11 July 2026

2026-09-21T14:26:45Z

Gayatri:

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.'''

'''''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.'''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

'''OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH'''

'''OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.'''

'''OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.'''

==Introduction: The Ajātaśatru-Gārgya Dialogue==
So we have been discussing the Ajātaśatru and Gārgya conversation. Gārgya became the willing, humble student of Ajātaśatru, who was a ''jñānī'' '''ज्ञानी'''of ''Brahman'''ब्रह्मन्''''''''.''' Along with that, we also have to remember he was a contemporary of Janaka Mahārāja. Therefore, there may be many other kings – that is what Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa refers to in the ''Bhagavad Gītā'': ''karmaṇai vaṃ saṃsiddhim āsthitāḥ, janakādayaḥ'' '''कर्मणैव हि संसिद्धिमास्थिता जनकादयः–Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 3, Verse 20).''' Janaka King and many others (''ādī'' means etc.). There must have been many great people. So there is no such rule that only Brahmins would become ''knowers'' of ''Brahman''. Anybody, even a ''caṇḍāla'''चण्डाल''''', can become a ''jñānī'' '''ज्ञानी'''of ''Brahman'' – the famous anecdote of a ''caṇḍāla'' '''''चण्डाल'''''who was supposed to be Bhagavān Himself because after the knowledge of ''Brahman'', a person cannot be called a ''caṇḍāla'''चण्डाल'''''or a Brāhmaṇa; he becomes, he is, remains ''Brahman'' only. But he appeared in the form of a ''caṇḍāla'' to create humility. And what is that humility? That feeling “I am a Brāhmaṇa superior to other people” should be gotten rid of. If one does not, then he is not only not a spiritual ''sādhaka''; he is a deeply worldly person. So we can learn.

What is the second lesson we have to learn from this incident? Anybody can be a teacher. Even a small child can also be a great teacher. That is why there is a beautiful saying: ''bāla vākyaṃ brahma vākyam'' '''बाल वाक्यं ब्रह्म वाक्यं''' – the innocent truth coming out of the mouth of a baby is actually the words of Bhagavān Himself.

So we have seen that Gārgya became a truly fit disciple; otherwise a great teacher will not teach. Now Ajātaśatru wanted to take him to a sleeping man. And why did Ajātaśatru take him by hand to this person? Because Ajātaśatru wanted to teach through the analysis of ''avasthā traya'' '''अवस्था त्रय–''' three types of experiences: the waking (''jāgrat'''जाग्रत्'''''), the dream (''svapna'''स्वप्न'''''), and the deep sleep (''suṣupti'') '''सुषुप्ति.''' Through the analysis of these three, one can gain a lot of understanding; one's intellect can become very purified and rid of many superstitions, wrong misunderstandings, etc.
==The Significance of the Three States in Vedānta==
This is a very favourite theme in the ''Upaniṣads'' and also in the ''Bhagavad Gītā''. Where do we get it in the ''Bhagavad Gītā''? Indirectly we get that:

'''मात्रास्पर्शास्तु कौन्तेय शीतोष्णसुखदुःखदाः ।'''

'''आगमापायिनोऽनित्यास्तांस्तितिक्षस्व भारत ॥ १४ ॥'''

'''mātrā-sparśās tu kaunteya śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkha-dāḥ'''

'''āgamāpāyino ’nityās tāṁs titikṣasva bhārata''' '''Bhagavad Gita Ch.II.14'''

So '''''matrasparshahमात्रास्पर्शास्तु'''whatever we experience through the sense organs, the knowledge we get through the sense organs '''–'''''

'''''śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkheṣu samaḥ''''' शीतोष्णसुखदुःखेषु समः सङ्गविवर्जितः ॥'''Bhagavad Gita Ch.II.14'''॥– like heat and cold, happiness and unhappiness, honour and dishonour, etc. – they are all temporary, changing. ''Avasthāntara'' '''अवस्थान्तर'''– so they go on changing. Cold changes into heat, heat changes into cold; happiness into unhappiness, unhappiness into happiness; honour into dishonour, dishonour into honour. All the time it is happening. So what is the point? That which is changing must have a changeless background, because without this changeless background, one can never experience what is changing – a great psychological, of course spiritual, truth. So Bhagavān is telling '''स्तांस्तितिक्षस्व''' ''tāṃs titikṣasva'' – very profound meaning is there. The literal meaning is just “go on bearing”.

Śaṅkarācārya explains beautifully: if you really analyse the causes of heat and cold, happiness and unhappiness, these heat and cold, happiness and unhappiness are not the causes of either happiness or unhappiness. As an example, the same heat – now we are experiencing in Vārāṇasī or in the West, especially Europe – the same heat will be very pleasant in deep winter seasons everywhere. But the same cold will be most pleasant if it comes here even by a little bit of raining. If the degree of heat comes down, what a happiness we feel! What is the point? Changeful things cannot be changed, but they need not affect us. Like the Zen master says: “The cause of my constant happiness is that when it is winter, I accept it as a cold season; when it is summer, I also accept it equally as a season of terrible heat.” Once we accept, the mind would not suffer much. By accepting, things would not change, but our mind remains calm and quiet, and a calm and quiet mind is a happy mind.

That is why when we do not experience even this heat and cold – when the entire world, including the interpreting or misinterpreting mind, is absent – the greatest bliss is obtained in deep sleep.
===The Witness Consciousness===
So this analysis of these three states – what is the first truth they indicate? Since waking is changing into dream, dream into dreamless, dreamless into waking – how do I know? Because I, the changeless Self-consciousness, am witnessing all these three. That is the point. And to understand how, or to have a glimpse – a fore‑glimpse – of what type of experience we may possibly have if we know that we are ''Brahman'', or in other words, when we experience '''''nirvikalpa samādhiनिर्विकल्प समाधि'',''' the nearest example for that deeper understanding is the analogy of deep sleep (''gāḍha nidrā'''गाढ निद्रा''''', '''''suṣuptiसुषुप्ति'',''' whatever you call it). What is its specialty? Time, space, and causation completely disappear. Only when they disappear do we experience deep sleep. And what are time, space, and causation? They are called the world. The world is time, space, and causation. And time, space, and causation is the world. Another name for it is names and forms; every name and every form are different. That indicates a difference in space, and past and present are experienced. That indicates that we are changeable materials – another name for the world.

But wherever there is an observation of changefulness, there must be a changeless consciousness. Consciousness is absolutely relevant. Without consciousness, we will not become aware of either time or timelessness. To say “this is an object” requires consciousness; and to say “that object is not here” – whether an object is or whether it is not – that can be witnessed only by the changeless consciousness which is separate from both the changing and changeless material. So that is the lesson we have to learn through the analysis of this '''''avasthātraya अवस्था त्रय''''' – the three states of waking, dream, and dreamless state.
==Ajātaśatru's Method of Teaching==
Now, how does Ajātaśatru want to teach this? So this is what we will do. I have taken this from a senior swami beautifully – he does it, and this swami's name is Swami Krishnananda. He was a disciple of Swami Śivānanda of the Divine Life Society, and I also heard some senior swamis expounding these three states.

So here, what is the instruction? How does Ajātaśatru initiate this instruction? And in between we also confirm the teachings of Swami Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa and, wherever possible, of Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda.

So this story of Ajātaśatru and Gārgya explores the Vedāntic philosophy through a dialogue between King Ajātaśatru and Gārgya, specially focusing on the nature of the '''''jīvātman'' ''जीवात्मन्''.'''(individual soul) and its identity with '''''Paramātmanपरमात्मन्'''''. The implied meaning is: '''''Paramātmanपरमात्मन्''''' is ''Brahman'', God. We are aware of it, but we are also aware that the '''''jīvātman'' ''जीवात्मन्''.'''– our individual soul, what we twenty‑four hours call “me”, “I” – we think “I am very small, my knowledge is very small, my power is very small, my understanding is very small, everything is very small. I am an infinitesimal part of that '''''Paramātmanपरमात्मन्'''''.” Difference is there; we see a lot of differences between “I” and everything else. According to ''Vedānta'', this is not the true understanding of the individual soul. So how do we come to know what is the real nature of the individual soul? For that purpose, Ajātaśatru is trying to analyse all the three states through the analysis of deep sleep.
===The Sleeping Man===
So Ajātaśatru takes Gārgya by hand, goes to a sleeping man, and first he calls him by some names: '''''Bṛhan'', ''Pāṇḍaravat'', ''Somarāja'''''. '''बृहन्पाण्दरवासाः सोमो राजेति वा'''. These are the names of the '''''Prāṇadevatā प्राणदेवत''.''' '''''Prāṇadevatā प्राणदेवत''.'''is nothing but '''''Candradevatā''.चन्द्रदेवता''' Both are nothing but '''''Hiraṇyagarbhaहिरण्यगर्भ''''' This is the way he wants to do, and for that purpose, the student has to be made fit to understand the teaching. That is why Ajātaśatru, as we have seen, had made Gārgya expand his understanding of the knowledge of '''''Hiraṇyagarbha हिरण्यगर्भ''''' through the contemplation of '''''Hiraṇyagarbha हिरण्यगर्भ''''' in its various aspects. Every time we progress a little, our understanding of the supreme reality becomes better and better. And for that, the mind has to be made into its original quality called ''sattvaguṇa'' (there is no equivalent word in English for this quality). So '''''tamoguṇa तमोगुण''''' has to be converted into '''''rajoguṇa रजोगुण''''' , and ''r'''ajoguṇa''''' '''''रजोगुण''''' into '''''sattvaguṇa सत्त्वगुण''''', and then go beyond all three – but '''''sattvaguṇa सत्त्वगुण''''' leads one to the highest reality. What a profound story Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa tells of the three robbers – you should apply this here.
===The Three States Compared===
When we are deeply engrossed in our waking state, that can be compared to '''''tamoguṇaतमोगुण''''' dominating. ''Tamoguṇa'' means not sleep; '''''tamoguṇaतमोगुण''''' means less understanding, more distraction, less concentration. But when we enter into the next subtle, subtler, higher stage – anything that is subtler is better than the grosser– when we come to the dream state, then the mind is free. Notice how time becomes almost infinite. You think of America – you are in America or UK or Australia. You think of anybody, however far away, he will be present. Even a dead person will be presented to you in dream state as a live person; even future persons also you can see. Such is the greatness, the glory of this dream state.

Then we come across the deep sleep state, where the '''''jāgrat'' जागृत्('''waking) and the dream are both completely cut off, and as I mentioned earlier, time, space, and causation are gone. But this is also a state. A state means limitation; limitation is called a state. Why? Because unconsciously, time will bring an end to this, and again we wake up, and again we fall into this. So the dream state is better than the waking state, and the deep sleep state is much superior, much nearer, because the less the duality, the more near we are to the highest truth.

In the gross waking state, experiencing the world, we are in deep ''tamas'' – long distance away from ''Brahman'''ब्रह्मन्'''''. In the dream state, we are much nearer – this is a wonderful state. We can dream of gods, deities, and there is a lot of '''''karmaphala kṣaya'' कर्मफलक्षय''' also can be done – destruction or exhaustion of '''''karmaphala''''' '''कर्मफल'''– because if somebody had accumulated a lot of '''''puṇyam'' पुण्यं('''virtue) and the result of it is tremendous happiness, that happiness is much superior in the dream state. So do not go on objecting: “At least in the waking state, if I have to eat a big ''rasagullā'', it gives me at least five minutes of happiness, but in the dream it exhausts itself in a twinkling of a second.” No, that is a wrong understanding. This is our misunderstanding of the dream experience through waking‑state comparison. But when we are in the dream state, it does not look like a twinkling of a second; No,it looks exactly like the waking state – it may look even more. And in the waking state you have to spend a lot of money; in the dream state you just think about it, and you can have as many sweets as you want, as much happiness as you want. But for that you have to train your mind. To have happy dreams is a great ''sādhanā''.
===Dreams and Saints===
If you go on filling your mind with the incidents in the lives of great saints, and sometimes deep contemplation of Jesus Christ even brings about what they call '''''stigmata''''' – physically it is present, as it was present when Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was meditating on Hanumān, as well as on Rādhā or on Kālī. So do not think the dream state is an unreal state. It is equally real – as real, if not more real, than the waking state – so long as we are experiencing it. But the freedom we get is greater. So if you train your mind, you can go where you like, you can meet whom you like, you can read what you like, you can understand what you like, and several times you can get glimpses of great truth in the dream state.

Several novelists, for example, G. K. Chesterton – he had written a book, ''Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde''. The entire book came to him from the beginning to the end in a dream. And he himself said later on: “When I woke up, I vividly recollected, and all that I needed to do was to take blank paper, put a pen to the paper, and the story flowed by itself.” It is one of the classic stories of how we divide, we deceive our own mind – these are great writers.

So, the dream state – that is why Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa asked M: “Do you have dreams about holy people?” And if you recollect, M narrated how he wanted to cross a huge ocean and there were no boats. He saw an old Brāhmaṇa – you should recollect that story. “Where are you going?” He was told by this Brāhmaṇa: “I am going to the Bhāvānīpur, to the city of the Divine Mother.” “Oh, I also wanted to go there.” After hearing this dream, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's hair stood on end. He said: “You are ready now to accept a Guru, because this kind of dream indicates that he is waiting for somebody to guide him how he can cross this ocean of ''saṃsāra'' – this world, transmigratory existence.” What a beautiful interpretation! We have to understand: a dream is nothing but a symbol of what we experience, and not only what we experience but, more importantly, how we experience.
===Deep Sleep as the Nearest Pointer===
Deep sleep indicates it is the nearest state to the experience of the nature of ''Brahman'''ब्रह्मन्'''''. That is what Ajātaśatru slowly wanted to do. But in this process, he also gives a marvellous analysis of the waking as well as the dream state. If we understand what we are going to study now, we get the real essence of this entire second chapter – the Ajātaśatru‑Gārgya Brāhmaṇa – until the end. The next one is only an illustration of this through the dialogue between Yājñavalkya and Maitreyī. We will come to that later on.

So by observing a sleeping person, the source demonstrates that the true Self is distinct from the physical body and ''prāṇa'', as the soul resolves into its original blissful nature during deep sleep. We have to understand – not one hundred percent resolution, but a great resolution, because there is no world first, but there is a sense of this state: “I am very happy, and I did not know how time had passed.”
===Satyasya Satyam – The Truth of Truth===
This explanation further also defines the secret name of the Self as '''''Satyasya Satyamसत्यस्य सत्यं''.''' [बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ '''द्वितीयोऽध्यायःतृतीयं ब्राह्मणम्Verse ६]'''These are the two words which are going to come in future, but briefly, what it means is: this world is also ''satyam'' '''''सत्यं''.''' (truth) but we will come to know that– it is not '''''mithyā मिथ्य''''' – only after we attain the knowledge of ''Brahman''. As Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa so beautifully illustrates for us: only when a person reaches the roof and understands what the roof is made of, then he understands the whole house is made of exactly the same material with which the roof is made. So once a person comes to know the nature of '''''Brahman''''' '''''ब्रह्मन्'''''.– ''Brahman'' means '''''Sat-Cit-Ānandaसत-चित-आनन्द'';''' ''Sat'' means existence – whatever we see, that is in existence. So that existence part of the '''''nāmarūpa''''' '''नाम रूप''' is the truth. But the forms will change; the names will change.

A beautiful illustration one of our swamis gives: suppose you know a small boy from his childhood, and you are seeing – “Oh, this is that child. This is the young man. This is the middle‑aged man. This is the old man. This is the very old man.” Even though the body is changing, the mind is changing, the person's knowledge is changing, behind all that, this is the same person – he is not different. The child is not different from the young man; the young man is not different from the old man. So also apply this to ourselves. We also say: “I was when I was young, when I was a child, when I was middle‑aged” – but a great truth we are expressing: “I” – the person – is the same. Now, how can the same and the changefulness come together? Even though we do not analyse it that way, “I”, referring to that changeless person, is referring to pure consciousness. But “I was the child, I was the young person” – these changing natures are here. By that, we are indicating the nature of the body and also the accompanying mind. So we have two knowledges: true knowledge of pure consciousness, and also the changing nature of the body and mind with which I am associated.

Same thing: “I am going through the waking state – I am called the waker. I am the dreamer in the dream state, and I am the sleeper in the deep sleep state. I am the waker,dreamer and sleeper.. but they are all completely changeable natures – one is not the other. But at the same time, I am telling – so I am the dreamer, I am the waker, I am the sleeper, etc.” – which clearly indicates I am mistaking the subject “me” with the objects – the waking, dreaming, and deep sleep – and then mistaking and combining these two. That is what Śaṅkarācārya beautifully says in his introduction to the '''''Brahma Sūtras''''': '''''satya-anṛta-mithunīkṛtya'' सत्यानृते मिथुनीकृत्य'''('''the ''Adhyasa Bhashya'') to the Brahma Sutra Shankara Bhashya.'''– what is this world? A mixture of truth and untruth. Untruth means not non‑existence; untruth means changefulness. Changelessness plus changefulness are mixed together, and we think it is one and the same, even though our mind knows it is not the same. That is called '''''adhyāsa'' अध्यास(superimposition)'''. In our own terminology, it is called '''''Māyā माया''''' – mistaking two separate things as one and the same.

Nothing changes when knowledge dawns. We come to know: when I am in one state, I am the changeless. When I am in the other state, I am both changeless and changeful. When I am in '''''nirvikalpa samādhiनिर्विकल्प समाधि'',''', I am pure ''Brahman''. But when I become the '''''Saguṇa Brahmaसगुण ब्रह्मन्'',''' I become '''''Saguṇaसगुण''''' – that means the unchanging '''''Brahman''''' '''''ब्रह्मन्''''' and '''''Māyāमाया''''' (the changing world) are both mixed together, even though they cannot be mixed. That is what is expressed here as '''''Satyasya Satyamसत्यस्य सत्यं''''' – that which is the real reality of the changing reality. The changing reality is called '''''satyamसत्यं'''''; it is not '''''mithyā मिथ्य''''' . '''''Brahma satyam, jagat satyamब्रह्म सत्यं जगत् सत्यम्''''' – the '''''mithyā मिथ्य''''' is only so long as we do not have the right knowledge. Once we get the right knowledge, we see the same thing.

So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa illustrates: a huge garden is made up of wax –different trees, different fruits, different structures – but from one point of view, the banyan tree is different from the grass blade, but from the wax point of view, both are exactly of the same nature. One who has this knowledge is called a knower of '''''Brahman''''' '''''ब्रह्मन्'''''; in fact, he is called a '''''jīvanmuktaजीवन्मुक्त''.'''

So this is what I wanted before we go further. When we say '''''mithyā मिथ्य''''' – and Advaitins are very fond of using this word without understanding – '''''mithyā मिथ्य''''' means what? An unchanging reality which reflects in our mind as a changing reality – that is called '''''mithyā मिथ्य''''' . So where is the change? The change is not in the outside. Even the words “outside” and “inside” are also part of this construction of the mind only; it is part of ignorance. In deep sleep, inside and outside, good and evil – all these will be completely transcended. That is why it is the nearest state to '''''Brahman''''' '''''ब्रह्मन्'''''. It is a greatest pointer to '''''Brahman''''' '''''ब्रह्मन्'''.''. But do not ever mistake that '''''suṣupti सुषुप्ति''''' is '''''Brahman''''' '''''ब्रह्मन्'''''. ''Brahman''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s nature is better understood through the analogy of this deep sleep – that is all.
===The Two Truths===
So seeing ''nāmarūpa'''नाम रूप''''' and forgetting that it is nothing but manifestation of'''''Brahman''''' '''''ब्रह्मन्''''' as ''nāmarūpa'''नाम रूप''''' – that is called '''''mithyā मिथ्य''''', and it is a mistake. So the second misunderstanding we have to remove: this ''Upaniṣad'' is telling ''Brahman'' as the only reality, only '''''satyam सत्यं'''.''. But by using this word, it is “the truth of the truth”. So the first truth is '''''Brahman''''' '''''ब्रह्मन्'''''a the second truth refers to its manifestation as this world. And Thākur says this beautifully, clarifies this point when he mentions that the full value of a ''bel'' fruit [botanical name'''''Aegle marmelos]''''' cannot be appreciated unless we take the entire fruit – the skin, the seeds, and the sweet pith inside. So you should not take only the essence of the ''bel'' fruit. Of course, in practical affairs we have to do that, but when we say ''bel'' fruit, it means all three. So this world is also nothing but a manifestation of '''''Brahman''''' '''''ब्रह्मन्''''' with names and forms, with bodies and minds – that is called '''''satyamसत्यं'''''. But what is that real ''satyam''?'''''Brahman''''' '''''ब्रह्मन्''''' in the form of '''existence, consciousness, and blis'''s.

So this ''Upaniṣad'' wants to clarify – Ajātaśatru wants to make Gārgya understand – that the apparent individuality of the soul is '''merely an incidental superimposition''' caused by the mind, which can be transcended again through the mind by acquiring the knowledge of ''Advaita'' (non‑duality).
==The Demonstration of the Sleeping Man==
To demonstrate the reality of the Self, Ajātaśatru takes Gārgya to a sleeping man, addresses the '''''Prāṇadevatā प्राणदेवत.''''' because Gārgya thought all his knowledge about real ''Brahman'' was real. Ajātaśatru makes him understand: no, you only know about '''''Hiraṇyagarbha'''''. And another name for that '''''Hiraṇyagarbhaहिरण्यगर्भ''''' is '''''Prāṇadevatāप्राणदेवत''.''' And that '''''Prāṇadevatāप्राणदेवत.''''' is manifest in '''''Candradevatā.चन्द्रदेवता''''', because these are the words used in the Gārgya ''upāsana'': “I contemplate on '''Candra!'''.” And Ajātaśatru adds three more qualities: the great '''''Bṛhan'',बृहन''' '''''Pāṇḍravasā'' पान्दरवास''' (pure as white), and '''''Somarājaसोमराजः''''' (the essence of delight). So these are all '''''Prāṇadevatā प्राणदेवत''.''' names – other words, '''''Hiraṇyagarbha'sहिरण्यगर्भ''''' names.

So if you think '''''Hiraṇyagarbha'sहिरण्यगर्भ''''' is the final truth – real ''Brahman'' – then as soon as I touched him, he should have woken up. As soon as I called him many times, he should have woken up. But he did not. I had to shake him, and then he woke up. That is all – the story ends there. That is an illustration. What is the purpose? To analyse: where was this person when I called? He did not respond. From where did he come? So where did he go? From where did he come? We have seen this one in the '''''Chāndogya Upaniṣad''''': where do the beings go, and how do they come back? This is called '''''Pañcāgnividyā'''''.'''पञ्चाग्नि विद्या''' And of course the student did not know, so the king had to teach him – that is also a beautiful story. We have already done it. These are all related. When we read one ''Upaniṣad'', if we can keep some of the key points, then we can enjoy them because all ''Upaniṣads'' are only manifestations of truth – that is all.
===The Interpretation of the Shaking===
So violently shaking the man eventually wakes him up, proving that the physical body is also completely distinct from the true conscious entity. Why do we say so? Because if the physical body is the consciousness, he should have been conscious. Let me give a small illustration. Suppose there is a current – you are attending a meeting, and then somebody calls: “Such‑and‑such a person is required immediately to report at the gate.” If that person is not referring to you, you will not care. But then when your name is mentioned – “Such‑and‑such a person” – that means you; you become immediately alert. So you get up and rush. That means you are responding to your name by just hearing it. But here the sleeping person did not respond. That means the physical body is now devoid of consciousness. And he shook a little bit – that means the dreaming person, that state also did not respond. Light shaking should have brought the person up, but he did not. So he was not in the waking state, he was not in the dream state, and there is only one state left out – that is called the '''deep sleep state'''. So it took time. So Ajātaśatru wanted to say, answering his own question to Gārgya: this person was in deep sleep, and he came back to this waking state by my violently shaking him. That is what he says.
==Avasthā Traya Viveka – Analysis of the Three States==
So this is called '''''Avasthā Traya Viveka''''' '''''अवस्था त्रय विवेक'''''– analysis of the three states every ''jīva'''जीव'''''<nowiki/>''',''' every living creature undergoes.
===Waking State (Jāgrat Avasthā)===
In the waking state (''jāgrat avasthā'''जागृत्अवस्था'''''), the intellect expands, creating an extended sense of ego. Very important point: we are all ''cidābhāsas'''चिदाभास''''''''.''' What does it mean? '''''Citचित्''''' means ''Brahman''. But because we are associated with body and mind, that consciousness of ''Brahman'' – or ''Brahman'', who is pure consciousness – reflects in the mind at first, and that reflection is called ''ābhāsa'''आभास''''' . ''Ābhāsa'' '''आभास''' means reflection. ''Cit'' '''''चित्''''' means pure consciousness; reflection of pure consciousness – and that pure consciousness is what we call “I” (''aham''). So when this ''cidābhāsa'' '''''चिदाभास''.'''can associate with the waking state, also can associate with the dream, also can associate with the dreamless state – all three states.

So what happens when this ''cidābhāsa'''चिदाभास.''''' identifies with the waking state? Body becomes fully aware; the whole world – we become conscious of the whole world – and we develop attachments. We develop dislikes, likes and dislikes, attachment and detachment, loving and hating, liking and disliking, honour and dishonour, heat and cold, happiness and unhappiness. Our mind becomes – or the ''cidābhāsa'' '''''चिदाभास''''' becomes – completely identified and forgets who is the pure ''sākṣī'' '''साक्षी'''(witness) '''“I”'''.
===Dream State (Svapna Avasthā)===
Same thing more or less happens when the '''''cidābhāsaचिदाभास.''''' identifies. It is of course not identified with the physical body (gross body), but it identifies with the '''subtle body (also called mind).''' But the mind is not pure mind; it is full of impressions gathered in the waking state and taking all those impressions, like mixing masalas. So the mind goes on mixing, and the entire purpose is to experience happiness or unhappiness according to the '''''karma''''' '''''कर्म''''' it had done in the past. This is again a very important point. So some dreams can be very happy, some dreams can be extremely painful, and it depends upon what our '''''saṃskāra'' संस्कारा''' has – what impressions we have gathered through various lives in the past. So if somebody had done '''''puṇya karmaपुण्य''':'''कर्म''''' , he will have tremendous amount of happy dreams. Somebody had done the opposite, then he will have to suffer a lot.

So the point we have to derive is: not only can we create, experience, and exhaust '''''karmaphalaपुण्य''':'''कर्म''''' in the waking state, we can also do so in the dream state. I am carried away by this actually, but it is a very wonderful analysis. Suppose there is a person who had done a lot of '''''puṇya karmaपुण्य''''':'''कर्म''' not only when his '''''cidābhāsaचिदाभास''''' is associated with the gross body, then the whole world becomes '''''Nandanavana''''' – a pleasure garden – so the people whom he meets, the health, physical health, the climate – maybe he is living in a place where it is neither cold nor hot, and a lot of things grow, beautiful things, exotic things grow, etc. – and his parents are extremely good, very rich, very pure, very spiritual; his neighbours are great; and a great opportunity to learn – all these things are the resultant of how much '''''puṇyam'' पुण्यं''' he has accumulated. But not only in the physical world – when he goes to sleep, his mind is deeply satisfied. He will have divine dreams, or great good, happy, pleasant dreams. And through the experience of that happiness, he is also exhausting the ''puṇyam''. That is the point I wanted to clearly point out to you.
===Dreams Exhaust Karmaphala===
Not only the physical world – the dream world also – one can create desires; one can also exhaust '''''karmaphalaपुण्य''':'''कर्म''''' because what is it? Dreams have tremendous influence upon our mind. So when a person dreams, “I want to become a follower of Swami Vivekananda; I want to do a lot of good” – of course in the waking state we have to create, but in the dream state also we will be dreaming: “Where should I start? Such a beautiful place – maybe a school, maybe an ''āśrama'', maybe a hospital, a dispensary. And how am I going to serve?” So a person's ambitions take shape in dreams. That is why it is said so beautifully: “Today's dream becomes tomorrow's reality.” These are all marvellous things we have to understand.

But then, there also the mind is entangled in this dream world, which indirectly points out entanglement with the gross world (the waking state). But there also, remember, in waking or dream, the opposites always work – heat and cold, happiness and unhappiness, honour and dishonour, profit and loss – all these things will be there.
===Deep Sleep State (Suṣupti Avasthā)===
But when the same person enters into that marvellous state – the most concentrated state, devoid of time, space, and causation – then... that is why, whether it is six hours or seven hours, a happy person, a virtuous person, sleeps like a small child – completely happy. He wakes up completely refreshed, completely energetic, and rearing, as we say. How many of us can really claim that “I get up and I am rearing – I feel a welling up within me”? Very difficult to understand that point.

So what we have to understand: '''''Citचित्''''' becomes '''''cidābhāsaचिदाभास''''' the moment we have a body and mind. This reflected consciousness called '''''cidābhāsaचिदाभास''''' is what we call “I”. This “I” divides itself into two – that is, the participating “I” and the witnessing “I”. As I mentioned earlier, spiritual life is nothing but transforming this participating “I” into this witness “I”. We do not give up what we have to do; we have to discharge our duties. But at the same time, like a person who goes on witnessing beautifully – like that Japanese monk who was abused (I told you this story before; I will remind you in our next class for the sake of our analysis).
===Deep Sleep as Resolution into Oneself===
When a person enters into this deep sleep state, he abides in himself, so to say – not really, but so to say – for some time, devoid of duality. This is again beautifully explained in other ''Upaniṣads'', etc., that there are two powers of '''''Māyāमाया'':''' '''''vikṣepa śakti''''' '''विक्षेप''शक्ति''''' and '''''āvaraṇa śaktiआवरण शक्ति''''' . During waking and dream, '''''vikṣepa śakti''''' '''विक्षेप''शक्ति''''' (scattering power, diffusing power) very much influences our lives. But in the deep sleep state, we do not have that problem because mind and body are absent – identity with them is absent. But ''ā'''varaṇa śaktiआवरण शक्ति''''' remains – that means we truly do not know who we are, but we are very near to our own true nature; at least fifty percent of the ignorance is vanished completely. That is why deep sleep is the highest state of happiness anybody can experience, and some saints compare it even to '''''Brahma Loka'' ''ānandaब्रह्म लोक आनन्द''.''' So for a poor man's '''''Brahma Loka'' ''ānanda'' ब्रह्म लोक आनन्द–''' not '''''Brahmanānandaब्रह्मानन्द'',''' don't mistake – '''''Brahma Loka'' ''ānanda'' ब्रह्म लोक आनन्द i'''s this deep sleep.

These are marvellous things, and if we understand this beautiful analysis, we understand the essence of the entire Ajātaśatru‑Gārgya dialogue.

== 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 1.15-20 Lecture 49 on 11 July 2026

2026-09-18T15:32:53Z

Gayatri:

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.'''

'''''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.'''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

'''OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH'''

'''OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.'''

'''OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.'''

==Introduction: The Ajātaśatru-Gārgya Dialogue==
So we have been discussing the Ajātaśatru and Gārgya conversation. Gārgya became the willing, humble student of Ajātaśatru, who was a ''jñānī'' '''ज्ञानी'''of ''Brahman'''ब्रह्मन्''''''''.''' Along with that, we also have to remember he was a contemporary of Janaka Mahārāja. Therefore, there may be many other kings – that is what Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa refers to in the ''Bhagavad Gītā'': ''karmaṇai vaṃ saṃsiddhim āsthitāḥ, janakādayaḥ'' '''कर्मणैव हि संसिद्धिमास्थिता जनकादयः–Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 3, Verse 20).''' Janaka King and many others (''ādī'' means etc.). There must have been many great people. So there is no such rule that only Brahmins would become ''knowers'' of ''Brahman''. Anybody, even a ''caṇḍāla'''चण्डाल''''', can become a ''jñānī'' '''ज्ञानी'''of ''Brahman'' – the famous anecdote of a ''caṇḍāla'' '''''चण्डाल'''''who was supposed to be Bhagavān Himself because after the knowledge of ''Brahman'', a person cannot be called a ''caṇḍāla'''चण्डाल'''''or a Brāhmaṇa; he becomes, he is, remains ''Brahman'' only. But he appeared in the form of a ''caṇḍāla'' to create humility. And what is that humility? That feeling “I am a Brāhmaṇa superior to other people” should be gotten rid of. If one does not, then he is not only not a spiritual ''sādhaka''; he is a deeply worldly person. So we can learn.

What is the second lesson we have to learn from this incident? Anybody can be a teacher. Even a small child can also be a great teacher. That is why there is a beautiful saying: ''bāla vākyaṃ brahma vākyam'' '''बाल वाक्यं ब्रह्म वाक्यं''' – the innocent truth coming out of the mouth of a baby is actually the words of Bhagavān Himself.

So we have seen that Gārgya became a truly fit disciple; otherwise a great teacher will not teach. Now Ajātaśatru wanted to take him to a sleeping man. And why did Ajātaśatru take him by hand to this person? Because Ajātaśatru wanted to teach through the analysis of ''avasthā traya'' '''अवस्था त्रय–''' three types of experiences: the waking (''jāgrat'''जाग्रत्'''''), the dream (''svapna'''स्वप्न'''''), and the deep sleep (''suṣupti'') '''सुषुप्ति.''' Through the analysis of these three, one can gain a lot of understanding; one's intellect can become very purified and rid of many superstitions, wrong misunderstandings, etc.
==The Significance of the Three States in Vedānta==
This is a very favourite theme in the ''Upaniṣads'' and also in the ''Bhagavad Gītā''. Where do we get it in the ''Bhagavad Gītā''? Indirectly we get that:

'''मात्रास्पर्शास्तु कौन्तेय शीतोष्णसुखदुःखदाः ।'''

'''आगमापायिनोऽनित्यास्तांस्तितिक्षस्व भारत ॥ १४ ॥'''

'''mātrā-sparśās tu kaunteya śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkha-dāḥ'''

'''āgamāpāyino ’nityās tāṁs titikṣasva bhārata''' '''Bhagavad Gita Ch.II.14'''

So '''''matrasparshahमात्रास्पर्शास्तु'''whatever we experience through the sense organs, the knowledge we get through the sense organs '''–'''''

'''''śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkheṣu samaḥ''''' शीतोष्णसुखदुःखेषु समः सङ्गविवर्जितः ॥'''Bhagavad Gita Ch.II.14'''॥– like heat and cold, happiness and unhappiness, honour and dishonour, etc. – they are all temporary, changing. ''Avasthāntara'' '''अवस्थान्तर'''– so they go on changing. Cold changes into heat, heat changes into cold; happiness into unhappiness, unhappiness into happiness; honour into dishonour, dishonour into honour. All the time it is happening. So what is the point? That which is changing must have a changeless background, because without this changeless background, one can never experience what is changing – a great psychological, of course spiritual, truth. So Bhagavān is telling '''स्तांस्तितिक्षस्व''' ''tāṃs titikṣasva'' – very profound meaning is there. The literal meaning is just “go on bearing”.

Śaṅkarācārya explains beautifully: if you really analyse the causes of heat and cold, happiness and unhappiness, these heat and cold, happiness and unhappiness are not the causes of either happiness or unhappiness. As an example, the same heat – now we are experiencing in Vārāṇasī or in the West, especially Europe – the same heat will be very pleasant in deep winter seasons everywhere. But the same cold will be most pleasant if it comes here even by a little bit of raining. If the degree of heat comes down, what a happiness we feel! What is the point? Changeful things cannot be changed, but they need not affect us. Like the Zen master says: “The cause of my constant happiness is that when it is winter, I accept it as a cold season; when it is summer, I also accept it equally as a season of terrible heat.” Once we accept, the mind would not suffer much. By accepting, things would not change, but our mind remains calm and quiet, and a calm and quiet mind is a happy mind.

That is why when we do not experience even this heat and cold – when the entire world, including the interpreting or misinterpreting mind, is absent – the greatest bliss is obtained in deep sleep.
===The Witness Consciousness===
So this analysis of these three states – what is the first truth they indicate? Since waking is changing into dream, dream into dreamless, dreamless into waking – how do I know? Because I, the changeless Self-consciousness, am witnessing all these three. That is the point. And to understand how, or to have a glimpse – a fore‑glimpse – of what type of experience we may possibly have if we know that we are ''Brahman'', or in other words, when we experience '''''nirvikalpa samādhiनिर्विकल्प समाधि'',''' the nearest example for that deeper understanding is the analogy of deep sleep (''gāḍha nidrā'''गाढ निद्रा''''', '''''suṣuptiसुषुप्ति'',''' whatever you call it). What is its specialty? Time, space, and causation completely disappear. Only when they disappear do we experience deep sleep. And what are time, space, and causation? They are called the world. The world is time, space, and causation. And time, space, and causation is the world. Another name for it is names and forms; every name and every form are different. That indicates a difference in space, and past and present are experienced. That indicates that we are changeable materials – another name for the world.

But wherever there is an observation of changefulness, there must be a changeless consciousness. Consciousness is absolutely relevant. Without consciousness, we will not become aware of either time or timelessness. To say “this is an object” requires consciousness; and to say “that object is not here” – whether an object is or whether it is not – that can be witnessed only by the changeless consciousness which is separate from both the changing and changeless material. So that is the lesson we have to learn through the analysis of this '''''avasthātraya अवस्था त्रय''''' – the three states of waking, dream, and dreamless state.
==Ajātaśatru's Method of Teaching==
Now, how does Ajātaśatru want to teach this? So this is what we will do. I have taken this from a senior swami beautifully – he does it, and this swami's name is Swami Krishnananda. He was a disciple of Swami Śivānanda of the Divine Life Society, and I also heard some senior swamis expounding these three states.

So here, what is the instruction? How does Ajātaśatru initiate this instruction? And in between we also confirm the teachings of Swami Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa and, wherever possible, of Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda.

So this story of Ajātaśatru and Gārgya explores the Vedāntic philosophy through a dialogue between King Ajātaśatru and Gārgya, specially focusing on the nature of the '''''jīvātman'' ''जीवात्मन्''.'''(individual soul) and its identity with '''''Paramātmanपरमात्मन्'''''. The implied meaning is: '''''Paramātmanपरमात्मन्''''' is ''Brahman'', God. We are aware of it, but we are also aware that the '''''jīvātman'' ''जीवात्मन्''.'''– our individual soul, what we twenty‑four hours call “me”, “I” – we think “I am very small, my knowledge is very small, my power is very small, my understanding is very small, everything is very small. I am an infinitesimal part of that '''''Paramātmanपरमात्मन्'''''.” Difference is there; we see a lot of differences between “I” and everything else. According to ''Vedānta'', this is not the true understanding of the individual soul. So how do we come to know what is the real nature of the individual soul? For that purpose, Ajātaśatru is trying to analyse all the three states through the analysis of deep sleep.
===The Sleeping Man===
So Ajātaśatru takes Gārgya by hand, goes to a sleeping man, and first he calls him by some names: '''''Bṛhan'', ''Pāṇḍaravat'', ''Somarāja'''''. '''बृहन्पाण्दरवासाः सोमो राजेति वा'''. These are the names of the '''''Prāṇadevatā प्राणदेवत''.''' '''''Prāṇadevatā प्राणदेवत''.'''is nothing but '''''Candradevatā''.चन्द्रदेवता''' Both are nothing but '''''Hiraṇyagarbhaहिरण्यगर्भ''''' This is the way he wants to do, and for that purpose, the student has to be made fit to understand the teaching. That is why Ajātaśatru, as we have seen, had made Gārgya expand his understanding of the knowledge of '''''Hiraṇyagarbha हिरण्यगर्भ''''' through the contemplation of '''''Hiraṇyagarbha हिरण्यगर्भ''''' in its various aspects. Every time we progress a little, our understanding of the supreme reality becomes better and better. And for that, the mind has to be made into its original quality called ''sattvaguṇa'' (there is no equivalent word in English for this quality). So '''''tamoguṇa तमोगुण''''' has to be converted into '''''rajoguṇa रजोगुण''''' , and ''r'''ajoguṇa''''' '''''रजोगुण''''' into '''''sattvaguṇa सत्त्वगुण''''', and then go beyond all three – but '''''sattvaguṇa सत्त्वगुण''''' leads one to the highest reality. What a profound story Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa tells of the three robbers – you should apply this here.
===The Three States Compared===
When we are deeply engrossed in our waking state, that can be compared to '''''tamoguṇaतमोगुण''''' dominating. ''Tamoguṇa'' means not sleep; '''''tamoguṇaतमोगुण''''' means less understanding, more distraction, less concentration. But when we enter into the next subtle, subtler, higher stage – anything that is subtler is better than the grosser– when we come to the dream state, then the mind is free. Notice how time becomes almost infinite. You think of America – you are in America or UK or Australia. You think of anybody, however far away, he will be present. Even a dead person will be presented to you in dream state as a live person; even future persons also you can see. Such is the greatness, the glory of this dream state.

Then we come across the deep sleep state, where the '''''jāgrat'' जागृत्('''waking) and the dream are both completely cut off, and as I mentioned earlier, time, space, and causation are gone. But this is also a state. A state means limitation; limitation is called a state. Why? Because unconsciously, time will bring an end to this, and again we wake up, and again we fall into this. So the dream state is better than the waking state, and the deep sleep state is much superior, much nearer, because the less the duality, the more near we are to the highest truth.

In the gross waking state, experiencing the world, we are in deep ''tamas'' – long distance away from ''Brahman'''ब्रह्मन्'''''. In the dream state, we are much nearer – this is a wonderful state. We can dream of gods, deities, and there is a lot of '''''karmaphala kṣaya'' कर्मफलक्षय''' also can be done – destruction or exhaustion of '''''karmaphala''''' '''कर्मफल'''– because if somebody had accumulated a lot of '''''puṇyam'' पुण्यं('''virtue) and the result of it is tremendous happiness, that happiness is much superior in the dream state. So do not go on objecting: “At least in the waking state, if I have to eat a big ''rasagullā'', it gives me at least five minutes of happiness, but in the dream it exhausts itself in a twinkling of a second.” No, that is a wrong understanding. This is our misunderstanding of the dream experience through waking‑state comparison. But when we are in the dream state, it does not look like a twinkling of a second; No,it looks exactly like the waking state – it may look even more. And in the waking state you have to spend a lot of money; in the dream state you just think about it, and you can have as many sweets as you want, as much happiness as you want. But for that you have to train your mind. To have happy dreams is a great ''sādhanā''.
===Dreams and Saints===
If you go on filling your mind with the incidents in the lives of great saints, and sometimes deep contemplation of Jesus Christ even brings about what they call '''''stigmata''''' – physically it is present, as it was present when Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was meditating on Hanumān, as well as on Rādhā or on Kālī. So do not think the dream state is an unreal state. It is equally real – as real, if not more real, than the waking state – so long as we are experiencing it. But the freedom we get is greater. So if you train your mind, you can go where you like, you can meet whom you like, you can read what you like, you can understand what you like, and several times you can get glimpses of great truth in the dream state.

Several novelists, for example, G. K. Chesterton – he had written a book, ''Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde''. The entire book came to him from the beginning to the end in a dream. And he himself said later on: “When I woke up, I vividly recollected, and all that I needed to do was to take blank paper, put a pen to the paper, and the story flowed by itself.” It is one of the classic stories of how we divide, we deceive our own mind – these are great writers.

So, the dream state – that is why Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa asked M: “Do you have dreams about holy people?” And if you recollect, M narrated how he wanted to cross a huge ocean and there were no boats. He saw an old Brāhmaṇa – you should recollect that story. “Where are you going?” He was told by this Brāhmaṇa: “I am going to the Bhāvānīpur, to the city of the Divine Mother.” “Oh, I also wanted to go there.” After hearing this dream, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's hair stood on end. He said: “You are ready now to accept a Guru, because this kind of dream indicates that he is waiting for somebody to guide him how he can cross this ocean of ''saṃsāra'' – this world, transmigratory existence.” What a beautiful interpretation! We have to understand: a dream is nothing but a symbol of what we experience, and not only what we experience but, more importantly, how we experience.
===Deep Sleep as the Nearest Pointer===
Deep sleep indicates it is the nearest state to the experience of the nature of ''Brahman'''ब्रह्मन्'''''. That is what Ajātaśatru slowly wanted to do. But in this process, he also gives a marvellous analysis of the waking as well as the dream state. If we understand what we are going to study now, we get the real essence of this entire second chapter – the Ajātaśatru‑Gārgya Brāhmaṇa – until the end. The next one is only an illustration of this through the dialogue between Yājñavalkya and Maitreyī. We will come to that later on.

So by observing a sleeping person, the source demonstrates that the true Self is distinct from the physical body and ''prāṇa'', as the soul resolves into its original blissful nature during deep sleep. We have to understand – not one hundred percent resolution, but a great resolution, because there is no world first, but there is a sense of this state: “I am very happy, and I did not know how time had passed.”
===Satyasya Satyam – The Truth of Truth===
This explanation further also defines the secret name of the Self as '''''Satyasya Satyamसत्यस्य सत्यं''.''' [बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ '''द्वितीयोऽध्यायःतृतीयं ब्राह्मणम्Verse ६]'''These are the two words which are going to come in future, but briefly, what it means is: this world is also ''satyam'' '''''सत्यं''.''' (truth) but we will come to know that– it is not '''''mithyā मिथ्य''''' – only after we attain the knowledge of ''Brahman''. As Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa so beautifully illustrates for us: only when a person reaches the roof and understands what the roof is made of, then he understands the whole house is made of exactly the same material with which the roof is made. So once a person comes to know the nature of '''''Brahman''''' '''''ब्रह्मन्'''''.– ''Brahman'' means '''''Sat-Cit-Ānandaसत-चित-आनन्द'';''' ''Sat'' means existence – whatever we see, that is in existence. So that existence part of the '''''nāmarūpa''''' '''नाम रूप''' is the truth. But the forms will change; the names will change.

A beautiful illustration one of our swamis gives: suppose you know a small boy from his childhood, and you are seeing – “Oh, this is that child. This is the young man. This is the middle‑aged man. This is the old man. This is the very old man.” Even though the body is changing, the mind is changing, the person's knowledge is changing, behind all that, this is the same person – he is not different. The child is not different from the young man; the young man is not different from the old man. So also apply this to ourselves. We also say: “I was when I was young, when I was a child, when I was middle‑aged” – but a great truth we are expressing: “I” – the person – is the same. Now, how can the same and the changefulness come together? Even though we do not analyse it that way, “I”, referring to that changeless person, is referring to pure consciousness. But “I was the child, I was the young person” – these changing natures are here. By that, we are indicating the nature of the body and also the accompanying mind. So we have two knowledges: true knowledge of pure consciousness, and also the changing nature of the body and mind with which I am associated.

Same thing: “I am going through the waking state – I am called the waker. I am the dreamer in the dream state, and I am the sleeper in the deep sleep state. I am the waker,dreamer and sleeper.. but they are all completely changeable natures – one is not the other. But at the same time, I am telling – so I am the dreamer, I am the waker, I am the sleeper, etc.” – which clearly indicates I am mistaking the subject “me” with the objects – the waking, dreaming, and deep sleep – and then mistaking and combining these two. That is what Śaṅkarācārya beautifully says in his introduction to the '''''Brahma Sūtras''''': '''''satya-anṛta-mithunīkṛtya'' सत्यानृते मिथुनीकृत्य'''('''the ''Adhyasa Bhashya'') to the Brahma Sutra Shankara Bhashya.'''– what is this world? A mixture of truth and untruth. Untruth means not non‑existence; untruth means changefulness. Changelessness plus changefulness are mixed together, and we think it is one and the same, even though our mind knows it is not the same. That is called '''''adhyāsa'' अध्यास(superimposition)'''. In our own terminology, it is called '''''Māyā माया''''' – mistaking two separate things as one and the same.

Nothing changes when knowledge dawns. We come to know: when I am in one state, I am the changeless. When I am in the other state, I am both changeless and changeful. When I am in '''''nirvikalpa samādhiनिर्विकल्प समाधि'',''', I am pure ''Brahman''. But when I become the '''''Saguṇa Brahmaसगुण ब्रह्मन्'',''' I become '''''Saguṇaसगुण''''' – that means the unchanging '''''Brahman''''' '''''ब्रह्मन्''''' and '''''Māyāमाया''''' (the changing world) are both mixed together, even though they cannot be mixed. That is what is expressed here as '''''Satyasya Satyamसत्यस्य सत्यं''''' – that which is the real reality of the changing reality. The changing reality is called '''''satyamसत्यं'''''; it is not '''''mithyā मिथ्य''''' . '''''Brahma satyam, jagat satyamब्रह्म सत्यं जगत् सत्यम्''''' – the '''''mithyā मिथ्य''''' is only so long as we do not have the right knowledge. Once we get the right knowledge, we see the same thing.

So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa illustrates: a huge garden is made up of wax –different trees, different fruits, different structures – but from one point of view, the banyan tree is different from the grass blade, but from the wax point of view, both are exactly of the same nature. One who has this knowledge is called a knower of '''''Brahman''''' '''''ब्रह्मन्'''''; in fact, he is called a '''''jīvanmuktaजीवन्मुक्त''.'''

So this is what I wanted before we go further. When we say '''''mithyā मिथ्य''''' – and Advaitins are very fond of using this word without understanding – '''''mithyā मिथ्य''''' means what? An unchanging reality which reflects in our mind as a changing reality – that is called '''''mithyā मिथ्य''''' . So where is the change? The change is not in the outside. Even the words “outside” and “inside” are also part of this construction of the mind only; it is part of ignorance. In deep sleep, inside and outside, good and evil – all these will be completely transcended. That is why it is the nearest state to '''''Brahman''''' '''''ब्रह्मन्'''''. It is a greatest pointer to '''''Brahman''''' '''''ब्रह्मन्'''.''. But do not ever mistake that '''''suṣupti सुषुप्ति''''' is '''''Brahman''''' '''''ब्रह्मन्'''''. ''Brahman''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s nature is better understood through the analogy of this deep sleep – that is all.
===The Two Truths===
So seeing ''nāmarūpa'''नाम रूप''''' and forgetting that it is nothing but manifestation of'''''Brahman''''' '''''ब्रह्मन्''''' as ''nāmarūpa'''नाम रूप''''' – that is called '''''mithyā मिथ्य''''', and it is a mistake. So the second misunderstanding we have to remove: this ''Upaniṣad'' is telling ''Brahman'' as the only reality, only '''''satyam सत्यं'''.''. But by using this word, it is “the truth of the truth”. So the first truth is '''''Brahman''''' '''''ब्रह्मन्'''''a the second truth refers to its manifestation as this world. And Thākur says this beautifully, clarifies this point when he mentions that the full value of a ''bel'' fruit [botanical name'''''Aegle marmelos]''''' cannot be appreciated unless we take the entire fruit – the skin, the seeds, and the sweet pith inside. So you should not take only the essence of the ''bel'' fruit. Of course, in practical affairs we have to do that, but when we say ''bel'' fruit, it means all three. So this world is also nothing but a manifestation of '''''Brahman''''' '''''ब्रह्मन्''''' with names and forms, with bodies and minds – that is called '''''satyamसत्यं'''''. But what is that real ''satyam''?'''''Brahman''''' '''''ब्रह्मन्''''' in the form of '''existence, consciousness, and blis'''s.

So this ''Upaniṣad'' wants to clarify – Ajātaśatru wants to make Gārgya understand – that the apparent individuality of the soul is '''merely an incidental superimposition''' caused by the mind, which can be transcended again through the mind by acquiring the knowledge of ''Advaita'' (non‑duality).
==The Demonstration of the Sleeping Man==
To demonstrate the reality of the Self, Ajātaśatru takes Gārgya to a sleeping man, addresses the '''''Prāṇadevatā प्राणदेवत.''''' because Gārgya thought all his knowledge about real ''Brahman'' was real. Ajātaśatru makes him understand: no, you only know about '''''Hiraṇyagarbha'''''. And another name for that '''''Hiraṇyagarbhaहिरण्यगर्भ''''' is '''''Prāṇadevatāप्राणदेवत''.''' And that '''''Prāṇadevatāप्राणदेवत.''''' is manifest in '''''Candradevatā.चन्द्रदेवता''''', because these are the words used in the Gārgya ''upāsana'': “I contemplate on '''Candra!'''.” And Ajātaśatru adds three more qualities: the great '''''Bṛhan'',बृहन''' '''''Pāṇḍravasā'' पान्दरवास''' (pure as white), and '''''Somarājaसोमराजः''''' (the essence of delight). So these are all '''''Prāṇadevatā प्राणदेवत''.''' names – other words, '''''Hiraṇyagarbha'sहिरण्यगर्भ''''' names.

So if you think '''''Hiraṇyagarbha'sहिरण्यगर्भ''''' is the final truth – real ''Brahman'' – then as soon as I touched him, he should have woken up. As soon as I called him many times, he should have woken up. But he did not. I had to shake him, and then he woke up. That is all – the story ends there. That is an illustration. What is the purpose? To analyse: where was this person when I called? He did not respond. From where did he come? So where did he go? From where did he come? We have seen this one in the '''''Chāndogya Upaniṣad''''': where do the beings go, and how do they come back? This is called '''''Pañcāgnividyā'''''.'''पञ्चाग्नि विद्या''' And of course the student did not know, so the king had to teach him – that is also a beautiful story. We have already done it. These are all related. When we read one ''Upaniṣad'', if we can keep some of the key points, then we can enjoy them because all ''Upaniṣads'' are only manifestations of truth – that is all.
===The Interpretation of the Shaking===
So violently shaking the man eventually wakes him up, proving that the physical body is also completely distinct from the true conscious entity. Why do we say so? Because if the physical body is the consciousness, he should have been conscious. Let me give a small illustration. Suppose there is a current – you are attending a meeting, and then somebody calls: “Such‑and‑such a person is required immediately to report at the gate.” If that person is not referring to you, you will not care. But then when your name is mentioned – “Such‑and‑such a person” – that means you; you become immediately alert. So you get up and rush. That means you are responding to your name by just hearing it. But here the sleeping person did not respond. That means the physical body is now devoid of consciousness. And he shook a little bit – that means the dreaming person, that state also did not respond. Light shaking should have brought the person up, but he did not. So he was not in the waking state, he was not in the dream state, and there is only one state left out – that is called the deep sleep state. So it took time. So Ajātaśatru wanted to say, answering his own question to Gārgya: this person was in deep sleep, and he came back to this waking state by my violently shaking him. That is what he says.
==Avasthā Traya Viveka – Analysis of the Three States==
So this is called '''''Avasthā Traya Viveka''''' '''''अवस्था त्रय विवेक'''''– analysis of the three states every ''jīva'''जीव'''''<nowiki/>''',''' every living creature undergoes.
===Waking State (Jāgrat Avasthā)===
In the waking state (''jāgrat avasthā'''जागृत्अवस्था'''''), the intellect expands, creating an extended sense of ego. Very important point: we are all ''cidābhāsas'''चिदाभास'''''<nowiki/>'''.''' What does it mean? '''''Citचित्''''' means ''Brahman''. But because we are associated with body and mind, that consciousness of ''Brahman'' – or ''Brahman'', who is pure consciousness – reflects in the mind at first, and that reflection is called ''ābhāsa'''आभास''''' . ''Ābhāsa'' '''आभास''' means reflection. ''Cit'' means pure consciousness; reflection of pure consciousness – and that pure consciousness is what we call “I” (''aham''). So when this ''cidābhāsa'' '''''चिदाभास''.'''can associate with the waking state, also can associate with the dream, also can associate with the dreamless state – all three states.

So what happens when this ''cidābhāsa'''चिदाभास.''''' identifies with the waking state? Body becomes fully aware; the whole world – we become conscious of the whole world – and we develop attachments. We develop dislikes, likes and dislikes, attachment and detachment, loving and hating, liking and disliking, honour and dishonour, heat and cold, happiness and unhappiness. Our mind becomes – or the ''cidābhāsa'' '''''चिदाभास''''' becomes – completely identified and forgets who is the pure ''sākṣī'' '''साक्षी'''(witness) “I”.
===Dream State (Svapna Avasthā)===
Same thing more or less happens when the '''''cidābhāsaचिदाभास.''''' identifies. It is of course not identified with the physical body (gross body), but it identifies with the subtle body (also called mind). But the mind is not pure mind; it is full of impressions gathered in the waking state and taking all those impressions, like mixing masalas. So the mind goes on mixing, and the entire purpose is to experience happiness or unhappiness according to the '''''karma''''' '''''कर्म''''' it had done in the past. This is again a very important point. So some dreams can be very happy, some dreams can be extremely painful, and it depends upon what our '''''saṃskāra'' संस्कारा''' has – what impressions we have gathered through various lives in the past. So if somebody had done '''''puṇya karmaपुण्य''':'''कर्म''''' , he will have tremendous amount of happy dreams. Somebody had done the opposite, then he will have to suffer a lot.

So the point we have to derive is: not only can we create, experience, and exhaust '''''karmaphalaपुण्य''':'''कर्म''''' in the waking state, we can also do so in the dream state. I am carried away by this actually, but it is a very wonderful analysis. Suppose there is a person who had done a lot of '''''puṇya karmaपुण्य''''':'''कर्म''' not only when his '''''cidābhāsaचिदाभास''''' is associated with the gross body, then the whole world becomes ''Nandanavana'' – a pleasure garden – so the people whom he meets, the health, physical health, the climate – maybe he is living in a place where it is neither cold nor hot, and a lot of things grow, beautiful things, exotic things grow, etc. – and his parents are extremely good, very rich, very pure, very spiritual; his neighbours are great; and a great opportunity to learn – all these things are the resultant of how much '''''puṇyam'' पुण्यं''' he has accumulated. But not only in the physical world – when he goes to sleep, his mind is deeply satisfied. He will have divine dreams, or great good, happy, pleasant dreams. And through the experience of that happiness, he is also exhausting the ''puṇyam''. That is the point I wanted to clearly point out to you.
===Dreams Exhaust Karmaphala===
Not only the physical world – the dream world also – one can create desires; one can also exhaust '''''karmaphalaपुण्य''':'''कर्म''''' because what is it? Dreams have tremendous influence upon our mind. So when a person dreams, “I want to become a follower of Swami Vivekananda; I want to do a lot of good” – of course in the waking state we have to create, but in the dream state also we will be dreaming: “Where should I start? Such a beautiful place – maybe a school, maybe an ''āśrama'', maybe a hospital, a dispensary. And how am I going to serve?” So a person's ambitions take shape in dreams. That is why it is said so beautifully: “Today's dream becomes tomorrow's reality.” These are all marvellous things we have to understand.

But then, there also the mind is entangled in this dream world, which indirectly points out entanglement with the gross world (the waking state). But there also, remember, in waking or dream, the opposites always work – heat and cold, happiness and unhappiness, honour and dishonour, profit and loss – all these things will be there.
===Deep Sleep State (Suṣupti Avasthā)===
But when the same person enters into that marvellous state – the most concentrated state, devoid of time, space, and causation – then... that is why, whether it is six hours or seven hours, a happy person, a virtuous person, sleeps like a small child – completely happy. He wakes up completely refreshed, completely energetic, and rearing, as we say. How many of us can really claim that “I get up and I am rearing – I feel a welling up within me”? Very difficult to understand that point.

So what we have to understand: '''''Citचित्''''' becomes '''''cidābhāsaचिदाभास''''' the moment we have a body and mind. This reflected consciousness called '''''cidābhāsaचिदाभास''''' is what we call “I”. This “I” divides itself into two – that is, the participating “I” and the witnessing “I”. As I mentioned earlier, spiritual life is nothing but transforming this participating “I” into this witness “I”. We do not give up what we have to do; we have to discharge our duties. But at the same time, like a person who goes on witnessing beautifully – like that Japanese monk who was abused (I told you this story before; I will remind you in our next class for the sake of our analysis).
===Deep Sleep as Resolution into Oneself===
When a person enters into this deep sleep state, he abides in himself, so to say – not really, but so to say – for some time, devoid of duality. This is again beautifully explained in other ''Upaniṣads'', etc., that there are two powers of '''''Māyāमाया'':''' '''''vikṣepa śakti''''' '''विक्षेप''शक्ति''''' and ''ā'''varaṇa śaktiआवरण शक्ति''''' . During waking and dream, '''''vikṣepa śakti''''' '''विक्षेप''शक्ति''''' (scattering power, diffusing power) very much influences our lives. But in the deep sleep state, we do not have that problem because mind and body are absent – identity with them is absent. But ''ā'''varaṇa śaktiआवरण शक्ति''''' remains – that means we truly do not know who we are, but we are very near to our own true nature; at least fifty percent of the ignorance is vanished completely. That is why deep sleep is the highest state of happiness anybody can experience, and some saints compare it even to '''''Brahma Loka'' ''ānandaब्रह्म लोक आनन्द''.''' So for a poor man's '''''Brahma Loka'' ''ānanda'' ब्रह्म लोक आनन्द–''' not '''''Brahmanānandaब्रह्मानन्द'',''' don't mistake – '''''Brahma Loka'' ''ānanda'' ब्रह्म लोक आनन्द i'''s this deep sleep.

These are marvellous things, and if we understand this beautiful analysis, we understand the essence of the entire Ajātaśatru‑Gārgya dialogue.

== 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 1.15-20 Lecture 49 on 11 July 2026

2026-09-16T15:43:48Z

Gayatri:

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 1.15-20 Lecture 49 on 11 July 2026

2026-09-16T14:50:58Z

Gayatri:

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 4.1-5 Lecture 57 on 08 August 2026

2026-09-16T14:03:23Z

Gayatri:

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.'''

'''''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.'''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

'''OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH'''

'''OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.'''

'''OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.'''

==Introduction: The Wisdom of Yājñavalkya==
We have entered into the most marvellous, greatest wisdom that Yājñavalkya was teaching to Maitreyī. Why did Yājñavalkya bring up the subject of love? Because ''Māyā'' – the power of ignorance – how does it manifest? First, it manifests in the form that "this world is real, my body is real, my possessions are real, my mind is real, my life is real – everything that I experience is absolutely real." And since every object is real, I can exercise my power of loving it. But Yājñavalkya debunks it and says the first thing: in this world, nobody loves anything or anybody – one only loves one's own Self.
===Why Do We Love the Self?===
What does Yājñavalkya mean by "one's own Self"? He means ''Ātman'''आत्मन्'''''. But why do we love ''Ātman'''आत्मन्''''''''?''' Even ''Ātman'' '''आत्मन्'''– or let us say God – if there is a believer, just imagine, and he is praying and praying: "Give me happiness, give me that greatest joy" – and ""''apply, apply – no reply''"". God does not answer at all, and he is miserable. Do you think the person will go on and on praying? At first he places his faith in the scriptures, hopes that God is there and He listens to my prayers, and He is compassionate – ''ananta dayāsāgara'''अनन्त दयासागर''''' – and definitely He will make me happy. But if God does not give us happiness, then sooner or later we give up even God.
===The Secret of Ignorance'''''अज्ञान'''''.===
And here also there is a secret – because I am not enlightened. I think I am separate from God. I am small; God is separate, but He is very big – His powers are infinite. He can do whatever He likes. It is this ignorant knowledge – ''ajñāna'''अज्ञान'''''. What is ''ajñāna'''अज्ञान'''''? "I am different from God. God exists separately from me." But by that very understanding, we deny the very existence of God, because by definition, God is not some powerful separate being – He is not some other person. I do not understand – I think He is different – and that is called ignorance. But if I come to know He is my own Self, then the question of God bestowing grace does not arise – I have to bestow grace upon my own Self.
===The Nature of the Self'''''आत्मन्''''',===
But what does it mean? Again, if I am not of the nature of bliss, if I am not of the nature of happiness, or if I am a mixture – I am a changeable being – sometimes I am happy, sometimes I am unhappy – that is my nature. If this is my understanding – "I am the ''Ātman'''आत्मन्''''', but ''sukha-duḥkha'''सुख दुख''''' are my nature and they are changing all the time" – then my very prayer will be useless. Because what does every creature consciously, mostly unconsciously, do? They are praying: "Let me have unbroken happiness called ''Ānanda'''आनन्द'''''." That is all. Broken ''ānanda'' '''आनन्द''' we are getting; unbroken ''ānanda'' '''आनन्द''' we will not get.
===The Illustration of Falling from Heights===
Suppose a person goes to ''Brahmaloka'''ब्रह्मलोक'''''''',''' which is supposed to be the greatest source of happiness. Then here most of us do not understand that if ''Brahmaloka'' ''ānanda'' '''''ब्रह्मलोक'' आनन्द'''– no doubt great – but it is also limited. It is the highest degree of happiness we can really experience. If that is our understanding, one simple fact we forget. Let me first give an illustration; Suppose a person is walking and he falls down – the injury will be the least. Suppose he had fallen from something which is ten feet high – definitely his injury will be greater. Suppose a person had fallen from fifty feet high, one hundred feet high, or a mountain top – the higher the height, the greater will be that person's misery, injury, unhappiness, pain, suffering. So if somebody, having experienced '''''Brahmaānandaब्रह्मानन्द'',''' when he falls down from that state, do you think he will only experience a little bit of unhappiness – or do you think an equivalent amount of unhappiness he will experience? Logic and reason tell us the latter is the truth.
===The Need for Infinite Ananda===
So I must have ''Ānanda'' '''आनन्द''' as my nature, and it must be infinite – and then only my prayer "let me have unbroken happiness" can come all the time. And that is why Yājñavalkya wants to teach the very first teaching that he teaches to Maitreyī, the greatest disciple. And every scripture also is teaching the same thing.
==The Meaning of Sanyāsa==
What is ''Sanyāsa'''सन्यास'''''? '''''Sanyāsaसन्यास''''' is not an outward garb,a person puts on – ''sanyāsa'' '''सन्यास''' is a state of mind where a person knows every object is undesirable because it is changing. Every object – the nature of any object – every object is not happiness. It only temporarily removes my own happiness from myself. If I can somehow find out a way how to remove that curtain which is hiding my own bliss within myself, then there is nothing else that I require – I do not need an object.
===Deep Sleep as an Example===
That is why we already discussed both in the ''Māṇḍūkya'' and also in the ''Chāndogya'', and also in the very first chapter, or in this very '''Ajātaśatru ''Brāhmaṇa''''' earlier to this, that Ajātaśatru was analysing the state of '''deep sleep.''' One of the important points we have to understand is: why is it that we get so much happiness in deep sleep – unbroken for at least a few hours? That is the first point – completely unbroken – and such a thing would never happen in either the waking or dream states. Second, even more important: what objects are there in the deep sleep that we are experiencing, and as a result we are getting happiness? Absolutely no object is there. So if I can get such a greater happiness in deep sleep without depending upon any object – in the absence of every possible object – no body, no mind, no world – then it must be within me.
==='''The Musk Deer कस्तूरी मृगAnalogy'''===
So what I am searching for – like that ''kastūrī mṛga'' '''कस्तूरी मृग''' we call it – there is a musk deer, beautiful intoxicating fragrance. The deer goes mad, intoxicated; he wants to go to the very source – alas! He cannot find its source because he is searching in the wrong place. So taking up from there, human beings – with the help of God's grace, with the help of the Guru, and in the light of the scriptures – the Guru tells '''''Tat tvam asiतत् त्वम् असि'':''' "You are that source of infinite bliss."
===The Threefold Nature of Ananda===
Infinite bliss can be experienced only if I exist infinitely without any break. We always have to take this point in view. If I want to experience unbroken bliss, my existence also should be unbroken. Will that do? No – '''a third quality''' is needed. '''I must be absolutely aware''' that I am experiencing unbroken bliss. And here is another point we have to take into consideration: if I have to experience unbroken bliss, '''my awareness – consciousness – should also be unbroken.''' Otherwise, if I am distracted – like when we are reading a book or trying to meditate – then the whole goal, the whole object of my focus disappears when my mind changes the object of its experience by just remembering. That means if the same mind is there and even if it is experiencing tremendous bliss, then it will be broken. Just imagine there is a person who was in deep sleep, and the deep sleep breaks every minute – what would be his condition? So we must be existing; we must be one hundred percent aware that we are not only existing. Bliss is my very nature – and if that is my nature, nobody can take it away from me, and there is no time gap.
===Body and Mind Break Awareness===
At this time I get back my nature; at this time I will not get back. But I have to understand – I am not the body, I am not the mind – because what do the body and mind do? They break my awareness every second. How many different thoughts are coming? '''Every thought is a new world for me'''. But such a thing does not happen in deep sleep when a person's ''karma'' is very good and he is sleeping undisturbed for several hours. But even deep sleep is only an example. It indicates that when there is no object, where from this happiness – bliss – is really coming out? Because it is everybody's exclamation upon waking up: '''''sukham aham asvāpsam (सुखमहमस्वाप््सम्)'''''—"I slept very happily throughout the deep sleep state." '''''Na kiñcid avediṣam न किञ्चित्आवेदिषं''—'''"I did not know anything about this world."['''Vichara sagaram''' in sanskrit ''',dvitiya taranga, passage 97titled swayam prakashepi brahmanyagyanopapatti''',purvapaksha in commentary] One meaning of that is "there was no object." The second meaning of the word is very important: since I did not know a millisecond of unhappiness in my deep sleep, I was completely happy, experiencing happiness – "I did not know anything."
===Between Two Thoughts===
So that is why Yājñavalkya very intelligently – of course, it is the highest truth – says: if I can get so much bliss in deep sleep, which is happening how many times? Just to remind you, '''it is not only when we are in deep sleep that we are getting that unbroken bliss'''. No '''– in between two thoughts.''' That is why whenever we say "two thoughts", I am aware of the past thought, aware of the present thought. That means there must be a point in no‑man's‑land where the earlier thought vanished and the new thought had risen. In between these two, however short, that thought must be that condition – "I am myself pure consciousness."
===The State of Pure Consciousness===
But here is another truth we have to remember – we have discussed this point, but the purpose of the scripture is to tell us again and again and again and again and again until it does not slip away from our memory. What is it? '''In deep sleep, we are not aware of time''' – that means it is a state of infinity. '''When we are aware of time, it is a state of bondage'''. When we become unaware of time, it is the state of infinity. Similarly, in between two thoughts – it is only from the second‑thought point of view that we say "I was so happy for a millisecond in between two thoughts." But when we are actually in '''this state of no‑man's‑land between two thoughts, that is the state of pure consciousness.''' Pure consciousness means unbroken, unlimited by time, space, and causation. That is what Yājñavalkya wants to say.
==Yājñavalkya's Sanyāsa==
So just to recollect before we proceed further, here it is. Yājñavalkya had two wives, and he was a ''Brahmajñānī'''ब्रह्मज्ञानी''''''''.''' But to keep up the tradition alive and strong for future generations, he wants to set an example. So he wishes to take up straight away ''Sanyāsāśrama'''''सन्यासश्रम'''– that is to say, he has skipped, as it were, ''Vānaprasthāśrama'''वानप्रस्थाश्रम,'''''. But then I want to add: how do we know Yājñavalkya did not spend his ''Vānaprasthāśrama'''वानप्रस्थाश्रम,'''''? Actually, these – ''Brahmacaryāśrama'''ब्रह्मचर्य आश्रम'''''''',''' ''Gṛhasthāśrama''''',गृहस्थाश्रम''' ,''Vānaprasthāśrama'''वानप्रस्थाश्रम'''''''',''' and ''Sanyāsāśrama'''सन्यासश्रम''''' – they have nothing to do with externalities. As Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to say: "I learn so long as I live" – '''यावज्जीवं तावच्छिक्षेत्''' ''yāvaj jīvaṃ tāvat śikṣi'' – that means if our minds are open to learn what we do not know, we are in ''Brahmacarya'' ''Āśrama'''ब्रह्मचर्य आश्रम,'''''. And we can enjoy things like a maid in a rich man's house – that is called the ideal householder's life.
===Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Example===
But when a person knows how to meditate, how to contemplate, how to do ''upāsanas'' unbrokenly – remember Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to go to ''Pañcavatī'' at night. You have to meditate upon these subjects, these events – that is called ''lila'' ''dhyāna'''लीला ध्यान'''''. Just imagine in your imagination that you also – after Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa goes towards the ''Pañcavatī'', you also follow Him, and you find Him absolutely without any clothes, and you sit in front of Him. But by that time Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is absolutely externally completely unconscious, and you sit for some time – of course we all get restless after some time; mosquitoes are also great helpers in that process. Now you must be wondering: what makes this person so unconscious? How is he able to fix his mind? What is he thinking of unbrokenly? Because the body consciousness had vanished, mind consciousness had vanished – only he was aware of his ''iṣṭadevatā'''इष्ट देवता'''''<nowiki/>'''.''' In this, just as an example – Mother Kālī – but it is not the idea of Mother Kālī that we have. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's idea of Mother Kālī – '''she is pure consciousness'''. So he has become one with that already. We can only guess what he was doing.
===Holy Mother's Example===
And by the way, the perfect example of living as a maid‑servant in a rich man's house – Holy Mother's whole life – she is the mistress of that game called "I am the mother in this house." But she played only the role of a ''dāsī''. Every child that comes, every devotee that comes, every person that visits – what were they doing? Who was serving whom? It was Holy Mother who was really serving everybody, because she assumed the role of the mother of all – even of this ant, of this mosquito. Wonderful incidents are there – we will not of course go into that.
===Vidvat Sanyāsa and Vividhiṣā Sanyāsa===
So what I wanted to convey is that externally also, Yājñavalkya wanted to enter that state to encourage some people. That is why the scriptures divide ''sanyāsa'' into two categories:
#'''''Vividhiṣā Sanyāsa''''' '''विविधीश संन्यास'''– that is, a person whose mind is full of distractions – not only some external distractions, but his own thoughts are full of distractions. So in order to minimise the amount of obstructions, he enters into an ''āśrama'' or a solitary place, thinking that the obstructions will be a little less – at least the concrete obstructions. One's mental obstructions, they will not disappear wherever we go.
#'''''Vidvat Sanyāsa''''' '''विद्वत् संन्यास–''' Yājñavalkya was not a ''vividhiṣā sannyāsī'''विविधीश संन्यासी'''''. He had already attained. Not only that, he helped others also attain ''Brahmajñāna'''ब्रह्मज्ञान'''''<nowiki/>'''.''' We do not know – but when he was teaching with Maitreyī, debating with Gārgī, debating with Kāvya and other Brāhmaṇas, when he was teaching Janaka, some of them definitely attained ''Brahmajnana'''ब्रह्मज्ञान'''''. How do we know? Because Yājñavalkya himself certifies in the case of Janaka: ''abhayaṃ vai prāpto 'si janaka('''अभयं वै प्राप्तोऽसि जनक''') is Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (4.2.4).'' – "O Janaka, you have attained fearlessness" – and fearlessness means "I am ''Brahman''."
===Fearlessness from Non‑Duality===
We have seen earlier – we have to remind – so he who thinks "I am separate, Brahman is separate" – ''Brahman'' becomes a cause of fear. Only for that person who knows there are no two called "I" and "Brahman" – whatever exists is one – he becomes fearless, because from the second, from duality, only fear comes. So he was not only a ''Brahmajñānī'''ब्रह्मज्ञानी''''', he was one of the greatest teachers of ''Brahmajñāna'' '''ब्रह्मज्ञान'''available at that time.
===The Capacity to Receive===
But another point we have to understand: even though he may argue with other people, ''Brahmajñāna'' '''ब्रह्मज्ञान'''can be imparted only to a person who has the capacity to receive what God or ''Brahman'' gives through this ''jīvanmukta Mahāpuruṣa''. Without that, we are always begging: "Give me Your darśana." Yes, if I give you My darśana, will you be able to hold it? Will you be able to bear it? Like a vessel – or like a fuse which is only five watts, and then a thousand‑volt electricity flows into it – what happens? Fuse becomes diffused. That is why Rāmakṛṣṇa said: "Slow and sure – we should not even ask for what we do not deserve. You give me because You know better than me what my receiving capacity is."
===Why Yājñavalkya Took Sanyāsa===
So Yājñavalkya, externally, was called a ''Vidvat Sannyāsī'''विद्वत् संन्यास'''''. ''Vidvat'' means "already attained knowledge." He was a knower of ''Brahma'' – that is called ''Vidvat Sanyāsa'''विद्वत् संन्यास'''''. But to encourage other people – especially those for ''Vividhiṣā Sanyāsa'''विविधीश''''' '''संन्यास'''– he wanted to take ''sanyāsa''. And because of his not only ''Brahmajñāna'' but his capacity to teach, to argue, and to clarify others' doubts, he became one of the best known teachers. And we guess hundreds of students must have gathered around him. And students will not come empty‑handed. The nearer they come to such a personality, the more they surrender to him, because they get more than what they can give physically. Of course, kings as well as the parents of the students will give. Janaka himself had given a thousand cows with their horns completely covered with solid gold – that message is there in this ''Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad'', which we are yet to enter, but we are going to do that after completing this.
===The Provision for the Wives===
So then he says: "I have plenty of money, and I want to enter – which means I cannot live with you. So I have you, Maitreyī, and you, Kātyāyanī – you permit me." And whether you permit or not, a ''sannyāsī'' will not stay, because it is not a ''pāpa''. If a person – a raw fellow who is not fit to become a monk – forcibly, and keeping his wife in distress, takes up ''sanyāsa'', he will be committing a sin. That is why Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa specifically says: even for a good wife, the husband must make provisions for the future, knowing fully well what is going to happen in future is not known. Such a marvellous commentary – Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is the living ''Upaniṣad'' we have to understand.
===Holy Mother's Life===
So also Holy Mother – even more. At least Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa lived almost an isolated life. He never allowed any worldly people to interfere with his life, but he was more than happy to get some eager disciples – both some monks and household disciples – and they were only few. But Holy Mother had to live with the unsavoury relatives – and so many troublesome even disciples. Of course, there were many good devotees also who revered her, looked upon her as the mother of the universe, etc. So she had to deal with everybody. But unlike us, she did not discriminate – even those who were oppressing Indians at that time, she said: "They are also my children." We have to understand – if you are looking for an example of how to live like a maid‑servant – that is pure ''Karma Yoga'', '''''Śiva-jñāne jīva-śevaशिव ज्ञाने जीव सेवा'' –''' the best example we will not get other than Holy Mother. We have to understand that.
===Yājñavalkya's Offer===
So he offered – Yājñavalkya offered these riches: "I am not going to leave you in distress. Where, how are we going to live? You are looking after us all this time. Now you will have plenty of it. You can have servants, and all your needs will be met as far as possible." Because any amount of riches cannot prevent diseases, cannot prevent mental distress – there are so many things. External possessions have a very limited role to play in our happiness. In fact, they cannot produce even the least bit of happiness. They can make our life comfortable. That is why, as one Swami said, a rich person who is worrying too much will be worrying in an air‑conditioned room, and a poor man without air‑conditioning worries – absolutely, air‑conditioning is not going to help either of them in any case.
===Maitreyī's Fitness===
So first to Maitreyī – of them, we can clearly see Maitreyī was a highly fit spiritual aspirant, highly developed. So we should understand that if she was at the initial stages, only started her spiritual life, or only after her husband announces his intention, then she starts thinking – no, it is not like that. She must have been practising like Holy Mother. Remember why I am bringing Holy Mother again and again? There is a lot of resemblance between Holy Mother and Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. These are the modern Yājñavalkya and Maitreyī.
===Holy Mother's Response===
So Holy Mother was told by Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa: "I want to lead a spiritual life – what do you want?" Because since I married to you, you have a right. This is a great opening to all husbands – just because you marry, you do not become God to your wife; she has fifty percent right – ''sahadharmiṇī'''सह्धर्मिनि'''''. Then immediately Holy Mother replied – we all know that: "No, I have not come to pull you down. I also want to follow your footsteps." Rāmakṛṣṇa not only was very happy, immediately he initiated her and told her. But the point is, how was she able to answer, give that answer instantaneously without thinking? That is because she had become, so to say, from a spiritual point of view, ready to receive that initiation, that higher teaching from Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa.
===Maitreyī's Readiness===
Exactly the same thing we have to understand. Maitreyī must have not suddenly become a spiritual person, but ''janma janmāntara'''जन्मजन्मान्तर''''' – so many lives – and this would be her last life, because once Yājñavalkya accepts, there is no question of her having further lives. So immediately she asks the most intelligent question: "My goal is liberation – ''mukti''. I want to be a ''Brahmavādinī'''ब्रह्मवादिनी.''''' ."
===Brahmavādinī'''''ब्रह्मवादिनी''.''' ===
The word ''Brahmavādinī'' '''''ब्रह्मवादिनी''.''' has two meanings:
#One who has already obtained knowledge of ''Brahma''.
#A ''jīvanmukta'' goes on talking about God only in understandable terms. If Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is talking to a Christian, he will talk in terms of Christ; to a Muslim, in terms of Allah and right practices – so they can adopt, because there is no such division in their minds. The only division is: "Is this person ready for this instruction?" That is the only thing.
===Yājñavalkya's Acceptance===
So Yājñavalkya wanted Maitreyī, and he knew – because he was such a great teacher – the moment I teach, she will also become like me, a ''Brahmavādinī'''ब्रह्मवादिनी'''''<nowiki/>'''.''' That is to say, she would not only be a knower of ''Brahma''. We do not know anything about what was the life of Maitreyī after she became enlightened. But what do you think – if she, so long as she lives, if she had not entered into ''nirvikalpa samādhi'''निर्विकल्प समाधि'''''<nowiki/>''',''' we have to guess that whoever comes to her, in general she would be talking about God – but in particular, if somebody wants, then she herself becomes a fit person to teach about ''Brahmajñāna '''ब्रह्मज्ञान''''', because a knower of ''Brahma'' does not have these divisions of gender – "this is male, this is female."
===Examples of Brahmavādinīs===
So there are so many wonderful saints – one '''Mīrā Bāī''' – she was a ''Brahmavādinī'''ब्रह्मवादिनी'''''; even though she used to call that ''Brahman'' as Kṛṣṇa. There was '''Tulasīdāsa''' – he used to call ''Brahman'' as Rāma – so he was a ''Brahmavādī''. In the south, '''Basavaṇṇa''' is there – he who does not see Śiva in everything all the time is not a Śiva ''bhakta''. But even more marvellous – there was one lady called '''Akkā Mahādevī''' – she used to wear no clothes at all. But it is said that whoever sees her, she has become so pure that immediately the idea of motherliness – "this is my mother" – the idea "this is a woman, a desirable object" – such a thing never enters into the mind of anybody who encounters her. She used to live in wild places; rarely she used to encounter people, but if she encountered them, her naked body does not produce worldly thoughts. On the other hand, they only produce most marvellous thoughts of God, purity, sacredness, etc. That is the power of these great people – God makes them like that. Otherwise, if anybody looks upon them in a negative way, worldly way, they will be turned into ashes that very moment.
===Other Women Saints===
Anyway – what about '''Āṇḍāḷ''', the greatest lover of Kṛṣṇa, and she became one with Kṛṣṇa? She married Kṛṣṇa – of course His name was '''Raṅganātha Svāmī.''' All these – how many other stories are there? I am just mentioning because this is more important than just reading the sentence meaning of these ''Upaniṣads''. Maharashtra had produced marvellous women saints. We know everywhere there were men saints – male saints – but female saints. Now what we need to understand here – how marvellously there was one, I think, '''Rukubāī (Sakkubai)'''. Her husband, her mother‑in‑law hated her, got the greatest amount of work done through her, and the mother used to use her son – who could not say no – to beat her up. Once he was beating her up, she was completely helpless. Remember, several centuries back – East or West – women were playthings in the hands of men. How much hellish suffering these people had to go through, and even people burned – you know, the famous witch burning, etc.
===Sakkubāī's Story===
So this lady – her only ''gati'' is to call upon her beloved Kṛṣṇa. She used to, every time pain came, she used to call out Kṛṣṇa. And Kṛṣṇa had taken all the blows that her body was receiving upon His body – like Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa took upon himself the blow of one of the boatmen who was beaten by another boatman – we must recall that incident. So the husband went on beating, and then next day the priest found traces of blood on the image on the back of the image. They were shocked – how can a stone image suddenly emit blood? For us it is a lifeless stone – however, what is called, we invoke ''prāṇa'' '''प्राण'''while opening the temple, while doing ''pūjā'', etc. – for us still it is a statue. But in the eyes of these great people, there is no statue. If this lady had gone to that '''''Puraṇḍara Vitthala''''', then she would have seen Him, she would have talked with Him, etc.
===The Advent of Holy Mother===
So we see everywhere ''Brahmavādinīs'' are there. And if anybody thinks ''Brahmavādinīs'' are not there nowadays, we have to hang our heads in shame, because as Swami Vivekananda had proclaimed: with the advent of Holy Mother, so many women will become ''Brahmavādinīs'' once more – our sacred land will be flooded with that. Anyway, I am carried away a little bit.
==Maitreyī's Question and Rejection==
Coming back to our subject: Maitreyī asks one question: "If I get all these things, will they help me in obtaining the knowledge of ''Brahman''?" Of course, Yājñavalkya says: "No – you will live a comfortable life." He did not even say "you will live a happy life" – we have to take this point into consideration. He said: "You will have a good bed, a good house, beautiful animals, many servants, many utensils – they will be catering to your comfort, but not to happiness or bliss." That is a purely state belonging to the mind alone – not anything to do with externalities.
===Maitreyī's Viveka '''विवेक''' and Vairāgya'''''वैराग्य'''''===
In Maitreyī, this is where her ''viveka'' '''विवेक''' gets exercised – ''vairāgya'''वैराग्य''''' comes. She says: "What am I to do? My goal is not to have riches. My goal is to attain ''Brahmajñāna''" – and she rejects all this property, because she understood not only will they not give ''Brahmajñāna'', but what do you think is the greatest obstacle to our progressing in spiritual life? It is too many possessions. So that is what she understood – she rejects.
===Her Request for Knowledge===
But it is not that she rejects – she says: "You offered me something – you have something else – not only property, but you have something else. What do you have? You have that knowledge of '''''Ātman''''', knowledge of '''''Brahman'''''. As a rightful partner – ''dharmapatnī'' '''धर्मपत्नी–''' you will have to give that to ''dharma'' also. Teach me how I could become immortal." And Yājñavalkya, being a great '''''Brahmavādī'',''' understands, accepts her, because he recognises this is a very fit disciple.
==The First Teaching – Vairāgya'''''वैराग्य'''''==
Then the teaching starts. What is the first teaching? First thing is about '''''vairāgyaवैराग्य'',''' about dispassion. What is dispassion? People are running mad after the objects of this world under the mistaken notion that:
#Every object gives happiness.
#Every object goes on giving happiness because it is its nature.
#There would be no time when the object will give me the opposite result – suffering.
So that is why if we come to know really that object does not possess happiness – objects cannot give the same one moment – they can give happiness; next very moment, they will plunge us into the deepest abyss – and every object is changing, including me the experiencer – my body, my mind, my sense organs – everything.
===Naciketā's Reply===
This is the most wonderful reply Naciketā gives to Yamarāja: "Even if you grant me all these possessions – me the experiencer – I cannot be unchanging." Because there is only one object which is unchanging – that is ''Brahman''. My body is not ''Brahman''; my mind is not ''Brahman''. They go on changing, and they only become less and less energetic, and the senses lose their power of squeezing out happiness. What a person can enjoy at the age of ten or twenty years old, no old man can ever enjoy. He can only squeeze probably one percent of happiness, pleasure out of it. And then he goes on wondering: "What happened? I used to enjoy – what happened to you? You used to cook such tasteful things – now you are neglecting me – your food is just very ordinary food." Unable to understand he was the root cause of the problem – not the food or anything else.
===Nobody Loves Any Object===
So in this world, nobody loves anybody – nobody loves any object. But everybody uses an object, thinking it is an instrument for one's own happiness. But sooner or later, that person, as soon as he squeezes all the happiness, understands no more squeezing of even one drop of '''''ānanda''''' will come from this object – he discards it like a chewed‑out sugarcane.
===The Source of Happiness===
So everything is loved solely for the sake of one's own Self – that is, for my happiness. But you say the happiness is not belonging to the object – then where is it? Because Yājñavalkya never denied there is happiness, bliss – but he denies objects have happiness.But I am getting happiness. Objects do not have it, but they merely temporarily remove the obstacle we ourselves have created, not allowing our own inherent bliss to manifest. An object temporarily – only temporarily – removes that obstruction, and we experience momentarily that happiness. Wise persons understand: "It is my own happiness I am experiencing."
===All Happiness Is Within===
With that, one thing becomes clear: there is no happiness outside – all happiness is only within inside. Then naturally, if I find anybody – even a fool – "I am not going to get any happiness in this object; I am going to get happiness in that other object." Then after experimenting with several objects: "No, there is bliss, there is happiness – but it is not outside – it is inside."
===The Upaniṣadic Teaching===
That is when the ''Upaniṣad'' says so beautifully: <blockquote>पराञ्चि खानि व्यतृणत् स्वयम्भू-स्तस्मात्पराङ्पश्यति नान्तरात्मन् ।

कश्चिद्धीरः प्रत्यगात्मानमैक्ष-'''दावृत्तचक्षुरमृतत्त्वमिच्छन्''' ॥ १ ॥

''parāñci khāni vyatṛṇat svayambhūs-tasmātparāṅpaśyati nāntarātman |''

''kaścid dhīraḥ pratyagātmānamaikṣad-'''āvṛtta-cakṣuramṛtatvam-icchan''' || 1 ||Katha Upanishad (Chapter 2, Section 1, Verse 1).''</blockquote>

"The Creator created the senses outgoing" – but now he understands: "I have been wondering like the musk deer, but I must examine myself, because all the intoxicating fragrance is coming from within myself. The bliss is coming from within myself." This withdrawal from outside to inside is called '''''Vānaprasthāśramaवानप्रस्थाश्रम'<nowiki/>''.'''
===The Purpose of Upāsanaउपासना===
Then the real ''upāsana'' starts – how I can obtain that bliss not occasionally, not a small bit, but permanently and one hundred percent. That is the purpose of ''Upāsana''. So Yājñavalkya makes it clear that there is '''only one objec'''t – it is of the nature of infinite bliss, of infinite existence, of infinite consciousness – and that is the object.
==Conditional and Unconditional Love==
So he also breaks down love into '''two categories:''' '''conditional lov'''e and '''unconditional love.'''
===Conditional Love===
What is conditional love? Every object – only when my mind, my body should be in a particular condition, and the object also must be in a particular condition. Even though you are all intelligent students, still I want to repeat it again and again. So only when I am hungry and my stomach is able to digest, I have no other health issues, I have no mental worries – that is the condition upon the part of me, the experiencer. And the object – say a ripe mango – it should not be unripe; it should not be overripe – it is just at the right ripe condition, and it should be available to me, and it should not be contaminated with insects. Many times when you open the mango, you will see terrible insects – they burrowed, they grow up there, they eat that pulp, and then they are ready – big huge maggots like that will be there. Now perfect – and the flavour is perfect. So outside also there are conditions. Of course, the greatest condition – please do not reveal it to anybody, only for my particular students in this class – see that nobody else is present to share that one mango.
===Making the Object One's Own===
When these conditions are fulfilled and then when we come into contact, we make it our own. Even then, we have to make it our own – that is a beautiful point. So whatever happiness we think the mango can give – now that happiness, as it were, entering along with the mango inside us – and that is what we mistake – that reinforces my mistaken notion that "this happiness is outside." Now because of this mango, I have become one with the mango – I made the mango one with me – so I am getting its happiness along with it to me. This applies to every object in this world.
===Every Love Is Conditional===
So every love is a conditional love. But there is another unconditional love – everybody loves one's own Self, and there is no condition: I am healthy or unhealthy, rich or poor, even happy or unhappy – it does not matter – I love myself, because I identify myself with my body, with my mind. Even at that stage, I do not wish to die. Only when this body becomes insufferable, then only we wish to give up. So this is what he said.
==The Path to Unbroken Bliss==
And then Yājñavalkya continues this topic and says: if you want unbroken bliss, you will have to know that you are that unbroken bliss. The point involved here is that if the Self is something different – even if it be unbroken bliss, an infinite existence – but not one with you, not you – then it does not do any good. Because the '''fundamental point we have to remember:''' one – two separate. If there are two separate objects, '''one object can never ever become the second object completely –''' no, it is not possible. So if there is only one object, and I am not able to understand that I am that one object, then only it is possible. And what makes me think I am not one with God? Ignorance – that ignorance can be destroyed. It is a negative action – I am not obtaining anything new; I am only removing the obstacle. Then I realise: "I am, I was, I am, I will be ''Brahman'' only."
==='''''śravaṇa(श्रवण)'', ''manana (मनन)'', ''nididhyāsana (निदिध्यासन)'''''===
This is the lesson he wants to tell – how to reach that state: '''''śravaṇa(श्रवण)'', ''manana (मनन)'', ''nididhyāsana (निदिध्यासन)'',''' Of course, we discussed what is ''śravaṇa'', ''manana'', ''nididhyāsana''. So even we have also gone through, I think, two ''mantras''. In our next class, we will take up from further ''mantra'' onwards. The main important points I have discussed here – it should not be difficult for us to progress further quickly.

== 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 4.1-5 Lecture 57 on 08 August 2026

2026-09-16T13:59:09Z

Gayatri: /* Sakkubāī's Story */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.'''

'''''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.'''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

'''OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH'''

'''OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.'''

'''OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.'''

==Introduction: The Wisdom of Yājñavalkya==
We have entered into the most marvellous, greatest wisdom that Yājñavalkya was teaching to Maitreyī. Why did Yājñavalkya bring up the subject of love? Because ''Māyā'' – the power of ignorance – how does it manifest? First, it manifests in the form that "this world is real, my body is real, my possessions are real, my mind is real, my life is real – everything that I experience is absolutely real." And since every object is real, I can exercise my power of loving it. But Yājñavalkya debunks it and says the first thing: in this world, nobody loves anything or anybody – one only loves one's own Self.
===Why Do We Love the Self?===
What does Yājñavalkya mean by "one's own Self"? He means ''Ātman'''आत्मन्'''''. But why do we love ''Ātman'''आत्मन्''''''''?''' Even ''Ātman'' '''आत्मन्'''– or let us say God – if there is a believer, just imagine, and he is praying and praying: "Give me happiness, give me that greatest joy" – and ""''apply, apply – no reply''"". God does not answer at all, and he is miserable. Do you think the person will go on and on praying? At first he places his faith in the scriptures, hopes that God is there and He listens to my prayers, and He is compassionate – ''ananta dayāsāgara'''अनन्त दयासागर''''' – and definitely He will make me happy. But if God does not give us happiness, then sooner or later we give up even God.
===The Secret of Ignorance'''''अज्ञान'''''.===
And here also there is a secret – because I am not enlightened. I think I am separate from God. I am small; God is separate, but He is very big – His powers are infinite. He can do whatever He likes. It is this ignorant knowledge – ''ajñāna'''अज्ञान'''''. What is ''ajñāna'''अज्ञान'''''? "I am different from God. God exists separately from me." But by that very understanding, we deny the very existence of God, because by definition, God is not some powerful separate being – He is not some other person. I do not understand – I think He is different – and that is called ignorance. But if I come to know He is my own Self, then the question of God bestowing grace does not arise – I have to bestow grace upon my own Self.
===The Nature of the Self'''''आत्मन्''''',===
But what does it mean? Again, if I am not of the nature of bliss, if I am not of the nature of happiness, or if I am a mixture – I am a changeable being – sometimes I am happy, sometimes I am unhappy – that is my nature. If this is my understanding – "I am the ''Ātman'''आत्मन्''''', but ''sukha-duḥkha'''सुख दुख''''' are my nature and they are changing all the time" – then my very prayer will be useless. Because what does every creature consciously, mostly unconsciously, do? They are praying: "Let me have unbroken happiness called ''Ānanda'''आनन्द'''''." That is all. Broken ''ānanda'' '''आनन्द''' we are getting; unbroken ''ānanda'' '''आनन्द''' we will not get.
===The Illustration of Falling from Heights===
Suppose a person goes to ''Brahmaloka'''ब्रह्मलोक'''''''',''' which is supposed to be the greatest source of happiness. Then here most of us do not understand that if ''Brahmaloka'' ''ānanda'' '''''ब्रह्मलोक'' आनन्द'''– no doubt great – but it is also limited. It is the highest degree of happiness we can really experience. If that is our understanding, one simple fact we forget. Let me first give an illustration; Suppose a person is walking and he falls down – the injury will be the least. Suppose he had fallen from something which is ten feet high – definitely his injury will be greater. Suppose a person had fallen from fifty feet high, one hundred feet high, or a mountain top – the higher the height, the greater will be that person's misery, injury, unhappiness, pain, suffering. So if somebody, having experienced '''''Brahmaānandaब्रह्मानन्द'',''' when he falls down from that state, do you think he will only experience a little bit of unhappiness – or do you think an equivalent amount of unhappiness he will experience? Logic and reason tell us the latter is the truth.
===The Need for Infinite Ananda===
So I must have ''Ānanda'' '''आनन्द''' as my nature, and it must be infinite – and then only my prayer "let me have unbroken happiness" can come all the time. And that is why Yājñavalkya wants to teach the very first teaching that he teaches to Maitreyī, the greatest disciple. And every scripture also is teaching the same thing.
==The Meaning of Sanyāsa==
What is ''Sanyāsa'''सन्यास'''''? '''''Sanyāsaसन्यास''''' is not an outward garb,a person puts on – ''sanyāsa'' '''सन्यास''' is a state of mind where a person knows every object is undesirable because it is changing. Every object – the nature of any object – every object is not happiness. It only temporarily removes my own happiness from myself. If I can somehow find out a way how to remove that curtain which is hiding my own bliss within myself, then there is nothing else that I require – I do not need an object.
===Deep Sleep as an Example===
That is why we already discussed both in the ''Māṇḍūkya'' and also in the ''Chāndogya'', and also in the very first chapter, or in this very '''Ajātaśatru ''Brāhmaṇa''''' earlier to this, that Ajātaśatru was analysing the state of '''deep sleep.''' One of the important points we have to understand is: why is it that we get so much happiness in deep sleep – unbroken for at least a few hours? That is the first point – completely unbroken – and such a thing would never happen in either the waking or dream states. Second, even more important: what objects are there in the deep sleep that we are experiencing, and as a result we are getting happiness? Absolutely no object is there. So if I can get such a greater happiness in deep sleep without depending upon any object – in the absence of every possible object – no body, no mind, no world – then it must be within me.
===The Musk Deer कस्तूरी मृगAnalogy===
So what I am searching for – like that ''kastūrī mṛga'' '''कस्तूरी मृग''' we call it – there is a musk deer, beautiful intoxicating fragrance. The deer goes mad, intoxicated; he wants to go to the very source – alas! He cannot find its source because he is searching in the wrong place. So taking up from there, human beings – with the help of God's grace, with the help of the Guru, and in the light of the scriptures – the Guru tells '''''Tat tvam asiतत् त्वम् असि'':''' "You are that source of infinite bliss."
===The Threefold Nature of Ananda===
Infinite bliss can be experienced only if I exist infinitely without any break. We always have to take this point in view. If I want to experience unbroken bliss, my existence also should be unbroken. Will that do? No – '''a third quality''' is needed. '''I must be absolutely aware''' that I am experiencing unbroken bliss. And here is another point we have to take into consideration: if I have to experience unbroken bliss, '''my awareness – consciousness – should also be unbroken.''' Otherwise, if I am distracted – like when we are reading a book or trying to meditate – then the whole goal, the whole object of my focus disappears when my mind changes the object of its experience by just remembering. That means if the same mind is there and even if it is experiencing tremendous bliss, then it will be broken. Just imagine there is a person who was in deep sleep, and the deep sleep breaks every minute – what would be his condition? So we must be existing; we must be one hundred percent aware that we are not only existing. Bliss is my very nature – and if that is my nature, nobody can take it away from me, and there is no time gap.
===Body and Mind Break Awareness===
At this time I get back my nature; at this time I will not get back. But I have to understand – I am not the body, I am not the mind – because what do the body and mind do? They break my awareness every second. How many different thoughts are coming? '''Every thought is a new world for me'''. But such a thing does not happen in deep sleep when a person's ''karma'' is very good and he is sleeping undisturbed for several hours. But even deep sleep is only an example. It indicates that when there is no object, where from this happiness – bliss – is really coming out? Because it is everybody's exclamation upon waking up: '''''sukham aham asvāpsam (सुखमहमस्वाप््सम्)'''''—"I slept very happily throughout the deep sleep state." '''''Na kiñcid avediṣam न किञ्चित्आवेदिषं''—'''"I did not know anything about this world."['''Vichara sagaram''' in sanskrit ''',dvitiya taranga, passage 97titled swayam prakashepi brahmanyagyanopapatti''',purvapaksha in commentary] One meaning of that is "there was no object." The second meaning of the word is very important: since I did not know a millisecond of unhappiness in my deep sleep, I was completely happy, experiencing happiness – "I did not know anything."
===Between Two Thoughts===
So that is why Yājñavalkya very intelligently – of course, it is the highest truth – says: if I can get so much bliss in deep sleep, which is happening how many times? Just to remind you, '''it is not only when we are in deep sleep that we are getting that unbroken bliss'''. No '''– in between two thoughts.''' That is why whenever we say "two thoughts", I am aware of the past thought, aware of the present thought. That means there must be a point in no‑man's‑land where the earlier thought vanished and the new thought had risen. In between these two, however short, that thought must be that condition – "I am myself pure consciousness."
===The State of Pure Consciousness===
But here is another truth we have to remember – we have discussed this point, but the purpose of the scripture is to tell us again and again and again and again and again until it does not slip away from our memory. What is it? '''In deep sleep, we are not aware of time''' – that means it is a state of infinity. '''When we are aware of time, it is a state of bondage'''. When we become unaware of time, it is the state of infinity. Similarly, in between two thoughts – it is only from the second‑thought point of view that we say "I was so happy for a millisecond in between two thoughts." But when we are actually in '''this state of no‑man's‑land between two thoughts, that is the state of pure consciousness.''' Pure consciousness means unbroken, unlimited by time, space, and causation. That is what Yājñavalkya wants to say.
==Yājñavalkya's Sanyāsa==
So just to recollect before we proceed further, here it is. Yājñavalkya had two wives, and he was a ''Brahmajñānī'''ब्रह्मज्ञानी''''''''.''' But to keep up the tradition alive and strong for future generations, he wants to set an example. So he wishes to take up straight away ''Sanyāsāśrama'''''सन्यासश्रम'''– that is to say, he has skipped, as it were, ''Vānaprasthāśrama'''वानप्रस्थाश्रम,'''''. But then I want to add: how do we know Yājñavalkya did not spend his ''Vānaprasthāśrama'''वानप्रस्थाश्रम,'''''? Actually, these – ''Brahmacaryāśrama'''ब्रह्मचर्य आश्रम'''''''',''' ''Gṛhasthāśrama''''',गृहस्थाश्रम''' ,''Vānaprasthāśrama'''वानप्रस्थाश्रम'''''''',''' and ''Sanyāsāśrama'''सन्यासश्रम''''' – they have nothing to do with externalities. As Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to say: "I learn so long as I live" – '''यावज्जीवं तावच्छिक्षेत्''' ''yāvaj jīvaṃ tāvat śikṣi'' – that means if our minds are open to learn what we do not know, we are in ''Brahmacarya'' ''Āśrama'''ब्रह्मचर्य आश्रम,'''''. And we can enjoy things like a maid in a rich man's house – that is called the ideal householder's life.
===Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Example===
But when a person knows how to meditate, how to contemplate, how to do ''upāsanas'' unbrokenly – remember Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to go to ''Pañcavatī'' at night. You have to meditate upon these subjects, these events – that is called ''lila'' ''dhyāna'''लीला ध्यान'''''. Just imagine in your imagination that you also – after Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa goes towards the ''Pañcavatī'', you also follow Him, and you find Him absolutely without any clothes, and you sit in front of Him. But by that time Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is absolutely externally completely unconscious, and you sit for some time – of course we all get restless after some time; mosquitoes are also great helpers in that process. Now you must be wondering: what makes this person so unconscious? How is he able to fix his mind? What is he thinking of unbrokenly? Because the body consciousness had vanished, mind consciousness had vanished – only he was aware of his ''iṣṭadevatā'''इष्ट देवता'''''<nowiki/>'''.''' In this, just as an example – Mother Kālī – but it is not the idea of Mother Kālī that we have. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's idea of Mother Kālī – '''she is pure consciousness'''. So he has become one with that already. We can only guess what he was doing.
===Holy Mother's Example===
And by the way, the perfect example of living as a maid‑servant in a rich man's house – Holy Mother's whole life – she is the mistress of that game called "I am the mother in this house." But she played only the role of a ''dāsī''. Every child that comes, every devotee that comes, every person that visits – what were they doing? Who was serving whom? It was Holy Mother who was really serving everybody, because she assumed the role of the mother of all – even of this ant, of this mosquito. Wonderful incidents are there – we will not of course go into that.
===Vidvat Sanyāsa and Vividhiṣā Sanyāsa===
So what I wanted to convey is that externally also, Yājñavalkya wanted to enter that state to encourage some people. That is why the scriptures divide ''sanyāsa'' into two categories:
#'''''Vividhiṣā Sanyāsa''''' '''विविधीश संन्यास'''– that is, a person whose mind is full of distractions – not only some external distractions, but his own thoughts are full of distractions. So in order to minimise the amount of obstructions, he enters into an ''āśrama'' or a solitary place, thinking that the obstructions will be a little less – at least the concrete obstructions. One's mental obstructions, they will not disappear wherever we go.
#'''''Vidvat Sanyāsa''''' '''विद्वत् संन्यास–''' Yājñavalkya was not a ''vividhiṣā sannyāsī'''विविधीश संन्यासी'''''. He had already attained. Not only that, he helped others also attain ''Brahmajñāna'''ब्रह्मज्ञान'''''<nowiki/>'''.''' We do not know – but when he was teaching with Maitreyī, debating with Gārgī, debating with Kāvya and other Brāhmaṇas, when he was teaching Janaka, some of them definitely attained ''Brahmajnana'''ब्रह्मज्ञान'''''. How do we know? Because Yājñavalkya himself certifies in the case of Janaka: ''abhayaṃ vai prāpto 'si janaka('''अभयं वै प्राप्तोऽसि जनक''') is Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (4.2.4).'' – "O Janaka, you have attained fearlessness" – and fearlessness means "I am ''Brahman''."
===Fearlessness from Non‑Duality===
We have seen earlier – we have to remind – so he who thinks "I am separate, Brahman is separate" – ''Brahman'' becomes a cause of fear. Only for that person who knows there are no two called "I" and "Brahman" – whatever exists is one – he becomes fearless, because from the second, from duality, only fear comes. So he was not only a ''Brahmajñānī'''ब्रह्मज्ञानी''''', he was one of the greatest teachers of ''Brahmajñāna'' '''ब्रह्मज्ञान'''available at that time.
===The Capacity to Receive===
But another point we have to understand: even though he may argue with other people, ''Brahmajñāna'' '''ब्रह्मज्ञान'''can be imparted only to a person who has the capacity to receive what God or ''Brahman'' gives through this ''jīvanmukta Mahāpuruṣa''. Without that, we are always begging: "Give me Your darśana." Yes, if I give you My darśana, will you be able to hold it? Will you be able to bear it? Like a vessel – or like a fuse which is only five watts, and then a thousand‑volt electricity flows into it – what happens? Fuse becomes diffused. That is why Rāmakṛṣṇa said: "Slow and sure – we should not even ask for what we do not deserve. You give me because You know better than me what my receiving capacity is."
===Why Yājñavalkya Took Sanyāsa===
So Yājñavalkya, externally, was called a ''Vidvat Sannyāsī'''विद्वत् संन्यास'''''. ''Vidvat'' means "already attained knowledge." He was a knower of ''Brahma'' – that is called ''Vidvat Sanyāsa'''विद्वत् संन्यास'''''. But to encourage other people – especially those for ''Vividhiṣā Sanyāsa'''विविधीश''''' '''संन्यास'''– he wanted to take ''sanyāsa''. And because of his not only ''Brahmajñāna'' but his capacity to teach, to argue, and to clarify others' doubts, he became one of the best known teachers. And we guess hundreds of students must have gathered around him. And students will not come empty‑handed. The nearer they come to such a personality, the more they surrender to him, because they get more than what they can give physically. Of course, kings as well as the parents of the students will give. Janaka himself had given a thousand cows with their horns completely covered with solid gold – that message is there in this ''Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad'', which we are yet to enter, but we are going to do that after completing this.
===The Provision for the Wives===
So then he says: "I have plenty of money, and I want to enter – which means I cannot live with you. So I have you, Maitreyī, and you, Kātyāyanī – you permit me." And whether you permit or not, a ''sannyāsī'' will not stay, because it is not a ''pāpa''. If a person – a raw fellow who is not fit to become a monk – forcibly, and keeping his wife in distress, takes up ''sanyāsa'', he will be committing a sin. That is why Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa specifically says: even for a good wife, the husband must make provisions for the future, knowing fully well what is going to happen in future is not known. Such a marvellous commentary – Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is the living ''Upaniṣad'' we have to understand.
===Holy Mother's Life===
So also Holy Mother – even more. At least Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa lived almost an isolated life. He never allowed any worldly people to interfere with his life, but he was more than happy to get some eager disciples – both some monks and household disciples – and they were only few. But Holy Mother had to live with the unsavoury relatives – and so many troublesome even disciples. Of course, there were many good devotees also who revered her, looked upon her as the mother of the universe, etc. So she had to deal with everybody. But unlike us, she did not discriminate – even those who were oppressing Indians at that time, she said: "They are also my children." We have to understand – if you are looking for an example of how to live like a maid‑servant – that is pure ''Karma Yoga'', '''''Śiva-jñāne jīva-śevaशिव ज्ञाने जीव सेवा'' –''' the best example we will not get other than Holy Mother. We have to understand that.
===Yājñavalkya's Offer===
So he offered – Yājñavalkya offered these riches: "I am not going to leave you in distress. Where, how are we going to live? You are looking after us all this time. Now you will have plenty of it. You can have servants, and all your needs will be met as far as possible." Because any amount of riches cannot prevent diseases, cannot prevent mental distress – there are so many things. External possessions have a very limited role to play in our happiness. In fact, they cannot produce even the least bit of happiness. They can make our life comfortable. That is why, as one Swami said, a rich person who is worrying too much will be worrying in an air‑conditioned room, and a poor man without air‑conditioning worries – absolutely, air‑conditioning is not going to help either of them in any case.
===Maitreyī's Fitness===
So first to Maitreyī – of them, we can clearly see Maitreyī was a highly fit spiritual aspirant, highly developed. So we should understand that if she was at the initial stages, only started her spiritual life, or only after her husband announces his intention, then she starts thinking – no, it is not like that. She must have been practising like Holy Mother. Remember why I am bringing Holy Mother again and again? There is a lot of resemblance between Holy Mother and Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. These are the modern Yājñavalkya and Maitreyī.
===Holy Mother's Response===
So Holy Mother was told by Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa: "I want to lead a spiritual life – what do you want?" Because since I married to you, you have a right. This is a great opening to all husbands – just because you marry, you do not become God to your wife; she has fifty percent right – ''sahadharmiṇī'''सह्धर्मिनि'''''. Then immediately Holy Mother replied – we all know that: "No, I have not come to pull you down. I also want to follow your footsteps." Rāmakṛṣṇa not only was very happy, immediately he initiated her and told her. But the point is, how was she able to answer, give that answer instantaneously without thinking? That is because she had become, so to say, from a spiritual point of view, ready to receive that initiation, that higher teaching from Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa.
===Maitreyī's Readiness===
Exactly the same thing we have to understand. Maitreyī must have not suddenly become a spiritual person, but ''janma janmāntara'''जन्मजन्मान्तर''''' – so many lives – and this would be her last life, because once Yājñavalkya accepts, there is no question of her having further lives. So immediately she asks the most intelligent question: "My goal is liberation – ''mukti''. I want to be a ''Brahmavādinī'''ब्रह्मवादिनी.''''' ."
===Brahmavādinī'''''ब्रह्मवादिनी''.''' ===
The word ''Brahmavādinī'' '''''ब्रह्मवादिनी''.''' has two meanings:
#One who has already obtained knowledge of ''Brahma''.
#A ''jīvanmukta'' goes on talking about God only in understandable terms. If Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is talking to a Christian, he will talk in terms of Christ; to a Muslim, in terms of Allah and right practices – so they can adopt, because there is no such division in their minds. The only division is: "Is this person ready for this instruction?" That is the only thing.
===Yājñavalkya's Acceptance===
So Yājñavalkya wanted Maitreyī, and he knew – because he was such a great teacher – the moment I teach, she will also become like me, a ''Brahmavādinī'''ब्रह्मवादिनी'''''<nowiki/>'''.''' That is to say, she would not only be a knower of ''Brahma''. We do not know anything about what was the life of Maitreyī after she became enlightened. But what do you think – if she, so long as she lives, if she had not entered into ''nirvikalpa samādhi'''निर्विकल्प समाधि'''''<nowiki/>''',''' we have to guess that whoever comes to her, in general she would be talking about God – but in particular, if somebody wants, then she herself becomes a fit person to teach about ''Brahmajñāna '''ब्रह्मज्ञान''''', because a knower of ''Brahma'' does not have these divisions of gender – "this is male, this is female."
===Examples of Brahmavādinīs===
So there are so many wonderful saints – one '''Mīrā Bāī''' – she was a ''Brahmavādinī'''ब्रह्मवादिनी'''''; even though she used to call that ''Brahman'' as Kṛṣṇa. There was '''Tulasīdāsa''' – he used to call ''Brahman'' as Rāma – so he was a ''Brahmavādī''. In the south, '''Basavaṇṇa''' is there – he who does not see Śiva in everything all the time is not a Śiva ''bhakta''. But even more marvellous – there was one lady called '''Akkā Mahādevī''' – she used to wear no clothes at all. But it is said that whoever sees her, she has become so pure that immediately the idea of motherliness – "this is my mother" – the idea "this is a woman, a desirable object" – such a thing never enters into the mind of anybody who encounters her. She used to live in wild places; rarely she used to encounter people, but if she encountered them, her naked body does not produce worldly thoughts. On the other hand, they only produce most marvellous thoughts of God, purity, sacredness, etc. That is the power of these great people – God makes them like that. Otherwise, if anybody looks upon them in a negative way, worldly way, they will be turned into ashes that very moment.
===Other Women Saints===
Anyway – what about '''Āṇḍāḷ''', the greatest lover of Kṛṣṇa, and she became one with Kṛṣṇa? She married Kṛṣṇa – of course His name was '''Raṅganātha Svāmī.''' All these – how many other stories are there? I am just mentioning because this is more important than just reading the sentence meaning of these ''Upaniṣads''. Maharashtra had produced marvellous women saints. We know everywhere there were men saints – male saints – but female saints. Now what we need to understand here – how marvellously there was one, I think, '''Rukubāī (Sakkubai)'''. Her husband, her mother‑in‑law hated her, got the greatest amount of work done through her, and the mother used to use her son – who could not say no – to beat her up. Once he was beating her up, she was completely helpless. Remember, several centuries back – East or West – women were playthings in the hands of men. How much hellish suffering these people had to go through, and even people burned – you know, the famous witch burning, etc.
===Sakkubāī's Story===
So this lady – her only ''gati'' is to call upon her beloved Kṛṣṇa. She used to, every time pain came, she used to call out Kṛṣṇa. And Kṛṣṇa had taken all the blows that her body was receiving upon His body – like Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa took upon himself the blow of one of the boatmen who was beaten by another boatman – we must recall that incident. So the husband went on beating, and then next day the priest found traces of blood on the image on the back of the image. They were shocked – how can a stone image suddenly emit blood? For us it is a lifeless stone – however, what is called, we invoke ''prāṇa'' '''प्राण'''while opening the temple, while doing ''pūjā'', etc. – for us still it is a statue. But in the eyes of these great people, there is no statue. If this lady had gone to that '''''Puraṇḍara Vitthala''''', then she would have seen Him, she would have talked with Him, etc.
===The Advent of Holy Mother===
So we see everywhere ''Brahmavādinīs'' are there. And if anybody thinks ''Brahmavādinīs'' are not there nowadays, we have to hang our heads in shame, because as Swami Vivekananda had proclaimed: with the advent of Holy Mother, so many women will become ''Brahmavādinīs'' once more – our sacred land will be flooded with that. Anyway, I am carried away a little bit.
==Maitreyī's Question and Rejection==
Coming back to our subject: Maitreyī asks one question: "If I get all these things, will they help me in obtaining the knowledge of ''Brahman''?" Of course, Yājñavalkya says: "No – you will live a comfortable life." He did not even say "you will live a happy life" – we have to take this point into consideration. He said: "You will have a good bed, a good house, beautiful animals, many servants, many utensils – they will be catering to your comfort, but not to happiness or bliss." That is a purely state belonging to the mind alone – not anything to do with externalities.
===Maitreyī's Viveka and Vairāgya===
In Maitreyī, this is where her ''viveka'' '''विवेक''' gets exercised – ''vairāgya'''वैराग्य''''' comes. She says: "What am I to do? My goal is not to have riches. My goal is to attain ''Brahmajñāna''" – and she rejects all this property, because she understood not only will they not give ''Brahmajñāna'', but what do you think is the greatest obstacle to our progressing in spiritual life? It is too many possessions. So that is what she understood – she rejects.
===Her Request for Knowledge===
But it is not that she rejects – she says: "You offered me something – you have something else – not only property, but you have something else. What do you have? You have that knowledge of '''''Ātman''''', knowledge of '''''Brahman'''''. As a rightful partner – ''dharmapatnī'' '''धर्मपत्नी–''' you will have to give that to ''dharma'' also. Teach me how I could become immortal." And Yājñavalkya, being a great '''''Brahmavādī'',''' understands, accepts her, because he recognises this is a very fit disciple.
==The First Teaching – Vairāgya==
Then the teaching starts. What is the first teaching? First thing is about '''''vairāgyaवैराग्य'',''' about dispassion. What is dispassion? People are running mad after the objects of this world under the mistaken notion that:
#Every object gives happiness.
#Every object goes on giving happiness because it is its nature.
#There would be no time when the object will give me the opposite result – suffering.
So that is why if we come to know really that object does not possess happiness – objects cannot give the same one moment – they can give happiness; next very moment, they will plunge us into the deepest abyss – and every object is changing, including me the experiencer – my body, my mind, my sense organs – everything.
===Naciketā's Reply===
This is the most wonderful reply Naciketā gives to Yamarāja: "Even if you grant me all these possessions – me the experiencer – I cannot be unchanging." Because there is only one object which is unchanging – that is ''Brahman''. My body is not ''Brahman''; my mind is not ''Brahman''. They go on changing, and they only become less and less energetic, and the senses lose their power of squeezing out happiness. What a person can enjoy at the age of ten or twenty years old, no old man can ever enjoy. He can only squeeze probably one percent of happiness, pleasure out of it. And then he goes on wondering: "What happened? I used to enjoy – what happened to you? You used to cook such tasteful things – now you are neglecting me – your food is just very ordinary food." Unable to understand he was the root cause of the problem – not the food or anything else.
===Nobody Loves Any Object===
So in this world, nobody loves anybody – nobody loves any object. But everybody uses an object, thinking it is an instrument for one's own happiness. But sooner or later, that person, as soon as he squeezes all the happiness, understands no more squeezing of even one drop of '''''ānanda''''' will come from this object – he discards it like a chewed‑out sugarcane.
===The Source of Happiness===
So everything is loved solely for the sake of one's own Self – that is, for my happiness. But you say the happiness is not belonging to the object – then where is it? Because Yājñavalkya never denied there is happiness, bliss – but he denies objects have happiness.But I am getting happiness. Objects do not have it, but they merely temporarily remove the obstacle we ourselves have created, not allowing our own inherent bliss to manifest. An object temporarily – only temporarily – removes that obstruction, and we experience momentarily that happiness. Wise persons understand: "It is my own happiness I am experiencing."
===All Happiness Is Within===
With that, one thing becomes clear: there is no happiness outside – all happiness is only within inside. Then naturally, if I find anybody – even a fool – "I am not going to get any happiness in this object; I am going to get happiness in that other object." Then after experimenting with several objects: "No, there is bliss, there is happiness – but it is not outside – it is inside."
===The Upaniṣadic Teaching===
That is when the ''Upaniṣad'' says so beautifully: <blockquote>पराञ्चि खानि व्यतृणत् स्वयम्भू-स्तस्मात्पराङ्पश्यति नान्तरात्मन् ।

कश्चिद्धीरः प्रत्यगात्मानमैक्ष-'''दावृत्तचक्षुरमृतत्त्वमिच्छन्''' ॥ १ ॥

''parāñci khāni vyatṛṇat svayambhūs-tasmātparāṅpaśyati nāntarātman |''

''kaścid dhīraḥ pratyagātmānamaikṣad-'''āvṛtta-cakṣuramṛtatvam-icchan''' || 1 ||Katha Upanishad (Chapter 2, Section 1, Verse 1).''</blockquote>

"The Creator created the senses outgoing" – but now he understands: "I have been wondering like the musk deer, but I must examine myself, because all the intoxicating fragrance is coming from within myself. The bliss is coming from within myself." This withdrawal from outside to inside is called '''''Vānaprasthāśrama''.'''
===The Purpose of Upāsana===
Then the real ''upāsana'' starts – how I can obtain that bliss not occasionally, not a small bit, but permanently and one hundred percent. That is the purpose of ''Upāsana''. So Yājñavalkya makes it clear that there is '''only one objec'''t – it is of the nature of infinite bliss, of infinite existence, of infinite consciousness – and that is the object.
==Conditional and Unconditional Love==
So he also breaks down love into '''two categories:''' '''conditional lov'''e and '''unconditional love.'''
===Conditional Love===
What is conditional love? Every object – only when my mind, my body should be in a particular condition, and the object also must be in a particular condition. Even though you are all intelligent students, still I want to repeat it again and again. So only when I am hungry and my stomach is able to digest, I have no other health issues, I have no mental worries – that is the condition upon the part of me, the experiencer. And the object – say a ripe mango – it should not be unripe; it should not be overripe – it is just at the right ripe condition, and it should be available to me, and it should not be contaminated with insects. Many times when you open the mango, you will see terrible insects – they burrowed, they grow up there, they eat that pulp, and then they are ready – big huge maggots like that will be there. Now perfect – and the flavour is perfect. So outside also there are conditions. Of course, the greatest condition – please do not reveal it to anybody, only for my particular students in this class – see that nobody else is present to share that one mango.
===Making the Object One's Own===
When these conditions are fulfilled and then when we come into contact, we make it our own. Even then, we have to make it our own – that is a beautiful point. So whatever happiness we think the mango can give – now that happiness, as it were, entering along with the mango inside us – and that is what we mistake – that reinforces my mistaken notion that "this happiness is outside." Now because of this mango, I have become one with the mango – I made the mango one with me – so I am getting its happiness along with it to me. This applies to every object in this world.
===Every Love Is Conditional===
So every love is a conditional love. But there is another unconditional love – everybody loves one's own Self, and there is no condition: I am healthy or unhealthy, rich or poor, even happy or unhappy – it does not matter – I love myself, because I identify myself with my body, with my mind. Even at that stage, I do not wish to die. Only when this body becomes insufferable, then only we wish to give up. So this is what he said.
==The Path to Unbroken Bliss==
And then Yājñavalkya continues this topic and says: if you want unbroken bliss, you will have to know that you are that unbroken bliss. The point involved here is that if the Self is something different – even if it be unbroken bliss, an infinite existence – but not one with you, not you – then it does not do any good. Because the '''fundamental point we have to remember:''' one – two separate. If there are two separate objects, '''one object can never ever become the second object completely –''' no, it is not possible. So if there is only one object, and I am not able to understand that I am that one object, then only it is possible. And what makes me think I am not one with God? Ignorance – that ignorance can be destroyed. It is a negative action – I am not obtaining anything new; I am only removing the obstacle. Then I realise: "I am, I was, I am, I will be ''Brahman'' only."
==='''''śravaṇa(श्रवण)'', ''manana (मनन)'', ''nididhyāsana (निदिध्यासन)'''''===
This is the lesson he wants to tell – how to reach that state: '''''śravaṇa(श्रवण)'', ''manana (मनन)'', ''nididhyāsana (निदिध्यासन)'',''' Of course, we discussed what is ''śravaṇa'', ''manana'', ''nididhyāsana''. So even we have also gone through, I think, two ''mantras''. In our next class, we will take up from further ''mantra'' onwards. The main important points I have discussed here – it should not be difficult for us to progress further quickly.

== 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 4.1-5 Lecture 57 on 08 August 2026

2026-09-15T15:45:06Z

Gayatri:

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.'''

'''''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.'''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

'''OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH'''

'''OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.'''

'''OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.'''

==Introduction: The Wisdom of Yājñavalkya==
We have entered into the most marvellous, greatest wisdom that Yājñavalkya was teaching to Maitreyī. Why did Yājñavalkya bring up the subject of love? Because ''Māyā'' – the power of ignorance – how does it manifest? First, it manifests in the form that "this world is real, my body is real, my possessions are real, my mind is real, my life is real – everything that I experience is absolutely real." And since every object is real, I can exercise my power of loving it. But Yājñavalkya debunks it and says the first thing: in this world, nobody loves anything or anybody – one only loves one's own Self.
===Why Do We Love the Self?===
What does Yājñavalkya mean by "one's own Self"? He means ''Ātman'''आत्मन्'''''. But why do we love ''Ātman'''आत्मन्''''''''?''' Even ''Ātman'' '''आत्मन्'''– or let us say God – if there is a believer, just imagine, and he is praying and praying: "Give me happiness, give me that greatest joy" – and ""''apply, apply – no reply''"". God does not answer at all, and he is miserable. Do you think the person will go on and on praying? At first he places his faith in the scriptures, hopes that God is there and He listens to my prayers, and He is compassionate – ''ananta dayāsāgara'''अनन्त दयासागर''''' – and definitely He will make me happy. But if God does not give us happiness, then sooner or later we give up even God.
===The Secret of Ignorance'''''अज्ञान'''''.===
And here also there is a secret – because I am not enlightened. I think I am separate from God. I am small; God is separate, but He is very big – His powers are infinite. He can do whatever He likes. It is this ignorant knowledge – ''ajñāna'''अज्ञान'''''. What is ''ajñāna'''अज्ञान'''''? "I am different from God. God exists separately from me." But by that very understanding, we deny the very existence of God, because by definition, God is not some powerful separate being – He is not some other person. I do not understand – I think He is different – and that is called ignorance. But if I come to know He is my own Self, then the question of God bestowing grace does not arise – I have to bestow grace upon my own Self.
===The Nature of the Self'''''आत्मन्''''',===
But what does it mean? Again, if I am not of the nature of bliss, if I am not of the nature of happiness, or if I am a mixture – I am a changeable being – sometimes I am happy, sometimes I am unhappy – that is my nature. If this is my understanding – "I am the ''Ātman'''आत्मन्''''', but ''sukha-duḥkha'''सुख दुख''''' are my nature and they are changing all the time" – then my very prayer will be useless. Because what does every creature consciously, mostly unconsciously, do? They are praying: "Let me have unbroken happiness called ''Ānanda'''आनन्द'''''." That is all. Broken ''ānanda'' '''आनन्द''' we are getting; unbroken ''ānanda'' '''आनन्द''' we will not get.
===The Illustration of Falling from Heights===
Suppose a person goes to ''Brahmaloka'''ब्रह्मलोक'''''''',''' which is supposed to be the greatest source of happiness. Then here most of us do not understand that if ''Brahmaloka'' ''ānanda'' '''''ब्रह्मलोक'' आनन्द'''– no doubt great – but it is also limited. It is the highest degree of happiness we can really experience. If that is our understanding, one simple fact we forget. Let me first give an illustration; Suppose a person is walking and he falls down – the injury will be the least. Suppose he had fallen from something which is ten feet high – definitely his injury will be greater. Suppose a person had fallen from fifty feet high, one hundred feet high, or a mountain top – the higher the height, the greater will be that person's misery, injury, unhappiness, pain, suffering. So if somebody, having experienced '''''Brahmaānandaब्रह्मानन्द'',''' when he falls down from that state, do you think he will only experience a little bit of unhappiness – or do you think an equivalent amount of unhappiness he will experience? Logic and reason tell us the latter is the truth.
===The Need for Infinite Ananda===
So I must have ''Ānanda'' '''आनन्द''' as my nature, and it must be infinite – and then only my prayer "let me have unbroken happiness" can come all the time. And that is why Yājñavalkya wants to teach the very first teaching that he teaches to Maitreyī, the greatest disciple. And every scripture also is teaching the same thing.
==The Meaning of Sanyāsa==
What is ''Sanyāsa'''सन्यास'''''? '''''Sanyāsaसन्यास''''' is not an outward garb,a person puts on – ''sanyāsa'' '''सन्यास''' is a state of mind where a person knows every object is undesirable because it is changing. Every object – the nature of any object – every object is not happiness. It only temporarily removes my own happiness from myself. If I can somehow find out a way how to remove that curtain which is hiding my own bliss within myself, then there is nothing else that I require – I do not need an object.
===Deep Sleep as an Example===
That is why we already discussed both in the ''Māṇḍūkya'' and also in the ''Chāndogya'', and also in the very first chapter, or in this very '''Ajātaśatru ''Brāhmaṇa''''' earlier to this, that Ajātaśatru was analysing the state of '''deep sleep.''' One of the important points we have to understand is: why is it that we get so much happiness in deep sleep – unbroken for at least a few hours? That is the first point – completely unbroken – and such a thing would never happen in either the waking or dream states. Second, even more important: what objects are there in the deep sleep that we are experiencing, and as a result we are getting happiness? Absolutely no object is there. So if I can get such a greater happiness in deep sleep without depending upon any object – in the absence of every possible object – no body, no mind, no world – then it must be within me.
===The Musk Deer कस्तूरी मृगAnalogy===
So what I am searching for – like that ''kastūrī mṛga'' '''कस्तूरी मृग''' we call it – there is a musk deer, beautiful intoxicating fragrance. The deer goes mad, intoxicated; he wants to go to the very source – alas! He cannot find its source because he is searching in the wrong place. So taking up from there, human beings – with the help of God's grace, with the help of the Guru, and in the light of the scriptures – the Guru tells '''''Tat tvam asiतत् त्वम् असि'':''' "You are that source of infinite bliss."
===The Threefold Nature of Ananda===
Infinite bliss can be experienced only if I exist infinitely without any break. We always have to take this point in view. If I want to experience unbroken bliss, my existence also should be unbroken. Will that do? No – '''a third quality''' is needed. '''I must be absolutely aware''' that I am experiencing unbroken bliss. And here is another point we have to take into consideration: if I have to experience unbroken bliss, '''my awareness – consciousness – should also be unbroken.''' Otherwise, if I am distracted – like when we are reading a book or trying to meditate – then the whole goal, the whole object of my focus disappears when my mind changes the object of its experience by just remembering. That means if the same mind is there and even if it is experiencing tremendous bliss, then it will be broken. Just imagine there is a person who was in deep sleep, and the deep sleep breaks every minute – what would be his condition? So we must be existing; we must be one hundred percent aware that we are not only existing. Bliss is my very nature – and if that is my nature, nobody can take it away from me, and there is no time gap.
===Body and Mind Break Awareness===
At this time I get back my nature; at this time I will not get back. But I have to understand – I am not the body, I am not the mind – because what do the body and mind do? They break my awareness every second. How many different thoughts are coming? '''Every thought is a new world for me'''. But such a thing does not happen in deep sleep when a person's ''karma'' is very good and he is sleeping undisturbed for several hours. But even deep sleep is only an example. It indicates that when there is no object, where from this happiness – bliss – is really coming out? Because it is everybody's exclamation upon waking up: '''''sukham aham asvāpsam (सुखमहमस्वाप््सम्)'''''—"I slept very happily throughout the deep sleep state." '''''Na kiñcid avediṣam न किञ्चित्आवेदिषं''—'''"I did not know anything about this world."['''Vichara sagaram''' in sanskrit ''',dvitiya taranga, passage 97titled swayam prakashepi brahmanyagyanopapatti''',purvapaksha in commentary] One meaning of that is "there was no object." The second meaning of the word is very important: since I did not know a millisecond of unhappiness in my deep sleep, I was completely happy, experiencing happiness – "I did not know anything."
===Between Two Thoughts===
So that is why Yājñavalkya very intelligently – of course, it is the highest truth – says: if I can get so much bliss in deep sleep, which is happening how many times? Just to remind you, '''it is not only when we are in deep sleep that we are getting that unbroken bliss'''. No '''– in between two thoughts.''' That is why whenever we say "two thoughts", I am aware of the past thought, aware of the present thought. That means there must be a point in no‑man's‑land where the earlier thought vanished and the new thought had risen. In between these two, however short, that thought must be that condition – "I am myself pure consciousness."
===The State of Pure Consciousness===
But here is another truth we have to remember – we have discussed this point, but the purpose of the scripture is to tell us again and again and again and again and again until it does not slip away from our memory. What is it? '''In deep sleep, we are not aware of time''' – that means it is a state of infinity. '''When we are aware of time, it is a state of bondage'''. When we become unaware of time, it is the state of infinity. Similarly, in between two thoughts – it is only from the second‑thought point of view that we say "I was so happy for a millisecond in between two thoughts." But when we are actually in '''this state of no‑man's‑land between two thoughts, that is the state of pure consciousness.''' Pure consciousness means unbroken, unlimited by time, space, and causation. That is what Yājñavalkya wants to say.
==Yājñavalkya's Sanyāsa==
So just to recollect before we proceed further, here it is. Yājñavalkya had two wives, and he was a ''Brahmajñānī'''ब्रह्मज्ञानी''''''''.''' But to keep up the tradition alive and strong for future generations, he wants to set an example. So he wishes to take up straight away ''Sanyāsāśrama'''''सन्यासश्रम'''– that is to say, he has skipped, as it were, ''Vānaprasthāśrama'''वानप्रस्थाश्रम,'''''. But then I want to add: how do we know Yājñavalkya did not spend his ''Vānaprasthāśrama'''वानप्रस्थाश्रम,'''''? Actually, these – ''Brahmacaryāśrama'''ब्रह्मचर्य आश्रम'''''''',''' ''Gṛhasthāśrama''''',गृहस्थाश्रम''' ,''Vānaprasthāśrama'''वानप्रस्थाश्रम'''''''',''' and ''Sanyāsāśrama'''सन्यासश्रम''''' – they have nothing to do with externalities. As Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to say: "I learn so long as I live" – '''यावज्जीवं तावच्छिक्षेत्''' ''yāvaj jīvaṃ tāvat śikṣi'' – that means if our minds are open to learn what we do not know, we are in ''Brahmacarya'' ''Āśrama'''ब्रह्मचर्य आश्रम,'''''. And we can enjoy things like a maid in a rich man's house – that is called the ideal householder's life.
===Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Example===
But when a person knows how to meditate, how to contemplate, how to do ''upāsanas'' unbrokenly – remember Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to go to ''Pañcavatī'' at night. You have to meditate upon these subjects, these events – that is called ''lila'' ''dhyāna'''लीला ध्यान'''''. Just imagine in your imagination that you also – after Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa goes towards the ''Pañcavatī'', you also follow Him, and you find Him absolutely without any clothes, and you sit in front of Him. But by that time Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is absolutely externally completely unconscious, and you sit for some time – of course we all get restless after some time; mosquitoes are also great helpers in that process. Now you must be wondering: what makes this person so unconscious? How is he able to fix his mind? What is he thinking of unbrokenly? Because the body consciousness had vanished, mind consciousness had vanished – only he was aware of his ''iṣṭadevatā'''इष्ट देवता'''''<nowiki/>'''.''' In this, just as an example – Mother Kālī – but it is not the idea of Mother Kālī that we have. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's idea of Mother Kālī – '''she is pure consciousness'''. So he has become one with that already. We can only guess what he was doing.
===Holy Mother's Example===
And by the way, the perfect example of living as a maid‑servant in a rich man's house – Holy Mother's whole life – she is the mistress of that game called "I am the mother in this house." But she played only the role of a ''dāsī''. Every child that comes, every devotee that comes, every person that visits – what were they doing? Who was serving whom? It was Holy Mother who was really serving everybody, because she assumed the role of the mother of all – even of this ant, of this mosquito. Wonderful incidents are there – we will not of course go into that.
===Vidvat Sanyāsa and Vividhiṣā Sanyāsa===
So what I wanted to convey is that externally also, Yājñavalkya wanted to enter that state to encourage some people. That is why the scriptures divide ''sanyāsa'' into two categories:
#'''''Vividhiṣā Sanyāsa''''' '''विविधीश संन्यास'''– that is, a person whose mind is full of distractions – not only some external distractions, but his own thoughts are full of distractions. So in order to minimise the amount of obstructions, he enters into an ''āśrama'' or a solitary place, thinking that the obstructions will be a little less – at least the concrete obstructions. One's mental obstructions, they will not disappear wherever we go.
#'''''Vidvat Sanyāsa''''' '''विद्वत् संन्यास–''' Yājñavalkya was not a ''vividhiṣā sannyāsī'''विविधीश संन्यासी'''''. He had already attained. Not only that, he helped others also attain ''Brahmajñāna'''ब्रह्मज्ञान'''''<nowiki/>'''.''' We do not know – but when he was teaching with Maitreyī, debating with Gārgī, debating with Kāvya and other Brāhmaṇas, when he was teaching Janaka, some of them definitely attained ''Brahmajnana'''ब्रह्मज्ञान'''''. How do we know? Because Yājñavalkya himself certifies in the case of Janaka: ''abhayaṃ vai prāpto 'si janaka('''अभयं वै प्राप्तोऽसि जनक''') is Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (4.2.4).'' – "O Janaka, you have attained fearlessness" – and fearlessness means "I am ''Brahman''."
===Fearlessness from Non‑Duality===
We have seen earlier – we have to remind – so he who thinks "I am separate, Brahman is separate" – ''Brahman'' becomes a cause of fear. Only for that person who knows there are no two called "I" and "Brahman" – whatever exists is one – he becomes fearless, because from the second, from duality, only fear comes. So he was not only a ''Brahmajñānī'''ब्रह्मज्ञानी''''', he was one of the greatest teachers of ''Brahmajñāna'' '''ब्रह्मज्ञान'''available at that time.
===The Capacity to Receive===
But another point we have to understand: even though he may argue with other people, ''Brahmajñāna'' '''ब्रह्मज्ञान'''can be imparted only to a person who has the capacity to receive what God or ''Brahman'' gives through this ''jīvanmukta Mahāpuruṣa''. Without that, we are always begging: "Give me Your darśana." Yes, if I give you My darśana, will you be able to hold it? Will you be able to bear it? Like a vessel – or like a fuse which is only five watts, and then a thousand‑volt electricity flows into it – what happens? Fuse becomes diffused. That is why Rāmakṛṣṇa said: "Slow and sure – we should not even ask for what we do not deserve. You give me because You know better than me what my receiving capacity is."
===Why Yājñavalkya Took Sanyāsa===
So Yājñavalkya, externally, was called a ''Vidvat Sannyāsī'''विद्वत् संन्यास'''''. ''Vidvat'' means "already attained knowledge." He was a knower of ''Brahma'' – that is called ''Vidvat Sanyāsa'''विद्वत् संन्यास'''''. But to encourage other people – especially those for ''Vividhiṣā Sanyāsa'''विविधीश''''' '''संन्यास'''– he wanted to take ''sanyāsa''. And because of his not only ''Brahmajñāna'' but his capacity to teach, to argue, and to clarify others' doubts, he became one of the best known teachers. And we guess hundreds of students must have gathered around him. And students will not come empty‑handed. The nearer they come to such a personality, the more they surrender to him, because they get more than what they can give physically. Of course, kings as well as the parents of the students will give. Janaka himself had given a thousand cows with their horns completely covered with solid gold – that message is there in this ''Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad'', which we are yet to enter, but we are going to do that after completing this.
===The Provision for the Wives===
So then he says: "I have plenty of money, and I want to enter – which means I cannot live with you. So I have you, Maitreyī, and you, Kātyāyanī – you permit me." And whether you permit or not, a ''sannyāsī'' will not stay, because it is not a ''pāpa''. If a person – a raw fellow who is not fit to become a monk – forcibly, and keeping his wife in distress, takes up ''sanyāsa'', he will be committing a sin. That is why Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa specifically says: even for a good wife, the husband must make provisions for the future, knowing fully well what is going to happen in future is not known. Such a marvellous commentary – Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is the living ''Upaniṣad'' we have to understand.
===Holy Mother's Life===
So also Holy Mother – even more. At least Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa lived almost an isolated life. He never allowed any worldly people to interfere with his life, but he was more than happy to get some eager disciples – both some monks and household disciples – and they were only few. But Holy Mother had to live with the unsavoury relatives – and so many troublesome even disciples. Of course, there were many good devotees also who revered her, looked upon her as the mother of the universe, etc. So she had to deal with everybody. But unlike us, she did not discriminate – even those who were oppressing Indians at that time, she said: "They are also my children." We have to understand – if you are looking for an example of how to live like a maid‑servant – that is pure ''Karma Yoga'', '''''Śiva-jñāne jīva-śevaशिव ज्ञाने जीव सेवा'' –''' the best example we will not get other than Holy Mother. We have to understand that.
===Yājñavalkya's Offer===
So he offered – Yājñavalkya offered these riches: "I am not going to leave you in distress. Where, how are we going to live? You are looking after us all this time. Now you will have plenty of it. You can have servants, and all your needs will be met as far as possible." Because any amount of riches cannot prevent diseases, cannot prevent mental distress – there are so many things. External possessions have a very limited role to play in our happiness. In fact, they cannot produce even the least bit of happiness. They can make our life comfortable. That is why, as one Swami said, a rich person who is worrying too much will be worrying in an air‑conditioned room, and a poor man without air‑conditioning worries – absolutely, air‑conditioning is not going to help either of them in any case.
===Maitreyī's Fitness===
So first to Maitreyī – of them, we can clearly see Maitreyī was a highly fit spiritual aspirant, highly developed. So we should understand that if she was at the initial stages, only started her spiritual life, or only after her husband announces his intention, then she starts thinking – no, it is not like that. She must have been practising like Holy Mother. Remember why I am bringing Holy Mother again and again? There is a lot of resemblance between Holy Mother and Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. These are the modern Yājñavalkya and Maitreyī.
===Holy Mother's Response===
So Holy Mother was told by Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa: "I want to lead a spiritual life – what do you want?" Because since I married to you, you have a right. This is a great opening to all husbands – just because you marry, you do not become God to your wife; she has fifty percent right – ''sahadharmiṇī'''सह्धर्मिनि'''''. Then immediately Holy Mother replied – we all know that: "No, I have not come to pull you down. I also want to follow your footsteps." Rāmakṛṣṇa not only was very happy, immediately he initiated her and told her. But the point is, how was she able to answer, give that answer instantaneously without thinking? That is because she had become, so to say, from a spiritual point of view, ready to receive that initiation, that higher teaching from Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa.
===Maitreyī's Readiness===
Exactly the same thing we have to understand. Maitreyī must have not suddenly become a spiritual person, but ''janma janmāntara'''जन्मजन्मान्तर''''' – so many lives – and this would be her last life, because once Yājñavalkya accepts, there is no question of her having further lives. So immediately she asks the most intelligent question: "My goal is liberation – ''mukti''. I want to be a ''Brahmavādinī'''ब्रह्मवादिनी.''''' ."
===Brahmavādinī'''''ब्रह्मवादिनी''.''' ===
The word ''Brahmavādinī'' '''''ब्रह्मवादिनी''.''' has two meanings:
#One who has already obtained knowledge of ''Brahma''.
#A ''jīvanmukta'' goes on talking about God only in understandable terms. If Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is talking to a Christian, he will talk in terms of Christ; to a Muslim, in terms of Allah and right practices – so they can adopt, because there is no such division in their minds. The only division is: "Is this person ready for this instruction?" That is the only thing.
===Yājñavalkya's Acceptance===
So Yājñavalkya wanted Maitreyī, and he knew – because he was such a great teacher – the moment I teach, she will also become like me, a ''Brahmavādinī'''ब्रह्मवादिनी'''''<nowiki/>'''.''' That is to say, she would not only be a knower of ''Brahma''. We do not know anything about what was the life of Maitreyī after she became enlightened. But what do you think – if she, so long as she lives, if she had not entered into ''nirvikalpa samādhi'''निर्विकल्प समाधि'''''<nowiki/>''',''' we have to guess that whoever comes to her, in general she would be talking about God – but in particular, if somebody wants, then she herself becomes a fit person to teach about ''Brahmajñāna '''ब्रह्मज्ञान''''', because a knower of ''Brahma'' does not have these divisions of gender – "this is male, this is female."
===Examples of Brahmavādinīs===
So there are so many wonderful saints – one '''Mīrā Bāī''' – she was a ''Brahmavādinī'''ब्रह्मवादिनी'''''; even though she used to call that ''Brahman'' as Kṛṣṇa. There was '''Tulasīdāsa''' – he used to call ''Brahman'' as Rāma – so he was a ''Brahmavādī''. In the south, '''Basavaṇṇa''' is there – he who does not see Śiva in everything all the time is not a Śiva ''bhakta''. But even more marvellous – there was one lady called '''Akkā Mahādevī''' – she used to wear no clothes at all. But it is said that whoever sees her, she has become so pure that immediately the idea of motherliness – "this is my mother" – the idea "this is a woman, a desirable object" – such a thing never enters into the mind of anybody who encounters her. She used to live in wild places; rarely she used to encounter people, but if she encountered them, her naked body does not produce worldly thoughts. On the other hand, they only produce most marvellous thoughts of God, purity, sacredness, etc. That is the power of these great people – God makes them like that. Otherwise, if anybody looks upon them in a negative way, worldly way, they will be turned into ashes that very moment.
===Other Women Saints===
Anyway – what about '''Āṇḍāḷ''', the greatest lover of Kṛṣṇa, and she became one with Kṛṣṇa? She married Kṛṣṇa – of course His name was '''Raṅganātha Svāmī.''' All these – how many other stories are there? I am just mentioning because this is more important than just reading the sentence meaning of these ''Upaniṣads''. Maharashtra had produced marvellous women saints. We know everywhere there were men saints – male saints – but female saints. Now what we need to understand here – how marvellously there was one, I think, '''Rukubāī (Sakkubai)'''. Her husband, her mother‑in‑law hated her, got the greatest amount of work done through her, and the mother used to use her son – who could not say no – to beat her up. Once he was beating her up, she was completely helpless. Remember, several centuries back – East or West – women were playthings in the hands of men. How much hellish suffering these people had to go through, and even people burned – you know, the famous witch burning, etc.
===Sakkubāī's Story===
So this lady – her only ''gati'' is to call upon her beloved Kṛṣṇa. She used to, every time pain came, she used to call out Kṛṣṇa. And Kṛṣṇa had taken all the blows that her body was receiving upon His body – like Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa took upon himself the blow of one of the boatmen who was beaten by another boatman – we must recall that incident. So the husband went on beating, and then next day the priest found traces of blood on the image on the back of the image. They were shocked – how can a stone image suddenly emit blood? For us it is a lifeless stone – however, what is called, we invoke ''prāṇa'' '''प्राण'''while opening the temple, while doing ''pūjā'', etc. – for us still it is a statue. But in the eyes of these great people, there is no statue. If this lady had gone to that '''''Puraṇḍara Vitthala''''', then she would have seen Him, she would have talked with Him, etc.
===The Advent of Holy Mother===
So we see everywhere ''Brahmavādinīs'' are there. And if anybody thinks ''Brahmavādinīs'' are not there nowadays, we have to hang our heads in shame, because as Swami Vivekananda had proclaimed: with the advent of Holy Mother, so many women will become ''Brahmavādinīs'' once more – our sacred land will be flooded with that. Anyway, I am carried away a little bit.
==Maitreyī's Question and Rejection==
Coming back to our subject: Maitreyī asks one question: "If I get all these things, will they help me in obtaining the knowledge of ''Brahman''?" Of course, Yājñavalkya says: "No – you will live a comfortable life." He did not even say "you will live a happy life" – we have to take this point into consideration. He said: "You will have a good bed, a good house, beautiful animals, many servants, many utensils – they will be catering to your comfort, but not to happiness or bliss." That is a purely state belonging to the mind alone – not anything to do with externalities.
===Maitreyī's Viveka and Vairāgya===
In Maitreyī, this is where her ''viveka'' gets exercised – ''vairāgya'''वैराग्य''''' comes. She says: "What am I to do? My goal is not to have riches. My goal is to attain ''Brahmajñāna''" – and she rejects all this property, because she understood not only will they not give ''Brahmajñāna'', but what do you think is the greatest obstacle to our progressing in spiritual life? It is too many possessions. So that is what she understood – she rejects.
===Her Request for Knowledge===
But it is not that she rejects – she says: "You offered me something – you have something else – not only property, but you have something else. What do you have? You have that knowledge of ''Ātman'', knowledge of ''Brahman''. As a rightful partner – ''dharmapatnī'' '''धर्मपत्नी–''' you will have to give that to ''dharma'' also. Teach me how I could become immortal." And Yājñavalkya, being a great ''Brahmavādī'', understands, accepts her, because he recognises this is a very fit disciple.
==The First Teaching – Vairāgya==
Then the teaching starts. What is the first teaching? First thing is about '''''vairāgyaवैराग्य'',''' about dispassion. What is dispassion? People are running mad after the objects of this world under the mistaken notion that:
#Every object gives happiness.
#Every object goes on giving happiness because it is its nature.
#There would be no time when the object will give me the opposite result – suffering.
So that is why if we come to know really that object does not possess happiness – objects cannot give the same one moment – they can give happiness; next very moment, they will plunge us into the deepest abyss – and every object is changing, including me the experiencer – my body, my mind, my sense organs – everything.
===Naciketā's Reply===
This is the most wonderful reply Naciketā gives to Yamarāja: "Even if you grant me all these possessions – me the experiencer – I cannot be unchanging." Because there is only one object which is unchanging – that is ''Brahman''. My body is not ''Brahman''; my mind is not ''Brahman''. They go on changing, and they only become less and less energetic, and the senses lose their power of squeezing out happiness. What a person can enjoy at the age of ten or twenty years old, no old man can ever enjoy. He can only squeeze probably one percent of happiness, pleasure out of it. And then he goes on wondering: "What happened? I used to enjoy – what happened to you? You used to cook such tasteful things – now you are neglecting me – your food is just very ordinary food." Unable to understand he was the root cause of the problem – not the food or anything else.
===Nobody Loves Any Object===
So in this world, nobody loves anybody – nobody loves any object. But everybody uses an object, thinking it is an instrument for one's own happiness. But sooner or later, that person, as soon as he squeezes all the happiness, understands no more squeezing of even one drop of ''ānanda'' will come from this object – he discards it like a chewed‑out sugarcane.
===The Source of Happiness===
So everything is loved solely for the sake of one's own Self – that is, for my happiness. But you say the happiness is not belonging to the object – then where is it? Because Yājñavalkya never denied there is happiness, bliss – but he denies objects have happiness. Objects do not have it, but they merely temporarily remove the obstacle we ourselves have created, not allowing our own inherent bliss to manifest. An object temporarily – only temporarily – removes that obstruction, and we experience momentarily that happiness. Wise persons understand: "It is my own happiness I am experiencing."
===All Happiness Is Within===
With that, one thing becomes clear: there is no happiness outside – all happiness is only within inside. Then naturally, if I find anybody – even a fool – "I am not going to get any happiness in this object; I am going to get happiness in that other object." Then after experimenting with several objects: "No, there is bliss, there is happiness – but it is not outside – it is inside."
===The Upaniṣadic Teaching===
That is when the ''Upaniṣad'' says so beautifully: <blockquote>पराञ्चि खानि व्यतृणत् स्वयम्भू-स्तस्मात्पराङ्पश्यति नान्तरात्मन् ।

कश्चिद्धीरः प्रत्यगात्मानमैक्ष-'''दावृत्तचक्षुरमृतत्त्वमिच्छन्''' ॥ १ ॥

''parāñci khāni vyatṛṇat svayambhūs-tasmātparāṅpaśyati nāntarātman |''

''kaścid dhīraḥ pratyagātmānamaikṣad-'''āvṛtta-cakṣuramṛtatvam-icchan''' || 1 ||Katha Upanishad (Chapter 2, Section 1, Verse 1).''</blockquote>

"The Creator created the senses outgoing" – but now he understands: "I have been wondering like the musk deer, but I must examine myself, because all the intoxicating fragrance is coming from within myself. The bliss is coming from within myself." This withdrawal from outside to inside is called ''Vānaprasthāśrama''.
===The Purpose of Upāsana===
Then the real ''upāsana'' starts – how I can obtain that bliss not occasionally, not a small bit, but permanently and one hundred percent. That is the purpose of ''Upāsana''. So Yājñavalkya makes it clear that there is only one object – it is of the nature of infinite bliss, of infinite existence, of infinite consciousness – and that is the object.
==Conditional and Unconditional Love==
So he also breaks down love into two categories: conditional love and unconditional love.
===Conditional Love===
What is conditional love? Every object – only when my mind, my body should be in a particular condition, and the object also must be in a particular condition. Even though you are all intelligent students, still I want to repeat it again and again. So only when I am hungry and my stomach is able to digest, I have no other health issues, I have no mental worries – that is the condition upon the part of me, the experiencer. And the object – say a ripe mango – it should not be unripe; it should not be overripe – it is just at the right ripe condition, and it should be available to me, and it should not be contaminated with insects. Many times when you open the mango, you will see terrible insects – they burrowed, they grow up there, they eat that pulp, and then they are ready – big huge maggots like that will be there. Now perfect – and the flavour is perfect. So outside also there are conditions. Of course, the greatest condition – please do not reveal it to anybody, only for my particular students in this class – see that nobody else is present to share that one mango.
===Making the Object One's Own===
When these conditions are fulfilled and then when we come into contact, we make it our own. Even then, we have to make it our own – that is a beautiful point. So whatever happiness we think the mango can give – now that happiness, as it were, entering along with the mango inside us – and that is what we mistake – that reinforces my mistaken notion that "this happiness is outside." Now because of this mango, I have become one with the mango – I made the mango one with me – so I am getting its happiness along with it to me. This applies to every object in this world.
===Every Love Is Conditional===
So every love is a conditional love. But there is another unconditional love – everybody loves one's own Self, and there is no condition: I am healthy or unhealthy, rich or poor, even happy or unhappy – it does not matter – I love myself, because I identify myself with my body, with my mind. Even at that stage, I do not wish to die. Only when this body becomes insufferable, then only we wish to give up. So this is what he said.
==The Path to Unbroken Bliss==
And then Yājñavalkya continues this topic and says: if you want unbroken bliss, you will have to know that you are that unbroken bliss. The point involved here is that if the Self is something different – even if it be unbroken bliss, an infinite existence – but not one with you, not you – then it does not do any good. Because the fundamental point we have to remember: one – two separate. If there are two separate objects, one object can never ever become the second object completely – no, it is not possible. So if there is only one object, and I am not able to understand that I am that one object, then only it is possible. And what makes me think I am not one with God? Ignorance – that ignorance can be destroyed. It is a negative action – I am not obtaining anything new; I am only removing the obstacle. Then I realise: "I am, I was, I am, I will be ''Brahman'' only."
===Śravaṇa, Manana, Nididhyāsana===
This is the lesson he wants to tell – how to reach that state: '''''śravaṇa(श्रवण)'', ''manana (मनन)'', ''nididhyāsana (निदिध्यासन)'',''' Of course, we discussed what is ''śravaṇa'', ''manana'', ''nididhyāsana''. So even we have also gone through, I think, two ''mantras''. In our next class, we will take up from further ''mantra'' onwards. The main important points I have discussed here – it should not be difficult for us to progress further quickly.

== 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 4.1-5 Lecture 57 on 08 August 2026

2026-09-15T15:03:42Z

Gayatri:

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.'''

'''''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.'''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

'''OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH'''

'''OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.'''

'''OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.'''

==Introduction: The Wisdom of Yājñavalkya==
We have entered into the most marvellous, greatest wisdom that Yājñavalkya was teaching to Maitreyī. Why did Yājñavalkya bring up the subject of love? Because ''Māyā'' – the power of ignorance – how does it manifest? First, it manifests in the form that "this world is real, my body is real, my possessions are real, my mind is real, my life is real – everything that I experience is absolutely real." And since every object is real, I can exercise my power of loving it. But Yājñavalkya debunks it and says the first thing: in this world, nobody loves anything or anybody – one only loves one's own Self.
===Why Do We Love the Self?===
What does Yājñavalkya mean by "one's own Self"? He means ''Ātman''. But why do we love ''Ātman'''आत्मन्'''''<nowiki/>'''?''' Even ''Ātman'' '''आत्मन्'''– or let us say God – if there is a believer, just imagine, and he is praying and praying: "Give me happiness, give me that greatest joy" – and apply, apply – no reply. God does not answer at all, and he is miserable. Do you think the person will go on and on praying? At first he places his faith in the scriptures, hopes that God is there and He listens to my prayers, and He is compassionate – ''ananta dayāsāgara'''अनन्त दयासागर''''' – and definitely He will make me happy. But if God does not give us happiness, then sooner or later we give up even God.
===The Secret of Ignorance===
And here also there is a secret – because I am not enlightened. I think I am separate from God. I am small; God is separate, but He is very big – His powers are infinite. He can do whatever He likes. It is this ignorant knowledge – ''ajñāna'''अज्ञान'''''. What is ''ajñāna'''अज्ञान'''''? "I am different from God. God exists separately from me." But by that very understanding, we deny the very existence of God, because by definition, God is not some powerful separate being – He is not some other person. I do not understand – I think He is different – and that is called ignorance. But if I come to know He is my own Self, then the question of God bestowing grace does not arise – I have to bestow grace upon my own Self.
===The Nature of the Self===
But what does it mean? Again, if I am not of the nature of bliss, if I am not of the nature of happiness, or if I am a mixture – I am a changeable being – sometimes I am happy, sometimes I am unhappy – that is my nature. If this is my understanding – "I am the ''Ātman'''आत्मन्''''', but ''sukha-duḥkha'''सुख दुख''''' are my nature and they are changing all the time" – then my very prayer will be useless. Because what does every creature consciously, mostly unconsciously, do? They are praying: "Let me have unbroken happiness called ''Ānanda'''आनन्द'''''." That is all. Broken ''ānanda'' '''आनन्द''' we are getting; unbroken ''ānanda'' '''आनन्द''' we will not get.
===The Illustration of Falling from Heights===
Suppose a person goes to ''Brahmaloka'''ब्रह्मलोक'''''<nowiki/>''',''' which is supposed to be the greatest source of happiness. Then here most of us do not understand that if ''Brahmaloka'' ''ānanda'' '''''ब्रह्मलोक'' आनन्द'''– no doubt great – but it is also limited. It is the highest degree of happiness we can really experience. If that is our understanding, one simple fact we forget. Let me first give an illustration. Suppose a person is walking and he falls down – the injury will be the least. Suppose he had fallen from something which is ten feet high – definitely his injury will be greater. Suppose a person had fallen from fifty feet high, one hundred feet high, or a mountain top – the higher the height, the greater will be that person's misery, injury, unhappiness, pain, suffering. So if somebody, having experienced ''Brahman'' ''ānanda'', when he falls down from that state, do you think he will only experience a little bit of unhappiness – or do you think an equivalent amount of unhappiness he will experience? Logic and reason tell us the latter is the truth.
===The Need for Infinite Ananda===
So I must have ''Ānanda'' '''आनन्द''' as my nature, and it must be infinite – and then only my prayer "let me have unbroken happiness" can come all the time. And that is why Yājñavalkya wants to teach the very first teaching that he teaches to Maitreyī, the greatest disciple. And every scripture also is teaching the same thing.
==The Meaning of Sanyāsa==
What is ''Sanyāsa'''सन्यास'''''? '''''Sanyāsaसन्यास''''' is not an outward garb. A person puts on – ''sanyāsa'' '''सन्यास''' is a state of mind where a person knows every object is undesirable because it is changing. Every object – the nature of any object – every object is not happiness. It only temporarily removes my own happiness from myself. If I can somehow find out a way how to remove that curtain which is hiding my own bliss within myself, then there is nothing else that I require – I do not need an object.
===Deep Sleep as an Example===
That is why we already discussed both in the ''Māṇḍūkya'' and also in the ''Chāndogya'', and also in the very first chapter, or in this very Ajātaśatru ''Brāhmaṇa'' earlier to this, that Ajātaśatru was analysing the state of deep sleep. One of the important points we have to understand is: why is it that we get so much happiness in deep sleep – unbroken for at least a few hours? That is the first point – completely unbroken – and such a thing would never happen in either the waking or dream states. Second, even more important: what objects are there in the deep sleep that we are experiencing, and as a result we are getting happiness? Absolutely no object is there. So if I can get such a greater happiness in deep sleep without depending upon any object – in the absence of every possible object – no body, no mind, no world – then it must be within me.
===The Musk Deer Analogy===
So what I am searching for – like that ''kastūrī mṛga'' '''कस्तूरी मृग''' we call it – there is a musk deer, beautiful intoxicating fragrance. The deer goes mad, intoxicated; he wants to go to the very source – alas! He cannot find its source because he is searching in the wrong place. So taking up from there, human beings – with the help of God's grace, with the help of the Guru, and in the light of the scriptures – the Guru tells ''Tat tvam asi'''तत् त्वम् असि'''''<nowiki/>''':''' "You are that source of infinite bliss."
===The Threefold Nature of Ananda===
Infinite bliss can be experienced only if I exist infinitely without any break. We always have to take this point in view. If I want to experience unbroken bliss, my existence also should be unbroken. Will that do? No – a third quality is needed. I must be absolutely aware that I am experiencing unbroken bliss. And here is another point we have to take into consideration: if I have to experience unbroken bliss, my awareness – consciousness – should also be unbroken. Otherwise, if I am distracted – like when we are reading a book or trying to meditate – then the whole goal, the whole object of my focus disappears when my mind changes the object of its experience by just remembering. That means if the same mind is there and even if it is experiencing tremendous bliss, then it will be broken. Just imagine there is a person who was in deep sleep, and the deep sleep breaks every minute – what would be his condition? So we must be existing; we must be one hundred percent aware that we are not only existing. Bliss is my very nature – and if that is my nature, nobody can take it away from me, and there is no time gap.
===Body and Mind Break Awareness===
At this time I get back my nature; at this time I will not get back. But I have to understand – I am not the body, I am not the mind – because what do the body and mind do? They break my awareness every second. How many different thoughts are coming? Every thought is a new world for me. But such a thing does not happen in deep sleep when a person's ''karma'' is very good and he is sleeping undisturbed for several hours. But even deep sleep is only an example. It indicates that when there is no object, where from this happiness – bliss – is really coming out? Because it is everybody's exclamation upon waking up: '''''sukham aham asvāpsam (सुखमहमस्वाप््सम्)'''''—"I slept very happily throughout the deep sleep state." '''''Na kiñcid avediṣam न किञ्चित्आवेदिषं''—'''"I did not know anything about this world."['''Vichara sagaram in sanskrit ,dvitiya taranga, passage 97titled swayam prakashepi brahmanyagyanopapatti''',purvapaksha in commentary] One meaning of that is "there was no object." The second meaning of the word is very important: since I did not know a millisecond of unhappiness in my deep sleep, I was completely happy, experiencing happiness – "I did not know anything."
===Between Two Thoughts===
So that is why Yājñavalkya very intelligently – of course, it is the highest truth – says: if I can get so much bliss in deep sleep, which is happening how many times? Just to remind you, it is not only when we are in deep sleep that we are getting that unbroken bliss. No – in between two thoughts. That is why whenever we say "two thoughts", I am aware of the past thought, aware of the present thought. That means there must be a point in no‑man's‑land where the earlier thought vanished and the new thought had risen. In between these two, however short, that thought must be that condition – "I am myself pure consciousness."
===The State of Pure Consciousness===
But here is another truth we have to remember – we have discussed this point, but the purpose of the scripture is to tell us again and again and again and again and again until it does not slip away from our memory. What is it? In deep sleep, we are not aware of time – that means it is a state of infinity. When we are aware of time, it is a state of bondage. When we become unaware of time, it is the state of infinity. Similarly, in between two thoughts – it is only from the second‑thought point of view that we say "I was so happy for a millisecond in between two thoughts." But when we are actually in this state of no‑man's‑land between two thoughts, that is the state of pure consciousness. Pure consciousness means unbroken, unlimited by time, space, and causation. That is what Yājñavalkya wants to say.
==Yājñavalkya's Sanyāsa==
So just to recollect before we proceed further, here it is. Yājñavalkya had two wives, and he was a ''Brahmajñānī'''ब्रह्मज्ञानी'''''<nowiki/>'''.''' But to keep up the tradition alive and strong for future generations, he wants to set an example. So he wishes to take up straight away ''Sanyāsāśrama'''''सन्यासश्रम'''– that is to say, he has skipped, as it were, ''Vānaprasthāśrama''. But then I want to add: how do we know Yājñavalkya did not spend his ''Vānaprasthāśrama'''वानप्रस्थाश्रम,'''''? Actually, these – ''Brahmacaryāśrama'''ब्रह्मचर्य आश्रम'''''<nowiki/>''',''' ''Gṛhasthāśrama''''',गृहस्थाश्रम''' ,''Vānaprasthāśrama'''वानप्रस्थाश्रम'''''<nowiki/>''',''' and ''Sanyāsāśrama'''सन्यासश्रम''''' – they have nothing to do with externalities. As Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to say: "I learn so long as I live" – '''यावज्जीवं तावच्छिक्षेत्''' ''yāvaj jīvaṃ tāvat śikṣi'' – that means if our minds are open to learn what we do not know, we are in ''Brahmacarya'' ''Āśrama'''ब्रह्मचर्य आश्रम,'''''. And we can enjoy things like a maid in a rich man's house – that is called the ideal householder's life.
===Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Example===
But when a person knows how to meditate, how to contemplate, how to do ''upāsanas'' unbrokenly – remember Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to go to ''Pañcavatī'' at night. You have to meditate upon these subjects, these events – that is called ''dhyāna''. Just imagine in your imagination that you also – after Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa goes towards the ''Pañcavatī'', you also follow Him, and you find Him absolutely without any clothes, and you sit in front of Him. But by that time Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is absolutely externally completely unconscious, and you sit for some time – of course we all get restless after some time; mosquitoes are also great helpers in that process. Now you must be wondering: what makes this person so unconscious? How is he able to fix his mind? What is he thinking of unbrokenly? Because the body consciousness had vanished, mind consciousness had vanished – only he was aware of his ''iṣṭadevatā''. In this, just as an example – Mother Kālī – but it is not the idea of Mother Kālī that we have. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's idea of Mother Kālī – she is pure consciousness. So he has become one with that already. We can only guess what he was doing.
===Holy Mother's Example===
And by the way, the perfect example of living as a maid‑servant in a rich man's house – Holy Mother's whole life – she is the mistress of that game called "I am the mother in this house." But she played only the role of a ''dāsī''. Every child that comes, every devotee that comes, every person that visits – what were they doing? Who was serving whom? It was Holy Mother who was really serving everybody, because she assumed the role of the mother of all – even of this ant, of this mosquito. Wonderful incidents are there – we will not of course go into that.
===Vidvat Sanyāsa and Vividhiṣā Sanyāsa===
So what I wanted to convey is that externally also, Yājñavalkya wanted to enter that state to encourage some people. That is why the scriptures divide ''sanyāsa'' into two categories:
#''Vividhiṣā Sanyāsa'' '''विविधीश संन्यास'''– that is, a person whose mind is full of distractions – not only some external distractions, but his own thoughts are full of distractions. So in order to minimise the amount of obstructions, he enters into an ''āśrama'' or a solitary place, thinking that the obstructions will be a little less – at least the concrete obstructions. Once mental obstructions, they will not disappear wherever we go.
#''Vidvat Sanyāsa'' '''विद्वत् संन्यास–''' Yājñavalkya was not a ''vividhiṣā sannyāsī'''विविधीश संन्यासी'''''. He had already attained. Not only that, he helped others also attain ''Brahmajñāna'''ब्रह्मज्ञान'''''<nowiki/>'''.''' We do not know – but when he was debating with Maitreyī, debating with Gārgī, debating with Kāvya and other Brāhmaṇas, when he was teaching Janaka, some of them definitely attained ''Brahma''. How do we know? Because Yājñavalkya himself certifies in the case of Janaka: ''abhayaṃ vai prāpto 'si janaka('''अभयं वै प्राप्तोऽसि जनक''') is Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (4.2.4).'' – "O Janaka, you have attained fearlessness" – and fearlessness means "I am ''Brahman''."
===Fearlessness from Non‑Duality===
We have seen earlier – we have to remind – so he who thinks "I am separate, Brahman is separate" – ''Brahman'' becomes a cause of fear. Only for that person who knows there are no two called "I" and "Brahman" – whatever exists is one – he becomes fearless, because from the second, from duality, only fear comes. So he was not only a ''Brahmajñānī'''ब्रह्मज्ञानी''''', he was one of the greatest teachers of ''Brahmajñāna'' '''ब्रह्मज्ञान'''available at that time.
===The Capacity to Receive===
But another point we have to understand: even though he may argue with other people, ''Brahmajñāna'' '''ब्रह्मज्ञान'''can be imparted only to a person who has the capacity to receive what God or ''Brahman'' gives through this ''jīvanmukta Mahāpuruṣa''. Without that, we are always begging: "Give me Your darśana." Yes, if I give you My darśana, will you be able to hold it? Will you be able to bear it? Like a vessel – or like a fuse which is only five watts, and then a thousand‑volt electricity flows into it – what happens? Fuse becomes diffused. That is why Rāmakṛṣṇa said: "Slow and sure – we should not even ask for what we do not deserve. You give me because You know better than me what my receiving capacity is."
===Why Yājñavalkya Took Sanyāsa===
So Yājñavalkya, externally, was called a ''Vidvat Sannyāsī'''विद्वत् संन्यास'''''. ''Vidvat'' means "already attained knowledge." He was a knower of ''Brahma'' – that is called ''Vidvat Sanyāsa'''विद्वत् संन्यास'''''. But to encourage other people – especially those for ''Vividhiṣā Sanyāsa'''विविधीश''''' '''संन्यास'''– he wanted to take ''sanyāsa''. And because of his not only ''Brahmajñāna'' but his capacity to teach, to argue, and to clarify others' doubts, he became one of the best known teachers. And we guess hundreds of students must have gathered around him. And students will not come empty‑handed. The nearer they come to such a personality, the more they surrender to him, because they get more than what they can give physically. Of course, kings as well as the parents of the students will give. Janaka himself had given a thousand cows with their horns completely covered with solid gold – that message is there in this ''Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad'', which we are yet to enter, but we are going to do that after completing this.
===The Provision for the Wives===
So then he says: "I have plenty of money, and I want to enter – which means I cannot live with you. So I have you, Maitreyī, and you, Kātyāyanī – you permit me." And whether you permit or not, a ''sannyāsī'' will not stay, because it is not a ''pāpa''. If a person – a raw fellow who is not fit to become a monk – forcibly, and keeping his wife in distress, takes up ''sanyāsa'', he will be committing a sin. That is why Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa specifically says: even for a good wife, the husband must make provisions for the future, knowing fully well what is going to happen in future is not known. Such a marvellous commentary – Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is the living ''Upaniṣad'' we have to understand.
===Holy Mother's Life===
So also Holy Mother – even more. At least Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa lived almost an isolated life. He never allowed any worldly people to interfere with his life, but he was more than happy to get some eager disciples – both some monks and household disciples – and they were only few. But Holy Mother had to live with the unsavoury relatives – and so many troublesome even disciples. Of course, there were many good devotees also who revered her, looked upon her as the mother of the universe, etc. So she had to deal with everybody. But unlike us, she did not discriminate – even those who were oppressing Indians at that time, she said: "They are also my children." We have to understand – if you are looking for an example of how to live like a maid‑servant – that is pure ''Karma Yoga'', ''Śiva-jñāne jīva-śiva'' – the best example we will not get other than Holy Mother. We have to understand that.
===Yājñavalkya's Offer===
So he offered – Yājñavalkya offered these riches: "I am not going to leave you in distress. Where, how are we going to live? You are looking after us all this time. Now you will have plenty of it. You can have servants, and all your needs will be met as far as possible." Because any amount of riches cannot prevent diseases, cannot prevent mental distress – there are so many things. External possessions have a very limited role to play in our happiness. In fact, they cannot produce even the least bit of happiness. They can make our life comfortable. That is why, as one Swami said, a rich person who is worrying too much will be worrying in an air‑conditioned room, and a poor man without air‑conditioning worries – absolutely, air‑conditioning is not going to help either of them in any case.
===Maitreyī's Fitness===
So first to Maitreyī – of them, we can clearly see Maitreyī was a highly fit spiritual aspirant, highly developed. So we should understand that if she was at the initial stages, only started her spiritual life, or only after her husband announces his intention, then she starts thinking – no, it is not like that. She must have been practising like Holy Mother. Remember why I am bringing Holy Mother again and again? There is a lot of resemblance between Holy Mother and Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. These are the modern Yājñavalkya and Maitreyī.
===Holy Mother's Response===
So Holy Mother was told by Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa: "I want to lead a spiritual life – what do you want?" Because since I married to you, you have a right. This is a great opening to all husbands – just because you marry, you do not become God to your wife; she has fifty percent right – ''sahadharmiṇī'''सह्धर्मिनि'''''. Then immediately Holy Mother replied – we all know that: "No, I have not come to pull you down. I also want to follow your footsteps." Rāmakṛṣṇa not only was very happy, immediately he initiated her and told her. But the point is, how was she able to answer, give that answer instantaneously without thinking? That is because she had become, so to say, from a spiritual point of view, ready to receive that initiation, that higher teaching from Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa.
===Maitreyī's Readiness===
Exactly the same thing we have to understand. Maitreyī must have not suddenly become a spiritual person, but ''janma janmāntara'''जन्मजन्मान्तर''''' – so many lives – and this would be her last life, because once Yājñavalkya accepts, there is no question of her having further lives. So immediately she asks the most intelligent question: "My goal is liberation – ''mukti''. I want to be a ''Brahmavādinī''."
===Brahmavādinī===
The word ''Brahmavādinī'' has two meanings:
#One who has already obtained knowledge of ''Brahma''.
#A ''jīvanmukta'' goes on talking about God only in understandable terms. If Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is talking to a Christian, he will talk in terms of Christ; to a Muslim, in terms of Allah and right practices – so they can adopt, because there is no such division in their minds. The only division is: "Is this person ready for this instruction?" That is the only thing.
===Yājñavalkya's Acceptance===
So Yājñavalkya wanted Maitreyī, and he knew – because he was such a great teacher – the moment I teach, she will also become like me, a ''Brahmavādinī'''ब्रह्मवादिनी'''''<nowiki/>'''.''' That is to say, she would not only be a knower of ''Brahma''. We do not know anything about what was the life of Maitreyī after she became enlightened. But what do you think – if she, so long as she lives, if she had not entered into ''nirvikalpa samādhi'''निर्विकल्प समाधि'''''<nowiki/>''',''' we have to guess that whoever comes to her, in general she would be talking about God – but in particular, if somebody wants, then she herself becomes a fit person to teach about ''Brahmajñāna '''ब्रह्मज्ञान''''', because a knower of ''Brahma'' does not have these divisions of gender – "this is male, this is female."
===Examples of Brahmavādinīs===
So there are so many wonderful saints – one '''Mīrā Bāī''' – she was a ''Brahmavādinī'''ब्रह्मवादिनी'''''; even though she used to call that ''Brahman'' as Kṛṣṇa. There was '''Tulasīdāsa''' – he used to call ''Brahman'' as Rāma – so he was a ''Brahmavādī''. In the south, '''Basavaṇṇa''' is there – he who does not see Śiva in everything all the time is not a Śiva ''bhakta''. But even more marvellous – there was one lady called '''Akkā Mahādevī''' – she used to wear no clothes at all. But it is said that whoever sees her, she has become so pure that immediately the idea of motherliness – "this is my mother" – the idea "this is a woman, a desirable object" – such a thing never enters into the mind of anybody who encounters her. She used to live in wild places; rarely she used to encounter people, but if she encountered them, her naked body does not produce worldly thoughts. On the other hand, they only produce most marvellous thoughts of God, purity, sacredness, etc. That is the power of these great people – God makes them like that. Otherwise, if anybody looks upon them in a negative way, worldly way, they will be turned into ashes that very moment.
===Other Women Saints===
Anyway – what about '''Āṇḍāḷ''', the greatest lover of Kṛṣṇa, and she became one with Kṛṣṇa? She married Kṛṣṇa – of course His name was Raṅganātha Svāmī. All these – how many other stories are there? I am just mentioning because this is more important than just reading the sentence meaning of these ''Upaniṣads''. Maharashtra had produced marvellous women saints. We know everywhere there were men saints – male saints – but female saints. Now what we need to understand here – how marvellously there was one, I think, '''Rukubāī (Sakkubai)'''. Her husband, her mother‑in‑law hated her, got the greatest amount of work done through her, and the mother used to use her son – who could not say no – to beat her up. Once he was beating her up, she was completely helpless. Remember, several centuries back – East or West – women were playthings in the hands of men. How much hellish suffering these people had to go through, and even people burned – you know, the famous witch burning, etc.
===Sakkubāī's Story===
So this lady – her only ''gati'' is to call upon her beloved Kṛṣṇa. She used to, every time pain came, she used to call out Kṛṣṇa. And Kṛṣṇa had taken all the blows that her body was receiving upon His body – like Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa took upon himself the blow of one of the boatmen who was beaten by another boatman – we must recall that incident. So the husband went on beating, and then next day the priest found traces of blood on the image on the back of the image. They were shocked – how can a stone image suddenly emit blood? For us it is a lifeless stone – however, what is called, we invoke ''prāṇa'' while opening the temple, while doing ''pūjā'', etc. – for us still it is a statue. But in the eyes of these great people, there is no statue. If this lady had gone to that ''Puraṇḍara Vitthala'', then she would have seen Him, she would have talked with Him, etc.
===The Advent of Holy Mother===
So we see everywhere ''Brahmavādinīs'' are there. And if anybody thinks ''Brahmavādinīs'' are not there nowadays, we have to hang our heads in shame, because as Swami Vivekananda had proclaimed: with the advent of Holy Mother, so many women will become ''Brahmavādinīs'' once more – our sacred land will be flooded with that. Anyway, I am carried away a little bit.
==Maitreyī's Question and Rejection==
Coming back to our subject: Maitreyī asks one question: "If I get all these things, will they help me in obtaining the knowledge of ''Brahman''?" Of course, Yājñavalkya says: "No – you will live a comfortable life." He did not even say "you will live a happy life" – we have to take this point into consideration. He said: "You will have a good bed, a good house, beautiful animals, many servants, many utensils – they will be catering to your comfort, but not to happiness or bliss." That is a purely state belonging to the mind alone – not anything to do with externalities.
===Maitreyī's Viveka and Vairāgya===
In Maitreyī, this is where her ''viveka'' gets exercised – ''vairāgya'''वैराग्य''''' comes. She says: "What am I to do? My goal is not to have riches. My goal is to attain ''Brahmajñāna''" – and she rejects all this property, because she understood not only will they not give ''Brahmajñāna'', but what do you think is the greatest obstacle to our progressing in spiritual life? It is too many possessions. So that is what she understood – she rejects.
===Her Request for Knowledge===
But it is not that she rejects – she says: "You offered me something – you have something else – not only property, but you have something else. What do you have? You have that knowledge of ''Ātman'', knowledge of ''Brahman''. As a rightful partner – ''dharmapatnī'' '''धर्मपत्नी–''' you will have to give that to ''dharma'' also. Teach me how I could become immortal." And Yājñavalkya, being a great ''Brahmavādī'', understands, accepts her, because he recognises this is a very fit disciple.
==The First Teaching – Vairāgya==
Then the teaching starts. What is the first teaching? First thing is about '''''vairāgyaवैराग्य'',''' about dispassion. What is dispassion? People are running mad after the objects of this world under the mistaken notion that:
#Every object gives happiness.
#Every object goes on giving happiness because it is its nature.
#There would be no time when the object will give me the opposite result – suffering.
So that is why if we come to know really that object does not possess happiness – objects cannot give the same one moment – they can give happiness; next very moment, they will plunge us into the deepest abyss – and every object is changing, including me the experiencer – my body, my mind, my sense organs – everything.
===Naciketā's Reply===
This is the most wonderful reply Naciketā gives to Yamarāja: "Even if you grant me all these possessions – me the experiencer – I cannot be unchanging." Because there is only one object which is unchanging – that is ''Brahman''. My body is not ''Brahman''; my mind is not ''Brahman''. They go on changing, and they only become less and less energetic, and the senses lose their power of squeezing out happiness. What a person can enjoy at the age of ten or twenty years old, no old man can ever enjoy. He can only squeeze probably one percent of happiness, pleasure out of it. And then he goes on wondering: "What happened? I used to enjoy – what happened to you? You used to cook such tasteful things – now you are neglecting me – your food is just very ordinary food." Unable to understand he was the root cause of the problem – not the food or anything else.
===Nobody Loves Any Object===
So in this world, nobody loves anybody – nobody loves any object. But everybody uses an object, thinking it is an instrument for one's own happiness. But sooner or later, that person, as soon as he squeezes all the happiness, understands no more squeezing of even one drop of ''ānanda'' will come from this object – he discards it like a chewed‑out sugarcane.
===The Source of Happiness===
So everything is loved solely for the sake of one's own Self – that is, for my happiness. But you say the happiness is not belonging to the object – then where is it? Because Yājñavalkya never denied there is happiness, bliss – but he denies objects have happiness. Objects do not have it, but they merely temporarily remove the obstacle we ourselves have created, not allowing our own inherent bliss to manifest. An object temporarily – only temporarily – removes that obstruction, and we experience momentarily that happiness. Wise persons understand: "It is my own happiness I am experiencing."
===All Happiness Is Within===
With that, one thing becomes clear: there is no happiness outside – all happiness is only within inside. Then naturally, if I find anybody – even a fool – "I am not going to get any happiness in this object; I am going to get happiness in that other object." Then after experimenting with several objects: "No, there is bliss, there is happiness – but it is not outside – it is inside."
===The Upaniṣadic Teaching===
That is when the ''Upaniṣad'' says so beautifully: <blockquote>पराञ्चि खानि व्यतृणत् स्वयम्भू-स्तस्मात्पराङ्पश्यति नान्तरात्मन् ।

कश्चिद्धीरः प्रत्यगात्मानमैक्ष-'''दावृत्तचक्षुरमृतत्त्वमिच्छन्''' ॥ १ ॥

''parāñci khāni vyatṛṇat svayambhūs-tasmātparāṅpaśyati nāntarātman |''

''kaścid dhīraḥ pratyagātmānamaikṣad-'''āvṛtta-cakṣuramṛtatvam-icchan''' || 1 ||Katha Upanishad (Chapter 2, Section 1, Verse 1).''</blockquote>

"The Creator created the senses outgoing" – but now he understands: "I have been wondering like the musk deer, but I must examine myself, because all the intoxicating fragrance is coming from within myself. The bliss is coming from within myself." This withdrawal from outside to inside is called ''Vānaprasthāśrama''.
===The Purpose of Upāsana===
Then the real ''upāsana'' starts – how I can obtain that bliss not occasionally, not a small bit, but permanently and one hundred percent. That is the purpose of ''Upāsana''. So Yājñavalkya makes it clear that there is only one object – it is of the nature of infinite bliss, of infinite existence, of infinite consciousness – and that is the object.
==Conditional and Unconditional Love==
So he also breaks down love into two categories: conditional love and unconditional love.
===Conditional Love===
What is conditional love? Every object – only when my mind, my body should be in a particular condition, and the object also must be in a particular condition. Even though you are all intelligent students, still I want to repeat it again and again. So only when I am hungry and my stomach is able to digest, I have no other health issues, I have no mental worries – that is the condition upon the part of me, the experiencer. And the object – say a ripe mango – it should not be unripe; it should not be overripe – it is just at the right ripe condition, and it should be available to me, and it should not be contaminated with insects. Many times when you open the mango, you will see terrible insects – they burrowed, they grow up there, they eat that pulp, and then they are ready – big huge maggots like that will be there. Now perfect – and the flavour is perfect. So outside also there are conditions. Of course, the greatest condition – please do not reveal it to anybody, only for my particular students in this class – see that nobody else is present to share that one mango.
===Making the Object One's Own===
When these conditions are fulfilled and then when we come into contact, we make it our own. Even then, we have to make it our own – that is a beautiful point. So whatever happiness we think the mango can give – now that happiness, as it were, entering along with the mango inside us – and that is what we mistake – that reinforces my mistaken notion that "this happiness is outside." Now because of this mango, I have become one with the mango – I made the mango one with me – so I am getting its happiness along with it to me. This applies to every object in this world.
===Every Love Is Conditional===
So every love is a conditional love. But there is another unconditional love – everybody loves one's own Self, and there is no condition: I am healthy or unhealthy, rich or poor, even happy or unhappy – it does not matter – I love myself, because I identify myself with my body, with my mind. Even at that stage, I do not wish to die. Only when this body becomes insufferable, then only we wish to give up. So this is what he said.
==The Path to Unbroken Bliss==
And then Yājñavalkya continues this topic and says: if you want unbroken bliss, you will have to know that you are that unbroken bliss. The point involved here is that if the Self is something different – even if it be unbroken bliss, an infinite existence – but not one with you, not you – then it does not do any good. Because the fundamental point we have to remember: one – two separate. If there are two separate objects, one object can never ever become the second object completely – no, it is not possible. So if there is only one object, and I am not able to understand that I am that one object, then only it is possible. And what makes me think I am not one with God? Ignorance – that ignorance can be destroyed. It is a negative action – I am not obtaining anything new; I am only removing the obstacle. Then I realise: "I am, I was, I am, I will be ''Brahman'' only."
===Śravaṇa, Manana, Nididhyāsana===
This is the lesson he wants to tell – how to reach that state: '''''śravaṇa(श्रवण)'', ''manana (मनन)'', ''nididhyāsana (निदिध्यासन)'',''' Of course, we discussed what is ''śravaṇa'', ''manana'', ''nididhyāsana''. So even we have also gone through, I think, two ''mantras''. In our next class, we will take up from further ''mantra'' onwards. The main important points I have discussed here – it should not be difficult for us to progress further quickly.

== 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 4.1-5 Lecture 57 on 08 August 2026

2026-09-11T15:41:43Z

Gayatri:

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.'''

'''''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.'''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

'''OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH'''

'''OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.'''

'''OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.'''

==Introduction: The Wisdom of Yājñavalkya==
We have entered into the most marvellous, greatest wisdom that Yājñavalkya was teaching to Maitreyī. Why did Yājñavalkya bring up the subject of love? Because ''Māyā'' – the power of ignorance – how does it manifest? First, it manifests in the form that "this world is real, my body is real, my possessions are real, my mind is real, my life is real – everything that I experience is absolutely real." And since every object is real, I can exercise my power of loving it. But Yājñavalkya debunks it and says the first thing: in this world, nobody loves anything or anybody – one only loves one's own Self.
===Why Do We Love the Self?===
What does Yājñavalkya mean by "one's own Self"? He means ''Ātman''. But why do we love ''Ātman'''आत्मन्'''''<nowiki/>'''?''' Even ''Ātman'' '''आत्मन्'''– or let us say God – if there is a believer, just imagine, and he is praying and praying: "Give me happiness, give me that greatest joy" – and apply, apply – no reply. God does not answer at all, and he is miserable. Do you think the person will go on and on praying? At first he places his faith in the scriptures, hopes that God is there and He listens to my prayers, and He is compassionate – ''ananta dayāsāgara'''अनन्त दयासागर''''' – and definitely He will make me happy. But if God does not give us happiness, then sooner or later we give up even God.
===The Secret of Ignorance===
And here also there is a secret – because I am not enlightened. I think I am separate from God. I am small; God is separate, but He is very big – His powers are infinite. He can do whatever He likes. It is this ignorant knowledge – ''ajñāna'''अज्ञान'''''. What is ''ajñāna'''अज्ञान'''''? "I am different from God. God exists separately from me." But by that very understanding, we deny the very existence of God, because by definition, God is not some powerful separate being – He is not some other person. I do not understand – I think He is different – and that is called ignorance. But if I come to know He is my own Self, then the question of God bestowing grace does not arise – I have to bestow grace upon my own Self.
===The Nature of the Self===
But what does it mean? Again, if I am not of the nature of bliss, if I am not of the nature of happiness, or if I am a mixture – I am a changeable being – sometimes I am happy, sometimes I am unhappy – that is my nature. If this is my understanding – "I am the ''Ātman'''आत्मन्''''', but ''sukha-duḥkha'''सुख दुख''''' are my nature and they are changing all the time" – then my very prayer will be useless. Because what does every creature consciously, mostly unconsciously, do? They are praying: "Let me have unbroken happiness called ''Ānanda'''आनन्द'''''." That is all. Broken ''ānanda'' '''आनन्द''' we are getting; unbroken ''ānanda'' '''आनन्द''' we will not get.
===The Illustration of Falling from Heights===
Suppose a person goes to ''Brahmaloka'''ब्रह्मलोक'''''<nowiki/>''',''' which is supposed to be the greatest source of happiness. Then here most of us do not understand that if ''Brahmaloka'' ''ānanda'' '''''ब्रह्मलोक'' आनन्द'''– no doubt great – but it is also limited. It is the highest degree of happiness we can really experience. If that is our understanding, one simple fact we forget. Let me first give an illustration. Suppose a person is walking and he falls down – the injury will be the least. Suppose he had fallen from something which is ten feet high – definitely his injury will be greater. Suppose a person had fallen from fifty feet high, one hundred feet high, or a mountain top – the higher the height, the greater will be that person's misery, injury, unhappiness, pain, suffering. So if somebody, having experienced ''Brahman'' ''ānanda'', when he falls down from that state, do you think he will only experience a little bit of unhappiness – or do you think an equivalent amount of unhappiness he will experience? Logic and reason tell us the latter is the truth.
===The Need for Infinite Ananda===
So I must have ''Ānanda'' '''आनन्द''' as my nature, and it must be infinite – and then only my prayer "let me have unbroken happiness" can come all the time. And that is why Yājñavalkya wants to teach the very first teaching that he teaches to Maitreyī, the greatest disciple. And every scripture also is teaching the same thing.
==The Meaning of Sanyāsa==
What is ''Sanyāsa'''सन्यास'''''? '''''Sanyāsaसन्यास''''' is not an outward garb. A person puts on – ''sanyāsa'' '''सन्यास''' is a state of mind where a person knows every object is undesirable because it is changing. Every object – the nature of any object – every object is not happiness. It only temporarily removes my own happiness from myself. If I can somehow find out a way how to remove that curtain which is hiding my own bliss within myself, then there is nothing else that I require – I do not need an object.
===Deep Sleep as an Example===
That is why we already discussed both in the ''Māṇḍūkya'' and also in the ''Chāndogya'', and also in the very first chapter, or in this very Ajātaśatru ''Brāhmaṇa'' earlier to this, that Ajātaśatru was analysing the state of deep sleep. One of the important points we have to understand is: why is it that we get so much happiness in deep sleep – unbroken for at least a few hours? That is the first point – completely unbroken – and such a thing would never happen in either the waking or dream states. Second, even more important: what objects are there in the deep sleep that we are experiencing, and as a result we are getting happiness? Absolutely no object is there. So if I can get such a greater happiness in deep sleep without depending upon any object – in the absence of every possible object – no body, no mind, no world – then it must be within me.
===The Musk Deer Analogy===
So what I am searching for – like that ''kastūrī mṛga'' '''कस्तूरी मृग''' we call it – there is a musk deer, beautiful intoxicating fragrance. The deer goes mad, intoxicated; he wants to go to the very source – alas! He cannot find its source because he is searching in the wrong place. So taking up from there, human beings – with the help of God's grace, with the help of the Guru, and in the light of the scriptures – the Guru tells ''Tat tvam asi'''तत् त्वम् असि'''''<nowiki/>''':''' "You are that source of infinite bliss."
===The Threefold Nature of Ananda===
Infinite bliss can be experienced only if I exist infinitely without any break. We always have to take this point in view. If I want to experience unbroken bliss, my existence also should be unbroken. Will that do? No – a third quality is needed. I must be absolutely aware that I am experiencing unbroken bliss. And here is another point we have to take into consideration: if I have to experience unbroken bliss, my awareness – consciousness – should also be unbroken. Otherwise, if I am distracted – like when we are reading a book or trying to meditate – then the whole goal, the whole object of my focus disappears when my mind changes the object of its experience by just remembering. That means if the same mind is there and even if it is experiencing tremendous bliss, then it will be broken. Just imagine there is a person who was in deep sleep, and the deep sleep breaks every minute – what would be his condition? So we must be existing; we must be one hundred percent aware that we are not only existing. Bliss is my very nature – and if that is my nature, nobody can take it away from me, and there is no time gap.
===Body and Mind Break Awareness===
At this time I get back my nature; at this time I will not get back. But I have to understand – I am not the body, I am not the mind – because what do the body and mind do? They break my awareness every second. How many different thoughts are coming? Every thought is a new world for me. But such a thing does not happen in deep sleep when a person's ''karma'' is very good and he is sleeping undisturbed for several hours. But even deep sleep is only an example. It indicates that when there is no object, where from this happiness – bliss – is really coming out? Because it is everybody's exclamation upon waking up: '''''sukham aham asvāpsam (सुखमहमस्वाप््सम्)'''''—"I slept very happily throughout the deep sleep state." '''''Na kiñcid avediṣam न किञ्चित्आवेदिषं''—'''"I did not know anything about this world."['''Vichara sagaram in sanskrit ,dvitiya taranga, passage 97titled swayam prakashepi brahmanyagyanopapatti''',purvapaksha in commentary] One meaning of that is "there was no object." The second meaning of the word is very important: since I did not know a millisecond of unhappiness in my deep sleep, I was completely happy, experiencing happiness – "I did not know anything."
===Between Two Thoughts===
So that is why Yājñavalkya very intelligently – of course, it is the highest truth – says: if I can get so much bliss in deep sleep, which is happening how many times? Just to remind you, it is not only when we are in deep sleep that we are getting that unbroken bliss. No – in between two thoughts. That is why whenever we say "two thoughts", I am aware of the past thought, aware of the present thought. That means there must be a point in no‑man's‑land where the earlier thought vanished and the new thought had risen. In between these two, however short, that thought must be that condition – "I am myself pure consciousness."
===The State of Pure Consciousness===
But here is another truth we have to remember – we have discussed this point, but the purpose of the scripture is to tell us again and again and again and again and again until it does not slip away from our memory. What is it? In deep sleep, we are not aware of time – that means it is a state of infinity. When we are aware of time, it is a state of bondage. When we become unaware of time, it is the state of infinity. Similarly, in between two thoughts – it is only from the second‑thought point of view that we say "I was so happy for a millisecond in between two thoughts." But when we are actually in this state of no‑man's‑land between two thoughts, that is the state of pure consciousness. Pure consciousness means unbroken, unlimited by time, space, and causation. That is what Yājñavalkya wants to say.
==Yājñavalkya's Sanyāsa==
So just to recollect before we proceed further, here it is. Yājñavalkya had two wives, and he was a ''Brahmajñānī'''ब्रह्मज्ञानी'''''<nowiki/>'''.''' But to keep up the tradition alive and strong for future generations, he wants to set an example. So he wishes to take up straight away ''Sanyāsāśrama'''''सन्यासश्रम'''– that is to say, he has skipped, as it were, ''Vānaprasthāśrama''. But then I want to add: how do we know Yājñavalkya did not spend his ''Vānaprasthāśrama'''वानप्रस्थाश्रम,'''''? Actually, these – ''Brahmacaryāśrama'''ब्रह्मचर्य आश्रम'''''<nowiki/>''',''' ''Gṛhasthāśrama''''',गृहस्थाश्रम''' ,''Vānaprasthāśrama'''वानप्रस्थाश्रम'''''<nowiki/>''',''' and ''Sanyāsāśrama'''सन्यासश्रम''''' – they have nothing to do with externalities. As Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to say: "I learn so long as I live" – '''यावज्जीवं तावच्छिक्षेत्''' ''yāvaj jīvaṃ tāvat śikṣi'' – that means if our minds are open to learn what we do not know, we are in ''Brahmacarya'' ''Āśrama'''ब्रह्मचर्य आश्रम,'''''. And we can enjoy things like a maid in a rich man's house – that is called the ideal householder's life.
===Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Example===
But when a person knows how to meditate, how to contemplate, how to do ''upāsanas'' unbrokenly – remember Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to go to ''Pañcavatī'' at night. You have to meditate upon these subjects, these events – that is called ''dhyāna''. Just imagine in your imagination that you also – after Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa goes towards the ''Pañcavatī'', you also follow Him, and you find Him absolutely without any clothes, and you sit in front of Him. But by that time Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is absolutely externally completely unconscious, and you sit for some time – of course we all get restless after some time; mosquitoes are also great helpers in that process. Now you must be wondering: what makes this person so unconscious? How is he able to fix his mind? What is he thinking of unbrokenly? Because the body consciousness had vanished, mind consciousness had vanished – only he was aware of his ''iṣṭadevatā''. In this, just as an example – Mother Kālī – but it is not the idea of Mother Kālī that we have. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's idea of Mother Kālī – she is pure consciousness. So he has become one with that already. We can only guess what he was doing.
===Holy Mother's Example===
And by the way, the perfect example of living as a maid‑servant in a rich man's house – Holy Mother's whole life – she is the mistress of that game called "I am the mother in this house." But she played only the role of a ''dāsī''. Every child that comes, every devotee that comes, every person that visits – what were they doing? Who was serving whom? It was Holy Mother who was really serving everybody, because she assumed the role of the mother of all – even of this ant, of this mosquito. Wonderful incidents are there – we will not of course go into that.
===Vidvat Sanyāsa and Vividhiṣā Sanyāsa===
So what I wanted to convey is that externally also, Yājñavalkya wanted to enter that state to encourage some people. That is why the scriptures divide ''sanyāsa'' into two categories:
#''Vividhiṣā Sanyāsa'' '''विविधीश संन्यास'''– that is, a person whose mind is full of distractions – not only some external distractions, but his own thoughts are full of distractions. So in order to minimise the amount of obstructions, he enters into an ''āśrama'' or a solitary place, thinking that the obstructions will be a little less – at least the concrete obstructions. Once mental obstructions, they will not disappear wherever we go.
#''Vidvat Sanyāsa'' '''विद्वत् संन्यास–''' Yājñavalkya was not a ''vividhiṣā sannyāsī'''विविधीश संन्यासी'''''. He had already attained. Not only that, he helped others also attain ''Brahmajñāna'''ब्रह्मज्ञान'''''<nowiki/>'''.''' We do not know – but when he was debating with Maitreyī, debating with Gārgī, debating with Kāvya and other Brāhmaṇas, when he was teaching Janaka, some of them definitely attained ''Brahma''. How do we know? Because Yājñavalkya himself certifies in the case of Janaka: ''abhayaṃ vai prāpto 'si janaka('''अभयं वै प्राप्तोऽसि जनक''') is Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (4.2.4).'' – "O Janaka, you have attained fearlessness" – and fearlessness means "I am ''Brahman''."
===Fearlessness from Non‑Duality===
We have seen earlier – we have to remind – so he who thinks "I am separate, Brahman is separate" – ''Brahman'' becomes a cause of fear. Only for that person who knows there are no two called "I" and "Brahman" – whatever exists is one – he becomes fearless, because from the second, from duality, only fear comes. So he was not only a ''Brahmajñānī'''ब्रह्मज्ञानी''''', he was one of the greatest teachers of ''Brahmajñāna'' '''ब्रह्मज्ञान'''available at that time.
===The Capacity to Receive===
But another point we have to understand: even though he may argue with other people, ''Brahmajñāna'' '''ब्रह्मज्ञान'''can be imparted only to a person who has the capacity to receive what God or ''Brahman'' gives through this ''jīvanmukta Mahāpuruṣa''. Without that, we are always begging: "Give me Your darśana." Yes, if I give you My darśana, will you be able to hold it? Will you be able to bear it? Like a vessel – or like a fuse which is only five watts, and then a thousand‑volt electricity flows into it – what happens? Fuse becomes diffused. That is why Rāmakṛṣṇa said: "Slow and sure – we should not even ask for what we do not deserve. You give me because You know better than me what my receiving capacity is."
===Why Yājñavalkya Took Sanyāsa===
So Yājñavalkya, externally, was called a ''Vidvat Sannyāsī''. ''Vidvat'' means "already attained knowledge." He was a knower of ''Brahma'' – that is called ''Vidvat Sanyāsa''. But to encourage other people – especially those for ''Vividhiṣā Sanyāsa'' – he wanted to take ''sanyāsa''. And because of his not only ''Brahmajñāna'' but his capacity to teach, to argue, and to clarify others' doubts, he became one of the best known teachers. And we guess hundreds of students must have gathered around him. And students will not come empty‑handed. The nearer they come to such a personality, the more they surrender to him, because they get more than what they can give physically. Of course, kings as well as the parents of the students will give. Janaka himself had given a thousand cows with their horns completely covered with solid gold – that message is there in this ''Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad'', which we are yet to enter, but we are going to do that after completing this.
===The Provision for the Wives===
So then he says: "I have plenty of money, and I want to enter – which means I cannot live with you. So I have you, Maitreyī, and you, Kātyāyanī – you permit me." And whether you permit or not, a ''sannyāsī'' will not stay, because it is not a ''pāpa''. If a person – a raw fellow who is not fit to become a monk – forcibly, and keeping his wife in distress, takes up ''sanyāsa'', he will be committing a sin. That is why Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa specifically says: even for a good wife, the husband must make provisions for the future, knowing fully well what is going to happen in future is not known. Such a marvellous commentary – Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is the living ''Upaniṣad'' we have to understand.
===Holy Mother's Life===
So also Holy Mother – even more. At least Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa lived almost an isolated life. He never allowed any worldly people to interfere with his life, but he was more than happy to get some eager disciples – both some monks and household disciples – and they were only few. But Holy Mother had to live with the unsavoury relatives – and so many troublesome even disciples. Of course, there were many good devotees also who revered her, looked upon her as the mother of the universe, etc. So she had to deal with everybody. But unlike us, she did not discriminate – even those who were oppressing Indians at that time, she said: "They are also my children." We have to understand – if you are looking for an example of how to live like a maid‑servant – that is pure ''Karma Yoga'', ''Śiva-jñāne jīva-śiva'' – the best example we will not get other than Holy Mother. We have to understand that.
===Yājñavalkya's Offer===
So he offered – Yājñavalkya offered these riches: "I am not going to leave you in distress. Where, how are we going to live? You are looking after us all this time. Now you will have plenty of it. You can have servants, and all your needs will be met as far as possible." Because any amount of riches cannot prevent diseases, cannot prevent mental distress – there are so many things. External possessions have a very limited role to play in our happiness. In fact, they cannot produce even the least bit of happiness. They can make our life comfortable. That is why, as one Swami said, a rich person who is worrying too much will be worrying in an air‑conditioned room, and a poor man without air‑conditioning worries – absolutely, air‑conditioning is not going to help either of them in any case.
===Maitreyī's Fitness===
So first to Maitreyī – of them, we can clearly see Maitreyī was a highly fit spiritual aspirant, highly developed. So we should understand that if she was at the initial stages, only started her spiritual life, or only after her husband announces his intention, then she starts thinking – no, it is not like that. She must have been practising like Holy Mother. Remember why I am bringing Holy Mother again and again? There is a lot of resemblance between Holy Mother and Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. These are the modern Yājñavalkya and Maitreyī.
===Holy Mother's Response===
So Holy Mother was told by Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa: "I want to lead a spiritual life – what do you want?" Because since I married to you, you have a right. This is a great opening to all husbands – just because you marry, you do not become God to your wife; she has fifty percent right – ''sahadharmiṇī''. Then immediately Holy Mother replied – we all know that: "No, I have not come to pull you down. I also want to follow your footsteps." Rāmakṛṣṇa not only was very happy, immediately he initiated her and told her. But the point is, how was she able to answer, give that answer instantaneously without thinking? That is because she had become, so to say, from a spiritual point of view, ready to receive that initiation, that higher teaching from Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa.
===Maitreyī's Readiness===
Exactly the same thing we have to understand. Maitreyī must have not suddenly become a spiritual person, but ''janma janmāntara'' – so many lives – and this would be her last life, because once Yājñavalkya accepts, there is no question of her having further lives. So immediately she asks the most intelligent question: "My goal is liberation – ''mukti''. I want to be a ''Brahmavādinī''."
===Brahmavādinī===
The word ''Brahmavādinī'' has two meanings:
#One who has already obtained knowledge of ''Brahma''.
#A ''jīvanmukta'' goes on talking about God only in understandable terms. If Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is talking to a Christian, he will talk in terms of Christ; to a Muslim, in terms of Allah and right practices – so they can adopt, because there is no such division in their minds. The only division is: "Is this person ready for this instruction?" That is the only thing.
===Yājñavalkya's Acceptance===
So Yājñavalkya wanted Maitreyī, and he knew – because he was such a great teacher – the moment I teach, she will also become like me, a ''Brahmavādinī''. That is to say, she would not only be a knower of ''Brahma''. We do not know anything about what was the life of Maitreyī after she became enlightened. But what do you think – if she, so long as she lives, if she had not entered into ''nirvikalpa samādhi'', we have to guess that whoever comes to her, in general she would be talking about God – but in particular, if somebody wants, then she herself becomes a fit person to teach about ''Brahmajñāna'', because a knower of ''Brahma'' does not have these divisions of gender – "this is male, this is female."
===Examples of Brahmavādinīs===
So there are so many wonderful saints – one Mīrā Bāī – she was a ''Brahmavādinī''; even though she used to call that ''Brahman'' as Kṛṣṇa. There was Tulasīdāsa – he used to call ''Brahman'' as Rāma – so he was a ''Brahmavādī''. In the south, Basavaṇṇa is there – he who does not see Śiva in everything all the time is not a Śiva ''bhakta''. But even more marvellous – there was one lady called Akkā Mahādevī – she used to wear no clothes at all. But it is said that whoever sees her, she has become so pure that immediately the idea of motherliness – "this is my mother" – the idea "this is a woman, a desirable object" – such a thing never enters into the mind of anybody who encounters her. She used to live in wild places; rarely she used to encounter people, but if she encountered them, her naked body does not produce worldly thoughts. On the other hand, they only produce most marvellous thoughts of God, purity, sacredness, etc. That is the power of these great people – God makes them like that. Otherwise, if anybody looks upon them in a negative way, worldly way, they will be turned into ashes that very moment.
===Other Women Saints===
Anyway – what about Āṇḍāḷ, the greatest lover of Kṛṣṇa, and she became one with Kṛṣṇa? She married Kṛṣṇa – of course His name was Raṅganātha Svāmī. All these – how many other stories are there? I am just mentioning because this is more important than just reading the sentence meaning of these ''Upaniṣads''. Maharashtra had produced marvellous women saints. We know everywhere there were men saints – male saints – but female saints. Now what we need to understand here – how marvellously there was one, I think, Rukubāī (Sakkubai). Her husband, her mother‑in‑law hated her, got the greatest amount of work done through her, and the mother used to use her son – who could not say no – to beat her up. Once he was beating her up, she was completely helpless. Remember, several centuries back – East or West – women were playthings in the hands of men. How much hellish suffering these people had to go through, and even people burned – you know, the famous witch burning, etc.
===Sakkubāī's Story===
So this lady – her only ''gati'' is to call upon her beloved Kṛṣṇa. She used to, every time pain came, she used to call out Kṛṣṇa. And Kṛṣṇa had taken all the blows that her body was receiving upon His body – like Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa took upon himself the blow of one of the boatmen who was beaten by another boatman – we must recall that incident. So the husband went on beating, and then next day the priest found traces of blood on the image on the back of the image. They were shocked – how can a stone image suddenly emit blood? For us it is a lifeless stone – however, what is called, we invoke ''prāṇa'' while opening the temple, while doing ''pūjā'', etc. – for us still it is a statue. But in the eyes of these great people, there is no statue. If this lady had gone to that ''Puraṇḍara Pīṭhā'', then she would have seen Him, she would have talked with Him, etc.
===The Advent of Holy Mother===
So we see everywhere ''Brahmavādinīs'' are there. And if anybody thinks ''Brahmavādinīs'' are not there nowadays, we have to hang our heads in shame, because as Swami Vivekananda had proclaimed: with the advent of Holy Mother, so many women will become ''Brahmavādinīs'' once more – our sacred land will be flooded with that. Anyway, I am carried away a little bit.
==Maitreyī's Question and Rejection==
Coming back to our subject: Maitreyī asks one question: "If I get all these things, will they help me in obtaining the knowledge of ''Brahman''?" Of course, Yājñavalkya says: "No – you will live a comfortable life." He did not even say "you will live a happy life" – we have to take this point into consideration. He said: "You will have a good bed, a good house, beautiful animals, many servants, many utensils – they will be catering to your comfort, but not to happiness or bliss." That is a purely state belonging to the mind alone – not anything to do with externalities.
===Maitreyī's Viveka and Vairāgya===
In Maitreyī, this is where her ''viveka'' gets exercised – ''vairāgya'' comes. She says: "What am I to do? My goal is not to have riches. My goal is to attain ''Brahmajñāna''" – and she rejects all this property, because she understood not only will they not give ''Brahmajñāna'', but what is the greatest obstacle to our progressing in spiritual life? It is too many possessions. So that is what she understood – she rejects.
===Her Request for Knowledge===
But it is not that she rejects – she says: "You offered me something – you have something else – not only property, but you have something else. What do you have? You have that knowledge of ''Ātman'', knowledge of ''Brahman''. As a rightful partner – ''dharmapatnī'' – you will have to give that to ''dharma'' also. Teach me how I could become immortal." And Yājñavalkya, being a great ''Brahmavādī'', understands, accepts her, because he recognises this is a very fit future disciple.
==The First Teaching – Vairāgya==
Then the teaching starts. What is the first teaching? First thing is about ''vairāgya'', about dispassion. What is dispassion? People are running mad after the objects of this world under the mistaken notion that:
#Every object gives happiness.
#Every object goes on giving happiness because it is its nature.
#There would be no time when the object will give me the opposite result – suffering.
So that is why if we come to know really that object does not possess happiness – objects cannot give the same one moment – they can give happiness; next very moment, they will plunge us into the deepest abyss – and every object is changing, including me the experiencer – my body, my mind, my sense organs – everything.
===Naciketā's Reply===
This is the most wonderful reply Naciketā gives to Yamarāja: "Even if you grant me all these possessions – me the experiencer – I cannot be unchanging." Because there is only one object which is unchanging – that is ''Brahman''. My body is not ''Brahman''; my mind is not ''Brahman''. They go on changing, and they only become less and less energetic, and the senses lose their power of squeezing out happiness. What a person can enjoy at the age of ten or twenty years old, no old man can ever enjoy. He can only squeeze probably one percent of happiness, pleasure out of it. And then he goes on wondering: "What happened? I used to enjoy – what happened to you? You used to cook such tasteful things – now you are neglecting me – your food is just very ordinary food." Unable to understand he was the root cause of the problem – not the food or anything else.
===Nobody Loves Any Object===
So in this world, nobody loves anybody – nobody loves any object. But everybody uses an object, thinking it is an instrument for one's own happiness. But sooner or later, that person, as soon as he squeezes all the happiness, understands no more squeezing of even one drop of ''ānanda'' will come from this object – he discards it like a chewed‑out sugarcane.
===The Source of Happiness===
So everything is loved solely for the sake of one's own Self – that is, for my happiness. But you say the happiness is not belonging to the object – then where is it? Because Yājñavalkya never denied there is happiness, bliss – but he denies objects have happiness. Objects do not have it, but they merely temporarily remove the obstacle we ourselves have created, not allowing our own inherent bliss to manifest. An object temporarily – only temporarily – removes that obstruction, and we experience momentarily that happiness. Wise persons understand: "It is my own happiness I am experiencing."
===All Happiness Is Within===
With that, one thing becomes clear: there is no happiness outside – all happiness is only within inside. Then naturally, if I find anybody – even a fool – "I am not going to get any happiness in this object; I am going to get happiness in that other object." Then after experimenting with several objects: "No, there is bliss, there is happiness – but it is not outside – it is inside."
===The Upaniṣadic Teaching===
That is when the ''Upaniṣad'' says so beautifully: ''parāñci khāni vyatṛṇat svayambhūḥ, tasmāt parāṅ paśyati nāntarātman'' – "The Creator created the senses outgoing" – but now he understands: "I have been wondering like the musk deer, but I must examine myself, because all the intoxicating fragrance is coming from within myself. The bliss is coming from within myself." This withdrawal from outside to inside is called ''Vānaprasthāśrama''.
===The Purpose of Upāsana===
Then the real ''upāsana'' starts – how I can obtain that bliss not occasionally, not a small bit, but permanently and one hundred percent. That is the purpose of ''Upāsana''. So Yājñavalkya makes it clear that there is only one object – it is of the nature of infinite bliss, of infinite existence, of infinite consciousness – and that is the object.
==Conditional and Unconditional Love==
So he also breaks down love into two categories: conditional love and unconditional love.
===Conditional Love===
What is conditional love? Every object – only when my mind, my body should be in a particular condition, and the object also must be in a particular condition. Even though you are all intelligent students, still I want to repeat it again and again. So only when I am hungry and my stomach is able to digest, I have no other health issues, I have no mental worries – that is the condition upon the part of me, the experiencer. And the object – say a ripe mango – it should not be unripe; it should not be overripe – it is just at the right ripe condition, and it should be available to me, and it should not be contaminated with insects. Many times when you open the mango, you will see terrible insects – they burrowed, they grow up there, they eat that pulp, and then they are ready – big huge maggots like that will be there. Now perfect – and the flavour is perfect. So outside also there are conditions. Of course, the greatest condition – please do not reveal it to anybody, only for my particular students in this class – see that nobody else is present to share that one mango.
===Making the Object One's Own===
When these conditions are fulfilled and then when we come into contact, we make it our own. Even then, we have to make it our own – that is a beautiful point. So whatever happiness we think the mango can give – now that happiness, as it were, entering along with the mango inside us – and that is what we mistake – that reinforces my mistaken notion that "this happiness is outside." Now because of this mango, I have become one with the mango – I made the mango one with me – so I am getting its happiness along with it to me. This applies to every object in this world.
===Every Love Is Conditional===
So every love is a conditional love. But there is another unconditional love – everybody loves one's own Self, and there is no condition: I am healthy or unhealthy, rich or poor, even happy or unhappy – it does not matter – I love myself, because I identify myself with my body, with my mind. Even at that stage, I do not wish to die. Only when this body becomes insufferable, then only we wish to give up. So this is what he said.
==The Path to Unbroken Bliss==
And then Yājñavalkya continues this topic and says: if you want unbroken bliss, you will have to know that you are that unbroken bliss. The point involved here is that if the Self is something different – even if it be unbroken bliss, an infinite existence – but not one with you, not you – then it does not do any good. Because the fundamental point we have to remember: one – two separate. If there are two separate objects, one object can never ever become the second object completely – no, it is not possible. So if there is only one object, and I am not able to understand that I am that one object, then only it is possible. And what makes me think I am not one with God? Ignorance – that ignorance can be destroyed. It is a negative action – I am not obtaining anything new; I am only removing the obstacle. Then I realise: "I am, I was, I am, I will be ''Brahman'' only."
===Śravaṇa, Manana, Nididhyāsana===
This is the lesson he wants to tell – how to reach that state: ''śravaṇa'', ''manana'', and ''nididhyāsana''. Of course, we discussed what is ''śravaṇa'', ''manana'', ''nididhyāsana''. So even we have also gone through, I think, two ''mantras''. In our next class, we will take up from further ''mantra'' onwards. The main important points I have discussed here – it should not be difficult for us to progress further quickly.

== 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 4.1-5 Lecture 57 on 08 August 2026

2026-09-10T15:14:50Z

Gayatri:

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.'''

'''''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.'''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

'''OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH'''

'''OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.'''

'''OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.'''

==Introduction: The Wisdom of Yājñavalkya==
We have entered into the most marvellous, greatest wisdom that Yājñavalkya was teaching to Maitreyī. Why did Yājñavalkya bring up the subject of love? Because ''Māyā'' – the power of ignorance – how does it manifest? First, it manifests in the form that "this world is real, my body is real, my possessions are real, my mind is real, my life is real – everything that I experience is absolutely real." And since every object is real, I can exercise my power of loving it. But Yājñavalkya debunks it and says the first thing: in this world, nobody loves anything or anybody – one only loves one's own Self.
===Why Do We Love the Self?===
What does Yājñavalkya mean by "one's own Self"? He means ''Ātman''. But why do we love ''Ātman'''आत्मन्'''''<nowiki/>'''?''' Even ''Ātman'' '''आत्मन्'''– or let us say God – if there is a believer, just imagine, and he is praying and praying: "Give me happiness, give me that greatest joy" – and apply, apply – no reply. God does not answer at all, and he is miserable. Do you think the person will go on and on praying? At first he places his faith in the scriptures, hopes that God is there and He listens to my prayers, and He is compassionate – ''ananta dayāsāgara'''अनन्त दयासागर''''' – and definitely He will make me happy. But if God does not give us happiness, then sooner or later we give up even God.
===The Secret of Ignorance===
And here also there is a secret – because I am not enlightened. I think I am separate from God. I am small; God is separate, but He is very big – His powers are infinite. He can do whatever He likes. It is this ignorant knowledge – ''ajñāna'''अज्ञान'''''. What is ''ajñāna'''अज्ञान'''''? "I am different from God. God exists separately from me." But by that very understanding, we deny the very existence of God, because by definition, God is not some powerful separate being – He is not some other person. I do not understand – I think He is different – and that is called ignorance. But if I come to know He is my own Self, then the question of God bestowing grace does not arise – I have to bestow grace upon my own Self.
===The Nature of the Self===
But what does it mean? Again, if I am not of the nature of bliss, if I am not of the nature of happiness, or if I am a mixture – I am a changeable being – sometimes I am happy, sometimes I am unhappy – that is my nature. If this is my understanding – "I am the ''Ātman'''आत्मन्''''', but ''sukha-duḥkha'''सुख दुख''''' are my nature and they are changing all the time" – then my very prayer will be useless. Because what does every creature consciously, mostly unconsciously, do? They are praying: "Let me have unbroken happiness called ''Ānanda'''आनन्द'''''." That is all. Broken ''ānanda'' '''आनन्द''' we are getting; unbroken ''ānanda'' '''आनन्द''' we will not get.
===The Illustration of Falling from Heights===
Suppose a person goes to ''Brahmaloka'''ब्रह्मलोक'''''<nowiki/>''',''' which is supposed to be the greatest source of happiness. Then here most of us do not understand that if ''Brahmaloka'' ''ānanda'' '''''ब्रह्मलोक'' आनन्द'''– no doubt great – but it is also limited. It is the highest degree of happiness we can really experience. If that is our understanding, one simple fact we forget. Let me first give an illustration. Suppose a person is walking and he falls down – the injury will be the least. Suppose he had fallen from something which is ten feet high – definitely his injury will be greater. Suppose a person had fallen from fifty feet high, one hundred feet high, or a mountain top – the higher the height, the greater will be that person's misery, injury, unhappiness, pain, suffering. So if somebody, having experienced ''Brahman'' ''ānanda'', when he falls down from that state, do you think he will only experience a little bit of unhappiness – or do you think an equivalent amount of unhappiness he will experience? Logic and reason tell us the latter is the truth.
===The Need for Infinite Ananda===
So I must have ''Ānanda'' '''आनन्द''' as my nature, and it must be infinite – and then only my prayer "let me have unbroken happiness" can come all the time. And that is why Yājñavalkya wants to teach the very first teaching that he teaches to Maitreyī, the greatest disciple. And every scripture also is teaching the same thing.
==The Meaning of Sanyāsa==
What is ''Sanyāsa'''सन्यास'''''? '''''Sanyāsaसन्यास''''' is not an outward garb. A person puts on – ''sanyāsa'' '''सन्यास''' is a state of mind where a person knows every object is undesirable because it is changing. Every object – the nature of any object – every object is not happiness. It only temporarily removes my own happiness from myself. If I can somehow find out a way how to remove that curtain which is hiding my own bliss within myself, then there is nothing else that I require – I do not need an object.
===Deep Sleep as an Example===
That is why we already discussed both in the ''Māṇḍūkya'' and also in the ''Chāndogya'', and also in the very first chapter, or in this very Ajātaśatru ''Brāhmaṇa'' earlier to this, that Ajātaśatru was analysing the state of deep sleep. One of the important points we have to understand is: why is it that we get so much happiness in deep sleep – unbroken for at least a few hours? That is the first point – completely unbroken – and such a thing would never happen in either the waking or dream states. Second, even more important: what objects are there in the deep sleep that we are experiencing, and as a result we are getting happiness? Absolutely no object is there. So if I can get such a greater happiness in deep sleep without depending upon any object – in the absence of every possible object – no body, no mind, no world – then it must be within me.
===The Musk Deer Analogy===
So what I am searching for – like that ''kastūrī mṛga'' '''कस्तूरी मृग''' we call it – there is a musk deer, beautiful intoxicating fragrance. The deer goes mad, intoxicated; he wants to go to the very source – alas! He cannot find its source because he is searching in the wrong place. So taking up from there, human beings – with the help of God's grace, with the help of the Guru, and in the light of the scriptures – the Guru tells ''Tat tvam asi'''तत् त्वम् असि'''''<nowiki/>''':''' "You are that source of infinite bliss."
===The Threefold Nature of Ananda===
Infinite bliss can be experienced only if I exist infinitely without any break. We always have to take this point in view. If I want to experience unbroken bliss, my existence also should be unbroken. Will that do? No – a third quality is needed. I must be absolutely aware that I am experiencing unbroken bliss. And here is another point we have to take into consideration: if I have to experience unbroken bliss, my awareness – consciousness – should also be unbroken. Otherwise, if I am distracted – like when we are reading a book or trying to meditate – then the whole goal, the whole object of my focus disappears when my mind changes the object of its experience by just remembering. That means if the same mind is there and even if it is experiencing tremendous bliss, then it will be broken. Just imagine there is a person who was in deep sleep, and the deep sleep breaks every minute – what would be his condition? So we must be existing; we must be one hundred percent aware that we are not only existing. Bliss is my very nature – and if that is my nature, nobody can take it away from me, and there is no time gap.
===Body and Mind Break Awareness===
At this time I get back my nature; at this time I will not get back. But I have to understand – I am not the body, I am not the mind – because what do the body and mind do? They break my awareness every second. How many different thoughts are coming? Every thought is a new world for me. But such a thing does not happen in deep sleep when a person's ''karma'' is very good and he is sleeping undisturbed for several hours. But even deep sleep is only an example. It indicates that when there is no object, where from this happiness – bliss – is really coming out? Because it is everybody's exclamation upon waking up: '''''sukham aham asvāpsam (सुखमहमस्वाप््सम्)'''''—"I slept very happily throughout the deep sleep state." '''''Na kiñcid avediṣam न किञ्चित्आवेदिषं''—'''"I did not know anything about this world."['''Vichara sagaram in sanskrit ,dvitiya taranga, passage 97titled swayam prakashepi brahmanyagyanopapatti''',purvapaksha in commentary] One meaning of that is "there was no object." The second meaning of the word is very important: since I did not know a millisecond of unhappiness in my deep sleep, I was completely happy, experiencing happiness – "I did not know anything."
===Between Two Thoughts===
So that is why Yājñavalkya very intelligently – of course, it is the highest truth – says: if I can get so much bliss in deep sleep, which is happening how many times? Just to remind you, it is not only when we are in deep sleep that we are getting that unbroken bliss. No – in between two thoughts. That is why whenever we say "two thoughts", I am aware of the past thought, aware of the present thought. That means there must be a point in no‑man's‑land where the earlier thought vanished and the new thought had risen. In between these two, however short, that thought must be that condition – "I am myself pure consciousness."
===The State of Pure Consciousness===
But here is another truth we have to remember – we have discussed this point, but the purpose of the scripture is to tell us again and again and again and again and again until it does not slip away from our memory. What is it? In deep sleep, we are not aware of time – that means it is a state of infinity. When we are aware of time, it is a state of bondage. When we become unaware of time, it is the state of infinity. Similarly, in between two thoughts – it is only from the second‑thought point of view that we say "I was so happy for a millisecond in between two thoughts." But when we are actually in this state of no‑man's‑land between two thoughts, that is the state of pure consciousness. Pure consciousness means unbroken, unlimited by time, space, and causation. That is what Yājñavalkya wants to say.
==Yājñavalkya's Sanyāsa==
So just to recollect before we proceed further, here it is. Yājñavalkya had two wives, and he was a ''Brahmajñānī''. But to keep up the tradition alive and strong for future generations, he wants to set an example. So he wishes to take up straight away ''Sanyāsāśrama'' – that is to say, he has skipped, as it were, ''Vānaprasthāśrama''. But then I want to add: how do we know Yājñavalkya did not spend his ''Vānaprasthāśrama''? Actually, these – ''Brahmacaryāśrama'', ''Gṛhasthāśrama'', ''Vānaprasthāśrama'', and ''Sanyāsāśrama'' – they have nothing to do with externalities. As Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to say: "I learn so long as I live" – '''यावज्जीवं तावच्छिक्षेत्''' ''yāvaj jīvaṃ tāvat śikṣi'' – that means if our minds are open to learn what we do not know, we are in ''Brahmacarya'' ''Āśrama''. And we can enjoy things like a maid in a rich man's house – that is called the ideal householder's life.
===Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Example===
But when a person knows how to meditate, how to contemplate, how to do ''upāsanas'' unbrokenly – remember Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to go to ''Pañcavatī'' at night. You have to meditate upon these subjects, these events – that is called ''dhyāna''. Just imagine in your imagination that you also – after Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa goes towards the ''Pañcavatī'', you also follow Him, and you find Him absolutely without any clothes, and you sit in front of Him. But by that time Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is absolutely externally completely unconscious, and you sit for some time – of course we all get restless after some time; mosquitoes are also great helpers in that process. Now you must be wondering: what makes this person so unconscious? How is he able to fix his mind? What is he thinking of unbrokenly? Because the body consciousness had vanished, mind consciousness had vanished – only he was aware of his ''iṣṭadevatā''. In this, just as an example – Mother Kālī – but it is not the idea of Mother Kālī that we have. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's idea of Mother Kālī – she is pure consciousness. So he has become one with that already. We can only guess what he was doing.
===Holy Mother's Example===
And by the way, the perfect example of living as a maid‑servant in a rich man's house – Holy Mother's whole life – she is the mistress of that game called "I am the mother in this house." But she played only the role of a ''dāsī''. Every child that comes, every devotee that comes, every person that visits – what were they doing? Who was serving whom? It was Holy Mother who was really serving everybody, because she assumed the role of the mother of all – even of this ant, of this mosquito. Wonderful incidents are there – we will not of course go into that.
===Vidvat Sanyāsa and Vividhiṣā Sanyāsa===
So what I wanted to convey is that externally also, Yājñavalkya wanted to enter that state to encourage some people. That is why the scriptures divide ''sanyāsa'' into two categories:
#''Vividhiṣā Sanyāsa'' – that is, a person whose mind is full of distractions – not only some external distractions, but his own thoughts are full of distractions. So in order to minimise the amount of obstructions, he enters into an ''āśrama'' or a solitary place, thinking that the obstructions will be a little less – at least the concrete obstructions. Once mental obstructions, they will not disappear wherever we go.
#''Vidvat Sanyāsa'' – Yājñavalkya was not a ''vividhiṣā sannyāsī''. He had already attained. Not only that, he helped others also attain ''Brahmajñāna''. We do not know – but when he was debating with Maitreyī, debating with Gārgī, debating with Kāvya and other Brāhmaṇas, when he was teaching Janaka, some of them definitely attained ''Brahma''. How do we know? Because Yājñavalkya himself certifies in the case of Janaka: ''abhayaṃ vai prāpto 'si janaka'' – "O Janaka, you have attained fearlessness" – and fearlessness means "I am ''Brahman''."
===Fearlessness from Non‑Duality===
We have seen earlier – we have to remind – so he who thinks "I am separate, Brahman is separate" – ''Brahman'' becomes a cause of fear. Only for that person who knows there are no two called "I" and "Brahman" – whatever exists is one – he becomes fearless, because from the second, from duality, only fear comes. So he was not only a ''Brahmajñānī'', he was one of the greatest teachers of ''Brahmajñāna'' available at that time.
===The Capacity to Receive===
But another point we have to understand: even though he may argue with other people, ''Brahmajñāna'' can be imparted only to a person who has the capacity to receive what God or ''Brahman'' gives through this ''jīvanmukta Mahāpuruṣa''. Without that, we are always begging: "Give me Your darśana." Yes, if I give you My darśana, will you be able to hold it? Will you be able to bear it? Like a vessel – or like a fuse which is only five watts, and then a thousand‑volt electricity flows into it – what happens? Fuse becomes diffused. That is why Rāmakṛṣṇa said: "Slow and sure – we should not even ask for what we do not deserve. You give me because You know better than me what my receiving capacity is."
===Why Yājñavalkya Took Sanyāsa===
So Yājñavalkya, externally, was called a ''Vidvat Sannyāsī''. ''Vidvat'' means "already attained knowledge." He was a knower of ''Brahma'' – that is called ''Vidvat Sanyāsa''. But to encourage other people – especially those for ''Vividhiṣā Sanyāsa'' – he wanted to take ''sanyāsa''. And because of his not only ''Brahmajñāna'' but his capacity to teach, to argue, and to clarify others' doubts, he became one of the best known teachers. And we guess hundreds of students must have gathered around him. And students will not come empty‑handed. The nearer they come to such a personality, the more they surrender to him, because they get more than what they can give physically. Of course, kings as well as the parents of the students will give. Janaka himself had given a thousand cows with their horns completely covered with solid gold – that message is there in this ''Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad'', which we are yet to enter, but we are going to do that after completing this.
===The Provision for the Wives===
So then he says: "I have plenty of money, and I want to enter – which means I cannot live with you. So I have you, Maitreyī, and you, Kātyāyanī – you permit me." And whether you permit or not, a ''sannyāsī'' will not stay, because it is not a ''pāpa''. If a person – a raw fellow who is not fit to become a monk – forcibly, and keeping his wife in distress, takes up ''sanyāsa'', he will be committing a sin. That is why Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa specifically says: even for a good wife, the husband must make provisions for the future, knowing fully well what is going to happen in future is not known. Such a marvellous commentary – Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is the living ''Upaniṣad'' we have to understand.
===Holy Mother's Life===
So also Holy Mother – even more. At least Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa lived almost an isolated life. He never allowed any worldly people to interfere with his life, but he was more than happy to get some eager disciples – both some monks and household disciples – and they were only few. But Holy Mother had to live with the unsavoury relatives – and so many troublesome even disciples. Of course, there were many good devotees also who revered her, looked upon her as the mother of the universe, etc. So she had to deal with everybody. But unlike us, she did not discriminate – even those who were oppressing Indians at that time, she said: "They are also my children." We have to understand – if you are looking for an example of how to live like a maid‑servant – that is pure ''Karma Yoga'', ''Śiva-jñāne jīva-śiva'' – the best example we will not get other than Holy Mother. We have to understand that.
===Yājñavalkya's Offer===
So he offered – Yājñavalkya offered these riches: "I am not going to leave you in distress. Where, how are we going to live? You are looking after us all this time. Now you will have plenty of it. You can have servants, and all your needs will be met as far as possible." Because any amount of riches cannot prevent diseases, cannot prevent mental distress – there are so many things. External possessions have a very limited role to play in our happiness. In fact, they cannot produce even the least bit of happiness. They can make our life comfortable. That is why, as one Swami said, a rich person who is worrying too much will be worrying in an air‑conditioned room, and a poor man without air‑conditioning worries – absolutely, air‑conditioning is not going to help either of them in any case.
===Maitreyī's Fitness===
So first to Maitreyī – of them, we can clearly see Maitreyī was a highly fit spiritual aspirant, highly developed. So we should understand that if she was at the initial stages, only started her spiritual life, or only after her husband announces his intention, then she starts thinking – no, it is not like that. She must have been practising like Holy Mother. Remember why I am bringing Holy Mother again and again? There is a lot of resemblance between Holy Mother and Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. These are the modern Yājñavalkya and Maitreyī.
===Holy Mother's Response===
So Holy Mother was told by Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa: "I want to lead a spiritual life – what do you want?" Because since I married to you, you have a right. This is a great opening to all husbands – just because you marry, you do not become God to your wife; she has fifty percent right – ''sahadharmiṇī''. Then immediately Holy Mother replied – we all know that: "No, I have not come to pull you down. I also want to follow your footsteps." Rāmakṛṣṇa not only was very happy, immediately he initiated her and told her. But the point is, how was she able to answer, give that answer instantaneously without thinking? That is because she had become, so to say, from a spiritual point of view, ready to receive that initiation, that higher teaching from Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa.
===Maitreyī's Readiness===
Exactly the same thing we have to understand. Maitreyī must have not suddenly become a spiritual person, but ''janma janmāntara'' – so many lives – and this would be her last life, because once Yājñavalkya accepts, there is no question of her having further lives. So immediately she asks the most intelligent question: "My goal is liberation – ''mukti''. I want to be a ''Brahmavādinī''."
===Brahmavādinī===
The word ''Brahmavādinī'' has two meanings:
#One who has already obtained knowledge of ''Brahma''.
#A ''jīvanmukta'' goes on talking about God only in understandable terms. If Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is talking to a Christian, he will talk in terms of Christ; to a Muslim, in terms of Allah and right practices – so they can adopt, because there is no such division in their minds. The only division is: "Is this person ready for this instruction?" That is the only thing.
===Yājñavalkya's Acceptance===
So Yājñavalkya wanted Maitreyī, and he knew – because he was such a great teacher – the moment I teach, she will also become like me, a ''Brahmavādinī''. That is to say, she would not only be a knower of ''Brahma''. We do not know anything about what was the life of Maitreyī after she became enlightened. But what do you think – if she, so long as she lives, if she had not entered into ''nirvikalpa samādhi'', we have to guess that whoever comes to her, in general she would be talking about God – but in particular, if somebody wants, then she herself becomes a fit person to teach about ''Brahmajñāna'', because a knower of ''Brahma'' does not have these divisions of gender – "this is male, this is female."
===Examples of Brahmavādinīs===
So there are so many wonderful saints – one Mīrā Bāī – she was a ''Brahmavādinī''; even though she used to call that ''Brahman'' as Kṛṣṇa. There was Tulasīdāsa – he used to call ''Brahman'' as Rāma – so he was a ''Brahmavādī''. In the south, Basavaṇṇa is there – he who does not see Śiva in everything all the time is not a Śiva ''bhakta''. But even more marvellous – there was one lady called Akkā Mahādevī – she used to wear no clothes at all. But it is said that whoever sees her, she has become so pure that immediately the idea of motherliness – "this is my mother" – the idea "this is a woman, a desirable object" – such a thing never enters into the mind of anybody who encounters her. She used to live in wild places; rarely she used to encounter people, but if she encountered them, her naked body does not produce worldly thoughts. On the other hand, they only produce most marvellous thoughts of God, purity, sacredness, etc. That is the power of these great people – God makes them like that. Otherwise, if anybody looks upon them in a negative way, worldly way, they will be turned into ashes that very moment.
===Other Women Saints===
Anyway – what about Āṇḍāḷ, the greatest lover of Kṛṣṇa, and she became one with Kṛṣṇa? She married Kṛṣṇa – of course His name was Raṅganātha Svāmī. All these – how many other stories are there? I am just mentioning because this is more important than just reading the sentence meaning of these ''Upaniṣads''. Maharashtra had produced marvellous women saints. We know everywhere there were men saints – male saints – but female saints. Now what we need to understand here – how marvellously there was one, I think, Rukubāī (Sakkubai). Her husband, her mother‑in‑law hated her, got the greatest amount of work done through her, and the mother used to use her son – who could not say no – to beat her up. Once he was beating her up, she was completely helpless. Remember, several centuries back – East or West – women were playthings in the hands of men. How much hellish suffering these people had to go through, and even people burned – you know, the famous witch burning, etc.
===Sakkubāī's Story===
So this lady – her only ''gati'' is to call upon her beloved Kṛṣṇa. She used to, every time pain came, she used to call out Kṛṣṇa. And Kṛṣṇa had taken all the blows that her body was receiving upon His body – like Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa took upon himself the blow of one of the boatmen who was beaten by another boatman – we must recall that incident. So the husband went on beating, and then next day the priest found traces of blood on the image on the back of the image. They were shocked – how can a stone image suddenly emit blood? For us it is a lifeless stone – however, what is called, we invoke ''prāṇa'' while opening the temple, while doing ''pūjā'', etc. – for us still it is a statue. But in the eyes of these great people, there is no statue. If this lady had gone to that ''Puraṇḍara Pīṭhā'', then she would have seen Him, she would have talked with Him, etc.
===The Advent of Holy Mother===
So we see everywhere ''Brahmavādinīs'' are there. And if anybody thinks ''Brahmavādinīs'' are not there nowadays, we have to hang our heads in shame, because as Swami Vivekananda had proclaimed: with the advent of Holy Mother, so many women will become ''Brahmavādinīs'' once more – our sacred land will be flooded with that. Anyway, I am carried away a little bit.
==Maitreyī's Question and Rejection==
Coming back to our subject: Maitreyī asks one question: "If I get all these things, will they help me in obtaining the knowledge of ''Brahman''?" Of course, Yājñavalkya says: "No – you will live a comfortable life." He did not even say "you will live a happy life" – we have to take this point into consideration. He said: "You will have a good bed, a good house, beautiful animals, many servants, many utensils – they will be catering to your comfort, but not to happiness or bliss." That is a purely state belonging to the mind alone – not anything to do with externalities.
===Maitreyī's Viveka and Vairāgya===
In Maitreyī, this is where her ''viveka'' gets exercised – ''vairāgya'' comes. She says: "What am I to do? My goal is not to have riches. My goal is to attain ''Brahmajñāna''" – and she rejects all this property, because she understood not only will they not give ''Brahmajñāna'', but what is the greatest obstacle to our progressing in spiritual life? It is too many possessions. So that is what she understood – she rejects.
===Her Request for Knowledge===
But it is not that she rejects – she says: "You offered me something – you have something else – not only property, but you have something else. What do you have? You have that knowledge of ''Ātman'', knowledge of ''Brahman''. As a rightful partner – ''dharmapatnī'' – you will have to give that to ''dharma'' also. Teach me how I could become immortal." And Yājñavalkya, being a great ''Brahmavādī'', understands, accepts her, because he recognises this is a very fit future disciple.
==The First Teaching – Vairāgya==
Then the teaching starts. What is the first teaching? First thing is about ''vairāgya'', about dispassion. What is dispassion? People are running mad after the objects of this world under the mistaken notion that:
#Every object gives happiness.
#Every object goes on giving happiness because it is its nature.
#There would be no time when the object will give me the opposite result – suffering.
So that is why if we come to know really that object does not possess happiness – objects cannot give the same one moment – they can give happiness; next very moment, they will plunge us into the deepest abyss – and every object is changing, including me the experiencer – my body, my mind, my sense organs – everything.
===Naciketā's Reply===
This is the most wonderful reply Naciketā gives to Yamarāja: "Even if you grant me all these possessions – me the experiencer – I cannot be unchanging." Because there is only one object which is unchanging – that is ''Brahman''. My body is not ''Brahman''; my mind is not ''Brahman''. They go on changing, and they only become less and less energetic, and the senses lose their power of squeezing out happiness. What a person can enjoy at the age of ten or twenty years old, no old man can ever enjoy. He can only squeeze probably one percent of happiness, pleasure out of it. And then he goes on wondering: "What happened? I used to enjoy – what happened to you? You used to cook such tasteful things – now you are neglecting me – your food is just very ordinary food." Unable to understand he was the root cause of the problem – not the food or anything else.
===Nobody Loves Any Object===
So in this world, nobody loves anybody – nobody loves any object. But everybody uses an object, thinking it is an instrument for one's own happiness. But sooner or later, that person, as soon as he squeezes all the happiness, understands no more squeezing of even one drop of ''ānanda'' will come from this object – he discards it like a chewed‑out sugarcane.
===The Source of Happiness===
So everything is loved solely for the sake of one's own Self – that is, for my happiness. But you say the happiness is not belonging to the object – then where is it? Because Yājñavalkya never denied there is happiness, bliss – but he denies objects have happiness. Objects do not have it, but they merely temporarily remove the obstacle we ourselves have created, not allowing our own inherent bliss to manifest. An object temporarily – only temporarily – removes that obstruction, and we experience momentarily that happiness. Wise persons understand: "It is my own happiness I am experiencing."
===All Happiness Is Within===
With that, one thing becomes clear: there is no happiness outside – all happiness is only within inside. Then naturally, if I find anybody – even a fool – "I am not going to get any happiness in this object; I am going to get happiness in that other object." Then after experimenting with several objects: "No, there is bliss, there is happiness – but it is not outside – it is inside."
===The Upaniṣadic Teaching===
That is when the ''Upaniṣad'' says so beautifully: ''parāñci khāni vyatṛṇat svayambhūḥ, tasmāt parāṅ paśyati nāntarātman'' – "The Creator created the senses outgoing" – but now he understands: "I have been wondering like the musk deer, but I must examine myself, because all the intoxicating fragrance is coming from within myself. The bliss is coming from within myself." This withdrawal from outside to inside is called ''Vānaprasthāśrama''.
===The Purpose of Upāsana===
Then the real ''upāsana'' starts – how I can obtain that bliss not occasionally, not a small bit, but permanently and one hundred percent. That is the purpose of ''Upāsana''. So Yājñavalkya makes it clear that there is only one object – it is of the nature of infinite bliss, of infinite existence, of infinite consciousness – and that is the object.
==Conditional and Unconditional Love==
So he also breaks down love into two categories: conditional love and unconditional love.
===Conditional Love===
What is conditional love? Every object – only when my mind, my body should be in a particular condition, and the object also must be in a particular condition. Even though you are all intelligent students, still I want to repeat it again and again. So only when I am hungry and my stomach is able to digest, I have no other health issues, I have no mental worries – that is the condition upon the part of me, the experiencer. And the object – say a ripe mango – it should not be unripe; it should not be overripe – it is just at the right ripe condition, and it should be available to me, and it should not be contaminated with insects. Many times when you open the mango, you will see terrible insects – they burrowed, they grow up there, they eat that pulp, and then they are ready – big huge maggots like that will be there. Now perfect – and the flavour is perfect. So outside also there are conditions. Of course, the greatest condition – please do not reveal it to anybody, only for my particular students in this class – see that nobody else is present to share that one mango.
===Making the Object One's Own===
When these conditions are fulfilled and then when we come into contact, we make it our own. Even then, we have to make it our own – that is a beautiful point. So whatever happiness we think the mango can give – now that happiness, as it were, entering along with the mango inside us – and that is what we mistake – that reinforces my mistaken notion that "this happiness is outside." Now because of this mango, I have become one with the mango – I made the mango one with me – so I am getting its happiness along with it to me. This applies to every object in this world.
===Every Love Is Conditional===
So every love is a conditional love. But there is another unconditional love – everybody loves one's own Self, and there is no condition: I am healthy or unhealthy, rich or poor, even happy or unhappy – it does not matter – I love myself, because I identify myself with my body, with my mind. Even at that stage, I do not wish to die. Only when this body becomes insufferable, then only we wish to give up. So this is what he said.
==The Path to Unbroken Bliss==
And then Yājñavalkya continues this topic and says: if you want unbroken bliss, you will have to know that you are that unbroken bliss. The point involved here is that if the Self is something different – even if it be unbroken bliss, an infinite existence – but not one with you, not you – then it does not do any good. Because the fundamental point we have to remember: one – two separate. If there are two separate objects, one object can never ever become the second object completely – no, it is not possible. So if there is only one object, and I am not able to understand that I am that one object, then only it is possible. And what makes me think I am not one with God? Ignorance – that ignorance can be destroyed. It is a negative action – I am not obtaining anything new; I am only removing the obstacle. Then I realise: "I am, I was, I am, I will be ''Brahman'' only."
===Śravaṇa, Manana, Nididhyāsana===
This is the lesson he wants to tell – how to reach that state: ''śravaṇa'', ''manana'', and ''nididhyāsana''. Of course, we discussed what is ''śravaṇa'', ''manana'', ''nididhyāsana''. So even we have also gone through, I think, two ''mantras''. In our next class, we will take up from further ''mantra'' onwards. The main important points I have discussed here – it should not be difficult for us to progress further quickly.

== 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 3.1-3.6 Lecture 53 on 25 July 2026

2026-09-10T14:29:41Z

Gayatri:

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.'''

'''''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.'''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

'''OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH'''

'''OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.'''

'''OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.'''

==Introduction: The Third Brāhmaṇa==
We are studying some of the very important parts in this third ''Brāhmaṇa'' – third section. So first I would like to take up some of the important, very important ''mantras'' and then summarise what we discussed so far.
==The State of Deep Sleep '''सुषुप्ति('''(Suṣupti)==
'''In the 17th ''mantra'' – first section, second chapter, 17th ''mantra'':'''

'''स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्यत्रैष एतत्सुप्तोऽभूद्य एष विज्ञानमयः पुरुषस्तदेषां प्राणानां विज्ञानेन विज्नानमादाय य एषोऽन्तर्हृदय आकाशस्तस्मिञ्छेते तानि यदा गृह्णाति अथ हैतत्पुरुषः स्वपिति नाम तद्गृहीत एव प्राणो भवति गृहीता वाग्गृहीतं चक्षुः गृहीत श्रोत्रं गृहीतं मनः॥'''

''sa ha uvāca ajātaśatruḥ atra eṣa etat sut abhut yaḥ eṣa vijñānamayaḥ puruṣaḥ, tathā eṣāṃ prāṇānāṃ vijñānena vijñānam ādāya ya eṣa antar hṛdaya ākāśaḥ tasmin śete''.

Ajātaśatru, as we should remember, had taken his newly acquired disciple Gārgya or Bālāki to a sleeping person, woke him up after violently shaking him, and he was describing that state.
===The Components of the Jīvātman['''''जीवात्मन्''''' ]===
This '''''Puruṣa''''' – that is the '''''jīvātmanजीवात्मन्''''' – and the ''jīvātman'' consists of how many things? We have to say '''three things:'''
#'''''Cit चित्''''' – pure consciousness.
#'''''Cidābhāsa''''' '''चिदाभास'''– the reflection of this pure consciousness in the mind of the individual.
#Body and mind – we can join them together.
So pure consciousness, reflection of pure consciousness, plus body‑mind is called the individual soul – ''jīvātman''. And every ''jīvātman'' goes through three states of experience until he has self‑knowledge and becomes free – attains liberation – not "attains", but knows that he was never bound.
===The Three States===
So this person, in the waking state, the emphasis is on the body, and the body's emphasis is on the external world. But in the state of dream, the external world and the whole physical body are as it were separated from himself. He deals only with the impressions he gained through his movements and interactions in the waking state, and taking those impressions, he creates his own world – that is beautifully described later on.

But in the deep sleep state '''सुषुप्ति(''suṣupti'')''', this '''pure consciousnes'''s combined with '''reflected consciousness''' takes – he rises above all connections with the waking state – body, external world, and mind. '''What does he do''' in the deep sleep state? He takes everything, as it were – all the functions of the organs – and converts them into pure reflected consciousness. And then where does he rest? There is supposed to be a place in the heart – it is called '''''hṛdayākāśaहृदयाकाश'', ''daharākāśa''''' '''दहराकाश'''– and he rests there as long as that state of deep sleep continues.
===The Role of Karmaphala['''''कर्मफल]'''''===
But because of '''''karmaphalaकर्मफल'' ,''' when the time comes, that ''karmaphala'' acts as the cause – that is why '''''suṣuptiसुषुप्ति''''' is called '''''kāraṇa śarīraकारण शरीर'''''. So again it forcibly draws him from the ''hṛdayākāśa'' '''''हृदयाकाश'','''and then separates him from ''Paramātman'' '''परमात्मन्''' as it were. That is the state Ajātaśatru was describing: where was the sleeping person, because it took such a long time to wake him up? He was deeply resting i'''n the ''hṛdayākāśa''''' '''''हृदयाकाश'','''along with ''cit'' '''''चित्''''' – remember, ''cidākāśa'''चिदाकाश'''''''',''' ''cit'','''''चित्''''' ''cidābhāsa'''''चिदाभास'''has not disappeared, but it is nearest to the pure ''cit'', its real nature. As if there is only the shining sun and there is only the pure mirror – there is nobody there to witness, to use that reflected light to experience what is in the room. It is just like that. But as if somebody had entered later on ,Oh Brilliant light!Now I can see so clearly , I can read so clearly!
===''Swapiti'' ['''स्वपिति]'''– Resting in the Lap of Paramātman['''परमात्मन्''' ]===
'''तानि यदा गृह्णाति अथ हैतत्पुरुषः स्वपिति नाम तद्गृहीत एव प्राणो भवति गृहीता वाग्गृहीतं चक्षुः गृहीत श्रोत्रं गृहीतं मनः॥'''

''Taniyāda gṛṇāti atha etath puruṣaḥ svapiti nāma'' –

when this person is in deep sleep, the ''jīvātman'' gets a special name''': ''svapitiस्वपिति'' .''' He is called ''svapiti'', meaning he is lying in the lap of ''Paramātman'''परमात्मन्''''' .

'''तद्गृहीत एव प्राणो भवति गृहीता वाग्गृहीतं चक्षुः गृहीत श्रोत्रं गृहीतं मनः॥'''

''Taṭgṛhītaḥ iva prāṇā bhavati, gṛhītaṃ vāk, gṛhītaṃ cakṣuḥ, gṛhītaṃ śrotram, gṛhītaṃ manaḥ'' –

when the ''jīvātman'' is in ''suṣupti'', all the sense organs are withdrawn, and when sense organs are withdrawn, their functions are also withdrawn. The organ of smell is absorbed, the organ of speech is absorbed, the eye is absorbed, the ear is absorbed, and the mind is absorbed. In other words, both mind and body attain to their causal state and are not able to function.
===The Causal State===
Now, slowly after some time, because of ''karmaphala'' – remember, it always works – two points we have to remember here: ''prāṇa'', whatever be the state – waking, dream, dreamless – ''prāṇa'' will never depart; otherwise that person, that ''jīvātman'', would be a dead person. So ''prāṇa'' will be there. But these three states are experienced by the help of the ''prāṇa'' – the body and mind are withdrawn, sense organs and corresponding thoughts are totally withdrawn. So after some time, this causal body ( causal means cause) wakes up and pulls the ''jīvātman'' forcibly from the resting place in the ''Paramātman'', brings it first to the state of dream – ''svapnāvasthā''.
==The Dream State – The 72,000 Nāḍīs==
How does it do that? That is described in the 19th ''mantra'':

'''अथ यदा सुषुप्तो भवति यदा न कस्य चन वेद हिता नाम नाद्यो द्वासप्ततिः सहस्राणि हृदयात्पुरीततमभिप्रतिष्ठन्ते ताभिः प्रत्यवसृप्य पुरीतति शेते स यथा कुमारो वा महाराजो वा महाब्राह्मणो वाऽतिघ्नीमानन्दस्य गत्वा शयीतैवमेवैष एतच्छेते॥'''

''Atha yadā suṣupto bhavati, atha nākasya caṇavet, atha nāmanā diyā va saptatiḥ sahasrāṇi hṛdayāt purītam avipratiṣṭhanti, tābhiḥ prati avasāprupyā purītathi śete''.

Briefly, what Ajātaśatru is trying – or this ''Upaniṣad'' is trying – to convey that knowledge to us through the medium of Ajātaśatru: when the ''karmaphala'' forcibly forces back the ''jīvātman'', how does it enter? It seems there are very subtle ''nāḍīs'' (nerves) – nerve centers. This nerve center we cannot find through any amount of microscope or telescope. They are subtle – subtle means not experienceable by the physical body, physical senses, even microscope or telescope. They cannot do anything unless sense organs are functioning. Only when the eye is perfectly functioning will telescope work, microscope work. If you put both in front of a blind man, they are not going to work.
===The Pathways of Return===
So when this person wakes up, then what happens? Slowly, because of these '''''vāsanās'' – ''karmaphala''''', that is the impressions – they urge: "You will have to exhaust the resultant of your own actions." So how did he enter into that '''''ākāśa'' – ''cidākāśaचिदाकाश,'' or ''hṛdayākāśa हृदयाकाश,'' or ''daharākāśa''''' '''दहराकाश'''– through these very nerves? And how does he come back? Through the very nerves. So if you go somewhere, if you have climbed to the higher storeys in your own building, you will again come back. So there are various staircases, as it were – they are called very, very subtle nerves. How many are there? The scripture is telling: 72,000 are there. Among them there is one which is called '''''purītatiपुरीतति'',''' which is '''the most important nerve''', and every other nerve is only emanating from there, and they are all well established in the heart. The heart is the place where we feel our identity.
===The Deep Sleep State and Returning===
So what happens when the Self goes into deep sleep, when it does not know anything? And how did it go into deep sleep? Through those very nerves. Now what is happening because the ''karmaphala'' wakes the person up? It returns along the 72,000 nerves called ''hītāहित''. They are all called ''hītāहित''. ''Hītāहित'' in Sanskrit means that which does good for anybody, which extends from the heart throughout the whole body. And these nerves, though they are emanating from the heart, are spread throughout the body until even the tips of the hair. So even if some smallest insect touches the tip of our hair, immediately that sensation – "Oh, something is touching me" – we can find out. Not to speak of the skin, where we feel it much more intensely – any touch. So these nerves are spread all over, and there it brings back into the dream state.
===The Three Examples – Baby, Emperor, Brāhmaṇa===
What happens?

'''यथा कुमारो वा महाराजो वा महाब्राह्मणो वाऽतिघ्नीमानन्दस्य गत्वा शयीतैवमेवैष एतच्छेते॥'''

''Yathā kumāraḥ ha va mahārājya hava mahābrāhmaṇa hava atighniṃ ānandasya gatvā śayita evam eva eṣa etath svete atighnim'' – as a baby, or an emperor, or a noble Brāhmaṇa, when they enter into the deep sleep state, they experience incomparable, supreme happiness, because for the time being duality is absent. Mind and body cause duality; mind and body are absent in deep sleep.

Having experienced that highest bliss, three examples are given:
#''Kumāra'' – a baby without the least bit of worries. In this state of babyhood, no baby will ever think about what happened in the past, what is going to happen in the future, where am I going to eat, who is going to take care of me, etc. He knows somebody else is going to take care of him. He does not even think like that – we only attribute that thinking to the baby. But the baby absolutely knows someone is looking, and if somebody by chance is temporarily absent, the baby starts howling, crying. Immediately father, mother, brother, sister – somebody comes running and takes care of the baby, and the baby becomes peaceful once more. So a baby does not have judgmental values – "this is a good person, that is a good person; this is tasty food, that is not at all tasty" – all these thoughts are totally absent until his sleeping ''saṃskāras'' wake up when his body grows up sufficiently. But until that time, a baby is a marvellous example.
That is why a ''jīvanmukta'' is compared to a baby – just like a baby without a second thought. He wants to sleep, he will sleep; he wants to meditate, he will meditate; he wants to study, he will study; he wants to talk, he will talk.
===Zen Buddhism – Complete Absorption===
There is a special Buddhistic school of philosophy called Zen Buddhism – ''Dhyāna'' Buddhism. The main teaching is: a Zen practitioner – ''dhyāna'' practitioner – whatever he does, he is aware of only that. If you are reading the messages you are getting through my WhatsApp application, you will see: when a person is walking, he is aware "I am walking"; when he is sitting, he is aware "I am sitting", etc. So this is how slowly this person becomes only absorbed in that, like a baby. Notice a baby when he is playing – one hundred percent his mind is absorbed in that, and naturally he will get the greatest pleasure. What is the value of his plaything? That is not important – whether it is a few stones, few sticks or marbles, or some play machine – it does not really matter. What matters is absorption. It does not matter what a baby eats, but he is completely absorbed in it.
#A ''Mahārāja'' who has no known enemies and everything is going on very well – how does he sleep? He is not worried – by God's grace, everything is going on well.
#A ''Mahābrāhmaṇa'' – a realised soul – they are all same: '''अतिघ्नीमानन्दस्य गत्वा''' ''atighneem ānandasya gatvā''. They experience that incomparable supreme bliss – that is the bliss of ''Brahman'' ''ānanda'' only, not less.
'''शयीतैवमेवैष एतच्छेते॥'''

''Śayit evam eva eṣa etat sethe'' –

having experienced that one, he comes back into the next stage of experience, which is called dream.
==The Dream Creation – Spider and Sparks==
And what happens? He returns back through 72,000 nerves, but then he creates a tremendous creation – his own creation. Further, an example is given:

'''स यथोर्णवाभिस्तन्तुनोच्चरेद्यथाऽग्नेः क्षुद्रा विस्फुलिङ्गा व्युच्चरन्त्येवमेवास्मादात्मनः सर्वे प्राणाः सर्वे लोकाः सर्वे देवाः सर्वाणि भूतानि व्युच्चरन्ति तस्योपनिषत्सत्यस्य सत्यमिति प्राणा वै सत्यं तेषामेष सत्यम्॥'''

''Sa yathā ūrṇanābhiḥ tantunā uccaret, yathā agneḥ kṣudrāḥ visphuliṅgāḥ vicharanti, evam eva asmāt ātmanaḥ sarve prāṇāḥ sarve lokāḥ sarve devāḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni vicharanti'' –

as a spider moves along the thread it produces from its own body; the '''second example is given''' – as from a blazing fire, millions of tiny sparks fly in every direction. Even so, from this ''Ātman'' come forth all organs, all worlds, all gods, all beings.
===The Point of the Examples===
What is the point of this particular ''mantra''? Just as in our dream spontaneously we create our dream world, and we ourselves find ourselves in our dream world – we find our neighbours, our friends, our enemies, our kingdom, our country, our religion – just like in the waking state. How did this person create? Just by the process of thought. Who created? the person who is returning, but who is actually the waking person? One person creates the entire dream world. If a human being can create the world – and what is the specialty? When this person has created this world, he does not say "this is only a dream, this is unreal, I have created it myself." '''First point''': it is not unreal – it is absolutely real, exactly like the waking state. '''Second point:''' as we are not aware that this whole waking world is created by us, exactly in the same way, the whole dream world is created by that individual soul.
===The Dream and Waking States Compared===
It is not surprising to think that when we give the example of a dream, upon waking up, instantaneously we realise that "I created my own world, where I created my own happiness and unhappiness, my own friends and enemies – somebody came and presented me an invaluable jewel; somebody else came and snatched it away; or in the process, he even hurt me." But upon waking up, we laugh and say, "How realistic it looked! But I alone – that is important – I alone am responsible." A husband cannot say "my wife is responsible for this dream." So every human being can understand.

But what about the waking state? Is it created by us? Yes. One of the understandings of ''Karma Siddhānta'' ['''कर्म सिद्धान्त''']is: our parents, our family, our financial circumstances, our climate, where we are born, into which family, which coloured parents – black‑skinned, yellow‑skinned, white‑skinned, brown‑skinned – and how our physical body looks, and our fate – whether we are poor or rich, whether we can get higher education or not, whether we are fated to go to higher universities either in India or elsewhere – in fact, the whole universe is created for two purposes:
#For exhausting whatever we had earned through our past lives – to experience the resultant of our own past actions.
#At the same time, we are given an opportunity to create new ''karma''. Should we wish, we can create new ''karma''. It might take some bit of effort, depending upon the strength of our ''saṃskāras''.
===Conscious Creation===
But we have to understand: we are creating, albeit most of the time unconsciously. If we can create deliberately, consciously – that is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's advice is: cultivate holy company deliberately, go to solitary places, and understand nothing in this world can help you continuously. Accepting the reality of the world – everything is changing – that is the reality of the world. Since everything is changing, nothing can be relied upon. So do not unnecessarily intensify attachments. Live like a maidservant. All these things are possible, and all these things are done: first, to exhaust, to get the right opportunity, appropriate opportunity; second, whatever best we can do – there is enormous scope, and that is what we need to do.
===Dreams Can Be Created by Design===
Just as we create our own dreams – dreams are not forced upon us by somebody. Every single experience we had in the dream was created by us. In fact, dreams can be created according to design. There are many people who could do that, and we can also do that. Just as we created this waking state, we can also create – Nagamahāśaya's mind was totally pitched to the highest ''loka''. That is why when his aunt used to tell him in his childhood bedtime stories of gods and goddesses and stories from Hindu mythology, next morning he used to get up, run to his aunt and say: "Aunt, today I dreamt whatever you told me yesterday – I have seen Mother Cāmuṇḍā." How many gods and goddesses she had visualised, even though she said "I never knew the existence of it" – but she had strong faith. One of the greatest devotees – she had faith that gods and goddesses exist. If God exists, then goddesses, gods also exist; higher worlds exist; nothing is impossible. Because of that, she used to have strange visions.

We should not say – our modern science is likely to say – "They are all her imaginations." But my point is: whether something is an imagination or something is a reality, it makes no difference. If we imagine something as real, that affects us. If somebody is embracing a black bear thinking "I am embracing Miss Universe", it does not matter – so long as he thinks "I am in the embrace of a most beautiful woman in this world", he is a happy person. But when that imagination breaks, another imagination comes: "This is a black bear about to crush me to death" – that is also in the same pattern. So that is why it is said: "Today's imagination will be tomorrow's fact." In fact, meditation is nothing but pure imagination – of course, guided by the Guru and the scriptures.
===The Return from Deep Sleep to Dream===
So the person coming down from the state of the highest bliss experienceable in the realistic world – from the state of deep sleep – he comes through the ferry roads, as it were, through the 72,000 ''nāḍīs''. Do not question whether they are 72,000 or 7,000 – it does not matter. So if a person is coming down from deep sleep to the dream state, he must be coming – there must be a pathway, and that pathway is called the nerves.

Having come to this dream state, he roams about. What does he do? He creates – just like a spider creates its own net to catch food in the form of insects, or just like a blazing fire from which hundreds and thousands of sparks are flying all over. The point is: all these sparks have exactly the same nature – they are hot to the touch. If a spark falls upon my body, I feel the stinging. Similarly, they also give light, because the moment you see a spark, you see it even in pitch darkness. And if this spark is a little big enough, if there is any object nearby, it illumines it – self‑illuminating and other‑illuminating – that is the characteristic of fire.
===The Whole Universe Comes from Brahman===
So the whole universe has come out of the supreme reality called ''Brahman'', just as this dream example is given to make us understand – just as we create. And then one important point we have to understand here: even when we go through this dream state, nothing happens to us. Similarly, when ''Paramātman'' creates this entire universe – how many ''lokas'', billions and billions of galaxies, every galaxy is a special ''loka'' – nothing happens to ''Paramātman''. That is the second point.

Third point we have to understand: since this whole creation is coming just as from us – every day we have a different dream. On the same night, we can have different dreams. In the same dream, we can have another subset of dreams also – in dream itself, we go to bed and we can have another dream. How many layers of dreams can we have? So one moment we find here in Bangalore, next moment in Vārāṇasī, next moment in New York – every situation is different. So how many dreams? Every dream – a special dream – is a ''loka''. ''Loka'' means a special experience.
===The Nature of the Creation===
'''Paramatman परमात्मन्''' , He creates the whole universe, and the point we have to understand is: whatever is created partakes of the same nature as the original substance. A pot – a mud pot, a clay pot – its whole nature is nothing but clay. A golden ornament will be pure gold only. Similarly, what is the nature of ''Brahman''? Pure consciousness. So even when you think "I see this – there is a big rock" – is this consciousness? Yes, of course it is consciousness.

Many times I have tried, and many times I will tell you also: at this point, we do not know what is in the external world. '''We only know our thoughts.''' So if I have the thought of a tree – I am imagining. Just like a person sitting in front of a TV in his drawing room or visitor's room, he is experiencing a beautiful match and he is feeling as if it is going on here. Nowadays the broadcasters broadcast – some hesitation is going on somewhere, and you can see it in front of you, and there is no difference. Because whether you are even present where that cricket match is being played – that event is taking place – your eyes, your ears go out and gather the impressions and bring them to the present to the mind in the form of thoughts. And we alone know – the mind is a vast screen. On that screen these thoughts are projected, and the film is the mind. But the light is called reflected consciousness, and this reflected consciousness enlarges and makes all the impressions come to life, as it were – "I am seeing it."
===Direct and Indirect Experience===
So I am giving the essence: it does not matter whether you experience something through a phone, through a TV screen, or actually you are sitting somewhere – you are not directly experiencing sitting in front of a cricket match. You are indirectly experiencing only in front of a TV screen. Both are indirect only. Nothing is direct. You only know about your thoughts, and every thought represents the entire external – every object, any object in the entire external world. Even this thought "this is external" is also a thought only. "This is internal" – that is also a thought only. Mind‑boggling – but that is the truth. Even psychologists can tell you that, not to speak of spiritual people.
===The Two Examples===
So through these two examples, ''Paramātman''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s creation is described. So it is not impossible – He Himself is the material cause, He Himself is the intelligent cause – He is everything. For that, these two examples are given, and these two examples are not only found in the ''Bṛhadāraṇyaka'' – in the ''Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad'' also, the same examples are given in some other ''Upaniṣads'' as well; they repeat the same things.
==Mūrta '''[मूर्त]'''and Amūrta'''[अमूर्त]''' – Visible and Invisible==
The next point we have seen: this entire creation is nothing but pure consciousness. But that pure consciousness, looked at through the prism of time, space, and causation, appears to be an infinite number of objects. So time, space, and causation limit, and this limited experience of pure consciousness in the form of this entire creation is subdivided by this ''Upaniṣad'': that which can be experienced by the eyes, etc., that is called ''Mūrta'''[मूर्त]'''''; and that which is experienced but not seen through the eyes, that is called ''Amūrta'' '''[अमूर्त] –''' visible and invisible. So both belong to the creation only.
==='''Brahma Satyamब्रह्म सत्यं, Jagat Satyamजगत् सत्यं''' ===
And then the ''Upaniṣad'', as we discussed earlier, made a categorical statement: just as ''Brahman'' is ''satyam'', this world is also ''satyam'' only. But then why do they say it is ''mithyā''? So long as we are not aware of the true nature of the cause which is ''Brahman'', we experience separatedness: "I am a tiny object in comparison with the other objects." Suppose imagine there is a small ant – a big rock falls upon that ant. The ant – at least we know the ant is small, therefore it cannot withstand this big rock. But that is its nature – this is because of ignorance. But once we understand consciousness, there is no division: small and big, white and black, great and small, subtle and all‑pervading. This is all the mind's attempt to make an understanding of that pure consciousness.
===The Roof Example===
So the ''Upaniṣad'' wants to tell – Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: once a person reaches the roof, understands what the roof is made of, he understands what the whole house is made of – the same material of which the roof is made, the whole house is made. Once a person realises ''Brahman'', which is ''satyam jñānam anantamसत्यं ज्ञानमनन्तं ब्रह्म।''''',[तैत्तिरीयोपनिषद्ब्रह्मानन्दवल्ली प्रथमोऽनुवाकःVerse १''' ]then the realised soul understands everything – but it is nothing but limited; it is only ''Brahman''. But if we do not have that knowledge, that is called we are ignorant – we are under the influence of ignorance. Ignorance means limited by time, space, and causation. We think everything is separate from everything else – very small, very small (''aṇu''), very big, huge, etc. And that will create many problems and repeated births again and again.
===The Realised Soul Enjoys the Universe===
That is why once a person realises the nature of the true cause, then the effects are also realised to be of the same nature. So such a person, after the realisation, enjoys this whole universe. So that is what is said here.
==Neti Neti '''नेति नेति'''– The Method of Negation==
Now we will summarise whatever is there. So in order to understand ''Brahman'' is the roof – the real cause of which the entire creation (''sṛṣṭi'') had come out – ''Brahman'' is pure consciousness. Therefore, whatever comes out of ''Brahman'' – manifestation of ''Brahman'' – must be pure consciousness only, like the sparks of fire, etc. So for that we cannot understand because we are overpowered by ''Māyā '''माया'''''<nowiki/>''',''' ''ajñāna'''अज्ञान'''''<nowiki/>''',''' ''avidyā'''अविद्या'''''<nowiki/>''',''' which is described as looking at ''Brahman'', looking at ourselves, through the prism of time, space, and causation.

So ''satyam'' means this is called ''Vyāvahārika Satyam'''व्यवहारिक सत्यं''''' – this is true so long as I am experiencing it, but this is not the final truth. So for that purpose, you have to practise certain spiritual disciplines and go to the roof, which is to realise ''Aham Brahmasmi'', and then only we will be able to understand there is nothing but ''Brahman''.
===''Neti Neti'' – Not This, Not This===
So for that purpose, what is it? ''Neti neti'' (नेति नेति)– as we discussed earlier, in the ''Taittirīya'' especially: "not this, not this." That is to say, am I the ''annamaya kośa''? No. It does not mean ''annamaya kośa'' is different from me. As I mentioned in my last classes, not only am I ''annamaya'', I am also much more. So once I realise in what way I am much more, you progress: I am ''prāṇamaya'' – ''prāṇamaya'' does not negate ''annamaya''; ''prāṇamaya'' includes ''annamaya''. ''Manomaya'' includes ''prāṇamaya''. ''Vijñānamaya'' includes ''manomaya'' – that means it includes the others – and ''ānandamaya'' includes the previous four ''kośas'' of manifestations. And then we also realise this is also a work of the mind – that is why it is called ''ānandamaya kośa''. ''Ānanda'' – pure bliss. Another name for ''Brahman'' is ''ānanda'': ''satyam jñānam ānandam'' – ''ānanda'' means unbroken bliss.
===The Story of the Bride===
So for that purpose, here in the ''Bṛhadāraṇyaka'', the famous teaching ''Neti neti'' '''(नेति नेति''')– ''nayati nayati'' ('''नयति नयति'''):– "Did I reach the goal? No." So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa gives a beautiful example. There was a girl who was married. After marriage, her husband went away, and very few people could attend the marriage perhaps. Once her husband came to her house, and all the girlfriends of this girl (the wife who was married) gathered around her, and the bridegroom came with many of his friends. Maybe it was a special occasion, and he was sitting there outside chit‑chatting with others. The girls did not know who he was, because at the time of marriage the groom will be decorated in a special manner – everybody can recognise. But after that, that dress is no more necessary, so he is sitting like anybody.

One girl asks: "Is that your husband?" The girl smiles and says, "No." Another girl points to somebody: "No, no, no – ''neti, neti'' – not this, not this, not this, not this." Finally, only one man is left out, and some girl says: "Is he your husband?" She need not have asked, because there is nobody else left out – but she asked. The girl does not say anything; she keeps her head low, but a beatific smile spreads across her face, showing how happy she is. So everybody understands: that is her husband. So after negating everything, whatever remains – that is the truth.
===The Thorn Example===
But then, I have to tell you – as I told you also – Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's own example: the big thorn with the help of which all the other smaller thorns were completely thrown out – that also has to be thrown. That means that mind which is going through '''''śravaṇa(श्रवण)'', ''manana (मनन)'', ''nididhyāsana (निदिध्यासन)''''', being instructed by the Guru – even that also will be thrown out. But he will not throw it out automatically – with the last thorn, this discriminating mind itself will get torn out. What remains – he does not say "I am seeing pure consciousness"; he says "I am pure consciousness." This is the process of ''Neti neti''.
==The Three Essential Points==
So from these three important points, if we remember, then we have understood the essence of what we discussed so far.
===First: Jagat Mithyatva'''जगत् मिथ्यत्व'''===
First, the ''Jagat Mithyatva'' '''जगत् मिथ्यत्व'''– ''mithyā'' is mistaking half‑truth for absolute truth by dismissing this observable and objectifiable universe. ''Dṛśya prapañca neti neti'' proves that the universe is only a partial truth, not complete truth. That is why it is called ''mithyā''. It is not called non‑existence – it is called partial existence.
===Second: The Ultimate Reality of Brahman===
Second, the ultimate reality of ''Brahman'' – ''Brahman'' alone is the cause; the Creator alone is the real truth. Everything else is partial truth – everything else is ''satyam'', but not ''Satyasya Satyam'''सत्यस्य सत्यं''''' . For that we have to apply that process of ''Neti neti'' through the process of ''śravaṇa'', ''manana'', ''nididhyāsana'', etc.
===The Bhakti Path===
In the Bhakti path also – devotional path – exactly the same thing is repeated. How? When a person is meditating upon God, he says: "First, every devotee is a most wonderful person. So I am in every devotee – I see every devotee, and every devotee – there is no difference between me and any devotee." That is how Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: "There is no caste difference among devotees." Slowly then it expands: everything happens by the will of God, so whatever happens by the will of God, God is for my good – not only for my good, for the good of the entire universe.
===Why Suffering?===
A very profound truth we have to keep in mind. If some country is throwing bombs upon another country, our viewpoint – ignorant viewpoint – is "this is bad." But we can, from the Hindu viewpoint, expand it a little bit – I will do it very briefly.
#Nobody either suffers or enjoys except by accepting the resultant of their own past ''karma''. Then it can be happiness, it can be unhappiness. Nobody can cause either happiness or unhappiness to anybody – our own ''karmaphala'' comes through the medium of other people. That is the first thing.
#Second, that is not the only thing. So who is making this happen? There is somebody called ''Vidhātā'' – that is God – who keeps an eye on what a person has done. Such a God says: "It is better for you to be born here because that is the best chance for you." As we discussed today itself – not only to exhaust your ''prārabdha karma'', but to create better ''karma''. So whether we are happy or unhappy, a tremendous opportunity is given. Not only every birth, but every morning as soon as we wake up, God gives us 24 hours until the next day. So we will have to do certain things; we do not know what to do. For that, the scriptures are there, but the scriptures are difficult to understand. So there is a teacher, and the teacher is an experienced person and he understands the students and he tells us.
#The point is: whatever happens in our life, it is for good. That is a point we have to understand. Nobody is making another happy or suffer – first point. And if we are undergoing suffering, it is natural for us to feel sympathy, and that is a very excellent spiritual quality that shows we have to share what we have, so that in future whatever we share will come back to us. That is what we discussed in the ''Taittirīya Upaniṣad'': the only best way of saving food is to share it with others. Whatever food we share with others will be shared and comes back to us through the other people.
===Questioning God===
This is the point, and anybody who refuses to accept this view is not a spiritual person, because he is questioning God. This is the third point. If anybody claims "I am a strong believer in God" and then still says "Why is there so much evil in this world?" – then he is the most foolish, arrogant person in the whole world. You do not claim you have any faith in God. If God is the Creator, He is all good – ''sarva-maṅgala'' – and what God does, only He knows, and whatever He does is for the good of every one of us – no doubt about it. That is why it is called ''līlā'' – pretence.
===Third: The Identity of the Self and Brahman===
''Brahma satyatvam'' '''ब्रह्म सत्यत्वं'''– and in course of time, ''Jagat satyatvam'' '''जगत्सत्यत्वं'''– there is no such division called ''Brahman'' and the world. And then what is the third truth? The identity of the Self and ''Brahman'' – ''jīvo brahmaiva nāparaḥ'' '''''जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः ।'''''– is an expansion of Śaṅkara's condensation of his entire teaching: ''Brahma satyam, jagat mithyā, jīvo brahmaiva nāparaḥ'''ब्रह्म सत्यं जगन्मिथ्या जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः ।['''''

'''[''ब्रह्म सत्यं जगन्मिथ्या जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः ।'''''

'''''अनेन वेद्यं सच्छास्त्रमिति वेदान्तडिण्डिमः ।। 20II ['''ब्रह्मज्ञानावलीमाला Brahmajnanavalimala '''by Adi shankaracharya]]'''''

. That middle one is the problematic one – "this world is an illusion." And the idea we have about illusion is not a good idea – that is why it is a very horrible idea. Illusion means untrue. But the ''Upaniṣad'' says it is not an illusion – it is a half‑understood truth. So true – it is a truth. A snake is a half‑understood snake – that is how we have to understand it.

Everything – not only ''jīva'' means what? Every being, including a mosquito – not only a living being, even the non‑living – it all falls under the category of ''sat''. Only ''cit'' and ''ānanda'' are not manifest here.
===Why Deep Sleep Is Discussed===
So why is deep sleep discussed? Ultimately, deep sleep is the best example to demonstrate that our waking individuality is merely an incidental transactional state. Similarly, the dream state also – by showing that we naturally resort to a state of formless, boundaryless awareness every night, deep sleep reveals that our permanent identity is nothing but ''Brahman''. Even from a practical point of view, it is this: even if you are enjoying something very pleasant – intense happiness you are getting – it does not last much longer. But look at the wonder of this deep sleep – for nearly several hours, without the least bit of break, we enjoy the highest bliss. If that is not an exemplar, I do not know what else is.
===The Neti Neti Methodology===
So what is this ''Neti neti'' methodology? "I am not the waker. I am not the dreamer, nor am I the sleeper. I am the one who is the experiencer – follow these. Hence, I am the seer, not the seen." This is the essence of the third ''Brāhmaṇa''.

With this, this third ''Brāhmaṇa'' – the inter‑section – is over.
==Preview of Yājñavalkya-Maitreyī Dialogue==
Now we are going to enter into one of the most marvellous sections – that is called the dialogue between Yājñavalkya and Maitreyī. We will start it 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 3.1-3.6 Lecture 53 on 25 July 2026

2026-09-10T14:28:44Z

Gayatri:

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.'''

'''''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.'''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

'''OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH'''

'''OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.'''

'''OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.'''

==Introduction: The Third Brāhmaṇa==
We are studying some of the very important parts in this third ''Brāhmaṇa'' – third section. So first I would like to take up some of the important, very important ''mantras'' and then summarise what we discussed so far.
==The State of Deep Sleep '''सुषुप्ति('''(Suṣupti)==
'''In the 17th ''mantra'' – first section, second chapter, 17th ''mantra'':'''

'''स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्यत्रैष एतत्सुप्तोऽभूद्य एष विज्ञानमयः पुरुषस्तदेषां प्राणानां विज्ञानेन विज्नानमादाय य एषोऽन्तर्हृदय आकाशस्तस्मिञ्छेते तानि यदा गृह्णाति अथ हैतत्पुरुषः स्वपिति नाम तद्गृहीत एव प्राणो भवति गृहीता वाग्गृहीतं चक्षुः गृहीत श्रोत्रं गृहीतं मनः॥'''

''sa ha uvāca ajātaśatruḥ atra eṣa etat sut abhut yaḥ eṣa vijñānamayaḥ puruṣaḥ, tathā eṣāṃ prāṇānāṃ vijñānena vijñānam ādāya ya eṣa antar hṛdaya ākāśaḥ tasmin śete''.

Ajātaśatru, as we should remember, had taken his newly acquired disciple Gārgya or Bālāki to a sleeping person, woke him up after violently shaking him, and he was describing that state.
===The Components of the Jīvātman['''''जीवात्मन्''''' ]===
This '''''Puruṣa''''' – that is the '''''jīvātmanजीवात्मन्''''' – and the ''jīvātman'' consists of how many things? We have to say '''three things:'''
#'''''Cit चित्''''' – pure consciousness.
#'''''Cidābhāsa''''' '''चिदाभास'''– the reflection of this pure consciousness in the mind of the individual.
#Body and mind – we can join them together.
So pure consciousness, reflection of pure consciousness, plus body‑mind is called the individual soul – ''jīvātman''. And every ''jīvātman'' goes through three states of experience until he has self‑knowledge and becomes free – attains liberation – not "attains", but knows that he was never bound.
===The Three States===
So this person, in the waking state, the emphasis is on the body, and the body's emphasis is on the external world. But in the state of dream, the external world and the whole physical body are as it were separated from himself. He deals only with the impressions he gained through his movements and interactions in the waking state, and taking those impressions, he creates his own world – that is beautifully described later on.

But in the deep sleep state '''सुषुप्ति(''suṣupti'')''', this '''pure consciousnes'''s combined with '''reflected consciousness''' takes – he rises above all connections with the waking state – body, external world, and mind. '''What does he do''' in the deep sleep state? He takes everything, as it were – all the functions of the organs – and converts them into pure reflected consciousness. And then where does he rest? There is supposed to be a place in the heart – it is called '''''hṛdayākāśaहृदयाकाश'', ''daharākāśa''''' '''दहराकाश'''– and he rests there as long as that state of deep sleep continues.
===The Role of Karmaphala['''''कर्मफल]'''''===
But because of '''''karmaphalaकर्मफल'' ,''' when the time comes, that ''karmaphala'' acts as the cause – that is why '''''suṣuptiसुषुप्ति''''' is called '''''kāraṇa śarīraकारण शरीर'''''. So again it forcibly draws him from the ''hṛdayākāśa'' '''''हृदयाकाश'','''and then separates him from ''Paramātman'' '''परमात्मन्''' as it were. That is the state Ajātaśatru was describing: where was the sleeping person, because it took such a long time to wake him up? He was deeply resting i'''n the ''hṛdayākāśa''''' '''''हृदयाकाश'','''along with ''cit'' '''''चित्''''' – remember, ''cidākāśa'''चिदाकाश'''''''',''' ''cit'','''''चित्''''' ''cidābhāsa'''''चिदाभास'''has not disappeared, but it is nearest to the pure ''cit'', its real nature. As if there is only the shining sun and there is only the pure mirror – there is nobody there to witness, to use that reflected light to experience what is in the room. It is just like that. But as if somebody had entered later on ,Oh Brilliant light!Now I can see so clearly , I can read so clearly!
===''Swapiti'' ['''स्वपिति]'''– Resting in the Lap of Paramātman[परमात्मन् ]===
'''तानि यदा गृह्णाति अथ हैतत्पुरुषः स्वपिति नाम तद्गृहीत एव प्राणो भवति गृहीता वाग्गृहीतं चक्षुः गृहीत श्रोत्रं गृहीतं मनः॥'''

''Taniyāda gṛṇāti atha etath puruṣaḥ svapiti nāma'' –

when this person is in deep sleep, the ''jīvātman'' gets a special name''': ''svapitiस्वपिति'' .''' He is called ''svapiti'', meaning he is lying in the lap of ''Paramātman'''परमात्मन्''''' .

'''तद्गृहीत एव प्राणो भवति गृहीता वाग्गृहीतं चक्षुः गृहीत श्रोत्रं गृहीतं मनः॥'''

''Taṭgṛhītaḥ iva prāṇā bhavati, gṛhītaṃ vāk, gṛhītaṃ cakṣuḥ, gṛhītaṃ śrotram, gṛhītaṃ manaḥ'' –

when the ''jīvātman'' is in ''suṣupti'', all the sense organs are withdrawn, and when sense organs are withdrawn, their functions are also withdrawn. The organ of smell is absorbed, the organ of speech is absorbed, the eye is absorbed, the ear is absorbed, and the mind is absorbed. In other words, both mind and body attain to their causal state and are not able to function.
===The Causal State===
Now, slowly after some time, because of ''karmaphala'' – remember, it always works – two points we have to remember here: ''prāṇa'', whatever be the state – waking, dream, dreamless – ''prāṇa'' will never depart; otherwise that person, that ''jīvātman'', would be a dead person. So ''prāṇa'' will be there. But these three states are experienced by the help of the ''prāṇa'' – the body and mind are withdrawn, sense organs and corresponding thoughts are totally withdrawn. So after some time, this causal body ( causal means cause) wakes up and pulls the ''jīvātman'' forcibly from the resting place in the ''Paramātman'', brings it first to the state of dream – ''svapnāvasthā''.
==The Dream State – The 72,000 Nāḍīs==
How does it do that? That is described in the 19th ''mantra'':

'''अथ यदा सुषुप्तो भवति यदा न कस्य चन वेद हिता नाम नाद्यो द्वासप्ततिः सहस्राणि हृदयात्पुरीततमभिप्रतिष्ठन्ते ताभिः प्रत्यवसृप्य पुरीतति शेते स यथा कुमारो वा महाराजो वा महाब्राह्मणो वाऽतिघ्नीमानन्दस्य गत्वा शयीतैवमेवैष एतच्छेते॥'''

''Atha yadā suṣupto bhavati, atha nākasya caṇavet, atha nāmanā diyā va saptatiḥ sahasrāṇi hṛdayāt purītam avipratiṣṭhanti, tābhiḥ prati avasāprupyā purītathi śete''.

Briefly, what Ajātaśatru is trying – or this ''Upaniṣad'' is trying – to convey that knowledge to us through the medium of Ajātaśatru: when the ''karmaphala'' forcibly forces back the ''jīvātman'', how does it enter? It seems there are very subtle ''nāḍīs'' (nerves) – nerve centers. This nerve center we cannot find through any amount of microscope or telescope. They are subtle – subtle means not experienceable by the physical body, physical senses, even microscope or telescope. They cannot do anything unless sense organs are functioning. Only when the eye is perfectly functioning will telescope work, microscope work. If you put both in front of a blind man, they are not going to work.
===The Pathways of Return===
So when this person wakes up, then what happens? Slowly, because of these '''''vāsanās'' – ''karmaphala''''', that is the impressions – they urge: "You will have to exhaust the resultant of your own actions." So how did he enter into that '''''ākāśa'' – ''cidākāśaचिदाकाश,'' or ''hṛdayākāśa हृदयाकाश,'' or ''daharākāśa''''' '''दहराकाश'''– through these very nerves? And how does he come back? Through the very nerves. So if you go somewhere, if you have climbed to the higher storeys in your own building, you will again come back. So there are various staircases, as it were – they are called very, very subtle nerves. How many are there? The scripture is telling: 72,000 are there. Among them there is one which is called '''''purītatiपुरीतति'',''' which is '''the most important nerve''', and every other nerve is only emanating from there, and they are all well established in the heart. The heart is the place where we feel our identity.
===The Deep Sleep State and Returning===
So what happens when the Self goes into deep sleep, when it does not know anything? And how did it go into deep sleep? Through those very nerves. Now what is happening because the ''karmaphala'' wakes the person up? It returns along the 72,000 nerves called ''hītāहित''. They are all called ''hītāहित''. ''Hītāहित'' in Sanskrit means that which does good for anybody, which extends from the heart throughout the whole body. And these nerves, though they are emanating from the heart, are spread throughout the body until even the tips of the hair. So even if some smallest insect touches the tip of our hair, immediately that sensation – "Oh, something is touching me" – we can find out. Not to speak of the skin, where we feel it much more intensely – any touch. So these nerves are spread all over, and there it brings back into the dream state.
===The Three Examples – Baby, Emperor, Brāhmaṇa===
What happens?

'''यथा कुमारो वा महाराजो वा महाब्राह्मणो वाऽतिघ्नीमानन्दस्य गत्वा शयीतैवमेवैष एतच्छेते॥'''

''Yathā kumāraḥ ha va mahārājya hava mahābrāhmaṇa hava atighniṃ ānandasya gatvā śayita evam eva eṣa etath svete atighnim'' – as a baby, or an emperor, or a noble Brāhmaṇa, when they enter into the deep sleep state, they experience incomparable, supreme happiness, because for the time being duality is absent. Mind and body cause duality; mind and body are absent in deep sleep.

Having experienced that highest bliss, three examples are given:
#''Kumāra'' – a baby without the least bit of worries. In this state of babyhood, no baby will ever think about what happened in the past, what is going to happen in the future, where am I going to eat, who is going to take care of me, etc. He knows somebody else is going to take care of him. He does not even think like that – we only attribute that thinking to the baby. But the baby absolutely knows someone is looking, and if somebody by chance is temporarily absent, the baby starts howling, crying. Immediately father, mother, brother, sister – somebody comes running and takes care of the baby, and the baby becomes peaceful once more. So a baby does not have judgmental values – "this is a good person, that is a good person; this is tasty food, that is not at all tasty" – all these thoughts are totally absent until his sleeping ''saṃskāras'' wake up when his body grows up sufficiently. But until that time, a baby is a marvellous example.
That is why a ''jīvanmukta'' is compared to a baby – just like a baby without a second thought. He wants to sleep, he will sleep; he wants to meditate, he will meditate; he wants to study, he will study; he wants to talk, he will talk.
===Zen Buddhism – Complete Absorption===
There is a special Buddhistic school of philosophy called Zen Buddhism – ''Dhyāna'' Buddhism. The main teaching is: a Zen practitioner – ''dhyāna'' practitioner – whatever he does, he is aware of only that. If you are reading the messages you are getting through my WhatsApp application, you will see: when a person is walking, he is aware "I am walking"; when he is sitting, he is aware "I am sitting", etc. So this is how slowly this person becomes only absorbed in that, like a baby. Notice a baby when he is playing – one hundred percent his mind is absorbed in that, and naturally he will get the greatest pleasure. What is the value of his plaything? That is not important – whether it is a few stones, few sticks or marbles, or some play machine – it does not really matter. What matters is absorption. It does not matter what a baby eats, but he is completely absorbed in it.
#A ''Mahārāja'' who has no known enemies and everything is going on very well – how does he sleep? He is not worried – by God's grace, everything is going on well.
#A ''Mahābrāhmaṇa'' – a realised soul – they are all same: '''अतिघ्नीमानन्दस्य गत्वा''' ''atighneem ānandasya gatvā''. They experience that incomparable supreme bliss – that is the bliss of ''Brahman'' ''ānanda'' only, not less.
'''शयीतैवमेवैष एतच्छेते॥'''

''Śayit evam eva eṣa etat sethe'' –

having experienced that one, he comes back into the next stage of experience, which is called dream.
==The Dream Creation – Spider and Sparks==
And what happens? He returns back through 72,000 nerves, but then he creates a tremendous creation – his own creation. Further, an example is given:

'''स यथोर्णवाभिस्तन्तुनोच्चरेद्यथाऽग्नेः क्षुद्रा विस्फुलिङ्गा व्युच्चरन्त्येवमेवास्मादात्मनः सर्वे प्राणाः सर्वे लोकाः सर्वे देवाः सर्वाणि भूतानि व्युच्चरन्ति तस्योपनिषत्सत्यस्य सत्यमिति प्राणा वै सत्यं तेषामेष सत्यम्॥'''

''Sa yathā ūrṇanābhiḥ tantunā uccaret, yathā agneḥ kṣudrāḥ visphuliṅgāḥ vicharanti, evam eva asmāt ātmanaḥ sarve prāṇāḥ sarve lokāḥ sarve devāḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni vicharanti'' –

as a spider moves along the thread it produces from its own body; the '''second example is given''' – as from a blazing fire, millions of tiny sparks fly in every direction. Even so, from this ''Ātman'' come forth all organs, all worlds, all gods, all beings.
===The Point of the Examples===
What is the point of this particular ''mantra''? Just as in our dream spontaneously we create our dream world, and we ourselves find ourselves in our dream world – we find our neighbours, our friends, our enemies, our kingdom, our country, our religion – just like in the waking state. How did this person create? Just by the process of thought. Who created? the person who is returning, but who is actually the waking person? One person creates the entire dream world. If a human being can create the world – and what is the specialty? When this person has created this world, he does not say "this is only a dream, this is unreal, I have created it myself." '''First point''': it is not unreal – it is absolutely real, exactly like the waking state. '''Second point:''' as we are not aware that this whole waking world is created by us, exactly in the same way, the whole dream world is created by that individual soul.
===The Dream and Waking States Compared===
It is not surprising to think that when we give the example of a dream, upon waking up, instantaneously we realise that "I created my own world, where I created my own happiness and unhappiness, my own friends and enemies – somebody came and presented me an invaluable jewel; somebody else came and snatched it away; or in the process, he even hurt me." But upon waking up, we laugh and say, "How realistic it looked! But I alone – that is important – I alone am responsible." A husband cannot say "my wife is responsible for this dream." So every human being can understand.

But what about the waking state? Is it created by us? Yes. One of the understandings of ''Karma Siddhānta'' ['''कर्म सिद्धान्त''']is: our parents, our family, our financial circumstances, our climate, where we are born, into which family, which coloured parents – black‑skinned, yellow‑skinned, white‑skinned, brown‑skinned – and how our physical body looks, and our fate – whether we are poor or rich, whether we can get higher education or not, whether we are fated to go to higher universities either in India or elsewhere – in fact, the whole universe is created for two purposes:
#For exhausting whatever we had earned through our past lives – to experience the resultant of our own past actions.
#At the same time, we are given an opportunity to create new ''karma''. Should we wish, we can create new ''karma''. It might take some bit of effort, depending upon the strength of our ''saṃskāras''.
===Conscious Creation===
But we have to understand: we are creating, albeit most of the time unconsciously. If we can create deliberately, consciously – that is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's advice is: cultivate holy company deliberately, go to solitary places, and understand nothing in this world can help you continuously. Accepting the reality of the world – everything is changing – that is the reality of the world. Since everything is changing, nothing can be relied upon. So do not unnecessarily intensify attachments. Live like a maidservant. All these things are possible, and all these things are done: first, to exhaust, to get the right opportunity, appropriate opportunity; second, whatever best we can do – there is enormous scope, and that is what we need to do.
===Dreams Can Be Created by Design===
Just as we create our own dreams – dreams are not forced upon us by somebody. Every single experience we had in the dream was created by us. In fact, dreams can be created according to design. There are many people who could do that, and we can also do that. Just as we created this waking state, we can also create – Nagamahāśaya's mind was totally pitched to the highest ''loka''. That is why when his aunt used to tell him in his childhood bedtime stories of gods and goddesses and stories from Hindu mythology, next morning he used to get up, run to his aunt and say: "Aunt, today I dreamt whatever you told me yesterday – I have seen Mother Cāmuṇḍā." How many gods and goddesses she had visualised, even though she said "I never knew the existence of it" – but she had strong faith. One of the greatest devotees – she had faith that gods and goddesses exist. If God exists, then goddesses, gods also exist; higher worlds exist; nothing is impossible. Because of that, she used to have strange visions.

We should not say – our modern science is likely to say – "They are all her imaginations." But my point is: whether something is an imagination or something is a reality, it makes no difference. If we imagine something as real, that affects us. If somebody is embracing a black bear thinking "I am embracing Miss Universe", it does not matter – so long as he thinks "I am in the embrace of a most beautiful woman in this world", he is a happy person. But when that imagination breaks, another imagination comes: "This is a black bear about to crush me to death" – that is also in the same pattern. So that is why it is said: "Today's imagination will be tomorrow's fact." In fact, meditation is nothing but pure imagination – of course, guided by the Guru and the scriptures.
===The Return from Deep Sleep to Dream===
So the person coming down from the state of the highest bliss experienceable in the realistic world – from the state of deep sleep – he comes through the ferry roads, as it were, through the 72,000 ''nāḍīs''. Do not question whether they are 72,000 or 7,000 – it does not matter. So if a person is coming down from deep sleep to the dream state, he must be coming – there must be a pathway, and that pathway is called the nerves.

Having come to this dream state, he roams about. What does he do? He creates – just like a spider creates its own net to catch food in the form of insects, or just like a blazing fire from which hundreds and thousands of sparks are flying all over. The point is: all these sparks have exactly the same nature – they are hot to the touch. If a spark falls upon my body, I feel the stinging. Similarly, they also give light, because the moment you see a spark, you see it even in pitch darkness. And if this spark is a little big enough, if there is any object nearby, it illumines it – self‑illuminating and other‑illuminating – that is the characteristic of fire.
===The Whole Universe Comes from Brahman===
So the whole universe has come out of the supreme reality called ''Brahman'', just as this dream example is given to make us understand – just as we create. And then one important point we have to understand here: even when we go through this dream state, nothing happens to us. Similarly, when ''Paramātman'' creates this entire universe – how many ''lokas'', billions and billions of galaxies, every galaxy is a special ''loka'' – nothing happens to ''Paramātman''. That is the second point.

Third point we have to understand: since this whole creation is coming just as from us – every day we have a different dream. On the same night, we can have different dreams. In the same dream, we can have another subset of dreams also – in dream itself, we go to bed and we can have another dream. How many layers of dreams can we have? So one moment we find here in Bangalore, next moment in Vārāṇasī, next moment in New York – every situation is different. So how many dreams? Every dream – a special dream – is a ''loka''. ''Loka'' means a special experience.
===The Nature of the Creation===
'''Paramatman परमात्मन्''' , He creates the whole universe, and the point we have to understand is: whatever is created partakes of the same nature as the original substance. A pot – a mud pot, a clay pot – its whole nature is nothing but clay. A golden ornament will be pure gold only. Similarly, what is the nature of ''Brahman''? Pure consciousness. So even when you think "I see this – there is a big rock" – is this consciousness? Yes, of course it is consciousness.

Many times I have tried, and many times I will tell you also: at this point, we do not know what is in the external world. '''We only know our thoughts.''' So if I have the thought of a tree – I am imagining. Just like a person sitting in front of a TV in his drawing room or visitor's room, he is experiencing a beautiful match and he is feeling as if it is going on here. Nowadays the broadcasters broadcast – some hesitation is going on somewhere, and you can see it in front of you, and there is no difference. Because whether you are even present where that cricket match is being played – that event is taking place – your eyes, your ears go out and gather the impressions and bring them to the present to the mind in the form of thoughts. And we alone know – the mind is a vast screen. On that screen these thoughts are projected, and the film is the mind. But the light is called reflected consciousness, and this reflected consciousness enlarges and makes all the impressions come to life, as it were – "I am seeing it."
===Direct and Indirect Experience===
So I am giving the essence: it does not matter whether you experience something through a phone, through a TV screen, or actually you are sitting somewhere – you are not directly experiencing sitting in front of a cricket match. You are indirectly experiencing only in front of a TV screen. Both are indirect only. Nothing is direct. You only know about your thoughts, and every thought represents the entire external – every object, any object in the entire external world. Even this thought "this is external" is also a thought only. "This is internal" – that is also a thought only. Mind‑boggling – but that is the truth. Even psychologists can tell you that, not to speak of spiritual people.
===The Two Examples===
So through these two examples, ''Paramātman''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s creation is described. So it is not impossible – He Himself is the material cause, He Himself is the intelligent cause – He is everything. For that, these two examples are given, and these two examples are not only found in the ''Bṛhadāraṇyaka'' – in the ''Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad'' also, the same examples are given in some other ''Upaniṣads'' as well; they repeat the same things.
==Mūrta '''[मूर्त]'''and Amūrta'''[अमूर्त]''' – Visible and Invisible==
The next point we have seen: this entire creation is nothing but pure consciousness. But that pure consciousness, looked at through the prism of time, space, and causation, appears to be an infinite number of objects. So time, space, and causation limit, and this limited experience of pure consciousness in the form of this entire creation is subdivided by this ''Upaniṣad'': that which can be experienced by the eyes, etc., that is called ''Mūrta'''[मूर्त]'''''; and that which is experienced but not seen through the eyes, that is called ''Amūrta'' '''[अमूर्त] –''' visible and invisible. So both belong to the creation only.
==='''Brahma Satyamब्रह्म सत्यं, Jagat Satyamजगत् सत्यं''' ===
And then the ''Upaniṣad'', as we discussed earlier, made a categorical statement: just as ''Brahman'' is ''satyam'', this world is also ''satyam'' only. But then why do they say it is ''mithyā''? So long as we are not aware of the true nature of the cause which is ''Brahman'', we experience separatedness: "I am a tiny object in comparison with the other objects." Suppose imagine there is a small ant – a big rock falls upon that ant. The ant – at least we know the ant is small, therefore it cannot withstand this big rock. But that is its nature – this is because of ignorance. But once we understand consciousness, there is no division: small and big, white and black, great and small, subtle and all‑pervading. This is all the mind's attempt to make an understanding of that pure consciousness.
===The Roof Example===
So the ''Upaniṣad'' wants to tell – Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: once a person reaches the roof, understands what the roof is made of, he understands what the whole house is made of – the same material of which the roof is made, the whole house is made. Once a person realises ''Brahman'', which is ''satyam jñānam anantamसत्यं ज्ञानमनन्तं ब्रह्म।''''',[तैत्तिरीयोपनिषद्ब्रह्मानन्दवल्ली प्रथमोऽनुवाकःVerse १''' ]then the realised soul understands everything – but it is nothing but limited; it is only ''Brahman''. But if we do not have that knowledge, that is called we are ignorant – we are under the influence of ignorance. Ignorance means limited by time, space, and causation. We think everything is separate from everything else – very small, very small (''aṇu''), very big, huge, etc. And that will create many problems and repeated births again and again.
===The Realised Soul Enjoys the Universe===
That is why once a person realises the nature of the true cause, then the effects are also realised to be of the same nature. So such a person, after the realisation, enjoys this whole universe. So that is what is said here.
==Neti Neti '''नेति नेति'''– The Method of Negation==
Now we will summarise whatever is there. So in order to understand ''Brahman'' is the roof – the real cause of which the entire creation (''sṛṣṭi'') had come out – ''Brahman'' is pure consciousness. Therefore, whatever comes out of ''Brahman'' – manifestation of ''Brahman'' – must be pure consciousness only, like the sparks of fire, etc. So for that we cannot understand because we are overpowered by ''Māyā '''माया'''''<nowiki/>''',''' ''ajñāna'''अज्ञान'''''<nowiki/>''',''' ''avidyā'''अविद्या'''''<nowiki/>''',''' which is described as looking at ''Brahman'', looking at ourselves, through the prism of time, space, and causation.

So ''satyam'' means this is called ''Vyāvahārika Satyam'''व्यवहारिक सत्यं''''' – this is true so long as I am experiencing it, but this is not the final truth. So for that purpose, you have to practise certain spiritual disciplines and go to the roof, which is to realise ''Aham Brahmasmi'', and then only we will be able to understand there is nothing but ''Brahman''.
===''Neti Neti'' – Not This, Not This===
So for that purpose, what is it? ''Neti neti'' (नेति नेति)– as we discussed earlier, in the ''Taittirīya'' especially: "not this, not this." That is to say, am I the ''annamaya kośa''? No. It does not mean ''annamaya kośa'' is different from me. As I mentioned in my last classes, not only am I ''annamaya'', I am also much more. So once I realise in what way I am much more, you progress: I am ''prāṇamaya'' – ''prāṇamaya'' does not negate ''annamaya''; ''prāṇamaya'' includes ''annamaya''. ''Manomaya'' includes ''prāṇamaya''. ''Vijñānamaya'' includes ''manomaya'' – that means it includes the others – and ''ānandamaya'' includes the previous four ''kośas'' of manifestations. And then we also realise this is also a work of the mind – that is why it is called ''ānandamaya kośa''. ''Ānanda'' – pure bliss. Another name for ''Brahman'' is ''ānanda'': ''satyam jñānam ānandam'' – ''ānanda'' means unbroken bliss.
===The Story of the Bride===
So for that purpose, here in the ''Bṛhadāraṇyaka'', the famous teaching ''Neti neti'' '''(नेति नेति''')– ''nayati nayati'' ('''नयति नयति'''):– "Did I reach the goal? No." So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa gives a beautiful example. There was a girl who was married. After marriage, her husband went away, and very few people could attend the marriage perhaps. Once her husband came to her house, and all the girlfriends of this girl (the wife who was married) gathered around her, and the bridegroom came with many of his friends. Maybe it was a special occasion, and he was sitting there outside chit‑chatting with others. The girls did not know who he was, because at the time of marriage the groom will be decorated in a special manner – everybody can recognise. But after that, that dress is no more necessary, so he is sitting like anybody.

One girl asks: "Is that your husband?" The girl smiles and says, "No." Another girl points to somebody: "No, no, no – ''neti, neti'' – not this, not this, not this, not this." Finally, only one man is left out, and some girl says: "Is he your husband?" She need not have asked, because there is nobody else left out – but she asked. The girl does not say anything; she keeps her head low, but a beatific smile spreads across her face, showing how happy she is. So everybody understands: that is her husband. So after negating everything, whatever remains – that is the truth.
===The Thorn Example===
But then, I have to tell you – as I told you also – Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's own example: the big thorn with the help of which all the other smaller thorns were completely thrown out – that also has to be thrown. That means that mind which is going through '''''śravaṇa(श्रवण)'', ''manana (मनन)'', ''nididhyāsana (निदिध्यासन)''''', being instructed by the Guru – even that also will be thrown out. But he will not throw it out automatically – with the last thorn, this discriminating mind itself will get torn out. What remains – he does not say "I am seeing pure consciousness"; he says "I am pure consciousness." This is the process of ''Neti neti''.
==The Three Essential Points==
So from these three important points, if we remember, then we have understood the essence of what we discussed so far.
===First: Jagat Mithyatva'''जगत् मिथ्यत्व'''===
First, the ''Jagat Mithyatva'' '''जगत् मिथ्यत्व'''– ''mithyā'' is mistaking half‑truth for absolute truth by dismissing this observable and objectifiable universe. ''Dṛśya prapañca neti neti'' proves that the universe is only a partial truth, not complete truth. That is why it is called ''mithyā''. It is not called non‑existence – it is called partial existence.
===Second: The Ultimate Reality of Brahman===
Second, the ultimate reality of ''Brahman'' – ''Brahman'' alone is the cause; the Creator alone is the real truth. Everything else is partial truth – everything else is ''satyam'', but not ''Satyasya Satyam'''सत्यस्य सत्यं''''' . For that we have to apply that process of ''Neti neti'' through the process of ''śravaṇa'', ''manana'', ''nididhyāsana'', etc.
===The Bhakti Path===
In the Bhakti path also – devotional path – exactly the same thing is repeated. How? When a person is meditating upon God, he says: "First, every devotee is a most wonderful person. So I am in every devotee – I see every devotee, and every devotee – there is no difference between me and any devotee." That is how Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: "There is no caste difference among devotees." Slowly then it expands: everything happens by the will of God, so whatever happens by the will of God, God is for my good – not only for my good, for the good of the entire universe.
===Why Suffering?===
A very profound truth we have to keep in mind. If some country is throwing bombs upon another country, our viewpoint – ignorant viewpoint – is "this is bad." But we can, from the Hindu viewpoint, expand it a little bit – I will do it very briefly.
#Nobody either suffers or enjoys except by accepting the resultant of their own past ''karma''. Then it can be happiness, it can be unhappiness. Nobody can cause either happiness or unhappiness to anybody – our own ''karmaphala'' comes through the medium of other people. That is the first thing.
#Second, that is not the only thing. So who is making this happen? There is somebody called ''Vidhātā'' – that is God – who keeps an eye on what a person has done. Such a God says: "It is better for you to be born here because that is the best chance for you." As we discussed today itself – not only to exhaust your ''prārabdha karma'', but to create better ''karma''. So whether we are happy or unhappy, a tremendous opportunity is given. Not only every birth, but every morning as soon as we wake up, God gives us 24 hours until the next day. So we will have to do certain things; we do not know what to do. For that, the scriptures are there, but the scriptures are difficult to understand. So there is a teacher, and the teacher is an experienced person and he understands the students and he tells us.
#The point is: whatever happens in our life, it is for good. That is a point we have to understand. Nobody is making another happy or suffer – first point. And if we are undergoing suffering, it is natural for us to feel sympathy, and that is a very excellent spiritual quality that shows we have to share what we have, so that in future whatever we share will come back to us. That is what we discussed in the ''Taittirīya Upaniṣad'': the only best way of saving food is to share it with others. Whatever food we share with others will be shared and comes back to us through the other people.
===Questioning God===
This is the point, and anybody who refuses to accept this view is not a spiritual person, because he is questioning God. This is the third point. If anybody claims "I am a strong believer in God" and then still says "Why is there so much evil in this world?" – then he is the most foolish, arrogant person in the whole world. You do not claim you have any faith in God. If God is the Creator, He is all good – ''sarva-maṅgala'' – and what God does, only He knows, and whatever He does is for the good of every one of us – no doubt about it. That is why it is called ''līlā'' – pretence.
===Third: The Identity of the Self and Brahman===
''Brahma satyatvam'' '''ब्रह्म सत्यत्वं'''– and in course of time, ''Jagat satyatvam'' '''जगत्सत्यत्वं'''– there is no such division called ''Brahman'' and the world. And then what is the third truth? The identity of the Self and ''Brahman'' – ''jīvo brahmaiva nāparaḥ'' '''''जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः ।'''''– is an expansion of Śaṅkara's condensation of his entire teaching: ''Brahma satyam, jagat mithyā, jīvo brahmaiva nāparaḥ'''ब्रह्म सत्यं जगन्मिथ्या जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः ।['''''

'''[''ब्रह्म सत्यं जगन्मिथ्या जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः ।'''''

'''''अनेन वेद्यं सच्छास्त्रमिति वेदान्तडिण्डिमः ।। 20II ['''ब्रह्मज्ञानावलीमाला Brahmajnanavalimala '''by Adi shankaracharya]]'''''

. That middle one is the problematic one – "this world is an illusion." And the idea we have about illusion is not a good idea – that is why it is a very horrible idea. Illusion means untrue. But the ''Upaniṣad'' says it is not an illusion – it is a half‑understood truth. So true – it is a truth. A snake is a half‑understood snake – that is how we have to understand it.

Everything – not only ''jīva'' means what? Every being, including a mosquito – not only a living being, even the non‑living – it all falls under the category of ''sat''. Only ''cit'' and ''ānanda'' are not manifest here.
===Why Deep Sleep Is Discussed===
So why is deep sleep discussed? Ultimately, deep sleep is the best example to demonstrate that our waking individuality is merely an incidental transactional state. Similarly, the dream state also – by showing that we naturally resort to a state of formless, boundaryless awareness every night, deep sleep reveals that our permanent identity is nothing but ''Brahman''. Even from a practical point of view, it is this: even if you are enjoying something very pleasant – intense happiness you are getting – it does not last much longer. But look at the wonder of this deep sleep – for nearly several hours, without the least bit of break, we enjoy the highest bliss. If that is not an exemplar, I do not know what else is.
===The Neti Neti Methodology===
So what is this ''Neti neti'' methodology? "I am not the waker. I am not the dreamer, nor am I the sleeper. I am the one who is the experiencer – follow these. Hence, I am the seer, not the seen." This is the essence of the third ''Brāhmaṇa''.

With this, this third ''Brāhmaṇa'' – the inter‑section – is over.
==Preview of Yājñavalkya-Maitreyī Dialogue==
Now we are going to enter into one of the most marvellous sections – that is called the dialogue between Yājñavalkya and Maitreyī. We will start it 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 3.1-3.6 Lecture 53 on 25 July 2026

2026-09-10T14:21:34Z

Gayatri:

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.'''

'''''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.'''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

'''OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH'''

'''OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.'''

'''OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.'''

==Introduction: The Third Brāhmaṇa==
We are studying some of the very important parts in this third ''Brāhmaṇa'' – third section. So first I would like to take up some of the important, very important ''mantras'' and then summarise what we discussed so far.
==The State of Deep Sleep '''सुषुप्ति'''(Suṣupti)==
'''In the 17th ''mantra'' – first section, second chapter, 17th ''mantra'':'''

'''स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्यत्रैष एतत्सुप्तोऽभूद्य एष विज्ञानमयः पुरुषस्तदेषां प्राणानां विज्ञानेन विज्नानमादाय य एषोऽन्तर्हृदय आकाशस्तस्मिञ्छेते तानि यदा गृह्णाति अथ हैतत्पुरुषः स्वपिति नाम तद्गृहीत एव प्राणो भवति गृहीता वाग्गृहीतं चक्षुः गृहीत श्रोत्रं गृहीतं मनः॥'''

''sa ha uvāca ajātaśatruḥ atra eṣa etat sut abhut yaḥ eṣa vijñānamayaḥ puruṣaḥ, tathā eṣāṃ prāṇānāṃ vijñānena vijñānam ādāya ya eṣa antar hṛdaya ākāśaḥ tasmin śete''.

Ajātaśatru, as we should remember, had taken his newly acquired disciple Gārgya or Bālāki to a sleeping person, woke him up after violently shaking him, and he was describing that state.
===The Components of the Jīvātman['''''जीवात्म''न्''']===
This '''''Puruṣa''''' – that is the '''''jīvātmanजीवात्म''न्'''– and the ''jīvātman'' consists of how many things? We have to say '''three things:'''
#'''''Cit चित्''''' – pure consciousness.
#'''''Cidābhāsa''''' '''चिदाभास'''– the reflection of this pure consciousness in the mind of the individual.
#Body and mind – we can join them together.
So pure consciousness, reflection of pure consciousness, plus body‑mind is called the individual soul – ''jīvātman''. And every ''jīvātman'' goes through three states of experience until he has self‑knowledge and becomes free – attains liberation – not "attains", but knows that he was never bound.
===The Three States===
So this person, in the waking state, the emphasis is on the body, and the body's emphasis is on the external world. But in the state of dream, the external world and the whole physical body are as it were separated from himself. He deals only with the impressions he gained through his movements and interactions in the waking state, and taking those impressions, he creates his own world – that is beautifully described later on.

But in the deep sleep state '''सुषुप्ति'''('''''suṣupti'')''', this '''pure consciousnes'''s combined with '''reflected consciousness''' takes – he rises above all connections with the waking state – body, external world, and mind. '''What does he do''' in the deep sleep state? He takes everything, as it were – all the functions of the organs – and converts them into pure reflected consciousness. And then where does he rest? There is supposed to be a place in the heart – it is called '''''hṛdayākāśaहृदयाकाश'', ''daharākāśa''''' '''दहराकाश'''– and he rests there as long as that state of deep sleep continues.
===The Role of Karmaphala['''''कर्मफल'' ]'''===
But because of '''''karmaphalaकर्मफल'' ,''' when the time comes, that ''karmaphala'' acts as the cause – that is why '''''suṣuptiसुषुप्ति''''' is called '''''kāraṇa śarīraकारण शरीर'''''. So again it forcibly draws him from the ''hṛdayākāśa'' '''''हृदयाकाश'','''and then separates him from ''Paramātman'' '''परमात्मन्'''as it were. That is the state Ajātaśatru was describing: where was the sleeping person, because it took such a long time to wake him up? He was deeply resting i'''n the ''hṛdayākāśa''''' '''''हृदयाकाश'','''along with ''cit'' '''''चित्''''' – remember, ''cidākāśa'''चिदाकाश'''''<nowiki/>''',''' ''cit'','''''चित्''''' ''cidābhāsa'''''चिदाभास'''has not disappeared, but it is nearest to the pure ''cit'', its real nature. As if there is only the shining sun and there is only the pure mirror – there is nobody there to witness, to use that reflected light to experience what is in the room. It is just like that. But as if somebody had entered later on ,Oh Brilliant light!Now I can see so clearly , I can read so clearly!
===''Swapiti'' ['''स्वपिति]'''– Resting in the Lap of Paramātman['''परमात्मन्]'''===
'''तानि यदा गृह्णाति अथ हैतत्पुरुषः स्वपिति नाम तद्गृहीत एव प्राणो भवति गृहीता वाग्गृहीतं चक्षुः गृहीत श्रोत्रं गृहीतं मनः॥'''

''Taniyāda gṛṇāti atha etath puruṣaḥ svapiti nāma'' –

when this person is in deep sleep, the ''jīvātman'' gets a special name''': ''svapitiस्वपिति'' .''' He is called ''svapiti'', meaning he is lying in the lap of ''Paramātman''.

'''तद्गृहीत एव प्राणो भवति गृहीता वाग्गृहीतं चक्षुः गृहीत श्रोत्रं गृहीतं मनः॥'''

''Taṭgṛhītaḥ iva prāṇā bhavati, gṛhītaṃ vāk, gṛhītaṃ cakṣuḥ, gṛhītaṃ śrotram, gṛhītaṃ manaḥ'' –

when the ''jīvātman'' is in ''suṣupti'', all the sense organs are withdrawn, and when sense organs are withdrawn, their functions are also withdrawn. The organ of smell is absorbed, the organ of speech is absorbed, the eye is absorbed, the ear is absorbed, and the mind is absorbed. In other words, both mind and body attain to their causal state and are not able to function.
===The Causal State===
Now, slowly after some time, because of ''karmaphala'' – remember, it always works – two points we have to remember here: ''prāṇa'', whatever be the state – waking, dream, dreamless – ''prāṇa'' will never depart; otherwise that person, that ''jīvātman'', would be a dead person. So ''prāṇa'' will be there. But these three states are experienced by the help of the ''prāṇa'' – the body and mind are withdrawn, sense organs and corresponding thoughts are totally withdrawn. So after some time, this causal body ( causal means cause) wakes up and pulls the ''jīvātman'' forcibly from the resting place in the ''Paramātman'', brings it first to the state of dream – ''svapnāvasthā''.
==The Dream State – The 72,000 Nāḍīs==
How does it do that? That is described in the 19th ''mantra'':

'''अथ यदा सुषुप्तो भवति यदा न कस्य चन वेद हिता नाम नाद्यो द्वासप्ततिः सहस्राणि हृदयात्पुरीततमभिप्रतिष्ठन्ते ताभिः प्रत्यवसृप्य पुरीतति शेते स यथा कुमारो वा महाराजो वा महाब्राह्मणो वाऽतिघ्नीमानन्दस्य गत्वा शयीतैवमेवैष एतच्छेते॥'''

''Atha yadā suṣupto bhavati, atha nākasya caṇavet, atha nāmanā diyā va saptatiḥ sahasrāṇi hṛdayāt purītam avipratiṣṭhanti, tābhiḥ prati avasāprupyā purītathi śete''.

Briefly, what Ajātaśatru is trying – or this ''Upaniṣad'' is trying – to convey that knowledge to us through the medium of Ajātaśatru: when the ''karmaphala'' forcibly forces back the ''jīvātman'', how does it enter? It seems there are very subtle ''nāḍīs'' (nerves) – nerve centers. This nerve center we cannot find through any amount of microscope or telescope. They are subtle – subtle means not experienceable by the physical body, physical senses, even microscope or telescope. They cannot do anything unless sense organs are functioning. Only when the eye is perfectly functioning will telescope work, microscope work. If you put both in front of a blind man, they are not going to work.
===The Pathways of Return===
So when this person wakes up, then what happens? Slowly, because of these '''''vāsanās'' – ''karmaphala''''', that is the impressions – they urge: "You will have to exhaust the resultant of your own actions." So how did he enter into that '''''ākāśa'' – ''cidākāśaचिदाकाश,'' or ''hṛdayākāśa हृदयाकाश,'' or ''daharākāśa''''' '''दहराकाश'''– through these very nerves? And how does he come back? Through the very nerves. So if you go somewhere, if you have climbed to the higher storeys in your own building, you will again come back. So there are various staircases, as it were – they are called very, very subtle nerves. How many are there? The scripture is telling: 72,000 are there. Among them there is one which is called '''''purītatiपुरीतति'',''' which is '''the most important nerve''', and every other nerve is only emanating from there, and they are all well established in the heart. The heart is the place where we feel our identity.
===The Deep Sleep State and Returning===
So what happens when the Self goes into deep sleep, when it does not know anything? And how did it go into deep sleep? Through those very nerves. Now what is happening because the ''karmaphala'' wakes the person up? It returns along the 72,000 nerves called ''hītāहित''. They are all called ''hītāहित''. ''Hītāहित'' in Sanskrit means that which does good for anybody, which extends from the heart throughout the whole body. And these nerves, though they are emanating from the heart, are spread throughout the body until even the tips of the hair. So even if some smallest insect touches the tip of our hair, immediately that sensation – "Oh, something is touching me" – we can find out. Not to speak of the skin, where we feel it much more intensely – any touch. So these nerves are spread all over, and there it brings back into the dream state.
===The Three Examples – Baby, Emperor, Brāhmaṇa===
What happens?

'''यथा कुमारो वा महाराजो वा महाब्राह्मणो वाऽतिघ्नीमानन्दस्य गत्वा शयीतैवमेवैष एतच्छेते॥'''

''Yathā kumāraḥ ha va mahārājya hava mahābrāhmaṇa hava atighniṃ ānandasya gatvā śayita evam eva eṣa etath svete atighnim'' – as a baby, or an emperor, or a noble Brāhmaṇa, when they enter into the deep sleep state, they experience incomparable, supreme happiness, because for the time being duality is absent. Mind and body cause duality; mind and body are absent in deep sleep.

Having experienced that highest bliss, three examples are given:
#''Kumāra'' – a baby without the least bit of worries. In this state of babyhood, no baby will ever think about what happened in the past, what is going to happen in the future, where am I going to eat, who is going to take care of me, etc. He knows somebody else is going to take care of him. He does not even think like that – we only attribute that thinking to the baby. But the baby absolutely knows someone is looking, and if somebody by chance is temporarily absent, the baby starts howling, crying. Immediately father, mother, brother, sister – somebody comes running and takes care of the baby, and the baby becomes peaceful once more. So a baby does not have judgmental values – "this is a good person, that is a good person; this is tasty food, that is not at all tasty" – all these thoughts are totally absent until his sleeping ''saṃskāras'' wake up when his body grows up sufficiently. But until that time, a baby is a marvellous example.
That is why a ''jīvanmukta'' is compared to a baby – just like a baby without a second thought. He wants to sleep, he will sleep; he wants to meditate, he will meditate; he wants to study, he will study; he wants to talk, he will talk.
===Zen Buddhism – Complete Absorption===
There is a special Buddhistic school of philosophy called Zen Buddhism – ''Dhyāna'' Buddhism. The main teaching is: a Zen practitioner – ''dhyāna'' practitioner – whatever he does, he is aware of only that. If you are reading the messages you are getting through my WhatsApp application, you will see: when a person is walking, he is aware "I am walking"; when he is sitting, he is aware "I am sitting", etc. So this is how slowly this person becomes only absorbed in that, like a baby. Notice a baby when he is playing – one hundred percent his mind is absorbed in that, and naturally he will get the greatest pleasure. What is the value of his plaything? That is not important – whether it is a few stones, few sticks or marbles, or some play machine – it does not really matter. What matters is absorption. It does not matter what a baby eats, but he is completely absorbed in it.
#A ''Mahārāja'' who has no known enemies and everything is going on very well – how does he sleep? He is not worried – by God's grace, everything is going on well.
#A ''Mahābrāhmaṇa'' – a realised soul – they are all same: '''अतिघ्नीमानन्दस्य गत्वा''' ''atighneem ānandasya gatvā''. They experience that incomparable supreme bliss – that is the bliss of ''Brahman'' ''ānanda'' only, not less.
'''शयीतैवमेवैष एतच्छेते॥'''

''Śayit evam eva eṣa etat sethe'' –

having experienced that one, he comes back into the next stage of experience, which is called dream.
==The Dream Creation – Spider and Sparks==
And what happens? He returns back through 72,000 nerves, but then he creates a tremendous creation – his own creation. Further, an example is given:

'''स यथोर्णवाभिस्तन्तुनोच्चरेद्यथाऽग्नेः क्षुद्रा विस्फुलिङ्गा व्युच्चरन्त्येवमेवास्मादात्मनः सर्वे प्राणाः सर्वे लोकाः सर्वे देवाः सर्वाणि भूतानि व्युच्चरन्ति तस्योपनिषत्सत्यस्य सत्यमिति प्राणा वै सत्यं तेषामेष सत्यम्॥'''

''Sa yathā ūrṇanābhiḥ tantunā uccaret, yathā agneḥ kṣudrāḥ visphuliṅgāḥ vicharanti, evam eva asmāt ātmanaḥ sarve prāṇāḥ sarve lokāḥ sarve devāḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni vicharanti'' –

as a spider moves along the thread it produces from its own body; the '''second example is given''' – as from a blazing fire, millions of tiny sparks fly in every direction. Even so, from this ''Ātman'' come forth all organs, all worlds, all gods, all beings.
===The Point of the Examples===
What is the point of this particular ''mantra''? Just as in our dream spontaneously we create our dream world, and we ourselves find ourselves in our dream world – we find our neighbours, our friends, our enemies, our kingdom, our country, our religion – just like in the waking state. How did this person create? Just by the process of thought. Who created? the person who is returning, but who is actually the waking person? One person creates the entire dream world. If a human being can create the world – and what is the specialty? When this person has created this world, he does not say "this is only a dream, this is unreal, I have created it myself." '''First point''': it is not unreal – it is absolutely real, exactly like the waking state. '''Second point:''' as we are not aware that this whole waking world is created by us, exactly in the same way, the whole dream world is created by that individual soul.
===The Dream and Waking States Compared===
It is not surprising to think that when we give the example of a dream, upon waking up, instantaneously we realise that "I created my own world, where I created my own happiness and unhappiness, my own friends and enemies – somebody came and presented me an invaluable jewel; somebody else came and snatched it away; or in the process, he even hurt me." But upon waking up, we laugh and say, "How realistic it looked! But I alone – that is important – I alone am responsible." A husband cannot say "my wife is responsible for this dream." So every human being can understand.

But what about the waking state? Is it created by us? Yes. One of the understandings of ''Karma Siddhānta'' ['''कर्म सिद्धान्त''']is: our parents, our family, our financial circumstances, our climate, where we are born, into which family, which coloured parents – black‑skinned, yellow‑skinned, white‑skinned, brown‑skinned – and how our physical body looks, and our fate – whether we are poor or rich, whether we can get higher education or not, whether we are fated to go to higher universities either in India or elsewhere – in fact, the whole universe is created for two purposes:
#For exhausting whatever we had earned through our past lives – to experience the resultant of our own past actions.
#At the same time, we are given an opportunity to create new ''karma''. Should we wish, we can create new ''karma''. It might take some bit of effort, depending upon the strength of our ''saṃskāras''.
===Conscious Creation===
But we have to understand: we are creating, albeit most of the time unconsciously. If we can create deliberately, consciously – that is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's advice is: cultivate holy company deliberately, go to solitary places, and understand nothing in this world can help you continuously. Accepting the reality of the world – everything is changing – that is the reality of the world. Since everything is changing, nothing can be relied upon. So do not unnecessarily intensify attachments. Live like a maidservant. All these things are possible, and all these things are done: first, to exhaust, to get the right opportunity, appropriate opportunity; second, whatever best we can do – there is enormous scope, and that is what we need to do.
===Dreams Can Be Created by Design===
Just as we create our own dreams – dreams are not forced upon us by somebody. Every single experience we had in the dream was created by us. In fact, dreams can be created according to design. There are many people who could do that, and we can also do that. Just as we created this waking state, we can also create – Nagamahāśaya's mind was totally pitched to the highest ''loka''. That is why when his aunt used to tell him in his childhood bedtime stories of gods and goddesses and stories from Hindu mythology, next morning he used to get up, run to his aunt and say: "Aunt, today I dreamt whatever you told me yesterday – I have seen Mother Chandramani." How many gods and goddesses she had visualised, even though she said "I never knew the existence of it" – but she had strong faith. One of the greatest devotees – she had faith that gods and goddesses exist. If God exists, then goddesses, gods also exist; higher worlds exist; nothing is impossible. Because of that, she used to have strange visions.

We should not say – our modern science is likely to say – "They are all her imaginations." But my point is: whether something is an imagination or something is a reality, it makes no difference. If we imagine something as real, that affects us. If somebody is embracing a black bear thinking "I am embracing Miss Universe", it does not matter – so long as he thinks "I am in the embrace of a most beautiful woman in this world", he is a happy person. But when that imagination breaks, another imagination comes: "This is a black bear about to crush me to death" – that is also in the same pattern. So that is why it is said: "Today's imagination will be tomorrow's fact." In fact, meditation is nothing but pure imagination – of course, guided by the Guru and the scriptures.
===The Return from Deep Sleep to Dream===
So the person coming down from the state of the highest bliss experienceable in the realistic world – from the state of deep sleep – he comes through the ferry roads, as it were, through the 72,000 ''nāḍīs''. Do not question whether they are 72,000 or 7,000 – it does not matter. So if a person is coming down from deep sleep to the dream state, he must be coming – there must be a pathway, and that pathway is called the nerves.

Having come to this dream state, he roams about. What does he do? He creates – just like a spider creates its own net to catch food in the form of insects, or just like a blazing fire from which hundreds and thousands of sparks are flying all over. The point is: all these sparks have exactly the same nature – they are hot to the touch. If a spark falls upon my body, I feel the stinging. Similarly, they also give light, because the moment you see a spark, you see it even in pitch darkness. And if this spark is a little big enough, if there is any object nearby, it illumines it – self‑illuminating and other‑illuminating – that is the characteristic of fire.
===The Whole Universe Comes from Brahman===
So the whole universe has come out of the supreme reality called ''Brahman'', just as this dream example is given to make us understand – just as we create. And then one important point we have to understand here: even when we go through this dream state, nothing happens to us. Similarly, when ''Paramātman'' creates this entire universe – how many ''lokas'', billions and billions of galaxies, every galaxy is a special ''loka'' – nothing happens to ''Paramātman''. That is the second point.

Third point we have to understand: since this whole creation is coming just as from us – every day we have a different dream. On the same night, we can have different dreams. In the same dream, we can have another subset of dreams also – in dream itself, we go to bed and we can have another dream. How many layers of dreams can we have? So one moment we find here in Bangalore, next moment in Vārāṇasī, next moment in New York – every situation is different. So how many dreams? Every dream – a special dream – is a ''loka''. '''''Loka'' means a special experience.'''
===The Nature of the Creation===
'''For Mahātman''', He creates the whole universe, and the point we have to understand is: whatever is created partakes of the same nature as the original substance. A pot – a mud pot, a clay pot – its whole nature is nothing but clay. A golden ornament will be pure gold only. Similarly, what is the nature of ''Brahman''? Pure consciousness. So even when you think "I see this – there is a big rock" – is this consciousness? Yes, of course it is consciousness.

Many times I have tried, and many times I will tell you also: at this point, we do not know what is in the external world. '''We only know our thoughts.''' So if I have the thought of a tree – I am imagining. Just like a person sitting in front of a TV in his drawing room or visitor's room, he is experiencing a beautiful match and he is feeling as if it is going on here. Nowadays the broadcasters broadcast – some agitation is going on somewhere, and you can see it in front of you, and there is no difference. Because whether you are even present where that cricket match is being played – that event is taking place – your eyes, your ears go out and gather the impressions and bring them to the present to the mind in the form of thoughts. And we alone know – the mind is a vast screen. On that screen these thoughts are projected, and the film is the mind. But the light is called reflected consciousness, and this reflected consciousness enlarges and makes all the impressions come to life, as it were – "I am seeing it."
===Direct and Indirect Experience===
So I am giving the essence: it does not matter whether you experience something through a phone, through a TV screen, or actually you are sitting somewhere – you are not directly experiencing sitting in front of a cricket match. You are indirectly experiencing only in front of a TV screen. Both are indirect only. Nothing is direct. You only know about your thoughts, and every thought represents the entire external – every object, any object in the entire external world. Even this thought "this is external" is also a thought only. "This is internal" – that is also a thought only. Mind‑boggling – but that is the truth. Even psychologists can tell you that, not to speak of spiritual people.
===The Two Examples===
So through these two examples, ''Paramātman''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s creation is described. So it is not impossible – He Himself is the material cause, He Himself is the intelligent cause – He is everything. For that, these two examples are given, and these two examples are not only found in the ''Bṛhadāraṇyaka'' – in the ''Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad'' also, the same examples are given in some other ''Upaniṣads'' as well; they repeat the same things.
==Mūrta '''[मूर्त]'''and Amūrta'''[अमूर्त]''' – Visible and Invisible==
The next point we have seen: this entire creation is nothing but pure consciousness. But that pure consciousness, looked at through the prism of time, space, and causation, appears to be an infinite number of objects. So time, space, and causation limit, and this limited experience of pure consciousness in the form of this entire creation is subdivided by this ''Upaniṣad'': that which can be experienced by the eyes, etc., that is called ''Mūrta'''[मूर्त]'''''; and that which is experienced but not seen through the eyes, that is called ''Amūrta'' '''[अमूर्त] –''' visible and invisible. So both belong to the creation only.
===Brahma Satyam'''ब्रह्म सत्यं''', Jagat Satyam'''जगत् सत्यं''' ===
And then the ''Upaniṣad'', as we discussed earlier, made a categorical statement: just as ''Brahman'' is ''satyamसत्यं'', this world is also ''satyamसत्यं'' only. But then why do they say it is ''mithyā''? So long as we are not aware of the true nature of the cause which is ''Brahman'', we experience separatedness: "I am a tiny object in comparison with the other objects." Suppose imagine there is a small ant – a big rock falls upon that ant. The ant – at least we know the ant is small, therefore it cannot withstand this big rock. But that is its nature – this is because of ignorance. But once we understand consciousness, there is no division: small and big, white and black, great and small, subtle and all‑pervading. This is all the mind's attempt to make an understanding of that pure consciousness.
===The Roof Example===
So the ''Upaniṣad'' wants to tell – Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: once a person reaches the roof, understands what the roof is made of, he understands what the whole house is made of – the same material of which the roof is made, the whole house is made. Once a person realises ''Brahman'', which is '''''satyam jñānam anantamसत्यं ज्ञानमनन्तं ब्रह्म।'',[तैत्तिरीयोपनिषद्ब्रह्मानन्दवल्ली प्रथमोऽनुवाकःVerse १''' ]then the realised soul understands everything – but it is nothing but limited; it is only ''Brahman''. But if we do not have that knowledge, that is called we are ignorant – we are under the influence of ignorance. Ignorance means limited by time, space, and causation. We think everything is separate from everything else – very small, very small (''aṇu''), very big, huge, etc. And that will create many problems and repeated births again and again.
===The Realised Soul Enjoys the Universe===
That is why once a person realises the nature of the true cause, then the effects are also realised to be of the same nature. So such a person, after the realisation, enjoys this whole universe. So that is what is said here.
==Neti Neti '''नेति नेति'''– The Method of Negation==
Now we will summarise whatever is there. So in order to understand ''Brahman'' is the roof – the real cause of which the entire creation'''सृष्टि''' '''(''sṛṣṭi''''') had come out – ''Brahman'' is pure consciousness. Therefore, whatever comes out of ''Brahman'' – manifestation of ''Brahman'' – must be pure consciousness only, like the sparks of fire, etc. So for that we cannot understand because we are overpowered by ''Māyā '''माया'''''''',''' ''ajñāna'''अज्ञान'''''''',''' ''avidyā'''अविद्या'''''''',''' which is described as looking at ''Brahman'', looking at ourselves, through the prism of time, space, and causation.

So ''satyam'' means this is called '''''Vyāvahārika Satyam व्यवहारिक सत्यं''''' – this is true so long as I am experiencing it, but this is not the final truth. So for that purpose, you have to practise certain spiritual disciplines and go to the roof, which is to realise '''''Aham Brahmasmi(अहं ब्रह्मास्मि)''''', and then only we will be able to understand there is nothing but ''Brahman''.
===''Neti Neti'' – Not This, Not This===
So for that purpose, what is it? '''''Neti neti'' (नेति नेति''')– as we discussed earlier, in the ''Taittirīya'' especially: '''"not this, not this."''' That is to say, am I the '''''annamaya kośa''?''' No. It does not mean ''annamaya kośa'' is different from me. As I mentioned in my last classes, not only am I ''annamaya'', I am also much more. So once I realise in what way I am much more, you progress: I am ''prāṇamaya'' – ''prāṇamaya'' does not negate ''annamaya''; ''prāṇamaya'' includes ''annamaya''. ''Manomaya'' includes ''prāṇamaya''. ''Vijñānamaya'' includes ''manomaya'' – that means it includes the others – '''and ''ānandamaya'' includes the previous four ''kośas'' of manifestations.''' And then we also realise this is also a work of the mind – that is why it is called ''ānandamaya kośa''. ''Ānanda'' – pure bliss. Another name for ''Brahman'' is ''ānanda'': ''satyam jñānam ānandam'' – '''''ānanda'' means unbroken bliss.'''
===The Story of the Bride===
So for that purpose, here in the ''Bṛhadāraṇyaka'', the famous teaching ''Neti neti'' '''(नेति नेति''')– ''na iti na iti'' ('''न इति न इति''' ):– "Did I reach the goal? No." So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa gives a beautiful example. There was a girl who was married. After marriage, her husband went away, and very few people could attend the marriage perhaps. Once her husband came to her house, and all the girlfriends of this girl (the wife who was married) gathered around her, and the bridegroom came with many of his friends. Maybe it was a special occasion, and he was sitting there outside chit‑chatting with others. The girls did not know who he was, because at the time of marriage the groom will be decorated in a special manner – everybody can recognise. But after that, that dress is no more necessary, so he is sitting like anybody.

One girl asks: "Is that your husband?" The girl smiles and says, "No." Another girl points to somebody: "No, no, no – ''neti, neti'' – not this, not this, not this, not this." Finally, only one man is left out, and some girl says: "Is he your husband?" She need not have asked, because there is nobody else left out – but she asked. The girl does not say anything; she keeps her head low, but a beatific smile adorns her face, showing how happy she is. So everybody understands: that is her husband. So after negating everything, whatever remains – that is the truth.
===The Thorn Example===
But then, I have to tell you – as I told you also – Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's own example: the big thorn with the help of which all the other smaller thorns were completely thrown out – that also has to be thrown. That means that mind which is going through '''''śravaṇa(श्रवण)'', ''manana (मनन)'', ''nididhyāsana (निदिध्यासन)''''', being instructed by the Guru – even that also will be thrown out. But he will not throw it out automatically – with the last thorn, this discriminating mind itself will get thrown out. What remains – he does not say "I am seeing pure consciousness"; he says "I am pure consciousness." This is the process of ''Neti neti''.
==The Three Essential Points==
So from these three important points, if we remember, then we have understood the essence of what we discussed so far.
===First: Jagat Mithyatva '''जगत् मिथ्यत्व'''===
First, the ''Jagat Mithyatva'' '''जगत् मिथ्यत्व'''– ''mithyā'' is mistaking half‑truth for absolute truth by dismissing this observable and objectifiable universe. '''''Dṛśya prapañcaदृश्य प्रपञ्च neti neti'' (नेति नेति)'''proves that the universe is only a partial truth, not complete truth. That is why it is called ''mithyā''. It is not called non‑existence – it is called partial existence.
===Second: The Ultimate Reality of Brahman===
Second, the ultimate reality of ''Brahman'' – ''Brahman'' alone is the cause; the Creator alone is the real truth. Everything else is partial truth – everything else is ''satyam'', but '''not''' ''Satyasya Satyam'''सत्यस्य सत्यं''''' . For that we have to apply that process of ''Neti neti'' through the process of '''''śravaṇaश्रवण'', ''mananaमनन'', ''nididhyāsanaनिदिध्यासन'',''' etc.
===The Bhakti Path===
In the Bhakti path also – devotional path – exactly the same thing is repeated. How? When a person is meditating upon God, he says: "First, every devotee is a most wonderful person. So I am in every devotee – I see every devotee, in every devotee – there is no difference between me and any devotee." That is how Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: "There is no caste difference among devotees." Slowly then it expands: everything happens by the will of God, so whatever happens by the will of God, God is for my good – not only for my good, for the good of the entire universe.
===Why Suffering?===
A very profound truth we have to keep in mind. If some country is throwing bombs upon another country, our viewpoint – ignorant viewpoint – is "this is bad." But we can, from the Hindu viewpoint, expand it a little bit – I will do it very briefly.
#Nobody either suffers or enjoys except by accepting the resultant of their own past ''karma''. Then it can be happiness, it can be unhappiness. Nobody can cause either happiness or unhappiness to anybody – our own '''''karmaphala''''' '''कर्मफल'''comes through the medium of other people. That is the first thing.
#Second, that is not the only thing. So who is making this happen? There is somebody called '''''Vidhātā'' विधाता–''' that is God – who keeps an eye on what a person has done. Such a God says: "It is better for you to be born here because that is the best chance for you." As we discussed today itself – not only to exhaust your '''''prārabdha karmaप्रारब्ध कर्म''''', but to create better ''karma''. So whether we are happy or unhappy, a tremendous opportunity is given. Not only every birth, but every morning as soon as we wake up, God gives us 24 hours until the next day. So we will have to do certain things; we do not know what to do. For that, the scriptures are there, but the scriptures are difficult to understand. So there is a teacher, and the teacher is an experienced person and he understands the students and he tells us.
#The point is: whatever happens in our life, it is for good. That is a point we have to understand. Nobody is making another happy or suffer – first point. And if we are undergoing suffering, it is natural for us to feel sympathy, and that is a very excellent spiritual quality that shows we have to share what we have, so that in future whatever we share will come back to us. That is what we discussed in the ''Taittirīya Upaniṣad'': the only best way of saving food is to share it with others. Whatever food we share with others will be shared and comes back to us through the other people.
===Questioning God===
This is the point, and anybody who refuses to accept this view is not a spiritual person, because he is questioning God. This is the third point. If anybody claims "I am a strong believer in God" and then still says "Why is there so much evil in this world?" – then he is the most foolish, arrogant person in the whole world. You do not claim you have any faith in God. If God is the Creator, He is all good – '''''sarva-maṅgala'' सर्वमङ्गल'''– and what God does, only He knows, and whatever He does is for the good of every one of us – no doubt about it. That is why it is called ''līlā'' – pretence.
===Third: The Identity of the Self and Brahman===
''Brahma satyatvam'' '''ब्रह्म सत्यत्वं'''– and in course of time, ''Jagat satyatvam'' '''जगत्सत्यत्वं'''– there is no such division called ''Brahman'' and the world. And then what is the third truth? The identity of the Self and ''Brahman'' '''– ''jīvo brahmaiva nāparaḥ''''' '''''जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः ।'''''– is an expansion of Śaṅkara's condensation of his entire teaching: ''Brahma satyam, jagat mithyā, jīvo brahmaiva nāparaḥ'''ब्रह्म सत्यं जगन्मिथ्या जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः ।['''''

'''[''ब्रह्म सत्यं जगन्मिथ्या जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः ।'''''

'''''अनेन वेद्यं सच्छास्त्रमिति वेदान्तडिण्डिमः ।। 20II ['''ब्रह्मज्ञानावलीमाला Brahmajnanavalimala '''by Adi shankaracharya]]'''''

. That middle one is the problematic one – "this world is an illusion." And the idea we have about illusion is not a good idea – that is why it is a very horrible idea. Illusion means untrue. But the ''Upaniṣad'' says it is not an illusion – it is a half‑understood truth. So true – it is a truth. A snake is a half‑understood snake – that is how we have to understand it.

Everything – not only ''jīva'' means what? Every being, including a mosquito – not only a living being, even the non‑living – it all falls under the category of ''sat''. Only ''cit'' and ''ānanda'' are not manifest here.
===Why Deep Sleep Is Discussed===
So why is deep sleep discussed? Ultimately, deep sleep is the best example to demonstrate that our waking individuality is merely an incidental transactional state. Similarly, the dream state also – by showing that we naturally resort to a state of formless, boundaryless awareness every night, deep sleep reveals that our permanent identity is nothing but ''Brahman''. Even from a practical point of view, it is this: even if you are enjoying something very pleasant – intense happiness you are getting – it does not last much longer. But look at the wonder of this deep sleep – for nearly several hours, without the least bit of break, we enjoy the highest bliss. If that is not an exemplar, I do not know what else is.
===The Neti Neti Methodology===
So what is this ''Neti neti'' methodology? "I am not the waker. I am not the dreamer, nor am I the sleeper. I am the one who is the experiencer –all these. Hence, I am the seer, not the seen." This is the essence of the third ''Brāhmaṇa''.

With this, this third ''Brāhmaṇa'' – the inter‑section – is over.
==Preview of Yājñavalkya-Maitreyī Dialogue==
Now we are going to enter into one of the most marvellous sections – that is called the dialogue between '''Yājñavalkya and Maitreyī.''' We will start it 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 3.1-3.6 Lecture 53 on 25 July 2026

2026-09-10T14:20:04Z

Gayatri:

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.'''

'''''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.'''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

'''OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH'''

'''OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.'''

'''OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.'''

==Introduction: The Third Brāhmaṇa==
We are studying some of the very important parts in this third ''Brāhmaṇa'' – third section. So first I would like to take up some of the important, very important ''mantras'' and then summarise what we discussed so far.
==The State of Deep Sleep '''सुषुप्ति'''(Suṣupti)==
'''In the 17th ''mantra'' – first section, second chapter, 17th ''mantra'':'''

'''स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्यत्रैष एतत्सुप्तोऽभूद्य एष विज्ञानमयः पुरुषस्तदेषां प्राणानां विज्ञानेन विज्नानमादाय य एषोऽन्तर्हृदय आकाशस्तस्मिञ्छेते तानि यदा गृह्णाति अथ हैतत्पुरुषः स्वपिति नाम तद्गृहीत एव प्राणो भवति गृहीता वाग्गृहीतं चक्षुः गृहीत श्रोत्रं गृहीतं मनः॥'''

''sa ha uvāca ajātaśatruḥ atra eṣa etat sut abhut yaḥ eṣa vijñānamayaḥ puruṣaḥ, tathā eṣāṃ prāṇānāṃ vijñānena vijñānam ādāya ya eṣa antar hṛdaya ākāśaḥ tasmin śete''.

Ajātaśatru, as we should remember, had taken his newly acquired disciple Gārgya or Bālāki to a sleeping person, woke him up after violently shaking him, and he was describing that state.
===The Components of the Jīvātman['''''जीवात्म''न्''']===
This '''''Puruṣa''''' – that is the '''''jīvātmanजीवात्म''न्'''– and the ''jīvātman'' consists of how many things? We have to say '''three things:'''
#'''''Cit चित्''''' – pure consciousness.
#'''''Cidābhāsa''''' '''चिदाभास'''– the reflection of this pure consciousness in the mind of the individual.
#Body and mind – we can join them together.
So pure consciousness, reflection of pure consciousness, plus body‑mind is called the individual soul – ''jīvātman''. And every ''jīvātman'' goes through three states of experience until he has self‑knowledge and becomes free – attains liberation – not "attains", but knows that he was never bound.
===The Three States===
So this person, in the waking state, the emphasis is on the body, and the body's emphasis is on the external world. But in the state of dream, the external world and the whole physical body are as it were separated from himself. He deals only with the impressions he gained through his movements and interactions in the waking state, and taking those impressions, he creates his own world – that is beautifully described later on.

But in the deep sleep state '''सुषुप्ति'''('''''suṣupti'')''', this '''pure consciousnes'''s combined with '''reflected consciousness''' takes – he rises above all connections with the waking state – body, external world, and mind. '''What does he do''' in the deep sleep state? He takes everything, as it were – all the functions of the organs – and converts them into pure reflected consciousness. And then where does he rest? There is supposed to be a place in the heart – it is called '''''hṛdayākāśaहृदयाकाश'', ''daharākāśa''''' '''दहराकाश'''– and he rests there as long as that state of deep sleep continues.
===The Role of Karmaphala['''''कर्मफल'' ]'''===
But because of '''''karmaphalaकर्मफल'' ,''' when the time comes, that ''karmaphala'' acts as the cause – that is why '''''suṣuptiसुषुप्ति''''' is called '''''kāraṇa śarīraकारण शरीर'''''. So again it forcibly draws him from the ''hṛdayākāśa'' '''''हृदयाकाश'','''and then separates him from ''Paramātman'' '''परमात्मन्'''as it were. That is the state Ajātaśatru was describing: where was the sleeping person, because it took such a long time to wake him up? He was deeply resting i'''n the ''hṛdayākāśa''''' '''''हृदयाकाश'','''along with ''cit'' '''''चित्''''' – remember, ''cidākāśa'''चिदाकाश'''''<nowiki/>''',''' ''cit'','''''चित्''''' ''cidābhāsa'''''चिदाभास'''has not disappeared, but it is nearest to the pure ''cit'', its real nature. As if there is only the shining sun and there is only the pure mirror – there is nobody there to witness, to use that reflected light to experience what is in the room. It is just like that. But as if somebody had entered later on ,Oh Brilliant light!Now I can see so clearly , I can read so clearly!
===''Swapiti'' ['''स्वपिति]'''– Resting in the Lap of Paramātman['''परमात्मन्]'''===
'''तानि यदा गृह्णाति अथ हैतत्पुरुषः स्वपिति नाम तद्गृहीत एव प्राणो भवति गृहीता वाग्गृहीतं चक्षुः गृहीत श्रोत्रं गृहीतं मनः॥'''

''Taniyāda gṛṇāti atha etath puruṣaḥ svapiti nāma'' –

when this person is in deep sleep, the ''jīvātman'' gets a special name''': ''svapitiस्वपिति'' .''' He is called ''svapiti'', meaning he is lying in the lap of ''Paramātman''.

'''तद्गृहीत एव प्राणो भवति गृहीता वाग्गृहीतं चक्षुः गृहीत श्रोत्रं गृहीतं मनः॥'''

''Taṭgṛhītaḥ iva prāṇā bhavati, gṛhītaṃ vāk, gṛhītaṃ cakṣuḥ, gṛhītaṃ śrotram, gṛhītaṃ manaḥ'' –

when the ''jīvātman'' is in ''suṣupti'', all the sense organs are withdrawn, and when sense organs are withdrawn, their functions are also withdrawn. The organ of smell is absorbed, the organ of speech is absorbed, the eye is absorbed, the ear is absorbed, and the mind is absorbed. In other words, both mind and body attain to their causal state and are not able to function.
===The Causal State===
Now, slowly after some time, because of ''karmaphala'' – remember, it always works – two points we have to remember here: ''prāṇa'', whatever be the state – waking, dream, dreamless – ''prāṇa'' will never depart; otherwise that person, that ''jīvātman'', would be a dead person. So ''prāṇa'' will be there. But these three states are experienced by the help of the ''prāṇa'' – the body and mind are withdrawn, sense organs and corresponding thoughts are totally withdrawn. So after some time, this causal body ( causal means cause) wakes up and pulls the ''jīvātman'' forcibly from the resting place in the ''Paramātman'', brings it first to the state of dream – ''svapnāvasthā''.
==The Dream State – The 72,000 Nāḍīs==
How does it do that? That is described in the 19th ''mantra'':

'''अथ यदा सुषुप्तो भवति यदा न कस्य चन वेद हिता नाम नाद्यो द्वासप्ततिः सहस्राणि हृदयात्पुरीततमभिप्रतिष्ठन्ते ताभिः प्रत्यवसृप्य पुरीतति शेते स यथा कुमारो वा महाराजो वा महाब्राह्मणो वाऽतिघ्नीमानन्दस्य गत्वा शयीतैवमेवैष एतच्छेते॥'''

''Atha yadā suṣupto bhavati, atha nākasya caṇavet, atha nāmanā diyā va saptatiḥ sahasrāṇi hṛdayāt purītam avipratiṣṭhanti, tābhiḥ prati avasāprupyā purītathi śete''.

Briefly, what Ajātaśatru is trying – or this ''Upaniṣad'' is trying – to convey that knowledge to us through the medium of Ajātaśatru: when the ''karmaphala'' forcibly forces back the ''jīvātman'', how does it enter? It seems there are very subtle ''nāḍīs'' (nerves) – nerve centers. This nerve center we cannot find through any amount of microscope or telescope. They are subtle – subtle means not experienceable by the physical body, physical senses, even microscope or telescope. They cannot do anything unless sense organs are functioning. Only when the eye is perfectly functioning will telescope work, microscope work. If you put both in front of a blind man, they are not going to work.
===The Pathways of Return===
So when this person wakes up, then what happens? Slowly, because of these '''''vāsanās'' – ''karmaphala''''', that is the impressions – they urge: "You will have to exhaust the resultant of your own actions." So how did he enter into that '''''ākāśa'' – ''cidākāśaचिदाकाश,'' or ''hṛdayākāśa हृदयाकाश,'' or ''daharākāśa''''' '''दहराकाश'''– through these very nerves? And how does he come back? Through the very nerves. So if you go somewhere, if you have climbed to the higher storeys in your own building, you will again come back. So there are various staircases, as it were – they are called very, very subtle nerves. How many are there? The scripture is telling: 72,000 are there. Among them there is one which is called '''''purītatiपुरीतति'',''' which is '''the most important nerve''', and every other nerve is only emanating from there, and they are all well established in the heart. The heart is the place where we feel our identity.
===The Deep Sleep State and Returning===
So what happens when the Self goes into deep sleep, when it does not know anything? And how did it go into deep sleep? Through those very nerves. Now what is happening because the ''karmaphala'' wakes the person up? It returns along the 72,000 nerves called ''hītāहित''. They are all called ''hītāहित''. ''Hītāहित'' in Sanskrit means that which does good for anybody, which extends from the heart throughout the whole body. And these nerves, though they are emanating from the heart, are spread throughout the body until even the tips of the hair. So even if some smallest insect touches the tip of our hair, immediately that sensation – "Oh, something is touching me" – we can find out. Not to speak of the skin, where we feel it much more intensely – any touch. So these nerves are spread all over, and there it brings back into the dream state.
===The Three Examples – Baby, Emperor, Brāhmaṇa===
What happens?

'''यथा कुमारो वा महाराजो वा महाब्राह्मणो वाऽतिघ्नीमानन्दस्य गत्वा शयीतैवमेवैष एतच्छेते॥'''

''Yathā kumāraḥ ha va mahārājya hava mahābrāhmaṇa hava atighniṃ ānandasya gatvā śayita evam eva eṣa etath svete atighnim'' – as a baby, or an emperor, or a noble Brāhmaṇa, when they enter into the deep sleep state, they experience incomparable, supreme happiness, because for the time being duality is absent. Mind and body cause duality; mind and body are absent in deep sleep.

Having experienced that highest bliss, three examples are given:
#''Kumāra'' – a baby without the least bit of worries. In this state of babyhood, no baby will ever think about what happened in the past, what is going to happen in the future, where am I going to eat, who is going to take care of me, etc. He knows somebody else is going to take care of him. He does not even think like that – we only attribute that thinking to the baby. But the baby absolutely knows someone is looking, and if somebody by chance is temporarily absent, the baby starts howling, crying. Immediately father, mother, brother, sister – somebody comes running and takes care of the baby, and the baby becomes peaceful once more. So a baby does not have judgmental values – "this is a good person, that is a good person; this is tasty food, that is not at all tasty" – all these thoughts are totally absent until his sleeping ''saṃskāras'' wake up when his body grows up sufficiently. But until that time, a baby is a marvellous example.
That is why a ''jīvanmukta'' is compared to a baby – just like a baby without a second thought. He wants to sleep, he will sleep; he wants to meditate, he will meditate; he wants to study, he will study; he wants to talk, he will talk.
===Zen Buddhism – Complete Absorption===
There is a special Buddhistic school of philosophy called Zen Buddhism – ''Dhyāna'' Buddhism. The main teaching is: a Zen practitioner – ''dhyāna'' practitioner – whatever he does, he is aware of only that. If you are reading the messages you are getting through my WhatsApp application, you will see: when a person is walking, he is aware "I am walking"; when he is sitting, he is aware "I am sitting", etc. So this is how slowly this person becomes only absorbed in that, like a baby. Notice a baby when he is playing – one hundred percent his mind is absorbed in that, and naturally he will get the greatest pleasure. What is the value of his plaything? That is not important – whether it is a few stones, few sticks or marbles, or some play machine – it does not really matter. What matters is absorption. It does not matter what a baby eats, but he is completely absorbed in it.
#A ''Mahārāja'' who has no known enemies and everything is going on very well – how does he sleep? He is not worried – by God's grace, everything is going on well.
#A ''Mahābrāhmaṇa'' – a realised soul – they are all same: '''अतिघ्नीमानन्दस्य गत्वा''' ''atighneem ānandasya gatvā''. They experience that incomparable supreme bliss – that is the bliss of ''Brahman'' ''ānanda'' only, not less.
'''शयीतैवमेवैष एतच्छेते॥'''

''Śayit evam eva eṣa etat sethe'' –

having experienced that one, he comes back into the next stage of experience, which is called dream.
==The Dream Creation – Spider and Sparks==
And what happens? He returns back through 72,000 nerves, but then he creates a tremendous creation – his own creation. Further, an example is given:

'''स यथोर्णवाभिस्तन्तुनोच्चरेद्यथाऽग्नेः क्षुद्रा विस्फुलिङ्गा व्युच्चरन्त्येवमेवास्मादात्मनः सर्वे प्राणाः सर्वे लोकाः सर्वे देवाः सर्वाणि भूतानि व्युच्चरन्ति तस्योपनिषत्सत्यस्य सत्यमिति प्राणा वै सत्यं तेषामेष सत्यम्॥'''

''Sa yathā ūrṇanābhiḥ tantunā uccaret, yathā agneḥ kṣudrāḥ visphuliṅgāḥ vicharanti, evam eva asmāt ātmanaḥ sarve prāṇāḥ sarve lokāḥ sarve devāḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni vicharanti'' –

as a spider moves along the thread it produces from its own body; the '''second example is given''' – as from a blazing fire, millions of tiny sparks fly in every direction. Even so, from this ''Ātman'' come forth all organs, all worlds, all gods, all beings.
===The Point of the Examples===
What is the point of this particular ''mantra''? Just as in our dream spontaneously we create our dream world, and we ourselves find ourselves in our dream world – we find our neighbours, our friends, our enemies, our kingdom, our country, our religion – just like in the waking state. How did this person create? Just by the process of thought. Who created? the person who is returning, but who is actually the waking person? One person creates the entire dream world. If a human being can create the world – and what is the specialty? When this person has created this world, he does not say "this is only a dream, this is unreal, I have created it myself." '''First point''': it is not unreal – it is absolutely real, exactly like the waking state. '''Second point:''' as we are not aware that this whole waking world is created by us, exactly in the same way, the whole dream world is created by that individual soul.
===The Dream and Waking States Compared===
It is not surprising to think that when we give the example of a dream, upon waking up, instantaneously we realise that "I created my own world, where I created my own happiness and unhappiness, my own friends and enemies – somebody came and presented me an invaluable jewel; somebody else came and snatched it away; or in the process, he even hurt me." But upon waking up, we laugh and say, "How realistic it looked! But I alone – that is important – I alone am responsible." A husband cannot say "my wife is responsible for this dream." So every human being can understand.

But what about the waking state? Is it created by us? Yes. One of the understandings of ''Karma Siddhānta'' ['''कर्म सिद्धान्त''']is: our parents, our family, our financial circumstances, our climate, where we are born, into which family, which coloured parents – black‑skinned, yellow‑skinned, white‑skinned, brown‑skinned – and how our physical body looks, and our fate – whether we are poor or rich, whether we can get higher education or not, whether we are fated to go to higher universities either in India or elsewhere – in fact, the whole universe is created for two purposes:
#For exhausting whatever we had earned through our past lives – to experience the resultant of our own past actions.
#At the same time, we are given an opportunity to create new ''karma''. Should we wish, we can create new ''karma''. It might take some bit of effort, depending upon the strength of our ''saṃskāras''.
===Conscious Creation===
But we have to understand: we are creating, albeit most of the time unconsciously. If we can create deliberately, consciously – that is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's advice is: cultivate holy company deliberately, go to solitary places, and understand nothing in this world can help you continuously. Accepting the reality of the world – everything is changing – that is the reality of the world. Since everything is changing, nothing can be relied upon. So do not unnecessarily intensify attachments. Live like a maidservant. All these things are possible, and all these things are done: first, to exhaust, to get the right opportunity, appropriate opportunity; second, whatever best we can do – there is enormous scope, and that is what we need to do.
===Dreams Can Be Created by Design===
Just as we create our own dreams – dreams are not forced upon us by somebody. Every single experience we had in the dream was created by us. In fact, dreams can be created according to design. There are many people who could do that, and we can also do that. Just as we created this waking state, we can also create – Nagamahāśaya's mind was totally pitched to the highest ''loka''. That is why when his aunt used to tell him in his childhood bedtime stories of gods and goddesses and stories from Hindu mythology, next morning he used to get up, run to his aunt and say: "Aunt, today I dreamt whatever you told me yesterday – I have seen Mother Chandramani." How many gods and goddesses she had visualised, even though she said "I never knew the existence of it" – but she had strong faith. One of the greatest devotees – she had faith that gods and goddesses exist. If God exists, then goddesses, gods also exist; higher worlds exist; nothing is impossible. Because of that, she used to have strange visions.

We should not say – our modern science is likely to say – "They are all her imaginations." But my point is: whether something is an imagination or something is a reality, it makes no difference. If we imagine something as real, that affects us. If somebody is embracing a black bear thinking "I am embracing Miss Universe", it does not matter – so long as he thinks "I am in the embrace of a most beautiful woman in this world", he is a happy person. But when that imagination breaks, another imagination comes: "This is a black bear about to crush me to death" – that is also in the same pattern. So that is why it is said: "Today's imagination will be tomorrow's fact." In fact, meditation is nothing but pure imagination – of course, guided by the Guru and the scriptures.
===The Return from Deep Sleep to Dream===
So the person coming down from the state of the highest bliss experienceable in the realistic world – from the state of deep sleep – he comes through the ferry roads, as it were, through the 72,000 ''nāḍīs''. Do not question whether they are 72,000 or 7,000 – it does not matter. So if a person is coming down from deep sleep to the dream state, he must be coming – there must be a pathway, and that pathway is called the nerves.

Having come to this dream state, he roams about. What does he do? He creates – just like a spider creates its own net to catch food in the form of insects, or just like a blazing fire from which hundreds and thousands of sparks are flying all over. The point is: all these sparks have exactly the same nature – they are hot to the touch. If a spark falls upon my body, I feel the stinging. Similarly, they also give light, because the moment you see a spark, you see it even in pitch darkness. And if this spark is a little big enough, if there is any object nearby, it illumines it – self‑illuminating and other‑illuminating – that is the characteristic of fire.
===The Whole Universe Comes from Brahman===
So the whole universe has come out of the supreme reality called ''Brahman'', just as this dream example is given to make us understand – just as we create. And then one important point we have to understand here: even when we go through this dream state, nothing happens to us. Similarly, when ''Paramātman'' creates this entire universe – how many ''lokas'', billions and billions of galaxies, every galaxy is a special ''loka'' – nothing happens to ''Paramātman''. That is the second point.

Third point we have to understand: since this whole creation is coming just as from us – every day we have a different dream. On the same night, we can have different dreams. In the same dream, we can have another subset of dreams also – in dream itself, we go to bed and we can have another dream. How many layers of dreams can we have? So one moment we find here in Bangalore, next moment in Vārāṇasī, next moment in New York – every situation is different. So how many dreams? Every dream – a special dream – is a ''loka''. '''''Loka'' means a special experience.'''
===The Nature of the Creation===
'''For Mahātman''', He creates the whole universe, and the point we have to understand is: whatever is created partakes of the same nature as the original substance. A pot – a mud pot, a clay pot – its whole nature is nothing but clay. A golden ornament will be pure gold only. Similarly, what is the nature of ''Brahman''? Pure consciousness. So even when you think "I see this – there is a big rock" – is this consciousness? Yes, of course it is consciousness.

Many times I have tried, and many times I will tell you also: at this point, we do not know what is in the external world. '''We only know our thoughts.''' So if I have the thought of a tree – I am imagining. Just like a person sitting in front of a TV in his drawing room or visitor's room, he is experiencing a beautiful match and he is feeling as if it is going on here. Nowadays the broadcasters broadcast – some agitation is going on somewhere, and you can see it in front of you, and there is no difference. Because whether you are even present where that cricket match is being played – that event is taking place – your eyes, your ears go out and gather the impressions and bring them to the present to the mind in the form of thoughts. And we alone know – the mind is a vast screen. On that screen these thoughts are projected, and the film is the mind. But the light is called reflected consciousness, and this reflected consciousness enlarges and makes all the impressions come to life, as it were – "I am seeing it."
===Direct and Indirect Experience===
So I am giving the essence: it does not matter whether you experience something through a phone, through a TV screen, or actually you are sitting somewhere – you are not directly experiencing sitting in front of a cricket match. You are indirectly experiencing only in front of a TV screen. Both are indirect only. Nothing is direct. You only know about your thoughts, and every thought represents the entire external – every object, any object in the entire external world. Even this thought "this is external" is also a thought only. "This is internal" – that is also a thought only. Mind‑boggling – but that is the truth. Even psychologists can tell you that, not to speak of spiritual people.
===The Two Examples===
So through these two examples, ''Paramātman''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s creation is described. So it is not impossible – He Himself is the material cause, He Himself is the intelligent cause – He is everything. For that, these two examples are given, and these two examples are not only found in the ''Bṛhadāraṇyaka'' – in the ''Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad'' also, the same examples are given in some other ''Upaniṣads'' as well; they repeat the same things.
==Mūrta '''[मूर्त]'''and Amūrta'''[अमूर्त]''' – Visible and Invisible==
The next point we have seen: this entire creation is nothing but pure consciousness. But that pure consciousness, looked at through the prism of time, space, and causation, appears to be an infinite number of objects. So time, space, and causation limit, and this limited experience of pure consciousness in the form of this entire creation is subdivided by this ''Upaniṣad'': that which can be experienced by the eyes, etc., that is called ''Mūrta'''[मूर्त]'''''; and that which is experienced but not seen through the eyes, that is called ''Amūrta'' '''[अमूर्त] –''' visible and invisible. So both belong to the creation only.
===Brahma Satyamब्रह्म सत्यं, Jagat Satyamजगत् सत्यं ===
And then the ''Upaniṣad'', as we discussed earlier, made a categorical statement: just as ''Brahman'' is ''satyamसत्यं'', this world is also ''satyamसत्यं'' only. But then why do they say it is ''mithyā''? So long as we are not aware of the true nature of the cause which is ''Brahman'', we experience separatedness: "I am a tiny object in comparison with the other objects." Suppose imagine there is a small ant – a big rock falls upon that ant. The ant – at least we know the ant is small, therefore it cannot withstand this big rock. But that is its nature – this is because of ignorance. But once we understand consciousness, there is no division: small and big, white and black, great and small, subtle and all‑pervading. This is all the mind's attempt to make an understanding of that pure consciousness.
===The Roof Example===
So the ''Upaniṣad'' wants to tell – Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: once a person reaches the roof, understands what the roof is made of, he understands what the whole house is made of – the same material of which the roof is made, the whole house is made. Once a person realises ''Brahman'', which is '''''satyam jñānam anantamसत्यं ज्ञानमनन्तं ब्रह्म।'',[तैत्तिरीयोपनिषद्ब्रह्मानन्दवल्ली प्रथमोऽनुवाकःVerse १''' ]then the realised soul understands everything – but it is nothing but limited; it is only ''Brahman''. But if we do not have that knowledge, that is called we are ignorant – we are under the influence of ignorance. Ignorance means limited by time, space, and causation. We think everything is separate from everything else – very small, very small (''aṇu''), very big, huge, etc. And that will create many problems and repeated births again and again.
===The Realised Soul Enjoys the Universe===
That is why once a person realises the nature of the true cause, then the effects are also realised to be of the same nature. So such a person, after the realisation, enjoys this whole universe. So that is what is said here.
==Neti Neti '''नेति नेति'''– The Method of Negation==
Now we will summarise whatever is there. So in order to understand ''Brahman'' is the roof – the real cause of which the entire creation'''सृष्टि''' '''(''sṛṣṭi''''') had come out – ''Brahman'' is pure consciousness. Therefore, whatever comes out of ''Brahman'' – manifestation of ''Brahman'' – must be pure consciousness only, like the sparks of fire, etc. So for that we cannot understand because we are overpowered by ''Māyā '''माया'''''''',''' ''ajñāna'''अज्ञान'''''''',''' ''avidyā'''अविद्या'''''''',''' which is described as looking at ''Brahman'', looking at ourselves, through the prism of time, space, and causation.

So ''satyam'' means this is called '''''Vyāvahārika Satyam व्यवहारिक सत्यं''''' – this is true so long as I am experiencing it, but this is not the final truth. So for that purpose, you have to practise certain spiritual disciplines and go to the roof, which is to realise '''''Aham Brahmasmi(अहं ब्रह्मास्मि)''''', and then only we will be able to understand there is nothing but ''Brahman''.
===''Neti Neti'' – Not This, Not This===
So for that purpose, what is it? '''''Neti neti'' (नेति नेति''')– as we discussed earlier, in the ''Taittirīya'' especially: '''"not this, not this."''' That is to say, am I the '''''annamaya kośa''?''' No. It does not mean ''annamaya kośa'' is different from me. As I mentioned in my last classes, not only am I ''annamaya'', I am also much more. So once I realise in what way I am much more, you progress: I am ''prāṇamaya'' – ''prāṇamaya'' does not negate ''annamaya''; ''prāṇamaya'' includes ''annamaya''. ''Manomaya'' includes ''prāṇamaya''. ''Vijñānamaya'' includes ''manomaya'' – that means it includes the others – '''and ''ānandamaya'' includes the previous four ''kośas'' of manifestations.''' And then we also realise this is also a work of the mind – that is why it is called ''ānandamaya kośa''. ''Ānanda'' – pure bliss. Another name for ''Brahman'' is ''ānanda'': ''satyam jñānam ānandam'' – '''''ānanda'' means unbroken bliss.'''
===The Story of the Bride===
So for that purpose, here in the ''Bṛhadāraṇyaka'', the famous teaching ''Neti neti'' '''(नेति नेति''')– ''na iti na iti'' ('''न इति न इति''' ):– "Did I reach the goal? No." So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa gives a beautiful example. There was a girl who was married. After marriage, her husband went away, and very few people could attend the marriage perhaps. Once her husband came to her house, and all the girlfriends of this girl (the wife who was married) gathered around her, and the bridegroom came with many of his friends. Maybe it was a special occasion, and he was sitting there outside chit‑chatting with others. The girls did not know who he was, because at the time of marriage the groom will be decorated in a special manner – everybody can recognise. But after that, that dress is no more necessary, so he is sitting like anybody.

One girl asks: "Is that your husband?" The girl smiles and says, "No." Another girl points to somebody: "No, no, no – ''neti, neti'' – not this, not this, not this, not this." Finally, only one man is left out, and some girl says: "Is he your husband?" She need not have asked, because there is nobody else left out – but she asked. The girl does not say anything; she keeps her head low, but a beatific smile adorns her face, showing how happy she is. So everybody understands: that is her husband. So after negating everything, whatever remains – that is the truth.
===The Thorn Example===
But then, I have to tell you – as I told you also – Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's own example: the big thorn with the help of which all the other smaller thorns were completely thrown out – that also has to be thrown. That means that mind which is going through '''''śravaṇa(श्रवण)'', ''manana (मनन)'', ''nididhyāsana (निदिध्यासन)''''', being instructed by the Guru – even that also will be thrown out. But he will not throw it out automatically – with the last thorn, this discriminating mind itself will get thrown out. What remains – he does not say "I am seeing pure consciousness"; he says "I am pure consciousness." This is the process of ''Neti neti''.
==The Three Essential Points==
So from these three important points, if we remember, then we have understood the essence of what we discussed so far.
===First: Jagat Mithyatva जगत् मिथ्यत्व===
First, the ''Jagat Mithyatva'' '''जगत् मिथ्यत्व'''– ''mithyā'' is mistaking half‑truth for absolute truth by dismissing this observable and objectifiable universe. '''''Dṛśya prapañcaदृश्य प्रपञ्च neti neti'' (नेति नेति)'''proves that the universe is only a partial truth, not complete truth. That is why it is called ''mithyā''. It is not called non‑existence – it is called partial existence.
===Second: The Ultimate Reality of Brahman===
Second, the ultimate reality of ''Brahman'' – ''Brahman'' alone is the cause; the Creator alone is the real truth. Everything else is partial truth – everything else is ''satyam'', but '''not''' ''Satyasya Satyam'''सत्यस्य सत्यं''''' . For that we have to apply that process of ''Neti neti'' through the process of '''''śravaṇaश्रवण'', ''mananaमनन'', ''nididhyāsanaनिदिध्यासन'',''' etc.
===The Bhakti Path===
In the Bhakti path also – devotional path – exactly the same thing is repeated. How? When a person is meditating upon God, he says: "First, every devotee is a most wonderful person. So I am in every devotee – I see every devotee, in every devotee – there is no difference between me and any devotee." That is how Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: "There is no caste difference among devotees." Slowly then it expands: everything happens by the will of God, so whatever happens by the will of God, God is for my good – not only for my good, for the good of the entire universe.
===Why Suffering?===
A very profound truth we have to keep in mind. If some country is throwing bombs upon another country, our viewpoint – ignorant viewpoint – is "this is bad." But we can, from the Hindu viewpoint, expand it a little bit – I will do it very briefly.
#Nobody either suffers or enjoys except by accepting the resultant of their own past ''karma''. Then it can be happiness, it can be unhappiness. Nobody can cause either happiness or unhappiness to anybody – our own '''''karmaphala''''' '''कर्मफल'''comes through the medium of other people. That is the first thing.
#Second, that is not the only thing. So who is making this happen? There is somebody called '''''Vidhātā'' विधाता–''' that is God – who keeps an eye on what a person has done. Such a God says: "It is better for you to be born here because that is the best chance for you." As we discussed today itself – not only to exhaust your '''''prārabdha karmaप्रारब्ध कर्म''''', but to create better ''karma''. So whether we are happy or unhappy, a tremendous opportunity is given. Not only every birth, but every morning as soon as we wake up, God gives us 24 hours until the next day. So we will have to do certain things; we do not know what to do. For that, the scriptures are there, but the scriptures are difficult to understand. So there is a teacher, and the teacher is an experienced person and he understands the students and he tells us.
#The point is: whatever happens in our life, it is for good. That is a point we have to understand. Nobody is making another happy or suffer – first point. And if we are undergoing suffering, it is natural for us to feel sympathy, and that is a very excellent spiritual quality that shows we have to share what we have, so that in future whatever we share will come back to us. That is what we discussed in the ''Taittirīya Upaniṣad'': the only best way of saving food is to share it with others. Whatever food we share with others will be shared and comes back to us through the other people.
===Questioning God===
This is the point, and anybody who refuses to accept this view is not a spiritual person, because he is questioning God. This is the third point. If anybody claims "I am a strong believer in God" and then still says "Why is there so much evil in this world?" – then he is the most foolish, arrogant person in the whole world. You do not claim you have any faith in God. If God is the Creator, He is all good – '''''sarva-maṅgala'' सर्वमङ्गल'''– and what God does, only He knows, and whatever He does is for the good of every one of us – no doubt about it. That is why it is called ''līlā'' – pretence.
===Third: The Identity of the Self and Brahman===
''Brahma satyatvam'' '''ब्रह्म सत्यत्वं'''– and in course of time, ''Jagat satyatvam'' '''जगत्सत्यत्वं'''– there is no such division called ''Brahman'' and the world. And then what is the third truth? The identity of the Self and ''Brahman'' '''– ''jīvo brahmaiva nāparaḥ''''' '''''जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः ।'''''– is an expansion of Śaṅkara's condensation of his entire teaching: ''Brahma satyam, jagat mithyā, jīvo brahmaiva nāparaḥ'''ब्रह्म सत्यं जगन्मिथ्या जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः ।['''''

'''[''ब्रह्म सत्यं जगन्मिथ्या जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः ।'''''

'''''अनेन वेद्यं सच्छास्त्रमिति वेदान्तडिण्डिमः ।। 20II ['''ब्रह्मज्ञानावलीमाला Brahmajnanavalimala '''by Adi shankaracharya]]'''''

. That middle one is the problematic one – "this world is an illusion." And the idea we have about illusion is not a good idea – that is why it is a very horrible idea. Illusion means untrue. But the ''Upaniṣad'' says it is not an illusion – it is a half‑understood truth. So true – it is a truth. A snake is a half‑understood snake – that is how we have to understand it.

Everything – not only ''jīva'' means what? Every being, including a mosquito – not only a living being, even the non‑living – it all falls under the category of ''sat''. Only ''cit'' and ''ānanda'' are not manifest here.
===Why Deep Sleep Is Discussed===
So why is deep sleep discussed? Ultimately, deep sleep is the best example to demonstrate that our waking individuality is merely an incidental transactional state. Similarly, the dream state also – by showing that we naturally resort to a state of formless, boundaryless awareness every night, deep sleep reveals that our permanent identity is nothing but ''Brahman''. Even from a practical point of view, it is this: even if you are enjoying something very pleasant – intense happiness you are getting – it does not last much longer. But look at the wonder of this deep sleep – for nearly several hours, without the least bit of break, we enjoy the highest bliss. If that is not an exemplar, I do not know what else is.
===The Neti Neti Methodology===
So what is this ''Neti neti'' methodology? "I am not the waker. I am not the dreamer, nor am I the sleeper. I am the one who is the experiencer –all these. Hence, I am the seer, not the seen." This is the essence of the third ''Brāhmaṇa''.

With this, this third ''Brāhmaṇa'' – the inter‑section – is over.
==Preview of Yājñavalkya-Maitreyī Dialogue==
Now we are going to enter into one of the most marvellous sections – that is called the dialogue between '''Yājñavalkya and Maitreyī.''' We will start it 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 3.1-3.6 Lecture 53 on 25 July 2026

2026-09-10T14:14:49Z

Gayatri:

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.'''

'''''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.'''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

'''OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH'''

'''OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.'''

'''OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.'''

==Introduction: The Third Brāhmaṇa==
We are studying some of the very important parts in this third ''Brāhmaṇa'' – third section. So first I would like to take up some of the important, very important ''mantras'' and then summarise what we discussed so far.
==The State of Deep Sleep (Suṣupti)==
'''In the 17th ''mantra'' – first section, second chapter, 17th ''mantra'':'''

'''स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्यत्रैष एतत्सुप्तोऽभूद्य एष विज्ञानमयः पुरुषस्तदेषां प्राणानां विज्ञानेन विज्नानमादाय य एषोऽन्तर्हृदय आकाशस्तस्मिञ्छेते तानि यदा गृह्णाति अथ हैतत्पुरुषः स्वपिति नाम तद्गृहीत एव प्राणो भवति गृहीता वाग्गृहीतं चक्षुः गृहीत श्रोत्रं गृहीतं मनः॥'''

''sa ha uvāca ajātaśatruḥ atra eṣa etat sut abhut yaḥ eṣa vijñānamayaḥ puruṣaḥ, tathā eṣāṃ prāṇānāṃ vijñānena vijñānam ādāya ya eṣa antar hṛdaya ākāśaḥ tasmin śete''.

Ajātaśatru, as we should remember, had taken his newly acquired disciple Gārgya or Bālāki to a sleeping person, woke him up after violently shaking him, and he was describing that state.
===The Components of the Jīvātman===
This '''''Puruṣa''''' – that is the '''''jīvātmanजीवात्मन''''' – and the ''jīvātman'' consists of how many things? We have to say '''three things:'''
#'''''Cit चित्''''' – pure consciousness.
#'''''Cidābhāsa''''' '''चिदाभास'''– the reflection of this pure consciousness in the mind of the individual.
#Body and mind – we can join them together.
So pure consciousness, reflection of pure consciousness, plus body‑mind is called the individual soul – ''jīvātman''. And every ''jīvātman'' goes through three states of experience until he has self‑knowledge and becomes free – attains liberation – not "attains", but knows that he was never bound.
===The Three States===
So this person, in the waking state, the emphasis is on the body, and the body's emphasis is on the external world. But in the state of dream, the external world and the whole physical body are as it were separated from himself. He deals only with the impressions he gained through his movements and interactions in the waking state, and taking those impressions, he creates his own world – that is beautifully described later on.

But in the deep sleep state सुषुप्ति('''''suṣupti'')''', this '''pure consciousnes'''s combined with '''reflected consciousness''' takes – he rises above all connections with the waking state – body, external world, and mind. '''What does he do''' in the deep sleep state? He takes everything, as it were – all the functions of the organs – and converts them into pure reflected consciousness. And then where does he rest? There is supposed to be a place in the heart – it is called '''''hṛdayākāśaहृदयाकाश'', ''daharākāśa''''' '''दहराकाश'''– and he rests there as long as that state of deep sleep continues.
===The Role of Karmaphala===
But because of '''''karmaphalaकर्मफल'' ,''' when the time comes, that ''karmaphala'' acts as the cause – that is why '''''suṣuptiसुषुप्ति''''' is called '''''kāraṇa śarīraकारण शरीर'''''. So again it forcibly draws him from the ''hṛdayākāśa'' '''''हृदयाकाश'','''and then separates him from ''Paramātman'' '''परमात्मन्'''as it were. That is the state Ajātaśatru was describing: where was the sleeping person, because it took such a long time to wake him up? He was deeply resting i'''n the ''hṛdayākāśa''''' '''''हृदयाकाश'','''along with ''cit'' '''''चित्''''' – remember, ''cidākāśa'''चिदाकाश'''''<nowiki/>''',''' ''cit'','''''चित्''''' ''cidābhāsa'''''चिदाभास'''has not disappeared, but it is nearest to the pure ''cit'', its real nature. As if there is only the shining sun and there is only the pure mirror – there is nobody there to witness, to use that reflected light to experience what is in the room. It is just like that. But as if somebody had entered later on ,Oh Brilliant light!Now I can see so clearly , I can read so clearly!
===''Swapiti'' – Resting in the Lap of Paramātman===
'''तानि यदा गृह्णाति अथ हैतत्पुरुषः स्वपिति नाम तद्गृहीत एव प्राणो भवति गृहीता वाग्गृहीतं चक्षुः गृहीत श्रोत्रं गृहीतं मनः॥'''

''Taniyāda gṛṇāti atha etath puruṣaḥ svapiti nāma'' –

when this person is in deep sleep, the ''jīvātman'' gets a special name''': ''svapitiस्वपिति'' .''' He is called ''svapiti'', meaning he is lying in the lap of ''Paramātman''.

'''तद्गृहीत एव प्राणो भवति गृहीता वाग्गृहीतं चक्षुः गृहीत श्रोत्रं गृहीतं मनः॥'''

''Taṭgṛhītaḥ iva prāṇā bhavati, gṛhītaṃ vāk, gṛhītaṃ cakṣuḥ, gṛhītaṃ śrotram, gṛhītaṃ manaḥ'' –

when the ''jīvātman'' is in ''suṣupti'', all the sense organs are withdrawn, and when sense organs are withdrawn, their functions are also withdrawn. The organ of smell is absorbed, the organ of speech is absorbed, the eye is absorbed, the ear is absorbed, and the mind is absorbed. In other words, both mind and body attain to their causal state and are not able to function.
===The Causal State===
Now, slowly after some time, because of ''karmaphala'' – remember, it always works – two points we have to remember here: ''prāṇa'', whatever be the state – waking, dream, dreamless – ''prāṇa'' will never depart; otherwise that person, that ''jīvātman'', would be a dead person. So ''prāṇa'' will be there. But these three states are experienced by the help of the ''prāṇa'' – the body and mind are withdrawn, sense organs and corresponding thoughts are totally withdrawn. So after some time, this causal body ( causal means cause) wakes up and pulls the ''jīvātman'' forcibly from the resting place in the ''Paramātman'', brings it first to the state of dream – ''svapnāvasthā''.
==The Dream State – The 72,000 Nāḍīs==
How does it do that? That is described in the 19th ''mantra'':

'''अथ यदा सुषुप्तो भवति यदा न कस्य चन वेद हिता नाम नाद्यो द्वासप्ततिः सहस्राणि हृदयात्पुरीततमभिप्रतिष्ठन्ते ताभिः प्रत्यवसृप्य पुरीतति शेते स यथा कुमारो वा महाराजो वा महाब्राह्मणो वाऽतिघ्नीमानन्दस्य गत्वा शयीतैवमेवैष एतच्छेते॥'''

''Atha yadā suṣupto bhavati, atha nākasya caṇavet, atha nāmanā diyā va saptatiḥ sahasrāṇi hṛdayāt purītam avipratiṣṭhanti, tābhiḥ prati avasāprupyā purītathi śete''.

Briefly, what Ajātaśatru is trying – or this ''Upaniṣad'' is trying – to convey that knowledge to us through the medium of Ajātaśatru: when the ''karmaphala'' forcibly forces back the ''jīvātman'', how does it enter? It seems there are very subtle ''nāḍīs'' (nerves) – nerve centers. This nerve center we cannot find through any amount of microscope or telescope. They are subtle – subtle means not experienceable by the physical body, physical senses, even microscope or telescope. They cannot do anything unless sense organs are functioning. Only when the eye is perfectly functioning will telescope work, microscope work. If you put both in front of a blind man, they are not going to work.
===The Pathways of Return===
So when this person wakes up, then what happens? Slowly, because of these '''''vāsanās'' – ''karmaphala''''', that is the impressions – they urge: "You will have to exhaust the resultant of your own actions." So how did he enter into that '''''ākāśa'' – ''cidākāśaचिदाकाश,'' or ''hṛdayākāśa हृदयाकाश,'' or ''daharākāśa''''' '''दहराकाश'''– through these very nerves? And how does he come back? Through the very nerves. So if you go somewhere, if you have climbed to the higher storeys in your own building, you will again come back. So there are various staircases, as it were – they are called very, very subtle nerves. How many are there? The scripture is telling: 72,000 are there. Among them there is one which is called '''''purītatiपुरीतति'',''' which is '''the most important nerve''', and every other nerve is only emanating from there, and they are all well established in the heart. The heart is the place where we feel our identity.
===The Deep Sleep State and Returning===
So what happens when the Self goes into deep sleep, when it does not know anything? And how did it go into deep sleep? Through those very nerves. Now what is happening because the ''karmaphala'' wakes the person up? It returns along the 72,000 nerves called ''hītāहित''. They are all called ''hītāहित''. ''Hītāहित'' in Sanskrit means that which does good for anybody, which extends from the heart throughout the whole body. And these nerves, though they are emanating from the heart, are spread throughout the body until even the tips of the hair. So even if some smallest insect touches the tip of our hair, immediately that sensation – "Oh, something is touching me" – we can find out. Not to speak of the skin, where we feel it much more intensely – any touch. So these nerves are spread all over, and there it brings back into the dream state.
===The Three Examples – Baby, Emperor, Brāhmaṇa===
What happens?

'''यथा कुमारो वा महाराजो वा महाब्राह्मणो वाऽतिघ्नीमानन्दस्य गत्वा शयीतैवमेवैष एतच्छेते॥'''

''Yathā kumāraḥ ha va mahārājya hava mahābrāhmaṇa hava atighniṃ ānandasya gatvā śayita evam eva eṣa etath svete atighnim'' – as a baby, or an emperor, or a noble Brāhmaṇa, when they enter into the deep sleep state, they experience incomparable, supreme happiness, because for the time being duality is absent. Mind and body cause duality; mind and body are absent in deep sleep.

Having experienced that highest bliss, three examples are given:
#''Kumāra'' – a baby without the least bit of worries. In this state of babyhood, no baby will ever think about what happened in the past, what is going to happen in the future, where am I going to eat, who is going to take care of me, etc. He knows somebody else is going to take care of him. He does not even think like that – we only attribute that thinking to the baby. But the baby absolutely knows someone is looking, and if somebody by chance is temporarily absent, the baby starts howling, crying. Immediately father, mother, brother, sister – somebody comes running and takes care of the baby, and the baby becomes peaceful once more. So a baby does not have judgmental values – "this is a good person, that is a good person; this is tasty food, that is not at all tasty" – all these thoughts are totally absent until his sleeping ''saṃskāras'' wake up when his body grows up sufficiently. But until that time, a baby is a marvellous example.
That is why a ''jīvanmukta'' is compared to a baby – just like a baby without a second thought. He wants to sleep, he will sleep; he wants to meditate, he will meditate; he wants to study, he will study; he wants to talk, he will talk.
===Zen Buddhism – Complete Absorption===
There is a special Buddhistic school of philosophy called Zen Buddhism – ''Dhyāna'' Buddhism. The main teaching is: a Zen practitioner – ''dhyāna'' practitioner – whatever he does, he is aware of only that. If you are reading the messages you are getting through my WhatsApp application, you will see: when a person is walking, he is aware "I am walking"; when he is sitting, he is aware "I am sitting", etc. So this is how slowly this person becomes only absorbed in that, like a baby. Notice a baby when he is playing – one hundred percent his mind is absorbed in that, and naturally he will get the greatest pleasure. What is the value of his plaything? That is not important – whether it is a few stones, few sticks or marbles, or some play machine – it does not really matter. What matters is absorption. It does not matter what a baby eats, but he is completely absorbed in it.
#A ''Mahārāja'' who has no known enemies and everything is going on very well – how does he sleep? He is not worried – by God's grace, everything is going on well.
#A ''Mahābrāhmaṇa'' – a realised soul – they are all same: '''अतिघ्नीमानन्दस्य गत्वा''' ''atighneem ānandasya gatvā''. They experience that incomparable supreme bliss – that is the bliss of ''Brahman'' ''ānanda'' only, not less.
'''शयीतैवमेवैष एतच्छेते॥'''

''Śayit evam eva eṣa etat sethe'' –

having experienced that one, he comes back into the next stage of experience, which is called dream.
==The Dream Creation – Spider and Sparks==
And what happens? He returns back through 72,000 nerves, but then he creates a tremendous creation – his own creation. Further, an example is given:

'''स यथोर्णवाभिस्तन्तुनोच्चरेद्यथाऽग्नेः क्षुद्रा विस्फुलिङ्गा व्युच्चरन्त्येवमेवास्मादात्मनः सर्वे प्राणाः सर्वे लोकाः सर्वे देवाः सर्वाणि भूतानि व्युच्चरन्ति तस्योपनिषत्सत्यस्य सत्यमिति प्राणा वै सत्यं तेषामेष सत्यम्॥'''

''Sa yathā ūrṇanābhiḥ tantunā uccaret, yathā agneḥ kṣudrāḥ visphuliṅgāḥ vicharanti, evam eva asmāt ātmanaḥ sarve prāṇāḥ sarve lokāḥ sarve devāḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni vicharanti'' –

as a spider moves along the thread it produces from its own body; the '''second example is given''' – as from a blazing fire, millions of tiny sparks fly in every direction. Even so, from this ''Ātman'' come forth all organs, all worlds, all gods, all beings.
===The Point of the Examples===
What is the point of this particular ''mantra''? Just as in our dream spontaneously we create our dream world, and we ourselves find ourselves in our dream world – we find our neighbours, our friends, our enemies, our kingdom, our country, our religion – just like in the waking state. How did this person create? Just by the process of thought. Who created? the person who is returning, but who is actually the waking person? One person creates the entire dream world. If a human being can create the world – and what is the specialty? When this person has created this world, he does not say "this is only a dream, this is unreal, I have created it myself." '''First point''': it is not unreal – it is absolutely real, exactly like the waking state. '''Second point:''' as we are not aware that this whole waking world is created by us, exactly in the same way, the whole dream world is created by that individual soul.
===The Dream and Waking States Compared===
It is not surprising to think that when we give the example of a dream, upon waking up, instantaneously we realise that "I created my own world, where I created my own happiness and unhappiness, my own friends and enemies – somebody came and presented me an invaluable jewel; somebody else came and snatched it away; or in the process, he even hurt me." But upon waking up, we laugh and say, "How realistic it looked! But I alone – that is important – I alone am responsible." A husband cannot say "my wife is responsible for this dream." So every human being can understand.

But what about the waking state? Is it created by us? Yes. One of the understandings of ''Karma Siddhānta'' ['''कर्म सिद्धान्त''']is: our parents, our family, our financial circumstances, our climate, where we are born, into which family, which coloured parents – black‑skinned, yellow‑skinned, white‑skinned, brown‑skinned – and how our physical body looks, and our fate – whether we are poor or rich, whether we can get higher education or not, whether we are fated to go to higher universities either in India or elsewhere – in fact, the whole universe is created for two purposes:
#For exhausting whatever we had earned through our past lives – to experience the resultant of our own past actions.
#At the same time, we are given an opportunity to create new ''karma''. Should we wish, we can create new ''karma''. It might take some bit of effort, depending upon the strength of our ''saṃskāras''.
===Conscious Creation===
But we have to understand: we are creating, albeit most of the time unconsciously. If we can create deliberately, consciously – that is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's advice is: cultivate holy company deliberately, go to solitary places, and understand nothing in this world can help you continuously. Accepting the reality of the world – everything is changing – that is the reality of the world. Since everything is changing, nothing can be relied upon. So do not unnecessarily intensify attachments. Live like a maidservant. All these things are possible, and all these things are done: first, to exhaust, to get the right opportunity, appropriate opportunity; second, whatever best we can do – there is enormous scope, and that is what we need to do.
===Dreams Can Be Created by Design===
Just as we create our own dreams – dreams are not forced upon us by somebody. Every single experience we had in the dream was created by us. In fact, dreams can be created according to design. There are many people who could do that, and we can also do that. Just as we created this waking state, we can also create – Nagamahāśaya's mind was totally pitched to the highest ''loka''. That is why when his aunt used to tell him in his childhood bedtime stories of gods and goddesses and stories from Hindu mythology, next morning he used to get up, run to his aunt and say: "Aunt, today I dreamt whatever you told me yesterday – I have seen Mother Chandramani." How many gods and goddesses she had visualised, even though she said "I never knew the existence of it" – but she had strong faith. One of the greatest devotees – she had faith that gods and goddesses exist. If God exists, then goddesses, gods also exist; higher worlds exist; nothing is impossible. Because of that, she used to have strange visions.

We should not say – our modern science is likely to say – "They are all her imaginations." But my point is: whether something is an imagination or something is a reality, it makes no difference. If we imagine something as real, that affects us. If somebody is embracing a black bear thinking "I am embracing Miss Universe", it does not matter – so long as he thinks "I am in the embrace of a most beautiful woman in this world", he is a happy person. But when that imagination breaks, another imagination comes: "This is a black bear about to crush me to death" – that is also in the same pattern. So that is why it is said: "Today's imagination will be tomorrow's fact." In fact, meditation is nothing but pure imagination – of course, guided by the Guru and the scriptures.
===The Return from Deep Sleep to Dream===
So the person coming down from the state of the highest bliss experienceable in the realistic world – from the state of deep sleep – he comes through the ferry roads, as it were, through the 72,000 ''nāḍīs''. Do not question whether they are 72,000 or 7,000 – it does not matter. So if a person is coming down from deep sleep to the dream state, he must be coming – there must be a pathway, and that pathway is called the nerves.

Having come to this dream state, he roams about. What does he do? He creates – just like a spider creates its own net to catch food in the form of insects, or just like a blazing fire from which hundreds and thousands of sparks are flying all over. The point is: all these sparks have exactly the same nature – they are hot to the touch. If a spark falls upon my body, I feel the stinging. Similarly, they also give light, because the moment you see a spark, you see it even in pitch darkness. And if this spark is a little big enough, if there is any object nearby, it illumines it – self‑illuminating and other‑illuminating – that is the characteristic of fire.
===The Whole Universe Comes from Brahman===
So the whole universe has come out of the supreme reality called ''Brahman'', just as this dream example is given to make us understand – just as we create. And then one important point we have to understand here: even when we go through this dream state, nothing happens to us. Similarly, when ''Paramātman'' creates this entire universe – how many ''lokas'', billions and billions of galaxies, every galaxy is a special ''loka'' – nothing happens to ''Paramātman''. That is the second point.

Third point we have to understand: since this whole creation is coming just as from us – every day we have a different dream. On the same night, we can have different dreams. In the same dream, we can have another subset of dreams also – in dream itself, we go to bed and we can have another dream. How many layers of dreams can we have? So one moment we find here in Bangalore, next moment in Vārāṇasī, next moment in New York – every situation is different. So how many dreams? Every dream – a special dream – is a ''loka''. '''''Loka'' means a special experience.'''
===The Nature of the Creation===
'''For Mahātman''', He creates the whole universe, and the point we have to understand is: whatever is created partakes of the same nature as the original substance. A pot – a mud pot, a clay pot – its whole nature is nothing but clay. A golden ornament will be pure gold only. Similarly, what is the nature of ''Brahman''? Pure consciousness. So even when you think "I see this – there is a big rock" – is this consciousness? Yes, of course it is consciousness.

Many times I have tried, and many times I will tell you also: at this point, we do not know what is in the external world. '''We only know our thoughts.''' So if I have the thought of a tree – I am imagining. Just like a person sitting in front of a TV in his drawing room or visitor's room, he is experiencing a beautiful match and he is feeling as if it is going on here. Nowadays the broadcasters broadcast – some agitation is going on somewhere, and you can see it in front of you, and there is no difference. Because whether you are even present where that cricket match is being played – that event is taking place – your eyes, your ears go out and gather the impressions and bring them to the present to the mind in the form of thoughts. And we alone know – the mind is a vast screen. On that screen these thoughts are projected, and the film is the mind. But the light is called reflected consciousness, and this reflected consciousness enlarges and makes all the impressions come to life, as it were – "I am seeing it."
===Direct and Indirect Experience===
So I am giving the essence: it does not matter whether you experience something through a phone, through a TV screen, or actually you are sitting somewhere – you are not directly experiencing sitting in front of a cricket match. You are indirectly experiencing only in front of a TV screen. Both are indirect only. Nothing is direct. You only know about your thoughts, and every thought represents the entire external – every object, any object in the entire external world. Even this thought "this is external" is also a thought only. "This is internal" – that is also a thought only. Mind‑boggling – but that is the truth. Even psychologists can tell you that, not to speak of spiritual people.
===The Two Examples===
So through these two examples, ''Paramātman''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s creation is described. So it is not impossible – He Himself is the material cause, He Himself is the intelligent cause – He is everything. For that, these two examples are given, and these two examples are not only found in the ''Bṛhadāraṇyaka'' – in the ''Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad'' also, the same examples are given in some other ''Upaniṣads'' as well; they repeat the same things.
==Mūrta '''[मूर्त]'''and Amūrta'''[अमूर्त]''' – Visible and Invisible==
The next point we have seen: this entire creation is nothing but pure consciousness. But that pure consciousness, looked at through the prism of time, space, and causation, appears to be an infinite number of objects. So time, space, and causation limit, and this limited experience of pure consciousness in the form of this entire creation is subdivided by this ''Upaniṣad'': that which can be experienced by the eyes, etc., that is called ''Mūrta'''[मूर्त]'''''; and that which is experienced but not seen through the eyes, that is called ''Amūrta'' '''[अमूर्त] –''' visible and invisible. So both belong to the creation only.
===Brahma Satyamब्रह्म सत्यं, Jagat Satyamजगत् सत्यं ===
And then the ''Upaniṣad'', as we discussed earlier, made a categorical statement: just as ''Brahman'' is ''satyamसत्यं'', this world is also ''satyamसत्यं'' only. But then why do they say it is ''mithyā''? So long as we are not aware of the true nature of the cause which is ''Brahman'', we experience separatedness: "I am a tiny object in comparison with the other objects." Suppose imagine there is a small ant – a big rock falls upon that ant. The ant – at least we know the ant is small, therefore it cannot withstand this big rock. But that is its nature – this is because of ignorance. But once we understand consciousness, there is no division: small and big, white and black, great and small, subtle and all‑pervading. This is all the mind's attempt to make an understanding of that pure consciousness.
===The Roof Example===
So the ''Upaniṣad'' wants to tell – Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: once a person reaches the roof, understands what the roof is made of, he understands what the whole house is made of – the same material of which the roof is made, the whole house is made. Once a person realises ''Brahman'', which is '''''satyam jñānam anantamसत्यं ज्ञानमनन्तं ब्रह्म।'',[तैत्तिरीयोपनिषद्ब्रह्मानन्दवल्ली प्रथमोऽनुवाकःVerse १''' ]then the realised soul understands everything – but it is nothing but limited; it is only ''Brahman''. But if we do not have that knowledge, that is called we are ignorant – we are under the influence of ignorance. Ignorance means limited by time, space, and causation. We think everything is separate from everything else – very small, very small (''aṇu''), very big, huge, etc. And that will create many problems and repeated births again and again.
===The Realised Soul Enjoys the Universe===
That is why once a person realises the nature of the true cause, then the effects are also realised to be of the same nature. So such a person, after the realisation, enjoys this whole universe. So that is what is said here.
==Neti Neti '''नेति नेति'''– The Method of Negation==
Now we will summarise whatever is there. So in order to understand ''Brahman'' is the roof – the real cause of which the entire creation'''सृष्टि''' '''(''sṛṣṭi''''') had come out – ''Brahman'' is pure consciousness. Therefore, whatever comes out of ''Brahman'' – manifestation of ''Brahman'' – must be pure consciousness only, like the sparks of fire, etc. So for that we cannot understand because we are overpowered by ''Māyā '''माया'''''''',''' ''ajñāna'''अज्ञान'''''''',''' ''avidyā'''अविद्या'''''''',''' which is described as looking at ''Brahman'', looking at ourselves, through the prism of time, space, and causation.

So ''satyam'' means this is called '''''Vyāvahārika Satyam व्यवहारिक सत्यं''''' – this is true so long as I am experiencing it, but this is not the final truth. So for that purpose, you have to practise certain spiritual disciplines and go to the roof, which is to realise '''''Aham Brahmasmi(अहं ब्रह्मास्मि)''''', and then only we will be able to understand there is nothing but ''Brahman''.
===''Neti Neti'' – Not This, Not This===
So for that purpose, what is it? '''''Neti neti'' (नेति नेति''')– as we discussed earlier, in the ''Taittirīya'' especially: '''"not this, not this."''' That is to say, am I the '''''annamaya kośa''?''' No. It does not mean ''annamaya kośa'' is different from me. As I mentioned in my last classes, not only am I ''annamaya'', I am also much more. So once I realise in what way I am much more, you progress: I am ''prāṇamaya'' – ''prāṇamaya'' does not negate ''annamaya''; ''prāṇamaya'' includes ''annamaya''. ''Manomaya'' includes ''prāṇamaya''. ''Vijñānamaya'' includes ''manomaya'' – that means it includes the others – '''and ''ānandamaya'' includes the previous four ''kośas'' of manifestations.''' And then we also realise this is also a work of the mind – that is why it is called ''ānandamaya kośa''. ''Ānanda'' – pure bliss. Another name for ''Brahman'' is ''ānanda'': ''satyam jñānam ānandam'' – '''''ānanda'' means unbroken bliss.'''
===The Story of the Bride===
So for that purpose, here in the ''Bṛhadāraṇyaka'', the famous teaching ''Neti neti'' '''(नेति नेति''')– ''na iti na iti'' ('''न इति न इति''' ):– "Did I reach the goal? No." So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa gives a beautiful example. There was a girl who was married. After marriage, her husband went away, and very few people could attend the marriage perhaps. Once her husband came to her house, and all the girlfriends of this girl (the wife who was married) gathered around her, and the bridegroom came with many of his friends. Maybe it was a special occasion, and he was sitting there outside chit‑chatting with others. The girls did not know who he was, because at the time of marriage the groom will be decorated in a special manner – everybody can recognise. But after that, that dress is no more necessary, so he is sitting like anybody.

One girl asks: "Is that your husband?" The girl smiles and says, "No." Another girl points to somebody: "No, no, no – ''neti, neti'' – not this, not this, not this, not this." Finally, only one man is left out, and some girl says: "Is he your husband?" She need not have asked, because there is nobody else left out – but she asked. The girl does not say anything; she keeps her head low, but a beatific smile adorns her face, showing how happy she is. So everybody understands: that is her husband. So after negating everything, whatever remains – that is the truth.
===The Thorn Example===
But then, I have to tell you – as I told you also – Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's own example: the big thorn with the help of which all the other smaller thorns were completely thrown out – that also has to be thrown. That means that mind which is going through '''''śravaṇa(श्रवण)'', ''manana (मनन)'', ''nididhyāsana (निदिध्यासन)''''', being instructed by the Guru – even that also will be thrown out. But he will not throw it out automatically – with the last thorn, this discriminating mind itself will get thrown out. What remains – he does not say "I am seeing pure consciousness"; he says "I am pure consciousness." This is the process of ''Neti neti''.
==The Three Essential Points==
So from these three important points, if we remember, then we have understood the essence of what we discussed so far.
===First: Jagat Mithyatva जगत् मिथ्यत्व===
First, the ''Jagat Mithyatva'' '''जगत् मिथ्यत्व'''– ''mithyā'' is mistaking half‑truth for absolute truth by dismissing this observable and objectifiable universe. '''''Dṛśya prapañcaदृश्य प्रपञ्च neti neti'' (नेति नेति)'''proves that the universe is only a partial truth, not complete truth. That is why it is called ''mithyā''. It is not called non‑existence – it is called partial existence.
===Second: The Ultimate Reality of Brahman===
Second, the ultimate reality of ''Brahman'' – ''Brahman'' alone is the cause; the Creator alone is the real truth. Everything else is partial truth – everything else is ''satyam'', but '''not''' ''Satyasya Satyam'''सत्यस्य सत्यं''''' . For that we have to apply that process of ''Neti neti'' through the process of '''''śravaṇaश्रवण'', ''mananaमनन'', ''nididhyāsanaनिदिध्यासन'',''' etc.
===The Bhakti Path===
In the Bhakti path also – devotional path – exactly the same thing is repeated. How? When a person is meditating upon God, he says: "First, every devotee is a most wonderful person. So I am in every devotee – I see every devotee, in every devotee – there is no difference between me and any devotee." That is how Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: "There is no caste difference among devotees." Slowly then it expands: everything happens by the will of God, so whatever happens by the will of God, God is for my good – not only for my good, for the good of the entire universe.
===Why Suffering?===
A very profound truth we have to keep in mind. If some country is throwing bombs upon another country, our viewpoint – ignorant viewpoint – is "this is bad." But we can, from the Hindu viewpoint, expand it a little bit – I will do it very briefly.
#Nobody either suffers or enjoys except by accepting the resultant of their own past ''karma''. Then it can be happiness, it can be unhappiness. Nobody can cause either happiness or unhappiness to anybody – our own '''''karmaphala''''' '''कर्मफल'''comes through the medium of other people. That is the first thing.
#Second, that is not the only thing. So who is making this happen? There is somebody called '''''Vidhātā'' विधाता–''' that is God – who keeps an eye on what a person has done. Such a God says: "It is better for you to be born here because that is the best chance for you." As we discussed today itself – not only to exhaust your '''''prārabdha karmaप्रारब्ध कर्म''''', but to create better ''karma''. So whether we are happy or unhappy, a tremendous opportunity is given. Not only every birth, but every morning as soon as we wake up, God gives us 24 hours until the next day. So we will have to do certain things; we do not know what to do. For that, the scriptures are there, but the scriptures are difficult to understand. So there is a teacher, and the teacher is an experienced person and he understands the students and he tells us.
#The point is: whatever happens in our life, it is for good. That is a point we have to understand. Nobody is making another happy or suffer – first point. And if we are undergoing suffering, it is natural for us to feel sympathy, and that is a very excellent spiritual quality that shows we have to share what we have, so that in future whatever we share will come back to us. That is what we discussed in the ''Taittirīya Upaniṣad'': the only best way of saving food is to share it with others. Whatever food we share with others will be shared and comes back to us through the other people.
===Questioning God===
This is the point, and anybody who refuses to accept this view is not a spiritual person, because he is questioning God. This is the third point. If anybody claims "I am a strong believer in God" and then still says "Why is there so much evil in this world?" – then he is the most foolish, arrogant person in the whole world. You do not claim you have any faith in God. If God is the Creator, He is all good – '''''sarva-maṅgala'' सर्वमङ्गल'''– and what God does, only He knows, and whatever He does is for the good of every one of us – no doubt about it. That is why it is called ''līlā'' – pretence.
===Third: The Identity of the Self and Brahman===
''Brahma satyatvam'' '''ब्रह्म सत्यत्वं'''– and in course of time, ''Jagat satyatvam'' '''जगत्सत्यत्वं'''– there is no such division called ''Brahman'' and the world. And then what is the third truth? The identity of the Self and ''Brahman'' '''– ''jīvo brahmaiva nāparaḥ''''' '''''जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः ।'''''– is an expansion of Śaṅkara's condensation of his entire teaching: ''Brahma satyam, jagat mithyā, jīvo brahmaiva nāparaḥ'''ब्रह्म सत्यं जगन्मिथ्या जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः ।['''''

'''[''ब्रह्म सत्यं जगन्मिथ्या जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः ।'''''

'''''अनेन वेद्यं सच्छास्त्रमिति वेदान्तडिण्डिमः ।। 20II ['''ब्रह्मज्ञानावलीमाला Brahmajnanavalimala '''by Adi shankaracharya]]'''''

. That middle one is the problematic one – "this world is an illusion." And the idea we have about illusion is not a good idea – that is why it is a very horrible idea. Illusion means untrue. But the ''Upaniṣad'' says it is not an illusion – it is a half‑understood truth. So true – it is a truth. A snake is a half‑understood snake – that is how we have to understand it.

Everything – not only ''jīva'' means what? Every being, including a mosquito – not only a living being, even the non‑living – it all falls under the category of ''sat''. Only ''cit'' and ''ānanda'' are not manifest here.
===Why Deep Sleep Is Discussed===
So why is deep sleep discussed? Ultimately, deep sleep is the best example to demonstrate that our waking individuality is merely an incidental transactional state. Similarly, the dream state also – by showing that we naturally resort to a state of formless, boundaryless awareness every night, deep sleep reveals that our permanent identity is nothing but ''Brahman''. Even from a practical point of view, it is this: even if you are enjoying something very pleasant – intense happiness you are getting – it does not last much longer. But look at the wonder of this deep sleep – for nearly several hours, without the least bit of break, we enjoy the highest bliss. If that is not an exemplar, I do not know what else is.
===The Neti Neti Methodology===
So what is this ''Neti neti'' methodology? "I am not the waker. I am not the dreamer, nor am I the sleeper. I am the one who is the experiencer –all these. Hence, I am the seer, not the seen." This is the essence of the third ''Brāhmaṇa''.

With this, this third ''Brāhmaṇa'' – the inter‑section – is over.
==Preview of Yājñavalkya-Maitreyī Dialogue==
Now we are going to enter into one of the most marvellous sections – that is called the dialogue between '''Yājñavalkya and Maitreyī.''' We will start it 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 3.1-3.6 Lecture 53 on 25 July 2026

2026-09-09T14:41:04Z

Gayatri:

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.'''

'''''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.'''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

'''OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH'''

'''OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.'''

'''OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.'''

==Introduction: The Third Brāhmaṇa==
We are studying some of the very important parts in this third ''Brāhmaṇa'' – third section. So first I would like to take up some of the important, very important ''mantras'' and then summarise what we discussed so far.
==The State of Deep Sleep (Suṣupti)==
'''In the 17th ''mantra'' – first section, second chapter, 17th ''mantra'':'''

'''स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्यत्रैष एतत्सुप्तोऽभूद्य एष विज्ञानमयः पुरुषस्तदेषां प्राणानां विज्ञानेन विज्नानमादाय य एषोऽन्तर्हृदय आकाशस्तस्मिञ्छेते तानि यदा गृह्णाति अथ हैतत्पुरुषः स्वपिति नाम तद्गृहीत एव प्राणो भवति गृहीता वाग्गृहीतं चक्षुः गृहीत श्रोत्रं गृहीतं मनः॥'''

''sa ha uvāca ajātaśatruḥ atra eṣa etat sut abhut yaḥ eṣa vijñānamayaḥ puruṣaḥ, tathā eṣāṃ prāṇānāṃ vijñānena vijñānam ādāya ya eṣa antar hṛdaya ākāśaḥ tasmin śete''.

Ajātaśatru, as we should remember, had taken his newly acquired disciple Gārgya or Bālāki to a sleeping person, woke him up after violently shaking him, and he was describing that state.
===The Components of the Jīvātman===
This '''''Puruṣa''''' – that is the '''''jīvātmanजीवात्मन''''' – and the ''jīvātman'' consists of how many things? We have to say '''three things:'''
#'''''Cit चित्''''' – pure consciousness.
#'''''Cidābhāsa''''' '''चिदाभास'''– the reflection of this pure consciousness in the mind of the individual.
#Body and mind – we can join them together.
So pure consciousness, reflection of pure consciousness, plus body‑mind is called the individual soul – ''jīvātman''. And every ''jīvātman'' goes through three states of experience until he has self‑knowledge and becomes free – attains liberation – not "attains", but knows that he was never bound.
===The Three States===
So this person, in the waking state, the emphasis is on the body, and the body's emphasis is on the external world. But in the state of dream, the external world and the whole physical body are as it were separated from himself. He deals only with the impressions he gained through his movements and interactions in the waking state, and taking those impressions, he creates his own world – that is beautifully described later on.

But in the deep sleep state सुषुप्ति('''''suṣupti'')''', this '''pure consciousnes'''s combined with '''reflected consciousness''' takes – he rises above all connections with the waking state – body, external world, and mind. '''What does he do''' in the deep sleep state? He takes everything, as it were – all the functions of the organs – and converts them into pure reflected consciousness. And then where does he rest? There is supposed to be a place in the heart – it is called '''''hṛdayākāśaहृदयाकाश'', ''daharākāśa''''' '''दहराकाश'''– and he rests there as long as that state of deep sleep continues.
===The Role of Karmaphala===
But because of '''''karmaphalaकर्मफल'' ,''' when the time comes, that ''karmaphala'' acts as the cause – that is why '''''suṣuptiसुषुप्ति''''' is called '''''kāraṇa śarīraकारण शरीर'''''. So again it forcibly draws him from the ''hṛdayākāśa'' '''''हृदयाकाश'','''and then separates him from ''Paramātman'' '''परमात्मन्'''as it were. That is the state Ajātaśatru was describing: where was the sleeping person, because it took such a long time to wake him up? He was deeply resting i'''n the ''hṛdayākāśa''''' '''''हृदयाकाश'','''along with ''cit'' '''''चित्''''' – remember, ''cidākāśa'''चिदाकाश'''''<nowiki/>''',''' ''cit'','''''चित्''''' ''cidābhāsa'''''चिदाभास'''has not disappeared, but it is nearest to the pure ''cit'', its real nature. As if there is only the shining sun and there is only the pure mirror – there is nobody there to witness, to use that reflected light to experience what is in the room. It is just like that. But as if somebody had entered later on ,Oh Brilliant light!Now I can see so clearly , I can read so clearly!
===''Swapiti'' – Resting in the Lap of Paramātman===
'''तानि यदा गृह्णाति अथ हैतत्पुरुषः स्वपिति नाम तद्गृहीत एव प्राणो भवति गृहीता वाग्गृहीतं चक्षुः गृहीत श्रोत्रं गृहीतं मनः॥'''

''Taniyāda gṛṇāti atha etath puruṣaḥ svapiti nāma'' –

when this person is in deep sleep, the ''jīvātman'' gets a special name''': ''svapitiस्वपिति'' .''' He is called ''svapiti'', meaning he is lying in the lap of ''Paramātman''.

'''तद्गृहीत एव प्राणो भवति गृहीता वाग्गृहीतं चक्षुः गृहीत श्रोत्रं गृहीतं मनः॥'''

''Taṭgṛhītaḥ iva prāṇā bhavati, gṛhītaṃ vāk, gṛhītaṃ cakṣuḥ, gṛhītaṃ śrotram, gṛhītaṃ manaḥ'' –

when the ''jīvātman'' is in ''suṣupti'', all the sense organs are withdrawn, and when sense organs are withdrawn, their functions are also withdrawn. The organ of smell is absorbed, the organ of speech is absorbed, the eye is absorbed, the ear is absorbed, and the mind is absorbed. In other words, both mind and body attain to their causal state and are not able to function.
===The Causal State===
Now, slowly after some time, because of ''karmaphala'' – remember, it always works – two points we have to remember here: ''prāṇa'', whatever be the state – waking, dream, dreamless – ''prāṇa'' will never depart; otherwise that person, that ''jīvātman'', would be a dead person. So ''prāṇa'' will be there. But these three states are experienced by the help of the ''prāṇa'' – the body and mind are withdrawn, sense organs and corresponding thoughts are totally withdrawn. So after some time, this causal body ( causal means cause) wakes up and pulls the ''jīvātman'' forcibly from the resting place in the ''Paramātman'', brings it first to the state of dream – ''svapnāvasthā''.
==The Dream State – The 72,000 Nāḍīs==
How does it do that? That is described in the 19th ''mantra'':

'''अथ यदा सुषुप्तो भवति यदा न कस्य चन वेद हिता नाम नाद्यो द्वासप्ततिः सहस्राणि हृदयात्पुरीततमभिप्रतिष्ठन्ते ताभिः प्रत्यवसृप्य पुरीतति शेते स यथा कुमारो वा महाराजो वा महाब्राह्मणो वाऽतिघ्नीमानन्दस्य गत्वा शयीतैवमेवैष एतच्छेते॥'''

''Atha yadā suṣupto bhavati, atha nākasya caṇavet, atha nāmanā diyā va saptatiḥ sahasrāṇi hṛdayāt purītam avipratiṣṭhanti, tābhiḥ prati avasāprupyā purītathi śete''.

Briefly, what Ajātaśatru is trying – or this ''Upaniṣad'' is trying – to convey that knowledge to us through the medium of Ajātaśatru: when the ''karmaphala'' forcibly forces back the ''jīvātman'', how does it enter? It seems there are very subtle ''nāḍīs'' (nerves) – nerve centers. This nerve center we cannot find through any amount of microscope or telescope. They are subtle – subtle means not experienceable by the physical body, physical senses, even microscope or telescope. They cannot do anything unless sense organs are functioning. Only when the eye is perfectly functioning will telescope work, microscope work. If you put both in front of a blind man, they are not going to work.
===The Pathways of Return===
So when this person wakes up, then what happens? Slowly, because of these '''''vāsanās'' – ''karmaphala''''', that is the impressions – they urge: "You will have to exhaust the resultant of your own actions." So how did he enter into that '''''ākāśa'' – ''cidākāśaचिदाकाश,'' or ''hṛdayākāśa हृदयाकाश,'' or ''daharākāśa''''' '''दहराकाश'''– through these very nerves? And how does he come back? Through the very nerves. So if you go somewhere, if you have climbed to the higher storeys in your own building, you will again come back. So there are various staircases, as it were – they are called very, very subtle nerves. How many are there? The scripture is telling: 72,000 are there. Among them there is one which is called '''''purītatiपुरीतति'',''' which is '''the most important nerve''', and every other nerve is only emanating from there, and they are all well established in the heart. The heart is the place where we feel our identity.
===The Deep Sleep State and Returning===
So what happens when the Self goes into deep sleep, when it does not know anything? And how did it go into deep sleep? Through those very nerves. Now what is happening because the ''karmaphala'' wakes the person up? It returns along the 72,000 nerves called ''hītāहित''. They are all called ''hītāहित''. ''Hītāहित'' in Sanskrit means that which does good for anybody, which extends from the heart throughout the whole body. And these nerves, though they are emanating from the heart, are spread throughout the body until even the tips of the hair. So even if some smallest insect touches the tip of our hair, immediately that sensation – "Oh, something is touching me" – we can find out. Not to speak of the skin, where we feel it much more intensely – any touch. So these nerves are spread all over, and there it brings back into the dream state.
===The Three Examples – Baby, Emperor, Brāhmaṇa===
What happens?

'''यथा कुमारो वा महाराजो वा महाब्राह्मणो वाऽतिघ्नीमानन्दस्य गत्वा शयीतैवमेवैष एतच्छेते॥'''

''Yathā kumāraḥ ha va mahārājya hava mahābrāhmaṇa hava atighniṃ ānandasya gatvā śayita evam eva eṣa etath svete atighnim'' – as a baby, or an emperor, or a noble Brāhmaṇa, when they enter into the deep sleep state, they experience incomparable, supreme happiness, because for the time being duality is absent. Mind and body cause duality; mind and body are absent in deep sleep.

Having experienced that highest bliss, three examples are given:
#''Kumāra'' – a baby without the least bit of worries. In this state of babyhood, no baby will ever think about what happened in the past, what is going to happen in the future, where am I going to eat, who is going to take care of me, etc. He knows somebody else is going to take care of him. He does not even think like that – we only attribute that thinking to the baby. But the baby absolutely knows someone is looking, and if somebody by chance is temporarily absent, the baby starts howling, crying. Immediately father, mother, brother, sister – somebody comes running and takes care of the baby, and the baby becomes peaceful once more. So a baby does not have judgmental values – "this is a good person, that is a good person; this is tasty food, that is not at all tasty" – all these thoughts are totally absent until his sleeping ''saṃskāras'' wake up when his body grows up sufficiently. But until that time, a baby is a marvellous example.
That is why a ''jīvanmukta'' is compared to a baby – just like a baby without a second thought. He wants to sleep, he will sleep; he wants to meditate, he will meditate; he wants to study, he will study; he wants to talk, he will talk.
===Zen Buddhism – Complete Absorption===
There is a special Buddhistic school of philosophy called Zen Buddhism – ''Dhyāna'' Buddhism. The main teaching is: a Zen practitioner – ''dhyāna'' practitioner – whatever he does, he is aware of only that. If you are reading the messages you are getting through my WhatsApp application, you will see: when a person is walking, he is aware "I am walking"; when he is sitting, he is aware "I am sitting", etc. So this is how slowly this person becomes only absorbed in that, like a baby. Notice a baby when he is playing – one hundred percent his mind is absorbed in that, and naturally he will get the greatest pleasure. What is the value of his plaything? That is not important – whether it is a few stones, few sticks or marbles, or some play machine – it does not really matter. What matters is absorption. It does not matter what a baby eats, but he is completely absorbed in it.
#A ''Mahārāja'' who has no known enemies and everything is going on very well – how does he sleep? He is not worried – by God's grace, everything is going on well.
#A ''Mahābrāhmaṇa'' – a realised soul – they are all same: '''अतिघ्नीमानन्दस्य गत्वा''' ''atighneem ānandasya gatvā''. They experience that incomparable supreme bliss – that is the bliss of ''Brahman'' ''ānanda'' only, not less.
'''शयीतैवमेवैष एतच्छेते॥'''

''Śayit evam eva eṣa etat sethe'' –

having experienced that one, he comes back into the next stage of experience, which is called dream.
==The Dream Creation – Spider and Sparks==
And what happens? He returns back through 72,000 nerves, but then he creates a tremendous creation – his own creation. Further, an example is given:

'''स यथोर्णवाभिस्तन्तुनोच्चरेद्यथाऽग्नेः क्षुद्रा विस्फुलिङ्गा व्युच्चरन्त्येवमेवास्मादात्मनः सर्वे प्राणाः सर्वे लोकाः सर्वे देवाः सर्वाणि भूतानि व्युच्चरन्ति तस्योपनिषत्सत्यस्य सत्यमिति प्राणा वै सत्यं तेषामेष सत्यम्॥'''

''Sa yathā ūrṇanābhiḥ tantunā uccaret, yathā agneḥ kṣudrāḥ visphuliṅgāḥ vicharanti, evam eva asmāt ātmanaḥ sarve prāṇāḥ sarve lokāḥ sarve devāḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni vicharanti'' –

as a spider moves along the thread it produces from its own body; the '''second example is given''' – as from a blazing fire, millions of tiny sparks fly in every direction. Even so, from this ''Ātman'' come forth all organs, all worlds, all gods, all beings.
===The Point of the Examples===
What is the point of this particular ''mantra''? Just as in our dream spontaneously we create our dream world, and we ourselves find ourselves in our dream world – we find our neighbours, our friends, our enemies, our kingdom, our country, our religion – just like in the waking state. How did this person create? Just by the process of thought. Who created? the person who is returning, but who is actually the waking person? One person creates the entire dream world. If a human being can create the world – and what is the specialty? When this person has created this world, he does not say "this is only a dream, this is unreal, I have created it myself." '''First point''': it is not unreal – it is absolutely real, exactly like the waking state. '''Second point:''' as we are not aware that this whole waking world is created by us, exactly in the same way, the whole dream world is created by that individual soul.
===The Dream and Waking States Compared===
It is not surprising to think that when we give the example of a dream, upon waking up, instantaneously we realise that "I created my own world, where I created my own happiness and unhappiness, my own friends and enemies – somebody came and presented me an invaluable jewel; somebody else came and snatched it away; or in the process, he even hurt me." But upon waking up, we laugh and say, "How realistic it looked! But I alone – that is important – I alone am responsible." A husband cannot say "my wife is responsible for this dream." So every human being can understand.

But what about the waking state? Is it created by us? Yes. One of the understandings of ''Karma Siddhānta'' ['''कर्म सिद्धान्त''']is: our parents, our family, our financial circumstances, our climate, where we are born, into which family, which coloured parents – black‑skinned, yellow‑skinned, white‑skinned, brown‑skinned – and how our physical body looks, and our fate – whether we are poor or rich, whether we can get higher education or not, whether we are fated to go to higher universities either in India or elsewhere – in fact, the whole universe is created for two purposes:
#For exhausting whatever we had earned through our past lives – to experience the resultant of our own past actions.
#At the same time, we are given an opportunity to create new ''karma''. Should we wish, we can create new ''karma''. It might take some bit of effort, depending upon the strength of our ''saṃskāras''.
===Conscious Creation===
But we have to understand: we are creating, albeit most of the time unconsciously. If we can create deliberately, consciously – that is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's advice is: cultivate holy company deliberately, go to solitary places, and understand nothing in this world can help you continuously. Accepting the reality of the world – everything is changing – that is the reality of the world. Since everything is changing, nothing can be relied upon. So do not unnecessarily intensify attachments. Live like a maidservant. All these things are possible, and all these things are done: first, to exhaust, to get the right opportunity, appropriate opportunity; second, whatever best we can do – there is enormous scope, and that is what we need to do.
===Dreams Can Be Created by Design===
Just as we create our own dreams – dreams are not forced upon us by somebody. Every single experience we had in the dream was created by us. In fact, dreams can be created according to design. There are many people who could do that, and we can also do that. Just as we created this waking state, we can also create – Nagamahāśaya's mind was totally pitched to the highest ''loka''. That is why when his aunt used to tell him in his childhood bedtime stories of gods and goddesses and stories from Hindu mythology, next morning he used to get up, run to his aunt and say: "Aunt, today I dreamt whatever you told me yesterday – I have seen Mother Cāmuṇḍā." How many gods and goddesses she had visualised, even though she said "I never knew the existence of it" – but she had strong faith. One of the greatest devotees – she had faith that gods and goddesses exist. If God exists, then goddesses, gods also exist; higher worlds exist; nothing is impossible. Because of that, she used to have strange visions.

We should not say – our modern science is likely to say – "They are all her imaginations." But my point is: whether something is an imagination or something is a reality, it makes no difference. If we imagine something as real, that affects us. If somebody is embracing a black bear thinking "I am embracing Miss Universe", it does not matter – so long as he thinks "I am in the embrace of a most beautiful woman in this world", he is a happy person. But when that imagination breaks, another imagination comes: "This is a black bear about to crush me to death" – that is also in the same pattern. So that is why it is said: "Today's imagination will be tomorrow's fact." In fact, meditation is nothing but pure imagination – of course, guided by the Guru and the scriptures.
===The Return from Deep Sleep to Dream===
So the person coming down from the state of the highest bliss experienceable in the realistic world – from the state of deep sleep – he comes through the ferry roads, as it were, through the 72,000 ''nāḍīs''. Do not question whether they are 72,000 or 7,000 – it does not matter. So if a person is coming down from deep sleep to the dream state, he must be coming – there must be a pathway, and that pathway is called the nerves.

Having come to this dream state, he roams about. What does he do? He creates – just like a spider creates its own net to catch food in the form of insects, or just like a blazing fire from which hundreds and thousands of sparks are flying all over. The point is: all these sparks have exactly the same nature – they are hot to the touch. If a spark falls upon my body, I feel the stinging. Similarly, they also give light, because the moment you see a spark, you see it even in pitch darkness. And if this spark is a little big enough, if there is any object nearby, it illumines it – self‑illuminating and other‑illuminating – that is the characteristic of fire.
===The Whole Universe Comes from Brahman===
So the whole universe has come out of the supreme reality called ''Brahman'', just as this dream example is given to make us understand – just as we create. And then one important point we have to understand here: even when we go through this dream state, nothing happens to us. Similarly, when ''Paramātman'' creates this entire universe – how many ''lokas'', billions and billions of galaxies, every galaxy is a special ''loka'' – nothing happens to ''Paramātman''. That is the second point.

Third point we have to understand: since this whole creation is coming just as from us – every day we have a different dream. On the same night, we can have different dreams. In the same dream, we can have another subset of dreams also – in dream itself, we go to bed and we can have another dream. How many layers of dreams can we have? So one moment we find here in Bangalore, next moment in Vārāṇasī, next moment in New York – every situation is different. So how many dreams? Every dream – a special dream – is a ''loka''. ''Loka'' means a special experience.
===The Nature of the Creation===
'''For Mahātman''', He creates the whole universe, and the point we have to understand is: whatever is created partakes of the same nature as the original substance. A pot – a mud pot, a clay pot – its whole nature is nothing but clay. A golden ornament will be pure gold only. Similarly, what is the nature of ''Brahman''? Pure consciousness. So even when you think "I see this – there is a big rock" – is this consciousness? Yes, of course it is consciousness.

Many times I have tried, and many times I will tell you also: at this point, we do not know what is in the external world. '''We only know our thoughts.''' So if I have the thought of a tree – I am imagining. Just like a person sitting in front of a TV in his drawing room or visitor's room, he is experiencing a beautiful match and he is feeling as if it is going on here. Nowadays the broadcasters broadcast – some hesitation is going on somewhere, and you can see it in front of you, and there is no difference. Because whether you are even present where that cricket match is being played – that event is taking place – your eyes, your ears go out and gather the impressions and bring them to the present to the mind in the form of thoughts. And we alone know – the mind is a vast screen. On that screen these thoughts are projected, and the film is the mind. But the light is called reflected consciousness, and this reflected consciousness enlarges and makes all the impressions come to life, as it were – "I am seeing it."
===Direct and Indirect Experience===
So I am giving the essence: it does not matter whether you experience something through a phone, through a TV screen, or actually you are sitting somewhere – you are not directly experiencing sitting in front of a cricket match. You are indirectly experiencing only in front of a TV screen. Both are indirect only. Nothing is direct. You only know about your thoughts, and every thought represents the entire external – every object, any object in the entire external world. Even this thought "this is external" is also a thought only. "This is internal" – that is also a thought only. Mind‑boggling – but that is the truth. Even psychologists can tell you that, not to speak of spiritual people.
===The Two Examples===
So through these two examples, ''Paramātman''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s creation is described. So it is not impossible – He Himself is the material cause, He Himself is the intelligent cause – He is everything. For that, these two examples are given, and these two examples are not only found in the ''Bṛhadāraṇyaka'' – in the ''Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad'' also, the same examples are given in some other ''Upaniṣads'' as well; they repeat the same things.
==Mūrta '''[मूर्त]'''and Amūrta'''[अमूर्त]''' – Visible and Invisible==
The next point we have seen: this entire creation is nothing but pure consciousness. But that pure consciousness, looked at through the prism of time, space, and causation, appears to be an infinite number of objects. So time, space, and causation limit, and this limited experience of pure consciousness in the form of this entire creation is subdivided by this ''Upaniṣad'': that which can be experienced by the eyes, etc., that is called ''Mūrta'''[मूर्त]'''''; and that which is experienced but not seen through the eyes, that is called ''Amūrta'' '''[अमूर्त] –''' visible and invisible. So both belong to the creation only.
===Brahma Satyamब्रह्म सत्यं, Jagat Satyamजगत् सत्यं ===
And then the ''Upaniṣad'', as we discussed earlier, made a categorical statement: just as ''Brahman'' is ''satyam'', this world is also ''satyam'' only. But then why do they say it is ''mithyā''? So long as we are not aware of the true nature of the cause which is ''Brahman'', we experience separatedness: "I am a tiny object in comparison with the other objects." Suppose imagine there is a small ant – a big rock falls upon that ant. The ant – at least we know the ant is small, therefore it cannot withstand this big rock. But that is its nature – this is because of ignorance. But once we understand consciousness, there is no division: small and big, white and black, great and small, subtle and all‑pervading. This is all the mind's attempt to make an understanding of that pure consciousness.
===The Roof Example===
So the ''Upaniṣad'' wants to tell – Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: once a person reaches the roof, understands what the roof is made of, he understands what the whole house is made of – the same material of which the roof is made, the whole house is made. Once a person realises ''Brahman'', which is ''satyam jñānam anantamसत्यं ज्ञानमनन्तं ब्रह्म।''''',[तैत्तिरीयोपनिषद्ब्रह्मानन्दवल्ली प्रथमोऽनुवाकःVerse १''' ]then the realised soul understands everything – but it is nothing but limited; it is only ''Brahman''. But if we do not have that knowledge, that is called we are ignorant – we are under the influence of ignorance. Ignorance means limited by time, space, and causation. We think everything is separate from everything else – very small, very small (''aṇu''), very big, huge, etc. And that will create many problems and repeated births again and again.
===The Realised Soul Enjoys the Universe===
That is why once a person realises the nature of the true cause, then the effects are also realised to be of the same nature. So such a person, after the realisation, enjoys this whole universe. So that is what is said here.
==Neti Neti '''नेति नेति'''– The Method of Negation==
Now we will summarise whatever is there. So in order to understand ''Brahman'' is the roof – the real cause of which the entire creation (''sṛṣṭi'') had come out – ''Brahman'' is pure consciousness. Therefore, whatever comes out of ''Brahman'' – manifestation of ''Brahman'' – must be pure consciousness only, like the sparks of fire, etc. So for that we cannot understand because we are overpowered by ''Māyā '''माया'''''<nowiki/>''',''' ''ajñāna'''अज्ञान'''''<nowiki/>''',''' ''avidyā'''अविद्या'''''<nowiki/>''',''' which is described as looking at ''Brahman'', looking at ourselves, through the prism of time, space, and causation.

So ''satyam'' means this is called ''Vyāvahārika Satyam'''व्यवहारिक सत्यं''''' – this is true so long as I am experiencing it, but this is not the final truth. So for that purpose, you have to practise certain spiritual disciplines and go to the roof, which is to realise ''Aham Brahmasmi'', and then only we will be able to understand there is nothing but ''Brahman''.
===''Neti Neti'' – Not This, Not This===
So for that purpose, what is it? ''Neti neti'' (नेति नेति)– as we discussed earlier, in the ''Taittirīya'' especially: "not this, not this." That is to say, am I the ''annamaya kośa''? No. It does not mean ''annamaya kośa'' is different from me. As I mentioned in my last classes, not only am I ''annamaya'', I am also much more. So once I realise in what way I am much more, you progress: I am ''prāṇamaya'' – ''prāṇamaya'' does not negate ''annamaya''; ''prāṇamaya'' includes ''annamaya''. ''Manomaya'' includes ''prāṇamaya''. ''Vijñānamaya'' includes ''manomaya'' – that means it includes the others – and ''ānandamaya'' includes the previous four ''kośas'' of manifestations. And then we also realise this is also a work of the mind – that is why it is called ''ānandamaya kośa''. ''Ānanda'' – pure bliss. Another name for ''Brahman'' is ''ānanda'': ''satyam jñānam ānandam'' – ''ānanda'' means unbroken bliss.
===The Story of the Bride===
So for that purpose, here in the ''Bṛhadāraṇyaka'', the famous teaching ''Neti neti'' '''(नेति नेति''')– ''nayati nayati'' ('''नयति नयति'''):– "Did I reach the goal? No." So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa gives a beautiful example. There was a girl who was married. After marriage, her husband went away, and very few people could attend the marriage perhaps. Once her husband came to her house, and all the girlfriends of this girl (the wife who was married) gathered around her, and the bridegroom came with many of his friends. Maybe it was a special occasion, and he was sitting there outside chit‑chatting with others. The girls did not know who he was, because at the time of marriage the groom will be decorated in a special manner – everybody can recognise. But after that, that dress is no more necessary, so he is sitting like anybody.

One girl asks: "Is that your husband?" The girl smiles and says, "No." Another girl points to somebody: "No, no, no – ''neti, neti'' – not this, not this, not this, not this." Finally, only one man is left out, and some girl says: "Is he your husband?" She need not have asked, because there is nobody else left out – but she asked. The girl does not say anything; she keeps her head low, but a beatific smile spreads across her face, showing how happy she is. So everybody understands: that is her husband. So after negating everything, whatever remains – that is the truth.
===The Thorn Example===
But then, I have to tell you – as I told you also – Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's own example: the big thorn with the help of which all the other smaller thorns were completely thrown out – that also has to be thrown. That means that mind which is going through '''''śravaṇa(श्रवण)'', ''manana (मनन)'', ''nididhyāsana (निदिध्यासन)''''', being instructed by the Guru – even that also will be thrown out. But he will not throw it out automatically – with the last thorn, this discriminating mind itself will get torn out. What remains – he does not say "I am seeing pure consciousness"; he says "I am pure consciousness." This is the process of ''Neti neti''.
==The Three Essential Points==
So from these three important points, if we remember, then we have understood the essence of what we discussed so far.
===First: Jagat Mithyatvaजगत् मिथ्यत्व===
First, the ''Jagat Mithyatva'' '''जगत् मिथ्यत्व'''– ''mithyā'' is mistaking half‑truth for absolute truth by dismissing this observable and objectifiable universe. ''Dṛśya prapañca neti neti'' proves that the universe is only a partial truth, not complete truth. That is why it is called ''mithyā''. It is not called non‑existence – it is called partial existence.
===Second: The Ultimate Reality of Brahman===
Second, the ultimate reality of ''Brahman'' – ''Brahman'' alone is the cause; the Creator alone is the real truth. Everything else is partial truth – everything else is ''satyam'', but not ''Satyasya Satyam'''सत्यस्य सत्यं''''' . For that we have to apply that process of ''Neti neti'' through the process of ''śravaṇa'', ''manana'', ''nididhyāsana'', etc.
===The Bhakti Path===
In the Bhakti path also – devotional path – exactly the same thing is repeated. How? When a person is meditating upon God, he says: "First, every devotee is a most wonderful person. So I am in every devotee – I see every devotee, and every devotee – there is no difference between me and any devotee." That is how Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: "There is no caste difference among devotees." Slowly then it expands: everything happens by the will of God, so whatever happens by the will of God, God is for my good – not only for my good, for the good of the entire universe.
===Why Suffering?===
A very profound truth we have to keep in mind. If some country is throwing bombs upon another country, our viewpoint – ignorant viewpoint – is "this is bad." But we can, from the Hindu viewpoint, expand it a little bit – I will do it very briefly.
#Nobody either suffers or enjoys except by accepting the resultant of their own past ''karma''. Then it can be happiness, it can be unhappiness. Nobody can cause either happiness or unhappiness to anybody – our own ''karmaphala'' comes through the medium of other people. That is the first thing.
#Second, that is not the only thing. So who is making this happen? There is somebody called ''Vidhātā'' – that is God – who keeps an eye on what a person has done. Such a God says: "It is better for you to be born here because that is the best chance for you." As we discussed today itself – not only to exhaust your ''prārabdha karma'', but to create better ''karma''. So whether we are happy or unhappy, a tremendous opportunity is given. Not only every birth, but every morning as soon as we wake up, God gives us 24 hours until the next day. So we will have to do certain things; we do not know what to do. For that, the scriptures are there, but the scriptures are difficult to understand. So there is a teacher, and the teacher is an experienced person and he understands the students and he tells us.
#The point is: whatever happens in our life, it is for good. That is a point we have to understand. Nobody is making another happy or suffer – first point. And if we are undergoing suffering, it is natural for us to feel sympathy, and that is a very excellent spiritual quality that shows we have to share what we have, so that in future whatever we share will come back to us. That is what we discussed in the ''Taittirīya Upaniṣad'': the only best way of saving food is to share it with others. Whatever food we share with others will be shared and comes back to us through the other people.
===Questioning God===
This is the point, and anybody who refuses to accept this view is not a spiritual person, because he is questioning God. This is the third point. If anybody claims "I am a strong believer in God" and then still says "Why is there so much evil in this world?" – then he is the most foolish, arrogant person in the whole world. You do not claim you have any faith in God. If God is the Creator, He is all good – ''sarva-maṅgala'' – and what God does, only He knows, and whatever He does is for the good of every one of us – no doubt about it. That is why it is called ''līlā'' – pretence.
===Third: The Identity of the Self and Brahman===
''Brahma satyatvam'' '''ब्रह्म सत्यत्वं'''– and in course of time, ''Jagat satyatvam'' '''जगत्सत्यत्वं'''– there is no such division called ''Brahman'' and the world. And then what is the third truth? The identity of the Self and ''Brahman'' – ''jīvo brahmaiva nāparaḥ'' '''''जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः ।'''''– is an expansion of Śaṅkara's condensation of his entire teaching: ''Brahma satyam, jagat mithyā, jīvo brahmaiva nāparaḥ'''ब्रह्म सत्यं जगन्मिथ्या जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः ।['''''

'''[''ब्रह्म सत्यं जगन्मिथ्या जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः ।'''''

'''''अनेन वेद्यं सच्छास्त्रमिति वेदान्तडिण्डिमः ।। 20II ['''ब्रह्मज्ञानावलीमाला Brahmajnanavalimala '''by Adi shankaracharya]]'''''

. That middle one is the problematic one – "this world is an illusion." And the idea we have about illusion is not a good idea – that is why it is a very horrible idea. Illusion means untrue. But the ''Upaniṣad'' says it is not an illusion – it is a half‑understood truth. So true – it is a truth. A snake is a half‑understood snake – that is how we have to understand it.

Everything – not only ''jīva'' means what? Every being, including a mosquito – not only a living being, even the non‑living – it all falls under the category of ''sat''. Only ''cit'' and ''ānanda'' are not manifest here.
===Why Deep Sleep Is Discussed===
So why is deep sleep discussed? Ultimately, deep sleep is the best example to demonstrate that our waking individuality is merely an incidental transactional state. Similarly, the dream state also – by showing that we naturally resort to a state of formless, boundaryless awareness every night, deep sleep reveals that our permanent identity is nothing but ''Brahman''. Even from a practical point of view, it is this: even if you are enjoying something very pleasant – intense happiness you are getting – it does not last much longer. But look at the wonder of this deep sleep – for nearly several hours, without the least bit of break, we enjoy the highest bliss. If that is not an exemplar, I do not know what else is.
===The Neti Neti Methodology===
So what is this ''Neti neti'' methodology? "I am not the waker. I am not the dreamer, nor am I the sleeper. I am the one who is the experiencer – follow these. Hence, I am the seer, not the seen." This is the essence of the third ''Brāhmaṇa''.

With this, this third ''Brāhmaṇa'' – the inter‑section – is over.
==Preview of Yājñavalkya-Maitreyī Dialogue==
Now we are going to enter into one of the most marvellous sections – that is called the dialogue between Yājñavalkya and Maitreyī. We will start it 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 3.1-3.6 Lecture 53 on 25 July 2026

2026-09-08T15:15:40Z

Gayatri:

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.'''

'''''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.'''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

'''OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH'''

'''OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.'''

'''OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.'''

==Introduction: The Third Brāhmaṇa==
We are studying some of the very important parts in this third ''Brāhmaṇa'' – third section. So first I would like to take up some of the important, very important ''mantras'' and then summarise what we discussed so far.
==The State of Deep Sleep (Suṣupti)==
'''In the 17th ''mantra'' – first section, second chapter, 17th ''mantra'':'''

'''स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्यत्रैष एतत्सुप्तोऽभूद्य एष विज्ञानमयः पुरुषस्तदेषां प्राणानां विज्ञानेन विज्नानमादाय य एषोऽन्तर्हृदय आकाशस्तस्मिञ्छेते तानि यदा गृह्णाति अथ हैतत्पुरुषः स्वपिति नाम तद्गृहीत एव प्राणो भवति गृहीता वाग्गृहीतं चक्षुः गृहीत श्रोत्रं गृहीतं मनः॥'''

''sa ha uvāca ajātaśatruḥ atra eṣa etat sut abhut yaḥ eṣa vijñānamayaḥ puruṣaḥ, tathā eṣāṃ prāṇānāṃ vijñānena vijñānam ādāya ya eṣa antar hṛdaya ākāśaḥ tasmin śete''.

Ajātaśatru, as we should remember, had taken his newly acquired disciple Gārgya or Bālāki to a sleeping person, woke him up after violently shaking him, and he was describing that state.
===The Components of the Jīvātman===
This '''''Puruṣa''''' – that is the '''''jīvātman''''' – and the ''jīvātman'' consists of how many things? We have to say '''three things:'''
#'''''Cit''''' – pure consciousness.
#'''''Cidābhāsa''''' – the reflection of this pure consciousness in the mind of the individual.
#Body and mind – we can join them together.
So pure consciousness, reflection of pure consciousness, plus body‑mind is called the individual soul – ''jīvātman''. And every ''jīvātman'' goes through three states of experience until he has self‑knowledge and becomes free – attains liberation – not "attains", but knows that he was never bound.
===The Three States===
So this person, in the waking state, the emphasis is on the body, and the body's emphasis is on the external world. But in the state of dream, the external world and the whole physical body are as it were separated from himself. He deals only with the impressions he gained through his movements and interactions in the waking state, and taking those impressions, he creates his own world – that is beautifully described later on.

But in the deep sleep state ('''''suṣupti'')''', this '''pure consciousnes'''s combined with '''reflected consciousness''' takes – he rises above all connections with the waking state – body, external world, and mind. '''What does he do''' in the deep sleep state? He takes everything, as it were – all the functions of the organs – and converts them into pure reflected consciousness. And then where does he rest? There is supposed to be a place in the heart – it is called '''''hṛdayākāśa'', ''daharākāśa''''' – and he rests there as long as that state of deep sleep continues.
===The Role of Karmaphala===
But because of '''''karmaphala'',''' when the time comes, that ''karmaphala'' acts as the cause – that is why '''''suṣupti''''' is called '''''kāraṇa śarīra'''''. So again it forcibly draws him from the ''hṛdayākāśa'' and then separates him from ''Paramātman'' as it were. That is the state Ajātaśatru was describing: where was the sleeping person, because it took such a long time to wake him up? He was deeply resting i'''n the ''hṛdayākāśa''''' along with ''cit'' – remember, ''cidākāśa'', ''cit'', ''cidābhāsa'' has not disappeared, but it is nearest to the pure ''cit'', its real nature. As if there is only the shining sun and there is only the pure mirror – there is nobody there to witness, to use that reflected light to experience what is in the room. It is just like that. But as if somebody had entered later on ,Oh Brilliant light!I can see so clearly , I can read so clearly!
===''Swapiti'' – Resting in the Lap of Paramātman===
'''तानि यदा गृह्णाति अथ हैतत्पुरुषः स्वपिति नाम तद्गृहीत एव प्राणो भवति गृहीता वाग्गृहीतं चक्षुः गृहीत श्रोत्रं गृहीतं मनः॥'''

''Taniyāda gṛṇāti atha etath puruṣaḥ svapiti nāma'' –

when this person is in deep sleep, the ''jīvātman'' gets a special name''': ''svapiti''.''' He is called ''svapiti'', meaning he is lying in the lap of ''Paramātman''.

'''तद्गृहीत एव प्राणो भवति गृहीता वाग्गृहीतं चक्षुः गृहीत श्रोत्रं गृहीतं मनः॥'''

''Taṭgṛhītaḥ iva prāṇā bhavati, gṛhītaṃ vāk, gṛhītaṃ cakṣuḥ, gṛhītaṃ śrotram, gṛhītaṃ manaḥ'' –

when the ''jīvātman'' is in ''suṣupti'', all the sense organs are withdrawn, and when sense organs are withdrawn, their functions are also withdrawn. The organ of smell is absorbed, the organ of speech is absorbed, the eye is absorbed, the ear is absorbed, and the mind is absorbed. In other words, both mind and body attain to their causal state and are not able to function.
===The Causal State===
Now, slowly after some time, because of ''karmaphala'' – remember, it always works – two points we have to remember here: ''prāṇa'', whatever be the state – waking, dream, dreamless – ''prāṇa'' will never depart; otherwise that person, that ''jīvātman'', would be a dead person. So ''prāṇa'' will be there. But these three states are experienced by the help of the ''prāṇa'' – the body and mind are withdrawn, sense organs and corresponding thoughts are totally withdrawn. So after some time, this causal body ( causal means cause) wakes up and pulls the ''jīvātman'' forcibly from the resting place in the ''Paramātman'', brings it first to the state of dream – ''svapnāvasthā''.
==The Dream State – The 72,000 Nāḍīs==
How does it do that? That is described in the 19th ''mantra'':

'''अथ यदा सुषुप्तो भवति यदा न कस्य चन वेद हिता नाम नाद्यो द्वासप्ततिः सहस्राणि हृदयात्पुरीततमभिप्रतिष्ठन्ते ताभिः प्रत्यवसृप्य पुरीतति शेते स यथा कुमारो वा महाराजो वा महाब्राह्मणो वाऽतिघ्नीमानन्दस्य गत्वा शयीतैवमेवैष एतच्छेते॥'''

''Atha yadā suṣupto bhavati, atha nākasya caṇavet, atha nāmanā diyā va saptatiḥ sahasrāṇi hṛdayāt purītam avipratiṣṭhanti, tābhiḥ prati avasāprupyā purītathi śete''.

Briefly, what Ajātaśatru is trying – or this ''Upaniṣad'' is trying – to convey that knowledge to us through the medium of Ajātaśatru: when the ''karmaphala'' forcibly forces back the ''jīvātman'', how does it enter? It seems there are very subtle ''nāḍīs'' (nerves) – nerve centers. This nerve center we cannot find through any amount of microscope or telescope. They are subtle – subtle means not experienceable by the physical body, physical senses, even microscope or telescope. They cannot do anything unless sense organs are functioning. Only when the eye is perfectly functioning will telescope work, microscope work. If you put both in front of a blind man, they are not going to work.
===The Pathways of Return===
So when this person wakes up, then what happens? Slowly, because of these '''''vāsanās'' – ''karmaphala''''', that is the impressions – they urge: "You will have to exhaust the resultant of your own actions." So how did he enter into that '''''ākāśa'' – ''cidākāśa'' or ''vāidyākāśa'' or ''daharākāśa''''' – through these very nerves? And how does he come back? Through the very nerves. So if you go somewhere, if you have climbed to the higher storeys in your own building, you will again come back. So there are various staircases, as it were – they are called very, very subtle nerves. How many are there? The scripture is telling: 72,000 are there. Among them there is one which is called '''''purītati'',''' which is '''the most important nerve''', and every other nerve is only emanating from there, and they are all well established in the heart. The heart is the place where we feel our identity.
===The Deep Sleep State and Returning===
So what happens when the Self goes into deep sleep, when it does not know anything? And how did it go into deep sleep? Through those very nerves. Now what is happening because the ''karmaphala'' wakes the person up? It returns along the 72,000 nerves called ''hītā''. They are all called ''hītā''. ''Hītā'' in Sanskrit means that which does good for anybody, which extends from the heart throughout the whole body. And these nerves, though they are emanating from the heart, are spread throughout the body until even the tips of the hair. So even if some smallest insect touches the tip of our hair, immediately that sensation – "Oh, something is touching me" – we can find out. Not to speak of the skin, where we feel it much more intensely – any touch. So these nerves are spread all over, and there it brings back into the dream state.
===The Three Examples – Baby, Emperor, Brāhmaṇa===
What happens?

'''यथा कुमारो वा महाराजो वा महाब्राह्मणो वाऽतिघ्नीमानन्दस्य गत्वा शयीतैवमेवैष एतच्छेते॥'''

''Yathā kumāraḥ ha va mahārājya hava mahābrāhmaṇa hava atighniṃ ānandasya gatvā śayita evam eva eṣa etath svete atighnim'' – as a baby, or an emperor, or a noble Brāhmaṇa, when they enter into the deep sleep state, they experience incomparable, supreme happiness, because for the time being duality is absent. Mind and body cause duality; mind and body are absent in deep sleep.

Having experienced that highest bliss, three examples are given:
#''Kumāra'' – a baby without the least bit of worries. In this state of babyhood, no baby will ever think about what happened in the past, what is going to happen in the future, where am I going to eat, who is going to take care of me, etc. He knows somebody else is going to take care of him. He does not even think like that – we only attribute that thinking to the baby. But the baby absolutely knows someone is looking, and if somebody by chance is temporarily absent, the baby starts howling, crying. Immediately father, mother, brother, sister – somebody comes running and takes care of the baby, and the baby becomes peaceful once more. So a baby does not have judgmental values – "this is a good person, that is a good person; this is tasty food, that is not at all tasty" – all these thoughts are totally absent until his sleeping ''saṃskāras'' wake up when his body grows up sufficiently. But until that time, a baby is a marvellous example.
That is why a ''jīvanmukta'' is compared to a baby – just like a baby without a second thought. He wants to sleep, he will sleep; he wants to meditate, he will meditate; he wants to study, he will study; he wants to talk, he will talk.
===Zen Buddhism – Complete Absorption===
There is a special Buddhistic school of philosophy called Zen Buddhism – ''Dhyāna'' Buddhism. The main teaching is: a Zen practitioner – ''dhyāna'' practitioner – whatever he does, he is aware of only that. If you are reading the messages you are getting through my WhatsApp application, you will see: when a person is walking, he is aware "I am walking"; when he is sitting, he is aware "I am sitting", etc. So this is how slowly this person becomes only absorbed in that, like a baby. Notice a baby when he is playing – one hundred percent his mind is absorbed in that, and naturally he will get the greatest pleasure. What is the value of his plaything? That is not important – whether it is a few stones, few sticks or marbles, or some play machine – it does not really matter. What matters is absorption. It does not matter what a baby eats, but he is completely absorbed in it.
#A ''Mahārāja'' who has no known enemies and everything is going on very well – how does he sleep? He is not worried – by God's grace, everything is going on well.
#A ''Mahābrāhmaṇa'' – a realised soul – they are all same: ''adhik neem ānandasya gatvā''. They experience that incomparable supreme bliss – that is the bliss of ''Brahman'' ''ānanda'' only, not less.
'''शयीतैवमेवैष एतच्छेते॥'''

''Śayit evam eva eṣa etat sethe'' –

having experienced that one, he comes back into the next stage of experience, which is called dream.
==The Dream Creation – Spider and Sparks==
And what happens? He returns back through 72,000 nerves, but then he creates a tremendous creation – his own creation. Further, an example is given:

'''स यथोर्णवाभिस्तन्तुनोच्चरेद्यथाऽग्नेः क्षुद्रा विस्फुलिङ्गा व्युच्चरन्त्येवमेवास्मादात्मनः सर्वे प्राणाः सर्वे लोकाः सर्वे देवाः सर्वाणि भूतानि व्युच्चरन्ति तस्योपनिषत्सत्यस्य सत्यमिति प्राणा वै सत्यं तेषामेष सत्यम्॥'''

''Sa yathā ūrṇanābhiḥ tantunā uccaret, yathā agneḥ kṣudrāḥ visphuliṅgāḥ vicharanti, evam eva asmāt ātmanaḥ sarve prāṇāḥ sarve lokāḥ sarve devāḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni vicharanti'' –

as a spider moves along the thread it produces from its own body; the second example is given – as from a blazing fire, millions of tiny sparks fly in every direction. Even so, from this ''Ātman'' come forth all organs, all worlds, all gods, all beings.
===The Point of the Examples===
What is the point of this particular ''mantra''? Just as in our dream spontaneously we create our dream world, and we ourselves find ourselves in our dream world – we find our neighbours, our friends, our enemies, our kingdom, our country, our religion – just like in the waking state. How did this person create? Just by the process of thought. Who created the person who is returning, but who is actually the waking person? One person creates the entire dream world. If a human being can create the world – and what is the specialty? When this person has created this world, he does not say "this is only a dream, this is unreal, I have created it myself." First point: it is not unreal – it is absolutely real, exactly like the waking state. Second point: as we are not aware that this whole waking world is created by us, exactly in the same way, the whole dream world is created by that individual soul.
===The Dream and Waking States Compared===
It is not surprising to think that when we give the example of a dream, upon waking up, instantaneously we realise that "I created my own world, where I created my own happiness and unhappiness, my own friends and enemies – somebody came and presented me an invaluable jewel; somebody else came and snatched it away; or in the process, he even hurt me." But upon waking up, we laugh and say, "How realistic it looked! But I alone – that is important – I alone am responsible." A husband cannot say "my wife is responsible for this dream." So every human being can understand.

But what about the waking state? Is it created by us? Yes. One of the understandings of ''Karma Siddhānta'' ['''कर्म सिद्धान्त''']is: our parents, our family, our financial circumstances, our climate, where we are born, into which family, which coloured parents – black‑skinned, yellow‑skinned, white‑skinned, brown‑skinned – and how our physical body looks, and our fate – whether we are poor or rich, whether we can get higher education or not, whether we are fated to go to higher universities either in India or elsewhere – in fact, the whole universe is created for two purposes:
#For exhausting whatever we had earned through our past lives – to experience the resultant of our own past actions.
#At the same time, we are given an opportunity to create new ''karma''. Should we wish, we can create new ''karma''. It might take some bit of effort, depending upon the strength of our ''saṃskāras''.
===Conscious Creation===
But we have to understand: we are creating, albeit most of the time unconsciously. If we can create deliberately, consciously – that is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's advice is: cultivate holy company deliberately, go to solitary places, and understand nothing in this world can help you continuously. Accepting the reality of the world – everything is changing – that is the reality of the world. Since everything is changing, nothing can be relied upon. So do not unnecessarily intensify attachments. Live like a maidservant. All these things are possible, and all these things are done: first, to exhaust, to get the right opportunity, appropriate opportunity; second, whatever best we can do – there is enormous scope, and that is what we need to do.
===Dreams Can Be Created by Design===
Just as we create our own dreams – dreams are not forced upon us by somebody. Every single experience we had in the dream was created by us. In fact, dreams can be created according to design. There are many people who could do that, and we can also do that. Just as we created this waking state, we can also create – Nagamahāśaya's mind was totally pitched to the highest ''loka''. That is why when his aunt used to tell him in his childhood bedtime stories of gods and goddesses and stories from Hindu mythology, next morning he used to get up, run to his aunt and say: "Aunt, today I dreamt whatever you told me yesterday – I have seen Mother Cāmuṇḍā." How many gods and goddesses she had visualised, even though she said "I never knew the existence of it" – but she had strong faith. One of the greatest devotees – she had faith that gods and goddesses exist. If God exists, then goddesses, gods also exist; higher worlds exist; nothing is impossible. Because of that, she used to have strange visions.

We should not say – our modern science is likely to say – "They are all her imaginations." But my point is: whether something is an imagination or something is a reality, it makes no difference. If we imagine something as real, that affects us. If somebody is embracing a black bear thinking "I am embracing Miss Universe", it does not matter – so long as he thinks "I am in the embrace of a most beautiful woman in this world", he is a happy person. But when that imagination breaks, another imagination comes: "This is a black bear about to crush me to death" – that is also in the same pattern. So that is why it is said: "Today's imagination will be tomorrow's fact." In fact, meditation is nothing but pure imagination – of course, guided by the Guru and the scriptures.
===The Return from Deep Sleep to Dream===
So the person coming down from the state of the highest bliss experienceable in the realistic world – from the state of deep sleep – he comes through the ferry roads, as it were, through the 72,000 ''nāḍīs''. Do not question whether they are 72,000 or 7,000 – it does not matter. So if a person is coming down from deep sleep to the dream state, he must be coming – there must be a pathway, and that pathway is called the nerves.

Having come to this dream state, he roams about. What does he do? He creates – just like a spider creates its own net to catch food in the form of insects, or just like a blazing fire from which hundreds and thousands of sparks are flying all over. The point is: all these sparks have exactly the same nature – they are hot to the touch. If a spark falls upon my body, I feel the stinging. Similarly, they also give light, because the moment you see a spark, you see it even in pitch darkness. And if this spark is a little big enough, if there is any object nearby, it illumines it – self‑illuminating and other‑illuminating – that is the characteristic of fire.
===The Whole Universe Comes from Brahman===
So the whole universe has come out of the supreme reality called ''Brahman'', just as this dream example is given to make us understand – just as we create. And then one important point we have to understand here: even when we go through this dream state, nothing happens to us. Similarly, when ''Paramātman'' creates this entire universe – how many ''lokas'', billions and billions of galaxies, every galaxy is a special ''loka'' – nothing happens to ''Paramātman''. That is the second point.

Third point we have to understand: since this whole creation is coming just as from us – every day we have a different dream. On the same night, we can have different dreams. In the same dream, we can have another subset of dreams also – in dream itself, we go to bed and we can have another dream. How many layers of dreams can we have? So one moment we find here in Bangalore, next moment in Vārāṇasī, next moment in New York – every situation is different. So how many dreams? Every dream – a special dream – is a ''loka''. ''Loka'' means a special experience.
===The Nature of the Creation===
'''For Mahātman''', He creates the whole universe, and the point we have to understand is: whatever is created partakes of the same nature as the original substance. A pot – a mud pot, a clay pot – its whole nature is nothing but clay. A golden ornament will be pure gold only. Similarly, what is the nature of ''Brahman''? Pure consciousness. So even when you think "I see this – there is a big rock" – is this consciousness? Yes, of course it is consciousness.

Many times I have tried, and many times I will tell you also: at this point, we do not know what is in the external world. '''We only know our thoughts.''' So if I have the thought of a tree – I am imagining. Just like a person sitting in front of a TV in his drawing room or visitor's room, he is experiencing a beautiful match and he is feeling as if it is going on here. Nowadays the broadcasters broadcast – some hesitation is going on somewhere, and you can see it in front of you, and there is no difference. Because whether you are even present where that cricket match is being played – that event is taking place – your eyes, your ears go out and gather the impressions and bring them to the present to the mind in the form of thoughts. And we alone know – the mind is a vast screen. On that screen these thoughts are projected, and the film is the mind. But the light is called reflected consciousness, and this reflected consciousness enlarges and makes all the impressions come to life, as it were – "I am seeing it."
===Direct and Indirect Experience===
So I am giving the essence: it does not matter whether you experience something through a phone, through a TV screen, or actually you are sitting somewhere – you are not directly experiencing sitting in front of a cricket match. You are indirectly experiencing only in front of a TV screen. Both are indirect only. Nothing is direct. You only know about your thoughts, and every thought represents the entire external – every object, any object in the entire external world. Even this thought "this is external" is also a thought only. "This is internal" – that is also a thought only. Mind‑boggling – but that is the truth. Even psychologists can tell you that, not to speak of spiritual people.
===The Two Examples===
So through these two examples, ''Paramātman''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s creation is described. So it is not impossible – He Himself is the material cause, He Himself is the intelligent cause – He is everything. For that, these two examples are given, and these two examples are not only found in the ''Bṛhadāraṇyaka'' – in the ''Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad'' also, the same examples are given in some other ''Upaniṣads'' as well; they repeat the same things.
==Mūrta '''[मूर्त]'''and Amūrta'''[अमूर्त]''' – Visible and Invisible==
The next point we have seen: this entire creation is nothing but pure consciousness. But that pure consciousness, looked at through the prism of time, space, and causation, appears to be an infinite number of objects. So time, space, and causation limit, and this limited experience of pure consciousness in the form of this entire creation is subdivided by this ''Upaniṣad'': that which can be experienced by the eyes, etc., that is called ''Mūrta'''[मूर्त]'''''; and that which is experienced but not seen through the eyes, that is called ''Amūrta'' '''[अमूर्त] –''' visible and invisible. So both belong to the creation only.
===Brahma Satyamब्रह्म सत्यं, Jagat Satyamजगत् सत्यं ===
And then the ''Upaniṣad'', as we discussed earlier, made a categorical statement: just as ''Brahman'' is ''satyam'', this world is also ''satyam'' only. But then why do they say it is ''mithyā''? So long as we are not aware of the true nature of the cause which is ''Brahman'', we experience separatedness: "I am a tiny object in comparison with the other objects." Suppose imagine there is a small ant – a big rock falls upon that ant. The ant – at least we know the ant is small, therefore it cannot withstand this big rock. But that is its nature – this is because of ignorance. But once we understand consciousness, there is no division: small and big, white and black, great and small, subtle and all‑pervading. This is all the mind's attempt to make an understanding of that pure consciousness.
===The Roof Example===
So the ''Upaniṣad'' wants to tell – Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: once a person reaches the roof, understands what the roof is made of, he understands what the whole house is made of – the same material of which the roof is made, the whole house is made. Once a person realises ''Brahman'', which is ''satyam jñānam anantamसत्यं ज्ञानमनन्तं ब्रह्म।''''',[तैत्तिरीयोपनिषद्ब्रह्मानन्दवल्ली प्रथमोऽनुवाकःVerse १''' ]then the realised soul understands everything – but it is nothing but limited; it is only ''Brahman''. But if we do not have that knowledge, that is called we are ignorant – we are under the influence of ignorance. Ignorance means limited by time, space, and causation. We think everything is separate from everything else – very small, very small (''aṇu''), very big, huge, etc. And that will create many problems and repeated births again and again.
===The Realised Soul Enjoys the Universe===
That is why once a person realises the nature of the true cause, then the effects are also realised to be of the same nature. So such a person, after the realisation, enjoys this whole universe. So that is what is said here.
==Neti Neti '''नेति नेति'''– The Method of Negation==
Now we will summarise whatever is there. So in order to understand ''Brahman'' is the roof – the real cause of which the entire creation (''sṛṣṭi'') had come out – ''Brahman'' is pure consciousness. Therefore, whatever comes out of ''Brahman'' – manifestation of ''Brahman'' – must be pure consciousness only, like the sparks of fire, etc. So for that we cannot understand because we are overpowered by ''Māyā '''माया'''''<nowiki/>''',''' ''ajñāna'''अज्ञान'''''<nowiki/>''',''' ''avidyā'''अविद्या'''''<nowiki/>''',''' which is described as looking at ''Brahman'', looking at ourselves, through the prism of time, space, and causation.

So ''satyam'' means this is called ''Vyāvahārika Satyam'''व्यवहारिक सत्यं''''' – this is true so long as I am experiencing it, but this is not the final truth. So for that purpose, you have to practise certain spiritual disciplines and go to the roof, which is to realise ''Aham Brahmasmi'', and then only we will be able to understand there is nothing but ''Brahman''.
===''Neti Neti'' – Not This, Not This===
So for that purpose, what is it? ''Neti neti'' (नेति नेति)– as we discussed earlier, in the ''Taittirīya'' especially: "not this, not this." That is to say, am I the ''annamaya kośa''? No. It does not mean ''annamaya kośa'' is different from me. As I mentioned in my last classes, not only am I ''annamaya'', I am also much more. So once I realise in what way I am much more, you progress: I am ''prāṇamaya'' – ''prāṇamaya'' does not negate ''annamaya''; ''prāṇamaya'' includes ''annamaya''. ''Manomaya'' includes ''prāṇamaya''. ''Vijñānamaya'' includes ''manomaya'' – that means it includes the others – and ''ānandamaya'' includes the previous four ''kośas'' of manifestations. And then we also realise this is also a work of the mind – that is why it is called ''ānandamaya kośa''. ''Ānanda'' – pure bliss. Another name for ''Brahman'' is ''ānanda'': ''satyam jñānam ānandam'' – ''ānanda'' means unbroken bliss.
===The Story of the Bride===
So for that purpose, here in the ''Bṛhadāraṇyaka'', the famous teaching ''Neti neti'' '''(नेति नेति''')– ''nayati nayati'' ('''नयति नयति'''):– "Did I reach the goal? No." So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa gives a beautiful example. There was a girl who was married. After marriage, her husband went away, and very few people could attend the marriage perhaps. Once her husband came to her house, and all the girlfriends of this girl (the wife who was married) gathered around her, and the bridegroom came with many of his friends. Maybe it was a special occasion, and he was sitting there outside chit‑chatting with others. The girls did not know who he was, because at the time of marriage the groom will be decorated in a special manner – everybody can recognise. But after that, that dress is no more necessary, so he is sitting like anybody.

One girl asks: "Is that your husband?" The girl smiles and says, "No." Another girl points to somebody: "No, no, no – ''neti, neti'' – not this, not this, not this, not this." Finally, only one man is left out, and some girl says: "Is he your husband?" She need not have asked, because there is nobody else left out – but she asked. The girl does not say anything; she keeps her head low, but a beatific smile spreads across her face, showing how happy she is. So everybody understands: that is her husband. So after negating everything, whatever remains – that is the truth.
===The Thorn Example===
But then, I have to tell you – as I told you also – Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's own example: the big thorn with the help of which all the other smaller thorns were completely thrown out – that also has to be thrown. That means that mind which is going through '''''śravaṇa(श्रवण)'', ''manana (मनन)'', ''nididhyāsana (निदिध्यासन)''''', being instructed by the Guru – even that also will be thrown out. But he will not throw it out automatically – with the last thorn, this discriminating mind itself will get torn out. What remains – he does not say "I am seeing pure consciousness"; he says "I am pure consciousness." This is the process of ''Neti neti''.
==The Three Essential Points==
So from these three important points, if we remember, then we have understood the essence of what we discussed so far.
===First: Jagat Mithyatvaजगत् मिथ्यत्व===
First, the ''Jagat Mithyatva'' '''जगत् मिथ्यत्व'''– ''mithyā'' is mistaking half‑truth for absolute truth by dismissing this observable and objectifiable universe. ''Dṛśya prapañca neti neti'' proves that the universe is only a partial truth, not complete truth. That is why it is called ''mithyā''. It is not called non‑existence – it is called partial existence.
===Second: The Ultimate Reality of Brahman===
Second, the ultimate reality of ''Brahman'' – ''Brahman'' alone is the cause; the Creator alone is the real truth. Everything else is partial truth – everything else is ''satyam'', but not ''Satyasya Satyam'''सत्यस्य सत्यं''''' . For that we have to apply that process of ''Neti neti'' through the process of ''śravaṇa'', ''manana'', ''nididhyāsana'', etc.
===The Bhakti Path===
In the Bhakti path also – devotional path – exactly the same thing is repeated. How? When a person is meditating upon God, he says: "First, every devotee is a most wonderful person. So I am in every devotee – I see every devotee, and every devotee – there is no difference between me and any devotee." That is how Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: "There is no caste difference among devotees." Slowly then it expands: everything happens by the will of God, so whatever happens by the will of God, God is for my good – not only for my good, for the good of the entire universe.
===Why Suffering?===
A very profound truth we have to keep in mind. If some country is throwing bombs upon another country, our viewpoint – ignorant viewpoint – is "this is bad." But we can, from the Hindu viewpoint, expand it a little bit – I will do it very briefly.
#Nobody either suffers or enjoys except by accepting the resultant of their own past ''karma''. Then it can be happiness, it can be unhappiness. Nobody can cause either happiness or unhappiness to anybody – our own ''karmaphala'' comes through the medium of other people. That is the first thing.
#Second, that is not the only thing. So who is making this happen? There is somebody called ''Vidhātā'' – that is God – who keeps an eye on what a person has done. Such a God says: "It is better for you to be born here because that is the best chance for you." As we discussed today itself – not only to exhaust your ''prārabdha karma'', but to create better ''karma''. So whether we are happy or unhappy, a tremendous opportunity is given. Not only every birth, but every morning as soon as we wake up, God gives us 24 hours until the next day. So we will have to do certain things; we do not know what to do. For that, the scriptures are there, but the scriptures are difficult to understand. So there is a teacher, and the teacher is an experienced person and he understands the students and he tells us.
#The point is: whatever happens in our life, it is for good. That is a point we have to understand. Nobody is making another happy or suffer – first point. And if we are undergoing suffering, it is natural for us to feel sympathy, and that is a very excellent spiritual quality that shows we have to share what we have, so that in future whatever we share will come back to us. That is what we discussed in the ''Taittirīya Upaniṣad'': the only best way of saving food is to share it with others. Whatever food we share with others will be shared and comes back to us through the other people.
===Questioning God===
This is the point, and anybody who refuses to accept this view is not a spiritual person, because he is questioning God. This is the third point. If anybody claims "I am a strong believer in God" and then still says "Why is there so much evil in this world?" – then he is the most foolish, arrogant person in the whole world. You do not claim you have any faith in God. If God is the Creator, He is all good – ''sarva-maṅgala'' – and what God does, only He knows, and whatever He does is for the good of every one of us – no doubt about it. That is why it is called ''līlā'' – pretence.
===Third: The Identity of the Self and Brahman===
''Brahma satyatvam'' '''ब्रह्म सत्यत्वं'''– and in course of time, ''Jagat satyatvam'' '''जगत्सत्यत्वं'''– there is no such division called ''Brahman'' and the world. And then what is the third truth? The identity of the Self and ''Brahman'' – ''jīvo brahmaiva nāparaḥ'' '''''जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः ।'''''– is an expansion of Śaṅkara's condensation of his entire teaching: ''Brahma satyam, jagat mithyā, jīvo brahmaiva nāparaḥ'''ब्रह्म सत्यं जगन्मिथ्या जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः ।['''''

'''[''ब्रह्म सत्यं जगन्मिथ्या जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः ।'''''

'''''अनेन वेद्यं सच्छास्त्रमिति वेदान्तडिण्डिमः ।। 20II ['''ब्रह्मज्ञानावलीमाला Brahmajnanavalimala '''by Adi shankaracharya]]'''''

. That middle one is the problematic one – "this world is an illusion." And the idea we have about illusion is not a good idea – that is why it is a very horrible idea. Illusion means untrue. But the ''Upaniṣad'' says it is not an illusion – it is a half‑understood truth. So true – it is a truth. A snake is a half‑understood snake – that is how we have to understand it.

Everything – not only ''jīva'' means what? Every being, including a mosquito – not only a living being, even the non‑living – it all falls under the category of ''sat''. Only ''cit'' and ''ānanda'' are not manifest here.
===Why Deep Sleep Is Discussed===
So why is deep sleep discussed? Ultimately, deep sleep is the best example to demonstrate that our waking individuality is merely an incidental transactional state. Similarly, the dream state also – by showing that we naturally resort to a state of formless, boundaryless awareness every night, deep sleep reveals that our permanent identity is nothing but ''Brahman''. Even from a practical point of view, it is this: even if you are enjoying something very pleasant – intense happiness you are getting – it does not last much longer. But look at the wonder of this deep sleep – for nearly several hours, without the least bit of break, we enjoy the highest bliss. If that is not an exemplar, I do not know what else is.
===The Neti Neti Methodology===
So what is this ''Neti neti'' methodology? "I am not the waker. I am not the dreamer, nor am I the sleeper. I am the one who is the experiencer – follow these. Hence, I am the seer, not the seen." This is the essence of the third ''Brāhmaṇa''.

With this, this third ''Brāhmaṇa'' – the inter‑section – is over.
==Preview of Yājñavalkya-Maitreyī Dialogue==
Now we are going to enter into one of the most marvellous sections – that is called the dialogue between Yājñavalkya and Maitreyī. We will start it 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 3.1-3.6 Lecture 53 on 25 July 2026

2026-09-08T15:06:01Z

Gayatri:

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.'''

'''''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.'''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

'''OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH'''

'''OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.'''

'''OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.'''

==Introduction: The Third Brāhmaṇa==
We are studying some of the very important parts in this third ''Brāhmaṇa'' – third section. So first I would like to take up some of the important, very important ''mantras'' and then summarise what we discussed so far.
==The State of Deep Sleep (Suṣupti)==
'''In the 17th ''mantra'' – first section, second chapter, 17th ''mantra'':'''

'''स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्यत्रैष एतत्सुप्तोऽभूद्य एष विज्ञानमयः पुरुषस्तदेषां प्राणानां विज्ञानेन विज्नानमादाय य एषोऽन्तर्हृदय आकाशस्तस्मिञ्छेते तानि यदा गृह्णाति अथ हैतत्पुरुषः स्वपिति नाम तद्गृहीत एव प्राणो भवति गृहीता वाग्गृहीतं चक्षुः गृहीत श्रोत्रं गृहीतं मनः॥'''

''sa ha uvāca ajātaśatruḥ atra eṣa etat sut abhut yaḥ eṣa vijñānamayaḥ puruṣaḥ, tathā eṣāṃ prāṇānāṃ vijñānena vijñānam ādāya ya eṣa antar hṛdaya ākāśaḥ tasmin śete''.

Ajātaśatru, as we should remember, had taken his newly acquired disciple Gārgya or Bālāki to a sleeping person, woke him up after violently shaking him, and he was describing that state.
===The Components of the Jīvātman===
This '''''Puruṣa''''' – that is the '''''jīvātman''''' – and the ''jīvātman'' consists of how many things? We have to say '''three things:'''
#'''''Cit''''' – pure consciousness.
#'''''Cidābhāsa''''' – the reflection of this pure consciousness in the mind of the individual.
#Body and mind – we can join them together.
So pure consciousness, reflection of pure consciousness, plus body‑mind is called the individual soul – ''jīvātman''. And every ''jīvātman'' goes through three states of experience until he has self‑knowledge and becomes free – attains liberation – not "attains", but knows that he was never bound.
===The Three States===
So this person, in the waking state, the emphasis is on the body, and the body's emphasis is on the external world. But in the state of dream, the external world and the whole physical body are as it were separated from himself. He deals only with the impressions he gained through his movements and interactions in the waking state, and taking those impressions, he creates his own world – that is beautifully described later on.

But in the deep sleep state ('''''suṣupti'')''', this '''pure consciousnes'''s combined with '''reflected consciousness''' takes – he rises above all connections with the waking state – body, external world, and mind. '''What does he do''' in the deep sleep state? He takes everything, as it were – all the functions of the organs – and converts them into pure reflected consciousness. And then where does he rest? There is supposed to be a place in the heart – it is called '''''hṛdayākāśa'', ''daharākāśa''''' – and he rests there as long as that state of deep sleep continues.
===The Role of Karmaphala===
But because of '''''karmaphala'',''' when the time comes, that ''karmaphala'' acts as the cause – that is why '''''suṣupti''''' is called '''''kāraṇa śarīra'''''. So again it forcibly draws him from the ''hṛdayākāśa'' and then separates him from ''Paramātman'' as it were. That is the state Ajātaśatru was describing: where was the sleeping person, because it took such a long time to wake him up? He was deeply resting i'''n the ''hṛdayākāśa''''' along with ''cit'' – remember, ''cidākāśa'', ''cit'', ''cidābhāsa'' has not disappeared, but it is nearest to the pure ''cit'', its real nature. As if there is only the shining sun and there is only the pure mirror – there is nobody there to witness, to use that reflected light to experience what is in the room. It is just like that. But as if somebody had entered later on ,Oh Brilliant light!I can see so clearly , I can read so clearly!
===''Swapiti'' – Resting in the Lap of Paramātman===
'''तानि यदा गृह्णाति अथ हैतत्पुरुषः स्वपिति नाम तद्गृहीत एव प्राणो भवति गृहीता वाग्गृहीतं चक्षुः गृहीत श्रोत्रं गृहीतं मनः॥'''

''Taniyāda gṛṇāti atha etath puruṣaḥ svapiti nāma'' –

when this person is in deep sleep, the ''jīvātman'' gets a special name''': ''svapiti''.''' He is called ''svapiti'', meaning he is lying in the lap of ''Paramātman''.

'''तद्गृहीत एव प्राणो भवति गृहीता वाग्गृहीतं चक्षुः गृहीत श्रोत्रं गृहीतं मनः॥'''

''Taṭgṛhītaḥ iva prāṇā bhavati, gṛhītaṃ vāk, gṛhītaṃ cakṣuḥ, gṛhītaṃ śrotram, gṛhītaṃ manaḥ'' –

when the ''jīvātman'' is in ''suṣupti'', all the sense organs are withdrawn, and when sense organs are withdrawn, their functions are also withdrawn. The organ of smell is absorbed, the organ of speech is absorbed, the eye is absorbed, the ear is absorbed, and the mind is absorbed. In other words, both mind and body attain to their causal state and are not able to function.
===The Causal State===
Now, slowly after some time, because of ''karmaphala'' – remember, it always works – two points we have to remember here: ''prāṇa'', whatever be the state – waking, dream, dreamless – ''prāṇa'' will never depart; otherwise that person, that ''jīvātman'', would be a dead person. So ''prāṇa'' will be there. But these three states are experienced by the help of the ''prāṇa'' – the body and mind are withdrawn, sense organs and corresponding thoughts are totally withdrawn. So after some time, this causal body ( causal means cause) wakes up and pulls the ''jīvātman'' forcibly from the resting place in the ''Paramātman'', brings it first to the state of dream – ''svapnāvasthā''.
==The Dream State – The 72,000 Nāḍīs==
How does it do that? That is described in the 19th ''mantra'':

'''अथ यदा सुषुप्तो भवति यदा न कस्य चन वेद हिता नाम नाद्यो द्वासप्ततिः सहस्राणि हृदयात्पुरीततमभिप्रतिष्ठन्ते ताभिः प्रत्यवसृप्य पुरीतति शेते स यथा कुमारो वा महाराजो वा महाब्राह्मणो वाऽतिघ्नीमानन्दस्य गत्वा शयीतैवमेवैष एतच्छेते॥'''

''Atha yadā suṣupto bhavati, atha nākasya caṇavet, atha nāmanā diyā va saptatiḥ sahasrāṇi hṛdayāt purītam avipratiṣṭhanti, tābhiḥ prati avasāprupyā purītathi śete''.

Briefly, what Ajātaśatru is trying – or this ''Upaniṣad'' is trying – to convey that knowledge to us through the medium of Ajātaśatru: when the ''karmaphala'' forcibly forces back the ''jīvātman'', how does it enter? It seems there are very subtle ''nāḍīs'' (nerves) – nerve centers. This nerve center we cannot find through any amount of microscope or telescope. They are subtle – subtle means not experienceable by the physical body, physical senses, even microscope or telescope. They cannot do anything unless sense organs are functioning. Only when the eye is perfectly functioning will telescope work, microscope work. If you put both in front of a blind man, they are not going to work.
===The Pathways of Return===
So when this person wakes up, then what happens? Slowly, because of these '''''vāsanās'' – ''karmaphala''''', that is the impressions – they urge: "You will have to exhaust the resultant of your own actions." So how did he enter into that '''''ākāśa'' – ''cidākāśa'' or ''vāidyākāśa'' or ''daharākāśa''''' – through these very nerves? And how does he come back? Through the very nerves. So if you go somewhere, if you have climbed to the higher storeys in your own building, you will again come back. So there are various staircases, as it were – they are called very, very subtle nerves. How many are there? The scripture is telling: 72,000 are there. Among them there is one which is called '''''purītati'',''' which is '''the most important nerve''', and every other nerve is only emanating from there, and they are all well established in the heart. The heart is the place where we feel our identity.
===The Deep Sleep State and Returning===
So what happens when the Self goes into deep sleep, when it does not know anything? And how did it go into deep sleep? Through those very nerves. Now what is happening because the ''karmaphala'' wakes the person up? It returns along the 72,000 nerves called ''hītā''. They are all called ''hītā''. ''Hītā'' in Sanskrit means that which does good for anybody, which extends from the heart throughout the whole body. And these nerves, though they are emanating from the heart, are spread throughout the body until even the tips of the hair. So even if some smallest insect touches the tip of our hair, immediately that sensation – "Oh, something is touching me" – we can find out. Not to speak of the skin, where we feel it much more intensely – any touch. So these nerves are spread all over, and there it brings back into the dream state.
===The Three Examples – Baby, Emperor, Brāhmaṇa===
What happens?

'''यथा कुमारो वा महाराजो वा महाब्राह्मणो वाऽतिघ्नीमानन्दस्य गत्वा शयीतैवमेवैष एतच्छेते॥'''

''Yathā kumāraḥ ha va mahārājya hava mahābrāhmaṇa hava atighniṃ ānandasya gatvā śayita evam eva eṣa etath svete atighnim'' – as a baby, or an emperor, or a noble Brāhmaṇa, when they enter into the deep sleep state, they experience incomparable, supreme happiness, because for the time being duality is absent. Mind and body cause duality; mind and body are absent in deep sleep.

Having experienced that highest bliss, three examples are given:
#''Kumāra'' – a baby without the least bit of worries. In this state of babyhood, no baby will ever think about what happened in the past, what is going to happen in the future, where am I going to eat, who is going to take care of me, etc. He knows somebody else is going to take care of him. He does not even think like that – we only attribute that thinking to the baby. But the baby absolutely knows someone is looking, and if somebody by chance is temporarily absent, the baby starts howling, crying. Immediately father, mother, brother, sister – somebody comes running and takes care of the baby, and the baby becomes peaceful once more. So a baby does not have judgmental values – "this is a good person, that is a good person; this is tasty food, that is not at all tasty" – all these thoughts are totally absent until his sleeping ''saṃskāras'' wake up when his body grows up sufficiently. But until that time, a baby is a marvellous example.
That is why a ''jīvanmukta'' is compared to a baby – just like a baby without a second thought. He wants to sleep, he will sleep; he wants to meditate, he will meditate; he wants to study, he will study; he wants to talk, he will talk.
===Zen Buddhism – Complete Absorption===
There is a special Buddhistic school of philosophy called Zen Buddhism – ''Dhyāna'' Buddhism. The main teaching is: a Zen practitioner – ''dhyāna'' practitioner – whatever he does, he is aware of only that. If you are reading the messages you are getting through my WhatsApp application, you will see: when a person is walking, he is aware "I am walking"; when he is sitting, he is aware "I am sitting", etc. So this is how slowly this person becomes only absorbed in that, like a baby. Notice a baby when he is playing – one hundred percent his mind is absorbed in that, and naturally he will get the greatest pleasure. What is the value of his plaything? That is not important – whether it is a few stones, few sticks or marbles, or some play machine – it does not really matter. What matters is absorption. It does not matter what a baby eats, but he is completely absorbed in it.
#A ''Mahārāja'' who has no known enemies and everything is going on very well – how does he sleep? He is not worried – by God's grace, everything is going on well.
#A ''Mahābrāhmaṇa'' – a realised soul – they are all same: ''adhik neem ānandasya gatvā''. They experience that incomparable supreme bliss – that is the bliss of ''Brahman'' ''ānanda'' only, not less.
'''शयीतैवमेवैष एतच्छेते॥'''

''Śayit evam eva eṣa etat sethe'' –

having experienced that one, he comes back into the next stage of experience, which is called dream.
==The Dream Creation – Spider and Sparks==
And what happens? He returns back through 72,000 nerves, but then he creates a tremendous creation – his own creation. Further, an example is given:

'''स यथोर्णवाभिस्तन्तुनोच्चरेद्यथाऽग्नेः क्षुद्रा विस्फुलिङ्गा व्युच्चरन्त्येवमेवास्मादात्मनः सर्वे प्राणाः सर्वे लोकाः सर्वे देवाः सर्वाणि भूतानि व्युच्चरन्ति तस्योपनिषत्सत्यस्य सत्यमिति प्राणा वै सत्यं तेषामेष सत्यम्॥'''

''Sa yathā ūrṇanābhiḥ tantunā uccaret, yathā agneḥ kṣudrāḥ visphuliṅgāḥ vicharanti, evam eva asmāt ātmanaḥ sarve prāṇāḥ sarve lokāḥ sarve devāḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni vicharanti'' –

as a spider moves along the thread it produces from its own body; the second example is given – as from a blazing fire, millions of tiny sparks fly in every direction. Even so, from this ''Ātman'' come forth all organs, all worlds, all gods, all beings.
===The Point of the Examples===
What is the point of this particular ''mantra''? Just as in our dream spontaneously we create our dream world, and we ourselves find ourselves in our dream world – we find our neighbours, our friends, our enemies, our kingdom, our country, our religion – just like in the waking state. How did this person create? Just by the process of thought. Who created the person who is returning, but who is actually the waking person? One person creates the entire dream world. If a human being can create the world – and what is the specialty? When this person has created this world, he does not say "this is only a dream, this is unreal, I have created it myself." First point: it is not unreal – it is absolutely real, exactly like the waking state. Second point: as we are not aware that this whole waking world is created by us, exactly in the same way, the whole dream world is created by that individual soul.
===The Dream and Waking States Compared===
It is not surprising to think that when we give the example of a dream, upon waking up, instantaneously we realise that "I created my own world, where I created my own happiness and unhappiness, my own friends and enemies – somebody came and presented me an invaluable jewel; somebody else came and snatched it away; or in the process, he even hurt me." But upon waking up, we laugh and say, "How realistic it looked! But I alone – that is important – I alone am responsible." A husband cannot say "my wife is responsible for this dream." So every human being can understand.

But what about the waking state? Is it created by us? Yes. One of the understandings of ''Karma Siddhānta'' ['''कर्म सिद्धान्त''']is: our parents, our family, our financial circumstances, our climate, where we are born, into which family, which coloured parents – black‑skinned, yellow‑skinned, white‑skinned, brown‑skinned – and how our physical body looks, and our fate – whether we are poor or rich, whether we can get higher education or not, whether we are fated to go to higher universities either in India or elsewhere – in fact, the whole universe is created for two purposes:
#For exhausting whatever we had earned through our past lives – to experience the resultant of our own past actions.
#At the same time, we are given an opportunity to create new ''karma''. Should we wish, we can create new ''karma''. It might take some bit of effort, depending upon the strength of our ''saṃskāras''.
===Conscious Creation===
But we have to understand: we are creating, albeit most of the time unconsciously. If we can create deliberately, consciously – that is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's advice is: cultivate holy company deliberately, go to solitary places, and understand nothing in this world can help you continuously. Accepting the reality of the world – everything is changing – that is the reality of the world. Since everything is changing, nothing can be relied upon. So do not unnecessarily intensify attachments. Live like a maidservant. All these things are possible, and all these things are done: first, to exhaust, to get the right opportunity, appropriate opportunity; second, whatever best we can do – there is enormous scope, and that is what we need to do.
===Dreams Can Be Created by Design===
Just as we create our own dreams – dreams are not forced upon us by somebody. Every single experience we had in the dream was created by us. In fact, dreams can be created according to design. There are many people who could do that, and we can also do that. Just as we created this waking state, we can also create – Nagamahāśaya's mind was totally pitched to the highest ''loka''. That is why when his aunt used to tell him in his childhood bedtime stories of gods and goddesses and stories from Hindu mythology, next morning he used to get up, run to his aunt and say: "Aunt, today I dreamt whatever you told me yesterday – I have seen Mother Cāmuṇḍā." How many gods and goddesses she had visualised, even though she said "I never knew the existence of it" – but she had strong faith. One of the greatest devotees – she had faith that gods and goddesses exist. If God exists, then goddesses, gods also exist; higher worlds exist; nothing is impossible. Because of that, she used to have strange visions.

We should not say – our modern science is likely to say – "They are all her imaginations." But my point is: whether something is an imagination or something is a reality, it makes no difference. If we imagine something as real, that affects us. If somebody is embracing a black bear thinking "I am embracing Miss Universe", it does not matter – so long as he thinks "I am in the embrace of a most beautiful woman in this world", he is a happy person. But when that imagination breaks, another imagination comes: "This is a black bear about to crush me to death" – that is also in the same pattern. So that is why it is said: "Today's imagination will be tomorrow's fact." In fact, meditation is nothing but pure imagination – of course, guided by the Guru and the scriptures.
===The Return from Deep Sleep to Dream===
So the person coming down from the state of the highest bliss experienceable in the realistic world – from the state of deep sleep – he comes through the ferry roads, as it were, through the 72,000 ''nāḍīs''. Do not question whether they are 72,000 or 7,000 – it does not matter. So if a person is coming down from deep sleep to the dream state, he must be coming – there must be a pathway, and that pathway is called the nerves.

Having come to this dream state, he roams about. What does he do? He creates – just like a spider creates its own net to catch food in the form of insects, or just like a blazing fire from which hundreds and thousands of sparks are flying all over. The point is: all these sparks have exactly the same nature – they are hot to the touch. If a spark falls upon my body, I feel the stinging. Similarly, they also give light, because the moment you see a spark, you see it even in pitch darkness. And if this spark is a little big enough, if there is any object nearby, it illumines it – self‑illuminating and other‑illuminating – that is the characteristic of fire.
===The Whole Universe Comes from Brahman===
So the whole universe has come out of the supreme reality called ''Brahman'', just as this dream example is given to make us understand – just as we create. And then one important point we have to understand here: even when we go through this dream state, nothing happens to us. Similarly, when ''Paramātman'' creates this entire universe – how many ''lokas'', billions and billions of galaxies, every galaxy is a special ''loka'' – nothing happens to ''Paramātman''. That is the second point.

Third point we have to understand: since this whole creation is coming just as from us – every day we have a different dream. On the same night, we can have different dreams. In the same dream, we can have another subset of dreams also – in dream itself, we go to bed and we can have another dream. How many layers of dreams can we have? So one moment we find here in Bangalore, next moment in Vārāṇasī, next moment in New York – every situation is different. So how many dreams? Every dream – a special dream – is a ''loka''. ''Loka'' means a special experience.
===The Nature of the Creation===
'''For Mahātman''', He creates the whole universe, and the point we have to understand is: whatever is created partakes of the same nature as the original substance. A pot – a mud pot, a clay pot – its whole nature is nothing but clay. A golden ornament will be pure gold only. Similarly, what is the nature of ''Brahman''? Pure consciousness. So even when you think "I see this – there is a big rock" – is this consciousness? Yes, of course it is consciousness.

Many times I have tried, and many times I will tell you also: at this point, we do not know what is in the external world. '''We only know our thoughts.''' So if I have the thought of a tree – I am imagining. Just like a person sitting in front of a TV in his drawing room or visitor's room, he is experiencing a beautiful match and he is feeling as if it is going on here. Nowadays the broadcasters broadcast – some hesitation is going on somewhere, and you can see it in front of you, and there is no difference. Because whether you are even present where that cricket match is being played – that event is taking place – your eyes, your ears go out and gather the impressions and bring them to the present to the mind in the form of thoughts. And we alone know – the mind is a vast screen. On that screen these thoughts are projected, and the film is the mind. But the light is called reflected consciousness, and this reflected consciousness enlarges and makes all the impressions come to life, as it were – "I am seeing it."
===Direct and Indirect Experience===
So I am giving the essence: it does not matter whether you experience something through a phone, through a TV screen, or actually you are sitting somewhere – you are not directly experiencing sitting in front of a cricket match. You are indirectly experiencing only in front of a TV screen. Both are indirect only. Nothing is direct. You only know about your thoughts, and every thought represents the entire external – every object, any object in the entire external world. Even this thought "this is external" is also a thought only. "This is internal" – that is also a thought only. Mind‑boggling – but that is the truth. Even psychologists can tell you that, not to speak of spiritual people.
===The Two Examples===
So through these two examples, ''Paramātman''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s creation is described. So it is not impossible – He Himself is the material cause, He Himself is the intelligent cause – He is everything. For that, these two examples are given, and these two examples are not only found in the ''Bṛhadāraṇyaka'' – in the ''Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad'' also, the same examples are given in some other ''Upaniṣads'' as well; they repeat the same things.
==Mūrta '''[मूर्त]'''and Amūrta'''[अमूर्त]''' – Visible and Invisible==
The next point we have seen: this entire creation is nothing but pure consciousness. But that pure consciousness, looked at through the prism of time, space, and causation, appears to be an infinite number of objects. So time, space, and causation limit, and this limited experience of pure consciousness in the form of this entire creation is subdivided by this ''Upaniṣad'': that which can be experienced by the eyes, etc., that is called ''Mūrta'''[मूर्त]'''''; and that which is experienced but not seen through the eyes, that is called ''Amūrta'' '''[अमूर्त] –''' visible and invisible. So both belong to the creation only.
===Brahma Satyamब्रह्म सत्यं, Jagat Satyamजगत् सत्यं ===
And then the ''Upaniṣad'', as we discussed earlier, made a categorical statement: just as ''Brahman'' is ''satyam'', this world is also ''satyam'' only. But then why do they say it is ''mithyā''? So long as we are not aware of the true nature of the cause which is ''Brahman'', we experience separatedness: "I am a tiny object in comparison with the other objects." Suppose imagine there is a small ant – a big rock falls upon that ant. The ant – at least we know the ant is small, therefore it cannot withstand this big rock. But that is its nature – this is because of ignorance. But once we understand consciousness, there is no division: small and big, white and black, great and small, subtle and all‑pervading. This is all the mind's attempt to make an understanding of that pure consciousness.
===The Roof Example===
So the ''Upaniṣad'' wants to tell – Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: once a person reaches the roof, understands what the roof is made of, he understands what the whole house is made of – the same material of which the roof is made, the whole house is made. Once a person realises ''Brahman'', which is ''satyam jñānam anantamसत्यं ज्ञानमनन्तं ब्रह्म।''''',[तैत्तिरीयोपनिषद्ब्रह्मानन्दवल्ली प्रथमोऽनुवाकःVerse १''' ]then the realised soul understands everything – but it is nothing but limited; it is only ''Brahman''. But if we do not have that knowledge, that is called we are ignorant – we are under the influence of ignorance. Ignorance means limited by time, space, and causation. We think everything is separate from everything else – very small, very small (''aṇu''), very big, huge, etc. And that will create many problems and repeated births again and again.
===The Realised Soul Enjoys the Universe===
That is why once a person realises the nature of the true cause, then the effects are also realised to be of the same nature. So such a person, after the realisation, enjoys this whole universe. So that is what is said here.
==Neti Neti – The Method of Negation==
Now we will summarise whatever is there. So in order to understand ''Brahman'' is the roof – the real cause of which the entire creation (''sṛṣṭi'') had come out – ''Brahman'' is pure consciousness. Therefore, whatever comes out of ''Brahman'' – manifestation of ''Brahman'' – must be pure consciousness only, like the sparks of fire, etc. So for that we cannot understand because we are overpowered by ''Māyā '''माया'''''<nowiki/>''',''' ''ajñāna'''अज्ञान'''''<nowiki/>''',''' ''avidyā'''अविद्या'''''<nowiki/>''',''' which is described as looking at ''Brahman'', looking at ourselves, through the prism of time, space, and causation.

So ''satyam'' means this is called ''Vyāvahārika Satyam'''व्यवहारिक सत्यं''''' – this is true so long as I am experiencing it, but this is not the final truth. So for that purpose, you have to practise certain spiritual disciplines and go to the roof, which is to realise ''Aham Brahmasmi'', and then only we will be able to understand there is nothing but ''Brahman''.
===''Neti Neti'' – Not This, Not This===
So for that purpose, what is it? ''Neti neti'' – as we discussed earlier, in the ''Taittirīya'' especially: "not this, not this." That is to say, am I the ''annamaya kośa''? No. It does not mean ''annamaya kośa'' is different from me. As I mentioned in my last classes, not only am I ''annamaya'', I am also much more. So once I realise in what way I am much more, you progress: I am ''prāṇamaya'' – ''prāṇamaya'' does not negate ''annamaya''; ''prāṇamaya'' includes ''annamaya''. ''Manomaya'' includes ''prāṇamaya''. ''Vijñānamaya'' includes ''manomaya'' – that means it includes the others – and ''ānandamaya'' includes the previous four ''kośas'' of manifestations. And then we also realise this is also a work of the mind – that is why it is called ''ānandamaya kośa''. ''Ānanda'' – pure bliss. Another name for ''Brahman'' is ''ānanda'': ''satyam jñānam ānandam'' – ''ānanda'' means unbroken bliss.
===The Story of the Bride===
So for that purpose, here in the ''Bṛhadāraṇyaka'', the famous teaching ''Neti neti'' – ''nayati nayati'' – "Did I reach the goal? No." So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa gives a beautiful example. There was a girl who was married. After marriage, her husband went away, and very few people could attend the marriage perhaps. Once her husband came to her house, and all the girlfriends of this girl (the wife who was married) gathered around her, and the bridegroom came with many of his friends. Maybe it was a special occasion, and he was sitting there outside chit‑chatting with others. The girls did not know who he was, because at the time of marriage the groom will be decorated in a special manner – everybody can recognise. But after that, that dress is no more necessary, so he is sitting like anybody.

One girl asks: "Is that your husband?" The girl smiles and says, "No." Another girl points to somebody: "No, no, no – ''neti, neti'' – not this, not this, not this, not this." Finally, only one man is left out, and some girl says: "Is he your husband?" She need not have asked, because there is nobody else left out – but she asked. The girl does not say anything; she keeps her head low, but a beatific smile spreads across her face, showing how happy she is. So everybody understands: that is her husband. So after negating everything, whatever remains – that is the truth.
===The Thorn Example===
But then, I have to tell you – as I told you also – Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's own example: the big thorn with the help of which all the other smaller thorns were completely thrown out – that also has to be thrown. That means that mind which is going through '''''śravaṇa(श्रवण)'', ''manana (मनन)'', ''nididhyāsana (निदिध्यासन)''''', being instructed by the Guru – even that also will be thrown out. But he will not throw it out automatically – with the last thorn, this discriminating mind itself will get torn out. What remains – he does not say "I am seeing pure consciousness"; he says "I am pure consciousness." This is the process of ''Neti neti''.
==The Three Essential Points==
So from these three important points, if we remember, then we have understood the essence of what we discussed so far.
===First: Jagat Mithyatvaजगत् मिथ्यत्व===
First, the ''Jagat Mithyatva'' '''जगत् मिथ्यत्व'''– ''mithyā'' is mistaking half‑truth for absolute truth by dismissing this observable and objectifiable universe. ''Dṛśya prapañca neti neti'' proves that the universe is only a partial truth, not complete truth. That is why it is called ''mithyā''. It is not called non‑existence – it is called partial existence.
===Second: The Ultimate Reality of Brahman===
Second, the ultimate reality of ''Brahman'' – ''Brahman'' alone is the cause; the Creator alone is the real truth. Everything else is partial truth – everything else is ''satyam'', but not ''Satyasya Satyam'''सत्यस्य सत्यं''''' . For that we have to apply that process of ''Neti neti'' through the process of ''śravaṇa'', ''manana'', ''nididhyāsana'', etc.
===The Bhakti Path===
In the Bhakti path also – devotional path – exactly the same thing is repeated. How? When a person is meditating upon God, he says: "First, every devotee is a most wonderful person. So I am in every devotee – I see every devotee, and every devotee – there is no difference between me and any devotee." That is how Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: "There is no caste difference among devotees." Slowly then it expands: everything happens by the will of God, so whatever happens by the will of God, God is for my good – not only for my good, for the good of the entire universe.
===Why Suffering?===
A very profound truth we have to keep in mind. If some country is throwing bombs upon another country, our viewpoint – ignorant viewpoint – is "this is bad." But we can, from the Hindu viewpoint, expand it a little bit – I will do it very briefly.
#Nobody either suffers or enjoys except by accepting the resultant of their own past ''karma''. Then it can be happiness, it can be unhappiness. Nobody can cause either happiness or unhappiness to anybody – our own ''karmaphala'' comes through the medium of other people. That is the first thing.
#Second, that is not the only thing. So who is making this happen? There is somebody called ''Vidhātā'' – that is God – who keeps an eye on what a person has done. Such a God says: "It is better for you to be born here because that is the best chance for you." As we discussed today itself – not only to exhaust your ''prārabdha karma'', but to create better ''karma''. So whether we are happy or unhappy, a tremendous opportunity is given. Not only every birth, but every morning as soon as we wake up, God gives us 24 hours until the next day. So we will have to do certain things; we do not know what to do. For that, the scriptures are there, but the scriptures are difficult to understand. So there is a teacher, and the teacher is an experienced person and he understands the students and he tells us.
#The point is: whatever happens in our life, it is for good. That is a point we have to understand. Nobody is making another happy or suffer – first point. And if we are undergoing suffering, it is natural for us to feel sympathy, and that is a very excellent spiritual quality that shows we have to share what we have, so that in future whatever we share will come back to us. That is what we discussed in the ''Taittirīya Upaniṣad'': the only best way of saving food is to share it with others. Whatever food we share with others will be shared and comes back to us through the other people.
===Questioning God===
This is the point, and anybody who refuses to accept this view is not a spiritual person, because he is questioning God. This is the third point. If anybody claims "I am a strong believer in God" and then still says "Why is there so much evil in this world?" – then he is the most foolish, arrogant person in the whole world. You do not claim you have any faith in God. If God is the Creator, He is all good – ''sarva-maṅgala'' – and what God does, only He knows, and whatever He does is for the good of every one of us – no doubt about it. That is why it is called ''līlā'' – pretence.
===Third: The Identity of the Self and Brahman===
''Brahma satyatvam'' '''ब्रह्म सत्यत्वं'''– and in course of time, ''Jagat satyatvam'' '''जगत्सत्यत्वं'''– there is no such division called ''Brahman'' and the world. And then what is the third truth? The identity of the Self and ''Brahman'' – ''jīvo brahmaiva nāparaḥ'' '''''जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः ।'''''– is an expansion of Śaṅkara's condensation of his entire teaching: ''Brahma satyam, jagat mithyā, jīvo brahmaiva nāparaḥ'''ब्रह्म सत्यं जगन्मिथ्या जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः ।['''''

'''[''ब्रह्म सत्यं जगन्मिथ्या जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः ।'''''

'''''अनेन वेद्यं सच्छास्त्रमिति वेदान्तडिण्डिमः ।। 20II ['''ब्रह्मज्ञानावलीमाला Brahmajnanavalimala '''by Adi shankaracharya]]'''''

. That middle one is the problematic one – "this world is an illusion." And the idea we have about illusion is not a good idea – that is why it is a very horrible idea. Illusion means untrue. But the ''Upaniṣad'' says it is not an illusion – it is a half‑understood truth. So true – it is a truth. A snake is a half‑understood snake – that is how we have to understand it.

Everything – not only ''jīva'' means what? Every being, including a mosquito – not only a living being, even the non‑living – it all falls under the category of ''sat''. Only ''cit'' and ''ānanda'' are not manifest here.
===Why Deep Sleep Is Discussed===
So why is deep sleep discussed? Ultimately, deep sleep is the best example to demonstrate that our waking individuality is merely an incidental transactional state. Similarly, the dream state also – by showing that we naturally resort to a state of formless, boundaryless awareness every night, deep sleep reveals that our permanent identity is nothing but ''Brahman''. Even from a practical point of view, it is this: even if you are enjoying something very pleasant – intense happiness you are getting – it does not last much longer. But look at the wonder of this deep sleep – for nearly several hours, without the least bit of break, we enjoy the highest bliss. If that is not an exemplar, I do not know what else is.
===The Neti Neti Methodology===
So what is this ''Neti neti'' methodology? "I am not the waker. I am not the dreamer, nor am I the sleeper. I am the one who is the experiencer – follow these. Hence, I am the seer, not the seen." This is the essence of the third ''Brāhmaṇa''.

With this, this third ''Brāhmaṇa'' – the inter‑section – is over.
==Preview of Yājñavalkya-Maitreyī Dialogue==
Now we are going to enter into one of the most marvellous sections – that is called the dialogue between Yājñavalkya and Maitreyī. We will start it 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 3.1-3.6 Lecture 53 on 25 July 2026

2026-09-06T13:47:53Z

Gayatri: /* The Dream Creation – Spider and Sparks */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.'''

'''''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.'''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

'''OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH'''

'''OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.'''

'''OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.'''

==Introduction: The Third Brāhmaṇa==
We are studying some of the very important parts in this third ''Brāhmaṇa'' – third section. So first I would like to take up some of the important, very important ''mantras'' and then summarise what we discussed so far.
==The State of Deep Sleep (Suṣupti)==
'''In the 17th ''mantra'' – first section, second chapter, 17th ''mantra'':'''

'''स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्यत्रैष एतत्सुप्तोऽभूद्य एष विज्ञानमयः पुरुषस्तदेषां प्राणानां विज्ञानेन विज्नानमादाय य एषोऽन्तर्हृदय आकाशस्तस्मिञ्छेते तानि यदा गृह्णाति अथ हैतत्पुरुषः स्वपिति नाम तद्गृहीत एव प्राणो भवति गृहीता वाग्गृहीतं चक्षुः गृहीत श्रोत्रं गृहीतं मनः॥'''

''sa ha uvāca ajātaśatruḥ atra eṣa etat sut abhut yaḥ eṣa vijñānamayaḥ puruṣaḥ, tathā eṣāṃ prāṇānāṃ vijñānena vijñānam ādāya ya eṣa antar hṛdaya ākāśaḥ tasmin śete''.

Ajātaśatru, as we should remember, had taken his newly acquired disciple Gārgya or Bālāki to a sleeping person, woke him up after violently shaking him, and he was describing that state.
===The Components of the Jīvātman===
This '''''Puruṣa''''' – that is the '''''jīvātman''''' – and the ''jīvātman'' consists of how many things? We have to say '''three things:'''
#'''''Cit''''' – pure consciousness.
#'''''Cidābhāsa''''' – the reflection of this pure consciousness in the mind of the individual.
#Body and mind – we can join them together.
So pure consciousness, reflection of pure consciousness, plus body‑mind is called the individual soul – ''jīvātman''. And every ''jīvātman'' goes through three states of experience until he has self‑knowledge and becomes free – attains liberation – not "attains", but knows that he was never bound.
===The Three States===
So this person, in the waking state, the emphasis is on the body, and the body's emphasis is on the external world. But in the state of dream, the external world and the whole physical body are as it were separated from himself. He deals only with the impressions he gained through his movements and interactions in the waking state, and taking those impressions, he creates his own world – that is beautifully described later on.

But in the deep sleep state ('''''suṣupti'')''', this '''pure consciousnes'''s combined with '''reflected consciousness''' takes – he rises above all connections with the waking state – body, external world, and mind. '''What does he do''' in the deep sleep state? He takes everything, as it were – all the functions of the organs – and converts them into pure reflected consciousness. And then where does he rest? There is supposed to be a place in the heart – it is called '''''hṛdayākāśa'', ''daharākāśa''''' – and he rests there as long as that state of deep sleep continues.
===The Role of Karmaphala===
But because of '''''karmaphala'',''' when the time comes, that ''karmaphala'' acts as the cause – that is why '''''suṣupti''''' is called '''''kāraṇa śarīra'''''. So again it forcibly draws him from the ''hṛdayākāśa'' and then separates him from ''Paramātman'' as it were. That is the state Ajātaśatru was describing: where was the sleeping person, because it took such a long time to wake him up? He was deeply resting i'''n the ''hṛdayākāśa''''' along with ''cit'' – remember, ''cidākāśa'', ''cit'', ''cidābhāsa'' has not disappeared, but it is nearest to the pure ''cit'', its real nature. As if there is only the shining sun and there is only the pure mirror – there is nobody there to witness, to use that reflected light to experience what is in the room. It is just like that. But as if somebody had entered later on ,Oh Brilliant light!I can see so clearly , I can read so clearly!
===''Swapiti'' – Resting in the Lap of Paramātman===
'''तानि यदा गृह्णाति अथ हैतत्पुरुषः स्वपिति नाम तद्गृहीत एव प्राणो भवति गृहीता वाग्गृहीतं चक्षुः गृहीत श्रोत्रं गृहीतं मनः॥'''

''Taniyāda gṛṇāti atha etath puruṣaḥ svapiti nāma'' –

when this person is in deep sleep, the ''jīvātman'' gets a special name''': ''svapiti''.''' He is called ''svapiti'', meaning he is lying in the lap of ''Paramātman''.

'''तद्गृहीत एव प्राणो भवति गृहीता वाग्गृहीतं चक्षुः गृहीत श्रोत्रं गृहीतं मनः॥'''

''Taṭgṛhītaḥ iva prāṇā bhavati, gṛhītaṃ vāk, gṛhītaṃ cakṣuḥ, gṛhītaṃ śrotram, gṛhītaṃ manaḥ'' –

when the ''jīvātman'' is in ''suṣupti'', all the sense organs are withdrawn, and when sense organs are withdrawn, their functions are also withdrawn. The organ of smell is absorbed, the organ of speech is absorbed, the eye is absorbed, the ear is absorbed, and the mind is absorbed. In other words, both mind and body attain to their causal state and are not able to function.
===The Causal State===
Now, slowly after some time, because of ''karmaphala'' – remember, it always works – two points we have to remember here: ''prāṇa'', whatever be the state – waking, dream, dreamless – ''prāṇa'' will never depart; otherwise that person, that ''jīvātman'', would be a dead person. So ''prāṇa'' will be there. But these three states are experienced by the help of the ''prāṇa'' – the body and mind are withdrawn, sense organs and corresponding thoughts are totally withdrawn. So after some time, this causal body ( causal means cause) wakes up and pulls the ''jīvātman'' forcibly from the resting place in the ''Paramātman'', brings it first to the state of dream – ''svapnāvasthā''.
==The Dream State – The 72,000 Nāḍīs==
How does it do that? That is described in the 19th ''mantra'':

'''अथ यदा सुषुप्तो भवति यदा न कस्य चन वेद हिता नाम नाद्यो द्वासप्ततिः सहस्राणि हृदयात्पुरीततमभिप्रतिष्ठन्ते ताभिः प्रत्यवसृप्य पुरीतति शेते स यथा कुमारो वा महाराजो वा महाब्राह्मणो वाऽतिघ्नीमानन्दस्य गत्वा शयीतैवमेवैष एतच्छेते॥'''

''Atha yadā suṣupto bhavati, atha nākasya caṇavet, atha nāmanā diyā va saptatiḥ sahasrāṇi hṛdayāt purītam avipratiṣṭhanti, tābhiḥ prati avasāprupyā purītathi śete''.

Briefly, what Ajātaśatru is trying – or this ''Upaniṣad'' is trying – to convey that knowledge to us through the medium of Ajātaśatru: when the ''karmaphala'' forcibly forces back the ''jīvātman'', how does it enter? It seems there are very subtle ''nāḍīs'' (nerves) – nerve centers. This nerve center we cannot find through any amount of microscope or telescope. They are subtle – subtle means not experienceable by the physical body, physical senses, even microscope or telescope. They cannot do anything unless sense organs are functioning. Only when the eye is perfectly functioning will telescope work, microscope work. If you put both in front of a blind man, they are not going to work.
===The Pathways of Return===
So when this person wakes up, then what happens? Slowly, because of these '''''vāsanās'' – ''karmaphala''''', that is the impressions – they urge: "You will have to exhaust the resultant of your own actions." So how did he enter into that '''''ākāśa'' – ''cidākāśa'' or ''vāidyākāśa'' or ''daharākāśa''''' – through these very nerves? And how does he come back? Through the very nerves. So if you go somewhere, if you have climbed to the higher storeys in your own building, you will again come back. So there are various staircases, as it were – they are called very, very subtle nerves. How many are there? The scripture is telling: 72,000 are there. Among them there is one which is called '''''purītati'',''' which is '''the most important nerve''', and every other nerve is only emanating from there, and they are all well established in the heart. The heart is the place where we feel our identity.
===The Deep Sleep State and Returning===
So what happens when the Self goes into deep sleep, when it does not know anything? And how did it go into deep sleep? Through those very nerves. Now what is happening because the ''karmaphala'' wakes the person up? It returns along the 72,000 nerves called ''hītā''. They are all called ''hītā''. ''Hītā'' in Sanskrit means that which does good for anybody, which extends from the heart throughout the whole body. And these nerves, though they are emanating from the heart, are spread throughout the body until even the tips of the hair. So even if some smallest insect touches the tip of our hair, immediately that sensation – "Oh, something is touching me" – we can find out. Not to speak of the skin, where we feel it much more intensely – any touch. So these nerves are spread all over, and there it brings back into the dream state.
===The Three Examples – Baby, Emperor, Brāhmaṇa===
What happens?

'''यथा कुमारो वा महाराजो वा महाब्राह्मणो वाऽतिघ्नीमानन्दस्य गत्वा शयीतैवमेवैष एतच्छेते॥'''

''Yathā kumāraḥ hava mahārājya hava mahābrāhmaṇa hava atighniṃ ānandasya gatvā śayita evam eva eṣa etath svete atighnim'' – as a baby, or an emperor, or a noble Brāhmaṇa, when they enter into the deep sleep state, they experience incomparable, supreme happiness, because for the time being duality is absent. Mind and body cause duality; mind and body are absent in deep sleep.

Having experienced that highest bliss, three examples are given:
#''Kumāra'' – a baby without the least bit of worries. In this state of babyhood, no baby will ever think about what happened in the past, what is going to happen in the future, where am I going to eat, who is going to take care of me, etc. He knows somebody else is going to take care of him. He does not even think like that – we only attribute that thinking to the baby. But the baby absolutely knows someone is looking, and if somebody by chance is temporarily absent, the baby starts howling, crying. Immediately father, mother, brother, sister – somebody comes running and takes care of the baby, and the baby becomes peaceful once more. So a baby does not have judgmental values – "this is a good person, that is a good person; this is tasty food, that is not at all tasty" – all these thoughts are totally absent until his sleeping ''saṃskāras'' wake up when his body grows up sufficiently. But until that time, a baby is a marvellous example.
That is why a ''jīvanmukta'' is compared to a baby – just like a baby without a second thought. He wants to sleep, he will sleep; he wants to meditate, he will meditate; he wants to study, he will study; he wants to talk, he will talk.
===Zen Buddhism – Complete Absorption===
There is a special Buddhistic school of philosophy called Zen Buddhism – ''Dhyāna'' Buddhism. The main teaching is: a Zen practitioner – ''dhyāna'' practitioner – whatever he does, he is aware of only that. If you are reading the messages you are getting through my WhatsApp application, you will see: when a person is walking, he is aware "I am walking"; when he is sitting, he is aware "I am sitting", etc. So this is how slowly this person becomes only absorbed in that, like a baby. Notice a baby when he is playing – one hundred percent his mind is absorbed in that, and naturally he will get the greatest pleasure. What is the value of his plaything? That is not important – whether it is a few stones, few sticks or marbles, or some play machine – it does not really matter. What matters is absorption. It does not matter what a baby eats, but he is completely absorbed in it.
#A ''Mahārāja'' who has no known enemies and everything is going on very well – how does he sleep? He is not worried – by God's grace, everything is going on well.
#A ''Mahābrāhmaṇa'' – a realised soul – they are all same: ''adhik neem ānandasya gatvā''. They experience that incomparable supreme bliss – that is the bliss of ''Brahman'' ''ānanda'' only, not less.
'''शयीतैवमेवैष एतच्छेते॥'''

''Śayit evam eva eṣa etat sethe'' –

having experienced that one, he comes back into the next stage of experience, which is called dream.
==The Dream Creation – Spider and Sparks==
And what happens? He returns back through 72,000 nerves, but then he creates a tremendous creation – his own creation. Further, an example is given:

'''स यथोर्णवाभिस्तन्तुनोच्चरेद्यथाऽग्नेः क्षुद्रा विस्फुलिङ्गा व्युच्चरन्त्येवमेवास्मादात्मनः सर्वे प्राणाः सर्वे लोकाः सर्वे देवाः सर्वाणि भूतानि व्युच्चरन्ति तस्योपनिषत्सत्यस्य सत्यमिति प्राणा वै सत्यं तेषामेष सत्यम्॥'''

''Sa yathā ūrṇanābhiḥ tantunā uccaret, yathā agneḥ kṣudrāḥ visphuliṅgāḥ vicharanti, evam eva asmāt ātmanaḥ sarve prāṇāḥ sarve lokāḥ sarve devāḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni vicharanti'' –

as a spider moves along the thread it produces from its own body; the second example is given – as from a blazing fire, millions of tiny sparks fly in every direction. Even so, from this ''Ātman'' come forth all organs, all worlds, all gods, all beings.
===The Point of the Examples===
What is the point of this particular ''mantra''? Just as in our dream spontaneously we create our dream world, and we ourselves find ourselves in our dream world – we find our neighbours, our friends, our enemies, our kingdom, our country, our religion – just like in the waking state. How did this person create? Just by the process of thought. Who created the person who is returning, but who is actually the waking person? One person creates the entire dream world. If a human being can create the world – and what is the specialty? When this person has created this world, he does not say "this is only a dream, this is unreal, I have created it myself." First point: it is not unreal – it is absolutely real, exactly like the waking state. Second point: as we are not aware that this whole waking world is created by us, exactly in the same way, the whole dream world is created by that individual soul.
===The Dream and Waking States Compared===
It is not surprising to think that when we give the example of a dream, upon waking up, instantaneously we realise that "I created my own world, where I created my own happiness and unhappiness, my own friends and enemies – somebody came and presented me an invaluable jewel; somebody else came and snatched it away; or in the process, he even hurt me." But upon waking up, we laugh and say, "How realistic it looked! But I alone – that is important – I alone am responsible." A husband cannot say "my wife is responsible for this dream." So every human being can understand.

But what about the waking state? Is it created by us? Yes. One of the understandings of ''Karma Siddhānta'' is: our parents, our family, our financial circumstances, our climate, where we are born, into which family, which coloured parents – black‑skinned, yellow‑skinned, white‑skinned, brown‑skinned – and how our physical body looks, and our fate – whether we are poor or rich, whether we can get higher education or not, whether we are fated to go to higher universities either in India or elsewhere – in fact, the whole universe is created for two purposes:
#For exhausting whatever we had earned through our past lives – to experience the resultant of our own past actions.
#At the same time, we are given an opportunity to create new ''karma''. Should we wish, we can create new ''karma''. It might take some bit of effort, depending upon the strength of our ''saṃskāras''.
===Conscious Creation===
But we have to understand: we are creating, albeit most of the time unconsciously. If we can create deliberately, consciously – that is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's advice is: cultivate holy company deliberately, go to solitary places, and understand nothing in this world can help you continuously. Accepting the reality of the world – everything is changing – that is the reality of the world. Since everything is changing, nothing can be relied upon. So do not unnecessarily intensify attachments. Live like a maidservant. All these things are possible, and all these things are done: first, to exhaust, to get the right opportunity, appropriate opportunity; second, whatever best we can do – there is enormous scope, and that is what we need to do.
===Dreams Can Be Created by Design===
Just as we create our own dreams – dreams are not forced upon us by somebody. Every single experience we had in the dream was created by us. In fact, dreams can be created according to design. There are many people who could do that, and we can also do that. Just as we created this waking state, we can also create – Nagamahāśaya's mind was totally pitched to the highest ''loka''. That is why when his aunt used to tell him in his childhood bedtime stories of gods and goddesses and stories from Hindu mythology, next morning he used to get up, run to his aunt and say: "Aunt, today I dreamt whatever you told me yesterday – I have seen Mother Cāmuṇḍā." How many gods and goddesses she had visualised, even though she said "I never knew the existence of it" – but she had strong faith. One of the greatest devotees – she had faith that gods and goddesses exist. If God exists, then goddesses, gods also exist; higher worlds exist; nothing is impossible. Because of that, she used to have strange visions.

We should not say – our modern science is likely to say – "They are all her imaginations." But my point is: whether something is an imagination or something is a reality, it makes no difference. If we imagine something as real, that affects us. If somebody is embracing a black bear thinking "I am embracing Miss Universe", it does not matter – so long as he thinks "I am in the embrace of a most beautiful woman in this world", he is a happy person. But when that imagination breaks, another imagination comes: "This is a black bear about to crush me to death" – that is also in the same pattern. So that is why it is said: "Today's imagination will be tomorrow's fact." In fact, meditation is nothing but pure imagination – of course, guided by the Guru and the scriptures.
===The Return from Deep Sleep to Dream===
So the person coming down from the state of the highest bliss experienceable in the realistic world – from the state of deep sleep – he comes through the ferry roads, as it were, through the 72,000 ''nāḍīs''. Do not question whether they are 72,000 or 7,000 – it does not matter. So if a person is coming down from deep sleep to the dream state, he must be coming – there must be a pathway, and that pathway is called the nerves.

Having come to this dream state, he roams about. What does he do? He creates – just like a spider creates its own net to catch food in the form of insects, or just like a blazing fire from which hundreds and thousands of sparks are flying all over. The point is: all these sparks have exactly the same nature – they are hot to the touch. If a spark falls upon my body, I feel the stinging. Similarly, they also give light, because the moment you see a spark, you see it even in pitch darkness. And if this spark is a little big enough, if there is any object nearby, it illumines it – self‑illuminating and other‑illuminating – that is the characteristic of fire.
===The Whole Universe Comes from Brahman===
So the whole universe has come out of the supreme reality called ''Brahman'', just as this dream example is given to make us understand – just as we create. And then one important point we have to understand here: even when we go through this dream state, nothing happens to us. Similarly, when ''Paramātman'' creates this entire universe – how many ''lokas'', billions and billions of galaxies, every galaxy is a special ''loka'' – nothing happens to ''Paramātman''. That is the second point.

Third point we have to understand: since this whole creation is coming just as from us – every day we have a different dream. On the same night, we can have different dreams. In the same dream, we can have another subset of dreams also – in dream itself, we go to bed and we can have another dream. How many layers of dreams can we have? So one moment we find here in Bangalore, next moment in Vārāṇasī, next moment in New York – every situation is different. So how many dreams? Every dream – a special dream – is a ''loka''. ''Loka'' means a special experience.
===The Nature of the Creation===
For Mahātman, He creates the whole universe, and the point we have to understand is: whatever is created partakes of the same nature as the original substance. A pot – a mud pot, a clay pot – its whole nature is nothing but clay. A golden ornament will be pure gold only. Similarly, what is the nature of ''Brahman''? Pure consciousness. So even when you think "I see this – there is a big rock" – is this consciousness? Yes, of course it is consciousness.

Many times I have tried, and many times I will tell you also: at this point, we do not know what is in the external world. We only know our thoughts. So if I have the thought of a tree – I am imagining. Just like a person sitting in front of a TV in his drawing room or visitor's room, he is experiencing a beautiful match and he is feeling as if it is going on here. Nowadays the broadcasters broadcast – some hesitation is going on somewhere, and you can see it in front of you, and there is no difference. Because whether you are even present where that cricket match is being played – that event is taking place – your eyes, your ears go out and gather the impressions and bring them to the present to the mind in the form of thoughts. And we alone know – the mind is a vast screen. On that screen these thoughts are projected, and the film is the mind. But the light is called reflected consciousness, and this reflected consciousness enlarges and makes all the impressions come to life, as it were – "I am seeing it."
===Direct and Indirect Experience===
So I am giving the essence: it does not matter whether you experience something through a phone, through a TV screen, or actually you are sitting somewhere – you are not directly experiencing sitting in front of a cricket match. You are indirectly experiencing only in front of a TV screen. Both are indirect only. Nothing is direct. You only know about your thoughts, and every thought represents the entire external – every object, any object in the entire external world. Even this thought "this is external" is also a thought only. "This is internal" – that is also a thought only. Mind‑boggling – but that is the truth. Even psychologists can tell you that, not to speak of spiritual people.
===The Two Examples===
So through these two examples, ''Paramātman''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s creation is described. So it is not impossible – He Himself is the material cause, He Himself is the intelligent cause – He is everything. For that, these two examples are given, and these two examples are not only found in the ''Bṛhadāraṇyaka'' – in the ''Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad'' also, the same examples are given in some other ''Upaniṣads'' as well; they repeat the same things.
==Mūrta and Amūrta – Visible and Invisible==
The next point we have seen: this entire creation is nothing but pure consciousness. But that pure consciousness, looked at through the prism of time, space, and causation, appears to be an infinite number of objects. So time, space, and causation limit, and this limited experience of pure consciousness in the form of this entire creation is subdivided by this ''Upaniṣad'': that which can be experienced by the eyes, etc., that is called ''Mūrta''; and that which is experienced but not seen through the eyes, that is called ''Amūrta'' – visible and invisible. So both belong to the creation only.
===Brahma Satyam, Jagat Satyam===
And then the ''Upaniṣad'', as we discussed earlier, made a categorical statement: just as ''Brahman'' is ''satyam'', this world is also ''satyam'' only. But then why do they say it is ''mithyā''? So long as we are not aware of the true nature of the cause which is ''Brahman'', we experience separatedness: "I am a tiny object in comparison with the other objects." Suppose imagine there is a small ant – a big rock falls upon that ant. The ant – at least we know the ant is small, therefore it cannot withstand this big rock. But that is its nature – this is because of ignorance. But once we understand consciousness, there is no division: small and big, white and black, great and small, subtle and all‑pervading. This is all the mind's attempt to make an understanding of that pure consciousness.
===The Roof Example===
So the ''Upaniṣad'' wants to tell – Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: once a person reaches the roof, understands what the roof is made of, he understands what the whole house is made of – the same material of which the roof is made, the whole house is made. Once a person realises ''Brahman'', which is ''satyam jñānam anantam'', then the realised soul understands everything – but it is nothing but limited; it is only ''Brahman''. But if we do not have that knowledge, that is called we are ignorant – we are under the influence of ignorance. Ignorance means limited by time, space, and causation. We think everything is separate from everything else – very small, very small (''aṇu''), very big, huge, etc. And that will create many problems and repeated births again and again.
===The Realised Soul Enjoys the Universe===
That is why once a person realises the nature of the true cause, then the effects are also realised to be of the same nature. So such a person, after the realisation, enjoys this whole universe. So that is what is said here.
==Neti Neti – The Method of Negation==
Now we will summarise whatever is there. So in order to understand ''Brahman'' is the roof – the real cause of which the entire creation (''sṛṣṭi'') had come out – ''Brahman'' is pure consciousness. Therefore, whatever comes out of ''Brahman'' – manifestation of ''Brahman'' – must be pure consciousness only, like the sparks of fire, etc. So for that we cannot understand because we are overpowered by ''Māyā'', ''ajñāna'', ''avidyā'', which is described as looking at ''Brahman'', looking at ourselves, through the prism of time, space, and causation.

So ''satyam'' means this is called ''Vyāvahārika Satyam'' – this is true so long as I am experiencing it, but this is not the final truth. So for that purpose, you have to practise certain spiritual disciplines and go to the roof, which is to realise ''Aham Brahmasmi'', and then only we will be able to understand there is nothing but ''Brahman''.
===''Neti Neti'' – Not This, Not This===
So for that purpose, what is it? ''Neti neti'' – as we discussed earlier, in the ''Taittirīya'' especially: "not this, not this." That is to say, am I the ''annamaya kośa''? No. It does not mean ''annamaya kośa'' is different from me. As I mentioned in my last classes, not only am I ''annamaya'', I am also much more. So once I realise in what way I am much more, you progress: I am ''prāṇamaya'' – ''prāṇamaya'' does not negate ''annamaya''; ''prāṇamaya'' includes ''annamaya''. ''Manomaya'' includes ''prāṇamaya''. ''Vijñānamaya'' includes ''manomaya'' – that means it includes the others – and ''ānandamaya'' includes the previous four ''kośas'' of manifestations. And then we also realise this is also a work of the mind – that is why it is called ''ānandamaya kośa''. ''Ānanda'' – pure bliss. Another name for ''Brahman'' is ''ānanda'': ''satyam jñānam ānandam'' – ''ānanda'' means unbroken bliss.
===The Story of the Bride===
So for that purpose, here in the ''Bṛhadāraṇyaka'', the famous teaching ''Neti neti'' – ''nayati nayati'' – "Did I reach the goal? No." So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa gives a beautiful example. There was a girl who was married. After marriage, her husband went away, and very few people could attend the marriage perhaps. Once her husband came to her house, and all the girlfriends of this girl (the wife who was married) gathered around her, and the bridegroom came with many of his friends. Maybe it was a special occasion, and he was sitting there outside chit‑chatting with others. The girls did not know who he was, because at the time of marriage the groom will be decorated in a special manner – everybody can recognise. But after that, that dress is no more necessary, so he is sitting like anybody.

One girl asks: "Is that your husband?" The girl smiles and says, "No." Another girl points to somebody: "No, no, no – ''neti, neti'' – not this, not this, not this, not this." Finally, only one man is left out, and some girl says: "Is he your husband?" She need not have asked, because there is nobody else left out – but she asked. The girl does not say anything; she keeps her head low, but a beatific smile spreads across her face, showing how happy she is. So everybody understands: that is her husband. So after negating everything, whatever remains – that is the truth.
===The Thorn Example===
But then, I have to tell you – as I told you also – Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's own example: the big thorn with the help of which all the other smaller thorns were completely thrown out – that also has to be thrown. That means that mind which is going through ''śravaṇa'', ''manana'', ''nididhyāsana'', being instructed by the Guru – even that also will be thrown out. But he will not throw it out automatically – with the last thorn, this discriminating mind itself will get torn out. What remains – he does not say "I am seeing pure consciousness"; he says "I am pure consciousness." This is the process of ''Neti neti''.
==The Three Essential Points==
So from these three important points, if we remember, then we have understood the essence of what we discussed so far.
===First: Jagat Mithyatva===
First, the ''Jagat Mithyatva'' – ''mithyā'' is mistaking half‑truth for absolute truth by dismissing this observable and objectifiable universe. ''Dṛśya prapañca neti neti'' proves that the universe is only a partial truth, not complete truth. That is why it is called ''mithyā''. It is not called non‑existence – it is called partial existence.
===Second: The Ultimate Reality of Brahman===
Second, the ultimate reality of ''Brahman'' – ''Brahman'' alone is the cause; the Creator alone is the real truth. Everything else is partial truth – everything else is ''satyam'', but not ''Satyasya Satyam''. For that we have to apply that process of ''Neti neti'' through the process of ''śravaṇa'', ''manana'', ''nididhyāsana'', etc.
===The Bhakti Path===
In the Bhakti path also – devotional path – exactly the same thing is repeated. How? When a person is meditating upon God, he says: "First, every devotee is a most wonderful person. So I am in every devotee – I see every devotee, and every devotee – there is no difference between me and any devotee." That is how Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: "There is no caste difference among devotees." Slowly then it expands: everything happens by the will of God, so whatever happens by the will of God, God is for my good – not only for my good, for the good of the entire universe.
===Why Suffering?===
A very profound truth we have to keep in mind. If some country is throwing bombs upon another country, our viewpoint – ignorant viewpoint – is "this is bad." But we can, from the Hindu viewpoint, expand it a little bit – I will do it very briefly.
#Nobody either suffers or enjoys except by accepting the resultant of their own past ''karma''. Then it can be happiness, it can be unhappiness. Nobody can cause either happiness or unhappiness to anybody – our own ''karmaphala'' comes through the medium of other people. That is the first thing.
#Second, that is not the only thing. So who is making this happen? There is somebody called ''Vidhātā'' – that is God – who keeps an eye on what a person has done. Such a God says: "It is better for you to be born here because that is the best chance for you." As we discussed today itself – not only to exhaust your ''prārabdha karma'', but to create better ''karma''. So whether we are happy or unhappy, a tremendous opportunity is given. Not only every birth, but every morning as soon as we wake up, God gives us 24 hours until the next day. So we will have to do certain things; we do not know what to do. For that, the scriptures are there, but the scriptures are difficult to understand. So there is a teacher, and the teacher is an experienced person and he understands the students and he tells us.
#The point is: whatever happens in our life, it is for good. That is a point we have to understand. Nobody is making another happy or suffer – first point. And if we are undergoing suffering, it is natural for us to feel sympathy, and that is a very excellent spiritual quality that shows we have to share what we have, so that in future whatever we share will come back to us. That is what we discussed in the ''Taittirīya Upaniṣad'': the only best way of saving food is to share it with others. Whatever food we share with others will be shared and comes back to us through the other people.
===Questioning God===
This is the point, and anybody who refuses to accept this view is not a spiritual person, because he is questioning God. This is the third point. If anybody claims "I am a strong believer in God" and then still says "Why is there so much evil in this world?" – then he is the most foolish, arrogant person in the whole world. You do not claim you have any faith in God. If God is the Creator, He is all good – ''sarva-maṅgala'' – and what God does, only He knows, and whatever He does is for the good of every one of us – no doubt about it. That is why it is called ''līlā'' – pretence.
===Third: The Identity of the Self and Brahman===
''Brahma satyatvam'' – and in course of time, ''Jagat satyatvam'' – there is no such division called ''Brahman'' and the world. And then what is the third truth? The identity of the Self and ''Brahman'' – ''jīvo brahmaiva nāparaḥ'' – is an expansion of Śaṅkara's condensation of his entire teaching: ''Brahma satyam, jagat mithyā, jīvo brahmaiva nāparaḥ''. That middle one is the problematic one – "this world is an illusion." And the idea we have about illusion is not a good idea – that is why it is a very horrible idea. Illusion means untrue. But the ''Upaniṣad'' says it is not an illusion – it is a half‑understood truth. So true – it is a truth. A snake is a half‑understood snake – that is how we have to understand it.

Everything – not only ''jīva'' means what? Every being, including a mosquito – not only a living being, even the non‑living – it all falls under the category of ''sat''. Only ''cit'' and ''ānanda'' are not manifest here.
===Why Deep Sleep Is Discussed===
So why is deep sleep discussed? Ultimately, deep sleep is the best example to demonstrate that our waking individuality is merely an incidental transactional state. Similarly, the dream state also – by showing that we naturally resort to a state of formless, boundaryless awareness every night, deep sleep reveals that our permanent identity is nothing but ''Brahman''. Even from a practical point of view, it is this: even if you are enjoying something very pleasant – intense happiness you are getting – it does not last much longer. But look at the wonder of this deep sleep – for nearly several hours, without the least bit of break, we enjoy the highest bliss. If that is not an exemplar, I do not know what else is.
===The Neti Neti Methodology===
So what is this ''Neti neti'' methodology? "I am not the waker. I am not the dreamer, nor am I the sleeper. I am the one who is the experiencer – follow these. Hence, I am the seer, not the seen." This is the essence of the third ''Brāhmaṇa''.

With this, this third ''Brāhmaṇa'' – the inter‑section – is over.
==Preview of Yājñavalkya-Maitreyī Dialogue==
Now we are going to enter into one of the most marvellous sections – that is called the dialogue between Yājñavalkya and Maitreyī. We will start it 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 3.1-3.6 Lecture 53 on 25 July 2026

2026-09-05T13:53:16Z

Gayatri:

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.'''

'''''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.'''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

'''OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH'''

'''OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.'''

'''OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.'''

==Introduction: The Third Brāhmaṇa==
We are studying some of the very important parts in this third ''Brāhmaṇa'' – third section. So first I would like to take up some of the important, very important ''mantras'' and then summarise what we discussed so far.
==The State of Deep Sleep (Suṣupti)==
'''In the 17th ''mantra'' – first section, second chapter, 17th ''mantra'':'''

'''स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्यत्रैष एतत्सुप्तोऽभूद्य एष विज्ञानमयः पुरुषस्तदेषां प्राणानां विज्ञानेन विज्नानमादाय य एषोऽन्तर्हृदय आकाशस्तस्मिञ्छेते तानि यदा गृह्णाति अथ हैतत्पुरुषः स्वपिति नाम तद्गृहीत एव प्राणो भवति गृहीता वाग्गृहीतं चक्षुः गृहीत श्रोत्रं गृहीतं मनः॥'''

''sa ha uvāca ajātaśatruḥ atra eṣa etat sut abhut yaḥ eṣa vijñānamayaḥ puruṣaḥ, tathā eṣāṃ prāṇānāṃ vijñānena vijñānam ādāya ya eṣa antar hṛdaya ākāśaḥ tasmin śete''.

Ajātaśatru, as we should remember, had taken his newly acquired disciple Gārgya or Bālāki to a sleeping person, woke him up after violently shaking him, and he was describing that state.
===The Components of the Jīvātman===
This ''Puruṣa'' – that is the ''jīvātman'' – and the ''jīvātman'' consists of how many things? We have to say three things:
#''Cit'' – pure consciousness.
#''Cidābhāsa'' – the reflection of this pure consciousness in the mind of the individual.
#Body and mind – we can join them together.
So pure consciousness, reflection of pure consciousness, plus body‑mind is called the individual soul – ''jīvātman''. And every ''jīvātman'' goes through three states of experience until he has self‑knowledge and becomes free – attains liberation – not "attains", but knows that he was never bound.
===The Three States===
So this person, in the waking state, the emphasis is on the body, and the body's emphasis is on the external world. But in the state of dream, the external world and the whole physical body are as it were separated from himself. He deals only with the impressions he gained through his movements and interactions in the waking state, and taking those impressions, he creates his own world – that is beautifully described later on.

But in the deep sleep state (''suṣupti''), this pure consciousness combined with reflected consciousness takes – he rises above all connections with the waking state – body, external world, and mind. What does he do in the deep sleep state? He takes everything, as it were – all the functions of the organs – and converts them into pure reflected consciousness. And then where does he rest? There is supposed to be a place in the heart – it is called ''hṛdayākāśa'', ''daharākāśa'' – and he rests there as long as that state of deep sleep continues.
===The Role of Karmaphala===
But because of ''karmaphala'', when the time comes, that ''karmaphala'' acts as the cause – that is why ''suṣupti'' is called ''kāraṇa śarīra''. So again it forcibly draws him from the ''hṛdayākāśa'' and then separates him from ''Paramātman'' as it were. That is the state Ajātaśatru was describing: where was the sleeping person, because it took such a long time to wake him up? He was deeply resting in the ''hṛdayākāśa'' along with ''cit'' – remember, ''cidākāśa'', ''cit'', ''cidābhāsa'' has not disappeared, but it is nearest to the pure ''cit'', its real nature. As if there is only the shining sun and there is only the pure mirror – there is nobody there to witness, to use that reflected light to experience what is in the room. It is just like that.
===''Swapiti'' – Resting in the Lap of Paramātman===
'''तानि यदा गृह्णाति अथ हैतत्पुरुषः स्वपिति नाम तद्गृहीत एव प्राणो भवति गृहीता वाग्गृहीतं चक्षुः गृहीत श्रोत्रं गृहीतं मनः॥'''

''Taniyāda gṛṇāti atha etath puruṣaḥ svapiti nāma'' –

when this person is in deep sleep, the ''jīvātman'' gets a special name: ''svapiti''. He is called ''svapiti'', meaning he is lying in the lap of ''Paramātman''.

''Taṭgṛhītaḥ iva prāṇā bhavati, gṛhītaṃ vāk, gṛhītaṃ cakṣuḥ, gṛhītaṃ śrotram, gṛhītaṃ manaḥ'' – when the ''jīvātman'' is in ''suṣupti'', all the sense organs are withdrawn, and when sense organs are withdrawn, their functions are also withdrawn. The organ of smell is absorbed, the organ of speech is absorbed, the eye is absorbed, the ear is absorbed, and the mind is absorbed. In other words, both mind and body attain to their causal state and are not able to function.
===The Causal State===
Now, slowly after some time, because of ''karmaphala'' – remember, it always works – two points we have to remember here: ''prāṇa'', whatever be the state – waking, dream, dreamless – ''prāṇa'' will never depart; otherwise that person, that ''jīvātman'', would be a dead person. So ''prāṇa'' will be there. But these three states are experienced by the help of the ''prāṇa'' – the body and mind are withdrawn, sense organs and corresponding thoughts are totally withdrawn. So after some time, this causal body (cause) wakes up and pulls the ''jīvātman'' forcibly from the resting place in the ''Paramātman'', brings it first to the state of dream – ''svapnāvasthā''.
==The Dream State – The 72,000 Nāḍīs==
How does it do that? That is described in the 19th ''mantra'':

'''अथ यदा सुषुप्तो भवति यदा न कस्य चन वेद हिता नाम नाद्यो द्वासप्ततिः सहस्राणि हृदयात्पुरीततमभिप्रतिष्ठन्ते ताभिः प्रत्यवसृप्य पुरीतति शेते स यथा कुमारो वा महाराजो वा महाब्राह्मणो वाऽतिघ्नीमानन्दस्य गत्वा शयीतैवमेवैष एतच्छेते॥'''

''Atha yadā suṣupto bhavati, atha nākasya caṇavet, atha nāmanā diyā va saptatiḥ sahasrāṇi hṛdayāt purītam avipratiṣṭhanti, tābhiḥ prati avasāprupyā purītathi śete''.

Briefly, what Ajātaśatru is trying – or this ''Upaniṣad'' is trying – to convey that knowledge to us through the medium of Ajātaśatru: when the ''karmaphala'' forcibly forces back the ''jīvātman'', how does it enter? It seems there are very subtle ''nāḍīs'' (nerves) – nerve centers. This nerve center we cannot find through any amount of microscope or telescope. They are subtle – subtle means not experienceable by the physical body, physical senses, even microscope or telescope. They cannot do anything unless sense organs are functioning. Only when the eye is perfectly functioning will telescope work, microscope work. If you put both in front of a blind man, they are not going to work.
===The Pathways of Return===
So when this person wakes up, then what happens? Slowly, because of these ''vāsanās'' – ''karmaphala'', that is the impressions – they urge: "You will have to exhaust the resultant of your own actions." So how did he enter into that ''ākāśa'' – ''cidākāśa'' or ''vāidyākāśa'' or ''daharākāśa'' – through these very nerves? And how does he come back? Through the very nerves. So if you go somewhere, if you have climbed to the higher stories in your own building, you will again come back. So there are various staircases, as it were – they are called very, very subtle nerves. How many are there? The scripture is telling: 72,000 are there. Among them there is one which is called ''purītati'', which is the most important nerve, and every other nerve is only emanating from there, and they are all well established in the heart. The heart is the place where we feel our identity.
===The Deep Sleep State and Returning===
So what happens when the Self goes into deep sleep, when it does not know anything? And how did it go into deep sleep? Through those very nerves. Now what is happening because the ''karmaphala'' wakes the person up? It returns along the 72,000 nerves called ''hītā''. They are all called ''hītā''. ''Hītā'' in Sanskrit means that which does good for anybody, which extends from the heart throughout the whole body. And these nerves, though they are emanating from the heart, are spread throughout the body until even the tips of the hair. So even if some smallest insect touches the tip of our hair, immediately that sensation – "Oh, something is touching me" – we can find out. Not to speak of the skin, where we feel it much more intensely – any touch. So these nerves are spread all over, and there it brings back into the dream state.
===The Three Examples – Baby, Emperor, Brāhmaṇa===
What happens?

'''यथा कुमारो वा महाराजो वा महाब्राह्मणो वाऽतिघ्नीमानन्दस्य गत्वा शयीतैवमेवैष एतच्छेते॥'''

''Yathā kumāraḥ hava mahārājya hava mahābrāhmaṇa hava atighniṃ ānandasya gatvā śayita evam eva eṣa etath svete atighnim'' – as a baby, or an emperor, or a noble Brāhmaṇa, when they enter into the deep sleep state, they experience incomparable, supreme happiness, because for the time being duality is absent. Mind and body cause duality; mind and body are absent in deep sleep.

Having experienced that highest bliss, three examples are given:
#''Kumāra'' – a baby without the least bit of worries. In this state of babyhood, no baby will ever think about what happened in the past, what is going to happen in the future, where am I going to eat, who is going to take care of me, etc. He knows somebody else is going to take care of him. He does not even think like that – we only attribute that thinking to the baby. But the baby absolutely knows someone is looking, and if somebody by chance is temporarily absent, the baby starts howling, crying. Immediately father, mother, brother, sister – somebody comes running and takes care of the baby, and the baby becomes peaceful once more. So a baby does not have judgmental values – "this is a good person, that is a good person; this is tasty food, that is not at all tasty" – all these thoughts are totally absent until his sleeping ''saṃskāras'' wake up when his body grows up sufficiently. But until that time, a baby is a marvellous example.
That is why a ''jīvanmukta'' is compared to a baby – just like a baby without a second thought. He wants to sleep, he will sleep; he wants to meditate, he will meditate; he wants to study, he will study; he wants to talk, he will talk.
===Zen Buddhism – Complete Absorption===
There is a special Buddhistic school of philosophy called Zen Buddhism – ''Dhyāna'' Buddhism. The main teaching is: a Zen practitioner – ''dhyāna'' practitioner – whatever he does, he is aware of only that. If you are reading the messages you are getting through my WhatsApp application, you will see: when a person is walking, he is aware "I am walking"; when he is sitting, he is aware "I am sitting", etc. So this is how slowly this person becomes only absorbed in that, like a baby. Notice a baby when he is playing – one hundred percent his mind is absorbed in that, and naturally he will get the greatest pleasure. What is the value of his plaything? That is not important – whether it is a few stones, few sticks or marbles, or some play machine – it does not really matter. What matters is absorption. It does not matter what a baby eats, but he is completely absorbed in it.
#A ''Mahārāja'' who has no known enemies and everything is going on very well – how does he sleep? He is not worried – by God's grace, everything is going on well.
#A ''Mahābrāhmaṇa'' – a realised soul – they are all same: ''adhik neem ānandasya gatvā''. They experience that incomparable supreme bliss – that is the bliss of ''Brahman'' ''ānanda'' only, not less.
'''शयीतैवमेवैष एतच्छेते॥'''

''Śayit evam eva eṣa etat sethe'' –

having experienced that one, he comes back into the next stage of experience, which is called dream.
==The Dream Creation – Spider and Sparks==
And what happens? He returns back through 72,000 nerves, but then he creates a tremendous creation – his own creation. Further, an example is given:

''Sa yathā ūrṇanābhiḥ tantunā uccaret, yathā agneḥ kṣudrāḥ visphuliṅgāḥ vicharanti, evam eva asmāt ātmanaḥ sarve prāṇāḥ sarve lokāḥ sarve devāḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni vicharanti'' – as a spider moves along the thread it produces from its own body; the second example is given – as from a blazing fire, millions of tiny sparks fly in every direction. Even so, from this ''Ātman'' come forth all organs, all worlds, all gods, all beings.
===The Point of the Examples===
What is the point of this particular ''mantra''? Just as in our dream spontaneously we create our dream world, and we ourselves find ourselves in our dream world – we find our neighbours, our friends, our enemies, our kingdom, our country, our religion – just like in the waking state. How did this person create? Just by the process of thought. Who created the person who is returning, but who is actually the waking person? One person creates the entire dream world. If a human being can create the world – and what is the specialty? When this person has created this world, he does not say "this is only a dream, this is unreal, I have created it myself." First point: it is not unreal – it is absolutely real, exactly like the waking state. Second point: as we are not aware that this whole waking world is created by us, exactly in the same way, the whole dream world is created by that individual soul.
===The Dream and Waking States Compared===
It is not surprising to think that when we give the example of a dream, upon waking up, instantaneously we realise that "I created my own world, where I created my own happiness and unhappiness, my own friends and enemies – somebody came and presented me an invaluable jewel; somebody else came and snatched it away; or in the process, he even hurt me." But upon waking up, we laugh and say, "How realistic it looked! But I alone – that is important – I alone am responsible." A husband cannot say "my wife is responsible for this dream." So every human being can understand.

But what about the waking state? Is it created by us? Yes. One of the understandings of ''Karma Siddhānta'' is: our parents, our family, our financial circumstances, our climate, where we are born, into which family, which coloured parents – black‑skinned, yellow‑skinned, white‑skinned, brown‑skinned – and how our physical body looks, and our fate – whether we are poor or rich, whether we can get higher education or not, whether we are fated to go to higher universities either in India or elsewhere – in fact, the whole universe is created for two purposes:
#For exhausting whatever we had earned through our past lives – to experience the resultant of our own past actions.
#At the same time, we are given an opportunity to create new ''karma''. Should we wish, we can create new ''karma''. It might take some bit of effort, depending upon the strength of our ''saṃskāras''.
===Conscious Creation===
But we have to understand: we are creating, albeit most of the time unconsciously. If we can create deliberately, consciously – that is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's advice is: cultivate holy company deliberately, go to solitary places, and understand nothing in this world can help you continuously. Accepting the reality of the world – everything is changing – that is the reality of the world. Since everything is changing, nothing can be relied upon. So do not unnecessarily intensify attachments. Live like a maidservant. All these things are possible, and all these things are done: first, to exhaust, to get the right opportunity, appropriate opportunity; second, whatever best we can do – there is enormous scope, and that is what we need to do.
===Dreams Can Be Created by Design===
Just as we create our own dreams – dreams are not forced upon us by somebody. Every single experience we had in the dream was created by us. In fact, dreams can be created according to design. There are many people who could do that, and we can also do that. Just as we created this waking state, we can also create – Nagamahāśaya's mind was totally pitched to the highest ''loka''. That is why when his aunt used to tell him in his childhood bedtime stories of gods and goddesses and stories from Hindu mythology, next morning he used to get up, run to his aunt and say: "Aunt, today I dreamt whatever you told me yesterday – I have seen Mother Cāmuṇḍā." How many gods and goddesses she had visualised, even though she said "I never knew the existence of it" – but she had strong faith. One of the greatest devotees – she had faith that gods and goddesses exist. If God exists, then goddesses, gods also exist; higher worlds exist; nothing is impossible. Because of that, she used to have strange visions.

We should not say – our modern science is likely to say – "They are all her imaginations." But my point is: whether something is an imagination or something is a reality, it makes no difference. If we imagine something as real, that affects us. If somebody is embracing a black bear thinking "I am embracing Miss Universe", it does not matter – so long as he thinks "I am in the embrace of a most beautiful woman in this world", he is a happy person. But when that imagination breaks, another imagination comes: "This is a black bear about to crush me to death" – that is also in the same pattern. So that is why it is said: "Today's imagination will be tomorrow's fact." In fact, meditation is nothing but pure imagination – of course, guided by the Guru and the scriptures.
===The Return from Deep Sleep to Dream===
So the person coming down from the state of the highest bliss experienceable in the realistic world – from the state of deep sleep – he comes through the ferry roads, as it were, through the 72,000 ''nāḍīs''. Do not question whether they are 72,000 or 7,000 – it does not matter. So if a person is coming down from deep sleep to the dream state, he must be coming – there must be a pathway, and that pathway is called the nerves.

Having come to this dream state, he roams about. What does he do? He creates – just like a spider creates its own net to catch food in the form of insects, or just like a blazing fire from which hundreds and thousands of sparks are flying all over. The point is: all these sparks have exactly the same nature – they are hot to the touch. If a spark falls upon my body, I feel the stinging. Similarly, they also give light, because the moment you see a spark, you see it even in pitch darkness. And if this spark is a little big enough, if there is any object nearby, it illumines it – self‑illuminating and other‑illuminating – that is the characteristic of fire.
===The Whole Universe Comes from Brahman===
So the whole universe has come out of the supreme reality called ''Brahman'', just as this dream example is given to make us understand – just as we create. And then one important point we have to understand here: even when we go through this dream state, nothing happens to us. Similarly, when ''Paramātman'' creates this entire universe – how many ''lokas'', billions and billions of galaxies, every galaxy is a special ''loka'' – nothing happens to ''Paramātman''. That is the second point.

Third point we have to understand: since this whole creation is coming just as from us – every day we have a different dream. On the same night, we can have different dreams. In the same dream, we can have another subset of dreams also – in dream itself, we go to bed and we can have another dream. How many layers of dreams can we have? So one moment we find here in Bangalore, next moment in Vārāṇasī, next moment in New York – every situation is different. So how many dreams? Every dream – a special dream – is a ''loka''. ''Loka'' means a special experience.
===The Nature of the Creation===
For Mahātman, He creates the whole universe, and the point we have to understand is: whatever is created partakes of the same nature as the original substance. A pot – a mud pot, a clay pot – its whole nature is nothing but clay. A golden ornament will be pure gold only. Similarly, what is the nature of ''Brahman''? Pure consciousness. So even when you think "I see this – there is a big rock" – is this consciousness? Yes, of course it is consciousness.

Many times I have tried, and many times I will tell you also: at this point, we do not know what is in the external world. We only know our thoughts. So if I have the thought of a tree – I am imagining. Just like a person sitting in front of a TV in his drawing room or visitor's room, he is experiencing a beautiful match and he is feeling as if it is going on here. Nowadays the broadcasters broadcast – some hesitation is going on somewhere, and you can see it in front of you, and there is no difference. Because whether you are even present where that cricket match is being played – that event is taking place – your eyes, your ears go out and gather the impressions and bring them to the present to the mind in the form of thoughts. And we alone know – the mind is a vast screen. On that screen these thoughts are projected, and the film is the mind. But the light is called reflected consciousness, and this reflected consciousness enlarges and makes all the impressions come to life, as it were – "I am seeing it."
===Direct and Indirect Experience===
So I am giving the essence: it does not matter whether you experience something through a phone, through a TV screen, or actually you are sitting somewhere – you are not directly experiencing sitting in front of a cricket match. You are indirectly experiencing only in front of a TV screen. Both are indirect only. Nothing is direct. You only know about your thoughts, and every thought represents the entire external – every object, any object in the entire external world. Even this thought "this is external" is also a thought only. "This is internal" – that is also a thought only. Mind‑boggling – but that is the truth. Even psychologists can tell you that, not to speak of spiritual people.
===The Two Examples===
So through these two examples, ''Paramātman''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s creation is described. So it is not impossible – He Himself is the material cause, He Himself is the intelligent cause – He is everything. For that, these two examples are given, and these two examples are not only found in the ''Bṛhadāraṇyaka'' – in the ''Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad'' also, the same examples are given in some other ''Upaniṣads'' as well; they repeat the same things.
==Mūrta and Amūrta – Visible and Invisible==
The next point we have seen: this entire creation is nothing but pure consciousness. But that pure consciousness, looked at through the prism of time, space, and causation, appears to be an infinite number of objects. So time, space, and causation limit, and this limited experience of pure consciousness in the form of this entire creation is subdivided by this ''Upaniṣad'': that which can be experienced by the eyes, etc., that is called ''Mūrta''; and that which is experienced but not seen through the eyes, that is called ''Amūrta'' – visible and invisible. So both belong to the creation only.
===Brahma Satyam, Jagat Satyam===
And then the ''Upaniṣad'', as we discussed earlier, made a categorical statement: just as ''Brahman'' is ''satyam'', this world is also ''satyam'' only. But then why do they say it is ''mithyā''? So long as we are not aware of the true nature of the cause which is ''Brahman'', we experience separatedness: "I am a tiny object in comparison with the other objects." Suppose imagine there is a small ant – a big rock falls upon that ant. The ant – at least we know the ant is small, therefore it cannot withstand this big rock. But that is its nature – this is because of ignorance. But once we understand consciousness, there is no division: small and big, white and black, great and small, subtle and all‑pervading. This is all the mind's attempt to make an understanding of that pure consciousness.
===The Roof Example===
So the ''Upaniṣad'' wants to tell – Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: once a person reaches the roof, understands what the roof is made of, he understands what the whole house is made of – the same material of which the roof is made, the whole house is made. Once a person realises ''Brahman'', which is ''satyam jñānam anantam'', then the realised soul understands everything – but it is nothing but limited; it is only ''Brahman''. But if we do not have that knowledge, that is called we are ignorant – we are under the influence of ignorance. Ignorance means limited by time, space, and causation. We think everything is separate from everything else – very small, very small (''aṇu''), very big, huge, etc. And that will create many problems and repeated births again and again.
===The Realised Soul Enjoys the Universe===
That is why once a person realises the nature of the true cause, then the effects are also realised to be of the same nature. So such a person, after the realisation, enjoys this whole universe. So that is what is said here.
==Neti Neti – The Method of Negation==
Now we will summarise whatever is there. So in order to understand ''Brahman'' is the roof – the real cause of which the entire creation (''sṛṣṭi'') had come out – ''Brahman'' is pure consciousness. Therefore, whatever comes out of ''Brahman'' – manifestation of ''Brahman'' – must be pure consciousness only, like the sparks of fire, etc. So for that we cannot understand because we are overpowered by ''Māyā'', ''ajñāna'', ''avidyā'', which is described as looking at ''Brahman'', looking at ourselves, through the prism of time, space, and causation.

So ''satyam'' means this is called ''Vyāvahārika Satyam'' – this is true so long as I am experiencing it, but this is not the final truth. So for that purpose, you have to practise certain spiritual disciplines and go to the roof, which is to realise ''Aham Brahmasmi'', and then only we will be able to understand there is nothing but ''Brahman''.
===''Neti Neti'' – Not This, Not This===
So for that purpose, what is it? ''Neti neti'' – as we discussed earlier, in the ''Taittirīya'' especially: "not this, not this." That is to say, am I the ''annamaya kośa''? No. It does not mean ''annamaya kośa'' is different from me. As I mentioned in my last classes, not only am I ''annamaya'', I am also much more. So once I realise in what way I am much more, you progress: I am ''prāṇamaya'' – ''prāṇamaya'' does not negate ''annamaya''; ''prāṇamaya'' includes ''annamaya''. ''Manomaya'' includes ''prāṇamaya''. ''Vijñānamaya'' includes ''manomaya'' – that means it includes the others – and ''ānandamaya'' includes the previous four ''kośas'' of manifestations. And then we also realise this is also a work of the mind – that is why it is called ''ānandamaya kośa''. ''Ānanda'' – pure bliss. Another name for ''Brahman'' is ''ānanda'': ''satyam jñānam ānandam'' – ''ānanda'' means unbroken bliss.
===The Story of the Bride===
So for that purpose, here in the ''Bṛhadāraṇyaka'', the famous teaching ''Neti neti'' – ''nayati nayati'' – "Did I reach the goal? No." So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa gives a beautiful example. There was a girl who was married. After marriage, her husband went away, and very few people could attend the marriage perhaps. Once her husband came to her house, and all the girlfriends of this girl (the wife who was married) gathered around her, and the bridegroom came with many of his friends. Maybe it was a special occasion, and he was sitting there outside chit‑chatting with others. The girls did not know who he was, because at the time of marriage the groom will be decorated in a special manner – everybody can recognise. But after that, that dress is no more necessary, so he is sitting like anybody.

One girl asks: "Is that your husband?" The girl smiles and says, "No." Another girl points to somebody: "No, no, no – ''neti, neti'' – not this, not this, not this, not this." Finally, only one man is left out, and some girl says: "Is he your husband?" She need not have asked, because there is nobody else left out – but she asked. The girl does not say anything; she keeps her head low, but a beatific smile spreads across her face, showing how happy she is. So everybody understands: that is her husband. So after negating everything, whatever remains – that is the truth.
===The Thorn Example===
But then, I have to tell you – as I told you also – Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's own example: the big thorn with the help of which all the other smaller thorns were completely thrown out – that also has to be thrown. That means that mind which is going through ''śravaṇa'', ''manana'', ''nididhyāsana'', being instructed by the Guru – even that also will be thrown out. But he will not throw it out automatically – with the last thorn, this discriminating mind itself will get torn out. What remains – he does not say "I am seeing pure consciousness"; he says "I am pure consciousness." This is the process of ''Neti neti''.
==The Three Essential Points==
So from these three important points, if we remember, then we have understood the essence of what we discussed so far.
===First: Jagat Mithyatva===
First, the ''Jagat Mithyatva'' – ''mithyā'' is mistaking half‑truth for absolute truth by dismissing this observable and objectifiable universe. ''Dṛśya prapañca neti neti'' proves that the universe is only a partial truth, not complete truth. That is why it is called ''mithyā''. It is not called non‑existence – it is called partial existence.
===Second: The Ultimate Reality of Brahman===
Second, the ultimate reality of ''Brahman'' – ''Brahman'' alone is the cause; the Creator alone is the real truth. Everything else is partial truth – everything else is ''satyam'', but not ''Satyasya Satyam''. For that we have to apply that process of ''Neti neti'' through the process of ''śravaṇa'', ''manana'', ''nididhyāsana'', etc.
===The Bhakti Path===
In the Bhakti path also – devotional path – exactly the same thing is repeated. How? When a person is meditating upon God, he says: "First, every devotee is a most wonderful person. So I am in every devotee – I see every devotee, and every devotee – there is no difference between me and any devotee." That is how Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: "There is no caste difference among devotees." Slowly then it expands: everything happens by the will of God, so whatever happens by the will of God, God is for my good – not only for my good, for the good of the entire universe.
===Why Suffering?===
A very profound truth we have to keep in mind. If some country is throwing bombs upon another country, our viewpoint – ignorant viewpoint – is "this is bad." But we can, from the Hindu viewpoint, expand it a little bit – I will do it very briefly.
#Nobody either suffers or enjoys except by accepting the resultant of their own past ''karma''. Then it can be happiness, it can be unhappiness. Nobody can cause either happiness or unhappiness to anybody – our own ''karmaphala'' comes through the medium of other people. That is the first thing.
#Second, that is not the only thing. So who is making this happen? There is somebody called ''Vidhātā'' – that is God – who keeps an eye on what a person has done. Such a God says: "It is better for you to be born here because that is the best chance for you." As we discussed today itself – not only to exhaust your ''prārabdha karma'', but to create better ''karma''. So whether we are happy or unhappy, a tremendous opportunity is given. Not only every birth, but every morning as soon as we wake up, God gives us 24 hours until the next day. So we will have to do certain things; we do not know what to do. For that, the scriptures are there, but the scriptures are difficult to understand. So there is a teacher, and the teacher is an experienced person and he understands the students and he tells us.
#The point is: whatever happens in our life, it is for good. That is a point we have to understand. Nobody is making another happy or suffer – first point. And if we are undergoing suffering, it is natural for us to feel sympathy, and that is a very excellent spiritual quality that shows we have to share what we have, so that in future whatever we share will come back to us. That is what we discussed in the ''Taittirīya Upaniṣad'': the only best way of saving food is to share it with others. Whatever food we share with others will be shared and comes back to us through the other people.
===Questioning God===
This is the point, and anybody who refuses to accept this view is not a spiritual person, because he is questioning God. This is the third point. If anybody claims "I am a strong believer in God" and then still says "Why is there so much evil in this world?" – then he is the most foolish, arrogant person in the whole world. You do not claim you have any faith in God. If God is the Creator, He is all good – ''sarva-maṅgala'' – and what God does, only He knows, and whatever He does is for the good of every one of us – no doubt about it. That is why it is called ''līlā'' – pretence.
===Third: The Identity of the Self and Brahman===
''Brahma satyatvam'' – and in course of time, ''Jagat satyatvam'' – there is no such division called ''Brahman'' and the world. And then what is the third truth? The identity of the Self and ''Brahman'' – ''jīvo brahmaiva nāparaḥ'' – is an expansion of Śaṅkara's condensation of his entire teaching: ''Brahma satyam, jagat mithyā, jīvo brahmaiva nāparaḥ''. That middle one is the problematic one – "this world is an illusion." And the idea we have about illusion is not a good idea – that is why it is a very horrible idea. Illusion means untrue. But the ''Upaniṣad'' says it is not an illusion – it is a half‑understood truth. So true – it is a truth. A snake is a half‑understood snake – that is how we have to understand it.

Everything – not only ''jīva'' means what? Every being, including a mosquito – not only a living being, even the non‑living – it all falls under the category of ''sat''. Only ''cit'' and ''ānanda'' are not manifest here.
===Why Deep Sleep Is Discussed===
So why is deep sleep discussed? Ultimately, deep sleep is the best example to demonstrate that our waking individuality is merely an incidental transactional state. Similarly, the dream state also – by showing that we naturally resort to a state of formless, boundaryless awareness every night, deep sleep reveals that our permanent identity is nothing but ''Brahman''. Even from a practical point of view, it is this: even if you are enjoying something very pleasant – intense happiness you are getting – it does not last much longer. But look at the wonder of this deep sleep – for nearly several hours, without the least bit of break, we enjoy the highest bliss. If that is not an exemplar, I do not know what else is.
===The Neti Neti Methodology===
So what is this ''Neti neti'' methodology? "I am not the waker. I am not the dreamer, nor am I the sleeper. I am the one who is the experiencer – follow these. Hence, I am the seer, not the seen." This is the essence of the third ''Brāhmaṇa''.

With this, this third ''Brāhmaṇa'' – the inter‑section – is over.
==Preview of Yājñavalkya-Maitreyī Dialogue==
Now we are going to enter into one of the most marvellous sections – that is called the dialogue between Yājñavalkya and Maitreyī. We will start it 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 1.2-13 Lecture 46 on 28 June 2026

2026-08-28T15:27:17Z

Gayatri:

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.'''

'''''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.'''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

'''OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH'''

'''OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.'''

'''OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.'''

==Introduction: Gārgya and Ajātaśatru==
In our last class, we started analysing what Gārgya was trying to teach to Ajātaśatru, and how after hearing from Gārgya, Ajātaśatru started adding some more upāsanas. '''Every upāsana is a divine quality to be acquired by one who is aspiring to become Brahman'''—to become '''a fit recipient, to become a worthy student.'''
===The Essence of Vedānta===
So we have discussed two of those upāsanas. '''So one''' was the '''Sun. According to Vedānta'''—that means Hinduism is a common name for Vedānta. Vedānta, by the way, should not be identified with Advaita. '''Vedānta means the essence of the Vedas,''' which includes the dualistic philosophy, qualified non-dualistic philosophy, and also the highest non-dualistic philosophy—'''Dvaita, Viśiṣṭādvaita, and Advaita'''. The '''essence of these upāsanās''' is: '''each soul is potentially divine'''. The word "potentiality" means—in our understanding—forgotten divinity. Each soul has forgotten that he is the Divine, and we remember that we are not divine, but we are something else; we are individuals.
===Who Is an Advanced Human Being?===
This enquiry does not fit for any other non-human being, only to human beings—that too, '''advanced human beings.''' And who are the advanced human beings? '''Those who need not struggle for survival, those who have enough'''. Why do we say that? Because if somebody—let us say a field worker—he cannot survive without working. So manual labour is the only way for him to continue his living. Such persons have limited time and limited capacity, limited intelligence. Therefore, we have to understand that certain conditions need to be fulfilled.
===The Three Conditions===
A person, '''firs'''t of all, is '''highly developed in intellec'''t.

'''Second''', he has '''gone through all these experiences through many a life—'''many janmas.

'''Thirdly,''' he has '''started analysing himself'''. Then he found out whatever he experienced, he was lacking. And then only the enquiry comes: "I have thoroughly examined the entire physical phenomena, the external world, and I do not see what can fulfil my true desire."

And then '''he turns inward''', and then he has to struggle through various stages.
===The Need for a Guru===
For such a student, he has to become a student, because '''no student can ever understand what the scripture tells except through a Guru.''' Even in the case of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, when he intuitively understood that only my Divine Mother is my Guru, he surrendered himself—like Arjuna:

'''शिष्यस्तेऽहं शाधि मां त्वां प्रपन्नम्.'''

''śiṣyas te 'haṃ śādhi māṃ tvāṃ prapannam. [Bhagavad Gita 2.7]''

Whenever we read about this particular line in the second chapter, we have to remind how Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said: "I am a fool." He was not a fool—but "fool" in what sense? That I do not know anything about Brahmavidyā. But he was not a fool with regard to worldly objects and worldly experiences. His understanding of the world, his knowledge of the world, is far superior to any other person. He understands by analysing thoroughly, objectively, that really speaking, he finds out there is no essence there; it is only an illusion. And then only he stops searching for what he wants to achieve outside and turns his attention inside.
===Daivī Sampat['''''दैवी सम्पत्'''''.]===
But even that turning inside—to become a fit disciple—he has to acquire what Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa says: '''''Daivī Sampatदैवी सम्पत्'''''.[''Srimad Bhagavad Gita (Daivasurasampadvibhagayoga)'' 16.1-3] And there are many—and I told you earlier that these qualities, whether demonic or divine or spiritual, come in gangs/ groups. You cannot have one single without being supported by the other, either way. So Ajātaśatru found out Gārgya was having some spiritual qualities. He was humble; he was ready and open to truth from wherever it comes. So that is why God—in the form of Ajātaśatru—has started helping Gārgya: "You develop these qualities." How did he help? "You contemplate this particular quality. Go on thinking day in and day out; meditate with perfect concentration. And what we think, that is what we become."
===The Twelve Upāsanas===
So, as I said, it is not mentioned here, but as soon as Ajātaśatru taught him—"These are the qualities you have to develop"—immediately Gārgya must have practised. We do not know whether it took months or years; that is not mentioned. But we have to presume that Gārgya had acquired one by one, one after the other, those divine spiritual qualities—''Daivī Sampat'''दैवी सम्पत्'''''—and then only Ajātaśatru proceeds to the next stage. This is the development.

And then there were '''twelve upāsanas''' mentioned by Gārgya of which he was aware only partially, not in their fullness. And Ajātaśatru completes the understanding of Gārgya, makes him contemplate upon those—the specific word used here is upasana '''''upāseउपासे'''''—"O Gārgya, you do contemplation on this particular quality also."
===The Psychological Fact===
So we were trying to analyse those qualities, and we have already taken up two or three qualities. We will just remind. The first is his meditation on the '''Sun—Āditya'''. As I mentioned, never forget: t'''he sun, the moon, the lightning, the vāyu (air), the ākāśa'''—all these are '''nature,''' but nature as '''Brahman Devatā'''. So certain qualities are superimposed upon them. Even though—let us take an example—even though there is a stone image of Śiva—Śivaliṅga—but by taking it as a support, a true Śiva-bhakta (devotee of Śiva) contemplates: "My Iṣṭadevatā (chosen deity) is all-pervading, all-compassionate, all-forgiving, and He is the supreme most. He is the praiseworthy." Like that, thinking of one particular quality until it becomes one's own nature is the real result. That also the Upaniṣad mentions: if anybody contemplates in this particular way, he becomes the most important person, he acquires tremendous spiritual splendour, he becomes the greatest, he becomes the most intelligent person, etc. So whatever we think, that is what we become. And this is a psychological fact which has been accepted by every psychologist.
===The Devatās===
So first '''Āditya,''' then we have seen three qualities added.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवासावादित्ये पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा अतिष्ठाः सर्वेषां भूतानां मूर्धा राजेति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्तेऽतिष्ठाः सर्वेषां भूतानां मूर्धा राजा भवति॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.2'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāsāvāditye puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā atiṣṭhāḥ sarveṣāṁ bhūtānāṁ mūrdhā rājeti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste'atiṣṭhāḥ sarveṣāṁ bhūtānāṁ mūrdhā rājā bhavati||

And then he took up '''Chandra is the second'''.

स होवाच गार्ग्योः य एवासौ चन्द्रे पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा बृहन्पाण्दरवासाः सोमो राजेति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्तेहरहर्ह सुतः प्रसुतो भवति नास्यान्नं क्षीयते॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.3'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyoḥ ya evāsau candre puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā bṛhanpāṇdaravāsāḥ somo rājeti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāsteaharaharha sutaḥ prasuto bhavati nāsyānnaṁ kṣīyate||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.3'''

And '''Chandra Devatā, Sūrya Devatā, Vidyud Devatā, e'''tc.—we have to add, even though that epithet is not given in this Upaniṣad. '''So what is a Devatā?''' Without whose existence, our existence is not possible. So the one particular aspect of our existence combined—'''''samaṣṭi'', universal—'''is called Devatā. So the moon is taken up, and that '''Chandra Devatā is meditated upon as Hiraṇyagarbha.''' Now one of the qualities is '''Hiraṇyagarbha quality.''' So Ajātaśatru—the Guru, now the teacher—adds three qualities: '''''Bṛhat'', ''Pāṇḍaravat'', ''Somarāja'''''. '''बृहन्पाण्दरवासाः सोमो राजेति वा''' And incidentally, '''these are also the qualities of Prāṇadevatāप्रानदेवत—''samaṣṭi'' समष्टिPrāṇadevatā.''' Whenever I say ''prāṇa'', it is individual. Whenever I say ''Prāṇadevatā'', you have to understand it is the presiding deity, the person—the Devatā—who is manifesting in everybody in that particular format. Please keep this in mind.
===The Three Qualities of Chandra'''चन्द्र उपासना'''===
'''''Bṛhat''''' '''बृहत्'''means he becomes expanded. Just as a person who comes after a hard work—a manual labourer comes back—imagine there is a full moon and then he stands. It is likely he forgets the whole world because the Chandra Devatā delights everybody, gives joy to everybody, and it is the purest white. And His grace—Chandra Devatā's grace—is on everybody. '''So ''Bṛhat'' means indiscriminately bestowing His grace upon everybody.'''

'''''Pāṇḍaravatपान्दरवत्'''''—pure. ''Pāṇḍu'' means white; pure means ''śuddhaशुद्ध''. Very pure. So the '''upāsaka becomes pure'''. The upāsaka delights everybody because happiness is his very nature, and that is indicated as the '''third quality—''Somarājaसोमराजः''.''' ''Soma'' is a kind of plant, and they used to extract the juice which is like a mild intoxicant, and it gives tremendous joy, lifts up at least temporarily. And we have to imagine that is why ecstasy is another name for another of these drugs—ecstatic state. However, whatever be the state previously, as soon as a person imbibes, immediately he becomes tremendously aware of a change of consciousness, a change of perception. That means his '''mind forgets temporarily his temporary state of body and mind and enters into a delightful state.''' That is why they are so addictive. So '''''Somarājaḥसोमराजः'''''. It is also said that the '''Soma plant creeper only grows in plenty and in fullness only when the moonlight influences''' it. So they are connected together. But it is a well-known scientific fact that a full moon—when you stand in front of it—certainly delights everybody's heart.
===The Result===
So these are the three qualities: '''''Bṛhat'', ''Pāṇḍaravat'', ''Somarāja'''''.'''बृहन्पाण्दरवासाः सोमो राजेति वा''' And as I mentioned, these are also happen to be the qualities of '''''samaṣṭi समष्टिPrāṇadevatāप्रानदेवत''''', and that is going to come later on. So anybody who meditates becomes great, becomes pure, and becomes a very delightful, happy personality towards whom everybody is attracted. Because we are really attracted only towards happiness. A man looks at a woman, thinks she is very beautiful. It is not the beauty; it is the happiness that the concept of beauty brings. A man looks at a sweet; it is not the sweet; it is the delight, the happiness that is the resultant of coming into contact with that sweet, becoming that sweet, '''becoming one with him when he eats, and that quality of happiness temporarily becomes one with this person. S'''o we are not really attracted to any object, but '''we are attracted towards what is happiness, but mistakenly manifested, mistakenly understood as the properties of those attractive, desirable objects.'''
===Vidyut (Lightning)'''विद्युत् उपासना'''===
So we have seen that one. '''''Vidyut''''' is also we discussed.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवास्यौ विद्युति पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठाः तेजस्वीति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते तेजस्वी ह भवति तेजस्विनी हास्य प्रजा भवति॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.4'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāsyau vidyuti puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhāḥ tejasvīti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste tejasvī ha bhavati tejasvinī hāsya prajā bhavati||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.4'''

So Ajātaśatru heard from Gārgya: "I contemplate upon lightning." And then Ajātaśatru says: "That is okay; that is a good thing. But I contemplate upon this lightning as '''''Tejasvīतेजस्वी''—Hiraṇyagarbha हिरण्यगर्भ.'''" Remember, the ''vidyut'' (lightning) is an aspect of Hiraṇyagarbha. The moon is an aspect of Hiraṇyagarbha. The sun is an aspect of Hiraṇyagarbha. As I mentioned yesterday, all the presiding deities are the combined particular quality in every human, in every living creature. As an example, just to remind you: '''all the seeing power in every creature in the form of the eye—all the eyes combined—''sahasrākṣaḥ sahasrapāt सहस्राक्षः सहस्रपात्''''' ''Purusha Suktam-- from Rig Veda - Mandala 10 - Sukta 90 mantra 1''']'''''<nowiki/>'''—so that is called Sūrya Devatā.''' So '''all the minds together is called the Chandra Devatā. A'''nd here '''''Tejasvī'' means splendour.''' There is a special splendour. It is not a power that emanates; it is a natural quality because lightning means light. Tremendous power is there. So '''''tejas''—power''', tremendous commanding capacity, and a brilliant shining personality. All these qualities are involved in this meditation upāsana called '''''Tejasvī''.''' So Ajātaśatru says: "I meditate upon lightning as ''tejas''—divine splendour." And whoever meditates, that becomes that particular person's own nature, part of his personality. So he becomes ''Tejasvī''. That is why I said: saints' heads are often depicted as having a halo like that.
==Ākāśa Upāsana ['''आकाश उपासना''']==
The next upāsana, the f'''ourth upāsana, is called Ākāśa Upāsana.'''

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायमाकाशे पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठाः पूर्णमप्रवर्तीति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते पूर्यते प्रजया पशुभिः नास्यास्माल्लोकात्प्रजोद्वर्तते॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.5'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyamākāśe puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhāḥ pūrṇamapravartīti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste pūryate prajayā paśubhiḥ nāsyāsmāllokātprajodvartate||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.5'''

And when we are talking about this Ākāśa Upāsana earlier, we have seen what are the '''similarities between Ākāśa and Ātman'''. Ākāśa is the very first manifestation of Ātman. So both are infinite; both are uncontaminable—nothing can touch them. Both are indivisible; both are all-pervading; both are supporting everything in this world. So inevitably, everyone has to meditate upon Ākāśa, succeed in it at least to some extent. Then he will have a glimpse of what Ātman could be.
===Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Experience===
I also quoted what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's own experience: "I was like a bird flying in the infinite sky." And do not immediately say that it falls. Suppose the bird gets tired and then falls down and then dashes itself against the earth or a rock and dies. These are called negative thoughts; they should not be entertained. Ākāśa means infinite. In infinity, there is no up and down, east or west, above and below. Nothing is there. So that is a beautiful meditation—joyously flying. There is no other being excepting me. And this is a very high and difficult upāsana to practise.
===The Two Qualities of Ākāśa===
Here it is. I am just reminding you: Gārgya said, "I worship—I do upāsana—on Ākāśa.'''" He says with two special glories—''Pūrṇaḥ'' पूर्णःand ''Apravṛttiअप्रवृत्ति''.''' So why ''Pūrṇa''? Because whenever we objectify a thing, the objectifying means it is limited. But Ākāśa is unlimited. Therefore, we have to think—even though it is a thought, even though the mind can only think in limited terms, limited by time, space, and causation—we have to intellectually contemplate it as '''''Pūrṇaḥपूर्णः''.''' ''Pūrṇaḥपूर्णः'' means infinite.

'''पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पूर्णमुदच्यते | पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ||'''

'''''pūrṇamadaḥ pūrṇamidaṃ pūrṇāt pūrṇamudacyate |'' pūrṇasya pūrṇamādāya pūrṇamevāvaśiṣyate ||-'''''shanti mantra from yajurveda''

So it is ''Pūrṇam''. And then '''''Apravṛttiअप्रवृत्ति''—that means actionless'''. So light is actionless. I say "light is illumining" as an example. All these concepts require a little bit of self-analysis. So light is illumining an object—that is how we express. Without light, I cannot see an object, experience an object, but as soon as light comes—either electricity or natural light—immediately it illumines. But our understanding should be deeper. You go and suppose you ask the light: "Did you illumine?" It says: "What are you talking about? I do not know anything about illuminating anything." Because if light thinks "I am illuminating," then it is a quality of the light, and sometimes the quality can be manifest, sometimes unmanifest. That means what? Sometimes the light decides: "I will show this person what this object is." And another time: "I do not like this person, so I am not going to illuminate." Light will be there, but that illumination will be absent—by the will of the light. But that is not the case. Fire burns; fire does not know anything. But in its presence, by its very nature, anything that comes into contact—even nearby contact—with fire automatically burns. It has nothing to do with the fire. This is illumining without the thought that "I am illumining." That is the concept we must have with regard to so many things.
===Ākāśa as Supporter===
With Ākāśa, it is the supporter of all, and it is uncontaminable. So that is why it is said that any number of impurities can be thrown into space, but space is never contaminated. So this is how one has to understand, though Ākāśa does not really do anything. But without Ākāśa, nothing can be done. You cannot construct a house. You cannot construct a workspace. You cannot move one millimetre if there were to be no space. But space itself does not know anything about it. It is '''''asparśa''—अस्पर्श'''completely non-touchable, non-influenceable. That is how one has to understand. It does not act, and i'''t is also ''kriyā-rahita'''''. '''क्रिया रहित''' ''Pūrṇaḥ''—it is infinite, and in infinity, there is no time, space, and causation. There is no action; there is no inaction. That is how we have to understand.
===The Result of This Upāsana===
"This is how I meditated before I attained Brahmajñāna," says Ajātaśatru to Gārgya. "You also must acquire these qualities." What does it mean? You become a Karma Yogi. You feel that "the cause of me is Brahman. I am the Ātman. I am '''''Pūrṇamadaḥ'', ''Pūrṇamidamपूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं''''' . And I do not need to do anything because I am Sat-Cit-Ānanda by my very nature." So if I am of the nature of bliss, if I do something, you know what happens? Instead of being happy, I will be subjected to unhappiness because an object is limiting. An object definitely limits the subject also. So we must go beyond subject and object.
===Upāsana Means Becoming One===
So Ajātaśatru teaches Gārgya: "You do upāsana." I am using this word '''''upāsana''''' because meditation, contemplation, concentration—these words really do not express what can be expressed by this word'''. ''Upāsana''''' means what? '''Completely becoming one with the object of our contemplation.''' So He is infinite, and whatever is infinite is beyond any action, because everything that a person does is to obtain something which is not there. But when he becomes infinite, the subject, the object, the desirable, the undesirable—everything is included in the ''Pūrṇa''. Actually speaking, there is nothing undesirable. Even the worst thing is nothing but Brahman.
===The Example of Bhairavī Brāhmaṇī===
And in order to teach this lesson to Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, while Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was practising Tāntrika sādhana, Bhairavī Brāhmaṇī did so many things. I will only mention two. One day she brought some faeces and said: "My child, please taste them—not eat them, but taste them." And a revolution had arisen in the mind of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. And then Bhairavī Brāhmaṇī perceived it and said: "What is there? Look here, I am doing it." And without any revulsion or hatred, how can it be done? Only by considering it as a manifestation of the Divine Mother who is everywhere—or Brahman, if you like. So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said: "Immediately I was possessed by Caṇḍikā, and immediately I had no revulsion at all."
===The Dung Beetle===
Actually, look at it. There is a beetle called dung beetle. And the dung beetle's food is only dung. What is dung for us is the nutritious food for the dung beetle. And if you can imagine a dung beetle—a devotee of Brahman? In fact, there is no one who is not a devotee of Brahman, because every creature's unconscious prayer is: '''"Let me exist forever; let me be full of consciousness; let me be ''Ānandasvarūpa''—''asato mā sadgamaya'', etc."'''

'''[ॐ असतो मा सद्गमय[oṃ asato mā sadgamaya,]'''

'''तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय,[tamaso mā jyotirgamaya]'''

'''मृत्योर्मा अमृतं गमय[mṛtyormā amṛtaṃ gamaya]''[Brihad . Upanishad 1.3.28'']'''

These are called '''Abhyaroha Mantras['''''ref.lecture 20 dated 29th march 202'''''6]'''

So unconsciously, we are all—there is nobody from that viewpoint who is a disbeliever in God. Only if you use the word "God," there will be a problem. But if you believe that '''God means existence, pure consciousness, and unbroken bliss—''ānanda''—then everybody wants only God.''' Everybody is a spark of God. Everybody is a devotee of God. Only temporarily, our mind does not allow us to recognise that fact.
===Apravṛtti '''''अप्रवृत्ति''''' and Kriyāvān'''''क्रियावान'''''===
So ''Apravṛtti'','''''अप्रवृत्ति''''' ''kriyāvān'''क्रियावान'''''—this is how: all the full ''ānanda'' is within me. I do not desire anything other than '''''ānanda''.''' An object is desired only if I think I do not have the ''ānanda'' of this particular object—for example, a sweet—then I desire sweet. When I am having unbroken happiness, my ''ānanda'' is ''pūrṇa''—infinite. Where is the question of any desire? Where there is no desire, there is absolutely no action.
==Vāyu Upāsana ['''वायु उपासना''']==
The next upāsana is '''Vāyu'''.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायं वायौ पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा इन्द्रो वैकुण्ठोऽपराजिता सेनेति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते जिष्णुर्हापराजिष्णुर्भवत्यन्यतस्त्यजायी॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.6'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyaṁ vāyau puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā indro vaikuṇṭho'parājitā seneti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste jiṣṇurhāparājiṣṇurbhavatyanyatastyajāyī||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.6'''

You know, slowly some of the Pañcabhūtas are taken out for upāsana. Vāyu means air. We all know Vāyu means oxygen—Prāṇadevatā'''प्रानदेवत'''. Without breathing sixteen times a minute, we will not be able to survive. And those who suffer from asthma, they understand what I am talking much better. So you close your nostrils and hold up your breathing—you will understand what I am talking about.
===The Three Glories of Vāyudevatā===
So here also the three glories are there of Vāyudevatā, that is Prāṇadevatā: '''''Indraḥ'', ''Vaikuṇṭhaḥ'', ''Aparājitasenāḥइन्द्रो वैकुण्ठोऽपराजिता सेनेति वा'''''. ''Indra'' '''इन्द्र'''means Īśvara, because what is the first thing? Life. "I want to be, I want to exist"—and that comes only from Prāṇadevatā'''प्रानदेवत'''. Prāṇadevatā comes in the form of Vāyu, especially oxygen. What is oxygen for human beings and other animals is poison to all the plants. So for the plants, what we breathe out—that is called carbon dioxide—that is the oxygen for them. So in whichever case—oxygen or carbon dioxide—both are manifestations of Vāyudevatā, Prāṇadevatā.
===The Three Qualities===
He has got—you are contemplating fine. But now you have to contemplate the same '''Vāyu as Hiraṇyagarbha'''—as '''''Indraḥइन्द्र'''''—the king of the kings; and '''''Vaikuṇṭhaḥवैकुण्ठ:''—'''meaning extremely intelligent, '''''amandaḥअमन्दः'''''—do not imagine Nārāyaṇa's loka Vaikuṇṭha. In fact, it is where there is '''no ''kuṇṭhaकुण्ठ:'''''—there is '''no lack'''—and pure consciousness is the location where God is revealed. Therefore, Vaikuṇṭha means '''''amandaḥअमन्दः''—not at all dull'''. That means he is very intelligent, he is active, he is energetic, he is agile, dynamic, etc. And '''''Aparājitasenāḥअपराजित सेनाः''—one whose army is never defeated,''' one who has got invincible forces or undefeatable power. ''Aparājitasenāḥ''—that means one who has got an army which is invincible.
===The Spiritual Context===
But how do we understand in the spiritual context? We have to understand that the spiritual qualities—if I possess the spiritual quality of particularly this Vāyudevatā—then any amount of unspiritual forces (what in the ancient days, especially Christian saints, used to term as demons, devils) they cannot defeat me.
===The Story of the Saint and the Devil===
There is a beautiful story. There was a great saint, and the devil wanted to conquer him. So he came to him and revealed himself as an angel, thinking: "This person will become very proud—'Oh, what a great man I am! I had the vision of Saint Peter the Great angels.'" But the saint was too clever for this devil. Devils are not clever at all; now their thinking is very limited. So the angel is telling: "I have come from God. Rejoice!" Immediately the saint says: "I am not such a great soul that God can bestow—send his angels to me. So I do not deserve your vision." The moment the devil hears it, he hangs his head down and immediately flees away. There is no way to conquer this saint. Whereas a lower person thinks: " how fortunate I am!" So for a few days he will think—in fact, there are so many stories which I am not going to go into.
===Humility===
So this person is humility itself. Therefore, when a person is so humble:

'''तृणादपि सुनीचेन.'''

'''''tṛṇād api sunīcena.- ['''shikshashtakam verse 3 by Sri chaitanya mahaprabhu]''

That is what Caitanya Mahāprabhu says: "Even lower than a blade of grass"—considering himself or herself lower than a blade of grass—and nothing can defeat him. Because if a devil comes, he will say: "I am not equal to you; you are greater than me." And there is nothing the devil can do to this humble person. Humility means complete possession by the Spirit of God; when we make space, then pure Ākāśa—pure air—takes its place. When we empty our heart, pure divinity will be manifesting there.
===Hanumān and Bhīmasena===
So Vāyu is the most powerful. That is why Añjaneya—nobody can defeat him:

'''मनोजवं मारुततुल्यवेगं जितेन्द्रियं बुद्धिमतां वरिष्ठम् | वातात्मजं वानरयूथमुख्यं श्रीरामदूतं शिरसा नमामि || ['''Ramaraksha stotram verse 33''']'''

'''''manojavaṃ mārutatulyavegaṃ jitendriyaṃ buddhimatāṃ variṣṭham |'' vātātmajaṃ vānarayūthamukhyaṃ śrīrāmadūtaṃ śirasā namāmi ||Ramaraksha stotram verse 33]'''

And Bhīmasena—so in the Mahābhārata, Añjaneya wanted to bestow his grace on Bhīmasena. So he took the form of an old monkey with a thick big tail lying on a narrow path. Bhīmasena said: "You please withdraw your form. I want to cross, otherwise you are elderly, so I do not want to step over you." And the old monkey—Añjaneya—said: "I am too weak. Will you please help me just to put my tail to a side first?" So Bhīmasena tried with one finger—little finger—could not. Then he used all the five fingers—could not. He used one hand—could not. Used both hands—could not. And he used all his energy—could not. Immediately that flashed in his head: "This is not an ordinary old monkey. It must be my eldest brother, elder brother Añjaneya." Immediately he fell at his feet. They were all spiritual people, these Pañca Pāṇḍavas. So immediately Añjaneya gave him a boon: "Tell your Arjuna to keep a flag, and in that flag I will reside, and whoever looks at this flag, his heart will fail on the spot." So Bhīmasena was very, very strong. Añjaneya was invincible. So that is the ''senā''. Whoever has got the grace of Vāyudevatā becomes invincible, and even Mṛtyudevatā does not dare to come near until the allotted time has come.
=='''Agni Upāsana [अग्नि उपासना]'''==
The next upāsana is Agni—fire.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायमग्नौ पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा विषासहिरिति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते विषासहिर्ह भवति विषासहिर्हास्य प्रजा भवति॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.7'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyamagnau puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā viṣāsahiriti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste viṣāsahirha bhavati viṣāsahirhāsya prajā bhavati||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.7'''

So only one '''''viśeṣaṇa''''' is there. What is it? '''''Viśhasāhā''.विषासहिरिति''' वा ''Viśhasāhā'' means Agni. Whatever we throw into the fire, it accepts it, burns it—even if it is the most impure, it will not keep it. So that is why He will not get angry with you. "Why did you throw this impure thing into me?" He turns everything into the purest. Throw into fire anything that is pure or impure—everything it will turn into the most purest substance by breaking down, absorbing, destroying all the impurities. That is why fire is called the most purifying aspect. So Agni takes anything given to it, and He does not complain. Whatever we give, He accepts it. And if we give with devotion, He will turn it completely into something very pure.
=='''Apaḥ (Water) Upāsana[''आपःउपासना]'''''==
The next is '''''Apaḥआपः'''''—water.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायमप्सु पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठाः प्रतिरूप इति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते प्रतिरूप हैवैनमुपगच्छति नाप्रतिरूपमथो प्रतिरुपोऽस्माज्जायते॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.8'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyamapsu puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhāḥ pratirūpa iti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste pratirūpa haivainamupagacchati nāpratirūpamatho pratirupo'smājjāyate||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.8'''

We know one of the Pañca Devatās. Agni we have seen, Vāyu we have seen. So take it—''Apaḥ'' आपःmeans water. Water is taken for upāsana, and here Ajātaśatru adds one more specific quality of Hiraṇyagarbha for Gārgya to contemplate upon. It is called ''Pratirūpa'','''प्रतिरूप''' meaning ''samāna-rūpam'''समान रूपं'''''—that is to say, if you peer into flowing water, as we have seen how Prajāpati instructed: "Bring a big pail of water and look yourselves into it—without dressing up, after dressing up—and what you see that is your true self." One step further in spiritual progress. So ''samāna-rūpam'''समान रूपं''''', ''pratirūpaḥ'''प्रतिरूप'''''—it means it reflects. But even a better reflector is there—that is called a mirror. We are going to come to it.
===The Result===
So what does it mean? What is the result the person will get? If anybody contemplates Hiraṇyagarbha in the form of this water, then the result he will get is '''''samāna-putra-prāpt'''i'''समान''' '''पुत्र प्राप्ति''''''''.''' His children will be as spiritual people as the father and mother are. Whether it is sons or daughters, they will also be—all of them will be only good children, taking after the mother and like the father.
=='''Ādarśa (Mirror) Upāsana [आदर्शः''उपासना]'''''==
The next higher is called '''''Ādarśa''.आदर्शः'''

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायमादर्शे पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा रोचिष्णुरिति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते रोचिष्णुर्ह भवति रोचिष्णुर्हास्य प्रजा भवत्यथो यैः संनिगच्छति सर्वास्तानतिरोचते॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.9'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyamādarśe puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā rociṣṇuriti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste rociṣṇurha bhavati rociṣṇurhāsya prajā bhavatyatho yaiḥ saṁnigacchati sarvāstānatirocate||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.9'''

'''''Ādarśa'' आदर्शः'''in Sanskrit means what we call mirror. What does a mirror do? It reflects. So Hiraṇyagarbha, if he is meditated upon with this quality called mirror quality, then what happens—that he reflects: "This is what you are." What does it mean? An ordinary mirror actually reflects. If a monkey stands in front of a mirror, only a monkey's ''svarūpa'' will come. But this is not an ordinary mirror; it is Hiraṇyagarbha. So when even an ignorant person stands in front of this Hiraṇyagarbha in the form of contemplating him as a mirror, that mirror called Hiraṇyagarbha reflects and shows: "You are not an ordinary human being; you are Hiraṇyagarbha." So the ''pratirūpa''—the reflection of the person who is standing in front of this divine mirror called Hiraṇyagarbha—the '''divine mirror only reflects divinity'''. So this is '''''svaccha-svabhāvaḥ'', ''śuddha-svabhāvaḥ''—pure Hiraṇyagarbha's ''svarūpaḥ''.''' So that is the eighth.
=='''Yantam Paścāt ŚabdaḥUpāsana यन्तं पश्चाच्छब्द:''उपासना'''''==
Then we will see the '''ninth one—''Yantam paścāt śabdaḥ''.'''

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायं यन्तं पश्चाच्छब्दोऽनूदेत्येतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुमा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा असुरिति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते सर्व हैवास्मिल्लोक आयुरेति नैनं पुरा कालात्प्राणो जहाति॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.10'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyaṁ yantaṁ paścācchabdo'nūdetyetamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrumā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā asuriti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste sarva haivāsmilloka āyureti nainaṁ purā kālātprāṇo jahāti||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.10'''

Supposing a person is running, and after some time his breathing becomes gasping. And meditate upon Hiraṇyagarbha with that gasping sound'''—''paścāt yantam'' ,''' '''''paścāt śabdaḥपश्चाच्छब्द:''. ''Yantamयन्तं''''' means one who is walking for a long time or running for a long time. '''''Paścāt''—after a long time''', what type of breathing comes out of that person who is running—that gasping sound. Gasping means what? He is trying to inhale more amount of oxygen. Meditate upon that. So every asthmatic patient knows, and it may be very convenient for him to do this one. So what is the Hiraṇyagarbha's quality? Meditate Hiraṇyagarbha as that—so '''''anuguṇatvena अनु गुणत्वेनprāṇaguṇatvenaप्राण गुणत्वेन'''''. That is to say, this person will obtain plenty of life energy from the source of this life energy, which is Hiraṇyagarbha, and this person lives for a long time because he will not suffer from this if he meditates upon him like that.
===The Example of Lakṣmī Devī===
Supposing a beggar meditates upon Lakṣmī Devī—then as a result of that meditation, he identifies: "I am full of wealth." And thereafter he really gets the happiness of being a wealthy man, even if he does not have wealth. What wealth Śudhiram had, what wealth Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa had, what wealth Holy Mother had—but whoever went there, she uplifted their mind, the people's mind to a very high level.
===The Anecdote from 1973===
I have to remind you one of my anecdotes. In 1973, I was living at—not Mother's house—Balarāma Bābū's house, and the court just had given its verdict that this belongs to the Ramakrishna Order according to the will of Kṛṣṇamayī, the granddaughter of Balarāma Bābū's. And the court case had taken, I think, more than 30–35 years. Anyway, the verdict had come. I was living there, and I used to go for food, etc., to Mother's house, which is the most pleasant experience because going to Mother's house means most enjoyable things are available. You do not need to pray to Mother; they are already there. You go—if you make yourself as hungry as possible, you can enjoy that.
===The Sevaka's Reminiscence===
There was a sevaka, a person who served as an attendant to Holy Mother. He was very old—I forget his name now. So I was eager to know his reminiscences of while he was living with Holy Mother. Then specifically I asked: "So what about your ''kāma''—lust?" Because they were all very young youth, and there were so many women there—young women. And the women need not be Miss Universes, because when a person is in this mood of lust, any woman would look very beautiful. Then the Swami told me something extraordinary. He said: "So long as Holy Mother was alive, even the thought that I am a male never arose in all those male attendants." Then he added: "The moment Holy Mother passed away, as if we have come out of the river Gaṅgā, all the old sins are sitting on the branches on the bank of the river, and they all jumped. Now we have to struggle like anybody else." But then he said that because I distinctly remember how I was living in her presence, I meditate upon it, and that helps me to overcome. Old age is no obstruction for ''kāma'', ''krodha'', ''lobha'', ''moha'', ''mada'', ''mātsarya''—keep it in mind. So that is the result.
=='''Dik (Directions) Upāsana [दिक् उपासना]'''==
'''Then it comes on directions—''dik''.'''

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायं दिक्षु पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा द्वितीयोऽनपग इति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते द्वितीयवान्ह भवति नास्माद्गणश्छिद्यते॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.11'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyaṁ dikṣu puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā dvitīyo'napaga iti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste dvitīyavānha bhavati nāsmādgaṇaśchidyate||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.11'''

You know, Hinduism divides all this into four categories: '''East, West, South, North, and also in between'''—East and West, East and South, South and West, West and North. We call it ''Aṇaivai[?]''—you remember easily—mnemonics. So if somebody does contemplation upon it, what does he become? He gets two qualities: द्वितीयवानalways there will be somebody with him to help him, to serve him. He will never be without a second person taking care of him as long as the person is alive. So'''अभिन्नवियुक्तत्वम्'''Abhinnaviyuktatvam—that means inseparableness. So if a person is married, wife and husband live—only they die at the same time. But they will never be separable; they will not suffer from the separateness of one person dying.
===The Result===
'''''य एतमेवमुपास्ते द्वितीयवान्ह भवति नास्माद्गणश्छिद्यते॥'''''—

'''''Sa ya etam evam upāste dvitīyavān bhavati nāsya gaṇāś chidyate'''''

"Even his children—they will not die only in the full ''āyurdāya'' time—only they will die." Such a person who contemplates on the directions—East, West, South, North, etc.—as qualities of Hiraṇyagarbha will get the result of always being served, and of course he becomes more fit to become an apt student.
=='''Chāyā (Shadow) Upāsana[छाया उपासना]'''==
Then the next meditation is ''chāyā''.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायं छायामयः पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा मृत्युरिति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते सर्व हैवास्मिल्लोक आयुरेति नैनं पुरा कालान्मृत्युरागच्छति॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.12'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyaṁ chāyāmayaḥ puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā mṛtyuriti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste sarva haivāsmilloka āyureti nainaṁ purā kālānmṛtyurāgacchati|'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.12'''

'''''Chāyā''''' means shadow. So:

'''''Sa ya etam evam upāste sarvam āyur evāsmin loke ayate, nainaṃ pūrākālān mṛtyur agacchati.'''''

'''स य एतमेवमुपास्ते सर्व हैवास्मिल्लोक आयुरेति नैनं पुरा कालान्मृत्युरागच्छति॥'''

"He who meditates upon Hiraṇyagarbha as a shadow attains his full span of life in this world, and the shadow called death, which always follows us, does not come to him before the appointed time." That means (अपामृत्यु)''apāmṛtyu''—untimely death—will never come to this one.
=='''Prajāpati Upāsana[प्रजापति उपासना]'''==
And the '''twelfth upāsana—the last one—is ''Ātma''—that is Prajāpati, the ''samaṣṭi'' itself.'''

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायमात्मनि पुरुषो एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स ह उवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा आत्मन्वीति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्त आत्मन्वी ह भवत्यात्मन्विनी हास्य प्रजा भवति स ह तूष्णीमास गार्ग्यः॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.13'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyamātmani puruṣo etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa ha uvācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā ātmanvīti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāsta ātmanvī ha bhavatyātmanvinī hāsya prajā bhavati sa ha tūṣṇīmāsa gārgyaḥ||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.13'''

All the Devatās put together are contemplated upon as '''Prajāpati—''rūpāṇi (प्रजापतिरूपाणि)):samaṣṭi-rūpāṇi(समष्टि-रूपाणि)'''''—upāsana. So what is the result? It means he will become one with everybody. He will have full self-control, total mastery over one's own self.
===The Shadow of Death===
So these are, in brief, the one—only—I just wanted to know that all of us are followed by the shadow of death. But one who meditates upon Hiraṇyagarbha as a shadow—that shadow will never—the shadow called death will never follow such a person. That means what does it mean? It really means that for the spiritual person, '''he overcomes the fear of death.''' "Let death come just now, tomorrow, after ten years, after a hundred years—it does not really matter." But I am not frightened of death because I know as soon as this physical body falls—that is called what we call death—then I become merged in this Hiraṇyagarbha because I have been meditating upon Hiraṇyagarbha.
===The Final Step===
And whoever meditates upon Hiraṇyagarbha, and Hiraṇyagarbha had these qualities—already Gārgya had some, and Ajātaśatru adds so many—then that Hiraṇyagarbha becomes full, and then whoever meditates becomes completely identified with Hiraṇyagarbha. Hiraṇyagarbha is Saguṇa Brahma. Saguṇa Brahma is '''मायाधीश्वर ''Māyādhiśvara''—'''He is the master of Māyā. Māyā means in the form of '''''sṛṣṭi'', ''sthiti'', ''saṃhāraसृष्टि स्थिति संहार''''' —that is creation, sustenance, and re-emergence into its cause. A person will be free from these.
===Ready for the Final Step===
So that is how Ajātaśatru had trained his apt disciple Gārgya to become one with Hiraṇyagarbha. Now he is ready for the final step—how Hiraṇyagarbha has to be merged into th'''e Nirguṇa Brahma—''Parabrahma'', ''Satyasya Satyamपरब्रह्म सत्यस्य सत्यं[Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (2.1.20)]''.''' Hiraṇyagarbha is the ''satyam''—truth—and '''Nirguṇa Brahma is ''Satyasya Satyam''.''' And that is the beautiful topic, and Ajātaśatru, in the form of taking Gārgya by hand to a sleeping person, wakes him up. And he tries to explain what happens in deep sleep, and that is what we also had studied in the '''Māṇḍūkyakārikā,''' especially '''Gauḍapāda's teaching'''. But the same thing, we will try to talk in simpler terms in our next class onwards. I will also give you a methodology of approaching how to understand the forthcoming mantras—how Ajātaśatru had Gārgya understand.

== 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 1.2-13 Lecture 46 on 28 June 2026

2026-08-28T14:23:39Z

Gayatri: /* The Three Qualities of Chandraचन्द्र उपासना */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.'''

'''''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.'''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

'''OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH'''

'''OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.'''

'''OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.'''

==Introduction: Gārgya and Ajātaśatru==
In our last class, we started analysing what Gārgya was trying to teach to Ajātaśatru, and how after hearing from Gārgya, Ajātaśatru started adding some more upāsanas. '''Every upāsana is a divine quality to be acquired by one who is aspiring to become Brahman'''—to become '''a fit recipient, to become a worthy student.'''
===The Essence of Vedānta===
So we have discussed two of those upāsanas. '''So one was the Sun. According to Vedānta'''—that means Hinduism is a common name for Vedānta. Vedānta, by the way, should not be identified with Advaita. '''Vedānta means the essence of the Vedas,''' which includes the dualistic philosophy, qualified non-dualistic philosophy, and also the highest non-dualistic philosophy—'''Dvaita, Viśiṣṭādvaita, and Advaita'''. The essence of these upāsanās is: each soul is potentially divine. The word "potentiality" means—in our understanding—forgotten divinity. Each soul has forgotten that he is the Divine, and we remember that we are not divine, but we are something else; we are individuals.
===Who Is an Advanced Human Being?===
This enquiry does not fit for any other non-human being, only to human beings—that too, '''advanced human beings.''' And who are the advanced human beings? '''Those who need not struggle for survival, those who have enough'''. Why do we say that? Because if somebody—let us say a field worker—he cannot survive without working. So manual labour is the only way for him to continue his living. Such persons have limited time and limited capacity, limited intelligence. Therefore, we have to understand that certain conditions need to be fulfilled.
===The Three Conditions===
A person, first of all, is '''highly developed in intellec'''t. Second, he has '''gone through all these experiences through many a life—'''many janmas. Thirdly, he has '''started analysing himself'''. Then he found out whatever he experienced, he was lacking. And then only the enquiry comes: "I have thoroughly examined the entire physical phenomena, the external world, and I do not see what can fulfil my true desire." And then '''he turns inward''', and then he has to struggle through various stages.
===The Need for a Guru===
For such a student, he has to become a student, because '''no student can ever understand what the scripture tells except through a Guru.''' Even in the case of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, when he intuitively understood that only my Divine Mother is my Guru, he surrendered himself—like Arjuna:

'''शिष्यस्तेऽहं शाधि मां त्वां प्रपन्नम्.'''

''śiṣyas te 'haṃ śādhi māṃ tvāṃ prapannam. [Bhagavad Gita 2.7]''

Whenever we read about this particular line in the second chapter, we have to remind how Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said: "I am a fool." He was not a fool—but "fool" in what sense? That I do not know anything about Brahmavidyā. But he was not a fool with regard to worldly objects and worldly experiences. His understanding of the world, his knowledge of the world, is far superior to any other person. He understands by analysing thoroughly, objectively, that really speaking, he finds out there is no essence there; it is only an illusion. And then only he stops searching for what he wants to achieve outside and turns his attention inside.
===Daivī Sampat['''''दैवी सम्पत्'''''.]===
But even that turning inside—to become a fit disciple—he has to acquire what Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa says: '''''Daivī Sampatदैवी सम्पत्'''''. And there are many—and I told you earlier that these qualities, whether demonic or divine or spiritual, come in gangs/ groups. You cannot have one single without being supported by the other, either way. So Ajātaśatru found out Gārgya was having some spiritual qualities. He was humble; he was ready and open to truth from wherever it comes. So that is why God—in the form of Ajātaśatru—has started helping Gārgya: "You develop these qualities." How did he help? "You contemplate this particular quality. Go on thinking day in and day out; meditate with perfect concentration. And what we think, that is what we become."
===The Twelve Upāsanas===
So, as I said, it is not mentioned here, but as soon as Ajātaśatru taught him—"These are the qualities you have to develop"—immediately Gārgya must have practised. We do not know whether it took months or years; that is not mentioned. But we have to presume that Gārgya had acquired one by one, one after the other, those divine spiritual qualities—''Daivī Sampat'''दैवी सम्पत्'''''—and then only Ajātaśatru proceeds to the next stage. This is the development.

And then there were twelve upāsanas mentioned by Gārgya of which he was aware only partially, not in their fullness. And Ajātaśatru completes the understanding of Gārgya, makes him contemplate upon those—the specific word used here is '''''upāseउपासे'''''—"O Gārgya, you do contemplation on this particular quality also."
===The Psychological Fact===
So we were trying to analyse those qualities, and we have already taken up two or three qualities. We will just remind. The first is his meditation on the '''Sun—Āditya'''. As I mentioned, never forget: t'''he sun, the moon, the lightning, the vāyu (air), the ākāśa'''—all these are '''nature,''' but nature as '''Brahman Devatā'''. So certain qualities are superimposed upon them. Even though—let us take an example—even though there is a stone image of Śiva—Śivaliṅga—but by taking it as a support, a true Śiva-bhakta (devotee of Śiva) contemplates: "My Iṣṭadevatā (chosen deity) is all-pervading, all-compassionate, all-forgiving, and He is the supreme most. He is the praiseworthy." Like that, thinking of one particular quality until it becomes one's own nature is the real result. That also the Upaniṣad mentions: if anybody contemplates in this particular way, he becomes the most important person, he acquires tremendous spiritual splendour, he becomes the greatest, he becomes the most intelligent person, etc. So whatever we think, that is what we become. And this is a psychological fact which has been accepted by every psychologist.
===The Devatās===
So first '''Āditya,''' then we have seen three qualities added.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवासावादित्ये पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा अतिष्ठाः सर्वेषां भूतानां मूर्धा राजेति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्तेऽतिष्ठाः सर्वेषां भूतानां मूर्धा राजा भवति॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.2'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāsāvāditye puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā atiṣṭhāḥ sarveṣāṁ bhūtānāṁ mūrdhā rājeti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste'atiṣṭhāḥ sarveṣāṁ bhūtānāṁ mūrdhā rājā bhavati||

And then he took up '''Chandra is the second'''.
स होवाच गार्ग्योः य एवासौ चन्द्रे पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा बृहन्पाण्दरवासाः सोमो राजेति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्तेहरहर्ह सुतः प्रसुतो भवति नास्यान्नं क्षीयते॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.3'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyoḥ ya evāsau candre puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā bṛhanpāṇdaravāsāḥ somo rājeti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāsteaharaharha sutaḥ prasuto bhavati nāsyānnaṁ kṣīyate||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.3'''

And '''Chandra Devatā, Sūrya Devatā, Vidyud Devatā, e'''tc.—we have to add, even though that epithet is not given in this Upaniṣad. '''So what is a Devatā?''' Without whose existence our existence is not possible. So the one particular aspect of our existence combined—'''''samaṣṭi'', universal—'''is called Devatā. So the moon is taken up, and that Chandra Devatā is meditated upon as Hiraṇyagarbha. Now one of the qualities is '''Hiraṇyagarbha quality.''' So Ajātaśatru—the Guru, now the teacher—adds three qualities: '''''Bṛhat'', ''Pāṇḍaravat'', ''Somarāja'''''. '''बृहन्पाण्दरवासाः सोमो राजेति वा''' And incidentally, '''these are also the qualities of Prāṇadevatāप्रानदेवत—''samaṣṭi'' समष्टिPrāṇadevatā.''' Whenever I say ''prāṇa'', it is individual. Whenever I say ''Prāṇadevatā'', you have to understand it is the presiding deity, the person—the Devatā—who is manifesting in everybody in that particular format. Please keep this in mind.
===The Three Qualities of Chandra'''चन्द्र उपासना'''===
'''''Bṛhat''''' '''बृहत्'''means he becomes expanded. Just as a person who comes after a hard work—a manual labourer comes back—imagine there is a full moon and then he stands. It is likely he forgets the whole world because the Chandra Devatā delights everybody, gives joy to everybody, and it is the purest white. And His grace—Chandra Devatā's grace—is on everybody. '''So ''Bṛhat'' means indiscriminately bestowing His grace upon everybody.'''

'''''Pāṇḍaravatपान्दरवत्'''''—pure. ''Pāṇḍu'' means white; pure means ''śuddhaशुद्ध''. Very pure. So the '''upāsaka becomes pure'''. The upāsaka delights everybody because happiness is his very nature, and that is indicated as the '''third quality—''Somarājaसोमराजः''.''' ''Soma'' is a kind of plant, and they used to extract the juice which is like a mild intoxicant, and it gives tremendous joy, lifts up at least temporarily. And we have to imagine that is why ecstasy is another name for another of these drugs—ecstatic state. However, whatever be the state previously, as soon as a person imbibes, immediately he becomes tremendously aware of a change of consciousness, a change of perception. That means his '''mind forgets temporarily his temporary state of body and mind and enters into a delightful state.''' That is why they are so addictive. So '''''Somarājaḥसोमराजः'''''. It is also said that the '''Soma plant creeper only grows in plenty and in fullness only when the moonlight influences''' it. So they are connected together. But it is a well-known scientific fact that a full moon—when you stand in front of it—certainly delights everybody's heart.
===The Result===
So these are the three qualities: '''''Bṛhat'', ''Pāṇḍaravat'', ''Somarāja'''''.'''बृहन्पाण्दरवासाः सोमो राजेति वा''' And as I mentioned, these are also happen to be the qualities of '''''samaṣṭi समष्टिPrāṇadevatāप्रानदेवत''''', and that is going to come later on. So anybody who meditates becomes great, becomes pure, and becomes a very delightful, happy personality towards whom everybody is attracted. Because we are really attracted only towards happiness. A man looks at a woman, thinks she is very beautiful. It is not the beauty; it is the happiness that the concept of beauty brings. A man looks at a sweet; it is not the sweet; it is the delight, the happiness that is the resultant of coming into contact with that sweet, becoming that sweet, '''becoming one with him when he eats, and that quality of happiness temporarily becomes one with this person. S'''o we are not really attracted to any object, but '''we are attracted towards what is happiness, but mistakenly manifested, mistakenly understood as the properties of those attractive, desirable objects.'''
===Vidyut (Lightning)'''विद्युत् उपासना'''===
So we have seen that one. '''''Vidyut''''' is also we discussed.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवास्यौ विद्युति पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठाः तेजस्वीति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते तेजस्वी ह भवति तेजस्विनी हास्य प्रजा भवति॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.4'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāsyau vidyuti puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhāḥ tejasvīti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste tejasvī ha bhavati tejasvinī hāsya prajā bhavati||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.4'''

So Ajātaśatru heard from Gārgya: "I contemplate upon lightning." And then Ajātaśatru says: "That is okay; that is a good thing. But I contemplate upon this lightning as '''''Tejasvī''—Hiraṇyagarbhaतेजस्वी हिरण्यगर्भ.'''" Remember, the ''vidyut'' (lightning) is an aspect of Hiraṇyagarbha. The moon is an aspect of Hiraṇyagarbha. The sun is an aspect of Hiraṇyagarbha. As I mentioned yesterday, all the presiding deities are the combined particular quality in every human, in every living creature. As an example, just to remind you: '''all the seeing power in every creature in the form of the eye—all the eyes combined—''sahasrākṣaḥ sahasrapāt सहस्राक्षः सहस्रपात् Purusha Suktam-- from Rig Veda - Mandala 10 - Sukta 90 mantra 1''—so that is called Sūrya Devatā.''' So '''all the minds together is called the Chandra Devatā. A'''nd here '''''Tejasvī'' means splendour.''' There is a special splendour. It is not a power that emanates; it is a natural quality because lightning means light. Tremendous power is there. So '''''tejas''—power''', tremendous commanding capacity, and a brilliant shining personality. All these qualities are involved in this meditation upāsana called ''Tejasvī''. So Ajātaśatru says: "I meditate upon lightning as ''tejas''—divine splendour." And whoever meditates, that becomes that particular person's own nature, part of his personality. So he becomes ''Tejasvī''. That is why I said: saints' heads are often depicted as having a halo like that.
==Ākāśa Upāsana ['''आकाश उपासना''']==
The next upāsana, the f'''ourth upāsana, is called Ākāśa Upāsana.'''

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायमाकाशे पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठाः पूर्णमप्रवर्तीति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते पूर्यते प्रजया पशुभिः नास्यास्माल्लोकात्प्रजोद्वर्तते॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.5'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyamākāśe puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhāḥ pūrṇamapravartīti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste pūryate prajayā paśubhiḥ nāsyāsmāllokātprajodvartate||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.5'''

And when we are talking about this Ākāśa Upāsana earlier, we have seen what are the '''similarities between Ākāśa and Ātman'''. Ākāśa is the very first manifestation of Ātman. So both are infinite; both are uncontaminable—nothing can touch them. Both are indivisible; both are all-pervading; both are supporting everything in this world. So inevitably, everyone has to meditate upon Ākāśa, succeed in it at least to some extent. Then he will have a glimpse of what Ātman could be.
===Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Experience===
I also quoted what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's own experience: "I was like a bird flying in the infinite sky." And do not immediately say that it falls. Suppose the bird gets tired and then falls down and then dashes itself against the earth or a rock and dies. These are called negative thoughts; they should not be entertained. Ākāśa means infinite. In infinity, there is no up and down, east or west, above and below. Nothing is there. So that is a beautiful meditation—joyously flying. There is no other being excepting me. And this is a very high and difficult upāsana to practise.
===The Two Qualities of Ākāśa===
Here it is. I am just reminding you: Gārgya said, "I worship—I do upāsana—on Ākāśa.'''" He says with two special glories—''Pūrṇaḥ'' and ''Apravṛtti''.''' So why ''Pūrṇa''? Because whenever we objectify a thing, the objectifying means it is limited. But Ākāśa is unlimited. Therefore, we have to think—even though it is a thought, even though the mind can only think in limited terms, limited by time, space, and causation—we have to intellectually contemplate it as '''''Pūrṇaḥ''.''' ''Pūrṇaḥ'' means infinite.

'''पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पूर्णमुदच्यते | पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ||'''

'''''pūrṇamadaḥ pūrṇamidaṃ pūrṇāt pūrṇamudacyate |'' pūrṇasya pūrṇamādāya pūrṇamevāvaśiṣyate ||-'''''shanti mantra from yajurveda''

So it is ''Pūrṇam''. And then '''''Apravṛttiअप्रवृत्ति''—that means actionless'''. So light is actionless. I say "light is illumining" as an example. All these concepts require a little bit of self-analysis. So light is illumining an object—that is how we express. Without light, I cannot see an object, experience an object, but as soon as light comes—either electricity or natural light—immediately it illumines. But our understanding should be deeper. You go and suppose you ask the light: "Did you illumine?" It says: "What are you talking about? I do not know anything about illuminating anything." Because if light thinks "I am illuminating," then it is a quality of the light, and sometimes the quality can be manifest, sometimes unmanifest. That means what? Sometimes the light decides: "I will show this person what this object is." And another time: "I do not like this person, so I am not going to illuminate." Light will be there, but that illumination will be absent—by the will of the light. But that is not the case. Fire burns; fire does not know anything. But in its presence, by its very nature, anything that comes into contact—even nearby contact—with fire automatically burns. It has nothing to do with the fire. This is illumining without the thought that "I am illumining." That is the concept we must have with regard to so many things.
===Ākāśa as Supporter===
With Ākāśa, it is the supporter of all, and it is uncontaminable. So that is why it is said that any number of impurities can be thrown into space, but space is never contaminated. So this is how one has to understand, though Ākāśa does not really do anything. But without Ākāśa, nothing can be done. You cannot construct a house. You cannot construct a workspace. You cannot move one millimetre if there were to be no space. But space itself does not know anything about it. It is '''''asparśa''—अस्पर्श'''completely non-touchable, non-influenceable. That is how one has to understand. It does not act, and i'''t is also ''kriyā-rahita'''''. '''क्रिया रहित''' ''Pūrṇaḥ''—it is infinite, and in infinity, there is no time, space, and causation. There is no action; there is no inaction. That is how we have to understand.
===The Result of This Upāsana===
"This is how I meditated before I attained Brahmajñāna," says Ajātaśatru to Gārgya. "You also must acquire these qualities." What does it mean? You become a Karma Yogi. You feel that "the cause of me is Brahman. I am the Ātman. I am '''''Pūrṇamadaḥ'', ''Pūrṇamidamपूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं''''' . And I do not need to do anything because I am Sat-Cit-Ānanda by my very nature." So if I am of the nature of bliss, if I do something, you know what happens? Instead of being happy, I will be subjected to unhappiness because an object is limiting. An object definitely limits the subject also. So we must go beyond subject and object.
===Upāsana Means Becoming One===
So Ajātaśatru teaches Gārgya: "You do upāsana." I am using this word '''''upāsana''''' because meditation, contemplation, concentration—these words really do not express what can be expressed by this word. ''Upāsana'' means what? '''Completely becoming one with the object of our contemplation.''' So He is infinite, and whatever is infinite is beyond any action, because everything that a person does is to obtain something which is not there. But when he becomes infinite, the subject, the object, the desirable, the undesirable—everything is included in the ''Pūrṇa''. Actually speaking, there is nothing undesirable. Even the worst thing is nothing but Brahman.
===The Example of Bhairavī Brāhmaṇī===
And in order to teach this lesson to Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, while Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was practising Tāntrika sādhana, Bhairavī Brāhmaṇī did so many things. I will only mention two. One day she brought some faeces and said: "My child, please taste them—not eat them, but taste them." And a revolution had arisen in the mind of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. And then Bhairavī Brāhmaṇī perceived it and said: "What is there? Look here, I am doing it." And without any revulsion or hatred, how can it be done? Only by considering it as a manifestation of the Divine Mother who is everywhere—or Brahman, if you like. So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said: "Immediately I was possessed by Caṇḍikā, and immediately I had no revulsion at all."
===The Dung Beetle===
Actually, look at it. There is a beetle called dung beetle. And the dung beetle's food is only dung. What is dung for us is the nutritious food for the dung beetle. And if you can imagine a dung beetle—a devotee of Brahman? In fact, there is no one who is not a devotee of Brahman, because every creature's unconscious prayer is: '''"Let me exist forever; let me be full of consciousness; let me be ''Ānandasvarūpa''—''asato mā sadgamaya'', etc."'''

'''ॐ असतो मा सद्गमय[oṃ asato mā sadgamaya,]'''

'''तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय,[tamaso mā jyotirgamaya]'''

'''मृत्योर्मा अमृतं गमय[mṛtyormā amṛtaṃ gamaya]''[Brihad . Upanishad 1.3.28'']'''

These are called '''Abhyaroha Mantras['''''ref.lecture 20 dated 29th march 202'''''6]'''

So unconsciously, we are all—there is nobody from that viewpoint who is a disbeliever in God. Only if you use the word "God," there will be a problem. But if you believe that '''God means existence, pure consciousness, and unbroken bliss—''ānanda''—then everybody wants only God.''' Everybody is a spark of God. Everybody is a devotee of God. Only temporarily, our mind does not allow us to recognise that fact.
===Apravṛtti '''''अप्रवृत्ति''''' and Kriyāvān'''''क्रियावान'''''===
So ''Apravṛtti'','''''अप्रवृत्ति''''' ''kriyāvān'''क्रियावान'''''—this is how: all the full ''ānanda'' is within me. I do not desire anything other than ''ānanda''. An object is desired only if I think I do not have the ''ānanda'' of this particular object—for example, a sweet—then I desire sweet. When I am having unbroken happiness, my ''ānanda'' is ''pūrṇa''—infinite. Where is the question of any desire? Where there is no desire, there is absolutely no action.
==Vāyu Upāsana ['''वायु उपासना''']==
The next upāsana is '''Vāyu'''.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायं वायौ पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा इन्द्रो वैकुण्ठोऽपराजिता सेनेति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते जिष्णुर्हापराजिष्णुर्भवत्यन्यतस्त्यजायी॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.6'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyaṁ vāyau puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā indro vaikuṇṭho'parājitā seneti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste jiṣṇurhāparājiṣṇurbhavatyanyatastyajāyī||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.6'''

You know, slowly some of the Pañcabhūtas are taken out for upāsana. Vāyu means air. We all know Vāyu means oxygen—Prāṇadevatā'''प्रानदेवत'''. Without breathing sixteen times a minute, we will not be able to survive. And those who suffer from asthma, they understand what I am talking much better. So you close your nostrils and hold up your breathing—you will understand what I am talking about.
===The Three Glories of Vāyudevatā===
So here also the three glories are there of Vāyudevatā, that is Prāṇadevatā: '''''Indraḥ'', ''Vaikuṇṭhaḥ'', ''Aparājitasenāḥइन्द्रो वैकुण्ठोऽपराजिता सेनेति वा'''''. ''Indra'' '''इन्द्र'''means Īśvara, because what is the first thing? Life. "I want to be, I want to exist"—and that comes only from Prāṇadevatā'''प्रानदेवत'''. Prāṇadevatā comes in the form of Vāyu, especially oxygen. What is oxygen for human beings and other animals is poison to all the plants. So for the plants, what we breathe out—that is called carbon dioxide—that is the oxygen for them. So in whichever case—oxygen or carbon dioxide—both are manifestations of Vāyudevatā, Prāṇadevatā.
===The Three Qualities===
He has got—you are contemplating fine. But now you have to contemplate the same '''Vāyu as Hiraṇyagarbha'''—as '''''Indraḥइन्द्र'''''—the king of the kings; and '''''Vaikuṇṭhaḥवैकुण्ठ:''—'''meaning extremely intelligent, ''amandaḥ''—do not imagine Nārāyaṇa's loka Vaikuṇṭha. In fact, it is where there is '''no ''kuṇṭhaकुण्ठ:'''''—there is '''no lack'''—and pure consciousness is the location where God is revealed. Therefore, Vaikuṇṭha means '''''amandaḥअमन्दः''—not at all dull'''. That means he is very intelligent, he is active, he is energetic, he is agile, dynamic, etc. And '''''Aparājitasenāḥअपराजित सेनाः''—one whose army is never defeated,''' one who has got invincible forces or undefeatable power. ''Aparājitasenāḥ''—that means one who has got an army which is invincible.
===The Spiritual Context===
But how do we understand in the spiritual context? We have to understand that the spiritual qualities—if I possess the spiritual quality of particularly this Vāyudevatā—then any amount of unspiritual forces (what in the ancient days, especially Christian saints, used to term as demons, devils) they cannot defeat me.
===The Story of the Saint and the Devil===
There is a beautiful story. There was a great saint, and the devil wanted to conquer him. So he came to him and revealed himself as an angel, thinking: "This person will become very proud—'Oh, what a great man I am! I had the vision of Saint Peter the Great angels.'" But the saint was too clever for this devil. Devils are not clever at all; now their thinking is very limited. So the angel is telling: "I have come from God. Rejoice!" Immediately the saint says: "I am not such a great soul that God can bestow—send his angels to me. So I do not deserve your vision." The moment the devil hears it, he hangs his head down and immediately flees away. There is no way to conquer this saint. Whereas a loyal person thinks: " how fortunate I am!" So for a few days he will think—in fact, there are so many stories which I am not going to go into.
===Humility===
So this person is humility itself. Therefore, when a person is so humble:

'''तृणादपि सुनीचेन.'''

'''''tṛṇād api sunīcena.-shikshashtakam verse 3 by Sri chaitanya mahaprabhu'''''

That is what Caitanya Mahāprabhu says: "Even lower than a blade of grass"—considering himself or herself lower than a blade of grass—and nothing can defeat him. Because if a devil comes, he will say: "I am not equal to you; you are greater than me." And there is nothing the devil can do to this humble person. Humility means complete possession by the Spirit of God; when we make space, then pure Ākāśa—pure air—takes its place. When we empty our heart, pure divinity will be manifesting there.
===Hanumān and Bhīmasena===
So Vāyu is the most powerful. That is why Añjaneya—nobody can defeat him:

'''मनोजवं मारुततुल्यवेगं जितेन्द्रियं बुद्धिमतां वरिष्ठम् | वातात्मजं वानरयूथमुख्यं श्रीरामदूतं शिरसा नमामि || [Ramaraksha stotram verse 33]'''

'''''manojavaṃ mārutatulyavegaṃ jitendriyaṃ buddhimatāṃ variṣṭham |'' vātātmajaṃ vānarayūthamukhyaṃ śrīrāmadūtaṃ śirasā namāmi ||Ramaraksha stotram verse 33]'''

And Bhīmasena—so in the Mahābhārata, Añjaneya wanted to bestow his grace on Bhīmasena. So he took the form of an old monkey with a thick big tail lying on a narrow path. Bhīmasena said: "You please withdraw your form. I want to cross, otherwise you are elderly, so I do not want to step over you." And the old monkey—Añjaneya—said: "I am too weak. Will you please help me just to put my tail to a side first?" So Bhīmasena tried with one finger—little finger—could not. Then he used all the five fingers—could not. He used one hand—could not. Used both hands—could not. And he used all his energy—could not. Immediately that flashed in his head: "This is not an ordinary old monkey. It must be my eldest brother, elder brother Añjaneya." Immediately he fell at his feet. They were all spiritual people, these Pañca Pāṇḍavas. So immediately Añjaneya gave him a boon: "Tell your Arjuna to keep a flag, and in that flag I will reside, and whoever looks at this flag, his heart will fail on the spot." So Bhīmasena was very, very strong. Añjaneya was invincible. So that is the ''senā''. Whoever has got the grace of Vāyudevatā becomes invincible, and even Mṛtyudevatā does not dare to come near until the allotted time has come.
=='''Agni Upāsana [अग्नि उपासना]'''==
The next upāsana is Agni—fire.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायमग्नौ पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा विषासहिरिति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते विषासहिर्ह भवति विषासहिर्हास्य प्रजा भवति॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.7'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyamagnau puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā viṣāsahiriti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste viṣāsahirha bhavati viṣāsahirhāsya prajā bhavati||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.7'''

So only one ''viśeṣaṇa'' is there. What is it? ''Viśhasāhā''.विषासहिरिति वा ''Viśhasāhā'' means Agni. Whatever we throw into the fire, it accepts it, burns it—even if it is the most impure, it will not keep it. So that is why He will not get angry with you. "Why did you throw this impure thing into me?" He turns everything into the purest. Throw into fire anything that is pure or impure—everything it will turn into the most purest substance by breaking down, absorbing, destroying all the impurities. That is why fire is called the most purifying aspect. So Agni takes anything given to it, and He does not complain. Whatever we give, He accepts it. And if we give with devotion, He will turn it completely into something very pure.
=='''Apaḥ (Water) Upāsana[''आपःउपासना]'''''==
The next is '''''Apaḥआपः'''''—water.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायमप्सु पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठाः प्रतिरूप इति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते प्रतिरूप हैवैनमुपगच्छति नाप्रतिरूपमथो प्रतिरुपोऽस्माज्जायते॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.8'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyamapsu puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhāḥ pratirūpa iti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste pratirūpa haivainamupagacchati nāpratirūpamatho pratirupo'smājjāyate||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.8'''

We know one of the Pañca Devatās. Agni we have seen, Vāyu we have seen. So take it—''Apaḥ'' आपःmeans water. Water is taken for upāsana, and here Ajātaśatru adds one more specific quality of Hiraṇyagarbha for Gārgya to contemplate upon. It is called ''Pratirūpa'','''प्रतिरूप''' meaning ''samāna-rūpam'''समान रूपं'''''—that is to say, if you peer into flowing water, as we have seen how Prajāpati instructed: "Bring a big pail of water and look yourselves into it—without dressing up, after dressing up—and what you see that is your true self." One step further in spiritual progress. So ''samāna-rūpam'''समान रूपं''''', ''pratirūpaḥ'''प्रतिरूप'''''—it means it reflects. But even a better reflector is there—that is called a mirror. We are going to come to it.
===The Result===
So what does it mean? What is the result the person will get? If anybody contemplates Hiraṇyagarbha in the form of this water, then the result he will get is ''samāna-putra-prāpti'''पुत्र प्राप्ति'''''<nowiki/>'''.''' His children will be as spiritual people as the father and mother are. Whether it is sons or daughters, they will also be—all of them will be only good children, taking after the mother and like the father.
=='''Ādarśa (Mirror) Upāsana [आदर्शः''उपासना]'''''==
The next higher is called '''''Ādarśa''.आदर्शः'''

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायमादर्शे पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा रोचिष्णुरिति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते रोचिष्णुर्ह भवति रोचिष्णुर्हास्य प्रजा भवत्यथो यैः संनिगच्छति सर्वास्तानतिरोचते॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.9'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyamādarśe puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā rociṣṇuriti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste rociṣṇurha bhavati rociṣṇurhāsya prajā bhavatyatho yaiḥ saṁnigacchati sarvāstānatirocate||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.9'''

'''''Ādarśa'' आदर्शः'''in Sanskrit means what we call mirror. What does a mirror do? It reflects. So Hiraṇyagarbha, if he is meditated upon with this quality called mirror quality, then what happens—that he reflects: "This is what you are." What does it mean? An ordinary mirror actually reflects. If a monkey stands in front of a mirror, only a monkey's ''svarūpa'' will come. But this is not an ordinary mirror; it is Hiraṇyagarbha. So when even an ignorant person stands in front of this Hiraṇyagarbha in the form of contemplating him as a mirror, that mirror called Hiraṇyagarbha reflects and shows: "You are not an ordinary human being; you are Hiraṇyagarbha." So the ''pratirūpa''—the reflection of the person who is standing in front of this divine mirror called Hiraṇyagarbha—the divine mirror only reflects divinity. So this is '''''svaccha-svabhāvaḥ'', ''śuddha-svabhāvaḥ''—pure Hiraṇyagarbha's ''svarūpaḥ''.''' So that is the eighth.
=='''Yantam Paścāt ŚabdaḥUpāsana यन्तं पश्चाच्छब्द:''उपासना'''''==
Then we will see the '''ninth one—''Yantam paścāt śabdaḥ''.'''

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायं यन्तं पश्चाच्छब्दोऽनूदेत्येतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुमा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा असुरिति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते सर्व हैवास्मिल्लोक आयुरेति नैनं पुरा कालात्प्राणो जहाति॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.10'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyaṁ yantaṁ paścācchabdo'nūdetyetamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrumā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā asuriti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste sarva haivāsmilloka āyureti nainaṁ purā kālātprāṇo jahāti||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.10'''

Supposing a person is running, and after some time his breathing becomes gasping. And meditate upon Hiraṇyagarbha with that gasping sound'''—''paścāt yantam'' ,''' '''''paścāt śabdaḥपश्चाच्छब्द:''. ''Yantamयन्तं''''' means one who is walking for a long time or running for a long time. '''''Paścāt''—after a long time''', what type of breathing comes out of that person who is running—that gasping sound. Gasping means what? He is trying to inhale more amount of oxygen. Meditate upon that. So every asthmatic patient knows, and it may be very convenient for him to do this one. So what is the Hiraṇyagarbha's quality? Meditate Hiraṇyagarbha as that—so '''''anuguṇatvena अनु गुणत्वेनprāṇaguṇatvenaप्राण गुणत्वेन'''''. That is to say, this person will obtain plenty of life energy from the source of this life energy, which is Hiraṇyagarbha, and this person lives for a long time because he will not suffer from this if he meditates upon him like that.
===The Example of Lakṣmī Devī===
Supposing a beggar meditates upon Lakṣmī Devī—then as a result of that meditation, he identifies: "I am full of wealth." And thereafter he really gets the happiness of being a wealthy man, even if he does not have wealth. What wealth Śudhiram had, what wealth Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa had, what wealth Holy Mother had—but whoever went there, she uplifted their mind, the people's mind to a very high level.
===The Anecdote from 1973===
I have to remind you one of my anecdotes. In 1973, I was living at—not Mother's house—Balarāma Bābū's house, and the court just had given its verdict that this belongs to the Ramakrishna Order according to the will of Kṛṣṇamayī, the granddaughter of Balarāma Bābū's. And the court case had taken, I think, more than 30–35 years. Anyway, the verdict had come. I was living there, and I used to go for food, etc., to Mother's house, which is the most pleasant experience because going to Mother's house means most enjoyable things are available. You do not need to pray to Mother; they are already there. You go—if you make yourself as hungry as possible, you can enjoy that.
===The Sevaka's Reminiscence===
There was a sevaka, a person who served as an attendant to Holy Mother. He was very old—I forget his name now. So I was eager to know his reminiscences of while he was living with Holy Mother. Then specifically I asked: "So what about your ''kāma''—lust?" Because they were all very young youth, and there were so many women there—young women. And the women need not be Miss Universes, because when a person is in this mood of lust, any woman would look very beautiful. Then the Swami told me something extraordinary. He said: "So long as Holy Mother was alive, even the thought that I am a male never arose in all those male attendants." Then he added: "The moment Holy Mother passed away, as if we have come out of the river Gaṅgā, all the old sins are sitting on the branches on the bank of the river, and they all jumped. Now we have to struggle like anybody else." But then he said that because I distinctly remember how I was living in her presence, I meditate upon it, and that helps me to overcome. Old age is no obstruction for ''kāma'', ''krodha'', ''lobha'', ''moha'', ''mada'', ''mātsarya''—keep it in mind. So that is the result.
=='''Dik (Directions) Upāsana [दिक् उपासना]'''==
'''Then it comes on directions—''dik''.'''

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायं दिक्षु पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा द्वितीयोऽनपग इति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते द्वितीयवान्ह भवति नास्माद्गणश्छिद्यते॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.11'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyaṁ dikṣu puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā dvitīyo'napaga iti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste dvitīyavānha bhavati nāsmādgaṇaśchidyate||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.11'''

You know, Hinduism divides all this into four categories: East, West, South, North, and also in between—East and West, East and South, South and West, West and North. We call it ''Aṇḍavai''—you remember easily—mnemonics. So if somebody does contemplation upon it, what does he become? He gets two qualities: द्वितीयवानalways there will be somebody with him to help him, to serve him. He will never be without a second person taking care of him as long as the person is alive. So ''abhiyunuktatvaअभियुनुक्तत्वा''—that means inseparableness. So if a person is married, wife and husband live—only they die at the same time. But they will never be separable; they will not suffer from the separateness of one person dying.
===The Result===
'''''Sa ya etam evam upāste dvitīyavān bhavati nāsya gaṇāś chidyateय एतमेवमुपास्ते द्वितीयवान्ह भवति नास्माद्गणश्छिद्यते॥'''''—"Even his children—they will not die only in the full ''āyurdāya'' time—only they will die." Such a person who contemplates on the directions—East, West, South, North, etc.—as qualities of Hiraṇyagarbha will get the result of always being served, and of course he becomes more fit to become an apt student.
=='''Chāyā (Shadow) Upāsana[छाया उपासना]'''==
Then the next meditation is ''chāyā''.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायं छायामयः पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा मृत्युरिति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते सर्व हैवास्मिल्लोक आयुरेति नैनं पुरा कालान्मृत्युरागच्छति॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.12'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyaṁ chāyāmayaḥ puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā mṛtyuriti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste sarva haivāsmilloka āyureti nainaṁ purā kālānmṛtyurāgacchati|'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.12'''

'''''Chāyā''''' means shadow. So:

'''''Sa ya etam evam upāste sarvam āyur evāsmin loke ayate, nainaṃ pūrākālān mṛtyur agacchati.'''''

'''स य एतमेवमुपास्ते सर्व हैवास्मिल्लोक आयुरेति नैनं पुरा कालान्मृत्युरागच्छति॥'''

"He who meditates upon Hiraṇyagarbha as a shadow attains his full span of life in this world, and the shadow called death, which always follows us, does not come to him before the appointed time." That means ''apāmṛtyu''—untimely death—will never come to this one.
=='''Prajāpati Upāsana[प्रजापति उपासना]'''==
And the '''twelfth upāsana—the last one—is ''Ātma''—that is Prajāpati, the ''samaṣṭi'' itself.'''

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायमात्मनि पुरुषो एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स ह उवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा आत्मन्वीति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्त आत्मन्वी ह भवत्यात्मन्विनी हास्य प्रजा भवति स ह तूष्णीमास गार्ग्यः॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.13'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyamātmani puruṣo etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa ha uvācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā ātmanvīti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāsta ātmanvī ha bhavatyātmanvinī hāsya prajā bhavati sa ha tūṣṇīmāsa gārgyaḥ||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.13'''

All the Devatās put together are contemplated upon as '''Prajāpati—''rūpāṇi (प्रजापतिरूपाणि)):samaṣṭi-rūpāṇi(समष्टि-रूपाणि)'''''—upāsana. So what is the result? It means he will become one with everybody. He will have full self-control, total mastery over one's own self.
===The Shadow of Death===
So these are, in brief, the one—only—I just wanted to know that all of us are followed by the shadow of death. But one who meditates upon Hiraṇyagarbha as a shadow—that shadow will never—the shadow called death will never follow such a person. That means what does it mean? It really means that for the spiritual person, he overcomes the fear of death. "Let death come just now, tomorrow, after ten years, after a hundred years—it does not really matter." But I am not frightened of death because I know as soon as this physical body falls—that is called what we call death—then I become merged in this Hiraṇyagarbha because I have been meditating upon Hiraṇyagarbha.
===The Final Step===
And whoever meditates upon Hiraṇyagarbha, and Hiraṇyagarbha had these qualities—already Gārgya had some, and Ajātaśatru adds so many—then that Hiraṇyagarbha becomes full, and then whoever meditates becomes completely identified with Hiraṇyagarbha. Hiraṇyagarbha is Saguṇa Brahma. Saguṇa Brahma is '''''Māyādhiśvara''—'''He is the master of Māyā. Māyā means in the form of ''sṛṣṭi'', ''sthiti'', ''saṃhāra''—that is creation, sustenance, and re-emergence into its cause. A person will be free from these.
===Ready for the Final Step===
So that is how Ajātaśatru had trained his apt disciple Gārgya to become one with Hiraṇyagarbha. Now he is ready for the final step—how Hiraṇyagarbha has to be merged into th'''e Nirguṇa Brahma—''Parabrahma'', ''Satyasya Satyamपरब्रह्म सत्यस्य सत्यं[Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (2.1.20)]''.''' Hiraṇyagarbha is the ''satyam''—truth—and '''Nirguṇa Brahma is ''Satyasya Satyam''.''' And that is the beautiful topic, and Ajātaśatru, in the form of taking Gārgya by hand to a sleeping person, wakes him up. And he tries to explain what happens in deep sleep, and that is what we also had studied in the '''Māṇḍūkyakārikā,''' especially '''Gauḍapāda's teaching'''. But the same thing, we will try to talk in simpler terms in our next class onwards. I will also give you a methodology of approaching how to understand the forthcoming mantras—how Ajātaśatru had Gārgya understand.

== 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 1.2-13 Lecture 46 on 28 June 2026

2026-08-28T14:22:39Z

Gayatri:

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.'''

'''''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.'''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

'''OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH'''

'''OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.'''

'''OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.'''

==Introduction: Gārgya and Ajātaśatru==
In our last class, we started analysing what Gārgya was trying to teach to Ajātaśatru, and how after hearing from Gārgya, Ajātaśatru started adding some more upāsanas. '''Every upāsana is a divine quality to be acquired by one who is aspiring to become Brahman'''—to become '''a fit recipient, to become a worthy student.'''
===The Essence of Vedānta===
So we have discussed two of those upāsanas. '''So one was the Sun. According to Vedānta'''—that means Hinduism is a common name for Vedānta. Vedānta, by the way, should not be identified with Advaita. '''Vedānta means the essence of the Vedas,''' which includes the dualistic philosophy, qualified non-dualistic philosophy, and also the highest non-dualistic philosophy—'''Dvaita, Viśiṣṭādvaita, and Advaita'''. The essence of these upāsanās is: each soul is potentially divine. The word "potentiality" means—in our understanding—forgotten divinity. Each soul has forgotten that he is the Divine, and we remember that we are not divine, but we are something else; we are individuals.
===Who Is an Advanced Human Being?===
This enquiry does not fit for any other non-human being, only to human beings—that too, '''advanced human beings.''' And who are the advanced human beings? '''Those who need not struggle for survival, those who have enough'''. Why do we say that? Because if somebody—let us say a field worker—he cannot survive without working. So manual labour is the only way for him to continue his living. Such persons have limited time and limited capacity, limited intelligence. Therefore, we have to understand that certain conditions need to be fulfilled.
===The Three Conditions===
A person, first of all, is '''highly developed in intellec'''t. Second, he has '''gone through all these experiences through many a life—'''many janmas. Thirdly, he has '''started analysing himself'''. Then he found out whatever he experienced, he was lacking. And then only the enquiry comes: "I have thoroughly examined the entire physical phenomena, the external world, and I do not see what can fulfil my true desire." And then '''he turns inward''', and then he has to struggle through various stages.
===The Need for a Guru===
For such a student, he has to become a student, because '''no student can ever understand what the scripture tells except through a Guru.''' Even in the case of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, when he intuitively understood that only my Divine Mother is my Guru, he surrendered himself—like Arjuna:

'''शिष्यस्तेऽहं शाधि मां त्वां प्रपन्नम्.'''

''śiṣyas te 'haṃ śādhi māṃ tvāṃ prapannam. [Bhagavad Gita 2.7]''

Whenever we read about this particular line in the second chapter, we have to remind how Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said: "I am a fool." He was not a fool—but "fool" in what sense? That I do not know anything about Brahmavidyā. But he was not a fool with regard to worldly objects and worldly experiences. His understanding of the world, his knowledge of the world, is far superior to any other person. He understands by analysing thoroughly, objectively, that really speaking, he finds out there is no essence there; it is only an illusion. And then only he stops searching for what he wants to achieve outside and turns his attention inside.
===Daivī Sampat['''''दैवी सम्पत्'''''.]===
But even that turning inside—to become a fit disciple—he has to acquire what Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa says: '''''Daivī Sampatदैवी सम्पत्'''''. And there are many—and I told you earlier that these qualities, whether demonic or divine or spiritual, come in gangs/ groups. You cannot have one single without being supported by the other, either way. So Ajātaśatru found out Gārgya was having some spiritual qualities. He was humble; he was ready and open to truth from wherever it comes. So that is why God—in the form of Ajātaśatru—has started helping Gārgya: "You develop these qualities." How did he help? "You contemplate this particular quality. Go on thinking day in and day out; meditate with perfect concentration. And what we think, that is what we become."
===The Twelve Upāsanas===
So, as I said, it is not mentioned here, but as soon as Ajātaśatru taught him—"These are the qualities you have to develop"—immediately Gārgya must have practised. We do not know whether it took months or years; that is not mentioned. But we have to presume that Gārgya had acquired one by one, one after the other, those divine spiritual qualities—''Daivī Sampat'''दैवी सम्पत्'''''—and then only Ajātaśatru proceeds to the next stage. This is the development.

And then there were twelve upāsanas mentioned by Gārgya of which he was aware only partially, not in their fullness. And Ajātaśatru completes the understanding of Gārgya, makes him contemplate upon those—the specific word used here is '''''upāseउपासे'''''—"O Gārgya, you do contemplation on this particular quality also."
===The Psychological Fact===
So we were trying to analyse those qualities, and we have already taken up two or three qualities. We will just remind. The first is his meditation on the '''Sun—Āditya'''. As I mentioned, never forget: t'''he sun, the moon, the lightning, the vāyu (air), the ākāśa'''—all these are '''nature,''' but nature as '''Brahman Devatā'''. So certain qualities are superimposed upon them. Even though—let us take an example—even though there is a stone image of Śiva—Śivaliṅga—but by taking it as a support, a true Śiva-bhakta (devotee of Śiva) contemplates: "My Iṣṭadevatā (chosen deity) is all-pervading, all-compassionate, all-forgiving, and He is the supreme most. He is the praiseworthy." Like that, thinking of one particular quality until it becomes one's own nature is the real result. That also the Upaniṣad mentions: if anybody contemplates in this particular way, he becomes the most important person, he acquires tremendous spiritual splendour, he becomes the greatest, he becomes the most intelligent person, etc. So whatever we think, that is what we become. And this is a psychological fact which has been accepted by every psychologist.
===The Devatās===
So first '''Āditya,''' then we have seen three qualities added.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवासावादित्ये पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा अतिष्ठाः सर्वेषां भूतानां मूर्धा राजेति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्तेऽतिष्ठाः सर्वेषां भूतानां मूर्धा राजा भवति॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.2'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāsāvāditye puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā atiṣṭhāḥ sarveṣāṁ bhūtānāṁ mūrdhā rājeti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste'atiṣṭhāḥ sarveṣāṁ bhūtānāṁ mūrdhā rājā bhavati||

And then he took up '''Chandra is the second'''.
स होवाच गार्ग्योः य एवासौ चन्द्रे पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा बृहन्पाण्दरवासाः सोमो राजेति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्तेहरहर्ह सुतः प्रसुतो भवति नास्यान्नं क्षीयते॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.3'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyoḥ ya evāsau candre puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā bṛhanpāṇdaravāsāḥ somo rājeti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāsteaharaharha sutaḥ prasuto bhavati nāsyānnaṁ kṣīyate||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.3'''

And '''Chandra Devatā, Sūrya Devatā, Vidyud Devatā, e'''tc.—we have to add, even though that epithet is not given in this Upaniṣad. '''So what is a Devatā?''' Without whose existence our existence is not possible. So the one particular aspect of our existence combined—'''''samaṣṭi'', universal—'''is called Devatā. So the moon is taken up, and that Chandra Devatā is meditated upon as Hiraṇyagarbha. Now one of the qualities is '''Hiraṇyagarbha quality.''' So Ajātaśatru—the Guru, now the teacher—adds three qualities: '''''Bṛhat'', ''Pāṇḍaravat'', ''Somarāja'''''. '''बृहन्पाण्दरवासाः सोमो राजेति वा''' And incidentally, '''these are also the qualities of Prāṇadevatāप्रानदेवत—''samaṣṭi'' समष्टिPrāṇadevatā.''' Whenever I say ''prāṇa'', it is individual. Whenever I say ''Prāṇadevatā'', you have to understand it is the presiding deity, the person—the Devatā—who is manifesting in everybody in that particular format. Please keep this in mind.
===The Three Qualities of Chandraचन्द्र उपासना===
'''''Bṛhat''''' '''बृहत्'''means he becomes expanded. Just as a person who comes after a hard work—a manual labourer comes back—imagine there is a full moon and then he stands. It is likely he forgets the whole world because the Chandra Devatā delights everybody, gives joy to everybody, and it is the purest white. And His grace—Chandra Devatā's grace—is on everybody. '''So ''Bṛhat'' means indiscriminately bestowing His grace upon everybody.'''

'''''Pāṇḍaravatपान्दरवत्'''''—pure. ''Pāṇḍu'' means white; pure means ''śuddhaशुद्ध''. Very pure. So the '''upāsaka becomes pure'''. The upāsaka delights everybody because happiness is his very nature, and that is indicated as the '''third quality—''Somarājaसोमराजः''.''' ''Soma'' is a kind of plant, and they used to extract the juice which is like a mild intoxicant, and it gives tremendous joy, lifts up at least temporarily. And we have to imagine that is why ecstasy is another name for another of these drugs—ecstatic state. However, whatever be the state previously, as soon as a person imbibes, immediately he becomes tremendously aware of a change of consciousness, a change of perception. That means his '''mind forgets temporarily his temporary state of body and mind and enters into a delightful state.''' That is why they are so addictive. So '''''Somarājaḥसोमराजः'''''. It is also said that the '''Soma plant creeper only grows in plenty and in fullness only when the moonlight influences''' it. So they are connected together. But it is a well-known scientific fact that a full moon—when you stand in front of it—certainly delights everybody's heart.
===The Result===
So these are the three qualities: '''''Bṛhat'', ''Pāṇḍaravat'', ''Somarāja'''''.'''बृहन्पाण्दरवासाः सोमो राजेति वा''' And as I mentioned, these are also happen to be the qualities of '''''samaṣṭi समष्टिPrāṇadevatāप्रानदेवत''''', and that is going to come later on. So anybody who meditates becomes great, becomes pure, and becomes a very delightful, happy personality towards whom everybody is attracted. Because we are really attracted only towards happiness. A man looks at a woman, thinks she is very beautiful. It is not the beauty; it is the happiness that the concept of beauty brings. A man looks at a sweet; it is not the sweet; it is the delight, the happiness that is the resultant of coming into contact with that sweet, becoming that sweet, '''becoming one with him when he eats, and that quality of happiness temporarily becomes one with this person. S'''o we are not really attracted to any object, but '''we are attracted towards what is happiness, but mistakenly manifested, mistakenly understood as the properties of those attractive, desirable objects.'''
===Vidyut (Lightning)'''विद्युत् उपासना'''===
So we have seen that one. '''''Vidyut''''' is also we discussed.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवास्यौ विद्युति पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठाः तेजस्वीति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते तेजस्वी ह भवति तेजस्विनी हास्य प्रजा भवति॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.4'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāsyau vidyuti puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhāḥ tejasvīti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste tejasvī ha bhavati tejasvinī hāsya prajā bhavati||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.4'''

So Ajātaśatru heard from Gārgya: "I contemplate upon lightning." And then Ajātaśatru says: "That is okay; that is a good thing. But I contemplate upon this lightning as '''''Tejasvī''—Hiraṇyagarbhaतेजस्वी हिरण्यगर्भ.'''" Remember, the ''vidyut'' (lightning) is an aspect of Hiraṇyagarbha. The moon is an aspect of Hiraṇyagarbha. The sun is an aspect of Hiraṇyagarbha. As I mentioned yesterday, all the presiding deities are the combined particular quality in every human, in every living creature. As an example, just to remind you: '''all the seeing power in every creature in the form of the eye—all the eyes combined—''sahasrākṣaḥ sahasrapāt सहस्राक्षः सहस्रपात् Purusha Suktam-- from Rig Veda - Mandala 10 - Sukta 90 mantra 1''—so that is called Sūrya Devatā.''' So '''all the minds together is called the Chandra Devatā. A'''nd here '''''Tejasvī'' means splendour.''' There is a special splendour. It is not a power that emanates; it is a natural quality because lightning means light. Tremendous power is there. So '''''tejas''—power''', tremendous commanding capacity, and a brilliant shining personality. All these qualities are involved in this meditation upāsana called ''Tejasvī''. So Ajātaśatru says: "I meditate upon lightning as ''tejas''—divine splendour." And whoever meditates, that becomes that particular person's own nature, part of his personality. So he becomes ''Tejasvī''. That is why I said: saints' heads are often depicted as having a halo like that.
==Ākāśa Upāsana ['''आकाश उपासना''']==
The next upāsana, the f'''ourth upāsana, is called Ākāśa Upāsana.'''

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायमाकाशे पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठाः पूर्णमप्रवर्तीति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते पूर्यते प्रजया पशुभिः नास्यास्माल्लोकात्प्रजोद्वर्तते॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.5'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyamākāśe puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhāḥ pūrṇamapravartīti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste pūryate prajayā paśubhiḥ nāsyāsmāllokātprajodvartate||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.5'''

And when we are talking about this Ākāśa Upāsana earlier, we have seen what are the '''similarities between Ākāśa and Ātman'''. Ākāśa is the very first manifestation of Ātman. So both are infinite; both are uncontaminable—nothing can touch them. Both are indivisible; both are all-pervading; both are supporting everything in this world. So inevitably, everyone has to meditate upon Ākāśa, succeed in it at least to some extent. Then he will have a glimpse of what Ātman could be.
===Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Experience===
I also quoted what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's own experience: "I was like a bird flying in the infinite sky." And do not immediately say that it falls. Suppose the bird gets tired and then falls down and then dashes itself against the earth or a rock and dies. These are called negative thoughts; they should not be entertained. Ākāśa means infinite. In infinity, there is no up and down, east or west, above and below. Nothing is there. So that is a beautiful meditation—joyously flying. There is no other being excepting me. And this is a very high and difficult upāsana to practise.
===The Two Qualities of Ākāśa===
Here it is. I am just reminding you: Gārgya said, "I worship—I do upāsana—on Ākāśa.'''" He says with two special glories—''Pūrṇaḥ'' and ''Apravṛtti''.''' So why ''Pūrṇa''? Because whenever we objectify a thing, the objectifying means it is limited. But Ākāśa is unlimited. Therefore, we have to think—even though it is a thought, even though the mind can only think in limited terms, limited by time, space, and causation—we have to intellectually contemplate it as '''''Pūrṇaḥ''.''' ''Pūrṇaḥ'' means infinite.

'''पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पूर्णमुदच्यते | पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ||'''

'''''pūrṇamadaḥ pūrṇamidaṃ pūrṇāt pūrṇamudacyate |'' pūrṇasya pūrṇamādāya pūrṇamevāvaśiṣyate ||-'''''shanti mantra from yajurveda''

So it is ''Pūrṇam''. And then '''''Apravṛttiअप्रवृत्ति''—that means actionless'''. So light is actionless. I say "light is illumining" as an example. All these concepts require a little bit of self-analysis. So light is illumining an object—that is how we express. Without light, I cannot see an object, experience an object, but as soon as light comes—either electricity or natural light—immediately it illumines. But our understanding should be deeper. You go and suppose you ask the light: "Did you illumine?" It says: "What are you talking about? I do not know anything about illuminating anything." Because if light thinks "I am illuminating," then it is a quality of the light, and sometimes the quality can be manifest, sometimes unmanifest. That means what? Sometimes the light decides: "I will show this person what this object is." And another time: "I do not like this person, so I am not going to illuminate." Light will be there, but that illumination will be absent—by the will of the light. But that is not the case. Fire burns; fire does not know anything. But in its presence, by its very nature, anything that comes into contact—even nearby contact—with fire automatically burns. It has nothing to do with the fire. This is illumining without the thought that "I am illumining." That is the concept we must have with regard to so many things.
===Ākāśa as Supporter===
With Ākāśa, it is the supporter of all, and it is uncontaminable. So that is why it is said that any number of impurities can be thrown into space, but space is never contaminated. So this is how one has to understand, though Ākāśa does not really do anything. But without Ākāśa, nothing can be done. You cannot construct a house. You cannot construct a workspace. You cannot move one millimetre if there were to be no space. But space itself does not know anything about it. It is '''''asparśa''—अस्पर्श'''completely non-touchable, non-influenceable. That is how one has to understand. It does not act, and i'''t is also ''kriyā-rahita'''''. '''क्रिया रहित''' ''Pūrṇaḥ''—it is infinite, and in infinity, there is no time, space, and causation. There is no action; there is no inaction. That is how we have to understand.
===The Result of This Upāsana===
"This is how I meditated before I attained Brahmajñāna," says Ajātaśatru to Gārgya. "You also must acquire these qualities." What does it mean? You become a Karma Yogi. You feel that "the cause of me is Brahman. I am the Ātman. I am '''''Pūrṇamadaḥ'', ''Pūrṇamidamपूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं''''' . And I do not need to do anything because I am Sat-Cit-Ānanda by my very nature." So if I am of the nature of bliss, if I do something, you know what happens? Instead of being happy, I will be subjected to unhappiness because an object is limiting. An object definitely limits the subject also. So we must go beyond subject and object.
===Upāsana Means Becoming One===
So Ajātaśatru teaches Gārgya: "You do upāsana." I am using this word '''''upāsana''''' because meditation, contemplation, concentration—these words really do not express what can be expressed by this word. ''Upāsana'' means what? '''Completely becoming one with the object of our contemplation.''' So He is infinite, and whatever is infinite is beyond any action, because everything that a person does is to obtain something which is not there. But when he becomes infinite, the subject, the object, the desirable, the undesirable—everything is included in the ''Pūrṇa''. Actually speaking, there is nothing undesirable. Even the worst thing is nothing but Brahman.
===The Example of Bhairavī Brāhmaṇī===
And in order to teach this lesson to Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, while Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was practising Tāntrika sādhana, Bhairavī Brāhmaṇī did so many things. I will only mention two. One day she brought some faeces and said: "My child, please taste them—not eat them, but taste them." And a revolution had arisen in the mind of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. And then Bhairavī Brāhmaṇī perceived it and said: "What is there? Look here, I am doing it." And without any revulsion or hatred, how can it be done? Only by considering it as a manifestation of the Divine Mother who is everywhere—or Brahman, if you like. So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said: "Immediately I was possessed by Caṇḍikā, and immediately I had no revulsion at all."
===The Dung Beetle===
Actually, look at it. There is a beetle called dung beetle. And the dung beetle's food is only dung. What is dung for us is the nutritious food for the dung beetle. And if you can imagine a dung beetle—a devotee of Brahman? In fact, there is no one who is not a devotee of Brahman, because every creature's unconscious prayer is: '''"Let me exist forever; let me be full of consciousness; let me be ''Ānandasvarūpa''—''asato mā sadgamaya'', etc."'''

'''ॐ असतो मा सद्गमय[oṃ asato mā sadgamaya,]'''

'''तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय,[tamaso mā jyotirgamaya]'''

'''मृत्योर्मा अमृतं गमय[mṛtyormā amṛtaṃ gamaya]''[Brihad . Upanishad 1.3.28'']'''

These are called '''Abhyaroha Mantras['''''ref.lecture 20 dated 29th march 202'''''6]'''

So unconsciously, we are all—there is nobody from that viewpoint who is a disbeliever in God. Only if you use the word "God," there will be a problem. But if you believe that '''God means existence, pure consciousness, and unbroken bliss—''ānanda''—then everybody wants only God.''' Everybody is a spark of God. Everybody is a devotee of God. Only temporarily, our mind does not allow us to recognise that fact.
===Apravṛtti '''''अप्रवृत्ति''''' and Kriyāvān'''''क्रियावान'''''===
So ''Apravṛtti'','''''अप्रवृत्ति''''' ''kriyāvān'''क्रियावान'''''—this is how: all the full ''ānanda'' is within me. I do not desire anything other than ''ānanda''. An object is desired only if I think I do not have the ''ānanda'' of this particular object—for example, a sweet—then I desire sweet. When I am having unbroken happiness, my ''ānanda'' is ''pūrṇa''—infinite. Where is the question of any desire? Where there is no desire, there is absolutely no action.
==Vāyu Upāsana ['''वायु उपासना''']==
The next upāsana is '''Vāyu'''.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायं वायौ पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा इन्द्रो वैकुण्ठोऽपराजिता सेनेति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते जिष्णुर्हापराजिष्णुर्भवत्यन्यतस्त्यजायी॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.6'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyaṁ vāyau puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā indro vaikuṇṭho'parājitā seneti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste jiṣṇurhāparājiṣṇurbhavatyanyatastyajāyī||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.6'''

You know, slowly some of the Pañcabhūtas are taken out for upāsana. Vāyu means air. We all know Vāyu means oxygen—Prāṇadevatā'''प्रानदेवत'''. Without breathing sixteen times a minute, we will not be able to survive. And those who suffer from asthma, they understand what I am talking much better. So you close your nostrils and hold up your breathing—you will understand what I am talking about.
===The Three Glories of Vāyudevatā===
So here also the three glories are there of Vāyudevatā, that is Prāṇadevatā: '''''Indraḥ'', ''Vaikuṇṭhaḥ'', ''Aparājitasenāḥइन्द्रो वैकुण्ठोऽपराजिता सेनेति वा'''''. ''Indra'' '''इन्द्र'''means Īśvara, because what is the first thing? Life. "I want to be, I want to exist"—and that comes only from Prāṇadevatā'''प्रानदेवत'''. Prāṇadevatā comes in the form of Vāyu, especially oxygen. What is oxygen for human beings and other animals is poison to all the plants. So for the plants, what we breathe out—that is called carbon dioxide—that is the oxygen for them. So in whichever case—oxygen or carbon dioxide—both are manifestations of Vāyudevatā, Prāṇadevatā.
===The Three Qualities===
He has got—you are contemplating fine. But now you have to contemplate the same '''Vāyu as Hiraṇyagarbha'''—as '''''Indraḥइन्द्र'''''—the king of the kings; and '''''Vaikuṇṭhaḥवैकुण्ठ:''—'''meaning extremely intelligent, ''amandaḥ''—do not imagine Nārāyaṇa's loka Vaikuṇṭha. In fact, it is where there is '''no ''kuṇṭhaकुण्ठ:'''''—there is '''no lack'''—and pure consciousness is the location where God is revealed. Therefore, Vaikuṇṭha means '''''amandaḥअमन्दः''—not at all dull'''. That means he is very intelligent, he is active, he is energetic, he is agile, dynamic, etc. And '''''Aparājitasenāḥअपराजित सेनाः''—one whose army is never defeated,''' one who has got invincible forces or undefeatable power. ''Aparājitasenāḥ''—that means one who has got an army which is invincible.
===The Spiritual Context===
But how do we understand in the spiritual context? We have to understand that the spiritual qualities—if I possess the spiritual quality of particularly this Vāyudevatā—then any amount of unspiritual forces (what in the ancient days, especially Christian saints, used to term as demons, devils) they cannot defeat me.
===The Story of the Saint and the Devil===
There is a beautiful story. There was a great saint, and the devil wanted to conquer him. So he came to him and revealed himself as an angel, thinking: "This person will become very proud—'Oh, what a great man I am! I had the vision of Saint Peter the Great angels.'" But the saint was too clever for this devil. Devils are not clever at all; now their thinking is very limited. So the angel is telling: "I have come from God. Rejoice!" Immediately the saint says: "I am not such a great soul that God can bestow—send his angels to me. So I do not deserve your vision." The moment the devil hears it, he hangs his head down and immediately flees away. There is no way to conquer this saint. Whereas a loyal person thinks: " how fortunate I am!" So for a few days he will think—in fact, there are so many stories which I am not going to go into.
===Humility===
So this person is humility itself. Therefore, when a person is so humble:

'''तृणादपि सुनीचेन.'''

'''''tṛṇād api sunīcena.-shikshashtakam verse 3 by Sri chaitanya mahaprabhu'''''

That is what Caitanya Mahāprabhu says: "Even lower than a blade of grass"—considering himself or herself lower than a blade of grass—and nothing can defeat him. Because if a devil comes, he will say: "I am not equal to you; you are greater than me." And there is nothing the devil can do to this humble person. Humility means complete possession by the Spirit of God; when we make space, then pure Ākāśa—pure air—takes its place. When we empty our heart, pure divinity will be manifesting there.
===Hanumān and Bhīmasena===
So Vāyu is the most powerful. That is why Añjaneya—nobody can defeat him:

'''मनोजवं मारुततुल्यवेगं जितेन्द्रियं बुद्धिमतां वरिष्ठम् | वातात्मजं वानरयूथमुख्यं श्रीरामदूतं शिरसा नमामि || [Ramaraksha stotram verse 33]'''

'''''manojavaṃ mārutatulyavegaṃ jitendriyaṃ buddhimatāṃ variṣṭham |'' vātātmajaṃ vānarayūthamukhyaṃ śrīrāmadūtaṃ śirasā namāmi ||Ramaraksha stotram verse 33]'''

And Bhīmasena—so in the Mahābhārata, Añjaneya wanted to bestow his grace on Bhīmasena. So he took the form of an old monkey with a thick big tail lying on a narrow path. Bhīmasena said: "You please withdraw your form. I want to cross, otherwise you are elderly, so I do not want to step over you." And the old monkey—Añjaneya—said: "I am too weak. Will you please help me just to put my tail to a side first?" So Bhīmasena tried with one finger—little finger—could not. Then he used all the five fingers—could not. He used one hand—could not. Used both hands—could not. And he used all his energy—could not. Immediately that flashed in his head: "This is not an ordinary old monkey. It must be my eldest brother, elder brother Añjaneya." Immediately he fell at his feet. They were all spiritual people, these Pañca Pāṇḍavas. So immediately Añjaneya gave him a boon: "Tell your Arjuna to keep a flag, and in that flag I will reside, and whoever looks at this flag, his heart will fail on the spot." So Bhīmasena was very, very strong. Añjaneya was invincible. So that is the ''senā''. Whoever has got the grace of Vāyudevatā becomes invincible, and even Mṛtyudevatā does not dare to come near until the allotted time has come.
=='''Agni Upāsana [अग्नि उपासना]'''==
The next upāsana is Agni—fire.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायमग्नौ पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा विषासहिरिति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते विषासहिर्ह भवति विषासहिर्हास्य प्रजा भवति॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.7'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyamagnau puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā viṣāsahiriti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste viṣāsahirha bhavati viṣāsahirhāsya prajā bhavati||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.7'''

So only one ''viśeṣaṇa'' is there. What is it? ''Viśhasāhā''.विषासहिरिति वा ''Viśhasāhā'' means Agni. Whatever we throw into the fire, it accepts it, burns it—even if it is the most impure, it will not keep it. So that is why He will not get angry with you. "Why did you throw this impure thing into me?" He turns everything into the purest. Throw into fire anything that is pure or impure—everything it will turn into the most purest substance by breaking down, absorbing, destroying all the impurities. That is why fire is called the most purifying aspect. So Agni takes anything given to it, and He does not complain. Whatever we give, He accepts it. And if we give with devotion, He will turn it completely into something very pure.
=='''Apaḥ (Water) Upāsana[''आपःउपासना]'''''==
The next is '''''Apaḥआपः'''''—water.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायमप्सु पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठाः प्रतिरूप इति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते प्रतिरूप हैवैनमुपगच्छति नाप्रतिरूपमथो प्रतिरुपोऽस्माज्जायते॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.8'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyamapsu puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhāḥ pratirūpa iti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste pratirūpa haivainamupagacchati nāpratirūpamatho pratirupo'smājjāyate||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.8'''

We know one of the Pañca Devatās. Agni we have seen, Vāyu we have seen. So take it—''Apaḥ'' आपःmeans water. Water is taken for upāsana, and here Ajātaśatru adds one more specific quality of Hiraṇyagarbha for Gārgya to contemplate upon. It is called ''Pratirūpa'','''प्रतिरूप''' meaning ''samāna-rūpam'''समान रूपं'''''—that is to say, if you peer into flowing water, as we have seen how Prajāpati instructed: "Bring a big pail of water and look yourselves into it—without dressing up, after dressing up—and what you see that is your true self." One step further in spiritual progress. So ''samāna-rūpam'''समान रूपं''''', ''pratirūpaḥ'''प्रतिरूप'''''—it means it reflects. But even a better reflector is there—that is called a mirror. We are going to come to it.
===The Result===
So what does it mean? What is the result the person will get? If anybody contemplates Hiraṇyagarbha in the form of this water, then the result he will get is ''samāna-putra-prāpti'''पुत्र प्राप्ति'''''<nowiki/>'''.''' His children will be as spiritual people as the father and mother are. Whether it is sons or daughters, they will also be—all of them will be only good children, taking after the mother and like the father.
=='''Ādarśa (Mirror) Upāsana [आदर्शः''उपासना]'''''==
The next higher is called '''''Ādarśa''.आदर्शः'''

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायमादर्शे पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा रोचिष्णुरिति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते रोचिष्णुर्ह भवति रोचिष्णुर्हास्य प्रजा भवत्यथो यैः संनिगच्छति सर्वास्तानतिरोचते॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.9'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyamādarśe puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā rociṣṇuriti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste rociṣṇurha bhavati rociṣṇurhāsya prajā bhavatyatho yaiḥ saṁnigacchati sarvāstānatirocate||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.9'''

'''''Ādarśa'' आदर्शः'''in Sanskrit means what we call mirror. What does a mirror do? It reflects. So Hiraṇyagarbha, if he is meditated upon with this quality called mirror quality, then what happens—that he reflects: "This is what you are." What does it mean? An ordinary mirror actually reflects. If a monkey stands in front of a mirror, only a monkey's ''svarūpa'' will come. But this is not an ordinary mirror; it is Hiraṇyagarbha. So when even an ignorant person stands in front of this Hiraṇyagarbha in the form of contemplating him as a mirror, that mirror called Hiraṇyagarbha reflects and shows: "You are not an ordinary human being; you are Hiraṇyagarbha." So the ''pratirūpa''—the reflection of the person who is standing in front of this divine mirror called Hiraṇyagarbha—the divine mirror only reflects divinity. So this is '''''svaccha-svabhāvaḥ'', ''śuddha-svabhāvaḥ''—pure Hiraṇyagarbha's ''svarūpaḥ''.''' So that is the eighth.
=='''Yantam Paścāt ŚabdaḥUpāsana यन्तं पश्चाच्छब्द:''उपासना'''''==
Then we will see the '''ninth one—''Yantam paścāt śabdaḥ''.'''

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायं यन्तं पश्चाच्छब्दोऽनूदेत्येतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुमा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा असुरिति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते सर्व हैवास्मिल्लोक आयुरेति नैनं पुरा कालात्प्राणो जहाति॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.10'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyaṁ yantaṁ paścācchabdo'nūdetyetamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrumā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā asuriti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste sarva haivāsmilloka āyureti nainaṁ purā kālātprāṇo jahāti||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.10'''

Supposing a person is running, and after some time his breathing becomes gasping. And meditate upon Hiraṇyagarbha with that gasping sound'''—''paścāt yantam'' ,''' '''''paścāt śabdaḥपश्चाच्छब्द:''. ''Yantamयन्तं''''' means one who is walking for a long time or running for a long time. '''''Paścāt''—after a long time''', what type of breathing comes out of that person who is running—that gasping sound. Gasping means what? He is trying to inhale more amount of oxygen. Meditate upon that. So every asthmatic patient knows, and it may be very convenient for him to do this one. So what is the Hiraṇyagarbha's quality? Meditate Hiraṇyagarbha as that—so '''''anuguṇatvena अनु गुणत्वेनprāṇaguṇatvenaप्राण गुणत्वेन'''''. That is to say, this person will obtain plenty of life energy from the source of this life energy, which is Hiraṇyagarbha, and this person lives for a long time because he will not suffer from this if he meditates upon him like that.
===The Example of Lakṣmī Devī===
Supposing a beggar meditates upon Lakṣmī Devī—then as a result of that meditation, he identifies: "I am full of wealth." And thereafter he really gets the happiness of being a wealthy man, even if he does not have wealth. What wealth Śudhiram had, what wealth Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa had, what wealth Holy Mother had—but whoever went there, she uplifted their mind, the people's mind to a very high level.
===The Anecdote from 1973===
I have to remind you one of my anecdotes. In 1973, I was living at—not Mother's house—Balarāma Bābū's house, and the court just had given its verdict that this belongs to the Ramakrishna Order according to the will of Kṛṣṇamayī, the granddaughter of Balarāma Bābū's. And the court case had taken, I think, more than 30–35 years. Anyway, the verdict had come. I was living there, and I used to go for food, etc., to Mother's house, which is the most pleasant experience because going to Mother's house means most enjoyable things are available. You do not need to pray to Mother; they are already there. You go—if you make yourself as hungry as possible, you can enjoy that.
===The Sevaka's Reminiscence===
There was a sevaka, a person who served as an attendant to Holy Mother. He was very old—I forget his name now. So I was eager to know his reminiscences of while he was living with Holy Mother. Then specifically I asked: "So what about your ''kāma''—lust?" Because they were all very young youth, and there were so many women there—young women. And the women need not be Miss Universes, because when a person is in this mood of lust, any woman would look very beautiful. Then the Swami told me something extraordinary. He said: "So long as Holy Mother was alive, even the thought that I am a male never arose in all those male attendants." Then he added: "The moment Holy Mother passed away, as if we have come out of the river Gaṅgā, all the old sins are sitting on the branches on the bank of the river, and they all jumped. Now we have to struggle like anybody else." But then he said that because I distinctly remember how I was living in her presence, I meditate upon it, and that helps me to overcome. Old age is no obstruction for ''kāma'', ''krodha'', ''lobha'', ''moha'', ''mada'', ''mātsarya''—keep it in mind. So that is the result.
=='''Dik (Directions) Upāsana [दिक् उपासना]'''==
'''Then it comes on directions—''dik''.'''

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायं दिक्षु पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा द्वितीयोऽनपग इति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते द्वितीयवान्ह भवति नास्माद्गणश्छिद्यते॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.11'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyaṁ dikṣu puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā dvitīyo'napaga iti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste dvitīyavānha bhavati nāsmādgaṇaśchidyate||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.11'''

You know, Hinduism divides all this into four categories: East, West, South, North, and also in between—East and West, East and South, South and West, West and North. We call it ''Aṇḍavai''—you remember easily—mnemonics. So if somebody does contemplation upon it, what does he become? He gets two qualities: द्वितीयवानalways there will be somebody with him to help him, to serve him. He will never be without a second person taking care of him as long as the person is alive. So ''abhiyunuktatvaअभियुनुक्तत्वा''—that means inseparableness. So if a person is married, wife and husband live—only they die at the same time. But they will never be separable; they will not suffer from the separateness of one person dying.
===The Result===
'''''Sa ya etam evam upāste dvitīyavān bhavati nāsya gaṇāś chidyateय एतमेवमुपास्ते द्वितीयवान्ह भवति नास्माद्गणश्छिद्यते॥'''''—"Even his children—they will not die only in the full ''āyurdāya'' time—only they will die." Such a person who contemplates on the directions—East, West, South, North, etc.—as qualities of Hiraṇyagarbha will get the result of always being served, and of course he becomes more fit to become an apt student.
=='''Chāyā (Shadow) Upāsana[छाया उपासना]'''==
Then the next meditation is ''chāyā''.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायं छायामयः पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा मृत्युरिति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते सर्व हैवास्मिल्लोक आयुरेति नैनं पुरा कालान्मृत्युरागच्छति॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.12'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyaṁ chāyāmayaḥ puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā mṛtyuriti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste sarva haivāsmilloka āyureti nainaṁ purā kālānmṛtyurāgacchati|'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.12'''

'''''Chāyā''''' means shadow. So:

'''''Sa ya etam evam upāste sarvam āyur evāsmin loke ayate, nainaṃ pūrākālān mṛtyur agacchati.'''''

'''स य एतमेवमुपास्ते सर्व हैवास्मिल्लोक आयुरेति नैनं पुरा कालान्मृत्युरागच्छति॥'''

"He who meditates upon Hiraṇyagarbha as a shadow attains his full span of life in this world, and the shadow called death, which always follows us, does not come to him before the appointed time." That means ''apāmṛtyu''—untimely death—will never come to this one.
=='''Prajāpati Upāsana[प्रजापति उपासना]'''==
And the '''twelfth upāsana—the last one—is ''Ātma''—that is Prajāpati, the ''samaṣṭi'' itself.'''

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायमात्मनि पुरुषो एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स ह उवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा आत्मन्वीति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्त आत्मन्वी ह भवत्यात्मन्विनी हास्य प्रजा भवति स ह तूष्णीमास गार्ग्यः॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.13'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyamātmani puruṣo etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa ha uvācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā ātmanvīti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāsta ātmanvī ha bhavatyātmanvinī hāsya prajā bhavati sa ha tūṣṇīmāsa gārgyaḥ||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.13'''

All the Devatās put together are contemplated upon as '''Prajāpati—''rūpāṇi (प्रजापतिरूपाणि)):samaṣṭi-rūpāṇi(समष्टि-रूपाणि)'''''—upāsana. So what is the result? It means he will become one with everybody. He will have full self-control, total mastery over one's own self.
===The Shadow of Death===
So these are, in brief, the one—only—I just wanted to know that all of us are followed by the shadow of death. But one who meditates upon Hiraṇyagarbha as a shadow—that shadow will never—the shadow called death will never follow such a person. That means what does it mean? It really means that for the spiritual person, he overcomes the fear of death. "Let death come just now, tomorrow, after ten years, after a hundred years—it does not really matter." But I am not frightened of death because I know as soon as this physical body falls—that is called what we call death—then I become merged in this Hiraṇyagarbha because I have been meditating upon Hiraṇyagarbha.
===The Final Step===
And whoever meditates upon Hiraṇyagarbha, and Hiraṇyagarbha had these qualities—already Gārgya had some, and Ajātaśatru adds so many—then that Hiraṇyagarbha becomes full, and then whoever meditates becomes completely identified with Hiraṇyagarbha. Hiraṇyagarbha is Saguṇa Brahma. Saguṇa Brahma is '''''Māyādhiśvara''—'''He is the master of Māyā. Māyā means in the form of ''sṛṣṭi'', ''sthiti'', ''saṃhāra''—that is creation, sustenance, and re-emergence into its cause. A person will be free from these.
===Ready for the Final Step===
So that is how Ajātaśatru had trained his apt disciple Gārgya to become one with Hiraṇyagarbha. Now he is ready for the final step—how Hiraṇyagarbha has to be merged into th'''e Nirguṇa Brahma—''Parabrahma'', ''Satyasya Satyamपरब्रह्म सत्यस्य सत्यं[Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (2.1.20)]''.''' Hiraṇyagarbha is the ''satyam''—truth—and '''Nirguṇa Brahma is ''Satyasya Satyam''.''' And that is the beautiful topic, and Ajātaśatru, in the form of taking Gārgya by hand to a sleeping person, wakes him up. And he tries to explain what happens in deep sleep, and that is what we also had studied in the '''Māṇḍūkyakārikā,''' especially '''Gauḍapāda's teaching'''. But the same thing, we will try to talk in simpler terms in our next class onwards. I will also give you a methodology of approaching how to understand the forthcoming mantras—how Ajātaśatru had Gārgya understand.

== 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 1.2-13 Lecture 46 on 28 June 2026

2026-08-28T14:20:08Z

Gayatri: /* Daivī Sampat */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.'''

'''''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.'''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

'''OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH'''

'''OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.'''

'''OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.'''

==Introduction: Gārgya and Ajātaśatru==
In our last class, we started analysing what Gārgya was trying to teach to Ajātaśatru, and how after hearing from Gārgya, Ajātaśatru started adding some more upāsanas. '''Every upāsana is a divine quality to be acquired by one who is aspiring to become Brahman'''—to become '''a fit recipient, to become a worthy student.'''
===The Essence of Vedānta===
So we have discussed two of those upāsanas. '''So one was the Sun. According to Vedānta'''—that means Hinduism is a common name for Vedānta. Vedānta, by the way, should not be identified with Advaita. '''Vedānta means the essence of the Vedas,''' which includes the dualistic philosophy, qualified non-dualistic philosophy, and also the highest non-dualistic philosophy—'''Dvaita, Viśiṣṭādvaita, and Advaita'''. The essence of these upāsanās is: each soul is potentially divine. The word "potentiality" means—in our understanding—forgotten divinity. Each soul has forgotten that he is the Divine, and we remember that we are not divine, but we are something else; we are individuals.
===Who Is an Advanced Human Being?===
This enquiry does not fit for any other non-human being, only to human beings—that too, '''advanced human beings.''' And who are the advanced human beings? '''Those who need not struggle for survival, those who have enough'''. Why do we say that? Because if somebody—let us say a field worker—he cannot survive without working. So manual labour is the only way for him to continue his living. Such persons have limited time and limited capacity, limited intelligence. Therefore, we have to understand that certain conditions need to be fulfilled.
===The Three Conditions===
A person, first of all, is '''highly developed in intellec'''t. Second, he has '''gone through all these experiences through many a life—'''many janmas. Thirdly, he has '''started analysing himself'''. Then he found out whatever he experienced, he was lacking. And then only the enquiry comes: "I have thoroughly examined the entire physical phenomena, the external world, and I do not see what can fulfil my true desire." And then '''he turns inward''', and then he has to struggle through various stages.
===The Need for a Guru===
For such a student, he has to become a student, because '''no student can ever understand what the scripture tells except through a Guru.''' Even in the case of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, when he intuitively understood that only my Divine Mother is my Guru, he surrendered himself—like Arjuna:

'''शिष्यस्तेऽहं शाधि मां त्वां प्रपन्नम्.'''

''śiṣyas te 'haṃ śādhi māṃ tvāṃ prapannam. [Bhagavad Gita 2.7]''

Whenever we read about this particular line in the second chapter, we have to remind how Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said: "I am a fool." He was not a fool—but "fool" in what sense? That I do not know anything about Brahmavidyā. But he was not a fool with regard to worldly objects and worldly experiences. His understanding of the world, his knowledge of the world, is far superior to any other person. He understands by analysing thoroughly, objectively, that really speaking, he finds out there is no essence there; it is only an illusion. And then only he stops searching for what he wants to achieve outside and turns his attention inside.
===Daivī Sampat['''''दैवी सम्पत्'''''.]===
But even that turning inside—to become a fit disciple—he has to acquire what Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa says: '''''Daivī Sampatदैवी सम्पत्'''''. And there are many—and I told you earlier that these qualities, whether demonic or divine or spiritual, come in gangs/ groups. You cannot have one single without being supported by the other, either way. So Ajātaśatru found out Gārgya was having some spiritual qualities. He was humble; he was ready and open to truth from wherever it comes. So that is why God—in the form of Ajātaśatru—has started helping Gārgya: "You develop these qualities." How did he help? "You contemplate this particular quality. Go on thinking day in and day out; meditate with perfect concentration. And what we think, that is what we become."
===The Twelve Upāsanas===
So, as I said, it is not mentioned here, but as soon as Ajātaśatru taught him—"These are the qualities you have to develop"—immediately Gārgya must have practised. We do not know whether it took months or years; that is not mentioned. But we have to presume that Gārgya had acquired one by one, one after the other, those divine spiritual qualities—''Daivī Sampat'''दैवी सम्पत्'''''—and then only Ajātaśatru proceeds to the next stage. This is the development.

And then there were twelve upāsanas mentioned by Gārgya of which he was aware only partially, not in their fullness. And Ajātaśatru completes the understanding of Gārgya, makes him contemplate upon those—the specific word used here is '''''upāseउपासे'''''—"O Gārgya, you do contemplation on this particular quality also."
===The Psychological Fact===
So we were trying to analyse those qualities, and we have already taken up two or three qualities. We will just remind. The first is his meditation on the '''Sun—Āditya'''. As I mentioned, never forget: t'''he sun, the moon, the lightning, the vāyu (air), the ākāśa'''—all these are '''nature,''' but nature as '''Brahman Devatā'''. So certain qualities are superimposed upon them. Even though—let us take an example—even though there is a stone image of Śiva—Śivaliṅga—but by taking it as a support, a true Śiva-bhakta (devotee of Śiva) contemplates: "My Iṣṭadevatā (chosen deity) is all-pervading, all-compassionate, all-forgiving, and He is the supreme most. He is the praiseworthy." Like that, thinking of one particular quality until it becomes one's own nature is the real result. That also the Upaniṣad mentions: if anybody contemplates in this particular way, he becomes the most important person, he acquires tremendous spiritual splendour, he becomes the greatest, he becomes the most intelligent person, etc. So whatever we think, that is what we become. And this is a psychological fact which has been accepted by every psychologist.
===The Devatās===
So first '''Āditya,''' then we have seen three qualities added.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवासावादित्ये पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा अतिष्ठाः सर्वेषां भूतानां मूर्धा राजेति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्तेऽतिष्ठाः सर्वेषां भूतानां मूर्धा राजा भवति॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.2'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāsāvāditye puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā atiṣṭhāḥ sarveṣāṁ bhūtānāṁ mūrdhā rājeti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste'atiṣṭhāḥ sarveṣāṁ bhūtānāṁ mūrdhā rājā bhavati||

And then he took up '''Chandra is the second'''.
स होवाच गार्ग्योः य एवासौ चन्द्रे पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा बृहन्पाण्दरवासाः सोमो राजेति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्तेहरहर्ह सुतः प्रसुतो भवति नास्यान्नं क्षीयते॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.3'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyoḥ ya evāsau candre puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā bṛhanpāṇdaravāsāḥ somo rājeti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāsteaharaharha sutaḥ prasuto bhavati nāsyānnaṁ kṣīyate||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.3'''

And '''Chandra Devatā, Sūrya Devatā, Vidyud Devatā, e'''tc.—we have to add, even though that epithet is not given in this Upaniṣad. '''So what is a Devatā?''' Without whose existence our existence is not possible. So the one particular aspect of our existence combined—'''''samaṣṭi'', universal—'''is called Devatā. So the moon is taken up, and that Chandra Devatā is meditated upon as Hiraṇyagarbha. Now one of the qualities is '''Hiraṇyagarbha quality.''' So Ajātaśatru—the Guru, now the teacher—adds three qualities: '''''Bṛhat'', ''Pāṇḍaravat'', ''Somarāja'''''. '''बृहन्पाण्दरवासाः सोमो राजेति वा''' And incidentally, '''these are also the qualities of Prāṇadevatāप्रानदेवत—''samaṣṭi'' समष्टिPrāṇadevatā.''' Whenever I say ''prāṇa'', it is individual. Whenever I say ''Prāṇadevatā'', you have to understand it is the presiding deity, the person—the Devatā—who is manifesting in everybody in that particular format. Please keep this in mind.
===The Three Qualities of Chandraचन्द्र उपासना===
'''''Bṛhat''''' '''बृहत्'''means he becomes expanded. Just as a person who comes after a hard work—a manual labourer comes back—imagine there is a full moon and then he stands. It is likely he forgets the whole world because the Chandra Devatā delights everybody, gives joy to everybody, and it is the purest white. And His grace—Chandra Devatā's grace—is on everybody. '''So ''Bṛhat'' means indiscriminately bestowing His grace upon everybody.'''

'''''Pāṇḍaravatपान्दरवत्'''''—pure. ''Pāṇḍu'' means white; pure means ''śuddhaशुद्ध''. Very pure. So the '''upāsaka becomes pure'''. The upāsaka delights everybody because happiness is his very nature, and that is indicated as the '''third quality—''Somarājaसोमराजः''.''' ''Soma'' is a kind of plant, and they used to extract the juice which is like a mild intoxicant, and it gives tremendous joy, lifts up at least temporarily. And we have to imagine that is why ecstasy is another name for another of these drugs—ecstatic state. However, whatever be the state previously, as soon as a person imbibes, immediately he becomes tremendously aware of a change of consciousness, a change of perception. That means his '''mind forgets temporarily his temporary state of body and mind and enters into a delightful state.''' That is why they are so addictive. So '''''Somarājaḥसोमराजः'''''. It is also said that the '''Soma plant creeper only grows in plenty and in fullness only when the moonlight influences''' it. So they are connected together. But it is a well-known scientific fact that a full moon—when you stand in front of it—certainly delights everybody's heart.
===The Result===
So these are the three qualities: '''''Bṛhat'', ''Pāṇḍaravat'', ''Somarāja'''''.'''बृहन्पाण्दरवासाः सोमो राजेति वा''' And as I mentioned, these are also happen to be the qualities of '''''samaṣṭi समष्टिPrāṇadevatāप्रानदेवत''''', and that is going to come later on. So anybody who meditates becomes great, becomes pure, and becomes a very delightful, happy personality towards whom everybody is attracted. Because we are really attracted only towards happiness. A man looks at a woman, thinks she is very beautiful. It is not the beauty; it is the happiness that the concept of beauty brings. A man looks at a sweet; it is not the sweet; it is the delight, the happiness that is the resultant of coming into contact with that sweet, becoming that sweet, '''becoming one with him when he eats, and that quality of happiness temporarily becomes one with this person. S'''o we are not really attracted to any object, but '''we are attracted towards what is happiness, but mistakenly manifested, mistakenly understood as the properties of those attractive, desirable objects.'''
===Vidyut (Lightning)विद्युत् उपासना===
So we have seen that one. '''''Vidyut''''' is also we discussed.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवास्यौ विद्युति पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठाः तेजस्वीति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते तेजस्वी ह भवति तेजस्विनी हास्य प्रजा भवति॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.4'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāsyau vidyuti puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhāḥ tejasvīti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste tejasvī ha bhavati tejasvinī hāsya prajā bhavati||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.4'''

So Ajātaśatru heard from Gārgya: "I contemplate upon lightning." And then Ajātaśatru says: "That is okay; that is a good thing. But I contemplate upon this lightning as '''''Tejasvī''—Hiraṇyagarbhaतेजस्वी हिरण्यगर्भ.'''" Remember, the ''vidyut'' (lightning) is an aspect of Hiraṇyagarbha. The moon is an aspect of Hiraṇyagarbha. The sun is an aspect of Hiraṇyagarbha. As I mentioned yesterday, all the presiding deities are the combined particular quality in every human, in every living creature. As an example, just to remind you: '''all the seeing power in every creature in the form of the eye—all the eyes combined—''sahasrākṣaḥ sahasrapāt सहस्राक्षः सहस्रपात् Purusha Suktam-- from Rig Veda - Mandala 10 - Sukta 90 mantra 1''—so that is called Sūrya Devatā.''' So '''all the minds together is called the Chandra Devatā. A'''nd here '''''Tejasvī'' means splendour.''' There is a special splendour. It is not a power that emanates; it is a natural quality because lightning means light. Tremendous power is there. So '''''tejas''—power''', tremendous commanding capacity, and a brilliant shining personality. All these qualities are involved in this meditation upāsana called ''Tejasvī''. So Ajātaśatru says: "I meditate upon lightning as ''tejas''—divine splendour." And whoever meditates, that becomes that particular person's own nature, part of his personality. So he becomes ''Tejasvī''. That is why I said: saints' heads are often depicted as having a halo like that.
==Ākāśa Upāsana [आकाश उपासना]==
The next upāsana, the f'''ourth upāsana, is called Ākāśa Upāsana.'''

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायमाकाशे पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठाः पूर्णमप्रवर्तीति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते पूर्यते प्रजया पशुभिः नास्यास्माल्लोकात्प्रजोद्वर्तते॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.5'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyamākāśe puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhāḥ pūrṇamapravartīti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste pūryate prajayā paśubhiḥ nāsyāsmāllokātprajodvartate||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.5'''

And when we are talking about this Ākāśa Upāsana earlier, we have seen what are the '''similarities between Ākāśa and Ātman'''. Ākāśa is the very first manifestation of Ātman. So both are infinite; both are uncontaminable—nothing can touch them. Both are indivisible; both are all-pervading; both are supporting everything in this world. So inevitably, everyone has to meditate upon Ākāśa, succeed in it at least to some extent. Then he will have a glimpse of what Ātman could be.
===Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Experience===
I also quoted what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's own experience: "I was like a bird flying in the infinite sky." And do not immediately say that it falls. Suppose the bird gets tired and then falls down and then dashes itself against the earth or a rock and dies. These are called negative thoughts; they should not be entertained. Ākāśa means infinite. In infinity, there is no up and down, east or west, above and below. Nothing is there. So that is a beautiful meditation—joyously flying. There is no other being excepting me. And this is a very high and difficult upāsana to practise.
===The Two Qualities of Ākāśa===
Here it is. I am just reminding you: Gārgya said, "I worship—I do upāsana—on Ākāśa.'''" He says with two special glories—''Pūrṇaḥ'' and ''Apravṛtti''.''' So why ''Pūrṇa''? Because whenever we objectify a thing, the objectifying means it is limited. But Ākāśa is unlimited. Therefore, we have to think—even though it is a thought, even though the mind can only think in limited terms, limited by time, space, and causation—we have to intellectually contemplate it as '''''Pūrṇaḥ''.''' ''Pūrṇaḥ'' means infinite.

'''पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पूर्णमुदच्यते | पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ||'''

'''''pūrṇamadaḥ pūrṇamidaṃ pūrṇāt pūrṇamudacyate |'' pūrṇasya pūrṇamādāya pūrṇamevāvaśiṣyate ||-'''''shanti mantra from yajurveda''

So it is ''Pūrṇam''. And then '''''Apravṛttiअप्रवृत्ति''—that means actionless'''. So light is actionless. I say "light is illumining" as an example. All these concepts require a little bit of self-analysis. So light is illumining an object—that is how we express. Without light, I cannot see an object, experience an object, but as soon as light comes—either electricity or natural light—immediately it illumines. But our understanding should be deeper. You go and suppose you ask the light: "Did you illumine?" It says: "What are you talking about? I do not know anything about illuminating anything." Because if light thinks "I am illuminating," then it is a quality of the light, and sometimes the quality can be manifest, sometimes unmanifest. That means what? Sometimes the light decides: "I will show this person what this object is." And another time: "I do not like this person, so I am not going to illuminate." Light will be there, but that illumination will be absent—by the will of the light. But that is not the case. Fire burns; fire does not know anything. But in its presence, by its very nature, anything that comes into contact—even nearby contact—with fire automatically burns. It has nothing to do with the fire. This is illumining without the thought that "I am illumining." That is the concept we must have with regard to so many things.
===Ākāśa as Supporter===
With Ākāśa, it is the supporter of all, and it is uncontaminable. So that is why it is said that any number of impurities can be thrown into space, but space is never contaminated. So this is how one has to understand, though Ākāśa does not really do anything. But without Ākāśa, nothing can be done. You cannot construct a house. You cannot construct a workspace. You cannot move one millimetre if there were to be no space. But space itself does not know anything about it. It is '''''asparśa''—अस्पर्श'''completely non-touchable, non-influenceable. That is how one has to understand. It does not act, and i'''t is also ''kriyā-rahita'''''. '''क्रिया रहित''' ''Pūrṇaḥ''—it is infinite, and in infinity, there is no time, space, and causation. There is no action; there is no inaction. That is how we have to understand.
===The Result of This Upāsana===
"This is how I meditated before I attained Brahmajñāna," says Ajātaśatru to Gārgya. "You also must acquire these qualities." What does it mean? You become a Karma Yogi. You feel that "the cause of me is Brahman. I am the Ātman. I am '''''Pūrṇamadaḥ'', ''Pūrṇamidamपूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं''''' . And I do not need to do anything because I am Sat-Cit-Ānanda by my very nature." So if I am of the nature of bliss, if I do something, you know what happens? Instead of being happy, I will be subjected to unhappiness because an object is limiting. An object definitely limits the subject also. So we must go beyond subject and object.
===Upāsana Means Becoming One===
So Ajātaśatru teaches Gārgya: "You do upāsana." I am using this word '''''upāsana''''' because meditation, contemplation, concentration—these words really do not express what can be expressed by this word. ''Upāsana'' means what? '''Completely becoming one with the object of our contemplation.''' So He is infinite, and whatever is infinite is beyond any action, because everything that a person does is to obtain something which is not there. But when he becomes infinite, the subject, the object, the desirable, the undesirable—everything is included in the ''Pūrṇa''. Actually speaking, there is nothing undesirable. Even the worst thing is nothing but Brahman.
===The Example of Bhairavī Brāhmaṇī===
And in order to teach this lesson to Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, while Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was practising Tāntrika sādhana, Bhairavī Brāhmaṇī did so many things. I will only mention two. One day she brought some faeces and said: "My child, please taste them—not eat them, but taste them." And a revolution had arisen in the mind of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. And then Bhairavī Brāhmaṇī perceived it and said: "What is there? Look here, I am doing it." And without any revulsion or hatred, how can it be done? Only by considering it as a manifestation of the Divine Mother who is everywhere—or Brahman, if you like. So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said: "Immediately I was possessed by Caṇḍikā, and immediately I had no revulsion at all."
===The Dung Beetle===
Actually, look at it. There is a beetle called dung beetle. And the dung beetle's food is only dung. What is dung for us is the nutritious food for the dung beetle. And if you can imagine a dung beetle—a devotee of Brahman? In fact, there is no one who is not a devotee of Brahman, because every creature's unconscious prayer is: '''"Let me exist forever; let me be full of consciousness; let me be ''Ānandasvarūpa''—''asato mā sadgamaya'', etc."'''

'''ॐ असतो मा सद्गमय[oṃ asato mā sadgamaya,]'''

'''तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय,[tamaso mā jyotirgamaya]'''

'''मृत्योर्मा अमृतं गमय[mṛtyormā amṛtaṃ gamaya]''[Brihad . Upanishad 1.3.28'']'''

These are called '''Abhyaroha Mantras['''''ref.lecture 20 dated 29th march 202'''''6]'''

So unconsciously, we are all—there is nobody from that viewpoint who is a disbeliever in God. Only if you use the word "God," there will be a problem. But if you believe that '''God means existence, pure consciousness, and unbroken bliss—''ānanda''—then everybody wants only God.''' Everybody is a spark of God. Everybody is a devotee of God. Only temporarily, our mind does not allow us to recognise that fact.
===Apravṛtti '''''अप्रवृत्ति''''' and Kriyāvān'''''क्रियावान'''''===
So ''Apravṛtti'','''''अप्रवृत्ति''''' ''kriyāvān'''क्रियावान'''''—this is how: all the full ''ānanda'' is within me. I do not desire anything other than ''ānanda''. An object is desired only if I think I do not have the ''ānanda'' of this particular object—for example, a sweet—then I desire sweet. When I am having unbroken happiness, my ''ānanda'' is ''pūrṇa''—infinite. Where is the question of any desire? Where there is no desire, there is absolutely no action.
==Vāyu Upāsana [वायु उपासना]==
The next upāsana is '''Vāyu'''.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायं वायौ पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा इन्द्रो वैकुण्ठोऽपराजिता सेनेति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते जिष्णुर्हापराजिष्णुर्भवत्यन्यतस्त्यजायी॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.6'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyaṁ vāyau puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā indro vaikuṇṭho'parājitā seneti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste jiṣṇurhāparājiṣṇurbhavatyanyatastyajāyī||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.6'''

You know, slowly some of the Pañcabhūtas are taken out for upāsana. Vāyu means air. We all know Vāyu means oxygen—Prāṇadevatā'''प्रानदेवत'''. Without breathing sixteen times a minute, we will not be able to survive. And those who suffer from asthma, they understand what I am talking much better. So you close your nostrils and hold up your breathing—you will understand what I am talking about.
===The Three Glories of Vāyudevatā===
So here also the three glories are there of Vāyudevatā, that is Prāṇadevatā: '''''Indraḥ'', ''Vaikuṇṭhaḥ'', ''Aparājitasenāḥइन्द्रो वैकुण्ठोऽपराजिता सेनेति वा'''''. ''Indra'' '''इन्द्र'''means Īśvara, because what is the first thing? Life. "I want to be, I want to exist"—and that comes only from Prāṇadevatā'''प्रानदेवत'''. Prāṇadevatā comes in the form of Vāyu, especially oxygen. What is oxygen for human beings and other animals is poison to all the plants. So for the plants, what we breathe out—that is called carbon dioxide—that is the oxygen for them. So in whichever case—oxygen or carbon dioxide—both are manifestations of Vāyudevatā, Prāṇadevatā.
===The Three Qualities===
He has got—you are contemplating fine. But now you have to contemplate the same '''Vāyu as Hiraṇyagarbha'''—as '''''Indraḥइन्द्र'''''—the king of the kings; and '''''Vaikuṇṭhaḥवैकुण्ठ:''—'''meaning extremely intelligent, ''amandaḥ''—do not imagine Nārāyaṇa's loka Vaikuṇṭha. In fact, it is where there is '''no ''kuṇṭhaकुण्ठ:'''''—there is '''no lack'''—and pure consciousness is the location where God is revealed. Therefore, Vaikuṇṭha means '''''amandaḥअमन्दः''—not at all dull'''. That means he is very intelligent, he is active, he is energetic, he is agile, dynamic, etc. And '''''Aparājitasenāḥअपराजित सेनाः''—one whose army is never defeated,''' one who has got invincible forces or undefeatable power. ''Aparājitasenāḥ''—that means one who has got an army which is invincible.
===The Spiritual Context===
But how do we understand in the spiritual context? We have to understand that the spiritual qualities—if I possess the spiritual quality of particularly this Vāyudevatā—then any amount of unspiritual forces (what in the ancient days, especially Christian saints, used to term as demons, devils) they cannot defeat me.
===The Story of the Saint and the Devil===
There is a beautiful story. There was a great saint, and the devil wanted to conquer him. So he came to him and revealed himself as an angel, thinking: "This person will become very proud—'Oh, what a great man I am! I had the vision of Saint Peter the Great angels.'" But the saint was too clever for this devil. Devils are not clever at all; now their thinking is very limited. So the angel is telling: "I have come from God. Rejoice!" Immediately the saint says: "I am not such a great soul that God can bestow—send his angels to me. So I do not deserve your vision." The moment the devil hears it, he hangs his head down and immediately flees away. There is no way to conquer this saint. Whereas a loyal person thinks: " how fortunate I am!" So for a few days he will think—in fact, there are so many stories which I am not going to go into.
===Humility===
So this person is humility itself. Therefore, when a person is so humble:

'''तृणादपि सुनीचेन.'''

'''''tṛṇād api sunīcena.-shikshashtakam verse 3 by Sri chaitanya mahaprabhu'''''

That is what Caitanya Mahāprabhu says: "Even lower than a blade of grass"—considering himself or herself lower than a blade of grass—and nothing can defeat him. Because if a devil comes, he will say: "I am not equal to you; you are greater than me." And there is nothing the devil can do to this humble person. Humility means complete possession by the Spirit of God; when we make space, then pure Ākāśa—pure air—takes its place. When we empty our heart, pure divinity will be manifesting there.
===Hanumān and Bhīmasena===
So Vāyu is the most powerful. That is why Añjaneya—nobody can defeat him:

'''मनोजवं मारुततुल्यवेगं जितेन्द्रियं बुद्धिमतां वरिष्ठम् | वातात्मजं वानरयूथमुख्यं श्रीरामदूतं शिरसा नमामि || [Ramaraksha stotram verse 33]'''

'''''manojavaṃ mārutatulyavegaṃ jitendriyaṃ buddhimatāṃ variṣṭham |'' vātātmajaṃ vānarayūthamukhyaṃ śrīrāmadūtaṃ śirasā namāmi ||Ramaraksha stotram verse 33]'''

And Bhīmasena—so in the Mahābhārata, Añjaneya wanted to bestow his grace on Bhīmasena. So he took the form of an old monkey with a thick big tail lying on a narrow path. Bhīmasena said: "You please withdraw your form. I want to cross, otherwise you are elderly, so I do not want to step over you." And the old monkey—Añjaneya—said: "I am too weak. Will you please help me just to put my tail to a side first?" So Bhīmasena tried with one finger—little finger—could not. Then he used all the five fingers—could not. He used one hand—could not. Used both hands—could not. And he used all his energy—could not. Immediately that flashed in his head: "This is not an ordinary old monkey. It must be my eldest brother, elder brother Añjaneya." Immediately he fell at his feet. They were all spiritual people, these Pañca Pāṇḍavas. So immediately Añjaneya gave him a boon: "Tell your Arjuna to keep a flag, and in that flag I will reside, and whoever looks at this flag, his heart will fail on the spot." So Bhīmasena was very, very strong. Añjaneya was invincible. So that is the ''senā''. Whoever has got the grace of Vāyudevatā becomes invincible, and even Mṛtyudevatā does not dare to come near until the allotted time has come.
==Agni Upāsana [अग्नि उपासना]==
The next upāsana is Agni—fire.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायमग्नौ पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा विषासहिरिति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते विषासहिर्ह भवति विषासहिर्हास्य प्रजा भवति॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.7'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyamagnau puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā viṣāsahiriti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste viṣāsahirha bhavati viṣāsahirhāsya prajā bhavati||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.7'''

So only one ''viśeṣaṇa'' is there. What is it? ''Viśhasāhā''.विषासहिरिति वा ''Viśhasāhā'' means Agni. Whatever we throw into the fire, it accepts it, burns it—even if it is the most impure, it will not keep it. So that is why He will not get angry with you. "Why did you throw this impure thing into me?" He turns everything into the purest. Throw into fire anything that is pure or impure—everything it will turn into the most purest substance by breaking down, absorbing, destroying all the impurities. That is why fire is called the most purifying aspect. So Agni takes anything given to it, and He does not complain. Whatever we give, He accepts it. And if we give with devotion, He will turn it completely into something very pure.
==Apaḥ (Water) Upāsana['''''आपःउपासना]'''''==
The next is '''''Apaḥआपः'''''—water.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायमप्सु पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठाः प्रतिरूप इति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते प्रतिरूप हैवैनमुपगच्छति नाप्रतिरूपमथो प्रतिरुपोऽस्माज्जायते॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.8'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyamapsu puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhāḥ pratirūpa iti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste pratirūpa haivainamupagacchati nāpratirūpamatho pratirupo'smājjāyate||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.8'''

We know one of the Pañca Devatās. Agni we have seen, Vāyu we have seen. So take it—''Apaḥ'' आपःmeans water. Water is taken for upāsana, and here Ajātaśatru adds one more specific quality of Hiraṇyagarbha for Gārgya to contemplate upon. It is called ''Pratirūpa'','''प्रतिरूप''' meaning ''samāna-rūpam'''समान रूपं'''''—that is to say, if you peer into flowing water, as we have seen how Prajāpati instructed: "Bring a big pail of water and look yourselves into it—without dressing up, after dressing up—and what you see that is your true self." One step further in spiritual progress. So ''samāna-rūpam'''समान रूपं''''', ''pratirūpaḥ'''प्रतिरूप'''''—it means it reflects. But even a better reflector is there—that is called a mirror. We are going to come to it.
===The Result===
So what does it mean? What is the result the person will get? If anybody contemplates Hiraṇyagarbha in the form of this water, then the result he will get is ''samāna-putra-prāpti'''पुत्र प्राप्ति'''''<nowiki/>'''.''' His children will be as spiritual people as the father and mother are. Whether it is sons or daughters, they will also be—all of them will be only good children, taking after the mother and like the father.
==Ādarśa (Mirror) Upāsana ['''आदर्शः''उपासना]'''''==
The next higher is called '''''Ādarśa''.आदर्शः'''

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायमादर्शे पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा रोचिष्णुरिति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते रोचिष्णुर्ह भवति रोचिष्णुर्हास्य प्रजा भवत्यथो यैः संनिगच्छति सर्वास्तानतिरोचते॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.9'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyamādarśe puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā rociṣṇuriti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste rociṣṇurha bhavati rociṣṇurhāsya prajā bhavatyatho yaiḥ saṁnigacchati sarvāstānatirocate||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.9'''

'''''Ādarśa'' आदर्शः'''in Sanskrit means what we call mirror. What does a mirror do? It reflects. So Hiraṇyagarbha, if he is meditated upon with this quality called mirror quality, then what happens—that he reflects: "This is what you are." What does it mean? An ordinary mirror actually reflects. If a monkey stands in front of a mirror, only a monkey's ''svarūpa'' will come. But this is not an ordinary mirror; it is Hiraṇyagarbha. So when even an ignorant person stands in front of this Hiraṇyagarbha in the form of contemplating him as a mirror, that mirror called Hiraṇyagarbha reflects and shows: "You are not an ordinary human being; you are Hiraṇyagarbha." So the ''pratirūpa''—the reflection of the person who is standing in front of this divine mirror called Hiraṇyagarbha—the divine mirror only reflects divinity. So this is '''''svaccha-svabhāvaḥ'', ''śuddha-svabhāvaḥ''—pure Hiraṇyagarbha's ''svarūpaḥ''.''' So that is the eighth.
==Yantam Paścāt ŚabdaḥUpāsana यन्तं पश्चाच्छब्द:'''''उपासना'''''==
Then we will see the '''ninth one—''Yantam paścāt śabdaḥ''.'''

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायं यन्तं पश्चाच्छब्दोऽनूदेत्येतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुमा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा असुरिति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते सर्व हैवास्मिल्लोक आयुरेति नैनं पुरा कालात्प्राणो जहाति॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.10'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyaṁ yantaṁ paścācchabdo'nūdetyetamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrumā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā asuriti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste sarva haivāsmilloka āyureti nainaṁ purā kālātprāṇo jahāti||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.10'''

Supposing a person is running, and after some time his breathing becomes gasping. And meditate upon Hiraṇyagarbha with that gasping sound'''—''paścāt yantam'' ,''' '''''paścāt śabdaḥपश्चाच्छब्द:''. ''Yantamयन्तं''''' means one who is walking for a long time or running for a long time. '''''Paścāt''—after a long time''', what type of breathing comes out of that person who is running—that gasping sound. Gasping means what? He is trying to inhale more amount of oxygen. Meditate upon that. So every asthmatic patient knows, and it may be very convenient for him to do this one. So what is the Hiraṇyagarbha's quality? Meditate Hiraṇyagarbha as that—so '''''anuguṇatvena अनु गुणत्वेनprāṇaguṇatvenaप्राण गुणत्वेन'''''. That is to say, this person will obtain plenty of life energy from the source of this life energy, which is Hiraṇyagarbha, and this person lives for a long time because he will not suffer from this if he meditates upon him like that.
===The Example of Lakṣmī Devī===
Supposing a beggar meditates upon Lakṣmī Devī—then as a result of that meditation, he identifies: "I am full of wealth." And thereafter he really gets the happiness of being a wealthy man, even if he does not have wealth. What wealth Śudhiram had, what wealth Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa had, what wealth Holy Mother had—but whoever went there, she uplifted their mind, the people's mind to a very high level.
===The Anecdote from 1973===
I have to remind you one of my anecdotes. In 1973, I was living at—not Mother's house—Balarāma Bābū's house, and the court just had given its verdict that this belongs to the Ramakrishna Order according to the will of Kṛṣṇamayī, the granddaughter of Balarāma Bābū's. And the court case had taken, I think, more than 30–35 years. Anyway, the verdict had come. I was living there, and I used to go for food, etc., to Mother's house, which is the most pleasant experience because going to Mother's house means most enjoyable things are available. You do not need to pray to Mother; they are already there. You go—if you make yourself as hungry as possible, you can enjoy that.
===The Sevaka's Reminiscence===
There was a sevaka, a person who served as an attendant to Holy Mother. He was very old—I forget his name now. So I was eager to know his reminiscences of while he was living with Holy Mother. Then specifically I asked: "So what about your ''kāma''—lust?" Because they were all very young youth, and there were so many women there—young women. And the women need not be Miss Universes, because when a person is in this mood of lust, any woman would look very beautiful. Then the Swami told me something extraordinary. He said: "So long as Holy Mother was alive, even the thought that I am a male never arose in all those male attendants." Then he added: "The moment Holy Mother passed away, as if we have come out of the river Gaṅgā, all the old sins are sitting on the branches on the bank of the river, and they all jumped. Now we have to struggle like anybody else." But then he said that because I distinctly remember how I was living in her presence, I meditate upon it, and that helps me to overcome. Old age is no obstruction for ''kāma'', ''krodha'', ''lobha'', ''moha'', ''mada'', ''mātsarya''—keep it in mind. So that is the result.
==Dik (Directions) Upāsana [दिक् उपासना]==
'''Then it comes on directions—''dik''.'''

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायं दिक्षु पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा द्वितीयोऽनपग इति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते द्वितीयवान्ह भवति नास्माद्गणश्छिद्यते॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.11'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyaṁ dikṣu puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā dvitīyo'napaga iti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste dvitīyavānha bhavati nāsmādgaṇaśchidyate||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.11'''

You know, Hinduism divides all this into four categories: East, West, South, North, and also in between—East and West, East and South, South and West, West and North. We call it ''Aṇḍavai''—you remember easily—mnemonics. So if somebody does contemplation upon it, what does he become? He gets two qualities: द्वितीयवानalways there will be somebody with him to help him, to serve him. He will never be without a second person taking care of him as long as the person is alive. So ''abhiyunuktatvaअभियुनुक्तत्वा''—that means inseparableness. So if a person is married, wife and husband live—only they die at the same time. But they will never be separable; they will not suffer from the separateness of one person dying.
===The Result===
'''''Sa ya etam evam upāste dvitīyavān bhavati nāsya gaṇāś chidyateय एतमेवमुपास्ते द्वितीयवान्ह भवति नास्माद्गणश्छिद्यते॥'''''—"Even his children—they will not die only in the full ''āyurdāya'' time—only they will die." Such a person who contemplates on the directions—East, West, South, North, etc.—as qualities of Hiraṇyagarbha will get the result of always being served, and of course he becomes more fit to become an apt student.
==Chāyā (Shadow) Upāsana[छाया उपासना]==
Then the next meditation is ''chāyā''.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायं छायामयः पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा मृत्युरिति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते सर्व हैवास्मिल्लोक आयुरेति नैनं पुरा कालान्मृत्युरागच्छति॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.12'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyaṁ chāyāmayaḥ puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā mṛtyuriti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste sarva haivāsmilloka āyureti nainaṁ purā kālānmṛtyurāgacchati|'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.12'''

'''''Chāyā''''' means shadow. So:

'''''Sa ya etam evam upāste sarvam āyur evāsmin loke ayate, nainaṃ pūrākālān mṛtyur agacchati.'''''

'''स य एतमेवमुपास्ते सर्व हैवास्मिल्लोक आयुरेति नैनं पुरा कालान्मृत्युरागच्छति॥'''

"He who meditates upon Hiraṇyagarbha as a shadow attains his full span of life in this world, and the shadow called death, which always follows us, does not come to him before the appointed time." That means ''apāmṛtyu''—untimely death—will never come to this one.
==Prajāpati Upāsana[प्रजापति उपासना]==
And the '''twelfth upāsana—the last one—is ''Ātma''—that is Prajāpati, the ''samaṣṭi'' itself.'''

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायमात्मनि पुरुषो एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स ह उवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा आत्मन्वीति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्त आत्मन्वी ह भवत्यात्मन्विनी हास्य प्रजा भवति स ह तूष्णीमास गार्ग्यः॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.13'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyamātmani puruṣo etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa ha uvācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā ātmanvīti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāsta ātmanvī ha bhavatyātmanvinī hāsya prajā bhavati sa ha tūṣṇīmāsa gārgyaḥ||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.13'''

All the Devatās put together are contemplated upon as '''Prajāpati—''rūpāṇi (प्रजापतिरूपाणि)):samaṣṭi-rūpāṇi(समष्टि-रूपाणि)'''''—upāsana. So what is the result? It means he will become one with everybody. He will have full self-control, total mastery over one's own self.
===The Shadow of Death===
So these are, in brief, the one—only—I just wanted to know that all of us are followed by the shadow of death. But one who meditates upon Hiraṇyagarbha as a shadow—that shadow will never—the shadow called death will never follow such a person. That means what does it mean? It really means that for the spiritual person, he overcomes the fear of death. "Let death come just now, tomorrow, after ten years, after a hundred years—it does not really matter." But I am not frightened of death because I know as soon as this physical body falls—that is called what we call death—then I become merged in this Hiraṇyagarbha because I have been meditating upon Hiraṇyagarbha.
===The Final Step===
And whoever meditates upon Hiraṇyagarbha, and Hiraṇyagarbha had these qualities—already Gārgya had some, and Ajātaśatru adds so many—then that Hiraṇyagarbha becomes full, and then whoever meditates becomes completely identified with Hiraṇyagarbha. Hiraṇyagarbha is Saguṇa Brahma. Saguṇa Brahma is '''''Māyādhiśvara''—'''He is the master of Māyā. Māyā means in the form of ''sṛṣṭi'', ''sthiti'', ''saṃhāra''—that is creation, sustenance, and re-emergence into its cause. A person will be free from these.
===Ready for the Final Step===
So that is how Ajātaśatru had trained his apt disciple Gārgya to become one with Hiraṇyagarbha. Now he is ready for the final step—how Hiraṇyagarbha has to be merged into th'''e Nirguṇa Brahma—''Parabrahma'', ''Satyasya Satyamपरब्रह्म सत्यस्य सत्यं[Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (2.1.20)]''.''' Hiraṇyagarbha is the ''satyam''—truth—and '''Nirguṇa Brahma is ''Satyasya Satyam''.''' And that is the beautiful topic, and Ajātaśatru, in the form of taking Gārgya by hand to a sleeping person, wakes him up. And he tries to explain what happens in deep sleep, and that is what we also had studied in the '''Māṇḍūkyakārikā,''' especially '''Gauḍapāda's teaching'''. But the same thing, we will try to talk in simpler terms in our next class onwards. I will also give you a methodology of approaching how to understand the forthcoming mantras—how Ajātaśatru had Gārgya understand.

== 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 1.2-13 Lecture 46 on 28 June 2026

2026-08-28T14:04:58Z

Gayatri:

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.'''

'''''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.'''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

'''OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH'''

'''OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.'''

'''OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.'''

==Introduction: Gārgya and Ajātaśatru==
In our last class, we started analysing what Gārgya was trying to teach to Ajātaśatru, and how after hearing from Gārgya, Ajātaśatru started adding some more upāsanas. '''Every upāsana is a divine quality to be acquired by one who is aspiring to become Brahman'''—to become '''a fit recipient, to become a worthy student.'''
===The Essence of Vedānta===
So we have discussed two of those upāsanas. '''So one was the Sun. According to Vedānta'''—that means Hinduism is a common name for Vedānta. Vedānta, by the way, should not be identified with Advaita. '''Vedānta means the essence of the Vedas,''' which includes the dualistic philosophy, qualified non-dualistic philosophy, and also the highest non-dualistic philosophy—'''Dvaita, Viśiṣṭādvaita, and Advaita'''. The essence of these upāsanās is: each soul is potentially divine. The word "potentiality" means—in our understanding—forgotten divinity. Each soul has forgotten that he is the Divine, and we remember that we are not divine, but we are something else; we are individuals.
===Who Is an Advanced Human Being?===
This enquiry does not fit for any other non-human being, only to human beings—that too, '''advanced human beings.''' And who are the advanced human beings? '''Those who need not struggle for survival, those who have enough'''. Why do we say that? Because if somebody—let us say a field worker—he cannot survive without working. So manual labour is the only way for him to continue his living. Such persons have limited time and limited capacity, limited intelligence. Therefore, we have to understand that certain conditions need to be fulfilled.
===The Three Conditions===
A person, first of all, is '''highly developed in intellec'''t. Second, he has '''gone through all these experiences through many a life—'''many janmas. Thirdly, he has '''started analysing himself'''. Then he found out whatever he experienced, he was lacking. And then only the enquiry comes: "I have thoroughly examined the entire physical phenomena, the external world, and I do not see what can fulfil my true desire." And then '''he turns inward''', and then he has to struggle through various stages.
===The Need for a Guru===
For such a student, he has to become a student, because '''no student can ever understand what the scripture tells except through a Guru.''' Even in the case of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, when he intuitively understood that only my Divine Mother is my Guru, he surrendered himself—like Arjuna:

'''शिष्यस्तेऽहं शाधि मां त्वां प्रपन्नम्.'''

''śiṣyas te 'haṃ śādhi māṃ tvāṃ prapannam. [Bhagavad Gita 2.7]''

Whenever we read about this particular line in the second chapter, we have to remind how Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said: "I am a fool." He was not a fool—but "fool" in what sense? That I do not know anything about Brahmavidyā. But he was not a fool with regard to worldly objects and worldly experiences. His understanding of the world, his knowledge of the world, is far superior to any other person. He understands by analysing thoroughly, objectively, that really speaking, he finds out there is no essence there; it is only an illusion. And then only he stops searching for what he wants to achieve outside and turns his attention inside.
===Daivī Sampat===
But even that turning inside—to become a fit disciple—he has to acquire what Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa says: '''''Daivī Sampatदैवी सम्पत्'''''. And there are many—and I told you earlier that these qualities, whether demonic or divine or spiritual, come in gangs/ groups. You cannot have one single without being supported by the other, either way. So Ajātaśatru found out Gārgya was having some spiritual qualities. He was humble; he was ready and open to truth from wherever it comes. So that is why God—in the form of Ajātaśatru—has started helping Gārgya: "You develop these qualities." How did he help? "You contemplate this particular quality. Go on thinking day in and day out; meditate with perfect concentration. And what we think, that is what we become."
===The Twelve Upāsanas===
So, as I said, it is not mentioned here, but as soon as Ajātaśatru taught him—"These are the qualities you have to develop"—immediately Gārgya must have practised. We do not know whether it took months or years; that is not mentioned. But we have to presume that Gārgya had acquired one by one, one after the other, those divine spiritual qualities—''Daivī Sampat'''दैवी सम्पत्'''''—and then only Ajātaśatru proceeds to the next stage. This is the development.

And then there were twelve upāsanas mentioned by Gārgya of which he was aware only partially, not in their fullness. And Ajātaśatru completes the understanding of Gārgya, makes him contemplate upon those—the specific word used here is '''''upāseउपासे'''''—"O Gārgya, you do contemplation on this particular quality also."
===The Psychological Fact===
So we were trying to analyse those qualities, and we have already taken up two or three qualities. We will just remind. The first is his meditation on the '''Sun—Āditya'''. As I mentioned, never forget: t'''he sun, the moon, the lightning, the vāyu (air), the ākāśa'''—all these are '''nature,''' but nature as '''Brahman Devatā'''. So certain qualities are superimposed upon them. Even though—let us take an example—even though there is a stone image of Śiva—Śivaliṅga—but by taking it as a support, a true Śiva-bhakta (devotee of Śiva) contemplates: "My Iṣṭadevatā (chosen deity) is all-pervading, all-compassionate, all-forgiving, and He is the supreme most. He is the praiseworthy." Like that, thinking of one particular quality until it becomes one's own nature is the real result. That also the Upaniṣad mentions: if anybody contemplates in this particular way, he becomes the most important person, he acquires tremendous spiritual splendour, he becomes the greatest, he becomes the most intelligent person, etc. So whatever we think, that is what we become. And this is a psychological fact which has been accepted by every psychologist.
===The Devatās===
So first '''Āditya,''' then we have seen three qualities added.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवासावादित्ये पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा अतिष्ठाः सर्वेषां भूतानां मूर्धा राजेति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्तेऽतिष्ठाः सर्वेषां भूतानां मूर्धा राजा भवति॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.2'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāsāvāditye puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā atiṣṭhāḥ sarveṣāṁ bhūtānāṁ mūrdhā rājeti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste'atiṣṭhāḥ sarveṣāṁ bhūtānāṁ mūrdhā rājā bhavati||

And then he took up '''Chandra is the second'''.
स होवाच गार्ग्योः य एवासौ चन्द्रे पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा बृहन्पाण्दरवासाः सोमो राजेति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्तेहरहर्ह सुतः प्रसुतो भवति नास्यान्नं क्षीयते॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.3'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyoḥ ya evāsau candre puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā bṛhanpāṇdaravāsāḥ somo rājeti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāsteaharaharha sutaḥ prasuto bhavati nāsyānnaṁ kṣīyate||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.3'''

And '''Chandra Devatā, Sūrya Devatā, Vidyud Devatā, e'''tc.—we have to add, even though that epithet is not given in this Upaniṣad. '''So what is a Devatā?''' Without whose existence our existence is not possible. So the one particular aspect of our existence combined—'''''samaṣṭi'', universal—'''is called Devatā. So the moon is taken up, and that Chandra Devatā is meditated upon as Hiraṇyagarbha. Now one of the qualities is '''Hiraṇyagarbha quality.''' So Ajātaśatru—the Guru, now the teacher—adds three qualities: '''''Bṛhat'', ''Pāṇḍaravat'', ''Somarāja'''''. '''बृहन्पाण्दरवासाः सोमो राजेति वा''' And incidentally, '''these are also the qualities of Prāṇadevatāप्रानदेवत—''samaṣṭi'' समष्टिPrāṇadevatā.''' Whenever I say ''prāṇa'', it is individual. Whenever I say ''Prāṇadevatā'', you have to understand it is the presiding deity, the person—the Devatā—who is manifesting in everybody in that particular format. Please keep this in mind.
===The Three Qualities of Chandra===
'''''Bṛhat''''' '''बृहत्'''means he becomes expanded. Just as a person who comes after a hard work—a manual labourer comes back—imagine there is a full moon and then he stands. It is likely he forgets the whole world because the Chandra Devatā delights everybody, gives joy to everybody, and it is the purest white. And His grace—Chandra Devatā's grace—is on everybody. '''So ''Bṛhat'' means indiscriminately bestowing His grace upon everybody.'''

'''''Pāṇḍaravatपान्दरवत्'''''—pure. ''Pāṇḍu'' means white; pure means ''śuddhaशुद्ध''. Very pure. So the '''upāsaka becomes pure'''. The upāsaka delights everybody because happiness is his very nature, and that is indicated as the '''third quality—''Somarājaसोमराजः''.''' ''Soma'' is a kind of plant, and they used to extract the juice which is like a mild intoxicant, and it gives tremendous joy, lifts up at least temporarily. And we have to imagine that is why ecstasy is another name for another of these drugs—ecstatic state. However, whatever be the state previously, as soon as a person imbibes, immediately he becomes tremendously aware of a change of consciousness, a change of perception. That means his '''mind forgets temporarily his temporary state of body and mind and enters into a delightful state.''' That is why they are so addictive. So '''''Somarājaḥसोमराजः'''''. It is also said that the '''Soma plant creeper only grows in plenty and in fullness only when the moonlight influences''' it. So they are connected together. But it is a well-known scientific fact that a full moon—when you stand in front of it—certainly delights everybody's heart.
===The Result===
So these are the three qualities: '''''Bṛhat'', ''Pāṇḍaravat'', ''Somarāja'''''.'''बृहन्पाण्दरवासाः सोमो राजेति वा''' And as I mentioned, these are also happen to be the qualities of '''''samaṣṭi समष्टिPrāṇadevatāप्रानदेवत''''', and that is going to come later on. So anybody who meditates becomes great, becomes pure, and becomes a very delightful, happy personality towards whom everybody is attracted. Because we are really attracted only towards happiness. A man looks at a woman, thinks she is very beautiful. It is not the beauty; it is the happiness that the concept of beauty brings. A man looks at a sweet; it is not the sweet; it is the delight, the happiness that is the resultant of coming into contact with that sweet, becoming that sweet, '''becoming one with him when he eats, and that quality of happiness temporarily becomes one with this person. S'''o we are not really attracted to any object, but '''we are attracted towards what is happiness, but mistakenly manifested, mistakenly understood as the properties of those attractive, desirable objects.'''
===Vidyut (Lightning)===
So we have seen that one. '''''Vidyut''''' is also we discussed.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवास्यौ विद्युति पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठाः तेजस्वीति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते तेजस्वी ह भवति तेजस्विनी हास्य प्रजा भवति॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.4'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāsyau vidyuti puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhāḥ tejasvīti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste tejasvī ha bhavati tejasvinī hāsya prajā bhavati||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.4'''

So Ajātaśatru heard from Gārgya: "I contemplate upon lightning." And then Ajātaśatru says: "That is okay; that is a good thing. But I contemplate upon this lightning as '''''Tejasvī''—Hiraṇyagarbhaतेजस्वी हिरण्यगर्भ.'''" Remember, the ''vidyut'' (lightning) is an aspect of Hiraṇyagarbha. The moon is an aspect of Hiraṇyagarbha. The sun is an aspect of Hiraṇyagarbha. As I mentioned yesterday, all the presiding deities are the combined particular quality in every human, in every living creature. As an example, just to remind you: '''all the seeing power in every creature in the form of the eye—all the eyes combined—''sahasrākṣaḥ sahasrapāt सहस्राक्षः सहस्रपात् Purusha Suktam-- from Rig Veda - Mandala 10 - Sukta 90 mantra 1''—so that is called Sūrya Devatā.''' So '''all the minds together is called the Chandra Devatā. A'''nd here '''''Tejasvī'' means splendour.''' There is a special splendour. It is not a power that emanates; it is a natural quality because lightning means light. Tremendous power is there. So '''''tejas''—power''', tremendous commanding capacity, and a brilliant shining personality. All these qualities are involved in this meditation upāsana called ''Tejasvī''. So Ajātaśatru says: "I meditate upon lightning as ''tejas''—divine splendour." And whoever meditates, that becomes that particular person's own nature, part of his personality. So he becomes ''Tejasvī''. That is why I said: saints' heads are often depicted as having a halo like that.
==Ākāśa Upāsana==
The next upāsana, the f'''ourth upāsana, is called Ākāśa Upāsana.'''

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायमाकाशे पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठाः पूर्णमप्रवर्तीति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते पूर्यते प्रजया पशुभिः नास्यास्माल्लोकात्प्रजोद्वर्तते॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.5'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyamākāśe puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhāḥ pūrṇamapravartīti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste pūryate prajayā paśubhiḥ nāsyāsmāllokātprajodvartate||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.5'''

And when we are talking about this Ākāśa Upāsana earlier, we have seen what are the '''similarities between Ākāśa and Ātman'''. Ākāśa is the very first manifestation of Ātman. So both are infinite; both are uncontaminable—nothing can touch them. Both are indivisible; both are all-pervading; both are supporting everything in this world. So inevitably, everyone has to meditate upon Ākāśa, succeed in it at least to some extent. Then he will have a glimpse of what Ātman could be.
===Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Experience===
I also quoted what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's own experience: "I was like a bird flying in the infinite sky." And do not immediately say that it falls. Suppose the bird gets tired and then falls down and then dashes itself against the earth or a rock and dies. These are called negative thoughts; they should not be entertained. Ākāśa means infinite. In infinity, there is no up and down, east or west, above and below. Nothing is there. So that is a beautiful meditation—joyously flying. There is no other being excepting me. And this is a very high and difficult upāsana to practise.
===The Two Qualities of Ākāśa===
Here it is. I am just reminding you: Gārgya said, "I worship—I do upāsana—on Ākāśa.'''" He says with two special glories—''Pūrṇaḥ'' and ''Apravṛtti''.''' So why ''Pūrṇa''? Because whenever we objectify a thing, the objectifying means it is limited. But Ākāśa is unlimited. Therefore, we have to think—even though it is a thought, even though the mind can only think in limited terms, limited by time, space, and causation—we have to intellectually contemplate it as '''''Pūrṇaḥ''.''' ''Pūrṇaḥ'' means infinite.

'''पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पूर्णमुदच्यते | पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ||'''

'''''pūrṇamadaḥ pūrṇamidaṃ pūrṇāt pūrṇamudacyate |'' pūrṇasya pūrṇamādāya pūrṇamevāvaśiṣyate ||-'''''shanti mantra from yajurveda''

So it is ''Pūrṇam''. And then '''''Apravṛttiअप्रवृत्ति''—that means actionless'''. So light is actionless. I say "light is illumining" as an example. All these concepts require a little bit of self-analysis. So light is illumining an object—that is how we express. Without light, I cannot see an object, experience an object, but as soon as light comes—either electricity or natural light—immediately it illumines. But our understanding should be deeper. You go and suppose you ask the light: "Did you illumine?" It says: "What are you talking about? I do not know anything about illuminating anything." Because if light thinks "I am illuminating," then it is a quality of the light, and sometimes the quality can be manifest, sometimes unmanifest. That means what? Sometimes the light decides: "I will show this person what this object is." And another time: "I do not like this person, so I am not going to illuminate." Light will be there, but that illumination will be absent—by the will of the light. But that is not the case. Fire burns; fire does not know anything. But in its presence, by its very nature, anything that comes into contact—even nearby contact—with fire automatically burns. It has nothing to do with the fire. This is illumining without the thought that "I am illumining." That is the concept we must have with regard to so many things.
===Ākāśa as Supporter===
With Ākāśa, it is the supporter of all, and it is uncontaminable. So that is why it is said that any number of impurities can be thrown into space, but space is never contaminated. So this is how one has to understand, though Ākāśa does not really do anything. But without Ākāśa, nothing can be done. You cannot construct a house. You cannot construct a workspace. You cannot move one millimetre if there were to be no space. But space itself does not know anything about it. It is '''''asparśa''—अस्पर्श'''completely non-touchable, non-influenceable. That is how one has to understand. It does not act, and i'''t is also ''kriyā-rahita'''''. '''क्रिया रहित''' ''Pūrṇaḥ''—it is infinite, and in infinity, there is no time, space, and causation. There is no action; there is no inaction. That is how we have to understand.
===The Result of This Upāsana===
"This is how I meditated before I attained Brahmajñāna," says Ajātaśatru to Gārgya. "You also must acquire these qualities." What does it mean? You become a Karma Yogi. You feel that "the cause of me is Brahman. I am the Ātman. I am '''''Pūrṇamadaḥ'', ''Pūrṇamidamपूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं''''' . And I do not need to do anything because I am Sat-Cit-Ānanda by my very nature." So if I am of the nature of bliss, if I do something, you know what happens? Instead of being happy, I will be subjected to unhappiness because an object is limiting. An object definitely limits the subject also. So we must go beyond subject and object.
===Upāsana Means Becoming One===
So Ajātaśatru teaches Gārgya: "You do upāsana." I am using this word '''''upāsana''''' because meditation, contemplation, concentration—these words really do not express what can be expressed by this word. ''Upāsana'' means what? '''Completely becoming one with the object of our contemplation.''' So He is infinite, and whatever is infinite is beyond any action, because everything that a person does is to obtain something which is not there. But when he becomes infinite, the subject, the object, the desirable, the undesirable—everything is included in the ''Pūrṇa''. Actually speaking, there is nothing undesirable. Even the worst thing is nothing but Brahman.
===The Example of Bhairavī Brāhmaṇī===
And in order to teach this lesson to Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, while Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was practising Tāntrika sādhana, Bhairavī Brāhmaṇī did so many things. I will only mention two. One day she brought some faeces and said: "My child, please taste them—not eat them, but taste them." And a revolution had arisen in the mind of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. And then Bhairavī Brāhmaṇī perceived it and said: "What is there? Look here, I am doing it." And without any revulsion or hatred, how can it be done? Only by considering it as a manifestation of the Divine Mother who is everywhere—or Brahman, if you like. So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said: "Immediately I was possessed by Caṇḍikā, and immediately I had no revulsion at all."
===The Dung Beetle===
Actually, look at it. There is a beetle called dung beetle. And the dung beetle's food is only dung. What is dung for us is the nutritious food for the dung beetle. And if you can imagine a dung beetle—a devotee of Brahman? In fact, there is no one who is not a devotee of Brahman, because every creature's unconscious prayer is: '''"Let me exist forever; let me be full of consciousness; let me be ''Ānandasvarūpa''—''asato mā sadgamaya'', etc."'''

'''ॐ असतो मा सद्गमय[oṃ asato mā sadgamaya,]'''

'''तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय,[tamaso mā jyotirgamaya]'''

'''मृत्योर्मा अमृतं गमय[mṛtyormā amṛtaṃ gamaya]''[Brihad . Upanishad 1.3.28'']'''

These are called '''Abhyaroha Mantras['''''ref.lecture 20 dated 29th march 202'''''6]'''

So unconsciously, we are all—there is nobody from that viewpoint who is a disbeliever in God. Only if you use the word "God," there will be a problem. But if you believe that '''God means existence, pure consciousness, and unbroken bliss—''ānanda''—then everybody wants only God.''' Everybody is a spark of God. Everybody is a devotee of God. Only temporarily, our mind does not allow us to recognise that fact.
===Apravṛtti and Kriyāvān===
So ''Apravṛtti'','''''अप्रवृत्ति''''' ''kriyāvān'''क्रियावान'''''—this is how: all the full ''ānanda'' is within me. I do not desire anything other than ''ānanda''. An object is desired only if I think I do not have the ''ānanda'' of this particular object—for example, a sweet—then I desire sweet. When I am having unbroken happiness, my ''ānanda'' is ''pūrṇa''—infinite. Where is the question of any desire? Where there is no desire, there is absolutely no action.
==Vāyu Upāsana==
The next upāsana is '''Vāyu'''.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायं वायौ पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा इन्द्रो वैकुण्ठोऽपराजिता सेनेति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते जिष्णुर्हापराजिष्णुर्भवत्यन्यतस्त्यजायी॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.6'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyaṁ vāyau puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā indro vaikuṇṭho'parājitā seneti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste jiṣṇurhāparājiṣṇurbhavatyanyatastyajāyī||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.6'''

You know, slowly some of the Pañcabhūtas are taken out for upāsana. Vāyu means air. We all know Vāyu means oxygen—Prāṇadevatā'''प्रानदेवत'''. Without breathing sixteen times a minute, we will not be able to survive. And those who suffer from asthma, they understand what I am talking much better. So you close your nostrils and hold up your breathing—you will understand what I am talking about.
===The Three Glories of Vāyudevatā===
So here also the three glories are there of Vāyudevatā, that is Prāṇadevatā: '''''Indraḥ'', ''Vaikuṇṭhaḥ'', ''Aparājitasenāḥइन्द्रो वैकुण्ठोऽपराजिता सेनेति वा'''''. ''Indra'' '''इन्द्र'''means Īśvara, because what is the first thing? Life. "I want to be, I want to exist"—and that comes only from Prāṇadevatā'''प्रानदेवत'''. Prāṇadevatā comes in the form of Vāyu, especially oxygen. What is oxygen for human beings and other animals is poison to all the plants. So for the plants, what we breathe out—that is called carbon dioxide—that is the oxygen for them. So in whichever case—oxygen or carbon dioxide—both are manifestations of Vāyudevatā, Prāṇadevatā.
===The Three Qualities===
He has got—you are contemplating fine. But now you have to contemplate the same '''Vāyu as Hiraṇyagarbha'''—as '''''Indraḥइन्द्र'''''—the king of the kings; and '''''Vaikuṇṭhaḥवैकुण्ठ:''—'''meaning extremely intelligent, ''amandaḥ''—do not imagine Nārāyaṇa's loka Vaikuṇṭha. In fact, it is where there is '''no ''kuṇṭhaकुण्ठ:'''''—there is '''no lack'''—and pure consciousness is the location where God is revealed. Therefore, Vaikuṇṭha means '''''amandaḥअमन्दः''—not at all dull'''. That means he is very intelligent, he is active, he is energetic, he is agile, dynamic, etc. And '''''Aparājitasenāḥअपराजित सेनाः''—one whose army is never defeated,''' one who has got invincible forces or undefeatable power. ''Aparājitasenāḥ''—that means one who has got an army which is invincible.
===The Spiritual Context===
But how do we understand in the spiritual context? We have to understand that the spiritual qualities—if I possess the spiritual quality of particularly this Vāyudevatā—then any amount of unspiritual forces (what in the ancient days, especially Christian saints, used to term as demons, devils) they cannot defeat me.
===The Story of the Saint and the Devil===
There is a beautiful story. There was a great saint, and the devil wanted to conquer him. So he came to him and revealed himself as an angel, thinking: "This person will become very proud—'Oh, what a great man I am! I had the vision of Saint Peter the Great angels.'" But the saint was too clever for this devil. Devils are not clever at all; now their thinking is very limited. So the angel is telling: "I have come from God. Rejoice!" Immediately the saint says: "I am not such a great soul that God can bestow—send his angels to me. So I do not deserve your vision." The moment the devil hears it, he hangs his head down and immediately flees away. There is no way to conquer this saint. Whereas a loyal person thinks: " how fortunate I am!" So for a few days he will think—in fact, there are so many stories which I am not going to go into.
===Humility===
So this person is humility itself. Therefore, when a person is so humble:

'''तृणादपि सुनीचेन.'''

'''''tṛṇād api sunīcena.-shikshashtakam verse 3 by Sri chaitanya mahaprabhu'''''

That is what Caitanya Mahāprabhu says: "Even lower than a blade of grass"—considering himself or herself lower than a blade of grass—and nothing can defeat him. Because if a devil comes, he will say: "I am not equal to you; you are greater than me." And there is nothing the devil can do to this humble person. Humility means complete possession by the Spirit of God; when we make space, then pure Ākāśa—pure air—takes its place. When we empty our heart, pure divinity will be manifesting there.
===Hanumān and Bhīmasena===
So Vāyu is the most powerful. That is why Añjaneya—nobody can defeat him:

'''मनोजवं मारुततुल्यवेगं जितेन्द्रियं बुद्धिमतां वरिष्ठम् | वातात्मजं वानरयूथमुख्यं श्रीरामदूतं शिरसा नमामि || [Ramaraksha stotram verse 33]'''

'''''manojavaṃ mārutatulyavegaṃ jitendriyaṃ buddhimatāṃ variṣṭham |'' vātātmajaṃ vānarayūthamukhyaṃ śrīrāmadūtaṃ śirasā namāmi ||Ramaraksha stotram verse 33]'''

And Bhīmasena—so in the Mahābhārata, Añjaneya wanted to bestow his grace on Bhīmasena. So he took the form of an old monkey with a thick big tail lying on a narrow path. Bhīmasena said: "You please withdraw your form. I want to cross, otherwise you are elderly, so I do not want to step over you." And the old monkey—Añjaneya—said: "I am too weak. Will you please help me just to put my tail to a side first?" So Bhīmasena tried with one finger—little finger—could not. Then he used all the five fingers—could not. He used one hand—could not. Used both hands—could not. And he used all his energy—could not. Immediately that flashed in his head: "This is not an ordinary old monkey. It must be my eldest brother, elder brother Añjaneya." Immediately he fell at his feet. They were all spiritual people, these Pañca Pāṇḍavas. So immediately Añjaneya gave him a boon: "Tell your Arjuna to keep a flag, and in that flag I will reside, and whoever looks at this flag, his heart will fail on the spot." So Bhīmasena was very, very strong. Añjaneya was invincible. So that is the ''senā''. Whoever has got the grace of Vāyudevatā becomes invincible, and even Mṛtyudevatā does not dare to come near until the allotted time has come.
==Agni Upāsana==
The next upāsana is Agni—fire.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायमग्नौ पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा विषासहिरिति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते विषासहिर्ह भवति विषासहिर्हास्य प्रजा भवति॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.7'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyamagnau puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā viṣāsahiriti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste viṣāsahirha bhavati viṣāsahirhāsya prajā bhavati||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.7'''

So only one ''viśeṣaṇa'' is there. What is it? ''Viśhasāhā''.विषासहिरिति वा ''Viśhasāhā'' means Agni. Whatever we throw into the fire, it accepts it, burns it—even if it is the most impure, it will not keep it. So that is why He will not get angry with you. "Why did you throw this impure thing into me?" He turns everything into the purest. Throw into fire anything that is pure or impure—everything it will turn into the most purest substance by breaking down, absorbing, destroying all the impurities. That is why fire is called the most purifying aspect. So Agni takes anything given to it, and He does not complain. Whatever we give, He accepts it. And if we give with devotion, He will turn it completely into something very pure.
==Apaḥ (Water) Upāsana==
The next is ''Apaḥआपः''—water.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायमप्सु पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठाः प्रतिरूप इति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते प्रतिरूप हैवैनमुपगच्छति नाप्रतिरूपमथो प्रतिरुपोऽस्माज्जायते॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.8'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyamapsu puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhāḥ pratirūpa iti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste pratirūpa haivainamupagacchati nāpratirūpamatho pratirupo'smājjāyate||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.8'''

We know one of the Pañca Devatās. Agni we have seen, Vāyu we have seen. So take it—''Apaḥ'' आपःmeans water. Water is taken for upāsana, and here Ajātaśatru adds one more specific quality of Hiraṇyagarbha for Gārgya to contemplate upon. It is called ''Pratirūpa'','''प्रतिरूप''' meaning ''samāna-rūpam'''समान रूपं'''''—that is to say, if you peer into flowing water, as we have seen how Prajāpati instructed: "Bring a big pail of water and look yourselves into it—without dressing up, after dressing up—and what you see that is your true self." One step further in spiritual progress. So ''samāna-rūpam'''समान रूपं''''', ''pratirūpaḥ'''प्रतिरूप'''''—it means it reflects. But even a better reflector is there—that is called a mirror. We are going to come to it.
===The Result===
So what does it mean? What is the result the person will get? If anybody contemplates Hiraṇyagarbha in the form of this water, then the result he will get is ''samāna-putra-prāpti'''पुत्र प्राप्ति'''''<nowiki/>'''.''' His children will be as spiritual people as the father and mother are. Whether it is sons or daughters, they will also be—all of them will be only good children, taking after the mother and like the father.
==Ādarśa (Mirror) Upāsana==
The next higher is called ''Ādarśa''.आदर्शः

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायमादर्शे पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा रोचिष्णुरिति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते रोचिष्णुर्ह भवति रोचिष्णुर्हास्य प्रजा भवत्यथो यैः संनिगच्छति सर्वास्तानतिरोचते॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.9'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyamādarśe puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā rociṣṇuriti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste rociṣṇurha bhavati rociṣṇurhāsya prajā bhavatyatho yaiḥ saṁnigacchati sarvāstānatirocate||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.9'''

'''''Ādarśa'' आदर्शः'''in Sanskrit means what we call mirror. What does a mirror do? It reflects. So Hiraṇyagarbha, if he is meditated upon with this quality called mirror quality, then what happens—that he reflects: "This is what you are." What does it mean? An ordinary mirror actually reflects. If a monkey stands in front of a mirror, only a monkey's ''svarūpa'' will come. But this is not an ordinary mirror; it is Hiraṇyagarbha. So when even an ignorant person stands in front of this Hiraṇyagarbha in the form of contemplating him as a mirror, that mirror called Hiraṇyagarbha reflects and shows: "You are not an ordinary human being; you are Hiraṇyagarbha." So the ''pratirūpa''—the reflection of the person who is standing in front of this divine mirror called Hiraṇyagarbha—the divine mirror only reflects divinity. So this is '''''svaccha-svabhāvaḥ'', ''śuddha-svabhāvaḥ''—pure Hiraṇyagarbha's ''svarūpaḥ''.''' So that is the eighth.
==Yantam Paścāt Śabdaḥ यन्तं पश्चाच्छब्द:Upāsana==
Then we will see the '''ninth one—''Yantam paścāt śabdaḥ''.'''

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायं यन्तं पश्चाच्छब्दोऽनूदेत्येतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुमा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा असुरिति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते सर्व हैवास्मिल्लोक आयुरेति नैनं पुरा कालात्प्राणो जहाति॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.10'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyaṁ yantaṁ paścācchabdo'nūdetyetamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrumā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā asuriti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste sarva haivāsmilloka āyureti nainaṁ purā kālātprāṇo jahāti||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.10'''

Supposing a person is running, and after some time his breathing becomes gasping. And meditate upon Hiraṇyagarbha with that gasping sound'''—''paścāt yantam'' ,''' '''''paścāt śabdaḥपश्चाच्छब्द:''. ''Yantamयन्तं''''' means one who is walking for a long time or running for a long time. '''''Paścāt''—after a long time''', what type of breathing comes out of that person who is running—that gasping sound. Gasping means what? He is trying to inhale more amount of oxygen. Meditate upon that. So every asthmatic patient knows, and it may be very convenient for him to do this one. So what is the Hiraṇyagarbha's quality? Meditate Hiraṇyagarbha as that—so '''''anuguṇatvena अनु गुणत्वेनprāṇaguṇatvenaप्राण गुणत्वेन'''''. That is to say, this person will obtain plenty of life energy from the source of this life energy, which is Hiraṇyagarbha, and this person lives for a long time because he will not suffer from this if he meditates upon him like that.
===The Example of Lakṣmī Devī===
Supposing a beggar meditates upon Lakṣmī Devī—then as a result of that meditation, he identifies: "I am full of wealth." And thereafter he really gets the happiness of being a wealthy man, even if he does not have wealth. What wealth Śudhiram had, what wealth Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa had, what wealth Holy Mother had—but whoever went there, she uplifted their mind, the people's mind to a very high level.
===The Anecdote from 1973===
I have to remind you one of my anecdotes. In 1973, I was living at—not Mother's house—Balarāma Bābū's house, and the court just had given its verdict that this belongs to the Ramakrishna Order according to the will of Kṛṣṇamayī, the granddaughter of Balarāma Bābū's. And the court case had taken, I think, more than 30–35 years. Anyway, the verdict had come. I was living there, and I used to go for food, etc., to Mother's house, which is the most pleasant experience because going to Mother's house means most enjoyable things are available. You do not need to pray to Mother; they are already there. You go—if you make yourself as hungry as possible, you can enjoy that.
===The Sevaka's Reminiscence===
There was a sevaka, a person who served as an attendant to Holy Mother. He was very old—I forget his name now. So I was eager to know his reminiscences of while he was living with Holy Mother. Then specifically I asked: "So what about your ''kāma''—lust?" Because they were all very young youth, and there were so many women there—young women. And the women need not be Miss Universes, because when a person is in this mood of lust, any woman would look very beautiful. Then the Swami told me something extraordinary. He said: "So long as Holy Mother was alive, even the thought that I am a male never arose in all those male attendants." Then he added: "The moment Holy Mother passed away, as if we have come out of the river Gaṅgā, all the old sins are sitting on the branches on the bank of the river, and they all jumped. Now we have to struggle like anybody else." But then he said that because I distinctly remember how I was living in her presence, I meditate upon it, and that helps me to overcome. Old age is no obstruction for ''kāma'', ''krodha'', ''lobha'', ''moha'', ''mada'', ''mātsarya''—keep it in mind. So that is the result.
==Dik (Directions) Upāsana==
'''Then it comes on directions—''dik''.'''

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायं दिक्षु पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा द्वितीयोऽनपग इति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते द्वितीयवान्ह भवति नास्माद्गणश्छिद्यते॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.11'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyaṁ dikṣu puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā dvitīyo'napaga iti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste dvitīyavānha bhavati nāsmādgaṇaśchidyate||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.11'''

You know, Hinduism divides all this into four categories: East, West, South, North, and also in between—East and West, East and South, South and West, West and North. We call it ''Aṇḍavai''—you remember easily—mnemonics. So if somebody does contemplation upon it, what does he become? He gets two qualities: द्वितीयवानalways there will be somebody with him to help him, to serve him. He will never be without a second person taking care of him as long as the person is alive. So ''abhiyunuktatvaअभियुनुक्तत्वा''—that means inseparableness. So if a person is married, wife and husband live—only they die at the same time. But they will never be separable; they will not suffer from the separateness of one person dying.
===The Result===
'''''Sa ya etam evam upāste dvitīyavān bhavati nāsya gaṇāś chidyateय एतमेवमुपास्ते द्वितीयवान्ह भवति नास्माद्गणश्छिद्यते॥'''''—"Even his children—they will not die only in the full ''āyurdāya'' time—only they will die." Such a person who contemplates on the directions—East, West, South, North, etc.—as qualities of Hiraṇyagarbha will get the result of always being served, and of course he becomes more fit to become an apt student.
==Chāyā (Shadow) Upāsana==
Then the next meditation is ''chāyā''.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायं छायामयः पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा मृत्युरिति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते सर्व हैवास्मिल्लोक आयुरेति नैनं पुरा कालान्मृत्युरागच्छति॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.12'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyaṁ chāyāmayaḥ puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā mṛtyuriti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste sarva haivāsmilloka āyureti nainaṁ purā kālānmṛtyurāgacchati|'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.12'''

'''''Chāyā''''' means shadow. So:

'''''Sa ya etam evam upāste sarvam āyur evāsmin loke ayate, nainaṃ pūrākālān mṛtyur agacchati.'''''

'''स य एतमेवमुपास्ते सर्व हैवास्मिल्लोक आयुरेति नैनं पुरा कालान्मृत्युरागच्छति॥'''

"He who meditates upon Hiraṇyagarbha as a shadow attains his full span of life in this world, and the shadow called death, which always follows us, does not come to him before the appointed time." That means ''apāmṛtyu''—untimely death—will never come to this one.
==Prajāpati Upāsana==
And the '''twelfth upāsana—the last one—is ''Ātma''—that is Prajāpati, the ''samaṣṭi'' itself.'''

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायमात्मनि पुरुषो एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स ह उवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा आत्मन्वीति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्त आत्मन्वी ह भवत्यात्मन्विनी हास्य प्रजा भवति स ह तूष्णीमास गार्ग्यः॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.13'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyamātmani puruṣo etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa ha uvācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā ātmanvīti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāsta ātmanvī ha bhavatyātmanvinī hāsya prajā bhavati sa ha tūṣṇīmāsa gārgyaḥ||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.13'''

All the Devatās put together are contemplated upon as '''Prajāpati—''rūpāṇi (प्रजापतिरूपाणि)):samaṣṭi-rūpāṇi(समष्टि-रूपाणि)'''''—upāsana. So what is the result? It means he will become one with everybody. He will have full self-control, total mastery over one's own self.
===The Shadow of Death===
So these are, in brief, the one—only—I just wanted to know that all of us are followed by the shadow of death. But one who meditates upon Hiraṇyagarbha as a shadow—that shadow will never—the shadow called death will never follow such a person. That means what does it mean? It really means that for the spiritual person, he overcomes the fear of death. "Let death come just now, tomorrow, after ten years, after a hundred years—it does not really matter." But I am not frightened of death because I know as soon as this physical body falls—that is called what we call death—then I become merged in this Hiraṇyagarbha because I have been meditating upon Hiraṇyagarbha.
===The Final Step===
And whoever meditates upon Hiraṇyagarbha, and Hiraṇyagarbha had these qualities—already Gārgya had some, and Ajātaśatru adds so many—then that Hiraṇyagarbha becomes full, and then whoever meditates becomes completely identified with Hiraṇyagarbha. Hiraṇyagarbha is Saguṇa Brahma. Saguṇa Brahma is '''''Māyādhiśvara''—'''He is the master of Māyā. Māyā means in the form of ''sṛṣṭi'', ''sthiti'', ''saṃhāra''—that is creation, sustenance, and re-emergence into its cause. A person will be free from these.
===Ready for the Final Step===
So that is how Ajātaśatru had trained his apt disciple Gārgya to become one with Hiraṇyagarbha. Now he is ready for the final step—how Hiraṇyagarbha has to be merged into th'''e Nirguṇa Brahma—''Parabrahma'', ''Satyasya Satyam''.''' Hiraṇyagarbha is the ''satyam''—truth—and '''Nirguṇa Brahma is ''Satyasya Satyam''.''' And that is the beautiful topic, and Ajātaśatru, in the form of taking Gārgya by hand to a sleeping person, wakes him up. And he tries to explain what happens in deep sleep, and that is what we also had studied in the Māṇḍūkyakārikā, especially Gauḍapāda's teaching. But the same thing, we will try to talk in simpler terms in our next class onwards. I will also give you a methodology of approaching how to understand the forthcoming mantras—how Ajātaśatru had Gārgya understand.

== 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 1.2-13 Lecture 46 on 28 June 2026

2026-08-27T15:59:36Z

Gayatri: /* Apravṛtti and Kriyāvān */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.'''

'''''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.'''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

'''OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH'''

'''OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.'''

'''OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.'''

==Introduction: Gārgya and Ajātaśatru==
In our last class, we started analysing what Gārgya was trying to teach to Ajātaśatru, and how after hearing from Gārgya, Ajātaśatru started adding some more upāsanas. '''Every upāsana is a divine quality to be acquired by one who is aspiring to become Brahman'''—to become '''a fit recipient, to become a worthy student.'''
===The Essence of Vedānta===
So we have discussed two of those upāsanas. '''So one was the Sun. According to Vedānta'''—that means Hinduism is a common name for Vedānta. Vedānta, by the way, should not be identified with Advaita. '''Vedānta means the essence of the Vedas,''' which includes the dualistic philosophy, qualified non-dualistic philosophy, and also the highest non-dualistic philosophy—'''Dvaita, Viśiṣṭādvaita, and Advaita'''. The essence of these upāsanās is: each soul is potentially divine. The word "potentiality" means—in our understanding—forgotten divinity. Each soul has forgotten that he is the Divine, and we remember that we are not divine, but we are something else; we are individuals.
===Who Is an Advanced Human Being?===
This enquiry does not fit for any other non-human being, only to human beings—that too, '''advanced human beings.''' And who are the advanced human beings? '''Those who need not struggle for survival, those who have enough'''. Why do we say that? Because if somebody—let us say a field worker—he cannot survive without working. So manual labour is the only way for him to continue his living. Such persons have limited time and limited capacity, limited intelligence. Therefore, we have to understand that certain conditions need to be fulfilled.
===The Three Conditions===
A person, first of all, is '''highly developed in intellec'''t. Second, he has '''gone through all these experiences through many a life—'''many janmas. Thirdly, he has '''started analysing himself'''. Then he found out whatever he experienced, he was lacking. And then only the enquiry comes: "I have thoroughly examined the entire physical phenomena, the external world, and I do not see what can fulfil my true desire." And then '''he turns inward''', and then he has to struggle through various stages.
===The Need for a Guru===
For such a student, he has to become a student, because '''no student can ever understand what the scripture tells except through a Guru.''' Even in the case of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, when he intuitively understood that only my Divine Mother is my Guru, he surrendered himself—like Arjuna:

'''शिष्यस्तेऽहं शाधि मां त्वां प्रपन्नम्.'''

''śiṣyas te 'haṃ śādhi māṃ tvāṃ prapannam. [Bhagavad Gita 2.7]''

Whenever we read about this particular line in the second chapter, we have to remind how Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said: "I am a fool." He was not a fool—but "fool" in what sense? That I do not know anything about Brahmavidyā. But he was not a fool with regard to worldly objects and worldly experiences. His understanding of the world, his knowledge of the world, is far superior to any other person. He understands by analysing thoroughly, objectively, that really speaking, he finds out there is no essence there; it is only an illusion. And then only he stops searching for what he wants to achieve outside and turns his attention inside.
===Daivī Sampat===
But even that turning inside—to become a fit disciple—he has to acquire what Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa says: '''''Daivī Sampatदैवी सम्पत्'''''. And there are many—and I told you earlier that these qualities, whether demonic or divine or spiritual, come in gangs/ groups. You cannot have one single without being supported by the other, either way. So Ajātaśatru found out Gārgya was having some spiritual qualities. He was humble; he was ready and open to truth from wherever it comes. So that is why God—in the form of Ajātaśatru—has started helping Gārgya: "You develop these qualities." How did he help? "You contemplate this particular quality. Go on thinking day in and day out; meditate with perfect concentration. And what we think, that is what we become."
===The Twelve Upāsanas===
So, as I said, it is not mentioned here, but as soon as Ajātaśatru taught him—"These are the qualities you have to develop"—immediately Gārgya must have practised. We do not know whether it took months or years; that is not mentioned. But we have to presume that Gārgya had acquired one by one, one after the other, those divine spiritual qualities—''Daivī Sampat'''दैवी सम्पत्'''''—and then only Ajātaśatru proceeds to the next stage. This is the development.

And then there were twelve upāsanas mentioned by Gārgya of which he was aware only partially, not in their fullness. And Ajātaśatru completes the understanding of Gārgya, makes him contemplate upon those—the specific word used here is '''''upāseउपासे'''''—"O Gārgya, you do contemplation on this particular quality also."
===The Psychological Fact===
So we were trying to analyse those qualities, and we have already taken up two or three qualities. We will just remind. The first is his meditation on the '''Sun—Āditya'''. As I mentioned, never forget: t'''he sun, the moon, the lightning, the vāyu (air), the ākāśa'''—all these are '''nature,''' but nature as '''Brahman Devatā'''. So certain qualities are superimposed upon them. Even though—let us take an example—even though there is a stone image of Śiva—Śivaliṅga—but by taking it as a support, a true Śiva-bhakta (devotee of Śiva) contemplates: "My Iṣṭadevatā (chosen deity) is all-pervading, all-compassionate, all-forgiving, and He is the supreme most. He is the praiseworthy." Like that, thinking of one particular quality until it becomes one's own nature is the real result. That also the Upaniṣad mentions: if anybody contemplates in this particular way, he becomes the most important person, he acquires tremendous spiritual splendour, he becomes the greatest, he becomes the most intelligent person, etc. So whatever we think, that is what we become. And this is a psychological fact which has been accepted by every psychologist.
===The Devatās===
So first '''Āditya,''' then we have seen three qualities added.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवासावादित्ये पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा अतिष्ठाः सर्वेषां भूतानां मूर्धा राजेति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्तेऽतिष्ठाः सर्वेषां भूतानां मूर्धा राजा भवति॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.2'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāsāvāditye puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā atiṣṭhāḥ sarveṣāṁ bhūtānāṁ mūrdhā rājeti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste'atiṣṭhāḥ sarveṣāṁ bhūtānāṁ mūrdhā rājā bhavati||

And then he took up '''Chandra is the second'''.
स होवाच गार्ग्योः य एवासौ चन्द्रे पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा बृहन्पाण्दरवासाः सोमो राजेति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्तेहरहर्ह सुतः प्रसुतो भवति नास्यान्नं क्षीयते॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.3'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyoḥ ya evāsau candre puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā bṛhanpāṇdaravāsāḥ somo rājeti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāsteaharaharha sutaḥ prasuto bhavati nāsyānnaṁ kṣīyate||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.3'''

And '''Chandra Devatā, Sūrya Devatā, Vidyud Devatā, e'''tc.—we have to add, even though that epithet is not given in this Upaniṣad. '''So what is a Devatā?''' Without whose existence our existence is not possible. So the one particular aspect of our existence combined—'''''samaṣṭi'', universal—'''is called Devatā. So the moon is taken up, and that Chandra Devatā is meditated upon as Hiraṇyagarbha. Now one of the qualities is '''Hiraṇyagarbha quality.''' So Ajātaśatru—the Guru, now the teacher—adds three qualities: '''''Bṛhat'', ''Pāṇḍaravat'', ''Somarāja'''''. '''बृहन्पाण्दरवासाः सोमो राजेति वा''' And incidentally, '''these are also the qualities of Prāṇadevatāप्रानदेवत—''samaṣṭi'' समष्टिPrāṇadevatā.''' Whenever I say ''prāṇa'', it is individual. Whenever I say ''Prāṇadevatā'', you have to understand it is the presiding deity, the person—the Devatā—who is manifesting in everybody in that particular format. Please keep this in mind.
===The Three Qualities of Chandra===
'''''Bṛhat''''' '''बृहत्'''means he becomes expanded. Just as a person who comes after a hard work—a manual labourer comes back—imagine there is a full moon and then he stands. It is likely he forgets the whole world because the Chandra Devatā delights everybody, gives joy to everybody, and it is the purest white. And His grace—Chandra Devatā's grace—is on everybody. '''So ''Bṛhat'' means indiscriminately bestowing His grace upon everybody.'''

'''''Pāṇḍaravatपान्दरवत्'''''—pure. ''Pāṇḍu'' means white; pure means ''śuddhaशुद्ध''. Very pure. So the '''upāsaka becomes pure'''. The upāsaka delights everybody because happiness is his very nature, and that is indicated as the '''third quality—''Somarājaसोमराजः''.''' ''Soma'' is a kind of plant, and they used to extract the juice which is like a mild intoxicant, and it gives tremendous joy, lifts up at least temporarily. And we have to imagine that is why ecstasy is another name for another of these drugs—ecstatic state. However, whatever be the state previously, as soon as a person imbibes, immediately he becomes tremendously aware of a change of consciousness, a change of perception. That means his '''mind forgets temporarily his temporary state of body and mind and enters into a delightful state.''' That is why they are so addictive. So '''''Somarājaḥसोमराजः'''''. It is also said that the '''Soma plant creeper only grows in plenty and in fullness only when the moonlight influences''' it. So they are connected together. But it is a well-known scientific fact that a full moon—when you stand in front of it—certainly delights everybody's heart.
===The Result===
So these are the three qualities: '''''Bṛhat'', ''Pāṇḍaravat'', ''Somarāja'''''.'''बृहन्पाण्दरवासाः सोमो राजेति वा''' And as I mentioned, these are also happen to be the qualities of '''''samaṣṭi समष्टिPrāṇadevatāप्रानदेवत''''', and that is going to come later on. So anybody who meditates becomes great, becomes pure, and becomes a very delightful, happy personality towards whom everybody is attracted. Because we are really attracted only towards happiness. A man looks at a woman, thinks she is very beautiful. It is not the beauty; it is the happiness that the concept of beauty brings. A man looks at a sweet; it is not the sweet; it is the delight, the happiness that is the resultant of coming into contact with that sweet, becoming that sweet, '''becoming one with him when he eats, and that quality of happiness temporarily becomes one with this person. S'''o we are not really attracted to any object, but '''we are attracted towards what is happiness, but mistakenly manifested, mistakenly understood as the properties of those attractive, desirable objects.'''
===Vidyut (Lightning)===
So we have seen that one. '''''Vidyut''''' is also we discussed.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवास्यौ विद्युति पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठाः तेजस्वीति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते तेजस्वी ह भवति तेजस्विनी हास्य प्रजा भवति॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.4'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāsyau vidyuti puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhāḥ tejasvīti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste tejasvī ha bhavati tejasvinī hāsya prajā bhavati||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.4'''

So Ajātaśatru heard from Gārgya: "I contemplate upon lightning." And then Ajātaśatru says: "That is okay; that is a good thing. But I contemplate upon this lightning as '''''Tejasvī''—Hiraṇyagarbhaतेजस्वी हिरण्यगर्भ.'''" Remember, the ''vidyut'' (lightning) is an aspect of Hiraṇyagarbha. The moon is an aspect of Hiraṇyagarbha. The sun is an aspect of Hiraṇyagarbha. As I mentioned yesterday, all the presiding deities are the combined particular quality in every human, in every living creature. As an example, just to remind you: '''all the seeing power in every creature in the form of the eye—all the eyes combined—''sahasrākṣaḥ sahasrapāt सहस्राक्षः सहस्रपात् Purusha Suktam-- from Rig Veda - Mandala 10 - Sukta 90 mantra 1''—so that is called Sūrya Devatā.''' So '''all the minds together is called the Chandra Devatā. A'''nd here '''''Tejasvī'' means splendour.''' There is a special splendour. It is not a power that emanates; it is a natural quality because lightning means light. Tremendous power is there. So '''''tejas''—power''', tremendous commanding capacity, and a brilliant shining personality. All these qualities are involved in this meditation upāsana called ''Tejasvī''. So Ajātaśatru says: "I meditate upon lightning as ''tejas''—divine splendour." And whoever meditates, that becomes that particular person's own nature, part of his personality. So he becomes ''Tejasvī''. That is why I said: saints' heads are often depicted as having a halo like that.
==Ākāśa Upāsana==
The next upāsana, the f'''ourth upāsana, is called Ākāśa Upāsana.'''

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायमाकाशे पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठाः पूर्णमप्रवर्तीति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते पूर्यते प्रजया पशुभिः नास्यास्माल्लोकात्प्रजोद्वर्तते॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.5'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyamākāśe puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhāḥ pūrṇamapravartīti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste pūryate prajayā paśubhiḥ nāsyāsmāllokātprajodvartate||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.5'''

And when we are talking about this Ākāśa Upāsana earlier, we have seen what are the '''similarities between Ākāśa and Ātman'''. Ākāśa is the very first manifestation of Ātman. So both are infinite; both are uncontaminable—nothing can touch them. Both are indivisible; both are all-pervading; both are supporting everything in this world. So inevitably, everyone has to meditate upon Ākāśa, succeed in it at least to some extent. Then he will have a glimpse of what Ātman could be.
===Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Experience===
I also quoted what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's own experience: "I was like a bird flying in the infinite sky." And do not immediately say that it falls. Suppose the bird gets tired and then falls down and then dashes itself against the earth or a rock and dies. These are called negative thoughts; they should not be entertained. Ākāśa means infinite. In infinity, there is no up and down, east or west, above and below. Nothing is there. So that is a beautiful meditation—joyously flying. There is no other being excepting me. And this is a very high and difficult upāsana to practise.
===The Two Qualities of Ākāśa===
Here it is. I am just reminding you: Gārgya said, "I worship—I do upāsana—on Ākāśa.'''" He says with two special glories—''Pūrṇaḥ'' and ''Apravṛtti''.''' So why ''Pūrṇa''? Because whenever we objectify a thing, the objectifying means it is limited. But Ākāśa is unlimited. Therefore, we have to think—even though it is a thought, even though the mind can only think in limited terms, limited by time, space, and causation—we have to intellectually contemplate it as '''''Pūrṇaḥ''.''' ''Pūrṇaḥ'' means infinite.

'''पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पूर्णमुदच्यते | पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ||'''

'''''pūrṇamadaḥ pūrṇamidaṃ pūrṇāt pūrṇamudacyate |'' pūrṇasya pūrṇamādāya pūrṇamevāvaśiṣyate ||-'''''shanti mantra from yajurveda''

So it is ''Pūrṇam''. And then '''''Apravṛttiअप्रवृत्ति''—that means actionless'''. So light is actionless. I say "light is illumining" as an example. All these concepts require a little bit of self-analysis. So light is illumining an object—that is how we express. Without light, I cannot see an object, experience an object, but as soon as light comes—either electricity or natural light—immediately it illumines. But our understanding should be deeper. You go and suppose you ask the light: "Did you illumine?" It says: "What are you talking about? I do not know anything about illuminating anything." Because if light thinks "I am illuminating," then it is a quality of the light, and sometimes the quality can be manifest, sometimes unmanifest. That means what? Sometimes the light decides: "I will show this person what this object is." And another time: "I do not like this person, so I am not going to illuminate." Light will be there, but that illumination will be absent—by the will of the light. But that is not the case. Fire burns; fire does not know anything. But in its presence, by its very nature, anything that comes into contact—even nearby contact—with fire automatically burns. It has nothing to do with the fire. This is illumining without the thought that "I am illumining." That is the concept we must have with regard to so many things.
===Ākāśa as Supporter===
With Ākāśa, it is the supporter of all, and it is uncontaminable. So that is why it is said that any number of impurities can be thrown into space, but space is never contaminated. So this is how one has to understand, though Ākāśa does not really do anything. But without Ākāśa, nothing can be done. You cannot construct a house. You cannot construct a workspace. You cannot move one millimetre if there were to be no space. But space itself does not know anything about it. It is '''''asparśa''—अस्पर्श'''completely non-touchable, non-influenceable. That is how one has to understand. It does not act, and i'''t is also ''kriyā-rahita'''''. '''क्रिया रहित''' ''Pūrṇaḥ''—it is infinite, and in infinity, there is no time, space, and causation. There is no action; there is no inaction. That is how we have to understand.
===The Result of This Upāsana===
"This is how I meditated before I attained Brahmajñāna," says Ajātaśatru to Gārgya. "You also must acquire these qualities." What does it mean? You become a Karma Yogi. You feel that "the cause of me is Brahman. I am the Ātman. I am '''''Pūrṇamadaḥ'', ''Pūrṇamidamपूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं''''' . And I do not need to do anything because I am Sat-Cit-Ānanda by my very nature." So if I am of the nature of bliss, if I do something, you know what happens? Instead of being happy, I will be subjected to unhappiness because an object is limiting. An object definitely limits the subject also. So we must go beyond subject and object.
===Upāsana Means Becoming One===
So Ajātaśatru teaches Gārgya: "You do upāsana." I am using this word '''''upāsana''''' because meditation, contemplation, concentration—these words really do not express what can be expressed by this word. ''Upāsana'' means what? '''Completely becoming one with the object of our contemplation.''' So He is infinite, and whatever is infinite is beyond any action, because everything that a person does is to obtain something which is not there. But when he becomes infinite, the subject, the object, the desirable, the undesirable—everything is included in the ''Pūrṇa''. Actually speaking, there is nothing undesirable. Even the worst thing is nothing but Brahman.
===The Example of Bhairavī Brāhmaṇī===
And in order to teach this lesson to Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, while Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was practising Tāntrika sādhana, Bhairavī Brāhmaṇī did so many things. I will only mention two. One day she brought some faeces and said: "My child, please taste them—not eat them, but taste them." And a revolution had arisen in the mind of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. And then Bhairavī Brāhmaṇī perceived it and said: "What is there? Look here, I am doing it." And without any revulsion or hatred, how can it be done? Only by considering it as a manifestation of the Divine Mother who is everywhere—or Brahman, if you like. So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said: "Immediately I was possessed by Caṇḍikā, and immediately I had no revulsion at all."
===The Dung Beetle===
Actually, look at it. There is a beetle called dung beetle. And the dung beetle's food is only dung. What is dung for us is the nutritious food for the dung beetle. And if you can imagine a dung beetle—a devotee of Brahman? In fact, there is no one who is not a devotee of Brahman, because every creature's unconscious prayer is: '''"Let me exist forever; let me be full of consciousness; let me be ''Ānandasvarūpa''—''asato mā sadgamaya'', etc."''' So unconsciously, we are all—there is nobody from that viewpoint who is a disbeliever in God. Only if you use the word "God," there will be a problem. But if you believe that '''God means existence, pure consciousness, and unbroken bliss—''ānanda''—then everybody wants only God.''' Everybody is a spark of God. Everybody is a devotee of God. Only temporarily, our mind does not allow us to recognise that fact.
===Apravṛtti and Kriyāvān===
So ''Apravṛtti'','''''अप्रवृत्ति''''' ''kriyāvān'''क्रियावान'''''—this is how: all the full ''ānanda'' is within me. I do not desire anything other than ''ānanda''. An object is desired only if I think I do not have the ''ānanda'' of this particular object—for example, a sweet—then I desire sweet. When I am having unbroken happiness, my ''ānanda'' is ''pūrṇa''—infinite. Where is the question of any desire? Where there is no desire, there is absolutely no action.
==Vāyu Upāsana==
The next upāsana is '''Vāyu'''.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायं वायौ पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा इन्द्रो वैकुण्ठोऽपराजिता सेनेति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते जिष्णुर्हापराजिष्णुर्भवत्यन्यतस्त्यजायी॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.6'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyaṁ vāyau puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā indro vaikuṇṭho'parājitā seneti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste jiṣṇurhāparājiṣṇurbhavatyanyatastyajāyī||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.6'''

You know, slowly some of the Pañcabhūtas are taken out for upāsana. Vāyu means air. We all know Vāyu means oxygen—Prāṇadevatā'''प्रानदेवत'''. Without breathing sixteen times a minute, we will not be able to survive. And those who suffer from asthma, they understand what I am talking much better. So you close your nostrils and hold up your breathing—you will understand what I am talking about.
===The Three Glories of Vāyudevatā===
So here also the three glories are there of Vāyudevatā, that is Prāṇadevatā: '''''Indraḥ'', ''Vaikuṇṭhaḥ'', ''Aparājitasenāḥइन्द्रो वैकुण्ठोऽपराजिता सेनेति वा'''''. ''Indra'' '''इन्द्र'''means Īśvara, because what is the first thing? Life. "I want to be, I want to exist"—and that comes only from Prāṇadevatā'''प्रानदेवत'''. Prāṇadevatā comes in the form of Vāyu, especially oxygen. What is oxygen for human beings and other animals is poison to all the plants. So for the plants, what we breathe out—that is called carbon dioxide—that is the oxygen for them. So in whichever case—oxygen or carbon dioxide—both are manifestations of Vāyudevatā, Prāṇadevatā.
===The Three Qualities===
He has got—you are contemplating fine. But now you have to contemplate the same '''Vāyu as Hiraṇyagarbha'''—as '''''Indraḥइन्द्र'''''—the king of the kings; and '''''Vaikuṇṭhaḥवैकुण्ठ:''—'''meaning extremely intelligent, ''amandaḥ''—do not imagine Nārāyaṇa's loka Vaikuṇṭha. In fact, it is where there is '''no ''kuṇṭhaकुण्ठ:'''''—there is '''no lack'''—and pure consciousness is the location where God is revealed. Therefore, Vaikuṇṭha means '''''amandaḥअमन्दः''—not at all dull'''. That means he is very intelligent, he is active, he is energetic, he is agile, dynamic, etc. And '''''Aparājitasenāḥअपराजित सेनाः''—one whose army is never defeated,''' one who has got invincible forces or undefeatable power. ''Aparājitasenāḥ''—that means one who has got an army which is invincible.
===The Spiritual Context===
But how do we understand in the spiritual context? We have to understand that the spiritual qualities—if I possess the spiritual quality of particularly this Vāyudevatā—then any amount of unspiritual forces (what in the ancient days, especially Christian saints, used to term as demons, devils) they cannot defeat me.
===The Story of the Saint and the Devil===
There is a beautiful story. There was a great saint, and the devil wanted to conquer him. So he came to him and revealed himself as an angel, thinking: "This person will become very proud—'Oh, what a great man I am! I had the vision of Saint Peter the Great angels.'" But the saint was too clever for this devil. Devils are not clever at all; now their thinking is very limited. So the angel is telling: "I have come from God. Rejoice!" Immediately the saint says: "I am not such a great soul that God can bestow—send his angels to me. So I do not deserve your vision." The moment the devil hears it, he hangs his head down and immediately flees away. There is no way to conquer this saint. Whereas a loyal person thinks: "What a how fortunate I am!" So for a few days he will think—in fact, there are so many stories which I am not going to go into.
===Humility===
So this person is humility itself. Therefore, when a person is so humble:

'''तृणादपि सुनीचेन.'''

'''''tṛṇād api sunīcena.-shikshashtakam verse 3 by Sri chaitanya mahaprabhu'''''

That is what Caitanya Mahāprabhu says: "Even lower than a blade of grass"—considering himself or herself lower than a blade of grass—and nothing can defeat him. Because if a devil comes, he will say: "I am not equal to you; you are greater than me." And there is nothing the devil can do to this humble person. Humility means complete possession by the Spirit of God; when we make space, then pure Ākāśa—pure air—takes its place. When we empty our heart, pure divinity will be manifesting there.
===Hanumān and Bhīmasena===
So Vāyu is the most powerful. That is why Añjaneya—nobody can defeat him:

'''मनोजवं मारुततुल्यवेगं जितेन्द्रियं बुद्धिमतां वरिष्ठम् | वातात्मजं वानरयूथमुख्यं श्रीरामदूतं शिरसा नमामि || [Ramaraksha stotram verse 33]'''

'''''manojavaṃ mārutatulyavegaṃ jitendriyaṃ buddhimatāṃ variṣṭham |'' vātātmajaṃ vānarayūthamukhyaṃ śrīrāmadūtaṃ śirasā namāmi ||Ramaraksha stotram verse 33]'''

And Bhīmasena—so in the Mahābhārata, Añjaneya wanted to bestow his grace on Bhīmasena. So he took the form of an old monkey with a thick big tail lying on a narrow path. Bhīmasena said: "You please withdraw your form. I want to cross, otherwise you are elderly, so I do not want to step over you." And the old monkey—Añjaneya—said: "I am too weak. Will you please help me just to put my tail to a side first?" So Bhīmasena tried with one finger—little finger—could not. Then he used all the five fingers—could not. He used one hand—could not. Used both hands—could not. And he used all his energy—could not. Immediately that flashed in his head: "This is not an ordinary old monkey. It must be my eldest brother, elder brother Añjaneya." Immediately he fell at his feet. They were all spiritual people, these Pañca Pāṇḍavas. So immediately Añjaneya gave him a boon: "Tell your Arjuna to keep a flag, and in that flag I will reside, and whoever looks at this flag, his heart will fail on the spot." So Bhīmasena was very, very strong. Añjaneya was invincible. So that is the ''senā''. Whoever has got the grace of Vāyudevatā becomes invincible, and even Mṛtyudevatā does not dare to come near until the allotted time has come.
==Agni Upāsana==
The next upāsana is Agni—fire.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायमग्नौ पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा विषासहिरिति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते विषासहिर्ह भवति विषासहिर्हास्य प्रजा भवति॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.7'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyamagnau puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā viṣāsahiriti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste viṣāsahirha bhavati viṣāsahirhāsya prajā bhavati||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.7'''

So only one ''viśeṣaṇa'' is there. What is it? ''Viśhasāhā''.विषासहिरिति वा ''Viśhasāhā'' means Agni. Whatever we throw into the fire, it accepts it, burns it—even if it is the most impure, it will not keep it. So that is why He will not get angry with you. "Why did you throw this impure thing into me?" He turns everything into the purest. Throw into fire anything that is pure or impure—everything it will turn into the most purest substance by breaking down, absorbing, destroying all the impurities. That is why fire is called the most purifying aspect. So Agni takes anything given to it, and He does not complain. Whatever we give, He accepts it. And if we give with devotion, He will turn it completely into something very pure.
==Apaḥ (Water) Upāsana==
The next is ''Apaḥआपः''—water.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायमप्सु पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठाः प्रतिरूप इति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते प्रतिरूप हैवैनमुपगच्छति नाप्रतिरूपमथो प्रतिरुपोऽस्माज्जायते॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.8'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyamapsu puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhāḥ pratirūpa iti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste pratirūpa haivainamupagacchati nāpratirūpamatho pratirupo'smājjāyate||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.8'''

We know one of the Pañca Devatās. Agni we have seen, Vāyu we have seen. So take it—''Apaḥ'' आपःmeans water. Water is taken for upāsana, and here Ajātaśatru adds one more specific quality of Hiraṇyagarbha for Gārgya to contemplate upon. It is called ''Pratirūpa'','''प्रतिरूप''' meaning ''samāna-rūpam'''समान रूपं'''''—that is to say, if you peer into flowing water, as we have seen how Prajāpati instructed: "Bring a big pail of water and look yourselves into it—without dressing up, after dressing up—and what you see that is your true self." One step further in spiritual progress. So ''samāna-rūpam'''समान रूपं''''', ''pratirūpaḥ'''प्रतिरूप'''''—it means it reflects. But even a better reflector is there—that is called a mirror. We are going to come to it.
===The Result===
So what does it mean? What is the result the person will get? If anybody contemplates Hiraṇyagarbha in the form of this water, then the result he will get is ''samāna-putra-prāpti'''पुत्र प्राप्ति'''''<nowiki/>'''.''' His children will be as spiritual people as the father and mother are. Whether it is sons or daughters, they will also be—all of them will be only good children, taking after the mother and like the father.
==Ādarśa (Mirror) Upāsana==
The next higher is called ''Ādarśa''.आदर्शः

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायमादर्शे पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा रोचिष्णुरिति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते रोचिष्णुर्ह भवति रोचिष्णुर्हास्य प्रजा भवत्यथो यैः संनिगच्छति सर्वास्तानतिरोचते॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.9'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyamādarśe puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā rociṣṇuriti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste rociṣṇurha bhavati rociṣṇurhāsya prajā bhavatyatho yaiḥ saṁnigacchati sarvāstānatirocate||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.9'''

''Ādarśa'' आदर्शःin Sanskrit means what we call mirror. What does a mirror do? It reflects. So Hiraṇyagarbha, if he is meditated upon with this quality called mirror quality, then what happens—that he reflects: "This is what you are." What does it mean? An ordinary mirror actually reflects. If a monkey stands in front of a mirror, only a monkey's ''svarūpa'' will come. But this is not an ordinary mirror; it is Hiraṇyagarbha. So when even an ignorant person stands in front of this Hiraṇyagarbha in the form of contemplating him as a mirror, that mirror called Hiraṇyagarbha reflects and shows: "You are not an ordinary human being; you are Hiraṇyagarbha." So the ''pratirūpa''—the reflection of the person who is standing in front of this divine mirror called Hiraṇyagarbha—the divine mirror only reflects divinity. So this is ''svaccha-svabhāvaḥ'', ''śuddha-svabhāvaḥ''—pure Hiraṇyagarbha's ''svarūpaḥ''. So that is the eighth.
==Yantam Paścāt Śabdaḥ यन्तं पश्चाच्छब्द:Upāsana==
Then we will see the ninth one—''Yantam paścāt śabdaḥ''.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायं यन्तं पश्चाच्छब्दोऽनूदेत्येतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुमा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा असुरिति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते सर्व हैवास्मिल्लोक आयुरेति नैनं पुरा कालात्प्राणो जहाति॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.10'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyaṁ yantaṁ paścācchabdo'nūdetyetamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrumā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā asuriti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste sarva haivāsmilloka āyureti nainaṁ purā kālātprāṇo jahāti||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.10'''

Supposing a person is running, and after some time his breathing becomes gasping. And meditate upon Hiraṇyagarbha with that gasping sound—''paścāt yantam'' , ''paścāt śabdaḥपश्चाच्छब्द:''. ''Yantamयन्तं'' means one who is walking for a long time or running for a long time. ''Paścāt''—after a long time, what type of breathing comes out of that person who is running—that gasping sound. Gasping means what? He is trying to inhale more amount of oxygen. Meditate upon that. So every asthmatic patient knows, and it may be very convenient for him to do this one. So what is the Hiraṇyagarbha's quality? Meditate Hiraṇyagarbha as that—so ''anuguṇatvena अनु गुणत्वेनprāṇaguṇatvenaप्राण गुणत्वेन''. That is to say, this person will obtain plenty of life energy from the source of this life energy, which is Hiraṇyagarbha, and this person lives for a long time because he will not suffer from this if he meditates upon him like that.
===The Example of Lakṣmī Devī===
Supposing a beggar meditates upon Lakṣmī Devī—then as a result of that meditation, he identifies: "I am full of wealth." And thereafter he really gets the happiness of being a wealthy man, even if he does not have wealth. What wealth Śudhiram had, what wealth Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa had, what wealth Holy Mother had—but whoever went there, she uplifted their mind, the people's mind to a very high level.
===The Anecdote from 1973===
I have to remind you one of my anecdotes. In 1973, I was living at—not Mother's house—Balarāma Bābū's house, and the court just had given its verdict that this belongs to the Ramakrishna Order according to the will of Kṛṣṇamayī, the granddaughter of Balarāma Bābū's. And the court case had taken, I think, more than 30–35 years. Anyway, the verdict had come. I was living there, and I used to go for food, etc., to Mother's house, which is the most pleasant experience because going to Mother's house means most enjoyable things are available. You do not need to pray to Mother; they are already there. You go—if you make yourself as hungry as possible, you can enjoy that.
===The Sevaka's Reminiscence===
There was a sevaka, a person who served as an attendant to Holy Mother. He was very old—I forget his name now. So I was eager to know his reminiscences of while he was living with Holy Mother. Then specifically I asked: "So what about your ''kāma''—lust?" Because they were all very young youth, and there were so many women there—young women. And the women need not be Miss Universes, because when a person is in this mood of lust, any woman would look very beautiful. Then the Swami told me something extraordinary. He said: "So long as Holy Mother was alive, even the thought that I am a male never arose in all those male attendants." Then he added: "The moment Holy Mother passed away, as if we have come out of the river Gaṅgā, all the old sins are sitting on the branches on the bank of the river, and they all jumped. Now we have to struggle like anybody else." But then he said that because I distinctly remember how I was living in her presence, I meditate upon it, and that helps me to overcome. Old age is no obstruction for ''kāma'', ''krodha'', ''lobha'', ''moha'', ''mada'', ''mātsarya''—keep it in mind. So that is the result.
==Dik (Directions) Upāsana==
Then it comes on directions—''dik''.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायं दिक्षु पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा द्वितीयोऽनपग इति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते द्वितीयवान्ह भवति नास्माद्गणश्छिद्यते॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.11'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyaṁ dikṣu puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā dvitīyo'napaga iti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste dvitīyavānha bhavati nāsmādgaṇaśchidyate||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.11'''

You know, Hinduism divides all this into four categories: East, West, South, North, and also in between—East and West, East and South, South and West, West and North. We call it ''Aṇḍavai''—you remember easily—mnemonics. So if somebody does contemplation upon it, what does he become? He gets two qualities: द्वितीयवानalways there will be somebody with him to help him, to serve him. He will never be without a second person taking care of him as long as the person is alive. So ''abhiyunuktatvaअभियुनुक्तत्वा''—that means inseparableness. So if a person is married, wife and husband live—only they die at the same time. But they will never be separable; they will not suffer from the separateness of one person dying.
===The Result===
''Sa ya etam evam upāste dvitīyavān bhavati nāsya gaṇāś chidyateद्वितीयवान्ह भवति नास्माद्गणश्छिद्यते॥''—"Even his children—they will not die only in the full ''āyurdāya'' time—only they will die." Such a person who contemplates on the directions—East, West, South, North, etc.—as qualities of Hiraṇyagarbha will get the result of always being served, and of course he becomes more fit to become an apt student.
==Chāyā (Shadow) Upāsana==
Then the next meditation is ''chāyā''.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायं छायामयः पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा मृत्युरिति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते सर्व हैवास्मिल्लोक आयुरेति नैनं पुरा कालान्मृत्युरागच्छति॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.12'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyaṁ chāyāmayaḥ puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā mṛtyuriti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste sarva haivāsmilloka āyureti nainaṁ purā kālānmṛtyurāgacchati|'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.12'''

''Chāyā'' means shadow. So:

''Sa ya etam evam upāste sarvam āyur evāsmin loke ayate, nainaṃ pūrākālān mṛtyur agacchati.''

स य एतमेवमुपास्ते सर्व हैवास्मिल्लोक आयुरेति नैनं पुरा कालान्मृत्युरागच्छति॥

"He who meditates upon Hiraṇyagarbha as a shadow attains his full span of life in this world, and the shadow called death, which always follows us, does not come to him before the appointed time." That means ''apāmṛtyu''—untimely death—will never come to this one.
==Prajāpati Upāsana==
And the twelfth upāsana—the last one—is ''Ātma''—that is Prajāpati, the ''samaṣṭi'' itself.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायमात्मनि पुरुषो एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स ह उवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा आत्मन्वीति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्त आत्मन्वी ह भवत्यात्मन्विनी हास्य प्रजा भवति स ह तूष्णीमास गार्ग्यः॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.13'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyamātmani puruṣo etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa ha uvācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā ātmanvīti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāsta ātmanvī ha bhavatyātmanvinī hāsya prajā bhavati sa ha tūṣṇīmāsa gārgyaḥ||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.13'''

All the Devatās put together are contemplated upon as Prajāpati—''rūpāṇi (प्रजापतिरूपाणि)):samaṣṭi-rūpāṇi(समष्टि-रूपाणि)''—upāsana. So what is the result? It means he will become one with everybody. He will have full self-control, total mastery over one's own self.
===The Shadow of Death===
So these are, in brief, the one—only—I just wanted to know that all of us are followed by the shadow of death. But one who meditates upon Hiraṇyagarbha as a shadow—that shadow will never—the shadow called death will never follow such a person. That means what does it mean? It really means that for the spiritual person, he overcomes the fear of death. "Let death come just now, tomorrow, after ten years, after a hundred years—it does not really matter." But I am not frightened of death because I know as soon as this physical body falls—that is called what we call death—then I become merged in this Hiraṇyagarbha because I have been meditating upon Hiraṇyagarbha.
===The Final Step===
And whoever meditates upon Hiraṇyagarbha, and Hiraṇyagarbha had these qualities—already Gārgya had some, and Ajātaśatru adds so many—then that Hiraṇyagarbha becomes full, and then whoever meditates becomes completely identified with Hiraṇyagarbha. Hiraṇyagarbha is Saguṇa Brahma. Saguṇa Brahma is ''Māyādhiśvara''—He is the master of Māyā. Māyā means in the form of ''sṛṣṭi'', ''sthiti'', ''saṃhāra''—that is creation, sustenance, and re-emergence into its cause. A person will be free from these.
===Ready for the Final Step===
So that is how Ajātaśatru had trained his apt disciple Gārgya to become one with Hiraṇyagarbha. Now he is ready for the final step—how Hiraṇyagarbha has to be merged into the Nirguṇa Brahma—''Parabrahma'', ''Satyasya Satyam''. Hiraṇyagarbha is the ''satyam''—truth—and Nirguṇa Brahma is ''Satyasya Satyam''. And that is the beautiful topic, and Ajātaśatru, in the form of taking Gārgya by hand to a sleeping person, wakes him up. And he tries to explain what happens in deep sleep, and that is what we also had studied in the Māṇḍūkyakārikā, especially Gauḍapāda's teaching. But the same thing, we will try to talk in simpler terms in our next class onwards. I will also give you a methodology of approaching how to understand the forthcoming mantras—how Ajātaśatru had Gārgya understand.

== 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 1.2-13 Lecture 46 on 28 June 2026

2026-08-27T15:16:46Z

Gayatri: /* The Devatās */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.'''

'''''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.'''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

'''OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH'''

'''OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.'''

'''OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.'''

==Introduction: Gārgya and Ajātaśatru==
In our last class, we started analysing what Gārgya was trying to teach to Ajātaśatru, and how after hearing from Gārgya, Ajātaśatru started adding some more upāsanas. '''Every upāsana is a divine quality to be acquired by one who is aspiring to become Brahman'''—to become '''a fit recipient, to become a worthy student.'''
===The Essence of Vedānta===
So we have discussed two of those upāsanas. '''So one was the Sun. According to Vedānta'''—that means Hinduism is a common name for Vedānta. Vedānta, by the way, should not be identified with Advaita. '''Vedānta means the essence of the Vedas,''' which includes the dualistic philosophy, qualified non-dualistic philosophy, and also the highest non-dualistic philosophy—'''Dvaita, Viśiṣṭādvaita, and Advaita'''. The essence of these upāsanās is: each soul is potentially divine. The word "potentiality" means—in our understanding—forgotten divinity. Each soul has forgotten that he is the Divine, and we remember that we are not divine, but we are something else; we are individuals.
===Who Is an Advanced Human Being?===
This enquiry does not fit for any other non-human being, only to human beings—that too, '''advanced human beings.''' And who are the advanced human beings? '''Those who need not struggle for survival, those who have enough'''. Why do we say that? Because if somebody—let us say a field worker—he cannot survive without working. So manual labour is the only way for him to continue his living. Such persons have limited time and limited capacity, limited intelligence. Therefore, we have to understand that certain conditions need to be fulfilled.
===The Three Conditions===
A person, first of all, is '''highly developed in intellec'''t. Second, he has '''gone through all these experiences through many a life—'''many janmas. Thirdly, he has '''started analysing himself'''. Then he found out whatever he experienced, he was lacking. And then only the enquiry comes: "I have thoroughly examined the entire physical phenomena, the external world, and I do not see what can fulfil my true desire." And then '''he turns inward''', and then he has to struggle through various stages.
===The Need for a Guru===
For such a student, he has to become a student, because '''no student can ever understand what the scripture tells except through a Guru.''' Even in the case of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, when he intuitively understood that only my Divine Mother is my Guru, he surrendered himself—like Arjuna:

'''शिष्यस्तेऽहं शाधि मां त्वां प्रपन्नम्.'''

''śiṣyas te 'haṃ śādhi māṃ tvāṃ prapannam. [Bhagavad Gita 2.7]''

Whenever we read about this particular line in the second chapter, we have to remind how Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said: "I am a fool." He was not a fool—but "fool" in what sense? That I do not know anything about Brahmavidyā. But he was not a fool with regard to worldly objects and worldly experiences. His understanding of the world, his knowledge of the world, is far superior to any other person. He understands by analysing thoroughly, objectively, that really speaking, he finds out there is no essence there; it is only an illusion. And then only he stops searching for what he wants to achieve outside and turns his attention inside.
===Daivī Sampat===
But even that turning inside—to become a fit disciple—he has to acquire what Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa says: '''''Daivī Sampatदैवी सम्पत्'''''. And there are many—and I told you earlier that these qualities, whether demonic or divine or spiritual, come in gangs/ groups. You cannot have one single without being supported by the other, either way. So Ajātaśatru found out Gārgya was having some spiritual qualities. He was humble; he was ready and open to truth from wherever it comes. So that is why God—in the form of Ajātaśatru—has started helping Gārgya: "You develop these qualities." How did he help? "You contemplate this particular quality. Go on thinking day in and day out; meditate with perfect concentration. And what we think, that is what we become."
===The Twelve Upāsanas===
So, as I said, it is not mentioned here, but as soon as Ajātaśatru taught him—"These are the qualities you have to develop"—immediately Gārgya must have practised. We do not know whether it took months or years; that is not mentioned. But we have to presume that Gārgya had acquired one by one, one after the other, those divine spiritual qualities—''Daivī Sampat'''दैवी सम्पत्'''''—and then only Ajātaśatru proceeds to the next stage. This is the development.

And then there were twelve upāsanas mentioned by Gārgya of which he was aware only partially, not in their fullness. And Ajātaśatru completes the understanding of Gārgya, makes him contemplate upon those—the specific word used here is '''''upāseउपासे'''''—"O Gārgya, you do contemplation on this particular quality also."
===The Psychological Fact===
So we were trying to analyse those qualities, and we have already taken up two or three qualities. We will just remind. The first is his meditation on the '''Sun—Āditya'''. As I mentioned, never forget: t'''he sun, the moon, the lightning, the vāyu (air), the ākāśa'''—all these are '''nature,''' but nature as '''Brahman Devatā'''. So certain qualities are superimposed upon them. Even though—let us take an example—even though there is a stone image of Śiva—Śivaliṅga—but by taking it as a support, a true Śiva-bhakta (devotee of Śiva) contemplates: "My Iṣṭadevatā (chosen deity) is all-pervading, all-compassionate, all-forgiving, and He is the supreme most. He is the praiseworthy." Like that, thinking of one particular quality until it becomes one's own nature is the real result. That also the Upaniṣad mentions: if anybody contemplates in this particular way, he becomes the most important person, he acquires tremendous spiritual splendour, he becomes the greatest, he becomes the most intelligent person, etc. So whatever we think, that is what we become. And this is a psychological fact which has been accepted by every psychologist.
===The Devatās===
So first '''Āditya,''' then we have seen three qualities added.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवासावादित्ये पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा अतिष्ठाः सर्वेषां भूतानां मूर्धा राजेति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्तेऽतिष्ठाः सर्वेषां भूतानां मूर्धा राजा भवति॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.2'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāsāvāditye puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā atiṣṭhāḥ sarveṣāṁ bhūtānāṁ mūrdhā rājeti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste'atiṣṭhāḥ sarveṣāṁ bhūtānāṁ mūrdhā rājā bhavati||

And then he took up '''Chandra is the second'''.
स होवाच गार्ग्योः य एवासौ चन्द्रे पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा बृहन्पाण्दरवासाः सोमो राजेति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्तेहरहर्ह सुतः प्रसुतो भवति नास्यान्नं क्षीयते॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.3'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyoḥ ya evāsau candre puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā bṛhanpāṇdaravāsāḥ somo rājeti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāsteaharaharha sutaḥ prasuto bhavati nāsyānnaṁ kṣīyate||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.3'''

And '''Chandra Devatā, Sūrya Devatā, Vidyud Devatā, e'''tc.—we have to add, even though that epithet is not given in this Upaniṣad. '''So what is a Devatā?''' Without whose existence our existence is not possible. So the one particular aspect of our existence combined—'''''samaṣṭi'', universal—'''is called Devatā. So the moon is taken up, and that Chandra Devatā is meditated upon as Hiraṇyagarbha. Now one of the qualities is '''Hiraṇyagarbha quality.''' So Ajātaśatru—the Guru, now the teacher—adds three qualities: '''''Bṛhat'', ''Pāṇḍaravat'', ''Somarāja'''''. '''बृहन्पाण्दरवासाः सोमो राजेति वा''' And incidentally, '''these are also the qualities of Prāṇadevatāप्रानदेवत—''samaṣṭi'' समष्टिPrāṇadevatā.''' Whenever I say ''prāṇa'', it is individual. Whenever I say ''Prāṇadevatā'', you have to understand it is the presiding deity, the person—the Devatā—who is manifesting in everybody in that particular format. Please keep this in mind.
===The Three Qualities of Chandra===
'''''Bṛhat''''' '''बृहत्'''means he becomes expanded. Just as a person who comes after a hard work—a manual labourer comes back—imagine there is a full moon and then he stands. It is likely he forgets the whole world because the Chandra Devatā delights everybody, gives joy to everybody, and it is the purest white. And His grace—Chandra Devatā's grace—is on everybody. '''So ''Bṛhat'' means indiscriminately bestowing His grace upon everybody.'''

'''''Pāṇḍaravatपान्दरवत्'''''—pure. ''Pāṇḍu'' means white; pure means ''śuddhaशुद्ध''. Very pure. So the '''upāsaka becomes pure'''. The upāsaka delights everybody because happiness is his very nature, and that is indicated as the '''third quality—''Somarājaसोमराजः''.''' ''Soma'' is a kind of plant, and they used to extract the juice which is like a mild intoxicant, and it gives tremendous joy, lifts up at least temporarily. And we have to imagine that is why ecstasy is another name for another of these drugs—ecstatic state. However, whatever be the state previously, as soon as a person imbibes, immediately he becomes tremendously aware of a change of consciousness, a change of perception. That means his '''mind forgets temporarily his temporary state of body and mind and enters into a delightful state.''' That is why they are so addictive. So '''''Somarājaḥसोमराजः'''''. It is also said that the '''Soma plant creeper only grows in plenty and in fullness only when the moonlight influences''' it. So they are connected together. But it is a well-known scientific fact that a full moon—when you stand in front of it—certainly delights everybody's heart.
===The Result===
So these are the three qualities: '''''Bṛhat'', ''Pāṇḍaravat'', ''Somarāja'''''.'''बृहन्पाण्दरवासाः सोमो राजेति वा''' And as I mentioned, these are also happen to be the qualities of '''''samaṣṭi समष्टिPrāṇadevatāप्रानदेवत''''', and that is going to come later on. So anybody who meditates becomes great, becomes pure, and becomes a very delightful, happy personality towards whom everybody is attracted. Because we are really attracted only towards happiness. A man looks at a woman, thinks she is very beautiful. It is not the beauty; it is the happiness that the concept of beauty brings. A man looks at a sweet; it is not the sweet; it is the delight, the happiness that is the resultant of coming into contact with that sweet, becoming that sweet, '''becoming one with him when he eats, and that quality of happiness temporarily becomes one with this person. S'''o we are not really attracted to any object, but '''we are attracted towards what is happiness, but mistakenly manifested, mistakenly understood as the properties of those attractive, desirable objects.'''
===Vidyut (Lightning)===
So we have seen that one. '''''Vidyut''''' is also we discussed.

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवास्यौ विद्युति पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठाः तेजस्वीति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते तेजस्वी ह भवति तेजस्विनी हास्य प्रजा भवति॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.4'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāsyau vidyuti puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhāḥ tejasvīti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste tejasvī ha bhavati tejasvinī hāsya prajā bhavati||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.4'''

So Ajātaśatru heard from Gārgya: "I contemplate upon lightning." And then Ajātaśatru says: "That is okay; that is a good thing. But I contemplate upon this lightning as '''''Tejasvī''—Hiraṇyagarbhaतेजस्वी हिरण्यगर्भ.'''" Remember, the ''vidyut'' (lightning) is an aspect of Hiraṇyagarbha. The moon is an aspect of Hiraṇyagarbha. The sun is an aspect of Hiraṇyagarbha. As I mentioned yesterday, all the presiding deities are the combined particular quality in every human, in every living creature. As an example, just to remind you: '''all the seeing power in every creature in the form of the eye—all the eyes combined—''sahasrākṣaḥ sahasrapāt सहस्राक्षः सहस्रपात् Purusha Suktam-- from Rig Veda - Mandala 10 - Sukta 90''—so that is called Sūrya Devatā.''' So '''all the minds together is called the Chandra Devatā. A'''nd here '''''Tejasvī'' means splendour.''' There is a special splendour. It is not a power that emanates; it is a natural quality because lightning means light. Tremendous power is there. So '''''tejas''—power''', tremendous commanding capacity, and a brilliant shining personality. All these qualities are involved in this meditation upāsana called ''Tejasvī''. So Ajātaśatru says: "I meditate upon lightning as ''tejas''—divine splendour." And whoever meditates, that becomes that particular person's own nature, part of his personality. So he becomes ''Tejasvī''. That is why I said: saints' heads are often depicted as having a halo like that.
==Ākāśa Upāsana==
The next upāsana, the f'''ourth upāsana, is called Ākāśa Upāsana.'''

स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवायमाकाशे पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठाः पूर्णमप्रवर्तीति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्ते पूर्यते प्रजया पशुभिः नास्यास्माल्लोकात्प्रजोद्वर्तते॥'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.4'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāyamākāśe puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhāḥ pūrṇamapravartīti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste pūryate prajayā paśubhiḥ nāsyāsmāllokātprajodvartate||'''Brihad. Upanishad 2.1.4'''

And when we are talking about this Ākāśa Upāsana earlier, we have seen what are the '''similarities between Ākāśa and Ātman'''. Ākāśa is the very first manifestation of Ātman. So both are infinite; both are uncontaminable—nothing can touch them. Both are indivisible; both are all-pervading; both are supporting everything in this world. So inevitably, everyone has to meditate upon Ākāśa, succeed in it at least to some extent. Then he will have a glimpse of what Ātman could be.
===Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Experience===
I also quoted what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's own experience: "I was like a bird flying in the infinite sky." And do not immediately say that it falls. Suppose the bird gets tired and then falls down and then dashes itself against the earth or a rock and dies. These are called negative thoughts; they should not be entertained. Ākāśa means infinite. In infinity, there is no up and down, east or west, above and below. Nothing is there. So that is a beautiful meditation—joyously flying. There is no other being excepting me. And this is a very high and difficult upāsana to practise.
===The Two Qualities of Ākāśa===
Here it is. I am just reminding you: Gārgya said, "I worship—I do upāsana—on Ākāśa.'''" He says with two special glories—''Pūrṇaḥ'' and ''Apravṛtti''.''' So why ''Pūrṇa''? Because whenever we objectify a thing, the objectifying means it is limited. But Ākāśa is unlimited. Therefore, we have to think—even though it is a thought, even though the mind can only think in limited terms, limited by time, space, and causation—we have to intellectually contemplate it as '''''Pūrṇaḥ''.''' ''Pūrṇaḥ'' means infinite.

'''पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पूर्णमुदच्यते | पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ||'''

'''''pūrṇamadaḥ pūrṇamidaṃ pūrṇāt pūrṇamudacyate |'' pūrṇasya pūrṇamādāya pūrṇamevāvaśiṣyate ||-'''''shanti mantra from yajurveda''

So it is ''Pūrṇam''. And then '''''Apravṛttiअप्रवृत्ति''—that means actionless'''. So light is actionless. I say "light is illumining" as an example. All these concepts require a little bit of self-analysis. So light is illumining an object—that is how we express. Without light, I cannot see an object, experience an object, but as soon as light comes—either electricity or natural light—immediately it illumines. But our understanding should be deeper. You go and suppose you ask the light: "Did you illumine?" It says: "What are you talking about? I do not know anything about illuminating anything." Because if light thinks "I am illuminating," then it is a quality of the light, and sometimes the quality can be manifest, sometimes unmanifest. That means what? Sometimes the light decides: "I will show this person what this object is." And another time: "I do not like this person, so I am not going to illuminate." Light will be there, but that illumination will be absent—by the will of the light. But that is not the case. Fire burns; fire does not know anything. But in its presence, by its very nature, anything that comes into contact—even nearby contact—with fire automatically burns. It has nothing to do with the fire. This is illumining without the thought that "I am illumining." That is the concept we must have with regard to so many things.
===Ākāśa as Supporter===
With Ākāśa, it is the supporter of all, and it is uncontaminable. So that is why it is said that any number of impurities can be thrown into space, but space is never contaminated. So this is how one has to understand, though Ākāśa does not really do anything. But without Ākāśa, nothing can be done. You cannot construct a house. You cannot construct a workspace. You cannot move one millimetre if there were to be no space. But space itself does not know anything about it. It is '''''asparśa''—अस्पर्श'''completely non-touchable, non-influenceable. That is how one has to understand. It does not act, and i'''t is also ''kriyā-rahita'''''. '''क्रिया रहित''' ''Pūrṇaḥ''—it is infinite, and in infinity, there is no time, space, and causation. There is no action; there is no inaction. That is how we have to understand.
===The Result of This Upāsana===
"This is how I meditated before I attained Brahmajñāna," says Ajātaśatru to Gārgya. "You also must acquire these qualities." What does it mean? You become a Karma Yogi. You feel that "the cause of me is Brahman. I am the Ātman. I am '''''Pūrṇamadaḥ'', ''Pūrṇamidamपूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं''''' . And I do not need to do anything because I am Sat-Cit-Ānanda by my very nature." So if I am of the nature of bliss, if I do something, you know what happens? Instead of being happy, I will be subjected to unhappiness because an object is limiting. An object definitely limits the subject also. So we must go beyond subject and object.
===Upāsana Means Becoming One===
So Ajātaśatru teaches Gārgya: "You do upāsana." I am using this word '''''upāsana''''' because meditation, contemplation, concentration—these words really do not express what can be expressed by this word. ''Upāsana'' means what? '''Completely becoming one with the object of our contemplation.''' So He is infinite, and whatever is infinite is beyond any action, because everything that a person does is to obtain something which is not there. But when he becomes infinite, the subject, the object, the desirable, the undesirable—everything is included in the ''Pūrṇa''. Actually speaking, there is nothing undesirable. Even the worst thing is nothing but Brahman.
===The Example of Bhairavī Brāhmaṇī===
And in order to teach this lesson to Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, while Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was practising Tāntrika sādhana, Bhairavī Brāhmaṇī did so many things. I will only mention two. One day she brought some faeces and said: "My child, please taste them—not eat them, but taste them." And a revolution had arisen in the mind of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. And then Bhairavī Brāhmaṇī perceived it and said: "What is there? Look here, I am doing it." And without any revulsion or hatred, how can it be done? Only by considering it as a manifestation of the Divine Mother who is everywhere—or Brahman, if you like. So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said: "Immediately I was possessed by Caṇḍikā, and immediately I had no revulsion at all."
===The Dung Beetle===
Actually, look at it. There is a beetle called dung beetle. And the dung beetle's food is only dung. What is dung for us is the nutritious food for the dung beetle. And if you can imagine a dung beetle—a devotee of Brahman? In fact, there is no one who is not a devotee of Brahman, because every creature's unconscious prayer is: '''"Let me exist forever; let me be full of consciousness; let me be ''Ānandasvarūpa''—''asato mā sadgamaya'', etc."''' So unconsciously, we are all—there is nobody from that viewpoint who is a disbeliever in God. Only if you use the word "God," there will be a problem. But if you believe that '''God means existence, pure consciousness, and unbroken bliss—''ānanda''—then everybody wants only God.''' Everybody is a spark of God. Everybody is a devotee of God. Only temporarily, our mind does not allow us to recognise that fact.
===Apravṛtti and Kriyāvān===
So ''Apravṛtti'', ''kriyāvān''—this is how: all the full ''ānanda'' is within me. I do not desire anything other than ''ānanda''. An object is desired only if I think I do not have the ''ānanda'' of this particular object—for example, a sweet—then I desire sweet. When I am having unbroken happiness, my ''ānanda'' is ''pūrṇa''—infinite. Where is the question of any desire? Where there is no desire, there is absolutely no action.
==Vāyu Upāsana==
The next upāsana is '''Vāyu'''. You know, slowly some of the Pañcabhūtas are taken out for upāsana. Vāyu means air. We all know Vāyu means oxygen—Prāṇadevatā. Without breathing sixteen times a minute, we will not be able to survive. And those who suffer from asthma, they understand what I am talking much better. So you close your nostrils and hold up your breathing—you will understand what I am talking about.
===The Three Glories of Vāyudevatā===
So here also the three glories are there of Vāyudevatā, that is Prāṇadevatā: '''''Indraḥ'', ''Vaikuṇṭhaḥ'', ''Aparājitasenāḥ'''''. ''Indra'' means Īśvara, because what is the first thing? Life. "I want to be, I want to exist"—and that comes only from Prāṇadevatā. Prāṇadevatā comes in the form of Vāyu, especially oxygen. What is oxygen for human beings and other animals is poison to all the plants. So for the plants, what we breathe out—that is called carbon dioxide—that is the oxygen for them. So in whichever case—oxygen or carbon dioxide—both are manifestations of Vāyudevatā, Prāṇadevatā.
===The Three Qualities===
He has got—you are contemplating fine. But now you have to contemplate the same '''Vāyu as Hiraṇyagarbha'''—as '''''Indraḥ'''''—the king of the kings; and '''''Vaikuṇṭhaḥ''—'''meaning extremely intelligent, ''amandaḥ''—do not imagine Nārāyaṇa's loka Vaikuṇṭha. In fact, it is where there is '''no ''kuṇṭha'''''—there is '''no lack'''—and pure consciousness is the location where God is revealed. Therefore, Vaikuṇṭha means '''''amandaḥ''—not at all dull'''. That means he is very intelligent, he is active, he is energetic, he is agile, dynamic, etc. And '''''Aparājitasenāḥ''—one whose army is never defeated,''' one who has got invincible forces or undefeatable power. ''Aparājitasenāḥ''—that means one who has got an army which is invincible.
===The Spiritual Context===
But how do we understand in the spiritual context? We have to understand that the spiritual qualities—if I possess the spiritual quality of particularly this Vāyudevatā—then any amount of unspiritual forces (what in the ancient days, especially Christian saints, used to term as demons, devils) they cannot defeat me.
===The Story of the Saint and the Devil===
There is a beautiful story. There was a great saint, and the devil wanted to conquer him. So he came to him and revealed himself as an angel, thinking: "This person will become very proud—'Oh, what a great man I am! I had the vision of Saint Peter the Great angels.'" But the saint was too clever for this devil. Devils are not clever at all; now their thinking is very limited. So the angel is telling: "I have come from God. Rejoice!" Immediately the saint says: "I am not such a great soul that God can bestow—send his angels to me. So I do not deserve your vision." The moment the devil hears it, he hangs his head down and immediately flees away. There is no way to conquer this saint. Whereas a loyal person thinks: "What a how fortunate I am!" So for a few days he will think—in fact, there are so many stories which I am not going to go into.
===Humility===
So this person is humility itself. Therefore, when a person is so humble:

तृणादपि सुनीचेन.

''tṛṇād api sunīcena.''

That is what Caitanya Mahāprabhu says: "Even lower than a blade of grass"—considering himself or herself lower than a blade of grass—and nothing can defeat him. Because if a devil comes, he will say: "I am not equal to you; you are greater than me." And there is nothing the devil can do to this humble person. Humility means complete possession by the Spirit of God; when we make space, then pure Ākāśa—pure air—takes its place. When we empty our heart, pure divinity will be manifesting there.
===Hanumān and Bhīmasena===
So Vāyu is the most powerful. That is why Añjaneya—nobody can defeat him:

मनोजवं मारुततुल्यवेगं जितेन्द्रियं बुद्धिमतां वरिष्ठम् | वातात्मजं वानरयूथमुख्यं श्रीरामदूतं शिरसा नमामि ||

''manojavaṃ mārutatulyavegaṃ jitendriyaṃ buddhimatāṃ variṣṭham |'' vātātmajaṃ vānarayūthamukhyaṃ śrīrāmadūtaṃ śirasā namāmi ||

And Bhīmasena—so in the Mahābhārata, Añjaneya wanted to bestow his grace on Bhīmasena. So he took the form of an old monkey with a thick big tail lying on a narrow path. Bhīmasena said: "You please withdraw your form. I want to cross, otherwise you are elderly, so I do not want to step over you." And the old monkey—Añjaneya—said: "I am too weak. Will you please help me just to put my tail to a side first?" So Bhīmasena tried with one finger—little finger—could not. Then he used all the five fingers—could not. He used one hand—could not. Used both hands—could not. And he used all his energy—could not. Immediately that flashed in his head: "This is not an ordinary old monkey. It must be my eldest brother, elder brother Añjaneya." Immediately he fell at his feet. They were all spiritual people, these Pañca Pāṇḍavas. So immediately Añjaneya gave him a boon: "Tell your Arjuna to keep a flag, and in that flag I will reside, and whoever looks at this flag, his heart will fail on the spot." So Bhīmasena was very, very strong. Añjaneya was invincible. So that is the ''senā''. Whoever has got the grace of Vāyudevatā becomes invincible, and even Mṛtyudevatā does not dare to come near until the allotted time has come.
==Agni Upāsana==
The next upāsana is Agni—fire. So only one ''viśeṣaṇa'' is there. What is it? ''Viśvasāhā''. ''Viśvasāhā'' means Agni. Whatever we throw into the fire, it accepts it, burns it—even if it is the most impure, it will not keep it. So that is why He will not get angry with you. "Why did you throw this impure thing into me?" He turns everything into the purest. Throw into fire anything that is pure or impure—everything it will turn into the most purest substance by breaking down, absorbing, destroying all the impurities. That is why fire is called the most purifying aspect. So Agni takes anything given to it, and He does not complain. Whatever we give, He accepts it. And if we give with devotion, He will turn it completely into something very pure.
==Apaḥ (Water) Upāsana==
The next is ''Apaḥ''—water. We know one of the Pañca Devatās. Agni we have seen, Vāyu we have seen. So take it—''Apaḥ'' means water. Water is taken for upāsana, and here Ajātaśatru adds one more specific quality of Hiraṇyagarbha for Gārgya to contemplate upon. It is called ''Pratirūpa'', meaning ''samāna-rūpam''—that is to say, if you peer into flowing water, as we have seen how Prajāpati instructed: "Bring a big pail of water and look yourselves into it—without dressing up, after dressing up—and what you see that is your true self." One step further in spiritual progress. So ''samāna-rūpam'', ''pratirūpaḥ''—it means it reflects. But even a better reflector is there—that is called a mirror. We are going to come to it.
===The Result===
So what does it mean? What is the result the person will get? If anybody contemplates Hiraṇyagarbha in the form of this water, then the result he will get is ''samāna-putra-prāpti''. His children will be as spiritual people as the father and mother are. Whether it is sons or daughters, they will also be—all of them will be only good children, taking after the mother and like the father.
==Ādarśa (Mirror) Upāsana==
The next higher is called ''Ādarśa''. ''Ādarśa'' in Sanskrit means what we call mirror. What does a mirror do? It reflects. So Hiraṇyagarbha, if he is meditated upon with this quality called mirror quality, then what happens—that he reflects: "This is what you are." What does it mean? An ordinary mirror actually reflects. If a monkey stands in front of a mirror, only a monkey's ''svarūpa'' will come. But this is not an ordinary mirror; it is Hiraṇyagarbha. So when even an ignorant person stands in front of this Hiraṇyagarbha in the form of contemplating him as a mirror, that mirror called Hiraṇyagarbha reflects and shows: "You are not an ordinary human being; you are Hiraṇyagarbha." So the ''pratirūpa''—the reflection of the person who is standing in front of this divine mirror called Hiraṇyagarbha—the divine mirror only reflects divinity. So this is ''svaccha-svabhāvaḥ'', ''śuddha-svabhāvaḥ''—pure Hiraṇyagarbha's ''svarūpaḥ''. So that is the eighth.
==Yantam Paścāt Śabdaḥ Upāsana==
Then we will see the ninth one—''Yantam paścāt śabdaḥ''. Supposing a person is running, and after some time his breathing becomes gasping. And meditate upon Hiraṇyagarbha with that gasping sound—''paścāt yantam'', ''paścāt śabdaḥ''. ''Yantam'' means one who is walking for a long time or running for a long time. ''Paścāt''—after a long time, what type of breathing comes out of that person who is running—that gasping sound. Gasping means what? He is trying to inhale more amount of oxygen. Meditate upon that. So every asthmatic patient knows, and it may be very convenient for him to do this one. So what is the Hiraṇyagarbha's quality? Meditate Hiraṇyagarbha as that—so ''anuguṇatvena prāṇaguṇatvena''. That is to say, this person will obtain plenty of life energy from the source of this life energy, which is Hiraṇyagarbha, and this person lives for a long time because he will not suffer from this if he meditates upon him like that.
===The Example of Lakṣmī Devī===
Supposing a beggar meditates upon Lakṣmī Devī—then as a result of that meditation, he identifies: "I am full of wealth." And thereafter he really gets the happiness of being a wealthy man, even if he does not have wealth. What wealth Śudhiram had, what wealth Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa had, what wealth Holy Mother had—but whoever went there, she uplifted their mind, the people's mind to a very high level.
===The Anecdote from 1973===
I have to remind you one of my anecdotes. In 1973, I was living at—not Mother's house—Balarāma Bābū's house, and the court just had given its verdict that this belongs to the Ramakrishna Order according to the will of Kṛṣṇamayī, the granddaughter of Balarāma Bābū's. And the court case had taken, I think, more than 30–35 years. Anyway, the verdict had come. I was living there, and I used to go for food, etc., to Mother's house, which is the most pleasant experience because going to Mother's house means most enjoyable things are available. You do not need to pray to Mother; they are already there. You go—if you make yourself as hungry as possible, you can enjoy that.
===The Sevaka's Reminiscence===
There was a sevaka, a person who served as an attendant to Holy Mother. He was very old—I forget his name now. So I was eager to know his reminiscences of while he was living with Holy Mother. Then specifically I asked: "So what about your ''kāma''—lust?" Because they were all very young youth, and there were so many women there—young women. And the women need not be Miss Universes, because when a person is in this mood of lust, any woman would look very beautiful. Then the Swami told me something extraordinary. He said: "So long as Holy Mother was alive, even the thought that I am a male never arose in all those male attendants." Then he added: "The moment Holy Mother passed away, as if we have come out of the river Gaṅgā, all the old sins are sitting on the branches on the bank of the river, and they all jumped. Now we have to struggle like anybody else." But then he said that because I distinctly remember how I was living in her presence, I meditate upon it, and that helps me to overcome. Old age is no obstruction for ''kāma'', ''krodha'', ''lobha'', ''moha'', ''mada'', ''mātsarya''—keep it in mind. So that is the result.
==Dik (Directions) Upāsana==
Then it comes on directions—''dik''. You know, Hinduism divides all this into four categories: East, West, South, North, and also in between—East and West, East and South, South and West, West and North. We call it ''Aṇḍavai''—you remember easily—mnemonics. So if somebody does contemplation upon it, what does he become? He gets two qualities: ''dvitīyavān''—always there will be somebody with him to help him, to serve him. He will never be without a second person taking care of him as long as the person is alive. So ''abhiyunuktatva''—that means inseparableness. So if a person is married, wife and husband live—only they die at the same time. But they will never be separable; they will not suffer from the separateness of one person dying.
===The Result===
''Sa ya etam evam upāste dvitīyavān bhavati nāsya gaṇāś chidyate''—"Even his children—they will not die only in the full ''āyurdāya'' time—only they will die." Such a person who contemplates on the directions—East, West, South, North, etc.—as qualities of Hiraṇyagarbha will get the result of always being served, and of course he becomes more fit to become an apt student.
==Chāyā (Shadow) Upāsana==
Then the next meditation is ''chāyā''. ''Chāyā'' means shadow. So:

''Sa ya etam evam upāste sarvam āyur evāsmin loke ayate, nainaṃ pūrākālān mṛtyur agacchati.''

"He who meditates upon Hiraṇyagarbha as a shadow attains his full span of life in this world, and the shadow called death, which always follows us, does not come to him before the appointed time." That means ''apāmṛtyu''—untimely death—will never come to this one.
==Prajāpati Upāsana==
And the twelfth upāsana—the last one—is ''Ātma''—that is Prajāpati, the ''samaṣṭi'' itself. All the Devatās put together are contemplated upon as Prajāpati—''rūpāṇi samaṣṭi-rūpāṇi''—upāsana. So what is the result? It means he will become one with everybody. He will have full self-control, total mastery over one's own self.
===The Shadow of Death===
So these are, in brief, the one—only—I just wanted to know that all of us are followed by the shadow of death. But one who meditates upon Hiraṇyagarbha as a shadow—that shadow will never—the shadow called death will never follow such a person. That means what does it mean? It really means that for the spiritual person, he overcomes the fear of death. "Let death come just now, tomorrow, after ten years, after a hundred years—it does not really matter." But I am not frightened of death because I know as soon as this physical body falls—that is called what we call death—then I become merged in this Hiraṇyagarbha because I have been meditating upon Hiraṇyagarbha.
===The Final Step===
And whoever meditates upon Hiraṇyagarbha, and Hiraṇyagarbha had these qualities—already Gārgya had some, and Ajātaśatru adds so many—then that Hiraṇyagarbha becomes full, and then whoever meditates becomes completely identified with Hiraṇyagarbha. Hiraṇyagarbha is Saguṇa Brahma. Saguṇa Brahma is ''Māyādhiśvara''—He is the master of Māyā. Māyā means in the form of ''sṛṣṭi'', ''sthiti'', ''saṃhāra''—that is creation, sustenance, and re-emergence into its cause. A person will be free from these.
===Ready for the Final Step===
So that is how Ajātaśatru had trained his apt disciple Gārgya to become one with Hiraṇyagarbha. Now he is ready for the final step—how Hiraṇyagarbha has to be merged into the Nirguṇa Brahma—''Parabrahma'', ''Satyasya Satyam''. Hiraṇyagarbha is the ''satyam''—truth—and Nirguṇa Brahma is ''Satyasya Satyam''. And that is the beautiful topic, and Ajātaśatru, in the form of taking Gārgya by hand to a sleeping person, wakes him up. And he tries to explain what happens in deep sleep, and that is what we also had studied in the Māṇḍūkyakārikā, especially Gauḍapāda's teaching. But the same thing, we will try to talk in simpler terms in our next class onwards. I will also give you a methodology of approaching how to understand the forthcoming mantras—how Ajātaśatru had Gārgya understand.

== 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 1.2-13 Lecture 46 on 28 June 2026

2026-08-26T15:08:25Z

Gayatri:

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.'''

'''''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.'''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

'''OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH'''

'''OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.'''

'''OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.'''

==Introduction: Gārgya and Ajātaśatru==
In our last class, we started analysing what Gārgya was trying to teach to Ajātaśatru, and how after hearing from Gārgya, Ajātaśatru started adding some more upāsanas. '''Every upāsana is a divine quality to be acquired by one who is aspiring to become Brahman'''—to become '''a fit recipient, to become a worthy student.'''
===The Essence of Vedānta===
So we have discussed two of those upāsanas. '''So one was the Sun. According to Vedānta'''—that means Hinduism is a common name for Vedānta. Vedānta, by the way, should not be identified with Advaita. '''Vedānta means the essence of the Vedas,''' which includes the dualistic philosophy, qualified non-dualistic philosophy, and also the highest non-dualistic philosophy—'''Dvaita, Viśiṣṭādvaita, and Advaita'''. The essence of these upāsanās is: each soul is potentially divine. The word "potentiality" means—in our understanding—forgotten divinity. Each soul has forgotten that he is the Divine, and we remember that we are not divine, but we are something else; we are individuals.
===Who Is an Advanced Human Being?===
This enquiry does not fit for any other non-human being, only to human beings—that too, '''advanced human beings.''' And who are the advanced human beings? '''Those who need not struggle for survival, those who have enough'''. Why do we say that? Because if somebody—let us say a field worker—he cannot survive without working. So manual labour is the only way for him to continue his living. Such persons have limited time and limited capacity, limited intelligence. Therefore, we have to understand that certain conditions need to be fulfilled.
===The Three Conditions===
A person, first of all, is '''highly developed in intellec'''t. Second, he has '''gone through all these experiences through many a life—'''many janmas. Thirdly, he has '''started analysing himself'''. Then he found out whatever he experienced, he was lacking. And then only the enquiry comes: "I have thoroughly examined the entire physical phenomena, the external world, and I do not see what can fulfil my true desire." And then '''he turns inward''', and then he has to struggle through various stages.
===The Need for a Guru===
For such a student, he has to become a student, because '''no student can ever understand what the scripture tells except through a Guru.''' Even in the case of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, when he intuitively understood that only my Divine Mother is my Guru, he surrendered himself—like Arjuna:

'''शिष्यस्तेऽहं शाधि मां त्वां प्रपन्नम्.'''

''śiṣyas te 'haṃ śādhi māṃ tvāṃ prapannam. [Bhagavad Gita 2.7]''

Whenever we read about this particular line in the second chapter, we have to remind how Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said: "I am a fool." He was not a fool—but "fool" in what sense? That I do not know anything about Brahmavidyā. But he was not a fool with regard to worldly objects and worldly experiences. His understanding of the world, his knowledge of the world, is far superior to any other person. He understands by analysing thoroughly, objectively, that really speaking, he finds out there is no essence there; it is only an illusion. And then only he stops searching for what he wants to achieve outside and turns his attention inside.
===Daivī Sampat===
But even that turning inside—to become a fit disciple—he has to acquire what Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa says: '''''Daivī Sampatदैवी सम्पत्'''''. And there are many—and I told you earlier that these qualities, whether demonic or divine or spiritual, come in gangs/ groups. You cannot have one single without being supported by the other, either way. So Ajātaśatru found out Gārgya was having some spiritual qualities. He was humble; he was ready and open to truth from wherever it comes. So that is why God—in the form of Ajātaśatru—has started helping Gārgya: "You develop these qualities." How did he help? "You contemplate this particular quality. Go on thinking day in and day out; meditate with perfect concentration. And what we think, that is what we become."
===The Twelve Upāsanas===
So, as I said, it is not mentioned here, but as soon as Ajātaśatru taught him—"These are the qualities you have to develop"—immediately Gārgya must have practised. We do not know whether it took months or years; that is not mentioned. But we have to presume that Gārgya had acquired one by one, one after the other, those divine spiritual qualities—''Daivī Sampat'''दैवी सम्पत्'''''—and then only Ajātaśatru proceeds to the next stage. This is the development.

And then there were twelve upāsanas mentioned by Gārgya of which he was aware only partially, not in their fullness. And Ajātaśatru completes the understanding of Gārgya, makes him contemplate upon those—the specific word used here is '''''upāseउपासे'''''—"O Gārgya, you do contemplation on this particular quality also."
===The Psychological Fact===
So we were trying to analyse those qualities, and we have already taken up two or three qualities. We will just remind. The first is his meditation on the '''Sun—Āditya'''. As I mentioned, never forget: t'''he sun, the moon, the lightning, the vāyu (air), the ākāśa'''—all these are '''nature,''' but nature as '''Brahman Devatā'''. So certain qualities are superimposed upon them. Even though—let us take an example—even though there is a stone image of Śiva—Śivaliṅga—but by taking it as a support, a true Śiva-bhakta (devotee of Śiva) contemplates: "My Iṣṭadevatā (chosen deity) is all-pervading, all-compassionate, all-forgiving, and He is the supreme most. He is the praiseworthy." Like that, thinking of one particular quality until it becomes one's own nature is the real result. That also the Upaniṣad mentions: if anybody contemplates in this particular way, he becomes the most important person, he acquires tremendous spiritual splendour, he becomes the greatest, he becomes the most intelligent person, etc. So whatever we think, that is what we become. And this is a psychological fact which has been accepted by every psychologist.
===The Devatās===
So first '''Āditya,''' then we have seen three qualities added. And then he took up '''Chandra is the second'''. And '''Chandra Devatā, Sūrya Devatā, Vidyud Devatā, e'''tc.—we have to add, even though that epithet is not given in this Upaniṣad. '''So what is a Devatā?''' Without whose existence our existence is not possible. So the one particular aspect of our existence combined—'''''samaṣṭi'', universal—'''is called Devatā. So the moon is taken up, and that Chandra Devatā is meditated upon as Hiraṇyagarbha. Now one of the qualities is '''Hiraṇyagarbha quality.''' So Ajātaśatru—the Guru, now the teacher—adds three qualities: '''''Bṛhat'', ''Pāṇḍaravat'', ''Somarāja'''''. And incidentally, '''these are also the qualities of Prāṇadevatā—''samaṣṭi'' Prāṇadevatā.''' Whenever I say ''prāṇa'', it is individual. Whenever I say ''Prāṇadevatā'', you have to understand it is the presiding deity, the person—the Devatā—who is manifesting in everybody in that particular format. Please keep this in mind.
===The Three Qualities of Chandra===
'''''Bṛhat''''' means he becomes expanded. Just as a person who comes after a hard work—a manual labourer comes back—imagine there is a full moon and then he stands. It is likely he forgets the whole world because the Chandra Devatā delights everybody, gives joy to everybody, and it is the purest white. And His grace—Chandra Devatā's grace—is on everybody. '''So ''Bṛhat'' means indiscriminately bestowing His grace upon everybody.'''

'''''Pāṇḍaravat'''''—pure. ''Pāṇḍu'' means white; pure means ''śuddha''. Very pure. So the '''upāsaka becomes pure'''. The upāsaka delights everybody because happiness is his very nature, and that is indicated as the '''third quality—''Somarāja''.''' ''Soma'' is a kind of plant, and they used to extract the juice which is like a mild intoxicant, and it gives tremendous joy, lifts up at least temporarily. And we have to imagine that is why ecstasy is another name for another of these drugs—ecstatic state. However, whatever be the state previously, as soon as a person imbibes, immediately he becomes tremendously aware of a change of consciousness, a change of perception. That means his '''mind forgets temporarily his temporary state of body and mind and enters into a delightful state.''' That is why they are so addictive. So '''''Somarājaḥ'''''. It is also said that the '''Soma plant creeper only grows in plenty and in fullness only when the moonlight influences''' it. So they are connected together. But it is a well-known scientific fact that a full moon—when you stand in front of it—certainly delights everybody's heart.
===The Result===
So these are the three qualities: '''''Bṛhat'', ''Pāṇḍaravat'', ''Somarāja'''''. And as I mentioned, these are also happen to be the qualities of '''''samaṣṭi Prāṇadevatā''''', and that is going to come later on. So anybody who meditates becomes great, becomes pure, and becomes a very delightful, happy personality towards whom everybody is attracted. Because we are really attracted only towards happiness. A man looks at a woman, thinks she is very beautiful. It is not the beauty; it is the happiness that the concept of beauty brings. A man looks at a sweet; it is not the sweet; it is the delight, the happiness that is the resultant of coming into contact with that sweet, becoming that sweet, '''becoming one with him when he eats, and that quality of happiness temporarily becomes one with this person. S'''o we are not really attracted to any object, but '''we are attracted towards what is happiness, but mistakenly manifested, mistakenly understood as the properties of those attractive, desirable objects.'''
===Vidyut (Lightning)===
So we have seen that one. '''''Vidyut''''' is also we discussed. So Ajātaśatru heard from Gārgya: "I contemplate upon lightning." And then Ajātaśatru says: "That is okay; that is a good thing. But I contemplate upon this lightning as '''''Tejasvī''—Hiraṇyagarbha.'''" Remember, the ''vidyut'' (lightning) is an aspect of Hiraṇyagarbha. The moon is an aspect of Hiraṇyagarbha. The sun is an aspect of Hiraṇyagarbha. As I mentioned yesterday, all the presiding deities are the combined particular quality in every human, in every living creature. As an example, just to remind you: '''all the seeing power in every creature in the form of the eye—all the eyes combined—''sahasrākṣaḥ sahasrapāt''—so that is called Sūrya Devatā.''' So '''all the minds together is called the Chandra Devatā. A'''nd here '''''Tejasvī'' means splendour.''' There is a special splendour. It is not a power that emanates; it is a natural quality because lightning means light. Tremendous power is there. So '''''tejas''—power''', tremendous commanding capacity, and a brilliant shining personality. All these qualities are involved in this meditation upāsana called ''Tejasvī''. So Ajātaśatru says: "I meditate upon lightning as ''tejas''—divine splendour." And whoever meditates, that becomes that particular person's own nature, part of his personality. So he becomes ''Tejasvī''. That is why I said: saints' heads are often depicted as having a halo like that.
==Ākāśa Upāsana==
The next upāsana, the f'''ourth upāsana, is called Ākāśa Upāsana.''' And when we are talking about this Ākāśa Upāsana earlier, we have seen what are the '''similarities between Ākāśa and Ātman'''. Ākāśa is the very first manifestation of Ātman. So both are infinite; both are uncontaminable—nothing can touch them. Both are indivisible; both are all-pervading; both are supporting everything in this world. So inevitably, everyone has to meditate upon Ākāśa, succeed in it at least to some extent. Then he will have a glimpse of what Ātman could be.
===Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Experience===
I also quoted what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's own experience: "I was like a bird flying in the infinite sky." And do not immediately say that it falls. Suppose the bird gets tired and then falls down and then dashes itself against the earth or a rock and dies. These are called negative thoughts; they should not be entertained. Ākāśa means infinite. In infinity, there is no up and down, east or west, above and below. Nothing is there. So that is a beautiful meditation—joyously flying. There is no other being excepting me. And this is a very high and difficult upāsana to practise.
===The Two Qualities of Ākāśa===
Here it is. I am just reminding you: Gārgya said, "I worship—I do upāsana—on Ākāśa.'''" He says with two special glories—''Pūrṇaḥ'' and ''Apravṛtti''.''' So why ''Pūrṇa''? Because whenever we objectify a thing, the objectifying means it is limited. But Ākāśa is unlimited. Therefore, we have to think—even though it is a thought, even though the mind can only think in limited terms, limited by time, space, and causation—we have to intellectually contemplate it as '''''Pūrṇaḥ''.''' ''Pūrṇaḥ'' means infinite.

'''पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पूर्णमुदच्यते | पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ||'''

'''''pūrṇamadaḥ pūrṇamidaṃ pūrṇāt pūrṇamudacyate |'' pūrṇasya pūrṇamādāya pūrṇamevāvaśiṣyate ||'''

So it is ''Pūrṇam''. And then '''''Apravṛtti''—that means actionless'''. So light is actionless. I say "light is illumining" as an example. All these concepts require a little bit of self-analysis. So light is illumining an object—that is how we express. Without light, I cannot see an object, experience an object, but as soon as light comes—either electricity or natural light—immediately it illumines. But our understanding should be deeper. You go and suppose you ask the light: "Did you illumine?" It says: "What are you talking about? I do not know anything about illuminating anything." Because if light thinks "I am illuminating," then it is a quality of the light, and sometimes the quality can be manifest, sometimes unmanifest. That means what? Sometimes the light decides: "I will show this person what this object is." And another time: "I do not like this person, so I am not going to illuminate." Light will be there, but that illumination will be absent—by the will of the light. But that is not the case. Fire burns; fire does not know anything. But in its presence, by its very nature, anything that comes into contact—even nearby contact—with fire automatically burns. It has nothing to do with the fire. This is illumining without the thought that "I am illumining." That is the concept we must have with regard to so many things.
===Ākāśa as Supporter===
With Ākāśa, it is the supporter of all, and it is uncontaminable. So that is why it is said that any number of impurities can be thrown into space, but space is never contaminated. So this is how one has to understand, though Ākāśa does not really do anything. But without Ākāśa, nothing can be done. You cannot construct a house. You cannot construct a workspace. You cannot move one millimetre if there were to be no space. But space itself does not know anything about it. It is '''''asparśa''—'''completely non-touchable, non-influenceable. That is how one has to understand. It does not act, and i'''t is also ''kriyā-rahita'''''. ''Pūrṇaḥ''—it is infinite, and in infinity, there is no time, space, and causation. There is no action; there is no inaction. That is how we have to understand.
===The Result of This Upāsana===
"This is how I meditated before I attained Brahmajñāna," says Ajātaśatru to Gārgya. "You also must acquire these qualities." What does it mean? You become a Karma Yogi. You feel that "the cause of me is Brahman. I am the Ātman. I am '''''Pūrṇamadaḥ'', ''Pūrṇamidamपूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं''''' . And I do not need to do anything because I am Sat-Cit-Ānanda by my very nature." So if I am of the nature of bliss, if I do something, you know what happens? Instead of being happy, I will be subjected to unhappiness because an object is limiting. An object definitely limits the subject also. So we must go beyond subject and object.
===Upāsana Means Becoming One===
So Ajātaśatru teaches Gārgya: "You do upāsana." I am using this word '''''upāsana''''' because meditation, contemplation, concentration—these words really do not express what can be expressed by this word. ''Upāsana'' means what? '''Completely becoming one with the object of our contemplation.''' So He is infinite, and whatever is infinite is beyond any action, because everything that a person does is to obtain something which is not there. But when he becomes infinite, the subject, the object, the desirable, the undesirable—everything is included in the ''Pūrṇa''. Actually speaking, there is nothing undesirable. Even the worst thing is nothing but Brahman.
===The Example of Bhairavī Brāhmaṇī===
And in order to teach this lesson to Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, while Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was practising Tāntrika sādhana, Bhairavī Brāhmaṇī did so many things. I will only mention two. One day she brought some faeces and said: "My child, please taste them—not eat them, but taste them." And a revolution had arisen in the mind of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. And then Bhairavī Brāhmaṇī perceived it and said: "What is there? Look here, I am doing it." And without any revulsion or hatred, how can it be done? Only by considering it as a manifestation of the Divine Mother who is everywhere—or Brahman, if you like. So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said: "Immediately I was possessed by Caṇḍikā, and immediately I had no revulsion at all."
===The Dung Beetle===
Actually, look at it. There is a beetle called dung beetle. And the dung beetle's food is only dung. What is dung for us is the nutritious food for the dung beetle. And if you can imagine a dung beetle—a devotee of Brahman? In fact, there is no one who is not a devotee of Brahman, because every creature's unconscious prayer is: '''"Let me exist forever; let me be full of consciousness; let me be ''Ānandasvarūpa''—''asato mā sadgamaya'', etc."''' So unconsciously, we are all—there is nobody from that viewpoint who is a disbeliever in God. Only if you use the word "God," there will be a problem. But if you believe that '''God means existence, pure consciousness, and unbroken bliss—''ānanda''—then everybody wants only God.''' Everybody is a spark of God. Everybody is a devotee of God. Only temporarily, our mind does not allow us to recognise that fact.
===Apravṛtti and Kriyāvān===
So ''Apravṛtti'', ''kriyāvān''—this is how: all the full ''ānanda'' is within me. I do not desire anything other than ''ānanda''. An object is desired only if I think I do not have the ''ānanda'' of this particular object—for example, a sweet—then I desire sweet. When I am having unbroken happiness, my ''ānanda'' is ''pūrṇa''—infinite. Where is the question of any desire? Where there is no desire, there is absolutely no action.
==Vāyu Upāsana==
The next upāsana is '''Vāyu'''. You know, slowly some of the Pañcabhūtas are taken out for upāsana. Vāyu means air. We all know Vāyu means oxygen—Prāṇadevatā. Without breathing sixteen times a minute, we will not be able to survive. And those who suffer from asthma, they understand what I am talking much better. So you close your nostrils and hold up your breathing—you will understand what I am talking about.
===The Three Glories of Vāyudevatā===
So here also the three glories are there of Vāyudevatā, that is Prāṇadevatā: '''''Indraḥ'', ''Vaikuṇṭhaḥ'', ''Aparājitasenāḥ'''''. ''Indra'' means Īśvara, because what is the first thing? Life. "I want to be, I want to exist"—and that comes only from Prāṇadevatā. Prāṇadevatā comes in the form of Vāyu, especially oxygen. What is oxygen for human beings and other animals is poison to all the plants. So for the plants, what we breathe out—that is called carbon dioxide—that is the oxygen for them. So in whichever case—oxygen or carbon dioxide—both are manifestations of Vāyudevatā, Prāṇadevatā.
===The Three Qualities===
He has got—you are contemplating fine. But now you have to contemplate the same '''Vāyu as Hiraṇyagarbha'''—as '''''Indraḥ'''''—the king of the kings; and '''''Vaikuṇṭhaḥ''—'''meaning extremely intelligent, ''amandaḥ''—do not imagine Nārāyaṇa's loka Vaikuṇṭha. In fact, it is where there is '''no ''kuṇṭha'''''—there is '''no lack'''—and pure consciousness is the location where God is revealed. Therefore, Vaikuṇṭha means '''''amandaḥ''—not at all dull'''. That means he is very intelligent, he is active, he is energetic, he is agile, dynamic, etc. And '''''Aparājitasenāḥ''—one whose army is never defeated,''' one who has got invincible forces or undefeatable power. ''Aparājitasenāḥ''—that means one who has got an army which is invincible.
===The Spiritual Context===
But how do we understand in the spiritual context? We have to understand that the spiritual qualities—if I possess the spiritual quality of particularly this Vāyudevatā—then any amount of unspiritual forces (what in the ancient days, especially Christian saints, used to term as demons, devils) they cannot defeat me.
===The Story of the Saint and the Devil===
There is a beautiful story. There was a great saint, and the devil wanted to conquer him. So he came to him and revealed himself as an angel, thinking: "This person will become very proud—'Oh, what a great man I am! I had the vision of Saint Peter the Great angels.'" But the saint was too clever for this devil. Devils are not clever at all; now their thinking is very limited. So the angel is telling: "I have come from God. Rejoice!" Immediately the saint says: "I am not such a great soul that God can bestow—send his angels to me. So I do not deserve your vision." The moment the devil hears it, he hangs his head down and immediately flees away. There is no way to conquer this saint. Whereas a loyal person thinks: "What a how fortunate I am!" So for a few days he will think—in fact, there are so many stories which I am not going to go into.
===Humility===
So this person is humility itself. Therefore, when a person is so humble:

तृणादपि सुनीचेन.

''tṛṇād api sunīcena.''

That is what Caitanya Mahāprabhu says: "Even lower than a blade of grass"—considering himself or herself lower than a blade of grass—and nothing can defeat him. Because if a devil comes, he will say: "I am not equal to you; you are greater than me." And there is nothing the devil can do to this humble person. Humility means complete possession by the Spirit of God; when we make space, then pure Ākāśa—pure air—takes its place. When we empty our heart, pure divinity will be manifesting there.
===Hanumān and Bhīmasena===
So Vāyu is the most powerful. That is why Añjaneya—nobody can defeat him:

मनोजवं मारुततुल्यवेगं जितेन्द्रियं बुद्धिमतां वरिष्ठम् | वातात्मजं वानरयूथमुख्यं श्रीरामदूतं शिरसा नमामि ||

''manojavaṃ mārutatulyavegaṃ jitendriyaṃ buddhimatāṃ variṣṭham |'' vātātmajaṃ vānarayūthamukhyaṃ śrīrāmadūtaṃ śirasā namāmi ||

And Bhīmasena—so in the Mahābhārata, Añjaneya wanted to bestow his grace on Bhīmasena. So he took the form of an old monkey with a thick big tail lying on a narrow path. Bhīmasena said: "You please withdraw your form. I want to cross, otherwise you are elderly, so I do not want to step over you." And the old monkey—Añjaneya—said: "I am too weak. Will you please help me just to put my tail to a side first?" So Bhīmasena tried with one finger—little finger—could not. Then he used all the five fingers—could not. He used one hand—could not. Used both hands—could not. And he used all his energy—could not. Immediately that flashed in his head: "This is not an ordinary old monkey. It must be my eldest brother, elder brother Añjaneya." Immediately he fell at his feet. They were all spiritual people, these Pañca Pāṇḍavas. So immediately Añjaneya gave him a boon: "Tell your Arjuna to keep a flag, and in that flag I will reside, and whoever looks at this flag, his heart will fail on the spot." So Bhīmasena was very, very strong. Añjaneya was invincible. So that is the ''senā''. Whoever has got the grace of Vāyudevatā becomes invincible, and even Mṛtyudevatā does not dare to come near until the allotted time has come.
==Agni Upāsana==
The next upāsana is Agni—fire. So only one ''viśeṣaṇa'' is there. What is it? ''Viśvasāhā''. ''Viśvasāhā'' means Agni. Whatever we throw into the fire, it accepts it, burns it—even if it is the most impure, it will not keep it. So that is why He will not get angry with you. "Why did you throw this impure thing into me?" He turns everything into the purest. Throw into fire anything that is pure or impure—everything it will turn into the most purest substance by breaking down, absorbing, destroying all the impurities. That is why fire is called the most purifying aspect. So Agni takes anything given to it, and He does not complain. Whatever we give, He accepts it. And if we give with devotion, He will turn it completely into something very pure.
==Apaḥ (Water) Upāsana==
The next is ''Apaḥ''—water. We know one of the Pañca Devatās. Agni we have seen, Vāyu we have seen. So take it—''Apaḥ'' means water. Water is taken for upāsana, and here Ajātaśatru adds one more specific quality of Hiraṇyagarbha for Gārgya to contemplate upon. It is called ''Pratirūpa'', meaning ''samāna-rūpam''—that is to say, if you peer into flowing water, as we have seen how Prajāpati instructed: "Bring a big pail of water and look yourselves into it—without dressing up, after dressing up—and what you see that is your true self." One step further in spiritual progress. So ''samāna-rūpam'', ''pratirūpaḥ''—it means it reflects. But even a better reflector is there—that is called a mirror. We are going to come to it.
===The Result===
So what does it mean? What is the result the person will get? If anybody contemplates Hiraṇyagarbha in the form of this water, then the result he will get is ''samāna-putra-prāpti''. His children will be as spiritual people as the father and mother are. Whether it is sons or daughters, they will also be—all of them will be only good children, taking after the mother and like the father.
==Ādarśa (Mirror) Upāsana==
The next higher is called ''Ādarśa''. ''Ādarśa'' in Sanskrit means what we call mirror. What does a mirror do? It reflects. So Hiraṇyagarbha, if he is meditated upon with this quality called mirror quality, then what happens—that he reflects: "This is what you are." What does it mean? An ordinary mirror actually reflects. If a monkey stands in front of a mirror, only a monkey's ''svarūpa'' will come. But this is not an ordinary mirror; it is Hiraṇyagarbha. So when even an ignorant person stands in front of this Hiraṇyagarbha in the form of contemplating him as a mirror, that mirror called Hiraṇyagarbha reflects and shows: "You are not an ordinary human being; you are Hiraṇyagarbha." So the ''pratirūpa''—the reflection of the person who is standing in front of this divine mirror called Hiraṇyagarbha—the divine mirror only reflects divinity. So this is ''svaccha-svabhāvaḥ'', ''śuddha-svabhāvaḥ''—pure Hiraṇyagarbha's ''svarūpaḥ''. So that is the eighth.
==Yantam Paścāt Śabdaḥ Upāsana==
Then we will see the ninth one—''Yantam paścāt śabdaḥ''. Supposing a person is running, and after some time his breathing becomes gasping. And meditate upon Hiraṇyagarbha with that gasping sound—''paścāt yantam'', ''paścāt śabdaḥ''. ''Yantam'' means one who is walking for a long time or running for a long time. ''Paścāt''—after a long time, what type of breathing comes out of that person who is running—that gasping sound. Gasping means what? He is trying to inhale more amount of oxygen. Meditate upon that. So every asthmatic patient knows, and it may be very convenient for him to do this one. So what is the Hiraṇyagarbha's quality? Meditate Hiraṇyagarbha as that—so ''anuguṇatvena prāṇaguṇatvena''. That is to say, this person will obtain plenty of life energy from the source of this life energy, which is Hiraṇyagarbha, and this person lives for a long time because he will not suffer from this if he meditates upon him like that.
===The Example of Lakṣmī Devī===
Supposing a beggar meditates upon Lakṣmī Devī—then as a result of that meditation, he identifies: "I am full of wealth." And thereafter he really gets the happiness of being a wealthy man, even if he does not have wealth. What wealth Śudhiram had, what wealth Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa had, what wealth Holy Mother had—but whoever went there, she uplifted their mind, the people's mind to a very high level.
===The Anecdote from 1973===
I have to remind you one of my anecdotes. In 1973, I was living at—not Mother's house—Balarāma Bābū's house, and the court just had given its verdict that this belongs to the Ramakrishna Order according to the will of Kṛṣṇamayī, the granddaughter of Balarāma Bābū's. And the court case had taken, I think, more than 30–35 years. Anyway, the verdict had come. I was living there, and I used to go for food, etc., to Mother's house, which is the most pleasant experience because going to Mother's house means most enjoyable things are available. You do not need to pray to Mother; they are already there. You go—if you make yourself as hungry as possible, you can enjoy that.
===The Sevaka's Reminiscence===
There was a sevaka, a person who served as an attendant to Holy Mother. He was very old—I forget his name now. So I was eager to know his reminiscences of while he was living with Holy Mother. Then specifically I asked: "So what about your ''kāma''—lust?" Because they were all very young youth, and there were so many women there—young women. And the women need not be Miss Universes, because when a person is in this mood of lust, any woman would look very beautiful. Then the Swami told me something extraordinary. He said: "So long as Holy Mother was alive, even the thought that I am a male never arose in all those male attendants." Then he added: "The moment Holy Mother passed away, as if we have come out of the river Gaṅgā, all the old sins are sitting on the branches on the bank of the river, and they all jumped. Now we have to struggle like anybody else." But then he said that because I distinctly remember how I was living in her presence, I meditate upon it, and that helps me to overcome. Old age is no obstruction for ''kāma'', ''krodha'', ''lobha'', ''moha'', ''mada'', ''mātsarya''—keep it in mind. So that is the result.
==Dik (Directions) Upāsana==
Then it comes on directions—''dik''. You know, Hinduism divides all this into four categories: East, West, South, North, and also in between—East and West, East and South, South and West, West and North. We call it ''Aṇḍavai''—you remember easily—mnemonics. So if somebody does contemplation upon it, what does he become? He gets two qualities: ''dvitīyavān''—always there will be somebody with him to help him, to serve him. He will never be without a second person taking care of him as long as the person is alive. So ''abhiyunuktatva''—that means inseparableness. So if a person is married, wife and husband live—only they die at the same time. But they will never be separable; they will not suffer from the separateness of one person dying.
===The Result===
''Sa ya etam evam upāste dvitīyavān bhavati nāsya gaṇāś chidyate''—"Even his children—they will not die only in the full ''āyurdāya'' time—only they will die." Such a person who contemplates on the directions—East, West, South, North, etc.—as qualities of Hiraṇyagarbha will get the result of always being served, and of course he becomes more fit to become an apt student.
==Chāyā (Shadow) Upāsana==
Then the next meditation is ''chāyā''. ''Chāyā'' means shadow. So:

''Sa ya etam evam upāste sarvam āyur evāsmin loke ayate, nainaṃ pūrākālān mṛtyur agacchati.''

"He who meditates upon Hiraṇyagarbha as a shadow attains his full span of life in this world, and the shadow called death, which always follows us, does not come to him before the appointed time." That means ''apāmṛtyu''—untimely death—will never come to this one.
==Prajāpati Upāsana==
And the twelfth upāsana—the last one—is ''Ātma''—that is Prajāpati, the ''samaṣṭi'' itself. All the Devatās put together are contemplated upon as Prajāpati—''rūpāṇi samaṣṭi-rūpāṇi''—upāsana. So what is the result? It means he will become one with everybody. He will have full self-control, total mastery over one's own self.
===The Shadow of Death===
So these are, in brief, the one—only—I just wanted to know that all of us are followed by the shadow of death. But one who meditates upon Hiraṇyagarbha as a shadow—that shadow will never—the shadow called death will never follow such a person. That means what does it mean? It really means that for the spiritual person, he overcomes the fear of death. "Let death come just now, tomorrow, after ten years, after a hundred years—it does not really matter." But I am not frightened of death because I know as soon as this physical body falls—that is called what we call death—then I become merged in this Hiraṇyagarbha because I have been meditating upon Hiraṇyagarbha.
===The Final Step===
And whoever meditates upon Hiraṇyagarbha, and Hiraṇyagarbha had these qualities—already Gārgya had some, and Ajātaśatru adds so many—then that Hiraṇyagarbha becomes full, and then whoever meditates becomes completely identified with Hiraṇyagarbha. Hiraṇyagarbha is Saguṇa Brahma. Saguṇa Brahma is ''Māyādhiśvara''—He is the master of Māyā. Māyā means in the form of ''sṛṣṭi'', ''sthiti'', ''saṃhāra''—that is creation, sustenance, and re-emergence into its cause. A person will be free from these.
===Ready for the Final Step===
So that is how Ajātaśatru had trained his apt disciple Gārgya to become one with Hiraṇyagarbha. Now he is ready for the final step—how Hiraṇyagarbha has to be merged into the Nirguṇa Brahma—''Parabrahma'', ''Satyasya Satyam''. Hiraṇyagarbha is the ''satyam''—truth—and Nirguṇa Brahma is ''Satyasya Satyam''. And that is the beautiful topic, and Ajātaśatru, in the form of taking Gārgya by hand to a sleeping person, wakes him up. And he tries to explain what happens in deep sleep, and that is what we also had studied in the Māṇḍūkyakārikā, especially Gauḍapāda's teaching. But the same thing, we will try to talk in simpler terms in our next class onwards. I will also give you a methodology of approaching how to understand the forthcoming mantras—how Ajātaśatru had Gārgya understand.

== 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 1.1-3 Lecture 43 on 20 June 2026

2026-08-25T15:06:49Z

Gayatri:

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.'''

''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH

OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.

==Introduction to the Second Chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad==
So we are studying the second chapter of the second section of the second chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. We know this story. A young brāhmaṇa, well learned but limited in his learning, comes voluntarily to teach about Brahman. He did not say that he was going to teach only the Saguṇa Brahma, a limited Brahma. But he thought that is the complete Brahman. So he came to a king called Ajātaśatru and volunteered himself: "I will teach you about Brahman."
===Ajātaśatru: The Knower of Brahman===
Ajātaśatru was a knower of Brahman, both Saguṇa and Nirguṇa. How did he attain? Because he also had to follow the same footsteps. How do we know? Because he is teaching the same—that means what he practised earlier. In order to reach the peak of self-knowledge, now to Gārgya who required to take the same steps, Ajātaśatru, being a very great teacher, recognised where Gārgya was and he wanted to take him further. Why? Because he found Gārgya sincere. He thought he knew everything.
===Sincerity and Śraddhā===
Sincerity—''śraddhā''—is the most important quality. If that is there, other things lacking,they can be obtained. But every other quality is there and ''śraddhā'' is lacking, then that person cannot be taught, cannot go up; he can only go down because pride and jealousy and so many other things will come—arrogance, etc.—and we have to add ''kāma'', ''krodha'', lust, anger, greed, etc., also will be accompanying them. But then Gārgya with a good mind came. Ajātaśatru recognised him as a fit person to be taught. Otherwise, no great teacher will ever waste his time on pupils whom he considers as unfit—not out of hatred, but not to waste either's time.
===The Humble Approach===
So Ajātaśatru wanted Gārgya to realise the limitation of his knowledge. So very humbly, with humility, he said, "Sir, I am so happy that at least you came volunteering to teach me. That information made me very happy. So even just for that information, even if you do not teach me any further, I am offering you a ''dakṣiṇā'' of one thousand cows. And then please teach me."

So Gārgya immediately started. This is how he categorically and explicitly expresses: "I did upāsanā—'''''upāse ādityaउपासे आदित्य'''''—in the sun I have worshipped Brahman, that authenticity I have worshipped." I am not telling you like a scholar, but of course he did not know his limitation.
===The First Step to Progress===
'''So the first step to progress in learning is to realise how limited we are.''' Then only the desire will come. If anybody says, "I know everything," he cannot go further. Not only that, he will go down. But if anybody says, "I know my limitations, I am sitting by the side of the sea. Any thirsty traveller happens to come by, I just serve him a cup of sea water, so it never gets exhausted." Of course, we have to understand "sea water" means a great river. Nobody will knowingly give salty water to a thirsty person.
===The More We Learn, the Humbler We Become===
So the more learning—'''''vidyā dadāti vinayamविद्या ददति विनयं'''''—the more we learn, the more humble we become. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa asks M: "Will you find any ego in me?" And M—he was not a fool, he was not a fan, he was not an irrational person; he was a truthful person—said, "No, sir. I have never seen any trace of egotism." Then, out of ignorance, he volunteers to add: "But you have kept a little bit of ego for the purpose of enjoying God's sportive actions in this world." Immediately, the correction comes from Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa: "No, I have not kept. It is God who kept—Divine Mother who kept."
===The River and the Ocean===
Why did Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa say that? I gave you illustrations many a time. When a river, for example Gaṅgā, merges into the ocean—'''''nāma-rūpe vihāyaनाम रूप विहाय'''''—it loses all its name, form, colour, taste, and becomes one with the ocean. Thereafter, it will be known only by the name "ocean." You cannot do—take a torchlight and then see, "Let me see where is this Gaṅgā River, former Gaṅgā River?" No.

So when a person enters into Nirvikalpa Samādhi, that is, achieves complete identity with Brahman, there is no individual thereafter. It is not like our going entering into Suṣupti and coming out. This is a permanent process. Then God still preserves that particular individual's body and mind and keeps a little bit of egotism to work through that instrument for the good of the entire world—'''''sarva-maṅgalaसर्वमङ्गल'''''. That is the purpose of Jīvanmuktas.
===The Purpose of Jīvanmuktas===
Because as Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says, the Divine Mother does not allow a Bhāgavata Paṇḍita to become a monk. Not that a monk should not become a Bhāgavata Paṇḍita. But ''worldly'' people are made with great talent. Some of the great expounders of '''Rāmacaritamānasa'''—thousands of people will go. There is one '''Rāmakiṅkar'''. He is very famous. Even in the Western countries, even in London, 40,000 people will gather whenever he holds '''''Rāma-kathā'''''. It is a special power, and he was an upāsaka of—he is an upāsaka of Añjaneya.
===God Keeps the Individuality===
So it is God who keeps that. So that same God has kept—if Ajātaśatru knows "I am Brahman," that means he became Brahman, that means he experienced '''Nirvikalpa Samādhi.''' Still the individuality is there for the good of the world, and this is one instance we are discussing. So he understands this boy—student apt student, sincere, but he does not know he has to progress further. So for that purpose, he wants to take him to higher steps, through higher steps.
===The Purpose of Upāsanas===
And the purpose of the different upāsanas with different qualities that are enumerated by Ajātaśatru to Gārgya is for the purpose of making this Gārgya go through the same process as he himself has gone—out of one's own experience the person is teaching.
===The Need for Practice===
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says it is not true that through intellectual knowledge any other science can be taught. Physics, maths—everything—but this Brahma-vidyā, spiritual knowledge, or even ''dharma'', moral science, cannot be taught by anybody excepting those who practise morality. And in some other things also, a music teacher who does not know how to sing, who is not aware of different ''rāgas'', etc., and familiar with what is called the Rhythms ''tālas''—''ek-tāla'', ''tīn-tāla'', ''jhap-tāla'', etc.—he also cannot really teach.
===The Cuckoo's Voice===
That is why Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa specifically says simply saying "''ṣa-ri-ga-ma-pa-dha-ni''" will not help. A person goes on practising; he knows by hearing the sound—this is in this particular ''svara'', ''pañcama-svara''. So our Indian poets have said whenever the cuckoo sings, it tries to sing with its bird's throat. It is called '''''pañcama-svara''.''' Only a few birds can make such a thing. A musician knows every ''svara'' the moment he hears it, and whenever he utters it, it would be perfect. How do we know? It matches with the sound given by harmonium or even ''tablā'', etc.
===Ajātaśatru as the Teacher===
So Ajātaśatru was kept by God for this purpose, like Yājñavalkya was kept, and Gārgya was a sincere student. So at first, out of ignorance, he did not understand. So Ajātaśatru accepted his teachership and said only with the purpose that "you are okay what you did, but you have to do further contemplations, meditations. And I will tell you what you have to do."
===The Twelve Upāsanas===
This is going to be the process. And twelve such upāsanas were practised by Gārgya with only particular qualities superimposed on Brahman. So every quality is superimposed as one part of the quality of one particular deity, presiding deity, not knowing that all the presiding deities are nothing but parts of Hiraṇyagarbha—so popularly known as Saguṇa Brahma or even Īśvara.
===The Result of Upāsana===
And whenever Gārgya says "I meditated"—because he says '''''upāseउपासे''''' —"I practised this meditation, and the result also I got." What is the result he got? Let me complete it here. So for any upāsana, '''two results can come'''. One is called worldly '''''sakāma-phalaसकाम फल'';''' another is called '''''niṣkāma-phalaनिष्कामफल'''''. When a person desires through this, "May I become rich, may I become well known, may I have control over my body and mind," etc., he will get that particular quality within himself. But there are so many other spiritual qualities to be acquired. Now Ajātaśatru wants to help Gārgya to develop the other qualities as well, and only a person who contains all these spiritual qualities—called '''''Daivī-sampatदैवी सम्पत्'''''—then he becomes a '''''yogya'' or fit ''adhikārī'',''' endowed with qualities, ready to take up the PhD course.
===The PhD Course===
So that is how I think it is a beautiful word—PhD course. What is PhD? Permanent head damage—in our case. What is this permanent head damage? Permanently the head—the ''ahaṅkāra'', the head of the snake, virulent poisonous snake called egotism, that ''-ism''—will be completely cut off. Not ego. ''-ism''—expressions, wrong expressions of ego is called egotism, egoism, etc. That is identifying—forgetting one's identification with one's true nature called Brahman and thinking "I am a mosquito, I am a mouse, I am a man," etc., "I am a scholar, I am a brāhmaṇa," etc., etc.
===The Final Goal===
So this is what Ajātaśatru, the Sadguru, wanted to guide Gārgya. That is the story of how he finally guides Gārgya so that Gārgya also realises that like my Guru, I also am none other than Brahman. In fact, there is nothing called '''''śiṣya'' and Guru'''—both nothing called the world. Everything is Brahma—'''''sarvaṃ khalvidaṃ Brahma"सर्वं खल्विदं ब्रह्म"Chandogya Upanishadछान्दोग्य उपनिषद (3.14.1)''.'''
===The Teaching Begins===
So Gārgya started teaching, and that teaching is what he did as contemplation on different deities. Those things have been enumerated in twelve ''ślokas'' beginning with the second, ending with the thirteenth. And at every stage, every upāsana, Ajātaśatru adds either one or two or three more than what Gārgya had already known. Thus he makes him a fit disciple, and then only he takes him to the higher step. All these are just preparations. Now I will give you real teaching.
===The Real Teaching===
What was the teaching? We see it later on. Ajātaśatru takes Gārgya by hand and finds a sleeping person—deeply asleep—and first calls him by '''three names: Bṛhatबृहत, Rājanराजन्, Somaḥसोमः, etc.''' But the person did not listen because he was in deep sleep. T'''hen he shakes him'''—that did not wake him up. T'''hen Ajātaśatru shakes him violently.''' Then suddenly the deep sleep is broken, and that is the incident.
===The Three States===
Taking that incident, Ajātaśatru now takes Gārgya by hand and says: "Now here is a person. So he is not in the waking state, he is not in dream state, and he also was in the deep sleep state, but did not know 'I am in deep sleep state.' So who is this person? Is he the waker? Is he the dreamer? Or is he the sleeper?" Because these three states rotate one after the other—first waking, then dreaming, then deep sleep. Of course, you can start from any state. So, from dream to deep sleep to waking, or from deep sleep to waking to dream, and back again to deep sleep. It does not matter.
===The Constant Experiencer===
But what is important is every time the person is in one particular state, for example in waking state, he does not say "I am a dreamer." He does not say "I am a sleeper." He says "I am the waker." But as soon as he enters into the dream state, then he says "I am the dreamer." And when he is in deep sleep, then he knows "I am in deep sleep." Again, it is changing. '''But one person is undergoing three different types of experiences,''' each one totally separate reality from the other realities. Therefore, this person must be somebody, because the '''experiencer is always different from the experience.'''
===The Final Realisation===
And then slowly Gārgya realises, through continuing his higher ways of sādhana, finally realises: "I am none of these states—I am Brahman." And a curious thing happens when a person knows—he does not claim as we describe in the scriptures or read in the scriptures: "Oh, I thought I was the waker. I thought I was the dreamer. I thought I was a deep sleeper." No, these thoughts do not come at all. Why? Because there is no body, there is no mind, there is no '''''sthūla-śarīraस्थूल शरीर'',''' there is no '''''sūkṣma-śarīraसूक्ष्म शरीर'',''' there is no '''''kāraṇa-śarīraकारण शरीर'''''. And when these three instruments are not there, the experiences of those instruments also vanish along with the disappearance of the experiencer.
===The Fundamental Principle of Vedānta===
So the fundamental principle of Vedānta: an experiencer is not any experience, any object of experience. And whatever qualities an experience—an object—possesses does not belong to the experiencer. If a mango is sweet and flavourful, that flavour and sweetness belong to the mango, not to the person at all. He may enjoy it, but he knows "I am not the mango." Similarly, I am not the waker, I am not the dreamer, I am not the deep sleeper. That is the conclusion, and this we have elaborately discussed in the past, especially in the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad.
==The Three Vādas Revisited==
Not only that, in my last class I had referred to this and connected with '''Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda सृष्टिदृष्टिवाद, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vādaदृष्टि-सृष्टि-वाद, and Ajātavādaअजातवाद.''' Just to recollect the essence of what I said.
===Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda ['''सृष्टिदृष्टिवाद]'''===
So long as a person thinks "I am the gross body," he thinks "I am the waker." To think "I am the waker" means "I am the gross body, and this whole world exists. And it is not created by me; it is created by God. And this is the reality—not unreal, this complete reality." And he acts, he reacts, he thinks, he desires what he thinks as the real reality. All his life he spends like that. So for those for whom this world is real, including his body and mind, for them Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda is that stage of spiritual development, and the scripture prescribes certain disciplines emphasising that birth is full of these sixfold changes: birth, growth, youth, old age, disease, death. So, everything in this world is continuously changing. Therefore, that which is changing is not the definition of Brahman. ''Sat'' means ''satyam''. ''Satyam'' means that which never changes.
===Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda ['''दृष्टि-सृष्टि-वाद]'''===
After a lot of both happiness and unhappiness, the person wakes up, then he becomes thoughtful, he develops the capacity to think, and then he recollects everyday dreams—any dream—and says: "So long as I was dreaming, I thought that that state alone is the highest reality. But as soon as I changed my perception, my identity—for example, I came back to wakefulness—then the whole dream state disappeared like mist in the hot summer season. Then everything is changing—every day a new dream. Therefore... the whole world might it not be that the whole world is also like a dream?" Remember, only for the person who has reached this state of higher thinking: "Might it not be that the whole world is also my own creation, my own imagination made real through too much of concreteness, superimposing?" And slowly he understands that what God I thought created is not God's creation. It is my creation—my ''dṛṣṭi'', my experience, my understanding, my opinion.
===The Illustration of a Person===
I gave the illustration also. When you first meet a person, your understanding of that person is very limited. You may think he is a very good person, very jolly, very sociable, smiling, and paying attention to you. But the nearer you come, you might develop: "Oh, this person, he criticises everybody. He thinks he knows better than everybody else." As your experiences become more and more, your understanding—that you think—what how you understand that person becomes more convincing, and what the real person is. So slowly, slowly, your opinion about that person becomes a reality of that person, not knowing that your ''dṛṣṭi'' has created that person. He is neither good, really speaking, nor bad.
===Eka-Jīva Vāda [एकजीव वाद]===
And then when this person progresses further, he understands: "I see the whole world. I see so many people in the waking state. And the same thing I see in dream. This multiple objects, this infinite—almost infinite—number of objects, they are all my own creation. Because what I choose, it will appear in front of me. So therefore, I am the only Jīva." So you are only my creation through Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda. Just as I go on changing my opinion about any object in accordance with my experiences, so also it is I who am creating and recreating every object in this world. Every minute somebody smiles at me—I recreate him: "He is a very good person." If he praises me: "Oh, he is a wonderful person, very sweet person, very truthful person"—because it pleases me. And if he displeases me: "Horrendous person, I do not want to see his face again, her face again," etc.
===Ajātavāda ['''अजातवाद]'''===
So what is the third one? That there is only one Jīva—Eka-Jīva Vāda. And then when the—this is for a person who analyses the dream state. Then he comes to the third stage where there is no mind, much less the world, no body consciousness, almost like a blank, there is no world, and he understands: "As I see no world in deep sleep state, so also this world is never created." He progresses. Each is a progress in spiritual life, and as man progresses, his concept of reality or God also changes. As Swami Vivekananda says: "As man grows, God also grows." That means our understanding, our true understanding about God also grows.
===The Final Stage===
So this is how these three states are equated, depending upon with which state we consider as real. And then the final stage is: all these three states—neither Ajātavāda, nor Eka-Jīva Vāda, nor Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda, nor Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda—these thoughts do not arise at all in the deep sleep state. So they are all constructs of the mind—thoughts in the mind. And then he understands that whatever I am experiencing is not me because I am experiencing multiple objects. But the experiencer of these multiple objects is only me alone. And with that he understands. Slowly he progresses. One day he understands that I neither create nor destroy, there is no multiplicity, and there is no change. I am Brahman.
===The Jīvanmukta's Double Vision===
Only when God brings his mind down, he becomes a Jīvanmukta. Then he has a double vision. First of all, he sees a person as he is, but he also knows this is only an appearance. He sees both the reality and the appearance. It is very important for us to understand because a Jīvanmukta does not simply become negligent of helping people. And how can you help people if you think everybody is Brahman? No, he shows an example: "I know you are Brahman, but I also know you do not know Brahman. But I will help you in whatever way I can—physically, intellectually, philosophically, spiritually. When you are ready, I am also ready, like a mirror reflects."
===The Four Stages Are Not Mere Philosophy===
So this is what the Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda, Eka-Jīva Vāda, and Ajātavāda—they are not two philosophers sitting and discussing, but every spiritual person progresses through these stages until finally he says: "There is no experiencer, there is no experienced—both become coalesced. I am one without a second." Of course, he does not say this. We are saying this through our mind. This is going to be the development.
===Gārgya's Progress===
So Gārgya started teaching from the second mantra onwards, and every time he says "I did this upāsana"—that means "I know this upāsana." That means "I got the result of this upāsana." The king said: "What you have done so far is excellent, but there are also other aspects of the same sun, same moon, same lightning, same wind, etc. And I will take you through them. Since you are already an expert in doing upāsana, it should not take a long time for you to do upāsana."
===The Need to Pass Lower Classes===
So as Ajātaśatru goes on expanding the upāsanas—the ''viśiṣṭa-guṇas'', special qualities, spiritual qualities—Gārgya also must have practised. Though the Upaniṣad does not tell us, it goes on. This is the second mantra, this is the third mantra, but we have to understand this: unless a person had completed his Class A, he would not be allowed to enter into Class B. So the same teacher may be from Class One to Class Six—he may be teaching the same teacher. So what he teaches to the second class or third class will not be taught to Class One. We have to understand because the teacher is not an individual; it is God Himself. He knows the capacity, and until the pupil successfully passes the lower classes, higher knowledge will not be given.
===Between the Mantras===
And this is what we have to presume here and insert here—that between two mantras the person has been made. How much time it took? Of course, the Upaniṣad does not tell because time is not important, but we also have to go through the same process. So this person, Gārgya, says—and then every time the king adds: "You better also do contemplation on this quality or qualities"—up to the thirteenth mantra. Twelve upāsanas were enumerated which were practised by Gārgya, and every time Ajātaśatru teaches him new upāsanas, and we have to understand that Gārgya must have practised and obtained the same result as Ajātaśatru because the teaching is—as we think, so we become.
===The Progress Made===
We will come to that. So up to the thirteenth mantra, twelve separate upāsanas with either one second upāsana (greater upāsana) added, or more than one. We will come to that very briefly. This is the progress made, and at the end of the thirteenth, Gārgya understood that "my knowledge is very little—even after knowing Hiraṇyagarbha, this is not going to give me liberation. I will have to go beyond Hiraṇyagarbha and do directly Brahmopāsana." And then Ajātaśatru takes him through those steps also until Gārgya also can say with Ajātaśatru: '''"''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi''.(अहं ब्रह्मास्मि)[Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10]'''
===The Development Ahead===
This is going to be the development. So I will just read the '''first mantra,'''

'''ॐ॥दृप्तबालाकिर्हानूचानो गार्ग्य आस स होवाचाजातशत्रुं काश्यम् ब्रह्म ते ब्रवाणीति स होवाचाजातशत्रुः सहस्रमेतस्यां वाचि दद्मो जनको जनक इति वै जना धावन्तीति॥'''

'''om||dṛptabālākirhānūcāno gārgya āsa sa hovācājātaśatruṁ kāśyam brahma te bravāṇīti sa hovācājātaśatruḥ sahasrametasyāṁ vāci dadmo janako janaka iti vai janā dhāvantīti||'''

and thereafter I am going to only take the essence. You can read the mantras yourselves and then come to an understanding.
==The Second Mantra==
So the second mantra goes like this:

'''स होवाच गार्ग्यो य एवासावादित्ये पुरुष एतमेवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति स होवाचाजातशत्रुर्मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा अतिष्ठाः सर्वेषां भूतानां मूर्धा राजेति वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्तेऽतिष्ठाः सर्वेषां भूतानां मूर्धा राजा भवति॥'''

''sa hovāca gārgyo ya evāsāvāditye puruṣa etamevāhaṁ brahmopāsa iti sa hovācājātaśatrurmā maitasmintsaṁvadiṣṭhā atiṣṭhāḥ sarveṣāṁ bhūtānāṁ mūrdhā rājeti vā ahametamupāsa iti sa ya etamevamupāste'atiṣṭhāḥ sarveṣāṁ bhūtānāṁ mūrdhā rājā bhavati||''

Now Ajātaśatru is telling: "''Mā mā etasmin saṃvadiṣṭhāḥ''"'''मा मैतस्मिन्त्संवदिष्ठा'''—do not speak like this. What should not be spoken—thinking that Āditya is only containing these qualities? No, no, no. There are many more—three more qualities at least.
===The Additional Qualities===
"'''''Atiṣṭhāḥ sarveṣāṃ bhūtānāṃ mūrdhā rājā iti vā aham etam upāse''"वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्तेऽतिष्ठाः सर्वेषां भूतानां मूर्धा राजा भवति॥'''—"But I also practised contemplation on the same Āditya, the Sun God, just as you did, thinking that this Puruṣa—a real being in the sun—is none other than Hiraṇyagarbha, but with these qualities."

And then Ajātaśatru, as we already know, adds: '''"''Sa yaḥ evaṃ evaṃ upāste''" स य एतमेवमुपास्ते—'''"Whoever thus contemplates exactly as I taught you"—so what happens? '''"''Atiṣṭhāḥ sarveṣāṃ bhūtānāṃ mūrdhā rājā bhavati''"अतिष्ठाः सर्वेषां भूतानां मूर्धा राजा भवति॥'''—he will acquire the same qualities, and those qualities become very natural to him.
===The Real Person===
So that is going to be the development. When Gārgya said, "I am contemplating the Puruṣa"—that means the person. This is a beautiful teaching. That is, whenever you address a person, the real person—the real personality, the real person—is different. '''The real person is the Ātman, but the superimposed person with whom we identify is the Jīva.''' So "I am a Jīva." Everybody knows "I have got these qualities. I may be a great doctor, I may be a great musician, I may be a great writer, a poet or a diplomat, whatever. Or I do not know anything—I can cook very well, etc., whatever." So even among workers, we can say the owner says: "This person is a good worker. He does it wholeheartedly, whatever work is given to him. The others try to evade, escape by doing as less as they can. No, this person is very good."
===The Being in the Sun===
So the real person—we have to find out. So that is what when Gārgya said, "I worship the person—a real personality, a real being in the sun—not the physical star we see, physical body we see, not even the mind we see. He who is beyond body and mind—he is the person whom we will have to understand properly."
===Ajātaśatru's Correction===
So when Gārgya said, "That being—Puruṣa—who is the real being, but whom people do not know, who is in the sun, I meditate upon as Brahman," Ajātaśatru said: "No, please do not talk to me about him in this limited manner." These are the words we have to add. Why? Because "I also practised the same meditation, contemplation. I meditate upon this Āditya as: f'''irst, all-surpassing; second, as the head of all beings; and third, as resplendent'''. Not only that, not only me, if you also do, then whosoever thus meditates upon Āditya adding these three qualities, as the real being within the sun—Āditya—upon him, he becomes all-surpassing, he becomes the head of all beings, and he shines with tremendous spiritual resplendence." This is called in Sanskrit language '''''tejas''—Brahma-tejas'''.
===The Development===
So this is going to be the development. So Gārgya did not know Nirguṇa Brahma at all, but even this Hiraṇyagarbha—Saguṇa Brahma—he did not know all the aspects. He knows only a few aspects, that too at the lowest level. So this Saguṇa Brahma is popularly known in the scriptures as Hiraṇyagarbha, Saguṇa Brahma, Īśvara, Prajāpati, etc. So there are many higher aspects of everything, everybody in this world—even Saguṇa Brahma also has higher aspects.
==Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa Testing His Devotees==
Now I will give an example. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to test his devotees by posing certain questions. One of the questions—you have to understand it properly, otherwise, you know. So a musician: "Did you hear my song?" "Yes." "And what do you think about him, about that song? What is the quality of the way I sang?" And says, "Sir, you are incomparable, you are the greatest." Then that fellow says, "Yes, you understood me correctly." Even if that fellow is the worst singer, he is only expecting—he gets what he is expecting sometimes, but that is not the truth.
===Seeking Praise Indirectly===
So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa—we ask somebody, "What do you think about me?" We do not directly ask because that is inviting ridicule. But if she says, "You know, such and such a person is telling about you, praising you"—that indirectly we become very happy. "Oh, I did not ask his opinion, but he is telling about a third person. He appreciates me, and that means I must be a great person. I know I am great, but others do not recognise it. So I am expecting praise, and if it comes through a third party, it makes me very, very happy. But if it comes directly, I have suspicion also: 'What is the motivation for this fellow putting such a thick butter over me?'" No.
===The Levels of Understanding===
So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's only purpose was—by soliciting the answer, he would gauge at what level of spirituality the devotee is. Now here are a few examples. Many people thought Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is a madman. They wrote to Māthur Bābū. They complained to his face also. They called him "the madman of Dakṣiṇeśvara." And some people, they interacted with Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa—"He is very, very good man, very straightforward person. He is like a child. He is a truthful person, very good person. He does not have any selfish motives. He is a good man." So from "mad man"—that opinion belongs to a very bad person. "Good man"—much better than that other person. Then some people say, "You are a saint. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is a saint." His understanding is much better. "Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is not merely a saint, but one of the greatest saints." His understanding is even much better.
===Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa Reads Hearts===
Remember, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is not soliciting praise. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa can see into the hearts of people and tells who is telling the truth and who is telling lies. In front of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, people understand they cannot tell a lie in the face of this person, in the presence of this person, because he acts like a mirror. He sees what is within me. So no person is capable of telling what is a lie—what he thinks and talks something else—not possible.
===The Incarnation of God===
So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is a great saint. And somebody else—he asks. Then they say: "Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is an incarnation of God." That means that person's understanding about Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is far superior to many people. Then once he asked Pūrṇacandra Ghosha—I think Pūrṇacandra Ghosha, I am not sure, maybe Nārāyaṇa—and this Pūrṇacandra verse is: "What people say you are an incarnation of God—they are fools. They do not know what they are talking about." Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was smiling all the time, and he was waiting. He says: "You are that source from which all the past incarnations have come, and all the future incarnations will be descending." And Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, in his own characteristic way, says: "Oh my God, you surpassed even that person who said I am an incarnation of God." Later on, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa passes a soliloquy: "How could this young boy understand this truth?"
===Changing Opinions===
So you see—one person, so many people, so many opinions. We know all this; every day we react, albeit we are completely unconscious. We change our opinions. If somebody pleases us, he is a good person; and the same person, next minute, displeases us—he is not such a great person. So this is an example, and Gārgya was not entirely wrong, but his statements were limited because his understanding was limited. Ajātaśatru corrects him and makes him go through all those things.
===The Three Extra Qualities===
So what is he telling? There are three more extra qualities which you will have to understand about this Puruṣa in the Āditya. So that is how the three qualities: '''first of all, he is great; second, he is the head of every being; and third, he is far superior in everything.''' We will discuss about them, but just a gentle reminder:
==As a Man Thinks, So He Becomes==
'''''Yathā yathā upāste tathā eva bhavatiतं यथा यथोपासते तदेव भवति ।(Yajur Veda: Śatapatha-brāhmaṇa, 10.5.2.20; cited in Prīti Sandarbha 51)'''''—"As a man really sincerely contemplates, he becomes that." This is what English language psychologists tell: "As a man thinks, so he becomes. Tell me your thoughts, I will tell you who you are."
===Everyday Examples===
Of course, at this moment, let us see everyday examples. Meditate—you see a person and it is full of wrinkles and worries. Old age people also can have old age wrinkles—no. So you meditate, go on worrying, you become a ''worrier''—'''not warrior,''' ''worrier''. Meditate on anger for whatever reason—you become anger. That is why we say "angry person"—means a person who has become anger. But that is only a negative example.
===Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Contemplations===
But see here, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa became Hanumān, Rādhā, Kālī, Kṛṣṇa, Gopala, Rāmacandra by contemplating intensely upon their forms. Even his physical body had changed in each one of these cases.
===Holy Mother at Vṛndāvana===
Second example: once Holy Mother was at Vṛndāvana, and one day she became completely like Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. Her tone of voice became male, and the way Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to deal with the betel leaves—same way Holy Mother started. So in every way for a few minutes, how Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to behave, Holy Mother was behaving, and those who were near who knew Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, they understood: "Oh, now Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa had possessed her, or she became Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa by contemplation."
===Swami Brahmananda and the Himalayas===
Then there is a very beautiful incident in the life of Swami Brahmanandaji. It was a terrible summer season. Swami Brahmanandaji was at Belur Math, so he was talking with a Brahmacārī. The heat was intolerable. Of course there would be no clothes on the backs of both. So, looking at the suffering of the disciple, Swami Brahmanandaji said: "Let us meditate on the coolness of the Himalayas." And then they closed their eyes. And then after a few minutes, Swami Brahmanandaji said to the initiate: "You touch my back." And then when the Brahmacārī touched, he found the whole back of Brahmanandaji became like a wall of the Himalayan mountain—snow-clad Himalayan mountain—like an ice-cold stone. And then he understood: Brahmanandaji became one with that.
===Swami Akhandananda and the Tibetan Yogi===
Even though not directly related, once Gaṅgādhar Mahārāj (Swami Akhandanandaji) saw—he was roaming in the Himalayas—he came across a Tibetan Yogi. The ice was melting all around him, and as soon as he went near, he felt very pleasant heat. The yogi understood and said: "It is not a miracle; there is a special yoga āsana and meditation. I can teach you, and I can teach anybody. If you practise, then any amount of cold will not affect you at all. Even your surroundings become hot. By the same process, the hot surroundings can also become cold."
===The Kita-Bhramaravat Analogy===
So what I wanted to illustrate was: '''''yathā yathā upāste tathā bhavatiयथा यथोपासते तदेव भवति''''' —"as one intensely thinks, he becomes that one." And there is a familiar Sanskrit phrase for that purpose:

'''कीटो भ्रमरावत्.'''

''kīṭo bhramarāvat.''

"A worm meditating on a wasp becomes like that wasp"—''bhramara''. A worm meditating on ''bhramara'' becomes a ''bhramara''. Of course, it is to mean that because of the fear—because the ''bhramara'' stings, wild bee stings, huge bee—then it is so painful that very fear makes this one become like the ''bhramara''.

Beautiful thoughts—we will talk further 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 1.1-3 Lecture 43 on 20 June 2026

2026-08-19T14:46:59Z

Gayatri: /* The Progress Made */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.'''

''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH

OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.

==Introduction to the Second Chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad==
So we are studying the second chapter of the second section of the second chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. We know this story. A young brāhmaṇa, well learned but limited in his learning, comes voluntarily to teach about Brahman. He did not say that he was going to teach only the Saguṇa Brahma, a limited Brahma. But he thought that is the complete Brahman. So he came to a king called Ajātaśatru and volunteered himself: "I will teach you about Brahman."
===Ajātaśatru: The Knower of Brahman===
Ajātaśatru was a knower of Brahman, both Saguṇa and Nirguṇa. How did he attain? Because he also had to follow the same footsteps. How do we know? Because he is teaching the same—that means what he practised earlier. In order to reach the peak of self-knowledge, now to Gārgya who required to take the same steps, Ajātaśatru, being a very great teacher, recognised where Gārgya was and he wanted to take him further. Why? Because he found Gārgya sincere. He thought he knew everything.
===Sincerity and Śraddhā===
Sincerity—''śraddhā''—is the most important quality. If that is there, other things lacking,they can be obtained. But every other quality is there and ''śraddhā'' is lacking, then that person cannot be taught, cannot go up; he can only go down because pride and jealousy and so many other things will come—arrogance, etc.—and we have to add ''kāma'', ''krodha'', lust, anger, greed, etc., also will be accompanying them. But then Gārgya with a good mind came. Ajātaśatru recognised him as a fit person to be taught. Otherwise, no great teacher will ever waste his time on pupils whom he considers as unfit—not out of hatred, but not to waste either's time.
===The Humble Approach===
So Ajātaśatru wanted Gārgya to realise the limitation of his knowledge. So very humbly, with humility, he said, "Sir, I am so happy that at least you came volunteering to teach me. That information made me very happy. So even just for that information, even if you do not teach me any further, I am offering you a ''dakṣiṇā'' of one thousand cows. And then please teach me."

So Gārgya immediately started. This is how he categorically and explicitly expresses: "I did upāsanā—'''''upāse ādityaउपासे आदित्य'''''—in the sun I have worshipped Brahman, that authenticity I have worshipped." I am not telling you like a scholar, but of course he did not know his limitation.
===The First Step to Progress===
'''So the first step to progress in learning is to realise how limited we are.''' Then only the desire will come. If anybody says, "I know everything," he cannot go further. Not only that, he will go down. But if anybody says, "I know my limitations, I am sitting by the side of the sea. Any thirsty traveller happens to come by, I just serve him a cup of sea water, so it never gets exhausted." Of course, we have to understand "sea water" means a great river. Nobody will knowingly give salty water to a thirsty person.
===The More We Learn, the Humbler We Become===
So the more learning—'''''vidyā dadāti vinayamविद्या ददति विनयं'''''—the more we learn, the more humble we become. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa asks M: "Will you find any ego in me?" And M—he was not a fool, he was not a fan, he was not an irrational person; he was a truthful person—said, "No, sir. I have never seen any trace of egotism." Then, out of ignorance, he volunteers to add: "But you have kept a little bit of ego for the purpose of enjoying God's sportive actions in this world." Immediately, the correction comes from Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa: "No, I have not kept. It is God who kept—Divine Mother who kept."
===The River and the Ocean===
Why did Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa say that? I gave you illustrations many a time. When a river, for example Gaṅgā, merges into the ocean—'''''nāma-rūpe vihāyaनाम रूप विहाय'''''—it loses all its name, form, colour, taste, and becomes one with the ocean. Thereafter, it will be known only by the name "ocean." You cannot do—take a torchlight and then see, "Let me see where is this Gaṅgā River, former Gaṅgā River?" No.

So when a person enters into Nirvikalpa Samādhi, that is, achieves complete identity with Brahman, there is no individual thereafter. It is not like our going entering into Suṣupti and coming out. This is a permanent process. Then God still preserves that particular individual's body and mind and keeps a little bit of egotism to work through that instrument for the good of the entire world—'''''sarva-maṅgalaसर्वमङ्गल'''''. That is the purpose of Jīvanmuktas.
===The Purpose of Jīvanmuktas===
Because as Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says, the Divine Mother does not allow a Bhāgavata Paṇḍita to become a monk. Not that a monk should not become a Bhāgavata Paṇḍita. But ''worldly'' people are made with great talent. Some of the great expounders of '''Rāmacaritamānasa'''—thousands of people will go. There is one '''Rāmakiṅkar'''. He is very famous. Even in the Western countries, even in London, 40,000 people will gather whenever he holds '''''Rāma-kathā'''''. It is a special power, and he was an upāsaka of—he is an upāsaka of Añjaneya.
===God Keeps the Individuality===
So it is God who keeps that. So that same God has kept—if Ajātaśatru knows "I am Brahman," that means he became Brahman, that means he experienced '''Nirvikalpa Samādhi.''' Still the individuality is there for the good of the world, and this is one instance we are discussing. So he understands this boy—student apt student, sincere, but he does not know he has to progress further. So for that purpose, he wants to take him to higher steps, through higher steps.
===The Purpose of Upāsanas===
And the purpose of the different upāsanas with different qualities that are enumerated by Ajātaśatru to Gārgya is for the purpose of making this Gārgya go through the same process as he himself has gone—out of one's own experience the person is teaching.
===The Need for Practice===
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says it is not true that through intellectual knowledge any other science can be taught. Physics, maths—everything—but this Brahma-vidyā, spiritual knowledge, or even ''dharma'', moral science, cannot be taught by anybody excepting those who practise morality. And in some other things also, a music teacher who does not know how to sing, who is not aware of different ''rāgas'', etc., and familiar with what is called the Rhythms ''tālas''—''ek-tāla'', ''tīn-tāla'', ''jhap-tāla'', etc.—he also cannot really teach.
===The Cuckoo's Voice===
That is why Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa specifically says simply saying "''ṣa-ri-ga-ma-pa-dha-ni''" will not help. A person goes on practising; he knows by hearing the sound—this is in this particular ''svara'', ''pañcama-svara''. So our Indian poets have said whenever the cuckoo sings, it tries to sing with its bird's throat. It is called '''''pañcama-svara''.''' Only a few birds can make such a thing. A musician knows every ''svara'' the moment he hears it, and whenever he utters it, it would be perfect. How do we know? It matches with the sound given by harmonium or even ''tablā'', etc.
===Ajātaśatru as the Teacher===
So Ajātaśatru was kept by God for this purpose, like Yājñavalkya was kept, and Gārgya was a sincere student. So at first, out of ignorance, he did not understand. So Ajātaśatru accepted his teachership and said only with the purpose that "you are okay what you did, but you have to do further contemplations, meditations. And I will tell you what you have to do."
===The Twelve Upāsanas===
This is going to be the process. And twelve such upāsanas were practised by Gārgya with only particular qualities superimposed on Brahman. So every quality is superimposed as one part of the quality of one particular deity, presiding deity, not knowing that all the presiding deities are nothing but parts of Hiraṇyagarbha—so popularly known as Saguṇa Brahma or even Īśvara.
===The Result of Upāsana===
And whenever Gārgya says "I meditated"—because he says '''''upāseउपासे''''' —"I practised this meditation, and the result also I got." What is the result he got? Let me complete it here. So for any upāsana, '''two results can come'''. One is called worldly '''''sakāma-phalaसकाम फल'';''' another is called '''''niṣkāma-phalaनिष्कामफल'''''. When a person desires through this, "May I become rich, may I become well known, may I have control over my body and mind," etc., he will get that particular quality within himself. But there are so many other spiritual qualities to be acquired. Now Ajātaśatru wants to help Gārgya to develop the other qualities as well, and only a person who contains all these spiritual qualities—called '''''Daivī-sampatदैवी सम्पत्'''''—then he becomes a '''''yogya'' or fit ''adhikārī'',''' endowed with qualities, ready to take up the PhD course.
===The PhD Course===
So that is how I think it is a beautiful word—PhD course. What is PhD? Permanent head damage—in our case. What is this permanent head damage? Permanently the head—the ''ahaṅkāra'', the head of the snake, virulent poisonous snake called egotism, that ''-ism''—will be completely cut off. Not ego. ''-ism''—expressions, wrong expressions of ego is called egotism, egoism, etc. That is identifying—forgetting one's identification with one's true nature called Brahman and thinking "I am a mosquito, I am a mouse, I am a man," etc., "I am a scholar, I am a brāhmaṇa," etc., etc.
===The Final Goal===
So this is what Ajātaśatru, the Sadguru, wanted to guide Gārgya. That is the story of how he finally guides Gārgya so that Gārgya also realises that like my Guru, I also am none other than Brahman. In fact, there is nothing called '''''śiṣya'' and Guru'''—both nothing called the world. Everything is Brahma—'''''sarvaṃ khalvidaṃ Brahma"सर्वं खल्विदं ब्रह्म"Chandogya Upanishadछान्दोग्य उपनिषद (3.14.1)''.'''
===The Teaching Begins===
So Gārgya started teaching, and that teaching is what he did as contemplation on different deities. Those things have been enumerated in twelve ''ślokas'' beginning with the second, ending with the thirteenth. And at every stage, every upāsana, Ajātaśatru adds either one or two or three more than what Gārgya had already known. Thus he makes him a fit disciple, and then only he takes him to the higher step. All these are just preparations. Now I will give you real teaching.
===The Real Teaching===
What was the teaching? We see it later on. Ajātaśatru takes Gārgya by hand and finds a sleeping person—deeply asleep—and first calls him by '''three names: Bṛhatबृहत, Rājanराजन्, Somaḥसोमः, etc.''' But the person did not listen because he was in deep sleep. T'''hen he shakes him'''—that did not wake him up. T'''hen Ajātaśatru shakes him violently.''' Then suddenly the deep sleep is broken, and that is the incident.
===The Three States===
Taking that incident, Ajātaśatru now takes Gārgya by hand and says: "Now here is a person. So he is not in the waking state, he is not in dream state, and he also was in the deep sleep state, but did not know 'I am in deep sleep state.' So who is this person? Is he the waker? Is he the dreamer? Or is he the sleeper?" Because these three states rotate one after the other—first waking, then dreaming, then deep sleep. Of course, you can start from any state. So, from dream to deep sleep to waking, or from deep sleep to waking to dream, and back again to deep sleep. It does not matter.
===The Constant Experiencer===
But what is important is every time the person is in one particular state, for example in waking state, he does not say "I am a dreamer." He does not say "I am a sleeper." He says "I am the waker." But as soon as he enters into the dream state, then he says "I am the dreamer." And when he is in deep sleep, then he knows "I am in deep sleep." Again, it is changing. '''But one person is undergoing three different types of experiences,''' each one totally separate reality from the other realities. Therefore, this person must be somebody, because the '''experiencer is always different from the experience.'''
===The Final Realisation===
And then slowly Gārgya realises, through continuing his higher ways of sādhana, finally realises: "I am none of these states—I am Brahman." And a curious thing happens when a person knows—he does not claim as we describe in the scriptures or read in the scriptures: "Oh, I thought I was the waker. I thought I was the dreamer. I thought I was a deep sleeper." No, these thoughts do not come at all. Why? Because there is no body, there is no mind, there is no '''''sthūla-śarīraस्थूल शरीर'',''' there is no '''''sūkṣma-śarīraसूक्ष्म शरीर'',''' there is no '''''kāraṇa-śarīraकारण शरीर'''''. And when these three instruments are not there, the experiences of those instruments also vanish along with the disappearance of the experiencer.
===The Fundamental Principle of Vedānta===
So the fundamental principle of Vedānta: an experiencer is not any experience, any object of experience. And whatever qualities an experience—an object—possesses does not belong to the experiencer. If a mango is sweet and flavourful, that flavour and sweetness belong to the mango, not to the person at all. He may enjoy it, but he knows "I am not the mango." Similarly, I am not the waker, I am not the dreamer, I am not the deep sleeper. That is the conclusion, and this we have elaborately discussed in the past, especially in the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad.
==The Three Vādas Revisited==
Not only that, in my last class I had referred to this and connected with '''Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda सृष्टिदृष्टिवाद, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vādaदृष्टि-सृष्टि-वाद, and Ajātavādaअजातवाद.''' Just to recollect the essence of what I said.
===Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda ['''सृष्टिदृष्टिवाद]'''===
So long as a person thinks "I am the gross body," he thinks "I am the waker." To think "I am the waker" means "I am the gross body, and this whole world exists. And it is not created by me; it is created by God. And this is the reality—not unreal, this complete reality." And he acts, he reacts, he thinks, he desires what he thinks as the real reality. All his life he spends like that. So for those for whom this world is real, including his body and mind, for them Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda is that stage of spiritual development, and the scripture prescribes certain disciplines emphasising that birth is full of these sixfold changes: birth, growth, youth, old age, disease, death. So, everything in this world is continuously changing. Therefore, that which is changing is not the definition of Brahman. ''Sat'' means ''satyam''. ''Satyam'' means that which never changes.
===Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda ['''दृष्टि-सृष्टि-वाद]'''===
After a lot of both happiness and unhappiness, the person wakes up, then he becomes thoughtful, he develops the capacity to think, and then he recollects everyday dreams—any dream—and says: "So long as I was dreaming, I thought that that state alone is the highest reality. But as soon as I changed my perception, my identity—for example, I came back to wakefulness—then the whole dream state disappeared like mist in the hot summer season. Then everything is changing—every day a new dream. Therefore... the whole world might it not be that the whole world is also like a dream?" Remember, only for the person who has reached this state of higher thinking: "Might it not be that the whole world is also my own creation, my own imagination made real through too much of concreteness, superimposing?" And slowly he understands that what God I thought created is not God's creation. It is my creation—my ''dṛṣṭi'', my experience, my understanding, my opinion.
===The Illustration of a Person===
I gave the illustration also. When you first meet a person, your understanding of that person is very limited. You may think he is a very good person, very jolly, very sociable, smiling, and paying attention to you. But the nearer you come, you might develop: "Oh, this person, he criticises everybody. He thinks he knows better than everybody else." As your experiences become more and more, your understanding—that you think—what how you understand that person becomes more convincing, and what the real person is. So slowly, slowly, your opinion about that person becomes a reality of that person, not knowing that your ''dṛṣṭi'' has created that person. He is neither good, really speaking, nor bad.
===Eka-Jīva Vāda [एकजीव वाद]===
And then when this person progresses further, he understands: "I see the whole world. I see so many people in the waking state. And the same thing I see in dream. This multiple objects, this infinite—almost infinite—number of objects, they are all my own creation. Because what I choose, it will appear in front of me. So therefore, I am the only Jīva." So you are only my creation through Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda. Just as I go on changing my opinion about any object in accordance with my experiences, so also it is I who am creating and recreating every object in this world. Every minute somebody smiles at me—I recreate him: "He is a very good person." If he praises me: "Oh, he is a wonderful person, very sweet person, very truthful person"—because it pleases me. And if he displeases me: "Horrendous person, I do not want to see his face again, her face again," etc.
===Ajātavāda ['''अजातवाद]'''===
So what is the third one? That there is only one Jīva—Eka-Jīva Vāda. And then when the—this is for a person who analyses the dream state. Then he comes to the third stage where there is no mind, much less the world, no body consciousness, almost like a blank, there is no world, and he understands: "As I see no world in deep sleep state, so also this world is never created." He progresses. Each is a progress in spiritual life, and as man progresses, his concept of reality or God also changes. As Swami Vivekananda says: "As man grows, God also grows." That means our understanding, our true understanding about God also grows.
===The Final Stage===
So this is how these three states are equated, depending upon with which state we consider as real. And then the final stage is: all these three states—neither Ajātavāda, nor Eka-Jīva Vāda, nor Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda, nor Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda—these thoughts do not arise at all in the deep sleep state. So they are all constructs of the mind—thoughts in the mind. And then he understands that whatever I am experiencing is not me because I am experiencing multiple objects. But the experiencer of these multiple objects is only me alone. And with that he understands. Slowly he progresses. One day he understands that I neither create nor destroy, there is no multiplicity, and there is no change. I am Brahman.
===The Jīvanmukta's Double Vision===
Only when God brings his mind down, he becomes a Jīvanmukta. Then he has a double vision. First of all, he sees a person as he is, but he also knows this is only an appearance. He sees both the reality and the appearance. It is very important for us to understand because a Jīvanmukta does not simply become negligent of helping people. And how can you help people if you think everybody is Brahman? No, he shows an example: "I know you are Brahman, but I also know you do not know Brahman. But I will help you in whatever way I can—physically, intellectually, philosophically, spiritually. When you are ready, I am also ready, like a mirror reflects."
===The Four Stages Are Not Mere Philosophy===
So this is what the Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda, Eka-Jīva Vāda, and Ajātavāda—they are not two philosophers sitting and discussing, but every spiritual person progresses through these stages until finally he says: "There is no experiencer, there is no experienced—both become coalesced. I am one without a second." Of course, he does not say this. We are saying this through our mind. This is going to be the development.
===Gārgya's Progress===
So Gārgya started teaching from the second mantra onwards, and every time he says "I did this upāsana"—that means "I know this upāsana." That means "I got the result of this upāsana." The king said: "What you have done so far is excellent, but there are also other aspects of the same sun, same moon, same lightning, same wind, etc. And I will take you through them. Since you are already an expert in doing upāsana, it should not take a long time for you to do upāsana."
===The Need to Pass Lower Classes===
So as Ajātaśatru goes on expanding the upāsanas—the ''viśiṣṭa-guṇas'', special qualities, spiritual qualities—Gārgya also must have practised. Though the Upaniṣad does not tell us, it goes on. This is the second mantra, this is the third mantra, but we have to understand this: unless a person had completed his Class A, he would not be allowed to enter into Class B. So the same teacher may be from Class One to Class Six—he may be teaching the same teacher. So what he teaches to the second class or third class will not be taught to Class One. We have to understand because the teacher is not an individual; it is God Himself. He knows the capacity, and until the pupil successfully passes the lower classes, higher knowledge will not be given.
===Between the Mantras===
And this is what we have to presume here and insert here—that between two mantras the person has been made. How much time it took? Of course, the Upaniṣad does not tell because time is not important, but we also have to go through the same process. So this person, Gārgya, says—and then every time the king adds: "You better also do contemplation on this quality or qualities"—up to the thirteenth mantra. Twelve upāsanas were enumerated which were practised by Gārgya, and every time Ajātaśatru teaches him new upāsanas, and we have to understand that Gārgya must have practised and obtained the same result as Ajātaśatru because the teaching is—as we think, so we become.
===The Progress Made===
We will come to that. So up to the thirteenth mantra, twelve separate upāsanas with either one second upāsana (greater upāsana) added, or more than one. We will come to that very briefly. This is the progress made, and at the end of the thirteenth, Gārgya understood that "my knowledge is very little—even after knowing Hiraṇyagarbha, this is not going to give me liberation. I will have to go beyond Hiraṇyagarbha and do directly Brahmopāsana." And then Ajātaśatru takes him through those steps also until Gārgya also can say with Ajātaśatru: '''"''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi''.(अहं ब्रह्मास्मि)[Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10]'''
===The Development Ahead===
This is going to be the development. So I will just read the '''first mantra,'''

'''ॐ॥दृप्तबालाकिर्हानूचानो गार्ग्य आस स होवाचाजातशत्रुं काश्यम् ब्रह्म ते ब्रवाणीति स होवाचाजातशत्रुः सहस्रमेतस्यां वाचि दद्मो जनको जनक इति वै जना धावन्तीति॥'''

'''om||dṛptabālākirhānūcāno gārgya āsa sa hovācājātaśatruṁ kāśyam brahma te bravāṇīti sa hovācājātaśatruḥ sahasrametasyāṁ vāci dadmo janako janaka iti vai janā dhāvantīti||'''

and thereafter I am going to only take the essence. You can read the mantras yourselves and then come to an understanding.
==The Second Mantra==
So the second mantra goes like this:

'''स ह होवाच गार्ग्यः य एवासावादित्ये पुरुषः एतमेव अहं ब्रह्मोपास इति.'''

''sa ha hovāca gārgyaḥ ya evāsāv āditye puruṣaḥ etam evāhaṃ brahmopāsa iti.''

Now Ajātaśatru is telling: "''Mā mā etasmin saṃvadiṣṭhāḥ''"—do not speak like this. What should not be spoken—thinking that Āditya is only containing these qualities? No, no, no. There are many more—three more qualities at least.
===The Additional Qualities===
"'''''Atiṣṭhāḥ sarveṣāṃ bhūtānāṃ mūrdhā rājā iti vā aham etam upāse''"वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्तेऽतिष्ठाः सर्वेषां भूतानां मूर्धा राजा भवति॥'''—"But I also practised contemplation on the same Āditya, the Sun God, just as you did, thinking that this Puruṣa—a real being in the sun—is none other than Hiraṇyagarbha, but with these qualities."

And then Ajātaśatru, as we already know, adds: '''"''Sa yaḥ evaṃ evaṃ upāste''" स य एतमेवमुपास्ते—'''"Whoever thus contemplates exactly as I taught you"—so what happens? '''"''Atiṣṭhāḥ sarveṣāṃ bhūtānāṃ mūrdhā rājā bhavati''"अतिष्ठाः सर्वेषां भूतानां मूर्धा राजा भवति॥'''—he will acquire the same qualities, and those qualities become very natural to him.
===The Real Person===
So that is going to be the development. When Gārgya said, "I am contemplating the Puruṣa"—that means the person. This is a beautiful teaching. That is, whenever you address a person, the real person—the real personality, the real person—is different. '''The real person is the Ātman, but the superimposed person with whom we identify is the Jīva.''' So "I am a Jīva." Everybody knows "I have got these qualities. I may be a great doctor, I may be a great musician, I may be a great writer, a poet or a diplomat, whatever. Or I do not know anything—I can cook very well, etc., whatever." So even among workers, we can say the owner says: "This person is a good worker. He does it wholeheartedly, whatever work is given to him. The others try to evade, escape by doing as less as they can. No, this person is very good."
===The Being in the Sun===
So the real person—we have to find out. So that is what when Gārgya said, "I worship the person—a real personality, a real being in the sun—not the physical star we see, physical body we see, not even the mind we see. He who is beyond body and mind—he is the person whom we will have to understand properly."
===Ajātaśatru's Correction===
So when Gārgya said, "That being—Puruṣa—who is the real being, but whom people do not know, who is in the sun, I meditate upon as Brahman," Ajātaśatru said: "No, please do not talk to me about him in this limited manner." These are the words we have to add. Why? Because "I also practised the same meditation, contemplation. I meditate upon this Āditya as: f'''irst, all-surpassing; second, as the head of all beings; and third, as resplendent'''. Not only that, not only me, if you also do, then whosoever thus meditates upon Āditya adding these three qualities, as the real being within the sun—Āditya—upon him, he becomes all-surpassing, he becomes the head of all beings, and he shines with tremendous spiritual resplendence." This is called in Sanskrit language '''''tejas''—Brahma-tejas'''.
===The Development===
So this is going to be the development. So Gārgya did not know Nirguṇa Brahma at all, but even this Hiraṇyagarbha—Saguṇa Brahma—he did not know all the aspects. He knows only a few aspects, that too at the lowest level. So this Saguṇa Brahma is popularly known in the scriptures as Hiraṇyagarbha, Saguṇa Brahma, Īśvara, Prajāpati, etc. So there are many higher aspects of everything, everybody in this world—even Saguṇa Brahma also has higher aspects.
==Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa Testing His Devotees==
Now I will give an example. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to test his devotees by posing certain questions. One of the questions—you have to understand it properly, otherwise, you know. So a musician: "Did you hear my song?" "Yes." "And what do you think about him, about that song? What is the quality of the way I sang?" And says, "Sir, you are incomparable, you are the greatest." Then that fellow says, "Yes, you understood me correctly." Even if that fellow is the worst singer, he is only expecting—he gets what he is expecting sometimes, but that is not the truth.
===Seeking Praise Indirectly===
So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa—we ask somebody, "What do you think about me?" We do not directly ask because that is inviting ridicule. But if she says, "You know, such and such a person is telling about you, praising you"—that indirectly we become very happy. "Oh, I did not ask his opinion, but he is telling about a third person. He appreciates me, and that means I must be a great person. I know I am great, but others do not recognise it. So I am expecting praise, and if it comes through a third party, it makes me very, very happy. But if it comes directly, I have suspicion also: 'What is the motivation for this fellow putting such a thick butter over me?'" No.
===The Levels of Understanding===
So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's only purpose was—by soliciting the answer, he would gauge at what level of spirituality the devotee is. Now here are a few examples. Many people thought Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is a madman. They wrote to Māthur Bābū. They complained to his face also. They called him "the madman of Dakṣiṇeśvara." And some people, they interacted with Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa—"He is very, very good man, very straightforward person. He is like a child. He is a truthful person, very good person. He does not have any selfish motives. He is a good man." So from "mad man"—that opinion belongs to a very bad person. "Good man"—much better than that other person. Then some people say, "You are a saint. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is a saint." His understanding is much better. "Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is not merely a saint, but one of the greatest saints." His understanding is even much better.
===Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa Reads Hearts===
Remember, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is not soliciting praise. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa can see into the hearts of people and tells who is telling the truth and who is telling lies. In front of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, people understand they cannot tell a lie in the face of this person, in the presence of this person, because he acts like a mirror. He sees what is within me. So no person is capable of telling what is a lie—what he thinks and talks something else—not possible.
===The Incarnation of God===
So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is a great saint. And somebody else—he asks. Then they say: "Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is an incarnation of God." That means that person's understanding about Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is far superior to many people. Then once he asked Pūrṇacandra Ghosha—I think Pūrṇacandra Ghosha, I am not sure, maybe Nārāyaṇa—and this Pūrṇacandra verse is: "What people say you are an incarnation of God—they are fools. They do not know what they are talking about." Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was smiling all the time, and he was waiting. He says: "You are that source from which all the past incarnations have come, and all the future incarnations will be descending." And Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, in his own characteristic way, says: "Oh my God, you surpassed even that person who said I am an incarnation of God." Later on, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa passes a soliloquy: "How could this young boy understand this truth?"
===Changing Opinions===
So you see—one person, so many people, so many opinions. We know all this; every day we react, albeit we are completely unconscious. We change our opinions. If somebody pleases us, he is a good person; and the same person, next minute, displeases us—he is not such a great person. So this is an example, and Gārgya was not entirely wrong, but his statements were limited because his understanding was limited. Ajātaśatru corrects him and makes him go through all those things.
===The Three Extra Qualities===
So what is he telling? There are three more extra qualities which you will have to understand about this Puruṣa in the Āditya. So that is how the three qualities: '''first of all, he is great; second, he is the head of every being; and third, he is far superior in everything.''' We will discuss about them, but just a gentle reminder:
==As a Man Thinks, So He Becomes==
'''''Yathā yathā upāste tathā eva bhavatiतं यथा यथोपासते तदेव भवति ।(Yajur Veda: Śatapatha-brāhmaṇa, 10.5.2.20; cited in Prīti Sandarbha 51)'''''—"As a man really sincerely contemplates, he becomes that." This is what English language psychologists tell: "As a man thinks, so he becomes. Tell me your thoughts, I will tell you who you are."
===Everyday Examples===
Of course, at this moment, let us see everyday examples. Meditate—you see a person and it is full of wrinkles and worries. Old age people also can have old age wrinkles—no. So you meditate, go on worrying, you become a ''warrior''—not warrior, ''worrier''. Meditate on anger for whatever reason—you become anger. That is why we say "angry person"—means a person who has become anger. But that is only a negative example.
===Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Contemplations===
But see here, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa became Hanumān, Rādhā, Kālī, Kṛṣṇa, Upala, Rāmacandra by contemplating intensely upon their forms. Even his physical body had changed in each one of these cases.
===Holy Mother at Vṛndāvana===
Second example: once Holy Mother was at Vṛndāvana, and one day she became completely like Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. Her tone of voice became male, and the way Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to deal with the betel leaves—same way Holy Mother started. So in every way for a few minutes, how Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to behave, Holy Mother was behaving, and those who were near who knew Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, they understood: "Oh, now Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa had possessed her, or she became Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa by contemplation."
===Swami Brahmananda and the Himalayas===
Then there is a very beautiful incident in the life of Swami Brahmanandaji. It was a terrible summer season. Swami Brahmanandaji was at Belur Math, so he was talking with a Brahmacārī. The heat was intolerable. Of course there would be no clothes on the backs of both. So, looking at the suffering of the disciple, Swami Brahmanandaji said: "Let us meditate on the coolness of the Himalayas." And then they closed their eyes. And then after a few minutes, Swami Brahmanandaji said to the initiate: "You touch my back." And then when the Brahmacārī touched, he found the whole back of Brahmanandaji became like a wall of the Himalayan mountain—snow-clad Himalayan mountain—like an ice-cold stone. And then he understood: Brahmanandaji became one with that.
===Swami Akhandananda and the Tibetan Yogi===
Even though not directly related, once Gaṅgādhar Mahārāj (Swami Akhandanandaji) saw—he was roaming in the Himalayas—he came across a Tibetan Yogi. The ice was melting all around him, and as soon as he went near, he felt very pleasant heat. The yogi understood and said: "It is not a miracle; there is a special yoga āsana and meditation. I can teach you, and I can teach anybody. If you practise, then any amount of cold will not affect you at all. Even your surroundings become hot. By the same process, the hot surroundings can also become cold."
===The Kita-Bhramaravat Analogy===
So what I wanted to illustrate was: '''''yathā yathā upāste tathā bhavati'''''—"as one intensely thinks, he becomes that one." And there is a familiar Sanskrit phrase for that purpose:

'''कीटो भ्रमरावत्.'''

''kīṭo bhramarāvat.''

"A worm meditating on a wasp becomes like that wasp"—''bhramara''. A worm meditating on ''bhramara'' becomes a ''bhramara''. Of course, it is to mean that because of the fear—because the ''bhramara'' stings, wild bee stings, huge bee—then it is so painful that very fear makes this one become like the ''bhramara''.

Beautiful thoughts—we will talk further 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 1.1-3 Lecture 43 on 20 June 2026

2026-08-19T14:44:43Z

Gayatri:

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.'''

''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH

OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.

==Introduction to the Second Chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad==
So we are studying the second chapter of the second section of the second chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. We know this story. A young brāhmaṇa, well learned but limited in his learning, comes voluntarily to teach about Brahman. He did not say that he was going to teach only the Saguṇa Brahma, a limited Brahma. But he thought that is the complete Brahman. So he came to a king called Ajātaśatru and volunteered himself: "I will teach you about Brahman."
===Ajātaśatru: The Knower of Brahman===
Ajātaśatru was a knower of Brahman, both Saguṇa and Nirguṇa. How did he attain? Because he also had to follow the same footsteps. How do we know? Because he is teaching the same—that means what he practised earlier. In order to reach the peak of self-knowledge, now to Gārgya who required to take the same steps, Ajātaśatru, being a very great teacher, recognised where Gārgya was and he wanted to take him further. Why? Because he found Gārgya sincere. He thought he knew everything.
===Sincerity and Śraddhā===
Sincerity—''śraddhā''—is the most important quality. If that is there, other things lacking,they can be obtained. But every other quality is there and ''śraddhā'' is lacking, then that person cannot be taught, cannot go up; he can only go down because pride and jealousy and so many other things will come—arrogance, etc.—and we have to add ''kāma'', ''krodha'', lust, anger, greed, etc., also will be accompanying them. But then Gārgya with a good mind came. Ajātaśatru recognised him as a fit person to be taught. Otherwise, no great teacher will ever waste his time on pupils whom he considers as unfit—not out of hatred, but not to waste either's time.
===The Humble Approach===
So Ajātaśatru wanted Gārgya to realise the limitation of his knowledge. So very humbly, with humility, he said, "Sir, I am so happy that at least you came volunteering to teach me. That information made me very happy. So even just for that information, even if you do not teach me any further, I am offering you a ''dakṣiṇā'' of one thousand cows. And then please teach me."

So Gārgya immediately started. This is how he categorically and explicitly expresses: "I did upāsanā—'''''upāse ādityaउपासे आदित्य'''''—in the sun I have worshipped Brahman, that authenticity I have worshipped." I am not telling you like a scholar, but of course he did not know his limitation.
===The First Step to Progress===
'''So the first step to progress in learning is to realise how limited we are.''' Then only the desire will come. If anybody says, "I know everything," he cannot go further. Not only that, he will go down. But if anybody says, "I know my limitations, I am sitting by the side of the sea. Any thirsty traveller happens to come by, I just serve him a cup of sea water, so it never gets exhausted." Of course, we have to understand "sea water" means a great river. Nobody will knowingly give salty water to a thirsty person.
===The More We Learn, the Humbler We Become===
So the more learning—'''''vidyā dadāti vinayamविद्या ददति विनयं'''''—the more we learn, the more humble we become. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa asks M: "Will you find any ego in me?" And M—he was not a fool, he was not a fan, he was not an irrational person; he was a truthful person—said, "No, sir. I have never seen any trace of egotism." Then, out of ignorance, he volunteers to add: "But you have kept a little bit of ego for the purpose of enjoying God's sportive actions in this world." Immediately, the correction comes from Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa: "No, I have not kept. It is God who kept—Divine Mother who kept."
===The River and the Ocean===
Why did Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa say that? I gave you illustrations many a time. When a river, for example Gaṅgā, merges into the ocean—'''''nāma-rūpe vihāyaनाम रूप विहाय'''''—it loses all its name, form, colour, taste, and becomes one with the ocean. Thereafter, it will be known only by the name "ocean." You cannot do—take a torchlight and then see, "Let me see where is this Gaṅgā River, former Gaṅgā River?" No.

So when a person enters into Nirvikalpa Samādhi, that is, achieves complete identity with Brahman, there is no individual thereafter. It is not like our going entering into Suṣupti and coming out. This is a permanent process. Then God still preserves that particular individual's body and mind and keeps a little bit of egotism to work through that instrument for the good of the entire world—'''''sarva-maṅgalaसर्वमङ्गल'''''. That is the purpose of Jīvanmuktas.
===The Purpose of Jīvanmuktas===
Because as Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says, the Divine Mother does not allow a Bhāgavata Paṇḍita to become a monk. Not that a monk should not become a Bhāgavata Paṇḍita. But ''worldly'' people are made with great talent. Some of the great expounders of '''Rāmacaritamānasa'''—thousands of people will go. There is one '''Rāmakiṅkar'''. He is very famous. Even in the Western countries, even in London, 40,000 people will gather whenever he holds '''''Rāma-kathā'''''. It is a special power, and he was an upāsaka of—he is an upāsaka of Añjaneya.
===God Keeps the Individuality===
So it is God who keeps that. So that same God has kept—if Ajātaśatru knows "I am Brahman," that means he became Brahman, that means he experienced '''Nirvikalpa Samādhi.''' Still the individuality is there for the good of the world, and this is one instance we are discussing. So he understands this boy—student apt student, sincere, but he does not know he has to progress further. So for that purpose, he wants to take him to higher steps, through higher steps.
===The Purpose of Upāsanas===
And the purpose of the different upāsanas with different qualities that are enumerated by Ajātaśatru to Gārgya is for the purpose of making this Gārgya go through the same process as he himself has gone—out of one's own experience the person is teaching.
===The Need for Practice===
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says it is not true that through intellectual knowledge any other science can be taught. Physics, maths—everything—but this Brahma-vidyā, spiritual knowledge, or even ''dharma'', moral science, cannot be taught by anybody excepting those who practise morality. And in some other things also, a music teacher who does not know how to sing, who is not aware of different ''rāgas'', etc., and familiar with what is called the Rhythms ''tālas''—''ek-tāla'', ''tīn-tāla'', ''jhap-tāla'', etc.—he also cannot really teach.
===The Cuckoo's Voice===
That is why Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa specifically says simply saying "''ṣa-ri-ga-ma-pa-dha-ni''" will not help. A person goes on practising; he knows by hearing the sound—this is in this particular ''svara'', ''pañcama-svara''. So our Indian poets have said whenever the cuckoo sings, it tries to sing with its bird's throat. It is called '''''pañcama-svara''.''' Only a few birds can make such a thing. A musician knows every ''svara'' the moment he hears it, and whenever he utters it, it would be perfect. How do we know? It matches with the sound given by harmonium or even ''tablā'', etc.
===Ajātaśatru as the Teacher===
So Ajātaśatru was kept by God for this purpose, like Yājñavalkya was kept, and Gārgya was a sincere student. So at first, out of ignorance, he did not understand. So Ajātaśatru accepted his teachership and said only with the purpose that "you are okay what you did, but you have to do further contemplations, meditations. And I will tell you what you have to do."
===The Twelve Upāsanas===
This is going to be the process. And twelve such upāsanas were practised by Gārgya with only particular qualities superimposed on Brahman. So every quality is superimposed as one part of the quality of one particular deity, presiding deity, not knowing that all the presiding deities are nothing but parts of Hiraṇyagarbha—so popularly known as Saguṇa Brahma or even Īśvara.
===The Result of Upāsana===
And whenever Gārgya says "I meditated"—because he says '''''upāseउपासे''''' —"I practised this meditation, and the result also I got." What is the result he got? Let me complete it here. So for any upāsana, '''two results can come'''. One is called worldly '''''sakāma-phalaसकाम फल'';''' another is called '''''niṣkāma-phalaनिष्कामफल'''''. When a person desires through this, "May I become rich, may I become well known, may I have control over my body and mind," etc., he will get that particular quality within himself. But there are so many other spiritual qualities to be acquired. Now Ajātaśatru wants to help Gārgya to develop the other qualities as well, and only a person who contains all these spiritual qualities—called '''''Daivī-sampatदैवी सम्पत्'''''—then he becomes a '''''yogya'' or fit ''adhikārī'',''' endowed with qualities, ready to take up the PhD course.
===The PhD Course===
So that is how I think it is a beautiful word—PhD course. What is PhD? Permanent head damage—in our case. What is this permanent head damage? Permanently the head—the ''ahaṅkāra'', the head of the snake, virulent poisonous snake called egotism, that ''-ism''—will be completely cut off. Not ego. ''-ism''—expressions, wrong expressions of ego is called egotism, egoism, etc. That is identifying—forgetting one's identification with one's true nature called Brahman and thinking "I am a mosquito, I am a mouse, I am a man," etc., "I am a scholar, I am a brāhmaṇa," etc., etc.
===The Final Goal===
So this is what Ajātaśatru, the Sadguru, wanted to guide Gārgya. That is the story of how he finally guides Gārgya so that Gārgya also realises that like my Guru, I also am none other than Brahman. In fact, there is nothing called '''''śiṣya'' and Guru'''—both nothing called the world. Everything is Brahma—'''''sarvaṃ khalvidaṃ Brahma"सर्वं खल्विदं ब्रह्म"Chandogya Upanishadछान्दोग्य उपनिषद (3.14.1)''.'''
===The Teaching Begins===
So Gārgya started teaching, and that teaching is what he did as contemplation on different deities. Those things have been enumerated in twelve ''ślokas'' beginning with the second, ending with the thirteenth. And at every stage, every upāsana, Ajātaśatru adds either one or two or three more than what Gārgya had already known. Thus he makes him a fit disciple, and then only he takes him to the higher step. All these are just preparations. Now I will give you real teaching.
===The Real Teaching===
What was the teaching? We see it later on. Ajātaśatru takes Gārgya by hand and finds a sleeping person—deeply asleep—and first calls him by '''three names: Bṛhatबृहत, Rājanराजन्, Somaḥसोमः, etc.''' But the person did not listen because he was in deep sleep. T'''hen he shakes him'''—that did not wake him up. T'''hen Ajātaśatru shakes him violently.''' Then suddenly the deep sleep is broken, and that is the incident.
===The Three States===
Taking that incident, Ajātaśatru now takes Gārgya by hand and says: "Now here is a person. So he is not in the waking state, he is not in dream state, and he also was in the deep sleep state, but did not know 'I am in deep sleep state.' So who is this person? Is he the waker? Is he the dreamer? Or is he the sleeper?" Because these three states rotate one after the other—first waking, then dreaming, then deep sleep. Of course, you can start from any state. So, from dream to deep sleep to waking, or from deep sleep to waking to dream, and back again to deep sleep. It does not matter.
===The Constant Experiencer===
But what is important is every time the person is in one particular state, for example in waking state, he does not say "I am a dreamer." He does not say "I am a sleeper." He says "I am the waker." But as soon as he enters into the dream state, then he says "I am the dreamer." And when he is in deep sleep, then he knows "I am in deep sleep." Again, it is changing. '''But one person is undergoing three different types of experiences,''' each one totally separate reality from the other realities. Therefore, this person must be somebody, because the '''experiencer is always different from the experience.'''
===The Final Realisation===
And then slowly Gārgya realises, through continuing his higher ways of sādhana, finally realises: "I am none of these states—I am Brahman." And a curious thing happens when a person knows—he does not claim as we describe in the scriptures or read in the scriptures: "Oh, I thought I was the waker. I thought I was the dreamer. I thought I was a deep sleeper." No, these thoughts do not come at all. Why? Because there is no body, there is no mind, there is no '''''sthūla-śarīraस्थूल शरीर'',''' there is no '''''sūkṣma-śarīraसूक्ष्म शरीर'',''' there is no '''''kāraṇa-śarīraकारण शरीर'''''. And when these three instruments are not there, the experiences of those instruments also vanish along with the disappearance of the experiencer.
===The Fundamental Principle of Vedānta===
So the fundamental principle of Vedānta: an experiencer is not any experience, any object of experience. And whatever qualities an experience—an object—possesses does not belong to the experiencer. If a mango is sweet and flavourful, that flavour and sweetness belong to the mango, not to the person at all. He may enjoy it, but he knows "I am not the mango." Similarly, I am not the waker, I am not the dreamer, I am not the deep sleeper. That is the conclusion, and this we have elaborately discussed in the past, especially in the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad.
==The Three Vādas Revisited==
Not only that, in my last class I had referred to this and connected with '''Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda सृष्टिदृष्टिवाद, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vādaदृष्टि-सृष्टि-वाद, and Ajātavādaअजातवाद.''' Just to recollect the essence of what I said.
===Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda ['''सृष्टिदृष्टिवाद]'''===
So long as a person thinks "I am the gross body," he thinks "I am the waker." To think "I am the waker" means "I am the gross body, and this whole world exists. And it is not created by me; it is created by God. And this is the reality—not unreal, this complete reality." And he acts, he reacts, he thinks, he desires what he thinks as the real reality. All his life he spends like that. So for those for whom this world is real, including his body and mind, for them Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda is that stage of spiritual development, and the scripture prescribes certain disciplines emphasising that birth is full of these sixfold changes: birth, growth, youth, old age, disease, death. So, everything in this world is continuously changing. Therefore, that which is changing is not the definition of Brahman. ''Sat'' means ''satyam''. ''Satyam'' means that which never changes.
===Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda ['''दृष्टि-सृष्टि-वाद]'''===
After a lot of both happiness and unhappiness, the person wakes up, then he becomes thoughtful, he develops the capacity to think, and then he recollects everyday dreams—any dream—and says: "So long as I was dreaming, I thought that that state alone is the highest reality. But as soon as I changed my perception, my identity—for example, I came back to wakefulness—then the whole dream state disappeared like mist in the hot summer season. Then everything is changing—every day a new dream. Therefore... the whole world might it not be that the whole world is also like a dream?" Remember, only for the person who has reached this state of higher thinking: "Might it not be that the whole world is also my own creation, my own imagination made real through too much of concreteness, superimposing?" And slowly he understands that what God I thought created is not God's creation. It is my creation—my ''dṛṣṭi'', my experience, my understanding, my opinion.
===The Illustration of a Person===
I gave the illustration also. When you first meet a person, your understanding of that person is very limited. You may think he is a very good person, very jolly, very sociable, smiling, and paying attention to you. But the nearer you come, you might develop: "Oh, this person, he criticises everybody. He thinks he knows better than everybody else." As your experiences become more and more, your understanding—that you think—what how you understand that person becomes more convincing, and what the real person is. So slowly, slowly, your opinion about that person becomes a reality of that person, not knowing that your ''dṛṣṭi'' has created that person. He is neither good, really speaking, nor bad.
===Eka-Jīva Vāda [एकजीव वाद]===
And then when this person progresses further, he understands: "I see the whole world. I see so many people in the waking state. And the same thing I see in dream. This multiple objects, this infinite—almost infinite—number of objects, they are all my own creation. Because what I choose, it will appear in front of me. So therefore, I am the only Jīva." So you are only my creation through Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda. Just as I go on changing my opinion about any object in accordance with my experiences, so also it is I who am creating and recreating every object in this world. Every minute somebody smiles at me—I recreate him: "He is a very good person." If he praises me: "Oh, he is a wonderful person, very sweet person, very truthful person"—because it pleases me. And if he displeases me: "Horrendous person, I do not want to see his face again, her face again," etc.
===Ajātavāda ['''अजातवाद]'''===
So what is the third one? That there is only one Jīva—Eka-Jīva Vāda. And then when the—this is for a person who analyses the dream state. Then he comes to the third stage where there is no mind, much less the world, no body consciousness, almost like a blank, there is no world, and he understands: "As I see no world in deep sleep state, so also this world is never created." He progresses. Each is a progress in spiritual life, and as man progresses, his concept of reality or God also changes. As Swami Vivekananda says: "As man grows, God also grows." That means our understanding, our true understanding about God also grows.
===The Final Stage===
So this is how these three states are equated, depending upon with which state we consider as real. And then the final stage is: all these three states—neither Ajātavāda, nor Eka-Jīva Vāda, nor Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda, nor Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda—these thoughts do not arise at all in the deep sleep state. So they are all constructs of the mind—thoughts in the mind. And then he understands that whatever I am experiencing is not me because I am experiencing multiple objects. But the experiencer of these multiple objects is only me alone. And with that he understands. Slowly he progresses. One day he understands that I neither create nor destroy, there is no multiplicity, and there is no change. I am Brahman.
===The Jīvanmukta's Double Vision===
Only when God brings his mind down, he becomes a Jīvanmukta. Then he has a double vision. First of all, he sees a person as he is, but he also knows this is only an appearance. He sees both the reality and the appearance. It is very important for us to understand because a Jīvanmukta does not simply become negligent of helping people. And how can you help people if you think everybody is Brahman? No, he shows an example: "I know you are Brahman, but I also know you do not know Brahman. But I will help you in whatever way I can—physically, intellectually, philosophically, spiritually. When you are ready, I am also ready, like a mirror reflects."
===The Four Stages Are Not Mere Philosophy===
So this is what the Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda, Eka-Jīva Vāda, and Ajātavāda—they are not two philosophers sitting and discussing, but every spiritual person progresses through these stages until finally he says: "There is no experiencer, there is no experienced—both become coalesced. I am one without a second." Of course, he does not say this. We are saying this through our mind. This is going to be the development.
===Gārgya's Progress===
So Gārgya started teaching from the second mantra onwards, and every time he says "I did this upāsana"—that means "I know this upāsana." That means "I got the result of this upāsana." The king said: "What you have done so far is excellent, but there are also other aspects of the same sun, same moon, same lightning, same wind, etc. And I will take you through them. Since you are already an expert in doing upāsana, it should not take a long time for you to do upāsana."
===The Need to Pass Lower Classes===
So as Ajātaśatru goes on expanding the upāsanas—the ''viśiṣṭa-guṇas'', special qualities, spiritual qualities—Gārgya also must have practised. Though the Upaniṣad does not tell us, it goes on. This is the second mantra, this is the third mantra, but we have to understand this: unless a person had completed his Class A, he would not be allowed to enter into Class B. So the same teacher may be from Class One to Class Six—he may be teaching the same teacher. So what he teaches to the second class or third class will not be taught to Class One. We have to understand because the teacher is not an individual; it is God Himself. He knows the capacity, and until the pupil successfully passes the lower classes, higher knowledge will not be given.
===Between the Mantras===
And this is what we have to presume here and insert here—that between two mantras the person has been made. How much time it took? Of course, the Upaniṣad does not tell because time is not important, but we also have to go through the same process. So this person, Gārgya, says—and then every time the king adds: "You better also do contemplation on this quality or qualities"—up to the thirteenth mantra. Twelve upāsanas were enumerated which were practised by Gārgya, and every time Ajātaśatru teaches him new upāsanas, and we have to understand that Gārgya must have practised and obtained the same result as Ajātaśatru because the teaching is—as we think, so we become.
===The Progress Made===
We will come to that. So up to the thirteenth mantra, twelve separate upāsanas with either one second upāsana (greater upāsana) added, or more than one. We will come to that very briefly. This is the progress made, and at the end of the thirteenth, Gārgya understood that "my knowledge is very little—even after knowing Hiraṇyagarbha, this is not going to give me liberation. I will have to go beyond Hiraṇyagarbha and do directly Brahmopāsana." And then Ajātaśatru takes him through those steps also until Gārgya also can say with Ajātaśatru: '''"''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi''.({{lang|sa|अहं ब्रह्मास्मि}}) – <nowiki>''</nowiki>{{sfn|Braue|1984|p=80}} ([[Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]] 1.4.10 of the [[Yajur Veda]])'''
===The Development Ahead===
This is going to be the development. So I will just read the '''first mantra,'''

'''ॐ॥दृप्तबालाकिर्हानूचानो गार्ग्य आस स होवाचाजातशत्रुं काश्यम् ब्रह्म ते ब्रवाणीति स होवाचाजातशत्रुः सहस्रमेतस्यां वाचि दद्मो जनको जनक इति वै जना धावन्तीति॥'''

'''om||dṛptabālākirhānūcāno gārgya āsa sa hovācājātaśatruṁ kāśyam brahma te bravāṇīti sa hovācājātaśatruḥ sahasrametasyāṁ vāci dadmo janako janaka iti vai janā dhāvantīti||'''

and thereafter I am going to only take the essence. You can read the mantras yourselves and then come to an understanding.
==The Second Mantra==
So the second mantra goes like this:

'''स ह होवाच गार्ग्यः य एवासावादित्ये पुरुषः एतमेव अहं ब्रह्मोपास इति.'''

''sa ha hovāca gārgyaḥ ya evāsāv āditye puruṣaḥ etam evāhaṃ brahmopāsa iti.''

Now Ajātaśatru is telling: "''Mā mā etasmin saṃvadiṣṭhāḥ''"—do not speak like this. What should not be spoken—thinking that Āditya is only containing these qualities? No, no, no. There are many more—three more qualities at least.
===The Additional Qualities===
"'''''Atiṣṭhāḥ sarveṣāṃ bhūtānāṃ mūrdhā rājā iti vā aham etam upāse''"वा अहमेतमुपास इति स य एतमेवमुपास्तेऽतिष्ठाः सर्वेषां भूतानां मूर्धा राजा भवति॥'''—"But I also practised contemplation on the same Āditya, the Sun God, just as you did, thinking that this Puruṣa—a real being in the sun—is none other than Hiraṇyagarbha, but with these qualities."

And then Ajātaśatru, as we already know, adds: '''"''Sa yaḥ evaṃ evaṃ upāste''" स य एतमेवमुपास्ते—'''"Whoever thus contemplates exactly as I taught you"—so what happens? '''"''Atiṣṭhāḥ sarveṣāṃ bhūtānāṃ mūrdhā rājā bhavati''"अतिष्ठाः सर्वेषां भूतानां मूर्धा राजा भवति॥'''—he will acquire the same qualities, and those qualities become very natural to him.
===The Real Person===
So that is going to be the development. When Gārgya said, "I am contemplating the Puruṣa"—that means the person. This is a beautiful teaching. That is, whenever you address a person, the real person—the real personality, the real person—is different. '''The real person is the Ātman, but the superimposed person with whom we identify is the Jīva.''' So "I am a Jīva." Everybody knows "I have got these qualities. I may be a great doctor, I may be a great musician, I may be a great writer, a poet or a diplomat, whatever. Or I do not know anything—I can cook very well, etc., whatever." So even among workers, we can say the owner says: "This person is a good worker. He does it wholeheartedly, whatever work is given to him. The others try to evade, escape by doing as less as they can. No, this person is very good."
===The Being in the Sun===
So the real person—we have to find out. So that is what when Gārgya said, "I worship the person—a real personality, a real being in the sun—not the physical star we see, physical body we see, not even the mind we see. He who is beyond body and mind—he is the person whom we will have to understand properly."
===Ajātaśatru's Correction===
So when Gārgya said, "That being—Puruṣa—who is the real being, but whom people do not know, who is in the sun, I meditate upon as Brahman," Ajātaśatru said: "No, please do not talk to me about him in this limited manner." These are the words we have to add. Why? Because "I also practised the same meditation, contemplation. I meditate upon this Āditya as: f'''irst, all-surpassing; second, as the head of all beings; and third, as resplendent'''. Not only that, not only me, if you also do, then whosoever thus meditates upon Āditya adding these three qualities, as the real being within the sun—Āditya—upon him, he becomes all-surpassing, he becomes the head of all beings, and he shines with tremendous spiritual resplendence." This is called in Sanskrit language '''''tejas''—Brahma-tejas'''.
===The Development===
So this is going to be the development. So Gārgya did not know Nirguṇa Brahma at all, but even this Hiraṇyagarbha—Saguṇa Brahma—he did not know all the aspects. He knows only a few aspects, that too at the lowest level. So this Saguṇa Brahma is popularly known in the scriptures as Hiraṇyagarbha, Saguṇa Brahma, Īśvara, Prajāpati, etc. So there are many higher aspects of everything, everybody in this world—even Saguṇa Brahma also has higher aspects.
==Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa Testing His Devotees==
Now I will give an example. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to test his devotees by posing certain questions. One of the questions—you have to understand it properly, otherwise, you know. So a musician: "Did you hear my song?" "Yes." "And what do you think about him, about that song? What is the quality of the way I sang?" And says, "Sir, you are incomparable, you are the greatest." Then that fellow says, "Yes, you understood me correctly." Even if that fellow is the worst singer, he is only expecting—he gets what he is expecting sometimes, but that is not the truth.
===Seeking Praise Indirectly===
So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa—we ask somebody, "What do you think about me?" We do not directly ask because that is inviting ridicule. But if she says, "You know, such and such a person is telling about you, praising you"—that indirectly we become very happy. "Oh, I did not ask his opinion, but he is telling about a third person. He appreciates me, and that means I must be a great person. I know I am great, but others do not recognise it. So I am expecting praise, and if it comes through a third party, it makes me very, very happy. But if it comes directly, I have suspicion also: 'What is the motivation for this fellow putting such a thick butter over me?'" No.
===The Levels of Understanding===
So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's only purpose was—by soliciting the answer, he would gauge at what level of spirituality the devotee is. Now here are a few examples. Many people thought Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is a madman. They wrote to Māthur Bābū. They complained to his face also. They called him "the madman of Dakṣiṇeśvara." And some people, they interacted with Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa—"He is very, very good man, very straightforward person. He is like a child. He is a truthful person, very good person. He does not have any selfish motives. He is a good man." So from "mad man"—that opinion belongs to a very bad person. "Good man"—much better than that other person. Then some people say, "You are a saint. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is a saint." His understanding is much better. "Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is not merely a saint, but one of the greatest saints." His understanding is even much better.
===Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa Reads Hearts===
Remember, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is not soliciting praise. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa can see into the hearts of people and tells who is telling the truth and who is telling lies. In front of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, people understand they cannot tell a lie in the face of this person, in the presence of this person, because he acts like a mirror. He sees what is within me. So no person is capable of telling what is a lie—what he thinks and talks something else—not possible.
===The Incarnation of God===
So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is a great saint. And somebody else—he asks. Then they say: "Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is an incarnation of God." That means that person's understanding about Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is far superior to many people. Then once he asked Pūrṇacandra Ghosha—I think Pūrṇacandra Ghosha, I am not sure, maybe Nārāyaṇa—and this Pūrṇacandra verse is: "What people say you are an incarnation of God—they are fools. They do not know what they are talking about." Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was smiling all the time, and he was waiting. He says: "You are that source from which all the past incarnations have come, and all the future incarnations will be descending." And Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, in his own characteristic way, says: "Oh my God, you surpassed even that person who said I am an incarnation of God." Later on, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa passes a soliloquy: "How could this young boy understand this truth?"
===Changing Opinions===
So you see—one person, so many people, so many opinions. We know all this; every day we react, albeit we are completely unconscious. We change our opinions. If somebody pleases us, he is a good person; and the same person, next minute, displeases us—he is not such a great person. So this is an example, and Gārgya was not entirely wrong, but his statements were limited because his understanding was limited. Ajātaśatru corrects him and makes him go through all those things.
===The Three Extra Qualities===
So what is he telling? There are three more extra qualities which you will have to understand about this Puruṣa in the Āditya. So that is how the three qualities: '''first of all, he is great; second, he is the head of every being; and third, he is far superior in everything.''' We will discuss about them, but just a gentle reminder:
==As a Man Thinks, So He Becomes==
'''''Yathā yathā upāste tathā eva bhavatiतं यथा यथोपासते तदेव भवति ।(Yajur Veda: Śatapatha-brāhmaṇa, 10.5.2.20; cited in Prīti Sandarbha 51)'''''—"As a man really sincerely contemplates, he becomes that." This is what English language psychologists tell: "As a man thinks, so he becomes. Tell me your thoughts, I will tell you who you are."
===Everyday Examples===
Of course, at this moment, let us see everyday examples. Meditate—you see a person and it is full of wrinkles and worries. Old age people also can have old age wrinkles—no. So you meditate, go on worrying, you become a ''warrior''—not warrior, ''worrier''. Meditate on anger for whatever reason—you become anger. That is why we say "angry person"—means a person who has become anger. But that is only a negative example.
===Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Contemplations===
But see here, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa became Hanumān, Rādhā, Kālī, Kṛṣṇa, Upala, Rāmacandra by contemplating intensely upon their forms. Even his physical body had changed in each one of these cases.
===Holy Mother at Vṛndāvana===
Second example: once Holy Mother was at Vṛndāvana, and one day she became completely like Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. Her tone of voice became male, and the way Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to deal with the betel leaves—same way Holy Mother started. So in every way for a few minutes, how Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to behave, Holy Mother was behaving, and those who were near who knew Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, they understood: "Oh, now Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa had possessed her, or she became Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa by contemplation."
===Swami Brahmananda and the Himalayas===
Then there is a very beautiful incident in the life of Swami Brahmanandaji. It was a terrible summer season. Swami Brahmanandaji was at Belur Math, so he was talking with a Brahmacārī. The heat was intolerable. Of course there would be no clothes on the backs of both. So, looking at the suffering of the disciple, Swami Brahmanandaji said: "Let us meditate on the coolness of the Himalayas." And then they closed their eyes. And then after a few minutes, Swami Brahmanandaji said to the initiate: "You touch my back." And then when the Brahmacārī touched, he found the whole back of Brahmanandaji became like a wall of the Himalayan mountain—snow-clad Himalayan mountain—like an ice-cold stone. And then he understood: Brahmanandaji became one with that.
===Swami Akhandananda and the Tibetan Yogi===
Even though not directly related, once Gaṅgādhar Mahārāj (Swami Akhandanandaji) saw—he was roaming in the Himalayas—he came across a Tibetan Yogi. The ice was melting all around him, and as soon as he went near, he felt very pleasant heat. The yogi understood and said: "It is not a miracle; there is a special yoga āsana and meditation. I can teach you, and I can teach anybody. If you practise, then any amount of cold will not affect you at all. Even your surroundings become hot. By the same process, the hot surroundings can also become cold."
===The Kita-Bhramaravat Analogy===
So what I wanted to illustrate was: '''''yathā yathā upāste tathā bhavati'''''—"as one intensely thinks, he becomes that one." And there is a familiar Sanskrit phrase for that purpose:

'''कीटो भ्रमरावत्.'''

''kīṭo bhramarāvat.''

"A worm meditating on a wasp becomes like that wasp"—''bhramara''. A worm meditating on ''bhramara'' becomes a ''bhramara''. Of course, it is to mean that because of the fear—because the ''bhramara'' stings, wild bee stings, huge bee—then it is so painful that very fear makes this one become like the ''bhramara''.

Beautiful thoughts—we will talk further 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 Introduction Lecture 42 on 14 June 2026

2026-08-19T14:26:43Z

Gayatri: /* The Chāndogya Upaniṣad Example */

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.'''

''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH

OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.

==Introduction to the Second Chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad==
In our last class, we started the second chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, which is a dialogue between a great knower of Brahman called '''Ajātaśatru''' and a proud brāhmaṇa called '''Gārgya or Bālāki.''' We know the story. This Gārgya was a sincere person but a bit proud—he was a ''brāhmaṇa'' (proud brāhmaṇa). So he thought he knew everything about the ultimate Brahman, the Supreme Brahman (Parabrahman). So he approached—strangely, not Janaka, but this Ajātaśatru—and voluntarily said, "I will teach you about Brahman." Ajātaśatru was very happy even just to hear these words: "I am going to give you one thousand cows. Rarely anybody comes to me." And then Ajātaśatru asks him, "Teach me." And Gārgya immediately started teaching.

He did not know the Supreme Brahman. He knew only '''Saguṇa Brahma''', also called '''Hiraṇyagarbha'''. Who is Hiraṇyagarbha? '''The entire creation is called Hiraṇyagarbha or Īśvara, Saguṇa Brahma—'''where from the living and the non-living, every living creature is manifesting. It is a manifestation of Īśvara. It is not a production of Īśvara like milk is a production of curds, or a pot is the making of a potter, or a baby is given birth by a mother but they remain separate. Unlike that, the clay itself has become a pot. Only in the case of Brahman we have to extend the imagination and say, unlike the making of the pot, Brahman is both the material cause as well as the intelligent cause as well as the instrumental cause. In fact, there is no creation; it is only a manifestation. In fact, according to the highest Advaitic teaching, there is no manifestation of Brahman at all.

If we happen to confront Brahman and ask, "Why did You create this universe?"—instead of "Brahman," we can substitute the word "God." Why did God create this world? Why do we question? We never question if everything is absolutely fine. Only when we find something wrong, especially which is causing me great pain, then only we question. We rarely question even when everyone else is suffering but we are quite satisfied. So, according to Advaita Vedānta, Brahman does not say, "I am going to manifest." This is all an explanation given to ignorant people, people of very small understanding, out of compassion by the scripture, to make us understand. You are absolutely right.
==The Three Vādas: '''सृष्टिदृष्टिवाद'''Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi, '''दृष्टि-सृष्टि-वाद''' Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi, and Ajātavāda ('''अजातवाद''') ==
That is why today I am going to very briefly introduce a new concept to you—not, of course, to other Vedāntins. Earlier I have briefly mentioned about three concepts: Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi, and Ajātavāda.
===Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vādaसृष्टिदृष्टिवाद===
What is Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi? First, there is a creation; then only I am able to experience that creation. First creation, followed by our experience. That is called Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi. And according to our understanding, ''dṛṣṭi'' means seeing, hearing, forming an idea about the object, and acting and reacting, wanting or not wanting, happy or unhappy. This in brief is ''sṛṣṭi''—creation. That means an object is present even before I came across it because there is a creation, and we are able to experience it. But this is for people who think in the waking state that this whole world is real. If you ask them, "Why do you come to this conclusion?"—"It is real because I haven't created it; someone else has created it. I am only experiencing and then reacting to it." Therefore, so long as we cherish the idea that this creation is real, that state in which we think that creation is real is called '''Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda.'''

This is the first stage from where everybody is acting and reacting. In course of time, because of certain experiences—and these experiences are not pleasant but sometimes very, very painful—we start questioning, "What is this creation?" And we find out, if we are thoughtful people, that everything in this world changes. And if something is changing, it is not reliable. If something is not reliable, our quest for something reliable starts. So we start questioning, "Is there a real creation, or is it something I created?"
===Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vādaदृष्टि-सृष्टि-वाद===
How does a person transit from the first stage'''सृष्टिदृष्टि''' (Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi) to '''दृष्टि-सृष्टि'''Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi? Because of these unpleasant suffering experiences. So long as everything is going on fine, within certain limitations, of course—if there is not too much pain, then we won't react. We think this world is very real. But death is real, old age is real, disease is real, poverty is real, suffering is real. So we cannot sustain this idea, but it persists for a long time. That state is indicated by Swamiji's '''उत्तिष्ठत''uttiṣṭhata'''''—"Start thinking, what is this? Is your view that the world is real?" And that world, that creation, also includes "I," "you," everything. Therefore, I thought I am real. If I think the world is real, I am also real. But if I think the world is changing because I am also changing—simultaneously both are changing—and therefore everything is changing, therefore it is unreliable, then we have to start our quest. And what is real? Is there anything that is really real? The person does not get the answer. The answer he gets is that even the '''सृष्टिदृष्टि'''Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi—my thinking, everybody's thinking that this external world, of which I am a part, is real—so long I have been cherishing that idea; but because of these negative experiences, we start questioning.

Then we remember suddenly: practically everyday, every night, we go to bed and have dream experiences. And then we suddenly one day connect: "Oh, when I wake up, this dream vanishes. I never think, nobody ever thinks a dream is an unchanging reality. It is real only so long as it lasts." But when do I recognise that a dream is a dream? A dream is nothing but my own creation. That is an important word you have to remember: it is ''my'' creation. I have been interpreting my memories in an intense imaginary form, and that—I created my own thoughts in a concrete form. Actually, there is no such corresponding reality, but they are also changing; nothing is true. So when I wake up, when I remember my dream, you remember your dream, then you start thinking, "This is my creation."

So, before I went to the dream state (that second state), there was no dream. Then I collected the raw material—all my thoughts, etcetera—and I created, taking some of these thoughts, this particular dream. Maybe in a second dream I might create an entirely new type of dream. Then I remember both dreams; both do not correspond, both are changing, and both are my own creations. Therefore, '''I am the creator. In a sense, this is the summary essence ofदृष्टि-सृष्टि Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi.'''

'''''Dṛṣṭi'' means my thought.''' So when I look at any object in the '''''sṛṣṭi'' (so-called creation by God)''', that is the first time—for a brief momentary experience. Thereafterwards, I start building certain opinions: "I like this, I don't like this, it is sweet, not so sweet, the other one is much sweeter." So like that, I go on forming opinions about every single experience that I have from this world, and thereafterwards I go on reacting according to my own preconceived ideas. "This is a good person, this is an evil person, this is a reliable person, this is a dishonest person, this is ''daiva'' and this is ''āsura''"—etc., etc., etc. And in course of time, we are convinced that because of the way I think, even though the other person does not understand, through intuition he understands: "This person is not showing much love towards me, much liking towards me; he does not love me. In fact, he may be thinking of harming me, trying to give me trouble." And he reacts, which absolutely certifies that my intuition is correct about that person, because his behaviour reinforces what I already know about that person.

So in brief, this is called Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda. Both Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi and Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi are combined in our worldly life. But what we need to understand is that we are not talking about worldly life; we are talking about spiritual progress.
===Progress through Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi===
So when a person first thinks, "This world is real, my body is real, my mind is real. I have some desires. I know what happiness is and what unhappiness is. So I try to fulfill, act in such a way that I try to avoid suffering as much as possible and obtain enjoyment as much as possible." But then he finds that, in spite of his efforts, certain things he cannot avoid, because it is the nature of the world—including his body and mind—to always change. And he slowly, reluctantly accepts, "I am also changeable; my thoughts are changeable." This is the first step in '''दृष्टि-सृष्टि''' Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda.

Then he realises, suddenly one day, he becomes a bit more wise, and then he says, "If I can develop a particular framework through which I can see the world, then I can make my mind much more calmer and joyous, in spite of what exists as unchangeable fact." So in the midst of, for example, evil people, "Okay, let them do what they like, but I will not be a puppet in their hands. I will not react according to their expectation. I will keep the frame of my mind in a particular way so that I try to prevent what is harmful that is contemplated by others, or I think they are trying to do it, or actually do it. But then I myself will look upon them as the result of my own ''karmaphala''." He becomes more calm. And whenever any event of joy occurs, let him enjoy it to the full, not comparing, "Last time this sweet was much better; this time it is rotten." No—last time was last time, this time is this time.

So when a spiritual aspirant attains what is called insight, then he understands: whatever be the world externally, I can keep my mind to a great extent very peaceful by my changed outlook. This is what psychologists call CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy). CBT does not change anything outside; it is not absolutely true. As my behaviour changes, there will be some changes in many people correspondingly—that is very true. So people also react to my action or to my reaction. So if I can go on very calm, joyful, helpful, unselfish, with a positive outlook on life, especially belief in God, then I understand, irrespective of what the world is, I can feel I am living in a higher world. This is, in a sense, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda. This is a great progress in spiritual life.

Then in course of time, that also is not possible because how long am I going to go on dealing with this mind in this way? I want to go beyond the mind. So many commentators (bhāṣyakāras) have compared Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda to the waking state—that is for whom the external world is the only reality. For those who are more advanced, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda is comparable to the dream. Since I am the owner of the dream, I am the creator of this external world—that is my own thoughts, my outlook (''dṛṣṭi'') is going to change everything in the outside world so far as I am concerned, because it is an individual experience only. How Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to look upon the world, how many priests used to look upon the world, is totally different. I will give some examples also later on.

But even ''svapna'' (dream) is changing, and there also some unhappy experiences will be there. No dream will be always very sweet—only dreaming of ''svargaloka'' (higher worlds)—no. So how can I want to be always happy? '''Therefore, taking our three states of experience one after the other: waking first, corresponding to Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda; Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda corresponding to the dream state; and Ajātavāda, which corresponds to deep sleep (dreamless sleep, ''Suṣupti Avasthā'').'''
===सुषुप्ति[Suṣupti] and अजातवाद [Ajātavāda]===
Why is it called'''सुषुप्ति ''Suṣupti'''''? Because not even an iota, a trace of body and mind, intrudes there to create any sort of problems. When we forget our body-mind, which is the whole of the external world—so to say—so long as I have one eye, one-fifth of the world is real in the way of forms. So long as I can hear, another one-fifth of the world is present in the form of sound. If anybody is bereft of these five sense organs, the whole external world disappears, but the mind remains. But in ''Suṣupti'', even that mind also disappears. Therefore, when a person says, "I am not aware of anything," we have to understand it correctly: I am not aware of the mind and the body, but I am aware of a particular state where there is no second so long as it lasts, and it is the most peaceful. I am the only one. Since I am the only one, happiness and unhappiness, fear and fearlessness—''sukha-duḥkha, bhaya-abhaya, śītoṣṇa''—they do not affect me at all. When I am free from these dualities, I am my own self. I remain as my own self.

Even though this is not the highest state, it is the nearest to the higher state. That is why the '''समष्टि''' '''cosmic aspect of everybody's ''suṣupti'' is called Īśvara,''' and the '''individual aspect(व्यष्टि) is called very beautifully ''ājña'' or ''prajña''.''' But we should not misunderstand: "I did not know" does not mean "I was unconscious." No, I was very conscious that I am alone; there is no body-mind. The absence of the body-mind I note down. I don't even say—I cannot even say—that the world is absent, because there is no world at all. I am not aware of the world at all. I am not aware of the body and mind. I am aware of only one unbroken ''cidābhāsa''—pure consciousness: "I am, I am." The problem is this also changes, even though it lasts longer. But so long as we are there, so '''''sukham aham asvāpsam (सुखमहमस्वाप््सम्)'''''. Even if a tiger, one hundred tigers surrounded me and played with me, throwing me like a volleyball from one side to the other—so long as I am in that deep sleep state, I am blissful.

In this connection, I remember the life of '''Ramana Maharshi'''. Bhagavān used to say that his sleep was very, very deep, and when he was awake, nobody could wrestle with him, beat him, or become a stronger player than him. He was the best player in everything because he concentrated on his mind. Some of the boys were very resentful, but they knew they could not beat him. Even if they came to fight, he was going to throw them out. He was very strong. But then they soon found out a secret: when this boy called Ramana goes to deep sleep, it is a very peculiar deep sleep—such a deep, deep sleep that they used to carry him, punch him, and do all sorts of things. And he, Ramana Bhagavān, used to narrate: "I did not know a single thing"—that means he was not feeling. And when I used to wake up—because the boys used to bring me back and put me exactly where I was sleeping—happily I would get up and say, "I went to bed on this bed and I woke up on this bed; nothing had ever taken place." Now, sometimes I have these doubts: what about all the punchings he received? Fortunately, Ramana Maharshi does not remember anything because nobody could really give such a punch that it would hurt even after he woke up. That was a very peculiar experience.

Some fortunate people like Swami Vivekananda used to sleep with two types of divine visions for some time. As soon as he laid himself on bed, Narendra used to see a small ''jyoti'' (light) growing brighter and brighter, and his personality used to merge in it, and he did not know what happened after that. Second, he used to feel, "I am a wandering monk all the time, totally dependent upon God." But he used to feel, "I am the king of this world. I can do whatever I like. I can get whatever I want. I can attain whatever I set my mind upon. But next second, I rely only upon God." And with that second vision, he used to fall asleep for a long time. Narendranath thought everybody used to sleep in the same way. Only when Rāmakṛṣṇa questioned him, he came to know that that is not the truth. So these are peculiar experiences of great people (''mahāpuruṣas'').

Therefore, what we are talking here is that when a person makes progress, he soon realises that even though it is my own outlook on the world, that alone is reality for me because I am acting and reacting according to my opinions—whether they are right or wrong, we are not talking. Therefore, who formed these opinions? Myself. And if I have formed these opinions, I also have the capacity to form them in the way I like, in the way I can experience unbroken happiness, unbroken bliss—meaning only sweet dreams, happy dreams, beautiful dreams. That is a great progress in spiritual life. That is what I think Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to say: when a person's ''kuṇḍalinī'' reaches the Anāhata chakra, thereafter progresses until he reaches the Ājñā chakra, higher and higher experiences will be there. There are also different stages, but we are not going to talk about them.
===Summary of the Two Stages===
'''So the second one is दृष्टि-सृष्टि वाद Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda''', where the importance is my action and reaction, my opinion about the world. In the first one (Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi), the world is primary. '''In the second, I can change my opinion, and if I can change it to a very positive, happy opinion, then I can experience—irrespective of conditions outside and in my body and mind—only positive experiences.''' This is a great progress in spiritual life. This is called thinking the whole world is a dream. Until that time, any amount of lectures, hearing the lectures, or reading books is not going to help us. We have to identify, and that is a state of experience. Until we experience, we are still in the Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi stage only, not the Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi stage. But slowly we realise about this.

In my last class I have explained how '''Swami Saradānandaji''' had described this so fantastically well. You will do well if you can go through that, because there are more details there than what I have outlined. I only gave you the summary of how a sādhaka can reach the highest realization through both the paths of ''iti iti'' and ''neti neti''. But it is not a choice—"I will choose neti neti from the very beginning without going through iti iti." '''I have to transform the world through this Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda, and this transformation is called controlling the mind (''cittavṛtti-nirodha'')[योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोध | Samadhi Pada || 1.2 ||patanjali yoga sutras].''' This transformation is called s'''ubduing demonic qualities and developing divine qualities''', so beautifully enumerated in the '''sixteenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gītā.'''

But the progress has not been complete, s'''o we have to go still further, and that is called Ajātavāda.'''
===Eka-Jīva Vāda and Ajātavāda===
By the way, even this Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda also indicates to us another fantastic idea, about which Swami Vivekananda only remarks very simply, very rarely. '''It is called Eka-Jīva Vāda, in contrast to Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda.''' What is the difference? In Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda theory, my opinion about the world is real. There are infinite numbers of beings; everyone is separate from everyone else. If somebody is going and experiencing, that is only that individual's experience; others are not affected by it. That is called Aneka-Jīva Vāda—as many creatures, so many ''jīvas''. In contrast, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda means that if I become unconscious, the whole world becomes unconscious—all those Aneka-Jīvas, infinite numbers of ''jīvas'', various classes of ''jīvas'' having varying qualities. Some are gods, some are semi-demigods, some are ''rākṣasas''.

As I mentioned, there are '''four types of people'''. The l'''owest class want to kill everybody''', rob everybody, and try to be happy. The '''third class say, "Live and let live.''' We don't believe in God, but we believe that if I let you live, you will also let me live. I scratch your back, you scratch my back." This is the outlook of the third class. But when the same ''jīva'' progresses further, h'''e enters into the second class, where he believes in God and in the scriptures.''' But even though he says he believes in the scriptures and God, he wants only something from God—'''he does not want God''', '''he wants certain things from God, i'''ncluding not only enjoyment on this earth but higher happiness in the higher worlds. That is what he wants to have. So these are much better; '''they are more moral, and they do not try to harm'''. They also understand they must acquire '''virtue (''puṇyam'')''' in order to attain higher happiness both in this world and after death in higher worlds. So they have faith in God, faith in the scriptures, faith in the prescriptions of the scriptures, faith in the '''''Karma-kāṇḍa''''' of the Vedas, and they perform—'''because the best of faith is its practice.''' If anybody says, "I have faith," but does not practice, that is merely worthless, useless belief—not faith at all.

So this is how the second-class people have faith: "I want higher happiness." Their minds have not yet evolved further, so they think they will be quite happy if they can get even the highest happiness in this dualistic world, which is termed as '''Brahmaloka.''' So they perform ''agnihotra'', ''pūjā'', worship, chanting of mantras, and visiting places of pilgrimage, etcetera. And they get the result. Once they get the result, their faith in the scriptures becomes enormously reinforced, and when it becomes reinforced, an inner eye opens up and says: "The same scripture which is telling me to perform the rituals as prescribed in the ''Karmakāṇḍa'' (the action portion of the first part of the Vedas) '''is also talking about the eternal, unbroken, highest happiness called ''Brahmananda''''' that can be attained. Why should I go on working like a donkey '''if once I realise Brahman, then I can be happy for eternity—highest happiness, unbroken happiness, infinite happiness for infinite time?" They belong to the first-class people.'''

This is what I said about the four types of people. Now, this person who is firmly convinced, trying to control his mind and '''purify his ''dṛṣṭi'',''' so that he can '''view the ''sṛṣṭi'' in a much higher light—this is called morality. T'''his is called '''समदर्शित्व'''''s'''amadarśitva'''''—seeing the whole world as equal to one's own self—and this corresponds to the ''Dharmananda'', the fourth stage of ''ānanda'', and that is only one step lower to ''Brahmananda''. Then the person, by the law of evolution, slowly understands: "Any amount of effort will not do." So he approaches a competent teacher, and he also tries to become a competent student. The teacher understands: "If there is a small defect, I will try to help them remove that defect"—'''as Prajāpati had done to both Indra and Virocana.''' But Virocana could not be reformed. Does not Prajāpati know it? He knows it, but "let him experience." But he will also be an Indra-like sometime in the future, because suffering will bring, like no other thing, to the feet of God. So that person had to wait for some time, but he would be evolving—no doubt about it. But Indra slowly was being purged of his impurities.
===The Chāndogya Upaniṣad Example===
In the same way, we are talking about Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda. So '''Virocana was a follower of Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda:''' "Make everything proper, rest properly, eat properly, enjoy properly, and that is all; nothing else is there." These are called Cārvākas or materialists. But Indra at first thought like that, so he must have gone through this stage. Because the Chāndogya Upaniṣad in the eighth chapter does not tell us, but my interpretation would be: Indra returned home, enjoyed bodily happiness, found his quest was not fulfilled. Then he came back again, and further purification was necessary—another thirty-two years, like that three times. '''Then he was told the second: "The whole world is like a dream." That corresponds roughly to Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda.''' But '''even that Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda is not complete;''' there also changes will be there. Therefore again Indra came back, and another thirty-two years. Then he thought '''Prajāpati taught him the third highest stage—that is called Eka-Jīva Vāda''': '''in ''Suṣupti'', I am alone'''. When I remove my mind, the entire world disappears. I am the only one who is present. I am the only ''jīva''. Why do I call myself as a ''jīva''? '''Because I have not become really enlightened and not realised my true nature; therefore, I am still a ''jīva''.''' But fortunately, from infinite numbers of ''jīvas'', I progressed to one ''jīva'' in Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda stage.

So this person wants to experience and move further. Then he analyses his deep sleep state, which corresponds to '''Ajātavāda.''' So long as we are in deep sleep state, no world exists. I am only conscious of my own pure self without a second. Therefore, when there is no second, there are no dualities like happiness and unhappiness, heat and cold, victory and defeat, profit and loss. All these will totally disappear in deep sleep state, and there is unbroken bliss so long as it lasts. And I am conscious of it—that is why, without being conscious, I cannot say, "I was very happy." So '''''sukham aham asvāpsam (सुखमहमस्वाप््सम्)'''''—"I slept very happily throughout the deep sleep state." '''''Na kiñcid avediṣam न किञ्चित्आवेदिषं''—'''"I did not know anything about this world."['''Vichara sagaram in sanskrit ,dvitiya taranga, passage 97titled swayam prakashepi brahmanyagyanopapatti''',purvapaksha in commentary] And this utterance comes only after the world comes into view upon waking up. But this analysis makes this sādhaka understand: probably like this deep sleep state, I was never born; the world never existed; maybe I am mistaking it. So there is no creation, there is no ''jīva'', there is no ''baddha'' (bound soul), there is no effort for liberation, and there is nobody who becomes liberated. In the second chapter of the '''Māṇḍūkya Kārikā, I''' think '''verse number thirty-two, we get this'''

'''न निरोधो न चोत्पत्तिर्न बद्धो न च साधकः ।'''

'''न मुमुक्षुर्न वै मुक्त इत्येषा परमार्थता ॥'''

na nirodho na cotpattirna baddho na ca sādhakaḥ |

na mumukṣurna vai mukta ityeṣā paramārthatā || 32 ||

32. ''There is no dissolution, no birth, none in bondage, none aspiring for wisdom, no seeker of liberation and none liberated. This is the absolute truth.''

'''. So this is called Ajātavāda.'''

'''Gauḍapāda,''' by the way, is a proponent of Ajātavāda. But in order to confirm—because the deep sleep breaks and he wakes up—by the time he surrenders, he takes the shelter at the feet of an enlightened soul, and then he understands slowly. ''Mahāvākya'': "There is no world, there is no ''sṛṣṭi'', there is no ''dṛṣṭi'', there is no Eka-Jīva." What remains is Ajātavāda. ''Vāda'' means opinion, but that opinion has to be transformed into a realization. So slowly, through ''viveka'' (discrimination), ''vairāgya'' (dispassion), ''ṣaṭ-sampatti'' (the six-fold wealth), and ''mumukṣutva'' (intense desire for liberation)—all the required qualifications to become a fit recipient—he receives the great mantra called ''Mahāvākya''. Either of the Mahāvākyas:

* '''''Prajñānam Brahma''''' — Consciousness is Brahman.'''(प्रज्ञानं ब्रह्म)(Aitareya Upanishad 3.3 of the Rig Veda)'''
* '''''Ayam Ātmā Brahma''''' — This Ātman is Brahman.'''अयम् आत्मा ब्रह्म(Mandukya Upanishad 1.2 of the Atharva Veda)'''
* ''T'''at tvam asi''''' — You are That."['''तत् त्वम् असि''']['''''Tat tvam asi] Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7 of the Sama Veda, and of course'''''
* '''''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi''''' — I am Brahman '''(अहं ब्रह्मास्मि)''' — which comes in this very Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, in this very first chapter, which we will see later on. '''आत्मैवेदंइदंआसीत्त''' etc । '''अहं ब्रह्मास्मीति''' ,atmaivedamiiadam aseet tadatmanamevavet.aham brahmasmi iti]et'''c''' ''Brihadaranyaka Upanishad'''''1.4.10 of Yajur veda'''

'''''Prajñānaṃ Brahma'', ''Ayamātmā Brahma'', ''Tat tvam asi'' (famous), ''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi'' (no'''t so famous in this Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad; we have seen that one in the very first chapter, fourth section). So then he realises one day, and then he realises: creation is not real.
===The Highest Realization===
Creation—if I put on black spectacles, then Brahman appears as black. If I remove the black spectacles, Brahman appears as He is. So if I put on the spectacles of ''nāma-rūpa'' (name and form), I see the same Brahman with name and form; minus the spectacles of name and form, I see Brahman as He is. So if I am able to see the world but as Brahman, that is called the '''state of a living free soul (''jīvanmukta'').'''

So these are the stages. '''This highest Ajātavāda is the highest.''' Now, which one is correct? That is a wrong question. Depending upon at what stage of development we are: if we think Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi, then the Karma Siddhānta will work out. If you want to lessen the suffering, follow the teachings of the scriptures and try to remove selfishness and immorality, and try to treat others with sympathy and unselfishness, and then your life will be as happy as possible. But rebirth cannot be avoided, and the opposite of happiness also cannot be avoided. But the same thing applies to Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda also. Even in dreams, we have both happy and unhappy experiences. So when we wake up, we understand by analysing the dream: maybe the world is like this only.

This is the sum and substance of '''Swami Saradānandaji's''' explanation of how a man attains to the highest through the path of ''iti iti''. So through the path of ''iti iti'', slowly he progresses, and then he enters into Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda. '''He creates his own dream of ''Iṣṭadevatā'' (chosen deity) and attributes several qualities'''—each quality is a spiritual quality, and every spiritual quality when it is acquired makes us one step higher than what we have before, or one step subtler, higher, more pervading. So that is how '''then he comes to analyse the deep sleep state: Eka-Jīva'''—"I am the only one; I create the entire world. So I am the creator." So when we analyse that, we say: so long as we see that '''in deep sleep, there is no world at all, there is no one ''jīva'', there are no many ''jīvas'''''—they all belong to the higher stage of dream state. Then what ''vāda'' remains? '''Ajātavāda—pure Ajātavāda. So''' there is no creation at all.

At first it is a theory, but later on it becomes an experience by the grace of the Guru, which is really the grace of God, which is really the grace of the scriptures. Guru, scriptures, and grace—they are not separate. This is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa meant: ''Bhāgavata'' (scripture), ''bhakta'' (true devotee—the Guru), ''Bhagavān'' (God)—they become one. That is how we have to understand. Only when a person realises can he say, "I am the bhakta." A real bhakta means a realised soul.

So this analysis of the deep sleep state (''Suṣupti'') brings us to the intellectual understanding that there is no world, and therefore it is called Ajātavāda—"there was no creation." But that intellectual conviction has to be transformed into actual realization. When one takes shelter at the feet of the Sadguru, slowly he will progress, and one day, like the Guru, he can say, "'''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi."''' The Guru will be rejoiced: "A big burden has gone from me; I don't need to worry about this person."
==Conclusion==
So we have to keep in mind these th'''ree beautiful opinions (''vādas''—faiths, actually):'''

1. The world is real—this is meant for believers in the reality of the external world '''(Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi).'''

2. The world is my own construct—this is for believers after analysing the dream state '''(Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi).'''

3. I am the one who creates the whole dream world; therefore, I am the only ''jīva'' '''(Eka-Jīva).'''

But when the same person progresses further and tries to analyse the deep sleep state, '''then he understands that there is no creation at all, and when it is transformed into realization, he understands Brahman, and Brahman alone is the only reality.'''

== 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 1.1-3 Lecture 43 on 20 June 2026

2026-08-18T15:13:19Z

Gayatri:

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.'''

''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH

OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.

==Introduction to the Second Chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad==
So we are studying the second chapter of the second section of the second chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. We know this story. A young brāhmaṇa, well learned but limited in his learning, comes voluntarily to teach about Brahman. He did not say that he was going to teach only the Saguṇa Brahma, a limited Brahma. But he thought that is the complete Brahman. So he came to a king called Ajātaśatru and volunteered himself: "I will teach you about Brahman."
===Ajātaśatru: The Knower of Brahman===
Ajātaśatru was a knower of Brahman, both Saguṇa and Nirguṇa. How did he attain? Because he also had to follow the same footsteps. How do we know? Because he is teaching the same—that means what he practised earlier. In order to reach the peak of self-knowledge, now to Gārgya who required to take the same steps, Ajātaśatru, being a very great teacher, recognised where Gārgya was and he wanted to take him further. Why? Because he found Gārgya sincere. He thought he knew everything.
===Sincerity and Śraddhā===
Sincerity—''śraddhā''—is the most important quality. If that is there, other things lacking,they can be obtained. But every other quality is there and ''śraddhā'' is lacking, then that person cannot be taught, cannot go up; he can only go down because pride and jealousy and so many other things will come—arrogance, etc.—and we have to add ''kāma'', ''krodha'', lust, anger, greed, etc., also will be accompanying them. But then Gārgya with a good mind came. Ajātaśatru recognised him as a fit person to be taught. Otherwise, no great teacher will ever waste his time on pupils whom he considers as unfit—not out of hatred, but not to waste either's time.
===The Humble Approach===
So Ajātaśatru wanted Gārgya to realise the limitation of his knowledge. So very humbly, with humility, he said, "Sir, I am so happy that at least you came volunteering to teach me. That information made me very happy. So even just for that information, even if you do not teach me any further, I am offering you a ''dakṣiṇā'' of one thousand cows. And then please teach me."

So Gārgya immediately started. This is how he categorically and explicitly expresses: "I did upāsanā—'''''upāse āditya'''''—in the sun I have worshipped Brahman, that authenticity I have worshipped." I am not telling you like a scholar, but of course he did not know his limitation.
===The First Step to Progress===
'''So the first step to progress in learning is to realise how limited we are.''' Then only the desire will come. If anybody says, "I know everything," he cannot go further. Not only that, he will go down. But if anybody says, "I know my limitations, I am sitting by the side of the sea. Any thirsty traveller happens to come by, I just serve him a cup of sea water, so it never gets exhausted." Of course, we have to understand "sea water" means a great river. Nobody will knowingly give salty water to a thirsty person.
===The More We Learn, the Humbler We Become===
So the more learning—'''''vidyā dadāti vinayam'''''—the more we learn, the more humble we become. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa asks M: "Will you find any ego in me?" And M—he was not a fool, he was not a fan, he was not an irrational person; he was a truthful person—said, "No, sir. I have never seen any trace of egotism." Then, out of ignorance, he volunteers to add: "But you have kept a little bit of ego for the purpose of enjoying God's sportive actions in this world." Immediately, the correction comes from Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa: "No, I have not kept. It is God who kept—Divine Mother who kept."
===The River and the Ocean===
Why did Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa say that? I gave you illustrations many a time. When a river, for example Gaṅgā, merges into the ocean—'''''nāma-rūpe vihāya'''''—it loses all its name, form, colour, taste, and becomes one with the ocean. Thereafter, it will be known only by the name "ocean." You cannot do—take a torchlight and then see, "Let me see where is this Gaṅgā River, former Gaṅgā River?" No.

So when a person enters into Nirvikalpa Samādhi, that is, achieves complete identity with Brahman, there is no individual thereafter. It is not like our going entering into Suṣupti and coming out. This is a permanent process. Then God still preserves that particular individual's body and mind and keeps a little bit of egotism to work through that instrument for the good of the entire world—'''''sarva-maṅgala'''''. That is the purpose of Jīvanmuktas.
===The Purpose of Jīvanmuktas===
Because as Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says, the Divine Mother does not allow a Bhāgavata Paṇḍita to become a monk. Not that a monk should not become a Bhāgavata Paṇḍita. But ''worldly'' people are made with great talent. Some of the great expounders of '''Rāmacaritamānasa'''—thousands of people will go. There is one '''Rāmakiṅkar'''. He is very famous. Even in the Western countries, even in London, 40,000 people will gather whenever he holds '''''Rāma-kathā'''''. It is a special power, and he was an upāsaka of—he is an upāsaka of Añjaneya.
===God Keeps the Individuality===
So it is God who keeps that. So that same God has kept—if Ajātaśatru knows "I am Brahman," that means he became Brahman, that means he experienced '''Nirvikalpa Samādhi.''' Still the individuality is there for the good of the world, and this is one instance we are discussing. So he understands this boy—student apt student, sincere, but he does not know he has to progress further. So for that purpose, he wants to take him to higher steps, through higher steps.
===The Purpose of Upāsanas===
And the purpose of the different upāsanas with different qualities that are enumerated by Ajātaśatru to Gārgya is for the purpose of making this Gārgya go through the same process as he himself has gone—out of one's own experience the person is teaching.
===The Need for Practice===
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says it is not true that through intellectual knowledge any other science can be taught. Physics, maths—everything—but this Brahma-vidyā, spiritual knowledge, or even ''dharma'', moral science, cannot be taught by anybody excepting those who practise morality. And in some other things also, a music teacher who does not know how to sing, who is not aware of different ''rāgas'', etc., and familiar with what is called the Rhythms ''tālas''—''ek-tāla'', ''tīn-tāla'', ''jhap-tāla'', etc.—he also cannot really teach.
===The Cuckoo's Voice===
That is why Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa specifically says simply saying "''ṣa-ri-ga-ma-pa-dha-ni''" will not help. A person goes on practising; he knows by hearing the sound—this is in this particular ''svara'', ''pañcama-svara''. So our Indian poets have said whenever the cuckoo sings, it tries to sing with its bird's throat. It is called '''''pañcama-svara''.''' Only a few birds can make such a thing. A musician knows every ''svara'' the moment he hears it, and whenever he utters it, it would be perfect. How do we know? It matches with the sound given by harmonium or even ''tablā'', etc.
===Ajātaśatru as the Teacher===
So Ajātaśatru was kept by God for this purpose, like Yājñavalkya was kept, and Gārgya was a sincere student. So at first, out of ignorance, he did not understand. So Ajātaśatru accepted his teachership and said only with the purpose that "you are okay what you did, but you have to do further contemplations, meditations. And I will tell you what you have to do."
===The Twelve Upāsanas===
This is going to be the process. And twelve such upāsanas were practised by Gārgya with only particular qualities superimposed on Brahman. So every quality is superimposed as one part of the quality of one particular deity, presiding deity, not knowing that all the presiding deities are nothing but parts of Hiraṇyagarbha—so popularly known as Saguṇa Brahma or even Īśvara.
===The Result of Upāsana===
And whenever Gārgya says "I meditated"—because he says '''''upāse'''''—"I practised this meditation, and the result also I got." What is the result he got? Let me complete it here. So for any upāsana, '''two results can come'''. One is called worldly '''''sakāma-phala'';''' another is called '''''niṣkāma-phala'''''. When a person desires through this, "May I become rich, may I become well known, may I have control over my body and mind," etc., he will get that particular quality within himself. But there are so many other spiritual qualities to be acquired. Now Ajātaśatru wants to help Gārgya to develop the other qualities as well, and only a person who contains all these spiritual qualities—called '''''Daivī-sampat'''''—then he becomes a '''''yogya'' or fit ''adhikārī'',''' endowed with qualities, ready to take up the PhD course.
===The PhD Course===
So that is how I think it is a beautiful word—PhD course. What is PhD? Permanent head damage—in our case. What is this permanent head damage? Permanently the head—the ''ahaṅkāra'', the head of the snake, virulent poisonous snake called egotism, that ''-ism''—will be completely cut off. Not ego. ''-ism''—expressions, wrong expressions of ego is called egotism, egoism, etc. That is identifying—forgetting one's identification with one's true nature called Brahman and thinking "I am a mosquito, I am a mouse, I am a man," etc., "I am a scholar, I am a brāhmaṇa," etc., etc.
===The Final Goal===
So this is what Ajātaśatru, the Sadguru, wanted to guide Gārgya. That is the story of how he finally guides Gārgya so that Gārgya also realises that like my Guru, I also am none other than Brahman. In fact, there is nothing called '''''śiṣya'' and Guru'''—both nothing called the world. Everything is Brahma—'''''sarvaṃ khalvidaṃ Brahma''.'''
===The Teaching Begins===
So Gārgya started teaching, and that teaching is what he did as contemplation on different deities. Those things have been enumerated in twelve ''ślokas'' beginning with the second, ending with the thirteenth. And at every stage, every upāsana, Ajātaśatru adds either one or two or three more than what Gārgya had already known. Thus he makes him a fit disciple, and then only he takes him to the higher step. All these are just preparations. Now I will give you real teaching.
===The Real Teaching===
What was the teaching? We see it later on. Ajātaśatru takes Gārgya by hand and finds a sleeping person—deeply asleep—and first calls him by '''three names: Bṛhat, Rājan, Somaḥ, etc.''' But the person did not listen because he was in deep sleep. T'''hen he shakes him'''—that did not wake him up. T'''hen Ajātaśatru shakes him violently.''' Then suddenly the deep sleep is broken, and that is the incident.
===The Three States===
Taking that incident, Ajātaśatru now takes Gārgya by hand and says: "Now here is a person. So he is not in the waking state, he is not in dream state, and he also was in the deep sleep state, but did not know 'I am in deep sleep state.' So who is this person? Is he the waker? Is he the dreamer? Or is he the sleeper?" Because these three states rotate one after the other—first waking, then dreaming, then deep sleep. Of course, you can start from any state. So, from dream to deep sleep to waking, or from deep sleep to waking to dream, and back again to deep sleep. It does not matter.
===The Constant Experiencer===
But what is important is every time the person is in one particular state, for example in waking state, he does not say "I am a dreamer." He does not say "I am a sleeper." He says "I am the waker." But as soon as he enters into the dream state, then he says "I am the dreamer." And when he is in deep sleep, then he knows "I am in deep sleep." Again, it is changing. '''But one person is undergoing three different types of experiences,''' each one totally separate reality from the other realities. Therefore, this person must be somebody, because the '''experiencer is always different from the experience.'''
===The Final Realisation===
And then slowly Gārgya realises, through continuing his higher ways of sādhana, finally realises: "I am none of these states—I am Brahman." And a curious thing happens when a person knows—he does not claim as we describe in the scriptures or read in the scriptures: "Oh, I thought I was the waker. I thought I was the dreamer. I thought I was a deep sleeper." No, these thoughts do not come at all. Why? Because there is no body, there is no mind, there is no '''''sthūla-śarīra'',''' there is no '''''sūkṣma-śarīra'',''' there is no '''''kāraṇa-śarīra'''''. And when these three instruments are not there, the experiences of those instruments also vanish along with the disappearance of the experiencer.
===The Fundamental Principle of Vedānta===
So the fundamental principle of Vedānta: an experiencer is not any experience, any object of experience. And whatever qualities an experience—an object—possesses does not belong to the experiencer. If a mango is sweet and flavourful, that flavour and sweetness belong to the mango, not to the person at all. He may enjoy it, but he knows "I am not the mango." Similarly, I am not the waker, I am not the dreamer, I am not the deep sleeper. That is the conclusion, and this we have elaborately discussed in the past, especially in the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad.
==The Three Vādas Revisited==
Not only that, in my last class I had referred to this and connected with '''Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda, and Ajātavāda.''' Just to recollect the essence of what I said.
===Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda===
So long as a person thinks "I am the gross body," he thinks "I am the waker." To think "I am the waker" means "I am the gross body, and this whole world exists. And it is not created by me; it is created by God. And this is the reality—not unreal, this complete reality." And he acts, he reacts, he thinks, he desires what he thinks as the real reality. All his life he spends like that. So for those for whom this world is real, including his body and mind, for them Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda is that stage of spiritual development, and the scripture prescribes certain disciplines emphasising that birth is full of these sixfold changes: birth, growth, youth, old age, disease, death. So, everything in this world is continuously changing. Therefore, that which is changing is not the definition of Brahman. ''Sat'' means ''satyam''. ''Satyam'' means that which never changes.
===Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda===
After a lot of both happiness and unhappiness, the person wakes up, then he becomes thoughtful, he develops the capacity to think, and then he recollects everyday dreams—any dream—and says: "So long as I was dreaming, I thought that that state alone is the highest reality. But as soon as I changed my perception, my identity—for example, I came back to wakefulness—then the whole dream state disappeared like mist in the hot summer season. Then everything is changing—every day a new dream. Therefore... the whole world might it not be that the whole world is also like a dream?" Remember, only for the person who has reached this state of higher thinking: "Might it not be that the whole world is also my own creation, my own imagination made real through too much of concreteness, superimposing?" And slowly he understands that what God I thought created is not God's creation. It is my creation—my ''dṛṣṭi'', my experience, my understanding, my opinion.
===The Illustration of a Person===
I gave the illustration also. When you first meet a person, your understanding of that person is very limited. You may think he is a very good person, very jolly, very sociable, smiling, and paying attention to you. But the nearer you come, you might develop: "Oh, this person, he criticises everybody. He thinks he knows better than everybody else." As your experiences become more and more, your understanding—that you think—what how you understand that person becomes more convincing, and what the real person is. So slowly, slowly, your opinion about that person becomes a reality of that person, not knowing that your ''dṛṣṭi'' has created that person. He is neither good, really speaking, nor bad.
===Eka-Jīva Vāda===
And then when this person progresses further, he understands: "I see the whole world. I see so many people in the waking state. And the same thing I see in dream. This multiple objects, this infinite—almost infinite—number of objects, they are all my own creation. Because what I choose, it will appear in front of me. So therefore, I am the only Jīva." So you are only my creation through Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda. Just as I go on changing my opinion about any object in accordance with my experiences, so also it is I who am creating and recreating every object in this world. Every minute somebody smiles at me—I recreate him: "He is a very good person." If he praises me: "Oh, he is a wonderful person, very sweet person, very truthful person"—because it pleases me. And if he displeases me: "Horrendous person, I do not want to see his face again, her face again," etc.
===Ajātavāda===
So what is the third one? That there is only one Jīva—Eka-Jīva Vāda. And then when the—this is for a person who analyses the dream state. Then he comes to the third stage where there is no mind, much less the world, no body consciousness, almost like a blank, there is no world, and he understands: "As I see no world in deep sleep state, so also this world is never created." He progresses. Each is a progress in spiritual life, and as man progresses, his concept of reality or God also changes. As Swami Vivekananda says: "As man grows, God also grows." That means our understanding, our true understanding about God also grows.
===The Final Stage===
So this is how these three states are equated, depending upon with which state we consider as real. And then the final stage is: all these three states—neither Ajātavāda, nor Eka-Jīva Vāda, nor Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda, nor Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda—these thoughts do not arise at all in the deep sleep state. So they are all constructs of the mind—thoughts in the mind. And then he understands that whatever I am experiencing is not me because I am experiencing multiple objects. But the experiencer of these multiple objects is only me alone. And with that he understands. Slowly he progresses. One day he understands that I neither create nor destroy, there is no multiplicity, and there is no change. I am Brahman.
===The Jīvanmukta's Double Vision===
Only when God brings his mind down, he becomes a Jīvanmukta. Then he has a double vision. First of all, he sees a person as he is, but he also knows this is only an appearance. He sees both the reality and the appearance. It is very important for us to understand because a Jīvanmukta does not simply become negligent of helping people. And how can you help people if you think everybody is Brahman? No, he shows an example: "I know you are Brahman, but I also know you do not know Brahman. But I will help you in whatever way I can—physically, intellectually, philosophically, spiritually. When you are ready, I am also ready, like a mirror reflects."
===The Four Stages Are Not Mere Philosophy===
So this is what the Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda, Eka-Jīva Vāda, and Ajātavāda—they are not two philosophers sitting and discussing, but every spiritual person progresses through these stages until finally he says: "There is no experiencer, there is no experienced—both become coalesced. I am one without a second." Of course, he does not say this. We are saying this through our mind. This is going to be the development.
===Gārgya's Progress===
So Gārgya started teaching from the second mantra onwards, and every time he says "I did this upāsana"—that means "I know this upāsana." That means "I got the result of this upāsana." The king said: "What you have done so far is excellent, but there are also other aspects of the same sun, same moon, same lightning, same wind, etc. And I will take you through them. Since you are already an expert in doing upāsana, it should not take a long time for you to do upāsana."
===The Need to Pass Lower Classes===
So as Ajātaśatru goes on expanding the upāsanas—the ''viśiṣṭa-guṇas'', special qualities, spiritual qualities—Gārgya also must have practised. Though the Upaniṣad does not tell us, it goes on. This is the second mantra, this is the third mantra, but we have to understand this: unless a person had completed his Class A, he would not be allowed to enter into Class B. So the same teacher may be from Class One to Class Six—he may be teaching the same teacher. So what he teaches to the second class or third class will not be taught to Class One. We have to understand because the teacher is not an individual; it is God Himself. He knows the capacity, and until the pupil successfully passes the lower classes, higher knowledge will not be given.
===Between the Mantras===
And this is what we have to presume here and insert here—that between two mantras the person has been made. How much time it took? Of course, the Upaniṣad does not tell because time is not important, but we also have to go through the same process. So this person, Gārgya, says—and then every time the king adds: "You better also do contemplation on this quality or qualities"—up to the thirteenth mantra. Twelve upāsanas were enumerated which were practised by Gārgya, and every time Ajātaśatru teaches him new upāsanas, and we have to understand that Gārgya must have practised and obtained the same result as Ajātaśatru because the teaching is—as we think, so we become.
===The Progress Made===
We will come to that. So up to the thirteenth mantra, twelve separate upāsanas with either one second upāsana (greater upāsana) added, or more than one. We will come to that very briefly. This is the progress made, and at the end of the thirteenth, Gārgya understood that "my knowledge is very little—even after knowing Hiraṇyagarbha, this is not going to give me liberation. I will have to go beyond Hiraṇyagarbha and do directly Brahmopāsana." And then Ajātaśatru takes him through those steps also until Gārgya also can say with Ajātaśatru: '''"''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi''."'''
===The Development Ahead===
This is going to be the development. So I will just read the first mantra, and thereafter I am going to only take the essence. You can read the mantras yourselves and then come to an understanding.
==The Second Mantra==
So the second mantra goes like this:

'''स ह होवाच गार्ग्यः य एवासावादित्ये पुरुषः एतमेव अहं ब्रह्मोपास इति.'''

''sa ha hovāca gārgyaḥ ya evāsāv āditye puruṣaḥ etam evāhaṃ brahmopāsa iti.''

Now Ajātaśatru is telling: "''Mā mā etasmin saṃvadiṣṭhāḥ''"—do not speak like this. What should not be spoken—thinking that Āditya is only containing these qualities? No, no, no. There are many more—three more qualities at least.
===The Additional Qualities===
"'''''Atiṣṭhāḥ sarveṣāṃ bhūtānāṃ mūrdhā rājā iti vā aham etam upāse''"'''—"But I also practised contemplation on the same Āditya, the Sun God, just as you did, thinking that this Puruṣa—a real being in the sun—is none other than Hiraṇyagarbha, but with these qualities."

And then Ajātaśatru, as we already know, adds: '''"''Sa yaḥ evaṃ evaṃ upāste''"—'''"Whoever thus contemplates exactly as I taught you"—so what happens? '''"''Atiṣṭhāḥ sarveṣāṃ bhūtānāṃ mūrdhā rājā bhavati''"'''—he will acquire the same qualities, and those qualities become very natural to him.
===The Real Person===
So that is going to be the development. When Gārgya said, "I am contemplating the Puruṣa"—that means the person. This is a beautiful teaching. That is, whenever you address a person, the real person—the real personality, the real person—is different. '''The real person is the Ātman, but the superimposed person with whom we identify is the Jīva.''' So "I am a Jīva." Everybody knows "I have got these qualities. I may be a great doctor, I may be a great musician, I may be a great writer, a poet or a diplomat, whatever. Or I do not know anything—I can cook very well, etc., whatever." So even among workers, we can say the owner says: "This person is a good worker. He does it wholeheartedly, whatever work is given to him. The others try to evade, escape by doing as less as they can. No, this person is very good."
===The Being in the Sun===
So the real person—we have to find out. So that is what when Gārgya said, "I worship the person—a real personality, a real being in the sun—not the physical star we see, physical body we see, not even the mind we see. He who is beyond body and mind—he is the person whom we will have to understand properly."
===Ajātaśatru's Correction===
So when Gārgya said, "That being—Puruṣa—who is the real being, but whom people do not know, who is in the sun, I meditate upon as Brahman," Ajātaśatru said: "No, please do not talk to me about him in this limited manner." These are the words we have to add. Why? Because "I also practised the same meditation, contemplation. I meditate upon this Āditya as: f'''irst, all-surpassing; second, as the head of all beings; and third, as resplendent'''. Not only that, not only me, if you also do, then whosoever thus meditates upon Āditya adding these three qualities, as the real being within the sun—Āditya—upon him, he becomes all-surpassing, he becomes the head of all beings, and he shines with tremendous spiritual resplendence." This is called in Sanskrit language '''''tejas''—Brahma-tejas'''.
===The Development===
So this is going to be the development. So Gārgya did not know Nirguṇa Brahma at all, but even this Hiraṇyagarbha—Saguṇa Brahma—he did not know all the aspects. He knows only a few aspects, that too at the lowest level. So this Saguṇa Brahma is popularly known in the scriptures as Hiraṇyagarbha, Saguṇa Brahma, Īśvara, Prajāpati, etc. So there are many higher aspects of everything, everybody in this world—even Saguṇa Brahma also has higher aspects.
==Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa Testing His Devotees==
Now I will give an example. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to test his devotees by posing certain questions. One of the questions—you have to understand it properly, otherwise, you know. So a musician: "Did you hear my song?" "Yes." "And what do you think about him, about that song? What is the quality of the way I sang?" And says, "Sir, you are incomparable, you are the greatest." Then that fellow says, "Yes, you understood me correctly." Even if that fellow is the worst singer, he is only expecting—he gets what he is expecting sometimes, but that is not the truth.
===Seeking Praise Indirectly===
So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa—we ask somebody, "What do you think about me?" We do not directly ask because that is inviting ridicule. But if she says, "You know, such and such a person is telling about you, praising you"—that indirectly we become very happy. "Oh, I did not ask his opinion, but he is telling about a third person. He appreciates me, and that means I must be a great person. I know I am great, but others do not recognise it. So I am expecting praise, and if it comes through a third party, it makes me very, very happy. But if it comes directly, I have suspicion also: 'What is the motivation for this fellow putting such a thick butter over me?'" No.
===The Levels of Understanding===
So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's only purpose was—by soliciting the answer, he would gauge at what level of spirituality the devotee is. Now here are a few examples. Many people thought Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is a madman. They wrote to Mādhur Bābū. They complained to his face also. They called him "the madman of Dakṣiṇeśvara." And some people, they interacted with Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa—"He is very, very good man, very straightforward person. He is like a child. He is a truthful person, very good person. He does not have any selfish motives. He is a good man." So from "mad man"—that opinion belongs to a very bad person. "Good man"—much better than that other person. Then some people say, "You are a saint. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is a saint." His understanding is much better. "Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is not merely a saint, but one of the greatest saints." His understanding is even much better.
===Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa Reads Hearts===
Remember, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is not soliciting praise. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa can see into the hearts of people and tells who is telling the truth and who is telling lies. In front of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, people understand they cannot tell a lie in the face of this person, in the presence of this person, because he acts like a mirror. He sees what is within me. So no person is capable of telling what is a lie—what he thinks and talks something else—not possible.
===The Incarnation of God===
So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is a great saint. And somebody else—he asks. Then they say: "Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is an incarnation of God." That means that person's understanding about Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is far superior to many people. Then once he asked Pūrṇacandra Ghosha—I think Pūrṇacandra Ghosha, I am not sure, maybe Nārāyaṇa—and this Pūrṇacandra verse is: "What people say you are an incarnation of God—they are fools. They do not know what they are talking about." Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was smiling all the time, and he was waiting. He says: "You are that source from which all the past incarnations have come, and all the future incarnations will be descending." And Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, in his own characteristic way, says: "Oh my God, you surpassed even that person who said I am an incarnation of God." Later on, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa passes a soliloquy: "How could this young boy understand this truth?"
===Changing Opinions===
So you see—one person, so many people, so many opinions. We know all this; every day we react, albeit we are completely unconscious. We change our opinions. If somebody pleases us, he is a good person; and the same person, next minute, displeases us—he is not such a great person. So this is an example, and Gārgya was not entirely wrong, but his statements were limited because his understanding was limited. Ajātaśatru corrects him and makes him go through all those things.
===The Three Extra Qualities===
So what is he telling? There are three more extra qualities which you will have to understand about this Puruṣa in the Āditya. So that is how the three qualities: '''first of all, he is great; second, he is the head of every being; and third, he is far superior in everything.''' We will discuss about them, but just a gentle reminder:
==As a Man Thinks, So He Becomes==
'''''Yathā yathā upāste tathā eva bhavati'''''—"As a man really sincerely contemplates, he becomes that." This is what English language psychologists tell: "As a man thinks, so he becomes. Tell me your thoughts, I will tell you who you are."
===Everyday Examples===
Of course, at this moment, let us see everyday examples. Meditate—you see a person and it is full of wrinkles and worries. Old age people also can have old age wrinkles—no. So you meditate, go on worrying, you become a ''warrior''—not warrior, ''worrier''. Meditate on anger for whatever reason—you become anger. That is why we say "angry person"—means a person who has become anger. But that is only a negative example.
===Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Contemplations===
But see here, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa became Hanumān, Rādhā, Kālī, Kṛṣṇa, Upala, Rāmacandra by contemplating intensely upon their forms. Even his physical body had changed in each one of these cases.
===Holy Mother at Vṛndāvana===
Second example: once Holy Mother was at Vṛndāvana, and one day she became completely like Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. Her tone of voice became male, and the way Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to deal with the betel leaves—same way Holy Mother started. So in every way for a few minutes, how Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to behave, Holy Mother was behaving, and those who were near who knew Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, they understood: "Oh, now Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa had possessed her, or she became Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa by contemplation."
===Swami Brahmananda and the Himalayas===
Then there is a very beautiful incident in the life of Swami Brahmanandaji. It was a terrible summer season. Swami Brahmanandaji was at Belur Math, so he was talking with a Brahmacārī. The heat was intolerable. Of course there would be no clothes on the backs of both. So, looking at the suffering of the disciple, Swami Brahmanandaji said: "Let us meditate on the coolness of the Himalayas." And then they closed their eyes. And then after a few minutes, Swami Brahmanandaji said to the initiate: "You touch my back." And then when the Brahmacārī touched, he found the whole back of Brahmanandaji became like a wall of the Himalayan mountain—snow-clad Himalayan mountain—like an ice-cold stone. And then he understood: Brahmanandaji became one with that.
===Swami Akhandananda and the Tibetan Yogi===
Even though not directly related, once Gaṅgādhar Mahārāj (Swami Akhandanandaji) saw—he was roaming in the Himalayas—he came across a Tibetan Yogi. The ice was melting all around him, and as soon as he went near, he felt very pleasant heat. The yogi understood and said: "It is not a miracle; there is a special yoga āsana and meditation. I can teach you, and I can teach anybody. If you practise, then any amount of cold will not affect you at all. Even your surroundings become hot. By the same process, the hot surroundings can also become cold."
===The Kita-Bhramaravat Analogy===
So what I wanted to illustrate was: '''''yathā yathā upāste tathā bhavati'''''—"as one intensely thinks, he becomes that one." And there is a familiar Sanskrit phrase for that purpose:

'''कीटो भ्रमरावत्.'''

''kīṭo bhramarāvat.''

"A worm meditating on a wasp becomes like that wasp"—''bhramara''. A worm meditating on ''bhramara'' becomes a ''bhramara''. Of course, it is to mean that because of the fear—because the ''bhramara'' stings, wild bee stings, huge bee—then it is so painful that very fear makes this one become like the ''bhramara''.

Beautiful thoughts—we will talk further 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 1.1-3 Lecture 43 on 20 June 2026

2026-08-17T15:45:45Z

Gayatri: /* Opening Invocation */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.'''

''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH

OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.

==Introduction to the Second Chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad==
So we are studying the second chapter of the second section of the second chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. We know this story. A young brāhmaṇa, well learned but limited in his learning, comes voluntarily to teach about Brahman. He did not say that he was going to teach only the Saguṇa Brahma, a limited Brahma. But he thought that is the complete Brahman. So he came to a king called Ajātaśatru and volunteered himself: "I will teach you about Brahman."
===Ajātaśatru: The Knower of Brahman===
Ajātaśatru was a knower of Brahman, both Saguṇa and Nirguṇa. How did he attain? Because he also had to follow the same footsteps. How do we know? Because he is teaching the same—that means what he practised earlier. In order to reach the peak of self-knowledge, now to Gārgya who required to take the same steps, Ajātaśatru, being a very great teacher, recognised where Gārgya was and he wanted to take him further. Why? Because he found Gārgya sincere. He thought he knew everything.
===Sincerity and Śraddhā===
Sincerity—''śraddhā''—is the most important quality. If that is there, other things lacking can be obtained. But every other quality is there and ''śraddhā'' is lacking, then that person cannot be taught, cannot go up; he can only go down because pride and jealousy and so many other things will come—arrogance, etc.—and we have to add ''kāma'', ''krodha'', lust, anger, greed, etc., also will be accompanying them. But then Gārgya with a good mind came. Ajātaśatru recognised him as a fit person to be taught. Otherwise, no great teacher will ever waste his time on pupils whom he considers as unfit—not out of hatred, but not to waste either's time.
===The Humble Approach===
So Ajātaśatru wanted Gārgya to realise the limitation of his knowledge. So very humbly, with humility, he said, "Sir, I am so happy that at least you came volunteering to teach me. That information made me very happy. So even just for that information, even if you do not teach me any further, I am offering you a ''dakṣiṇā'' of one thousand cows. And then please teach me."

So Gārgya immediately started. This is how he categorically and explicitly expresses: "I did upāsanā—''upāse āditya''—in the sun I have worshipped Brahman, that authenticity I have worshipped." I am not telling you like a scholar, but of course he did not know his limitation.
===The First Step to Progress===
So the first step to progress in learning is to realise how limited we are. Then only the desire will come. If anybody says, "I know everything," he cannot go further. Not only that, he will go down. But if anybody says, "I know my limitations, I am sitting by the side of the sea. Any thirsty traveller happens to come by, I just serve him a cup of sea water, so it never gets exhausted." Of course, we have to understand "sea water" means a great river. Nobody will knowingly give salty water to a thirsty person.
===The More We Learn, the Humbler We Become===
So the more learning—''vidyā dadāti vinayam''—the more we learn, the more humble we become. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa asks M: "Will you find any ego in me?" And M—he was not a fool, he was not a fan, he was not an irrational person; he was a truthful person—said, "No, sir. I have never seen any trace of egotism." Then, out of ignorance, he volunteers to add: "But you have kept a little bit of ego for the purpose of enjoying God's sportive actions in this world." Immediately, the correction comes from Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa: "No, I have not kept. It is God who kept—Divine Mother who kept."
===The River and the Ocean===
Why did Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa say that? I gave you illustrations many a time. When a river, for example Gaṅgā, merges into the ocean—''nāma-rūpe vihāya''—it loses all its name, form, colour, taste, and becomes one with the ocean. Thereafter, it will be known only by the name "ocean." You cannot do—take a torchlight and then see, "Let me see where is this Gaṅgā River, former Gaṅgā River?" No.

So when a person enters into Nirvikalpa Samādhi, that is, achieves complete identity with Brahman, there is no individual thereafter. It is not like our going entering into Suṣupti and coming out. This is a permanent process. Then God still preserves that particular individual's body and mind and keeps a little bit of egotism to work through that instrument for the good of the entire world—''sarva-maṅgala''. That is the purpose of Jīvanmuktas.
===The Purpose of Jīvanmuktas===
Because as Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says, the Divine Mother does not allow a Bhāgavata Paṇḍita to become a monk. Not that a monk should not become a Bhāgavata Paṇḍita. But ''paraldī'' people are made with great talent. Some of the great expounders of Rāmacaritamānasa—thousands of people will go. There is one Rāmakiṅkar. He is very famous. Even in the Western countries, even in London, 40,000 people will gather whenever he holds ''Rāma-kathā''. It is a special power, and he was an upāsaka of—he is an upāsaka of Añjaneya.
===God Keeps the Individuality===
So it is God who keeps that. So that same God has kept—if Ajātaśatru knows "I am Brahman," that means he became Brahman, that means he experienced Nirvikalpa Samādhi. Still the individuality is there for the good of the world, and this is one instance we are discussing. So he understands this boy—student after student, sincere, but he does not know he has to progress further. So for that purpose, he wants to take him to higher steps, through higher steps.
===The Purpose of Upāsanas===
And the purpose of the different upāsanas with different qualities that are enumerated by Ajātaśatru to Gārgya is for the purpose of making this Gārgya go through the same process as he himself has gone—out of one's own experience the person is teaching.
===The Need for Practice===
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says it is not true that through intellectual knowledge any other science can be taught. Physics, maths—everything—but this Brahma-vidyā, spiritual knowledge, or even ''dharma'', moral science, cannot be taught by anybody excepting those who practise morality. And in some other things also, a music teacher who does not know how to sing, who is not aware of different ''rāgas'', etc., and familiar with the ''tālas''—''ek-tāla'', ''tīn-tāla'', ''jhap-tāla'', etc.—he also cannot really teach.
===The Cuckoo's Voice===
That is why Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa specifically says simply saying "''ṣa-ri-ga-ma-pa-dha-ni''" will not help. A person goes on practising; he knows by hearing the sound—this is in this particular ''svara'', ''pañcama-svara''. So our Indian poets have said whenever the cuckoo sings, it tries to sing with its bird's throat. It is called ''pañcama-svara''. Only a few birds can make such a thing. A musician knows every ''svara'' the moment he hears it, and whenever he utters it, it would be perfect. How do we know? It matches with the sound given by harmonium or even ''tablā'', etc.
===Ajātaśatru as the Teacher===
So Ajātaśatru was kept by God for this purpose, like Yājñavalkya was kept, and Gārgya was a sincere student. So at first, out of ignorance, he did not understand. So Ajātaśatru accepted his teachership and said only with the purpose that "you are okay what you did, but you have to do further contemplations, meditations. And I will tell you what you have to do."
===The Twelve Upāsanas===
This is going to be the process. And twelve such upāsanas were practised by Gārgya with only particular qualities superimposed on Brahman. So every quality is superimposed as one part of the quality of one particular deity, presiding deity, not knowing that all the presiding deities are nothing but parts of Hiraṇyagarbha—so popularly known as Saguṇa Brahma or even Īśvara.
===The Result of Upāsana===
And whenever Gārgya says "I meditated"—because he says ''upāse''—"I practised this meditation, and the result also I got." What is the result he got? Let me complete it here. So for any upāsana, two results can come. One is called worldly ''sakāma-phala''; another is called ''niṣkāma-phala''. When a person desires through this, "May I become rich, may I become well known, may I have control over my body and mind," etc., he will get that particular quality within himself. But there are so many other spiritual qualities to be acquired. Now Ajātaśatru wants to help Gārgya to develop the other qualities as well, and only a person who contains all these spiritual qualities—called ''Daivī-sampat''—then he becomes a ''yogya'' or fit ''adhikārī'', endowed with qualities, ready to take up the PhD course.
===The PhD Course===
So that is how I think it is a beautiful word—PhD course. What is PhD? Permanent head damage—in our case. What is this permanent head damage? Permanently the head—the ''ahaṅkāra'', the head of the snake, virulent poisonous snake called egotism, that ''-ism''—will be completely cut off. Not ego. ''-ism''—expressions, wrong expressions of ego is called egotism, egoism, etc. That is identifying—forgetting one's identification with one's true nature called Brahman and thinking "I am a mosquito, I am a mouse, I am a man," etc., "I am a scholar, I am a brāhmaṇa," etc., etc.
===The Final Goal===
So this is what Ajātaśatru, the Sadguru, wanted to guide Gārgya. That is the story of how he finally guides Gārgya so that Gārgya also realises that like my Guru, I also am none other than Brahman. In fact, there is nothing called ''śiṣya'' and Guru—both nothing called the world. Everything is Brahma—''sarvaṃ khalvidaṃ Brahma''.
===The Teaching Begins===
So Gārgya started teaching, and that teaching is what he did as contemplation on different deities. Those things have been enumerated in twelve ''ślokas'' beginning with the second, ending with the thirteenth. And at every stage, every upāsana, Ajātaśatru adds either one or two or three more than what Gārgya had already known. Thus he makes him a fit disciple, and then only he takes him to the higher step. All these are just preparations. Now I will give you real teaching.
===The Real Teaching===
What was the teaching? We see it later on. Ajātaśatru takes Gārgya by hand and finds a sleeping person—deeply asleep—and first calls him by three names: Bṛhat, Rājan, Somaḥ, etc. But the person did not listen because he was in deep sleep. Then he shakes him—that did not wake him up. Then Ajātaśatru shakes him violently. Then suddenly the deep sleep is broken, and that is the incident.
===The Three States===
Taking that incident, Ajātaśatru now takes Gārgya by hand and says: "Now here is a person. So he is not in the waking state, he is not in dream state, and he also was in the deep sleep state, but did not know 'I am in deep sleep state.' So who is this person? Is he the waker? Is he the dreamer? Or is he the sleeper?" Because these three states rotate one after the other—first waking, then dreaming, then deep sleep. Of course, you can start from any state. So, from dream to deep sleep to waking, or from deep sleep to waking to dream, and back again to deep sleep. It does not matter.
===The Constant Experiencer===
But what is important is every time the person is in one particular state, for example in waking state, he does not say "I am a dreamer." He does not say "I am a sleeper." He says "I am the waker." But as soon as he enters into the dream state, then he says "I am the dreamer." And when he is in deep sleep, then he knows "I am in deep sleep." Again, it is changing. But one person is undergoing three different types of experiences, each one totally separate reality from the other realities. Therefore, this person must be somebody, because the experiencer is always different from the experience.
===The Final Realisation===
And then slowly Gārgya realises, through continuing his higher ways of sādhana, finally realises: "I am none of these states—I am Brahman." And a curious thing happens when a person knows—he does not claim as we describe in the scriptures or read in the scriptures: "Oh, I thought I was the waker. I thought I was the dreamer. I thought I was a deep sleeper." No, these thoughts do not come at all. Why? Because there is no body, there is no mind, there is no ''sthūla-śarīra'', there is no ''sūkṣma-śarīra'', there is no ''kāraṇa-śarīra''. And when these three instruments are not there, the experiences of those instruments also vanish along with the disappearance of the experiencer.
===The Fundamental Principle of Vedānta===
So the fundamental principle of Vedānta: an experiencer is not any experience, any object of experience. And whatever qualities an experience—an object—possesses does not belong to the experiencer. If a mango is sweet and flavourful, that flavour and sweetness belong to the mango, not to the person at all. He may enjoy it, but he knows "I am not the mango." Similarly, I am not the waker, I am not the dreamer, I am not the deep sleeper. That is the conclusion, and this we have elaborately discussed in the past, especially in the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad.
==The Three Vādas Revisited==
Not only that, in my last class I had referred to this and connected with Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda, and Ajātavāda. Just to recollect the essence of what I said.
===Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda===
So long as a person thinks "I am the gross body," he thinks "I am the waker." To think "I am the waker" means "I am the gross body, and this whole world exists. And it is not created by me; it is created by God. And this is the reality—not unreal, this complete reality." And he acts, he reacts, he thinks, he desires what he thinks as the real reality. All his life he spends like that. So for those for whom this world is real, including his body and mind, for them Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda is that stage of spiritual development, and the scripture prescribes certain disciplines emphasising that birth is full of these sixfold changes: birth, growth, youth, old age, disease, death. So, everything in this world is continuously changing. Therefore, that which is changing is not the definition of Brahman. ''Sat'' means ''satyam''. ''Satyam'' means that which never changes.
===Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda===
After a lot of both happiness and unhappiness, the person wakes up, then he becomes thoughtful, he develops the capacity to think, and then he recollects everyday dreams—any dream—and says: "So long as I was dreaming, I thought that that state alone is the highest reality. But as soon as I changed my perception, my identity—for example, I came back to wakefulness—then the whole dream state disappeared like mist in the hot summer season. Then everything is changing—every day a new dream. Therefore... the whole world might it not be that the whole world is also like a dream?" Remember, only for the person who has reached this state of higher thinking: "Might it not be that the whole world is also my own creation, my own imagination made real through too much of concreteness, superimposing?" And slowly he understands that what God I thought created is not God's creation. It is my creation—my ''dṛṣṭi'', my experience, my understanding, my opinion.
===The Illustration of a Person===
I gave the illustration also. When you first meet a person, your understanding of that person is very limited. You may think he is a very good person, very jolly, very sociable, smiling, and paying attention to you. But the nearer you come, you might develop: "Oh, this person, he criticises everybody. He thinks he knows better than everybody else." As your experiences become more and more, your understanding—that you think—what how you understand that person becomes more convincing, and what the real person is. So slowly, slowly, your opinion about that person becomes a reality of that person, not knowing that your ''dṛṣṭi'' has created that person. He is neither good, really speaking, nor bad.
===Eka-Jīva Vāda===
And then when this person progresses further, he understands: "I see the whole world. I see so many people in the waking state. And the same thing I see in dream. This multiple objects, this infinite—almost infinite—number of objects, they are all my own creation. Because what I choose, it will appear in front of me. So therefore, I am the only Jīva." So you are only my creation through Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda. Just as I go on changing my opinion about any object in accordance with my experiences, so also it is I who am creating and recreating every object in this world. Every minute somebody smiles at me—I recreate him: "He is a very good person." If he praises me: "Oh, he is a wonderful person, very sweet person, very truthful person"—because it pleases me. And if he displeases me: "Horrendous person, I do not want to see his face again, her face again," etc.
===Ajātavāda===
So what is the third one? That there is only one Jīva—Eka-Jīva Vāda. And then when the—this is for a person who analyses the dream state. Then he comes to the third stage where there is no mind, much less the world, no body consciousness, almost like a blank, there is no world, and he understands: "As I see no world in deep sleep state, so also this world is never created." He progresses. Each is a progress in spiritual life, and as man progresses, his concept of reality or God also changes. As Swami Vivekananda says: "As man grows, God also grows." That means our understanding, our true understanding about God also grows.
===The Final Stage===
So this is how these three states are equated, depending upon with which state we consider as real. And then the final stage is: all these three states—neither Ajātavāda, nor Eka-Jīva Vāda, nor Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda, nor Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda—these thoughts do not arise at all in the deep sleep state. So they are all constructs of the mind—thoughts in the mind. And then he understands that whatever I am experiencing is not me because I am experiencing multiple objects. But the experiencer of these multiple objects is only me alone. And with that he understands. Slowly he progresses. One day he understands that I neither create nor destroy, there is no multiplicity, and there is no change. I am Brahman.
===The Jīvanmukta's Double Vision===
Only when God brings his mind down, he becomes a Jīvanmukta. Then he has a double vision. First of all, he sees a person as he is, but he also knows this is only an appearance. He sees both the reality and the appearance. It is very important for us to understand because a Jīvanmukta does not simply become negligent of helping people. And how can you help people if you think everybody is Brahman? No, he shows an example: "I know you are Brahman, but I also know you do not know Brahman. But I will help you in whatever way I can—physically, intellectually, philosophically, spiritually. When you are ready, I am also ready, like a mirror reflects."
===The Four Stages Are Not Mere Philosophy===
So this is what the Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda, Eka-Jīva Vāda, and Ajātavāda—they are not two philosophers sitting and discussing, but every spiritual person progresses through these stages until finally he says: "There is no experiencer, there is no experienced—both become coalesced. I am one without a second." Of course, he does not say this. We are saying this through our mind. This is going to be the development.
===Gārgya's Progress===
So Gārgya started teaching from the second mantra onwards, and every time he says "I did this upāsana"—that means "I know this upāsana." That means "I got the result of this upāsana." The king said: "What you have done so far is excellent, but there are also other aspects of the same sun, same moon, same lightning, same wind, etc. And I will take you through them. Since you are already an expert in doing upāsana, it should not take a long time for you to do upāsana."
===The Need to Pass Lower Classes===
So as Ajātaśatru goes on expanding the upāsanas—the ''viśiṣṭa-guṇas'', special qualities, spiritual qualities—Gārgya also must have practised. Though the Upaniṣad does not tell us, it goes on. This is the second mantra, this is the third mantra, but we have to understand this: unless a person had completed his Class A, he would not be allowed to enter into Class B. So the same teacher may be from Class One to Class Six—he may be teaching the same teacher. So what he teaches to the second class or third class will not be taught to Class One. We have to understand because the teacher is not an individual; it is God Himself. He knows the capacity, and until the pupil successfully passes the lower classes, higher knowledge will not be given.
===Between the Mantras===
And this is what we have to presume here and insert here—that between two mantras the person has been made. How much time it took? Of course, the Upaniṣad does not tell because time is not important, but we also have to go through the same process. So this person, Gārgya, says—and then every time the king adds: "You better also do contemplation on this quality or qualities"—up to the thirteenth mantra. Twelve upāsanas were enumerated which were practised by Gārgya, and every time Ajātaśatru teaches him new upāsanas, and we have to understand that Gārgya must have practised and obtained the same result as Ajātaśatru because the teaching is—as we think, so we become.
===The Progress Made===
We will come to that. So up to the thirteenth mantra, twelve separate upāsanas with either one second upāsana (greater upāsana) added, or more than one. We will come to that very briefly. This is the progress made, and at the end of the thirteenth, Gārgya understood that "my knowledge is very little—even after knowing Hiraṇyagarbha, this is not going to give me liberation. I will have to go beyond Hiraṇyagarbha and do directly Brahmopāsana." And then Ajātaśatru takes him through those steps also until Gārgya also can say with Ajātaśatru: "''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi''."
===The Development Ahead===
This is going to be the development. So I will just read the first mantra, and thereafter I am going to only take the essence. You can read the mantras yourselves and then come to an understanding.
==The Second Mantra==
So the second mantra goes like this:

स ह होवाच गार्ग्यः य एवासावादित्ये पुरुषः एतमेव अहं ब्रह्मोपास इति.

''sa ha hovāca gārgyaḥ ya evāsāv āditye puruṣaḥ etam evāhaṃ brahmopāsa iti.''

Now Ajātaśatru is telling: "''Mā mā etasmin saṃvadiṣṭhāḥ''"—do not speak like this. What should not be spoken—thinking that Āditya is only containing these qualities? No, no, no. There are many more—three more qualities at least.
===The Additional Qualities===
"''Atiṣṭhāḥ sarveṣāṃ bhūtānāṃ mūrdhā rājā iti vā aham etam upāse''"—"But I also practised contemplation on the same Āditya, the Sun God, just as you did, thinking that this Puruṣa—a real being in the sun—is none other than Hiraṇyagarbha, but with these qualities."

And then Ajātaśatru, as we already know, adds: "''Sa yaḥ evaṃ evaṃ upāste''"—"Whoever thus contemplates exactly as I taught you"—so what happens? "''Atiṣṭhāḥ sarveṣāṃ bhūtānāṃ mūrdhā rājā bhavati''"—he will acquire the same qualities, and those qualities become very natural to him.
===The Real Person===
So that is going to be the development. When Gārgya said, "I am contemplating the Puruṣa"—that means the person. This is a beautiful teaching. That is, whenever you address a person, the real person—the real personality, the real person—is different. The real person is the Ātman, but the superimposed person with whom we identify is the Jīva. So "I am a Jīva." Everybody knows "I have got these qualities. I may be a great doctor, I may be a great musician, I may be a great writer, a poet or a diplomat, whatever. Or I do not know anything—I can cook very well, etc., whatever." So even among workers, we can say the owner says: "This person is a good worker. He does it wholeheartedly, whatever work is given to him. The others try to evade, escape by doing as less as they can. No, this person is very good."
===The Being in the Sun===
So the real person—we have to find out. So that is what when Gārgya said, "I worship the person—a real personality, a real being in the sun—not the physical star we see, physical body we see, not even the mind we see. He who is beyond body and mind—he is the person whom we will have to understand properly."
===Ajātaśatru's Correction===
So when Gārgya said, "That being—Puruṣa—who is the real being, but whom people do not know, who is in the sun, I meditate upon as Brahman," Ajātaśatru said: "No, please do not talk to me about him in this limited manner." These are the words we have to add. Why? Because "I also practised the same meditation, contemplation. I meditate upon this Āditya as: first, all-surpassing; second, as the head of all beings; and third, as resplendent. Not only that, not only me, if you also do, then whosoever thus meditates upon Āditya adding these three qualities, as the real being within the sun—Āditya—upon him, he becomes all-surpassing, he becomes the head of all beings, and he shines with tremendous spiritual resplendence." This is called in Sanskrit language ''tejas''—Brahma-tejas.
===The Development===
So this is going to be the development. So Gārgya did not know Nirguṇa Brahma at all, but even this Hiraṇyagarbha—Saguṇa Brahma—he did not know all the aspects. He knows only a few aspects, that too at the lowest level. So this Saguṇa Brahma is popularly known in the scriptures as Hiraṇyagarbha, Saguṇa Brahma, Īśvara, Prajāpati, etc. So there are many higher aspects of everything, everybody in this world—even Saguṇa Brahma also has higher aspects.
==Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa Testing His Devotees==
Now I will give an example. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to test his devotees by posing certain questions. One of the questions—you have to understand it properly, otherwise, you know. So a musician: "Did you hear my song?" "Yes." "And what do you think about him, about that song? What is the quality of the way I sang?" And says, "Sir, you are incomparable, you are the greatest." Then that fellow says, "Yes, you understood me correctly." Even if that fellow is the worst singer, he is only expecting—he gets what he is expecting sometimes, but that is not the truth.
===Seeking Praise Indirectly===
So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa—we ask somebody, "What do you think about me?" We do not directly ask because that is inviting ridicule. But if she says, "You know, such and such a person is telling about you, praising you"—that indirectly we become very happy. "Oh, I did not ask his opinion, but he is telling about a third person. He appreciates me, and that means I must be a great person. I know I am great, but others do not recognise it. So I am expecting praise, and if it comes through a third party, it makes me very, very happy. But if it comes directly, I have suspicion also: 'What is the motivation for this fellow putting such a thick butter over me?'" No.
===The Levels of Understanding===
So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's only purpose was—by soliciting the answer, he would gauge at what level of spirituality the devotee is. Now here are a few examples. Many people thought Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is a madman. They wrote to Mādhur Bābū. They complained to his face also. They called him "the madman of Dakṣiṇeśvara." And some people, they interacted with Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa—"He is very, very good man, very straightforward person. He is like a child. He is a truthful person, very good person. He does not have any selfish motives. He is a good man." So from "mad man"—that opinion belongs to a very bad person. "Good man"—much better than that other person. Then some people say, "You are a saint. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is a saint." His understanding is much better. "Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is not merely a saint, but one of the greatest saints." His understanding is even much better.
===Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa Reads Hearts===
Remember, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is not soliciting praise. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa can see into the hearts of people and tells who is telling the truth and who is telling lies. In front of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, people understand they cannot tell a lie in the face of this person, in the presence of this person, because he acts like a mirror. He sees what is within me. So no person is capable of telling what is a lie—what he thinks and talks something else—not possible.
===The Incarnation of God===
So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is a great saint. And somebody else—he asks. Then they say: "Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is an incarnation of God." That means that person's understanding about Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is far superior to many people. Then once he asked Pūrṇacandra Ghosha—I think Pūrṇacandra Ghosha, I am not sure, maybe Nārāyaṇa—and this Pūrṇacandra verse is: "What people say you are an incarnation of God—they are fools. They do not know what they are talking about." Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was smiling all the time, and he was waiting. He says: "You are that source from which all the past incarnations have come, and all the future incarnations will be descending." And Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, in his own characteristic way, says: "Oh my God, you surpassed even that person who said I am an incarnation of God." Later on, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa passes a soliloquy: "How could this young boy understand this truth?"
===Changing Opinions===
So you see—one person, so many people, so many opinions. We know all this; every day we react, albeit we are completely unconscious. We change our opinions. If somebody pleases us, he is a good person; and the same person, next minute, displeases us—he is not such a great person. So this is an example, and Gārgya was not entirely wrong, but his statements were limited because his understanding was limited. Ajātaśatru corrects him and makes him go through all those things.
===The Three Extra Qualities===
So what is he telling? There are three more extra qualities which you will have to understand about this Puruṣa in the Āditya. So that is how the three qualities: first of all, he is great; second, he is the head of every being; and third, he is far superior in everything. We will discuss about them, but just a gentle reminder:
==As a Man Thinks, So He Becomes==
''Yathā yathā upāste tathā eva bhavati''—"As a man really sincerely contemplates, he becomes that." This is what English language psychologists tell: "As a man thinks, so he becomes. Tell me your thoughts, I will tell you who you are."
===Everyday Examples===
Of course, at this moment, let us see everyday examples. Meditate—you see a person and it is full of wrinkles and worries. Old age people also can have old age wrinkles—no. So you meditate, go on worrying, you become a ''warrior''—not warrior, ''worrier''. Meditate on anger for whatever reason—you become anger. That is why we say "angry person"—means a person who has become anger. But that is only a negative example.
===Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Contemplations===
But see here, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa became Hanumān, Rādhā, Kālī, Kṛṣṇa, Upala, Rāmacandra by contemplating intensely upon their forms. Even his physical body had changed in each one of these cases.
===Holy Mother at Vṛndāvana===
Second example: once Holy Mother was at Vṛndāvana, and one day she became completely like Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. Her tone of voice became male, and the way Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to deal with the bitter leaves—same way Holy Mother started. So in every way for a few minutes, how Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to behave, Holy Mother was behaving, and those who were near who knew Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, they understood: "Oh, now Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa had possessed her, or she became Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa by contemplation."
===Swami Brahmananda and the Himalayas===
Then there is a very beautiful incident in the life of Swami Brahmanandaji. It was a terrible summer season. Swami Brahmanandaji was at Belur Math, so he was talking with a Brahmacārī. The heat was intolerable. Of course there would be no clothes on the backs of both. So, looking at the suffering of the disciple, Swami Brahmanandaji said: "Let us meditate on the coolness of the Himalayas." And then they closed their eyes. And then after a few minutes, Swami Brahmanandaji said to the initiate: "You touch my back." And then when the Brahmacārī touched, he found the whole back of Brahmanandaji became like a wall of the Himalayan mountain—snow-clad Himalayan mountain—like an ice-cold stone. And then he understood: Brahmanandaji became one with that.
===Swami Akhandananda and the Tibetan Yogi===
Even though not directly related, once Gaṅgādhar Mahārāj (Swami Akhandananda) saw—he was roaming in the Himalayas—he came across a Tibetan Yogi. The ice was melting all around him, and as soon as he went near, he felt very pleasant heat. The yogi understood and said: "It is not a miracle; there is a special yoga āsana and meditation. I can teach you, and I can teach anybody. If you practise, then any amount of cold will not affect you at all. Even your surroundings become hot. By the same process, the hot surroundings can also become cold."
===The Kita-Bhramaravat Analogy===
So what I wanted to illustrate was: ''yathā yathā upāste tathā bhavati''—"as one intensely thinks, he becomes that one." And there is a familiar Sanskrit phrase for that purpose:

कीटो भ्रमरावत्.

''kīṭo bhramarāvat.''

"A worm meditating on a wasp becomes like that wasp"—''bhramara''. A worm meditating on ''bhramara'' becomes a ''bhramara''. Of course, it is to mean that because of the fear—because the ''bhramara'' stings, wild bee stings, huge bee—then it is so painful that very fear makes this one become like the ''bhramara''.

Beautiful thoughts—we will talk further in our next class.

== Closing Prayer ==
ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् ।पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

May Rāmakṛṣṇa, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekānanda bless us all with Bhakti.

''Jai Rāmakṛṣṇa!''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 Introduction Lecture 42 on 14 June 2026

2026-07-29T05:45:57Z

Gayatri:

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.'''

''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH

OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.

==Introduction to the Second Chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad==
In our last class, we started the second chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, which is a dialogue between a great knower of Brahman called '''Ajātaśatru''' and a proud brāhmaṇa called '''Gārgya or Bālāki.''' We know the story. This Gārgya was a sincere person but a bit proud—he was a ''brāhmaṇa'' (proud brāhmaṇa). So he thought he knew everything about the ultimate Brahman, the Supreme Brahman (Parabrahman). So he approached—strangely, not Janaka, but this Ajātaśatru—and voluntarily said, "I will teach you about Brahman." Ajātaśatru was very happy even just to hear these words: "I am going to give you one thousand cows. Rarely anybody comes to me." And then Ajātaśatru asks him, "Teach me." And Gārgya immediately started teaching.

He did not know the Supreme Brahman. He knew only '''Saguṇa Brahma''', also called '''Hiraṇyagarbha'''. Who is Hiraṇyagarbha? '''The entire creation is called Hiraṇyagarbha or Īśvara, Saguṇa Brahma—'''where from the living and the non-living, every living creature is manifesting. It is a manifestation of Īśvara. It is not a production of Īśvara like milk is a production of curds, or a pot is the making of a potter, or a baby is given birth by a mother but they remain separate. Unlike that, the clay itself has become a pot. Only in the case of Brahman we have to extend the imagination and say, unlike the making of the pot, Brahman is both the material cause as well as the intelligent cause as well as the instrumental cause. In fact, there is no creation; it is only a manifestation. In fact, according to the highest Advaitic teaching, there is no manifestation of Brahman at all.

If we happen to confront Brahman and ask, "Why did You create this universe?"—instead of "Brahman," we can substitute the word "God." Why did God create this world? Why do we question? We never question if everything is absolutely fine. Only when we find something wrong, especially which is causing me great pain, then only we question. We rarely question even when everyone else is suffering but we are quite satisfied. So, according to Advaita Vedānta, Brahman does not say, "I am going to manifest." This is all an explanation given to ignorant people, people of very small understanding, out of compassion by the scripture, to make us understand. You are absolutely right.
==The Three Vādas: '''सृष्टिदृष्टिवाद'''Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi, '''दृष्टि-सृष्टि-वाद''' Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi, and Ajātavāda ('''अजातवाद''') ==
That is why today I am going to very briefly introduce a new concept to you—not, of course, to other Vedāntins. Earlier I have briefly mentioned about three concepts: Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi, and Ajātavāda.
===Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vādaसृष्टिदृष्टिवाद===
What is Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi? First, there is a creation; then only I am able to experience that creation. First creation, followed by our experience. That is called Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi. And according to our understanding, ''dṛṣṭi'' means seeing, hearing, forming an idea about the object, and acting and reacting, wanting or not wanting, happy or unhappy. This in brief is ''sṛṣṭi''—creation. That means an object is present even before I came across it because there is a creation, and we are able to experience it. But this is for people who think in the waking state that this whole world is real. If you ask them, "Why do you come to this conclusion?"—"It is real because I haven't created it; someone else has created it. I am only experiencing and then reacting to it." Therefore, so long as we cherish the idea that this creation is real, that state in which we think that creation is real is called '''Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda.'''

This is the first stage from where everybody is acting and reacting. In course of time, because of certain experiences—and these experiences are not pleasant but sometimes very, very painful—we start questioning, "What is this creation?" And we find out, if we are thoughtful people, that everything in this world changes. And if something is changing, it is not reliable. If something is not reliable, our quest for something reliable starts. So we start questioning, "Is there a real creation, or is it something I created?"
===Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vādaदृष्टि-सृष्टि-वाद===
How does a person transit from the first stage'''सृष्टिदृष्टि''' (Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi) to '''दृष्टि-सृष्टि'''Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi? Because of these unpleasant suffering experiences. So long as everything is going on fine, within certain limitations, of course—if there is not too much pain, then we won't react. We think this world is very real. But death is real, old age is real, disease is real, poverty is real, suffering is real. So we cannot sustain this idea, but it persists for a long time. That state is indicated by Swamiji's '''उत्तिष्ठत''uttiṣṭhata'''''—"Start thinking, what is this? Is your view that the world is real?" And that world, that creation, also includes "I," "you," everything. Therefore, I thought I am real. If I think the world is real, I am also real. But if I think the world is changing because I am also changing—simultaneously both are changing—and therefore everything is changing, therefore it is unreliable, then we have to start our quest. And what is real? Is there anything that is really real? The person does not get the answer. The answer he gets is that even the '''सृष्टिदृष्टि'''Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi—my thinking, everybody's thinking that this external world, of which I am a part, is real—so long I have been cherishing that idea; but because of these negative experiences, we start questioning.

Then we remember suddenly: practically everyday, every night, we go to bed and have dream experiences. And then we suddenly one day connect: "Oh, when I wake up, this dream vanishes. I never think, nobody ever thinks a dream is an unchanging reality. It is real only so long as it lasts." But when do I recognise that a dream is a dream? A dream is nothing but my own creation. That is an important word you have to remember: it is ''my'' creation. I have been interpreting my memories in an intense imaginary form, and that—I created my own thoughts in a concrete form. Actually, there is no such corresponding reality, but they are also changing; nothing is true. So when I wake up, when I remember my dream, you remember your dream, then you start thinking, "This is my creation."

So, before I went to the dream state (that second state), there was no dream. Then I collected the raw material—all my thoughts, etcetera—and I created, taking some of these thoughts, this particular dream. Maybe in a second dream I might create an entirely new type of dream. Then I remember both dreams; both do not correspond, both are changing, and both are my own creations. Therefore, '''I am the creator. In a sense, this is the summary essence ofदृष्टि-सृष्टि Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi.'''

'''''Dṛṣṭi'' means my thought.''' So when I look at any object in the '''''sṛṣṭi'' (so-called creation by God)''', that is the first time—for a brief momentary experience. Thereafterwards, I start building certain opinions: "I like this, I don't like this, it is sweet, not so sweet, the other one is much sweeter." So like that, I go on forming opinions about every single experience that I have from this world, and thereafterwards I go on reacting according to my own preconceived ideas. "This is a good person, this is an evil person, this is a reliable person, this is a dishonest person, this is ''daiva'' and this is ''āsura''"—etc., etc., etc. And in course of time, we are convinced that because of the way I think, even though the other person does not understand, through intuition he understands: "This person is not showing much love towards me, much liking towards me; he does not love me. In fact, he may be thinking of harming me, trying to give me trouble." And he reacts, which absolutely certifies that my intuition is correct about that person, because his behaviour reinforces what I already know about that person.

So in brief, this is called Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda. Both Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi and Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi are combined in our worldly life. But what we need to understand is that we are not talking about worldly life; we are talking about spiritual progress.
===Progress through Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi===
So when a person first thinks, "This world is real, my body is real, my mind is real. I have some desires. I know what happiness is and what unhappiness is. So I try to fulfill, act in such a way that I try to avoid suffering as much as possible and obtain enjoyment as much as possible." But then he finds that, in spite of his efforts, certain things he cannot avoid, because it is the nature of the world—including his body and mind—to always change. And he slowly, reluctantly accepts, "I am also changeable; my thoughts are changeable." This is the first step in '''दृष्टि-सृष्टि''' Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda.

Then he realises, suddenly one day, he becomes a bit more wise, and then he says, "If I can develop a particular framework through which I can see the world, then I can make my mind much more calmer and joyous, in spite of what exists as unchangeable fact." So in the midst of, for example, evil people, "Okay, let them do what they like, but I will not be a puppet in their hands. I will not react according to their expectation. I will keep the frame of my mind in a particular way so that I try to prevent what is harmful that is contemplated by others, or I think they are trying to do it, or actually do it. But then I myself will look upon them as the result of my own ''karmaphala''." He becomes more calm. And whenever any event of joy occurs, let him enjoy it to the full, not comparing, "Last time this sweet was much better; this time it is rotten." No—last time was last time, this time is this time.

So when a spiritual aspirant attains what is called insight, then he understands: whatever be the world externally, I can keep my mind to a great extent very peaceful by my changed outlook. This is what psychologists call CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy). CBT does not change anything outside; it is not absolutely true. As my behaviour changes, there will be some changes in many people correspondingly—that is very true. So people also react to my action or to my reaction. So if I can go on very calm, joyful, helpful, unselfish, with a positive outlook on life, especially belief in God, then I understand, irrespective of what the world is, I can feel I am living in a higher world. This is, in a sense, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda. This is a great progress in spiritual life.

Then in course of time, that also is not possible because how long am I going to go on dealing with this mind in this way? I want to go beyond the mind. So many commentators (bhāṣyakāras) have compared Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda to the waking state—that is for whom the external world is the only reality. For those who are more advanced, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda is comparable to the dream. Since I am the owner of the dream, I am the creator of this external world—that is my own thoughts, my outlook (''dṛṣṭi'') is going to change everything in the outside world so far as I am concerned, because it is an individual experience only. How Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to look upon the world, how many priests used to look upon the world, is totally different. I will give some examples also later on.

But even ''svapna'' (dream) is changing, and there also some unhappy experiences will be there. No dream will be always very sweet—only dreaming of ''svargaloka'' (higher worlds)—no. So how can I want to be always happy? '''Therefore, taking our three states of experience one after the other: waking first, corresponding to Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda; Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda corresponding to the dream state; and Ajātavāda, which corresponds to deep sleep (dreamless sleep, ''Suṣupti Avasthā'').'''
===सुषुप्ति[Suṣupti] and अजातवाद [Ajātavāda]===
Why is it called'''सुषुप्ति ''Suṣupti'''''? Because not even an iota, a trace of body and mind, intrudes there to create any sort of problems. When we forget our body-mind, which is the whole of the external world—so to say—so long as I have one eye, one-fifth of the world is real in the way of forms. So long as I can hear, another one-fifth of the world is present in the form of sound. If anybody is bereft of these five sense organs, the whole external world disappears, but the mind remains. But in ''Suṣupti'', even that mind also disappears. Therefore, when a person says, "I am not aware of anything," we have to understand it correctly: I am not aware of the mind and the body, but I am aware of a particular state where there is no second so long as it lasts, and it is the most peaceful. I am the only one. Since I am the only one, happiness and unhappiness, fear and fearlessness—''sukha-duḥkha, bhaya-abhaya, śītoṣṇa''—they do not affect me at all. When I am free from these dualities, I am my own self. I remain as my own self.

Even though this is not the highest state, it is the nearest to the higher state. That is why the '''समष्टि''' '''cosmic aspect of everybody's ''suṣupti'' is called Īśvara,''' and the '''individual aspect(व्यष्टि) is called very beautifully ''ājña'' or ''prajña''.''' But we should not misunderstand: "I did not know" does not mean "I was unconscious." No, I was very conscious that I am alone; there is no body-mind. The absence of the body-mind I note down. I don't even say—I cannot even say—that the world is absent, because there is no world at all. I am not aware of the world at all. I am not aware of the body and mind. I am aware of only one unbroken ''cidābhāsa''—pure consciousness: "I am, I am." The problem is this also changes, even though it lasts longer. But so long as we are there, so '''''sukham aham asvāpsam (सुखमहमस्वाप््सम्)'''''. Even if a tiger, one hundred tigers surrounded me and played with me, throwing me like a volleyball from one side to the other—so long as I am in that deep sleep state, I am blissful.

In this connection, I remember the life of '''Ramana Maharshi'''. Bhagavān used to say that his sleep was very, very deep, and when he was awake, nobody could wrestle with him, beat him, or become a stronger player than him. He was the best player in everything because he concentrated on his mind. Some of the boys were very resentful, but they knew they could not beat him. Even if they came to fight, he was going to throw them out. He was very strong. But then they soon found out a secret: when this boy called Ramana goes to deep sleep, it is a very peculiar deep sleep—such a deep, deep sleep that they used to carry him, punch him, and do all sorts of things. And he, Ramana Bhagavān, used to narrate: "I did not know a single thing"—that means he was not feeling. And when I used to wake up—because the boys used to bring me back and put me exactly where I was sleeping—happily I would get up and say, "I went to bed on this bed and I woke up on this bed; nothing had ever taken place." Now, sometimes I have these doubts: what about all the punchings he received? Fortunately, Ramana Maharshi does not remember anything because nobody could really give such a punch that it would hurt even after he woke up. That was a very peculiar experience.

Some fortunate people like Swami Vivekananda used to sleep with two types of divine visions for some time. As soon as he laid himself on bed, Narendra used to see a small ''jyoti'' (light) growing brighter and brighter, and his personality used to merge in it, and he did not know what happened after that. Second, he used to feel, "I am a wandering monk all the time, totally dependent upon God." But he used to feel, "I am the king of this world. I can do whatever I like. I can get whatever I want. I can attain whatever I set my mind upon. But next second, I rely only upon God." And with that second vision, he used to fall asleep for a long time. Narendranath thought everybody used to sleep in the same way. Only when Rāmakṛṣṇa questioned him, he came to know that that is not the truth. So these are peculiar experiences of great people (''mahāpuruṣas'').

Therefore, what we are talking here is that when a person makes progress, he soon realises that even though it is my own outlook on the world, that alone is reality for me because I am acting and reacting according to my opinions—whether they are right or wrong, we are not talking. Therefore, who formed these opinions? Myself. And if I have formed these opinions, I also have the capacity to form them in the way I like, in the way I can experience unbroken happiness, unbroken bliss—meaning only sweet dreams, happy dreams, beautiful dreams. That is a great progress in spiritual life. That is what I think Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to say: when a person's ''kuṇḍalinī'' reaches the Anāhata chakra, thereafter progresses until he reaches the Ājñā chakra, higher and higher experiences will be there. There are also different stages, but we are not going to talk about them.
===Summary of the Two Stages===
'''So the second one is दृष्टि-सृष्टि वाद Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda''', where the importance is my action and reaction, my opinion about the world. In the first one (Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi), the world is primary. '''In the second, I can change my opinion, and if I can change it to a very positive, happy opinion, then I can experience—irrespective of conditions outside and in my body and mind—only positive experiences.''' This is a great progress in spiritual life. This is called thinking the whole world is a dream. Until that time, any amount of lectures, hearing the lectures, or reading books is not going to help us. We have to identify, and that is a state of experience. Until we experience, we are still in the Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi stage only, not the Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi stage. But slowly we realise about this.

In my last class I have explained how '''Swami Saradānandaji''' had described this so fantastically well. You will do well if you can go through that, because there are more details there than what I have outlined. I only gave you the summary of how a sādhaka can reach the highest realization through both the paths of ''iti iti'' and ''neti neti''. But it is not a choice—"I will choose neti neti from the very beginning without going through iti iti." '''I have to transform the world through this Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda, and this transformation is called controlling the mind (''cittavṛtti-nirodha'')[योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोध | Samadhi Pada || 1.2 ||patanjali yoga sutras].''' This transformation is called s'''ubduing demonic qualities and developing divine qualities''', so beautifully enumerated in the '''sixteenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gītā.'''

But the progress has not been complete, s'''o we have to go still further, and that is called Ajātavāda.'''
===Eka-Jīva Vāda and Ajātavāda===
By the way, even this Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda also indicates to us another fantastic idea, about which Swami Vivekananda only remarks very simply, very rarely. '''It is called Eka-Jīva Vāda, in contrast to Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda.''' What is the difference? In Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda theory, my opinion about the world is real. There are infinite numbers of beings; everyone is separate from everyone else. If somebody is going and experiencing, that is only that individual's experience; others are not affected by it. That is called Aneka-Jīva Vāda—as many creatures, so many ''jīvas''. In contrast, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda means that if I become unconscious, the whole world becomes unconscious—all those Aneka-Jīvas, infinite numbers of ''jīvas'', various classes of ''jīvas'' having varying qualities. Some are gods, some are semi-demigods, some are ''rākṣasas''.

As I mentioned, there are '''four types of people'''. The l'''owest class want to kill everybody''', rob everybody, and try to be happy. The '''third class say, "Live and let live.''' We don't believe in God, but we believe that if I let you live, you will also let me live. I scratch your back, you scratch my back." This is the outlook of the third class. But when the same ''jīva'' progresses further, h'''e enters into the second class, where he believes in God and in the scriptures.''' But even though he says he believes in the scriptures and God, he wants only something from God—'''he does not want God''', '''he wants certain things from God, i'''ncluding not only enjoyment on this earth but higher happiness in the higher worlds. That is what he wants to have. So these are much better; '''they are more moral, and they do not try to harm'''. They also understand they must acquire '''virtue (''puṇyam'')''' in order to attain higher happiness both in this world and after death in higher worlds. So they have faith in God, faith in the scriptures, faith in the prescriptions of the scriptures, faith in the '''''Karma-kāṇḍa''''' of the Vedas, and they perform—'''because the best of faith is its practice.''' If anybody says, "I have faith," but does not practice, that is merely worthless, useless belief—not faith at all.

So this is how the second-class people have faith: "I want higher happiness." Their minds have not yet evolved further, so they think they will be quite happy if they can get even the highest happiness in this dualistic world, which is termed as '''Brahmaloka.''' So they perform ''agnihotra'', ''pūjā'', worship, chanting of mantras, and visiting places of pilgrimage, etcetera. And they get the result. Once they get the result, their faith in the scriptures becomes enormously reinforced, and when it becomes reinforced, an inner eye opens up and says: "The same scripture which is telling me to perform the rituals as prescribed in the ''Karmakāṇḍa'' (the action portion of the first part of the Vedas) '''is also talking about the eternal, unbroken, highest happiness called ''Brahmananda''''' that can be attained. Why should I go on working like a donkey '''if once I realise Brahman, then I can be happy for eternity—highest happiness, unbroken happiness, infinite happiness for infinite time?" They belong to the first-class people.'''

This is what I said about the four types of people. Now, this person who is firmly convinced, trying to control his mind and '''purify his ''dṛṣṭi'',''' so that he can '''view the ''sṛṣṭi'' in a much higher light—this is called morality. T'''his is called '''समदर्शित्व'''''s'''amadarśitva'''''—seeing the whole world as equal to one's own self—and this corresponds to the ''Dharmananda'', the fourth stage of ''ānanda'', and that is only one step lower to ''Brahmananda''. Then the person, by the law of evolution, slowly understands: "Any amount of effort will not do." So he approaches a competent teacher, and he also tries to become a competent student. The teacher understands: "If there is a small defect, I will try to help them remove that defect"—'''as Prajāpati had done to both Indra and Virocana.''' But Virocana could not be reformed. Does not Prajāpati know it? He knows it, but "let him experience." But he will also be an Indra-like sometime in the future, because suffering will bring, like no other thing, to the feet of God. So that person had to wait for some time, but he would be evolving—no doubt about it. But Indra slowly was being purged of his impurities.
===The Chāndogya Upaniṣad Example===
In the same way, we are talking about Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda. So '''Virocana was a follower of Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda:''' "Make everything proper, rest properly, eat properly, enjoy properly, and that is all; nothing else is there." These are called Cārvākas or materialists. But Indra at first thought like that, so he must have gone through this stage. Because the Chāndogya Upaniṣad in the eighth chapter does not tell us, but my interpretation would be: Indra returned home, enjoyed bodily happiness, found his quest was not fulfilled. Then he came back again, and further purification was necessary—another thirty-two years, like that three times. '''Then he was told the second: "The whole world is like a dream." That corresponds roughly to Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda.''' But '''even that Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda is not complete;''' there also changes will be there. Therefore again Indra came back, and another thirty-two years. Then he thought '''Prajāpati taught him the third highest stage—that is called Eka-Jīva Vāda''': '''in ''Suṣupti'', I am alone'''. When I remove my mind, the entire world disappears. I am the only one who is present. I am the only ''jīva''. Why do I call myself as a ''jīva''? '''Because I have not become really enlightened and not realised my true nature; therefore, I am still a ''jīva''.''' But fortunately, from infinite numbers of ''jīvas'', I progressed to one ''jīva'' in Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda stage.

So this person wants to experience and move further. Then he analyses his deep sleep state, which corresponds to '''Ajātavāda.''' So long as we are in deep sleep state, no world exists. I am only conscious of my own pure self without a second. Therefore, when there is no second, there are no dualities like happiness and unhappiness, heat and cold, victory and defeat, profit and loss. All these will totally disappear in deep sleep state, and there is unbroken bliss so long as it lasts. And I am conscious of it—that is why, without being conscious, I cannot say, "I was very happy." So '''''sukham aham asvāpsam (सुखमहमस्वाप््सम्)'''''—"I slept very happily throughout the deep sleep state." '''''Na kiñcid avediṣam न किञ्चित्आवेदिषं''—'''"I did not know anything about this world."['''Vichara sagaram in sanskrit ,dvitiya taranga, passage 97''',purvapaksha in commentary] And this utterance comes only after the world comes into view upon waking up. But this analysis makes this sādhaka understand: probably like this deep sleep state, I was never born; the world never existed; maybe I am mistaking it. So there is no creation, there is no ''jīva'', there is no ''baddha'' (bound soul), there is no effort for liberation, and there is nobody who becomes liberated. In the second chapter of the '''Māṇḍūkya Kārikā, I''' think '''verse number thirty-two, we get this'''

'''न निरोधो न चोत्पत्तिर्न बद्धो न च साधकः ।'''

'''न मुमुक्षुर्न वै मुक्त इत्येषा परमार्थता ॥'''

na nirodho na cotpattirna baddho na ca sādhakaḥ |

na mumukṣurna vai mukta ityeṣā paramārthatā || 32 ||

32. ''There is no dissolution, no birth, none in bondage, none aspiring for wisdom, no seeker of liberation and none liberated. This is the absolute truth.''

'''. So this is called Ajātavāda.'''

'''Gauḍapāda,''' by the way, is a proponent of Ajātavāda. But in order to confirm—because the deep sleep breaks and he wakes up—by the time he surrenders, he takes the shelter at the feet of an enlightened soul, and then he understands slowly. ''Mahāvākya'': "There is no world, there is no ''sṛṣṭi'', there is no ''dṛṣṭi'', there is no Eka-Jīva." What remains is Ajātavāda. ''Vāda'' means opinion, but that opinion has to be transformed into a realization. So slowly, through ''viveka'' (discrimination), ''vairāgya'' (dispassion), ''ṣaṭ-sampatti'' (the six-fold wealth), and ''mumukṣutva'' (intense desire for liberation)—all the required qualifications to become a fit recipient—he receives the great mantra called ''Mahāvākya''. Either of the Mahāvākyas:

* '''''Prajñānam Brahma''''' — Consciousness is Brahman.'''(प्रज्ञानं ब्रह्म)(Aitareya Upanishad 3.3 of the Rig Veda)'''
* '''''Ayam Ātmā Brahma''''' — This Ātman is Brahman.'''अयम् आत्मा ब्रह्म(Mandukya Upanishad 1.2 of the Atharva Veda)'''
* ''T'''at tvam asi''''' — You are That."['''तत् त्वम् असि''']['''''Tat tvam asi] Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7 of the Sama Veda, and of course'''''
* '''''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi''''' — I am Brahman '''(अहं ब्रह्मास्मि)''' — which comes in this very Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, in this very first chapter, which we will see later on. '''आत्मैवेदंइदंआसीत्त''' etc । '''अहं ब्रह्मास्मीति''' ,atmaivedamiiadam aseet tadatmanamevavet.aham brahmasmi iti]et'''c''' ''Brihadaranyaka Upanishad'''''1.4.10 of Yajur veda'''

'''''Prajñānaṃ Brahma'', ''Ayamātmā Brahma'', ''Tat tvam asi'' (famous), ''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi'' (no'''t so famous in this Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad; we have seen that one in the very first chapter, fourth section). So then he realises one day, and then he realises: creation is not real.
===The Highest Realization===
Creation—if I put on black spectacles, then Brahman appears as black. If I remove the black spectacles, Brahman appears as He is. So if I put on the spectacles of ''nāma-rūpa'' (name and form), I see the same Brahman with name and form; minus the spectacles of name and form, I see Brahman as He is. So if I am able to see the world but as Brahman, that is called the '''state of a living free soul (''jīvanmukta'').'''

So these are the stages. '''This highest Ajātavāda is the highest.''' Now, which one is correct? That is a wrong question. Depending upon at what stage of development we are: if we think Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi, then the Karma Siddhānta will work out. If you want to lessen the suffering, follow the teachings of the scriptures and try to remove selfishness and immorality, and try to treat others with sympathy and unselfishness, and then your life will be as happy as possible. But rebirth cannot be avoided, and the opposite of happiness also cannot be avoided. But the same thing applies to Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda also. Even in dreams, we have both happy and unhappy experiences. So when we wake up, we understand by analysing the dream: maybe the world is like this only.

This is the sum and substance of '''Swami Saradānandaji's''' explanation of how a man attains to the highest through the path of ''iti iti''. So through the path of ''iti iti'', slowly he progresses, and then he enters into Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda. '''He creates his own dream of ''Iṣṭadevatā'' (chosen deity) and attributes several qualities'''—each quality is a spiritual quality, and every spiritual quality when it is acquired makes us one step higher than what we have before, or one step subtler, higher, more pervading. So that is how '''then he comes to analyse the deep sleep state: Eka-Jīva'''—"I am the only one; I create the entire world. So I am the creator." So when we analyse that, we say: so long as we see that '''in deep sleep, there is no world at all, there is no one ''jīva'', there are no many ''jīvas'''''—they all belong to the higher stage of dream state. Then what ''vāda'' remains? '''Ajātavāda—pure Ajātavāda. So''' there is no creation at all.

At first it is a theory, but later on it becomes an experience by the grace of the Guru, which is really the grace of God, which is really the grace of the scriptures. Guru, scriptures, and grace—they are not separate. This is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa meant: ''Bhāgavata'' (scripture), ''bhakta'' (true devotee—the Guru), ''Bhagavān'' (God)—they become one. That is how we have to understand. Only when a person realises can he say, "I am the bhakta." A real bhakta means a realised soul.

So this analysis of the deep sleep state (''Suṣupti'') brings us to the intellectual understanding that there is no world, and therefore it is called Ajātavāda—"there was no creation." But that intellectual conviction has to be transformed into actual realization. When one takes shelter at the feet of the Sadguru, slowly he will progress, and one day, like the Guru, he can say, "'''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi."''' The Guru will be rejoiced: "A big burden has gone from me; I don't need to worry about this person."
==Conclusion==
So we have to keep in mind these th'''ree beautiful opinions (''vādas''—faiths, actually):'''

1. The world is real—this is meant for believers in the reality of the external world '''(Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi).'''

2. The world is my own construct—this is for believers after analysing the dream state '''(Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi).'''

3. I am the one who creates the whole dream world; therefore, I am the only ''jīva'' '''(Eka-Jīva).'''

But when the same person progresses further and tries to analyse the deep sleep state, '''then he understands that there is no creation at all, and when it is transformed into realization, he understands Brahman, and Brahman alone is the only reality.'''

== 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 Introduction Lecture 42 on 14 June 2026

2026-07-28T15:29:17Z

Gayatri: /* The Three Vādas: Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi, and Ajātavāda */

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.'''

''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH

OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.

==Introduction to the Second Chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad==
In our last class, we started the second chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, which is a dialogue between a great knower of Brahman called '''Ajātaśatru''' and a proud brāhmaṇa called '''Gārgya or Bālāki.''' We know the story. This Gārgya was a sincere person but a bit proud—he was a ''brāhmaṇa'' (proud brāhmaṇa). So he thought he knew everything about the ultimate Brahman, the Supreme Brahman (Parabrahman). So he approached—strangely, not Janaka, but this Ajātaśatru—and voluntarily said, "I will teach you about Brahman." Ajātaśatru was very happy even just to hear these words: "I am going to give you one thousand cows. Rarely anybody comes to me." And then Ajātaśatru asks him, "Teach me." And Gārgya immediately started teaching.

He did not know the Supreme Brahman. He knew only '''Saguṇa Brahma''', also called '''Hiraṇyagarbha'''. Who is Hiraṇyagarbha? The entire creation is called Hiraṇyagarbha or Īśvara, Saguṇa Brahma—where from the living and the non-living, every living creature is manifesting. It is a manifestation of Īśvara. It is not a production of Īśvara like milk is a production of curds, or a pot is the making of a potter, or a baby is given birth by a mother but they remain separate. Unlike that, the clay itself has become a pot. Only in the case of Brahman we have to extend the imagination and say, unlike the making of the pot, Brahman is both the material cause as well as the intelligent cause as well as the instrumental cause. In fact, there is no creation; it is only a manifestation. In fact, according to the highest Advaitic teaching, there is no manifestation of Brahman at all.

If we happen to confront Brahman and ask, "Why did You create this universe?"—instead of "Brahman," we can substitute the word "God." Why did God create this world? Why do we question? We never question if everything is absolutely fine. Only when we find something wrong, especially which is causing me great pain, then only we question. We rarely question even when everyone else is suffering but we are quite satisfied. So, according to Advaita Vedānta, Brahman does not say, "I am going to manifest." This is all an explanation given to ignorant people, people of very small understanding, out of compassion by the scripture, to make us understand. You are absolutely right.
==The Three Vādas: सृष्टिदृष्टिवादSṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi, दृष्टि-सृष्टि-वाद Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi, and Ajātavāda ('''अजातवाद''') ==
That is why today I am going to very briefly introduce a new concept to you—not, of course, to other Vedāntins. Earlier I have briefly mentioned about three concepts: Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi, and Ajātavāda.
===Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vādaसृष्टिदृष्टिवाद===
What is Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi? First, there is a creation; then only I am able to experience that creation. First creation, followed by our experience. That is called Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi. And according to our understanding, ''dṛṣṭi'' means seeing, hearing, forming an idea about the object, and acting and reacting, wanting or not wanting, happy or unhappy. This in brief is ''sṛṣṭi''—creation. That means an object is present even before I came across it because there is a creation, and we are able to experience it. But this is for people who think in the waking state that this whole world is real. If you ask them, "Why do you come to this conclusion?"—"It is real because I haven't created it; someone else has created it. I am only experiencing and then reacting to it." Therefore, so long as we cherish the idea that this creation is real, that state in which we think that creation is real is called '''Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda.'''

This is the first stage from where everybody is acting and reacting. In course of time, because of certain experiences—and these experiences are not pleasant but sometimes very, very painful—we start questioning, "What is this creation?" And we find out, if we are thoughtful people, that everything in this world changes. And if something is changing, it is not reliable. If something is not reliable, our quest for something reliable starts. So we start questioning, "Is there a real creation, or is it something I created?"
===Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vādaदृष्टि-सृष्टि-वाद===
How does a person transit from the first stage (Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi) to Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi? Because of these unpleasant suffering experiences. So long as everything is going on fine, within certain limitations, of course—if there is not too much pain, then we won't react. We think this world is very real. But death is real, old age is real, disease is real, poverty is real, suffering is real. So we cannot sustain this idea, but it persists for a long time. That state is indicated by Swamiji's ''uttiṣṭhata''—"Start thinking, what is this? Is your view that the world is real?" And that world, that creation, also includes "I," "you," everything. Therefore, I thought I am real. If I think the world is real, I am also real. But if I think the world is changing because I am also changing—simultaneously both are changing—and therefore everything is changing, therefore it is unreliable, then we have to start our quest. And what is real? Is there anything that is really real? The person does not get the answer. The answer he gets is that even the Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi—my thinking, everybody's thinking that this external world, of which I am a part, is real—so long I have been cherishing that idea; but because of these negative experiences, we start questioning.

Then we remember suddenly: practically everyday, every night, we go to bed and have dream experiences. And then we suddenly one day connect: "Oh, when I wake up, this dream vanishes. I never think, nobody ever thinks a dream is an unchanging reality. It is real only so long as it lasts." But when do I recognise that a dream is a dream? A dream is nothing but my own creation. That is an important word you have to remember: it is ''my'' creation. I have been interpreting my memories in an intense imaginary form, and that—I created my own thoughts in a concrete form. Actually, there is no such corresponding reality, but they are also changing; nothing is true. So when I wake up, when I remember my dream, you remember your dream, then you start thinking, "This is my creation."

So, before I went to the dream state (that second state), there was no dream. Then I collected the raw material—all my thoughts, etcetera—and I created, taking some of these thoughts, this particular dream. Maybe in a second dream I might create an entirely new type of dream. Then I remember both dreams; both do not correspond, both are changing, and both are my own creations. Therefore, '''I am the creator. In a sense, this is the summary essence of Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi.'''

'''''Dṛṣṭi'' means my thought.''' So when I look at any object in the '''''sṛṣṭi'' (so-called creation by God)''', that is the first time—for a brief momentary experience. Thereafterwards, I start building certain opinions: "I like this, I don't like this, it is sweet, not so sweet, the other one is much sweeter." So like that, I go on forming opinions about every single experience that I have from this world, and thereafterwards I go on reacting according to my own preconceived ideas. "This is a good person, this is an evil person, this is a reliable person, this is a dishonest person, this is ''daiva'' and this is ''āsura''"—etc., etc., etc. And in course of time, we are convinced that because of the way I think, even though the other person does not understand, through intuition he understands: "This person is not showing much love towards me, much liking towards me; he does not love me. In fact, he may be thinking of harming me, trying to give me trouble." And he reacts, which absolutely certifies that my intuition is correct about that person, because his behaviour reinforces what I already know about that person.

So in brief, this is called Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda. Both Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi and Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi are combined in our worldly life. But what we need to understand is that we are not talking about worldly life; we are talking about spiritual progress.
===Progress through Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi===
So when a person first thinks, "This world is real, my body is real, my mind is real. I have some desires. I know what happiness is and what unhappiness is. So I try to fulfill, act in such a way that I try to avoid suffering as much as possible and obtain enjoyment as much as possible." But then he finds that, in spite of his efforts, certain things he cannot avoid, because it is the nature of the world—including his body and mind—to always change. And he slowly, reluctantly accepts, "I am also changeable; my thoughts are changeable." This is the first step in Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda.

Then he realises, suddenly one day, he becomes a bit more wise, and then he says, "If I can develop a particular framework through which I can see the world, then I can make my mind much more calmer and joyous, in spite of what exists as unchangeable fact." So in the midst of, for example, evil people, "Okay, let them do what they like, but I will not be a puppet in their hands. I will not react according to their expectation. I will keep the frame of my mind in a particular way so that I try to prevent what is harmful that is contemplated by others, or I think they are trying to do it, or actually do it. But then I myself will look upon them as the result of my own ''karmaphala''." He becomes more calm. And whenever any event of joy occurs, let him enjoy it to the full, not comparing, "Last time this sweet was much better; this time it is rotten." No—last time was last time, this time is this time.

So when a spiritual aspirant attains what is called insight, then he understands: whatever be the world externally, I can keep my mind to a great extent very peaceful by my changed outlook. This is what psychologists call CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy). CBT does not change anything outside; it is not absolutely true. As my behaviour changes, there will be some changes in many people correspondingly—that is very true. So people also react to my action or to my reaction. So if I can go on very calm, joyful, helpful, unselfish, with a positive outlook on life, especially belief in God, then I understand, irrespective of what the world is, I can feel I am living in a higher world. This is, in a sense, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda. This is a great progress in spiritual life.

Then in course of time, that also is not possible because how long am I going to go on dealing with this mind in this way? I want to go beyond the mind. So many commentators (bhāṣyakāras) have compared Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda to the waking state—that is for whom the external world is the only reality. For those who are more advanced, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda is comparable to the dream. Since I am the owner of the dream, I am the creator of this external world—that is my own thoughts, my outlook (''dṛṣṭi'') is going to change everything in the outside world so far as I am concerned, because it is an individual experience only. How Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to look upon the world, how many priests used to look upon the world, is totally different. I will give some examples also later on.

But even ''svapna'' (dream) is changing, and there also some unhappy experiences will be there. No dream will be always very sweet—only dreaming of ''svargaloka'' (higher worlds)—no. So how can I want to be always happy? '''Therefore, taking our three states of experience one after the other: waking first, corresponding to Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda; Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda corresponding to the dream state; and Ajātavāda, which corresponds to deep sleep (dreamless sleep, ''Suṣupti Avasthā'').'''
===सुषुप्ति[Suṣupti] and अजातवाद [Ajātavāda]===
Why is it called'''सुषुप्ति ''Suṣupti'''''? Because not even an iota, a trace of body and mind, intrudes there to create any sort of problems. When we forget our body-mind, which is the whole of the external world—so to say—so long as I have one eye, one-fifth of the world is real in the way of forms. So long as I can hear, another one-fifth of the world is present in the form of sound. If anybody is bereft of these five sense organs, the whole external world disappears, but the mind remains. But in ''Suṣupti'', even that mind also disappears. Therefore, when a person says, "I am not aware of anything," we have to understand it correctly: I am not aware of the mind and the body, but I am aware of a particular state where there is no second so long as it lasts, and it is the most peaceful. I am the only one. Since I am the only one, happiness and unhappiness, fear and fearlessness—''sukha-duḥkha, bhaya-abhaya, śītoṣṇa''—they do not affect me at all. When I am free from these dualities, I am my own self. I remain as my own self.

Even though this is not the highest state, it is the nearest to the higher state. That is why the '''cosmic aspect of everybody's ''suṣupti'' is called Īśvara,''' and the '''individual aspect is called very beautifully ''ājña'' or ''prajña''.''' But we should not misunderstand: "I did not know" does not mean "I was unconscious." No, I was very conscious that I am alone; there is no body-mind. The absence of the body-mind I note down. I don't even say—I cannot even say—that the world is absent, because there is no world at all. I am not aware of the world at all. I am not aware of the body and mind. I am aware of only one unbroken ''cidābhāsa''—pure consciousness: "I am, I am." The problem is this also changes, even though it lasts longer. But so long as we are there, so '''''sukham aham asvāpsam (सुखमहमस्वाप््सम्)'''''. Even if a tiger, one hundred tigers surrounded me and played with me, throwing me like a volleyball from one side to the other—so long as I am in that deep sleep state, I am blissful.

In this connection, I remember the life of '''Ramana Maharshi'''. Bhagavān used to say that his sleep was very, very deep, and when he was awake, nobody could wrestle with him, beat him, or become a stronger player than him. He was the best player in everything because he concentrated on his mind. Some of the boys were very resentful, but they knew they could not beat him. Even if they came to fight, he was going to throw them out. He was very strong. But then they soon found out a secret: when this boy called Ramana goes to deep sleep, it is a very peculiar deep sleep—such a deep, deep sleep that they used to carry him, punch him, and do all sorts of things. And he, Ramana Bhagavān, used to narrate: "I did not know a single thing"—that means he was not feeling. And when I used to wake up—because the boys used to bring me back and put me exactly where I was sleeping—happily I would get up and say, "I went to bed on this bed and I woke up on this bed; nothing had ever taken place." Now, sometimes I have these doubts: what about all the punchings he received? Fortunately, Ramana Maharshi does not remember anything because nobody could really give such a punch that it would hurt even after he woke up. That was a very peculiar experience.

Some fortunate people like Swami Vivekananda used to sleep with two types of divine visions for some time. As soon as he laid himself on bed, Narendra used to see a small ''jyoti'' (light) growing brighter and brighter, and his personality used to merge in it, and he did not know what happened after that. Second, he used to feel, "I am a wandering monk all the time, totally dependent upon God." But he used to feel, "I am the king of this world. I can do whatever I like. I can get whatever I want. I can attain whatever I set my mind upon. But next second, I rely only upon God." And with that second vision, he used to fall asleep for a long time. Narendranath thought everybody used to sleep in the same way. Only when Rāmakṛṣṇa questioned him, he came to know that that is not the truth. So these are peculiar experiences of great people (''mahāpuruṣas'').

Therefore, what we are talking here is that when a person makes progress, he soon realises that even though it is my own outlook on the world, that alone is reality for me because I am acting and reacting according to my opinions—whether they are right or wrong, we are not talking. Therefore, who formed these opinions? Myself. And if I have formed these opinions, I also have the capacity to form them in the way I like, in the way I can experience unbroken happiness, unbroken bliss—meaning only sweet dreams, happy dreams, beautiful dreams. That is a great progress in spiritual life. That is what I think Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to say: when a person's ''kuṇḍalinī'' reaches the Anāhata chakra, thereafter progresses until he reaches the Ājñā chakra, higher and higher experiences will be there. There are also different stages, but we are not going to talk about them.
===Summary of the Two Stages===
'''So the second one is Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda''', where the importance is my action and reaction, my opinion about the world. In the first one (Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi), the world is primary. '''In the second, I can change my opinion, and if I can change it to a very positive, happy opinion, then I can experience—irrespective of conditions outside and in my body and mind—only positive experiences.''' This is a great progress in spiritual life. This is called thinking the whole world is a dream. Until that time, any amount of lectures, hearing the lectures, or reading books is not going to help us. We have to identify, and that is a state of experience. Until we experience, we are still in the Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi stage only, not the Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi stage. But slowly we realise about this.

In my last class I have explained how '''Swami Saradānandaji''' had described this so fantastically well. You will do well if you can go through that, because there are more details there than what I have outlined. I only gave you the summary of how a sādhaka can reach the highest realization through both the paths of ''iti iti'' and ''neti neti''. But it is not a choice—"I will choose neti neti from the very beginning without going through iti iti." '''I have to transform the world through this Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda, and this transformation is called controlling the mind (''cittavṛtti-nirodha'')[योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोध | Samadhi Pada || 1.2 ||patanjali yoga sutras].''' This transformation is called s'''ubduing demonic qualities and developing divine qualities''', so beautifully enumerated in the '''sixteenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gītā.'''

But the progress has not been complete, s'''o we have to go still further, and that is called Ajātavāda.'''
===Eka-Jīva Vāda and Ajātavāda===
By the way, even this Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda also indicates to us another fantastic idea, about which Swami Vivekananda only remarks very simply, very rarely. '''It is called Eka-Jīva Vāda, in contrast to Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda.''' What is the difference? In Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda theory, my opinion about the world is real. There are infinite numbers of beings; everyone is separate from everyone else. If somebody is going and experiencing, that is only that individual's experience; others are not affected by it. That is called Aneka-Jīva Vāda—as many creatures, so many ''jīvas''. In contrast, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda means that if I become unconscious, the whole world becomes unconscious—all those Aneka-Jīvas, infinite numbers of ''jīvas'', various classes of ''jīvas'' having varying qualities. Some are gods, some are semi-demigods, some are ''rākṣasas''.

As I mentioned, there are '''four types of people'''. The l'''owest class want to kill everybody''', rob everybody, and try to be happy. The '''third class say, "Live and let live.''' We don't believe in God, but we believe that if I let you live, you will also let me live. I scratch your back, you scratch my back." This is the outlook of the third class. But when the same ''jīva'' progresses further, h'''e enters into the second class, where he believes in God and in the scriptures.''' But even though he says he believes in the scriptures and God, he wants only something from God—'''he does not want God''', '''he wants certain things from God, i'''ncluding not only enjoyment on this earth but higher happiness in the higher worlds. That is what he wants to have. So these are much better; '''they are more moral, and they do not try to harm'''. They also understand they must acquire '''virtue (''puṇyam'')''' in order to attain higher happiness both in this world and after death in higher worlds. So they have faith in God, faith in the scriptures, faith in the prescriptions of the scriptures, faith in the '''''Karma-kāṇḍa''''' of the Vedas, and they perform—'''because the best of faith is its practice.''' If anybody says, "I have faith," but does not practice, that is merely worthless, useless belief—not faith at all.

So this is how the second-class people have faith: "I want higher happiness." Their minds have not yet evolved further, so they think they will be quite happy if they can get even the highest happiness in this dualistic world, which is termed as '''Brahmaloka.''' So they perform ''agnihotra'', ''pūjā'', worship, chanting of mantras, and visiting places of pilgrimage, etcetera. And they get the result. Once they get the result, their faith in the scriptures becomes enormously reinforced, and when it becomes reinforced, an inner eye opens up and says: "The same scripture which is telling me to perform the rituals as prescribed in the ''Karmakāṇḍa'' (the action portion of the first part of the Vedas) '''is also talking about the eternal, unbroken, highest happiness called ''Brahmananda''''' that can be attained. Why should I go on working like a donkey '''if once I realise Brahman, then I can be happy for eternity—highest happiness, unbroken happiness, infinite happiness for infinite time?" They belong to the first-class people.'''

This is what I said about the four types of people. Now, this person who is firmly convinced, trying to control his mind and '''purify his ''dṛṣṭi'',''' so that he can '''view the ''sṛṣṭi'' in a much higher light—this is called morality. T'''his is called '''समदर्शित्व'''''s'''amadarśitva'''''—seeing the whole world as equal to one's own self—and this corresponds to the ''Dharma-nanda'', the fourth stage of ''ānanda'', and that is only one step lower to ''Brahmananda''. Then the person, by the law of evolution, slowly understands: "Any amount of effort will not do." So he approaches a competent teacher, and he also tries to become a competent student. The teacher understands: "If there is a small defect, I will try to help them remove that defect"—'''as Prajāpati had done to both Indra and Virocana.''' But Virocana could not be reformed. Does not Prajāpati know it? He knows it, but "let him experience." But he will also be an Indra-like sometime in the future, because suffering will bring, like no other thing, to the feet of God. So that person had to wait for some time, but he would be evolving—no doubt about it. But Indra slowly was being purged of his impurities.
===The Chāndogya Upaniṣad Example===
In the same way, we are talking about Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda. So '''Virocana was a follower of Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda:''' "Make everything proper, rest properly, eat properly, enjoy properly, and that is all; nothing else is there." These are called Cārvākas or materialists. But Indra at first thought like that, so he must have gone through this stage. Because the Chāndogya Upaniṣad in the eighth chapter does not tell us, but my interpretation would be: Indra returned home, enjoyed bodily happiness, found his quest was not fulfilled. Then he came back again, and further purification was necessary—another thirty-two years, like that three times. '''Then he was told the second: "The whole world is like a dream." That corresponds roughly to Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda.''' But '''even that Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda is not complete;''' there also changes will be there. Therefore again Indra came back, and another thirty-two years. Then he thought '''Prajāpati taught him the third highest stage—that is called Eka-Jīva Vāda''': '''in ''Suṣupti'', I am alone'''. When I remove my mind, the entire world disappears. I am the only one who is present. I am the only ''jīva''. Why do I call myself as a ''jīva''? '''Because I have not become really enlightened and not realised my true nature; therefore, I am still a ''jīva''.''' But fortunately, from infinite numbers of ''jīvas'', I progressed to one ''jīva'' in Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda stage.

So this person wants to experience and move further. Then he analyses his deep sleep state, which corresponds to '''Ajātavāda.''' So long as we are in deep sleep state, no world exists. I am only conscious of my own pure self without a second. Therefore, when there is no second, there are no dualities like happiness and unhappiness, heat and cold, victory and defeat, profit and loss. All these will totally disappear in deep sleep state, and there is unbroken bliss so long as it lasts. And I am conscious of it—that is why, without being conscious, I cannot say, "I was very happy." So '''''sukham aham asvāpsam (सुखमहमस्वाप््सम्)'''''—"I slept very happily throughout the deep sleep state." '''''Na kiñcid avediṣam न किञ्चित्आवेदिषं''—'''"I did not know anything about this world."['''Vichara sagaram in sanskrit ,dvitiya taranga, passage 97''',purvapaksha in commentary] And this utterance comes only after the world comes into view upon waking up. But this analysis makes this sādhaka understand: probably like this deep sleep state, I was never born; the world never existed; maybe I am mistaking it. So there is no creation, there is no ''jīva'', there is no ''baddha'' (bound soul), there is no effort for liberation, and there is nobody who becomes liberated. In the second chapter of the '''Māṇḍūkya Kārikā, I''' think '''verse number thirty-two, we get this'''

'''न निरोधो न चोत्पत्तिर्न बद्धो न च साधकः ।'''

'''न मुमुक्षुर्न वै मुक्त इत्येषा परमार्थता ॥'''

na nirodho na cotpattirna baddho na ca sādhakaḥ |

na mumukṣurna vai mukta ityeṣā paramārthatā || 32 ||

32. ''There is no dissolution, no birth, none in bondage, none aspiring for wisdom, no seeker of liberation and none liberated. This is the absolute truth.''

'''. So this is called Ajātavāda.'''

'''Gauḍapāda,''' by the way, is a proponent of Ajātavāda. But in order to confirm—because the deep sleep breaks and he wakes up—by the time he surrenders, he takes the shelter at the feet of an enlightened soul, and then he understands slowly. ''Mahāvākya'': "There is no world, there is no ''sṛṣṭi'', there is no ''dṛṣṭi'', there is no Eka-Jīva." What remains is Ajātavāda. ''Vāda'' means opinion, but that opinion has to be transformed into a realization. So slowly, through ''viveka'' (discrimination), ''vairāgya'' (dispassion), ''ṣaṭ-sampatti'' (the six-fold wealth), and ''mumukṣutva'' (intense desire for liberation)—all the required qualifications to become a fit recipient—he receives the great mantra called ''Mahāvākya''. Either of the Mahāvākyas:

* '''''Prajñānam Brahma''''' — Consciousness is Brahman.'''(प्रज्ञानं ब्रह्म)(Aitareya Upanishad 3.3 of the Rig Veda)'''
* '''''Ayam Ātmā Brahma''''' — This Ātman is Brahman.'''अयम् आत्मा ब्रह्म(Mandukya Upanishad 1.2 of the Atharva Veda)'''
* ''T'''at tvam asi''''' — You are That."['''तत् त्वम् असि''']['''''Tat tvam asi] Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7 of the Sama Veda, and of course'''''
* '''''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi''''' — I am Brahman '''(अहं ब्रह्मास्मि)''' — which comes in this very Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, in this very first chapter, which we will see later on. '''आत्मैवेदंइदंआसीत्त''' etc । '''अहं ब्रह्मास्मीति''' ,atmaivedamiiadam aseet tadatmanamevavet.aham brahmasmi iti]et'''c''' ''Brihadaranyaka Upanishad'''''1.4.10 of Yajur veda'''

'''''Prajñānaṃ Brahma'', ''Ayamātmā Brahma'', ''Tat tvam asi'' (famous), ''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi'' (no'''t so famous in this Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad; we have seen that one in the very first chapter, fourth section). So then he realises one day, and then he realises: creation is not real.
===The Highest Realization===
Creation—if I put on black spectacles, then Brahman appears as black. If I remove the black spectacles, Brahman appears as He is. So if I put on the spectacles of ''nāma-rūpa'' (name and form), I see the same Brahman with name and form; minus the spectacles of name and form, I see Brahman as He is. So if I am able to see the world but as Brahman, that is called the '''state of a living free soul (''jīvanmukta'').'''

So these are the stages. '''This highest Ajātavāda is the highest.''' Now, which one is correct? That is a wrong question. Depending upon at what stage of development we are: if we think Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi, then the Karma Siddhānta will work out. If you want to lessen the suffering, follow the teachings of the scriptures and try to remove selfishness and immorality, and try to treat others with sympathy and unselfishness, and then your life will be as happy as possible. But rebirth cannot be avoided, and the opposite of happiness also cannot be avoided. But the same thing applies to Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda also. Even in dreams, we have both happy and unhappy experiences. So when we wake up, we understand by analysing the dream: maybe the world is like this only.

This is the sum and substance of '''Swami Saradānandaji's''' explanation of how a man attains to the highest through the path of ''iti iti''. So through the path of ''iti iti'', slowly he progresses, and then he enters into Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda. '''He creates his own dream of ''Iṣṭadevatā'' (chosen deity) and attributes several qualities'''—each quality is a spiritual quality, and every spiritual quality when it is acquired makes us one step higher than what we have before, or one step subtler, higher, more pervading. So that is how '''then he comes to analyse the deep sleep state: Eka-Jīva'''—"I am the only one; I create the entire world. So I am the creator." So when we analyse that, we say: so long as we see that '''in deep sleep, there is no world at all, there is no one ''jīva'', there are no many ''jīvas'''''—they all belong to the higher stage of dream state. Then what ''vāda'' remains? '''Ajātavāda—pure Ajātavāda. So''' there is no creation at all.

At first it is a theory, but later on it becomes an experience by the grace of the Guru, which is really the grace of God, which is really the grace of the scriptures. Guru, scriptures, and grace—they are not separate. This is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa meant: ''Bhāgavata'' (scripture), ''bhakta'' (true devotee—the Guru), ''Bhagavān'' (God)—they become one. That is how we have to understand. Only when a person realises can he say, "I am the bhakta." A real bhakta means a realised soul.

So this analysis of the deep sleep state (''Suṣupti'') brings us to the intellectual understanding that there is no world, and therefore it is called Ajātavāda—"there was no creation." But that intellectual conviction has to be transformed into actual realization. When one takes shelter at the feet of the Sadguru, slowly he will progress, and one day, like the Guru, he can say, "'''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi."''' The Guru will be rejoiced: "A big burden has gone from me; I don't need to worry about this person."
==Conclusion==
So we have to keep in mind these th'''ree beautiful opinions (''vādas''—faiths, actually):'''

1. The world is real—this is meant for believers in the reality of the external world '''(Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi).'''

2. The world is my own construct—this is for believers after analysing the dream state '''(Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi).'''

3. I am the one who creates the whole dream world; therefore, I am the only ''jīva'' '''(Eka-Jīva).'''

But when the same person progresses further and tries to analyse the deep sleep state, '''then he understands that there is no creation at all, and when it is transformed into realization, he understands Brahman, and Brahman alone is the only reality.'''

== 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 Introduction Lecture 42 on 14 June 2026

2026-07-28T15:24:16Z

Gayatri: /* Summary of the Two Stages */

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.'''

''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH

OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.

==Introduction to the Second Chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad==
In our last class, we started the second chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, which is a dialogue between a great knower of Brahman called '''Ajātaśatru''' and a proud brāhmaṇa called '''Gārgya or Bālāki.''' We know the story. This Gārgya was a sincere person but a bit proud—he was a ''brāhmaṇa'' (proud brāhmaṇa). So he thought he knew everything about the ultimate Brahman, the Supreme Brahman (Parabrahman). So he approached—strangely, not Janaka, but this Ajātaśatru—and voluntarily said, "I will teach you about Brahman." Ajātaśatru was very happy even just to hear these words: "I am going to give you one thousand cows. Rarely anybody comes to me." And then Ajātaśatru asks him, "Teach me." And Gārgya immediately started teaching.

He did not know the Supreme Brahman. He knew only '''Saguṇa Brahma''', also called '''Hiraṇyagarbha'''. Who is Hiraṇyagarbha? The entire creation is called Hiraṇyagarbha or Īśvara, Saguṇa Brahma—where from the living and the non-living, every living creature is manifesting. It is a manifestation of Īśvara. It is not a production of Īśvara like milk is a production of curds, or a pot is the making of a potter, or a baby is given birth by a mother but they remain separate. Unlike that, the clay itself has become a pot. Only in the case of Brahman we have to extend the imagination and say, unlike the making of the pot, Brahman is both the material cause as well as the intelligent cause as well as the instrumental cause. In fact, there is no creation; it is only a manifestation. In fact, according to the highest Advaitic teaching, there is no manifestation of Brahman at all.

If we happen to confront Brahman and ask, "Why did You create this universe?"—instead of "Brahman," we can substitute the word "God." Why did God create this world? Why do we question? We never question if everything is absolutely fine. Only when we find something wrong, especially which is causing me great pain, then only we question. We rarely question even when everyone else is suffering but we are quite satisfied. So, according to Advaita Vedānta, Brahman does not say, "I am going to manifest." This is all an explanation given to ignorant people, people of very small understanding, out of compassion by the scripture, to make us understand. You are absolutely right.
==The Three Vādas: Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi, and Ajātavāda==
That is why today I am going to very briefly introduce a new concept to you—not, of course, to other Vedāntins. Earlier I have briefly mentioned about three concepts: Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi, and Ajātavāda.
===Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda===
What is Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi? First, there is a creation; then only I am able to experience that creation. First creation, followed by our experience. That is called Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi. And according to our understanding, ''dṛṣṭi'' means seeing, hearing, forming an idea about the object, and acting and reacting, wanting or not wanting, happy or unhappy. This in brief is ''sṛṣṭi''—creation. That means an object is present even before I came across it because there is a creation, and we are able to experience it. But this is for people who think in the waking state that this whole world is real. If you ask them, "Why do you come to this conclusion?"—"It is real because I haven't created it; someone else has created it. I am only experiencing and then reacting to it." Therefore, so long as we cherish the idea that this creation is real, that state in which we think that creation is real is called '''Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda.'''

This is the first stage from where everybody is acting and reacting. In course of time, because of certain experiences—and these experiences are not pleasant but sometimes very, very painful—we start questioning, "What is this creation?" And we find out, if we are thoughtful people, that everything in this world changes. And if something is changing, it is not reliable. If something is not reliable, our quest for something reliable starts. So we start questioning, "Is there a real creation, or is it something I created?"
===Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda===
How does a person transit from the first stage (Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi) to Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi? Because of these unpleasant suffering experiences. So long as everything is going on fine, within certain limitations, of course—if there is not too much pain, then we won't react. We think this world is very real. But death is real, old age is real, disease is real, poverty is real, suffering is real. So we cannot sustain this idea, but it persists for a long time. That state is indicated by Swamiji's ''uttiṣṭhata''—"Start thinking, what is this? Is your view that the world is real?" And that world, that creation, also includes "I," "you," everything. Therefore, I thought I am real. If I think the world is real, I am also real. But if I think the world is changing because I am also changing—simultaneously both are changing—and therefore everything is changing, therefore it is unreliable, then we have to start our quest. And what is real? Is there anything that is really real? The person does not get the answer. The answer he gets is that even the Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi—my thinking, everybody's thinking that this external world, of which I am a part, is real—so long I have been cherishing that idea; but because of these negative experiences, we start questioning.

Then we remember suddenly: practically everyday, every night, we go to bed and have dream experiences. And then we suddenly one day connect: "Oh, when I wake up, this dream vanishes. I never think, nobody ever thinks a dream is an unchanging reality. It is real only so long as it lasts." But when do I recognise that a dream is a dream? A dream is nothing but my own creation. That is an important word you have to remember: it is ''my'' creation. I have been interpreting my memories in an intense imaginary form, and that—I created my own thoughts in a concrete form. Actually, there is no such corresponding reality, but they are also changing; nothing is true. So when I wake up, when I remember my dream, you remember your dream, then you start thinking, "This is my creation."

So, before I went to the dream state (that second state), there was no dream. Then I collected the raw material—all my thoughts, etcetera—and I created, taking some of these thoughts, this particular dream. Maybe in a second dream I might create an entirely new type of dream. Then I remember both dreams; both do not correspond, both are changing, and both are my own creations. Therefore, '''I am the creator. In a sense, this is the summary essence of Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi.'''

'''''Dṛṣṭi'' means my thought.''' So when I look at any object in the '''''sṛṣṭi'' (so-called creation by God)''', that is the first time—for a brief momentary experience. Thereafterwards, I start building certain opinions: "I like this, I don't like this, it is sweet, not so sweet, the other one is much sweeter." So like that, I go on forming opinions about every single experience that I have from this world, and thereafterwards I go on reacting according to my own preconceived ideas. "This is a good person, this is an evil person, this is a reliable person, this is a dishonest person, this is ''daiva'' and this is ''āsura''"—etc., etc., etc. And in course of time, we are convinced that because of the way I think, even though the other person does not understand, through intuition he understands: "This person is not showing much love towards me, much liking towards me; he does not love me. In fact, he may be thinking of harming me, trying to give me trouble." And he reacts, which absolutely certifies that my intuition is correct about that person, because his behaviour reinforces what I already know about that person.

So in brief, this is called Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda. Both Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi and Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi are combined in our worldly life. But what we need to understand is that we are not talking about worldly life; we are talking about spiritual progress.
===Progress through Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi===
So when a person first thinks, "This world is real, my body is real, my mind is real. I have some desires. I know what happiness is and what unhappiness is. So I try to fulfill, act in such a way that I try to avoid suffering as much as possible and obtain enjoyment as much as possible." But then he finds that, in spite of his efforts, certain things he cannot avoid, because it is the nature of the world—including his body and mind—to always change. And he slowly, reluctantly accepts, "I am also changeable; my thoughts are changeable." This is the first step in Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda.

Then he realises, suddenly one day, he becomes a bit more wise, and then he says, "If I can develop a particular framework through which I can see the world, then I can make my mind much more calmer and joyous, in spite of what exists as unchangeable fact." So in the midst of, for example, evil people, "Okay, let them do what they like, but I will not be a puppet in their hands. I will not react according to their expectation. I will keep the frame of my mind in a particular way so that I try to prevent what is harmful that is contemplated by others, or I think they are trying to do it, or actually do it. But then I myself will look upon them as the result of my own ''karmaphala''." He becomes more calm. And whenever any event of joy occurs, let him enjoy it to the full, not comparing, "Last time this sweet was much better; this time it is rotten." No—last time was last time, this time is this time.

So when a spiritual aspirant attains what is called insight, then he understands: whatever be the world externally, I can keep my mind to a great extent very peaceful by my changed outlook. This is what psychologists call CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy). CBT does not change anything outside; it is not absolutely true. As my behaviour changes, there will be some changes in many people correspondingly—that is very true. So people also react to my action or to my reaction. So if I can go on very calm, joyful, helpful, unselfish, with a positive outlook on life, especially belief in God, then I understand, irrespective of what the world is, I can feel I am living in a higher world. This is, in a sense, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda. This is a great progress in spiritual life.

Then in course of time, that also is not possible because how long am I going to go on dealing with this mind in this way? I want to go beyond the mind. So many commentators (bhāṣyakāras) have compared Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda to the waking state—that is for whom the external world is the only reality. For those who are more advanced, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda is comparable to the dream. Since I am the owner of the dream, I am the creator of this external world—that is my own thoughts, my outlook (''dṛṣṭi'') is going to change everything in the outside world so far as I am concerned, because it is an individual experience only. How Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to look upon the world, how many priests used to look upon the world, is totally different. I will give some examples also later on.

But even ''svapna'' (dream) is changing, and there also some unhappy experiences will be there. No dream will be always very sweet—only dreaming of ''svargaloka'' (higher worlds)—no. So how can I want to be always happy? '''Therefore, taking our three states of experience one after the other: waking first, corresponding to Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda; Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda corresponding to the dream state; and Ajātavāda, which corresponds to deep sleep (dreamless sleep, ''Suṣupti Avasthā'').'''
===सुषुप्ति[Suṣupti] and अजातवाद [Ajātavāda]===
Why is it called'''सुषुप्ति ''Suṣupti'''''? Because not even an iota, a trace of body and mind, intrudes there to create any sort of problems. When we forget our body-mind, which is the whole of the external world—so to say—so long as I have one eye, one-fifth of the world is real in the way of forms. So long as I can hear, another one-fifth of the world is present in the form of sound. If anybody is bereft of these five sense organs, the whole external world disappears, but the mind remains. But in ''Suṣupti'', even that mind also disappears. Therefore, when a person says, "I am not aware of anything," we have to understand it correctly: I am not aware of the mind and the body, but I am aware of a particular state where there is no second so long as it lasts, and it is the most peaceful. I am the only one. Since I am the only one, happiness and unhappiness, fear and fearlessness—''sukha-duḥkha, bhaya-abhaya, śītoṣṇa''—they do not affect me at all. When I am free from these dualities, I am my own self. I remain as my own self.

Even though this is not the highest state, it is the nearest to the higher state. That is why the '''cosmic aspect of everybody's ''suṣupti'' is called Īśvara,''' and the '''individual aspect is called very beautifully ''ājña'' or ''prajña''.''' But we should not misunderstand: "I did not know" does not mean "I was unconscious." No, I was very conscious that I am alone; there is no body-mind. The absence of the body-mind I note down. I don't even say—I cannot even say—that the world is absent, because there is no world at all. I am not aware of the world at all. I am not aware of the body and mind. I am aware of only one unbroken ''cidābhāsa''—pure consciousness: "I am, I am." The problem is this also changes, even though it lasts longer. But so long as we are there, so '''''sukham aham asvāpsam (सुखमहमस्वाप््सम्)'''''. Even if a tiger, one hundred tigers surrounded me and played with me, throwing me like a volleyball from one side to the other—so long as I am in that deep sleep state, I am blissful.

In this connection, I remember the life of '''Ramana Maharshi'''. Bhagavān used to say that his sleep was very, very deep, and when he was awake, nobody could wrestle with him, beat him, or become a stronger player than him. He was the best player in everything because he concentrated on his mind. Some of the boys were very resentful, but they knew they could not beat him. Even if they came to fight, he was going to throw them out. He was very strong. But then they soon found out a secret: when this boy called Ramana goes to deep sleep, it is a very peculiar deep sleep—such a deep, deep sleep that they used to carry him, punch him, and do all sorts of things. And he, Ramana Bhagavān, used to narrate: "I did not know a single thing"—that means he was not feeling. And when I used to wake up—because the boys used to bring me back and put me exactly where I was sleeping—happily I would get up and say, "I went to bed on this bed and I woke up on this bed; nothing had ever taken place." Now, sometimes I have these doubts: what about all the punchings he received? Fortunately, Ramana Maharshi does not remember anything because nobody could really give such a punch that it would hurt even after he woke up. That was a very peculiar experience.

Some fortunate people like Swami Vivekananda used to sleep with two types of divine visions for some time. As soon as he laid himself on bed, Narendra used to see a small ''jyoti'' (light) growing brighter and brighter, and his personality used to merge in it, and he did not know what happened after that. Second, he used to feel, "I am a wandering monk all the time, totally dependent upon God." But he used to feel, "I am the king of this world. I can do whatever I like. I can get whatever I want. I can attain whatever I set my mind upon. But next second, I rely only upon God." And with that second vision, he used to fall asleep for a long time. Narendranath thought everybody used to sleep in the same way. Only when Rāmakṛṣṇa questioned him, he came to know that that is not the truth. So these are peculiar experiences of great people (''mahāpuruṣas'').

Therefore, what we are talking here is that when a person makes progress, he soon realises that even though it is my own outlook on the world, that alone is reality for me because I am acting and reacting according to my opinions—whether they are right or wrong, we are not talking. Therefore, who formed these opinions? Myself. And if I have formed these opinions, I also have the capacity to form them in the way I like, in the way I can experience unbroken happiness, unbroken bliss—meaning only sweet dreams, happy dreams, beautiful dreams. That is a great progress in spiritual life. That is what I think Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to say: when a person's ''kuṇḍalinī'' reaches the Anāhata chakra, thereafter progresses until he reaches the Ājñā chakra, higher and higher experiences will be there. There are also different stages, but we are not going to talk about them.
===Summary of the Two Stages===
'''So the second one is Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda''', where the importance is my action and reaction, my opinion about the world. In the first one (Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi), the world is primary. '''In the second, I can change my opinion, and if I can change it to a very positive, happy opinion, then I can experience—irrespective of conditions outside and in my body and mind—only positive experiences.''' This is a great progress in spiritual life. This is called thinking the whole world is a dream. Until that time, any amount of lectures, hearing the lectures, or reading books is not going to help us. We have to identify, and that is a state of experience. Until we experience, we are still in the Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi stage only, not the Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi stage. But slowly we realise about this.

In my last class I have explained how '''Swami Saradānandaji''' had described this so fantastically well. You will do well if you can go through that, because there are more details there than what I have outlined. I only gave you the summary of how a sādhaka can reach the highest realization through both the paths of ''iti iti'' and ''neti neti''. But it is not a choice—"I will choose neti neti from the very beginning without going through iti iti." '''I have to transform the world through this Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda, and this transformation is called controlling the mind (''cittavṛtti-nirodha'')[योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोध | Samadhi Pada || 1.2 ||patanjali yoga sutras].''' This transformation is called s'''ubduing demonic qualities and developing divine qualities''', so beautifully enumerated in the '''sixteenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gītā.'''

But the progress has not been complete, s'''o we have to go still further, and that is called Ajātavāda.'''
===Eka-Jīva Vāda and Ajātavāda===
By the way, even this Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda also indicates to us another fantastic idea, about which Swami Vivekananda only remarks very simply, very rarely. '''It is called Eka-Jīva Vāda, in contrast to Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda.''' What is the difference? In Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda theory, my opinion about the world is real. There are infinite numbers of beings; everyone is separate from everyone else. If somebody is going and experiencing, that is only that individual's experience; others are not affected by it. That is called Aneka-Jīva Vāda—as many creatures, so many ''jīvas''. In contrast, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda means that if I become unconscious, the whole world becomes unconscious—all those Aneka-Jīvas, infinite numbers of ''jīvas'', various classes of ''jīvas'' having varying qualities. Some are gods, some are semi-demigods, some are ''rākṣasas''.

As I mentioned, there are '''four types of people'''. The l'''owest class want to kill everybody''', rob everybody, and try to be happy. The '''third class say, "Live and let live.''' We don't believe in God, but we believe that if I let you live, you will also let me live. I scratch your back, you scratch my back." This is the outlook of the third class. But when the same ''jīva'' progresses further, h'''e enters into the second class, where he believes in God and in the scriptures.''' But even though he says he believes in the scriptures and God, he wants only something from God—'''he does not want God''', '''he wants certain things from God, i'''ncluding not only enjoyment on this earth but higher happiness in the higher worlds. That is what he wants to have. So these are much better; '''they are more moral, and they do not try to harm'''. They also understand they must acquire '''virtue (''puṇyam'')''' in order to attain higher happiness both in this world and after death in higher worlds. So they have faith in God, faith in the scriptures, faith in the prescriptions of the scriptures, faith in the '''''Karma-kāṇḍa''''' of the Vedas, and they perform—'''because the best of faith is its practice.''' If anybody says, "I have faith," but does not practice, that is merely worthless, useless belief—not faith at all.

So this is how the second-class people have faith: "I want higher happiness." Their minds have not yet evolved further, so they think they will be quite happy if they can get even the highest happiness in this dualistic world, which is termed as '''Brahmaloka.''' So they perform ''agnihotra'', ''pūjā'', worship, chanting of mantras, and visiting places of pilgrimage, etcetera. And they get the result. Once they get the result, their faith in the scriptures becomes enormously reinforced, and when it becomes reinforced, an inner eye opens up and says: "The same scripture which is telling me to perform the rituals as prescribed in the ''Karmakāṇḍa'' (the action portion of the first part of the Vedas) '''is also talking about the eternal, unbroken, highest happiness called ''Brahmananda''''' that can be attained. Why should I go on working like a donkey '''if once I realise Brahman, then I can be happy for eternity—highest happiness, unbroken happiness, infinite happiness for infinite time?" They belong to the first-class people.'''

This is what I said about the four types of people. Now, this person who is firmly convinced, trying to control his mind and '''purify his ''dṛṣṭi'',''' so that he can '''view the ''sṛṣṭi'' in a much higher light—this is called morality. T'''his is called '''समदर्शित्व'''''s'''amadarśitva'''''—seeing the whole world as equal to one's own self—and this corresponds to the ''Dharma-nanda'', the fourth stage of ''ānanda'', and that is only one step lower to ''Brahmananda''. Then the person, by the law of evolution, slowly understands: "Any amount of effort will not do." So he approaches a competent teacher, and he also tries to become a competent student. The teacher understands: "If there is a small defect, I will try to help them remove that defect"—'''as Prajāpati had done to both Indra and Virocana.''' But Virocana could not be reformed. Does not Prajāpati know it? He knows it, but "let him experience." But he will also be an Indra-like sometime in the future, because suffering will bring, like no other thing, to the feet of God. So that person had to wait for some time, but he would be evolving—no doubt about it. But Indra slowly was being purged of his impurities.
===The Chāndogya Upaniṣad Example===
In the same way, we are talking about Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda. So '''Virocana was a follower of Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda:''' "Make everything proper, rest properly, eat properly, enjoy properly, and that is all; nothing else is there." These are called Cārvākas or materialists. But Indra at first thought like that, so he must have gone through this stage. Because the Chāndogya Upaniṣad in the eighth chapter does not tell us, but my interpretation would be: Indra returned home, enjoyed bodily happiness, found his quest was not fulfilled. Then he came back again, and further purification was necessary—another thirty-two years, like that three times. '''Then he was told the second: "The whole world is like a dream." That corresponds roughly to Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda.''' But '''even that Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda is not complete;''' there also changes will be there. Therefore again Indra came back, and another thirty-two years. Then he thought '''Prajāpati taught him the third highest stage—that is called Eka-Jīva Vāda''': '''in ''Suṣupti'', I am alone'''. When I remove my mind, the entire world disappears. I am the only one who is present. I am the only ''jīva''. Why do I call myself as a ''jīva''? '''Because I have not become really enlightened and not realised my true nature; therefore, I am still a ''jīva''.''' But fortunately, from infinite numbers of ''jīvas'', I progressed to one ''jīva'' in Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda stage.

So this person wants to experience and move further. Then he analyses his deep sleep state, which corresponds to '''Ajātavāda.''' So long as we are in deep sleep state, no world exists. I am only conscious of my own pure self without a second. Therefore, when there is no second, there are no dualities like happiness and unhappiness, heat and cold, victory and defeat, profit and loss. All these will totally disappear in deep sleep state, and there is unbroken bliss so long as it lasts. And I am conscious of it—that is why, without being conscious, I cannot say, "I was very happy." So '''''sukham aham asvāpsam (सुखमहमस्वाप््सम्)'''''—"I slept very happily throughout the deep sleep state." '''''Na kiñcid avediṣam न किञ्चित्आवेदिषं''—'''"I did not know anything about this world."['''Vichara sagaram in sanskrit ,dvitiya taranga, passage 97''',purvapaksha in commentary] And this utterance comes only after the world comes into view upon waking up. But this analysis makes this sādhaka understand: probably like this deep sleep state, I was never born; the world never existed; maybe I am mistaking it. So there is no creation, there is no ''jīva'', there is no ''baddha'' (bound soul), there is no effort for liberation, and there is nobody who becomes liberated. In the second chapter of the '''Māṇḍūkya Kārikā, I''' think '''verse number thirty-two, we get this'''

'''न निरोधो न चोत्पत्तिर्न बद्धो न च साधकः ।'''

'''न मुमुक्षुर्न वै मुक्त इत्येषा परमार्थता ॥'''

na nirodho na cotpattirna baddho na ca sādhakaḥ |

na mumukṣurna vai mukta ityeṣā paramārthatā || 32 ||

32. ''There is no dissolution, no birth, none in bondage, none aspiring for wisdom, no seeker of liberation and none liberated. This is the absolute truth.''

'''. So this is called Ajātavāda.'''

'''Gauḍapāda,''' by the way, is a proponent of Ajātavāda. But in order to confirm—because the deep sleep breaks and he wakes up—by the time he surrenders, he takes the shelter at the feet of an enlightened soul, and then he understands slowly. ''Mahāvākya'': "There is no world, there is no ''sṛṣṭi'', there is no ''dṛṣṭi'', there is no Eka-Jīva." What remains is Ajātavāda. ''Vāda'' means opinion, but that opinion has to be transformed into a realization. So slowly, through ''viveka'' (discrimination), ''vairāgya'' (dispassion), ''ṣaṭ-sampatti'' (the six-fold wealth), and ''mumukṣutva'' (intense desire for liberation)—all the required qualifications to become a fit recipient—he receives the great mantra called ''Mahāvākya''. Either of the Mahāvākyas:

* '''''Prajñānam Brahma''''' — Consciousness is Brahman.'''(प्रज्ञानं ब्रह्म)(Aitareya Upanishad 3.3 of the Rig Veda)'''
* '''''Ayam Ātmā Brahma''''' — This Ātman is Brahman.'''अयम् आत्मा ब्रह्म(Mandukya Upanishad 1.2 of the Atharva Veda)'''
* ''T'''at tvam asi''''' — You are That."['''तत् त्वम् असि''']['''''Tat tvam asi] Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7 of the Sama Veda, and of course'''''
* '''''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi''''' — I am Brahman '''(अहं ब्रह्मास्मि)''' — which comes in this very Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, in this very first chapter, which we will see later on. '''आत्मैवेदंइदंआसीत्त''' etc । '''अहं ब्रह्मास्मीति''' ,atmaivedamiiadam aseet tadatmanamevavet.aham brahmasmi iti]et'''c''' ''Brihadaranyaka Upanishad'''''1.4.10 of Yajur veda'''

'''''Prajñānaṃ Brahma'', ''Ayamātmā Brahma'', ''Tat tvam asi'' (famous), ''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi'' (no'''t so famous in this Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad; we have seen that one in the very first chapter, fourth section). So then he realises one day, and then he realises: creation is not real.
===The Highest Realization===
Creation—if I put on black spectacles, then Brahman appears as black. If I remove the black spectacles, Brahman appears as He is. So if I put on the spectacles of ''nāma-rūpa'' (name and form), I see the same Brahman with name and form; minus the spectacles of name and form, I see Brahman as He is. So if I am able to see the world but as Brahman, that is called the '''state of a living free soul (''jīvanmukta'').'''

So these are the stages. '''This highest Ajātavāda is the highest.''' Now, which one is correct? That is a wrong question. Depending upon at what stage of development we are: if we think Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi, then the Karma Siddhānta will work out. If you want to lessen the suffering, follow the teachings of the scriptures and try to remove selfishness and immorality, and try to treat others with sympathy and unselfishness, and then your life will be as happy as possible. But rebirth cannot be avoided, and the opposite of happiness also cannot be avoided. But the same thing applies to Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda also. Even in dreams, we have both happy and unhappy experiences. So when we wake up, we understand by analysing the dream: maybe the world is like this only.

This is the sum and substance of '''Swami Saradānandaji's''' explanation of how a man attains to the highest through the path of ''iti iti''. So through the path of ''iti iti'', slowly he progresses, and then he enters into Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda. '''He creates his own dream of ''Iṣṭadevatā'' (chosen deity) and attributes several qualities'''—each quality is a spiritual quality, and every spiritual quality when it is acquired makes us one step higher than what we have before, or one step subtler, higher, more pervading. So that is how '''then he comes to analyse the deep sleep state: Eka-Jīva'''—"I am the only one; I create the entire world. So I am the creator." So when we analyse that, we say: so long as we see that '''in deep sleep, there is no world at all, there is no one ''jīva'', there are no many ''jīvas'''''—they all belong to the higher stage of dream state. Then what ''vāda'' remains? '''Ajātavāda—pure Ajātavāda. So''' there is no creation at all.

At first it is a theory, but later on it becomes an experience by the grace of the Guru, which is really the grace of God, which is really the grace of the scriptures. Guru, scriptures, and grace—they are not separate. This is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa meant: ''Bhāgavata'' (scripture), ''bhakta'' (true devotee—the Guru), ''Bhagavān'' (God)—they become one. That is how we have to understand. Only when a person realises can he say, "I am the bhakta." A real bhakta means a realised soul.

So this analysis of the deep sleep state (''Suṣupti'') brings us to the intellectual understanding that there is no world, and therefore it is called Ajātavāda—"there was no creation." But that intellectual conviction has to be transformed into actual realization. When one takes shelter at the feet of the Sadguru, slowly he will progress, and one day, like the Guru, he can say, "'''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi."''' The Guru will be rejoiced: "A big burden has gone from me; I don't need to worry about this person."
==Conclusion==
So we have to keep in mind these th'''ree beautiful opinions (''vādas''—faiths, actually):'''

1. The world is real—this is meant for believers in the reality of the external world '''(Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi).'''

2. The world is my own construct—this is for believers after analysing the dream state '''(Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi).'''

3. I am the one who creates the whole dream world; therefore, I am the only ''jīva'' '''(Eka-Jīva).'''

But when the same person progresses further and tries to analyse the deep sleep state, '''then he understands that there is no creation at all, and when it is transformed into realization, he understands Brahman, and Brahman alone is the only reality.'''

== 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 Introduction Lecture 42 on 14 June 2026

2026-07-28T15:21:17Z

Gayatri: /* The Chāndogya Upaniṣad Example */

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.'''

''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH

OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.

==Introduction to the Second Chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad==
In our last class, we started the second chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, which is a dialogue between a great knower of Brahman called '''Ajātaśatru''' and a proud brāhmaṇa called '''Gārgya or Bālāki.''' We know the story. This Gārgya was a sincere person but a bit proud—he was a ''brāhmaṇa'' (proud brāhmaṇa). So he thought he knew everything about the ultimate Brahman, the Supreme Brahman (Parabrahman). So he approached—strangely, not Janaka, but this Ajātaśatru—and voluntarily said, "I will teach you about Brahman." Ajātaśatru was very happy even just to hear these words: "I am going to give you one thousand cows. Rarely anybody comes to me." And then Ajātaśatru asks him, "Teach me." And Gārgya immediately started teaching.

He did not know the Supreme Brahman. He knew only '''Saguṇa Brahma''', also called '''Hiraṇyagarbha'''. Who is Hiraṇyagarbha? The entire creation is called Hiraṇyagarbha or Īśvara, Saguṇa Brahma—where from the living and the non-living, every living creature is manifesting. It is a manifestation of Īśvara. It is not a production of Īśvara like milk is a production of curds, or a pot is the making of a potter, or a baby is given birth by a mother but they remain separate. Unlike that, the clay itself has become a pot. Only in the case of Brahman we have to extend the imagination and say, unlike the making of the pot, Brahman is both the material cause as well as the intelligent cause as well as the instrumental cause. In fact, there is no creation; it is only a manifestation. In fact, according to the highest Advaitic teaching, there is no manifestation of Brahman at all.

If we happen to confront Brahman and ask, "Why did You create this universe?"—instead of "Brahman," we can substitute the word "God." Why did God create this world? Why do we question? We never question if everything is absolutely fine. Only when we find something wrong, especially which is causing me great pain, then only we question. We rarely question even when everyone else is suffering but we are quite satisfied. So, according to Advaita Vedānta, Brahman does not say, "I am going to manifest." This is all an explanation given to ignorant people, people of very small understanding, out of compassion by the scripture, to make us understand. You are absolutely right.
==The Three Vādas: Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi, and Ajātavāda==
That is why today I am going to very briefly introduce a new concept to you—not, of course, to other Vedāntins. Earlier I have briefly mentioned about three concepts: Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi, and Ajātavāda.
===Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda===
What is Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi? First, there is a creation; then only I am able to experience that creation. First creation, followed by our experience. That is called Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi. And according to our understanding, ''dṛṣṭi'' means seeing, hearing, forming an idea about the object, and acting and reacting, wanting or not wanting, happy or unhappy. This in brief is ''sṛṣṭi''—creation. That means an object is present even before I came across it because there is a creation, and we are able to experience it. But this is for people who think in the waking state that this whole world is real. If you ask them, "Why do you come to this conclusion?"—"It is real because I haven't created it; someone else has created it. I am only experiencing and then reacting to it." Therefore, so long as we cherish the idea that this creation is real, that state in which we think that creation is real is called '''Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda.'''

This is the first stage from where everybody is acting and reacting. In course of time, because of certain experiences—and these experiences are not pleasant but sometimes very, very painful—we start questioning, "What is this creation?" And we find out, if we are thoughtful people, that everything in this world changes. And if something is changing, it is not reliable. If something is not reliable, our quest for something reliable starts. So we start questioning, "Is there a real creation, or is it something I created?"
===Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda===
How does a person transit from the first stage (Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi) to Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi? Because of these unpleasant suffering experiences. So long as everything is going on fine, within certain limitations, of course—if there is not too much pain, then we won't react. We think this world is very real. But death is real, old age is real, disease is real, poverty is real, suffering is real. So we cannot sustain this idea, but it persists for a long time. That state is indicated by Swamiji's ''uttiṣṭhata''—"Start thinking, what is this? Is your view that the world is real?" And that world, that creation, also includes "I," "you," everything. Therefore, I thought I am real. If I think the world is real, I am also real. But if I think the world is changing because I am also changing—simultaneously both are changing—and therefore everything is changing, therefore it is unreliable, then we have to start our quest. And what is real? Is there anything that is really real? The person does not get the answer. The answer he gets is that even the Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi—my thinking, everybody's thinking that this external world, of which I am a part, is real—so long I have been cherishing that idea; but because of these negative experiences, we start questioning.

Then we remember suddenly: practically everyday, every night, we go to bed and have dream experiences. And then we suddenly one day connect: "Oh, when I wake up, this dream vanishes. I never think, nobody ever thinks a dream is an unchanging reality. It is real only so long as it lasts." But when do I recognise that a dream is a dream? A dream is nothing but my own creation. That is an important word you have to remember: it is ''my'' creation. I have been interpreting my memories in an intense imaginary form, and that—I created my own thoughts in a concrete form. Actually, there is no such corresponding reality, but they are also changing; nothing is true. So when I wake up, when I remember my dream, you remember your dream, then you start thinking, "This is my creation."

So, before I went to the dream state (that second state), there was no dream. Then I collected the raw material—all my thoughts, etcetera—and I created, taking some of these thoughts, this particular dream. Maybe in a second dream I might create an entirely new type of dream. Then I remember both dreams; both do not correspond, both are changing, and both are my own creations. Therefore, '''I am the creator. In a sense, this is the summary essence of Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi.'''

'''''Dṛṣṭi'' means my thought.''' So when I look at any object in the '''''sṛṣṭi'' (so-called creation by God)''', that is the first time—for a brief momentary experience. Thereafterwards, I start building certain opinions: "I like this, I don't like this, it is sweet, not so sweet, the other one is much sweeter." So like that, I go on forming opinions about every single experience that I have from this world, and thereafterwards I go on reacting according to my own preconceived ideas. "This is a good person, this is an evil person, this is a reliable person, this is a dishonest person, this is ''daiva'' and this is ''āsura''"—etc., etc., etc. And in course of time, we are convinced that because of the way I think, even though the other person does not understand, through intuition he understands: "This person is not showing much love towards me, much liking towards me; he does not love me. In fact, he may be thinking of harming me, trying to give me trouble." And he reacts, which absolutely certifies that my intuition is correct about that person, because his behaviour reinforces what I already know about that person.

So in brief, this is called Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda. Both Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi and Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi are combined in our worldly life. But what we need to understand is that we are not talking about worldly life; we are talking about spiritual progress.
===Progress through Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi===
So when a person first thinks, "This world is real, my body is real, my mind is real. I have some desires. I know what happiness is and what unhappiness is. So I try to fulfill, act in such a way that I try to avoid suffering as much as possible and obtain enjoyment as much as possible." But then he finds that, in spite of his efforts, certain things he cannot avoid, because it is the nature of the world—including his body and mind—to always change. And he slowly, reluctantly accepts, "I am also changeable; my thoughts are changeable." This is the first step in Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda.

Then he realises, suddenly one day, he becomes a bit more wise, and then he says, "If I can develop a particular framework through which I can see the world, then I can make my mind much more calmer and joyous, in spite of what exists as unchangeable fact." So in the midst of, for example, evil people, "Okay, let them do what they like, but I will not be a puppet in their hands. I will not react according to their expectation. I will keep the frame of my mind in a particular way so that I try to prevent what is harmful that is contemplated by others, or I think they are trying to do it, or actually do it. But then I myself will look upon them as the result of my own ''karmaphala''." He becomes more calm. And whenever any event of joy occurs, let him enjoy it to the full, not comparing, "Last time this sweet was much better; this time it is rotten." No—last time was last time, this time is this time.

So when a spiritual aspirant attains what is called insight, then he understands: whatever be the world externally, I can keep my mind to a great extent very peaceful by my changed outlook. This is what psychologists call CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy). CBT does not change anything outside; it is not absolutely true. As my behaviour changes, there will be some changes in many people correspondingly—that is very true. So people also react to my action or to my reaction. So if I can go on very calm, joyful, helpful, unselfish, with a positive outlook on life, especially belief in God, then I understand, irrespective of what the world is, I can feel I am living in a higher world. This is, in a sense, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda. This is a great progress in spiritual life.

Then in course of time, that also is not possible because how long am I going to go on dealing with this mind in this way? I want to go beyond the mind. So many commentators (bhāṣyakāras) have compared Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda to the waking state—that is for whom the external world is the only reality. For those who are more advanced, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda is comparable to the dream. Since I am the owner of the dream, I am the creator of this external world—that is my own thoughts, my outlook (''dṛṣṭi'') is going to change everything in the outside world so far as I am concerned, because it is an individual experience only. How Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to look upon the world, how many priests used to look upon the world, is totally different. I will give some examples also later on.

But even ''svapna'' (dream) is changing, and there also some unhappy experiences will be there. No dream will be always very sweet—only dreaming of ''svargaloka'' (higher worlds)—no. So how can I want to be always happy? '''Therefore, taking our three states of experience one after the other: waking first, corresponding to Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda; Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda corresponding to the dream state; and Ajātavāda, which corresponds to deep sleep (dreamless sleep, ''Suṣupti Avasthā'').'''
===सुषुप्ति[Suṣupti] and अजातवाद [Ajātavāda]===
Why is it called'''सुषुप्ति ''Suṣupti'''''? Because not even an iota, a trace of body and mind, intrudes there to create any sort of problems. When we forget our body-mind, which is the whole of the external world—so to say—so long as I have one eye, one-fifth of the world is real in the way of forms. So long as I can hear, another one-fifth of the world is present in the form of sound. If anybody is bereft of these five sense organs, the whole external world disappears, but the mind remains. But in ''Suṣupti'', even that mind also disappears. Therefore, when a person says, "I am not aware of anything," we have to understand it correctly: I am not aware of the mind and the body, but I am aware of a particular state where there is no second so long as it lasts, and it is the most peaceful. I am the only one. Since I am the only one, happiness and unhappiness, fear and fearlessness—''sukha-duḥkha, bhaya-abhaya, śītoṣṇa''—they do not affect me at all. When I am free from these dualities, I am my own self. I remain as my own self.

Even though this is not the highest state, it is the nearest to the higher state. That is why the '''cosmic aspect of everybody's ''suṣupti'' is called Īśvara,''' and the '''individual aspect is called very beautifully ''ājña'' or ''prajña''.''' But we should not misunderstand: "I did not know" does not mean "I was unconscious." No, I was very conscious that I am alone; there is no body-mind. The absence of the body-mind I note down. I don't even say—I cannot even say—that the world is absent, because there is no world at all. I am not aware of the world at all. I am not aware of the body and mind. I am aware of only one unbroken ''cidābhāsa''—pure consciousness: "I am, I am." The problem is this also changes, even though it lasts longer. But so long as we are there, so '''''sukham aham asvāpsam (सुखमहमस्वाप््सम्)'''''. Even if a tiger, one hundred tigers surrounded me and played with me, throwing me like a volleyball from one side to the other—so long as I am in that deep sleep state, I am blissful.

In this connection, I remember the life of '''Ramana Maharshi'''. Bhagavān used to say that his sleep was very, very deep, and when he was awake, nobody could wrestle with him, beat him, or become a stronger player than him. He was the best player in everything because he concentrated on his mind. Some of the boys were very resentful, but they knew they could not beat him. Even if they came to fight, he was going to throw them out. He was very strong. But then they soon found out a secret: when this boy called Ramana goes to deep sleep, it is a very peculiar deep sleep—such a deep, deep sleep that they used to carry him, punch him, and do all sorts of things. And he, Ramana Bhagavān, used to narrate: "I did not know a single thing"—that means he was not feeling. And when I used to wake up—because the boys used to bring me back and put me exactly where I was sleeping—happily I would get up and say, "I went to bed on this bed and I woke up on this bed; nothing had ever taken place." Now, sometimes I have these doubts: what about all the punchings he received? Fortunately, Ramana Maharshi does not remember anything because nobody could really give such a punch that it would hurt even after he woke up. That was a very peculiar experience.

Some fortunate people like Swami Vivekananda used to sleep with two types of divine visions for some time. As soon as he laid himself on bed, Narendra used to see a small ''jyoti'' (light) growing brighter and brighter, and his personality used to merge in it, and he did not know what happened after that. Second, he used to feel, "I am a wandering monk all the time, totally dependent upon God." But he used to feel, "I am the king of this world. I can do whatever I like. I can get whatever I want. I can attain whatever I set my mind upon. But next second, I rely only upon God." And with that second vision, he used to fall asleep for a long time. Narendranath thought everybody used to sleep in the same way. Only when Rāmakṛṣṇa questioned him, he came to know that that is not the truth. So these are peculiar experiences of great people (''mahāpuruṣas'').

Therefore, what we are talking here is that when a person makes progress, he soon realises that even though it is my own outlook on the world, that alone is reality for me because I am acting and reacting according to my opinions—whether they are right or wrong, we are not talking. Therefore, who formed these opinions? Myself. And if I have formed these opinions, I also have the capacity to form them in the way I like, in the way I can experience unbroken happiness, unbroken bliss—meaning only sweet dreams, happy dreams, beautiful dreams. That is a great progress in spiritual life. That is what I think Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to say: when a person's ''kuṇḍalinī'' reaches the Anāhata chakra, thereafter progresses until he reaches the Ājñā chakra, higher and higher experiences will be there. There are also different stages, but we are not going to talk about them.
===Summary of the Two Stages===
'''So the second one is Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda''', where the importance is my action and reaction, my opinion about the world. In the first one (Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi), the world is primary. '''In the second, I can change my opinion, and if I can change it to a very positive, happy opinion, then I can experience—irrespective of conditions outside and in my body and mind—only positive experiences.''' This is a great progress in spiritual life. This is called thinking the whole world is a dream. Until that time, any amount of lectures, hearing the lectures, or reading books is not going to help us. We have to identify, and that is a state of experience. Until we experience, we are still in the Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi stage only, not the Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi stage. But slowly we realise about this.

In my last class I have explained how '''Swami Saradānandaji''' had described this so fantastically well. You will do well if you can go through that, because there are more details there than what I have outlined. I only gave you the summary of how a sādhaka can reach the highest realization through both the paths of ''iti iti'' and ''neti neti''. But it is not a choice—"I will choose neti neti from the very beginning without going through iti iti." '''I have to transform the world through this Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda, and this transformation is called controlling the mind (''cittavṛtti-nirodha'').''' This transformation is called s'''ubduing demonic qualities and developing divine qualities''', so beautifully enumerated in the '''sixteenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gītā.'''

But the progress has not been complete, s'''o we have to go still further, and that is called Ajātavāda.'''
===Eka-Jīva Vāda and Ajātavāda===
By the way, even this Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda also indicates to us another fantastic idea, about which Swami Vivekananda only remarks very simply, very rarely. '''It is called Eka-Jīva Vāda, in contrast to Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda.''' What is the difference? In Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda theory, my opinion about the world is real. There are infinite numbers of beings; everyone is separate from everyone else. If somebody is going and experiencing, that is only that individual's experience; others are not affected by it. That is called Aneka-Jīva Vāda—as many creatures, so many ''jīvas''. In contrast, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda means that if I become unconscious, the whole world becomes unconscious—all those Aneka-Jīvas, infinite numbers of ''jīvas'', various classes of ''jīvas'' having varying qualities. Some are gods, some are semi-demigods, some are ''rākṣasas''.

As I mentioned, there are '''four types of people'''. The l'''owest class want to kill everybody''', rob everybody, and try to be happy. The '''third class say, "Live and let live.''' We don't believe in God, but we believe that if I let you live, you will also let me live. I scratch your back, you scratch my back." This is the outlook of the third class. But when the same ''jīva'' progresses further, h'''e enters into the second class, where he believes in God and in the scriptures.''' But even though he says he believes in the scriptures and God, he wants only something from God—'''he does not want God''', '''he wants certain things from God, i'''ncluding not only enjoyment on this earth but higher happiness in the higher worlds. That is what he wants to have. So these are much better; '''they are more moral, and they do not try to harm'''. They also understand they must acquire '''virtue (''puṇyam'')''' in order to attain higher happiness both in this world and after death in higher worlds. So they have faith in God, faith in the scriptures, faith in the prescriptions of the scriptures, faith in the '''''Karma-kāṇḍa''''' of the Vedas, and they perform—'''because the best of faith is its practice.''' If anybody says, "I have faith," but does not practice, that is merely worthless, useless belief—not faith at all.

So this is how the second-class people have faith: "I want higher happiness." Their minds have not yet evolved further, so they think they will be quite happy if they can get even the highest happiness in this dualistic world, which is termed as '''Brahmaloka.''' So they perform ''agnihotra'', ''pūjā'', worship, chanting of mantras, and visiting places of pilgrimage, etcetera. And they get the result. Once they get the result, their faith in the scriptures becomes enormously reinforced, and when it becomes reinforced, an inner eye opens up and says: "The same scripture which is telling me to perform the rituals as prescribed in the ''Karmakāṇḍa'' (the action portion of the first part of the Vedas) '''is also talking about the eternal, unbroken, highest happiness called ''Brahmananda''''' that can be attained. Why should I go on working like a donkey '''if once I realise Brahman, then I can be happy for eternity—highest happiness, unbroken happiness, infinite happiness for infinite time?" They belong to the first-class people.'''

This is what I said about the four types of people. Now, this person who is firmly convinced, trying to control his mind and '''purify his ''dṛṣṭi'',''' so that he can '''view the ''sṛṣṭi'' in a much higher light—this is called morality. T'''his is called '''समदर्शित्व'''''s'''amadarśitva'''''—seeing the whole world as equal to one's own self—and this corresponds to the ''Dharma-nanda'', the fourth stage of ''ānanda'', and that is only one step lower to ''Brahmananda''. Then the person, by the law of evolution, slowly understands: "Any amount of effort will not do." So he approaches a competent teacher, and he also tries to become a competent student. The teacher understands: "If there is a small defect, I will try to help them remove that defect"—'''as Prajāpati had done to both Indra and Virocana.''' But Virocana could not be reformed. Does not Prajāpati know it? He knows it, but "let him experience." But he will also be an Indra-like sometime in the future, because suffering will bring, like no other thing, to the feet of God. So that person had to wait for some time, but he would be evolving—no doubt about it. But Indra slowly was being purged of his impurities.
===The Chāndogya Upaniṣad Example===
In the same way, we are talking about Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda. So '''Virocana was a follower of Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda:''' "Make everything proper, rest properly, eat properly, enjoy properly, and that is all; nothing else is there." These are called Cārvākas or materialists. But Indra at first thought like that, so he must have gone through this stage. Because the Chāndogya Upaniṣad in the eighth chapter does not tell us, but my interpretation would be: Indra returned home, enjoyed bodily happiness, found his quest was not fulfilled. Then he came back again, and further purification was necessary—another thirty-two years, like that three times. '''Then he was told the second: "The whole world is like a dream." That corresponds roughly to Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda.''' But '''even that Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda is not complete;''' there also changes will be there. Therefore again Indra came back, and another thirty-two years. Then he thought '''Prajāpati taught him the third highest stage—that is called Eka-Jīva Vāda''': '''in ''Suṣupti'', I am alone'''. When I remove my mind, the entire world disappears. I am the only one who is present. I am the only ''jīva''. Why do I call myself as a ''jīva''? '''Because I have not become really enlightened and not realised my true nature; therefore, I am still a ''jīva''.''' But fortunately, from infinite numbers of ''jīvas'', I progressed to one ''jīva'' in Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda stage.

So this person wants to experience and move further. Then he analyses his deep sleep state, which corresponds to '''Ajātavāda.''' So long as we are in deep sleep state, no world exists. I am only conscious of my own pure self without a second. Therefore, when there is no second, there are no dualities like happiness and unhappiness, heat and cold, victory and defeat, profit and loss. All these will totally disappear in deep sleep state, and there is unbroken bliss so long as it lasts. And I am conscious of it—that is why, without being conscious, I cannot say, "I was very happy." So '''''sukham aham asvāpsam (सुखमहमस्वाप््सम्)'''''—"I slept very happily throughout the deep sleep state." '''''Na kiñcid avediṣam न किञ्चित्आवेदिषं''—'''"I did not know anything about this world."['''Vichara sagaram in sanskrit ,dvitiya taranga, passage 97''',purvapaksha in commentary] And this utterance comes only after the world comes into view upon waking up. But this analysis makes this sādhaka understand: probably like this deep sleep state, I was never born; the world never existed; maybe I am mistaking it. So there is no creation, there is no ''jīva'', there is no ''baddha'' (bound soul), there is no effort for liberation, and there is nobody who becomes liberated. In the second chapter of the '''Māṇḍūkya Kārikā, I''' think '''verse number thirty-two, we get this'''

'''न निरोधो न चोत्पत्तिर्न बद्धो न च साधकः ।'''

'''न मुमुक्षुर्न वै मुक्त इत्येषा परमार्थता ॥'''

na nirodho na cotpattirna baddho na ca sādhakaḥ |

na mumukṣurna vai mukta ityeṣā paramārthatā || 32 ||

32. ''There is no dissolution, no birth, none in bondage, none aspiring for wisdom, no seeker of liberation and none liberated. This is the absolute truth.''

'''. So this is called Ajātavāda.'''

'''Gauḍapāda,''' by the way, is a proponent of Ajātavāda. But in order to confirm—because the deep sleep breaks and he wakes up—by the time he surrenders, he takes the shelter at the feet of an enlightened soul, and then he understands slowly. ''Mahāvākya'': "There is no world, there is no ''sṛṣṭi'', there is no ''dṛṣṭi'', there is no Eka-Jīva." What remains is Ajātavāda. ''Vāda'' means opinion, but that opinion has to be transformed into a realization. So slowly, through ''viveka'' (discrimination), ''vairāgya'' (dispassion), ''ṣaṭ-sampatti'' (the six-fold wealth), and ''mumukṣutva'' (intense desire for liberation)—all the required qualifications to become a fit recipient—he receives the great mantra called ''Mahāvākya''. Either of the Mahāvākyas:

* '''''Prajñānam Brahma''''' — Consciousness is Brahman.'''(प्रज्ञानं ब्रह्म)(Aitareya Upanishad 3.3 of the Rig Veda)'''
* '''''Ayam Ātmā Brahma''''' — This Ātman is Brahman.'''अयम् आत्मा ब्रह्म(Mandukya Upanishad 1.2 of the Atharva Veda)'''
* ''T'''at tvam asi''''' — You are That."['''तत् त्वम् असि''']['''''Tat tvam asi] Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7 of the Sama Veda, and of course'''''
* '''''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi''''' — I am Brahman '''(अहं ब्रह्मास्मि)''' — which comes in this very Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, in this very first chapter, which we will see later on. '''आत्मैवेदंइदंआसीत्त''' etc । '''अहं ब्रह्मास्मीति''' ,atmaivedamiiadam aseet tadatmanamevavet.aham brahmasmi iti]et'''c''' ''Brihadaranyaka Upanishad'''''1.4.10 of Yajur veda'''

'''''Prajñānaṃ Brahma'', ''Ayamātmā Brahma'', ''Tat tvam asi'' (famous), ''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi'' (no'''t so famous in this Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad; we have seen that one in the very first chapter, fourth section). So then he realises one day, and then he realises: creation is not real.
===The Highest Realization===
Creation—if I put on black spectacles, then Brahman appears as black. If I remove the black spectacles, Brahman appears as He is. So if I put on the spectacles of ''nāma-rūpa'' (name and form), I see the same Brahman with name and form; minus the spectacles of name and form, I see Brahman as He is. So if I am able to see the world but as Brahman, that is called the '''state of a living free soul (''jīvanmukta'').'''

So these are the stages. '''This highest Ajātavāda is the highest.''' Now, which one is correct? That is a wrong question. Depending upon at what stage of development we are: if we think Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi, then the Karma Siddhānta will work out. If you want to lessen the suffering, follow the teachings of the scriptures and try to remove selfishness and immorality, and try to treat others with sympathy and unselfishness, and then your life will be as happy as possible. But rebirth cannot be avoided, and the opposite of happiness also cannot be avoided. But the same thing applies to Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda also. Even in dreams, we have both happy and unhappy experiences. So when we wake up, we understand by analysing the dream: maybe the world is like this only.

This is the sum and substance of '''Swami Saradānandaji's''' explanation of how a man attains to the highest through the path of ''iti iti''. So through the path of ''iti iti'', slowly he progresses, and then he enters into Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda. '''He creates his own dream of ''Iṣṭadevatā'' (chosen deity) and attributes several qualities'''—each quality is a spiritual quality, and every spiritual quality when it is acquired makes us one step higher than what we have before, or one step subtler, higher, more pervading. So that is how '''then he comes to analyse the deep sleep state: Eka-Jīva'''—"I am the only one; I create the entire world. So I am the creator." So when we analyse that, we say: so long as we see that '''in deep sleep, there is no world at all, there is no one ''jīva'', there are no many ''jīvas'''''—they all belong to the higher stage of dream state. Then what ''vāda'' remains? '''Ajātavāda—pure Ajātavāda. So''' there is no creation at all.

At first it is a theory, but later on it becomes an experience by the grace of the Guru, which is really the grace of God, which is really the grace of the scriptures. Guru, scriptures, and grace—they are not separate. This is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa meant: ''Bhāgavata'' (scripture), ''bhakta'' (true devotee—the Guru), ''Bhagavān'' (God)—they become one. That is how we have to understand. Only when a person realises can he say, "I am the bhakta." A real bhakta means a realised soul.

So this analysis of the deep sleep state (''Suṣupti'') brings us to the intellectual understanding that there is no world, and therefore it is called Ajātavāda—"there was no creation." But that intellectual conviction has to be transformed into actual realization. When one takes shelter at the feet of the Sadguru, slowly he will progress, and one day, like the Guru, he can say, "'''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi."''' The Guru will be rejoiced: "A big burden has gone from me; I don't need to worry about this person."
==Conclusion==
So we have to keep in mind these th'''ree beautiful opinions (''vādas''—faiths, actually):'''

1. The world is real—this is meant for believers in the reality of the external world '''(Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi).'''

2. The world is my own construct—this is for believers after analysing the dream state '''(Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi).'''

3. I am the one who creates the whole dream world; therefore, I am the only ''jīva'' '''(Eka-Jīva).'''

But when the same person progresses further and tries to analyse the deep sleep state, '''then he understands that there is no creation at all, and when it is transformed into realization, he understands Brahman, and Brahman alone is the only reality.'''

== 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 Introduction Lecture 42 on 14 June 2026

2026-07-28T15:17:31Z

Gayatri: /* The Highest Realization */

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.'''

''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH

OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.

==Introduction to the Second Chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad==
In our last class, we started the second chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, which is a dialogue between a great knower of Brahman called '''Ajātaśatru''' and a proud brāhmaṇa called '''Gārgya or Bālāki.''' We know the story. This Gārgya was a sincere person but a bit proud—he was a ''brāhmaṇa'' (proud brāhmaṇa). So he thought he knew everything about the ultimate Brahman, the Supreme Brahman (Parabrahman). So he approached—strangely, not Janaka, but this Ajātaśatru—and voluntarily said, "I will teach you about Brahman." Ajātaśatru was very happy even just to hear these words: "I am going to give you one thousand cows. Rarely anybody comes to me." And then Ajātaśatru asks him, "Teach me." And Gārgya immediately started teaching.

He did not know the Supreme Brahman. He knew only '''Saguṇa Brahma''', also called '''Hiraṇyagarbha'''. Who is Hiraṇyagarbha? The entire creation is called Hiraṇyagarbha or Īśvara, Saguṇa Brahma—where from the living and the non-living, every living creature is manifesting. It is a manifestation of Īśvara. It is not a production of Īśvara like milk is a production of curds, or a pot is the making of a potter, or a baby is given birth by a mother but they remain separate. Unlike that, the clay itself has become a pot. Only in the case of Brahman we have to extend the imagination and say, unlike the making of the pot, Brahman is both the material cause as well as the intelligent cause as well as the instrumental cause. In fact, there is no creation; it is only a manifestation. In fact, according to the highest Advaitic teaching, there is no manifestation of Brahman at all.

If we happen to confront Brahman and ask, "Why did You create this universe?"—instead of "Brahman," we can substitute the word "God." Why did God create this world? Why do we question? We never question if everything is absolutely fine. Only when we find something wrong, especially which is causing me great pain, then only we question. We rarely question even when everyone else is suffering but we are quite satisfied. So, according to Advaita Vedānta, Brahman does not say, "I am going to manifest." This is all an explanation given to ignorant people, people of very small understanding, out of compassion by the scripture, to make us understand. You are absolutely right.
==The Three Vādas: Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi, and Ajātavāda==
That is why today I am going to very briefly introduce a new concept to you—not, of course, to other Vedāntins. Earlier I have briefly mentioned about three concepts: Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi, and Ajātavāda.
===Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda===
What is Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi? First, there is a creation; then only I am able to experience that creation. First creation, followed by our experience. That is called Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi. And according to our understanding, ''dṛṣṭi'' means seeing, hearing, forming an idea about the object, and acting and reacting, wanting or not wanting, happy or unhappy. This in brief is ''sṛṣṭi''—creation. That means an object is present even before I came across it because there is a creation, and we are able to experience it. But this is for people who think in the waking state that this whole world is real. If you ask them, "Why do you come to this conclusion?"—"It is real because I haven't created it; someone else has created it. I am only experiencing and then reacting to it." Therefore, so long as we cherish the idea that this creation is real, that state in which we think that creation is real is called '''Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda.'''

This is the first stage from where everybody is acting and reacting. In course of time, because of certain experiences—and these experiences are not pleasant but sometimes very, very painful—we start questioning, "What is this creation?" And we find out, if we are thoughtful people, that everything in this world changes. And if something is changing, it is not reliable. If something is not reliable, our quest for something reliable starts. So we start questioning, "Is there a real creation, or is it something I created?"
===Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda===
How does a person transit from the first stage (Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi) to Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi? Because of these unpleasant suffering experiences. So long as everything is going on fine, within certain limitations, of course—if there is not too much pain, then we won't react. We think this world is very real. But death is real, old age is real, disease is real, poverty is real, suffering is real. So we cannot sustain this idea, but it persists for a long time. That state is indicated by Swamiji's ''uttiṣṭhata''—"Start thinking, what is this? Is your view that the world is real?" And that world, that creation, also includes "I," "you," everything. Therefore, I thought I am real. If I think the world is real, I am also real. But if I think the world is changing because I am also changing—simultaneously both are changing—and therefore everything is changing, therefore it is unreliable, then we have to start our quest. And what is real? Is there anything that is really real? The person does not get the answer. The answer he gets is that even the Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi—my thinking, everybody's thinking that this external world, of which I am a part, is real—so long I have been cherishing that idea; but because of these negative experiences, we start questioning.

Then we remember suddenly: practically everyday, every night, we go to bed and have dream experiences. And then we suddenly one day connect: "Oh, when I wake up, this dream vanishes. I never think, nobody ever thinks a dream is an unchanging reality. It is real only so long as it lasts." But when do I recognise that a dream is a dream? A dream is nothing but my own creation. That is an important word you have to remember: it is ''my'' creation. I have been interpreting my memories in an intense imaginary form, and that—I created my own thoughts in a concrete form. Actually, there is no such corresponding reality, but they are also changing; nothing is true. So when I wake up, when I remember my dream, you remember your dream, then you start thinking, "This is my creation."

So, before I went to the dream state (that second state), there was no dream. Then I collected the raw material—all my thoughts, etcetera—and I created, taking some of these thoughts, this particular dream. Maybe in a second dream I might create an entirely new type of dream. Then I remember both dreams; both do not correspond, both are changing, and both are my own creations. Therefore, '''I am the creator. In a sense, this is the summary essence of Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi.'''

'''''Dṛṣṭi'' means my thought.''' So when I look at any object in the '''''sṛṣṭi'' (so-called creation by God)''', that is the first time—for a brief momentary experience. Thereafterwards, I start building certain opinions: "I like this, I don't like this, it is sweet, not so sweet, the other one is much sweeter." So like that, I go on forming opinions about every single experience that I have from this world, and thereafterwards I go on reacting according to my own preconceived ideas. "This is a good person, this is an evil person, this is a reliable person, this is a dishonest person, this is ''daiva'' and this is ''āsura''"—etc., etc., etc. And in course of time, we are convinced that because of the way I think, even though the other person does not understand, through intuition he understands: "This person is not showing much love towards me, much liking towards me; he does not love me. In fact, he may be thinking of harming me, trying to give me trouble." And he reacts, which absolutely certifies that my intuition is correct about that person, because his behaviour reinforces what I already know about that person.

So in brief, this is called Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda. Both Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi and Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi are combined in our worldly life. But what we need to understand is that we are not talking about worldly life; we are talking about spiritual progress.
===Progress through Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi===
So when a person first thinks, "This world is real, my body is real, my mind is real. I have some desires. I know what happiness is and what unhappiness is. So I try to fulfill, act in such a way that I try to avoid suffering as much as possible and obtain enjoyment as much as possible." But then he finds that, in spite of his efforts, certain things he cannot avoid, because it is the nature of the world—including his body and mind—to always change. And he slowly, reluctantly accepts, "I am also changeable; my thoughts are changeable." This is the first step in Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda.

Then he realises, suddenly one day, he becomes a bit more wise, and then he says, "If I can develop a particular framework through which I can see the world, then I can make my mind much more calmer and joyous, in spite of what exists as unchangeable fact." So in the midst of, for example, evil people, "Okay, let them do what they like, but I will not be a puppet in their hands. I will not react according to their expectation. I will keep the frame of my mind in a particular way so that I try to prevent what is harmful that is contemplated by others, or I think they are trying to do it, or actually do it. But then I myself will look upon them as the result of my own ''karmaphala''." He becomes more calm. And whenever any event of joy occurs, let him enjoy it to the full, not comparing, "Last time this sweet was much better; this time it is rotten." No—last time was last time, this time is this time.

So when a spiritual aspirant attains what is called insight, then he understands: whatever be the world externally, I can keep my mind to a great extent very peaceful by my changed outlook. This is what psychologists call CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy). CBT does not change anything outside; it is not absolutely true. As my behaviour changes, there will be some changes in many people correspondingly—that is very true. So people also react to my action or to my reaction. So if I can go on very calm, joyful, helpful, unselfish, with a positive outlook on life, especially belief in God, then I understand, irrespective of what the world is, I can feel I am living in a higher world. This is, in a sense, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda. This is a great progress in spiritual life.

Then in course of time, that also is not possible because how long am I going to go on dealing with this mind in this way? I want to go beyond the mind. So many commentators (bhāṣyakāras) have compared Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda to the waking state—that is for whom the external world is the only reality. For those who are more advanced, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda is comparable to the dream. Since I am the owner of the dream, I am the creator of this external world—that is my own thoughts, my outlook (''dṛṣṭi'') is going to change everything in the outside world so far as I am concerned, because it is an individual experience only. How Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to look upon the world, how many priests used to look upon the world, is totally different. I will give some examples also later on.

But even ''svapna'' (dream) is changing, and there also some unhappy experiences will be there. No dream will be always very sweet—only dreaming of ''svargaloka'' (higher worlds)—no. So how can I want to be always happy? '''Therefore, taking our three states of experience one after the other: waking first, corresponding to Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda; Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda corresponding to the dream state; and Ajātavāda, which corresponds to deep sleep (dreamless sleep, ''Suṣupti Avasthā'').'''
===Suṣupti and Ajātavāda===
Why is it called ''Suṣupti''? Because not even an iota, a trace of body and mind, intrudes there to create any sort of problems. When we forget our body-mind, which is the whole of the external world—so to say—so long as I have one eye, one-fifth of the world is real in the way of forms. So long as I can hear, another one-fifth of the world is present in the form of sound. If anybody is bereft of these five sense organs, the whole external world disappears, but the mind remains. But in ''Suṣupti'', even that mind also disappears. Therefore, when a person says, "I am not aware of anything," we have to understand it correctly: I am not aware of the mind and the body, but I am aware of a particular state where there is no second so long as it lasts, and it is the most peaceful. I am the only one. Since I am the only one, happiness and unhappiness, fear and fearlessness—''sukha-duḥkha, bhaya-abhaya, śītoṣṇa''—they do not affect me at all. When I am free from these dualities, I am my own self. I remain as my own self.

Even though this is not the highest state, it is the nearest to the higher state. That is why the '''cosmic aspect of everybody's ''suṣupti'' is called Īśvara,''' and the '''individual aspect is called very beautifully ''ājña'' or ''prajña''.''' But we should not misunderstand: "I did not know" does not mean "I was unconscious." No, I was very conscious that I am alone; there is no body-mind. The absence of the body-mind I note down. I don't even say—I cannot even say—that the world is absent, because there is no world at all. I am not aware of the world at all. I am not aware of the body and mind. I am aware of only one unbroken ''cidābhāsa''—pure consciousness: "I am, I am." The problem is this also changes, even though it lasts longer. But so long as we are there, so '''''sukham aham asvāpsam (सुखमहमस्वाप््सम्)'''''. Even if a tiger, one hundred tigers surrounded me and played with me, throwing me like a volleyball from one side to the other—so long as I am in that deep sleep state, I am blissful.

In this connection, I remember the life of '''Ramana Maharshi'''. Bhagavān used to say that his sleep was very, very deep, and when he was awake, nobody could wrestle with him, beat him, or become a stronger player than him. He was the best player in everything because he concentrated on his mind. Some of the boys were very resentful, but they knew they could not beat him. Even if they came to fight, he was going to throw them out. He was very strong. But then they soon found out a secret: when this boy called Ramana goes to deep sleep, it is a very peculiar deep sleep—such a deep, deep sleep that they used to carry him, punch him, and do all sorts of things. And he, Ramana Bhagavān, used to narrate: "I did not know a single thing"—that means he was not feeling. And when I used to wake up—because the boys used to bring me back and put me exactly where I was sleeping—happily I would get up and say, "I went to bed on this bed and I woke up on this bed; nothing had ever taken place." Now, sometimes I have these doubts: what about all the punchings he received? Fortunately, Ramana Maharshi does not remember anything because nobody could really give such a punch that it would hurt even after he woke up. That was a very peculiar experience.

Some fortunate people like Swami Vivekananda used to sleep with two types of divine visions for some time. As soon as he laid himself on bed, Narendra used to see a small ''jyoti'' (light) growing brighter and brighter, and his personality used to merge in it, and he did not know what happened after that. Second, he used to feel, "I am a wandering monk all the time, totally dependent upon God." But he used to feel, "I am the king of this world. I can do whatever I like. I can get whatever I want. I can attain whatever I set my mind upon. But next second, I rely only upon God." And with that second vision, he used to fall asleep for a long time. Narendranath thought everybody used to sleep in the same way. Only when Rāmakṛṣṇa questioned him, he came to know that that is not the truth. So these are peculiar experiences of great people (''mahāpuruṣas'').

Therefore, what we are talking here is that when a person makes progress, he soon realises that even though it is my own outlook on the world, that alone is reality for me because I am acting and reacting according to my opinions—whether they are right or wrong, we are not talking. Therefore, who formed these opinions? Myself. And if I have formed these opinions, I also have the capacity to form them in the way I like, in the way I can experience unbroken happiness, unbroken bliss—meaning only sweet dreams, happy dreams, beautiful dreams. That is a great progress in spiritual life. That is what I think Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to say: when a person's ''kuṇḍalinī'' reaches the Anāhata chakra, thereafter progresses until he reaches the Ājñā chakra, higher and higher experiences will be there. There are also different stages, but we are not going to talk about them.
===Summary of the Two Stages===
'''So the second one is Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda''', where the importance is my action and reaction, my opinion about the world. In the first one (Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi), the world is primary. '''In the second, I can change my opinion, and if I can change it to a very positive, happy opinion, then I can experience—irrespective of conditions outside and in my body and mind—only positive experiences.''' This is a great progress in spiritual life. This is called thinking the whole world is a dream. Until that time, any amount of lectures, hearing the lectures, or reading books is not going to help us. We have to identify, and that is a state of experience. Until we experience, we are still in the Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi stage only, not the Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi stage. But slowly we realise about this.

In my last class I have explained how '''Swami Saradānandaji''' had described this so fantastically well. You will do well if you can go through that, because there are more details there than what I have outlined. I only gave you the summary of how a sādhaka can reach the highest realization through both the paths of ''iti iti'' and ''neti neti''. But it is not a choice—"I will choose neti neti from the very beginning without going through iti iti." '''I have to transform the world through this Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda, and this transformation is called controlling the mind (''cittavṛtti-nirodha'').''' This transformation is called s'''ubduing demonic qualities and developing divine qualities''', so beautifully enumerated in the '''sixteenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gītā.'''

But the progress has not been complete, s'''o we have to go still further, and that is called Ajātavāda.'''
===Eka-Jīva Vāda and Ajātavāda===
By the way, even this Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda also indicates to us another fantastic idea, about which Swami Vivekananda only remarks very simply, very rarely. '''It is called Eka-Jīva Vāda, in contrast to Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda.''' What is the difference? In Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda theory, my opinion about the world is real. There are infinite numbers of beings; everyone is separate from everyone else. If somebody is going and experiencing, that is only that individual's experience; others are not affected by it. That is called Aneka-Jīva Vāda—as many creatures, so many ''jīvas''. In contrast, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda means that if I become unconscious, the whole world becomes unconscious—all those Aneka-Jīvas, infinite numbers of ''jīvas'', various classes of ''jīvas'' having varying qualities. Some are gods, some are semi-demigods, some are ''rākṣasas''.

As I mentioned, there are '''four types of people'''. The l'''owest class want to kill everybody''', rob everybody, and try to be happy. The '''third class say, "Live and let live.''' We don't believe in God, but we believe that if I let you live, you will also let me live. I scratch your back, you scratch my back." This is the outlook of the third class. But when the same ''jīva'' progresses further, h'''e enters into the second class, where he believes in God and in the scriptures.''' But even though he says he believes in the scriptures and God, he wants only something from God—'''he does not want God''', '''he wants certain things from God, i'''ncluding not only enjoyment on this earth but higher happiness in the higher worlds. That is what he wants to have. So these are much better; '''they are more moral, and they do not try to harm'''. They also understand they must acquire '''virtue (''puṇyam'')''' in order to attain higher happiness both in this world and after death in higher worlds. So they have faith in God, faith in the scriptures, faith in the prescriptions of the scriptures, faith in the '''''Karma-kāṇḍa''''' of the Vedas, and they perform—'''because the best of faith is its practice.''' If anybody says, "I have faith," but does not practice, that is merely worthless, useless belief—not faith at all.

So this is how the second-class people have faith: "I want higher happiness." Their minds have not yet evolved further, so they think they will be quite happy if they can get even the highest happiness in this dualistic world, which is termed as '''Brahmaloka.''' So they perform ''agnihotra'', ''pūjā'', worship, chanting of mantras, and visiting places of pilgrimage, etcetera. And they get the result. Once they get the result, their faith in the scriptures becomes enormously reinforced, and when it becomes reinforced, an inner eye opens up and says: "The same scripture which is telling me to perform the rituals as prescribed in the ''Karmakāṇḍa'' (the action portion of the first part of the Vedas) '''is also talking about the eternal, unbroken, highest happiness called ''Brahmananda''''' that can be attained. Why should I go on working like a donkey '''if once I realise Brahman, then I can be happy for eternity—highest happiness, unbroken happiness, infinite happiness for infinite time?" They belong to the first-class people.'''

This is what I said about the four types of people. Now, this person who is firmly convinced, trying to control his mind and '''purify his ''dṛṣṭi'',''' so that he can '''view the ''sṛṣṭi'' in a much higher light—this is called morality. T'''his is called ''s'''amadarśitva'''''—seeing the whole world as equal to one's own self—and this corresponds to the ''Dharma-nanda'', the fourth stage of ''ānanda'', and that is only one step lower to ''Brahmananda''. Then the person, by the law of evolution, slowly understands: "Any amount of effort will not do." So he approaches a competent teacher, and he also tries to become a competent student. The teacher understands: "If there is a small defect, I will try to help them remove that defect"—'''as Prajāpati had done to both Indra and Virocana.''' But Virocana could not be reformed. Does not Prajāpati know it? He knows it, but "let him experience." But he will also be an Indra-like sometime in the future, because suffering will bring, like no other thing, to the feet of God. So that person had to wait for some time, but he would be evolving—no doubt about it. But Indra slowly was being purged of his impurities.
===The Chāndogya Upaniṣad Example===
In the same way, we are talking about Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda. So '''Virocana was a follower of Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda:''' "Make everything proper, rest properly, eat properly, enjoy properly, and that is all; nothing else is there." These are called Cārvākas or materialists. But Indra at first thought like that, so he must have gone through this stage. Because the Chāndogya Upaniṣad in the eighth chapter does not tell us, but my interpretation would be: Indra returned home, enjoyed bodily happiness, found his quest was not fulfilled. Then he came back again, and further purification was necessary—another thirty-two years, like that three times. '''Then he was told the second: "The whole world is like a dream." That corresponds roughly to Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda.''' But '''even that Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda is not complete;''' there also changes will be there. Therefore again Indra came back, and another thirty-two years. Then he thought '''Prajāpati taught him the third highest stage—that is called Eka-Jīva Vāda''': '''in ''Suṣupti'', I am alone'''. When I remove my mind, the entire world disappears. I am the only one who is present. I am the only ''jīva''. Why do I call myself as a ''jīva''? '''Because I have not become really enlightened and not realised my true nature; therefore, I am still a ''jīva''.''' But fortunately, from infinite numbers of ''jīvas'', I progressed to one ''jīva'' in Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda stage.

So this person wants to experience and move further. Then he analyses his deep sleep state, which corresponds to '''Ajātavāda.''' So long as we are in deep sleep state, no world exists. I am only conscious of my own pure self without a second. Therefore, when there is no second, there are no dualities like happiness and unhappiness, heat and cold, victory and defeat, profit and loss. All these will totally disappear in deep sleep state, and there is unbroken bliss so long as it lasts. And I am conscious of it—that is why, without being conscious, I cannot say, "I was very happy." So '''''sukham aham asvāpsam (सुखमहमस्वाप््सम्)'''''—"I slept very happily throughout the deep sleep state." '''''Na kiñcid avediṣam न किञ्चित्आवेदिषं''—'''"I did not know anything about this world."['''Vichara sagaram in sanskrit ,dvitiya taranga, passage 97''',purvapaksha in commentary] And this utterance comes only after the world comes into view upon waking up. But this analysis makes this sādhaka understand: probably like this deep sleep state, I was never born; the world never existed; maybe I am mistaking it. So there is no creation, there is no ''jīva'', there is no ''baddha'' (bound soul), there is no effort for liberation, and there is nobody who becomes liberated. In the second chapter of the '''Māṇḍūkya Kārikā, I''' think '''verse number thirty-two, we get this'''

'''न निरोधो न चोत्पत्तिर्न बद्धो न च साधकः ।'''

'''न मुमुक्षुर्न वै मुक्त इत्येषा परमार्थता ॥'''

na nirodho na cotpattirna baddho na ca sādhakaḥ |

na mumukṣurna vai mukta ityeṣā paramārthatā || 32 ||

32. ''There is no dissolution, no birth, none in bondage, none aspiring for wisdom, no seeker of liberation and none liberated. This is the absolute truth.''

'''. So this is called Ajātavāda.'''

'''Gauḍapāda,''' by the way, is a proponent of Ajātavāda. But in order to confirm—because the deep sleep breaks and he wakes up—by the time he surrenders, he takes the shelter at the feet of an enlightened soul, and then he understands slowly. ''Mahāvākya'': "There is no world, there is no ''sṛṣṭi'', there is no ''dṛṣṭi'', there is no Eka-Jīva." What remains is Ajātavāda. ''Vāda'' means opinion, but that opinion has to be transformed into a realization. So slowly, through ''viveka'' (discrimination), ''vairāgya'' (dispassion), ''ṣaṭ-sampatti'' (the six-fold wealth), and ''mumukṣutva'' (intense desire for liberation)—all the required qualifications to become a fit recipient—he receives the great mantra called ''Mahāvākya''. Either of the Mahāvākyas:

* '''''Prajñānam Brahma''''' — Consciousness is Brahman.'''(प्रज्ञानं ब्रह्म)(Aitareya Upanishad 3.3 of the Rig Veda)'''
* '''''Ayam Ātmā Brahma''''' — This Ātman is Brahman.'''अयम् आत्मा ब्रह्म(Mandukya Upanishad 1.2 of the Atharva Veda)'''
* ''T'''at tvam asi''''' — You are That."['''तत् त्वम् असि''']['''''Tat tvam asi] Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7 of the Sama Veda, and of course'''''
* '''''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi''''' — I am Brahman '''(अहं ब्रह्मास्मि)''' — which comes in this very Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, in this very first chapter, which we will see later on. '''आत्मैवेदंइदंआसीत्त''' etc । '''अहं ब्रह्मास्मीति''' ,atmaivedamiiadam aseet tadatmanamevavet.aham brahmasmi iti]et'''c''' ''Brihadaranyaka Upanishad'''''1.4.10 of Yajur veda'''

'''''Prajñānaṃ Brahma'', ''Ayamātmā Brahma'', ''Tat tvam asi'' (famous), ''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi'' (no'''t so famous in this Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad; we have seen that one in the very first chapter, fourth section). So then he realises one day, and then he realises: creation is not real.
===The Highest Realization===
Creation—if I put on black spectacles, then Brahman appears as black. If I remove the black spectacles, Brahman appears as He is. So if I put on the spectacles of ''nāma-rūpa'' (name and form), I see the same Brahman with name and form; minus the spectacles of name and form, I see Brahman as He is. So if I am able to see the world but as Brahman, that is called the '''state of a living free soul (''jīvanmukta'').'''

So these are the stages. '''This highest Ajātavāda is the highest.''' Now, which one is correct? That is a wrong question. Depending upon at what stage of development we are: if we think Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi, then the Karma Siddhānta will work out. If you want to lessen the suffering, follow the teachings of the scriptures and try to remove selfishness and immorality, and try to treat others with sympathy and unselfishness, and then your life will be as happy as possible. But rebirth cannot be avoided, and the opposite of happiness also cannot be avoided. But the same thing applies to Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda also. Even in dreams, we have both happy and unhappy experiences. So when we wake up, we understand by analysing the dream: maybe the world is like this only.

This is the sum and substance of '''Swami Saradānandaji's''' explanation of how a man attains to the highest through the path of ''iti iti''. So through the path of ''iti iti'', slowly he progresses, and then he enters into Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda. '''He creates his own dream of ''Iṣṭadevatā'' (chosen deity) and attributes several qualities'''—each quality is a spiritual quality, and every spiritual quality when it is acquired makes us one step higher than what we have before, or one step subtler, higher, more pervading. So that is how '''then he comes to analyse the deep sleep state: Eka-Jīva'''—"I am the only one; I create the entire world. So I am the creator." So when we analyse that, we say: so long as we see that '''in deep sleep, there is no world at all, there is no one ''jīva'', there are no many ''jīvas'''''—they all belong to the higher stage of dream state. Then what ''vāda'' remains? '''Ajātavāda—pure Ajātavāda. So''' there is no creation at all.

At first it is a theory, but later on it becomes an experience by the grace of the Guru, which is really the grace of God, which is really the grace of the scriptures. Guru, scriptures, and grace—they are not separate. This is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa meant: ''Bhāgavata'' (scripture), ''bhakta'' (true devotee—the Guru), ''Bhagavān'' (God)—they become one. That is how we have to understand. Only when a person realises can he say, "I am the bhakta." A real bhakta means a realised soul.

So this analysis of the deep sleep state (''Suṣupti'') brings us to the intellectual understanding that there is no world, and therefore it is called Ajātavāda—"there was no creation." But that intellectual conviction has to be transformed into actual realization. When one takes shelter at the feet of the Sadguru, slowly he will progress, and one day, like the Guru, he can say, "'''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi."''' The Guru will be rejoiced: "A big burden has gone from me; I don't need to worry about this person."
==Conclusion==
So we have to keep in mind these th'''ree beautiful opinions (''vādas''—faiths, actually):'''

1. The world is real—this is meant for believers in the reality of the external world '''(Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi).'''

2. The world is my own construct—this is for believers after analysing the dream state '''(Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi).'''

3. I am the one who creates the whole dream world; therefore, I am the only ''jīva'' '''(Eka-Jīva).'''

But when the same person progresses further and tries to analyse the deep sleep state, '''then he understands that there is no creation at all, and when it is transformed into realization, he understands Brahman, and Brahman alone is the only reality.'''

== 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 Introduction Lecture 42 on 14 June 2026

2026-07-28T14:19:51Z

Gayatri:

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.'''

''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH

OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.

==Introduction to the Second Chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad==
In our last class, we started the second chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, which is a dialogue between a great knower of Brahman called '''Ajātaśatru''' and a proud brāhmaṇa called '''Gārgya or Bālāki.''' We know the story. This Gārgya was a sincere person but a bit proud—he was a ''brāhmaṇa'' (proud brāhmaṇa). So he thought he knew everything about the ultimate Brahman, the Supreme Brahman (Parabrahman). So he approached—strangely, not Janaka, but this Ajātaśatru—and voluntarily said, "I will teach you about Brahman." Ajātaśatru was very happy even just to hear these words: "I am going to give you one thousand cows. Rarely anybody comes to me." And then Ajātaśatru asks him, "Teach me." And Gārgya immediately started teaching.

He did not know the Supreme Brahman. He knew only '''Saguṇa Brahma''', also called '''Hiraṇyagarbha'''. Who is Hiraṇyagarbha? The entire creation is called Hiraṇyagarbha or Īśvara, Saguṇa Brahma—where from the living and the non-living, every living creature is manifesting. It is a manifestation of Īśvara. It is not a production of Īśvara like milk is a production of curds, or a pot is the making of a potter, or a baby is given birth by a mother but they remain separate. Unlike that, the clay itself has become a pot. Only in the case of Brahman we have to extend the imagination and say, unlike the making of the pot, Brahman is both the material cause as well as the intelligent cause as well as the instrumental cause. In fact, there is no creation; it is only a manifestation. In fact, according to the highest Advaitic teaching, there is no manifestation of Brahman at all.

If we happen to confront Brahman and ask, "Why did You create this universe?"—instead of "Brahman," we can substitute the word "God." Why did God create this world? Why do we question? We never question if everything is absolutely fine. Only when we find something wrong, especially which is causing me great pain, then only we question. We rarely question even when everyone else is suffering but we are quite satisfied. So, according to Advaita Vedānta, Brahman does not say, "I am going to manifest." This is all an explanation given to ignorant people, people of very small understanding, out of compassion by the scripture, to make us understand. You are absolutely right.
==The Three Vādas: Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi, and Ajātavāda==
That is why today I am going to very briefly introduce a new concept to you—not, of course, to other Vedāntins. Earlier I have briefly mentioned about three concepts: Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi, and Ajātavāda.
===Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda===
What is Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi? First, there is a creation; then only I am able to experience that creation. First creation, followed by our experience. That is called Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi. And according to our understanding, ''dṛṣṭi'' means seeing, hearing, forming an idea about the object, and acting and reacting, wanting or not wanting, happy or unhappy. This in brief is ''sṛṣṭi''—creation. That means an object is present even before I came across it because there is a creation, and we are able to experience it. But this is for people who think in the waking state that this whole world is real. If you ask them, "Why do you come to this conclusion?"—"It is real because I haven't created it; someone else has created it. I am only experiencing and then reacting to it." Therefore, so long as we cherish the idea that this creation is real, that state in which we think that creation is real is called '''Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda.'''

This is the first stage from where everybody is acting and reacting. In course of time, because of certain experiences—and these experiences are not pleasant but sometimes very, very painful—we start questioning, "What is this creation?" And we find out, if we are thoughtful people, that everything in this world changes. And if something is changing, it is not reliable. If something is not reliable, our quest for something reliable starts. So we start questioning, "Is there a real creation, or is it something I created?"
===Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda===
How does a person transit from the first stage (Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi) to Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi? Because of these unpleasant suffering experiences. So long as everything is going on fine, within certain limitations, of course—if there is not too much pain, then we won't react. We think this world is very real. But death is real, old age is real, disease is real, poverty is real, suffering is real. So we cannot sustain this idea, but it persists for a long time. That state is indicated by Swamiji's ''uttiṣṭhata''—"Start thinking, what is this? Is your view that the world is real?" And that world, that creation, also includes "I," "you," everything. Therefore, I thought I am real. If I think the world is real, I am also real. But if I think the world is changing because I am also changing—simultaneously both are changing—and therefore everything is changing, therefore it is unreliable, then we have to start our quest. And what is real? Is there anything that is really real? The person does not get the answer. The answer he gets is that even the Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi—my thinking, everybody's thinking that this external world, of which I am a part, is real—so long I have been cherishing that idea; but because of these negative experiences, we start questioning.

Then we remember suddenly: practically everyday, every night, we go to bed and have dream experiences. And then we suddenly one day connect: "Oh, when I wake up, this dream vanishes. I never think, nobody ever thinks a dream is an unchanging reality. It is real only so long as it lasts." But when do I recognise that a dream is a dream? A dream is nothing but my own creation. That is an important word you have to remember: it is ''my'' creation. I have been interpreting my memories in an intense imaginary form, and that—I created my own thoughts in a concrete form. Actually, there is no such corresponding reality, but they are also changing; nothing is true. So when I wake up, when I remember my dream, you remember your dream, then you start thinking, "This is my creation."

So, before I went to the dream state (that second state), there was no dream. Then I collected the raw material—all my thoughts, etcetera—and I created, taking some of these thoughts, this particular dream. Maybe in a second dream I might create an entirely new type of dream. Then I remember both dreams; both do not correspond, both are changing, and both are my own creations. Therefore, '''I am the creator. In a sense, this is the summary essence of Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi.'''

'''''Dṛṣṭi'' means my thought.''' So when I look at any object in the '''''sṛṣṭi'' (so-called creation by God)''', that is the first time—for a brief momentary experience. Thereafterwards, I start building certain opinions: "I like this, I don't like this, it is sweet, not so sweet, the other one is much sweeter." So like that, I go on forming opinions about every single experience that I have from this world, and thereafterwards I go on reacting according to my own preconceived ideas. "This is a good person, this is an evil person, this is a reliable person, this is a dishonest person, this is ''daiva'' and this is ''āsura''"—etc., etc., etc. And in course of time, we are convinced that because of the way I think, even though the other person does not understand, through intuition he understands: "This person is not showing much love towards me, much liking towards me; he does not love me. In fact, he may be thinking of harming me, trying to give me trouble." And he reacts, which absolutely certifies that my intuition is correct about that person, because his behaviour reinforces what I already know about that person.

So in brief, this is called Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda. Both Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi and Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi are combined in our worldly life. But what we need to understand is that we are not talking about worldly life; we are talking about spiritual progress.
===Progress through Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi===
So when a person first thinks, "This world is real, my body is real, my mind is real. I have some desires. I know what happiness is and what unhappiness is. So I try to fulfill, act in such a way that I try to avoid suffering as much as possible and obtain enjoyment as much as possible." But then he finds that, in spite of his efforts, certain things he cannot avoid, because it is the nature of the world—including his body and mind—to always change. And he slowly, reluctantly accepts, "I am also changeable; my thoughts are changeable." This is the first step in Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda.

Then he realises, suddenly one day, he becomes a bit more wise, and then he says, "If I can develop a particular framework through which I can see the world, then I can make my mind much more calmer and joyous, in spite of what exists as unchangeable fact." So in the midst of, for example, evil people, "Okay, let them do what they like, but I will not be a puppet in their hands. I will not react according to their expectation. I will keep the frame of my mind in a particular way so that I try to prevent what is harmful that is contemplated by others, or I think they are trying to do it, or actually do it. But then I myself will look upon them as the result of my own ''karmaphala''." He becomes more calm. And whenever any event of joy occurs, let him enjoy it to the full, not comparing, "Last time this sweet was much better; this time it is rotten." No—last time was last time, this time is this time.

So when a spiritual aspirant attains what is called insight, then he understands: whatever be the world externally, I can keep my mind to a great extent very peaceful by my changed outlook. This is what psychologists call CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy). CBT does not change anything outside; it is not absolutely true. As my behaviour changes, there will be some changes in many people correspondingly—that is very true. So people also react to my action or to my reaction. So if I can go on very calm, joyful, helpful, unselfish, with a positive outlook on life, especially belief in God, then I understand, irrespective of what the world is, I can feel I am living in a higher world. This is, in a sense, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda. This is a great progress in spiritual life.

Then in course of time, that also is not possible because how long am I going to go on dealing with this mind in this way? I want to go beyond the mind. So many commentators (bhāṣyakāras) have compared Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda to the waking state—that is for whom the external world is the only reality. For those who are more advanced, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda is comparable to the dream. Since I am the owner of the dream, I am the creator of this external world—that is my own thoughts, my outlook (''dṛṣṭi'') is going to change everything in the outside world so far as I am concerned, because it is an individual experience only. How Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to look upon the world, how many priests used to look upon the world, is totally different. I will give some examples also later on.

But even ''svapna'' (dream) is changing, and there also some unhappy experiences will be there. No dream will be always very sweet—only dreaming of ''svargaloka'' (higher worlds)—no. So how can I want to be always happy? '''Therefore, taking our three states of experience one after the other: waking first, corresponding to Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda; Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda corresponding to the dream state; and Ajātavāda, which corresponds to deep sleep (dreamless sleep, ''Suṣupti Avasthā'').'''
===Suṣupti and Ajātavāda===
Why is it called ''Suṣupti''? Because not even an iota, a trace of body and mind, intrudes there to create any sort of problems. When we forget our body-mind, which is the whole of the external world—so to say—so long as I have one eye, one-fifth of the world is real in the way of forms. So long as I can hear, another one-fifth of the world is present in the form of sound. If anybody is bereft of these five sense organs, the whole external world disappears, but the mind remains. But in ''Suṣupti'', even that mind also disappears. Therefore, when a person says, "I am not aware of anything," we have to understand it correctly: I am not aware of the mind and the body, but I am aware of a particular state where there is no second so long as it lasts, and it is the most peaceful. I am the only one. Since I am the only one, happiness and unhappiness, fear and fearlessness—''sukha-duḥkha, bhaya-abhaya, śītoṣṇa''—they do not affect me at all. When I am free from these dualities, I am my own self. I remain as my own self.

Even though this is not the highest state, it is the nearest to the higher state. That is why the '''cosmic aspect of everybody's ''suṣupti'' is called Īśvara,''' and the '''individual aspect is called very beautifully ''ājña'' or ''prajña''.''' But we should not misunderstand: "I did not know" does not mean "I was unconscious." No, I was very conscious that I am alone; there is no body-mind. The absence of the body-mind I note down. I don't even say—I cannot even say—that the world is absent, because there is no world at all. I am not aware of the world at all. I am not aware of the body and mind. I am aware of only one unbroken ''cidābhāsa''—pure consciousness: "I am, I am." The problem is this also changes, even though it lasts longer. But so long as we are there, so '''''sukham aham asvāpsam'''''. Even if a tiger, one hundred tigers surrounded me and played with me, throwing me like a volleyball from one side to the other—so long as I am in that deep sleep state, I am blissful.

In this connection, I remember the life of '''Ramana Maharshi'''. Bhagavān used to say that his sleep was very, very deep, and when he was awake, nobody could wrestle with him, beat him, or become a stronger player than him. He was the best player in everything because he concentrated on his mind. Some of the boys were very resentful, but they knew they could not beat him. Even if they came to fight, he was going to throw them out. He was very strong. But then they soon found out a secret: when this boy called Ramana goes to deep sleep, it is a very peculiar deep sleep—such a deep, deep sleep that they used to carry him, punch him, and do all sorts of things. And he, Ramana Bhagavān, used to narrate: "I did not know a single thing"—that means he was not feeling. And when I used to wake up—because the boys used to bring me back and put me exactly where I was sleeping—happily I would get up and say, "I went to bed on this bed and I woke up on this bed; nothing had ever taken place." Now, sometimes I have these doubts: what about all the punchings he received? Fortunately, Ramana Maharshi does not remember anything because nobody could really give such a punch that it would hurt even after he woke up. That was a very peculiar experience.

Some fortunate people like Swami Vivekananda used to sleep with two types of divine visions for some time. As soon as he laid himself on bed, Narendra used to see a small ''jyoti'' (light) growing brighter and brighter, and his personality used to merge in it, and he did not know what happened after that. Second, he used to feel, "I am a wandering monk all the time, totally dependent upon God." But he used to feel, "I am the king of this world. I can do whatever I like. I can get whatever I want. I can attain whatever I set my mind upon. But next second, I rely only upon God." And with that second vision, he used to fall asleep for a long time. Narendranath thought everybody used to sleep in the same way. Only when Rāmakṛṣṇa questioned him, he came to know that that is not the truth. So these are peculiar experiences of great people (''mahāpuruṣas'').

Therefore, what we are talking here is that when a person makes progress, he soon realises that even though it is my own outlook on the world, that alone is reality for me because I am acting and reacting according to my opinions—whether they are right or wrong, we are not talking. Therefore, who formed these opinions? Myself. And if I have formed these opinions, I also have the capacity to form them in the way I like, in the way I can experience unbroken happiness, unbroken bliss—meaning only sweet dreams, happy dreams, beautiful dreams. That is a great progress in spiritual life. That is what I think Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to say: when a person's ''kuṇḍalinī'' reaches the Anāhata chakra, thereafter progresses until he reaches the Ājñā chakra, higher and higher experiences will be there. There are also different stages, but we are not going to talk about them.
===Summary of the Two Stages===
'''So the second one is Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda''', where the importance is my action and reaction, my opinion about the world. In the first one (Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi), the world is primary. '''In the second, I can change my opinion, and if I can change it to a very positive, happy opinion, then I can experience—irrespective of conditions outside and in my body and mind—only positive experiences.''' This is a great progress in spiritual life. This is called thinking the whole world is a dream. Until that time, any amount of lectures, hearing the lectures, or reading books is not going to help us. We have to identify, and that is a state of experience. Until we experience, we are still in the Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi stage only, not the Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi stage. But slowly we realise about this.

In my last class I have explained how '''Swami Saradānandaji''' had described this so fantastically well. You will do well if you can go through that, because there are more details there than what I have outlined. I only gave you the summary of how a sādhaka can reach the highest realization through both the paths of ''iti iti'' and ''neti neti''. But it is not a choice—"I will choose neti neti from the very beginning without going through iti iti." '''I have to transform the world through this Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda, and this transformation is called controlling the mind (''cittavṛtti-nirodha'').''' This transformation is called s'''ubduing demonic qualities and developing divine qualities''', so beautifully enumerated in the '''sixteenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gītā.'''

But the progress has not been complete, s'''o we have to go still further, and that is called Ajātavāda.'''
===Eka-Jīva Vāda and Ajātavāda===
By the way, even this Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda also indicates to us another fantastic idea, about which Swami Vivekananda only remarks very simply, very rarely. '''It is called Eka-Jīva Vāda, in contrast to Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda.''' What is the difference? In Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda theory, my opinion about the world is real. There are infinite numbers of beings; everyone is separate from everyone else. If somebody is going and experiencing, that is only that individual's experience; others are not affected by it. That is called Aneka-Jīva Vāda—as many creatures, so many ''jīvas''. In contrast, Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda means that if I become unconscious, the whole world becomes unconscious—all those Aneka-Jīvas, infinite numbers of ''jīvas'', various classes of ''jīvas'' having varying qualities. Some are gods, some are semi-demigods, some are ''rākṣasas''.

As I mentioned, there are '''four types of people'''. The l'''owest class want to kill everybody''', rob everybody, and try to be happy. The '''third class say, "Live and let live.''' We don't believe in God, but we believe that if I let you live, you will also let me live. I scratch your back, you scratch my back." This is the outlook of the third class. But when the same ''jīva'' progresses further, h'''e enters into the second class, where he believes in God and in the scriptures.''' But even though he says he believes in the scriptures and God, he wants only something from God—'''he does not want God''', '''he wants certain things from God, i'''ncluding not only enjoyment on this earth but higher happiness in the higher worlds. That is what he wants to have. So these are much better; '''they are more moral, and they do not try to harm'''. They also understand they must acquire '''virtue (''puṇyam'')''' in order to attain higher happiness both in this world and after death in higher worlds. So they have faith in God, faith in the scriptures, faith in the prescriptions of the scriptures, faith in the '''''Karma-kāṇḍa''''' of the Vedas, and they perform—'''because the best of faith is its practice.''' If anybody says, "I have faith," but does not practice, that is merely worthless, useless belief—not faith at all.

So this is how the second-class people have faith: "I want higher happiness." Their minds have not yet evolved further, so they think they will be quite happy if they can get even the highest happiness in this dualistic world, which is termed as '''Brahmaloka.''' So they perform ''agnihotra'', ''pūjā'', worship, chanting of mantras, and visiting places of pilgrimage, etcetera. And they get the result. Once they get the result, their faith in the scriptures becomes enormously reinforced, and when it becomes reinforced, an inner eye opens up and says: "The same scripture which is telling me to perform the rituals as prescribed in the ''Karmakāṇḍa'' (the action portion of the first part of the Vedas) '''is also talking about the eternal, unbroken, highest happiness called ''Brahmananda''''' that can be attained. Why should I go on working like a donkey '''if once I realise Brahman, then I can be happy for eternity—highest happiness, unbroken happiness, infinite happiness for infinite time?" They belong to the first-class people.'''

This is what I said about the four types of people. Now, this person who is firmly convinced, trying to control his mind and '''purify his ''dṛṣṭi'',''' so that he can '''view the ''sṛṣṭi'' in a much higher light—this is called morality. T'''his is called ''s'''amadarśitva'''''—seeing the whole world as equal to one's own self—and this corresponds to the ''Dharma-nanda'', the fourth stage of ''ānanda'', and that is only one step lower to ''Brahmananda''. Then the person, by the law of evolution, slowly understands: "Any amount of effort will not do." So he approaches a competent teacher, and he also tries to become a competent student. The teacher understands: "If there is a small defect, I will try to help them remove that defect"—'''as Prajāpati had done to both Indra and Virocana.''' But Virocana could not be reformed. Does not Prajāpati know it? He knows it, but "let him experience." But he will also be an Indra-like sometime in the future, because suffering will bring, like no other thing, to the feet of God. So that person had to wait for some time, but he would be evolving—no doubt about it. But Indra slowly was being purged of his impurities.
===The Chāndogya Upaniṣad Example===
In the same way, we are talking about Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda. So '''Virocana was a follower of Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi Vāda:''' "Make everything proper, rest properly, eat properly, enjoy properly, and that is all; nothing else is there." These are called Cārvākas or materialists. But Indra at first thought like that, so he must have gone through this stage. Because the Chāndogya Upaniṣad in the eighth chapter does not tell us, but my interpretation would be: Indra returned home, enjoyed bodily happiness, found his quest was not fulfilled. Then he came back again, and further purification was necessary—another thirty-two years, like that three times. '''Then he was told the second: "The whole world is like a dream." That corresponds roughly to Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda.''' But '''even that Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda is not complete;''' there also changes will be there. Therefore again Indra came back, and another thirty-two years. Then he thought '''Prajāpati taught him the third highest stage—that is called Eka-Jīva Vāda''': '''in ''Suṣupti'', I am alone'''. When I remove my mind, the entire world disappears. I am the only one who is present. I am the only ''jīva''. Why do I call myself as a ''jīva''? '''Because I have not become really enlightened and not realised my true nature; therefore, I am still a ''jīva''.''' But fortunately, from infinite numbers of ''jīvas'', I progressed to one ''jīva'' in Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda stage.

So this person wants to experience and move further. Then he analyses his deep sleep state, which corresponds to '''Ajātavāda.''' So long as we are in deep sleep state, no world exists. I am only conscious of my own pure self without a second. Therefore, when there is no second, there are no dualities like happiness and unhappiness, heat and cold, victory and defeat, profit and loss. All these will totally disappear in deep sleep state, and there is unbroken bliss so long as it lasts. And I am conscious of it—that is why, without being conscious, I cannot say, "I was very happy." So '''''sukham aham asvāpsam'''''—"I slept very happily throughout the deep sleep state." '''''Na kiñcid avediṣam''—'''"I did not know anything about this world." And this utterance comes only after the world comes into view upon waking up. But this analysis makes this sādhaka understand: probably like this deep sleep state, I was never born; the world never existed; maybe I am mistaking it. So there is no creation, there is no ''jīva'', there is no ''baddha'' (bound soul), there is no effort for liberation, and there is nobody who becomes liberated. In the second chapter of the Māṇḍūkya Kārikā, I think '''verse number thirty-two, we get this. So this is called Ajātavāda.'''

'''Gauḍapāda,''' by the way, is a proponent of Ajātavāda. But in order to confirm—because the deep sleep breaks and he wakes up—by the time he surrenders, he takes the shelter at the feet of an enlightened soul, and then he understands slowly. ''Mahāvākya'': "There is no world, there is no ''sṛṣṭi'', there is no ''dṛṣṭi'', there is no Eka-Jīva." What remains is Ajātavāda. ''Vāda'' means opinion, but that opinion has to be transformed into a realization. So slowly, through ''viveka'' (discrimination), ''vairāgya'' (dispassion), ''ṣaṭ-sampatti'' (the six-fold wealth), and ''mumukṣutva'' (intense desire for liberation)—all the required qualifications to become a fit recipient—he receives the great mantra called ''Mahāvākya''. Either of the Mahāvākyas: '''''Prajñānaṃ Brahma'', ''Ayamātmā Brahma'', ''Tat tvam asi'' (famous), ''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi'' (no'''t so famous in this Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad; we have seen that one in the very first chapter, fourth section). So then he realises one day, and then he realises: creation is not real.
===The Highest Realization===
Creation—if I put on black spectacles, then Brahman appears as black. If I remove the black spectacles, Brahman appears as He is. So if I put on the spectacles of ''nāma-rūpa'' (name and form), I see the same Brahman with name and form; minus the spectacles of name and form, I see Brahman as He is. So if I am able to see the world but as Brahman, that is called the '''state of a living free soul (''jīvanmukta'').'''

So these are the stages. '''This highest Ajātavāda is the highest.''' Now, which one is correct? That is a wrong question. Depending upon at what stage of development we are: if we think Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi, then the Karma Siddhānta will work out. If you want to lessen the suffering, follow the teachings of the scriptures and try to remove selfishness and immorality, and try to treat others with sympathy and unselfishness, and then your life will be as happy as possible. But rebirth cannot be avoided, and the opposite of happiness also cannot be avoided. But the same thing applies to Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda also. Even in dreams, we have both happy and unhappy experiences. So when we wake up, we understand by analysing the dream: maybe the world is like this only.

This is the sum and substance of '''Swami Sharadānandaji's''' explanation of how a man attains to the highest through the path of ''iti iti''. So through the path of ''iti iti'', slowly he progresses, and then he enters into Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi Vāda. '''He creates his own dream of ''Iṣṭadevatā'' (chosen deity) and attributes several qualities'''—each quality is a spiritual quality, and every spiritual quality when it is acquired makes us one step higher than what we have before, or one step subtler, higher, more pervading. So that is how '''then he comes to analyse the deep sleep state: Eka-Jīva'''—"I am the only one; I create the entire world. So I am the creator." So when we analyse that, we say: so long as we see that '''in deep sleep, there is no world at all, there is no one ''jīva'', there are no many ''jīvas'''''—they all belong to the higher stage of dream state. Then what ''vāda'' remains? '''Ajātavāda—pure Ajātavāda. So''' there is no creation at all.

At first it is a theory, but later on it becomes an experience by the grace of the Guru, which is really the grace of God, which is really the grace of the scriptures. Guru, scriptures, and grace—they are not separate. This is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa meant: ''Bhāgavata'' (scripture), ''bhakta'' (true devotee—the Guru), ''Bhagavān'' (God)—they become one. That is how we have to understand. Only when a person realises can he say, "I am the bhakta." A real bhakta means a realised soul.

So this analysis of the deep sleep state (''Suṣupti'') brings us to the intellectual understanding that there is no world, and therefore it is called Ajātavāda—"there was no creation." But that intellectual conviction has to be transformed into actual realization. When one takes shelter at the feet of the Sadguru, slowly he will progress, and one day, like the Guru, he can say, "'''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi."''' The Guru will be rejoiced: "A big burden has gone from me; I don't need to worry about this person."
==Conclusion==
So we have to keep in mind these th'''ree beautiful opinions (''vādas''—faiths, actually):'''

1. The world is real—this is meant for believers in the reality of the external world '''(Sṛṣṭi-Dṛṣṭi).'''

2. The world is my own construct—this is for believers after analysing the dream state '''(Dṛṣṭi-Sṛṣṭi).'''

3. I am the one who creates the whole dream world; therefore, I am the only ''jīva'' '''(Eka-Jīva).'''

But when the same person progresses further and tries to analyse the deep sleep state, '''then he understands that there is no creation at all, and when it is transformed into realization, he understands Brahman, and Brahman alone is the only reality.'''

== 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.1.4 Lecture 31 on 09 May 2026

2026-07-27T15:00:19Z

Gayatri:

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH

OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.
----

== Recap: The Goal of Life and the Nature of Brahman ==
As we saw, a great discussion was going on: what is the goal of life? Some seekers understood that realisation of Brahman alone is the goal of life. And what does one gain? They also understood the gains — ''sarvam idaṃ bhavati'''सर्वं इदं भवति''''' , so ''sarva bhāva panna '''सर्व भाव पन्ना'''''. A person who realises Brahman becomes ''sarvam'''सर्वं''''' , becomes ''pūrṇam'''पूर्णं''''''''.'''

Then, how to attain it? We have seen also that this whole creation is a play of Brahman, so that he wants to entertain himself. It is like playing a solitaire game, where one tries to deceive oneself, and then catch oneself, and then go on laughing: "I caught myself!" So it is what is called ''līlā'''लीला'''''<nowiki/>'''.'''
----

== Summary of the Tenth Mantra: ''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi'' ==
In our last class, we completed one of the most important mantras — the tenth mantra of the fourth section of the first chapter of the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. What is the essence of this tenth mantra? This tenth mantra unfolds and establishes that there is only one reality, that is called Brahman — call it God, call it Allāh, by whatever blessed name you desire to call.

And what are we? The ''jīva'''जीव''''', the individual soul, is essentially identical to that Brahman, because if Brahman is everything, if Brahman is the cause, then this entire universe is the effect. And the effect can never be different from the cause.

Then what is it we are experiencing now? This is called ''saṃsāra'''संसार'''''<nowiki/>'''.''' ''Saṃsāra'''संसार''''' means seeing everything as different. I am born — that is different. I am surviving — that is different. One day I will have to disappear from this world — that is also a change. This entire birth, growth, sustenance, old age, disease, and death — this is called ''ṣaḍvikāra'''षडविकार''''', the sixfold changes. Everyone has to go through them. ''Saṃsarati'' '''संसरति''' means continuous change.

And Brahman is one — eternal, unchanging, one without a second. So how can we equate this world with Brahman? But this thinking — really, Brahman has not created, has not become, has not become ''jīva'''जीव''''' , is not thinking as the ''jīva'''जीव''''' — and all these thoughts are only from our mind's point of view, from the ''avidyā'' '''अविद्या'''point of view. All questions — "Who am I? Why am I here? How did I happen to come here? Why did Brahman create? He could have created a better world" — all these questions are products of ignorance.

So long as we are ignorant, so long as we do not know that we are Brahman, these questions will not cease. So long as a person is experiencing a snake, his fear will never vanish.
----

== The Awakening of the Spiritual Seeker ==
But at some point of time, a person gets tired. First — and this is a very great psychological point — first, all of us get so much of pleasure from various things. In fact, we try to minimise all unhappiness and all suffering, and maximise all our happiness. This seems to be the goal of life for a very, very long time.

And then comes the awakening: that it is impossible to achieve this objective. Therefore there must be another way, where I can be without any fear of death, ignorance, and suffering. And for that purpose, the search is now withdrawn from the external to the internal. Such persons are called spiritual seekers.

Then that person, with the help of the Guru who interprets the scripture, slowly destroys the ''avidyā'''अविद्या'''''. Now, what Advaita wants to convey to us is that ''vidyā'''विद्या''''', or true ''brahmavidyā'''ब्रह्मविद्य'''''<nowiki/>''',''' or ''ātmavidyā'' '''आत्मविद्य'''— knowledge of one's own self — is never lost, can never be lost. But it is covered up. So every spiritual practice is only to remove this covering.

So destruction of ''avidyā'''अविद्या''''', or destruction of the ''adhyāsa'''अध्यास''''' (superimposition), is called spiritual practice. And as soon as we succeed in removing this ignorance — ignorance of who we really are, not what we think we are [ ''avidyā'''अविद्या''''',]— the moment we remove the wrong notion totally, ''vidyā'' stands revealed. We do not need to acquire ''vidyā'''विद्या''',''; it is already there.

Just like the removal of darkness manifests the light automatically — not that after removing the darkness, like somebody sitting outside, we have vacated a seat, there is a vacant chair and you can come inside. No, not like that. Removal of ''adhyāsa'''अध्यास''''' or ''avidyā'''अविद्या''''' alone is spiritual practice. And then we realise: we were never bound. What we were wholeheartedly seeking, we already have, as it were — we are that.

Just, we have to remove the covering. For that, a ''mahāvākya'' tremendously helps. And the essential point in this tenth mantra is '''''ahaṃ brahmāsmi ({{lang|sa|अहं ब्रह्मास्मि}})([[Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]] 1.4.10 of the [[Yajur Veda]]).''''' And then — '''''ātmany eva upāsīta''''' एवात्मानमेव लोकमुपासीत [ बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse १५][B'''rihad Up 1.4.15]'''— one should therefore strive to realise this Brahman alone.
----

== Overview: Mantras 11 to 17 of the Fourth Section ==
Now we are going to proceed. This particular fourth section has got seventeen mantras. We covered more or less ten mantras, and some mantras I have already described — especially, I think, in the eighth mantra, how this creation has started. Now again, from the eleventh to the seventeenth, this fourth section gives us This particular fourth section has got seventeen mantras we have covered Ten mantras and now we will cover another seven mantras.This fourth section gives us two important ideas.

So creation has been described earlier. But to maintain this creation and to see that life goes on merrily without any problem, then we have to create those people who tell us how to run, how to live life, and how not to do certain actions which will only stop our further evolution — or even take us back to the previous state. How to stop that? And then slowly, how to progress?
----

== The Origin of the Four Varṇas (''Cāturvarṇyam''''')चातुर्वर्ण्यं''' ==
So Brahman has created four types of castes. This is the origin of the caste system in Hinduism. God himself has created it, and Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa affirms it.<center>चातुर्वर्ण्यं मया सृष्टं गुणकर्मविभागशः ।
तस्य कर्तारमपि मां विद्ध्यकर्तारमव्ययम् ॥ १३ ॥
</center><center>''cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁguṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥtasya kartāram api māṁviddhy akartāram avyayam''bhagavad gita ch-!V verse 13
</center>So I have only created.So what is the purpose? Maintenance.

But the peculiarity of this Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad — what do we mean by ''cāturvarṇyam'''चातुर्वर्ण्यं''''' , the four castes? The Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad elaborates and says that because '''''sṛṣṭi''''' also contains gods and goddesses, the entire creation can be divided into three: ''ādhyātmikaअध्यात्मिक'', ''ādhibhautika(आधिभौतिक)'', and ''ādhidaivika(आधिदैविक)''.

Each one of us, as individuals, is called ''ādhyātmika'''अध्यात्मिक'''''. Then the entire external world, which everyone of us is experiencing and formulating certain ''saṃskāras'' through our experiences, is called ''ādhibhautika'''(आधिभौतिक)'''''. But to have an overall management — how to make a person behave properly, do this, do not do this, the do's and don'ts — certain powers are created. They are called ''adhiṣṭhātṛ devatās''. ('''अधिष्ठातृ देवता)''' And also, how to live life: for that purpose, four castes were created.

Now what the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad wants to add is that it is not only at our level, but even at the level of the gods, four ''varṇas'' are there. So there is a ''d'''eva-brāhmaṇa'''''<nowiki/>''', ''deva-kṣatriya'', ''deva-vaiśya'', and ''deva-śūdra''.'''
----

== The Three ''Guṇas'' and Their Combinations ==
Now, what are these castes? Castes are nothing but divided on the basis of ''guṇas''. As we know, ''guṇas'' are three. So certain combinations — and this is a very important point — no ''guṇa'' by itself can be effective. It is only the combination of every ''guṇa'' that counts.

How many combinations are possible? First: '''''sattvaguṇa''''' dominates, ''r'''ajoguṇa''''' supports, '''''tamoguṇa''''' helps — that is called '''''brāhmaṇa''.''' Second: ''rajoguṇa'' dominates, ''sattvaguṇa'' helps, ''tamoguṇa'' also helps — that is called '''''kṣatriya'',''' or the rulers and warriors. What Plato or Socrates used to call the second category.

The ''first category, according to '''Socrates''', is called philosophers'' — those who set the goal of life crystal clearly. But to maintain this order, ''kṣatriyas'' are necessary, with tremendous power. They are the kings, they are the warriors, they are the leaders of men. They fall under the second category and are dominated by ''rajoguṇa''. They have to be extremely alert and intolerant of any evil that is being perpetuated.

People were advised according to their '''castes what special activities''' they would have to do. So for example, for the '''''brāhmaṇa''''' — study of the Vedas, leading an ideal life — that is the speciality of ''brāhmaṇas''. For '''''kṣatriyas''''' — protecting the weak, subduing the strong and evil, and seeing that society runs smoothly. That oiling process of this machine called society — they are called ''kṣatriyas'', or the warrior class.

And people are advised: you have to worship God, you have certain duties in life. For that purpose''', ''pañcamahāyajñasपञ्च महा यज्ञ्य''''', special worships, special ''upāsanās'', have been given. And to see that they are done properly, many things are needed, many items are needed. So one has to get that supply. The persons who see that everybody requires food and materials — and at one place something grows, another place something else grows — these '''third castes are called the business people, ''vaiśyas''.'''

Their business is such that they have international connections. If some excess product is there, they remove it, take it where it is needed and not available. And what is available there — say, for example, certain exotic things are not available in western countries, only India can give, especially spices. That is why everybody wanted to come and conquer India, so that they could have free access. India was also known as a treasure house of gold, silver, and many other precious minerals and metals.

So that is why everybody's sight was drawn there. That is why Muslims had come, that's why English, Dutch, Portuguese, French people — everybody had come. Finally, only the Muslims and the English people dominated and looted. And that we should not blame them, because we welcomed them and we helped them to loot everything, because of our non-cooperation. Even now it is going on.

So the third class — what is called ''rajo''-dominated, greatly helped by ''rajas'' and ''tamas'' in equal proportions — they are called '''''vaiśyas'''''. But there are different types of activities: harvesting, cultivating, cleaning, storing, bringing things. '''Workers are needed''' — they are called '''''śūdras''.'''

And it is not that a particular caste of people have been created. No. A'''ccording to their ''guṇa'', where ''tamoguṇa'' is more — t'''he person needs to be told, "You have to do this," etc. They cannot think for themselves; somebody has to continuously direct them: "Do this, don't do this, do this after that." Such people are called ''śūdras''.

And in every society, in every age, we get these people. Not that it is only from the beginning so. For that purpose, from Brahman, having created this universe with all the '''''pañcabhūtasपञ्च भूताः''''', he then created '''''deva-varṇas'' — ''deva-brāhmaṇa'', ''deva-kṣatriya'', ''deva-vaiśya'', ''deva-śūdra''.'''
----

== Intelligence in Nature: An Illustrative Digression ==
And this Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, from the eleventh mantra onwards — from the eleventh section onwards — is trying to elaborate one after the other that with the help of everyone doing their duties properly, everybody will be progressing. So ''śūdras'' will develop higher consciousness, then they become more ''rajo''-dominated, and then later on they will be dominated by ''sattvaguṇa''. That is how this is a slow evolution from a low state of consciousness to a higher state of consciousness — that is what this section wants to tell.

Just as Brahman created the '''''deva-varṇas''''' — the four castes of the ''devas'', the gods and goddesses — we have to understand that exactly in a similar manner, all human beings were also created. So ''deva-brāhmaṇas'' degenerated into '''''manuṣya-brāhmaṇas''''', ''deva-kṣatriyas'' into '''''manuṣya-kṣatriyas''''', ''deva-vaiśyas'' into '''''manuṣya-vaiśyas''''', and ''deva-śūdras'' into '''''manuṣya-śūdras''.'''

Now, though it is not necessary — this is a point we can add here — does this division apply only to human beings or to non-human beings also? Yes. Take one simple example: the story of the honey bee. There is a queen, there are warriors to protect the hive, there are workers who will be going and gathering — it is such a marvellous story. How much intelligence is needed!

Just to give one small example: there are some ant colonies that were being flooded, and they had to find a safer nest. we call it an Ant hill.What do these ants do? They have to cross sometimes huge expanses of water. And individually, if they do it, it is not going to help. So they join hands and legs and form a huge, like a boat or a huge mat. The entire rest of the colony gathers onto that mat, as it were, and they float. And these front ants slowly guide it to a place where the danger of water is not there.

That's why if anybody scientifically examines either a beehive or an anthill, you will see how much intelligence is there. When you look at some birds — there are some birds who create such beautiful nests, and they are fully aware, fully conscious that snakes are there to hunt them. So there are particular species of birds I have seen in a video: they create a nest with various doors, and the real room where they store the eggs will be practically like Lucknow's maze, the ''Bhūlbhulāiyā''. The snake will poke into several nests and not find anything. Finally, disappointed, most snakes leave.

Why am I citing this example? To show how much intelligence is really working there, albeit unconsciously. Many squirrels gather nuts when winter is coming — they have to survive in their burrows, to tide them over during that cold season when they cannot come out. What do the bears do? They hibernate. How much intelligence!

This is only to place before you how much intelligence these creatures have. So Brahman manifested himself as the world, then created various animals, then created human beings. Then a world order has to be established. For that, '''''adhiṣṭhātṛ devatās''''' were created. And that is from where the '''''karma-siddhānta''''' has come — these gods are watching us. According to our ''karma'', if we worship them, they reward us; if we neglect and misbehave, they keep count and will try to correct us. It is not a punishment — it is a correction.
----

== The ''Varṇas'' as a Framework for Evolution ==
So this is how ''deva-varṇas'' and ''brahman-varṇas'' are created. And then, what is the purpose of all this? Right from the lowest caste, we have to strive — through the devout performance of our respective duties — to evolve. That is how a ''śūdra'' becomes a ''vaiśya'', meaning the terrible ''tamoguṇa'' now becomes mixed up with more of ''rajoguṇa'', and then he enters into more ''sāttvikaguṇa'' and becomes a ''kṣatriya''. This is a state of progress.

We have to understand: it is not a privilege to oppress and suppress and selfishly hoard everything for one's own self. And whenever we neglect this, the ''karmaphala'' will come with a big blow. Study history — this is what happens. And this history has been repeated in our ''Purāṇas'' in the form of the continuous warfare between the ''suras'' and ''asuras'', gods and demons.

What is this fight? The fight is: whenever somebody neglects and doesn't live a proper life appropriate to their station in life, then ''karmaphala'' will come in the form of suffering. Here, a demon is nothing but a creator of — or an excuse for creating — suffering. Suffering awakens these people. Then they think deeply: "We have neglected the commandments of God." That's why in the Bible it is called the Ten Commandments, and we have got ''dharmaśāstras'' — nothing but ''vidhi'' and ''niṣedha'', the do's and don'ts.

Then we slowly acquire faith, and we experiment and get some results. Our faith deepens. That is how we progress.

The whole thing is meant — involution is meant — so that we can evolve. If I have to summarise the entire creation: '''first,''' it is nothing but '''involution''', coming down to the inorganic. Thereafter, '''evolution''' starts with the sprouting of '''''prāṇa''''' in the one-celled body — call it amoeba, by whatever name — and slowly multiplying and evolving physically, brain-wise, then mentally, then spiritually, finally reaching the destination, that is, reaching home from where we have come. This is the idea.
----

== A Note on Methodology: How to Read a Text ==
Now I will give you a gist and summary of these mantras from the eleventh to the seventeenth. Six mantras seven mantras are there for us to deal with. Once we understand the gist of this — which I have already given as the summary of the summaries — I am going into a little more detail. And then we will go through the proper mantras; it will be a breeze to understand them.

This is how we have to read any book. This is the technique by which one can grasp the most in the least amount of time, and grasp more intelligently and retain it for a longer time. First of all, you read the foreword. The author, if he is a good author, crystal clearly outlines: "This is the subject about which I am going to talk, and on this subject, especially I am going to emphasise these particular points of view." And then he elaborates them, giving examples, etc.

So it may be a 300-page book or a 400-page book. At the end of every chapter — every paragraph has a connection with the next paragraph, if it is intelligent writing. Every chapter has a connection to the next chapter. And at the end of every chapter: "These are the special points we have discussed so far in this chapter," and then: "This is the connection between the previous chapter and the next chapter." This is what Śaṅkarācārya calls '''''sambandhabhāṣya''''' — the relationship between the previous mantra and the next mantra, previous chapter and next chapter, previous section and next section. If we can follow this methodology, it will be marvellous.
----

== Before Creation: Brahman Alone ==
So what happened before creation? Who was there? Brahman alone existed — '''''ekaṃ sat, advitīyam'', ''sadeva saumya idam agra āsītसदेव सोम्येदमग्र आसीदेकमेवाद्वितीयम्‌॥छान्दोग्योपनिषद्‌षष्ठोऽध्यायःद्वितीयः खण्डःVerse १'''''. In the '''Chāndogya Upaniṣad, we have seen, in the sixth chapter verse 21''', that only Brahman alone existed. That is what the Brihadāraṇyaka also repeats.

So then Brahman wanted to create. Now, so many people question: why did Brahman have to create? Could he not have kept quiet? Then we need not have all these classes, this ''saṃsāra'', this — "create a problem, then show a solution." No. This is called '''''līlā'''''. And you cannot complain, because: who is the creator? Brahman. Who is the creation? Brahman. Who has degenerated or involved? Brahman. Who is evolving? Brahman. That is the fun of it — he does it for fun, and he knows it with full consciousness.

So this is what we have to understand. Before creation, Brahman alone existed. And to ensure the proper functioning of this created universe, Brahman created the powerful castes — so ''kṣatriyas'', and earlier he said ''agni'' — ''agni'' means ''brāhmaṇa'' — so Indra, Varuṇa, etc. While the ''kṣatriya'' power, the warrior class, represents power, its source is none other than Brahman.

And that is why in the ''rājasūya'' sacrifice, the king has to sit below a ''brāhmaṇa'' who is performing the ''agni''. So a ''kṣatriya'' has to honour his own source.

To understand it in common sense language: why is the person doing this y''agna'' or ''yāga'', etc.? Because he learns from the ''brāhmaṇa'' that the goal of life is to manifest your potential divinity. And you are a ''kṣatriya'', and the duty of the ''kṣatriya'' is to protect, and also to evolve one's own self. So if you can do some y''agna'' or ''yāgas'', that is not the only duty. Your main duty is to see that society functions as it is supposed to function. But since you are also a human being with individual desires to fulfil, you can do some y''agna'', ''yāgas'', etc.

And only powerful, wealthy ''kṣatriyas'' can do some of these. And that is — at the very beginning of the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad — we said that what is called A''śvamedha'', as ''virāṭ'', a king can do, with all the elaborations and all four ''varṇas'' necessary. But if somebody doesn't have that capacity, you just sit and do mental ''upāsanā'' — it will give you exactly the same result as if you are the king and you are doing it meticulously from the beginning to the end. That is why that ''virāṭ upāsanā'' and its continuation was there. First it is the ''aśva'', then it is the ''agni'', then it is the ''prāṇa'' — we have seen that one already.

You will always have to keep the essential points in mind, otherwise my talk will be what is called dissected, non-related topics.
----

== Mantra 11: The Creation of ''Brāhmaṇas'' and ''Kṣatriyas'' ==
ब्रह्म वा इदमग्र आसीदेकमेव तदेक सन्न व्यभवत्। तच्छ्रेयो रूपमत्यसृजत क्षत्रं यान्येतानि देवत्रा क्षत्राणीन्द्रो वरुणः सोमो रुद्रः पर्जन्यो यमो मृत्युरीशान इति। तस्मात् क्षत्रात्परं नास्ति तस्माद्ब्राह्मणः क्षत्रियमधस्तादुपास्ते राजसूये क्षत्र एव तद्यशो दधाति सैषा क्षत्रस्य योनिर्यद्ब्रह्म। तस्माद्यद्यपि राजा परमतां गच्छति ब्रह्मैवान्तत उपनिश्रयति स्वां योनिं य उ एन हिनस्ति स्वा स योनिमृच्छति स पापीयान्भवति यथा श्रेयास हिसित्वा॥-'''बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse ११'''

==== Transliteration ====
brahma vā idamagra āsīdekameva tadeka sanna vyabhavat| tacchreyo rūpamatyasṛjata kṣatraṁ yānyetāni devatrā kṣatrāṇīndro varuṇaḥ somo rudraḥ parjanyo yamo mṛtyurīśāna iti| tasmāt kṣatrātparaṁ nāsti tasmādbrāhmaṇaḥ kṣatriyamadhastādupāste rājasūye kṣatra eva tadyaśo dadhāti saiṣā kṣatrasya yoniryadbrahma| tasmādyadyapi rājā paramatāṁ gacchati brahmaivāntata upaniśrayati svāṁ yoniṁ ya u ena hinasti svā sa yonimṛcchati sa pāpīyānbhavati yathā śreyāsa hisitvā||

'''So the essence of the eleventh mantra is: Brahman created what is called ''brāhmaṇas'' and ''kṣatriyas''.'''
----

== Mantra 12: The Creation of ''Vaiśyas'' ==
स नैव व्यभवत् स विशमसृजत यान्येतानि देवजातानि गणश आख्यायन्ते वसवो रुद्रा आदित्या विश्वे देवा मरुत इति॥-'''-बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse १२'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa naiva vyabhavat sa viśamasṛjata yānyetāni devajātāni gaṇaśa ākhyāyante vasavo rudrā ādityā viśve devā maruta iti||

'''Then the twelfth mantra: power alone, strength alone, was not enough. Because for the sake of wealth and social nourishment, many things are necessary — suppliers of many things. And therefore ''deva-vaiśyas'' were created. That is described in mantra 12. So like ''vasus'', ''rudras'' — these ''vaiśyas'' were created.'''
----

== Mantra 13: The Creation of ''Śūdras'' ==
स नैव व्यभवत् स शौद्रं वर्णमसृजत पूषणमियं वै पूषेय हीद सर्वं पुष्यति यदिदं किंच॥--'''बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse १३'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa naiva vyabhavat sa śaudraṁ varṇamasṛjata pūṣaṇamiyaṁ vai pūṣeya hīda sarvaṁ puṣyati yadidaṁ kiṁca||

But creation of ''brāhmaṇas'', creation of ''kṣatriyas'', creation of ''vaiśyas'' alone will not do. There is so much physical, menial labour one has to do. When a person has vast lands for cultivation, the cultivators — only ''śūdras'' can do it. And then harvesting, and then storing, and then protecting them — so many things one has to do. For that purpose, the ''śūdras'' have to be created.

'''Mantra 13: for service and support, the ''śūdra-varṇa'''''. Here also, ''deva-śūdra'' — you have to remember — '''''pūṣan''''', that is ''pṛthvī'', was created. Here the earth is called ''pūṣā'', because it is she who is cultivable, who yields, sustains, supports, and nourishes all of us.
----

== Mantra 14: The Creation of ''Dharma'' ==
स नैव व्यभवत्तच्छ्रेयोरूपमत्यसृजत धर्मं तदेतत्क्षत्रस्य क्षत्रं यद्धर्मस्तस्माद्धर्मात्परं नास्त्यथो अबलीयान्बलीयासमाशसते धर्मेण यथा राज्ञैवं यो वै स धर्मः सत्यं वै तत्तस्मात्सत्यं वदन्तमाहुर्धर्मं वदतीति धर्मं वा वदन्त सत्यं वदतीत्येतद्ध्येवैतदुभयं भवति॥-'''बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse १४'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa naiva vyabhavattacchreyorūpamatyasṛjata dharmaṁ tadetatkṣatrasya kṣatraṁ yaddharmastasmāddharmātparaṁ nāstyatho abalīyānbalīyāsamāśasate dharmeṇa yathā rājñaivaṁ yo vai sa dharmaḥ satyaṁ vai tattasmātsatyaṁ vadantamāhurdharmaṁ vadatīti dharmaṁ vā vadanta satyaṁ vadatītyetaddhyevaitadubhayaṁ bhavati||

'''Then the fourteenth mantra tells us''' something extraordinary. Here are the ''kṣatriyas'', here are the ''brāhmaṇas'', here are the ''vaiśyas'', here are the ''śūdras''. And there are also infinite variations possible. Suppose some ''kṣatriya'' has got tremendous power, or some ''brāhmaṇa'' has tremendous knowledge. Then he can become very arrogant — that possibility is there, because ''avidyā'' is ruling. Similarly, a powerful king, like a powerful politician, can do whatever he likes. If somebody praises him, he will bestow the highest power and all his goodies and goodwill. And if he doesn't like somebody, however worthy that somebody may be, he will demote and destroy them. This is the way — just look at the newspaper, that is what you will see everywhere going on.

So to protect against this, Brahman created something marvellous — it is called ''dharma''. So a ''brāhmaṇa'' has ''brāhmaṇa-dharma'', a ''kṣatriya'' has ''kṣatriya-dharma'', a ''vaiśya'' has ''vaiśya-dharma'', a ''śūdra'' has ''śūdra-dharma''. What does it mean? It means these people, according to their own caste — and they were created and classified as belonging to that caste because a particular quality is dominating in them, assisted of course by the other two qualities.

Just as in a ''brāhmaṇa'', ''sattva'' is the dominant quality, ''rajas'' is the helpful quality, and ''tamas'' is another one. Here ''rajas'' is more powerful and more helpful — that's why he retains. So it is not according to birth; caste is according to quality.

So that is what we need to do. And now a very interesting analogy can be given. There are so many AI companies — like OpenAI, Microsoft, Google of course, Meta, and so many others coming. And China is producing marvellous AI, which India cannot even look up to. Not because we lack intelligence, but we lack that ''puruṣakāra'', that energy. Full of jealousy, intolerance — we cannot tolerate our own. Our greatest ''adharma'' is to pull down the other person as much as possible. "I may not get anything, but I will not tolerate another person getting even a little better than what I have." This is the main cause. If this cause is not addressed, however much money the government may spend, we are not going to improve at all — whatever party comes into power. What type of persons are there using that power — that is most important.

So Brahman has created ''dharma''. And very interestingly, ''dharma'' and ''satya'' are equated. ''Satya'' is understanding what the proper action is to be done and the proper way to do it. And ''dharma'' is putting it into absolute practice. That is why you cannot separate ''satya'' and ''dharma''. We will come to that.

So in this fourteenth mantra, Brahman, after creating the four divine castes, now created ''dharma'', so that ''dharma'' keeps them under control. If anybody transgresses the ''dharma'', then ''dharma'' itself becomes ''Yama'' — ''Yama Dharmarāja''. That is why Yama is called ''Yama Dharmarāja''. ''Yama Dharmarāja'' will give appropriate ''karma'' for all.

This is ''dharma'' — ''dharma'' is the power behind power. The controlling power of any power is called ''dharma''. Where ''dharma'' exists, even a weak person can overcome a strong one. That is why we say ''dharma'' and ''satya'' are one'''सत्यमेव जयते satyameva jayate[Mundaka Upanishad 3.1.6]'''. In the ultimate instance, it is only ''dharma'' and ''satya'' which become victorious — temporarily maybe something may not be there. That is the essence of the fourteenth mantra.
----

== Mantra 15: The Purpose of All Action — ''Ātmajñāna'' ==
तदेतद्ब्रह्म क्षत्रं विट् शूद्रस्तदग्निनैव देवेषु ब्रह्माभवद्ब्राह्मणो मनुष्येषु क्षत्रियेण क्षत्रियो वैश्येन वैश्यः शूद्रेण शूद्रस्तस्मादग्नावेव देवेषु लोकमिच्छन्ते ब्राह्मणे मनुष्येष्वेताभ्या हि रूपाभ्यां ब्रह्माभवत्। अथ यो ह वा अस्माल्लोकात्स्वं लोकमदृष्ट्वा प्रैति स एनमविदितो न भुनक्ति यथा वेदो वाऽननूक्तोऽन्यद्वा कर्माकृतं यदि ह वा अप्यनेवंविन्महत्पुण्यं कर्म करोति तद्धास्यान्ततः क्षीयत एवात्मानमेव लोकमुपासीत स य आत्मानमेव लोकमुपास्ते न हास्य कर्म क्षीयते। अस्माद्ध्येवात्मनो यद्यत्कामयते तत्तत्सृजते॥--'''बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse १५'''

==== Transliteration ====
tadetadbrahma kṣatraṁ viṭ śūdrastadagninaiva deveṣu brahmābhavadbrāhmaṇo manuṣyeṣu kṣatriyeṇa kṣatriyo vaiśyena vaiśyaḥ śūdreṇa śūdrastasmādagnāveva deveṣu lokamicchante brāhmaṇe manuṣyeṣvetābhyā hi rūpābhyāṁ brahmābhavat| atha yo ha vā asmāllokātsvaṁ lokamadṛṣṭvā praiti sa enamavidito na bhunakti yathā vedo vā'nanūkto'nyadvā karmākṛtaṁ yadi ha vā apyanevaṁvinmahatpuṇyaṁ karma karoti taddhāsyāntataḥ kṣīyata evātmānameva lokamupāsīta sa ya ātmānameva lokamupāste na hāsya karma kṣīyate| asmāddhyevātmano yadyatkāmayate tattatsṛjate||

'''The fifteenth mantra: t'''his social order exists among both gods and men. So if a person performs many holy works without realising his own self, those works are only temporary. Only when a person knows who he is — obtains, through the obtainment of self-knowledge, ''ātmajñāna'' — then these works become complete and help him achieve the goal of life, which is to know ''ahaṃ brahmāsmi''.

So mantra 15 is reminding us: the whole purpose of creation is to catch hold of ''dharma'' and ''satya''. That is why in the eleventh ''anuvāka'' of the '''Taittirīya Upaniṣadसत्यं वद। धर्मं चर।satyam vada dharmam chara''' — the rest is elaboration.

The social order exists among both gods and men, as I said earlier. For example: '''Agni is the ''deva-brāhmaṇa''''', Indra is the ''deva-kṣatriya'', the ''vasus'' etc. are the ''deva-vaiśyas'', and ''pṛthvī'' is called the ''deva-śūdra'', etc.

'''In this fifteenth mantra''', it says we have to evolve slowly. What is evolution? Absolutely behaving as we are supposed to behave. And this we get from ''dharmaśāstras'': if you are a ''śūdra'', this is your ''dharma''; you should not do your ''adharma''. And if you follow — <center>यत: प्रवृत्तिर्भूतानां येन सर्वमिदं ततम् ।
'''स्वकर्मणा तमभ्यर्च्य सिद्धिं विन्दति मानव: ॥ ४६ ॥'''
</center><center>''yataḥ pravṛttir bhūtānāṁyena sarvam idaṁ tatam'''sva-karmaṇā tam abhyarcyasiddhiṁ vindati mānavaḥ''' ---- '''BG18.46'''''</center>so if a person discharges his duty as a worship of God,that is the essence of ''Karma Yoga''. Then slowly he progresses. And ultimately, by the grace of God, he will become a ''vaiśya'', he will become a ''kṣatriya'' — that is called improvement, progress in the state of consciousness. Ultimately a person will become a ''brāhmaṇa'', that is, a seeker of Brahman. And then he will practise,'''महावाक्य श्रवण मनन निधिध्यासन''' [Mahavakya sravana manana , nidhidhyasana]and then he becomes a realised soul. That is the most wonderful thing.

'''What is the fifteenth mantra saying'''? Let me first quote how Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa beautifully puts it: any number of zeros without a one in the front are completely zeros — valueless. But put one, and as you go on adding zero after zero, the value increases: 10, 100, 1,000, 10,000, 100,000, 1,000,000, etc. This is what the mantra is telling — that if every activity is not directed towards reaching our own true nature, or Brahman, or ''ātmajñāna'', all these works will only give temporary effects.

The mantra is not telling that they will not give effect — they will. But again and again and again, we fall from that high state, and again we have to do it, until we learn the lesson. That all these works will give permanent result only when we offer them as worship of God.
----

== Mantra 16: The ''Jīvanmukta'' — The Liberated Soul ==
अथो अयं वा आत्मा सर्वेषां भूतानां लोकः स यज्जुहोति यद्यजते तेन देवानां लोकोऽथ यदनुब्रूते तेन ऋषीणामथ यत्पितृभ्यो निपृणाति यत्प्रजामिच्छते तेन पितॄणामथ यन्मनुष्यान्वासयते यदेभ्योऽशनं ददाति तेन मनुष्याणामथ यत्पशुभ्यस्तृणोदकं विन्दति तेन पशूनां यदस्य गृहेषु श्वापदा वयास्यापिपीलिकाभ्य उपजीवन्ति तेन तेषां लोको यथा ह वै स्वाय लोकायारिष्टिमिच्छेदेव हैवंविदे सर्वाणि भूतान्यरिष्टिमिच्छन्ति तद्वा एतद्विदितं मीमासितम्॥--'''बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse १६'''

==== Transliteration ====
atho ayaṁ vā ātmā sarveṣāṁ bhūtānāṁ lokaḥ sa yajjuhoti yadyajate tena devānāṁ loko'tha yadanubrūte tena ṛṣīṇāmatha yatpitṛbhyo nipṛṇāti yatprajāmicchate tena pitṝṇāmatha yanmanuṣyānvāsayate yadebhyo'śanaṁ dadāti tena manuṣyāṇāmatha yatpaśubhyastṛṇodakaṁ vindati tena paśūnāṁ yadasya gṛheṣu śvāpadā vayāsyāpipīlikābhya upajīvanti tena teṣāṁ loko yathā ha vai svāya lokāyāriṣṭimicchedeva haivaṁvide sarvāṇi bhūtānyariṣṭimicchanti tadvā etadviditaṁ mīmāsitam||

'''Then mantra 16 beautifully puts it'''. Suppose a person, through the evolution from ''śūdra'' to ''brāhmaṇa'', from ''tamoguṇa'' to ''sattvaguṇa'' — then the ''śūdra'' with ''sattvaguṇa'' will slowly realise, like that person who was saved from ''tamoguṇa'', then saved from ''rajoguṇa''. ''Sattvaguṇa'' alone saves — it brings him to his home, his village. "You go there."

When the man invited, "You have saved my life, I am eternally grateful, please come to my house — we will be blessed to honour you," he said, "No, I am also a robber." That means: all ''guṇas'' belong to ''sṛṣṭi''. We have to go beyond ''sṛṣṭi'' — to what was before ''sṛṣṭi'', which is Brahman.

So that is how a knower of the ''ātman'' becomes a world for all beings. Because a knower of Brahman or ''ātman'' is Brahman. And such a person — anybody who worships''',Bhūtikāmaḥ (भूतिकामः''')any anybody who wants any desire to be fulfilled — should worship an ''ātmajñānī'', because an ''ātmajñānī'' is non-separate from the ''ātman'' or Brahman. So here is a living example called a ''jīvanmukta''.

Through his sacrifice, study, and service to guests and animals, he supports entire creation. These are called '''''pañcamahāyajñas'' — ''devatās'', ''ṛṣis'', ''pitṛs'', and then all human beings, and all non-human beings, and even the smallest creatures.''' When he loves all, the entire creation loves him back.

Just imagine — Rāmakṛṣṇa once saved a big ''magur mach'' ([[Clarias magur|scientific name ; ''Clarias magur'']] ; freshwater catfish). We don't know how the magur mach really feels after that. According to its own capacity, it must have had a sigh of relief, become happy, and must have expressed gratitude to the saver, which is Rāmakṛṣṇa. Whatever is minimum necessary, they will do — but beyond that, they will never try to harm.

Even what minimum they do, also with a prayer. I heard that some South Africans, when they hunt — because they don't get anything else, for some particular animals like deer — they run them down. Finally they pray: "O ''devatā'', spirit — you are dying, sacrificing your life for the sake of sustaining us. We pray to God that in your next birth, you will have a better life because of your sacrifice." And after this prayer to their ancestors, to their own gods in whom they believe, they sprinkle a little bit of dust. This is what we do — ''śrāddha'', etc. — in gratefulness to all our ancestors. All ''pañcamahāyajña'' is nothing but uttering this gratefulness and sprinkling the dust.

'''So mantra 16 says that everybody loves a ''jīvanmukta'', because a ''jīvanmukta'' becomes the ''ātman'' of all these beings.'''
----

== Mantra 17: The ''Gṛhasthāśrama'' — Legitimate Fulfilment of Desires ==
अथो अयम् आत्मा वै सर्वेषां भूतानां लोकः सः यत् जुहोति यत् यजते तेन देवानां लोकः अथ यत् अनुब्रूते तेन ऋषीणाम् अथ यत् पितृभ्यः निपृणाति यत् प्रजम् इच्छते तेन पितृणाम् अथ यत् मनुष्यान् वासयतेयत् एभ्यः अशनं ददाति तेन मनुष्याणाम् अथ यत् पशुभ्यः तृणोदकं विन्दति तेन पशूनाम् यत् अस्य गृहुषु श्वापदाः वयांसि आ पिपीलिकाभ्यः उपजीवन्ति तेन तेषां लोकः यथा ह स्वाय लोकाय अरिष्टिम् इच्छेत् एवं ह सर्वाणि भूतानि एवंविदे अरिष्टिम् इच्छन्ति तत् एतत् वै वीदितम् मीमाम्सितम्॥--'''बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse १७'''

==== Transliteration ====
atho ayam ātmā vai sarveṣāṁ bhūtānāṁ lokaḥ saḥ yat juhoti yat yajate tena devānāṁ lokaḥ atha yat anubrūte tena ṛṣīṇām atha yat pitṛbhyaḥ nipṛṇāti yat prajam icchate tena pitṛṇām atha yat manuṣyān vāsayateyat ebhyaḥ aśanaṁ dadāti tena manuṣyāṇām atha yat paśubhyaḥ tṛiṇodakaṁ vindati tena paśūnām yat asya gṛhuṣu śvāpadāḥ vayāṁsi ā pipīlikābhyaḥ upajīvanti tena teṣāṁ lokaḥ yathā ha svāya lokāya ariṣṭim icchet evaṁ ha sarvāṇi bhūtāni evaṁvide ariṣṭim icchanti tat etat vai vīditam mīmāmsitam||

'''And the final mantra — mantra 17 —''' '''in this fourth section''': when the ''ātman'' existed alone, it desired a wife, children, wealth, and work, to feel complete. So what does this seventeenth mantra really mean?

It means: when a person comes of age, comes to consciousness, becomes awakened, he looks around and understands what to do. He understands: "This is my duty in life if I want to progress further." So therefore, he wants to fulfil all his desires legitimately, according to the direction of the scripture. Such a person — what is called a ''brahmacārī'' — desires a wife, children, wealth, and work.

And then the purpose is not to enjoy the world, but the purpose is slowly to evolve — by developing faith in the scripture, and by satisfying some of the desires.

So this mantra teaches us a very important lesson: an unfit person cannot simply renounce the world. He will be like a jobless person renouncing the world, going to Vārāṇasī, and then after some time securing a job. "Do not worry, I am keeping well. I am sending ten rupees — I got a job now. The next time when I come, I will bring some clothes and some other materials for you. So you do not feel bad about me, don't feel anxious about me." This is called jobless ''vairāgya'' — '''''śmaśāna-vairāgya'', ''prasūti-vairāgya'', ''markaṭa-vairāgya'', jobless ''vairāgya''.'''

'''So the mantra 17 tells us that all this entering into ''gṛhasthāśrama'' from ''brahmacaryāśrama'' to ''gṛhasthāśrama'' is an evolution'''. So that what we have learnt must be put into practice — that helps us to evolve further. '''Ultimately it brings us to ''vānaprasthāśrama'', which leads us to ''sannyāsāśrama''.''' That is the essence of this mantra 17.
----

== Conclusion: The Mutual Relationship of Mantras 11–17 ==
So that is the essence of the eleventh to seventeenth mantras. There is a mutual relationship between these mantras, which we will talk about in our tomorrow's 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.1.4 Lecture 31 on 09 May 2026

2026-07-24T15:22:53Z

Gayatri: /* Overview: Mantras 11 to 17 of the Fourth Section */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH

OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.
----

== Recap: The Goal of Life and the Nature of Brahman ==
As we saw, a great discussion was going on: what is the goal of life? Some seekers understood that realisation of Brahman alone is the goal of life. And what does one gain? They also understood the gains — ''sarvam idaṃ bhavati'''सर्वं इदं भवति''''' , so ''sarva bhāva prāpti'''सर्व भाव प्राप्ति'''''. A person who realises Brahman becomes ''sarvam'''सर्वं''''' , becomes ''pūrṇam'''पूर्णं'''''<nowiki/>'''.'''

Then, how to attain it? We have seen also that this whole creation is a play of Brahman, so that he wants to entertain himself. It is like playing a solitaire game, where one tries to deceive oneself, and then catch oneself, and then go on laughing: "I caught myself!" So it is what is called ''līlā'''लीला'''''<nowiki/>'''.'''
----

== Summary of the Tenth Mantra: ''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi'' ==
In our last class, we completed one of the most important mantras — the tenth mantra of the fourth section of the first chapter of the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. What is the essence of this tenth mantra? This tenth mantra unfolds and establishes that there is only one reality, that is called Brahman — call it God, call it Allāh, by whatever blessed name you desire to call.

And what are we? The ''jīva'''जीव''''', the individual soul, is essentially identical to that Brahman, because if Brahman is everything, if Brahman is the cause, then this entire universe is the effect. And the effect can never be different from the cause.

Then what is it we are experiencing now? This is called ''saṃsāra'''संसार'''''<nowiki/>'''.''' ''Saṃsāra'''संसार''''' means seeing everything as different. I am born — that is different. I am surviving — that is different. One day I will have to disappear from this world — that is also a change. This entire birth, growth, sustenance, old age, disease, and death — this is called ''ṣaḍvikāra'''षडविकार''''', the sixfold changes. Everyone has to go through them. ''Saṃsarati'' '''संसरति''' means continuous change.

And Brahman is one — eternal, unchanging, one without a second. So how can we equate this world with Brahman? But this thinking — really, Brahman has not created, has not become, has not become ''jīva'''जीव''''' , is not thinking as the ''jīva'''जीव''''' — and all these thoughts are only from our mind's point of view, from the ''avidyā'' '''अविद्या'''point of view. All questions — "Who am I? Why am I here? How did I happen to come here? Why did Brahman create? He could have created a better world" — all these questions are products of ignorance.

So long as we are ignorant, so long as we do not know that we are Brahman, these questions will not cease. So long as a person is experiencing a snake, his fear will never vanish.
----

== The Awakening of the Spiritual Seeker ==
But at some point of time, a person gets tired. First — and this is a very great psychological point — first, all of us get so much of pleasure from various things. In fact, we try to minimise all unhappiness and all suffering, and maximise all our happiness. This seems to be the goal of life for a very, very long time.

And then comes the awakening: that it is impossible to achieve this objective. Therefore there must be another way, where I can be without any fear of death, ignorance, and suffering. And for that purpose, the search is now withdrawn from the external to the internal. Such persons are called spiritual seekers.

Then that person, with the help of the Guru who interprets the scripture, slowly destroys the ''avidyā'''अविद्या'''''. Now, what Advaita wants to convey to us is that ''vidyā'''विद्या''''', or true ''brahmavidyā'''ब्रह्मविद्य'''''<nowiki/>''',''' or ''ātmavidyā'' '''आत्मविद्य'''— knowledge of one's own self — is never lost, can never be lost. But it is covered up. So every spiritual practice is only to remove this covering.

So destruction of ''avidyā'''अविद्या''''', or destruction of the ''adhyāsa'''अध्यास''''' (superimposition), is called spiritual practice. And as soon as we succeed in removing this ignorance — ignorance of who we really are, not what we think we are [ ''avidyā'''अविद्या''''',]— the moment we remove the wrong notion totally, ''vidyā'' stands revealed. We do not need to acquire ''vidyā'''विद्या''',''; it is already there.

Just like the removal of darkness manifests the light automatically — not that after removing the darkness, like somebody sitting outside, we have vacated a seat, there is a vacant chair and you can come inside. No, not like that. Removal of ''adhyāsa'''अध्यास''''' or ''avidyā'''अविद्या''''' alone is spiritual practice. And then we realise: we were never bound. What we were wholeheartedly seeking, we already have, as it were — we are that.

Just, we have to remove the covering. For that, a ''mahāvākya'' tremendously helps. And the essential point in this tenth mantra is '''''ahaṃ brahmāsmi ({{lang|sa|अहं ब्रह्मास्मि}})'''([[Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]] 1.4.10 of the [[Yajur Veda]])''. And then — '''''ātmany eva upāsīta''''' एवात्मानमेव लोकमुपासीत [ बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse १५][B'''rihad Up 1.4.15]'''— one should therefore strive to realise this Brahman alone.
----

== Overview: Mantras 11 to 17 of the Fourth Section ==
Now we are going to proceed. This particular fourth section has got seventeen mantras. We covered more or less ten mantras, and some mantras I have already described — especially, I think, in the eighth mantra, how this creation has started. Now again, from the eleventh to the seventeenth, this fourth section gives us This particular fourth section has got seventeen mantras we have covered Ten mantras and now we will cover another seven mantras.this fourth section gives us two important ideas.

So creation has been described earlier. But to maintain this creation and to see that life goes on merrily without any problem, then we have to create those people who tell us how to run, how to live life, and how not to do certain actions which will only stop our further evolution — or even take us back to the previous state. How to stop that? And then slowly, how to progress?
----

== The Origin of the Four Varṇas (''Cāturvarṇyam''''')चातुर्वर्ण्यं''' ==
So Brahman has created four types of castes. This is the origin of the caste system in Hinduism. God himself has created it, and Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa affirms it.<center>चातुर्वर्ण्यं मया सृष्टं गुणकर्मविभागशः ।
तस्य कर्तारमपि मां विद्ध्यकर्तारमव्ययम् ॥ १३ ॥
</center><center>''cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁguṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥtasya kartāram api māṁviddhy akartāram avyayam''bhagavad gita ch-!V verse 13
</center>So what is the purpose? Maintenance.

But the peculiarity of this Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad — what do we mean by ''cāturvarṇyam'''चातुर्वर्ण्यं''''' , the four castes? The Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad elaborates and says that because '''''sṛṣṭi''''' also contains gods and goddesses, the entire creation can be divided into three: ''ādhyātmikaअध्यात्मिक'', ''ādhibhautika(आधिभौतिक)'', and ''ādhidaivika(आधिदैविक)''.

Each one of us, as individuals, is called ''ādhyātmika'''अध्यात्मिक'''''. Then the entire external world, which everyone of us is experiencing and formulating certain ''saṃskāras'' through our experiences, is called ''ādhibhautika'''(आधिभौतिक)'''''. But to have an overall management — how to make a person behave properly, do this, do not do this, the do's and don'ts — certain powers are created. They are called ''adhiṣṭhātṛ devatās''. ('''अधिष्ठातृ देवता)''' And also, how to live life: for that purpose, four castes were created.

Now what the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad wants to add is that it is not only at our level, but even at the level of the gods, four ''varṇas'' are there. So there is a ''d'''eva-brāhmaṇa'''''<nowiki/>''', ''deva-kṣatriya'', ''deva-vaiśya'', and ''deva-śūdra''.'''
----

== The Three ''Guṇas'' and Their Combinations ==
Now, what are these castes? Castes are nothing but divided on the basis of ''guṇas''. As we know, ''guṇas'' are three. So certain combinations — and this is a very important point — no ''guṇa'' by itself can be effective. It is only the combination of every ''guṇa'' that counts.

How many combinations are possible? First: '''''sattvaguṇa''''' dominates, ''r'''ajoguṇa''''' supports, '''''tamoguṇa''''' helps — that is called '''''brāhmaṇa''.''' Second: ''rajoguṇa'' dominates, ''sattvaguṇa'' helps, ''tamoguṇa'' also helps — that is called '''''kṣatriya'',''' or the rulers and warriors. What Plato or Socrates used to call the second category.

The first category, according to Socrates, is called philosophers — those who set the goal of life crystal clearly. But to maintain this order, ''kṣatriyas'' are necessary, with tremendous power. They are the kings, they are the warriors, they are the leaders of men. They fall under the second category and are dominated by ''rajoguṇa''. They have to be extremely alert and intolerant of any evil that is being perpetuated.

People were advised according to their castes what special activities they would have to do. So for example, for the ''brāhmaṇa'' — study of the Vedas, leading an ideal life — that is the speciality of ''brāhmaṇas''. For ''kṣatriyas'' — protecting the weak, subduing the strong and evil, and seeing that society runs smoothly. That oiling process of this machine called society — they are called ''kṣatriyas'', or the warrior class.

And people are advised: you have to worship God, you have certain duties in life. For that purpose, ''pañcamahāyajñas'', special worships, special ''upāsanās'', have been given. And to see that they are done properly, many things are needed, many items are needed. So one has to get that supply. The persons who see that everybody requires food and materials — and at one place something grows, another place something else grows — these third castes are called the business people, ''vaiśyas''.

Their business is such that they have international connections. If some excess product is there, they remove it, take it where it is needed and not available. And what is available there — say, for example, certain exotic things are not available in western countries, only India can give, especially spices. That is why everybody wanted to come and conquer India, so that they could have free access. India was also known as a treasure house of gold, silver, and many other precious minerals and metals.

So that is why everybody's sight was drawn there. That is why Muslims had come, that's why English, Dutch, Portuguese, French people — everybody had come. Finally, only the Muslims and the English people dominated and looted. And that we should not blame them, because we welcomed them and we helped them to loot everything, because of our non-cooperation. Even now it is going on.

So the third class — what is called ''rajo''-dominated, greatly helped by ''rajas'' and ''tamas'' in equal proportions — they are called '''''vaiśyas'''''. But there are different types of activities: harvesting, cultivating, cleaning, storing, bringing things. Workers are needed — they are called '''''śūdras''.'''

And it is not that a particular caste of people have been created. No. According to their ''guṇa'', where ''tamoguṇa'' is more — the person needs to be told, "You have to do this," etc. They cannot think for themselves; somebody has to continuously direct them: "Do this, don't do this, do this after that." Such people are called ''śūdras''.

And in every society, in every age, we get these people. Not that it is only from the beginning so. For that purpose, from Brahman, having created this universe with all the ''pañcabhūtas'', he then created '''''deva-varṇas'' — ''deva-brāhmaṇa'', ''deva-kṣatriya'', ''deva-vaiśya'', ''deva-śūdra''.'''
----

== Intelligence in Nature: An Illustrative Digression ==
And this Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, from the eleventh mantra onwards — from the eleventh section onwards — is trying to elaborate one after the other that with the help of everyone doing their duties properly, everybody will be progressing. So ''śūdras'' will develop higher consciousness, then they become more ''rajo''-dominated, and then later on they will be dominated by ''sattvaguṇa''. That is how this is a slow evolution from a low state of consciousness to a higher state of consciousness — that is what this section wants to tell.

Just as Brahman created the '''''deva-varṇas''''' — the four castes of the ''devas'', the gods and goddesses — we have to understand that exactly in a similar manner, all human beings were also created. So ''deva-brāhmaṇas'' degenerated into '''''manuṣya-brāhmaṇas''''', ''deva-kṣatriyas'' into '''''manuṣya-kṣatriyas''''', ''deva-vaiśyas'' into '''''manuṣya-vaiśyas''''', and ''deva-śūdras'' into '''''manuṣya-śūdras''.'''

Now, though it is not necessary — this is a point we can add here — does this division apply only to human beings or to non-human beings also? Yes. Take one simple example: the story of the honey bee. There is a queen, there are warriors to protect the hive, there are workers who will be going and gathering — it is such a marvellous story. How much intelligence is needed!

Just to give one small example: there are some ant colonies that were being flooded, and they had to find a safer nest. we call it an Ant hill.What do these ants do? They have to cross sometimes huge expanses of water. And individually, if they do it, it is not going to help. So they join hands and legs and form a huge, like a boat or a huge mat. The entire rest of the colony gathers onto that mat, as it were, and they float. And these front ants slowly guide it to a place where the danger of water is not there.

That's why if anybody scientifically examines either a beehive or an anthill, you will see how much intelligence is there. When you look at some birds — there are some birds who create such beautiful nests, and they are fully aware, fully conscious that snakes are there to hunt them. So there are particular species of birds I have seen in a video: they create a nest with various doors, and the real room where they store the eggs will be practically like Lucknow's maze, the ''Bhūlbhulāiyā''. The snake will poke into several nests and not find anything. Finally, disappointed, most snakes leave.

Why am I citing this example? To show how much intelligence is really working there, albeit unconsciously. Many squirrels gather nuts when winter is coming — they have to survive in their burrows, to tide them over during that cold season when they cannot come out. What do the bears do? They hibernate. How much intelligence!

This is only to place before you how much intelligence these creatures have. So Brahman manifested himself as the world, then created various animals, then created human beings. Then a world order has to be established. For that, '''''adhiṣṭhātṛ devatās''''' were created. And that is from where the '''''karma-siddhānta''''' has come — these gods are watching us. According to our ''karma'', if we worship them, they reward us; if we neglect and misbehave, they keep count and will try to correct us. It is not a punishment — it is a correction.
----

== The ''Varṇas'' as a Framework for Evolution ==
So this is how ''deva-varṇas'' and ''brahman-varṇas'' are created. And then, what is the purpose of all this? Right from the lowest caste, we have to strive — through the devout performance of our respective duties — to evolve. That is how a ''śūdra'' becomes a ''vaiśya'', meaning the terrible ''tamoguṇa'' now becomes mixed up with more of ''rajoguṇa'', and then he enters into more ''sāttvikaguṇa'' and becomes a ''kṣatriya''. This is a state of progress.

We have to understand: it is not a privilege to oppress and suppress and selfishly hoard everything for one's own self. And whenever we neglect this, the ''karmaphala'' will come with a big blow. Study history — this is what happens. And this history has been repeated in our ''Purāṇas'' in the form of the continuous warfare between the ''suras'' and ''asuras'', gods and demons.

What is this fight? The fight is: whenever somebody neglects and doesn't live a proper life appropriate to their station in life, then ''karmaphala'' will come in the form of suffering. Here, a demon is nothing but a creator of — or an excuse for creating — suffering. Suffering awakens these people. Then they think deeply: "We have neglected the commandments of God." That's why in the Bible it is called the Ten Commandments, and we have got ''dharmaśāstras'' — nothing but ''vidhi'' and ''niṣedha'', the do's and don'ts.

Then we slowly acquire faith, and we experiment and get some results. Our faith deepens. That is how we progress.

The whole thing is meant — involution is meant — so that we can evolve. If I have to summarise the entire creation: '''first,''' it is nothing but '''involution''', coming down to the inorganic. Thereafter, '''evolution''' starts with the sprouting of '''''prāṇa''''' in the one-celled body — call it amoeba, by whatever name — and slowly multiplying and evolving physically, brain-wise, then mentally, then spiritually, finally reaching the destination, that is, reaching home from where we have come. This is the idea.
----

== A Note on Methodology: How to Read a Text ==
Now I will give you a gist and summary of these mantras from the eleventh to the seventeenth. Six or seven mantras are there for us to deal with. Once we understand the gist of this — which I have already given as the summary of the summaries — I am going into a little more detail. And then we will go through the proper mantras; it will be a breeze to understand them.

This is how we have to read any book. This is the technique by which one can grasp the most in the least amount of time, and grasp more intelligently and retain it for a longer time. First of all, you read the foreword. The author, if he is a good author, crystal clearly outlines: "This is the subject about which I am going to talk, and on this subject, especially I am going to emphasise these particular points of view." And then he elaborates them, giving examples, etc.

So it may be a 300-page book or a 400-page book. At the end of every chapter — every paragraph has a connection with the next paragraph, if it is intelligent writing. Every chapter has a connection to the next chapter. And at the end of every chapter: "These are the special points we have discussed so far in this chapter," and then: "This is the connection between the previous chapter and the next chapter." This is what Śaṅkarācārya calls '''''sambandhabhāṣya''''' — the relationship between the previous mantra and the next mantra, previous chapter and next chapter, previous section and next section. If we can follow this methodology, it will be marvellous.
----

== Before Creation: Brahman Alone ==
So what happened before creation? Who was there? Brahman alone existed — '''''ekaṃ sat, advitīyam'', ''sadeva saumya idam agra āsītसदेव सोम्येदमग्र आसीदेकमेवाद्वितीयम्‌॥छान्दोग्योपनिषद्‌षष्ठोऽध्यायःद्वितीयः खण्डःVerse १'''''. In the '''Chāndogya Upaniṣad, we have seen, in the sixth chapter verse 21''', that only Brahman alone existed. That is what the Brihadāraṇyaka also repeats.

So then Brahman wanted to create. Now, so many people question: why did Brahman have to create? Could he not have kept quiet? Then we need not have all these classes, this ''saṃsāra'', this — "create a problem, then show a solution." No. This is called '''''līlā'''''. And you cannot complain, because: who is the creator? Brahman. Who is the creation? Brahman. Who has degenerated or involved? Brahman. Who is evolving? Brahman. That is the fun of it — he does it for fun, and he knows it with full consciousness.

So this is what we have to understand. Before creation, Brahman alone existed. And to ensure the proper functioning of this created universe, Brahman created the powerful castes — so ''kṣatriyas'', and earlier he said ''agni'' — ''agni'' means ''brāhmaṇa'' — so Indra, Varuṇa, etc. While the ''kṣatriya'' power, the warrior class, represents power, its source is none other than Brahman.

And that is why in the ''rājasūya'' sacrifice, the king has to sit below a ''brāhmaṇa'' who is performing the ''agni''. So a ''kṣatriya'' has to honour his own source.

To understand it in common sense language: why is the person doing this ''agni'' or ''yāga'', etc.? Because he learns from the ''brāhmaṇa'' that the goal of life is to manifest your potential divinity. And you are a ''kṣatriya'', and the duty of the ''kṣatriya'' is to protect, and also to evolve one's own self. So if you can do some ''agni'' or ''yāgas'', that is not the only duty. Your main duty is to see that society functions as it is supposed to function. But since you are also a human being with individual desires to fulfil, you can do some y''agna'', ''yāgas'', etc.

And only powerful, wealthy ''kṣatriyas'' can do some of these. And that is — at the very beginning of the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad — we said that what is called A''śvamedha'', as ''virāṭ'', a king can do, with all the elaborations and all four ''varṇas'' necessary. But if somebody doesn't have that capacity, you just sit and do mental ''upāsanā'' — it will give you exactly the same result as if you are the king and you are doing it meticulously from the beginning to the end. That is why that ''virāṭ upāsanā'' and its continuation was there. First it is the ''aśva'', then it is the ''agni'', then it is the ''prāṇa'' — we have seen that one already.

You will always have to keep the essential points in mind, otherwise my talk will be what is called dissected, non-related topics.
----

== Mantra 11: The Creation of ''Brāhmaṇas'' and ''Kṣatriyas'' ==
ब्रह्म वा इदमग्र आसीदेकमेव तदेक सन्न व्यभवत्। तच्छ्रेयो रूपमत्यसृजत क्षत्रं यान्येतानि देवत्रा क्षत्राणीन्द्रो वरुणः सोमो रुद्रः पर्जन्यो यमो मृत्युरीशान इति। तस्मात् क्षत्रात्परं नास्ति तस्माद्ब्राह्मणः क्षत्रियमधस्तादुपास्ते राजसूये क्षत्र एव तद्यशो दधाति सैषा क्षत्रस्य योनिर्यद्ब्रह्म। तस्माद्यद्यपि राजा परमतां गच्छति ब्रह्मैवान्तत उपनिश्रयति स्वां योनिं य उ एन हिनस्ति स्वा स योनिमृच्छति स पापीयान्भवति यथा श्रेयास हिसित्वा॥-'''बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse ११'''

==== Transliteration ====
brahma vā idamagra āsīdekameva tadeka sanna vyabhavat| tacchreyo rūpamatyasṛjata kṣatraṁ yānyetāni devatrā kṣatrāṇīndro varuṇaḥ somo rudraḥ parjanyo yamo mṛtyurīśāna iti| tasmāt kṣatrātparaṁ nāsti tasmādbrāhmaṇaḥ kṣatriyamadhastādupāste rājasūye kṣatra eva tadyaśo dadhāti saiṣā kṣatrasya yoniryadbrahma| tasmādyadyapi rājā paramatāṁ gacchati brahmaivāntata upaniśrayati svāṁ yoniṁ ya u ena hinasti svā sa yonimṛcchati sa pāpīyānbhavati yathā śreyāsa hisitvā||

'''So the essence of the eleventh mantra is: Brahman created what is called ''brāhmaṇas'' and ''kṣatriyas''.'''
----

== Mantra 12: The Creation of ''Vaiśyas'' ==
स नैव व्यभवत् स विशमसृजत यान्येतानि देवजातानि गणश आख्यायन्ते वसवो रुद्रा आदित्या विश्वे देवा मरुत इति॥-'''-बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse १२'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa naiva vyabhavat sa viśamasṛjata yānyetāni devajātāni gaṇaśa ākhyāyante vasavo rudrā ādityā viśve devā maruta iti||

'''Then the twelfth mantra: power alone, strength alone, was not enough. Because for the sake of wealth and social nourishment, many things are necessary — suppliers of many things. And therefore ''deva-vaiśyas'' were created. That is described in mantra 12. So like ''vasus'', ''rudras'' — these ''vaiśyas'' were created.'''
----

== Mantra 13: The Creation of ''Śūdras'' ==
स नैव व्यभवत् स शौद्रं वर्णमसृजत पूषणमियं वै पूषेय हीद सर्वं पुष्यति यदिदं किंच॥--'''बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse १३'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa naiva vyabhavat sa śaudraṁ varṇamasṛjata pūṣaṇamiyaṁ vai pūṣeya hīda sarvaṁ puṣyati yadidaṁ kiṁca||

But creation of ''brāhmaṇas'', creation of ''kṣatriyas'', creation of ''vaiśyas'' alone will not do. There is so much physical, menial labour one has to do. When a person has vast lands for cultivation, the cultivators — only ''śūdras'' can do it. And then harvesting, and then storing, and then protecting them — so many things one has to do. For that purpose, the ''śūdras'' have to be created.

'''Mantra 13: for service and support, the ''śūdra-varṇa'''''. Here also, ''deva-śūdra'' — you have to remember — '''''pūṣan''''', that is ''pṛthvī'', was created. Here the earth is called ''pūṣā'', because it is she who is cultivable, who yields, sustains, supports, and nourishes all of us.
----

== Mantra 14: The Creation of ''Dharma'' ==
स नैव व्यभवत्तच्छ्रेयोरूपमत्यसृजत धर्मं तदेतत्क्षत्रस्य क्षत्रं यद्धर्मस्तस्माद्धर्मात्परं नास्त्यथो अबलीयान्बलीयासमाशसते धर्मेण यथा राज्ञैवं यो वै स धर्मः सत्यं वै तत्तस्मात्सत्यं वदन्तमाहुर्धर्मं वदतीति धर्मं वा वदन्त सत्यं वदतीत्येतद्ध्येवैतदुभयं भवति॥-'''बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse १४'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa naiva vyabhavattacchreyorūpamatyasṛjata dharmaṁ tadetatkṣatrasya kṣatraṁ yaddharmastasmāddharmātparaṁ nāstyatho abalīyānbalīyāsamāśasate dharmeṇa yathā rājñaivaṁ yo vai sa dharmaḥ satyaṁ vai tattasmātsatyaṁ vadantamāhurdharmaṁ vadatīti dharmaṁ vā vadanta satyaṁ vadatītyetaddhyevaitadubhayaṁ bhavati||

Then the fourteenth mantra tells us something extraordinary. Here are the ''kṣatriyas'', here are the ''brāhmaṇas'', here are the ''vaiśyas'', here are the ''śūdras''. And there are also infinite variations possible. Suppose some ''kṣatriya'' has got tremendous power, or some ''brāhmaṇa'' has tremendous knowledge. Then he can become very arrogant — that possibility is there, because ''avidyā'' is ruling. Similarly, a powerful king, like a powerful politician, can do whatever he likes. If somebody praises him, he will bestow the highest power and all his goodies and goodwill. And if he doesn't like somebody, however worthy that somebody may be, he will demote and destroy them. This is the way — just look at the newspaper, that is what you will see everywhere going on.

So to protect against this, Brahman created something marvellous — it is called ''dharma''. So a ''brāhmaṇa'' has ''brāhmaṇa-dharma'', a ''kṣatriya'' has ''kṣatriya-dharma'', a ''vaiśya'' has ''vaiśya-dharma'', a ''śūdra'' has ''śūdra-dharma''. What does it mean? It means these people, according to their own caste — and they were created and classified as belonging to that caste because a particular quality is dominating in them, assisted of course by the other two qualities.

Just as in a ''brāhmaṇa'', ''sattva'' is the dominant quality, ''rajas'' is the helpful quality, and ''tamas'' is another one. Here ''rajas'' is more powerful and more helpful — that's why he retains. So it is not according to birth; caste is according to quality.

So that is what we need to do. And now a very interesting analogy can be given. There are so many AI companies — like OpenAI, Microsoft, Google of course, Meta, and so many others coming. And China is producing marvellous AI, which India cannot even look up to. Not because we lack intelligence, but we lack that ''puruṣakāra'', that energy. Full of jealousy, intolerance — we cannot tolerate our own. Our greatest ''adharma'' is to pull down the other person as much as possible. "I may not get anything, but I will not tolerate another person getting even a little better than what I have." This is the main cause. If this cause is not addressed, however much money the government may spend, we are not going to improve at all — whatever party comes into power. What type of persons are there using that power — that is most important.

So Brahman has created ''dharma''. And very interestingly, ''dharma'' and ''satya'' are equated. ''Satya'' is understanding what the proper action is to be done and the proper way to do it. And ''dharma'' is putting it into absolute practice. That is why you cannot separate ''satya'' and ''dharma''. We will come to that.

So in this fourteenth mantra, Brahman, after creating the four divine castes, now created ''dharma'', so that ''dharma'' keeps them under control. If anybody transgresses the ''dharma'', then ''dharma'' itself becomes ''Yama'' — ''Yama Dharmarāja''. That is why Yama is called ''Yama Dharmarāja''. ''Yama Dharmarāja'' will give appropriate ''karma'' for all.

This is ''dharma'' — ''dharma'' is the power behind power. The controlling power of any power is called ''dharma''. Where ''dharma'' exists, even a weak person can overcome a strong one. That is why we say ''dharma'' and ''satya'' are one'''सत्यमेव जयते satyameva jayate[Mundaka Upanishad 3.1.6]'''. In the ultimate instance, it is only ''dharma'' and ''satya'' which become victorious — temporarily maybe something may not be there. That is the essence of the fourteenth mantra.
----

== Mantra 15: The Purpose of All Action — ''Ātmajñāna'' ==
तदेतद्ब्रह्म क्षत्रं विट् शूद्रस्तदग्निनैव देवेषु ब्रह्माभवद्ब्राह्मणो मनुष्येषु क्षत्रियेण क्षत्रियो वैश्येन वैश्यः शूद्रेण शूद्रस्तस्मादग्नावेव देवेषु लोकमिच्छन्ते ब्राह्मणे मनुष्येष्वेताभ्या हि रूपाभ्यां ब्रह्माभवत्। अथ यो ह वा अस्माल्लोकात्स्वं लोकमदृष्ट्वा प्रैति स एनमविदितो न भुनक्ति यथा वेदो वाऽननूक्तोऽन्यद्वा कर्माकृतं यदि ह वा अप्यनेवंविन्महत्पुण्यं कर्म करोति तद्धास्यान्ततः क्षीयत एवात्मानमेव लोकमुपासीत स य आत्मानमेव लोकमुपास्ते न हास्य कर्म क्षीयते। अस्माद्ध्येवात्मनो यद्यत्कामयते तत्तत्सृजते॥--'''बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse १५'''

==== Transliteration ====
tadetadbrahma kṣatraṁ viṭ śūdrastadagninaiva deveṣu brahmābhavadbrāhmaṇo manuṣyeṣu kṣatriyeṇa kṣatriyo vaiśyena vaiśyaḥ śūdreṇa śūdrastasmādagnāveva deveṣu lokamicchante brāhmaṇe manuṣyeṣvetābhyā hi rūpābhyāṁ brahmābhavat| atha yo ha vā asmāllokātsvaṁ lokamadṛṣṭvā praiti sa enamavidito na bhunakti yathā vedo vā'nanūkto'nyadvā karmākṛtaṁ yadi ha vā apyanevaṁvinmahatpuṇyaṁ karma karoti taddhāsyāntataḥ kṣīyata evātmānameva lokamupāsīta sa ya ātmānameva lokamupāste na hāsya karma kṣīyate| asmāddhyevātmano yadyatkāmayate tattatsṛjate||

'''The fifteenth mantra: t'''his social order exists among both gods and men. So if a person performs many holy works without realising his own self, those works are only temporary. Only when a person knows who he is — obtains, through the obtainment of self-knowledge, ''ātmajñāna'' — then these works become complete and help him achieve the goal of life, which is to know ''ahaṃ brahmāsmi''.

So mantra 15 is reminding us: the whole purpose of creation is to catch hold of ''dharma'' and ''satya''. That is why in the eleventh ''anuvāka'' of the Taittirīya Upaniṣadसत्यं वद। धर्मं चर।satyam vada dharmam chara — the rest is elaboration.

The social order exists among both gods and men, as I said earlier. For example: Agni is the ''deva-brāhmaṇa'', Indra is the ''deva-kṣatriya'', the ''vasus'' etc. are the ''deva-vaiśyas'', and ''pṛthvī'' is called the ''deva-śūdra'', etc.

'''In this fifteenth mantra''', it says we have to evolve slowly. What is evolution? Absolutely behaving as we are supposed to behave. And this we get from ''dharmaśāstras'': if you are a ''śūdra'', this is your ''dharma''; you should not do your ''adharma''. And if you follow — so if a person discharges his duty as a worship of God, <center>यत: प्रवृत्तिर्भूतानां येन सर्वमिदं ततम् ।
'''स्वकर्मणा तमभ्यर्च्य सिद्धिं विन्दति मानव: ॥ ४६ ॥'''
</center><center>''yataḥ pravṛttir bhūtānāṁyena sarvam idaṁ tatam'''sva-karmaṇā tam abhyarcyasiddhiṁ vindati mānavaḥ''' ---- '''BG18.46'''''</center>that is the essence of ''Karma Yoga''. Then slowly he progresses. And ultimately, by the grace of God, he will become a ''vaiśya'', he will become a ''kṣatriya'' — that is called improvement, progress in the state of consciousness. Ultimately a person will become a ''brāhmaṇa'', that is, a seeker of Brahman. And then he will practise,'''महावाक्य श्रवण मनन निधिध्यासन''' [Mahavakya sravana manana , nidhidhyasana]and then he becomes a realised soul. That is the most wonderful thing.

'''What is the fifteenth mantra saying'''? Let me first quote how Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa beautifully puts it: any number of zeros without a one in the front are completely zeros — valueless. But put one, and as you go on adding zero after zero, the value increases: 10, 100, 1,000, 10,000, 100,000, 1,000,000, etc. This is what the mantra is telling — that if every activity is not directed towards reaching our own true nature, or Brahman, or ''ātmajñāna'', all these works will only give temporary effects.

The mantra is not telling that they will not give effect — they will. But again and again and again, we fall from that high state, and again we have to do it, until we learn the lesson. That all these works will give permanent result only when we offer them as worship of God.
----

== Mantra 16: The ''Jīvanmukta'' — The Liberated Soul ==
अथो अयं वा आत्मा सर्वेषां भूतानां लोकः स यज्जुहोति यद्यजते तेन देवानां लोकोऽथ यदनुब्रूते तेन ऋषीणामथ यत्पितृभ्यो निपृणाति यत्प्रजामिच्छते तेन पितॄणामथ यन्मनुष्यान्वासयते यदेभ्योऽशनं ददाति तेन मनुष्याणामथ यत्पशुभ्यस्तृणोदकं विन्दति तेन पशूनां यदस्य गृहेषु श्वापदा वयास्यापिपीलिकाभ्य उपजीवन्ति तेन तेषां लोको यथा ह वै स्वाय लोकायारिष्टिमिच्छेदेव हैवंविदे सर्वाणि भूतान्यरिष्टिमिच्छन्ति तद्वा एतद्विदितं मीमासितम्॥--'''बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse १६'''

==== Transliteration ====
atho ayaṁ vā ātmā sarveṣāṁ bhūtānāṁ lokaḥ sa yajjuhoti yadyajate tena devānāṁ loko'tha yadanubrūte tena ṛṣīṇāmatha yatpitṛbhyo nipṛṇāti yatprajāmicchate tena pitṝṇāmatha yanmanuṣyānvāsayate yadebhyo'śanaṁ dadāti tena manuṣyāṇāmatha yatpaśubhyastṛṇodakaṁ vindati tena paśūnāṁ yadasya gṛheṣu śvāpadā vayāsyāpipīlikābhya upajīvanti tena teṣāṁ loko yathā ha vai svāya lokāyāriṣṭimicchedeva haivaṁvide sarvāṇi bhūtānyariṣṭimicchanti tadvā etadviditaṁ mīmāsitam||

'''Then mantra 16 beautifully puts it'''. Suppose a person, through the evolution from ''śūdra'' to ''brāhmaṇa'', from ''tamoguṇa'' to ''sattvaguṇa'' — then the ''śūdra'' with ''sattvaguṇa'' will slowly realise, like that person who was saved from ''tamoguṇa'', then saved from ''rajoguṇa''. ''Sattvaguṇa'' alone saves — it brings him to his home, his village. "You go there."

When the man invited, "You have saved my life, I am eternally grateful, please come to my house — we will be blessed to honour you," he said, "No, I am also a robber." That means: all ''guṇas'' belong to ''sṛṣṭi''. We have to go beyond ''sṛṣṭi'' — to what was before ''sṛṣṭi'', which is Brahman.

So that is how a knower of the ''ātman'' becomes a world for all beings. Because a knower of Brahman or ''ātman'' is Brahman. And such a person — anybody who worships, anybody who wants any desire to be fulfilled — should worship an ''ātmajñānī'', because an ''ātmajñānī'' is non-separate from the ''ātman'' or Brahman. So here is a living example called a ''jīvanmukta''.

Through his sacrifice, study, and service to guests and animals, he supports entire creation. These are called '''''pañcamahāyajñas'' — ''devatās'', ''ṛṣis'', ''pitṛs'', and then all human beings, and all non-human beings, and even the smallest creatures.''' When he loves all, the entire creation loves him back.

Just imagine — Rāmakṛṣṇa once saved a big ''magur mach'' ([[Clarias magur|scientific name ; ''Clarias magur'']] ; freshwater catfish). We don't know how the magur mach really feels after that. According to its own capacity, it must have had a sigh of relief, become happy, and must have expressed gratitude to the saver, which is Rāmakṛṣṇa. Whatever is minimum necessary, they will do — but beyond that, they will never try to harm.

Even what minimum they do, also with a prayer. I heard that some South Africans, when they hunt — because they don't get anything else, for some particular animals like deer — they run them down. Finally they pray: "O ''devatā'', spirit — you are dying, sacrificing your life for the sake of sustaining us. We pray to God that in your next birth, you will have a better life because of your sacrifice." And after this prayer to their ancestors, to their own gods in whom they believe, they sprinkle a little bit of dust. This is what we do — ''śrāddha'', etc. — in gratefulness to all our ancestors. All ''pañcamahāyajña'' is nothing but uttering this gratefulness and sprinkling the dust.

'''So mantra 16 says that everybody loves a ''jīvanmukta'', because a ''jīvanmukta'' becomes the ''ātman'' of all these beings.'''
----

== Mantra 17: The ''Gṛhasthāśrama'' — Legitimate Fulfilment of Desires ==
अथो अयम् आत्मा वै सर्वेषां भूतानां लोकः सः यत् जुहोति यत् यजते तेन देवानां लोकः अथ यत् अनुब्रूते तेन ऋषीणाम् अथ यत् पितृभ्यः निपृणाति यत् प्रजम् इच्छते तेन पितृणाम् अथ यत् मनुष्यान् वासयतेयत् एभ्यः अशनं ददाति तेन मनुष्याणाम् अथ यत् पशुभ्यः तृणोदकं विन्दति तेन पशूनाम् यत् अस्य गृहुषु श्वापदाः वयांसि आ पिपीलिकाभ्यः उपजीवन्ति तेन तेषां लोकः यथा ह स्वाय लोकाय अरिष्टिम् इच्छेत् एवं ह सर्वाणि भूतानि एवंविदे अरिष्टिम् इच्छन्ति तत् एतत् वै वीदितम् मीमाम्सितम्॥--'''बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse १७'''

==== Transliteration ====
atho ayam ātmā vai sarveṣāṁ bhūtānāṁ lokaḥ saḥ yat juhoti yat yajate tena devānāṁ lokaḥ atha yat anubrūte tena ṛṣīṇām atha yat pitṛbhyaḥ nipṛṇāti yat prajam icchate tena pitṛṇām atha yat manuṣyān vāsayateyat ebhyaḥ aśanaṁ dadāti tena manuṣyāṇām atha yat paśubhyaḥ tṛiṇodakaṁ vindati tena paśūnām yat asya gṛhuṣu śvāpadāḥ vayāṁsi ā pipīlikābhyaḥ upajīvanti tena teṣāṁ lokaḥ yathā ha svāya lokāya ariṣṭim icchet evaṁ ha sarvāṇi bhūtāni evaṁvide ariṣṭim icchanti tat etat vai vīditam mīmāmsitam||

'''And the final mantra — mantra 17 —''' '''in this fourth section''': when the ''ātman'' existed alone, it desired a wife, children, wealth, and work, to feel complete. So what does this seventeenth mantra really mean?

It means: when a person comes of age, comes to consciousness, becomes awakened, he looks around and understands what to do. He understands: "This is my duty in life if I want to progress further." So therefore, he wants to fulfil all his desires legitimately, according to the direction of the scripture. Such a person — what is called a ''brahmacārī'' — desires a wife, children, wealth, and work.

And then the purpose is not to enjoy the world, but the purpose is slowly to evolve — by developing faith in the scripture, and by satisfying some of the desires.

So this mantra teaches us a very important lesson: an unfit person cannot simply renounce the world. He will be like a jobless person renouncing the world, going to Vārāṇasī, and then after some time securing a job. "Do not worry, I am keeping well. I am sending ten rupees — I got a job now. The next time when I come, I will bring some clothes and some other materials for you. So you do not feel bad about me, don't feel anxious about me." This is called jobless ''vairāgya'' — '''''śmaśāna-vairāgya'', ''prasūti-vairāgya'', ''markaṭa-vairāgya'', jobless ''vairāgya''.'''

'''So the mantra 17 tells us that all this entering into ''gṛhasthāśrama'' from ''brahmacaryāśrama'' to ''gṛhasthāśrama'' is an evolution'''. So that what we have learnt must be put into practice — that helps us to evolve further. '''Ultimately it brings us to ''vānaprasthāśrama'', which leads us to ''sannyāsāśrama''.''' That is the essence of this mantra 17.
----

== Conclusion: The Mutual Relationship of Mantras 11–17 ==
So that is the essence of the eleventh to seventeenth mantras. There is a mutual relationship between these mantras, which we will talk about in our tomorrow's 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.1.4 Lecture 31 on 09 May 2026

2026-07-22T07:55:07Z

Gayatri:

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH

OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.
----

== Recap: The Goal of Life and the Nature of Brahman ==
As we saw, a great discussion was going on: what is the goal of life? Some seekers understood that realisation of Brahman alone is the goal of life. And what does one gain? They also understood the gains — ''sarvam idaṃ bhavati'''सर्वं इदं भवति''''' , so ''sarva bhāva prāpti'''सर्व भाव प्राप्ति'''''. A person who realises Brahman becomes ''sarvam'''सर्वं''''' , becomes ''pūrṇam'''पूर्णं'''''<nowiki/>'''.'''

Then, how to attain it? We have seen also that this whole creation is a play of Brahman, so that he wants to entertain himself. It is like playing a solitaire game, where one tries to deceive oneself, and then catch oneself, and then go on laughing: "I caught myself!" So it is what is called ''līlā'''लीला'''''<nowiki/>'''.'''
----

== Summary of the Tenth Mantra: ''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi'' ==
In our last class, we completed one of the most important mantras — the tenth mantra of the fourth section of the first chapter of the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. What is the essence of this tenth mantra? This tenth mantra unfolds and establishes that there is only one reality, that is called Brahman — call it God, call it Allāh, by whatever blessed name you desire to call.

And what are we? The ''jīva'''जीव''''', the individual soul, is essentially identical to that Brahman, because if Brahman is everything, if Brahman is the cause, then this entire universe is the effect. And the effect can never be different from the cause.

Then what is it we are experiencing now? This is called ''saṃsāra'''संसार'''''<nowiki/>'''.''' ''Saṃsāra'''संसार''''' means seeing everything as different. I am born — that is different. I am surviving — that is different. One day I will have to disappear from this world — that is also a change. This entire birth, growth, sustenance, old age, disease, and death — this is called ''ṣaḍvikāra'''षडविकार''''', the sixfold changes. Everyone has to go through them. ''Saṃsarati'' '''संसरति''' means continuous change.

And Brahman is one — eternal, unchanging, one without a second. So how can we equate this world with Brahman? But this thinking — really, Brahman has not created, has not become, has not become ''jīva'''जीव''''' , is not thinking as the ''jīva'''जीव''''' — and all these thoughts are only from our mind's point of view, from the ''avidyā'' '''अविद्या'''point of view. All questions — "Who am I? Why am I here? How did I happen to come here? Why did Brahman create? He could have created a better world" — all these questions are products of ignorance.

So long as we are ignorant, so long as we do not know that we are Brahman, these questions will not cease. So long as a person is experiencing a snake, his fear will never vanish.
----

== The Awakening of the Spiritual Seeker ==
But at some point of time, a person gets tired. First — and this is a very great psychological point — first, all of us get so much of pleasure from various things. In fact, we try to minimise all unhappiness and all suffering, and maximise all our happiness. This seems to be the goal of life for a very, very long time.

And then comes the awakening: that it is impossible to achieve this objective. Therefore there must be another way, where I can be without any fear of death, ignorance, and suffering. And for that purpose, the search is now withdrawn from the external to the internal. Such persons are called spiritual seekers.

Then that person, with the help of the Guru who interprets the scripture, slowly destroys the ''avidyā'''अविद्या'''''. Now, what Advaita wants to convey to us is that ''vidyā'''विद्या''''', or true ''brahmavidyā'''ब्रह्मविद्य'''''<nowiki/>''',''' or ''ātmavidyā'' '''आत्मविद्य'''— knowledge of one's own self — is never lost, can never be lost. But it is covered up. So every spiritual practice is only to remove this covering.

So destruction of ''avidyā'''अविद्या''''', or destruction of the ''adhyāsa'''अध्यास''''' (superimposition), is called spiritual practice. And as soon as we succeed in removing this ignorance — ignorance of who we really are, not what we think we are [ ''avidyā'''अविद्या''''',]— the moment we remove the wrong notion totally, ''vidyā'' stands revealed. We do not need to acquire ''vidyā''; it is already there.

Just like the removal of darkness manifests the light automatically — not that after removing the darkness, like somebody sitting outside, we have vacated a seat, there is a vacant chair and you can come inside. No, not like that. Removal of ''adhyāsa'''अध्यास''''' or ''avidyā'''अविद्या''''' alone is spiritual practice. And then we realise: we were never bound. What we were wholeheartedly seeking, we already have, as it were — we are that.

Just, we have to remove the covering. For that, a ''mahāvākya'' tremendously helps. And the essential point in this tenth mantra is '''''ahaṃ brahmāsmi ({{lang|sa|अहं ब्रह्मास्मि}})'''([[Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]] 1.4.10 of the [[Yajur Veda]])''. And then — '''''ātmany eva upāsīta''''' एवात्मानमेव लोकमुपासीत [ बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse १५][B'''rihad Up 1.4.15]'''— one should therefore strive to realise this Brahman alone.
----

== Overview: Mantras 11 to 17 of the Fourth Section ==
Now we are going to proceed. This particular fourth section has got seventeen mantras. We covered more or less ten mantras, and some mantras I have already described — especially, I think, in the eighth mantra, how this creation has started. Now again, from the eleventh to the seventeenth, this fourth section gives us This particular fourth section has got seventeen mantraswe have covered Ten mantras and now we will vover another seven mantras.this fourth section gives us two important ideas.

So creation has been described earlier. But to maintain this creation and to see that life goes on merrily without any problem, then we have to create those people who tell us how to run, how to live life, and how not to do certain actions which will only stop our further evolution — or even take us back to the previous state. How to stop that? And then slowly, how to progress?
----

== The Origin of the Four Varṇas (''Cāturvarṇyam''''')चातुर्वर्ण्यं''' ==
So Brahman has created four types of castes. This is the origin of the caste system in Hinduism. God himself has created it, and Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa affirms it.<center>चातुर्वर्ण्यं मया सृष्टं गुणकर्मविभागशः ।
तस्य कर्तारमपि मां विद्ध्यकर्तारमव्ययम् ॥ १३ ॥
</center><center>''cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁguṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥtasya kartāram api māṁviddhy akartāram avyayam''bhagavad gita ch-!V verse 13
</center>So what is the purpose? Maintenance.

But the peculiarity of this Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad — what do we mean by ''cāturvarṇyam'''चातुर्वर्ण्यं''''' , the four castes? The Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad elaborates and says that because ''sṛṣṭi'' also contains gods and goddesses, the entire creation can be divided into three: ''ādhyātmikaअध्यात्मिक'', ''ādhibhautika(आधिभौतिक)'', and ''ādhidaivika(आधिदैविक)''.

Each one of us, as individuals, is called ''ādhyātmika'''अध्यात्मिक'''''. Then the entire external world, which everyone of us is experiencing and formulating certain ''saṃskāras'' through our experiences, is called ''ādhibhautika'''(आधिभौतिक)'''''. But to have an overall management — how to make a person behave properly, do this, do not do this, the do's and don'ts — certain powers are created. They are called ''adhiṣṭhātṛ devatās''. ('''अधिष्ठातृ देवता)''' And also, how to live life: for that purpose, four castes were created.

Now what the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad wants to add is that it is not only at our level, but even at the level of the gods, four ''varṇas'' are there. So there is a ''d'''eva-brāhmaṇa'''''<nowiki/>''', ''deva-kṣatriya'', ''deva-vaiśya'', and ''deva-śūdra''.'''
----

== The Three ''Guṇas'' and Their Combinations ==
Now, what are these castes? Castes are nothing but divided on the basis of ''guṇas''. As we know, ''guṇas'' are three. So certain combinations — and this is a very important point — no ''guṇa'' by itself can be effective. It is only the combination of every ''guṇa'' that counts.

How many combinations are possible? First: ''sattvaguṇa'' dominates, ''rajoguṇa'' supports, ''tamoguṇa'' helps — that is called ''brāhmaṇa''. Second: ''rajoguṇa'' dominates, ''sattvaguṇa'' helps, ''tamoguṇa'' also helps — that is called ''kṣatriya'', or the rulers and warriors. What Plato or Socrates used to call the second category.

The first category, according to Socrates, is called philosophers — those who set the goal of life crystal clearly. But to maintain this order, ''kṣatriyas'' are necessary, with tremendous power. They are the kings, they are the warriors, they are the leaders of men. They fall under the second category and are dominated by ''rajoguṇa''. They have to be extremely alert and intolerant of any evil that is being perpetuated.

People were advised according to their castes what special activities they would have to do. So for example, for the ''brāhmaṇa'' — study of the Vedas, leading an ideal life — that is the speciality of ''brāhmaṇas''. For ''kṣatriyas'' — protecting the weak, subduing the strong and evil, and seeing that society runs smoothly. That oiling process of this machine called society — they are called ''kṣatriyas'', or the warrior class.

And people are advised: you have to worship God, you have certain duties in life. For that purpose, ''pañcamahāyajñas'', special worships, special ''upāsanās'', have been given. And to see that they are done properly, many things are needed, many items are needed. So one has to get that supply. The persons who see that everybody requires food and materials — and at one place something grows, another place something else grows — these third castes are called the business people, ''vaiśyas''.

Their business is such that they have international connections. If some excess product is there, they remove it, take it where it is needed and not available. And what is available there — say, for example, certain exotic things are not available in western countries, only India can give, especially spices. That is why everybody wanted to come and conquer India, so that they could have free access. India was also known as a treasure house of gold, silver, and many other precious minerals and metals.

So that is why everybody's sight was drawn there. That is why Muslims had come, that's why English, Dutch, Portuguese, French people — everybody had come. Finally, only the Muslims and the English people dominated and looted. And that we should not blame them, because we welcomed them and we helped them to loot everything, because of our non-cooperation. Even now it is going on.

So the third class — what is called ''rajo''-dominated, greatly helped by ''rajas'' and ''tamas'' in equal proportions — they are called ''vaiśyas''. But there are different types of activities: harvesting, cultivating, cleaning, storing, bringing things. Workers are needed — they are called ''śūdras''.

And it is not that a particular caste of people have been created. No. According to their ''guṇa'', where ''tamoguṇa'' is more — the person needs to be told, "You have to do this," etc. They cannot think for themselves; somebody has to continuously direct them: "Do this, don't do this, do this after that." Such people are called ''śūdras''.

And in every society, in every age, we get these people. Not that it is only from the beginning so. For that purpose, from Brahman, having created this universe with all the ''pañcabhūtas'', he then created ''deva-varṇas'' — ''deva-brāhmaṇa'', ''deva-kṣatriya'', ''deva-vaiśya'', ''deva-śūdra''.
----

== Intelligence in Nature: An Illustrative Digression ==
And this Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, from the eleventh mantra onwards — from the eleventh section onwards — is trying to elaborate one after the other that with the help of everyone doing their duties properly, everybody will be progressing. So ''śūdras'' will develop higher consciousness, then they become more ''rajo''-dominated, and then later on they will be dominated by ''sattvaguṇa''. That is how this is a slow evolution from a low state of consciousness to a higher state of consciousness — that is what this section wants to tell.

Just as Brahman created the ''deva-varṇas'' — the four castes of the ''devas'', the gods and goddesses — we have to understand that exactly in a similar manner, all human beings were also created. So ''deva-brāhmaṇas'' degenerated into ''manuṣya-brāhmaṇas'', ''deva-kṣatriyas'' into ''manuṣya-kṣatriyas'', ''deva-vaiśyas'' into ''manuṣya-vaiśyas'', and ''deva-śūdras'' into ''manuṣya-śūdras''.

Now, though it is not necessary — this is a point we can add here — does this division apply only to human beings or to non-human beings also? Yes. Take one simple example: the story of the honey bee. There is a queen, there are warriors to protect the hive, there are workers who will be going and gathering — it is such a marvellous story. How much intelligence is needed!

Just to give one small example: there are some ant colonies that were being flooded, and they had to find a safer nest. What do these ants do? They have to cross sometimes huge expanses of water. And individually, if they do it, it is not going to help. So they join hands and legs and form a huge, like a boat or a huge mat. The entire rest of the colony gathers onto that mat, as it were, and they float. And these front ants slowly guide it to a place where the danger of water is not there.

That's why if anybody scientifically examines either a beehive or an anthill, you will see how much intelligence is there. When you look at some birds — there are some birds who create such beautiful nests, and they are fully aware, fully conscious that snakes are there to hunt them. So there are particular species of birds I have seen in a video: they create a nest with various doors, and the real room where they store the eggs will be practically like Lucknow's maze, the ''Bhūlbhulāiyā''. The snake will poke into several nests and not find anything. Finally, disappointed, most snakes leave.

Why am I citing this example? To show how much intelligence is really working there, albeit unconsciously. Many squirrels gather nuts when winter is coming — they have to survive in their burrows, to tide them over during that cold season when they cannot come out. What do the bears do? They hibernate. How much intelligence!

This is only to place before you how much intelligence these creatures have. So Brahman manifested himself as the world, then created various animals, then created human beings. Then a world order has to be established. For that, ''adhiṣṭhātṛ devatās'' were created. And that is from where the ''karma-siddhānta'' has come — these gods are watching us. According to our ''karma'', if we worship them, they reward us; if we neglect and misbehave, they keep count and will try to correct us. It is not a punishment — it is a correction.
----

== The ''Varṇas'' as a Framework for Evolution ==
So this is how ''deva-varṇas'' and ''brahman-varṇas'' are created. And then, what is the purpose of all this? Right from the lowest caste, we have to strive — through the devout performance of our respective duties — to evolve. That is how a ''śūdra'' becomes a ''vaiśya'', meaning the terrible ''tamoguṇa'' now becomes mixed up with more of ''rajoguṇa'', and then he enters into more ''sāttvikaguṇa'' and becomes a ''kṣatriya''. This is a state of progress.

We have to understand: it is not a privilege to oppress and suppress and selfishly hoard everything for one's own self. And whenever we neglect this, the ''karmaphala'' will come with a big blow. Study history — this is what happens. And this history has been repeated in our ''Purāṇas'' in the form of the continuous warfare between the ''suras'' and ''asuras'', gods and demons.

What is this fight? The fight is: whenever somebody neglects and doesn't live a proper life appropriate to their station in life, then ''karmaphala'' will come in the form of suffering. Here, a demon is nothing but a creator of — or an excuse for creating — suffering. Suffering awakens these people. Then they think deeply: "We have neglected the commandments of God." That's why in the Bible it is called the Ten Commandments, and we have got ''dharmaśāstras'' — nothing but ''vidhi'' and ''niṣedha'', the do's and don'ts.

Then we slowly acquire faith, and we experiment and get some results. Our faith deepens. That is how we progress.

The whole thing is meant — involution is meant — so that we can evolve. If I have to summarise the entire creation: first, it is nothing but involution, coming down to the inorganic. Thereafter, evolution starts with the sprouting of ''prāṇa'' in the one-celled body — call it amoeba, by whatever name — and slowly multiplying and evolving physically, brain-wise, then mentally, then spiritually, finally reaching the destination, that is, reaching home from where we have come. This is the idea.
----

== A Note on Methodology: How to Read a Text ==
Now I will give you a gist and summary of these mantras from the eleventh to the seventeenth. Six or seven mantras are there for us to deal with. Once we understand the gist of this — which I have already given as the summary of the summaries — I am going into a little more detail. And then we will go through the proper mantras; it will be a breeze to understand them.

This is how we have to read any book. This is the technique by which one can grasp the most in the least amount of time, and grasp more intelligently and retain it for a longer time. First of all, you read the foreword. The author, if he is a good author, crystal clearly outlines: "This is the subject about which I am going to talk, and on this subject, especially I am going to emphasise these particular points of view." And then he elaborates them, giving examples, etc.

So it may be a 300-page book or a 400-page book. At the end of every chapter — every paragraph has a connection with the next paragraph, if it is intelligent writing. Every chapter has a connection to the next chapter. And at the end of every chapter: "These are the special points we have discussed so far in this chapter," and then: "This is the connection between the previous chapter and the next chapter." This is what Śaṅkarācārya calls ''sambandhabhāṣya'' — the relationship between the previous mantra and the next mantra, previous chapter and next chapter, previous section and next section. If we can follow this methodology, it will be marvellous.
----

== Before Creation: Brahman Alone ==
So what happened before creation? Who was there? Brahman alone existed — ''ekaṃ sat, advitīyam'', ''sadeva saumya idam agra āsīt''. In the Chāndogya Upaniṣad, we have seen, in the sixth chapter, that only Brahman alone existed. That is what the Brihadāraṇyaka also repeats.

So then Brahman wanted to create. Now, so many people question: why did Brahman have to create? Could he not have kept quiet? Then we need not have all these classes, this ''saṃsāra'', this — "create a problem, then show a solution." No. This is called ''līlā''. And you cannot complain, because: who is the creator? Brahman. Who is the creation? Brahman. Who has degenerated or involved? Brahman. Who is evolving? Brahman. That is the fun of it — he does it for fun, and he knows it with full consciousness.

So this is what we have to understand. Before creation, Brahman alone existed. And to ensure the proper functioning of this created universe, Brahman created the powerful castes — so ''kṣatriyas'', and earlier he said ''agni'' — ''agni'' means ''brāhmaṇa'' — so Indra, Varuṇa, etc. While the ''kṣatriya'' power, the warrior class, represents power, its source is none other than Brahman.

And that is why in the ''rājasūya'' sacrifice, the king has to sit below a ''brāhmaṇa'' who is performing the ''agni''. So a ''kṣatriya'' has to honour his own source.

To understand it in common sense language: why is the person doing this ''agni'' or ''yāga'', etc.? Because he learns from the ''brāhmaṇa'' that the goal of life is to manifest your potential divinity. And you are a ''kṣatriya'', and the duty of the ''kṣatriya'' is to protect, and also to evolve one's own self. So if you can do some ''agni'' or ''yāgas'', that is not the only duty. Your main duty is to see that society functions as it is supposed to function. But since you are also a human being with individual desires to fulfil, you can do some ''agni'', ''yāgas'', etc.

And only powerful, wealthy ''kṣatriyas'' can do some of these. And that is — at the very beginning of the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad — we said that what is called ''aśvamedha'', as ''virāṭ'', a king can do, with all the elaborations and all four ''varṇas'' necessary. But if somebody doesn't have that capacity, you just sit and do mental ''upāsanā'' — it will give you exactly the same result as if you are the king and you are doing it meticulously from the beginning to the end. That is why that ''virāṭ upāsanā'' and its continuation was there. First it is the ''aśva'', then it is the ''agni'', then it is the ''prāṇa'' — we have seen that one already.

You will always have to keep the essential points in mind, otherwise my talk will be what is called dissected, non-related topics.
----

== Mantra 11: The Creation of ''Brāhmaṇas'' and ''Kṣatriyas'' ==
ब्रह्म वा इदमग्र आसीदेकमेव तदेक सन्न व्यभवत्। तच्छ्रेयो रूपमत्यसृजत क्षत्रं यान्येतानि देवत्रा क्षत्राणीन्द्रो वरुणः सोमो रुद्रः पर्जन्यो यमो मृत्युरीशान इति। तस्मात् क्षत्रात्परं नास्ति तस्माद्ब्राह्मणः क्षत्रियमधस्तादुपास्ते राजसूये क्षत्र एव तद्यशो दधाति सैषा क्षत्रस्य योनिर्यद्ब्रह्म। तस्माद्यद्यपि राजा परमतां गच्छति ब्रह्मैवान्तत उपनिश्रयति स्वां योनिं य उ एन हिनस्ति स्वा स योनिमृच्छति स पापीयान्भवति यथा श्रेयास हिसित्वा॥-'''बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse ११'''

==== Transliteration ====
brahma vā idamagra āsīdekameva tadeka sanna vyabhavat| tacchreyo rūpamatyasṛjata kṣatraṁ yānyetāni devatrā kṣatrāṇīndro varuṇaḥ somo rudraḥ parjanyo yamo mṛtyurīśāna iti| tasmāt kṣatrātparaṁ nāsti tasmādbrāhmaṇaḥ kṣatriyamadhastādupāste rājasūye kṣatra eva tadyaśo dadhāti saiṣā kṣatrasya yoniryadbrahma| tasmādyadyapi rājā paramatāṁ gacchati brahmaivāntata upaniśrayati svāṁ yoniṁ ya u ena hinasti svā sa yonimṛcchati sa pāpīyānbhavati yathā śreyāsa hisitvā||

So the essence of the eleventh mantra is: Brahman created what is called ''brāhmaṇas'' and ''kṣatriyas''.
----

== Mantra 12: The Creation of ''Vaiśyas'' ==
स नैव व्यभवत् स विशमसृजत यान्येतानि देवजातानि गणश आख्यायन्ते वसवो रुद्रा आदित्या विश्वे देवा मरुत इति॥-'''-बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse १२'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa naiva vyabhavat sa viśamasṛjata yānyetāni devajātāni gaṇaśa ākhyāyante vasavo rudrā ādityā viśve devā maruta iti||

Then the twelfth mantra: power alone, strength alone, was not enough. Because for the sake of wealth and social nourishment, many things are necessary — suppliers of many things. And therefore ''deva-vaiśyas'' were created. That is described in mantra 12. So like ''vasus'', ''rudras'' — these ''vaiśyas'' were created.
----

== Mantra 13: The Creation of ''Śūdras'' ==
स नैव व्यभवत् स शौद्रं वर्णमसृजत पूषणमियं वै पूषेय हीद सर्वं पुष्यति यदिदं किंच॥--'''बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse १३'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa naiva vyabhavat sa śaudraṁ varṇamasṛjata pūṣaṇamiyaṁ vai pūṣeya hīda sarvaṁ puṣyati yadidaṁ kiṁca||

But creation of ''brāhmaṇas'', creation of ''kṣatriyas'', creation of ''vaiśyas'' alone will not do. There is so much physical, menial labour one has to do. When a person has vast lands for cultivation, the cultivators — only ''śūdras'' can do it. And then harvesting, and then storing, and then protecting them — so many things one has to do. For that purpose, the ''śūdras'' have to be created.

Mantra 13: for service and support, the ''śūdra-varṇa''. Here also, ''deva-śūdra'' — you have to remember — ''pūṣan'', that is ''pṛthvī'', was created. Here the earth is called ''pūṣā'', because it is she who is cultivable, who yields, sustains, supports, and nourishes all of us.
----

== Mantra 14: The Creation of ''Dharma'' ==
स नैव व्यभवत्तच्छ्रेयोरूपमत्यसृजत धर्मं तदेतत्क्षत्रस्य क्षत्रं यद्धर्मस्तस्माद्धर्मात्परं नास्त्यथो अबलीयान्बलीयासमाशसते धर्मेण यथा राज्ञैवं यो वै स धर्मः सत्यं वै तत्तस्मात्सत्यं वदन्तमाहुर्धर्मं वदतीति धर्मं वा वदन्त सत्यं वदतीत्येतद्ध्येवैतदुभयं भवति॥-'''बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse १४'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa naiva vyabhavattacchreyorūpamatyasṛjata dharmaṁ tadetatkṣatrasya kṣatraṁ yaddharmastasmāddharmātparaṁ nāstyatho abalīyānbalīyāsamāśasate dharmeṇa yathā rājñaivaṁ yo vai sa dharmaḥ satyaṁ vai tattasmātsatyaṁ vadantamāhurdharmaṁ vadatīti dharmaṁ vā vadanta satyaṁ vadatītyetaddhyevaitadubhayaṁ bhavati||

Then the fourteenth mantra tells us something extraordinary. Here are the ''kṣatriyas'', here are the ''brāhmaṇas'', here are the ''vaiśyas'', here are the ''śūdras''. And there are also infinite variations possible. Suppose some ''kṣatriya'' has got tremendous power, or some ''brāhmaṇa'' has tremendous knowledge. Then he can become very arrogant — that possibility is there, because ''avidyā'' is ruling. Similarly, a powerful king, like a powerful politician, can do whatever he likes. If somebody praises him, he will bestow the highest power and all his goodies and goodwill. And if he doesn't like somebody, however worthy that somebody may be, he will demote and destroy them. This is the way — just look at the newspaper, that is what you will see everywhere going on.

So to protect against this, Brahman created something marvellous — it is called ''dharma''. So a ''brāhmaṇa'' has ''brāhmaṇa-dharma'', a ''kṣatriya'' has ''kṣatriya-dharma'', a ''vaiśya'' has ''vaiśya-dharma'', a ''śūdra'' has ''śūdra-dharma''. What does it mean? It means these people, according to their own caste — and they were created and classified as belonging to that caste because a particular quality is dominating in them, assisted of course by the other two qualities.

Just as in a ''brāhmaṇa'', ''sattva'' is the dominant quality, ''rajas'' is the helpful quality, and ''tamas'' is another one. Here ''rajas'' is more powerful and more helpful — that's why he retains. So it is not according to birth; caste is according to quality.

So that is what we need to do. And now a very interesting analogy can be given. There are so many AI companies — like OpenAI, Microsoft, Google of course, Meta, and so many others coming. And China is producing marvellous AI, which India cannot even look up to. Not because we lack intelligence, but we lack that ''puruṣakāra'', that energy. Full of jealousy, intolerance — we cannot tolerate our own. Our greatest ''adharma'' is to pull down the other person as much as possible. "I may not get anything, but I will not tolerate another person getting even a little better than what I have." This is the main cause. If this cause is not addressed, however much money the government may spend, we are not going to improve at all — whatever party comes into power. What type of persons are there using that power — that is most important.

So Brahman has created ''dharma''. And very interestingly, ''dharma'' and ''satya'' are equated. ''Satya'' is understanding what the proper action is to be done and the proper way to do it. And ''dharma'' is putting it into absolute practice. That is why you cannot separate ''satya'' and ''dharma''. We will come to that.

So in this fourteenth mantra, Brahman, after creating the four divine castes, now created ''dharma'', so that ''dharma'' keeps them under control. If anybody transgresses the ''dharma'', then ''dharma'' itself becomes ''Yama'' — ''Yama Dharmarāja''. That is why Yama is called ''Yama Dharmarāja''. ''Yama Dharmarāja'' will give appropriate ''karma'' for all.

This is ''dharma'' — ''dharma'' is the power behind power. The controlling power of any power is called ''dharma''. Where ''dharma'' exists, even a weak person can overcome a strong one. That is why we say ''dharma'' and ''satya'' are one. In the ultimate instance, it is only ''dharma'' and ''satya'' which become victorious — temporarily maybe something may not be there. That is the essence of the fourteenth mantra.
----

== Mantra 15: The Purpose of All Action — ''Ātmajñāna'' ==
तदेतद्ब्रह्म क्षत्रं विट् शूद्रस्तदग्निनैव देवेषु ब्रह्माभवद्ब्राह्मणो मनुष्येषु क्षत्रियेण क्षत्रियो वैश्येन वैश्यः शूद्रेण शूद्रस्तस्मादग्नावेव देवेषु लोकमिच्छन्ते ब्राह्मणे मनुष्येष्वेताभ्या हि रूपाभ्यां ब्रह्माभवत्। अथ यो ह वा अस्माल्लोकात्स्वं लोकमदृष्ट्वा प्रैति स एनमविदितो न भुनक्ति यथा वेदो वाऽननूक्तोऽन्यद्वा कर्माकृतं यदि ह वा अप्यनेवंविन्महत्पुण्यं कर्म करोति तद्धास्यान्ततः क्षीयत एवात्मानमेव लोकमुपासीत स य आत्मानमेव लोकमुपास्ते न हास्य कर्म क्षीयते। अस्माद्ध्येवात्मनो यद्यत्कामयते तत्तत्सृजते॥--'''बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse १५'''

==== Transliteration ====
tadetadbrahma kṣatraṁ viṭ śūdrastadagninaiva deveṣu brahmābhavadbrāhmaṇo manuṣyeṣu kṣatriyeṇa kṣatriyo vaiśyena vaiśyaḥ śūdreṇa śūdrastasmādagnāveva deveṣu lokamicchante brāhmaṇe manuṣyeṣvetābhyā hi rūpābhyāṁ brahmābhavat| atha yo ha vā asmāllokātsvaṁ lokamadṛṣṭvā praiti sa enamavidito na bhunakti yathā vedo vā'nanūkto'nyadvā karmākṛtaṁ yadi ha vā apyanevaṁvinmahatpuṇyaṁ karma karoti taddhāsyāntataḥ kṣīyata evātmānameva lokamupāsīta sa ya ātmānameva lokamupāste na hāsya karma kṣīyate| asmāddhyevātmano yadyatkāmayate tattatsṛjate||

The fifteenth mantra: this social order exists among both gods and men. So if a person performs many holy works without realising his own self, those works are only temporary. Only when a person knows who he is — obtains, through the obtainment of self-knowledge, ''ātmajñāna'' — then these works become complete and help him achieve the goal of life, which is to know ''ahaṃ brahmāsmi''.

So mantra 15 is reminding us: the whole purpose of creation is to catch hold of ''dharma'' and ''satya''. That is why in the eleventh ''anuvāka'' of the Taittirīya Upaniṣad — the rest is elaboration.

The social order exists among both gods and men, as I said earlier. For example: Agni is the ''deva-brāhmaṇa'', Indra is the ''deva-kṣatriya'', the ''vasus'' etc. are the ''deva-vaiśyas'', and ''pṛthvī'' is called the ''deva-śūdra'', etc.

In this fifteenth mantra, it says we have to evolve slowly. What is evolution? Absolutely behaving as we are supposed to behave. And this we get from ''dharmaśāstras'': if you are a ''śūdra'', this is your ''dharma''; you should not do your ''adharma''. And if you follow — so if a person discharges his duty as a worship of God, that is the essence of ''Karma Yoga''. Then slowly he progresses. And ultimately, by the grace of God, he will become a ''vaiśya'', he will become a ''kṣatriya'' — that is called improvement, progress in the state of consciousness. Ultimately a person will become a ''brāhmaṇa'', that is, a seeker of Brahman. And then he will practise, and then he becomes a realised soul. That is the most wonderful thing.

What is the fifteenth mantra saying? Let me first quote how Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa beautifully puts it: any number of zeros without a one in the front are completely zeros — valueless. But put one, and as you go on adding zero after zero, the value increases: 10, 100, 1,000, 10,000, 100,000, 1,000,000, etc. This is what the mantra is telling — that if every activity is not directed towards reaching our own true nature, or Brahman, or ''ātmajñāna'', all these works will only give temporary effects.

The mantra is not telling that they will not give effect — they will. But again and again and again, we fall from that high state, and again we have to do it, until we learn the lesson. That all these works will give permanent result only when we offer them as worship of God.
----

== Mantra 16: The ''Jīvanmukta'' — The Liberated Soul ==
अथो अयं वा आत्मा सर्वेषां भूतानां लोकः स यज्जुहोति यद्यजते तेन देवानां लोकोऽथ यदनुब्रूते तेन ऋषीणामथ यत्पितृभ्यो निपृणाति यत्प्रजामिच्छते तेन पितॄणामथ यन्मनुष्यान्वासयते यदेभ्योऽशनं ददाति तेन मनुष्याणामथ यत्पशुभ्यस्तृणोदकं विन्दति तेन पशूनां यदस्य गृहेषु श्वापदा वयास्यापिपीलिकाभ्य उपजीवन्ति तेन तेषां लोको यथा ह वै स्वाय लोकायारिष्टिमिच्छेदेव हैवंविदे सर्वाणि भूतान्यरिष्टिमिच्छन्ति तद्वा एतद्विदितं मीमासितम्॥--'''बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse १६'''

==== Transliteration ====
atho ayaṁ vā ātmā sarveṣāṁ bhūtānāṁ lokaḥ sa yajjuhoti yadyajate tena devānāṁ loko'tha yadanubrūte tena ṛṣīṇāmatha yatpitṛbhyo nipṛṇāti yatprajāmicchate tena pitṝṇāmatha yanmanuṣyānvāsayate yadebhyo'śanaṁ dadāti tena manuṣyāṇāmatha yatpaśubhyastṛṇodakaṁ vindati tena paśūnāṁ yadasya gṛheṣu śvāpadā vayāsyāpipīlikābhya upajīvanti tena teṣāṁ loko yathā ha vai svāya lokāyāriṣṭimicchedeva haivaṁvide sarvāṇi bhūtānyariṣṭimicchanti tadvā etadviditaṁ mīmāsitam||

Then mantra 16 beautifully puts it. Suppose a person, through the evolution from ''śūdra'' to ''brāhmaṇa'', from ''tamoguṇa'' to ''sattvaguṇa'' — then the ''śūdra'' with ''sattvaguṇa'' will slowly realise, like that person who was saved from ''tamoguṇa'', then saved from ''rajoguṇa''. ''Sattvaguṇa'' alone saves — it brings him to his home, his village. "You go there."

When the man invited, "You have saved my life, I am eternally grateful, please come to my house — we will be blessed to honour you," he said, "No, I am also a robber." That means: all ''guṇas'' belong to ''sṛṣṭi''. We have to go beyond ''sṛṣṭi'' — to what was before ''sṛṣṭi'', which is Brahman.

So that is how a knower of the ''ātman'' becomes a world for all beings. Because a knower of Brahman or ''ātman'' is Brahman. And such a person — anybody who worships, anybody who wants any desire to be fulfilled — should worship an ''ātmajñānī'', because an ''ātmajñānī'' is non-separate from the ''ātman'' or Brahman. So here is a living example called a ''jīvanmukta''.

Through his sacrifice, study, and service to guests and animals, he supports entire creation. These are called ''pañcamahāyajñas'' — ''devatās'', ''ṛṣis'', ''pitṛs'', and then all human beings, and all non-human beings, and even the smallest creatures. When he loves all, the entire creation loves him back.

Just imagine — Rāmakṛṣṇa once saved a big ''magar mach'' (crocodile). We don't know how the crocodile really feels after that. According to its own capacity, it must have had a sigh of relief, become happy, and must have expressed gratitude to the saver, which is Rāmakṛṣṇa. Whatever is minimum necessary, they will do — but beyond that, they will never try to harm.

Even what minimum they do, also with a prayer. I heard that some South Africans, when they hunt — because they don't get anything else, for some particular animals like deer — they run them down. Finally they pray: "O ''devatā'', spirit — you are dying, sacrificing your life for the sake of sustaining us. We pray to God that in your next birth, you will have a better life because of your sacrifice." And after this prayer to their ancestors, to their own gods in whom they believe, they sprinkle a little bit of dust. This is what we do — ''śrāddha'', etc. — in gratefulness to all our ancestors. All ''pañcamahāyajña'' is nothing but uttering this gratefulness and sprinkling the dust.

So mantra 16 says that everybody loves a ''jīvanmukta'', because a ''jīvanmukta'' becomes the ''ātman'' of all these beings.
----

== Mantra 17: The ''Gṛhasthāśrama'' — Legitimate Fulfilment of Desires ==
अथो अयम् आत्मा वै सर्वेषां भूतानां लोकः सः यत् जुहोति यत् यजते तेन देवानां लोकः अथ यत् अनुब्रूते तेन ऋषीणाम् अथ यत् पितृभ्यः निपृणाति यत् प्रजम् इच्छते तेन पितृणाम् अथ यत् मनुष्यान् वासयतेयत् एभ्यः अशनं ददाति तेन मनुष्याणाम् अथ यत् पशुभ्यः तृणोदकं विन्दति तेन पशूनाम् यत् अस्य गृहुषु श्वापदाः वयांसि आ पिपीलिकाभ्यः उपजीवन्ति तेन तेषां लोकः यथा ह स्वाय लोकाय अरिष्टिम् इच्छेत् एवं ह सर्वाणि भूतानि एवंविदे अरिष्टिम् इच्छन्ति तत् एतत् वै वीदितम् मीमाम्सितम्॥--'''बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse १७'''

==== Transliteration ====
atho ayam ātmā vai sarveṣāṁ bhūtānāṁ lokaḥ saḥ yat juhoti yat yajate tena devānāṁ lokaḥ atha yat anubrūte tena ṛṣīṇām atha yat pitṛbhyaḥ nipṛṇāti yat prajam icchate tena pitṛṇām atha yat manuṣyān vāsayateyat ebhyaḥ aśanaṁ dadāti tena manuṣyāṇām atha yat paśubhyaḥ tṛiṇodakaṁ vindati tena paśūnām yat asya gṛhuṣu śvāpadāḥ vayāṁsi ā pipīlikābhyaḥ upajīvanti tena teṣāṁ lokaḥ yathā ha svāya lokāya ariṣṭim icchet evaṁ ha sarvāṇi bhūtāni evaṁvide ariṣṭim icchanti tat etat vai vīditam mīmāmsitam||

'''And the final mantra — mantra 17 —''' '''in this fourth section''': when the ''ātman'' existed alone, it desired a wife, children, wealth, and work, to feel complete. So what does this seventeenth mantra really mean?

It means: when a person comes of age, comes to consciousness, becomes awakened, he looks around and understands what to do. He understands: "This is my duty in life if I want to progress further." So therefore, he wants to fulfil all his desires legitimately, according to the direction of the scripture. Such a person — what is called a ''brahmacārī'' — desires a wife, children, wealth, and work.

And then the purpose is not to enjoy the world, but the purpose is slowly to evolve — by developing faith in the scripture, and by satisfying some of the desires.

So this mantra teaches us a very important lesson: an unfit person cannot simply renounce the world. He will be like a jobless person renouncing the world, going to Vārāṇasī, and then after some time securing a job. "Do not worry, I am keeping well. I am sending ten rupees — I got a job now. The next time when I come, I will bring some clothes and some other materials for you. So you do not feel bad about me, don't feel anxious about me." This is called jobless ''vairāgya'' — ''śmaśāna-vairāgya'', ''prasūti-vairāgya'', ''markaṭa-vairāgya'', jobless ''vairāgya''.

So the mantra 17 tells us that all this entering into ''gṛhasthāśrama'' from ''brahmacaryāśrama'' to ''gṛhasthāśrama'' is an evolution. So that what we have learnt must be put into practice — that helps us to evolve further. Ultimately it brings us to ''vānaprasthāśrama'', which leads us to ''sannyāsāśrama''. That is the essence of this mantra 17.
----

== Conclusion: The Mutual Relationship of Mantras 11–17 ==
So that is the essence of the eleventh to seventeenth mantras. There is a mutual relationship between these mantras, which we will talk about in our tomorrow's 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.1.4 Lecture 32 on 10 May 2026

2026-07-22T07:11:58Z

Gayatri:

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH

OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.
----

== Recap: The Tenth Mantra and the Essence of the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad ==
We have completed the tenth mantra in the fourth section of the first chapter of the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. And this is one of the — I would say — the very essence of the entire Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, of all Upaniṣads, of all the scriptures in this world. And the rest is elaboration.

As I mentioned earlier, the first chapter is called '''''Madhukāṇḍaमधु काण्ड'''''. It is also called '''''Upadeśakāṇḍaउपदेश काण्ड''.''' ''Madhu'' means honey, because God is like honey to all of us. Honey means the dearest, the nearest, the closest. And we are not really separate from him. That is expressed in this beautiful ''mahāvākya'' which occurs in this tenth mantra of the fourth section: ''ahaṃ brahmāsmi''.'''(अहं ब्रह्मास्मि)''' — which comes in this very Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, [''Brihadaranyaka Upanishad'''''1.4.10 ]of Yajur veda'''
----

== Three Primary Truths of These Mantras ==
So through these mantras, the Upaniṣad wants us to understand '''three primary truths.'''

'''First: Universal Unity — ''Samāṣṭi Bhāvanā(समष्टिभावना)'' .''' Everybody in this world, everything in this world — living, non-living, all social roles, professions, and deities — are but different expressions of the same Brahman. Just as we are the only one in our dreams, even though it appears to be an uncountable number of objects in our dream — they are all nothing but me, the one "I," as it were, getting reflected, like one sun getting reflected in a million, billion mirrors. So ''sarvaṃ khalvidaṃ brahma'''सर्वं खल्विदं ब्रह्म''' Chandogya Upanishad (3.14.1)['', in other words.

'''Second: Nothing is Truly Separate.''' And following this truth, the second truth is: nothing is truly separate. What is our condition now? We are under the spell of '''''avidyā'',''' ignorance. What is ignorance? '''First''', to think that I am not Brahman. '''Second''', to think that everything in this world is separate from everything else in this world — my hands are separate from my legs, my fingers are separate from my hand, not to speak of another person, another living creature, another non-living object. So nothing is truly separate. I am everything.

So we were discussing the social systems called caste systems. It is nothing but a division for the welfare of the world. But its inner truth is oneness. Just to illustrate — I love to illustrate until I am satisfied that the point I want to make is clear, as far as I can do that — see, eyes are most important in a human body, in any body actually, whether it is an owl, whether it is a tiger, whether it is a deer. Eyes give us the closest knowledge of things. Then comes the ears, hearing. Then comes the smell, etc. So everything has got its division.

There are four castes wherever you go. How many castes are there in this world? Not one, not three, but exactly four. The thinkers, the law-upholders, the so-called business people who move things from where they are available in plenty to where they are needed — so from one place to another place things are brought — that is the third division called ''vaiśyas''. And then of course workers are needed.

And as I mentioned yesterday, these divisions are divided according to the dominance of a particular quality. Please note that all three ''guṇas'' work simultaneously. But which dominates most of the time, and which dominates for a particular type of action to be performed efficiently — that makes it whether a person is a ''brāhmaṇa'' or a ''kṣatriya'' or a ''vaiśya'' or a ''śūdra'': philosophers, warriors, business people or merchants, and workers.

The same person can be all four at different times. When I am thinking, I am a '''''brāhmaṇa''.''' When I am enforcing something, upholding something, I am a '''''kṣatriya'''''. When I am trying to buy something, or to sell something, or to supply something, I am a businessman or merchant, a '''''vaiśya'''''. And when I am doing physical activity — all four have to be done by all four castes. Nobody can simply sit and say, "I will only think; I will not eat food, I will not move," etc. But one particular faculty is more dominant throughout the day, throughout life. So if a person is more of a thinking type, he does activity in the form of upholding, in the form of supplying, in the form of working — but the dominant part is '''''sattvaguṇa'',''' which is thinking.

So we can apply the same thing to different castes. But nothing is truly separate, because whole life is nothing but evolution. So the idea is: from the lowest ''guṇa'' — from the lowest of the lowest ''guṇa'', because there are several degrees, almost infinite degrees of each ''guṇa'' — to move up higher through experience, through understanding. That is called evolution, until we realise our true nature, until we know everything is nothing but Brahman,'''सर्वं खल्विदं ब्रह्म''' ''sarvaṃ khalvidaṃ brahma''.['''छान्दोग्योपनिषद्‌तृतीयोऽध्यायःचतुर्दशः खण्डःVerse १Chandogya Upanishad 3.14.1]''' Therefore nothing is truly separate. And as we progress, this separation becomes less and less, until we understand: "I am everything, everything is me."

So the social division cannot be removed — it is for the welfare of the world. But its inner truth is oneness. That is the second truth.

'''Third: The Supremacy of ''Dharma''.''' That is why: ''s'''atyaṃ vada, dharmam cara सत्यं वद । धर्मं चर । Taittiriya Upanishad , Sheekshavalli, 11th anuvaka''''''''.And we have also seen that ''dharma'' is also called ''satya'', and ''satya'' is also called ''dharma''. True, right understanding is ''satya'', and expressing our understanding through physical activity is called ''dharma''. And this ''dharma'' is popularly known as ''vidhi'' and ''niṣedha'' — do this, do not do this. And not only in spiritual life, but in every sphere, every field of activity. In the health field, for example: eat this, do not eat this; do this exercise, do not do that exercise. So: speak this, do not speak something else; read this, do not read something else; think this way, do not think that way.

So what is the point here? The supremacy of ''dharma''. This is the point: ''dharma'' is higher than authority. So what does ''dharma'' do? It rules all the four castes. And everybody has got his own ''dharma''. A ''śūdra'', a worker, has his own ''dharma'' and his own ''adharma''. The merchant has his own ''dharma'' and his own ''adharma''. A warrior, or the kings, or the rulers — the presidents, the prime ministers — have their own ''dharma'' and ''adharma''. And the ''brāhmaṇas'' have their own ''dharma'' and ''adharma''.that is the second truth.

'''Third truth.''' The Upaniṣad wants to convey that it is not that you are incomplete and you do something and you are going to become complete. No — you are already complete. But we feel incomplete because of the misunderstanding called ''avidyā''. But by understanding that life is meant to manifest our potential divinity, and that there are definite pathways called ''Karma Yoga'', ''Bhakti Yoga'', ''Rāja Yoga'', ''Jñāna Yoga'' — we can manifest.

So in a sense, these mantras want to lead me, you, everybody from the ''vyaṣṭi'','''व्यष्टि''' the individual, to the ''samāṣṭi'''समष्टि'''''<nowiki/>''';''' from external activity, broadly called rituals, to internal rituals called ''upāsanā'', and ultimately to ''ātmajñānam''. So: rituals, then contemplation or ''upāsanā'', and ''jñānam'' or self-knowledge — these are the three steps.
----

== In This Background: Mantras 11 to 17 ==
In this background, let us briefly discuss the mantras from 11 to 17. I am not going to read the Sanskrit mantras — anyway you can read them separately. But I will read the translation and, where necessary, briefly comment.

''ब्रह्म वा इदमग्र आसीदेकमेव तदेक सन्न व्यभवत्। तच्छ्रेयो रूपमत्यसृजत क्षत्रं यान्येतानि देवत्रा क्षत्राणीन्द्रो वरुणः सोमो रुद्रः पर्जन्यो यमो मृत्युरीशान इति। तस्मात् क्षत्रात्परं नास्ति तस्माद्ब्राह्मणः क्षत्रियमधस्तादुपास्ते राजसूये क्षत्र एव तद्यशो दधाति सैषा क्षत्रस्य योनिर्यद्ब्रह्म। तस्माद्यद्यपि राजा परमतां गच्छति ब्रह्मैवान्तत उपनिश्रयति स्वां योनिं य उ एन हिनस्ति स्वा स योनिमृच्छति स पापीयान्भवति यथा श्रेयास हिसित्वा॥''

--'''बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse ११'''

==== '''''Transliteration''''' ====
''brahma vā idamagra āsīdekameva tadeka sanna vyabhavat| tacchreyo rūpamatyasṛjata kṣatraṁ yānyetāni devatrā kṣatrāṇīndro varuṇaḥ somo rudraḥ parjanyo yamo mṛtyurīśāna iti| tasmāt kṣatrātparaṁ nāsti tasmādbrāhmaṇaḥ kṣatriyamadhastādupāste rājasūye kṣatra eva tadyaśo dadhāti saiṣā kṣatrasya yoniryadbrahma| tasmādyadyapi rājā paramatāṁ gacchati brahmaivāntata upaniśrayati svāṁ yoniṁ ya u ena hinasti svā sa yonimṛcchati sa pāpīyānbhavati yathā śreyāsa hisitvā||''

in the beginning,So there was only Brahman —'''ब्रह्म वा इदमग्र आसीत्, तदात्मानमेवावेत्, अहम् ब्रह्मास्मीति brahma vā idamagra āsīt, tadātmānamevāvet, aham brahmāsmīti''' |Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.11] Brahman alone was there in the beginning. And that Brahman wanted to manifest himself, grossify himself. So that is called creation. And creation started.

First he created — just I am reminding you of the background which we already discussed — he created this entire universe, living and non-living. That is called ''sṛṣṭi''. Having created, it then has to be run properly. For that purpose, Brahman has manifested himself as Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara. Brahmā's role is to create — that's it, his duty is over. But Viṣṇu has to do ''pālana''; ''sthiti'' means he has to sustain, he has to uphold the ''dharma''.

For that purpose, Brahman first created four castes, as we elaborately discussed. First, '''''deva-brāhmaṇa''''' — among the gods, Agni was the ''brāhmaṇa''. Then other ''kṣatriyas'', ''vaiśyas'', ''śūdras'' have come. That is what the next several mantras elaborate. That is the essence of how Brahman, the ''sthiti'', is now being put into action.

And then, exactly as Brahman became the ''deva-brāhmaṇa'', etc., similarly from the ''deva-brāhmaṇa'' he became '''''manuṣya-brāhmaṇa''''', from the ''deva-kṣatriya'' he became '''''manuṣya-kṣatriya''''', from the ''deva-vaiśya'' he became '''''manuṣya-vaiśya''''' or human ''vaiśya'', and from the ''deva-śūdra'' he became '''''manuṣya-śūdra'''''. That is what he wanted.

So he — meaning Brahman, being one — did not flourish, because the ''sṛṣṭi'' is done but it has to be maintained. So what did he do? He projected further an excellent form: ''kṣatriya''-hood.
----

== Mantra 11: The ''Deva-Kṣatriyas'' and the Honour Due to the ''Brāhmaṇa'' ==
First he created ''kṣatriyas'' among the gods: '''Indra, Varuṇa, Soma, Rudra, Parjanya, Yama, Mṛtyu, and Īśāna.''' These are the ''deva-kṣatriyas''. Therefore there is no one higher than the ''kṣatriya''. Thus, at the ''rājasūya'' sacrifice, the ''brāhmaṇa'' sits below and worships the ''kṣatriya''.

And a beautiful definition is given. Why does the ''brāhmaṇa'' sit? We have to presume: how does this king really perform the ''rājasūya'' sacrifice? How does he know? There is a sacrifice called ''rājasūya'' — we have to presume that the ''brāhmaṇa'' had already taught him that such a one exists, and that if you perform it properly, then you will get wonderful results; you will be able to enjoy your life. And then the king starts performing.

Now the description we have to understand. The ''kṣatriya'', the warrior, is performing this ritual called ''rājasūya yajña''. But since he is performing, he will be sitting higher, and then the priests — the ''brāhmaṇas ritwiks'' who have to perform — they sit below. And does it mean that the ''brāhmaṇa'' is inferior to the ''kṣatriya''? No. What he wants to say is: the ''brāhmaṇa'' supports all the time. Just like a baby being taken up on the shoulders of the father — without the father taking him up, the baby will fall down, cannot move. This way, the king cannot perform anything in this life unless he is supported from above through knowledge, from below, helping the king perform his proper duties. Then he confers that glory on ''kṣatriya''-hood below — a ''brāhmaṇa'' confers.

But nevertheless, the ''brāhmaṇa'' is the source, the support of the ''kṣatriya''. Therefore, even though the king is exalted at the sacrifice, at the end of it he resorts to ''brāhmaṇa''-hood as his source. He bows down: "By your grace I have been able to complete it."

So the Upaniṣad wants to tell us: respect the ''brāhmaṇa''. We are not talking about birth-''brāhmaṇas''. We are talking about ''guṇa-brāhmaṇas'' — by qualities, by ''sattvaguṇa''. And as I quoted yesterday, only a person who is godly, who has become god through behaviour, is a real ''brāhmaṇa''.''brahma janati iti brahmana'''ब्रह्मम जानति ब्राह्मणः|'''|Brahma janati brahmanah'' So one should always respect ''brāhmaṇas'' — not the caste ''brāhmaṇas'', not the birth ''brāhmaṇas'', but those who are superior in knowledge and conduct.

And whoever slights a ''brāhmaṇa'' — that we can also translate as: whoever slights one's own Guru, thinking "I am greater than the Guru." Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is the greatest example of how he used to respect his several Gurus, whether it was Bhairavī Brāhmaṇī, or Totāpuri, or the Sufi Guru, Govinda, or he wo initiated him into Rama mantra ,Jatadhari sadhu , To all these people he showed the highest respect.

And what is the greatness of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa? The disciple knows: "My realisation is far higher, far superior to all his Guru's realisations." If you study the life of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, you will come to know about it. And yet he never became proud. He said, "I am so grateful because the Divine Mother alone brought them to me." So therefore it is being described here: always respect the ''brāhmaṇa''. A true ''brāhmaṇa'' is the ''jagadguru'', because from whom right, true knowledge descends — he is a ''brāhmaṇa''.

And the foundation for our happiness is called in Hinduism '''''varṇāśrama dharma'''''. According to our quality, according to our stage in life — if we fall into those '''four caste categories,''' it is called '''''varṇa-dharma'''''. And if we fall into what are called the '''stages of life''' — the student's life, the married life, the withdrawal life, and the renunciation's life — this is called '''''āśrama-dharma'''''. ''Āśrama'' belongs to life; ''varṇa'' belongs to the caste. We are not talking about caste by birth, but caste by ''guṇas''.

And as I quoted yesterday:'''''chaturvarnyam maya srishtam guna karma vibhagashah'' चातुर्वर्ण्यं मया सृष्टं गुणकर्मविभागशः।तस्य कर्तारमपि मां विद्ध्यकर्तारमव्ययम्।।4.13।[Bhagavad Gita]।'''without this caste system, society will fall into chaos. To give a simple example — a war is going on now. So there are people who think and create the weapons, and there are people who are trained in using them properly, and there are people who have to manufacture and supply them, and there are people who have to carry them together, put them together, screw them together, check that they are done properly. And after testing — "Yes, you are ready" — then the soldiers, the real ''kṣatriyas'', will do the thing. So therefore the caste system is marvellous.
----

== On Agni as ''Deva-Brāhmaṇa'' ==
And here we have to understand earlier I mentioned who is the ''deva-brāhmaṇa''? '''Agni''' is called ''deva-brāhmaṇa''. Why is Agni considered a ''deva-brāhmaṇa'', a divine ''brāhmaṇa''? Because the whole Ṛg Veda starts with a particular mantra. It goes like this: '''अग्निमीळे पुरोहितं यज्ञस्य देवमृत्विजम् । होतारं रत्नधातमम् ॥''Om agnim īḷe purohitaṃ yajñasya devam ṛtvijam,hotāraṃ ratnadhā tamam.'' [1]'''

'''"I adore Agni, the priest of the sacrifice, the divine minister of the ritual, and the Hota ,who bestows treasures."[Rg Veda 1.1.1'''] So Agni ''devatā'' is considered the ''brāhmaṇa'' among the gods. He is also called ''purohitaḥ'' — ''puraḥ'' means "just in front of us," Agni, fire — because in the olden days everything used to be offered by lighting a fire, sitting behind it, and then going on pouring all your oblations mixed with clarified butter — ''ghī'' — whether it is ''bilva'' leaves or many other materials. So that is why '''B''rahmava idamagra asit ekamevaब्रह्म वा इदमग्र आसीदेकमेव Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.11''''' ''.So agni deva''- Agni ''devatā'' — Agni was the first manifestation according to this Upaniṣad.

And yet he cannot do anything, because he requires ''kṣatriyas'', warriors; he requires ''vaiśyas''; he requires ''śūdras''. And that is what it says. And who are the ''kṣatriyas''? So they were given: the ''deva-kṣatriyas'' are given ruling authority even among themselves. But primarily, for all of us, they are ruling. That is why — if you remember '''''Vedantasāra''''' — every limb of our human body is ruled by somebody. For example, the eyes are ruled by Sūrya ''devatā'', the sun. The mind is ruled by Candra, the moon. The hands are ruled by Indra. The famous story of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa: a ''brāhmaṇa'' killed a cow and the sin — he did not want to accept it — and he said, "Since Indra is the presiding deity of the hand, let this go to him." You can recall that story.

So here the Upaniṣad says: '''Indra, Varuṇa, Soma, Rudra, Parjanya, Yama, Mṛtyu, and Īśāna — these are called ''deva-kṣatriyas'''''. So that is what we have to understand.
----

== Mantra 12: The ''Deva-Vaiśyas'' ==
स ''नैव व्यभवत् स विशमसृजत यान्येतानि देवजातानि गणश आख्यायन्ते वसवो रुद्रा आदित्या विश्वे देवा मरुत इति॥''

--'''बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse १२'''

==== '''''Transliteration''''' ====
''sa naiva vyabhavat sa viśamasṛjata yānyetāni devajātāni gaṇaśa ākhyāyante vasavo rudrā ādityā viśve devā maruta iti||''

Similarly, ''vaiśyas'' are there. So this Upaniṣad is not satisfied. ''Kṣatriyas'' are okay, but ''kṣatriyas'' have to be assisted by the ''vaiśyas''. And so the next creation will be '''''deva-vaiśyas'''''. This is mentioned in the '''twelfth mantra''' of the fourth section.

So the '''V''irāj''''', the creator, did not flourish. He projected the ''vaiśya'' caste and the classes of gods who are designated in groups. Who are these ''vaiśyas'', these ''deva-vaiśyas''? The '''''vasus'', ''rudras'', ''ādityas'', ''viśvedevas'', and ''maruts'' —''' these are called ''deva-vaiśyas''.
----

== Mantra 13: The ''Deva-Śūdras'' ==
''स नैव व्यभवत् स शौद्रं वर्णमसृजत पूषणमियं वै पूषेय हीद सर्वं पुष्यति यदिदं किंच॥''

-बृ'''हदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse १३'''

==== '''''Transliteration''''' ====
''sa naiva vyabhavat sa śaudraṁ varṇamasṛjata pūṣaṇamiyaṁ vai pūṣeya hīda sarvaṁ puṣyati yadidaṁ kiṁca||''

But then the creator is not happy with that. So in the '''thirteenth mantra''' we get: still he did not flourish. He projected the '''''śūdra'' caste — ''pūṣan'''''. This earth is really ''pūṣan''. The '''''bhū-devatā'' is the ''devatā'' indicating ''śūdra'''''. Why? Because, like workers working and making our life easier, what is it that we know that makes our life worth living? That is called this earth, this physical earth. But Deva, from the godly point of view, it is the divine earth. That is why it is called '''''Pṛthvī devatā''.''' That ''Pṛthvī devatā'' manifests in our world as ''Pṛthvī'', and even here she is the earth goddess. That is why everything — our food — we come from this food, and we go back. So dust unto dust.

So this earth nourishes everybody. And this is how these four castes have been given.
----

== Mantra 14: The Creation of ''Dharma'' ==
And in the '''fourteenth mantra,'''

''स नैव व्यभवत्तच्छ्रेयोरूपमत्यसृजत धर्मं तदेतत्क्षत्रस्य क्षत्रं यद्धर्मस्तस्माद्धर्मात्परं नास्त्यथो अबलीयान्बलीयासमाशसते धर्मेण यथा राज्ञैवं यो वै स धर्मः सत्यं वै तत्तस्मात्सत्यं वदन्तमाहुर्धर्मं वदतीति धर्मं वा वदन्त सत्यं वदतीत्येतद्ध्येवैतदुभयं भवति॥''

-'''बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse १४'''

==== '''''Transliteration''''' ====
''sa naiva vyabhavattacchreyorūpamatyasṛjata dharmaṁ tadetatkṣatrasya kṣatraṁ yaddharmastasmāddharmātparaṁ nāstyatho abalīyānbalīyāsamāśasate dharmeṇa yathā rājñaivaṁ yo vai sa dharmaḥ satyaṁ vai tattasmātsatyaṁ vadantamāhurdharmaṁ vadatīti dharmaṁ vā vadanta satyaṁ vadatītyetaddhyevaitadubhayaṁ bhavati||''

as we already discussed: how to keep all these four castes united, fruitful, and efficient? For that, a divine rule is created. That is called ,what we call in the '''Bible''' the '''Ten Commandments''' — do this, don't do this. And that is what Hinduism calls '''''vidhi'' and ''niṣedha'':''' you must do this — ''vidhi'' is not a choice, you must do — and ''niṣedha'' is: you must not do. It is a commandment. And that is called ''dharma''.

So first you have to understand what to do and what not to do. And if we don't follow — what would be the consequences? So therefore it is written there that Bhagavān had created this ''dharma''. That is why: ''d'''harma 'meva jayateधर्ममेव जयते''''' '''''dharmo rakṣati rakṣitaḥ''' dharma eva hato hanti '''dharmo rakṣati rakṣitaḥ''' tasmād dharmo na hantavyo mā no dharmo hato'vadhīt'''—''' '''Manusmriti 8.15 Also Mahabharata Vana parva,yaksha prashna3.312.128,''' ''dharmo rakṣati rakṣitaḥ''.''.''' T'''here is a beautiful ''śloka'' which says: if somebody observes ''dharma'', that ''dharma'' is going to save that person in every way.

What is our problem? Because we are such short-sighted people. We only see what we experience at this moment. We don't have the power to think backwards into the past. We have even less power to see what is going to happen in the future. That's why, since we are like blind people — you know, when horses are tied to carts or vehicles, how does the horse pull? If it is given the freedom to look everywhere, it may not obey the master. So they cover its eyes; only a few feet in front it can see. ''Dharma'' is like that — it will guide us in the right way, covering our eyes to all that we should not do.

So therefore Brahman created ''dharma''. And ''dharma'' should be put into practice. And ''dharma'' manifests as: do this, do not do that. And to know what is ''dharma'', we have to take the help of our '''Gurus''' — and it can be a computer Guru, or it can be what we call a spiritual Guru. As '''Svāmī Brahmānandajī''' tells: even to become an expert pickpocket, we will have to have a Guru. A Guru is one who imparts us the right knowledge of that particular subject.

So that's why ''dharma'' is called God, '''''dharma devatā'', ''Yama Dharmarāja''.''' And he is called '''''kṣatriya''.''' And that is why when '''Naciketā''' went there — Naciketā was a ''brāhmaṇa'' — and Yama ''Dharmarāja'', even though a knower of B''rāhmaṇ'', was a ''kṣatriya'', because his duty is to see which person, which ''jīva'', had done what type of ''dhārmic'' activities and ''adhārmic'' activities — what we call, keep an account — and then accordingly distribute the ''karmaphala''.

And then the mantra goes on to say beautifully'''यो वै स धर्मः सत्यं वै तत्तस्मात्सत्यं वदन्तमाहुर्धर्मं वदतीति धर्मं वा वदन्तं सत्यं वदतीत्येतद्ध्येवैतदुभयं भवति ॥ १४ ॥ ''(बृ. उ. १ । ४ । 14)][Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.14]''..[ yo vai sa dharmaḥ satyaṁ vai tattasmātsatyaṁ vadantamāhurdharmaṁ vadatīti dharmaṁ vā vadanta satyaṁ vadatītyetaddhyevaitadubhayaṁ bhavati|'''|].....that ''dharma'' is nothing but ''satya'', and ''satya'' is nothing but ''dharmam'' — both of them cannot be separated. Like an object cannot be separated from its name: an object is outside, and the thought about that object, the knowledge about that object, is within our mind. They can't be separated. You can't think of a table if you don't have the thought of the table, and if you don't have the thought of the table, you can't recognise what is a table.

So the Upaniṣad is telling: what is it that can save us under every circumstance, all the time, even when we are asleep, unconscious? Only ''dharma'' can save us.''d'''harma 'meva jayate धर्ममेव जयते''''' ''Satyameva jayate'''सत्यमेव जयते नानृतं''''' ['''मुण्डकोपनिषद्तृतीयो मुण्डकःप्रथमः खण्डःVerse ६][Mundaka upanishad 3.1.6]''' So ''dharma'' is ''satya'' and ''satya'' is ''dharma''. Therefore: speak truth '''''Satyam vada:सत्यं वद ।'''—'' that means, what you know to be the truth, speak it.then '''''dharmam chara धर्मं चर ।''' A''nd then what is proper, what is the only thing that should be done — you do that.

And the whole — all the four castes, all the four stages in one's life — are based upon this ''satya'' and ''dharma''. That's why in the '''eleventh ''anuvāka''''' of the T'''aittirīya Upaniṣad,''' in the very f'''irst chapter called ''Śīkṣāvallī'',''' we have noted:'''सत्यं वद । धर्मं चर ।''' '''''Satyam vada''''' '''''dharmam chara''''' it is a universal convocation address. The whole life is based upon truthfulness and ''dharma''.

You remember: a relative of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa had borrowed some money from somebody, promising he would return the money after some time. But greed overcame him; he didn't want to pay. Then the person from whom he had borrowed threatened: "I will call Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, I will ask him to be a witness." See the faith of that man — who was not a relative of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa — that he knew Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa would never utter any untruth. And Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was present when that person threatened the relative. And Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said, "You better — I know you have taken money. You better give back that money to him. And if you don't, I will go against you; I will tell the truth in the court." And that fellow now had no option.

So probably to have a saint as our close relative may not always be very convenient! So the same rule applies: not only among the gods, but among the four castes also, ''satya'' and ''dharma'' are the very foundation.
----

== Mantra 15: ''Satya'', ''Dharma'', and the Purpose of the ''Varṇas'' ==
''तदेतद्ब्रह्म क्षत्रं विट् शूद्रस्तदग्निनैव देवेषु ब्रह्माभवद्ब्राह्मणो मनुष्येषु क्षत्रियेण क्षत्रियो वैश्येन वैश्यः शूद्रेण शूद्रस्तस्मादग्नावेव देवेषु लोकमिच्छन्ते ब्राह्मणे मनुष्येष्वेताभ्या हि रूपाभ्यां ब्रह्माभवत्। अथ यो ह वा अस्माल्लोकात्स्वं लोकमदृष्ट्वा प्रैति स एनमविदितो न भुनक्ति यथा वेदो वाऽननूक्तोऽन्यद्वा कर्माकृतं यदि ह वा अप्यनेवंविन्महत्पुण्यं कर्म करोति तद्धास्यान्ततः क्षीयत एवात्मानमेव लोकमुपासीत स य आत्मानमेव लोकमुपास्ते न हास्य कर्म क्षीयते। अस्माद्ध्येवात्मनो यद्यत्कामयते तत्तत्सृजते॥''

--'''बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse १५'''

==== '''''Transliteration''''' ====
''tadetadbrahma kṣatraṁ viṭ śūdrastadagninaiva deveṣu brahmābhavadbrāhmaṇo manuṣyeṣu kṣatriyeṇa kṣatriyo vaiśyena vaiśyaḥ śūdreṇa śūdrastasmādagnāveva deveṣu lokamicchante brāhmaṇe manuṣyeṣvetābhyā hi rūpābhyāṁ brahmābhavat| atha yo ha vā asmāllokātsvaṁ lokamadṛṣṭvā praiti sa enamavidito na bhunakti yathā vedo vā'nanūkto'nyadvā karmākṛtaṁ yadi ha vā apyanevaṁvinmahatpuṇyaṁ karma karoti taddhāsyāntataḥ kṣīyata evātmānameva lokamupāsīta sa ya ātmānameva lokamupāste na hāsya karma kṣīyate| asmāddhyevātmano yadyatkāmayate tattatsṛjate||''

And that is what we have to understand. So from the '''fifteenth mantra''' onwards, the ''virāṭ'', or the creator, following exactly the same mould as the four castes of the ''devatās'', created the ''brāhmaṇa'', ''kṣatriya'', ''vaiśya'', and ''śūdra''.

And then the mantra goes on to say something very beautiful: how do we know what is ''dharma'', what is ''satya''? For that, we have to study the scripture. What is the scripture? That is God himself telling the truth about himself and about the world — what we call: "This is the truth about the world, and this is your duty, what you have to do in your life."

Then the mantra goes on to say something very beautiful. So if somebody doesn't acquire the ''satya'' from a right teacher '''यथा वेदो वाननूक्तोऽन्यद्वा कर्माकृतं यदिह वा अप्यनेवंविन्महत्पुण्यं कर्म करोति तद्धास्यान्ततः क्षीयत एवात्मानमेव लोकमुपासीत स य आत्मानमेव लोकमुपास्ते न हास्य कर्म क्षीयते''' yathā vedo vā'nanūkto'nyadvā karmākṛtaṁ yadi ha vā apyanevaṁvinmahatpuṇyaṁ karma karoti taddhāsyāntataḥ kṣīyata evātmānameva lokamupāsīta sa ya ātmānameva lokamupāste na hāsya karma kṣīyate| asmāddhyevātmano yadyatkāmayate tattatsṛjate||'''''(बृ. उ. १ । ४ । 15)][Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.15]'''''— so if somebody doesn't study the Veda even though it is available, doesn't study, for example, the New Testament, doesn't study the teachings of the Sufi saints, doesn't study the ''Imitation of Christ'' — because the Bible can be extremely confusing, but read the ''Imitation of Christ'' and you will get what actually Bhagavān Jesus Christ wants to teach all of us, to transform all of us. Foolish that we are, we think certain external rituals are going to help us. No, they are not going to help us.

So what the mantra here wants to convey to us is that even if you formally study the Veda but really do not think it is true, and therefore you do not put it into practice — but you have a little bit of faith in the scripture, and you may be doing some ''puṇya karma'' — so what happens at the end?'''तद्धास्यान्ततः क्षीयत''' ''taddhāsyāntataḥ kṣīyata'' at the endIt will become destroyed. What does it mean?

This is what the Bhagavad Gītā, Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa, says in the Gītā:'''क्षीणे पुण्ये मर्त्यलोकं विशन्ति ।kṣīṇe puṇye martya-lokaṁ viśanti Bg. 9.21'''not that ''puṇya'' will not give a result, but its result will be very ephemeral, very temporary, for a very short time. And interestingly — why do I say it is short? Because whenever you eat, for example, a sweet, for a small fraction of a minute you forget the entire world; you become one with ''ānanda'', happiness.

So there is a belief that if somebody acquires a lot of merit, ''puṇyam'', he will go to '''''Indraloka'', ''Candraloka'', higher ''lokas'',''' and he will experience happiness for a very long time. I have doubts about this statement — "for a very long time" — because '''''ānanda''''' means to go beyond time. And even if it is from the suffering point of view only that we count time. So even if a person so-called goes to a higher ''loka'' and lives for, let us say, a long time — how does that long time pass? Just like if you have a wonderful holiday — one week, ten days — it looks as though in a minute the whole holiday trip is over, because it gave you so much happiness.

We have to understand and add that. Otherwise, if you went there and the hotel refused to accommodate you, or the aeroplane was cancelled because of some reason, and your whole holiday is ruined — I am not talking about that. Everything went off very well, and one week passed as if only one hour had passed — if at all, not even one minute.

So even if a thousand aeons pass, it will pass as if — because the more happy you are, the more you get out of the limitation of time, space, and causation.
----

== On the Nature of Desire, Imagination, and ''Ātmajñāna'' ==
So what is it we desire? What do we imagine? "I want to be happy forever." When a young man wants to get married, when a young woman wants to get married, what is the hope of this young man and young woman? That as long as we live, we will live very happily. Such a thing is a mistaken notion — it is not going to happen. At best you can say: reluctant acceptance of the facts of life. So therefore we remain unfulfilled.

And what should be done for that? The Upaniṣad has to tell: it is not enough to say that you acquire ''puṇyam'' and you will be a very happy person. No, it says you will not be a happy person — you remain unfulfilled, you feel you are very limited, you want unlimited joy. And therefore the Upaniṣad, this mantra, says: '''आत्मानमेव लोकमुपास्ते''' '''''(बृ. उ. १ । ४ । 15)][Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.15''']''you must worship your true God, Brahman — in other words, God. You must realise God.

And what happens? '''आत्मानमेव लोकमुपास्ते न हास्य कर्म क्षीयते''' ātmānameva lokamupāste na hāsya karma kṣīyate|A very interesting word: ''ātman'' is compared to a ''loka'', a world . It is called ''ātmaloka''. And when a person — if you go to America, you are in the country called America; if you go to France, you are in a country called France or UK. But what is this ''ātmaloka''? It means: "I know I am Brahman," and '''that experience is called ''ātmaloka''.'''

And one who realises, "I am not the body-mind, etc., I am the ''ātman''" — what happens?'''हास्य कर्म क्षीयते''' '''''hāsya karma kṣīyate''''' '''''(बृ. उ. १ । ४ । 15)'''][Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.15]'' His ''karma'', that means ''karmaphala'', that is happiness, will never get destroyed, because the nature of the ''ātman'' is sat(सत्) chit(चित्) ananda(आनन्द) is so. '''अस्माद्ध्येवात्मनो यद्यत्कामयते तत्तत्सृजते asmāddhyevātmano yadyatkāmayate tattatsṛjate||Brih.Up 1.4.॥ १५ ॥'''Therefore whatever way this man wants to enjoy — and this is a redundant ''śloka'', actually, or these lines are redundant — that is to say, a knower of Brahman can enjoy anything he wants. What we need to understand is: once a person knows "I am Brahman, I am of the nature of ''ānanda'', bliss," the question of his desiring — "I am incomplete, I am not happy; if I go to ''Indraloka'' I will be happy, if I embrace a beautiful angel then I will be happy" — no, such a desire will never come.

But to make ignorant people like us understand — what do I get by realising Brahman? — the Upaniṣad answers: what will you not get? You will get everything. How do I get it? Whatever you desire, '''यद्यत्कामयते''(बृ. उ. १ । ४ । 15)][Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.15]''''' that enjoyment will be there instantaneously — you will be able to enjoy.

This is a very wonderful psychological fact. I have given many examples. Suppose you are dreaming. That before you went to bed you had a terrible desire to eat some sweet — as an example. And you went to bed, and then you find yourself in a dream: somebody has invited you to his house, and the very sweets you love have been prepared or bought, and they offer them to you: "Eat as much as you want." And you are eating. Now are you happy or not?

You have to imagine what I am going to tell you. If you have some unfulfilled desires, and if you have got a strong power of imagination — you just imagine: mentally, close your eyes, mentally imagine, "I am eating this first-class sweet." And there is no time limit, there is no counting of the sweets — as many sweets as you want, as long as you want, you can enjoy — provided you have that imagination.

Is this a valid proposition, or just a meaningless statement? Just imagine where was Gopālā's mother when she was absorbed in her Gopāla. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: "Her mind is now in the presence of Goloka, in the presence of Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa." And she came back to this consciousness and confirmed: "I was enjoying everything in the presence of my darling child Kṛṣṇa." This is called imaginary enjoyment.

In fact everything is imaginary only. Even if you think somebody has brought from a wonderful sweetmeat shop your favourite sweet — how do you know? Suppose this fellow bought it from somewhere and put it in a K.C. Das container, sealed it cleverly, and brought it to you. And because you are under the delusion that anything made by this particular sweetmeat shop will be of a quality sweet — when you are eating, tell me: do you feel it is an inferior sweet or a superior sweet? Of course, if you are a very discerning person, it is possible to discriminate. But for most people, it is the imagination.

A young man looks at a young woman and says, "She is Miss Universe." And as far as he is concerned, she is Miss Universe. Others may judge her differently. The point I want to illustrate is: if we can develop that beautiful power of imagination where we are enjoying things, then at any time, as long as we want, we can enjoy things imaginatively. And imaginary enjoyment — like dream happiness — will not be any less than what we call the waking-state happiness. It will be even much better, without any limitations.
----

== ''Ātmānam Eva Lokam Upāsīta'': Strive to Manifest Your Potential Divinity ==
Therefore the Upaniṣad continues: '''''ātmānam eva lokam upāsīta'' स य आत्मानमेव लोकमुपास्ते ''(बृ. उ. १ । ४ । 15)][Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.15]''—''' one should strive to manifest this potential divinity, either through work or philosophy, or by psychology, or by selfless activity, or by one or more, or all of this put together — and be free. That is what Svāmī Vivekānanda had said. And such a person's happiness will never come to an end: '''''na hi asya karma kṣīyate'', ''na hi asya karmaphala kṣīyate''.''(बृ. उ. १ । ४ । 15)][Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.15]'''''

So that is what he says: try to realise God — you will get everything. What happens if a person cannot, or is even not interested in spirituality, not interested in realising God? That is what he says: '''अथ यो ह वा अस्माल्लोकात्स्वं लोकमदृष्ट्वा प्रैति स एनमविदितो न भुनक्ति यथा वेदो वाननूक्तोऽन्यद्वा कर्माकृतं atho yo ha va asman lokastvam lokamadrishta praithee sa enam aviditi na bhunakthi ''yathā yathā vedho ananuktaṃ anyad vā karmakṛtam''''' —'''''(बृ. उ. १ । ४ । 15)'''][Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.15]'' if a man departs from this world without realising his own true self, and his own true self being unknown does not protect him — just like any knowledge, if it is not put into practical usage, will not give us the result. You may know everything in the world, but if you do not put it into particular action, then it will not help us at all.

And again the Upaniṣad tells: so whoever realises this ''ātman'', his ''ānanda'', his bliss, will never come to an end, because it is infinite, it is one without a second, and most important, it is his own self.

So he who doesn't realise everything will have to come back again and again. Therefore it is better that we wake up: '''''uttiṣṭhata jāgrata prāpya varān nibodhata''''' — '''उत्तिष्ठत जाग्रत प्राप्य वरान्निबोधत ।Katha Upanishad -Verse 1.3.14''' that is the message of this one .fourth.ten of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.
----

== Conclusion: The Unified Purpose of All ''Varṇāśrama Dharmas'' ==
In this eleventh to seventeenth mantras — all the ''varṇāśrama dharmas'' have only one purpose: that is to help us evolve towards our own true nature. So from ''tamas'' to ''rajas'', to ''sattva''. From student life — what I call: learn about what is life, what is the goal of life — then experiment and experience. Then withdraw, because by this time we know: "I will not get what I am seeking in this world, but I will get what I am seeking from God." Turn to God, face away from the world, turn towards God. And as we progress through contemplation, a time will come when we will be absorbed only in God, and become one with God in the end.

That is the message of this eleventh section and several other mantras also. Beautiful mantras — 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.1.4 Lecture 32 on 10 May 2026

2026-07-19T13:51:13Z

Gayatri: /* Three Primary Truths of These Mantras */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH

OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.
----

== Recap: The Tenth Mantra and the Essence of the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad ==
We have completed the tenth mantra in the fourth section of the first chapter of the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. And this is one of the — I would say — the very essence of the entire Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, of all Upaniṣads, of all the scriptures in this world. And the rest is elaboration.

As I mentioned earlier, the first chapter is called '''''Madhukāṇḍaमधु काण्ड'''''. It is also called '''''Upadeśakāṇḍaउपदेश काण्ड''.''' ''Madhu'' means honey, because God is like honey to all of us. Honey means the dearest, the nearest, the closest. And we are not really separate from him. That is expressed in this beautiful ''mahāvākya'' which occurs in this tenth mantra of the fourth section: ''ahaṃ brahmāsmi''.'''(अहं ब्रह्मास्मि)''' — which comes in this very Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, [''Brihadaranyaka Upanishad'''''1.4.10 ]of Yajur veda'''
----

== Three Primary Truths of These Mantras ==
So through these mantras, the Upaniṣad wants us to understand three primary truths.

'''First: Universal Unity — ''Samāṣṭi Bhāvanā''.''' Everybody in this world, everything in this world — living, non-living, all social roles, professions, and deities — are but different expressions of the same Brahman. Just as we are the only one in our dreams, even though it appears to be an uncountable number of objects in our dream — they are all nothing but me, the one "I," as it were, getting reflected, like one sun getting reflected in a million, billion mirrors. So ''sarvaṃ khalvidaṃ brahma'', in other words.

'''Second: Nothing is Truly Separate.''' And following this truth, the second truth is: nothing is truly separate. What is our condition now? We are under the spell of ''avidyā'', ignorance. What is ignorance? First, to think that I am not Brahman. Second, to think that everything in this world is separate from everything else in this world — my hands are separate from my legs, my fingers are separate from my hand, not to speak of another person, another living creature, another non-living object. So nothing is truly separate. I am everything.

So we were discussing the social systems called caste systems. It is nothing but a division for the welfare of the world. But its inner truth is oneness. Just to illustrate — I love to illustrate until I am satisfied that the point I want to make is clear, as far as I can do that — see, eyes are most important in a human body, in any body actually, whether it is an owl, whether it is a tiger, whether it is a deer. Eyes give us the closest knowledge of things. Then comes the ears, hearing. Then comes the smell, etc. So everything has got its division.

There are four castes wherever you go. How many castes are there in this world? Not one, not three, but exactly four. The thinkers, the law-upholders, the so-called business people who move things from where they are available in plenty to where they are needed — so from one place to another place things are brought — that is the third division called ''vaiśyas''. And then of course workers are needed.

And as I mentioned yesterday, these divisions are divided according to the dominance of a particular quality. Please note that all three ''guṇas'' work simultaneously. But which dominates most of the time, and which dominates for a particular type of action to be performed efficiently — that makes it whether a person is a ''brāhmaṇa'' or a ''kṣatriya'' or a ''vaiśya'' or a ''śūdra'': philosophers, warriors, business people or merchants, and workers.

The same person can be all four at different times. When I am thinking, I am a '''''brāhmaṇa''.''' When I am enforcing something, upholding something, I am a '''''kṣatriya'''''. When I am trying to buy something, or to sell something, or to supply something, I am a businessman or merchant, a '''''vaiśya'''''. And when I am doing physical activity — all four have to be done by all four castes. Nobody can simply sit and say, "I will only think; I will not eat food, I will not move," etc. But one particular faculty is more dominant throughout the day, throughout life. So if a person is more of a thinking type, he does activity in the form of upholding, in the form of supplying, in the form of working — but the dominant part is '''''sattvaguṇa'',''' which is thinking.

So we can apply the same thing to different castes. But nothing is truly separate, because whole life is nothing but evolution. So the idea is: from the lowest ''guṇa'' — from the lowest of the lowest ''guṇa'', because there are several degrees, almost infinite degrees of each ''guṇa'' — to move up higher through experience, through understanding. That is called evolution, until we realise our true nature, until we know everything is nothing but Brahman,'''सर्वं खल्विदं ब्रह्म''' ''sarvaṃ khalvidaṃ brahma''.['''छान्दोग्योपनिषद्‌तृतीयोऽध्यायःचतुर्दशः खण्डःVerse १Chandogya Upanishad 3.14.1]''' Therefore nothing is truly separate. And as we progress, this separation becomes less and less, until we understand: "I am everything, everything is me."

So the social division cannot be removed — it is for the welfare of the world. But its inner truth is oneness. That is the second truth.

'''Third: The Supremacy of ''Dharma''.''' That is why: ''s'''atyaṃ vada, dharmam cara सत्यं वद । धर्मं चर । Taittiriya Upanishad , Sheekshavalli, 11th anuvaka''''''''.And we have also seen that ''dharma'' is also called ''satya'', and ''satya'' is also called ''dharma''. True, right understanding is ''satya'', and expressing our understanding through physical activity is called ''dharma''. And this ''dharma'' is popularly known as ''vidhi'' and ''niṣedha'' — do this, do not do this. And not only in spiritual life, but in every sphere, every field of activity. In the health field, for example: eat this, do not eat this; do this exercise, do not do that exercise. So: speak this, do not speak something else; read this, do not read something else; think this way, do not think that way.

So what is the point here? The supremacy of ''dharma''. This is the point: ''dharma'' is higher than authority. So what does ''dharma'' do? It rules all the four castes. And everybody has got his own ''dharma''. A ''śūdra'', a worker, has his own ''dharma'' and his own ''adharma''. The merchant has his own ''dharma'' and his own ''adharma''. A warrior, or the kings, or the rulers — the presidents, the prime ministers — have their own ''dharma'' and ''adharma''. And the ''brāhmaṇas'' have their own ''dharma'' and ''adharma''.that is the second truth.

'''Third truth.''' The Upaniṣad wants to convey that it is not that you are incomplete and you do something and you are going to become complete. No — you are already complete. But we feel incomplete because of the misunderstanding called ''avidyā''. But by understanding that life is meant to manifest our potential divinity, and that there are definite pathways called ''Karma Yoga'', ''Bhakti Yoga'', ''Rāja Yoga'', ''Jñāna Yoga'' — we can manifest.

So in a sense, these mantras want to lead me, you, everybody from the ''vyaṣṭi'','''व्यष्टि''' the individual, to the ''samāṣṭi'''समष्टि'''''<nowiki/>''';''' from external activity, broadly called rituals, to internal rituals called ''upāsanā'', and ultimately to ''ātmajñānam''. So: rituals, then contemplation or ''upāsanā'', and ''jñānam'' or self-knowledge — these are the three steps.
----

== In This Background: Mantras 11 to 17 ==
In this background, let us briefly discuss the mantras from 11 to 17. I am not going to read the Sanskrit mantras — anyway you can read them separately. But I will read the translation and, where necessary, briefly comment.

''ब्रह्म वा इदमग्र आसीदेकमेव तदेक सन्न व्यभवत्। तच्छ्रेयो रूपमत्यसृजत क्षत्रं यान्येतानि देवत्रा क्षत्राणीन्द्रो वरुणः सोमो रुद्रः पर्जन्यो यमो मृत्युरीशान इति। तस्मात् क्षत्रात्परं नास्ति तस्माद्ब्राह्मणः क्षत्रियमधस्तादुपास्ते राजसूये क्षत्र एव तद्यशो दधाति सैषा क्षत्रस्य योनिर्यद्ब्रह्म। तस्माद्यद्यपि राजा परमतां गच्छति ब्रह्मैवान्तत उपनिश्रयति स्वां योनिं य उ एन हिनस्ति स्वा स योनिमृच्छति स पापीयान्भवति यथा श्रेयास हिसित्वा॥''

--'''बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse ११'''

==== '''''Transliteration''''' ====
''brahma vā idamagra āsīdekameva tadeka sanna vyabhavat| tacchreyo rūpamatyasṛjata kṣatraṁ yānyetāni devatrā kṣatrāṇīndro varuṇaḥ somo rudraḥ parjanyo yamo mṛtyurīśāna iti| tasmāt kṣatrātparaṁ nāsti tasmādbrāhmaṇaḥ kṣatriyamadhastādupāste rājasūye kṣatra eva tadyaśo dadhāti saiṣā kṣatrasya yoniryadbrahma| tasmādyadyapi rājā paramatāṁ gacchati brahmaivāntata upaniśrayati svāṁ yoniṁ ya u ena hinasti svā sa yonimṛcchati sa pāpīyānbhavati yathā śreyāsa hisitvā||''

in the beginning,So there was only Brahman —'''ब्रह्म वा इदमग्र आसीत्, तदात्मानमेवावेत्, अहम् ब्रह्मास्मीति brahma vā idamagra āsīt, tadātmānamevāvet, aham brahmāsmīti''' |Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.11] Brahman alone was there in the beginning. And that Brahman wanted to manifest himself, grossify himself. So that is called creation. And creation started.

First he created — just I am reminding you of the background which we already discussed — he created this entire universe, living and non-living. That is called ''sṛṣṭi''. Having created, it then has to be run properly. For that purpose, Brahman has manifested himself as Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara. Brahmā's role is to create — that's it, his duty is over. But Viṣṇu has to do ''pālana''; ''sthiti'' means he has to sustain, he has to uphold the ''dharma''.

For that purpose, Brahman first created four castes, as we elaborately discussed. First, '''''deva-brāhmaṇa''''' — among the gods, Agni was the ''brāhmaṇa''. Then other ''kṣatriyas'', ''vaiśyas'', ''śūdras'' have come. That is what the next several mantras elaborate. That is the essence of how Brahman, the ''sthiti'', is now being put into action.

And then, exactly as Brahman became the ''deva-brāhmaṇa'', etc., similarly from the ''deva-brāhmaṇa'' he became '''''manuṣya-brāhmaṇa''''', from the ''deva-kṣatriya'' he became '''''manuṣya-kṣatriya''''', from the ''deva-vaiśya'' he became '''''manuṣya-vaiśya''''' or human ''vaiśya'', and from the ''deva-śūdra'' he became '''''manuṣya-śūdra'''''. That is what he wanted.

So he — meaning Brahman, being one — did not flourish, because the ''sṛṣṭi'' is done but it has to be maintained. So what did he do? He projected further an excellent form: ''kṣatriya''-hood.
----

== Mantra 11: The ''Deva-Kṣatriyas'' and the Honour Due to the ''Brāhmaṇa'' ==
First he created ''kṣatriyas'' among the gods: '''Indra, Varuṇa, Soma, Rudra, Parjanya, Yama, Mṛtyu, and Īśāna.''' These are the ''deva-kṣatriyas''. Therefore there is no one higher than the ''kṣatriya''. Thus, at the ''rājasūya'' sacrifice, the ''brāhmaṇa'' sits below and worships the ''kṣatriya''.

And a beautiful definition is given. Why does the ''brāhmaṇa'' sit? We have to presume: how does this king really perform the ''rājasūya'' sacrifice? How does he know? There is a sacrifice called ''rājasūya'' — we have to presume that the ''brāhmaṇa'' had already taught him that such a one exists, and that if you perform it properly, then you will get wonderful results; you will be able to enjoy your life. And then the king starts performing.

Now the description we have to understand. The ''kṣatriya'', the warrior, is performing this ritual called ''rājasūya yajña''. But since he is performing, he will be sitting higher, and then the priests — the ''brāhmaṇas ritwiks'' who have to perform — they sit below. And does it mean that the ''brāhmaṇa'' is inferior to the ''kṣatriya''? No. What he wants to say is: the ''brāhmaṇa'' supports all the time. Just like a baby being taken up on the shoulders of the father — without the father taking him up, the baby will fall down, cannot move. This way, the king cannot perform anything in this life unless he is supported from above through knowledge, from below, helping the king perform his proper duties. Then he confers that glory on ''kṣatriya''-hood below — a ''brāhmaṇa'' confers.

But nevertheless, the ''brāhmaṇa'' is the source, the support of the ''kṣatriya''. Therefore, even though the king is exalted at the sacrifice, at the end of it he resorts to ''brāhmaṇa''-hood as his source. He bows down: "By your grace I have been able to complete it."

So the Upaniṣad wants to tell us: respect the ''brāhmaṇa''. We are not talking about birth-''brāhmaṇas''. We are talking about ''guṇa-brāhmaṇas'' — by qualities, by ''sattvaguṇa''. And as I quoted yesterday, only a person who is godly, who has become god through behaviour, is a real ''brāhmaṇa''.''brahma janati iti brahmana'''ब्रह्मम जानति ब्राह्मणः|'''|Brahma janati brahmanah'' So one should always respect ''brāhmaṇas'' — not the caste ''brāhmaṇas'', not the birth ''brāhmaṇas'', but those who are superior in knowledge and conduct.

And whoever slights a ''brāhmaṇa'' — that we can also translate as: whoever slights one's own Guru, thinking "I am greater than the Guru." Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is the greatest example of how he used to respect his several Gurus, whether it was Bhairavī Brāhmaṇī, or Totāpuri, or the Sufi Guru, Govinda, or he wo initiated him into Rama mantra ,Jatadhari sadhu , To all these people he showed the highest respect.

And what is the greatness of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa? The disciple knows: "My realisation is far higher, far superior to all his Guru's realisations." If you study the life of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, you will come to know about it. And yet he never became proud. He said, "I am so grateful because the Divine Mother alone brought them to me." So therefore it is being described here: always respect the ''brāhmaṇa''. A true ''brāhmaṇa'' is the ''jagadguru'', because from whom right, true knowledge descends — he is a ''brāhmaṇa''.

And the foundation for our happiness is called in Hinduism '''''varṇāśrama dharma'''''. According to our quality, according to our stage in life — if we fall into those '''four caste categories,''' it is called '''''varṇa-dharma'''''. And if we fall into what are called the '''stages of life''' — the student's life, the married life, the withdrawal life, and the renunciation's life — this is called '''''āśrama-dharma'''''. ''Āśrama'' belongs to life; ''varṇa'' belongs to the caste. We are not talking about caste by birth, but caste by ''guṇas''.

And as I quoted yesterday:'''''chaturvarnyam maya srishtam guna karma vibhagashah'' चातुर्वर्ण्यं मया सृष्टं गुणकर्मविभागशः।तस्य कर्तारमपि मां विद्ध्यकर्तारमव्ययम्।।4.13।[Bhagavad Gita]।'''without this caste system, society will fall into chaos. To give a simple example — a war is going on now. So there are people who think and create the weapons, and there are people who are trained in using them properly, and there are people who have to manufacture and supply them, and there are people who have to carry them together, put them together, screw them together, check that they are done properly. And after testing — "Yes, you are ready" — then the soldiers, the real ''kṣatriyas'', will do the thing. So therefore the caste system is marvellous.
----

== On Agni as ''Deva-Brāhmaṇa'' ==
And here we have to understand earlier I mentioned who is the ''deva-brāhmaṇa''? '''Agni''' is called ''deva-brāhmaṇa''. Why is Agni considered a ''deva-brāhmaṇa'', a divine ''brāhmaṇa''? Because the whole Ṛg Veda starts with a particular mantra. It goes like this: '''अग्निमीळे पुरोहितं यज्ञस्य देवमृत्विजम् । होतारं रत्नधातमम् ॥''Om agnim īḷe purohitaṃ yajñasya devam ṛtvijam,hotāraṃ ratnadhā tamam.'' [1]'''

'''"I adore Agni, the priest of the sacrifice, the divine minister of the ritual, and the Hota ,who bestows treasures."[Rg Veda 1.1.1'''] So Agni ''devatā'' is considered the ''brāhmaṇa'' among the gods. He is also called ''purohitaḥ'' — ''puraḥ'' means "just in front of us," Agni, fire — because in the olden days everything used to be offered by lighting a fire, sitting behind it, and then going on pouring all your oblations mixed with clarified butter — ''ghī'' — whether it is ''bilva'' leaves or many other materials. So that is why '''B''rahmava idamagra asit ekamevaब्रह्म वा इदमग्र आसीदेकमेव Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.11''''' ''.So agni deva''- Agni ''devatā'' — Agni was the first manifestation according to this Upaniṣad.

And yet he cannot do anything, because he requires ''kṣatriyas'', warriors; he requires ''vaiśyas''; he requires ''śūdras''. And that is what it says. And who are the ''kṣatriyas''? So they were given: the ''deva-kṣatriyas'' are given ruling authority even among themselves. But primarily, for all of us, they are ruling. That is why — if you remember '''''Vedantasāra''''' — every limb of our human body is ruled by somebody. For example, the eyes are ruled by Sūrya ''devatā'', the sun. The mind is ruled by Candra, the moon. The hands are ruled by Indra. The famous story of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa: a ''brāhmaṇa'' killed a cow and the sin — he did not want to accept it — and he said, "Since Indra is the presiding deity of the hand, let this go to him." You can recall that story.

So here the Upaniṣad says: '''Indra, Varuṇa, Soma, Rudra, Parjanya, Yama, Mṛtyu, and Īśāna — these are called ''deva-kṣatriyas'''''. So that is what we have to understand.
----

== Mantra 12: The ''Deva-Vaiśyas'' ==
स ''नैव व्यभवत् स विशमसृजत यान्येतानि देवजातानि गणश आख्यायन्ते वसवो रुद्रा आदित्या विश्वे देवा मरुत इति॥''

--'''बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse १२'''

==== '''''Transliteration''''' ====
''sa naiva vyabhavat sa viśamasṛjata yānyetāni devajātāni gaṇaśa ākhyāyante vasavo rudrā ādityā viśve devā maruta iti||''

Similarly, ''vaiśyas'' are there. So this Upaniṣad is not satisfied. ''Kṣatriyas'' are okay, but ''kṣatriyas'' have to be assisted by the ''vaiśyas''. And so the next creation will be '''''deva-vaiśyas'''''. This is mentioned in the '''twelfth mantra''' of the fourth section.

So the '''V''irāj''''', the creator, did not flourish. He projected the ''vaiśya'' caste and the classes of gods who are designated in groups. Who are these ''vaiśyas'', these ''deva-vaiśyas''? The '''''vasus'', ''rudras'', ''ādityas'', ''viśvedevas'', and ''maruts'' —''' these are called ''deva-vaiśyas''.
----

== Mantra 13: The ''Deva-Śūdras'' ==
''स नैव व्यभवत् स शौद्रं वर्णमसृजत पूषणमियं वै पूषेय हीद सर्वं पुष्यति यदिदं किंच॥''

-बृ'''हदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse १३'''

==== '''''Transliteration''''' ====
''sa naiva vyabhavat sa śaudraṁ varṇamasṛjata pūṣaṇamiyaṁ vai pūṣeya hīda sarvaṁ puṣyati yadidaṁ kiṁca||''

But then the creator is not happy with that. So in the '''thirteenth mantra''' we get: still he did not flourish. He projected the '''''śūdra'' caste — ''pūṣan'''''. This earth is really ''pūṣan''. The '''''bhū-devatā'' is the ''devatā'' indicating ''śūdra'''''. Why? Because, like workers working and making our life easier, what is it that we know that makes our life worth living? That is called this earth, this physical earth. But Deva, from the godly point of view, it is the divine earth. That is why it is called '''''Pṛthvī devatā''.''' That ''Pṛthvī devatā'' manifests in our world as ''Pṛthvī'', and even here she is the earth goddess. That is why everything — our food — we come from this food, and we go back. So dust unto dust.

So this earth nourishes everybody. And this is how these four castes have been given.
----

== Mantra 14: The Creation of ''Dharma'' ==
And in the '''fourteenth mantra,'''

''स नैव व्यभवत्तच्छ्रेयोरूपमत्यसृजत धर्मं तदेतत्क्षत्रस्य क्षत्रं यद्धर्मस्तस्माद्धर्मात्परं नास्त्यथो अबलीयान्बलीयासमाशसते धर्मेण यथा राज्ञैवं यो वै स धर्मः सत्यं वै तत्तस्मात्सत्यं वदन्तमाहुर्धर्मं वदतीति धर्मं वा वदन्त सत्यं वदतीत्येतद्ध्येवैतदुभयं भवति॥''

-'''बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse १४'''

==== '''''Transliteration''''' ====
''sa naiva vyabhavattacchreyorūpamatyasṛjata dharmaṁ tadetatkṣatrasya kṣatraṁ yaddharmastasmāddharmātparaṁ nāstyatho abalīyānbalīyāsamāśasate dharmeṇa yathā rājñaivaṁ yo vai sa dharmaḥ satyaṁ vai tattasmātsatyaṁ vadantamāhurdharmaṁ vadatīti dharmaṁ vā vadanta satyaṁ vadatītyetaddhyevaitadubhayaṁ bhavati||''

as we already discussed: how to keep all these four castes united, fruitful, and efficient? For that, a divine rule is created. That is called ,what we call in the '''Bible''' the '''Ten Commandments''' — do this, don't do this. And that is what Hinduism calls '''''vidhi'' and ''niṣedha'':''' you must do this — ''vidhi'' is not a choice, you must do — and ''niṣedha'' is: you must not do. It is a commandment. And that is called ''dharma''.

So first you have to understand what to do and what not to do. And if we don't follow — what would be the consequences? So therefore it is written there that Bhagavān had created this ''dharma''. That is why: ''d'''harma 'meva jayateधर्ममेव जयते''''' '''''dharmo rakṣati rakṣitaḥ''' dharma eva hato hanti '''dharmo rakṣati rakṣitaḥ''' tasmād dharmo na hantavyo mā no dharmo hato'vadhīt'''—''' '''Manusmriti 8.15 Also Mahabharata Vana parva,yaksha prashna3.312.128,''' ''dharmo rakṣati rakṣitaḥ''.''.''' T'''here is a beautiful ''śloka'' which says: if somebody observes ''dharma'', that ''dharma'' is going to save that person in every way.

What is our problem? Because we are such short-sighted people. We only see what we experience at this moment. We don't have the power to think backwards into the past. We have even less power to see what is going to happen in the future. That's why, since we are like blind people — you know, when horses are tied to carts or vehicles, how does the horse pull? If it is given the freedom to look everywhere, it may not obey the master. So they cover its eyes; only a few feet in front it can see. ''Dharma'' is like that — it will guide us in the right way, covering our eyes to all that we should not do.

So therefore Brahman created ''dharma''. And ''dharma'' should be put into practice. And ''dharma'' manifests as: do this, do not do that. And to know what is ''dharma'', we have to take the help of our '''Gurus''' — and it can be a computer Guru, or it can be what we call a spiritual Guru. As '''Svāmī Brahmānandajī''' tells: even to become an expert pickpocket, we will have to have a Guru. A Guru is one who imparts us the right knowledge of that particular subject.

So that's why ''dharma'' is called God, '''''dharma devatā'', ''Yama Dharmarāja''.''' And he is called '''''kṣatriya''.''' And that is why when '''Naciketā''' went there — Naciketā was a ''brāhmaṇa'' — and Yama ''Dharmarāja'', even though a knower of B''rāhmaṇ'', was a ''kṣatriya'', because his duty is to see which person, which ''jīva'', had done what type of ''dhārmic'' activities and ''adhārmic'' activities — what we call, keep an account — and then accordingly distribute the ''karmaphala''.

And then the mantra goes on to say beautifully'''यो वै स धर्मः सत्यं वै तत्तस्मात्सत्यं वदन्तमाहुर्धर्मं वदतीति धर्मं वा वदन्तं सत्यं वदतीत्येतद्ध्येवैतदुभयं भवति ॥ १४ ॥ ''(बृ. उ. १ । ४ । 14)][Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.14]''..[ yo vai sa dharmaḥ satyaṁ vai tattasmātsatyaṁ vadantamāhurdharmaṁ vadatīti dharmaṁ vā vadanta satyaṁ vadatītyetaddhyevaitadubhayaṁ bhavati|'''|].....that ''dharma'' is nothing but ''satya'', and ''satya'' is nothing but ''dharmam'' — both of them cannot be separated. Like an object cannot be separated from its name: an object is outside, and the thought about that object, the knowledge about that object, is within our mind. They can't be separated. You can't think of a table if you don't have the thought of the table, and if you don't have the thought of the table, you can't recognise what is a table.

So the Upaniṣad is telling: what is it that can save us under every circumstance, all the time, even when we are asleep, unconscious? Only ''dharma'' can save us.''d'''harma 'meva jayate धर्ममेव जयते''''' ''Satyameva jayate'''सत्यमेव जयते नानृतं''''' ['''मुण्डकोपनिषद्तृतीयो मुण्डकःप्रथमः खण्डःVerse ६][Mundaka upanishad 3.1.6]''' So ''dharma'' is ''satya'' and ''satya'' is ''dharma''. Therefore: speak truth '''''Satyam vada:सत्यं वद ।'''—'' that means, what you know to be the truth, speak it.then '''''dharmam chara धर्मं चर ।''' A''nd then what is proper, what is the only thing that should be done — you do that.

And the whole — all the four castes, all the four stages in one's life — are based upon this ''satya'' and ''dharma''. That's why in the '''eleventh ''anuvāka''''' of the T'''aittirīya Upaniṣad,''' in the very f'''irst chapter called ''Śīkṣāvallī'',''' we have noted:'''सत्यं वद । धर्मं चर ।''' '''''Satyam vada''''' '''''dharmam chara''''' it is a universal convocation address. The whole life is based upon truthfulness and ''dharma''.

You remember: a relative of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa had borrowed some money from somebody, promising he would return the money after some time. But greed overcame him; he didn't want to pay. Then the person from whom he had borrowed threatened: "I will call Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, I will ask him to be a witness." See the faith of that man — who was not a relative of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa — that he knew Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa would never utter any untruth. And Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was present when that person threatened the relative. And Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said, "You better — I know you have taken money. You better give back that money to him. And if you don't, I will go against you; I will tell the truth in the court." And that fellow now had no option.

So probably to have a saint as our close relative may not always be very convenient! So the same rule applies: not only among the gods, but among the four castes also, ''satya'' and ''dharma'' are the very foundation.
----

== Mantra 15: ''Satya'', ''Dharma'', and the Purpose of the ''Varṇas'' ==
''तदेतद्ब्रह्म क्षत्रं विट् शूद्रस्तदग्निनैव देवेषु ब्रह्माभवद्ब्राह्मणो मनुष्येषु क्षत्रियेण क्षत्रियो वैश्येन वैश्यः शूद्रेण शूद्रस्तस्मादग्नावेव देवेषु लोकमिच्छन्ते ब्राह्मणे मनुष्येष्वेताभ्या हि रूपाभ्यां ब्रह्माभवत्। अथ यो ह वा अस्माल्लोकात्स्वं लोकमदृष्ट्वा प्रैति स एनमविदितो न भुनक्ति यथा वेदो वाऽननूक्तोऽन्यद्वा कर्माकृतं यदि ह वा अप्यनेवंविन्महत्पुण्यं कर्म करोति तद्धास्यान्ततः क्षीयत एवात्मानमेव लोकमुपासीत स य आत्मानमेव लोकमुपास्ते न हास्य कर्म क्षीयते। अस्माद्ध्येवात्मनो यद्यत्कामयते तत्तत्सृजते॥''

--'''बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse १५'''

==== '''''Transliteration''''' ====
''tadetadbrahma kṣatraṁ viṭ śūdrastadagninaiva deveṣu brahmābhavadbrāhmaṇo manuṣyeṣu kṣatriyeṇa kṣatriyo vaiśyena vaiśyaḥ śūdreṇa śūdrastasmādagnāveva deveṣu lokamicchante brāhmaṇe manuṣyeṣvetābhyā hi rūpābhyāṁ brahmābhavat| atha yo ha vā asmāllokātsvaṁ lokamadṛṣṭvā praiti sa enamavidito na bhunakti yathā vedo vā'nanūkto'nyadvā karmākṛtaṁ yadi ha vā apyanevaṁvinmahatpuṇyaṁ karma karoti taddhāsyāntataḥ kṣīyata evātmānameva lokamupāsīta sa ya ātmānameva lokamupāste na hāsya karma kṣīyate| asmāddhyevātmano yadyatkāmayate tattatsṛjate||''

And that is what we have to understand. So from the '''fifteenth mantra''' onwards, the ''virāṭ'', or the creator, following exactly the same mould as the four castes of the ''devatās'', created the ''brāhmaṇa'', ''kṣatriya'', ''vaiśya'', and ''śūdra''.

And then the mantra goes on to say something very beautiful: how do we know what is ''dharma'', what is ''satya''? For that, we have to study the scripture. What is the scripture? That is God himself telling the truth about himself and about the world — what we call: "This is the truth about the world, and this is your duty, what you have to do in your life."

Then the mantra goes on to say something very beautiful. So if somebody doesn't acquire the ''satya'' from a right teacher '''यथा वेदो वाननूक्तोऽन्यद्वा कर्माकृतं यदिह वा अप्यनेवंविन्महत्पुण्यं कर्म करोति तद्धास्यान्ततः क्षीयत एवात्मानमेव लोकमुपासीत स य आत्मानमेव लोकमुपास्ते न हास्य कर्म क्षीयते''' yathā vedo vā'nanūkto'nyadvā karmākṛtaṁ yadi ha vā apyanevaṁvinmahatpuṇyaṁ karma karoti taddhāsyāntataḥ kṣīyata evātmānameva lokamupāsīta sa ya ātmānameva lokamupāste na hāsya karma kṣīyate| asmāddhyevātmano yadyatkāmayate tattatsṛjate||'''''(बृ. उ. १ । ४ । 15)][Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.15]'''''— so if somebody doesn't study the Veda even though it is available, doesn't study, for example, the New Testament, doesn't study the teachings of the Sufi saints, doesn't study the ''Imitation of Christ'' — because the Bible can be extremely confusing, but read the ''Imitation of Christ'' and you will get what actually Bhagavān Jesus Christ wants to teach all of us, to transform all of us. Foolish that we are, we think certain external rituals are going to help us. No, they are not going to help us.

So what the mantra here wants to convey to us is that even if you formally study the Veda but really do not think it is true, and therefore you do not put it into practice — but you have a little bit of faith in the scripture, and you may be doing some ''puṇya karma'' — so what happens at the end?'''तद्धास्यान्ततः क्षीयत''' ''taddhāsyāntataḥ kṣīyata'' at the endIt will become destroyed. What does it mean?

This is what the Bhagavad Gītā, Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa, says in the Gītā:'''क्षीणे पुण्ये मर्त्यलोकं विशन्ति ।kṣīṇe puṇye martya-lokaṁ viśanti Bg. 9.21'''not that ''puṇya'' will not give a result, but its result will be very ephemeral, very temporary, for a very short time. And interestingly — why do I say it is short? Because whenever you eat, for example, a sweet, for a small fraction of a minute you forget the entire world; you become one with ''ānanda'', happiness.

So there is a belief that if somebody acquires a lot of merit, ''puṇyam'', he will go to '''''Indraloka'', ''Candraloka'', higher ''lokas'',''' and he will experience happiness for a very long time. I have doubts about this statement — "for a very long time" — because '''''ānanda''''' means to go beyond time. And even if it is from the suffering point of view only that we count time. So even if a person so-called goes to a higher ''loka'' and lives for, let us say, a long time — how does that long time pass? Just like if you have a wonderful holiday — one week, ten days — it looks as though in a minute the whole holiday trip is over, because it gave you so much happiness.

We have to understand and add that. Otherwise, if you went there and the hotel refused to accommodate you, or the aeroplane was cancelled because of some reason, and your whole holiday is ruined — I am not talking about that. Everything went off very well, and one week passed as if only one hour had passed — if at all, not even one minute.

So even if a thousand aeons pass, it will pass as if — because the more happy you are, the more you get out of the limitation of time, space, and causation.
----

== On the Nature of Desire, Imagination, and ''Ātmajñāna'' ==
So what is it we desire? What do we imagine? "I want to be happy forever." When a young man wants to get married, when a young woman wants to get married, what is the hope of this young man and young woman? That as long as we live, we will live very happily. Such a thing is a mistaken notion — it is not going to happen. At best you can say: reluctant acceptance of the facts of life. So therefore we remain unfulfilled.

And what should be done for that? The Upaniṣad has to tell: it is not enough to say that you acquire ''puṇyam'' and you will be a very happy person. No, it says you will not be a happy person — you remain unfulfilled, you feel you are very limited, you want unlimited joy. And therefore the Upaniṣad, this mantra, says: '''आत्मानमेव लोकमुपास्ते''' '''''(बृ. उ. १ । ४ । 15)][Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.15''']''you must worship your true God, Brahman — in other words, God. You must realise God.

And what happens? '''आत्मानमेव लोकमुपास्ते न हास्य कर्म क्षीयते''' ātmānameva lokamupāste na hāsya karma kṣīyate|A very interesting word: ''ātman'' is compared to a ''loka'', a world . It is called ''ātmaloka''. And when a person — if you go to America, you are in the country called America; if you go to France, you are in a country called France or UK. But what is this ''ātmaloka''? It means: "I know I am Brahman," and '''that experience is called ''ātmaloka''.'''

And one who realises, "I am not the body-mind, etc., I am the ''ātman''" — what happens?'''हास्य कर्म क्षीयते''' '''''hāsya karma kṣīyate''''' '''''(बृ. उ. १ । ४ । 15)'''][Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.15]'' His ''karma'', that means ''karmaphala'', that is happiness, will never get destroyed, because the nature of the ''ātman'' is sat(सत्) chit(चित्) ananda(आनन्द) is so. '''अस्माद्ध्येवात्मनो यद्यत्कामयते तत्तत्सृजते asmāddhyevātmano yadyatkāmayate tattatsṛjate||Brih.Up 1.4.॥ १५ ॥'''Therefore whatever way this man wants to enjoy — and this is a redundant ''śloka'', actually, or these lines are redundant — that is to say, a knower of Brahman can enjoy anything he wants. What we need to understand is: once a person knows "I am Brahman, I am of the nature of ''ānanda'', bliss," the question of his desiring — "I am incomplete, I am not happy; if I go to ''Indraloka'' I will be happy, if I embrace a beautiful angel then I will be happy" — no, such a desire will never come.

But to make ignorant people like us understand — what do I get by realising Brahman? — the Upaniṣad answers: what will you not get? You will get everything. How do I get it? Whatever you desire, '''यद्यत्कामयते''(बृ. उ. १ । ४ । 15)][Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.15]''''' that enjoyment will be there instantaneously — you will be able to enjoy.

This is a very wonderful psychological fact. I have given many examples. Suppose you are dreaming. That before you went to bed you had a terrible desire to eat some sweet — as an example. And you went to bed, and then you find yourself in a dream: somebody has invited you to his house, and the very sweets you love have been prepared or bought, and they offer them to you: "Eat as much as you want." And you are eating. Now are you happy or not?

You have to imagine what I am going to tell you. If you have some unfulfilled desires, and if you have got a strong power of imagination — you just imagine: mentally, close your eyes, mentally imagine, "I am eating this first-class sweet." And there is no time limit, there is no counting of the sweets — as many sweets as you want, as long as you want, you can enjoy — provided you have that imagination.

Is this a valid proposition, or just a meaningless statement? Just imagine where was Gopālā's mother when she was absorbed in her Gopāla. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: "Her mind is now in the presence of Goloka, in the presence of Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa." And she came back to this consciousness and confirmed: "I was enjoying everything in the presence of my darling child Kṛṣṇa." This is called imaginary enjoyment.

In fact everything is imaginary only. Even if you think somebody has brought from a wonderful sweetmeat shop your favourite sweet — how do you know? Suppose this fellow bought it from somewhere and put it in a K.C. Das container, sealed it cleverly, and brought it to you. And because you are under the delusion that anything made by this particular sweetmeat shop will be of a quality sweet — when you are eating, tell me: do you feel it is an inferior sweet or a superior sweet? Of course, if you are a very discerning person, it is possible to discriminate. But for most people, it is the imagination.

A young man looks at a young woman and says, "She is Miss Universe." And as far as he is concerned, she is Miss Universe. Others may judge her differently. The point I want to illustrate is: if we can develop that beautiful power of imagination where we are enjoying things, then at any time, as long as we want, we can enjoy things imaginatively. And imaginary enjoyment — like dream happiness — will not be any less than what we call the waking-state happiness. It will be even much better, without any limitations.
----

== ''Ātmānam Eva Lokam Upāsīta'': Strive to Manifest Your Potential Divinity ==
Therefore the Upaniṣad continues: '''''ātmānam eva lokam upāsīta'' स य आत्मानमेव लोकमुपास्ते ''(बृ. उ. १ । ४ । 15)][Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.15]''—''' one should strive to manifest this potential divinity, either through work or philosophy, or by psychology, or by selfless activity, or by one or more, or all of this put together — and be free. That is what Svāmī Vivekānanda had said. And such a person's happiness will never come to an end: '''''na hi asya karma kṣīyate'', ''na hi asya karmaphala kṣīyate''.''(बृ. उ. १ । ४ । 15)][Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.15]'''''

So that is what he says: try to realise God — you will get everything. What happens if a person cannot, or is even not interested in spirituality, not interested in realising God? That is what he says: '''अथ यो ह वा अस्माल्लोकात्स्वं लोकमदृष्ट्वा प्रैति स एनमविदितो न भुनक्ति यथा वेदो वाननूक्तोऽन्यद्वा कर्माकृतं atho yo ha va asman lokastvam lokamadrishta praithee sa enam aviditi na bhunakthi ''yathā yathā vedho ananuktaṃ anyad vā karmakṛtam''''' —'''''(बृ. उ. १ । ४ । 15)'''][Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.15]'' if a man departs from this world without realising his own true self, and his own true self being unknown does not protect him — just like any knowledge, if it is not put into practical usage, will not give us the result. You may know everything in the world, but if you do not put it into particular action, then it will not help us at all.

And again the Upaniṣad tells: so whoever realises this ''ātman'', his ''ānanda'', his bliss, will never come to an end, because it is infinite, it is one without a second, and most important, it is his own self.

So he who doesn't realise everything will have to come back again and again. Therefore it is better that we wake up: '''''uttiṣṭhata jāgrata prāpya varān nibodhata''''' — '''उत्तिष्ठत जाग्रत प्राप्य वरान्निबोधत ।Katha Upanishad -Verse 1.3.14''' that is the message of this one .fourth.ten of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.
----

== Conclusion: The Unified Purpose of All ''Varṇāśrama Dharmas'' ==
In this eleventh to seventeenth mantras — all the ''varṇāśrama dharmas'' have only one purpose: that is to help us evolve towards our own true nature. So from ''tamas'' to ''rajas'', to ''sattva''. From student life — what I call: learn about what is life, what is the goal of life — then experiment and experience. Then withdraw, because by this time we know: "I will not get what I am seeking in this world, but I will get what I am seeking from God." Turn to God, face away from the world, turn towards God. And as we progress through contemplation, a time will come when we will be absorbed only in God, and become one with God in the end.

That is the message of this eleventh section and several other mantras also. Beautiful mantras — 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.1.4 Lecture 31 on 09 May 2026

2026-07-15T06:42:51Z

Gayatri: /* Mantra 11: The Creation of Brāhmaṇas and Kṣatriyas */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH

OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.
----

== Recap: The Goal of Life and the Nature of Brahman ==
As we saw, a great discussion was going on: what is the goal of life? Some seekers understood that realisation of Brahman alone is the goal of life. And what does one gain? They also understood the gains — ''sarvam idaṃ bhavati'', so ''sarva bhāva prāpti''. A person who realises Brahman becomes ''sarvam'', becomes ''pūrṇam''.

Then, how to attain it? We have seen also that this whole creation is a play of Brahman, so that he wants to entertain himself. It is like playing a solitaire game, where one tries to deceive oneself, and then catch oneself, and then go on laughing: "I caught myself!" So it is what is called ''līlā''.
----

== Summary of the Tenth Mantra: ''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi'' ==
In our last class, we completed one of the most important mantras — the tenth mantra of the fourth section of the first chapter of the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. What is the essence of this tenth mantra? This tenth mantra unfolds and establishes that there is only one reality, that is called Brahman — call it God, call it Allāh, by whatever blessed name you desire to call.

And what are we? The ''jīva'', the individual soul, is essentially identical to that Brahman, because if Brahman is everything, if Brahman is the cause, then this entire universe is the effect. And the effect can never be different from the cause.

Then what is it we are experiencing now? This is called ''saṃsāra''. ''Saṃsāra'' means seeing everything as different. I am born — that is different. I am surviving — that is different. One day I will have to disappear from this world — that is also a change. This entire birth, growth, sustenance, old age, disease, and death — this is called ''ṣaḍvikāra'', the sixfold changes. Everyone has to go through them. ''Saṃsarati'' means continuous change.

And Brahman is one — eternal, unchanging, one without a second. So how can we equate this world with Brahman? But this thinking — really, Brahman has not created, has not become, has not become ''jīva'', is not thinking as the ''jīva'' — and all these thoughts are only from our mind's point of view, from the ''avidyā'' point of view. All questions — "Who am I? Why am I here? How did I happen to come here? Why did Brahman create? He could have created a better world" — all these questions are products of ignorance.

So long as we are ignorant, so long as we do not know that we are Brahman, these questions will not cease. So long as a person is experiencing a snake, his fear will never vanish.
----

== The Awakening of the Spiritual Seeker ==
But at some point of time, a person gets tired. First — and this is a very great psychological point — first, all of us get so much of pleasure from various things. In fact, we try to minimise all unhappiness and all suffering, and maximise all our happiness. This seems to be the goal of life for a very, very long time.

And then comes the awakening: that it is impossible to achieve this objective. Therefore there must be another way, where I can be without any fear of death, ignorance, and suffering. And for that purpose, the search is now withdrawn from the external to the internal. Such persons are called spiritual seekers.

Then that person, with the help of the Guru who interprets the scripture, slowly destroys the ''avidyā''. Now, what Advaita wants to convey to us is that ''vidyā'', or true ''brahmavidyā'', or ''ātmavidyā'' — knowledge of one's own self — is never lost, can never be lost. But it is covered up. So every spiritual practice is only to remove this covering.

So destruction of ''avidyā'', or destruction of the ''adhyāsa'' (superimposition), is called spiritual practice. And as soon as we succeed in removing this ignorance — ignorance of who we really are, not what we think we are — the moment we remove the wrong notion totally, ''vidyā'' stands revealed. We do not need to acquire ''vidyā''; it is already there.

Just like the removal of darkness manifests the light automatically — not that after removing the darkness, like somebody sitting outside, we have vacated a seat, there is a vacant chair and you can come inside. No, not like that. Removal of ''adhyāsa'' or ''avidyā'' alone is spiritual practice. And then we realise: we were never bound. What we were wholeheartedly seeking, we already have, as it were — we are that.

Just, we have to remove the covering. For that, a ''mahāvākya'' tremendously helps. And the essential point in this tenth mantra is ''ahaṃ brahmāsmi''. And then — ''ātmany eva upāsīta'' — one should therefore strive to realise this Brahman alone.
----

== Overview: Mantras 11 to 17 of the Fourth Section ==
Now we are going to proceed. This particular fourth section has got seventeen mantras. We covered more or less ten mantras, and some mantras I have already described — especially, I think, in the eighth mantra, how this creation has started. Now again, from the eleventh to the seventeenth, this fourth section gives us two important ideas.

So creation has been described earlier. But to maintain this creation and to see that life goes on merrily without any problem, then we have to create those people who tell us how to run, how to live life, and how not to do certain actions which will only stop our further evolution — or even take us back to the previous state. How to stop that? And then slowly, how to progress?
----

== The Origin of the Four Varṇas (''Cāturvarṇyam'') ==
So Brahman has created four types of castes. This is the origin of the caste system in Hinduism. God himself has created it, and Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa affirms it. So what is the purpose? Maintenance.

But the peculiarity of this Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad — what do we mean by ''cāturvarṇyam'', the four castes? The Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad elaborates and says that because ''sṛṣṭi'' also contains gods and goddesses, the entire creation can be divided into three: ''ādhyātmika'', ''ādhibhautika'', and ''ādhidaivika''.

Each one of us, as individuals, is called ''ādhyātmika''. Then the entire external world, which everyone of us is experiencing and formulating certain ''saṃskāras'' through our experiences, is called ''ādhibhautika''. But to have an overall management — how to make a person behave properly, do this, do not do this, the do's and don'ts — certain powers are created. They are called ''adhiṣṭhātṛ devatās''. And also, how to live life: for that purpose, four castes were created.

Now what the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad wants to add is that it is not only at our level, but even at the level of the gods, four ''varṇas'' are there. So there is a ''deva-brāhmaṇa'', ''deva-kṣatriya'', ''deva-vaiśya'', and ''deva-śūdra''.
----

== The Three ''Guṇas'' and Their Combinations ==
Now, what are these castes? Castes are nothing but divided on the basis of ''guṇas''. As we know, ''guṇas'' are three. So certain combinations — and this is a very important point — no ''guṇa'' by itself can be effective. It is only the combination of every ''guṇa'' that counts.

How many combinations are possible? First: ''sattvaguṇa'' dominates, ''rajoguṇa'' supports, ''tamoguṇa'' helps — that is called ''brāhmaṇa''. Second: ''rajoguṇa'' dominates, ''sattvaguṇa'' helps, ''tamoguṇa'' also helps — that is called ''kṣatriya'', or the rulers and warriors. What Plato or Socrates used to call the second category.

The first category, according to Socrates, is called philosophers — those who set the goal of life crystal clearly. But to maintain this order, ''kṣatriyas'' are necessary, with tremendous power. They are the kings, they are the warriors, they are the leaders of men. They fall under the second category and are dominated by ''rajoguṇa''. They have to be extremely alert and intolerant of any evil that is being perpetuated.

People were advised according to their castes what special activities they would have to do. So for example, for the ''brāhmaṇa'' — study of the Vedas, leading an ideal life — that is the speciality of ''brāhmaṇas''. For ''kṣatriyas'' — protecting the weak, subduing the strong and evil, and seeing that society runs smoothly. That oiling process of this machine called society — they are called ''kṣatriyas'', or the warrior class.

And people are advised: you have to worship God, you have certain duties in life. For that purpose, ''pañcamahāyajñas'', special worships, special ''upāsanās'', have been given. And to see that they are done properly, many things are needed, many items are needed. So one has to get that supply. The persons who see that everybody requires food and materials — and at one place something grows, another place something else grows — these third castes are called the business people, ''vaiśyas''.

Their business is such that they have international connections. If some excess product is there, they remove it, take it where it is needed and not available. And what is available there — say, for example, certain exotic things are not available in western countries, only India can give, especially spices. That is why everybody wanted to come and conquer India, so that they could have free access. India was also known as a treasure house of gold, silver, and many other precious minerals and metals.

So that is why everybody's sight was drawn there. That is why Muslims had come, that's why English, Dutch, Portuguese, French people — everybody had come. Finally, only the Muslims and the English people dominated and looted. And that we should not blame them, because we welcomed them and we helped them to loot everything, because of our non-cooperation. Even now it is going on.

So the third class — what is called ''rajo''-dominated, greatly helped by ''rajas'' and ''tamas'' in equal proportions — they are called ''vaiśyas''. But there are different types of activities: harvesting, cultivating, cleaning, storing, bringing things. Workers are needed — they are called ''śūdras''.

And it is not that a particular caste of people have been created. No. According to their ''guṇa'', where ''tamoguṇa'' is more — the person needs to be told, "You have to do this," etc. They cannot think for themselves; somebody has to continuously direct them: "Do this, don't do this, do this after that." Such people are called ''śūdras''.

And in every society, in every age, we get these people. Not that it is only from the beginning so. For that purpose, from Brahman, having created this universe with all the ''pañcabhūtas'', he then created ''deva-varṇas'' — ''deva-brāhmaṇa'', ''deva-kṣatriya'', ''deva-vaiśya'', ''deva-śūdra''.
----

== Intelligence in Nature: An Illustrative Digression ==
And this Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, from the eleventh mantra onwards — from the eleventh section onwards — is trying to elaborate one after the other that with the help of everyone doing their duties properly, everybody will be progressing. So ''śūdras'' will develop higher consciousness, then they become more ''rajo''-dominated, and then later on they will be dominated by ''sattvaguṇa''. That is how this is a slow evolution from a low state of consciousness to a higher state of consciousness — that is what this section wants to tell.

Just as Brahman created the ''deva-varṇas'' — the four castes of the ''devas'', the gods and goddesses — we have to understand that exactly in a similar manner, all human beings were also created. So ''deva-brāhmaṇas'' degenerated into ''manuṣya-brāhmaṇas'', ''deva-kṣatriyas'' into ''manuṣya-kṣatriyas'', ''deva-vaiśyas'' into ''manuṣya-vaiśyas'', and ''deva-śūdras'' into ''manuṣya-śūdras''.

Now, though it is not necessary — this is a point we can add here — does this division apply only to human beings or to non-human beings also? Yes. Take one simple example: the story of the honey bee. There is a queen, there are warriors to protect the hive, there are workers who will be going and gathering — it is such a marvellous story. How much intelligence is needed!

Just to give one small example: there are some ant colonies that were being flooded, and they had to find a safer nest. What do these ants do? They have to cross sometimes huge expanses of water. And individually, if they do it, it is not going to help. So they join hands and legs and form a huge, like a boat or a huge mat. The entire rest of the colony gathers onto that mat, as it were, and they float. And these front ants slowly guide it to a place where the danger of water is not there.

That's why if anybody scientifically examines either a beehive or an anthill, you will see how much intelligence is there. When you look at some birds — there are some birds who create such beautiful nests, and they are fully aware, fully conscious that snakes are there to hunt them. So there are particular species of birds I have seen in a video: they create a nest with various doors, and the real room where they store the eggs will be practically like Lucknow's maze, the ''Bhūlbhulāiyā''. The snake will poke into several nests and not find anything. Finally, disappointed, most snakes leave.

Why am I citing this example? To show how much intelligence is really working there, albeit unconsciously. Many squirrels gather nuts when winter is coming — they have to survive in their burrows, to tide them over during that cold season when they cannot come out. What do the bears do? They hibernate. How much intelligence!

This is only to place before you how much intelligence these creatures have. So Brahman manifested himself as the world, then created various animals, then created human beings. Then a world order has to be established. For that, ''adhiṣṭhātṛ devatās'' were created. And that is from where the ''karma-siddhānta'' has come — these gods are watching us. According to our ''karma'', if we worship them, they reward us; if we neglect and misbehave, they keep count and will try to correct us. It is not a punishment — it is a correction.
----

== The ''Varṇas'' as a Framework for Evolution ==
So this is how ''deva-varṇas'' and ''brahman-varṇas'' are created. And then, what is the purpose of all this? Right from the lowest caste, we have to strive — through the devout performance of our respective duties — to evolve. That is how a ''śūdra'' becomes a ''vaiśya'', meaning the terrible ''tamoguṇa'' now becomes mixed up with more of ''rajoguṇa'', and then he enters into more ''sāttvikaguṇa'' and becomes a ''kṣatriya''. This is a state of progress.

We have to understand: it is not a privilege to oppress and suppress and selfishly hoard everything for one's own self. And whenever we neglect this, the ''karmaphala'' will come with a big blow. Study history — this is what happens. And this history has been repeated in our ''Purāṇas'' in the form of the continuous warfare between the ''suras'' and ''asuras'', gods and demons.

What is this fight? The fight is: whenever somebody neglects and doesn't live a proper life appropriate to their station in life, then ''karmaphala'' will come in the form of suffering. Here, a demon is nothing but a creator of — or an excuse for creating — suffering. Suffering awakens these people. Then they think deeply: "We have neglected the commandments of God." That's why in the Bible it is called the Ten Commandments, and we have got ''dharmaśāstras'' — nothing but ''vidhi'' and ''niṣedha'', the do's and don'ts.

Then we slowly acquire faith, and we experiment and get some results. Our faith deepens. That is how we progress.

The whole thing is meant — involution is meant — so that we can evolve. If I have to summarise the entire creation: first, it is nothing but involution, coming down to the inorganic. Thereafter, evolution starts with the sprouting of ''prāṇa'' in the one-celled body — call it amoeba, by whatever name — and slowly multiplying and evolving physically, brain-wise, then mentally, then spiritually, finally reaching the destination, that is, reaching home from where we have come. This is the idea.
----

== A Note on Methodology: How to Read a Text ==
Now I will give you a gist and summary of these mantras from the eleventh to the seventeenth. Six or seven mantras are there for us to deal with. Once we understand the gist of this — which I have already given as the summary of the summaries — I am going into a little more detail. And then we will go through the proper mantras; it will be a breeze to understand them.

This is how we have to read any book. This is the technique by which one can grasp the most in the least amount of time, and grasp more intelligently and retain it for a longer time. First of all, you read the foreword. The author, if he is a good author, crystal clearly outlines: "This is the subject about which I am going to talk, and on this subject, especially I am going to emphasise these particular points of view." And then he elaborates them, giving examples, etc.

So it may be a 300-page book or a 400-page book. At the end of every chapter — every paragraph has a connection with the next paragraph, if it is intelligent writing. Every chapter has a connection to the next chapter. And at the end of every chapter: "These are the special points we have discussed so far in this chapter," and then: "This is the connection between the previous chapter and the next chapter." This is what Śaṅkarācārya calls ''sambandhabhāṣya'' — the relationship between the previous mantra and the next mantra, previous chapter and next chapter, previous section and next section. If we can follow this methodology, it will be marvellous.
----

== Before Creation: Brahman Alone ==
So what happened before creation? Who was there? Brahman alone existed — ''ekaṃ sat, advitīyam'', ''sadeva saumya idam agra āsīt''. In the Chāndogya Upaniṣad, we have seen, in the sixth chapter, that only Brahman alone existed. That is what the Brihadāraṇyaka also repeats.

So then Brahman wanted to create. Now, so many people question: why did Brahman have to create? Could he not have kept quiet? Then we need not have all these classes, this ''saṃsāra'', this — "create a problem, then show a solution." No. This is called ''līlā''. And you cannot complain, because: who is the creator? Brahman. Who is the creation? Brahman. Who has degenerated or involved? Brahman. Who is evolving? Brahman. That is the fun of it — he does it for fun, and he knows it with full consciousness.

So this is what we have to understand. Before creation, Brahman alone existed. And to ensure the proper functioning of this created universe, Brahman created the powerful castes — so ''kṣatriyas'', and earlier he said ''agni'' — ''agni'' means ''brāhmaṇa'' — so Indra, Varuṇa, etc. While the ''kṣatriya'' power, the warrior class, represents power, its source is none other than Brahman.

And that is why in the ''rājasūya'' sacrifice, the king has to sit below a ''brāhmaṇa'' who is performing the ''agni''. So a ''kṣatriya'' has to honour his own source.

To understand it in common sense language: why is the person doing this ''agni'' or ''yāga'', etc.? Because he learns from the ''brāhmaṇa'' that the goal of life is to manifest your potential divinity. And you are a ''kṣatriya'', and the duty of the ''kṣatriya'' is to protect, and also to evolve one's own self. So if you can do some ''agni'' or ''yāgas'', that is not the only duty. Your main duty is to see that society functions as it is supposed to function. But since you are also a human being with individual desires to fulfil, you can do some ''agni'', ''yāgas'', etc.

And only powerful, wealthy ''kṣatriyas'' can do some of these. And that is — at the very beginning of the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad — we said that what is called ''aśvamedha'', as ''virāṭ'', a king can do, with all the elaborations and all four ''varṇas'' necessary. But if somebody doesn't have that capacity, you just sit and do mental ''upāsanā'' — it will give you exactly the same result as if you are the king and you are doing it meticulously from the beginning to the end. That is why that ''virāṭ upāsanā'' and its continuation was there. First it is the ''aśva'', then it is the ''agni'', then it is the ''prāṇa'' — we have seen that one already.

You will always have to keep the essential points in mind, otherwise my talk will be what is called dissected, non-related topics.
----

== Mantra 11: The Creation of ''Brāhmaṇas'' and ''Kṣatriyas'' ==
ब्रह्म वा इदमग्र आसीदेकमेव तदेक सन्न व्यभवत्। तच्छ्रेयो रूपमत्यसृजत क्षत्रं यान्येतानि देवत्रा क्षत्राणीन्द्रो वरुणः सोमो रुद्रः पर्जन्यो यमो मृत्युरीशान इति। तस्मात् क्षत्रात्परं नास्ति तस्माद्ब्राह्मणः क्षत्रियमधस्तादुपास्ते राजसूये क्षत्र एव तद्यशो दधाति सैषा क्षत्रस्य योनिर्यद्ब्रह्म। तस्माद्यद्यपि राजा परमतां गच्छति ब्रह्मैवान्तत उपनिश्रयति स्वां योनिं य उ एन हिनस्ति स्वा स योनिमृच्छति स पापीयान्भवति यथा श्रेयास हिसित्वा॥-'''बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse ११'''

==== Transliteration ====
brahma vā idamagra āsīdekameva tadeka sanna vyabhavat| tacchreyo rūpamatyasṛjata kṣatraṁ yānyetāni devatrā kṣatrāṇīndro varuṇaḥ somo rudraḥ parjanyo yamo mṛtyurīśāna iti| tasmāt kṣatrātparaṁ nāsti tasmādbrāhmaṇaḥ kṣatriyamadhastādupāste rājasūye kṣatra eva tadyaśo dadhāti saiṣā kṣatrasya yoniryadbrahma| tasmādyadyapi rājā paramatāṁ gacchati brahmaivāntata upaniśrayati svāṁ yoniṁ ya u ena hinasti svā sa yonimṛcchati sa pāpīyānbhavati yathā śreyāsa hisitvā||

So the essence of the eleventh mantra is: Brahman created what is called ''brāhmaṇas'' and ''kṣatriyas''.
----

== Mantra 12: The Creation of ''Vaiśyas'' ==
स नैव व्यभवत् स विशमसृजत यान्येतानि देवजातानि गणश आख्यायन्ते वसवो रुद्रा आदित्या विश्वे देवा मरुत इति॥-'''-बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse १२'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa naiva vyabhavat sa viśamasṛjata yānyetāni devajātāni gaṇaśa ākhyāyante vasavo rudrā ādityā viśve devā maruta iti||

Then the twelfth mantra: power alone, strength alone, was not enough. Because for the sake of wealth and social nourishment, many things are necessary — suppliers of many things. And therefore ''deva-vaiśyas'' were created. That is described in mantra 12. So like ''vasus'', ''rudras'' — these ''vaiśyas'' were created.
----

== Mantra 13: The Creation of ''Śūdras'' ==
स नैव व्यभवत् स शौद्रं वर्णमसृजत पूषणमियं वै पूषेय हीद सर्वं पुष्यति यदिदं किंच॥--'''बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse १३'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa naiva vyabhavat sa śaudraṁ varṇamasṛjata pūṣaṇamiyaṁ vai pūṣeya hīda sarvaṁ puṣyati yadidaṁ kiṁca||

But creation of ''brāhmaṇas'', creation of ''kṣatriyas'', creation of ''vaiśyas'' alone will not do. There is so much physical, menial labour one has to do. When a person has vast lands for cultivation, the cultivators — only ''śūdras'' can do it. And then harvesting, and then storing, and then protecting them — so many things one has to do. For that purpose, the ''śūdras'' have to be created.

Mantra 13: for service and support, the ''śūdra-varṇa''. Here also, ''deva-śūdra'' — you have to remember — ''pūṣan'', that is ''pṛthvī'', was created. Here the earth is called ''pūṣā'', because it is she who is cultivable, who yields, sustains, supports, and nourishes all of us.
----

== Mantra 14: The Creation of ''Dharma'' ==
स नैव व्यभवत्तच्छ्रेयोरूपमत्यसृजत धर्मं तदेतत्क्षत्रस्य क्षत्रं यद्धर्मस्तस्माद्धर्मात्परं नास्त्यथो अबलीयान्बलीयासमाशसते धर्मेण यथा राज्ञैवं यो वै स धर्मः सत्यं वै तत्तस्मात्सत्यं वदन्तमाहुर्धर्मं वदतीति धर्मं वा वदन्त सत्यं वदतीत्येतद्ध्येवैतदुभयं भवति॥-'''बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse १४'''

==== Transliteration ====
sa naiva vyabhavattacchreyorūpamatyasṛjata dharmaṁ tadetatkṣatrasya kṣatraṁ yaddharmastasmāddharmātparaṁ nāstyatho abalīyānbalīyāsamāśasate dharmeṇa yathā rājñaivaṁ yo vai sa dharmaḥ satyaṁ vai tattasmātsatyaṁ vadantamāhurdharmaṁ vadatīti dharmaṁ vā vadanta satyaṁ vadatītyetaddhyevaitadubhayaṁ bhavati||

Then the fourteenth mantra tells us something extraordinary. Here are the ''kṣatriyas'', here are the ''brāhmaṇas'', here are the ''vaiśyas'', here are the ''śūdras''. And there are also infinite variations possible. Suppose some ''kṣatriya'' has got tremendous power, or some ''brāhmaṇa'' has tremendous knowledge. Then he can become very arrogant — that possibility is there, because ''avidyā'' is ruling. Similarly, a powerful king, like a powerful politician, can do whatever he likes. If somebody praises him, he will bestow the highest power and all his goodies and goodwill. And if he doesn't like somebody, however worthy that somebody may be, he will demote and destroy them. This is the way — just look at the newspaper, that is what you will see everywhere going on.

So to protect against this, Brahman created something marvellous — it is called ''dharma''. So a ''brāhmaṇa'' has ''brāhmaṇa-dharma'', a ''kṣatriya'' has ''kṣatriya-dharma'', a ''vaiśya'' has ''vaiśya-dharma'', a ''śūdra'' has ''śūdra-dharma''. What does it mean? It means these people, according to their own caste — and they were created and classified as belonging to that caste because a particular quality is dominating in them, assisted of course by the other two qualities.

Just as in a ''brāhmaṇa'', ''sattva'' is the dominant quality, ''rajas'' is the helpful quality, and ''tamas'' is another one. Here ''rajas'' is more powerful and more helpful — that's why he retains. So it is not according to birth; caste is according to quality.

So that is what we need to do. And now a very interesting analogy can be given. There are so many AI companies — like OpenAI, Microsoft, Google of course, Meta, and so many others coming. And China is producing marvellous AI, which India cannot even look up to. Not because we lack intelligence, but we lack that ''puruṣakāra'', that energy. Full of jealousy, intolerance — we cannot tolerate our own. Our greatest ''adharma'' is to pull down the other person as much as possible. "I may not get anything, but I will not tolerate another person getting even a little better than what I have." This is the main cause. If this cause is not addressed, however much money the government may spend, we are not going to improve at all — whatever party comes into power. What type of persons are there using that power — that is most important.

So Brahman has created ''dharma''. And very interestingly, ''dharma'' and ''satya'' are equated. ''Satya'' is understanding what the proper action is to be done and the proper way to do it. And ''dharma'' is putting it into absolute practice. That is why you cannot separate ''satya'' and ''dharma''. We will come to that.

So in this fourteenth mantra, Brahman, after creating the four divine castes, now created ''dharma'', so that ''dharma'' keeps them under control. If anybody transgresses the ''dharma'', then ''dharma'' itself becomes ''Yama'' — ''Yama Dharmarāja''. That is why Yama is called ''Yama Dharmarāja''. ''Yama Dharmarāja'' will give appropriate ''karma'' for all.

This is ''dharma'' — ''dharma'' is the power behind power. The controlling power of any power is called ''dharma''. Where ''dharma'' exists, even a weak person can overcome a strong one. That is why we say ''dharma'' and ''satya'' are one. In the ultimate instance, it is only ''dharma'' and ''satya'' which become victorious — temporarily maybe something may not be there. That is the essence of the fourteenth mantra.
----

== Mantra 15: The Purpose of All Action — ''Ātmajñāna'' ==
तदेतद्ब्रह्म क्षत्रं विट् शूद्रस्तदग्निनैव देवेषु ब्रह्माभवद्ब्राह्मणो मनुष्येषु क्षत्रियेण क्षत्रियो वैश्येन वैश्यः शूद्रेण शूद्रस्तस्मादग्नावेव देवेषु लोकमिच्छन्ते ब्राह्मणे मनुष्येष्वेताभ्या हि रूपाभ्यां ब्रह्माभवत्। अथ यो ह वा अस्माल्लोकात्स्वं लोकमदृष्ट्वा प्रैति स एनमविदितो न भुनक्ति यथा वेदो वाऽननूक्तोऽन्यद्वा कर्माकृतं यदि ह वा अप्यनेवंविन्महत्पुण्यं कर्म करोति तद्धास्यान्ततः क्षीयत एवात्मानमेव लोकमुपासीत स य आत्मानमेव लोकमुपास्ते न हास्य कर्म क्षीयते। अस्माद्ध्येवात्मनो यद्यत्कामयते तत्तत्सृजते॥--'''बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse १५'''

==== Transliteration ====
tadetadbrahma kṣatraṁ viṭ śūdrastadagninaiva deveṣu brahmābhavadbrāhmaṇo manuṣyeṣu kṣatriyeṇa kṣatriyo vaiśyena vaiśyaḥ śūdreṇa śūdrastasmādagnāveva deveṣu lokamicchante brāhmaṇe manuṣyeṣvetābhyā hi rūpābhyāṁ brahmābhavat| atha yo ha vā asmāllokātsvaṁ lokamadṛṣṭvā praiti sa enamavidito na bhunakti yathā vedo vā'nanūkto'nyadvā karmākṛtaṁ yadi ha vā apyanevaṁvinmahatpuṇyaṁ karma karoti taddhāsyāntataḥ kṣīyata evātmānameva lokamupāsīta sa ya ātmānameva lokamupāste na hāsya karma kṣīyate| asmāddhyevātmano yadyatkāmayate tattatsṛjate||

The fifteenth mantra: this social order exists among both gods and men. So if a person performs many holy works without realising his own self, those works are only temporary. Only when a person knows who he is — obtains, through the obtainment of self-knowledge, ''ātmajñāna'' — then these works become complete and help him achieve the goal of life, which is to know ''ahaṃ brahmāsmi''.

So mantra 15 is reminding us: the whole purpose of creation is to catch hold of ''dharma'' and ''satya''. That is why in the eleventh ''anuvāka'' of the Taittirīya Upaniṣad — the rest is elaboration.

The social order exists among both gods and men, as I said earlier. For example: Agni is the ''deva-brāhmaṇa'', Indra is the ''deva-kṣatriya'', the ''vasus'' etc. are the ''deva-vaiśyas'', and ''pṛthvī'' is called the ''deva-śūdra'', etc.

In this fifteenth mantra, it says we have to evolve slowly. What is evolution? Absolutely behaving as we are supposed to behave. And this we get from ''dharmaśāstras'': if you are a ''śūdra'', this is your ''dharma''; you should not do your ''adharma''. And if you follow — so if a person discharges his duty as a worship of God, that is the essence of ''Karma Yoga''. Then slowly he progresses. And ultimately, by the grace of God, he will become a ''vaiśya'', he will become a ''kṣatriya'' — that is called improvement, progress in the state of consciousness. Ultimately a person will become a ''brāhmaṇa'', that is, a seeker of Brahman. And then he will practise, and then he becomes a realised soul. That is the most wonderful thing.

What is the fifteenth mantra saying? Let me first quote how Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa beautifully puts it: any number of zeros without a one in the front are completely zeros — valueless. But put one, and as you go on adding zero after zero, the value increases: 10, 100, 1,000, 10,000, 100,000, 1,000,000, etc. This is what the mantra is telling — that if every activity is not directed towards reaching our own true nature, or Brahman, or ''ātmajñāna'', all these works will only give temporary effects.

The mantra is not telling that they will not give effect — they will. But again and again and again, we fall from that high state, and again we have to do it, until we learn the lesson. That all these works will give permanent result only when we offer them as worship of God.
----

== Mantra 16: The ''Jīvanmukta'' — The Liberated Soul ==
अथो अयं वा आत्मा सर्वेषां भूतानां लोकः स यज्जुहोति यद्यजते तेन देवानां लोकोऽथ यदनुब्रूते तेन ऋषीणामथ यत्पितृभ्यो निपृणाति यत्प्रजामिच्छते तेन पितॄणामथ यन्मनुष्यान्वासयते यदेभ्योऽशनं ददाति तेन मनुष्याणामथ यत्पशुभ्यस्तृणोदकं विन्दति तेन पशूनां यदस्य गृहेषु श्वापदा वयास्यापिपीलिकाभ्य उपजीवन्ति तेन तेषां लोको यथा ह वै स्वाय लोकायारिष्टिमिच्छेदेव हैवंविदे सर्वाणि भूतान्यरिष्टिमिच्छन्ति तद्वा एतद्विदितं मीमासितम्॥--'''बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse १६'''

==== Transliteration ====
atho ayaṁ vā ātmā sarveṣāṁ bhūtānāṁ lokaḥ sa yajjuhoti yadyajate tena devānāṁ loko'tha yadanubrūte tena ṛṣīṇāmatha yatpitṛbhyo nipṛṇāti yatprajāmicchate tena pitṝṇāmatha yanmanuṣyānvāsayate yadebhyo'śanaṁ dadāti tena manuṣyāṇāmatha yatpaśubhyastṛṇodakaṁ vindati tena paśūnāṁ yadasya gṛheṣu śvāpadā vayāsyāpipīlikābhya upajīvanti tena teṣāṁ loko yathā ha vai svāya lokāyāriṣṭimicchedeva haivaṁvide sarvāṇi bhūtānyariṣṭimicchanti tadvā etadviditaṁ mīmāsitam||

Then mantra 16 beautifully puts it. Suppose a person, through the evolution from ''śūdra'' to ''brāhmaṇa'', from ''tamoguṇa'' to ''sattvaguṇa'' — then the ''śūdra'' with ''sattvaguṇa'' will slowly realise, like that person who was saved from ''tamoguṇa'', then saved from ''rajoguṇa''. ''Sattvaguṇa'' alone saves — it brings him to his home, his village. "You go there."

When the man invited, "You have saved my life, I am eternally grateful, please come to my house — we will be blessed to honour you," he said, "No, I am also a robber." That means: all ''guṇas'' belong to ''sṛṣṭi''. We have to go beyond ''sṛṣṭi'' — to what was before ''sṛṣṭi'', which is Brahman.

So that is how a knower of the ''ātman'' becomes a world for all beings. Because a knower of Brahman or ''ātman'' is Brahman. And such a person — anybody who worships, anybody who wants any desire to be fulfilled — should worship an ''ātmajñānī'', because an ''ātmajñānī'' is non-separate from the ''ātman'' or Brahman. So here is a living example called a ''jīvanmukta''.

Through his sacrifice, study, and service to guests and animals, he supports entire creation. These are called ''pañcamahāyajñas'' — ''devatās'', ''ṛṣis'', ''pitṛs'', and then all human beings, and all non-human beings, and even the smallest creatures. When he loves all, the entire creation loves him back.

Just imagine — Rāmakṛṣṇa once saved a big ''magar mach'' (crocodile). We don't know how the crocodile really feels after that. According to its own capacity, it must have had a sigh of relief, become happy, and must have expressed gratitude to the saver, which is Rāmakṛṣṇa. Whatever is minimum necessary, they will do — but beyond that, they will never try to harm.

Even what minimum they do, also with a prayer. I heard that some South Africans, when they hunt — because they don't get anything else, for some particular animals like deer — they run them down. Finally they pray: "O ''devatā'', spirit — you are dying, sacrificing your life for the sake of sustaining us. We pray to God that in your next birth, you will have a better life because of your sacrifice." And after this prayer to their ancestors, to their own gods in whom they believe, they sprinkle a little bit of dust. This is what we do — ''śrāddha'', etc. — in gratefulness to all our ancestors. All ''pañcamahāyajña'' is nothing but uttering this gratefulness and sprinkling the dust.

So mantra 16 says that everybody loves a ''jīvanmukta'', because a ''jīvanmukta'' becomes the ''ātman'' of all these beings.
----

== Mantra 17: The ''Gṛhasthāśrama'' — Legitimate Fulfilment of Desires ==
अथो अयम् आत्मा वै सर्वेषां भूतानां लोकः सः यत् जुहोति यत् यजते तेन देवानां लोकः अथ यत् अनुब्रूते तेन ऋषीणाम् अथ यत् पितृभ्यः निपृणाति यत् प्रजम् इच्छते तेन पितृणाम् अथ यत् मनुष्यान् वासयतेयत् एभ्यः अशनं ददाति तेन मनुष्याणाम् अथ यत् पशुभ्यः तृणोदकं विन्दति तेन पशूनाम् यत् अस्य गृहुषु श्वापदाः वयांसि आ पिपीलिकाभ्यः उपजीवन्ति तेन तेषां लोकः यथा ह स्वाय लोकाय अरिष्टिम् इच्छेत् एवं ह सर्वाणि भूतानि एवंविदे अरिष्टिम् इच्छन्ति तत् एतत् वै वीदितम् मीमाम्सितम्॥--'''बृहदारण्यकोपनिषदअथ प्रथमोऽध्यायःचतुर्थं ब्राह्मणम्Verse १७'''

==== Transliteration ====
atho ayam ātmā vai sarveṣāṁ bhūtānāṁ lokaḥ saḥ yat juhoti yat yajate tena devānāṁ lokaḥ atha yat anubrūte tena ṛṣīṇām atha yat pitṛbhyaḥ nipṛṇāti yat prajam icchate tena pitṛṇām atha yat manuṣyān vāsayateyat ebhyaḥ aśanaṁ dadāti tena manuṣyāṇām atha yat paśubhyaḥ tṛiṇodakaṁ vindati tena paśūnām yat asya gṛhuṣu śvāpadāḥ vayāṁsi ā pipīlikābhyaḥ upajīvanti tena teṣāṁ lokaḥ yathā ha svāya lokāya ariṣṭim icchet evaṁ ha sarvāṇi bhūtāni evaṁvide ariṣṭim icchanti tat etat vai vīditam mīmāmsitam||

'''And the final mantra — mantra 17 —''' '''in this fourth section''': when the ''ātman'' existed alone, it desired a wife, children, wealth, and work, to feel complete. So what does this seventeenth mantra really mean?

It means: when a person comes of age, comes to consciousness, becomes awakened, he looks around and understands what to do. He understands: "This is my duty in life if I want to progress further." So therefore, he wants to fulfil all his desires legitimately, according to the direction of the scripture. Such a person — what is called a ''brahmacārī'' — desires a wife, children, wealth, and work.

And then the purpose is not to enjoy the world, but the purpose is slowly to evolve — by developing faith in the scripture, and by satisfying some of the desires.

So this mantra teaches us a very important lesson: an unfit person cannot simply renounce the world. He will be like a jobless person renouncing the world, going to Vārāṇasī, and then after some time securing a job. "Do not worry, I am keeping well. I am sending ten rupees — I got a job now. The next time when I come, I will bring some clothes and some other materials for you. So you do not feel bad about me, don't feel anxious about me." This is called jobless ''vairāgya'' — ''śmaśāna-vairāgya'', ''prasūti-vairāgya'', ''markaṭa-vairāgya'', jobless ''vairāgya''.

So the mantra 17 tells us that all this entering into ''gṛhasthāśrama'' from ''brahmacaryāśrama'' to ''gṛhasthāśrama'' is an evolution. So that what we have learnt must be put into practice — that helps us to evolve further. Ultimately it brings us to ''vānaprasthāśrama'', which leads us to ''sannyāsāśrama''. That is the essence of this mantra 17.
----

== Conclusion: The Mutual Relationship of Mantras 11–17 ==
So that is the essence of the eleventh to seventeenth mantras. There is a mutual relationship between these mantras, which we will talk about in our tomorrow's 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.1.4 Lecture 31 on 09 May 2026

2026-07-15T06:31:24Z

Gayatri:

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः'''

OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH

OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.
----

== Recap: The Goal of Life and the Nature of Brahman ==
As we saw, a great discussion was going on: what is the goal of life? Some seekers understood that realisation of Brahman alone is the goal of life. And what does one gain? They also understood the gains — ''sarvam idaṃ bhavati'', so ''sarva bhāva prāpti''. A person who realises Brahman becomes ''sarvam'', becomes ''pūrṇam''.

Then, how to attain it? We have seen also that this whole creation is a play of Brahman, so that he wants to entertain himself. It is like playing a solitaire game, where one tries to deceive oneself, and then catch oneself, and then go on laughing: "I caught myself!" So it is what is called ''līlā''.
----

== Summary of the Tenth Mantra: ''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi'' ==
In our last class, we completed one of the most important mantras — the tenth mantra of the fourth section of the first chapter of the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. What is the essence of this tenth mantra? This tenth mantra unfolds and establishes that there is only one reality, that is called Brahman — call it God, call it Allāh, by whatever blessed name you desire to call.

And what are we? The ''jīva'', the individual soul, is essentially identical to that Brahman, because if Brahman is everything, if Brahman is the cause, then this entire universe is the effect. And the effect can never be different from the cause.

Then what is it we are experiencing now? This is called ''saṃsāra''. ''Saṃsāra'' means seeing everything as different. I am born — that is different. I am surviving — that is different. One day I will have to disappear from this world — that is also a change. This entire birth, growth, sustenance, old age, disease, and death — this is called ''ṣaḍvikāra'', the sixfold changes. Everyone has to go through them. ''Saṃsarati'' means continuous change.

And Brahman is one — eternal, unchanging, one without a second. So how can we equate this world with Brahman? But this thinking — really, Brahman has not created, has not become, has not become ''jīva'', is not thinking as the ''jīva'' — and all these thoughts are only from our mind's point of view, from the ''avidyā'' point of view. All questions — "Who am I? Why am I here? How did I happen to come here? Why did Brahman create? He could have created a better world" — all these questions are products of ignorance.

So long as we are ignorant, so long as we do not know that we are Brahman, these questions will not cease. So long as a person is experiencing a snake, his fear will never vanish.
----

== The Awakening of the Spiritual Seeker ==
But at some point of time, a person gets tired. First — and this is a very great psychological point — first, all of us get so much of pleasure from various things. In fact, we try to minimise all unhappiness and all suffering, and maximise all our happiness. This seems to be the goal of life for a very, very long time.

And then comes the awakening: that it is impossible to achieve this objective. Therefore there must be another way, where I can be without any fear of death, ignorance, and suffering. And for that purpose, the search is now withdrawn from the external to the internal. Such persons are called spiritual seekers.

Then that person, with the help of the Guru who interprets the scripture, slowly destroys the ''avidyā''. Now, what Advaita wants to convey to us is that ''vidyā'', or true ''brahmavidyā'', or ''ātmavidyā'' — knowledge of one's own self — is never lost, can never be lost. But it is covered up. So every spiritual practice is only to remove this covering.

So destruction of ''avidyā'', or destruction of the ''adhyāsa'' (superimposition), is called spiritual practice. And as soon as we succeed in removing this ignorance — ignorance of who we really are, not what we think we are — the moment we remove the wrong notion totally, ''vidyā'' stands revealed. We do not need to acquire ''vidyā''; it is already there.

Just like the removal of darkness manifests the light automatically — not that after removing the darkness, like somebody sitting outside, we have vacated a seat, there is a vacant chair and you can come inside. No, not like that. Removal of ''adhyāsa'' or ''avidyā'' alone is spiritual practice. And then we realise: we were never bound. What we were wholeheartedly seeking, we already have, as it were — we are that.

Just, we have to remove the covering. For that, a ''mahāvākya'' tremendously helps. And the essential point in this tenth mantra is ''ahaṃ brahmāsmi''. And then — ''ātmany eva upāsīta'' — one should therefore strive to realise this Brahman alone.
----

== Overview: Mantras 11 to 17 of the Fourth Section ==
Now we are going to proceed. This particular fourth section has got seventeen mantras. We covered more or less ten mantras, and some mantras I have already described — especially, I think, in the eighth mantra, how this creation has started. Now again, from the eleventh to the seventeenth, this fourth section gives us two important ideas.

So creation has been described earlier. But to maintain this creation and to see that life goes on merrily without any problem, then we have to create those people who tell us how to run, how to live life, and how not to do certain actions which will only stop our further evolution — or even take us back to the previous state. How to stop that? And then slowly, how to progress?
----

== The Origin of the Four Varṇas (''Cāturvarṇyam'') ==
So Brahman has created four types of castes. This is the origin of the caste system in Hinduism. God himself has created it, and Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa affirms it. So what is the purpose? Maintenance.

But the peculiarity of this Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad — what do we mean by ''cāturvarṇyam'', the four castes? The Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad elaborates and says that because ''sṛṣṭi'' also contains gods and goddesses, the entire creation can be divided into three: ''ādhyātmika'', ''ādhibhautika'', and ''ādhidaivika''.

Each one of us, as individuals, is called ''ādhyātmika''. Then the entire external world, which everyone of us is experiencing and formulating certain ''saṃskāras'' through our experiences, is called ''ādhibhautika''. But to have an overall management — how to make a person behave properly, do this, do not do this, the do's and don'ts — certain powers are created. They are called ''adhiṣṭhātṛ devatās''. And also, how to live life: for that purpose, four castes were created.

Now what the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad wants to add is that it is not only at our level, but even at the level of the gods, four ''varṇas'' are there. So there is a ''deva-brāhmaṇa'', ''deva-kṣatriya'', ''deva-vaiśya'', and ''deva-śūdra''.
----

== The Three ''Guṇas'' and Their Combinations ==
Now, what are these castes? Castes are nothing but divided on the basis of ''guṇas''. As we know, ''guṇas'' are three. So certain combinations — and this is a very important point — no ''guṇa'' by itself can be effective. It is only the combination of every ''guṇa'' that counts.

How many combinations are possible? First: ''sattvaguṇa'' dominates, ''rajoguṇa'' supports, ''tamoguṇa'' helps — that is called ''brāhmaṇa''. Second: ''rajoguṇa'' dominates, ''sattvaguṇa'' helps, ''tamoguṇa'' also helps — that is called ''kṣatriya'', or the rulers and warriors. What Plato or Socrates used to call the second category.

The first category, according to Socrates, is called philosophers — those who set the goal of life crystal clearly. But to maintain this order, ''kṣatriyas'' are necessary, with tremendous power. They are the kings, they are the warriors, they are the leaders of men. They fall under the second category and are dominated by ''rajoguṇa''. They have to be extremely alert and intolerant of any evil that is being perpetuated.

People were advised according to their castes what special activities they would have to do. So for example, for the ''brāhmaṇa'' — study of the Vedas, leading an ideal life — that is the speciality of ''brāhmaṇas''. For ''kṣatriyas'' — protecting the weak, subduing the strong and evil, and seeing that society runs smoothly. That oiling process of this machine called society — they are called ''kṣatriyas'', or the warrior class.

And people are advised: you have to worship God, you have certain duties in life. For that purpose, ''pañcamahāyajñas'', special worships, special ''upāsanās'', have been given. And to see that they are done properly, many things are needed, many items are needed. So one has to get that supply. The persons who see that everybody requires food and materials — and at one place something grows, another place something else grows — these third castes are called the business people, ''vaiśyas''.

Their business is such that they have international connections. If some excess product is there, they remove it, take it where it is needed and not available. And what is available there — say, for example, certain exotic things are not available in western countries, only India can give, especially spices. That is why everybody wanted to come and conquer India, so that they could have free access. India was also known as a treasure house of gold, silver, and many other precious minerals and metals.

So that is why everybody's sight was drawn there. That is why Muslims had come, that's why English, Dutch, Portuguese, French people — everybody had come. Finally, only the Muslims and the English people dominated and looted. And that we should not blame them, because we welcomed them and we helped them to loot everything, because of our non-cooperation. Even now it is going on.

So the third class — what is called ''rajo''-dominated, greatly helped by ''rajas'' and ''tamas'' in equal proportions — they are called ''vaiśyas''. But there are different types of activities: harvesting, cultivating, cleaning, storing, bringing things. Workers are needed — they are called ''śūdras''.

And it is not that a particular caste of people have been created. No. According to their ''guṇa'', where ''tamoguṇa'' is more — the person needs to be told, "You have to do this," etc. They cannot think for themselves; somebody has to continuously direct them: "Do this, don't do this, do this after that." Such people are called ''śūdras''.

And in every society, in every age, we get these people. Not that it is only from the beginning so. For that purpose, from Brahman, having created this universe with all the ''pañcabhūtas'', he then created ''deva-varṇas'' — ''deva-brāhmaṇa'', ''deva-kṣatriya'', ''deva-vaiśya'', ''deva-śūdra''.
----

== Intelligence in Nature: An Illustrative Digression ==
And this Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, from the eleventh mantra onwards — from the eleventh section onwards — is trying to elaborate one after the other that with the help of everyone doing their duties properly, everybody will be progressing. So ''śūdras'' will develop higher consciousness, then they become more ''rajo''-dominated, and then later on they will be dominated by ''sattvaguṇa''. That is how this is a slow evolution from a low state of consciousness to a higher state of consciousness — that is what this section wants to tell.

Just as Brahman created the ''deva-varṇas'' — the four castes of the ''devas'', the gods and goddesses — we have to understand that exactly in a similar manner, all human beings were also created. So ''deva-brāhmaṇas'' degenerated into ''manuṣya-brāhmaṇas'', ''deva-kṣatriyas'' into ''manuṣya-kṣatriyas'', ''deva-vaiśyas'' into ''manuṣya-vaiśyas'', and ''deva-śūdras'' into ''manuṣya-śūdras''.

Now, though it is not necessary — this is a point we can add here — does this division apply only to human beings or to non-human beings also? Yes. Take one simple example: the story of the honey bee. There is a queen, there are warriors to protect the hive, there are workers who will be going and gathering — it is such a marvellous story. How much intelligence is needed!

Just to give one small example: there are some ant colonies that were being flooded, and they had to find a safer nest. What do these ants do? They have to cross sometimes huge expanses of water. And individually, if they do it, it is not going to help. So they join hands and legs and form a huge, like a boat or a huge mat. The entire rest of the colony gathers onto that mat, as it were, and they float. And these front ants slowly guide it to a place where the danger of water is not there.

That's why if anybody scientifically examines either a beehive or an anthill, you will see how much intelligence is there. When you look at some birds — there are some birds who create such beautiful nests, and they are fully aware, fully conscious that snakes are there to hunt them. So there are particular species of birds I have seen in a video: they create a nest with various doors, and the real room where they store the eggs will be practically like Lucknow's maze, the ''Bhūlbhulāiyā''. The snake will poke into several nests and not find anything. Finally, disappointed, most snakes leave.

Why am I citing this example? To show how much intelligence is really working there, albeit unconsciously. Many squirrels gather nuts when winter is coming — they have to survive in their burrows, to tide them over during that cold season when they cannot come out. What do the bears do? They hibernate. How much intelligence!

This is only to place before you how much intelligence these creatures have. So Brahman manifested himself as the world, then created various animals, then created human beings. Then a world order has to be established. For that, ''adhiṣṭhātṛ devatās'' were created. And that is from where the ''karma-siddhānta'' has come — these gods are watching us. According to our ''karma'', if we worship them, they reward us; if we neglect and misbehave, they keep count and will try to correct us. It is not a punishment — it is a correction.
----

== The ''Varṇas'' as a Framework for Evolution ==
So this is how ''deva-varṇas'' and ''brahman-varṇas'' are created. And then, what is the purpose of all this? Right from the lowest caste, we have to strive — through the devout performance of our respective duties — to evolve. That is how a ''śūdra'' becomes a ''vaiśya'', meaning the terrible ''tamoguṇa'' now becomes mixed up with more of ''rajoguṇa'', and then he enters into more ''sāttvikaguṇa'' and becomes a ''kṣatriya''. This is a state of progress.

We have to understand: it is not a privilege to oppress and suppress and selfishly hoard everything for one's own self. And whenever we neglect this, the ''karmaphala'' will come with a big blow. Study history — this is what happens. And this history has been repeated in our ''Purāṇas'' in the form of the continuous warfare between the ''suras'' and ''asuras'', gods and demons.

What is this fight? The fight is: whenever somebody neglects and doesn't live a proper life appropriate to their station in life, then ''karmaphala'' will come in the form of suffering. Here, a demon is nothing but a creator of — or an excuse for creating — suffering. Suffering awakens these people. Then they think deeply: "We have neglected the commandments of God." That's why in the Bible it is called the Ten Commandments, and we have got ''dharmaśāstras'' — nothing but ''vidhi'' and ''niṣedha'', the do's and don'ts.

Then we slowly acquire faith, and we experiment and get some results. Our faith deepens. That is how we progress.

The whole thing is meant — involution is meant — so that we can evolve. If I have to summarise the entire creation: first, it is nothing but involution, coming down to the inorganic. Thereafter, evolution starts with the sprouting of ''prāṇa'' in the one-celled body — call it amoeba, by whatever name — and slowly multiplying and evolving physically, brain-wise, then mentally, then spiritually, finally reaching the destination, that is, reaching home from where we have come. This is the idea.
----

== A Note on Methodology: How to Read a Text ==
Now I will give you a gist and summary of these mantras from the eleventh to the seventeenth. Six or seven mantras are there for us to deal with. Once we understand the gist of this — which I have already given as the summary of the summaries — I am going into a little more detail. And then we will go through the proper mantras; it will be a breeze to understand them.

This is how we have to read any book. This is the technique by which one can grasp the most in the least amount of time, and grasp more intelligently and retain it for a longer time. First of all, you read the foreword. The author, if he is a good author, crystal clearly outlines: "This is the subject about which I am going to talk, and on this subject, especially I am going to emphasise these particular points of view." And then he elaborates them, giving examples, etc.

So it may be a 300-page book or a 400-page book. At the end of every chapter — every paragraph has a connection with the next paragraph, if it is intelligent writing. Every chapter has a connection to the next chapter. And at the end of every chapter: "These are the special points we have discussed so far in this chapter," and then: "This is the connection between the previous chapter and the next chapter." This is what Śaṅkarācārya calls ''sambandhabhāṣya'' — the relationship between the previous mantra and the next mantra, previous chapter and next chapter, previous section and next section. If we can follow this methodology, it will be marvellous.
----

== Before Creation: Brahman Alone ==
So what happened before creation? Who was there? Brahman alone existed — ''ekaṃ sat, advitīyam'', ''sadeva saumya idam agra āsīt''. In the Chāndogya Upaniṣad, we have seen, in the sixth chapter, that only Brahman alone existed. That is what the Brihadāraṇyaka also repeats.

So then Brahman wanted to create. Now, so many people question: why did Brahman have to create? Could he not have kept quiet? Then we need not have all these classes, this ''saṃsāra'', this — "create a problem, then show a solution." No. This is called ''līlā''. And you cannot complain, because: who is the creator? Brahman. Who is the creation? Brahman. Who has degenerated or involved? Brahman. Who is evolving? Brahman. That is the fun of it — he does it for fun, and he knows it with full consciousness.

So this is what we have to understand. Before creation, Brahman alone existed. And to ensure the proper functioning of this created universe, Brahman created the powerful castes — so ''kṣatriyas'', and earlier he said ''agni'' — ''agni'' means ''brāhmaṇa'' — so Indra, Varuṇa, etc. While the ''kṣatriya'' power, the warrior class, represents power, its source is none other than Brahman.

And that is why in the ''rājasūya'' sacrifice, the king has to sit below a ''brāhmaṇa'' who is performing the ''agni''. So a ''kṣatriya'' has to honour his own source.

To understand it in common sense language: why is the person doing this ''agni'' or ''yāga'', etc.? Because he learns from the ''brāhmaṇa'' that the goal of life is to manifest your potential divinity. And you are a ''kṣatriya'', and the duty of the ''kṣatriya'' is to protect, and also to evolve one's own self. So if you can do some ''agni'' or ''yāgas'', that is not the only duty. Your main duty is to see that society functions as it is supposed to function. But since you are also a human being with individual desires to fulfil, you can do some ''agni'', ''yāgas'', etc.

And only powerful, wealthy ''kṣatriyas'' can do some of these. And that is — at the very beginning of the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad — we said that what is called ''aśvamedha'', as ''virāṭ'', a king can do, with all the elaborations and all four ''varṇas'' necessary. But if somebody doesn't have that capacity, you just sit and do mental ''upāsanā'' — it will give you exactly the same result as if you are the king and you are doing it meticulously from the beginning to the end. That is why that ''virāṭ upāsanā'' and its continuation was there. First it is the ''aśva'', then it is the ''agni'', then it is the ''prāṇa'' — we have seen that one already.

You will always have to keep the essential points in mind, otherwise my talk will be what is called dissected, non-related topics.
----

== Mantra 11: The Creation of ''Brāhmaṇas'' and ''Kṣatriyas'' ==
So the essence of the eleventh mantra is: Brahman created what is called ''brāhmaṇas'' and ''kṣatriyas''.
----

== Mantra 12: The Creation of ''Vaiśyas'' ==
Then the twelfth mantra: power alone, strength alone, was not enough. Because for the sake of wealth and social nourishment, many things are necessary — suppliers of many things. And therefore ''deva-vaiśyas'' were created. That is described in mantra 12. So like ''vasus'', ''rudras'' — these ''vaiśyas'' were created.
----

== Mantra 13: The Creation of ''Śūdras'' ==
But creation of ''brāhmaṇas'', creation of ''kṣatriyas'', creation of ''vaiśyas'' alone will not do. There is so much physical, menial labour one has to do. When a person has vast lands for cultivation, the cultivators — only ''śūdras'' can do it. And then harvesting, and then storing, and then protecting them — so many things one has to do. For that purpose, the ''śūdras'' have to be created.

Mantra 13: for service and support, the ''śūdra-varṇa''. Here also, ''deva-śūdra'' — you have to remember — ''pūṣan'', that is ''pṛthvī'', was created. Here the earth is called ''pūṣā'', because it is she who is cultivable, who yields, sustains, supports, and nourishes all of us.
----

== Mantra 14: The Creation of ''Dharma'' ==
Then the fourteenth mantra tells us something extraordinary. Here are the ''kṣatriyas'', here are the ''brāhmaṇas'', here are the ''vaiśyas'', here are the ''śūdras''. And there are also infinite variations possible. Suppose some ''kṣatriya'' has got tremendous power, or some ''brāhmaṇa'' has tremendous knowledge. Then he can become very arrogant — that possibility is there, because ''avidyā'' is ruling. Similarly, a powerful king, like a powerful politician, can do whatever he likes. If somebody praises him, he will bestow the highest power and all his goodies and goodwill. And if he doesn't like somebody, however worthy that somebody may be, he will demote and destroy them. This is the way — just look at the newspaper, that is what you will see everywhere going on.

So to protect against this, Brahman created something marvellous — it is called ''dharma''. So a ''brāhmaṇa'' has ''brāhmaṇa-dharma'', a ''kṣatriya'' has ''kṣatriya-dharma'', a ''vaiśya'' has ''vaiśya-dharma'', a ''śūdra'' has ''śūdra-dharma''. What does it mean? It means these people, according to their own caste — and they were created and classified as belonging to that caste because a particular quality is dominating in them, assisted of course by the other two qualities.

Just as in a ''brāhmaṇa'', ''sattva'' is the dominant quality, ''rajas'' is the helpful quality, and ''tamas'' is another one. Here ''rajas'' is more powerful and more helpful — that's why he retains. So it is not according to birth; caste is according to quality.

So that is what we need to do. And now a very interesting analogy can be given. There are so many AI companies — like OpenAI, Microsoft, Google of course, Meta, and so many others coming. And China is producing marvellous AI, which India cannot even look up to. Not because we lack intelligence, but we lack that ''puruṣakāra'', that energy. Full of jealousy, intolerance — we cannot tolerate our own. Our greatest ''adharma'' is to pull down the other person as much as possible. "I may not get anything, but I will not tolerate another person getting even a little better than what I have." This is the main cause. If this cause is not addressed, however much money the government may spend, we are not going to improve at all — whatever party comes into power. What type of persons are there using that power — that is most important.

So Brahman has created ''dharma''. And very interestingly, ''dharma'' and ''satya'' are equated. ''Satya'' is understanding what the proper action is to be done and the proper way to do it. And ''dharma'' is putting it into absolute practice. That is why you cannot separate ''satya'' and ''dharma''. We will come to that.

So in this fourteenth mantra, Brahman, after creating the four divine castes, now created ''dharma'', so that ''dharma'' keeps them under control. If anybody transgresses the ''dharma'', then ''dharma'' itself becomes ''Yama'' — ''Yama Dharmarāja''. That is why Yama is called ''Yama Dharmarāja''. ''Yama Dharmarāja'' will give appropriate ''karma'' for all.

This is ''dharma'' — ''dharma'' is the power behind power. The controlling power of any power is called ''dharma''. Where ''dharma'' exists, even a weak person can overcome a strong one. That is why we say ''dharma'' and ''satya'' are one. In the ultimate instance, it is only ''dharma'' and ''satya'' which become victorious — temporarily maybe something may not be there. That is the essence of the fourteenth mantra.
----

== Mantra 15: The Purpose of All Action — ''Ātmajñāna'' ==
The fifteenth mantra: this social order exists among both gods and men. So if a person performs many holy works without realising his own self, those works are only temporary. Only when a person knows who he is — obtains, through the obtainment of self-knowledge, ''ātmajñāna'' — then these works become complete and help him achieve the goal of life, which is to know ''ahaṃ brahmāsmi''.

So mantra 15 is reminding us: the whole purpose of creation is to catch hold of ''dharma'' and ''satya''. That is why in the eleventh ''anuvāka'' of the Taittirīya Upaniṣad — the rest is elaboration.

The social order exists among both gods and men, as I said earlier. For example: Agni is the ''deva-brāhmaṇa'', Indra is the ''deva-kṣatriya'', the ''vasus'' etc. are the ''deva-vaiśyas'', and ''pṛthvī'' is called the ''deva-śūdra'', etc.

In this fifteenth mantra, it says we have to evolve slowly. What is evolution? Absolutely behaving as we are supposed to behave. And this we get from ''dharmaśāstras'': if you are a ''śūdra'', this is your ''dharma''; you should not do your ''adharma''. And if you follow — so if a person discharges his duty as a worship of God, that is the essence of ''Karma Yoga''. Then slowly he progresses. And ultimately, by the grace of God, he will become a ''vaiśya'', he will become a ''kṣatriya'' — that is called improvement, progress in the state of consciousness. Ultimately a person will become a ''brāhmaṇa'', that is, a seeker of Brahman. And then he will practise, and then he becomes a realised soul. That is the most wonderful thing.

What is the fifteenth mantra saying? Let me first quote how Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa beautifully puts it: any number of zeros without a one in the front are completely zeros — valueless. But put one, and as you go on adding zero after zero, the value increases: 10, 100, 1,000, 10,000, 100,000, 1,000,000, etc. This is what the mantra is telling — that if every activity is not directed towards reaching our own true nature, or Brahman, or ''ātmajñāna'', all these works will only give temporary effects.

The mantra is not telling that they will not give effect — they will. But again and again and again, we fall from that high state, and again we have to do it, until we learn the lesson. That all these works will give permanent result only when we offer them as worship of God.
----

== Mantra 16: The ''Jīvanmukta'' — The Liberated Soul ==
Then mantra 16 beautifully puts it. Suppose a person, through the evolution from ''śūdra'' to ''brāhmaṇa'', from ''tamoguṇa'' to ''sattvaguṇa'' — then the ''śūdra'' with ''sattvaguṇa'' will slowly realise, like that person who was saved from ''tamoguṇa'', then saved from ''rajoguṇa''. ''Sattvaguṇa'' alone saves — it brings him to his home, his village. "You go there."

When the man invited, "You have saved my life, I am eternally grateful, please come to my house — we will be blessed to honour you," he said, "No, I am also a robber." That means: all ''guṇas'' belong to ''sṛṣṭi''. We have to go beyond ''sṛṣṭi'' — to what was before ''sṛṣṭi'', which is Brahman.

So that is how a knower of the ''ātman'' becomes a world for all beings. Because a knower of Brahman or ''ātman'' is Brahman. And such a person — anybody who worships, anybody who wants any desire to be fulfilled — should worship an ''ātmajñānī'', because an ''ātmajñānī'' is non-separate from the ''ātman'' or Brahman. So here is a living example called a ''jīvanmukta''.

Through his sacrifice, study, and service to guests and animals, he supports entire creation. These are called ''pañcamahāyajñas'' — ''devatās'', ''ṛṣis'', ''pitṛs'', and then all human beings, and all non-human beings, and even the smallest creatures. When he loves all, the entire creation loves him back.

Just imagine — Rāmakṛṣṇa once saved a big ''magar mach'' (crocodile). We don't know how the crocodile really feels after that. According to its own capacity, it must have had a sigh of relief, become happy, and must have expressed gratitude to the saver, which is Rāmakṛṣṇa. Whatever is minimum necessary, they will do — but beyond that, they will never try to harm.

Even what minimum they do, also with a prayer. I heard that some South Africans, when they hunt — because they don't get anything else, for some particular animals like deer — they run them down. Finally they pray: "O ''devatā'', spirit — you are dying, sacrificing your life for the sake of sustaining us. We pray to God that in your next birth, you will have a better life because of your sacrifice." And after this prayer to their ancestors, to their own gods in whom they believe, they sprinkle a little bit of dust. This is what we do — ''śrāddha'', etc. — in gratefulness to all our ancestors. All ''pañcamahāyajña'' is nothing but uttering this gratefulness and sprinkling the dust.

So mantra 16 says that everybody loves a ''jīvanmukta'', because a ''jīvanmukta'' becomes the ''ātman'' of all these beings.
----

== Mantra 17: The ''Gṛhasthāśrama'' — Legitimate Fulfilment of Desires ==
And the final mantra — mantra 17 — in this fourth section: when the ''ātman'' existed alone, it desired a wife, children, wealth, and work, to feel complete. So what does this seventeenth mantra really mean?

It means: when a person comes of age, comes to consciousness, becomes awakened, he looks around and understands what to do. He understands: "This is my duty in life if I want to progress further." So therefore, he wants to fulfil all his desires legitimately, according to the direction of the scripture. Such a person — what is called a ''brahmacārī'' — desires a wife, children, wealth, and work.

And then the purpose is not to enjoy the world, but the purpose is slowly to evolve — by developing faith in the scripture, and by satisfying some of the desires.

So this mantra teaches us a very important lesson: an unfit person cannot simply renounce the world. He will be like a jobless person renouncing the world, going to Vārāṇasī, and then after some time securing a job. "Do not worry, I am keeping well. I am sending ten rupees — I got a job now. The next time when I come, I will bring some clothes and some other materials for you. So you do not feel bad about me, don't feel anxious about me." This is called jobless ''vairāgya'' — ''śmaśāna-vairāgya'', ''prasūti-vairāgya'', ''markaṭa-vairāgya'', jobless ''vairāgya''.

So the mantra 17 tells us that all this entering into ''gṛhasthāśrama'' from ''brahmacaryāśrama'' to ''gṛhasthāśrama'' is an evolution. So that what we have learnt must be put into practice — that helps us to evolve further. Ultimately it brings us to ''vānaprasthāśrama'', which leads us to ''sannyāsāśrama''. That is the essence of this mantra 17.
----

== Conclusion: The Mutual Relationship of Mantras 11–17 ==
So that is the essence of the eleventh to seventeenth mantras. There is a mutual relationship between these mantras, which we will talk about in our tomorrow's 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!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]