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Svetasvatara Upanishad Lecture 42 on 23 July 2023

2023-07-29T21:42:30Z

Sevak123: More of replacing Sanskrit words with Italics

== Full Transcript (Not Corrected) ==
In our last class of the Yashvatashvatara Upanishad, chapter number 6, which has 23 mantras, we have been discussing the 14th mantra. This is the most marvelous mantra quoted umpteen number of times by all the Acharyas, especially Advaita Acharyas. Why the mantra goes like this? "''NA TATRA SURYO BHATI, NA CHANDRA TARAKAM, NEMA VIDYUTO BHANTI, KUTO AYAM AGNIHI, TAMEVA BHANTAM ANUBHATI SARVAM, TASYA BHASA SARVAM IDAM VIBHATI"'' The sun doesn't shine there, nor the moon and the stars, nor these lightnings, much less this fire. He is shining, everything shines after him. By his light, everything is lighted up. This is the essence of it. What does it mean? We have discussed. Him means Brahman. There means Brahman. Brahman is a state of consciousness. Usually you say, here, there, it indicates a place in space. But that is not what is meant here. Brahman being infinite and eternal, the question of space and time do not arise at all. And what does it mean? It means he himself, pure consciousness. Is it male? No. Is it female? No. Is it neuter? No. Whether something is male or female is all related to the body. Similarly, is it good or evil? That is related to the mind. Happy or unhappy? That is related to the mind. Brahman is being pure consciousness. That is the indescribable thing. Now, this 14th mantra is telling us; what is the nature of the Brahman? He is not like a ''Jada Vastu''. Now, in this world we can divide every object into two. Those who are endowed with or in whom awareness is manifest, life is manifest. And those in whom just existing but no manifestation of either life, and therefore consciousness. But look at it. If you are looking at me, I am a living creature. That means I have consciousness. But I am still a ''Jada Vastu''. Because if you choose not to think about me, not to pay attention to me, then I do not exist at all. Even if you choose not to think of God, the very existence of God will disappear. But don't go on thinking. I choose not to think about God. Because even while thinking about God, I choose not to think about God. You are thinking only about God. Complete forgetfulness. How to do? Think of something else. Here is a table, beautiful table. And here is a rope, beautiful rope. This rope is taken as a classical example. Very useful. If you are tired of life, a rope comes in very much handy. Or even if it is a snake, that also comes into practical usage. Now, there are lights in this world. The sun, the moon, the lightnings, the fire. Only that much? No. We have a beautiful description of this. Even voice, speech, that is also a light. Suppose it is dark and you can't see. Can somebody help me? And then immediately, somebody whom you can't see but whom you can hear, who can also hear you and who is responding to you, so that person also, he can respond to you. Now, you come to your left and walk a few feet. Come to the right. Walk a little bit. So, this is called light. What is light? Knowledge is light. So, knowledge is what we want. What does the sun do? Knowledge. What does the moon do? Give us knowledge. What do the stars do? Same thing. What does fire do? Same thing. What does somebody's speech do? Same thing. But these things need to be illumined by another light. To know that there is a sun, I have to be aware of the sun. To know there is a moon, I have to be aware of the moon. To know there is a lightning, I have to be aware. If I'm in a coma or I'm in deep sleep or I'm thinking deeply about something else, I won't be aware of it. Even if you can shout, I will not hear about it at all. So, I have to be aware. That awareness is the reflected consciousness. That is called ''Chidabhasa''. And that is what is being referred here. Everything else requires that pure awareness to cognize that there is a sun, there is a moon, there are stars, there is a fire, and there is somebody speaking, somebody standing. But to know that "I am," it is continuously there. Other things are changing, but I am is not changing. That message is what is being conveyed here. And this is how ultimately, we have to understand. Now, in this light of what we have just uttered, try to understand. When there is Brahman, Surya ''"Na bhati"'' means the sun cannot illumine. That means Brahman need not be illumined by the sun, need not be illumined. Chandra means moon. In fact, there is no moonlight. It is nothing but there is a moon, is a beautiful piece of rock, and that is illumined, reflecting the sunlight. And all the stars are nothing but the sun only in different forms. That is why the sun also is called a star. ''Ne ma vidyutaha''. This lightning that we see, that is also because of the sun. So fire, because of the sun. The sun manifesting in the form of firewood, even a plant to be alive, it is only because of the sun. And when that plant dies, and it needs to be dried up, and that drying up is also done with the help of the sun, and then only the fire is hidden as it were. What is that fire? The sun only, and the sun produces food, and that food is eaten by all of us, living creatures. And when we are eating that food, then what happens? We are able to think, we are able to see, able to talk, etc., etc. Without the sun, there is no energy. Food means energy. And without energy, nothing can be done. And therefore the sun is the cause of it. But to cognize that sun, that here is a body, and it requires food, food is produced with the help of the sun, here is water, here are stars, here is the moon, here is the fire, here is somebody speaking, we must be completely aware. So what illumines all these things? Only the pure consciousness. But pure consciousness need not be illuminated because when is it that we do not feel that I am? Even to say, I am not, we have to be, and we have to be aware, that I am aware, I am not. But if I am aware, and if I am giving this speech, I am not, is it fact, or is it just an ideal imagination? So what is it? Pure consciousness is Brahman, and that pure consciousness, because of our association with the mind, it is percolating, it is reflecting through the medium of the mind, and a little bit of that mind is lending that consciousness, which it has borrowed from the chit, to the sense organs, to the body, and so the body is able to function, and that awareness is illuminating the whole world. That is why my awareness is the whole world. Then we say, drishti srishti vada, I see the world. It is a dead person, his eyes may be in perfect condition, but he won't be able to see, as an example. Why? Because the mind is not there. But even if the mind is there, the eyes cannot function. The mind must be illuminated by the chidabhasa, and the mind can lend that ''chidabhasa'' to the eye, then only the eye can see. Ultimately, it is the pure consciousness. What a marvellous thing! Everything exists, everything is revealed, and everything gives us an experience, all because of this pure consciousness. That is the meaning of it. ''tam eva bhantam'' Because of pure consciousness, sarvam anubhati Borrowing that consciousness, everything is lighted up. ''tasya bhasa sarvam idam vibhati'' By the consciousness. Here, bhasa means light, light means pure consciousness. By the light of his pure consciousness, Brahman's pure consciousness, everything is lighted up, means what? Everything is cognized, there is something, and it is of this nature, everything. And what is the profit we get? Because I am that pure consciousness. I am eternal. If I am not there, the world doesn't exist. The whole world depends upon me. But not only that, the whole world depends upon me, can be easily understood. But even God depends upon me. Even Brahman depends upon me. I illumine Brahman. How come? Because if I choose to think, because when I am thinking of Brahman, Brahman loses its subjectivity and becomes an object. Because he is a victim, a modification of my mind. Therefore, I am that Brahman. But I cannot understand I am that Brahman. Whatever I may think about it, I can become one with Brahman. I know that I am Brahman, but I can never express it. That is why Ramakrishna says that everything is polluted in this world, but nobody can express what Brahman is. Now, this is a famous section in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. In the fourth chapter, third section, at the very beginning, practically, from the very beginning, there is a conversation or dialogue between Janaka and Yajnavalkya. And the question was put that we are all able to see everything because of the light of the sun. And so, when the sun sets, there should be complete darkness until it rises again? No, because when the moon arises, we get some knowledge and some animals get full knowledge. Because of the limitation of our eye, we cannot see, just as we can see in the daytime. But we can see something. Sometimes we can have very good knowledge when there is full moonlight and it is so clear, we can say, sometimes even it spoils our eye, so bright it is, it is sunlight itself. Of course, it is nothing but sunlight. So, when the sun sets, what is the light? Moon. Remember, throughout, it is only sunlight through the medium of the moon. And when the moon sets, what is the light? Lightnings. We have seen it, it is our experience. It is dark, suddenly there is a lightning and for a moment, the whole surrounding is completely lighted up. And when the lightnings are not there, what would be there? You light a fire. Your torchlight is also nothing but pure sun. So, any type of light, it could be a small wick with kerosene or oil lamp, that is fire. Here, the word used is Agni, fire. And when the fire is set, pitch dark, what is the light? That means, how can I have knowledge? Then, somebody shouts. So, you don't go here and there, you come straight and you turn to the left, turn to the right. We all know that. How? When you are driving the car, modern car, GPS we call it. And if you are a spiritual aspirant, that is also called GPS. Guru Parampara System. Both are there to give us light. I am trying to read out this one. It is a beautiful one. So, what does it say? ''Ashtamita Aditya Yagnivalikya Hey Yagnivalikya'', Janaka is asking. There are many mantras are there, but I am only taking the sixth one. ''Ashtamita, Ashtamite Aditya'' When the sun is set. Hey ''Yagnivalikya, Chandramasi Ashtamite'' When the moon is also set. ''Shantau Agne'' When the fire is completely extinguished. ''Shantayam Vachi'' When there is no speech. ''Kim Jyoti Reva Ayam Purushayate'' That light which guides this being called ''Purusha''. ''Purusha'' means ''Atman''. And then the reply ''Atma Eva Asya Jyotir Bhavati'' Atma alone becomes its own light. ''Atmana Eva Ayam Jyotishahate'' All these lights, the sun, the moon, the lightnings, the fire and everything. ''Atmana Eva'' That is that by the light of the pure consciousness. ''Pallyayate, Karmakurute, Vipallyayate'' Actions are done. And eating is done. Every action that we can think of: ''Srishti Stithi Laya'' It is a very important point to remember. Every action any living being does can be classified into three. Srishti, something is not there, it is created. Stithi, it is maintained for some time. And Laya, and it disappears. Whatever appears, stays for some time, disappears. A lightening appears, stays. Maybe for a very short time. And then it goes away. So ''Atma Eva Asya Jyotir Bhavati'' The pure consciousness is its own light. And Thou art that. Hey ''Amrutasya Putraaha'', Thou art that. What is the point of all this mantra? None can illumine God. None need illumine God. None should illumine God or Truth. God, Truth are equated. And there is no way that one can illumine. It is not possible. It is not necessary also. Here also a very important point we have to understand. We do ''Arathrikam'' at the end of the puja. Especially when there is an elaborate puja. Usually Arathrikam or Vesper, it is called Vesper service, is done in the evenings, just after the sunsets. That is the conjunction between the day and night. That is called ''Sandhya'' time, dawn or dusk. At the time of dusk, Arathrikam is done. And you notice, we all know, that first thing that is shown to God is light. And what is the symbolism of light? The lower symbolism is, it is a representation of ''Panchabhutas'' and light is the representation of fire. Water is the representation of water. Flower is the representation of the earth. The ''Chamara'' is the representation of the ''Vayu''. And the cloth is the representation of the space. So, when you put on a cloth, what are you doing? You are covering the space around you. Because you don't want to be seen as you are. Because you will be acceptable only after you cover. Not otherwise. So, at the time of ''Arathrikam,'' what is it showing? Oh Lord, you alone are the truth. You alone are eternal and infinite. And that knowledge I have got by your grace, because I begged you, I worshipped you, I prayed to you through this action ritual called Pooja, and I have that knowledge. That is why in South Indian temples you will see that most of the time, most of the shrines are in pitch darkness. You can't see anything. Did they do it out of ignorance? No. Deliberately they have done. So, when you go to have ''Darshan'', the ''Pujari'', he lights up camphor or some light and then he will show you. So, you see the Divine Lord. It is symbolic of that when you visit a temple, whether you visit a mountain top or you go deep down into the sea, one cannot get God unless there is that knowledge. ''Gnana Deepa''. That is why the fourth line of "''Khandana Bhava Bandhana", "Gnan Anjana Vimala Nayana Vikshane Moha Jai"'' And then of course, I quoted yesterday, "''Jyotira Jyoti"'' That is "Tumi Tama Bhanjanahar" You are always there. You are the light of the lights. What is that light of the lights? That is called Atman. That is called Paramatma. That is called Brahman. So, this is how we are given a hint how to meditate. What is meditation? To become gradually one with what we are meditating. The complete identity of the meditator and the object of meditation, that is called Yoga. Yoga Yujudhatu To become completely one. So, as we go on meditating, you are ''Jyotira Jyoti''. So, here you said ''Tasyabhasa Sarvamidam Vibhati Tamevabhantam Anubhati Sarvam'' Nothing is needed to show off the light even when a small lamp is there. You don't need another lamp to show the previous lamp because it not only shows itself. So, I am ''Prakashaka'' but it also in its own limited way can illuminate other things. But even that there is a light even to know, to cognize my awareness should be there. Only then it is possible. Otherwise, light is totally useless at all. Just imagine a blind person cannot see anything at all. So, by meditating upon God, I realize ''Jyotiraham Vraja Vipatma Bhuyasaggu Swaha'' When Sannyasins utter these ''Vraja Homa Mantras Jyotiraham'' I am that pure Jyoti It is not somewhere sitting there. You know what happens if God is sitting somewhere and He becomes an object then you have to illuminate Him. Without your taking notice of Him He is not able to shine at all. He doesn't even exist. That is why, who is great? I am great. And Sri Ramakrishna gives a beautiful example. He borrowed it from Mahimacharan Chakravarti, I think. He said, you know, this ''Brahmanda'', this cosmos is so big that God contains this unimaginably vast Brahmanda within Himself. So, who is great? God is great. Brahmanda is small and God is big. But that biggest God who can keep the whole Brahmanda within Himself a devotee simply keeps where? In his heart. What size? ''Angushta matra''. You fellow, you just be an ''Angushta.'' Vamadeva. And I will keep like that. So, what is the size of a thumb within our heart? If God is like that, who is greater? A devotee certainly is greater. And is it only hyperbole, an exaggeration? No. This is the truth. So, if I do not cognize God, that means I do not think about God. God doesn't exist. World doesn't exist. What exists? Whatever I do not think, that doesn't exist. So, meditate upon, let us meditate upon each one of ourselves as that ''Jyotira Jyoti.'' I am the light of the lights. I am that Brahman. Brahman means light. It is for a meditational purpose. It is a beautiful mantra, quoted many times. And next, 15th mantra. "''Eko hamsaha, bhuvanasya asya madhye, sahyeva agnihi, salile sannivishtaha, tameva viditva, atimrutyu methi, nanyah pantha vidyate, ayanaya."'' This, the last part of this, "" Swamiji added, he has taken earlier way of saying, "''shunmantu vishwe, amrutasya putraha"''. Then, at the end, ''tameva viditva, atimrutyu methi, nanyah pantha vidyate, ayanaya''. This is part of that wake up call. Oh man, you are really a child of immortality. It is a liable sin to call you a sinner. Yes, you might commit mistakes, but that is not to be your nature. And by that, Swami Vivekananda also countered the belief of some religious people, especially Christians, that man is a born sinner. Born sinner means, that is his nature. Swamiji said, no, he is not saying man cannot be a sinner. But what he is saying is, that is not the nature of man. But because of ignorance, because of delusional thinking, man can commit evil, and that is committing a sin, evil action. What is a sin? Whatever takes us away from God is a sin. And whatever takes us nearer to God, that is called Dharma. Sin is Adharma. But the nature of anything in this world, not only man, animals, insects, plants, even the so-called non-living things, is all nothing but pure Brahman only. They will also evolve biologically, intellectually, morally and spiritually. So, these beautiful mantras are there. Tameva viditva, only by knowing. Knowing how I know a tree, I know a table, not that way. I am Brahman. I am not a tree. I am not a table. I can never be either a table or a tree, or anything else. When I say, I am so and so, I am denying everything. I am not a tree. I am not an insect. I am not anything that is non-human. Human, non-human, the whole universe, I am cosmos, I am denying. So, by just saying I am so and so, I am saying I am no other thing in this world excepting this particular being. Therefore, I cannot be a tree, I cannot be a table. This is our present knowledge, but we can know. This is called objective knowledge. Pramana janita jnanam. But when I know God, there is no pramana, there is no prameya, there is no prama, there is no instrument, I become one rather. That is also a wrong expression. I realize I am Brahman. This is called viditva. Tam eva viditva. Only when I know, what do I know? I am Brahman. What is Brahman? I am not mrutyu. I am amruta putra. Then it is my nature. I claim there. I don't become, but I just claim I am amruta. Atimrutyu methi means go beyond this idea. This wrong thought that I am subject to birth and death. And in order to live permanently, eternally, infinitely, there is no other way. Na anyaha pantha. There is no other way. Ayanaya means to know that I am mortal. That will remain until I know I am immortal. I am immortal is an eternal fact. I am mortal is a temporary delusional fact. That is why we are all mad. Ramakrishna says we are all mad. This is the second part of this 15th mantra. But he is telling something most marvelous in the following mantras. Ekoham saha bhuvanasya syamadhiye sa eva agnihi salile sanivistaha First I will read the English translation. In this universe, the swan, here swan means supreme self. I will come to that. Alone exists. It is brahman who as fire abides in the water. Only by knowing him does one pass over death. There is no other way to reach the supreme goal. Now this word hamsa, if you reverse, just like Sri Ramakrishna made a pun. Geeta, Geeta, Geeta, Geeta, Geeta, Geeta If you utter very fast, then it becomes thagi. Thagi means that tyaga, sanyasa. Give up the wrong notion that you are a jiva, but know that you are immortal soul. Amrutasya putrah Here also hamsa. In fact, this is called ajapa japa. A continuous japa that is going on all the time. What is that japa? This is called hamsa mantra. Soham, soham. You repeat fast. Hamsaha, hamsaha, hamsaha, hamsa, soham. Hamsaha, that visarga, properly done, it becomes so. Ham, so, ham, so, ham, so, ham, so, ham, so, soham. Soham means what? Saha, that pure atman, brahman, Saha, aham. I am brahman, I am brahman, I am brahman, I am atman, I am atman. And how many gods can be there? Ekaha, only one. Because how many infinites can be there? Only one. We discussed this idea. Whenever we use that word infinite, you have to understand that there cannot be two infinites. Ekameva advitiyam. And in this world, bhuvanasya madhye, where is that hamsaha? Where is that God? So there is no world. There are no two things. One is brahman, and another is this world. It is the same. Whether you call it clay, or whether you call it pot, whether you call it gold, or whether you call it an ornament, whether you call it furniture, or whether you call it wood, there is no furniture, there is no ornament, there is no pot, excepting the clay, the gold, and the furniture, wood, with different nama, rupa, and muna. That is all. But they are not objects. Why? Because if there are two objects, both objects have independent existence. But here, the pot has no independent existence. Because you can't take out, this is separate. This is clay, and this is pot. You can never do that. This is the ornament, and this is the gold. This is the chair, and this is the wood. Take out the wood from the furniture, there will be no furniture at all. Take out the gold, there will be no ornament. Take out the clay, mud, there will be no pot at all. It is only nama rupa that makes the difference. So what is this bhuvana? This bhuvana, this world, is only Brahman with nama rupa. And therefore, the whole world is nothing but one, Brahman. And that Brahman is Hamsaha. That is why even the highest of the sannyasins is called Paramahamsaha. This is easily understandable. The first half of the first line is easily understandable. But the second line, completely, is understandable. tam eva viditva Knowing that I am that Hamsa, Soham, atimrutyu me thi Only then He knows I have no death, because I am immortal. na nihapantha vidyatayena Easily understandable. But the second half of the first line, sa eva agnihi salile sannivistaha That Brahman is in the form of fire. And where is the salile sannivistaha? He is completely hidden in the water. Salila means water. And different vasyakaras try to interpret it in different ways. But I will give you one or two interpretations which will be helpful for our meditation and which are also easy to remember. The first way of looking at it is Agni and Salila are two of the pancha bhutas. What is this whole universe? It is nothing but made up of five elements. That is why it is called prapancha. But here, by pointing out two, the other three, in brackets as we say, etc., we are able to find out. Now, there is a krama, there is an order. So, who is the Pitamaha, Prapitamaha, Atman? Atman grossified himself into Akasha, space. And from space, further grossified is called Vayu. Vayu, further grossified, is called Agni. Agni, further grossified, is called Salila or water, up. And water, finally solidified or grossified, is called earth. So, what is the relationship between the earth and the water? Water is the mother you call, father you call of the earth. What is the relationship between water and fire? Fire is the parent of water. How do you know? How do you know? You eat some South Indian avakaya, you will understand it. Or when you are very hot, what comes out? Water comes out. And it is this water, fire, which is the reason for water. Can we understand it? Yes. Every millisecond, the sun is heating up and turning this water, which is its own child, that is why it is called its child, lifting it up in the form of vapor, carrying it further in the form of the wind, and to carry it, space is needed. Look at it. And then it carries to the mountain tops and then drops there in the form of rainy clouds. And then again it flows back to the Samudra. Samudra is born of what? Fire. Even the modern scientists confirm that at the very beginning, our earth is so fiery that it took billions of years even to solidify, become cooler. And then when it became cooler, suddenly they found vast stretches of water. And where from this water has come? That fire only, that what is called unimaginably hot flames, have cooled down, had become water. And this fire is able to burn because of oxygen, which belongs to the Vayu. And this Vayu, or air, is able to move because of the space. What a marvelous thing it is. So through this 15th mantra, we are given the understanding that that Brahman in the form of the Pancha Bhutas has come down. That was exactly what I was referring earlier. When we worship God, pray to Him wholeheartedly, surrender everything to Him, He gives us that right understanding that the whole universe is nothing but me. The whole universe is made up of Pancha Bhutas. The Pancha Bhutas came from me, and therefore everything is me, and you are also part of this world, and therefore you are also nothing but me. That is called Ek O Ham Saha Bhuvan Asya Asya Mathye Only one God is there, one Atman is there, nothing else is there. But that Atman is appearing to us in the form of Nama, Rupa, and Guna. And that is called Avidya, that is called Prakruti, that is called Pradhana, by the Sankhya School of Philosophy. And that is what exactly is making us forget we are only seeing the dress, but we are not seeing who is the person who has dressed. And that is, as we said earlier, Ham Saha. Who is that Ham Saha? That Brahman. Soham. But who is that? I am that, because you can say he is me, or you can say I am him. It makes no difference at all. Now, Swami Tyagishanthi Maharaj, a great scholar, he has given a little bit, slightly different meaning. I will do that in his notes. By speaking of God as the fire stationed in water, that is fire in the water, Ishruti, that means Upanishads, including this Upanishad, indicates that pure spirit is immanent in the world. So water represents this world, fire represents the pure spirit. So however different the letter might appear to be from it, that is, the fire is different from water. In fact, it looks at the opposite. What happens when there is fire? You take water and put it, douse the fire. And what is the explanation? Suppose a mother is very angry, and then the child slowly crawls, and then it climbs onto the lap of the mother. As soon as the child's body touches the mother's body, the fiery mother suddenly becomes extraordinarily sweet because she loves the child. So the water is the child of the fire. As soon as this water is sprinkled, my child has come. And it becomes extremely cool. That is one way of understanding it is. So the mantra makes it clear that the fire worshipped by the Vedic Rishis, which was considered by them symbolically hidden in the waters, is none other than this great God, that is Brahman, concealed in the midst of this world of change and limitation. But we can also understand in the fourth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, twenty-fourth shloka, Fire is described as Brahman. So everything is Brahman. Fire is also Brahman. So symbolically, when the Vedic Rishis are performing the Yajnas, that is, the fire is considered as Brahman and the fire is nothing but the sun. And the sun only produces all the creatures. Sun is life. Sun is energy. Sun is the vehicle for the manifestation of the pure consciousness. So everything is sun. And the sun is called Ishwara, Brahman, in many of the Upanishads. Upasana is done. So that is one way of understanding. And he who is the one soul, Hamsa is the soul, destroyer of ignorance, in the midst of the world. He alone is the fire, which is seated in water. And what is this water? This is again, a beautiful explanation is given, that the swan, Hamsa, the creature, the bird, called the swan, where does it dwell? In waters. Where does it swim? In the waters. So where is that swan? It represents Paramatma. And where does he abide? In water. Hamsa abides in the waters. This is another meaning of understanding. So the etymological meaning of the word Hamsa is destroyer of ignorance. So the fire, Agni, denotes the Supreme Self, which consumes ignorance as it were. And what is the water then? Water is here denoted to mean the body, our physical body, which contains preponderance of the element called water. 70% of our physical body is nothing but pure water. And the God of this water is called the Moon. Adhishtathru Devata, presiding deity. And what does the moon do? He presides. And he makes this water. That is why on full moon, etc., even the oceans, they create terrible ebb tide, low tide, etc. Similarly, because of our body, on those nights, our body also, the water in our body is also made to change. And that is, in some people, creates a havoc. And that is why the very word madcap, lunatic, it is closely related to the word lunar, that means to the moon. That is why the worldliness, the lust called kama, increases when somebody is moving. That is why in cinemas you will find moonlit dance will be there. Gardens, etc., moon will be there, not the sun. Have you ever seen in any cinema, any dance, daytime, only nighttime? I have my own explanation. I will make little bit fun of you. Because, moonlight is such, it will hide all the horrible things and only highlight the best things. But, daytime comes, illusion breaks, reverse takes place. Anyway, just a little bit of fun for you. But, another way of understanding it is, all the panchabhutas have their own presiding deities. So, for the eye, it is the sun. For the water, it is the Varuna. And for the mind, it is the Chandra. So, like that, Agni Devata, Surya Devata, etc., Jala Devata, Varuna, etc., so, they are closely related and therefore, God only is manifesting as the Adhyatmika, Adhibhautika, similarly, as Adhidaivika. The essence of it is, only one God is there. There is no world. Just as fire is hidden in the waters, so, that Paramatma, that Brahman is hidden in everybody's heart. When we realize, we become Paramahamsas. Sannyasa has very little to do with external appearance. It is a transformation in the mind only. That is what we have to understand here. We move on to the mantra number 16. Again, further description for the sake of contemplation on Brahman, that the attainment of the highest good, which is God, is possible only through the knowledge of the Lord. That is being again emphasized here. That is to say, some of the ways how we can think about God are being expounded in mantra number 16. He who is the support of both the unmanifested Prakruti and the Jiva, who is the Lord of the three Gunas and who is the cause of bondage, existence and liberation from Samsara, He really is the creator of the universe. Therefore, He is the only knower and He is the innermost self of all beings and their source because He is the omniscient Lord. He is the author of time. He is the possessor of virtues. He is the knower of everything. He creates all and He knows all. It means being all, He knows all. Again, these are some of the qualities, Gunas, for us to meditate for the sake of Dhyana. It is also very beautiful mantra, Saha, that Brahman, Vishwakrit. He is the creator of this universe. Remember, I have told you umpteen number of times, but we have to remember it is not like a potter creating a pot. The potter has no relationship with the clay, no relationship with the wheel with which he creates. But Brahman Himself has become this universe just as we create the entire our Swapna Jagat, Swapnika Jagat. It is like that. Vishwakrit. And then, who should know better? Only a person who has written a book knows everything about the book. A person who has created a machine knows everything about the machine, every part of the machine. So, Vishwa, with. That means He alone is Sarvajna, knowing. Atma Yoni He. That means, Yoni means origin, Yoni means cause. That means what? He Himself is the cause of Himself. What does it mean? As the world. Who is the world? Brahman Himself. And He created Himself. So, when we create our dream world, we are the creators and we know better than anybody what type of dreams we are having. Don't say, I never expected this kind of nightmarish dreams. It is all because you thought earlier and you have forgotten your thought and they are coming in a very concrete form, as if you have created them and as if you don't know anything about them. So, Atma Yoni He. Jnaha, means Sarvajna. He knows everything. And then, as part of the creation, what does He do? Kala Kalaha. That is, He is the creator of the time, space and causation. He is called Mahakala. What we call time is changing. That changefulness of the time, even to say it is redundancy. Time means changefulness. Changefulness means time. That changefulness is subdivided into three. Past, present and future. Even the modern astronomers tell that with the first big bang, time and space are created and still that universe is expanding. Kala Kalaha. That is, He is the creator of Kala and subdivisions of Kala as past, present and future. Not only that, as we have seen in the Krishna Upanishad. He has become the Sun. He has become the Moon. So, the Sun is creating time called Samvatsara. The Moon is creating what is called Shukla Paksha, Krishna Paksha, etc. So, Sun and Moon are symbolic of the time. And He has created food. He has created the whole world. The whole world is created by Kala, Desha, Kala and Nimitta. That is what is being said here. Guni means every quality. What do we mean by every quality? Good as well as evil. Yesterday also I quoted every guna that we see, it is all coming from Him. What about evil guna? Truly speaking, there is nothing called good guna or evil guna. A guna which is used properly is called auspicious guna, Shubha guna. And a guna which is misused that is called evil quality. Same knife, it can heal or it can also kill, destroy. So, guni all gunas belong to whom? To Prakruti. That is going to be enumerated just now. So, guni means He is consisting of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. And all the gunas we call it good, Daivi Sampath and Asari Sampath are the different manifestations of His combination of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. Sarva Vidyaha because He has become everything and He has entered everything. He is manifesting as everything. He is all-knowing, every-knowing. And only that Pradhana Kshetra Gnapati Gunesha. He is Gunesha. Gunajit Gunedyaha. Gunashraye Gunamayi. He is not only guna. He is the Lord of the gunas. He is the origin of gunas. He is the manifester of the gunas. He is manifesting as gunas. And how? That is how Sankhya school of philosophy tells us Pradhana. Prakruti is called Pradhana in the Sankhya system of philosophy and He has created creation consists of two things. Subject and object. Object is called Pradhana Prakruti but the subject is called Kshetra Gna. We have the beautiful elaboration in the 13th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. He is Patihi. He is the Ishwara and He is created means He has become everything and He is playing with Himself. This is called solitaire game. Samsara Moksha Stithi Vandahetuhu. Who created this Samsara? He created. And who is binding us? Himself. Guna means one meaning of Guna is that which binds us is called a Guna. Whether it is Tamoguna, Vajoguna, Satvaguna, all three Gunas equally bind us. That's why Sri Ramakrishna tried to explain to us this in the form of story of three robbers. Even Satvaguna is a robber but with a difference that robber will tell I am a robber. Don't trust me. You better get out of me. Get away from me. That is the greatness of the Sattva robber. So Samsara. Who created? God. And who created this bondage to the Samsara? God only. What does it mean? Samsara, you need not to get bound. If you are a knower, Samsara will be a Leela Kshetra. If you don't know the truth, that will be binding you. And who gives, who created the bondage? He. Who can liberate you? Moksha give you Moksha? He. Moksha Stithi Banda Hetu Ho. He is the Janma and Laya Srishti Stithi Laya Karta. He can give you Moksha but what does he do? First he will bind you then he will be praying to some God and then that God comes and says you better pray to yourself and you are closing your own eyes. When that knowledge comes we remove our own eyes and that is called Moksha. So he is everything. He is the world. He is the Jeeva. He is also spiritual aspirant. He will also get liberation. That is what is being said. We will discuss next class.
[[Category:Svetasvatara Upanishad]]

Svetasvatara Upanishad Lecture 42 on 23 July 2023

2023-07-29T20:33:42Z

Sevak123: change "lightening" to "lightning" in several places. Minor spell checks. Sanskrit words were put in italics.

== Full Transcript (Not Corrected) ==
In our last class of the Yashvatashvatara Upanishad, chapter number 6, which has 23 mantras, we have been discussing the 14th mantra. This is the most marvelous mantra quoted umpteen number of times by all the Acharyas, especially Advaita Acharyas. Why the mantra goes like this? "''NA TATRA SURYO BHATI, NA CHANDRA TARAKAM, NEMA VIDYUTO BHANTI, KUTO AYAM AGNIHI, TAMEVA BHANTAM ANUBHATI SARVAM, TASYA BHASA SARVAM IDAM VIBHATI"'' The sun doesn't shine there, nor the moon and the stars, nor these lightnings, much less this fire. He is shining, everything shines after him. By his light, everything is lighted up. This is the essence of it. What does it mean? We have discussed. Him means Brahman. There means Brahman. Brahman is a state of consciousness. Usually you say, here, there, it indicates a place in space. But that is not what is meant here. Brahman being infinite and eternal, the question of space and time do not arise at all. And what does it mean? It means he himself, pure consciousness. Is it male? No. Is it female? No. Is it neuter? No. Whether something is male or female is all related to the body. Similarly, is it good or evil? That is related to the mind. Happy or unhappy? That is related to the mind. Brahman is being pure consciousness. That is the indescribable thing. Now, this 14th mantra is telling us; what is the nature of the Brahman? He is not like a ''Jada Vastu''. Now, in this world we can divide every object into two. Those who are endowed with or in whom awareness is manifest, life is manifest. And those in whom just existing but no manifestation of either life, and therefore consciousness. But look at it. If you are looking at me, I am a living creature. That means I have consciousness. But I am still a ''Jada Vastu''. Because if you choose not to think about me, not to pay attention to me, then I do not exist at all. Even if you choose not to think of God, the very existence of God will disappear. But don't go on thinking. I choose not to think about God. Because even while thinking about God, I choose not to think about God. You are thinking only about God. Complete forgetfulness. How to do? Think of something else. Here is a table, beautiful table. And here is a rope, beautiful rope. This rope is taken as a classical example. Very useful. If you are tired of life, a rope comes in very much handy. Or even if it is a snake, that also comes into practical usage. Now, there are lights in this world. The sun, the moon, the lightnings, the fire. Only that much? No. We have a beautiful description of this. Even voice, speech, that is also a light. Suppose it is dark and you can't see. Can somebody help me? And then immediately, somebody whom you can't see but whom you can hear, who can also hear you and who is responding to you, so that person also, he can respond to you. Now, you come to your left and walk a few feet. Come to the right. Walk a little bit. So, this is called light. What is light? Knowledge is light. So, knowledge is what we want. What does the sun do? Knowledge. What does the moon do? Give us knowledge. What do the stars do? Same thing. What does fire do? Same thing. What does somebody's speech do? Same thing. But these things need to be illumined by another light. To know that there is a sun, I have to be aware of the sun. To know there is a moon, I have to be aware of the moon. To know there is a lightning, I have to be aware. If I'm in a coma or I'm in deep sleep or I'm thinking deeply about something else, I won't be aware of it. Even if you can shout, I will not hear about it at all. So, I have to be aware. That awareness is the reflected consciousness. That is called ''Chidabhasa''. And that is what is being referred here. Everything else requires that pure awareness to cognize that there is a sun, there is a moon, there are stars, there is a fire, and there is somebody speaking, somebody standing. But to know that "I am," it is continuously there. Other things are changing, but I am is not changing. That message is what is being conveyed here. And this is how ultimately, we have to understand. Now, in this light of what we have just uttered, try to understand. When there is Brahman, Surya ''"Na bhati"'' means the sun cannot illumine. That means Brahman need not be illumined by the sun, need not be illumined. Chandra means moon. In fact, there is no moonlight. It is nothing but there is a moon, is a beautiful piece of rock, and that is illumined, reflecting the sunlight. And all the stars are nothing but the sun only in different forms. That is why the sun also is called a star. ''Ne ma vidyutaha''. This lightning that we see, that is also because of the sun. So fire, because of the sun. The sun manifesting in the form of firewood, even a plant to be alive, it is only because of the sun. And when that plant dies, and it needs to be dried up, and that drying up is also done with the help of the sun, and then only the fire is hidden as it were. What is that fire? The sun only, and the sun produces food, and that food is eaten by all of us, living creatures. And when we are eating that food, then what happens? We are able to think, we are able to see, able to talk, etc., etc. Without the sun, there is no energy. Food means energy. And without energy, nothing can be done. And therefore the sun is the cause of it. But to cognize that sun, that here is a body, and it requires food, food is produced with the help of the sun, here is water, here are stars, here is the moon, here is the fire, here is somebody speaking, we must be completely aware. So what illumines all these things? Only the pure consciousness. But pure consciousness need not be illuminated because when is it that we do not feel that I am? Even to say, I am not, we have to be, and we have to be aware, that I am aware, I am not. But if I am aware, and if I am giving this speech, I am not, is it fact, or is it just an ideal imagination? So what is it? Pure consciousness is Brahman, and that pure consciousness, because of our association with the mind, it is percolating, it is reflecting through the medium of the mind, and a little bit of that mind is lending that consciousness, which it has borrowed from the chit, to the sense organs, to the body, and so the body is able to function, and that awareness is illuminating the whole world. That is why my awareness is the whole world. Then we say, drishti srishti vada, I see the world. It is a dead person, his eyes may be in perfect condition, but he won't be able to see, as an example. Why? Because the mind is not there. But even if the mind is there, the eyes cannot function. The mind must be illuminated by the chidabhasa, and the mind can lend that ''chidabhasa'' to the eye, then only the eye can see. Ultimately, it is the pure consciousness. What a marvellous thing! Everything exists, everything is revealed, and everything gives us an experience, all because of this pure consciousness. That is the meaning of it. ''tam eva bhantam'' Because of pure consciousness, sarvam anubhati Borrowing that consciousness, everything is lighted up. ''tasya bhasa sarvam idam vibhati'' By the consciousness. Here, bhasa means light, light means pure consciousness. By the light of his pure consciousness, Brahman's pure consciousness, everything is lighted up, means what? Everything is cognized, there is something, and it is of this nature, everything. And what is the profit we get? Because I am that pure consciousness. I am eternal. If I am not there, the world doesn't exist. The whole world depends upon me. But not only that, the whole world depends upon me, can be easily understood. But even God depends upon me. Even Brahman depends upon me. I illumine Brahman. How come? Because if I choose to think, because when I am thinking of Brahman, Brahman loses its subjectivity and becomes an object. Because he is a victim, a modification of my mind. Therefore, I am that Brahman. But I cannot understand I am that Brahman. Whatever I may think about it, I can become one with Brahman. I know that I am Brahman, but I can never express it. That is why Ramakrishna says that everything is polluted in this world, but nobody can express what Brahman is. Now, this is a famous section in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. In the fourth chapter, third section, at the very beginning, practically, from the very beginning, there is a conversation or dialogue between Janaka and Yajnavalkya. And the question was put that we are all able to see everything because of the light of the sun. And so, when the sun sets, there should be complete darkness until it rises again? No, because when the moon arises, we get some knowledge and some animals get full knowledge. Because of the limitation of our eye, we cannot see, just as we can see in the daytime. But we can see something. Sometimes we can have very good knowledge when there is full moonlight and it is so clear, we can say, sometimes even it spoils our eye, so bright it is, it is sunlight itself. Of course, it is nothing but sunlight. So, when the sun sets, what is the light? Moon. Remember, throughout, it is only sunlight through the medium of the moon. And when the moon sets, what is the light? Lightnings. We have seen it, it is our experience. It is dark, suddenly there is a lightning and for a moment, the whole surrounding is completely lighted up. And when the lightnings are not there, what would be there? You light a fire. Your torchlight is also nothing but pure sun. So, any type of light, it could be a small wick with kerosene or oil lamp, that is fire. Here, the word used is Agni, fire. And when the fire is set, pitch dark, what is the light? That means, how can I have knowledge? Then, somebody shouts. So, you don't go here and there, you come straight and you turn to the left, turn to the right. We all know that. How? When you are driving the car, modern car, GPS we call it. And if you are a spiritual aspirant, that is also called GPS. Guru Parampara System. Both are there to give us light. I am trying to read out this one. It is a beautiful one. So, what does it say? ''Ashtamita Aditya Yagnivalikya Hey Yagnivalikya'', Janaka is asking. There are many mantras are there, but I am only taking the sixth one. ''Ashtamita, Ashtamite Aditya'' When the sun is set. Hey Yagnivalikya, Chandramasi Ashtamite When the moon is also set. Shantau Agne When the fire is completely extinguished. Shantayam Vachi When there is no speech. Kim Jyoti Reva Ayam Purushayate That light which guides this being called Purusha. Purusha means Atman. And then the reply Atma Eva Asya Jyotir Bhavati Atma alone becomes its own light. Atmana Eva Ayam Jyotishahate All these lights. The sun, the moon, the lightenings, the fire and everything. Atmana Eva That is that by the light of the pure consciousness. Pallyayate, Karmakurute, Vipallyayate Actions are done. And eating is done. Every action that we can think of. Srishti Stithilaya It is a very important point to remember. Every action any living being does can be classified into three. Srishti, something is not there, it is created. Stithi, it is maintained for some time. And Laya, and it disappears. Whatever appears, stays for some time, disappears. A lightening appears, stays. Maybe for a very short time. And then it goes away. So Atma Eva Asya Jyotir Bhavati The pure consciousness is its own light. And Thou art that. He Amrutasya Putraaha, Thou art that. What is the point of all this mantra? None can illumine God. None need illumine God. None should illumine God or Truth. God, Truth are equated. And there is no way that one can illumine. It is not possible. It is not necessary also. Here also a very important point we have to understand. We do Arathrikam at the end of the puja. Especially when there is an elaborate puja. Usually Arathrikam or Vesper, it is called Vesper service, is done in the evenings, just after the sunsets. That is the conjunction between the day and night. That is called Sandhya time, dawn or dusk. At the time of dusk, Arathrikam is done. And you notice, we all know, that first thing that is shown to God is light. And what is the symbolism of light? The lower symbolism is, it is a representation of Panchabhutas and light is the representation of fire. Water is the representation of water. Flower is the representation of the earth. The Chamara is the representation of the Vayu. And the cloth is the representation of the space. So, when you put on a cloth, what are you doing? You are covering the space around you. Because you don't want to be seen as you are. Because you will be acceptable only after you cover. Not otherwise. So, at the time of Arathrikam, what is it showing? Oh Lord, you alone are the truth. You alone are eternal and infinite. And that knowledge I have got by your grace, because I begged you, I worshipped you, I prayed to you through this action ritual called Pooja, and I have that knowledge. That is why in South Indian temples you will see that most of the time, most of the shrines are in pitch darkness. You can't see anything. Did they do it out of ignorance? No. Deliberately they have done. So, when you go to have Darshan, the Pujari, he lights up camphor or some light and then he will show you. So, you see the Divine Lord. It is symbolic of that when you visit a temple, whether you visit a mountain top or you go deep down into the sea, one cannot get God unless there is that knowledge. Gnana Deepa. That is why the fourth line Avkhandana Bhava Bandhana Gnananjana Vimalanayana Vikshane Mohajay And then of course I quoted yesterday Jyoti Rajyoti That is Tumitama Bhanjanaha You are always there. You are the light of the lights. What is that light of the lights? That is called Atman. That is called Paramatma. That is called Brahman. So, this is how we are given a hint how to meditate. What is meditation? To become gradually one with what we are meditating. The complete identity of the meditator and the object of meditation, that is called Yoga. Yoga Yujudhatu To become completely one. So, as we go on meditating, you are Jyoti Rajyoti. So, here you said Tasyabhasa Sarvamidam Vibhati Tamevabhantam Anubhati Sarvam Nothing is needed to show off the light even when a small lamp is there. You don't need another lamp to show the previous lamp because it not only shows itself. So, I am Prakashaka but it also in its own limited way can illuminate other things. But even that there is a light even to know, to cognize my awareness should be there. Only then it is possible. Otherwise, light is totally useless at all. Just imagine a blind person cannot see anything at all. So, by meditating upon God, I realize Jyotiraham Vraja Vipatma Bhuyasaggu Swaha When Sannyasins utter these Vraja Homa Mantras Jyotiraham I am that pure Jyoti It is not somewhere sitting there. You know what happens if God is sitting somewhere and He becomes an object then you have to illuminate Him. Without your taking notice of Him He is not able to shine at all. He doesn't even exist. That is why, who is great? I am great. And Sri Ramakrishna gives a beautiful example. He borrowed it from another Mahimacharan Chakravarti, I think. He said, you know, this Brahmanda, this cosmos is so big that God contains this unimaginably vast Brahmanda within Himself. So, who is great? God is great. Brahmanda is small and God is big. But that biggest God who can keep the whole Brahmanda within Himself a devotee simply keeps where? In his heart. What size? Angushta matra. You fellow, you just be an Angushta. Vamadeva. And I will keep like that. So, what is the size of a thumb within our heart? If God is like that, who is greater? A devotee certainly is greater. And is it only hyperbole, an exaggeration? No. This is the truth. So, if I do not cognize God, that means I do not think about God. God doesn't exist. World doesn't exist. What exists? Whatever I do not think, that doesn't exist. So, meditate upon, let us meditate upon each one of ourselves as that Jyoti Rajyoti. I am the light of the lights. I am that Brahman. Brahman means light. It is for a meditational purpose. It is a beautiful mantra, quoted many times. And next, 15th mantra. Ekoham saha, bhuvanasya asya madhye, sahyeva agnihi, salile sannivishtaha, tameva viditva, atimrutyu methi, nanyah pantha vidyate, ayanaya. This, the last part of this, tameva viditva, atimrutyu methi, nanyah pantha vidyate, ayanaya. Swamiji added, he has taken earlier way of saying, shunmantu vishwe, amrutasya putraha. Then, at the end, tameva viditva, atimrutyu methi, nanyah pantha vidyate, ayanaya. This is part of that wake up call. Oh man, you are really a child of immortality. It is a liable sin to call you a sinner. Yes, you might commit mistakes, but that is not to be your nature. And by that, Swami Vivekananda also countered the belief of some religious people, especially Christians, that man is a born sinner. Born sinner means, that is his nature. Swamiji said, no, he is not saying man cannot be a sinner. But what he is saying is, that is not the nature of man. But because of ignorance, because of delusional thinking, man can commit evil, and that is committing a sin, evil action. What is a sin? Whatever takes us away from God is a sin. And whatever takes us nearer to God, that is called Dharma. Sin is Adharma. But the nature of anything in this world, not only man, animals, insects, plants, even the so-called non-living things, is all nothing but pure Brahman only. They will also evolve biologically, intellectually, morally and spiritually. So, these beautiful mantras are there. Tameva viditva, only by knowing. Knowing how I know a tree, I know a table, not that way. I am Brahman. I am not a tree. I am not a table. I can never be either a table or a tree, or anything else. When I say, I am so and so, I am denying everything. I am not a tree. I am not an insect. I am not anything that is non-human. Human, non-human, the whole universe, I am cosmos, I am denying. So, by just saying I am so and so, I am saying I am no other thing in this world excepting this particular being. Therefore, I cannot be a tree, I cannot be a table. This is our present knowledge, but we can know. This is called objective knowledge. Pramana janita jnanam. But when I know God, there is no pramana, there is no prameya, there is no prama, there is no instrument, I become one rather. That is also a wrong expression. I realize I am Brahman. This is called viditva. Tam eva viditva. Only when I know, what do I know? I am Brahman. What is Brahman? I am not mrutyu. I am amruta putra. Then it is my nature. I claim there. I don't become, but I just claim I am amruta. Atimrutyu methi means go beyond this idea. This wrong thought that I am subject to birth and death. And in order to live permanently, eternally, infinitely, there is no other way. Na anyaha pantha. There is no other way. Ayanaya means to know that I am mortal. That will remain until I know I am immortal. I am immortal is an eternal fact. I am mortal is a temporary delusional fact. That is why we are all mad. Ramakrishna says we are all mad. This is the second part of this 15th mantra. But he is telling something most marvelous in the following mantras. Ekoham saha bhuvanasya syamadhiye sa eva agnihi salile sanivistaha First I will read the English translation. In this universe, the swan, here swan means supreme self. I will come to that. Alone exists. It is brahman who as fire abides in the water. Only by knowing him does one pass over death. There is no other way to reach the supreme goal. Now this word hamsa, if you reverse, just like Sri Ramakrishna made a pun. Geeta, Geeta, Geeta, Geeta, Geeta, Geeta If you utter very fast, then it becomes thagi. Thagi means that tyaga, sanyasa. Give up the wrong notion that you are a jiva, but know that you are immortal soul. Amrutasya putrah Here also hamsa. In fact, this is called ajapa japa. A continuous japa that is going on all the time. What is that japa? This is called hamsa mantra. Soham, soham. You repeat fast. Hamsaha, hamsaha, hamsaha, hamsa, soham. Hamsaha, that visarga, properly done, it becomes so. Ham, so, ham, so, ham, so, ham, so, ham, so, soham. Soham means what? Saha, that pure atman, brahman, Saha, aham. I am brahman, I am brahman, I am brahman, I am atman, I am atman. And how many gods can be there? Ekaha, only one. Because how many infinites can be there? Only one. We discussed this idea. Whenever we use that word infinite, you have to understand that there cannot be two infinites. Ekameva advitiyam. And in this world, bhuvanasya madhye, where is that hamsaha? Where is that God? So there is no world. There are no two things. One is brahman, and another is this world. It is the same. Whether you call it clay, or whether you call it pot, whether you call it gold, or whether you call it an ornament, whether you call it furniture, or whether you call it wood, there is no furniture, there is no ornament, there is no pot, excepting the clay, the gold, and the furniture, wood, with different nama, rupa, and muna. That is all. But they are not objects. Why? Because if there are two objects, both objects have independent existence. But here, the pot has no independent existence. Because you can't take out, this is separate. This is clay, and this is pot. You can never do that. This is the ornament, and this is the gold. This is the chair, and this is the wood. Take out the wood from the furniture, there will be no furniture at all. Take out the gold, there will be no ornament. Take out the clay, mud, there will be no pot at all. It is only nama rupa that makes the difference. So what is this bhuvana? This bhuvana, this world, is only Brahman with nama rupa. And therefore, the whole world is nothing but one, Brahman. And that Brahman is Hamsaha. That is why even the highest of the sannyasins is called Paramahamsaha. This is easily understandable. The first half of the first line is easily understandable. But the second line, completely, is understandable. tam eva viditva Knowing that I am that Hamsa, Soham, atimrutyu me thi Only then He knows I have no death, because I am immortal. na nihapantha vidyatayena Easily understandable. But the second half of the first line, sa eva agnihi salile sannivistaha That Brahman is in the form of fire. And where is the salile sannivistaha? He is completely hidden in the water. Salila means water. And different vasyakaras try to interpret it in different ways. But I will give you one or two interpretations which will be helpful for our meditation and which are also easy to remember. The first way of looking at it is Agni and Salila are two of the pancha bhutas. What is this whole universe? It is nothing but made up of five elements. That is why it is called prapancha. But here, by pointing out two, the other three, in brackets as we say, etc., we are able to find out. Now, there is a krama, there is an order. So, who is the Pitamaha, Prapitamaha, Atman? Atman grossified himself into Akasha, space. And from space, further grossified is called Vayu. Vayu, further grossified, is called Agni. Agni, further grossified, is called Salila or water, up. And water, finally solidified or grossified, is called earth. So, what is the relationship between the earth and the water? Water is the mother you call, father you call of the earth. What is the relationship between water and fire? Fire is the parent of water. How do you know? How do you know? You eat some South Indian avakaya, you will understand it. Or when you are very hot, what comes out? Water comes out. And it is this water, fire, which is the reason for water. Can we understand it? Yes. Every millisecond, the sun is heating up and turning this water, which is its own child, that is why it is called its child, lifting it up in the form of vapor, carrying it further in the form of the wind, and to carry it, space is needed. Look at it. And then it carries to the mountain tops and then drops there in the form of rainy clouds. And then again it flows back to the Samudra. Samudra is born of what? Fire. Even the modern scientists confirm that at the very beginning, our earth is so fiery that it took billions of years even to solidify, become cooler. And then when it became cooler, suddenly they found vast stretches of water. And where from this water has come? That fire only, that what is called unimaginably hot flames, have cooled down, had become water. And this fire is able to burn because of oxygen, which belongs to the Vayu. And this Vayu, or air, is able to move because of the space. What a marvelous thing it is. So through this 15th mantra, we are given the understanding that that Brahman in the form of the Pancha Bhutas has come down. That was exactly what I was referring earlier. When we worship God, pray to Him wholeheartedly, surrender everything to Him, He gives us that right understanding that the whole universe is nothing but me. The whole universe is made up of Pancha Bhutas. The Pancha Bhutas came from me, and therefore everything is me, and you are also part of this world, and therefore you are also nothing but me. That is called Ek O Ham Saha Bhuvan Asya Asya Mathye Only one God is there, one Atman is there, nothing else is there. But that Atman is appearing to us in the form of Nama, Rupa, and Guna. And that is called Avidya, that is called Prakruti, that is called Pradhana, by the Sankhya School of Philosophy. And that is what exactly is making us forget we are only seeing the dress, but we are not seeing who is the person who has dressed. And that is, as we said earlier, Ham Saha. Who is that Ham Saha? That Brahman. Soham. But who is that? I am that, because you can say he is me, or you can say I am him. It makes no difference at all. Now, Swami Tyagishanthi Maharaj, a great scholar, he has given a little bit, slightly different meaning. I will do that in his notes. By speaking of God as the fire stationed in water, that is fire in the water, Ishruti, that means Upanishads, including this Upanishad, indicates that pure spirit is immanent in the world. So water represents this world, fire represents the pure spirit. So however different the letter might appear to be from it, that is, the fire is different from water. In fact, it looks at the opposite. What happens when there is fire? You take water and put it, douse the fire. And what is the explanation? Suppose a mother is very angry, and then the child slowly crawls, and then it climbs onto the lap of the mother. As soon as the child's body touches the mother's body, the fiery mother suddenly becomes extraordinarily sweet because she loves the child. So the water is the child of the fire. As soon as this water is sprinkled, my child has come. And it becomes extremely cool. That is one way of understanding it is. So the mantra makes it clear that the fire worshipped by the Vedic Rishis, which was considered by them symbolically hidden in the waters, is none other than this great God, that is Brahman, concealed in the midst of this world of change and limitation. But we can also understand in the fourth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, twenty-fourth shloka, Fire is described as Brahman. So everything is Brahman. Fire is also Brahman. So symbolically, when the Vedic Rishis are performing the Yajnas, that is, the fire is considered as Brahman and the fire is nothing but the sun. And the sun only produces all the creatures. Sun is life. Sun is energy. Sun is the vehicle for the manifestation of the pure consciousness. So everything is sun. And the sun is called Ishwara, Brahman, in many of the Upanishads. Upasana is done. So that is one way of understanding. And he who is the one soul, Hamsa is the soul, destroyer of ignorance, in the midst of the world. He alone is the fire, which is seated in water. And what is this water? This is again, a beautiful explanation is given, that the swan, Hamsa, the creature, the bird, called the swan, where does it dwell? In waters. Where does it swim? In the waters. So where is that swan? It represents Paramatma. And where does he abide? In water. Hamsa abides in the waters. This is another meaning of understanding. So the etymological meaning of the word Hamsa is destroyer of ignorance. So the fire, Agni, denotes the Supreme Self, which consumes ignorance as it were. And what is the water then? Water is here denoted to mean the body, our physical body, which contains preponderance of the element called water. 70% of our physical body is nothing but pure water. And the God of this water is called the Moon. Adhishtathru Devata, presiding deity. And what does the moon do? He presides. And he makes this water. That is why on full moon, etc., even the oceans, they create terrible ebb tide, low tide, etc. Similarly, because of our body, on those nights, our body also, the water in our body is also made to change. And that is, in some people, creates a havoc. And that is why the very word madcap, lunatic, it is closely related to the word lunar, that means to the moon. That is why the worldliness, the lust called kama, increases when somebody is moving. That is why in cinemas you will find moonlit dance will be there. Gardens, etc., moon will be there, not the sun. Have you ever seen in any cinema, any dance, daytime, only nighttime? I have my own explanation. I will make little bit fun of you. Because, moonlight is such, it will hide all the horrible things and only highlight the best things. But, daytime comes, illusion breaks, reverse takes place. Anyway, just a little bit of fun for you. But, another way of understanding it is, all the panchabhutas have their own presiding deities. So, for the eye, it is the sun. For the water, it is the Varuna. And for the mind, it is the Chandra. So, like that, Agni Devata, Surya Devata, etc., Jala Devata, Varuna, etc., so, they are closely related and therefore, God only is manifesting as the Adhyatmika, Adhibhautika, similarly, as Adhidaivika. The essence of it is, only one God is there. There is no world. Just as fire is hidden in the waters, so, that Paramatma, that Brahman is hidden in everybody's heart. When we realize, we become Paramahamsas. Sannyasa has very little to do with external appearance. It is a transformation in the mind only. That is what we have to understand here. We move on to the mantra number 16. Again, further description for the sake of contemplation on Brahman, that the attainment of the highest good, which is God, is possible only through the knowledge of the Lord. That is being again emphasized here. That is to say, some of the ways how we can think about God are being expounded in mantra number 16. He who is the support of both the unmanifested Prakruti and the Jiva, who is the Lord of the three Gunas and who is the cause of bondage, existence and liberation from Samsara, He really is the creator of the universe. Therefore, He is the only knower and He is the innermost self of all beings and their source because He is the omniscient Lord. He is the author of time. He is the possessor of virtues. He is the knower of everything. He creates all and He knows all. It means being all, He knows all. Again, these are some of the qualities, Gunas, for us to meditate for the sake of Dhyana. It is also very beautiful mantra, Saha, that Brahman, Vishwakrit. He is the creator of this universe. Remember, I have told you umpteen number of times, but we have to remember it is not like a potter creating a pot. The potter has no relationship with the clay, no relationship with the wheel with which he creates. But Brahman Himself has become this universe just as we create the entire our Swapna Jagat, Swapnika Jagat. It is like that. Vishwakrit. And then, who should know better? Only a person who has written a book knows everything about the book. A person who has created a machine knows everything about the machine, every part of the machine. So, Vishwa, with. That means He alone is Sarvajna, knowing. Atma Yoni He. That means, Yoni means origin, Yoni means cause. That means what? He Himself is the cause of Himself. What does it mean? As the world. Who is the world? Brahman Himself. And He created Himself. So, when we create our dream world, we are the creators and we know better than anybody what type of dreams we are having. Don't say, I never expected this kind of nightmarish dreams. It is all because you thought earlier and you have forgotten your thought and they are coming in a very concrete form, as if you have created them and as if you don't know anything about them. So, Atma Yoni He. Jnaha, means Sarvajna. He knows everything. And then, as part of the creation, what does He do? Kala Kalaha. That is, He is the creator of the time, space and causation. He is called Mahakala. What we call time is changing. That changefulness of the time, even to say it is redundancy. Time means changefulness. Changefulness means time. That changefulness is subdivided into three. Past, present and future. Even the modern astronomers tell that with the first big bang, time and space are created and still that universe is expanding. Kala Kalaha. That is, He is the creator of Kala and subdivisions of Kala as past, present and future. Not only that, as we have seen in the Krishna Upanishad. He has become the Sun. He has become the Moon. So, the Sun is creating time called Samvatsara. The Moon is creating what is called Shukla Paksha, Krishna Paksha, etc. So, Sun and Moon are symbolic of the time. And He has created food. He has created the whole world. The whole world is created by Kala, Desha, Kala and Nimitta. That is what is being said here. Guni means every quality. What do we mean by every quality? Good as well as evil. Yesterday also I quoted every guna that we see, it is all coming from Him. What about evil guna? Truly speaking, there is nothing called good guna or evil guna. A guna which is used properly is called auspicious guna, Shubha guna. And a guna which is misused that is called evil quality. Same knife, it can heal or it can also kill, destroy. So, guni all gunas belong to whom? To Prakruti. That is going to be enumerated just now. So, guni means He is consisting of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. And all the gunas we call it good, Daivi Sampath and Asari Sampath are the different manifestations of His combination of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. Sarva Vidyaha because He has become everything and He has entered everything. He is manifesting as everything. He is all-knowing, every-knowing. And only that Pradhana Kshetra Gnapati Gunesha. He is Gunesha. Gunajit Gunedyaha. Gunashraye Gunamayi. He is not only guna. He is the Lord of the gunas. He is the origin of gunas. He is the manifester of the gunas. He is manifesting as gunas. And how? That is how Sankhya school of philosophy tells us Pradhana. Prakruti is called Pradhana in the Sankhya system of philosophy and He has created creation consists of two things. Subject and object. Object is called Pradhana Prakruti but the subject is called Kshetra Gna. We have the beautiful elaboration in the 13th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. He is Patihi. He is the Ishwara and He is created means He has become everything and He is playing with Himself. This is called solitaire game. Samsara Moksha Stithi Vandahetuhu. Who created this Samsara? He created. And who is binding us? Himself. Guna means one meaning of Guna is that which binds us is called a Guna. Whether it is Tamoguna, Vajoguna, Satvaguna, all three Gunas equally bind us. That's why Sri Ramakrishna tried to explain to us this in the form of story of three robbers. Even Satvaguna is a robber but with a difference that robber will tell I am a robber. Don't trust me. You better get out of me. Get away from me. That is the greatness of the Sattva robber. So Samsara. Who created? God. And who created this bondage to the Samsara? God only. What does it mean? Samsara, you need not to get bound. If you are a knower, Samsara will be a Leela Kshetra. If you don't know the truth, that will be binding you. And who gives, who created the bondage? He. Who can liberate you? Moksha give you Moksha? He. Moksha Stithi Banda Hetu Ho. He is the Janma and Laya Srishti Stithi Laya Karta. He can give you Moksha but what does he do? First he will bind you then he will be praying to some God and then that God comes and says you better pray to yourself and you are closing your own eyes. When that knowledge comes we remove our own eyes and that is called Moksha. So he is everything. He is the world. He is the Jeeva. He is also spiritual aspirant. He will also get liberation. That is what is being said. We will discuss next class.
[[Category:Svetasvatara Upanishad]]

Svetasvatara Upanishad Lecture 42 on 23 July 2023

2023-07-29T18:49:35Z

Sevak123: Changed "moralist" to "marvelous." Changed the sanskrit quote "NA TRA..." to Italics and corrected minor typos in it.

== Full Transcript (Not Corrected) ==
In our last class of the Yashvatashvatara Upanishad, chapter number 6, which has 23 mantras, we have been discussing the 14th mantra. This is the most marvelous mantra quoted umpteen number of times by all the Acharyas, especially Advaita Acharyas. Why the mantra goes like this? "''NA TATRA SURYO BHATI, NA CHANDRA TARAKAM, NEMA VIDYUTO BHANTI, KUTO AYAM AGNIHI, TAMEVA BHANTAM ANUBHATI SARVAM, TASYA BHASA SARVAM IDAM VIBHATI"'' The sun doesn't shine there, nor the moon and the stars, nor these lightenings, much less this fire. He is shining, everything shines after him. By his light, everything is lighted up. This is the essence of it. What does it mean? We have discussed. Him means Brahman. There means Brahman. Brahman is a state of consciousness. Usually you say, here, there, it indicates a place in space. But that is not what is meant here. Brahman being infinite and eternal. The question of space and time do not arise at all. And what does it mean? It means he himself, pure consciousness. Is it male? No. Is it female? No. Is it neuter? No. Whether something is male or female is all related to the body. Similarly, is it good or evil? That is related to the mind. Happy or unhappy? That is related to the mind. Brahman is being pure consciousness. That is the indescribable thing. Now, this 14th mantra is telling us. So what is the nature of the Brahman? He is not like a Jadavastu. Now, in this world we can divide every object into two. Those who are endowed with or in whom awareness is manifest, life is manifest. And those in whom just existing but no manifestation of either life and therefore consciousness. But look at it. If you are looking at me, I am a living creature. That means I have consciousness. But I am still a Jadavastu. Because if you choose not to think about me, not to pay attention to me, then I do not exist at all. Even if you choose not to think of God, the very existence of God will disappear. But don't go on thinking. I choose not to think about God. Because even while thinking about God, I choose not to think about God. You are thinking only about God. Complete forgetfulness. How to do? Think of something else. Here is a table, beautiful table. And here is a rope, beautiful rope. This rope is taken as a classical example. Very useful. If you are tired of life, a rope comes in very much. Or even if it is a snake, that also comes into practical usage. Now, there are lights in this world. The sun, the moon, the lightenings, the fire. Only that much? No. We have a beautiful description of this. Even voice, speech, that is also a light. Suppose it is dark and you can't see. Can somebody help me? And then immediately, somebody whom you can't see but whom you can hear, who can also hear you and who is responding to you, so that person also, he can respond to you. Now, you come to your left and walk a few feet. Come to the right. Walk a little bit. So, this is called light. What is light? Knowledge is light. So, knowledge is what we want. What does the sun do? Knowledge. What does the moon do? Give us knowledge. What do the stars do? Same thing. What does fire do? Same thing. What does somebody's speech do? Same thing. But these things need to be illumined by another light. To know that there is a sun, I have to be aware of the sun. To know there is a moon, I have to be aware of the moon. To know there is a lightening, I have to be aware. If I'm in a coma or I'm in deep sleep or I'm thinking deeply about something else, I won't be aware of it. Even if you can shout, I will not hear about it at all. So, I have to be aware. That awareness is the reflected consciousness. That is called Chidabhasa. And that is what is being referred here. Everything else requires that pure awareness to cognize that there is a sun, there is a moon, there are stars, there is a fire, and there is somebody speaking, somebody standing. But to know that I am, it is continuously there. Other things are changing, but I am is not changing. That message is what is being conveyed here. And this is how ultimately we have to understand. Now, in this light of what we have just uttered, try to understand. When there is Brahman, Surya Nabhati means the sun cannot illumine. That means Brahman need not be illumined by the sun, need not be illumined. Chandra means moon. In fact, there is no moonlight. It is nothing but there is a moon, is a beautiful piece of rock, and that is illumined, reflecting the sunlight. And all the stars are nothing but the sun only in different forms. That is why the sun also is called a star. Na ima vidyutaha. This lightening that we see, that is also because of the sun. So fire, because of the sun. The sun manifesting in the form of firewood, even a plant to be alive, it is only because of the sun. And when that plant dies, and it needs to be dried up, and that drying up is also done with the help of the sun, and then only the fire is hidden as it were. What is that fire? The sun only, and the sun produces food, and that food is eaten by all of us, living creatures. And when we are eating that food, then what happens? We are able to think, we are able to see, able to talk, etc., etc. Without the sun, there is no energy. Food means energy. And without energy, nothing can be done. And therefore the sun is the cause of it. But to cognize that sun, that here is a body, and it requires food, food is produced with the help of the sun, here is water, here are stars, here is the moon, here is the fire, here is somebody speaking, we must be completely aware. So what illumines all these things? Only the pure consciousness. But pure consciousness need not be illuminated because when is it that we do not feel that I am? Even to say, I am not, we have to be, and we have to be aware, that I am aware, I am not. But if I am aware, and if I am giving this speech, I am not, is it fact, or is it just an ideal imagination? So what is it? Pure consciousness is Brahman, and that pure consciousness, because of our association with the mind, it is percolating, it is reflecting through the medium of the mind, and a little bit of that mind is lending that consciousness, which it has borrowed from the chit, to the sense organs, to the body, and so the body is able to function, and that awareness is illuminating the whole world. That is why my awareness is the whole world. Then we say, drishti srishti vada, I see the world. It is a dead person, his eyes may be in perfect condition, but he won't be able to see, as an example. Why? Because the mind is not there. But even if the mind is there, the eyes cannot function. The mind must be illuminated by the chidabhasa, and the mind can lend that chidabhasa to the eye, then only the eye can see. Ultimately, it is the pure consciousness. What a marvellous thing! Everything exists, everything is revealed, and everything gives us an experience, all because of this pure consciousness. That is the meaning of it. tam eva bhantam Because of pure consciousness, sarvam anubhati Borrowing that consciousness, everything is lighted up. tasya bhasa sarvam idam vibhati By the consciousness. Here, bhasa means light, light means pure consciousness. By the light of his pure consciousness, Brahman's pure consciousness, everything is lighted up, means what? Everything is cognized, there is something, and it is of this nature, everything. And what is the profit we get? Because I am that pure consciousness. I am eternal. If I am not there, the world doesn't exist. The whole world depends upon me. But not only that, the whole world depends upon me, can be easily understood. But even God depends upon me. Even Brahman depends upon me. I illumine Brahman. How come? Because if I choose to think, because when I am thinking of Brahman, Brahman loses its subjectivity and becomes an object. Because he is a victim, a modification of my mind. Therefore, I am that Brahman. But I cannot understand I am that Brahman. Whatever I may think about it, I can become one with Brahman. I know that I am Brahman, but I can never express it. That is why Ramakrishna says that everything is polluted in this world, but nobody can express what Brahman is. Now, this is a famous section in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. In the fourth chapter, third section, at the very beginning, practically, from the very beginning, there is a conversation or dialogue between Janaka and Yajnavalkya. And the question was put that we are all able to see everything because of the light of the sun. And so, when the sun sets, there should be complete darkness until it rises again? No, because when the moon arises, we get some knowledge and some animals get full knowledge. Because of the limitation of our eye, we cannot see, just as we can see in the daytime. But we can see something. Sometimes we can have very good knowledge when there is full moonlight and it is so clear, we can say, sometimes even it spoils our eye, so bright it is, it is sunlight itself. Of course, it is nothing but sunlight. So, when the sun sets, what is the light? Moon. Remember, throughout, it is only sunlight through the medium of the moon. And when the moon sets, what is the light? Lightenings. We have seen it, it is our experience. It is dark, suddenly there is a lightening and for a moment, the whole surrounding is completely lighted up. And when the lightenings are not there, what would be there? You light a fire. Your torchlight is also nothing but pure sun. So, any type of light, it could be a small wick with kerosene or oil lamp, that is fire. Here, the word used is Agni, fire. And when the fire is set, pitch dark, what is the light? That means, how can I have knowledge? Then, somebody shouts. So, you don't go here and there, you come straight and you turn to the left, turn to the right. We all know that. How? When you are driving the car, modern car, GPS we call it. And if you are a spiritual aspirant, that is also called GPS. Guru Parampara System. Both are there to give us light. I am trying to read out this one. It is a beautiful one. So, what does it say? Ashtamita Aditya Yagnivalikya Hey Yagnivalikya, Janaka is asking. There are many mantras are there, but I am only taking the sixth one. Ashtamita, Ashtamite Aditya When the sun is set. Hey Yagnivalikya, Chandramasi Ashtamite When the moon is also set. Shantau Agne When the fire is completely extinguished. Shantayam Vachi When there is no speech. Kim Jyoti Reva Ayam Purushayate That light which guides this being called Purusha. Purusha means Atman. And then the reply Atma Eva Asya Jyotir Bhavati Atma alone becomes its own light. Atmana Eva Ayam Jyotishahate All these lights. The sun, the moon, the lightenings, the fire and everything. Atmana Eva That is that by the light of the pure consciousness. Pallyayate, Karmakurute, Vipallyayate Actions are done. And eating is done. Every action that we can think of. Srishti Stithilaya It is a very important point to remember. Every action any living being does can be classified into three. Srishti, something is not there, it is created. Stithi, it is maintained for some time. And Laya, and it disappears. Whatever appears, stays for some time, disappears. A lightening appears, stays. Maybe for a very short time. And then it goes away. So Atma Eva Asya Jyotir Bhavati The pure consciousness is its own light. And Thou art that. He Amrutasya Putraaha, Thou art that. What is the point of all this mantra? None can illumine God. None need illumine God. None should illumine God or Truth. God, Truth are equated. And there is no way that one can illumine. It is not possible. It is not necessary also. Here also a very important point we have to understand. We do Arathrikam at the end of the puja. Especially when there is an elaborate puja. Usually Arathrikam or Vesper, it is called Vesper service, is done in the evenings, just after the sunsets. That is the conjunction between the day and night. That is called Sandhya time, dawn or dusk. At the time of dusk, Arathrikam is done. And you notice, we all know, that first thing that is shown to God is light. And what is the symbolism of light? The lower symbolism is, it is a representation of Panchabhutas and light is the representation of fire. Water is the representation of water. Flower is the representation of the earth. The Chamara is the representation of the Vayu. And the cloth is the representation of the space. So, when you put on a cloth, what are you doing? You are covering the space around you. Because you don't want to be seen as you are. Because you will be acceptable only after you cover. Not otherwise. So, at the time of Arathrikam, what is it showing? Oh Lord, you alone are the truth. You alone are eternal and infinite. And that knowledge I have got by your grace, because I begged you, I worshipped you, I prayed to you through this action ritual called Pooja, and I have that knowledge. That is why in South Indian temples you will see that most of the time, most of the shrines are in pitch darkness. You can't see anything. Did they do it out of ignorance? No. Deliberately they have done. So, when you go to have Darshan, the Pujari, he lights up camphor or some light and then he will show you. So, you see the Divine Lord. It is symbolic of that when you visit a temple, whether you visit a mountain top or you go deep down into the sea, one cannot get God unless there is that knowledge. Gnana Deepa. That is why the fourth line Avkhandana Bhava Bandhana Gnananjana Vimalanayana Vikshane Mohajay And then of course I quoted yesterday Jyoti Rajyoti That is Tumitama Bhanjanaha You are always there. You are the light of the lights. What is that light of the lights? That is called Atman. That is called Paramatma. That is called Brahman. So, this is how we are given a hint how to meditate. What is meditation? To become gradually one with what we are meditating. The complete identity of the meditator and the object of meditation, that is called Yoga. Yoga Yujudhatu To become completely one. So, as we go on meditating, you are Jyoti Rajyoti. So, here you said Tasyabhasa Sarvamidam Vibhati Tamevabhantam Anubhati Sarvam Nothing is needed to show off the light even when a small lamp is there. You don't need another lamp to show the previous lamp because it not only shows itself. So, I am Prakashaka but it also in its own limited way can illuminate other things. But even that there is a light even to know, to cognize my awareness should be there. Only then it is possible. Otherwise, light is totally useless at all. Just imagine a blind person cannot see anything at all. So, by meditating upon God, I realize Jyotiraham Vraja Vipatma Bhuyasaggu Swaha When Sannyasins utter these Vraja Homa Mantras Jyotiraham I am that pure Jyoti It is not somewhere sitting there. You know what happens if God is sitting somewhere and He becomes an object then you have to illuminate Him. Without your taking notice of Him He is not able to shine at all. He doesn't even exist. That is why, who is great? I am great. And Sri Ramakrishna gives a beautiful example. He borrowed it from another Mahimacharan Chakravarti, I think. He said, you know, this Brahmanda, this cosmos is so big that God contains this unimaginably vast Brahmanda within Himself. So, who is great? God is great. Brahmanda is small and God is big. But that biggest God who can keep the whole Brahmanda within Himself a devotee simply keeps where? In his heart. What size? Angushta matra. You fellow, you just be an Angushta. Vamadeva. And I will keep like that. So, what is the size of a thumb within our heart? If God is like that, who is greater? A devotee certainly is greater. And is it only hyperbole, an exaggeration? No. This is the truth. So, if I do not cognize God, that means I do not think about God. God doesn't exist. World doesn't exist. What exists? Whatever I do not think, that doesn't exist. So, meditate upon, let us meditate upon each one of ourselves as that Jyoti Rajyoti. I am the light of the lights. I am that Brahman. Brahman means light. It is for a meditational purpose. It is a beautiful mantra, quoted many times. And next, 15th mantra. Ekoham saha, bhuvanasya asya madhye, sahyeva agnihi, salile sannivishtaha, tameva viditva, atimrutyu methi, nanyah pantha vidyate, ayanaya. This, the last part of this, tameva viditva, atimrutyu methi, nanyah pantha vidyate, ayanaya. Swamiji added, he has taken earlier way of saying, shunmantu vishwe, amrutasya putraha. Then, at the end, tameva viditva, atimrutyu methi, nanyah pantha vidyate, ayanaya. This is part of that wake up call. Oh man, you are really a child of immortality. It is a liable sin to call you a sinner. Yes, you might commit mistakes, but that is not to be your nature. And by that, Swami Vivekananda also countered the belief of some religious people, especially Christians, that man is a born sinner. Born sinner means, that is his nature. Swamiji said, no, he is not saying man cannot be a sinner. But what he is saying is, that is not the nature of man. But because of ignorance, because of delusional thinking, man can commit evil, and that is committing a sin, evil action. What is a sin? Whatever takes us away from God is a sin. And whatever takes us nearer to God, that is called Dharma. Sin is Adharma. But the nature of anything in this world, not only man, animals, insects, plants, even the so-called non-living things, is all nothing but pure Brahman only. They will also evolve biologically, intellectually, morally and spiritually. So, these beautiful mantras are there. Tameva viditva, only by knowing. Knowing how I know a tree, I know a table, not that way. I am Brahman. I am not a tree. I am not a table. I can never be either a table or a tree, or anything else. When I say, I am so and so, I am denying everything. I am not a tree. I am not an insect. I am not anything that is non-human. Human, non-human, the whole universe, I am cosmos, I am denying. So, by just saying I am so and so, I am saying I am no other thing in this world excepting this particular being. Therefore, I cannot be a tree, I cannot be a table. This is our present knowledge, but we can know. This is called objective knowledge. Pramana janita jnanam. But when I know God, there is no pramana, there is no prameya, there is no prama, there is no instrument, I become one rather. That is also a wrong expression. I realize I am Brahman. This is called viditva. Tam eva viditva. Only when I know, what do I know? I am Brahman. What is Brahman? I am not mrutyu. I am amruta putra. Then it is my nature. I claim there. I don't become, but I just claim I am amruta. Atimrutyu methi means go beyond this idea. This wrong thought that I am subject to birth and death. And in order to live permanently, eternally, infinitely, there is no other way. Na anyaha pantha. There is no other way. Ayanaya means to know that I am mortal. That will remain until I know I am immortal. I am immortal is an eternal fact. I am mortal is a temporary delusional fact. That is why we are all mad. Ramakrishna says we are all mad. This is the second part of this 15th mantra. But he is telling something most marvelous in the following mantras. Ekoham saha bhuvanasya syamadhiye sa eva agnihi salile sanivistaha First I will read the English translation. In this universe, the swan, here swan means supreme self. I will come to that. Alone exists. It is brahman who as fire abides in the water. Only by knowing him does one pass over death. There is no other way to reach the supreme goal. Now this word hamsa, if you reverse, just like Sri Ramakrishna made a pun. Geeta, Geeta, Geeta, Geeta, Geeta, Geeta If you utter very fast, then it becomes thagi. Thagi means that tyaga, sanyasa. Give up the wrong notion that you are a jiva, but know that you are immortal soul. Amrutasya putrah Here also hamsa. In fact, this is called ajapa japa. A continuous japa that is going on all the time. What is that japa? This is called hamsa mantra. Soham, soham. You repeat fast. Hamsaha, hamsaha, hamsaha, hamsa, soham. Hamsaha, that visarga, properly done, it becomes so. Ham, so, ham, so, ham, so, ham, so, ham, so, soham. Soham means what? Saha, that pure atman, brahman, Saha, aham. I am brahman, I am brahman, I am brahman, I am atman, I am atman. And how many gods can be there? Ekaha, only one. Because how many infinites can be there? Only one. We discussed this idea. Whenever we use that word infinite, you have to understand that there cannot be two infinites. Ekameva advitiyam. And in this world, bhuvanasya madhye, where is that hamsaha? Where is that God? So there is no world. There are no two things. One is brahman, and another is this world. It is the same. Whether you call it clay, or whether you call it pot, whether you call it gold, or whether you call it an ornament, whether you call it furniture, or whether you call it wood, there is no furniture, there is no ornament, there is no pot, excepting the clay, the gold, and the furniture, wood, with different nama, rupa, and muna. That is all. But they are not objects. Why? Because if there are two objects, both objects have independent existence. But here, the pot has no independent existence. Because you can't take out, this is separate. This is clay, and this is pot. You can never do that. This is the ornament, and this is the gold. This is the chair, and this is the wood. Take out the wood from the furniture, there will be no furniture at all. Take out the gold, there will be no ornament. Take out the clay, mud, there will be no pot at all. It is only nama rupa that makes the difference. So what is this bhuvana? This bhuvana, this world, is only Brahman with nama rupa. And therefore, the whole world is nothing but one, Brahman. And that Brahman is Hamsaha. That is why even the highest of the sannyasins is called Paramahamsaha. This is easily understandable. The first half of the first line is easily understandable. But the second line, completely, is understandable. tam eva viditva Knowing that I am that Hamsa, Soham, atimrutyu me thi Only then He knows I have no death, because I am immortal. na nihapantha vidyatayena Easily understandable. But the second half of the first line, sa eva agnihi salile sannivistaha That Brahman is in the form of fire. And where is the salile sannivistaha? He is completely hidden in the water. Salila means water. And different vasyakaras try to interpret it in different ways. But I will give you one or two interpretations which will be helpful for our meditation and which are also easy to remember. The first way of looking at it is Agni and Salila are two of the pancha bhutas. What is this whole universe? It is nothing but made up of five elements. That is why it is called prapancha. But here, by pointing out two, the other three, in brackets as we say, etc., we are able to find out. Now, there is a krama, there is an order. So, who is the Pitamaha, Prapitamaha, Atman? Atman grossified himself into Akasha, space. And from space, further grossified is called Vayu. Vayu, further grossified, is called Agni. Agni, further grossified, is called Salila or water, up. And water, finally solidified or grossified, is called earth. So, what is the relationship between the earth and the water? Water is the mother you call, father you call of the earth. What is the relationship between water and fire? Fire is the parent of water. How do you know? How do you know? You eat some South Indian avakaya, you will understand it. Or when you are very hot, what comes out? Water comes out. And it is this water, fire, which is the reason for water. Can we understand it? Yes. Every millisecond, the sun is heating up and turning this water, which is its own child, that is why it is called its child, lifting it up in the form of vapor, carrying it further in the form of the wind, and to carry it, space is needed. Look at it. And then it carries to the mountain tops and then drops there in the form of rainy clouds. And then again it flows back to the Samudra. Samudra is born of what? Fire. Even the modern scientists confirm that at the very beginning, our earth is so fiery that it took billions of years even to solidify, become cooler. And then when it became cooler, suddenly they found vast stretches of water. And where from this water has come? That fire only, that what is called unimaginably hot flames, have cooled down, had become water. And this fire is able to burn because of oxygen, which belongs to the Vayu. And this Vayu, or air, is able to move because of the space. What a marvelous thing it is. So through this 15th mantra, we are given the understanding that that Brahman in the form of the Pancha Bhutas has come down. That was exactly what I was referring earlier. When we worship God, pray to Him wholeheartedly, surrender everything to Him, He gives us that right understanding that the whole universe is nothing but me. The whole universe is made up of Pancha Bhutas. The Pancha Bhutas came from me, and therefore everything is me, and you are also part of this world, and therefore you are also nothing but me. That is called Ek O Ham Saha Bhuvan Asya Asya Mathye Only one God is there, one Atman is there, nothing else is there. But that Atman is appearing to us in the form of Nama, Rupa, and Guna. And that is called Avidya, that is called Prakruti, that is called Pradhana, by the Sankhya School of Philosophy. And that is what exactly is making us forget we are only seeing the dress, but we are not seeing who is the person who has dressed. And that is, as we said earlier, Ham Saha. Who is that Ham Saha? That Brahman. Soham. But who is that? I am that, because you can say he is me, or you can say I am him. It makes no difference at all. Now, Swami Tyagishanthi Maharaj, a great scholar, he has given a little bit, slightly different meaning. I will do that in his notes. By speaking of God as the fire stationed in water, that is fire in the water, Ishruti, that means Upanishads, including this Upanishad, indicates that pure spirit is immanent in the world. So water represents this world, fire represents the pure spirit. So however different the letter might appear to be from it, that is, the fire is different from water. In fact, it looks at the opposite. What happens when there is fire? You take water and put it, douse the fire. And what is the explanation? Suppose a mother is very angry, and then the child slowly crawls, and then it climbs onto the lap of the mother. As soon as the child's body touches the mother's body, the fiery mother suddenly becomes extraordinarily sweet because she loves the child. So the water is the child of the fire. As soon as this water is sprinkled, my child has come. And it becomes extremely cool. That is one way of understanding it is. So the mantra makes it clear that the fire worshipped by the Vedic Rishis, which was considered by them symbolically hidden in the waters, is none other than this great God, that is Brahman, concealed in the midst of this world of change and limitation. But we can also understand in the fourth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, twenty-fourth shloka, Fire is described as Brahman. So everything is Brahman. Fire is also Brahman. So symbolically, when the Vedic Rishis are performing the Yajnas, that is, the fire is considered as Brahman and the fire is nothing but the sun. And the sun only produces all the creatures. Sun is life. Sun is energy. Sun is the vehicle for the manifestation of the pure consciousness. So everything is sun. And the sun is called Ishwara, Brahman, in many of the Upanishads. Upasana is done. So that is one way of understanding. And he who is the one soul, Hamsa is the soul, destroyer of ignorance, in the midst of the world. He alone is the fire, which is seated in water. And what is this water? This is again, a beautiful explanation is given, that the swan, Hamsa, the creature, the bird, called the swan, where does it dwell? In waters. Where does it swim? In the waters. So where is that swan? It represents Paramatma. And where does he abide? In water. Hamsa abides in the waters. This is another meaning of understanding. So the etymological meaning of the word Hamsa is destroyer of ignorance. So the fire, Agni, denotes the Supreme Self, which consumes ignorance as it were. And what is the water then? Water is here denoted to mean the body, our physical body, which contains preponderance of the element called water. 70% of our physical body is nothing but pure water. And the God of this water is called the Moon. Adhishtathru Devata, presiding deity. And what does the moon do? He presides. And he makes this water. That is why on full moon, etc., even the oceans, they create terrible ebb tide, low tide, etc. Similarly, because of our body, on those nights, our body also, the water in our body is also made to change. And that is, in some people, creates a havoc. And that is why the very word madcap, lunatic, it is closely related to the word lunar, that means to the moon. That is why the worldliness, the lust called kama, increases when somebody is moving. That is why in cinemas you will find moonlit dance will be there. Gardens, etc., moon will be there, not the sun. Have you ever seen in any cinema, any dance, daytime, only nighttime? I have my own explanation. I will make little bit fun of you. Because, moonlight is such, it will hide all the horrible things and only highlight the best things. But, daytime comes, illusion breaks, reverse takes place. Anyway, just a little bit of fun for you. But, another way of understanding it is, all the panchabhutas have their own presiding deities. So, for the eye, it is the sun. For the water, it is the Varuna. And for the mind, it is the Chandra. So, like that, Agni Devata, Surya Devata, etc., Jala Devata, Varuna, etc., so, they are closely related and therefore, God only is manifesting as the Adhyatmika, Adhibhautika, similarly, as Adhidaivika. The essence of it is, only one God is there. There is no world. Just as fire is hidden in the waters, so, that Paramatma, that Brahman is hidden in everybody's heart. When we realize, we become Paramahamsas. Sannyasa has very little to do with external appearance. It is a transformation in the mind only. That is what we have to understand here. We move on to the mantra number 16. Again, further description for the sake of contemplation on Brahman, that the attainment of the highest good, which is God, is possible only through the knowledge of the Lord. That is being again emphasized here. That is to say, some of the ways how we can think about God are being expounded in mantra number 16. He who is the support of both the unmanifested Prakruti and the Jiva, who is the Lord of the three Gunas and who is the cause of bondage, existence and liberation from Samsara, He really is the creator of the universe. Therefore, He is the only knower and He is the innermost self of all beings and their source because He is the omniscient Lord. He is the author of time. He is the possessor of virtues. He is the knower of everything. He creates all and He knows all. It means being all, He knows all. Again, these are some of the qualities, Gunas, for us to meditate for the sake of Dhyana. It is also very beautiful mantra, Saha, that Brahman, Vishwakrit. He is the creator of this universe. Remember, I have told you umpteen number of times, but we have to remember it is not like a potter creating a pot. The potter has no relationship with the clay, no relationship with the wheel with which he creates. But Brahman Himself has become this universe just as we create the entire our Swapna Jagat, Swapnika Jagat. It is like that. Vishwakrit. And then, who should know better? Only a person who has written a book knows everything about the book. A person who has created a machine knows everything about the machine, every part of the machine. So, Vishwa, with. That means He alone is Sarvajna, knowing. Atma Yoni He. That means, Yoni means origin, Yoni means cause. That means what? He Himself is the cause of Himself. What does it mean? As the world. Who is the world? Brahman Himself. And He created Himself. So, when we create our dream world, we are the creators and we know better than anybody what type of dreams we are having. Don't say, I never expected this kind of nightmarish dreams. It is all because you thought earlier and you have forgotten your thought and they are coming in a very concrete form, as if you have created them and as if you don't know anything about them. So, Atma Yoni He. Jnaha, means Sarvajna. He knows everything. And then, as part of the creation, what does He do? Kala Kalaha. That is, He is the creator of the time, space and causation. He is called Mahakala. What we call time is changing. That changefulness of the time, even to say it is redundancy. Time means changefulness. Changefulness means time. That changefulness is subdivided into three. Past, present and future. Even the modern astronomers tell that with the first big bang, time and space are created and still that universe is expanding. Kala Kalaha. That is, He is the creator of Kala and subdivisions of Kala as past, present and future. Not only that, as we have seen in the Krishna Upanishad. He has become the Sun. He has become the Moon. So, the Sun is creating time called Samvatsara. The Moon is creating what is called Shukla Paksha, Krishna Paksha, etc. So, Sun and Moon are symbolic of the time. And He has created food. He has created the whole world. The whole world is created by Kala, Desha, Kala and Nimitta. That is what is being said here. Guni means every quality. What do we mean by every quality? Good as well as evil. Yesterday also I quoted every guna that we see, it is all coming from Him. What about evil guna? Truly speaking, there is nothing called good guna or evil guna. A guna which is used properly is called auspicious guna, Shubha guna. And a guna which is misused that is called evil quality. Same knife, it can heal or it can also kill, destroy. So, guni all gunas belong to whom? To Prakruti. That is going to be enumerated just now. So, guni means He is consisting of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. And all the gunas we call it good, Daivi Sampath and Asari Sampath are the different manifestations of His combination of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. Sarva Vidyaha because He has become everything and He has entered everything. He is manifesting as everything. He is all-knowing, every-knowing. And only that Pradhana Kshetra Gnapati Gunesha. He is Gunesha. Gunajit Gunedyaha. Gunashraye Gunamayi. He is not only guna. He is the Lord of the gunas. He is the origin of gunas. He is the manifester of the gunas. He is manifesting as gunas. And how? That is how Sankhya school of philosophy tells us Pradhana. Prakruti is called Pradhana in the Sankhya system of philosophy and He has created creation consists of two things. Subject and object. Object is called Pradhana Prakruti but the subject is called Kshetra Gna. We have the beautiful elaboration in the 13th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. He is Patihi. He is the Ishwara and He is created means He has become everything and He is playing with Himself. This is called solitaire game. Samsara Moksha Stithi Vandahetuhu. Who created this Samsara? He created. And who is binding us? Himself. Guna means one meaning of Guna is that which binds us is called a Guna. Whether it is Tamoguna, Vajoguna, Satvaguna, all three Gunas equally bind us. That's why Sri Ramakrishna tried to explain to us this in the form of story of three robbers. Even Satvaguna is a robber but with a difference that robber will tell I am a robber. Don't trust me. You better get out of me. Get away from me. That is the greatness of the Sattva robber. So Samsara. Who created? God. And who created this bondage to the Samsara? God only. What does it mean? Samsara, you need not to get bound. If you are a knower, Samsara will be a Leela Kshetra. If you don't know the truth, that will be binding you. And who gives, who created the bondage? He. Who can liberate you? Moksha give you Moksha? He. Moksha Stithi Banda Hetu Ho. He is the Janma and Laya Srishti Stithi Laya Karta. He can give you Moksha but what does he do? First he will bind you then he will be praying to some God and then that God comes and says you better pray to yourself and you are closing your own eyes. When that knowledge comes we remove our own eyes and that is called Moksha. So he is everything. He is the world. He is the Jeeva. He is also spiritual aspirant. He will also get liberation. That is what is being said. We will discuss next class.
[[Category:Svetasvatara Upanishad]]

Svetasvatara Upanishad Lecture 03 on 11 March 2023

2023-07-19T15:54:10Z

Sevak123: Changed "Brihastha" to "Grihastha", Changed "Panaprastha" to "Banaprastha"

== Full Transcript(Not Corrected) ==
OM JANANIM SHARADAM DEVIM RAMAKRISHNAM JAGAD GURUM
PADHA PADME TAYO SHRITVA PRANAMAMI MUHUR MUHUR
OM SAHANA VAVATU SAHANAO BHUNAKTU
SAHA VIRYAM KARVA VAHE TEJASVI NAVADHITAM ASTHUMA VIDVISHA VAHE
OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTI HARI OM
OM May Brahman protect us, both the teacher and the students.
May Brahman bestow upon us both the fruit of knowledge.
May we both obtain the energy to acquire knowledge.
May what we both study reveal the truth.
May we cherish no ill will towards each other.
OM Peace, peace, peace be unto all.
We have been studying this Svetasvatara Upanishad, which
belongs to Krishna Yajur Veda.
And as we all know, Yajur Veda has two presentions,
Krishna and Shukla, the white Yajur Veda to which
Brihadaranyaka and Ishavasya belong.
And Krishna Yajur Veda, where Taittiriya Upanishad belongs.
And this Svetasvatara Upanishad.
And black, or Krishna, implying unarranged,
a motley collection of mantras.
And this Svetasvatara Upanishad contains 113 mantras,
arranged in six chapters in different numbers.
And the first chapter contains 16 mantras.
Now, in our last class, we have gone through the Shanti Patha.
A Shanti Patha, or peace chanting,
is a sincere prayer to God for the purpose of serving mainly
three purposes.
The first purpose is removal of every type of obstacle.
The second purpose is to obtain the grace of God
so that I can, or we can, continue
the spiritual sadhana.
The third purpose is it is only by God's grace
we can really realize God.
And that is the most important point
this Svetasvatara Upanishad wants to emphasize.
It is only through the grace of God
that we can, or one can, realize God.
But to obtain the grace of God, to retain the grace of God,
to remember the grace of God, and to use it appropriately,
and with a particular attitude, bhavana,
these five aspects of God's grace,
we can only pray to the Lord, and He will definitely give us.
So without further introduction, we
will go into the first mantra of the first chapter
of the Svetasvatara Upanishad.
And let us remember, Shankaracharya
gives certainly one of the largest introductions,
so far as I know, to any of the Upanishads.
And he gives a lot of quotations,
not only from the Upanishads, other Upanishads,
but a lot of quotations from what we call Smritis, Puranas,
Brahma Shastras, Bhagavad Gita, of course,
Brahma Sutras, et cetera.
And that made some people, some scholars,
think probably this is not the composition,
or commentary is not the commentary of Shankaracharya.
The Upanishad is no doubt, but whether he has really
written any commentary upon this particular Svetasvatara Upanishad.
But this is the secondary reason why they
think it is not his commentary.
But the first reason is that this Upanishad contains
a lot of elements of Bhakti, and it is in total
following the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna,
or should I say that Sri Ramakrishna followed
the methodology of Svetasvatara Upanishad,
where he says, Saguna Brahma is far easier to realize,
and by the grace of Saguna Brahma, one can realize anything.
That is why Sri Ramakrishna's teachings are very pregnant with meaning.
Ramakrishna, crystal clearly teaches us that,
of course, according to Vedanta,
nobody can really think about Brahman,
because Brahman doesn't have eyes to see
that who is praying to him, thinking of him,
and he cannot hear what you are talking about,
what you are praying for.
So naturally, he doesn't have hands to give you
what you want to, what you hope to get from him.
So he is, in other words, blind, deaf, dumb, disabled,
and it is absolutely useless.
So you can only think about Saguna Brahma.
Of course, I'm making fun.
You can understand it.
But we have to approach step by step,
and the lowest, lower, highest step,
next to that highest reality, is called Ishwara.
And here, the Svetasvatara Upanishad
inculcates a lot of devotional elements,
and Sharanagati, Ramanuja Sharanagati.
That's why the dualistic teachers,
like Ramanujacharya, Madhvacharya,
they take huge delight in commenting
upon the Shweta Shudra Upanishad,
because this exactly proves what they want to preach.
That means a lot of this Upanishad supports.
And that is the one reason why most people think.
But if you ask Ramakrishna, if you ask some of us,
then our answer will be, an Upanishad is an Upanishad.
Every Upanishad has got only one purpose,
or I would say, three goals.
Every Upanishad has three goals.
The first goal is to find out who you are.
The second goal is, what should be the goal of life,
Parama Purushartha.
And the last thing is, is there any pathway
by which we can attain it?
Tattva, Purushartha, and Hita.
And we see here, all the three very beautifully enumerated.
And the very first thing is, who are you?
In other words, who am I?
In other words, from where am I coming?
And that's, you remember, when Sri Ramakrishna first
met Narendra Nath, he sang two songs.
And those two songs are the essence
of what we are talking about in these first few mantras.
Rather, the very first mantra itself.
One is,
Manachalo Nijaniketane
Samsaar Bideshe Bidesheer Bheshe
Brahmo Keno Akarane
And the second song,
that we are wasting our time,
Jabe Ki Hai Din Biphale Jaiya
Shall all my days go in vain, O Lord?
Because I know what I have to do.
But I do not seem to find a way
how I am still caught up in this
attachment of the Brahma Chakra.
One of the most beautiful terminology
that this Svetasvatara Upanishad uses is
instead of saying Samsara Chakra,
it says Brahma Chakra.
What a vast difference it makes.
Samsara means Maya, Maya Chakra.
But Brahma Chakra means, as a Sufi,
so beautifully put it,
we start our journey from God,
in God, to God.
So we are coming out of Brahman,
and we grow up in Brahman,
and we go back onto Brahman.
And this is the Upanishadic methodology.
And especially in the third Valli
of the Taittiriya Upanishad,
when Bhrigu asks his father, Varna,
teach me about Brahman,
he says, I can only give you some hints.
yato vā imāni bhūtāni jāyante
ena jātāni jīvanti
yat prayanti aviśaṁ viśanti ti
from where all the creatures come,
in whom all the creatures are sustained
and live and slowly evolve.
And ultimately,
every creature is going to know
what it is, who it is,
and know the Brahman, become Brahman,
remain Brahman, become free
from all the trammels of this samsara.
But here it is, beautiful word,
we are spiritual,
whether we know it or not,
and that's why the beautiful word
we have to remember is Brahma Chakra.
Swami beautifully put it,
we are not human beings
seeking Brahman,
we are Brahman,
accidentally caught in the net of samsara
and seeking to go back to our own nature.
This is what Swami Vivekananda exactly puts it,
each soul is potentially divine,
that means there is an irresistible urge
for each one of us to move forward
and we have come down,
that is called the process of involution.
Now we are going up
and our journey can end
only when we reach God,
that is what we have to understand.
So the question,
there are some people
and they have gone obviously
through Brahmachari Ashrama,
Grihastha Ashrama,
and of course they have come to Banaprastha Ashrama.
They have approached a Guru
and they have learned
or they want to learn
and their desire,
when the Guru happens to ask them
what brings you here, what do you want?
Just as Prajapati asks Indra and Virochana,
what brings you here?
He knows very well what brings them there
because it was Prajapati's own announcement,
whoever knows Atman,
all his desires will be fulfilled.
And beautiful story there,
beautiful meaning is there
that we all desire God,
not because we are terribly having headache
in realizing God,
we have so many unfulfilled desires.
So we approach God
with the idea that He is the only one
who can fulfill all my desires.
Everybody else is a very limited being,
God alone is unlimited,
He can give me with a bit of payment,
He can give me with a heavy payment,
He can also give me without any payment.
So we approach God.
Suppose God says, what do you want?
I cannot fulfill a single desire of yours.
If you wish, you can worship me.
I don't think God will have anybody
turning towards Him.
I love you, we don't love anybody.
Husband doesn't love wife,
wife doesn't love husband,
a devotee doesn't love God,
God also doesn't love.
If God at all loves you,
why does He love?
Ramakrishna puts it beautifully.
So don't blame me.
He says God wants devotees.
Why?
Because who can understand better than God?
If there are no devotees,
who is there to call me as God?
So He also wants praise,
you are God, you are great.
Then for that purpose He depends upon us.
That's why He becomes very miserable
if nobody calls Him God.
What am I talking about?
Ramakrishna once said,
there was a time when
if I was not worshipped,
I used to feel very restless.
Anyway, this is what He is talking about.
We can understand the condition of God Himself.
So it is Parasparambava Yantra.
We need Him, He also needs us.
Without us, He is not a Bhagawan
and we cannot be bhakthas without Bhagawan.
Bhagawan cannot be Bhagawan without bhakthas.
So we scratch each other's back.
Parasparambava Yantra.
So even though I am making fun,
there is a lot of truth.
Even more truth is,
actually we do not exist.
He Himself wants to scratch His own back.
Why?
Because He is the only one.
There is no second.
Advaitiya.
Therefore He is forced to scratch His own back.
And for that He stands in front of a mirror.
No, no, no.
I am Bhagawan.
Why should I scratch my own back?
Look there.
Somebody else is scratching my back.
Yes, you can delude yourself
and that is the world.
God's deluding Himself is called the world.
A lot of truth is there
in what I have just now spoken.
Coming back,
if a person has gone through this evolutionary scale,
then he will come to a point
where he will have to ask.
He has gone through all experiences
and he has learned his lesson.
In this world,
nobody can help me.
Only God can help me.
And I have a lot of desires.
And every desire of mine can be fulfilled
when I become God.
Because God is everything.
So if I want everything all the time
without losing anything,
I must become that infinite God.
And so the question comes,
is it possible?
And these students must have studied
scriptures very thoroughly,
attended my classes for a long time
and then they became wise
and they started asking the question.
The essence of this question is
Who am I?
And that is what he is telling.
Beautifully put, the language also
is not archaic language.
The speciality of the Svetasvatara Upanishad is
it is not an ancient Upanishad
but it is fairly modern.
When I say fairly modern,
it is not a few centuries back.
It is many centuries back.
But we can see here,
the Sanskrit language is
much more easy to understand
and crystal clear.
We will start it without further ado.
Hari Om.
Anytime before we start a class,
we must always pray to God.
And Hari Om.
Om or Hari is a beautiful word.
Mangala Vakyas.
About five questions have come.
Kim Karanam?
What is the cause of this samsara?
Of my own birth.
Because I am part of the samsara.
In other words,
if I know where from I have come,
I know who I am.
When a pot comes to know
I am the clay,
its purpose is over.
It has realised.
As a pot, it has birth,
it has continuance,
and it has an end.
But as a clay,
as an example,
don't go on using your cleverness
and say clay also has come from something.
As an example.
So clay, here,
comparable to Brahma.
So, Kim Karanam?
Brahma.
That is, these Brahmavadis,
what is the ultimate cause?
Kutasma Jataha.
From where are we born?
In other words,
who are our parents?
What is the cause from which we have come?
In other words,
we are the effect,
I am the effect,
so I must have a cause.
What is the cause from where I have come?
Because, remember,
there is an invariable law
that whatever is the cause,
the effect will have
the same constituents.
It cannot change.
What will have is nothing but clay.
An ornament, golden ornament,
cannot but be gold.
A wooden furniture,
whatever it be,
in the past, present,
in future also,
cannot but be only
that wood nature.
These are examples.
So if I know where from we have come,
and we will be knowing
who I am,
and once I know that I am Brahman,
that is important,
because I still don't know
if I am Pancha Bhutas,
if I am a production of time,
production of accident,
production of chance,
production of everything else,
we will discuss about,
because very funny incidents are there.
So this is what is called
a terribly agonizing question.
These Brahmavadins,
they are not simply sitting after lunch
and having a digesting process.
They are extremely keen to know
and they feel time is passing out,
as Ramakrishna used to fall down on the earth.
Oh mother, another day is gone
and I have not seen you.
What was Ramakrishna doing?
Exactly the same thing.
He wants to know that you are my mother
and mother is the root cause of the child
and I have not seen you,
that means I have not understood who you are.
Once you give me that knowledge,
then there will be no death at all.
So,
Where from we have come?
Kutaha means from where?
So, how are we living?
What is it that sustains us?
Pachasampratishtha.
What is it?
That is the substratum
because of which we are living.
Adishtitaha kena sukhata reshu vartama he
and controlled by whom?
Viralled by whom?
That is how sometimes we are happy,
sometimes we are not very happy.
That means we are swinging
between happiness and unhappiness.
Sometimes the wave is high,
sometimes it goes down.
This is the exact description
of the samsara
that we are going through
every single minute.
And what is the ultimate arrangement?
Is there any purpose
in living itself?
These are the questions
and they are all Brahmavadins.
That means they are
Sadhana, Chatursthaya, Sampanna
all endowed with Adhikarins
and they are Mumukshus.
They want to realize their Brahman or God,
whatever name you give it.
And they are seriously discussing
and obviously they are discussing it
or they are putting these questions
because they have discussed
and they thought about it.
They could not get an answer
and they must have come
to a Sadguru
and that is what we call
Guru Sampradaya.
So they must have come
and they must have put these questions.
We have tried to resolve this problem.
We could not resolve this problem
and we have come
with the certainty, faith
that you are a knower of Brahman
and you alone can solve the problems.
Nobody can solve the problems.
Look how these words resound, echo.
In the Bhagavad Gita,
Arjuna had a doubt.
He says, O Lord,
You are talking about controlling the mind
and I know how difficult it is
because if I was a man of self-control,
mind control,
then I would have been a realized soul.
I would have known.
But I had fallen deep
into the trough of this depression
only because my mind is
sometimes taking me down,
sometimes swinging me up and down
like a swing, like a wave.
It is very easy for you to say
that you control your mind
but I don't see any way.
It is like controlling the wind.
And then the Lord says,
Yes, there is a way.
Then Arjuna says,
That is also you say.
That is wonderful.
But I think it is almost impossible.
Then the Lord gives some answer.
And then Arjuna has got some question.
He says, I believe
nobody can remove this doubt of mine
excepting you.
And that is how these Brahmavadins,
we don't know how many have come.
Since plural is used,
we presume it must be more than one.
It could be two, three, four, five, many.
Of course, I don't expect many
because Brahmavadins will never be many.
Manushyanaam sahasreshu kashchid yatati siddhaye.
These are our questions.
We ourselves have discussed among ourselves.
We have not come to a satisfactory conclusion.
But we have faith
that you are able to solve the problems.
So the translation goes like this.
Rishis, discoursing on Brahman,
ask, is Brahman the cause?
Whence are we born?
By what do we live?
Where do we go and dwell at the end?
Please tell us.
O ye who know Brahman,
under whose guidance we abide,
whether in pleasure or in pain.
There is a creator,
there is a preserver,
and there is a layakarta
unto whom we return constituent elements.
This is the inevitable fate of every effect.
The pot must go back into the clay,
the ornament must go back
into whichever material it is made up of,
gold or silver or whatever.
Every piece of furniture
finally must go back to its cup.
This is inevitable.
So through this Upanishad,
we are also told certain things.
What are the certain things?
That where there is birth,
there is growth,
there is happiness and unhappiness,
and old age and disease,
and inevitably death.
But death is not destruction
because nothing can come out of non-existence.
And nothing that exists
can go back also to non-existence.
It is impossible.
Anything that is existent
must come only through Sath
and must go back to Sath.
Sath means that which assumes names,
forms, qualities.
That is called birth and growth.
And finally it must go back
to that unmanifest state.
That is called death.
That means there is no death.
But meanwhile,
even if we come to know
there is no death,
we will not be happy
because we don't want merely
to know that we are deathless,
but I want also to know
that I can be happy all the time,
that my happiness should never have
any type of break, etc.
So who is a Rishi?
The literal etymological meaning
Rishati, Janati, Rishihi
one who knows.
But here Rishis means
if they come to know,
the question of their doubting,
their discussion,
and allowing a wee bit
allowance for doubts
will never arise.
They would have been realized souls.
But they are called Rishis
just like medical students,
especially after the third year,
are honorifically named as doctors,
even though they are not permitted
to practice independently.
So these Rishis.
And why are they called Rishis?
Because like Yamadharmaraj
says about Nachiketa,
as if you already have reached the goal.
But how, sir?
I am only asking you,
you have not even started answering me.
He says because anybody who has
your qualifications,
there is absolutely no doubt about it,
not even 1% of doubt about it,
that you are going to reach the goal.
These people were completely fit people.
And as soon as the Sadguru
opens his mouth and tells them,
and they know,
they can understand the truth
instantaneously.
And who is a Sadguru?
A person who knows
what he wants to,
what others want to learn.
But when the students become ready,
then only they can receive.
Let us take the example of Kalpataru day,
which had happened on the 1st January 1886.
Sri Ramakrishna has bestowed his grace.
In fact, he was not discriminating,
excepting in the case of two people,
whom he said,
not now, you will receive it later on.
Though Sri Ramakrishna was so gracious,
but the people who received,
most of them did not retain it.
After some time, everybody has lost it.
But the memory of it can never be lost.
Remember, in the Bhagavatam,
there is the story of
the great devotee called Narada.
And he became very, very much aware
of the ephemerality of this world.
So he went to do Tapasya.
With great earnestness,
he was praying to Lord Narayana.
And immediately Narayana appeared,
giving him a glimpse himself.
And Narada was transported.
But just like lightning,
which we have seen in the Kena Upanishad,
that vision had vanished.
And then Narada came down with a thump,
as it were, to the hard earth.
And then he said,
Oh Lord, why did you withdraw yourself from me?
And the Akashvani comes,
Narada, out of my grace,
I showed you what you are going to attain,
so that you will never be discouraged,
you will never have any doubt
what is going to happen in future.
But this much,
that this memory of what you had experienced
will never allow you to become depressed.
And that is exactly what happened
to the devotees of Sri Ramakrishna,
who could not retain,
but they know this is a reality.
One can have this kind of experience,
but one must strive
so that they will be able to retain it,
not for a few minutes again,
but forever.
For that, we have to make it.
Even I remember,
Swami Brahmanandaji was doing Tapasya at Vrindavan,
and Vijayakrishna Goswami asked,
Maharaj, you have received so much grace of Thakur,
why are you practicing these hard austerities?
And Swami Brahmanandaji replied,
It is true.
Sri Ramakrishna, out of His infinite boundless grace,
had bestowed me all these things,
but we have to make it our own,
because visions come and disappear.
Anything that disappears is impermanent.
But what is permanent?
That knowledge,
I am that.
God exists in Vaikuntha,
in Kailasa, etc.,
in Kingdom of Heaven, etc.
That is also may be true,
but until I am with God,
all the time,
then it will come,
the experience will come,
and it will disappear also.
I remember a very useful incident.
There was one great devotee of Krishna,
and he used to meditate
with great sincerity, longing.
He had several visions of Krishna.
Then he happened to come to Ramana Maharshi,
and at that time,
he wanted to get the approval,
that Ramana Maharshi saying,
that you are very great,
and you have had many visions of Krishna,
and probably that lurking desire
to be certified was there.
So with great glee,
he narrated all his experiences.
But then what he received was
very much disappointing.
Ramana Maharshi, you know,
when he looks,
he never looks at you,
he looks beyond you.
So he looked at this devotee,
and simply made a remark,
whatever comes, also goes.
And Krishna Premi,
his name was Krishna Premi,
I think, if I am not wrong,
and he was very much disappointed.
Later on, he was recollecting,
so then I was disappointed,
but anyway, a great soul,
enjoyed his presence,
came back to my ashrama,
and in course of time,
the knowledge of Krishna remained with me,
but the visions of Krishna had vanished.
So anything that comes will go,
and if I am seeing Brahman,
hearing Brahman,
tasting Brahman,
touching Brahman,
smelling Brahman,
it will come and will disappear.
But if I become Brahman,
there is no separation at any time at all.
And that is what is needed.
These great Rishis,
advanced souls,
completely detached from the world,
they have risen up
from the three types of desires,
Pithaishna, Putraishna, Lokaishna,
as Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
so beautifully describes.
And their only goal
is to realize God,
like hundreds of real Paramahamsas
used to visit Shri Ramakrishna
as soon as he completed his Advaita sadhana
and remained experiencing it
continuously for six months.
After that, by the will of the mother,
his mind came down,
and then after that,
hundreds of real Paramahamsas,
not vagabonds,
real, real Paramahamsas,
somehow drawn by the divine will,
came to Dakshineshwar,
stayed there.
Each one of them was at some point of
spiritual progress in his own
destined path.
And they got help from Shri Ramakrishna.
Their obstacles were removed
and their path became clear.
They got tremendous inspiration.
All their doubts were probably removed.
And as soon as that happened,
they saluted him and then left.
This phenomena happened.
And whenever Shri Ramakrishna
became perfect,
perfect in any one of the pathways,
that is important for us.
So these Brahmavadins,
they are ready to receive
and they must have practiced Tapasya.
Whether the Guru asked them
that one year you stay,
like as we have seen in Prashna Upanishad,
or at least 105 years,
like we see in the Chandogya Upanishad,
they were ready.
And these were the questions
they put forward.
And we know from the scriptures.
This is a point we have to remember.
Not that they did not know the answers.
Everything is new.
They must have studied the scriptures,
intellectually understood,
but they wanted confirmation
from a realized soul.
So with this query,
they had come.
And they were completely,
what is called, restless.
That is why it says,
is Brahman the cause?
Yes, every Upanishad says,
Brahman is the cause.
We are coming from Brahman
and we are living in Brahman
and we go back to Brahman.
Yes, not that they did not know intellectually.
They knew very well.
But we want confirmation.
Is Brahman the cause?
Whence are we born?
Have we come from Brahman?
By what do we live?
Is Brahman sustaining us?
Nourishing us?
Pushan ekarshe?
Hey Pushan!
As this Avasya Upanishad says,
you are sustaining the entire creation.
So by what do we live?
What is it that we live by?
And Bible gives a beautiful answer
to this question.
Man does not live
by bread alone.
What does he live? Only by God.
So even if you eat food,
you don't live because of
the food, you live because of
God. What is God?
In the manifestation of
Sat, Chit and Ananda.
We don't want to
die, we don't want to be
ignorant and we least
of all want to suffer.
We want that highest happiness.
This is what is meant by
we only live
by God. Ananda dheva kalvimani bhutani jayante
anandena jevanti
anandam prayante
abhisamvi shantiti.
We are manifested because of
Ananda, we live
because of Ananda and
we go back and merge ourselves into
Ananda. Ananda is
another name for Brahman.
So, please tell us
these disciples,
Brahmavadinis, yet to realize
Brahman, what are they telling?
O ye, whoever
you are, wherever you are,
ye know Brahman
under whose guidance we abide
whether in pleasure
or in pain. Please
tell us. Please clarify this.
Please certify
that our understanding is
absolutely true.
And we see it in the Gospel of
Sri Ramakrishna in the form
of a marvellous song.
I have quoted it many times.
This was translated by
none other than Girish
Chandra Ghosh and
most of us know this
well-known bhajan
judai te chai
kothai judai.
We mourn for peace.
That is how it is translated in the Gospel.
We mourn
for rest. Alas!
Rest we can never find.
So, kothai judai.
Where is that peace we are seeking?
That is, we want to be
united with Brahman and that
is the only source of peace
and we want
to be united with Brahman
and obtain that peace
but we do not
seem to get. Kothai hotey ashi.
Where from are we coming?
Kothai bhise jai.
Where do we go on floating?
Floating means as if a powerful
stream is carrying us
forward. This is the stream
of evolution, what I call
evolutionary escalator.
Phire phire ashi.
I come
back again and again. I am reborn
again and again.
And what happens? Kotho kaandi
hasi. How much I weep?
How much I laugh?
Caught in this samsara chakra
or Brahma chakra.
Keva kothai jai.
And where do we go?
Suddenly something happens.
We are snatched and everything
that we are aware of,
know of, love of,
hate of and
completely disappears and
this is the one thought
that has possessed us.
Sada bhavi kothai. I always
am possessed by the thought
these questions come into
my mind but I do not know how to answer.
Ke khalai?
Who is making me play?
I don't want to play
but somebody is forcibly
making me play. Where do you think
you remember?
Ishwaraha sarvabhutanaam
hrideshe arjunatishtati
brahmayen sarvabhutani
yantrarodhani
mayaya. Ke khalai?
Who makes me play? Ami khaliva
keno? Why am I
playing? Why am I playing?
Because I am helpless.
I have no other way. I am
like a pawn in the
hands. I am a chess piece
in the hands of the chess master.
Wherever he puts, I
have no freedom
but I am not a chess piece.
I have got consciousness.
I can understand.
I want to resist but I cannot
resist. Jagiye ghumaye
koh ke jano?
What a horrible condition
I am in. I am fully
awake as if
I am sleeping deeply.
Koh ke jano?
Sometimes, you know, in the
what is called ice-clad countries
such as
Norway, etc.
Sometimes, persons
go for a walk and suddenly
a terrible fog
I have read marvellous stories
like that. A terrible fog
envelops them.
They don't know where is east
where is west. They move here
and there. Very soon, they are lost
and
they cannot see. Sometimes
and many times, they
die also. Many people die
even though the house is very near
not very far. But
since they cannot find
what you call
hyperthermia sets in
and very quickly they die.
Jagiye ghumaye
even though I am fully awake
as if I am awake
in deep darkness. Koh ke jano?
Ek hamon ghor
How horrible is this condition
this night
Havena ki bhor
Will it ever bring dawn?
Will I see the light?
Adhir adhir jai mate shomir
Abhiram gati
niyat dhai
This beautiful
gentle wind
is blowing
so much and it has
no stop. As if 24 hours
it is moving
Gati niyat dhai. It doesn't know
who blows it
why it blows
why is it sometimes very mild
sometimes very very powerful
I am also like that
Jani na keva
Eshechi kothai
Jani na
I do not know. Keva. Who am I?
I do not know. Who am I?
Eshechi kothai. I don't know
Where I have come?
If we are asked, where are you? I am in Varanasi
Where are you? I am in Bangalore
That is not the point
So why did I come here?
Where was my home?
And where am I here? Who brought me here?
Why did I come here?
I don't know
Ke naba eshechi. I don't know why I have come
I don't know where I have come
I don't know how I have come
And kothai
niyat jai. Somebody
as if is going to
take me somewhere. I don't know anything
There is a beautiful, very big
song. One of the most
marvelous songs
but I have only taken a small part
of it. This
summarizes the gist of
what these Brahmavadins
are moaning
This is the English translation
even though I had explained
We moan for rest, alas
but rest can never find
We know not whence we come
nor where we float away
Time and again we tread
this round of smiles and tears
In vain we pine to know
whither our
pathway leads
And why we play
this empty play
We sleep, although awake, as if
by a spell bewitched
Will darkness never break into the light of
dawn? As restless
as the wind, life moves
unceasingly. We know not
who we are, nor
whence it is we come. We
know not why we come, nor
where it is we drift
Beautiful song, I tell you
And this was the condition of
Bhagavan Buddha, Siddhartha
before he renounced
the world. So it is said
in the Lalita Vistara, some
devatas came and sang
and that deeply awakened
him. And that very night
he decided to find out
the mystery of life and
renounced the world.
For six years he struggled
and he came back an enlightened
person, like that person
who felt the temptation
to jump into the enclosed
space, but with great
difficulty he
restrained himself
because there are so many people, they don't
know such a marvelous place
condition exists, where they
can be happy forever. Let me
also share with others
this is the
description, depiction of Sri Ram
Krishna's form and went out
for a walk. The depiction
of an avatar,
indirectly indicating.
So Brahman or pure consciousness
is it the cause of the universe?
Obviously Brahman, the absolute
which is beyond time and space
and the causal relationship
cannot be the real cause
because cause is as much
bound as the effect.
So one must go beyond both
cause and effect. Is that
supreme reality we call Brahman?
Is it the cause?
Apparently so, really no.
Then who is it?
Apparently Ishwara
but not really Ishwara.
So if Brahman is the cause
then the Brahman must
create in cooperation with something
and what is that something?
That Prakruti
and if Prakruti's
help is needed, Brahman
is no Brahman at all. He is
caught in his own chakra
and that is impossible.
So what kind
of causes of this
universe? Is there
a material cause? Is there
an efficient cause?
And to come to
the conclusion, I have
already told you, Ishwara
is both the material
cause and the efficient
cause of this entire creation
because before the
creation and every
creation requires these two causes
then Brahman must
be the both causes
because there was none other than
that Ishwara. We are talking
about Ishwara. Whenever we are
talking about creation, let
us not talk about Parabrahma.
Let us not talk about Nirguna
Brahma. Let us talk only
about Savuna Brahma
called Ishwara. Ishwara means
Brahman with
Maya and it is also
called Purusha Prakruti in Sankhya
and in this Svetasvatara
Upanishad, a lot of Sankhya
Yoga is going to come.
Kutaha because
everybody comes from somewhere
else. Babies are
born from the wombs of their
mothers. Plants
come from a seed.
There must be a cause.
Even continents are born
because of the clash
of the tectonic elements
deep underneath
the earth.
Everything must have a cause.
So no birth or death is possible
for the real Jeeva.
So this is
we want to know. In essence
is we want to know
and what purpose?
Because when I come to know
then I will know
I was never really born.
When I come to know
where from I am born
and by what I am
living and where I am going
to go. Apparently it looks
as though I get the answers
but from the Advaitic point
of view, these are all questions
from the Mayic point
of view, from the mind's point of view
from the bound point of
view.
So whatever questions we
have and whatever answers
we receive, they are all
not real answers.
Fake answers.
Why do we say fake answers?
Because when the question is fake
then the answer also should be
only fake answer.
That's all. But
how does it help? Because
when you understand
the reality, you will stop
questioning, you will not
seeking an answer because
there is no problem at all.
This is what one senior
Swami told me that problems
cannot be solved ultimately
but problems can
be dissolved. I hope
you understand the difference between
solving and dissolving
and spiritual life
is dissolving.
So Kena Jeeva Maha
what supports the Jeevas during their
phenomenal existence?
Kuchasampradishta at the end.
And who is sustaining us?
Because who is the substratum?
Like a snake
cannot be there without
the substratum of a rope.
A mirage cannot
sustain unless there is
substratum of desert.
Deep burning sand
and remember
one cannot have the illusion
of mirages at night.
Only at midday
you can have it or when there is
tremendous temperature is
there. Kena by whom?
Controlled by whom?
Under whom? All of us
Jeevas experience pleasure and
pain in the world. Who is the
controller of this pleasure and pain?
A sharp division between
pleasure and pain is evident.
All beings are attached to
pleasure and repelled
by pain. Both are
bondages. Raga and
Dvesha. Still it is seen
that people experience pain
even while enjoying.
The question is
what is that power
or that factor which leads
one to both
first happiness then
unhappiness and to pain?
These questions
asked in this verse are related
to the creation, preservation
and ultimate dissolution
of the Jeevas and the
universe.
So among themselves they are
debating and these are
the again further doubts
from the viewpoint of the students
remember.
So is it
all these? The questions
continue.
Beautiful arguments
are here. So the
questions come. So what
is the question? What is the
cause of this samsara?
Is your time the cause?
Is nature the cause?
Is necessity the cause?
Is chance the cause? Chance means what?
Many people believe
there is no God, there is
no purpose, it is just
pure accident, chance.
A man and a woman,
male and female, they meet
and something happens
and a child, a baby,
an offspring has come out.
That's it. Don't worry.
You know in the West, modern
America, so many,
some children, not everybody,
some children, they rebel
against the parents, especially
if their experiences are
negative experiences
and not necessarily because the parents
are bad because of their
own samskaras. Only Hindu
can accept that one.
These children,
when the parents say,
don't you have any obligation towards
us? Their inevitable
reply will be, what obligation
are you talking about, old man, old woman?
You had your
pleasure and
for your pleasure, you never
thought about it, you never planned for us
and you enjoyed yourself
and we just born out
of accident, so
it is your duty to bring us up
and you brought us up and
if we have any
say in it, we are thoroughly
dissatisfied how you have
brought us up, so we have
absolutely no obligation
to do anything
about you. And
if we do the same thing, of course
we will be obliged if we have children
who is going to, who do you think
is going to bring them up? We will be
bringing them up. But
we are fully aware, unlike you,
we don't expect
even though they are thinking
they expect what they don't expect
from their children.
So we don't expect, we do our
duty and as soon as they grow up
we will be very glad
to get rid of them. This is the
type of, is it a chance?
Is it an accident?
Or as the Hindus say,
Sankhyas say,
the five elements, the elements we regarded
as the cause or
he who is called the Purusha,
the Atma, the living self,
is he the cause?
The cause cannot be any of
the combinations of these entities.
Why? Because
all these things
are already
present only after
the creation. Before the
creation they were not present.
Therefore they cannot be the cause
because they are all effects.
And we are seeking the first
cause. And then
what about the Atman? Since
there is a living self, Atman,
and it seems
that is our consciousness, our awareness,
it seems to be
the cause of all these things.
We are asking the questions also.
Now, Atman can never be the cause
of this creation because
a very beautiful argument
is given here.
When we open our eyes
and look into our life
as well as other people's lives,
we see crystal clearly
that so much of
happiness is there.
And if we ourselves are
responsible for this creation,
which fool will
create something deliberately
may I suffer?
May I create causes
of suffering? It is impossible.
That is what Swami Vivekananda
said. If God had taken
my advice at the time before
creation, I would have given him
a very better
solution because he was
suffering. So we
the Jivatmas are already
caught in the net of samsara
which was created long
before we were created
and therefore we cannot be the cause.
Then who is the
real cause? This is
the question. So is it the time?
Time is time as
they say, even modern science says
is born
along with
the creation, not before
creation. The whole of the nature
only after the
creation. Necessity
after the creation. Elements
after the creation.
Purusha, the so called
Jivatma, only after the
creation. The Atman
or consciousness caught
in the net of this
body-mind complex is
called Jivatma. That means
even before this Atman
was caught, this
body-mind complex
is existing. Therefore
for these two reasons
if Jivatma is the cause
he would only create
as the master,
as the creator,
that which is very good for him.
All the time cutting capers
enjoy, but
the truth, the practical
thing is completely different.
So we will
discuss about this because
these are the questions that
will come to us
when we are looking for God.
Two reasons
I can say right now.
We seek God
not because God is wanted
after eating nice sweet
nobody seeks God.
Only when I am suffering,
intense suffering
and I come to know that there
is absolutely no way out
then only I will
come to know, I will seek
God. Seeking God means
seeking permanent
solution from the suffering
and how can I be
infinitely, eternally
happy. So
only a person who has
practiced these
teachings of the scriptures
for many many lives
he understands. Only
he can ask this question
and it is inevitable
that means the Rishi,
the Upanishad is anticipating
what we are going to ask
and it is the inevitable process
and before we come to that
it itself says you should ask
these questions sincerely
then only you are going to
really get the answers.
We will talk about these points
in our next class.

[[Category:Svetasvatara Upanishad]]

Svetasvatara Upanishad Lecture 03 on 11 March 2023

2023-07-17T23:54:21Z

Sevak123: Changed various spellings of Svetasvatara to be consistent with the title. Changed Videshe to Bideshe, Videshir to Bideshir, Veshe to Beshe in Swamiji's song to be consistent with Bengali. Viphale to Biphale. Life to Class (last sentence).

== Full Transcript(Not Corrected) ==
OM JANANIM SHARADAM DEVIM RAMAKRISHNAM JAGAD GURUM
PADHA PADME TAYO SHRITVA PRANAMAMI MUHUR MUHUR
OM SAHANA VAVATU SAHANAO BHUNAKTU
SAHA VIRYAM KARVA VAHE TEJASVI NAVADHITAM ASTHUMA VIDVISHA VAHE
OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTI HARI OM
OM May Brahman protect us, both the teacher and the students.
May Brahman bestow upon us both the fruit of knowledge.
May we both obtain the energy to acquire knowledge.
May what we both study reveal the truth.
May we cherish no ill will towards each other.
OM Peace, peace, peace be unto all.
We have been studying this Svetasvatara Upanishad, which
belongs to Krishna Yajur Veda.
And as we all know, Yajur Veda has two presentions,
Krishna and Shukla, the white Yajur Veda to which
Brihadaranyaka and Ishavasya belong.
And Krishna Yajur Veda, where Taittiriya Upanishad belongs.
And this Svetasvatara Upanishad.
And black, or Krishna, implying unarranged,
a motley collection of mantras.
And this Svetasvatara Upanishad contains 113 mantras,
arranged in six chapters in different numbers.
And the first chapter contains 16 mantras.
Now, in our last class, we have gone through the Shanti Patha.
A Shanti Patha, or peace chanting,
is a sincere prayer to God for the purpose of serving mainly
three purposes.
The first purpose is removal of every type of obstacle.
The second purpose is to obtain the grace of God
so that I can, or we can, continue
the spiritual sadhana.
The third purpose is it is only by God's grace
we can really realize God.
And that is the most important point
this Svetasvatara Upanishad wants to emphasize.
It is only through the grace of God
that we can, or one can, realize God.
But to obtain the grace of God, to retain the grace of God,
to remember the grace of God, and to use it appropriately,
and with a particular attitude, bhavana,
these five aspects of God's grace,
we can only pray to the Lord, and He will definitely give us.
So without further introduction, we
will go into the first mantra of the first chapter
of the Svetasvatara Upanishad.
And let us remember, Shankaracharya
gives certainly one of the largest introductions,
so far as I know, to any of the Upanishads.
And he gives a lot of quotations,
not only from the Upanishads, other Upanishads,
but a lot of quotations from what we call Smritis, Puranas,
Brahma Shastras, Bhagavad Gita, of course,
Brahma Sutras, et cetera.
And that made some people, some scholars,
think probably this is not the composition,
or commentary is not the commentary of Shankaracharya.
The Upanishad is no doubt, but whether he has really
written any commentary upon this particular Svetasvatara Upanishad.
But this is the secondary reason why they
think it is not his commentary.
But the first reason is that this Upanishad contains
a lot of elements of Bhakti, and it is in total
following the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna,
or should I say that Sri Ramakrishna followed
the methodology of Svetasvatara Upanishad,
where he says, Saguna Brahma is far easier to realize,
and by the grace of Saguna Brahma, one can realize anything.
That is why Sri Ramakrishna's teachings are very pregnant with meaning.
Ramakrishna, crystal clearly teaches us that,
of course, according to Vedanta,
nobody can really think about Brahman,
because Brahman doesn't have eyes to see
that who is praying to him, thinking of him,
and he cannot hear what you are talking about,
what you are praying for.
So naturally, he doesn't have hands to give you
what you want to, what you hope to get from him.
So he is, in other words, blind, deaf, dumb, disabled,
and it is absolutely useless.
So you can only think about Saguna Brahma.
Of course, I'm making fun.
You can understand it.
But we have to approach step by step,
and the lowest, lower, highest step,
next to that highest reality, is called Ishwara.
And here, the Svetasvatara Upanishad
inculcates a lot of devotional elements,
and Sharanagati, Ramanuja Sharanagati.
That's why the dualistic teachers,
like Ramanujacharya, Madhvacharya,
they take huge delight in commenting
upon the Shweta Shudra Upanishad,
because this exactly proves what they want to preach.
That means a lot of this Upanishad supports.
And that is the one reason why most people think.
But if you ask Ramakrishna, if you ask some of us,
then our answer will be, an Upanishad is an Upanishad.
Every Upanishad has got only one purpose,
or I would say, three goals.
Every Upanishad has three goals.
The first goal is to find out who you are.
The second goal is, what should be the goal of life,
Parama Purushartha.
And the last thing is, is there any pathway
by which we can attain it?
Tattva, Purushartha, and Hita.
And we see here, all the three very beautifully enumerated.
And the very first thing is, who are you?
In other words, who am I?
In other words, from where am I coming?
And that's, you remember, when Sri Ramakrishna first
met Narendra Nath, he sang two songs.
And those two songs are the essence
of what we are talking about in these first few mantras.
Rather, the very first mantra itself.
One is,
Manachalo Nijaniketane
Samsaar Bideshe Bidesheer Bheshe
Brahmo Keno Akarane
And the second song,
that we are wasting our time,
Jabe Ki Hai Din Biphale Jaiya
Shall all my days go in vain, O Lord?
Because I know what I have to do.
But I do not seem to find a way
how I am still caught up in this
attachment of the Brahma Chakra.
One of the most beautiful terminology
that this Svetasvatara Upanishad uses is
instead of saying Samsara Chakra,
it says Brahma Chakra.
What a vast difference it makes.
Samsara means Maya, Maya Chakra.
But Brahma Chakra means, as a Sufi,
so beautifully put it,
we start our journey from God,
in God, to God.
So we are coming out of Brahman,
and we grow up in Brahman,
and we go back onto Brahman.
And this is the Upanishadic methodology.
And especially in the third Valli
of the Taittiriya Upanishad,
when Bhrigu asks his father, Varna,
teach me about Brahman,
he says, I can only give you some hints.
yato vā imāni bhūtāni jāyante
ena jātāni jīvanti
yat prayanti aviśaṁ viśanti ti
from where all the creatures come,
in whom all the creatures are sustained
and live and slowly evolve.
And ultimately,
every creature is going to know
what it is, who it is,
and know the Brahman, become Brahman,
remain Brahman, become free
from all the trammels of this samsara.
But here it is, beautiful word,
we are spiritual,
whether we know it or not,
and that's why the beautiful word
we have to remember is Brahma Chakra.
Swami beautifully put it,
we are not human beings
seeking Brahman,
we are Brahman,
accidentally caught in the net of samsara
and seeking to go back to our own nature.
This is what Swami Vivekananda exactly puts it,
each soul is potentially divine,
that means there is an irresistible urge
for each one of us to move forward
and we have come down,
that is called the process of involution.
Now we are going up
and our journey can end
only when we reach God,
that is what we have to understand.
So the question,
there are some people
and they have gone obviously
through Brahmachari Ashrama,
Brihastha Ashrama,
and of course they have come to Panaprastha Ashrama.
They have approached a Guru
and they have learned
or they want to learn
and their desire,
when the Guru happens to ask them
what brings you here, what do you want?
Just as Prajapati asks Indra and Virochana,
what brings you here?
He knows very well what brings them there
because it was Prajapati's own announcement,
whoever knows Atman,
all his desires will be fulfilled.
And beautiful story there,
beautiful meaning is there
that we all desire God,
not because we are terribly having headache
in realizing God,
we have so many unfulfilled desires.
So we approach God
with the idea that He is the only one
who can fulfill all my desires.
Everybody else is a very limited being,
God alone is unlimited,
He can give me with a bit of payment,
He can give me with a heavy payment,
He can also give me without any payment.
So we approach God.
Suppose God says, what do you want?
I cannot fulfill a single desire of yours.
If you wish, you can worship me.
I don't think God will have anybody
turning towards Him.
I love you, we don't love anybody.
Husband doesn't love wife,
wife doesn't love husband,
a devotee doesn't love God,
God also doesn't love.
If God at all loves you,
why does He love?
Ramakrishna puts it beautifully.
So don't blame me.
He says God wants devotees.
Why?
Because who can understand better than God?
If there are no devotees,
who is there to call me as God?
So He also wants praise,
you are God, you are great.
Then for that purpose He depends upon us.
That's why He becomes very miserable
if nobody calls Him God.
What am I talking about?
Ramakrishna once said,
there was a time when
if I was not worshipped,
I used to feel very restless.
Anyway, this is what He is talking about.
We can understand the condition of God Himself.
So it is Parasparambava Yantra.
We need Him, He also needs us.
Without us, He is not a Bhagawan
and we cannot be bhakthas without Bhagawan.
Bhagawan cannot be Bhagawan without bhakthas.
So we scratch each other's back.
Parasparambava Yantra.
So even though I am making fun,
there is a lot of truth.
Even more truth is,
actually we do not exist.
He Himself wants to scratch His own back.
Why?
Because He is the only one.
There is no second.
Advaitiya.
Therefore He is forced to scratch His own back.
And for that He stands in front of a mirror.
No, no, no.
I am Bhagawan.
Why should I scratch my own back?
Look there.
Somebody else is scratching my back.
Yes, you can delude yourself
and that is the world.
God's deluding Himself is called the world.
A lot of truth is there
in what I have just now spoken.
Coming back,
if a person has gone through this evolutionary scale,
then he will come to a point
where he will have to ask.
He has gone through all experiences
and he has learned his lesson.
In this world,
nobody can help me.
Only God can help me.
And I have a lot of desires.
And every desire of mine can be fulfilled
when I become God.
Because God is everything.
So if I want everything all the time
without losing anything,
I must become that infinite God.
And so the question comes,
is it possible?
And these students must have studied
scriptures very thoroughly,
attended my classes for a long time
and then they became wise
and they started asking the question.
The essence of this question is
Who am I?
And that is what he is telling.
Beautifully put, the language also
is not archaic language.
The speciality of the Svetasvatara Upanishad is
it is not an ancient Upanishad
but it is fairly modern.
When I say fairly modern,
it is not a few centuries back.
It is many centuries back.
But we can see here,
the Sanskrit language is
much more easy to understand
and crystal clear.
We will start it without further ado.
Hari Om.
Anytime before we start a class,
we must always pray to God.
And Hari Om.
Om or Hari is a beautiful word.
Mangala Vakyas.
About five questions have come.
Kim Karanam?
What is the cause of this samsara?
Of my own birth.
Because I am part of the samsara.
In other words,
if I know where from I have come,
I know who I am.
When a pot comes to know
I am the clay,
its purpose is over.
It has realised.
As a pot, it has birth,
it has continuance,
and it has an end.
But as a clay,
as an example,
don't go on using your cleverness
and say clay also has come from something.
As an example.
So clay, here,
comparable to Brahma.
So, Kim Karanam?
Brahma.
That is, these Brahmavadis,
what is the ultimate cause?
Kutasma Jataha.
From where are we born?
In other words,
who are our parents?
What is the cause from which we have come?
In other words,
we are the effect,
I am the effect,
so I must have a cause.
What is the cause from where I have come?
Because, remember,
there is an invariable law
that whatever is the cause,
the effect will have
the same constituents.
It cannot change.
What will have is nothing but clay.
An ornament, golden ornament,
cannot but be gold.
A wooden furniture,
whatever it be,
in the past, present,
in future also,
cannot but be only
that wood nature.
These are examples.
So if I know where from we have come,
and we will be knowing
who I am,
and once I know that I am Brahman,
that is important,
because I still don't know
if I am Pancha Bhutas,
if I am a production of time,
production of accident,
production of chance,
production of everything else,
we will discuss about,
because very funny incidents are there.
So this is what is called
a terribly agonizing question.
These Brahmavadins,
they are not simply sitting after lunch
and having a digesting process.
They are extremely keen to know
and they feel time is passing out,
as Ramakrishna used to fall down on the earth.
Oh mother, another day is gone
and I have not seen you.
What was Ramakrishna doing?
Exactly the same thing.
He wants to know that you are my mother
and mother is the root cause of the child
and I have not seen you,
that means I have not understood who you are.
Once you give me that knowledge,
then there will be no death at all.
So,
Where from we have come?
Kutaha means from where?
So, how are we living?
What is it that sustains us?
Pachasampratishtha.
What is it?
That is the substratum
because of which we are living.
Adishtitaha kena sukhata reshu vartama he
and controlled by whom?
Viralled by whom?
That is how sometimes we are happy,
sometimes we are not very happy.
That means we are swinging
between happiness and unhappiness.
Sometimes the wave is high,
sometimes it goes down.
This is the exact description
of the samsara
that we are going through
every single minute.
And what is the ultimate arrangement?
Is there any purpose
in living itself?
These are the questions
and they are all Brahmavadins.
That means they are
Sadhana, Chatursthaya, Sampanna
all endowed with Adhikarins
and they are Mumukshus.
They want to realize their Brahman or God,
whatever name you give it.
And they are seriously discussing
and obviously they are discussing it
or they are putting these questions
because they have discussed
and they thought about it.
They could not get an answer
and they must have come
to a Sadguru
and that is what we call
Guru Sampradaya.
So they must have come
and they must have put these questions.
We have tried to resolve this problem.
We could not resolve this problem
and we have come
with the certainty, faith
that you are a knower of Brahman
and you alone can solve the problems.
Nobody can solve the problems.
Look how these words resound, echo.
In the Bhagavad Gita,
Arjuna had a doubt.
He says, O Lord,
You are talking about controlling the mind
and I know how difficult it is
because if I was a man of self-control,
mind control,
then I would have been a realized soul.
I would have known.
But I had fallen deep
into the trough of this depression
only because my mind is
sometimes taking me down,
sometimes swinging me up and down
like a swing, like a wave.
It is very easy for you to say
that you control your mind
but I don't see any way.
It is like controlling the wind.
And then the Lord says,
Yes, there is a way.
Then Arjuna says,
That is also you say.
That is wonderful.
But I think it is almost impossible.
Then the Lord gives some answer.
And then Arjuna has got some question.
He says, I believe
nobody can remove this doubt of mine
excepting you.
And that is how these Brahmavadins,
we don't know how many have come.
Since plural is used,
we presume it must be more than one.
It could be two, three, four, five, many.
Of course, I don't expect many
because Brahmavadins will never be many.
Manushyanaam sahasreshu kashchid yatati siddhaye.
These are our questions.
We ourselves have discussed among ourselves.
We have not come to a satisfactory conclusion.
But we have faith
that you are able to solve the problems.
So the translation goes like this.
Rishis, discoursing on Brahman,
ask, is Brahman the cause?
Whence are we born?
By what do we live?
Where do we go and dwell at the end?
Please tell us.
O ye who know Brahman,
under whose guidance we abide,
whether in pleasure or in pain.
There is a creator,
there is a preserver,
and there is a layakarta
unto whom we return constituent elements.
This is the inevitable fate of every effect.
The pot must go back into the clay,
the ornament must go back
into whichever material it is made up of,
gold or silver or whatever.
Every piece of furniture
finally must go back to its cup.
This is inevitable.
So through this Upanishad,
we are also told certain things.
What are the certain things?
That where there is birth,
there is growth,
there is happiness and unhappiness,
and old age and disease,
and inevitably death.
But death is not destruction
because nothing can come out of non-existence.
And nothing that exists
can go back also to non-existence.
It is impossible.
Anything that is existent
must come only through Sath
and must go back to Sath.
Sath means that which assumes names,
forms, qualities.
That is called birth and growth.
And finally it must go back
to that unmanifest state.
That is called death.
That means there is no death.
But meanwhile,
even if we come to know
there is no death,
we will not be happy
because we don't want merely
to know that we are deathless,
but I want also to know
that I can be happy all the time,
that my happiness should never have
any type of break, etc.
So who is a Rishi?
The literal etymological meaning
Rishati, Janati, Rishihi
one who knows.
But here Rishis means
if they come to know,
the question of their doubting,
their discussion,
and allowing a wee bit
allowance for doubts
will never arise.
They would have been realized souls.
But they are called Rishis
just like medical students,
especially after the third year,
are honorifically named as doctors,
even though they are not permitted
to practice independently.
So these Rishis.
And why are they called Rishis?
Because like Yamadharmaraj
says about Nachiketa,
as if you already have reached the goal.
But how, sir?
I am only asking you,
you have not even started answering me.
He says because anybody who has
your qualifications,
there is absolutely no doubt about it,
not even 1% of doubt about it,
that you are going to reach the goal.
These people were completely fit people.
And as soon as the Sadguru
opens his mouth and tells them,
and they know,
they can understand the truth
instantaneously.
And who is a Sadguru?
A person who knows
what he wants to,
what others want to learn.
But when the students become ready,
then only they can receive.
Let us take the example of Kalpataru day,
which had happened on the 1st January 1886.
Sri Ramakrishna has bestowed his grace.
In fact, he was not discriminating,
excepting in the case of two people,
whom he said,
not now, you will receive it later on.
Though Sri Ramakrishna was so gracious,
but the people who received,
most of them did not retain it.
After some time, everybody has lost it.
But the memory of it can never be lost.
Remember, in the Bhagavatam,
there is the story of
the great devotee called Narada.
And he became very, very much aware
of the ephemerality of this world.
So he went to do Tapasya.
With great earnestness,
he was praying to Lord Narayana.
And immediately Narayana appeared,
giving him a glimpse himself.
And Narada was transported.
But just like lightning,
which we have seen in the Kena Upanishad,
that vision had vanished.
And then Narada came down with a thump,
as it were, to the hard earth.
And then he said,
Oh Lord, why did you withdraw yourself from me?
And the Akashvani comes,
Narada, out of my grace,
I showed you what you are going to attain,
so that you will never be discouraged,
you will never have any doubt
what is going to happen in future.
But this much,
that this memory of what you had experienced
will never allow you to become depressed.
And that is exactly what happened
to the devotees of Sri Ramakrishna,
who could not retain,
but they know this is a reality.
One can have this kind of experience,
but one must strive
so that they will be able to retain it,
not for a few minutes again,
but forever.
For that, we have to make it.
Even I remember,
Swami Brahmanandaji was doing Tapasya at Vrindavan,
and Vijayakrishna Goswami asked,
Maharaj, you have received so much grace of Thakur,
why are you practicing these hard austerities?
And Swami Brahmanandaji replied,
It is true.
Sri Ramakrishna, out of His infinite boundless grace,
had bestowed me all these things,
but we have to make it our own,
because visions come and disappear.
Anything that disappears is impermanent.
But what is permanent?
That knowledge,
I am that.
God exists in Vaikuntha,
in Kailasa, etc.,
in Kingdom of Heaven, etc.
That is also may be true,
but until I am with God,
all the time,
then it will come,
the experience will come,
and it will disappear also.
I remember a very useful incident.
There was one great devotee of Krishna,
and he used to meditate
with great sincerity, longing.
He had several visions of Krishna.
Then he happened to come to Ramana Maharshi,
and at that time,
he wanted to get the approval,
that Ramana Maharshi saying,
that you are very great,
and you have had many visions of Krishna,
and probably that lurking desire
to be certified was there.
So with great glee,
he narrated all his experiences.
But then what he received was
very much disappointing.
Ramana Maharshi, you know,
when he looks,
he never looks at you,
he looks beyond you.
So he looked at this devotee,
and simply made a remark,
whatever comes, also goes.
And Krishna Premi,
his name was Krishna Premi,
I think, if I am not wrong,
and he was very much disappointed.
Later on, he was recollecting,
so then I was disappointed,
but anyway, a great soul,
enjoyed his presence,
came back to my ashrama,
and in course of time,
the knowledge of Krishna remained with me,
but the visions of Krishna had vanished.
So anything that comes will go,
and if I am seeing Brahman,
hearing Brahman,
tasting Brahman,
touching Brahman,
smelling Brahman,
it will come and will disappear.
But if I become Brahman,
there is no separation at any time at all.
And that is what is needed.
These great Rishis,
advanced souls,
completely detached from the world,
they have risen up
from the three types of desires,
Pithaishna, Putraishna, Lokaishna,
as Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
so beautifully describes.
And their only goal
is to realize God,
like hundreds of real Paramahamsas
used to visit Shri Ramakrishna
as soon as he completed his Advaita sadhana
and remained experiencing it
continuously for six months.
After that, by the will of the mother,
his mind came down,
and then after that,
hundreds of real Paramahamsas,
not vagabonds,
real, real Paramahamsas,
somehow drawn by the divine will,
came to Dakshineshwar,
stayed there.
Each one of them was at some point of
spiritual progress in his own
destined path.
And they got help from Shri Ramakrishna.
Their obstacles were removed
and their path became clear.
They got tremendous inspiration.
All their doubts were probably removed.
And as soon as that happened,
they saluted him and then left.
This phenomena happened.
And whenever Shri Ramakrishna
became perfect,
perfect in any one of the pathways,
that is important for us.
So these Brahmavadins,
they are ready to receive
and they must have practiced Tapasya.
Whether the Guru asked them
that one year you stay,
like as we have seen in Prashna Upanishad,
or at least 105 years,
like we see in the Chandogya Upanishad,
they were ready.
And these were the questions
they put forward.
And we know from the scriptures.
This is a point we have to remember.
Not that they did not know the answers.
Everything is new.
They must have studied the scriptures,
intellectually understood,
but they wanted confirmation
from a realized soul.
So with this query,
they had come.
And they were completely,
what is called, restless.
That is why it says,
is Brahman the cause?
Yes, every Upanishad says,
Brahman is the cause.
We are coming from Brahman
and we are living in Brahman
and we go back to Brahman.
Yes, not that they did not know intellectually.
They knew very well.
But we want confirmation.
Is Brahman the cause?
Whence are we born?
Have we come from Brahman?
By what do we live?
Is Brahman sustaining us?
Nourishing us?
Pushan ekarshe?
Hey Pushan!
As this Avasya Upanishad says,
you are sustaining the entire creation.
So by what do we live?
What is it that we live by?
And Bible gives a beautiful answer
to this question.
Man does not live
by bread alone.
What does he live? Only by God.
So even if you eat food,
you don't live because of
the food, you live because of
God. What is God?
In the manifestation of
Sat, Chit and Ananda.
We don't want to
die, we don't want to be
ignorant and we least
of all want to suffer.
We want that highest happiness.
This is what is meant by
we only live
by God. Ananda dheva kalvimani bhutani jayante
anandena jevanti
anandam prayante
abhisamvi shantiti.
We are manifested because of
Ananda, we live
because of Ananda and
we go back and merge ourselves into
Ananda. Ananda is
another name for Brahman.
So, please tell us
these disciples,
Brahmavadinis, yet to realize
Brahman, what are they telling?
O ye, whoever
you are, wherever you are,
ye know Brahman
under whose guidance we abide
whether in pleasure
or in pain. Please
tell us. Please clarify this.
Please certify
that our understanding is
absolutely true.
And we see it in the Gospel of
Sri Ramakrishna in the form
of a marvellous song.
I have quoted it many times.
This was translated by
none other than Girish
Chandra Ghosh and
most of us know this
well-known bhajan
judai te chai
kothai judai.
We mourn for peace.
That is how it is translated in the Gospel.
We mourn
for rest. Alas!
Rest we can never find.
So, kothai judai.
Where is that peace we are seeking?
That is, we want to be
united with Brahman and that
is the only source of peace
and we want
to be united with Brahman
and obtain that peace
but we do not
seem to get. Kothai hotey ashi.
Where from are we coming?
Kothai bhise jai.
Where do we go on floating?
Floating means as if a powerful
stream is carrying us
forward. This is the stream
of evolution, what I call
evolutionary escalator.
Phire phire ashi.
I come
back again and again. I am reborn
again and again.
And what happens? Kotho kaandi
hasi. How much I weep?
How much I laugh?
Caught in this samsara chakra
or Brahma chakra.
Keva kothai jai.
And where do we go?
Suddenly something happens.
We are snatched and everything
that we are aware of,
know of, love of,
hate of and
completely disappears and
this is the one thought
that has possessed us.
Sada bhavi kothai. I always
am possessed by the thought
these questions come into
my mind but I do not know how to answer.
Ke khalai?
Who is making me play?
I don't want to play
but somebody is forcibly
making me play. Where do you think
you remember?
Ishwaraha sarvabhutanaam
hrideshe arjunatishtati
brahmayen sarvabhutani
yantrarodhani
mayaya. Ke khalai?
Who makes me play? Ami khaliva
keno? Why am I
playing? Why am I playing?
Because I am helpless.
I have no other way. I am
like a pawn in the
hands. I am a chess piece
in the hands of the chess master.
Wherever he puts, I
have no freedom
but I am not a chess piece.
I have got consciousness.
I can understand.
I want to resist but I cannot
resist. Jagiye ghumaye
koh ke jano?
What a horrible condition
I am in. I am fully
awake as if
I am sleeping deeply.
Koh ke jano?
Sometimes, you know, in the
what is called ice-clad countries
such as
Norway, etc.
Sometimes, persons
go for a walk and suddenly
a terrible fog
I have read marvellous stories
like that. A terrible fog
envelops them.
They don't know where is east
where is west. They move here
and there. Very soon, they are lost
and
they cannot see. Sometimes
and many times, they
die also. Many people die
even though the house is very near
not very far. But
since they cannot find
what you call
hyperthermia sets in
and very quickly they die.
Jagiye ghumaye
even though I am fully awake
as if I am awake
in deep darkness. Koh ke jano?
Ek hamon ghor
How horrible is this condition
this night
Havena ki bhor
Will it ever bring dawn?
Will I see the light?
Adhir adhir jai mate shomir
Abhiram gati
niyat dhai
This beautiful
gentle wind
is blowing
so much and it has
no stop. As if 24 hours
it is moving
Gati niyat dhai. It doesn't know
who blows it
why it blows
why is it sometimes very mild
sometimes very very powerful
I am also like that
Jani na keva
Eshechi kothai
Jani na
I do not know. Keva. Who am I?
I do not know. Who am I?
Eshechi kothai. I don't know
Where I have come?
If we are asked, where are you? I am in Varanasi
Where are you? I am in Bangalore
That is not the point
So why did I come here?
Where was my home?
And where am I here? Who brought me here?
Why did I come here?
I don't know
Ke naba eshechi. I don't know why I have come
I don't know where I have come
I don't know how I have come
And kothai
niyat jai. Somebody
as if is going to
take me somewhere. I don't know anything
There is a beautiful, very big
song. One of the most
marvelous songs
but I have only taken a small part
of it. This
summarizes the gist of
what these Brahmavadins
are moaning
This is the English translation
even though I had explained
We moan for rest, alas
but rest can never find
We know not whence we come
nor where we float away
Time and again we tread
this round of smiles and tears
In vain we pine to know
whither our
pathway leads
And why we play
this empty play
We sleep, although awake, as if
by a spell bewitched
Will darkness never break into the light of
dawn? As restless
as the wind, life moves
unceasingly. We know not
who we are, nor
whence it is we come. We
know not why we come, nor
where it is we drift
Beautiful song, I tell you
And this was the condition of
Bhagavan Buddha, Siddhartha
before he renounced
the world. So it is said
in the Lalita Vistara, some
devatas came and sang
and that deeply awakened
him. And that very night
he decided to find out
the mystery of life and
renounced the world.
For six years he struggled
and he came back an enlightened
person, like that person
who felt the temptation
to jump into the enclosed
space, but with great
difficulty he
restrained himself
because there are so many people, they don't
know such a marvelous place
condition exists, where they
can be happy forever. Let me
also share with others
this is the
description, depiction of Sri Ram
Krishna's form and went out
for a walk. The depiction
of an avatar,
indirectly indicating.
So Brahman or pure consciousness
is it the cause of the universe?
Obviously Brahman, the absolute
which is beyond time and space
and the causal relationship
cannot be the real cause
because cause is as much
bound as the effect.
So one must go beyond both
cause and effect. Is that
supreme reality we call Brahman?
Is it the cause?
Apparently so, really no.
Then who is it?
Apparently Ishwara
but not really Ishwara.
So if Brahman is the cause
then the Brahman must
create in cooperation with something
and what is that something?
That Prakruti
and if Prakruti's
help is needed, Brahman
is no Brahman at all. He is
caught in his own chakra
and that is impossible.
So what kind
of causes of this
universe? Is there
a material cause? Is there
an efficient cause?
And to come to
the conclusion, I have
already told you, Ishwara
is both the material
cause and the efficient
cause of this entire creation
because before the
creation and every
creation requires these two causes
then Brahman must
be the both causes
because there was none other than
that Ishwara. We are talking
about Ishwara. Whenever we are
talking about creation, let
us not talk about Parabrahma.
Let us not talk about Nirguna
Brahma. Let us talk only
about Savuna Brahma
called Ishwara. Ishwara means
Brahman with
Maya and it is also
called Purusha Prakruti in Sankhya
and in this Svetasvatara
Upanishad, a lot of Sankhya
Yoga is going to come.
Kutaha because
everybody comes from somewhere
else. Babies are
born from the wombs of their
mothers. Plants
come from a seed.
There must be a cause.
Even continents are born
because of the clash
of the tectonic elements
deep underneath
the earth.
Everything must have a cause.
So no birth or death is possible
for the real Jeeva.
So this is
we want to know. In essence
is we want to know
and what purpose?
Because when I come to know
then I will know
I was never really born.
When I come to know
where from I am born
and by what I am
living and where I am going
to go. Apparently it looks
as though I get the answers
but from the Advaitic point
of view, these are all questions
from the Mayic point
of view, from the mind's point of view
from the bound point of
view.
So whatever questions we
have and whatever answers
we receive, they are all
not real answers.
Fake answers.
Why do we say fake answers?
Because when the question is fake
then the answer also should be
only fake answer.
That's all. But
how does it help? Because
when you understand
the reality, you will stop
questioning, you will not
seeking an answer because
there is no problem at all.
This is what one senior
Swami told me that problems
cannot be solved ultimately
but problems can
be dissolved. I hope
you understand the difference between
solving and dissolving
and spiritual life
is dissolving.
So Kena Jeeva Maha
what supports the Jeevas during their
phenomenal existence?
Kuchasampradishta at the end.
And who is sustaining us?
Because who is the substratum?
Like a snake
cannot be there without
the substratum of a rope.
A mirage cannot
sustain unless there is
substratum of desert.
Deep burning sand
and remember
one cannot have the illusion
of mirages at night.
Only at midday
you can have it or when there is
tremendous temperature is
there. Kena by whom?
Controlled by whom?
Under whom? All of us
Jeevas experience pleasure and
pain in the world. Who is the
controller of this pleasure and pain?
A sharp division between
pleasure and pain is evident.
All beings are attached to
pleasure and repelled
by pain. Both are
bondages. Raga and
Dvesha. Still it is seen
that people experience pain
even while enjoying.
The question is
what is that power
or that factor which leads
one to both
first happiness then
unhappiness and to pain?
These questions
asked in this verse are related
to the creation, preservation
and ultimate dissolution
of the Jeevas and the
universe.
So among themselves they are
debating and these are
the again further doubts
from the viewpoint of the students
remember.
So is it
all these? The questions
continue.
Beautiful arguments
are here. So the
questions come. So what
is the question? What is the
cause of this samsara?
Is your time the cause?
Is nature the cause?
Is necessity the cause?
Is chance the cause? Chance means what?
Many people believe
there is no God, there is
no purpose, it is just
pure accident, chance.
A man and a woman,
male and female, they meet
and something happens
and a child, a baby,
an offspring has come out.
That's it. Don't worry.
You know in the West, modern
America, so many,
some children, not everybody,
some children, they rebel
against the parents, especially
if their experiences are
negative experiences
and not necessarily because the parents
are bad because of their
own samskaras. Only Hindu
can accept that one.
These children,
when the parents say,
don't you have any obligation towards
us? Their inevitable
reply will be, what obligation
are you talking about, old man, old woman?
You had your
pleasure and
for your pleasure, you never
thought about it, you never planned for us
and you enjoyed yourself
and we just born out
of accident, so
it is your duty to bring us up
and you brought us up and
if we have any
say in it, we are thoroughly
dissatisfied how you have
brought us up, so we have
absolutely no obligation
to do anything
about you. And
if we do the same thing, of course
we will be obliged if we have children
who is going to, who do you think
is going to bring them up? We will be
bringing them up. But
we are fully aware, unlike you,
we don't expect
even though they are thinking
they expect what they don't expect
from their children.
So we don't expect, we do our
duty and as soon as they grow up
we will be very glad
to get rid of them. This is the
type of, is it a chance?
Is it an accident?
Or as the Hindus say,
Sankhyas say,
the five elements, the elements we regarded
as the cause or
he who is called the Purusha,
the Atma, the living self,
is he the cause?
The cause cannot be any of
the combinations of these entities.
Why? Because
all these things
are already
present only after
the creation. Before the
creation they were not present.
Therefore they cannot be the cause
because they are all effects.
And we are seeking the first
cause. And then
what about the Atman? Since
there is a living self, Atman,
and it seems
that is our consciousness, our awareness,
it seems to be
the cause of all these things.
We are asking the questions also.
Now, Atman can never be the cause
of this creation because
a very beautiful argument
is given here.
When we open our eyes
and look into our life
as well as other people's lives,
we see crystal clearly
that so much of
happiness is there.
And if we ourselves are
responsible for this creation,
which fool will
create something deliberately
may I suffer?
May I create causes
of suffering? It is impossible.
That is what Swami Vivekananda
said. If God had taken
my advice at the time before
creation, I would have given him
a very better
solution because he was
suffering. So we
the Jivatmas are already
caught in the net of samsara
which was created long
before we were created
and therefore we cannot be the cause.
Then who is the
real cause? This is
the question. So is it the time?
Time is time as
they say, even modern science says
is born
along with
the creation, not before
creation. The whole of the nature
only after the
creation. Necessity
after the creation. Elements
after the creation.
Purusha, the so called
Jivatma, only after the
creation. The Atman
or consciousness caught
in the net of this
body-mind complex is
called Jivatma. That means
even before this Atman
was caught, this
body-mind complex
is existing. Therefore
for these two reasons
if Jivatma is the cause
he would only create
as the master,
as the creator,
that which is very good for him.
All the time cutting capers
enjoy, but
the truth, the practical
thing is completely different.
So we will
discuss about this because
these are the questions that
will come to us
when we are looking for God.
Two reasons
I can say right now.
We seek God
not because God is wanted
after eating nice sweet
nobody seeks God.
Only when I am suffering,
intense suffering
and I come to know that there
is absolutely no way out
then only I will
come to know, I will seek
God. Seeking God means
seeking permanent
solution from the suffering
and how can I be
infinitely, eternally
happy. So
only a person who has
practiced these
teachings of the scriptures
for many many lives
he understands. Only
he can ask this question
and it is inevitable
that means the Rishi,
the Upanishad is anticipating
what we are going to ask
and it is the inevitable process
and before we come to that
it itself says you should ask
these questions sincerely
then only you are going to
really get the answers.
We will talk about these points
in our next class.

[[Category:Svetasvatara Upanishad]]

Svetasvatara Upanishad Lecture 03 on 11 March 2023

2023-07-17T23:37:37Z

Sevak123: Bhavato -> Bhavatu, Bhunakto -> Bhunaktu, V

== Full Transcript(Not Corrected) ==
OM JANANIM SHARADAM DEVIM RAMAKRISHNAM JAGAD GURUM
PADHA PADME TAYO SHRITVA PRANAMAMI MUHUR MUHUR
OM SAHANA VAVATU SAHANAO BHUNAKTU
SAHA VIRYAM KARVA VAHE TEJASVI NAVADHITAM ASTHUMA VIDVISHA VAHE
OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTI HARI OM
OM May Brahman protect us, both the teacher and the students.
May Brahman bestow upon us both the fruit of knowledge.
May we both obtain the energy to acquire knowledge.
May what we both study reveal the truth.
May we cherish no ill will towards each other.
OM Peace, peace, peace be unto all.
We have been studying this Svetasvatara Upanishad, which
belongs to Krishna Yajur Veda.
And as we all know, Yajur Veda has two presentions,
Krishna and Shukla, the white Yajur Veda to which
Brihadaranyaka and Ishavasya belong.
And Krishna Yajur Veda, where Taittiriya Upanishad belongs.
And this Svetasvatara Upanishad.
And black, or Krishna, implying unarranged,
a motley collection of mantras.
And this Svetasvatara Upanishad contains 113 mantras,
arranged in six chapters in different numbers.
And the first chapter contains 16 mantras.
Now, in our last class, we have gone through the Shanti Patha.
A Shanti Patha, or peace chanting,
is a sincere prayer to God for the purpose of serving mainly
three purposes.
The first purpose is removal of every type of obstacle.
The second purpose is to obtain the grace of God
so that I can, or we can, continue
the spiritual sadhana.
The third purpose is it is only by God's grace
we can really realize God.
And that is the most important point
this Shweta Shatara Upanishad wants to emphasize.
It is only through the grace of God
that we can, or one can, realize God.
But to obtain the grace of God, to retain the grace of God,
to remember the grace of God, and to use it appropriately,
and with a particular attitude, bhavana,
these five aspects of God's grace,
we can only pray to the Lord, and He will definitely give us.
So without further introduction, we
will go into the first mantra of the first chapter
of the Shweta Shatara Upanishad.
And let us remember, Shankaracharya
gives certainly one of the largest introductions,
so far as I know, to any of the Upanishads.
And he gives a lot of quotations,
not only from the Upanishads, other Upanishads,
but a lot of quotations from what we call Smritis, Puranas,
Brahma Shastras, Bhagavad Gita, of course,
Brahma Sutras, et cetera.
And that made some people, some scholars,
think probably this is not the composition,
or commentary is not the commentary of Shankaracharya.
The Upanishad is no doubt, but whether he has really
written any commentary upon this particular Shweta Shatara Upanishad.
But this is the secondary reason why they
think it is not his commentary.
But the first reason is that this Upanishad contains
a lot of elements of Bhakti, and it is in total
following the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna,
or should I say that Sri Ramakrishna followed
the methodology of Shweta Shatara Upanishad,
where he says, Saguna Brahma is far easier to realize,
and by the grace of Saguna Brahma, one can realize anything.
That is why Sri Ramakrishna's teachings are very pregnant with meaning.
Ramakrishna, crystal clearly teaches us that,
of course, according to Vedanta,
nobody can really think about Brahman,
because Brahman doesn't have eyes to see
that who is praying to him, thinking of him,
and he cannot hear what you are talking about,
what you are praying for.
So naturally, he doesn't have hands to give you
what you want to, what you hope to get from him.
So he is, in other words, blind, deaf, dumb, disabled,
and it is absolutely useless.
So you can only think about Saguna Brahma.
Of course, I'm making fun.
You can understand it.
But we have to approach step by step,
and the lowest, lower, highest step,
next to that highest reality, is called Ishwara.
And here, the Shweta Shudra Upanishad
inculcates a lot of devotional elements,
and Sharanagati, Ramanuja Sharanagati.
That's why the dualistic teachers,
like Ramanujacharya, Madhvacharya,
they take huge delight in commenting
upon the Shweta Shudra Upanishad,
because this exactly proves what they want to preach.
That means a lot of this Upanishad supports.
And that is the one reason why most people think.
But if you ask Ramakrishna, if you ask some of us,
then our answer will be, an Upanishad is an Upanishad.
Every Upanishad has got only one purpose,
or I would say, three goals.
Every Upanishad has three goals.
The first goal is to find out who you are.
The second goal is, what should be the goal of life,
Parama Purushartha.
And the last thing is, is there any pathway
by which we can attain it?
Tattva, Purushartha, and Hita.
And we see here, all the three very beautifully enumerated.
And the very first thing is, who are you?
In other words, who am I?
In other words, from where am I coming?
And that's, you remember, when Sri Ramakrishna first
met Narendra Nath, he sang two songs.
And those two songs are the essence
of what we are talking about in these first few mantras.
Rather, the very first mantra itself.
One is,
Manachalo Nijaniketane
Samsaar Videshe Videsheer Veshe
Brahmo Kena Akarane
And the second song,
that we are wasting our time,
Jabe Ki Hai Din Viphale Jaiya
Shall all my days go in vain, O Lord?
Because I know what I have to do.
But I do not seem to find a way
how I am still caught up in this
attachment of the Brahma Chakra.
One of the most beautiful terminology
that this Shweta Shweta Rao Upanishad uses is
instead of saying Samsara Chakra,
it says Brahma Chakra.
What a vast difference it makes.
Samsara means Maya, Maya Chakra.
But Brahma Chakra means, as a Sufi,
so beautifully put it,
we start our journey from God,
in God, to God.
So we are coming out of Brahman,
and we grow up in Brahman,
and we go back onto Brahman.
And this is the Upanishadic methodology.
And especially in the third Valli
of the Taittiriya Upanishad,
when Bhrigu asks his father, Varna,
teach me about Brahman,
he says, I can only give you some hints.
yato vā imāni bhūtāni jāyante
ena jātāni jīvanti
yat prayanti aviśaṁ viśanti ti
from where all the creatures come,
in whom all the creatures are sustained
and live and slowly evolve.
And ultimately,
every creature is going to know
what it is, who it is,
and know the Brahman, become Brahman,
remain Brahman, become free
from all the trammels of this samsara.
But here it is, beautiful word,
we are spiritual,
whether we know it or not,
and that's why the beautiful word
we have to remember is Brahma Chakra.
Swami beautifully put it,
we are not human beings
seeking Brahman,
we are Brahman,
accidentally caught in the net of samsara
and seeking to go back to our own nature.
This is what Swami Vivekananda exactly puts it,
each soul is potentially divine,
that means there is an irresistible urge
for each one of us to move forward
and we have come down,
that is called the process of involution.
Now we are going up
and our journey can end
only when we reach God,
that is what we have to understand.
So the question,
there are some people
and they have gone obviously
through Brahmachari Ashrama,
Brihastha Ashrama,
and of course they have come to Panaprastha Ashrama.
They have approached a Guru
and they have learned
or they want to learn
and their desire,
when the Guru happens to ask them
what brings you here, what do you want?
Just as Prajapati asks Indra and Virochana,
what brings you here?
He knows very well what brings them there
because it was Prajapati's own announcement,
whoever knows Atman,
all his desires will be fulfilled.
And beautiful story there,
beautiful meaning is there
that we all desire God,
not because we are terribly having headache
in realizing God,
we have so many unfulfilled desires.
So we approach God
with the idea that He is the only one
who can fulfill all my desires.
Everybody else is a very limited being,
God alone is unlimited,
He can give me with a bit of payment,
He can give me with a heavy payment,
He can also give me without any payment.
So we approach God.
Suppose God says, what do you want?
I cannot fulfill a single desire of yours.
If you wish, you can worship me.
I don't think God will have anybody
turning towards Him.
I love you, we don't love anybody.
Husband doesn't love wife,
wife doesn't love husband,
a devotee doesn't love God,
God also doesn't love.
If God at all loves you,
why does He love?
Ramakrishna puts it beautifully.
So don't blame me.
He says God wants devotees.
Why?
Because who can understand better than God?
If there are no devotees,
who is there to call me as God?
So He also wants praise,
you are God, you are great.
Then for that purpose He depends upon us.
That's why He becomes very miserable
if nobody calls Him God.
What am I talking about?
Ramakrishna once said,
there was a time when
if I was not worshipped,
I used to feel very restless.
Anyway, this is what He is talking about.
We can understand the condition of God Himself.
So it is Parasparambava Yantra.
We need Him, He also needs us.
Without us, He is not a Bhagawan
and we cannot be bhakthas without Bhagawan.
Bhagawan cannot be Bhagawan without bhakthas.
So we scratch each other's back.
Parasparambava Yantra.
So even though I am making fun,
there is a lot of truth.
Even more truth is,
actually we do not exist.
He Himself wants to scratch His own back.
Why?
Because He is the only one.
There is no second.
Advaitiya.
Therefore He is forced to scratch His own back.
And for that He stands in front of a mirror.
No, no, no.
I am Bhagawan.
Why should I scratch my own back?
Look there.
Somebody else is scratching my back.
Yes, you can delude yourself
and that is the world.
God's deluding Himself is called the world.
A lot of truth is there
in what I have just now spoken.
Coming back,
if a person has gone through this evolutionary scale,
then he will come to a point
where he will have to ask.
He has gone through all experiences
and he has learned his lesson.
In this world,
nobody can help me.
Only God can help me.
And I have a lot of desires.
And every desire of mine can be fulfilled
when I become God.
Because God is everything.
So if I want everything all the time
without losing anything,
I must become that infinite God.
And so the question comes,
is it possible?
And these students must have studied
scriptures very thoroughly,
attended my classes for a long time
and then they became wise
and they started asking the question.
The essence of this question is
Who am I?
And that is what he is telling.
Beautifully put, the language also
is not archaic language.
The speciality of the Shweta Shatra Upanishad is
it is not an ancient Upanishad
but it is fairly modern.
When I say fairly modern,
it is not a few centuries back.
It is many centuries back.
But we can see here,
the Sanskrit language is
much more easy to understand
and crystal clear.
We will start it without further ado.
Hari Om.
Anytime before we start a class,
we must always pray to God.
And Hari Om.
Om or Hari is a beautiful word.
Mangala Vakyas.
About five questions have come.
Kim Karanam?
What is the cause of this samsara?
Of my own birth.
Because I am part of the samsara.
In other words,
if I know where from I have come,
I know who I am.
When a pot comes to know
I am the clay,
its purpose is over.
It has realised.
As a pot, it has birth,
it has continuance,
and it has an end.
But as a clay,
as an example,
don't go on using your cleverness
and say clay also has come from something.
As an example.
So clay, here,
comparable to Brahma.
So, Kim Karanam?
Brahma.
That is, these Brahmavadis,
what is the ultimate cause?
Kutasma Jataha.
From where are we born?
In other words,
who are our parents?
What is the cause from which we have come?
In other words,
we are the effect,
I am the effect,
so I must have a cause.
What is the cause from where I have come?
Because, remember,
there is an invariable law
that whatever is the cause,
the effect will have
the same constituents.
It cannot change.
What will have is nothing but clay.
An ornament, golden ornament,
cannot but be gold.
A wooden furniture,
whatever it be,
in the past, present,
in future also,
cannot but be only
that wood nature.
These are examples.
So if I know where from we have come,
and we will be knowing
who I am,
and once I know that I am Brahman,
that is important,
because I still don't know
if I am Pancha Bhutas,
if I am a production of time,
production of accident,
production of chance,
production of everything else,
we will discuss about,
because very funny incidents are there.
So this is what is called
a terribly agonizing question.
These Brahmavadins,
they are not simply sitting after lunch
and having a digesting process.
They are extremely keen to know
and they feel time is passing out,
as Ramakrishna used to fall down on the earth.
Oh mother, another day is gone
and I have not seen you.
What was Ramakrishna doing?
Exactly the same thing.
He wants to know that you are my mother
and mother is the root cause of the child
and I have not seen you,
that means I have not understood who you are.
Once you give me that knowledge,
then there will be no death at all.
So,
Where from we have come?
Kutaha means from where?
So, how are we living?
What is it that sustains us?
Pachasampratishtha.
What is it?
That is the substratum
because of which we are living.
Adishtitaha kena sukhata reshu vartama he
and controlled by whom?
Viralled by whom?
That is how sometimes we are happy,
sometimes we are not very happy.
That means we are swinging
between happiness and unhappiness.
Sometimes the wave is high,
sometimes it goes down.
This is the exact description
of the samsara
that we are going through
every single minute.
And what is the ultimate arrangement?
Is there any purpose
in living itself?
These are the questions
and they are all Brahmavadins.
That means they are
Sadhana, Chatursthaya, Sampanna
all endowed with Adhikarins
and they are Mumukshus.
They want to realize their Brahman or God,
whatever name you give it.
And they are seriously discussing
and obviously they are discussing it
or they are putting these questions
because they have discussed
and they thought about it.
They could not get an answer
and they must have come
to a Sadguru
and that is what we call
Guru Sampradaya.
So they must have come
and they must have put these questions.
We have tried to resolve this problem.
We could not resolve this problem
and we have come
with the certainty, faith
that you are a knower of Brahman
and you alone can solve the problems.
Nobody can solve the problems.
Look how these words resound, echo.
In the Bhagavad Gita,
Arjuna had a doubt.
He says, O Lord,
You are talking about controlling the mind
and I know how difficult it is
because if I was a man of self-control,
mind control,
then I would have been a realized soul.
I would have known.
But I had fallen deep
into the trough of this depression
only because my mind is
sometimes taking me down,
sometimes swinging me up and down
like a swing, like a wave.
It is very easy for you to say
that you control your mind
but I don't see any way.
It is like controlling the wind.
And then the Lord says,
Yes, there is a way.
Then Arjuna says,
That is also you say.
That is wonderful.
But I think it is almost impossible.
Then the Lord gives some answer.
And then Arjuna has got some question.
He says, I believe
nobody can remove this doubt of mine
excepting you.
And that is how these Brahmavadins,
we don't know how many have come.
Since plural is used,
we presume it must be more than one.
It could be two, three, four, five, many.
Of course, I don't expect many
because Brahmavadins will never be many.
Manushyanaam sahasresh kashchid yatati siddhaye.
These are our questions.
We ourselves have discussed among ourselves.
We have not come to a satisfactory conclusion.
But we have faith
that you are able to solve the problems.
So the translation goes like this.
Rishis, discoursing on Brahman,
ask, is Brahman the cause?
Whence are we born?
By what do we live?
Where do we go and dwell at the end?
Please tell us.
O ye who know Brahman,
under whose guidance we abide,
whether in pleasure or in pain.
There is a creator,
there is a preserver,
and there is a layakarta
unto whom we return constituent elements.
This is the inevitable fate of every effect.
The pot must go back into the clay,
the ornament must go back
into whichever material it is made up of,
gold or silver or whatever.
Every piece of furniture
finally must go back to its cup.
This is inevitable.
So through this Upanishad,
we are also told certain things.
What are the certain things?
That where there is birth,
there is growth,
there is happiness and unhappiness,
and old age and disease,
and inevitably death.
But death is not destruction
because nothing can come out of non-existence.
And nothing that exists
can go back also to non-existence.
It is impossible.
Anything that is existent
must come only through Sath
and must go back to Sath.
Sath means that which assumes names,
forms, qualities.
That is called birth and growth.
And finally it must go back
to that unmanifest state.
That is called death.
That means there is no death.
But meanwhile,
even if we come to know
there is no death,
we will not be happy
because we don't want merely
to know that we are deathless,
but I want also to know
that I can be happy all the time,
that my happiness should never have
any type of break, etc.
So who is a Rishi?
The literal etymological meaning
Rishati, Janati, Rishihi
one who knows.
But here Rishis means
if they come to know,
the question of their doubting,
their discussion,
and allowing a wee bit
allowance for doubts
will never arise.
They would have been realized souls.
But they are called Rishis
just like medical students,
especially after the third year,
are honorifically named as doctors,
even though they are not permitted
to practice independently.
So these Rishis.
And why are they called Rishis?
Because like Yamadhar Maharaj
says about Nachiketa,
as if you already have reached the goal.
But how, sir?
I am only asking you,
you have not even started answering me.
He says because anybody who has
your qualifications,
there is absolutely no doubt about it,
not even 1% of doubt about it,
that you are going to reach the goal.
These people were completely fit people.
And as soon as the Sadguru
opens his mouth and tells them,
and they know,
they can understand the truth
instantaneously.
And who is a Sadguru?
A person who knows
what he wants to,
what others want to learn.
But when the students become ready,
then only they can receive.
Let us take the example of Kalpataru day,
which had happened on the 1st January 1886.
Sri Ramakrishna has bestowed his grace.
In fact, he was not discriminating,
excepting in the case of two people,
whom he said,
not now, you will receive it later on.
Though Sri Ramakrishna was so gracious,
but the people who received,
most of them did not retain it.
After some time, everybody has lost it.
But the memory of it can never be lost.
Remember, in the Bhagavatam,
there is the story of
the great devotee called Narada.
And he became very, very much aware
of the ephemerality of this world.
So he went to do Tapasya.
With great earnestness,
he was praying to Lord Narayana.
And immediately Narayana appeared,
giving him a glimpse himself.
And Narada was transported.
But just like lightning,
which we have seen in the Kena Upanishad,
that vision had vanished.
And then Narada came down with a thump,
as it were, to the hard earth.
And then he said,
Oh Lord, why did you withdraw yourself from me?
And the Akashvani comes,
Narada, out of my grace,
I showed you what you are going to attain,
so that you will never be discouraged,
you will never have any doubt
what is going to happen in future.
But this much,
that this memory of what you had experienced
will never allow you to become depressed.
And that is exactly what happened
to the devotees of Sri Ramakrishna,
who could not retain,
but they know this is a reality.
One can have this kind of experience,
but one must strive
so that they will be able to retain it,
not for a few minutes again,
but forever.
For that, we have to make it.
Even I remember,
Swami Brahmanandaji was doing Tapasya at Vrindavan,
and Vijayakrishna Goswami asked,
Maharaj, you have received so much grace of Thakur,
why are you practicing these hard austerities?
And Swami Brahmanandaji replied,
It is true.
Sri Ramakrishna, out of His infinite boundless grace,
had bestowed me all these things,
but we have to make it our own,
because visions come and disappear.
Anything that disappears is impermanent.
But what is permanent?
That knowledge,
I am that.
God exists in Vaikuntha,
in Kailasa, etc.,
in Kingdom of Heaven, etc.
That is also may be true,
but until I am with God,
all the time,
then it will come,
the experience will come,
and it will disappear also.
I remember a very useful incident.
There was one great devotee of Krishna,
and he used to meditate
with great sincerity, longing.
He had several visions of Krishna.
Then he happened to come to Ramana Maharshi,
and at that time,
he wanted to get the approval,
that Ramana Maharshi saying,
that you are very great,
and you have had many visions of Krishna,
and probably that lurking desire
to be certified was there.
So with great glee,
he narrated all his experiences.
But then what he received was
very much disappointing.
Ramana Maharshi, you know,
when he looks,
he never looks at you,
he looks beyond you.
So he looked at this devotee,
and simply made a remark,
whatever comes, also goes.
And Krishna Premi,
his name was Krishna Premi,
I think, if I am not wrong,
and he was very much disappointed.
Later on, he was recollecting,
so then I was disappointed,
but anyway, a great soul,
enjoyed his presence,
came back to my ashrama,
and in course of time,
the knowledge of Krishna remained with me,
but the visions of Krishna had vanished.
So anything that comes will go,
and if I am seeing Brahman,
hearing Brahman,
tasting Brahman,
touching Brahman,
smelling Brahman,
it will come and will disappear.
But if I become Brahman,
there is no separation at any time at all.
And that is what is needed.
These great Rishis,
advanced souls,
completely detached from the world,
they have risen up
from the three types of desires,
Pithaishna, Putraishna, Lokaishna,
as Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
so beautifully describes.
And their only goal
is to realize God,
like hundreds of real Paramahamsas
used to visit Shri Ramakrishna
as soon as he completed his Advaita sadhana
and remained experiencing it
continuously for six months.
After that, by the will of the mother,
his mind came down,
and then after that,
hundreds of real Paramahamsas,
not vagabonds,
real, real Paramahamsas,
somehow drawn by the divine will,
came to Dakshineshwar,
stayed there.
Each one of them was at some point of
spiritual progress in his own
destined path.
And they got help from Shri Ramakrishna.
Their obstacles were removed
and their path became clear.
They got tremendous inspiration.
All their doubts were probably removed.
And as soon as that happened,
they saluted him and then left.
This phenomena happened.
And whenever Shri Ramakrishna
became perfect,
perfect in any one of the pathways,
that is important for us.
So these Brahmavadins,
they are ready to receive
and they must have practiced Tapasya.
Whether the Guru asked them
that one year you stay,
like as we have seen in Prashna Upanishad,
or at least 105 years,
like we see in the Chandogya Upanishad,
they were ready.
And these were the questions
they put forward.
And we know from the scriptures.
This is a point we have to remember.
Not that they did not know the answers.
Everything is new.
They must have studied the scriptures,
intellectually understood,
but they wanted confirmation
from a realized soul.
So with this query,
they had come.
And they were completely,
what is called, restless.
That is why it says,
is Brahman the cause?
Yes, every Upanishad says,
Brahman is the cause.
We are coming from Brahman
and we are living in Brahman
and we go back to Brahman.
Yes, not that they did not know intellectually.
They knew very well.
But we want confirmation.
Is Brahman the cause?
Whence are we born?
Have we come from Brahman?
By what do we live?
Is Brahman sustaining us?
Nourishing us?
Pushan ekarshe?
Hey Pushan!
As this Avasya Upanishad says,
you are sustaining the entire creation.
So by what do we live?
What is it that we live by?
And Bible gives a beautiful answer
to this question.
Man does not live
by bread alone.
What does he live? Only by God.
So even if you eat food,
you don't live because of
the food, you live because of
God. What is God?
In the manifestation of
Sat, Chit and Ananda.
We don't want to
die, we don't want to be
ignorant and we least
of all want to suffer.
We want that highest happiness.
This is what is meant by
we only live
by God. Ananda dheva kalvimani bhutani jayante
anandena jevanti
anandam prayante
abhisamvi shantiti.
We are manifested because of
Ananda, we live
because of Ananda and
we go back and merge ourselves into
Ananda. Ananda is
another name for Brahman.
So, please tell us
these disciples,
Brahmavadinis, yet to realize
Brahman, what are they telling?
O ye, whoever
you are, wherever you are,
ye know Brahman
under whose guidance we abide
whether in pleasure
or in pain. Please
tell us. Please clarify this.
Please certify
that our understanding is
absolutely true.
And we see it in the Gospel of
Sri Ramakrishna in the form
of a marvellous song.
I have quoted it many times.
This was translated by
none other than Girish
Chandra Ghosh and
most of us know this
well-known bhajan
judai te chai
kothai judai.
We mourn for peace.
That is how it is translated in the Gospel.
We mourn
for rest. Alas!
Rest we can never find.
So, kothai judai.
Where is that peace we are seeking?
That is, we want to be
united with Brahman and that
is the only source of peace
and we want
to be united with Brahman
and obtain that peace
but we do not
seem to get. Kothai hotey ashi.
Where from are we coming?
Kothai bhise jai.
Where do we go on floating?
Floating means as if a powerful
stream is carrying us
forward. This is the stream
of evolution, what I call
evolutionary escalator.
Phire phire ashi.
I come
back again and again. I am reborn
again and again.
And what happens? Kotho kaandi
hasi. How much I weep?
How much I laugh?
Caught in this samsara chakra
or Brahma chakra.
Keva kothai jai.
And where do we go?
Suddenly something happens.
We are snatched and everything
that we are aware of,
know of, love of,
hate of and
completely disappears and
this is the one thought
that has possessed us.
Sada bhavi kothai. I always
am possessed by the thought
these questions come into
my mind but I do not know how to answer.
Ke khalai?
Who is making me play?
I don't want to play
but somebody is forcibly
making me play. Where do you think
you remember?
Ishwaraha sarvabhutanaam
hrideshe arjunatishtati
brahmayen sarvabhutani
yantrarodhani
mayaya. Ke khalai?
Who makes me play? Ami khaliva
keno? Why am I
playing? Why am I playing?
Because I am helpless.
I have no other way. I am
like a pawn in the
hands. I am a chess piece
in the hands of the chess master.
Wherever he puts, I
have no freedom
but I am not a chess piece.
I have got consciousness.
I can understand.
I want to resist but I cannot
resist. Jagiye ghumaye
koh ke jano?
What a horrible condition
I am in. I am fully
awake as if
I am sleeping deeply.
Koh ke jano?
Sometimes, you know, in the
what is called ice-clad countries
such as
Norway, etc.
Sometimes, persons
go for a walk and suddenly
a terrible fog
I have read marvellous stories
like that. A terrible fog
envelops them.
They don't know where is east
where is west. They move here
and there. Very soon, they are lost
and
they cannot see. Sometimes
and many times, they
die also. Many people die
even though the house is very near
not very far. But
since they cannot find
what you call
hyperthermia sets in
and very quickly they die.
Jagiye ghumaye
even though I am fully awake
as if I am awake
in deep darkness. Koh ke jano?
Ek hamon ghor
How horrible is this condition
this night
Havena ki bhor
Will it ever bring dawn?
Will I see the light?
Adhir adhir jai mate shomir
Abhiram gati
niyat dhai
This beautiful
gentle wind
is blowing
so much and it has
no stop. As if 24 hours
it is moving
Gati niyat dhai. It doesn't know
who blows it
why it blows
why is it sometimes very mild
sometimes very very powerful
I am also like that
Jani na keva
Eshechi kothai
Jani na
I do not know. Keva. Who am I?
I do not know. Who am I?
Eshechi kothai. I don't know
Where I have come?
If we are asked, where are you? I am in Varanasi
Where are you? I am in Bangalore
That is not the point
So why did I come here?
Where was my home?
And where am I here? Who brought me here?
Why did I come here?
I don't know
Ke naba eshechi. I don't know why I have come
I don't know where I have come
I don't know how I have come
And kothai
niyat jai. Somebody
as if is going to
take me somewhere. I don't know anything
There is a beautiful, very big
song. One of the most
marvelous songs
but I have only taken a small part
of it. This
summarizes the gist of
what these Brahmavadins
are moaning
This is the English translation
even though I had explained
We moan for rest, alas
but rest can never find
We know not whence we come
nor where we float away
Time and again we tread
this round of smiles and tears
In vain we pine to know
whither our
pathway leads
And why we play
this empty play
We sleep, although awake, as if
by a spell bewitched
Will darkness never break into the light of
dawn? As restless
as the wind, life moves
unceasingly. We know not
who we are, nor
whence it is we come. We
know not why we come, nor
where it is we drift
Beautiful song, I tell you
And this was the condition of
Bhagavan Buddha, Siddhartha
before he renounced
the world. So it is said
in the Lalita Vistara, some
devatas came and sang
and that deeply awakened
him. And that very night
he decided to find out
the mystery of life and
renounced the world.
For six years he struggled
and he came back an enlightened
person, like that person
who felt the temptation
to jump into the enclosed
space, but with great
difficulty he
restrained himself
because there are so many people, they don't
know such a marvelous place
condition exists, where they
can be happy forever. Let me
also share with others
this is the
description, depiction of Sri Ram
Krishna's form and went out
for a walk. The depiction
of an avatar,
indirectly indicating.
So Brahman or pure consciousness
is it the cause of the universe?
Obviously Brahman, the absolute
which is beyond time and space
and the causal relationship
cannot be the real cause
because cause is as much
bound as the effect.
So one must go beyond both
cause and effect. Is that
supreme reality we call Brahman?
Is it the cause?
Apparently so, really no.
Then who is it?
Apparently Ishwara
but not really Ishwara.
So if Brahman is the cause
then the Brahman must
create in cooperation with something
and what is that something?
That Prakruti
and if Prakruti's
help is needed, Brahman
is no Brahman at all. He is
caught in his own chakra
and that is impossible.
So what kind
of causes of this
universe? Is there
a material cause? Is there
an efficient cause?
And to come to
the conclusion, I have
already told you, Ishwara
is both the material
cause and the efficient
cause of this entire creation
because before the
creation and every
creation requires these two causes
then Brahman must
be the both causes
because there was none other than
that Ishwara. We are talking
about Ishwara. Whenever we are
talking about creation, let
us not talk about Parabrahma.
Let us not talk about Nirguna
Brahma. Let us talk only
about Savuna Brahma
called Ishwara. Ishwara means
Brahman with
Maya and it is also
called Purusha Prakruti in Sankhya
and in this Svetasvetra
Upanishad, a lot of Sankhya
Yoga is going to come.
Kutaha because
everybody comes from somewhere
else. Babies are
born from the wombs of their
mothers. Plants
come from a seed.
There must be a cause.
Even continents are born
because of the clash
of the tectonic elements
deep underneath
the earth.
Everything must have a cause.
So no birth or death is possible
for the real Jeeva.
So this is
we want to know. In essence
is we want to know
and what purpose?
Because when I come to know
then I will know
I was never really born.
When I come to know
where from I am born
and by what I am
living and where I am going
to go. Apparently it looks
as though I get the answers
but from the Advaitic point
of view, these are all questions
from the Mayic point
of view, from the mind's point of view
from the bound point of
view.
So whatever questions we
have and whatever answers
we receive, they are all
not real answers.
Fake answers.
Why do we say fake answers?
Because when the question is fake
then the answer also should be
only fake answer.
That's all. But
how does it help? Because
when you understand
the reality, you will stop
questioning, you will not
seeking an answer because
there is no problem at all.
This is what one senior
Swami told me that problems
cannot be solved ultimately
but problems can
be dissolved. I hope
you understand the difference between
solving and dissolving
and spiritual life
is dissolving.
So Kena Jeeva Maha
what supports the Jeevas during their
phenomenal existence?
Kuchasampradishta at the end.
And who is sustaining us?
Because who is the substratum?
Like a snake
cannot be there without
the substratum of a rope.
A mirage cannot
sustain unless there is
substratum of desert.
Deep burning sand
and remember
one cannot have the illusion
of mirages at night.
Only at midday
you can have it or when there is
tremendous temperature is
there. Kena by whom?
Controlled by whom?
Under whom? All of us
Jeevas experience pleasure and
pain in the world. Who is the
controller of this pleasure and pain?
A sharp division between
pleasure and pain is evident.
All beings are attached to
pleasure and repelled
by pain. Both are
bondages. Raga and
Dvesha. Still it is seen
that people experience pain
even while enjoying.
The question is
what is that power
or that factor which leads
one to both
first happiness then
unhappiness and to pain?
These questions
asked in this verse are related
to the creation, preservation
and ultimate dissolution
of the Jeevas and the
universe.
So among themselves they are
debating and these are
the again further doubts
from the viewpoint of the students
remember.
So is it
all these? The questions
continue.
Beautiful arguments
are here. So the
questions come. So what
is the question? What is the
cause of this samsara?
Is your time the cause?
Is nature the cause?
Is necessity the cause?
Is chance the cause? Chance means what?
Many people believe
there is no God, there is
no purpose, it is just
pure accident, chance.
A man and a woman,
male and female, they meet
and something happens
and a child, a baby,
an offspring has come out.
That's it. Don't worry.
You know in the West, modern
America, so many,
some children, not everybody,
some children, they rebel
against the parents, especially
if their experiences are
negative experiences
and not necessarily because the parents
are bad because of their
own samskaras. Only Hindu
can accept that one.
These children,
when the parents say,
don't you have any obligation towards
us? Their inevitable
reply will be, what obligation
are you talking about, old man, old woman?
You had your
pleasure and
for your pleasure, you never
thought about it, you never planned for us
and you enjoyed yourself
and we just born out
of accident, so
it is your duty to bring us up
and you brought us up and
if we have any
say in it, we are thoroughly
dissatisfied how you have
brought us up, so we have
absolutely no obligation
to do anything
about you. And
if we do the same thing, of course
we will be obliged if we have children
who is going to, who do you think
is going to bring them up? We will be
bringing them up. But
we are fully aware, unlike you,
we don't expect
even though they are thinking
they expect what they don't expect
from their children.
So we don't expect, we do our
duty and as soon as they grow up
we will be very glad
to get rid of them. This is the
type of, is it a chance?
Is it an accident?
Or as the Hindus say,
Sankhyas say,
the five elements, the elements we regarded
as the cause or
he who is called the Purusha,
the Atma, the living self,
is he the cause?
The cause cannot be any of
the combinations of these entities.
Why? Because
all these things
are already
present only after
the creation. Before the
creation they were not present.
Therefore they cannot be the cause
because they are all effects.
And we are seeking the first
cause. And then
what about the Atman? Since
there is a living self, Atman,
and it seems
that is our consciousness, our awareness,
it seems to be
the cause of all these things.
We are asking the questions also.
Now, Atman can never be the cause
of this creation because
a very beautiful argument
is given here.
When we open our eyes
and look into our life
as well as other people's lives,
we see crystal clearly
that so much of
happiness is there.
And if we ourselves are
responsible for this creation,
which fool will
create something deliberately
may I suffer?
May I create causes
of suffering? It is impossible.
That is what Swami Vivekananda
said. If God had taken
my advice at the time before
creation, I would have given him
a very better
solution because he was
suffering. So we
the Jivatmas are already
caught in the net of samsara
which was created long
before we were created
and therefore we cannot be the cause.
Then who is the
real cause? This is
the question. So is it the time?
Time is time as
they say, even modern science says
is born
along with
the creation, not before
creation. The whole of the nature
only after the
creation. Necessity
after the creation. Elements
after the creation.
Purusha, the so called
Jivatma, only after the
creation. The Atman
or consciousness caught
in the net of this
body-mind complex is
called Jivatma. That means
even before this Atman
was caught, this
body-mind complex
is existing. Therefore
for these two reasons
if Jivatma is the cause
he would only create
as the master,
as the creator,
that which is very good for him.
All the time cutting capers
enjoy, but
the truth, the practical
thing is completely different.
So we will
discuss about this because
these are the questions that
will come to us
when we are looking for God.
Two reasons
I can say right now.
We seek God
not because God is wanted
after eating nice sweet
nobody seeks God.
Only when I am suffering,
intense suffering
and I come to know that there
is absolutely no way out
then only I will
come to know, I will seek
God. Seeking God means
seeking permanent
solution from the suffering
and how can I be
infinitely, eternally
happy. So
only a person who has
practiced these
teachings of the scriptures
for many many lives
he understands. Only
he can ask this question
and it is inevitable
that means the Rishi,
the Upanishad is anticipating
what we are going to ask
and it is the inevitable process
and before we come to that
it itself says you should ask
these questions sincerely
then only you are going to
really get the answers.
We will talk about these points
in our next life.

[[Category:Svetasvatara Upanishad]]

Svetasvatara Upanishad Lecture 38 on 09 July 2023

2023-07-16T04:15:39Z

Sevak123: Added Devanagari scripts in several places: "Kaschit dheera..", "Bakyo Manatita..," , "Om hreeng rita.. " etc.

== Full Transcript (Not Corrected) ==
In our last class we have studied the third mantra TAT KARMA KRITVA VINIVATYA BHUYAH TATVASYA TATVENA SAMETYA YOGAM EKENA DVABHYAM TRIVIHI ASTAVIRVA KAALENA CHA EVA ATMA PUNAYASCHA SOKSHMAIHI (तत कर्म कृत्वा विनिवत्य भूयः तत्वस्य सम॓त्य योगम्। एकेन द्वाभ्याऺ त्रिभि अष्टभिर्वा कालेन च एव आत्मगुणैश्च सूख्मैः॥) re is a spiritual sadhaka. What does he do? The yogi who first performs actions and then obtains purity of the heart, then turns away from them and who practices 1, 2, 3 or 8 disciplines, unites one principle with another principle and with the help of virtues cultivated by the Self and of subtle tendencies attains liberation in the course of time. So the previous mantra had explained that God creates the five great elements and then He enters, examines His creation and finds it lacking in spirit. Without the spirit, the matter becomes jada, creation. That means all the activities that go on in the creation are impossible without the combination of both the consciousness as well as the inert instruments. Let us remember, both body and mind are inert principles. They cannot act. They do not even have the thought that we have to act, much less whether they can do something about it. They don't have life. They don't have energy and they have no idea what to do. It is God. What does He do? He creates the pancha bhutas and with that He creates the entire universe. We know these pancha bhutas, akasha, vayu, agni, jala and prithvi and they are of two varieties. One is called subtle, another is called gross. One is called tanmatra, subtle, another is called sthula bhutas. And out of the subtle elements, the subtle five elements, the antahkarana, the sukshma sharira is created. And out of the pancha bhutas, gross pancha bhutas, they get mixed up, which is a very peculiar process. It is called panchikaranam and the entire physical, gross, sthula, bodies and everything is created. So the entire creation can be understood as living and non-living. So there are certain things which are completely non-living and there are certain things endowed with life. They are called jivas, pranis, endowed with both prana and consciousness. Let us not forget prana and consciousness, they go together. No prana, no consciousness. Consciousness can exist without prana, but prana can never exist without consciousness. So consciousness requires prana to manifest itself. That being is called jiva, reflection of the consciousness. And every prani, we presume, not only human beings, have got gross physical bodies, subtle bodies and also causal bodies. We are, though we do not know, we are guessing through that. So what does God do? He mixes Purusha and Prakruti. That was the main, greatest discovery of Rishis who have propagated Sankhya Yoga. But their thought has not extended to the extent that Purusha and Prakruti, they kept separate. They kept as eternal, but they are never belonging to the same Being. And this reconciliation slowly, with the development of intelligence, came. And we see it crystal clearly enumerated in the seventh chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. The reflection of consciousness belongs to my upper nature, and what is called my lower nature consists of the five Tanmatras and also five gross elements. Reconciliation has come. And so the division, dvaita, reality, Purusha and Prakruti, both of them have become unified now. And that is where Vedanta stands. In fact, we better know that all the six schools of philosophy, Purva Mimamsa and Uttara Mimamsa, which means Vedanta, Nyaya and Vaiseshika, Sankhya and Yoga, these are called six schools of philosophy and they have become merged into three schools of philosophy called Dvaita, Visishta Dvaita and Advaita. And the best elements of all the schools of philosophy, especially from Sankhya Yoga with regard to the explanation of cosmology and Yoga, Patanjali Yoga, as a practical means of achieving the highest realization, have been bodily lifted and incorporated in all the three schools of philosophy. Now, what is the essence of the sixth chapter of the Shwetashvatara? It is God who created and He Himself became the entire universe and He divided Himself as if into both the living and non-living. He entered into them. So the whole, what we call, Jagat Prapancha is nothing but only Bhagawan manifesting with Nama Rupa. Without Nama Rupa, God is Sat, Chit and Ananda. With Nama Rupa, Sat, Chit and Ananda plus form, plus specific name, that is called Prapancha or Jagat. So what happens? Bhagawan has first created. So this third mantra can be looked at from two points of view. From the point of view of Ishwara, the Creator, or from the viewpoint of a spiritual aspirant. What does it mean? How do we understand it? Very easy. So Ishwara, Tat Karmakritva, having created. Karma means action. What action? Bhagawan has only three actions. Srishti, Sthiti and Laya. And then He remained as a witness, completely non-attached to what He has written. Vini Vartiya Bhuyaha Tatvasya Tatvena Sametya Yogam Having created this universe, now He thought entire Prakruti is created. But Prakruti will not be able to do its job unless it is united with Purusha. Purusha means pure consciousness. So Tatvasya Tatvena. Everything is Tattva only. Everything is Brahman only. The inert is also Brahman and the living and conscious, sentient is also Ishwara only. So He united the subject and the object. United everything with what we call the spirit and the matter. Sametya Yogam. And then Ekena Dvabhyam Tribhih Ashtavihiva Four beautiful concepts have been presented in front of us. Ekena means the whole universe became one. Dvabhyam, Or if we think a little bit deeply, it can be divided into two as Purusha and Prakruti. And further Tribhih. How did He create this universe? Tribhih. What is Tribhih? Three Gunas. Or Ashtavih. What is Ashta? Here Ashta represents Pancha Bhutas, plus Chitta, Ahamkara, and Buddhi combined together. But from the ultimate point of view, everything is Prakruti plus Purusha. Then He also created time. Kalena cha atma gunais cha sukshmaihi. So this is how God created. And then endowed consciousness. And there is evolution of consciousness. God coming down from His Advaitiya state is known as involution. And having come to the lowest level, which is called inertness, non-life, as if you don't believe. Hinduism doesn't believe. Vedanta doesn't accept that a rock is having existence but doesn't have either knowledge or Ananda. Where there is Sat, there will be Chit. Where there is Chit, there will be Ananda. Sat, Chit and Ananda are not three qualities or three ways of looking at the same truth. So wherever there is existence, there will be Chit. Wherever there is Sat and Chit, there will be Ananda. But suppose you take a rock and we don't see the other two. Which are the two? Chit and Ananda. What do we see? Only Sat. The same thing can be also. We can equate that rock. Here is a person, he is completely unconscious. What is the big deal of difference between this person and rock? Rock exists, this person also exists. Rock doesn't have Chit and Ananda. This person also doesn't have Chit or Ananda. But it doesn't mean just as soon as this person wakes up, comes back to consciousness, immediately Chit and Ananda, all the three, Sat, Chit, Ananda become manifested. Similarly, also the rock at some point of time, Kalena, Kalakramena, it becomes inorganic, becomes organic and it goes on evolving until after a long, long, long time, after many, many births, it attains to this what we call human birth. Then still further it goes on evolving, but once human body is achieved, is attained, after what they call Churasi lakh janam, 84 lakhs of births, millions of births. Then what happens? Human body doesn't differ from a realized soul to the lowest person who just from an animal state, he became a human being, there is absolutely no difference. Same blood, same flesh, same bones, same everything. Is there no difference? Yes. The difference is, as Sri Ramakrishna so beautifully puts it, the difference is in the manifestation of the power. And by the way, manifestation of power means manifestation of consciousness. So intelligence, Shakti also requires not only energy, but energy comes also only because of intelligence. How come? Here is a person, he is weak and he understands, I have to eat particular types of foods and then he goes on doing exercise. In the course of time, not only in one life, but in many lives, he becomes stronger and stronger. So intelligence, which is the representation of pure consciousness, is the root cause of everything in this world. So what is the difference between the human being who just now entered into the human body from an animal state? And we can have beautiful concepts from the science also, how the chimpanzees and the monkeys, they are highly intelligent gorillas. And if we examine our physical life, sensual life, sensate life, there is no difference practically. Only difference will be animals cannot do as much harm as human beings can do. Because the greater the intelligence, the greater will be the opportunity either to do good or to do evil. But usually the persons, good persons are fewer, but helpless. Taking advantage, evil persons will do a lot of wrong things out there. So from now onwards, the evolution is not of the physical body, but of the mind. And this mind is divided into two categories. The first evolution in the mind is gradually, the person becomes more and more identified with everything in this world. This is called moral evolution. This is internal, nothing to do with physical. If you compare the bodies of a moral person, an intellectual person, an artist or a spiritual person, we will not find any difference at all. The difference is in the gunas. To put it in another way, evolution will be from tamas to rajas to sattva, more and more sattva guna. So intellectually and aesthetically and morally, a person goes on growing. So this is how we have to understand. Kalena, in the course of time, and Atma gunaischa, certain qualities are there. Bhagawan has already endowed us with all these things. And they are the gunas, the qualities, characteristics, sukshmai, very subtle. So one way of interpreting this particular mantra is, this is what God is doing in the form of involution. And what are we supposed to do? Now slowly we have gone to the rock bottom called inertness. Now the only way is to come up, which is called evolution. So what happens from the second interpretation? Here is a human being, here is a creature with life. It slowly, over millions of births, evolves into a human being. And then manifests more and more sattva guna. And in the end, what happens? Tat karma krittva. He will do exactly what God wants us to do. He will refrain from doing what God forbids us to do. This is called vidhi and nishedha. Then what happens? Having done, he becomes awakened. He becomes what is called spiritually awakened. Uttishthata, jagrata. Praapya, varan, nibodhata. Then he approaches people who are much advanced, takes refuge at their feet, and gets the directions how to live, and he progresses. Vinivartiya says, I have been doing (उत्तिष्ठत, जाग्रत, वरान् प्राप्य निबोधत।) exactly like any other animal will be doing, but now I will try to do something better. Vinivartiya, the first thing is, I will stop being an animal. Bhuyaha, then tattvasya tattvena. If God created me, I must be having the same characteristic as God. So I must become united with God, samedhi. And this process is called yogam, yoga abhyasa. And then what does he do? Ekena. First of all, he tries to become united with Upasana, with God. And Dvabhya. What is Dvabhya? I am a devotee and you are the deity. I am the aspirant, you are my goal. Or then what happens? Tribhihi. What are these three? The famous sattva, rajas and tamas. He understands thoroughly, as Bhagavan Krishna had explained in the 14th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita very clearly, that all the three gunas are there within everybody. They are there within me. So I must judiciously use them according to their use. For example, if I want to sleep, I must use tamo guna. I should not allow raja guna or sattva guna to interfere in my rest. When I am well rested, I should get up, become awakened. Uttishthata. I wake up from sleep. Jagrata. I become very alert. And I must do what is absolutely necessary. Slowly, gradually, the person will be developing or moving towards the more manifestation of sattva guna. So tribhihi or ashtabhairva. What is ashtabhairva? God has given me a body and it consists of, it is made up of, and it is maintained, and it will go on again, merge in the five bhutas. God also has given me, through tanmatra, subtle elements, the chitta, remembering power, memory power, and also the buddhi, intelligent power, and also the mind. The power to cogitate, to think deeply, guided by the scripture, by the Guru. So ashtabhihi, with the help of the body and mind, kalena, in the course of time, atma guna ischa, I will be developing certain qualities which will promote my travel towards Atman, Brahmatman. And these gunas, they become sukshmaihi. That means all the vasanas become deeply embedded. So we have to start from the physical, slowly progress towards the conscious, and then progress into subconscious, or sink these ideas into the subconscious, and then sink them into the complete unconscious. What am I talking about? So certain qualities, first we have to practice with great alertness, and then slowly they become what we call habits. They become stronger. Then they become stronger, just like as soon as we get up. So we did not know when we were babies that we have to brush our teeth. But our parents teach us, and first we have to be reluctantly doing it. Then mother threatens, no, you can't simply come and eat breakfast. Until you brush, you are not going to get. And today's breakfast is exceedingly tasty, and the child runs to the bathroom and then brushes as quickly as possible. But in the course of time, it is given to understand that this is good for me. And then after some time, it becomes very little effort. That is called subconscious, sinking into subconscious. And then it becomes completely sunk into deep unconscious. That means a person need not think at all. And I will give an illustration. Every Sannyasi is supposed to totally depend upon God. Every Sannyasi is not supposed to accumulate anything, excepting for doing some good to other people. So monastic organizations or individuals who want to do good, they have only for the purpose of doing good to the world, can accumulate, not for their own sake. So Ramakrishna was a Sannyasi. He had given up. He was not supposed to accumulate anything. Ramakrishna was very fond of eating certain spices, like cardamom, etc. Dalchini, what we call it. After taking food, he said that a few spices if you put, the mouth will not smell very bad. So I have to tell you, sometimes we have very bad experiences. Some devotees come here and their breath is so foul that it is impossible to breathe. Even Mahapurusha Maharaj had to ask some devotees that you move away from here. Terribly, what is called harmful breath is coming from your mouth. Sometimes people's breaths are so powerful, even if they are 10 feet away, their breath will be coming and attacking us directly. So Sri Ramakrishna used to advise, take a few spices, at least it will cover up, gives a good smell. That is why nowadays people go on putting something, or nowadays I have also seen some spray will be there. Open the mouth and spray also. Now Ramakrishna was not supposed to accumulate, but he was fond of a few human habits were there. And one day, Holy Mother who knew about it, tied a few spices in the hem of his upper cloth. And he came out after food, started to his room, from Nahabath to his room, and suddenly his feet were dragging him to the Ganga. And then he was completely conscious. There he said, Ma, shall I drown? Shall I drown? Holy Mother immediately saw it, understood, shouted. Hriday came running and then took Sri Ramakrishna by hand and he took him to his room, Sri Ramakrishna's room. Later on, Hriday was telling, sorry, Sri Ramakrishna was telling that I have taken complete, total refuge. I surrendered myself to the Divine Mother. She will not allow anybody who has taken refuge in Her to deviate from Truth. I have taken a vow. I must maintain. If I forget also, She will not allow anybody to take a wrong step. Sri Ramakrishna often repeated, saying is, that an expert dancer cannot even with effort take a wrong step. An expert musician can never sing in a wrong thala. And if anybody is singing in a wrong thala, you have to understand, he is an Anadi in the world. Anadi means ignorant fellow. Blissfully ignorant. That is the problem. Now, this is what he is telling. Whatever we develop, these qualities become subtle and subtler. First, consciously we have to develop. Then they penetrate into the subconscious. And in the end, they sink so deeply. And that is what Sri Ramakrishna calls My Mother. It is impossible for that person to do anything wrong, excepting behave according to those qualities. So, this is the third mantra that God created. And He came down as it were. And then what happened? Again, God only, in the form of the individual, goes up. Every individual will go up. So, Ekena, that is the spirit or sentient principle, one alone, He creates. So, the sentient and the insentient. We have to take a beautiful note here. What is the insentient? Insentient means not really insentient. Manifestation, insentiency. Prakruti, after all, belongs to God. And if it belongs to God, God can never be accused. You are a combination of sentiency and insentiency. So, this is a big topic that is what is called wreaking havoc between Advaitins and non-Advaitins, especially the Siddhas Advaitins. We do not accept your Adhyasa, superimposition. Superimposition is because of avidya. And so, before creation, where is this avidya? If it was not there before, it cannot come into the world. And if it is seen in the world, it must have been before creation. If it was before creation, the only one entity, one being was there, that is Brahman. So, Brahman must be a combination of both chitta and achitta. And that is not acceptable to Advaitins. That is why they brush away the entire argument saying that it is Anirvachaniya. Impossible to describe it as sat or asat or anything. Description is impossible. And go on describing how it is impossible for thousands and thousands of ages. Shankaracharya, fortunately for us, never bothered about it. Simply said, there is a power. Try to understand whatever way. That's not important where it is and how it is. It is important if there is a way to get out. Find out that way and get out. Wise people always tell, don't bother about this intellectual, dry discussion, gymnastics. Just you know there is something and there is a way to get out of it. Try to get out of it. That is what he says. So that is Dvabhyam. So he combined. What is Dvabhyam? That God creates Dharma and Adharma. And Jiva, at first, he combines Adharma, a large portion, and Dharma, a small portion. But slowly as he evolves, the Dharmik portion becomes better. And the Adharmik portion becomes lesser, less powerful. Finally, it becomes only a little bit of, a little, what is called, hint of Adharma will be there. But which doesn't harm anybody. That is, this is called Dvabhyam, seen as two. Tribhi means, as we discussed, three qualities, Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. So the progress will be, evolution will be from Tamoguna to Rajoguna to Sattvaguna and then beyond all the three Gunas. Ashtabhihi, that is body and mind. So we have to understand, God has created, that is called evolution. Now creation is travelling towards God, that is called evolution. And the same way, if we have come down from the third floor to the ground floor, and we want to go back to the third floor and then go to the roof, we have to go only through the very same steps through which we have come down. I hope you have sufficiently understood. It is both the truth of creation and the purpose of creation is we are God. Everything is Brahman, but we are not aware that we are Brahman. And we have to do some spiritual sadhana and it is to do that and slowly to go back to our original and become united with Brahman. That is probably the entire essence of this last six chapters. So we will now proceed to the mantra number four. आरभ्य कर्माणि उनान्वितानि भावांश सर्वान् विनियोजयेत् यहा तेशां अभावे कृत कर्मनाशः कर्मक्षयेयाति स तत्वतः अन्यः What does it mean? Having begun the work of creation associated with the qualities of Prakruti, which are called Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, He, means the Bhagawan Eshwara, employs all the effects of Prakruti. So billions of combinations of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, the permutations and combinations and when slowly they become less. First they become less and then they go on increasing and they reach a peak and again slowly like a cycle, slowly they come back down and down and down. So this process is called Srishti, the other process is called Laya. So this is the thing that is going on all the time. So He employs all the effects and again when the time comes, that which was created vanishes. There is Srishti and there is Laya. Again there is Srishti and there is Laya. This cyclic process is beautifully described in the Bhagavad Gita. Sahasra Yuga Pariyantam Ahahayat Brahmano Vidho Rathrim Yuga Sahasrantham Te Aho Rathra Vidho Janaha Brahma is the creator and His business is to create and His day time, what does He do? Like any one of us, He works very hard, that is Srishti and Stithi. And then what happens? Night time comes, Laya. So He goes to rest, just as we rest at night and again wake up and engage ourselves in activities. Brahma also, He works, He goes to sleep, He is called Rathri, night, rest, that is called Pralaya. And again His day time comes, He wakes up and He goes on doing. This process is beautifully, in a symbolical way, described in the Chandi, in the very first chapter, how Brahma was about to be attacked and His act of creation was to be destroyed by Madhu and Kaitava. And then knowledge comes in the form of Vishnu and removes these obstacles and then creation goes on merrily. Now in this fourth mantra, what it is telling, this process of creation and dissolution goes on and on and on. So Bhagawan, having begun the work of creation and how with the help of the Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, qualities of Prakruti, this is called Prakruti Gunas, then this combination of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas in infinite varieties, He employs all the effects of Prakruti and then He plays this game called Chess. Brahmayan, Sarvabhutani, Yantrarudhani, Mayaya and what happens after some time, Laya will come. Then slowly it comes back and that which was created now becomes vanished. When the creation is dissolved, where does it get dissolved? Into Himself. He abides in His own Self which is distinct from Prakruti. So a beautiful description of what God does. What does He do? He has two aspects. Actionless aspect called Nirguna Nirakara Brahman and the other aspect of action, Peetha action. Ramakrishna beautifully tries to make us understand when we look at Brahman without any activity or when we look at Shakti without any activity, we call that Shakti as Brahman. When the same Brahman is looked at with activity, activity means Srishti, Stithi and Laya. And as I explained yesterday, all activities are only three. Creation and continuing with that for some time and dissolution. Birth, living, death. Apply it to any activity you want. That explains everything. Karma means creation, maintenance and destruction. Nothing else. So what does God do when after some time this Leela is over, then slowly He withdraws it. Where from this creation has come? Himself. And where will it go? Into Himself. Into means not like water being poured in a pot but just as clay becomes an ornament and a pot or gold becomes an ornament, when the pot is dissolved, it will go back to its unmanifest formless aspect called clay. When the ornament is melted, it just becomes gold. It remained gold. It was from gold and gold has taken a form. Now that form has gone back into its original, what is called uniform or un-form. That's all. And this is the activity of Brahman called Shakti. So having begun this one, that is what God does it. When the creation is dissolved, He abides in His own Self for some time, there would be no activity. So these are two aspects, activity and no activity. That is what Sri Ramakrishna was trying to drill into our hardened brains, Brahman and Shakti. Does it happen one after the other? No. Simultaneously it happens. But our perception when we perceive one, we see that it is actionless. When we perceive the other one, other way, then we see it is full of activity. So the whole description is from our viewpoint. We don't know what is the Brahman's paramarthika point of view. That is what we have to keep in mind. So I'll give you one illustration. Sri Ramakrishna was given this beautiful vision exactly depicting what we just now read in the fourth mantra. He was describing graphically. One day, I was taking a walk on the banks of the Ganga. Suddenly, a beautiful young woman, later on he said that was Mahamaya, and she came out. At first, she was a very beautiful, slim looking Miss Universe. Then suddenly he found her. She is pregnant and within even a fraction of a second, her womb was full with the fetus baby. And then presently, she gave birth. And then she started fondling and looking after the baby with all the motherly love combined, Sarva Jagan Matru Bhava. And then next millisecond, she put on a ferocious appearance, went on put the baby in her mouth, Kacha, Kacha, Kacha. He went on chewing and swallowing, terrible even to imagine. And slowly, she disappeared, entered into the water, melted into the water. She came out of the water and entered back. What did she do? Srishti, Stithi and Laya. Is it not terrible? No, not terrible because it is a Leela. You make a sand castle and you admire it for some time and then you kick it out when you want to before going home. Nothing is done. It is just like play acting, but that is why God is called Sri Ranganatha. So this vision of Sri Ramakrishna is marvelous and that is going on every millisecond. It is not that once he does it, it is going on. And how many Brahmans are there? Infinite number of Brahmans. How many Brahmandas are there? Infinite number of Brahmandas are there. So even if you say here is a dog, here is a cow and here is a human being, here is a mosquito, here is a fly, what are they doing? Plants, any living creature, each one, species, billions and billions of its kind. This Srishti, Stithi, Laya is going on all the time. We eat food and many times what is living, only what is living and then it becomes us. And then again it becomes recreated in the form of an offspring etc. So this subject becomes object, object becomes a subject, this is going on. This is a beautiful description. And who is doing all these things? That Divine Lord, Karmakshaye, inside the time of Pralaya, Yatisa Tattvataha. He remains as Himself and Anyaha. This word Anyaha means another. Another means what? A beautiful meaning is given. Even the Srishti, Stithi, Laya is going on. He remains as it were, completely detached. He is never involved. In Bhagavad Gita also it is said Bhagavan doesn't accept the merit or demerit of anybody. Everybody only goes through this rigmarole of doing something and experiencing the results of that something. So neither He accepts our Papa nor accepts our Punya. Each one of us are responsible. So what is the point here? What is the meaning of Anyaha? Anyaha means the Bhagavan, He remains as Brahman and He also becomes Shakti. When? One after another, for some time as Brahman, for some time as Shakti. No, simultaneously He manifests Himself as both Brahman and also Shakti. And all the time He doesn't do anything. All the time He is doing everything. What irrational thing you are talking, Swami? Well, this is the truth. And because we try to understand everything through our limited mind, which is divided by time, space and causation. Everything we have to look one after the other, left side, right side, front or back. But the thing is that every Jeeva also does exactly that thing only. So how do we overcome? Because we acquire a lot of Samskaras. But remember, Samskaras are at first the cause of our downfall. What is downfall? Forgetting who we are. But at the same time, those very Samskaras will teach us a lesson through suffering and ultimately we turn over, change our direction from outside to inside. Aavrutta chakshahu kashchit dheeraha, aavrutta chakshahu amrutatvam ichchan. (कश्चिद्धीरः प्रत्यगात्मानमैक्षद आवृत्तचक्षुरमृतत्वमिच्छन् )I tried outside, it is not working. Now I will turn inside, I will search for God who is within. And that God within is going to be described graphically in the coming mantras also. So first there will be neutral Vasanas. Then there will be unspiritual Vasanas. Then there will be spiritual Vasanas. Then there will be no Vasanas at all. This was beautifully described in the Jeevan Mukti Viveka in two particular separate chapters by Vidyaranya Muni. They are called Vasanakshaya and Manonasha. I will not go into that subject. So we are all at this moment under the control of all the three Gunas. And Gunas create lot of habits, Samskaras and Vasanas, desires, unfulfillment etc. And that is the only way again with the help of the same Gunas, we will have to turn back towards the Lord. And that is what is going to tell us that a seeker should worship the great Lord in order to attain the knowledge of reality. What is knowledge of reality? I am not separate from Brahman. That is the knowledge of reality. But for that purpose, self-surrender. I must surrender myself to God. That is going to be described graphically in the fifth mantra. आदिः ससंयोग निनित्तहेतु परः त्रिकालात अकलोपि दृष्टः तम् विष्वरूपं भवभूतं ईडियं देवं सचितस्तं उपास्य पूर्वं Very beautiful mantra again. But put it in such words, it could create a little bit of confusion. But really, there should not be any confusion. What is the meaning? The great Lord, that is Ishwara, call Him Ishwara, call Him Brahman, doesn't matter. In the beginning, the cause which unites the soul with the body, that means creation, which we had seen earlier. But at the same time, He is above the three kinds of time. What are the three kinds of time? Time means always three kinds. What are that? The past, the present and the future. You cannot think of any one aspect without thinking of the other. For example, when you say present, we are denying the past and the future. When we are talking about the past, we are denying the present and the future. When we are thinking about the future, we are denying the past and the present. That is the characteristic of our very mind to divine time. That is why this Kaala, what is called Parichcheda, limitation of Kaala, limitation by space, limitation by an object. Kaala Parichcheda, Desha Parichcheda, Vastu Parichcheda, all the three go together. So the great Lord is the beginning, He who created this universe, the cause which unites the soul with the body. He is above the three kinds of time and He is Akalaha, Akhandaha, Ekaha, Poornaha, without any parts, because part means Jada. This is a peculiar Vedantic idea. Anything that is having a part and anything, every object is made up of parts and anything that is made up of parts is a Jada, is an inert thing and it is not meant for its own sake. It is meant for somebody who is other than what is without part and who is full of consciousness. Example is, you build a house. A house is made up of various parts. These are the walls, these are the windows, these are the doors, this is the floor, this is the roof, this is the staircase, etc. etc. Do you think the house builds itself for its own sake or you the conscious being build the house? Is it a cycle, bicycle? Is it a car? Is it an aeroplane? Is it a computer? Is it a cot? Anything that you can think of is made up of parts and whatever is made up of parts is made for a conscious being. So our body is made up of parts, Pancha Bhutas. Our mind is made up of parts, again Pancha Bhutas, but Pancha Sukshma Bhutas, so called Tanmatras. Therefore, they are Jada. Jada means inert. Inert means without any consciousness, but for what purpose? For the purpose of a conscious being and when we are attached, we are called Jiva and when we are not attached, we are called Ishwara or Paramatma. That is being said here. So that is Paraha. He completely remains unattached. Trikalath Paraha, that means He is timelessness, He is Shashvata, etc. Akalaha is partless, that means He is pure consciousness. And Drishtahaha, so people understand there is a being apart from this world because the world is a mixture of a living and non-living, a conscious and non-conscious and He must be beyond that, separate from that. Tam, that Brahman, Vishwaroopam, He alone, one without a second, alone is manifesting as this entire Vishwa. That is why in the Vishnu Sahasranama, the very first Nama name of Vishnu is Vishwam, Vishwaroopam. We have seen it in Narayana Suktam, we have seen it in Medha Suktam, we also are seeing it in the Purusha Suktam. So Vishwaroopam, Bhava, Bhoutam. Bhava, that means whatever is present now. Bhouta, whatever is in the past. So whether it is the whole world is nothing but a manifestation of time, space and causation. Bhava, Bhoutam. Idiyam, Idiyam means adorable, worship worthy, the greatest. There is only one way to get out of this samsara. It is to pray to Him, to surrender to Him, to completely leave ourselves in His hands. And that is why He is called Idiyam. No other thing in this world can save us. Only God can save us. That is why He is called Tam Adihe Devam (त्वमादिदेवम्) and He is Nimitta Hetu (निमित्त हेतु). He is the cause of this entire universe. He is the universe, that Devam, that Divine Lord. But you are describing that Divine Lord. He is the creator and where is He to be found? So you need not go anywhere. Upasyam, He alone has to be meditated upon, contemplated upon. First hear about Him, then meditate upon Him, then completely become one with Him. Shravanam (श्रवणम्), Mananam (मननम्), Nidhidhyasanam (निधिध्यासनम्). Where is He but? Sachittastham. He is nowhere else. He is everywhere. But He is especially to be found in your own heart. That is why all the devotees, all of us who sing the Aratrikam hymns in the evening, what do we say? Namo Namo Prabhu Vakyamana Atithaha. But Jyoti Rajyoti Ujjvala Hridi Kandhara (नमो नमो प्रभु वाक्य-मनातीत मनोवचनैकाधार।ज्योतिर ज्योति उजल-हृदिकन्दर तुमि तमो-भञ्जन हार॥). You are manifest in the form of the light of the lights. Where? Hridi Kandhara. In each one of our deepest part of the heart which is compared to a cave. Cave means what? A secret place. He is hidden. We are looking for Him everywhere. We are looking only for Him. Nobody is looking for anybody else. Everybody is looking for God only in the form of I don't want to die. I don't want to be ignorant or foolish. I don't want to be suffering. I want to be Sat, Chit and Ananda. That's why we pray that let me not be subject to death etc. So Swachh Tastam, Upasya and Purvam. What is the meaning of Purvam? That earlier you have already been praying to Him because your very knowledge that God exists. He is the goal of life and only by reaching Him, I can be free from all this. And you heard about it. Slowly you have been worshipping, not wholeheartedly. But now you will have to devote more and more time. This beautiful idea that He is the only one worthy of worship comes even in the first hymn of Om Hreem Hritham Twama Chalo Guna Jit Gunha E Diyaha (ॐ ह्रीऺ ॠतऺ त्वमचलॊ गुनजिद् गुणॆड्यॊ ). We will talk about it in our next class.

Svetasvatara Upanishad Lecture 38 on 09 July 2023

2023-07-16T02:17:53Z

Sevak123: Changed Hiranyakrishna to Ramakrishna in several places

== Full Transcript (Not Corrected) ==
In our last class we have studied the third mantra TAT KARMA KRITVA VINIVATYA BHUYAH TATVASYA TATVENA SAMETYA YOGAM EKENA DVABHYAM TRIVIHI ASTAVIRVA KAALENA CHA EVA ATMA PUNAYASCHA SOKSHMAIHI (तत कर्म कृत्वा विनिवत्य भूयः तत्वस्य सम॓त्य योगम्। एकेन द्वाभ्याऺ त्रिभि अष्टभिर्वा कालेन च एव आत्मगुणैश्च सूख्मैः॥) re is a spiritual sadhaka. What does he do? The yogi who first performs actions and then obtains purity of the heart, then turns away from them and who practices 1, 2, 3 or 8 disciplines, unites one principle with another principle and with the help of virtues cultivated by the Self and of subtle tendencies attains liberation in the course of time. So the previous mantra had explained that God creates the five great elements and then He enters, examines His creation and finds it lacking in spirit. Without the spirit, the matter becomes jada, creation. That means all the activities that go on in the creation are impossible without the combination of both the consciousness as well as the inert instruments. Let us remember, both body and mind are inert principles. They cannot act. They do not even have the thought that we have to act, much less whether they can do something about it. They don't have life. They don't have energy and they have no idea what to do. It is God. What does He do? He creates the pancha bhutas and with that He creates the entire universe. We know these pancha bhutas, akasha, vayu, agni, jala and prithvi and they are of two varieties. One is called subtle, another is called gross. One is called tanmatra, subtle, another is called sthula bhutas. And out of the subtle elements, the subtle five elements, the antahkarana, the sukshma sharira is created. And out of the pancha bhutas, gross pancha bhutas, they get mixed up, which is a very peculiar process. It is called panchikaranam and the entire physical, gross, sthula, bodies and everything is created. So the entire creation can be understood as living and non-living. So there are certain things which are completely non-living and there are certain things endowed with life. They are called jivas, pranis, endowed with both prana and consciousness. Let us not forget prana and consciousness, they go together. No prana, no consciousness. Consciousness can exist without prana, but prana can never exist without consciousness. So consciousness requires prana to manifest itself. That being is called jiva, reflection of the consciousness. And every prani, we presume, not only human beings, have got gross physical bodies, subtle bodies and also causal bodies. We are, though we do not know, we are guessing through that. So what does God do? He mixes Purusha and Prakruti. That was the main, greatest discovery of Rishis who have propagated Sankhya Yoga. But their thought has not extended to the extent that Purusha and Prakruti, they kept separate. They kept as eternal, but they are never belonging to the same Being. And this reconciliation slowly, with the development of intelligence, came. And we see it crystal clearly enumerated in the seventh chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. The reflection of consciousness belongs to my upper nature, and what is called my lower nature consists of the five Tanmatras and also five gross elements. Reconciliation has come. And so the division, dvaita, reality, Purusha and Prakruti, both of them have become unified now. And that is where Vedanta stands. In fact, we better know that all the six schools of philosophy, Purva Mimamsa and Uttara Mimamsa, which means Vedanta, Nyaya and Vaiseshika, Sankhya and Yoga, these are called six schools of philosophy and they have become merged into three schools of philosophy called Dvaita, Visishta Dvaita and Advaita. And the best elements of all the schools of philosophy, especially from Sankhya Yoga with regard to the explanation of cosmology and Yoga, Patanjali Yoga, as a practical means of achieving the highest realization, have been bodily lifted and incorporated in all the three schools of philosophy. Now, what is the essence of the sixth chapter of the Shwetashvatara? It is God who created and He Himself became the entire universe and He divided Himself as if into both the living and non-living. He entered into them. So the whole, what we call, Jagat Prapancha is nothing but only Bhagawan manifesting with Nama Rupa. Without Nama Rupa, God is Sat, Chit and Ananda. With Nama Rupa, Sat, Chit and Ananda plus form, plus specific name, that is called Prapancha or Jagat. So what happens? Bhagawan has first created. So this third mantra can be looked at from two points of view. From the point of view of Ishwara, the Creator, or from the viewpoint of a spiritual aspirant. What does it mean? How do we understand it? Very easy. So Ishwara, Tat Karmakritva, having created. Karma means action. What action? Bhagawan has only three actions. Srishti, Sthiti and Laya. And then He remained as a witness, completely non-attached to what He has written. Vini Vartiya Bhuyaha Tatvasya Tatvena Sametya Yogam Having created this universe, now He thought entire Prakruti is created. But Prakruti will not be able to do its job unless it is united with Purusha. Purusha means pure consciousness. So Tatvasya Tatvena. Everything is Tattva only. Everything is Brahman only. The inert is also Brahman and the living and conscious, sentient is also Ishwara only. So He united the subject and the object. United everything with what we call the spirit and the matter. Sametya Yogam. And then Ekena Dvabhyam Tribhih Ashtavihiva Four beautiful concepts have been presented in front of us. Ekena means the whole universe became one. Dvabhyam, Or if we think a little bit deeply, it can be divided into two as Purusha and Prakruti. And further Tribhih. How did He create this universe? Tribhih. What is Tribhih? Three Gunas. Or Ashtavih. What is Ashta? Here Ashta represents Pancha Bhutas, plus Chitta, Ahamkara, and Buddhi combined together. But from the ultimate point of view, everything is Prakruti plus Purusha. Then He also created time. Kalena cha atma gunais cha sukshmaihi. So this is how God created. And then endowed consciousness. And there is evolution of consciousness. God coming down from His Advaitiya state is known as involution. And having come to the lowest level, which is called inertness, non-life, as if you don't believe. Hinduism doesn't believe. Vedanta doesn't accept that a rock is having existence but doesn't have either knowledge or Ananda. Where there is Sat, there will be Chit. Where there is Chit, there will be Ananda. Sat, Chit and Ananda are not three qualities or three ways of looking at the same truth. So wherever there is existence, there will be Chit. Wherever there is Sat and Chit, there will be Ananda. But suppose you take a rock and we don't see the other two. Which are the two? Chit and Ananda. What do we see? Only Sat. The same thing can be also. We can equate that rock. Here is a person, he is completely unconscious. What is the big deal of difference between this person and rock? Rock exists, this person also exists. Rock doesn't have Chit and Ananda. This person also doesn't have Chit or Ananda. But it doesn't mean just as soon as this person wakes up, comes back to consciousness, immediately Chit and Ananda, all the three, Sat, Chit, Ananda become manifested. Similarly, also the rock at some point of time, Kalena, Kalakramena, it becomes inorganic, becomes organic and it goes on evolving until after a long, long, long time, after many, many births, it attains to this what we call human birth. Then still further it goes on evolving, but once human body is achieved, is attained, after what they call Churasi lakh janam, 84 lakhs of births, millions of births. Then what happens? Human body doesn't differ from a realized soul to the lowest person who just from an animal state, he became a human being, there is absolutely no difference. Same blood, same flesh, same bones, same everything. Is there no difference? Yes. The difference is, as Sri Ramakrishna so beautifully puts it, the difference is in the manifestation of the power. And by the way, manifestation of power means manifestation of consciousness. So intelligence, Shakti also requires not only energy, but energy comes also only because of intelligence. How come? Here is a person, he is weak and he understands, I have to eat particular types of foods and then he goes on doing exercise. In the course of time, not only in one life, but in many lives, he becomes stronger and stronger. So intelligence, which is the representation of pure consciousness, is the root cause of everything in this world. So what is the difference between the human being who just now entered into the human body from an animal state? And we can have beautiful concepts from the science also, how the chimpanzees and the monkeys, they are highly intelligent gorillas. And if we examine our physical life, sensual life, sensate life, there is no difference practically. Only difference will be animals cannot do as much harm as human beings can do. Because the greater the intelligence, the greater will be the opportunity either to do good or to do evil. But usually the persons, good persons are fewer, but helpless. Taking advantage, evil persons will do a lot of wrong things out there. So from now onwards, the evolution is not of the physical body, but of the mind. And this mind is divided into two categories. The first evolution in the mind is gradually, the person becomes more and more identified with everything in this world. This is called moral evolution. This is internal, nothing to do with physical. If you compare the bodies of a moral person, an intellectual person, an artist or a spiritual person, we will not find any difference at all. The difference is in the gunas. To put it in another way, evolution will be from tamas to rajas to sattva, more and more sattva guna. So intellectually and aesthetically and morally, a person goes on growing. So this is how we have to understand. Kalena, in the course of time, and Atma gunaischa, certain qualities are there. Bhagawan has already endowed us with all these things. And they are the gunas, the qualities, characteristics, sukshmai, very subtle. So one way of interpreting this particular mantra is, this is what God is doing in the form of involution. And what are we supposed to do? Now slowly we have gone to the rock bottom called inertness. Now the only way is to come up, which is called evolution. So what happens from the second interpretation? Here is a human being, here is a creature with life. It slowly, over millions of births, evolves into a human being. And then manifests more and more sattva guna. And in the end, what happens? Tat karma krittva. He will do exactly what God wants us to do. He will refrain from doing what God forbids us to do. This is called vidhi and nishedha. Then what happens? Having done, he becomes awakened. He becomes what is called spiritually awakened. Uttishthata, jagrata. Praapya, varan, nibodhata. Then he approaches people who are much advanced, takes refuge at their feet, and gets the directions how to live, and he progresses. Vinivartiya says, I have been doing (उत्तिष्ठत, जाग्रत, वरान् प्राप्य निबोधत।) exactly like any other animal will be doing, but now I will try to do something better. Vinivartiya, the first thing is, I will stop being an animal. Bhuyaha, then tattvasya tattvena. If God created me, I must be having the same characteristic as God. So I must become united with God, samedhi. And this process is called yogam, yoga abhyasa. And then what does he do? Ekena. First of all, he tries to become united with Upasana, with God. And Dvabhya. What is Dvabhya? I am a devotee and you are the deity. I am the aspirant, you are my goal. Or then what happens? Tribhihi. What are these three? The famous sattva, rajas and tamas. He understands thoroughly, as Bhagavan Krishna had explained in the 14th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita very clearly, that all the three gunas are there within everybody. They are there within me. So I must judiciously use them according to their use. For example, if I want to sleep, I must use tamo guna. I should not allow raja guna or sattva guna to interfere in my rest. When I am well rested, I should get up, become awakened. Uttishthata. I wake up from sleep. Jagrata. I become very alert. And I must do what is absolutely necessary. Slowly, gradually, the person will be developing or moving towards the more manifestation of sattva guna. So tribhihi or ashtabhairva. What is ashtabhairva? God has given me a body and it consists of, it is made up of, and it is maintained, and it will go on again, merge in the five bhutas. God also has given me, through tanmatra, subtle elements, the chitta, remembering power, memory power, and also the buddhi, intelligent power, and also the mind. The power to cogitate, to think deeply, guided by the scripture, by the Guru. So ashtabhihi, with the help of the body and mind, kalena, in the course of time, atma guna ischa, I will be developing certain qualities which will promote my travel towards Atman, Brahmatman. And these gunas, they become sukshmaihi. That means all the vasanas become deeply embedded. So we have to start from the physical, slowly progress towards the conscious, and then progress into subconscious, or sink these ideas into the subconscious, and then sink them into the complete unconscious. What am I talking about? So certain qualities, first we have to practice with great alertness, and then slowly they become what we call habits. They become stronger. Then they become stronger, just like as soon as we get up. So we did not know when we were babies that we have to brush our teeth. But our parents teach us, and first we have to be reluctantly doing it. Then mother threatens, no, you can't simply come and eat breakfast. Until you brush, you are not going to get. And today's breakfast is exceedingly tasty, and the child runs to the bathroom and then brushes as quickly as possible. But in the course of time, it is given to understand that this is good for me. And then after some time, it becomes very little effort. That is called subconscious, sinking into subconscious. And then it becomes completely sunk into deep unconscious. That means a person need not think at all. And I will give an illustration. Every Sannyasi is supposed to totally depend upon God. Every Sannyasi is not supposed to accumulate anything, excepting for doing some good to other people. So monastic organizations or individuals who want to do good, they have only for the purpose of doing good to the world, can accumulate, not for their own sake. So Ramakrishna was a Sannyasi. He had given up. He was not supposed to accumulate anything. Ramakrishna was very fond of eating certain spices, like cardamom, etc. Dalchini, what we call it. After taking food, he said that a few spices if you put, the mouth will not smell very bad. So I have to tell you, sometimes we have very bad experiences. Some devotees come here and their breath is so foul that it is impossible to breathe. Even Mahapurusha Maharaj had to ask some devotees that you move away from here. Terribly, what is called harmful breath is coming from your mouth. Sometimes people's breaths are so powerful, even if they are 10 feet away, their breath will be coming and attacking us directly. So Sri Ramakrishna used to advise, take a few spices, at least it will cover up, gives a good smell. That is why nowadays people go on putting something, or nowadays I have also seen some spray will be there. Open the mouth and spray also. Now Ramakrishna was not supposed to accumulate, but he was fond of a few human habits were there. And one day, Holy Mother who knew about it, tied a few spices in the hem of his upper cloth. And he came out after food, started to his room, from Nahabath to his room, and suddenly his feet were dragging him to the Ganga. And then he was completely conscious. There he said, Ma, shall I drown? Shall I drown? Holy Mother immediately saw it, understood, shouted. Hriday came running and then took Sri Ramakrishna by hand and he took him to his room, Sri Ramakrishna's room. Later on, Hriday was telling, sorry, Sri Ramakrishna was telling that I have taken complete, total refuge. I surrendered myself to the Divine Mother. She will not allow anybody who has taken refuge in Her to deviate from Truth. I have taken a vow. I must maintain. If I forget also, She will not allow anybody to take a wrong step. Sri Ramakrishna often repeated, saying is, that an expert dancer cannot even with effort take a wrong step. An expert musician can never sing in a wrong thala. And if anybody is singing in a wrong thala, you have to understand, he is an Anadi in the world. Anadi means ignorant fellow. Blissfully ignorant. That is the problem. Now, this is what he is telling. Whatever we develop, these qualities become subtle and subtler. First, consciously we have to develop. Then they penetrate into the subconscious. And in the end, they sink so deeply. And that is what Sri Ramakrishna calls My Mother. It is impossible for that person to do anything wrong, excepting behave according to those qualities. So, this is the third mantra that God created. And He came down as it were. And then what happened? Again, God only, in the form of the individual, goes up. Every individual will go up. So, Ekena, that is the spirit or sentient principle, one alone, He creates. So, the sentient and the insentient. We have to take a beautiful note here. What is the insentient? Insentient means not really insentient. Manifestation, insentiency. Prakruti, after all, belongs to God. And if it belongs to God, God can never be accused. You are a combination of sentiency and insentiency. So, this is a big topic that is what is called wreaking havoc between Advaitins and non-Advaitins, especially the Siddhas Advaitins. We do not accept your Adhyasa, superimposition. Superimposition is because of avidya. And so, before creation, where is this avidya? If it was not there before, it cannot come into the world. And if it is seen in the world, it must have been before creation. If it was before creation, the only one entity, one being was there, that is Brahman. So, Brahman must be a combination of both chitta and achitta. And that is not acceptable to Advaitins. That is why they brush away the entire argument saying that it is Anirvachaniya. Impossible to describe it as sat or asat or anything. Description is impossible. And go on describing how it is impossible for thousands and thousands of ages. Shankaracharya, fortunately for us, never bothered about it. Simply said, there is a power. Try to understand whatever way. That's not important where it is and how it is. It is important if there is a way to get out. Find out that way and get out. Wise people always tell, don't bother about this intellectual, dry discussion, gymnastics. Just you know there is something and there is a way to get out of it. Try to get out of it. That is what he says. So that is Dvabhyam. So he combined. What is Dvabhyam? That God creates Dharma and Adharma. And Jiva, at first, he combines Adharma, a large portion, and Dharma, a small portion. But slowly as he evolves, the Dharmic portion becomes better. And the Adharmic portion becomes lesser, less powerful. Finally, it becomes only a little bit of, a little, what is called, hint of Adharma will be there. But which doesn't harm anybody. That is, this is called Dvabhyam, seen as two. Tribhi means, as we discussed, three qualities, Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. So the progress will be, evolution will be from Tamoguna to Rajoguna to Sattvaguna and then beyond all the three Gunas. Ashtabhihi, that is body and mind. So we have to understand, God has created, that is called evolution. Now creation is travelling towards God, that is called evolution. And the same way, if we have come down from the third floor to the ground floor, and we want to go back to the third floor and then go to the roof, we have to go only through the very same steps through which we have come down. I hope you have sufficiently understood. It is both the truth of creation and the purpose of creation is we are God. Everything is Brahman, but we are not aware that we are Brahman. And we have to do some spiritual sadhana and it is to do that and slowly to go back to our original and become united with Brahman. That is probably the entire essence of this last six chapters. So we will now proceed to the mantra number four. आरभ्य कर्माणि उनान्वितानि भावांश सर्वान् विनियोजयेत् यहा तेशां अभावे कृत कर्मनाशः कर्मक्षयेयाति स तत्वतः अन्यः What does it mean? Having begun the work of creation associated with the qualities of Prakruti, which are called Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, He, means the Bhagawan Eshwara, employs all the effects of Prakruti. So billions of combinations of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, the permutations and combinations and when slowly they become less. First they become less and then they go on increasing and they reach a peak and again slowly like a cycle, slowly they come back down and down and down. So this process is called Srishti, the other process is called Laya. So this is the thing that is going on all the time. So He employs all the effects and again when the time comes, that which was created vanishes. There is Srishti and there is Laya. Again there is Srishti and there is Laya. This cyclic process is beautifully described in the Bhagavad Gita. Sahasra Yuga Pariyantam Ahahayat Brahmano Vidho Rathrim Yuga Sahasrantham Te Aho Rathra Vidho Janaha Brahma is the creator and His business is to create and His day time, what does He do? Like any one of us, He works very hard, that is Srishti and Stithi. And then what happens? Night time comes, Laya. So He goes to rest, just as we rest at night and again wake up and engage ourselves in activities. Brahma also, He works, He goes to sleep, He is called Rathri, night, rest, that is called Pralaya. And again His day time comes, He wakes up and He goes on doing. This process is beautifully, in a symbolical way, described in the Chandi, in the very first chapter, how Brahma was about to be attacked and His act of creation was to be destroyed by Madhu and Kaitava. And then knowledge comes in the form of Vishnu and removes these obstacles and then creation goes on merrily. Now in this fourth mantra, what it is telling, this process of creation and dissolution goes on and on and on. So Bhagawan, having begun the work of creation and how with the help of the Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, qualities of Prakruti, this is called Prakruti Gunas, then this combination of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas in infinite varieties, He employs all the effects of Prakruti and then He plays this game called Chess. Brahmayan, Sarvabhutani, Yantrarudhani, Mayaya and what happens after some time, Laya will come. Then slowly it comes back and that which was created now becomes vanished. When the creation is dissolved, where does it get dissolved? Into Himself. He abides in His own Self which is distinct from Prakruti. So a beautiful description of what God does. What does He do? He has two aspects. Actionless aspect called Nirguna Nirakara Brahman and the other aspect of action, Peetha action. Ramakrishna beautifully tries to make us understand when we look at Brahman without any activity or when we look at Shakti without any activity, we call that Shakti as Brahman. When the same Brahman is looked at with activity, activity means Rishti, Stithi and Laya. And as I explained yesterday, all activities are only three. Creation and continuing with that for some time and dissolution. Birth, living, death. Apply it to any activity you want. That explains everything. Karma means creation, maintenance and destruction. Nothing else. So what does God do when after some time this Leela is over, then slowly He withdraws it. Where from this creation has come? Himself. And where will it go? Into Himself. Into means not like water being poured in a pot but just as clay becomes an ornament and a pot or gold becomes an ornament, when the pot is dissolved, it will go back to its unmanifest formless aspect called clay. When the ornament is melted, it just becomes gold. It remained gold. It was from gold and gold has taken a form. Now that form has gone back into its original, what is called uniform or un-form. That's all. And this is the activity of Brahman called Shakti. So having begun this one, that is what God does it. When the creation is dissolved, He abides in His own Self for some time, there would be no activity. So these are two aspects, activity and no activity. That is what Sri Ramakrishna was trying to drill into our hardened brains, Brahman and Shakti. Does it happen one after the other? No. Simultaneously it happens. But our perception when we perceive one, we see that it is actionless. When we perceive the other one, other way, then we see it is full of activity. So the whole description is from our viewpoint. We don't know what is the Brahman's paramarthika point of view. That is what we have to keep in mind. So I'll give you one illustration. Sri Ramakrishna was given this beautiful vision exactly depicting what we just now read in the fourth mantra. He was describing graphically. One day, I was taking a walk on the banks of the Ganga. Suddenly, a beautiful young woman, later on he said that was Mahamaya, and she came out. At first, she was a very beautiful, slim looking Miss Universe. Then suddenly he found her. She is pregnant and within even a fraction of a second, her womb was full with the fetus baby. And then presently, she gave birth. And then she started fondling and looking after the baby with all the motherly love combined, Sarva Jagan Matru Bhava. And then next millisecond, she put on a ferocious appearance, went on put the baby in her mouth, Kacha, Kacha, Kacha. He went on chewing and swallowing, terrible even to imagine. And slowly, she disappeared, entered into the water, melted into the water. She came out of the water and entered back. What did she do? Srishti, Stithi and Laya. Is it not terrible? No, not terrible because it is a Leela. You make a sand castle and you admire it for some time and then you kick it out when you want to before going home. Nothing is done. It is just like play acting, but that is why God is called Sri Ranganatha. So this vision of Sri Ramakrishna is marvellous and that is going on every billy second. It is not that once he does it, it is going on. And how many Brahmans are there? Infinite number of Brahmans. How many Brahmandas are there? Infinite number of Brahmandas are there. So even if you say here is a dog, here is a cow and here is a human being, here is a mosquito, here is a fly, what are they doing? Plants, any living creature, each one, species, billions and billions of its kind. This Srishti, Stithi, Laya is going on all the time. We eat food and many times what is living, only what is living and then it becomes us. And then again it becomes recreated in the form of an offspring etc. So this subject becomes object, object becomes a subject, this is going on. This is a beautiful description. And who is doing all these things? That Divine Lord, Karmakshaye, inside the time of Pralaya, Yatisa Tattvataha. He remains as Himself and Anyaha. This word Anyaha means another. Another means what? A beautiful meaning is given. Even the Srishti, Stithi, Laya is going on. He remains as it were, completely detached. He is never involved. In Bhagavad Gita also it is said Bhagavan doesn't accept the merit or demerit of anybody. Everybody only goes through this rigmarole of doing something and experiencing the results of that something. So neither He accepts our Papa nor accepts our Punya. Each one of us are responsible. So what is the point here? What is the meaning of Anyaha? Anyaha means the Bhagavan, He remains as Brahman and He also becomes Shakti. When? One after another, for some time as Brahman, for some time as Shakti. No, simultaneously He manifests Himself as both Brahman and also Shakti. And all the time He doesn't do anything. All the time He is doing everything. What irrational thing you are talking, Swami? Well, this is the truth. And because we try to understand everything through our limited mind, which is divided by time, space and causation. Everything we have to look one after the other, left side, right side, front or back. But the thing is that every Jeeva also does exactly that thing only. So how do we overcome? Because we acquire a lot of Samskaras. But remember, Samskaras are at first the cause of our downfall. What is downfall? Forgetting who we are. But at the same time, those very Samskaras will teach us a lesson through suffering and ultimately we turn over, change our direction from outside to inside. Aavrutta chakshahu kashchit dheeraha, aavrutta chakshahu amrutatvam ichchan. I tried outside, it is not working. Now I will turn inside, I will search for God who is within. And that God within is going to be described graphically in the coming mantras also. So first there will be neutral Vasanas. Then there will be unspiritual Vasanas. Then there will be spiritual Vasanas. Then there will be no Vasanas at all. This was beautifully described in the Jeevan Mukti Viveka in two particular separate chapters by Vidyaranya Muni. They are called Vasanakshaya and Manonasha. I will not go into that subject. So we are all at this moment under the control of all the three Gunas. And Gunas create lot of habits, Samskaras and Vasanas, desires, unfulfillment etc. And that is the only way again with the help of the same Gunas, we will have to turn back towards the Lord. And that is what is going to tell us that a seeker should worship the great Lord in order to attain the knowledge of reality. What is knowledge of reality? I am not separate from Brahman. That is the knowledge of reality. But for that purpose, self-surrender. I must surrender myself to God. That is going to be described graphically in the fifth mantra. आदिः ससंयोग निनित्तहेतु परः त्रिकालात अकलोपि दृष्टः तम् विष्वरूपं भवभूतं ईडियं देवं सचितस्तं उपास्य पूर्वं Very beautiful mantra again. But put it in such words, it could create a little bit of confusion. But really, there should not be any confusion. What is the meaning? The great Lord, that is Ishwara, call Him Ishwara, call Him Brahman, doesn't matter. In the beginning, the cause which unites the soul with the body, that means creation, which we had seen earlier. But at the same time, He is above the three kinds of time. What are the three kinds of time? Time means always three kinds. What are that? The past, the present and the future. You cannot think of any one aspect without thinking of the other. For example, when you say present, we are denying the past and the future. When we are talking about the past, we are denying the present and the future. When we are thinking about the future, we are denying the past and the present. That is the characteristic of our very mind to divine time. That is why this Kaala, what is called Parichcheda, limitation of Kaala, limitation by space, limitation by an object. Kaala Parichcheda, Desha Parichcheda, Vastu Parichcheda, all the three go together. So the great Lord is the beginning, He who created this universe, the cause which unites the soul with the body. He is above the three kinds of time and He is Akalaha, Akhandaha, Ekaha, Poornaha, without any parts, because part means Jada. This is a peculiar Vedantic idea. Anything that is having a part and anything, every object is made up of parts and anything that is made up of parts is a Jada, is an inert thing and it is not meant for its own sake. It is meant for somebody who is other than what is without part and who is full of consciousness. Example is, you build a house. A house is made up of various parts. These are the walls, these are the windows, these are the doors, this is the floor, this is the roof, this is the staircase, etc. etc. Do you think the house builds itself for its own sake or you the conscious being build the house? Is it a cycle, bicycle? Is it a car? Is it an aeroplane? Is it a computer? Is it a cot? Anything that you can think of is made up of parts and whatever is made up of parts is made for a conscious being. So our body is made up of parts, Pancha Bhutas. Our mind is made up of parts, again Pancha Bhutas, but Pancha Sukshma Bhutas, so called Tanmatras. Therefore, they are Jada. Jada means inert. Inert means without any consciousness, but for what purpose? For the purpose of a conscious being and when we are attached, we are called Jiva and when we are not attached, we are called Ishwara or Paramatma. That is being said here. So that is Paraha. He completely remains unattached. Trikalath Paraha, that means He is timelessness, He is Shashvata, etc. Akalaha is partless, that means He is pure consciousness. And Drishtahaha, so people understand there is a being apart from this world because the world is a mixture of a living and non-living, a conscious and non-conscious and He must be beyond that, separate from that. Tam, that Brahman, Vishwaroopam, He alone, one without a second, alone is manifesting as this entire Vishwa. That is why in the Vishnu Sahasranama, the very first Nama name of Vishnu is Vishwam, Vishwaroopam. We have seen it in Narayana Suktam, we have seen it in Medha Suktam, we also are seeing it in the Purusha Suktam. So Vishwaroopam, Bhava, Bhoutam. Bhava, that means whatever is present now. Bhouta, whatever is in the past. So whether it is the whole world is nothing but a manifestation of time, space and causation. Bhava, Bhoutam. Idiyam, Idiyam means adorable, worship worthy, the greatest. There is only one way to get out of this samsara. It is to pray to Him, to surrender to Him, to completely leave ourselves in His hands. And that is why He is called Idiyam. No other thing in this world can save us. Only God can save us. That is why He is called Tam Adihe Devam and He is Nimitta Hetu. He is the cause of this entire universe. He is the universe, that Devam, that Divine Lord. But you are describing that Divine Lord. He is the creator and where is He to be found? So you need not go anywhere. Upasyam, He alone has to be meditated upon, contemplated upon. First hear about Him, then meditate upon Him, then completely become one with Him. Shravanam, Mananam, Nidhidhyasanam. Where is He but? Sachittastham. He is nowhere else. He is everywhere. But He is especially to be found in your own heart. That is why all the devotees, all of us who sing the Aratrikam hymns in the evening, what do we say? Namo Namo Prabhu Vakyamana Atithaha. But Jyoti Rajyoti Ujjvala Hridi Kandhara. You are manifest in the form of the light of the lights. Where? Hridi Kandhara. In each one of our deepest part of the heart which is compared to a cave. Cave means what? A secret place. He is hidden. We are looking for Him everywhere. We are looking only for Him. Nobody is looking for anybody else. Everybody is looking for God only in the form of I don't want to die. I don't want to be ignorant or foolish. I don't want to be suffering. I want to be Sat, Chit and Ananda. That's why we pray that let me not be subject to death etc. So Swachh Tastam, Upasya and Purvam. What is the meaning of Purvam? That earlier you have already been praying to Him because your very knowledge that God exists. He is the goal of life and only by reaching Him, I can be free from all this. And you heard about it. Slowly you have been worshipping, not wholeheartedly. But now you will have to devote more and more time. This beautiful idea that He is the only one worthy of worship comes even in the first hymn of Om Hreem Hritham Koma Chalo Unha Jit Unha E Diyaha. We will talk about it in our next class.

Svetasvatara Upanishad Lecture 38 on 09 July 2023

2023-07-15T23:03:12Z

Sevak123: Added Devnagari scripts for "Tat Karma Krittva..."Added several punctuation marks, like commas. Added Devanagari for "Uttistha, jagrata..)

== Full Transcript (Not Corrected) ==
In our last class we have studied the third mantra TAT KARMA KRITVA VINIVATYA BHUYAH TATVASYA TATVENA SAMETYA YOGAM EKENA DVABHYAM TRIVIHI ASTAVIRVA KAALENA CHA EVA ATMA PUNAYASCHA SOKSHMAIHI (तत कर्म कृत्वा विनिवत्य भूयः तत्वस्य सम॓त्य योगम्। एकेन द्वाभ्याऺ त्रिभि अष्टभिर्वा कालेन च एव आत्मगुणैश्च सूख्मैः॥) re is a spiritual sadhaka. What does he do? The yogi who first performs actions and then obtains purity of the heart, then turns away from them and who practices 1, 2, 3 or 8 disciplines, unites one principle with another principle and with the help of virtues cultivated by the Self and of subtle tendencies attains liberation in the course of time. So the previous mantra had explained that God creates the five great elements and then He enters, examines His creation and finds it lacking in spirit. Without the spirit, the matter becomes jada, creation. That means all the activities that go on in the creation are impossible without the combination of both the consciousness as well as the inert instruments. Let us remember, both body and mind are inert principles. They cannot act. They do not even have the thought that we have to act, much less whether they can do something about it. They don't have life. They don't have energy and they have no idea what to do. It is God. What does He do? He creates the pancha bhutas and with that He creates the entire universe. We know these pancha bhutas, akasha, vayu, agni, jala and prithvi and they are of two varieties. One is called subtle, another is called gross. One is called tanmatra, subtle, another is called sthula bhutas. And out of the subtle elements, the subtle five elements, the antahkarana, the sukshma sharira is created. And out of the pancha bhutas, gross pancha bhutas, they get mixed up, which is a very peculiar process. It is called panchikaranam and the entire physical, gross, sthula, bodies and everything is created. So the entire creation can be understood as living and non-living. So there are certain things which are completely non-living and there are certain things endowed with life. They are called jivas, pranis, endowed with both prana and consciousness. Let us not forget prana and consciousness, they go together. No prana, no consciousness. Consciousness can exist without prana, but prana can never exist without consciousness. So consciousness requires prana to manifest itself. That being is called jiva, reflection of the consciousness. And every prani, we presume, not only human beings, have got gross physical bodies, subtle bodies and also causal bodies. We are, though we do not know, we are guessing through that. So what does God do? He mixes Purusha and Prakruti. That was the main, greatest discovery of Rishis who have propagated Sankhya Yoga. But their thought has not extended to the extent that Purusha and Prakruti, they kept separate. They kept as eternal, but they are never belonging to the same Being. And this reconciliation slowly, with the development of intelligence, came. And we see it crystal clearly enumerated in the seventh chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. The reflection of consciousness belongs to my upper nature, and what is called my lower nature consists of the five Tanmatras and also five gross elements. Reconciliation has come. And so the division, dvaita, reality, Purusha and Prakruti, both of them have become unified now. And that is where Vedanta stands. In fact, we better know that all the six schools of philosophy, Purva Mimamsa and Uttara Mimamsa, which means Vedanta, Nyaya and Vaiseshika, Sankhya and Yoga, these are called six schools of philosophy and they have become merged into three schools of philosophy called Dvaita, Visishta Dvaita and Advaita. And the best elements of all the schools of philosophy, especially from Sankhya Yoga with regard to the explanation of cosmology and Yoga, Patanjali Yoga, as a practical means of achieving the highest realization, have been bodily lifted and incorporated in all the three schools of philosophy. Now, what is the essence of the sixth chapter of the Shwetashvatara? It is God who created and He Himself became the entire universe and He divided Himself as if into both the living and non-living. He entered into them. So the whole, what we call, Jagat Prapancha is nothing but only Bhagawan manifesting with Nama Rupa. Without Nama Rupa, God is Sat, Chit and Ananda. With Nama Rupa, Sat, Chit and Ananda plus form, plus specific name, that is called Prapancha or Jagat. So what happens? Bhagawan has first created. So this third mantra can be looked at from two points of view. From the point of view of Ishwara, the Creator, or from the viewpoint of a spiritual aspirant. What does it mean? How do we understand it? Very easy. So Ishwara, Tat Karmakritva, having created. Karma means action. What action? Bhagawan has only three actions. Srishti, Sthiti and Laya. And then He remained as a witness, completely non-attached to what He has written. Vini Vartiya Bhuyaha Tatvasya Tatvena Sametya Yogam Having created this universe, now He thought entire Prakruti is created. But Prakruti will not be able to do its job unless it is united with Purusha. Purusha means pure consciousness. So Tatvasya Tatvena. Everything is Tattva only. Everything is Brahman only. The inert is also Brahman and the living and conscious, sentient is also Ishwara only. So He united the subject and the object. United everything with what we call the spirit and the matter. Sametya Yogam. And then Ekena Dvabhyam Tribhih Ashtavihiva Four beautiful concepts have been presented in front of us. Ekena means the whole universe became one. Dvabhyam, Or if we think a little bit deeply, it can be divided into two as Purusha and Prakruti. And further Tribhih. How did He create this universe? Tribhih. What is Tribhih? Three Gunas. Or Ashtavih. What is Ashta? Here Ashta represents Pancha Bhutas, plus Chitta, Ahamkara, and Buddhi combined together. But from the ultimate point of view, everything is Prakruti plus Purusha. Then He also created time. Kalena cha atma gunais cha sukshmaihi. So this is how God created. And then endowed consciousness. And there is evolution of consciousness. God coming down from His Advaitiya state is known as involution. And having come to the lowest level, which is called inertness, non-life, as if you don't believe. Hinduism doesn't believe. Vedanta doesn't accept that a rock is having existence but doesn't have either knowledge or Ananda. Where there is Sat, there will be Chit. Where there is Chit, there will be Ananda. Sat, Chit and Ananda are not three qualities or three ways of looking at the same truth. So wherever there is existence, there will be Chit. Wherever there is Sat and Chit, there will be Ananda. But suppose you take a rock and we don't see the other two. Which are the two? Chit and Ananda. What do we see? Only Sat. The same thing can be also. We can equate that rock. Here is a person, he is completely unconscious. What is the big deal of difference between this person and rock? Rock exists, this person also exists. Rock doesn't have Chit and Ananda. This person also doesn't have Chit or Ananda. But it doesn't mean just as soon as this person wakes up, comes back to consciousness, immediately Chit and Ananda, all the three, Sat, Chit, Ananda become manifested. Similarly, also the rock at some point of time, Kalena, Kalakramena, it becomes inorganic, becomes organic and it goes on evolving until after a long, long, long time, after many, many births, it attains to this what we call human birth. Then still further it goes on evolving, but once human body is achieved, is attained, after what they call Churasi lakh janam, 84 lakhs of births, millions of births. Then what happens? Human body doesn't differ from a realized soul to the lowest person who just from an animal state, he became a human being, there is absolutely no difference. Same blood, same flesh, same bones, same everything. Is there no difference? Yes. The difference is, as Sri Ramakrishna so beautifully puts it, the difference is in the manifestation of the power. And by the way, manifestation of power means manifestation of consciousness. So intelligence, Shakti also requires not only energy, but energy comes also only because of intelligence. How come? Here is a person, he is weak and he understands, I have to eat particular types of foods and then he goes on doing exercise. In the course of time, not only in one life, but in many lives, he becomes stronger and stronger. So intelligence, which is the representation of pure consciousness, is the root cause of everything in this world. So what is the difference between the human being who just now entered into the human body from an animal state? And we can have beautiful concepts from the science also, how the chimpanzees and the monkeys, they are highly intelligent gorillas. And if we examine our physical life, sensual life, sensate life, there is no difference practically. Only difference will be animals cannot do as much harm as human beings can do. Because the greater the intelligence, the greater will be the opportunity either to do good or to do evil. But usually the persons, good persons are fewer, but helpless. Taking advantage, evil persons will do a lot of wrong things out there. So from now onwards, the evolution is not of the physical body, but of the mind. And this mind is divided into two categories. The first evolution in the mind is gradually, the person becomes more and more identified with everything in this world. This is called moral evolution. This is internal, nothing to do with physical. If you compare the bodies of a moral person, an intellectual person, an artist or a spiritual person, we will not find any difference at all. The difference is in the gunas. To put it in another way, evolution will be from tamas to rajas to sattva, more and more sattva guna. So intellectually and aesthetically and morally, a person goes on growing. So this is how we have to understand. Kalena, in the course of time, and Atma gunaischa, certain qualities are there. Bhagawan has already endowed us with all these things. And they are the gunas, the qualities, characteristics, sukshmai, very subtle. So one way of interpreting this particular mantra is, this is what God is doing in the form of involution. And what are we supposed to do? Now slowly we have gone to the rock bottom called inertness. Now the only way is to come up, which is called evolution. So what happens from the second interpretation? Here is a human being, here is a creature with life. It slowly, over millions of births, evolves into a human being. And then manifests more and more sattva guna. And in the end, what happens? Tat karma krittva. He will do exactly what God wants us to do. He will refrain from doing what God forbids us to do. This is called vidhi and nishedha. Then what happens? Having done, he becomes awakened. He becomes what is called spiritually awakened. Uttishthata, jagrata. Praapya, varan, nibodhata. Then he approaches people who are much advanced, takes refuge at their feet, and gets the directions how to live, and he progresses. Vinivartiya says, I have been doing (उत्तिष्ठत, जाग्रत, वरान् प्राप्य निबोधत।) exactly like any other animal will be doing, but now I will try to do something better. Vinivartiya, the first thing is, I will stop being an animal. Bhuyaha, then tattvasya tattvena. If God created me, I must be having the same characteristic as God. So I must become united with God, samedhi. And this process is called yogam, yoga abhyasa. And then what does he do? Ekena. First of all, he tries to become united with Upasana, with God. And Dvabhya. What is Dvabhya? I am a devotee and you are the deity. I am the aspirant, you are my goal. Or then what happens? Tribhihi. What are these three? The famous sattva, rajas and tamas. He understands thoroughly, as Bhagavan Krishna had explained in the 14th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita very clearly, that all the three gunas are there within everybody. They are there within me. So I must judiciously use them according to their use. For example, if I want to sleep, I must use tamo guna. I should not allow raja guna or sattva guna to interfere in my rest. When I am well rested, I should get up, become awakened. Uttishthata. I wake up from sleep. Jagrata. I become very alert. And I must do what is absolutely necessary. Slowly, gradually, the person will be developing or moving towards the more manifestation of sattva guna. So tribhihi or ashtabhairva. What is ashtabhairva? God has given me a body and it consists of, it is made up of, and it is maintained, and it will go on again, merge in the five bhutas. God also has given me, through tanmatra, subtle elements, the chitta, remembering power, memory power, and also the buddhi, intelligent power, and also the mind. The power to cogitate, to think deeply, guided by the scripture, by the Guru. So ashtabhihi, with the help of the body and mind, kalena, in the course of time, atma guna ischa, I will be developing certain qualities which will promote my travel towards Atman, Brahmatman. And these gunas, they become sukshmaihi. That means all the vasanas become deeply embedded. So we have to start from the physical, slowly progress towards the conscious, and then progress into subconscious, or sink these ideas into the subconscious, and then sink them into the complete unconscious. What am I talking about? So certain qualities, first we have to practice with great alertness, and then slowly they become what we call habits. They become stronger. Then they become stronger, just like as soon as we get up. So we did not know when we were babies that we have to brush our teeth. But our parents teach us, and first we have to be reluctantly doing it. Then mother threatens, no, you can't simply come and eat breakfast. Until you brush, you are not going to get. And today's breakfast is exceedingly tasty, and the child runs to the bathroom and then brushes as quickly as possible. But in the course of time, it is given to understand that this is good for me. And then after some time, it becomes very little effort. That is called subconscious, sinking into subconscious. And then it becomes completely sunk into deep unconscious. That means a person need not think at all. And I will give an illustration. Every Sannyasi is supposed to totally depend upon God. Every Sannyasi is not supposed to accumulate anything, excepting for doing some good to other people. So monastic organizations or individuals who want to do good, they have only for the purpose of doing good to the world, can accumulate, not for their own sake. So Hiranyakrishna was a Sannyasi. He had given up. He was not supposed to accumulate anything. Hiranyakrishna was very fond of eating certain spices, like cardamom, etc. Dalchini, what we call it. After taking food, he said that a few spices if you put, the mouth will not smell very bad. So I have to tell you, sometimes we have very bad experiences. Some devotees come here and their breath is so foul that it is impossible to breathe. Even Mahapurusha Maharaj had to ask some devotees that you move away from here. Terribly, what is called harmful breath is coming from your mouth. Sometimes people are so powerful, even if they are 10 feet away, their breath will be coming and attacking us directly. So this Hiranyakrishna used to advise, take a few spices, at least it will cover up, gives a good smell. That is why nowadays people go on putting something, or nowadays I have also seen some spray will be there. Open the mouth and spray also. Now Hiranyakrishna was not supposed to accumulate, but he was fond of a few human habits were there. And one day, Holy Mother who knew about it, tied a few spices in the hem of his upper cloth. And he came out after food, started to his room, from Nahabath to his room, and suddenly his feet were dragging him to the Ganga. And then he was completely conscious. There he said, Ma, shall I drown? Shall I drown? Holy Mother immediately saw it, understood, shouted. Hriday came running and then took Sri Ramakrishna by hand and he took him to his room, Sri Ramakrishna's room. Later on, Hriday was telling, sorry, Sri Ramakrishna was telling that I have taken complete, total refuge. I surrendered myself to the Divine Mother. She will not allow anybody who has taken refuge in Her to deviate from Truth. I have taken a vow. I must maintain. If I forget also, She will not allow anybody to take a wrong step. Sri Ramakrishna often repeated, saying is, that an expert dancer cannot even with effort take a wrong step. An expert musician can never sing in a wrong thala. And if anybody is singing in a wrong thala, you have to understand, he is an Anadi in the world. Anadi means ignorant fellow. Blissfully ignorant. That is the problem. Now, this is what he is telling. Whatever we develop, these qualities become subtle and subtler. First, consciously we have to develop. Then they penetrate into the subconscious. And in the end, they sink so deeply. And that is what Sri Ramakrishna calls My Mother. It is impossible for that person to do anything wrong, excepting behave according to those qualities. So, this is the third mantra that God created. And He came down as it were. And then what happened? Again, God only, in the form of the individual, goes up. Every individual will go up. So, Ekena, that is the spirit or sentient principle, one alone, He creates. So, the sentient and the insentient. We have to take a beautiful note here. What is the insentient? Insentient means not really insentient. Manifestation, insentiency. Prakruti, after all, belongs to God. And if it belongs to God, God can never be accused. You are a combination of sentiency and insentiency. So, this is a big topic that is what is called wreaking havoc between Advaitins and non-Advaitins, especially the Siddhas Advaitins. We do not accept your Adhyasa, superimposition. Superimposition is because of avidya. And so, before creation, where is this avidya? If it was not there before, it cannot come into the world. And if it is seen in the world, it must have been before creation. If it was before creation, the only one entity, one being was there, that is Brahman. So, Brahman must be a combination of both chitta and achitta. And that is not acceptable to Advaitins. That is why they brush away the entire argument saying that it is Anirvachaniya. Impossible to describe it as sat or asat or anything. Description is impossible. And go on describing how it is impossible for thousands and thousands of ages. Shankaracharya, fortunately for us, never bothered about it. Simply said, there is a power. Try to understand whatever way. That's not important where it is and how it is. It is important if there is a way to get out. Find out that way and get out. Wise people always tell, don't bother about this intellectual, dry discussion, gymnastics. Just you know there is something and there is a way to get out of it. Try to get out of it. That is what he says. So that is Dvabhyam. So he combined. What is Dvabhyam? That God creates Dharma and Adharma. And Jiva, at first, he combines Adharma, a large portion, and Dharma, a small portion. But slowly as he evolves, the Dharmic portion becomes better. And the Adharmic portion becomes lesser, less powerful. Finally, it becomes only a little bit of, a little, what is called, hint of Adharma will be there. But which doesn't harm anybody. That is, this is called Dvabhyam, seen as two. Tribhi means, as we discussed, three qualities, Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. So the progress will be, evolution will be from Tamoguna to Rajoguna to Sattvaguna and then beyond all the three Gunas. Ashtabhihi, that is body and mind. So we have to understand, God has created, that is called evolution. Now creation is travelling towards God, that is called evolution. And the same way, if we have come down from the third floor to the ground floor, and we want to go back to the third floor and then go to the roof, we have to go only through the very same steps through which we have come down. I hope you have sufficiently understood. It is both the truth of creation and the purpose of creation is we are God. Everything is Brahman, but we are not aware that we are Brahman. And we have to do some spiritual sadhana and it is to do that and slowly to go back to our original and become united with Brahman. That is probably the entire essence of this last six chapters. So we will now proceed to the mantra number four. आरभ्य कर्माणि उनान्वितानि भावांश सर्वान् विनियोजयेत् यहा तेशां अभावे कृत कर्मनाशः कर्मक्षयेयाति स तत्वतः अन्यः What does it mean? Having begun the work of creation associated with the qualities of Prakruti, which are called Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, He, means the Bhagawan Eshwara, employs all the effects of Prakruti. So billions of combinations of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, the permutations and combinations and when slowly they become less. First they become less and then they go on increasing and they reach a peak and again slowly like a cycle, slowly they come back down and down and down. So this process is called Srishti, the other process is called Laya. So this is the thing that is going on all the time. So He employs all the effects and again when the time comes, that which was created vanishes. There is Srishti and there is Laya. Again there is Srishti and there is Laya. This cyclic process is beautifully described in the Bhagavad Gita. Sahasra Yuga Pariyantam Ahahayat Brahmano Vidho Rathrim Yuga Sahasrantham Te Aho Rathra Vidho Janaha Brahma is the creator and His business is to create and His day time, what does He do? Like any one of us, He works very hard, that is Srishti and Stithi. And then what happens? Night time comes, Laya. So He goes to rest, just as we rest at night and again wake up and engage ourselves in activities. Brahma also, He works, He goes to sleep, He is called Rathri, night, rest, that is called Pralaya. And again His day time comes, He wakes up and He goes on doing. This process is beautifully, in a symbolical way, described in the Chandi, in the very first chapter, how Brahma was about to be attacked and His act of creation was to be destroyed by Madhu and Kaitava. And then knowledge comes in the form of Vishnu and removes these obstacles and then creation goes on merrily. Now in this fourth mantra, what it is telling, this process of creation and dissolution goes on and on and on. So Bhagawan, having begun the work of creation and how with the help of the Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, qualities of Prakruti, this is called Prakruti Gunas, then this combination of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas in infinite varieties, He employs all the effects of Prakruti and then He plays this game called Chess. Brahmayan, Sarvabhutani, Yantrarudhani, Mayaya and what happens after some time, Laya will come. Then slowly it comes back and that which was created now becomes vanished. When the creation is dissolved, where does it get dissolved? Into Himself. He abides in His own Self which is distinct from Prakruti. So a beautiful description of what God does. What does He do? He has two aspects. Actionless aspect called Nirguna Nirakara Brahman and the other aspect of action, Peetha action. Ramakrishna beautifully tries to make us understand when we look at Brahman without any activity or when we look at Shakti without any activity, we call that Shakti as Brahman. When the same Brahman is looked at with activity, activity means Rishti, Stithi and Laya. And as I explained yesterday, all activities are only three. Creation and continuing with that for some time and dissolution. Birth, living, death. Apply it to any activity you want. That explains everything. Karma means creation, maintenance and destruction. Nothing else. So what does God do when after some time this Leela is over, then slowly He withdraws it. Where from this creation has come? Himself. And where will it go? Into Himself. Into means not like water being poured in a pot but just as clay becomes an ornament and a pot or gold becomes an ornament, when the pot is dissolved, it will go back to its unmanifest formless aspect called clay. When the ornament is melted, it just becomes gold. It remained gold. It was from gold and gold has taken a form. Now that form has gone back into its original, what is called uniform or un-form. That's all. And this is the activity of Brahman called Shakti. So having begun this one, that is what God does it. When the creation is dissolved, He abides in His own Self for some time, there would be no activity. So these are two aspects, activity and no activity. That is what Sri Ramakrishna was trying to drill into our hardened brains, Brahman and Shakti. Does it happen one after the other? No. Simultaneously it happens. But our perception when we perceive one, we see that it is actionless. When we perceive the other one, other way, then we see it is full of activity. So the whole description is from our viewpoint. We don't know what is the Brahman's paramarthika point of view. That is what we have to keep in mind. So I'll give you one illustration. Sri Ramakrishna was given this beautiful vision exactly depicting what we just now read in the fourth mantra. He was describing graphically. One day, I was taking a walk on the banks of the Ganga. Suddenly, a beautiful young woman, later on he said that was Mahamaya, and she came out. At first, she was a very beautiful, slim looking Miss Universe. Then suddenly he found her. She is pregnant and within even a fraction of a second, her womb was full with the fetus baby. And then presently, she gave birth. And then she started fondling and looking after the baby with all the motherly love combined, Sarva Jagan Matru Bhava. And then next millisecond, she put on a ferocious appearance, went on put the baby in her mouth, Kacha, Kacha, Kacha. He went on chewing and swallowing, terrible even to imagine. And slowly, she disappeared, entered into the water, melted into the water. She came out of the water and entered back. What did she do? Srishti, Stithi and Laya. Is it not terrible? No, not terrible because it is a Leela. You make a sand castle and you admire it for some time and then you kick it out when you want to before going home. Nothing is done. It is just like play acting, but that is why God is called Sri Ranganatha. So this vision of Sri Ramakrishna is marvellous and that is going on every billy second. It is not that once he does it, it is going on. And how many Brahmans are there? Infinite number of Brahmans. How many Brahmandas are there? Infinite number of Brahmandas are there. So even if you say here is a dog, here is a cow and here is a human being, here is a mosquito, here is a fly, what are they doing? Plants, any living creature, each one, species, billions and billions of its kind. This Srishti, Stithi, Laya is going on all the time. We eat food and many times what is living, only what is living and then it becomes us. And then again it becomes recreated in the form of an offspring etc. So this subject becomes object, object becomes a subject, this is going on. This is a beautiful description. And who is doing all these things? That Divine Lord, Karmakshaye, inside the time of Pralaya, Yatisa Tattvataha. He remains as Himself and Anyaha. This word Anyaha means another. Another means what? A beautiful meaning is given. Even the Srishti, Stithi, Laya is going on. He remains as it were, completely detached. He is never involved. In Bhagavad Gita also it is said Bhagavan doesn't accept the merit or demerit of anybody. Everybody only goes through this rigmarole of doing something and experiencing the results of that something. So neither He accepts our Papa nor accepts our Punya. Each one of us are responsible. So what is the point here? What is the meaning of Anyaha? Anyaha means the Bhagavan, He remains as Brahman and He also becomes Shakti. When? One after another, for some time as Brahman, for some time as Shakti. No, simultaneously He manifests Himself as both Brahman and also Shakti. And all the time He doesn't do anything. All the time He is doing everything. What irrational thing you are talking, Swami? Well, this is the truth. And because we try to understand everything through our limited mind, which is divided by time, space and causation. Everything we have to look one after the other, left side, right side, front or back. But the thing is that every Jeeva also does exactly that thing only. So how do we overcome? Because we acquire a lot of Samskaras. But remember, Samskaras are at first the cause of our downfall. What is downfall? Forgetting who we are. But at the same time, those very Samskaras will teach us a lesson through suffering and ultimately we turn over, change our direction from outside to inside. Aavrutta chakshahu kashchit dheeraha, aavrutta chakshahu amrutatvam ichchan. I tried outside, it is not working. Now I will turn inside, I will search for God who is within. And that God within is going to be described graphically in the coming mantras also. So first there will be neutral Vasanas. Then there will be unspiritual Vasanas. Then there will be spiritual Vasanas. Then there will be no Vasanas at all. This was beautifully described in the Jeevan Mukti Viveka in two particular separate chapters by Vidyaranya Muni. They are called Vasanakshaya and Manonasha. I will not go into that subject. So we are all at this moment under the control of all the three Gunas. And Gunas create lot of habits, Samskaras and Vasanas, desires, unfulfillment etc. And that is the only way again with the help of the same Gunas, we will have to turn back towards the Lord. And that is what is going to tell us that a seeker should worship the great Lord in order to attain the knowledge of reality. What is knowledge of reality? I am not separate from Brahman. That is the knowledge of reality. But for that purpose, self-surrender. I must surrender myself to God. That is going to be described graphically in the fifth mantra. आदिः ससंयोग निनित्तहेतु परः त्रिकालात अकलोपि दृष्टः तम् विष्वरूपं भवभूतं ईडियं देवं सचितस्तं उपास्य पूर्वं Very beautiful mantra again. But put it in such words, it could create a little bit of confusion. But really, there should not be any confusion. What is the meaning? The great Lord, that is Ishwara, call Him Ishwara, call Him Brahman, doesn't matter. In the beginning, the cause which unites the soul with the body, that means creation, which we had seen earlier. But at the same time, He is above the three kinds of time. What are the three kinds of time? Time means always three kinds. What are that? The past, the present and the future. You cannot think of any one aspect without thinking of the other. For example, when you say present, we are denying the past and the future. When we are talking about the past, we are denying the present and the future. When we are thinking about the future, we are denying the past and the present. That is the characteristic of our very mind to divine time. That is why this Kaala, what is called Parichcheda, limitation of Kaala, limitation by space, limitation by an object. Kaala Parichcheda, Desha Parichcheda, Vastu Parichcheda, all the three go together. So the great Lord is the beginning, He who created this universe, the cause which unites the soul with the body. He is above the three kinds of time and He is Akalaha, Akhandaha, Ekaha, Poornaha, without any parts, because part means Jada. This is a peculiar Vedantic idea. Anything that is having a part and anything, every object is made up of parts and anything that is made up of parts is a Jada, is an inert thing and it is not meant for its own sake. It is meant for somebody who is other than what is without part and who is full of consciousness. Example is, you build a house. A house is made up of various parts. These are the walls, these are the windows, these are the doors, this is the floor, this is the roof, this is the staircase, etc. etc. Do you think the house builds itself for its own sake or you the conscious being build the house? Is it a cycle, bicycle? Is it a car? Is it an aeroplane? Is it a computer? Is it a cot? Anything that you can think of is made up of parts and whatever is made up of parts is made for a conscious being. So our body is made up of parts, Pancha Bhutas. Our mind is made up of parts, again Pancha Bhutas, but Pancha Sukshma Bhutas, so called Tanmatras. Therefore, they are Jada. Jada means inert. Inert means without any consciousness, but for what purpose? For the purpose of a conscious being and when we are attached, we are called Jiva and when we are not attached, we are called Ishwara or Paramatma. That is being said here. So that is Paraha. He completely remains unattached. Trikalath Paraha, that means He is timelessness, He is Shashvata, etc. Akalaha is partless, that means He is pure consciousness. And Drishtahaha, so people understand there is a being apart from this world because the world is a mixture of a living and non-living, a conscious and non-conscious and He must be beyond that, separate from that. Tam, that Brahman, Vishwaroopam, He alone, one without a second, alone is manifesting as this entire Vishwa. That is why in the Vishnu Sahasranama, the very first Nama name of Vishnu is Vishwam, Vishwaroopam. We have seen it in Narayana Suktam, we have seen it in Medha Suktam, we also are seeing it in the Purusha Suktam. So Vishwaroopam, Bhava, Bhoutam. Bhava, that means whatever is present now. Bhouta, whatever is in the past. So whether it is the whole world is nothing but a manifestation of time, space and causation. Bhava, Bhoutam. Idiyam, Idiyam means adorable, worship worthy, the greatest. There is only one way to get out of this samsara. It is to pray to Him, to surrender to Him, to completely leave ourselves in His hands. And that is why He is called Idiyam. No other thing in this world can save us. Only God can save us. That is why He is called Tam Adihe Devam and He is Nimitta Hetu. He is the cause of this entire universe. He is the universe, that Devam, that Divine Lord. But you are describing that Divine Lord. He is the creator and where is He to be found? So you need not go anywhere. Upasyam, He alone has to be meditated upon, contemplated upon. First hear about Him, then meditate upon Him, then completely become one with Him. Shravanam, Mananam, Nidhidhyasanam. Where is He but? Sachittastham. He is nowhere else. He is everywhere. But He is especially to be found in your own heart. That is why all the devotees, all of us who sing the Aratrikam hymns in the evening, what do we say? Namo Namo Prabhu Vakyamana Atithaha. But Jyoti Rajyoti Ujjvala Hridi Kandhara. You are manifest in the form of the light of the lights. Where? Hridi Kandhara. In each one of our deepest part of the heart which is compared to a cave. Cave means what? A secret place. He is hidden. We are looking for Him everywhere. We are looking only for Him. Nobody is looking for anybody else. Everybody is looking for God only in the form of I don't want to die. I don't want to be ignorant or foolish. I don't want to be suffering. I want to be Sat, Chit and Ananda. That's why we pray that let me not be subject to death etc. So Swachh Tastam, Upasya and Purvam. What is the meaning of Purvam? That earlier you have already been praying to Him because your very knowledge that God exists. He is the goal of life and only by reaching Him, I can be free from all this. And you heard about it. Slowly you have been worshipping, not wholeheartedly. But now you will have to devote more and more time. This beautiful idea that He is the only one worthy of worship comes even in the first hymn of Om Hreem Hritham Koma Chalo Unha Jit Unha E Diyaha. We will talk about it in our next class.

Svetasvatara Upanishad Lecture 35 on 01 July 2023

2023-07-11T15:57:06Z

Sevak123:

== Full Transcript (Not Corrected) ==
We have been coming to the end of practically the fifth chapter of the Shweta Shawra Upanishad. In our last class, we have been dealing with mantra number eight. Please remember, this fifth chapter has only 14 mantras. This eighth mantra is telling us, which has been repeated innumerable times in various other places, especially Upanishads. ANGUSHTA MATRAHA RAVITULYA RUPAHA SANKALPA AHANKARA SAMANVITAHA YAHA UDDHEH GUNENA ATMA GUNENA CHA EVA ARAGRA MATROHI APAROPI DRUSHTAHA VALAGRA SHATA BHAGASYA SHATADHA KALPITASYA CHA BHAGO JEVA SAVIGNEHA SACHA ANANTYAYA KALPATE These are the two mantras combined together, eighth and ninth. So, for the sake of facility called Upasana, how to think of that Infinite Being, the Supreme Reality, who is beyond thought, beyond speech, of course beyond action. We will have to cherish that Supreme Being in our hearts. ANGUSHTA MATRAHA, that is being described here. Of the size of a thumb, but bright like the sun, associated with wishful thinking and individuality. And also with the qualities of the intellect, the mind and the body, the Jeeva is seen as if different, like the tip of a gourd. We have quite elaborately discussed this point. We will just go through only the summary of it, the essence of it. ANGUSHTA MATRAHA, of the size of one's own thumb, not an elephant's thumb, but of each person, a baby's thumb for the baby, a grown-up person's thumb for a grown-up person, etc. This is for the sake of, because we think and every thought is called Vritti and every Vritti is within the mind, within the heart, therefore he is called Angushta Matraha. But it should not fool us into thinking his power is any less, because he is called Jeeva Atma. Jeeva is body and mind, Atma is pure consciousness, so that pure consciousness is Ravi Tulya Roopaha. If at all any comparative analogy can be given, any metaphorical expression can be given, this is called Ravi Tulya Roopaha, is more brilliant than the sun itself. Now here, very important point we have to say, I am going to tell you, supposing there is a blazing fire and there is a small spark, now do you see any difference in the heating power, burning power of the fire? For most of us, the immediate, hot answer would be, where is the comparison between a small spark and this blazing fire, what is called flagration, maybe entire forest is burning. We could not be mistaken more than that. So the fire power, the heating power, the burning power, whether it is the smallest part of the fire, a spark or a mountain high fire, it makes no difference at all. Oh, there is no difference, then why do we feel if we cannot even go nearer anywhere the blazing fire, that is because of the Upadhi. What is Upadhi? If you put the same spark, if that spark is expressing itself in the form of a huge mountain of fire sticks, firewood, then it would be manifesting more power. But if it is one spark, the difference is not in the power of the fire, in the manifestation of the fire, but the difference is in the Upadhi. Upadhi means same consciousness in a mosquito, same consciousness in Shri Ram Krishna, let us say. As Chaitanya, there is no difference, as manifestation there is a difference, otherwise there is no difference at all. So we have to grasp this point, the difference that we see does not belong to the consciousness, just as the burning power, there is no difference in the spark and in a flagration. It is because of the medium through which that fire is manifesting, that is the most important point. So in a glowing worm, maybe the light is very less, but in the midday sun, maybe it is more, but that doesn't make any difference, slightest difference. The difference is in the medium, not in the original matter, that is a very important point for us to understand. Extend this example anywhere else, you see, you prepare rice pudding, you just put a spoonful of sugar in one, in the other you put a 2 kg of sugar. The difference is not in the sweetness of the sugar, the difference is because of what is called Upadhi, more and less of the quantity of the sugar, but the sweetness remains absolutely the same. So this is what the Rishi, Shaitashvatara Rishi wants us to understand, but whether the Chaitanyam is confined within the pancha pranas of this every human being or non-human being, its power is absolutely same. And Bhagavad Gita graphically describes when that realization comes as if a million suns have at once risen and who can describe the splendor of the million suns, but what is the problem? Upadhi, Upadhi means limiting adjunct, what are our limiting adjuncts? That is the body and the mind, nothing else, body and mind. Here also very important point we have to understand, when we are talking about a limiting adjunct, the world binds us, no sir, the world neither binds us nor releases us. The world is the world, it is neutral, just like there is a sweet, if the sweet is attractive, the sweet has nothing to do with attractiveness. If I developed a taste, it is fine, if somebody developed a hatred, that is not the fault of the sweet at all. So we see in our day-to-day life, same thing produces what makes us extremely attached at one point of time, makes us extremely hateful at other points of time. So it doesn't depend on the object, it doesn't change, it is our reaction that changes, this point we have to understand. So every Jeevatma, why is it called Jeevatma? Jeevatma is nothing but Atma, Paramatma is unlimited, there is no limiting adjunct and all limiting adjuncts are divided into as we have often I have mentioned are three, time, space and object. Desha Parichcheda, Kaala Parichcheda and Vastu Parichcheda. But the mind, it is bound by its own gunas, Sankalpa, first comes Sankalpa. What is Sankalpa? Our desires, our imaginations, our Poorva Janma Samskaras, the Samskaras that we are creating now and then with every thought there is an Ahamkara. Suppose something is liked by us, immediately what do we say? Ahamkara steps in, takes over us and says, I love that object. So Ahamkara Samanvitha, what is Jeevatma? Sankalpa means all the Samskaras, Vasanas, Ahamkara, combination of these. And then Buddher Guna, Buddher Guna means the motivations, the outlooks, the imaginations, the desires of the mind. And here is a word Atma Gunena, we should not mistake this Atma Guna, Atma has no guna, Paramatma has no guna. But here Atma Guna means simply we are limited by our body, a weak person's outlook is different, a strong person's outlook is different, an intelligent person's outlook is different, every person's outlook and not only it is influenced by the Buddhis Gunas, but it is also influenced by our body and incidentally both body and mind are modifications of Prakruti Gunas, Prakruti that is Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. Then what happens? Completely limited by body and mind. What happens? Aaragra Matraha, Aaragra means the tip, very fine tip of a needle. Previously this is used, this very sharp needle is placed at the end of a stick for controlling buffalos, bulls etc. for agriculture, for driving them, otherwise they will not listen and that is why even a small child can easily control these animals. And if it is a horse, we use a whip, if it is slaves, whips are used. So what happens? The life of a Jeevatma, what we see particularly in this life, particularly from the outside, external point of view, because we have no insight what a person is inside and it is very good. I just make it a bit light. What does it mean? What do I mean? I mean if we can see the inside of the other person or persons, there will not be two friends left out. If I know your thoughts and if you know my thoughts, we will never be friends and there will be no marriage at all. So we have to understand that point. What is the man's life? The tip of an iceberg. We know a huge mountain of ice is hidden. That is what Jung, one of the greatest 19th century psychologists had found out that 99% of a man's life is completely hidden. This is what he calls the power of the unconscious and not even a little bit of it, a little is there, that is called subconscious. And what we see outside is a manifestation, expression of what is there deep in the unconscious. Of course, the bubble has started its journey, sometimes like volcanoes. Later on, you can see two people are there, they have been friends. Suddenly the volcano bursts out and a person may kill the other person or he may create a lifelong enmity. We can see it. But if anybody says, oh, I did not mean it, that is the greatest liar in this world. Whatever is not already within can never come out. If it has come out through speech, that means it is there already. So Aragraha Matraha Aparohi Drishtaha. What is the essence? Jivatma is none other than Paramatma. But for the sake of Upasana, contemplation, we can think of within the cavity of our heart. But this Jivatma is completely bound by what? Sankalpa. That is desires and what is called fascinations, imaginations, desires, hatreds, likes, dislikes, etc. And every time a thought comes, that thought is invariably associated with Ahankara. And then there are so many unconscious Purva Janma, Janma, Janma Antara Samskaras are there. They are called Buddhi Gunas. Of course, accordingly, we create our own body. That point is going to come out a little later on. This is the beautiful imagery of a Jivatma. But the Mantra 9, which is also related, what does it say? Valagra Shatabhagasya Shatadha Kalpitasyaja Bhago Jivaha Savigneha Sacha Anantyaya Kalpate Vala means hair. Take anybody's hair, it doesn't matter, and split it into 100 parts. Take that 100th part and split it into another 100, means 100 into 100. And then take that one 10,000th part of it. And the Jiva looks like that. That means we, the earlier idea, we only see the tip of the iceberg is again re-expressed in the form of the one 10,000th part of a hair. If hair is so small, how this Jiva looks so small, Bhagaha Jivaha. But never mistake, Savigneha, he should be known as he is. And who is he? Sacha Anantyaya Kalpate. He is none other than that Infinite Soul. And why is it? Poornamadaha Poornamidham Poornat Poornamudhekshate Poornasya Poornamadaya Poornameva Avasishyate Because the cause is infinite. If the cause is infinite, then the effect also must be infinite. Because if any person foolishly thinks, and if a person thinks like that, he is called a foolish person, that the infinite can be divided, can be subtracted, can be multiplied, can be added. No, it will remain infinite minus infinite, infinite plus infinite, infinite into infinite, infinite divided by infinite. It will be exactly like that only. The thing is, you have to go a bit deeper and say, if there is infinite, who is there besides infinite to go on dividing it, calculating it? Even while we are calculating, we are saying infinity. Infinity will not be infinity if I am calculating, because infinity has become, that is you and this is me. Don't ignore me. And one thing very important, that to understand these two mantras, everybody's, even a mosquito's ahankara is infinite. If you can meditate upon it, you will understand the entire essence of the Upanishads. This is the problem. Alright, so we will go on to the 10th mantra. What is the 10th mantra telling? Earlier we have seen that tvam puman, tvam sri, tvam kumaraha, uttava kumari, tvam ruddhaha, dhando yati grihitva, jarjara dehaha. We have seen all that. You are the young man, you are the young woman, you are the old man tottering with the help of a dhanda. Where? In the 4th chapter. In the earlier chapter, where is 5th chapter. Anyway, so having said that, brahman is the man, brahman is the woman, but oh, man is brahman, woman is brahman, then I know about brahman. Well, we will be foolish enough to say, to make that point clear, the 10th mantra is telling that brahman is naiva sthri na puman eshaha, na chayeva ayam na pum sakaha, yadhyat shareram adate, tena tena karakshate. This jiva is surely not a woman nor a man and surely not a eunuch. Whichever body the atma takes up because of the purva janma karma. It is identified with that and it will be expressed as that person. This mantra also doesn't require much of an explanation. What is it telling? Earlier it is said that same God is a man, a woman, a old man, old woman, baby and boy, girl and man, human, non-human, plants, everything. sarvam kalvidam brahman. But lest we may mistake that what we say and then not go further, naiva sthri, brahman is not a woman, na puman nor a male. And then there may be some clever logicians, Oh, you mean he is eunuch. No, na chayeva ayam. Ayam means esha purushaha, esha paramatma, na pum sakaha. That means no gender can be attributed to him because when there is no body, what is sthri? Body. What is man? Body. What is woman? Body. What is a mosquito? Body. What is a mountain? Body. When the body itself is a limiting factor, brahman by definition is beyond desha, kala, vastu, paricheta, ilakshanaha. So therefore, na chayeva ayam na pum sakaha. But he is manifesting as our understanding, for our present understanding. yad yath shariram adathe. Whatever, yad yath, whatever, shariram, body, this atma, chaitanya, accepts for its further evolution. And how? Because of purva janma karma, adathe, tena tena, by that body, sarakshate, that means that person will be identified. Oh, this is a woman, this is a man, this is a eunuch, this is a baby, this is an animal, this is a tree, this is a mountain, etc., etc. Let us not be fooled by these expressions. What is inside is nothing but pure brahman, just as a baby may mistake this is a small pot, that is a big pot. From the pot's point of view, bigness, smallness, roundness, flatness, conical shape, etc., color, etc., are absolutely experienceable. But from the viewpoint of the brahman, clay doesn't know that I am a pot, and pot also doesn't know I am a clay. That is why the scripture is needed, Oh pot, don't go to pot, you are really not a pot, you are only clay, pure clay. Oh, if I am clay, I am everything, absolutely. That is what I want you to know. Just a small funny incident, Pramana Maharshi was very fond of quoting this one. There was a great soul called Vibhu, and that Vibhu Gita, Pramana Maharshi was very famous, pure Advaitic work, and he had a disciple, and the disciple was very dull, and then the Guru, out of compassion, was trying to teach him, but he was not going inside. So what happened one day, there was a festival, the royal family was being taken in the street on a big elephant, and this Vibhu also happened to go there, and then he suddenly saw his disciple with gaping mouth, he was gazing at the splendor of the elephant, let alone the king, even the elephant has been beautifully decorated, in Kerala people decorate it with Onam tie, so this person has gone, gaping mouth, he was, complete concentration, which he never had, when his Guru was teaching all those things, Guru went in a disguise, and then he said, what is happening here? Oh, the king is riding on an elephant. Oh, riding, I understand, what do you mean by on? He said, you know, he is up and the elephant is below. Oh, king is above and the elephant is below. I don't understand what is above and below. And the disciple thought, oh, this fellow must be the dullest fellow on earth, but out of compassion, he said, look here, I am bending down, and then you straddle, on my back, and the Guru did that, and then he said, you are above like the king, I am like the elephant below, but by the Guru realized, this fellow is never going to realize the truth, so out of his infinite grace, he bestowed his grace, immediately this above and below, left and right, and inside and outside, these are all the, what is called playful thoughts, of the mischievous mind, nothing to do with reality, these are all the expressions of the thoughts, vrittis, kalpana vrittis, and then at that time, by the grace of the Guru, by the touch of the Guru, he became enlightened, immediately he realized his Guru, this is what we have to do, usually whoever, makes us a better person, is a Guru, and whoever makes us a duller person, is a Guru, anyone, this is my definition of Guru, and Guru, and sometimes disciples write, Param Poojaniya Guru Maharaj, Bengali, you have to be careful, so what is this, 10th mantra is telling, God is neither woman, nor man, nor nakomsakaha, but that means what, you cannot confine him, as a gender, but identify with everybody, the same consciousness, is peeping out as it were, in every prani, what about non-pranis, jada, mountains, etc, we are not able to see, but the divine, the realized soul will see, because there is nothing, besides Brahman, and Brahman is existence, pure existence, or as Swami Vivekananda puts it, existence absolute, knowledge absolute, and bliss absolute, this is the 10th mantra, we have seen, this is just to recollect, I told you in the 4th chapter, 3rd and 4th, what does it mean, you are woman, you are the man, you are the young boy, you are the young girl, and you are the old person, whatever we see, is called Vishvatomukha, and then, a beautiful blue butterfly, another insect, which is green in color, when we see, first class lightening in the summer season, where out of the deep black clouds, that beautiful, shining, lightening, takes up, then, all the seasons, all the samudras, because you understand, why samudras, what is the speciality of the earth, first it was burning, with thousands of degrees of Celsius, it is just, nobody can describe it, so hot it was, before creation, and then, slowly it started cooling down, slowly, a lot of it had become water, slowly, oxygen started coming out, and slowly, the first creature, from the inorganic to the organic, started peeping out, started running here and there, what the modern scientists call, amoeba, one celled creature, so, everything is Bhagwan, Anadhimat, and is beginningless, and Vibhutve Natvam Vartase, Vibhu means, all pervading, and from you, Yathaha, from whom, Vishwa Bhuvanani Jatani, the entire universe has come out, so, what is the point here, point is, when we say, I am, Aham, problem, is not Aham, problem, when Aham, gets joined with, some Kaara, you know in South Indian languages, Kaara means chilly, very hot chilly, so, anything that joins, becomes hot, Aham Kaara, so, we cannot get rid of Aham, because, Aham means me, and existence, can never be made into, non-existence, this marvelous fact, has been so beautifully put, in the, second, sixteenth shloka, of the second chapter, of the, Bhagavad Gita, Na Sato Vidyate Bhavo, Na Bhavo Vidyate Sathah, Ubhayor Api Drushton Taha, Anayoho, Tattva Darshi Bhi, existence, can never become non-existence, non-existence, the question of non-existence, becoming existence, is impossible, impossible, irrational, but, there the meaning is, that, what do we see this world, world is not, Sat, world is not, Asat, world is, Mithya, what is it, Sat, look at it, with a limited, instrumentality, that is called, Mithya, Mithya is not, Asat, but at the same time, it is not, fully Sat, so that, mistaking, like as we mistake, the serpent, in a rope, is, is the serpent, cannot be, unless there is a rope, there is a common factor is there, but because of the poor light, because of our Poorva Samskara, fear of the snake, we see a snake, we never see our mother, we never mistake, a rope, for our mother, or for our brother, etc. So, I am, has absolutely, no form, but as soon as this, I am, enters into, any particular, limitation, that means body, mind, immediately it becomes, Kuman, Stri, Napum Sakaha, Kumaraha, Kumari, or, Prithaha, or, Mosquito, Dog, Donkey, Elephant, Mountain, anything, so, that is why, we have to understand, that we are all, individuals, what do you understand, by the word individual, oh sir, you are separate, I am separate, you are an individual, I am also an individual, stupidity, can go no further, because, what is the meaning, you spell it properly, in, individuality, means what, indivisible, you are saying, I am divisible, you are feeling, I am divisible, you are saying, I am indivisible, the truth is, coming out, unconsciously, I am an individual, means, there is no duality in me, but, if there is no duality, you don't exist, I also don't exist, this is a factor, again and again, I am emphasizing, if, you don't know, what is darkness, you will not know, what is light, if you don't know, who is male, you will never know, who is female, if you do not know, what is right, you will not know, what is wrong, so, if you do not know, that somebody is there, you will not even know, I am there, then, will everything be shoonya, no, whatever remains, that is, inexpressible, that is why, Sri Ram Krishna told to Vidyasagar, everything has become polluted, because, everything has been expressed, and it came out from the, travelling through the saliva, right from the, kapha of the throat of the person, through the saliva of the person, and it becomes uchishta, but, Brahman, has not come, so, this word Brahman, also is not Brahman, it is only, for the sake of, convenience, conveying actually, we move on to the, eleventh, whatever the essence we discussed, that, everything is God, that is being discussed now, if Brahman, has entered in the form of a, a mosquito or a man, then he becomes an individual, he does not become, he appears, like, the reflections, in different mirrors, a reflection is not actual thing, it is, it is only available for, for experiencing, perception, but, not, available for, interaction, so, we will move on to the, eleventh, and here also, same idea, is being, extended, the idea, earlier, which earlier, mentioned, why do we get, human form, why does somebody get, a dog's form, why does somebody else get, a mosquito's form, why does somebody get a man's form, a woman's form, why does somebody get, a beautiful person's form, or an ugly person's, tall person, short person, thin person, fat person, very intelligent person, non-intelligent person, this is our famous, Purva Janma Karma Siddhanta, he said, Karma Anugane Anukramena Dehi, Dehi means Jeevatma, Karma Anugane Anukramena, he has no choice, but that, body-mind complex, along with the, what is called, reflection of the Jada Vasa, has to enter, into the very houses, he has been building up, in his previous life, through his activities, thoughts, speech, as well as, external activities, and this Upanishad, is Pramana, this is called Shruti, so, this is the Pramana, authoritative text, for our understanding, that this Karma Siddhanta, is not the creation of any person, it is, the teaching of the, that scripture, that is why, every, between two persons, what a difference, and between the same person, if the same person, if he is educated, he becomes somebody else, not non-educated, becomes somebody else, person does exercise, becomes somebody, he doesn't do exercise, becomes somebody, he thinks deeply, becomes somebody, he doesn't think, and then, he thinks, he thinks, there are some people, who think, that they think, we have to be careful about it, so, just as the body, is nourished by the food, and water, that is showered into it, embodied one is also nourished, by the wishful thinking, the desire to touch, and see, and, as a result, delusion comes, and according to, its needs, deeds, successively, this Jeevatma, assumes different forms, in different places, under different circumstances, good or evil, and experiences, happiness or unhappiness, this is what, Patanjali Rishi tells, very beautifully, he, summarizes the whole thing, and says, the Jati, Aayu, and, Bhoga, these three are determined, by Polo Janma Karmas, in this life, we cannot go beyond that, but we can, lay the foundation, for our future life, if we awake, and then, be careful, what we do in this life, and that is called, progress. Now, a little bit of, this PLA, it is also, following the earlier mantras, what is it? It is a beautiful description, again, in different words, which we have already seen, but in different words, the, what is Jeeva, what is Jeevatma, what is this so called, individual soul, Sankalpana, Sparshana, Drishti, Mohai, Sankalpana, first of all, error, Sankalpa, means Sankalpa, Sankalpa means, desiring something, Kama, and how do we desire? If, I have been accustomed, to certain things, and I become attached, to certain things, I will start looking, for those things, and even, when I look at something, I will be attracted, only to those things, because of, my habit, my conditioning, in my previous life, simple example, if I am nurtured, in South India, I naturally, love South Indian food, rarely, there is an exception, but if I am, born in Mexico, or China, or Wuhan, or anywhere, and then, I will be, eating, what is called, even, uncooked, still alive, insects, etc., even, what we call, grasshoppers, etc., beautifully, there, so, Sankalpana, I desire, how do I desire? And, because of, the Pashamskaras, then, what do we do? Sparshana, I want to touch something, and Drishti, I want to see, that means, touch, is a very, powerful instrument, you have to know, we have got, five sense organs, what is the second one? Sparsha, Shabda, Sparsha, Rupa, Prasa, Tanda, of these, Rasa, and Sparsha, are very powerful, and, of these, this Rasa, is more powerful, even this Sparsha, even the, male-female union, what is called, sexual, pleasure, is also Sparsha Sukha, but, in reality, everything is, Sparsha only, so, some, sight, touches my eye, some sound, touches my ear, some, smell, touches my nose, some taste, touches, my body, so, everything, is nothing but, only Sparsha, in various ways, so, Sankalpana, through that, because of the, previous, what is called, prism, we always, look at the world, through the prism, of our Samskaras, then, what do I do? I want to, touch, and, I want to, see, but, by extension, it means, all the, other, sense organs also, what happens, Mohai, as soon as I come, I have some experience, then, I become deluded, how do I become deluded? through, likes and, dislikes, Raga, and, Dvesha, both are, delusions only, in most of the cases, both, become, detrimental, to our, further progress, for example, if, somebody, gives us, some sweet, immediately, we fall in love, oh, this sweet is, excellent, exquisite, I would like, to have it, I love it, what does, I love mean? means, I want it, again and again, okay, supposing, bitter gourd curry, somebody supplies, and, it is, it is prepared, as it is supposed, to be prepared, not like, Andhra Pradesh, and then, it creates, oh, my God, oh, like that, we don't like it, so, that is also Mohai, why? because, if you eat too many sweets, you will, develop, sugar disease, and if you don't, eat, what you are supposed, to eat, this, this is, will not be, cured, Moha, both, about both, we have, wrong concepts, wrong ideas, wrong reactions, wrong, even detachment, my Gurudev, Swami Yudhishthira Maharaj, used to tell, hatred, is, more strong, attachment, even love, we can forget, our loved, objects, but, never ever, hate, hateful, objects, that, Ravanasura, was intelligent, Hiranyakashipu, was intelligent, Kamsa, was intelligent, Shishupala, Dantavakthra, were intelligent, the quick way, to reach, quickly, the Divine, is, through, hatred, because, hatred is, greater attachment, to, anything, that we like, especially, God, now, what happens, some, spatials, etc., and combined, goaded, by the Sankalpa, paro janma samskara, Rasa, Rasa, means, that which we eat, food, Ambu, this is drinking, eating, and drinking, this is the, normal, life of a, every animal, but, how do this, food, grow, how do the water also come? Through, Vrishti, two meanings here. One meaning is plenty. Another meaning is a normal meaning through rain. How after the scorching heat of the summer season when the thick clouds carry that life-giving waters and then the lightning, the thundering and starts raining furiously. Oh, how glad even the peacocks go on dancing out of sheer joy. All the birds will be singing. Everything will be happening. Oh, what does it mean? We are going to get plenty of food. So what happens? This eating, this drinking aided only because of the vrishti. Vrishti means rain. Rain means the grace of God. Then we go on getting attached. We touch it and then we see them and then we experience them and then this sparshana means actually experience also. Atma vriddhi janma. Then this is marvellous. I want to be born again. I want to eat it again. I want to drink it again. Like that. So then what happens? Because of this cycle karma anugani anukramena dehi. Dehi means this embodied being. Karma anukramena. Purva janma karmas. Like Buddha used to say that the wheel of a cart inevitably follows the footsteps of the oxen. That means what? Karma phala follows jiva everywhere. Karma anugani anukramena. Just our karma phalas follow what we have done in the past and what does the dehi do. Sthaneshu roopani abhisamprapadyate. Sthaneshu. In the exact deserving place. Roopani. Various forms. Billions and billions and billions of forms. Abhisamprapadyate. Each prani, each jivatma exactly is taken by the divine Ishwara to the particular place. So what is the meaning of this mantra? Be careful. First of all examine your samskaras, sankalpas because our sankalpa is an expression but our samskara is the iceberg that is hidden there and that is influencing us from the beginning. It can take us towards God. It can also take us somewhere else. So these samskaras prompt man to hear, see, touch, smell, taste and these sensual experiences and he develops hatred to somebody, hatred to some experiences and attached to some experiences and whatever he likes he wants to repeat again and again and again thereby he gets attached to the objects. So a man who is deeply attached to an object is likely to be born that very thing in future lives. Many times our scriptures tell us that these persons. What happens? Supposing it is there in the Bhagavatam and some other Puranas also and I will give some examples also from the Bhagavatam. The famous example is Bharata. He was a great Rishi but towards the end he developed an inordinate attachment to a baby deer and then it started growing. It thought this is my mother and he was loving. All his meditation, contemplation is only because attachment means we think only what we are attached to. This was the great truth Jesus Christ tells again and again. A man's heart is where his treasure lies and treasure means what? Whatever we are attached to. So this Bharata, he became a deer in the next birth and then the next birth he was born again after exhausting that karma and he was enlightened inside and he understood through Viveka I should never be attached. So he stopped talking. That's why he got the name Jada. Jada means idiotic person. Whatever his family members were asking him to do, he was doing and then the funny thing is you see we say family members love each other. The parents, the brothers, the sisters, everybody oh this fellow is an idiot. We can use him for our own happiness. All the hard work of ploughing, of working, of harvesting, of watering, of sweeping, of fetching water, of cleaning the house, of looking after the animals, everything was given. Ultimately he became so Takada. Takada means very strong. Then King Rahugana was one day passing there and one of his palanquin bearers had fallen sick and somebody pointed out here is a Takada fellow. He can definitely do that. We know that story. I'm not going into it. So it is also said when it is Bhagavatam, story also is there. When a man intensely is attached to a woman or a woman is intensely attached to a man, he will be born in the next birth as the woman and she will be born in the next birth as the man. Be careful what you want to become next birth. So every person gets next birth according to what the person. This is what Bhagavan Krishna also tells so beautifully. So at the end of one's life whatever thought is prominent, and his birth will be also there. So similarly a woman thinks of her husband at the time of death, naturally she gets the body of a man. And here it is written in the Bhagavatam, 3rd Skanda, 31st section, 41th Shloka. A living entity who as a result of attachment to a woman in his previous life has been endowed with the form of a woman foolishly looks upon Maya in the form of a man. A man foolishly looks upon Maya in the form of a woman and a woman foolishly looks upon a man as because of Maya as her husband or lover or whatever it is. What was this person previously? A man was a woman and the woman was a man. Beautiful quotation is there. Bhagavatam is a treasure house of the very essence of the Purushas like Bhagavad Gita, sometimes better than Bhagavad Gita because beautiful stories are there. So the Lord clearly says, So individual beings endless journey because of all the attachment. That is being said, Atma-ivruddhi-janma. Ivruddhi means endless cycle of birth and death, janma and all because of the Purva Karma. But there is always a way open to us, nourished by our imaginations, desires, enjoyments and attachments. We take different forms in different worlds in accordance with our actions. Thus life after life, the story of the individual continues until there would come a time unable to be here because of the Purva Janma Punya. A God comes in the form of a Guru, shows the way out. Everybody will be attaining liberation. That means no Buddhist. So what are the factors that decide the type of form that the individual gets or enumerated. Same topic in the earlier we have seen Purva Janma Karma determines our present body etc. and what are the things. Same idea so we don't need to waste too much of our time. So the embodied being assumes many bodies, gross and subtle, still subtle, chosen by its own Kriya Gunaihi, Atma Gunaihi. Kriya Gunaihi means whatever activities we are doing, whatever actions we are performing, with what outlook we are performing and Atma Gunaihi means what our body and our mind are interdependent. That's why we say psychosomatic relationship. Somo-psychic, psychosomatic. Many of our diseases because of the body, mental diseases. Because of the mind, physical diseases. Because one is subtle body, one is gross body. Both are bodies. The difference is only gross and subtle and they cannot work independently. They are totally dependent upon each other. So tendencies, actions, quality of the mind, these determine. So what happens? So he does some things which he is supposed to do. Sometimes he doesn't do. Sometimes he will not do what he is supposed to do. He will do the opposite things and they will produce Samskaras and those Samskaras produce appropriate physical expressions. Soakshmani means subtle and Bahuni Rupani, that means Sthulani, also infinite number, can be an insect, can be tree, can be animal, can be bird, etc. And Tesham and the manifestation of all those forms are because of what? Because of one's own Karma, because of the Sattva Rajas or Tamas and again because of the very sheer physical presence of the body and then Sanyoga Hetuhu. These are the real Hetuhu means causes. Sanyoga means how a Jeeva is brought into a particular body and mind of course is always there and that mind requires this particular refined tailor-made instrument for the expression of its Samskaras. So the Upanishad is only reinforcing it here. But how does a human being, we don't remember what we have done, that is where the Upanishad tells there is a Paraha, there is somebody. What is he called? Vidhata. The other cause which connects the individual with these various bodies is God, popularly known as Vidhata. Vidhata doesn't do as per his own wish. He only sees like a factory supervisor, whatever a worker, how many hours, how nicely worked, his wages will be given exactly. So God resides over all actions and enjoins results according to our own actions. That's why he is called either Karmadyaksha or Karmaphala Radha. And then Sri Ramakrishna gives a beautiful example. So there was a prince and as a child, he always wants to play a game of he will be washerman, some other boy will be made to bend and on his back this prince goes on washing his clothes. Why? Because in his past life he was a washerman because of some real cause. He has what you call, he has a good fortune. He has become a prince. He must have done something good. I don't know what it is. That is what Ramana Maharshi says, Kartru Ragnaya Prapyate Phalam. Kartru means God. Only by God's will one gets connected with the Karmaphala. That is how it happens. Then there is the Samsara. This Samsara we were describing with Ashwatharishi. Does it come to an end? The mantra that ends shows the way out which we will talk about tomorrow and also I will give you 13, 14 we will complete and also the summary.
[[Category:Svetasvatara Upanishad]]

Svetasvatara Upanishad Lecture 36 on 02 July 2023

2023-07-10T04:24:46Z

Sevak123: serveral instances of Karma phala changed to Karmaphala

== Full Transcript (Not Corrected) ==
We have been studying in the last class the 12th mantra of the 5th chapter of the Shwetashvatara Upanishad. This is a beautiful Upanishad and especially in this 5th chapter, the fact that each one of us are responsible for our own fate, what we call karma phala, prarabdha in this life. No one else is responsible. In fact, to put it even better, we are Brahmas. Each one of us are creating our own world and it has no similarity to the other person's world. The most astonishing fact of this statement is, every creature, that is, every creature who thinks I am the doer, so naturally this doesn't apply to animals, insects, children, madcaps, etc. Anybody who thinks I am the doer is subjected to the result of one's own actions. But the astonishing fact is each one of us are Brahmas. We create our own world. We maintain our own world. We destroy our own world. So that is the first fact. The second fact is each one of us are living in our own peculiar individual world and we don't know what the other person's world is. Once somebody had written a very beautiful book. In fact, it is not a writing. It is full of photographs. What does it show? It shows that a child is sitting in a room at the feet of his dad and his mother and father are sitting there. So the child, his view of father, mother and the entire world is completely incomprehensible to father and mother. The world of the wife is incomprehensible to the husband. The world of the husband is incomprehensible to the world of the wife. So each one of us are living in our own peculiar world. Can we understand it better through any analogy? Yes, dream. Even if a thousand people of us are living in the same room, go to bed and we have our own dreams, there is no resemblance. Every one of us are living in our own created world. So the fact that exactly the same thing happens in the waking world we have to infer from the example of the dream. So that is what this twelfth mantra is symbolizing. This is what he says, the Rishi, Shweta Shvatara Rishi, sthulani, sukshmani, bahuni chaiva, rupani, dehi, swagunaihi, vrunoti, kriyagunaihi, atmagunaihi, chatesham. These three, one and a half lines, point out the nature of each one of us. We create, sthulani. If I am fat, if I am gross, my own creation. If I am subtle, my own creation. Means both my body and mind and everybody's bodies and minds are each person's creations. Bahuni chaiva, I may be a mosquito, I may be an amoeba, I may be an Indra, I may be a Brahma in Brahmaloka. How does it happen? Rupani, these are all different forms for exhausting our own karma phala. And that's why we are called dehi. Here dehi means one who identifies totally with the Deha. So how does he manifest in these forms? In fact, the word used by the Upanishad here, vrunoti, chooses. He doesn't want. A billion, billion choices are there. He rejects all of them. He only opts for this particular one. What makes him do it? His own purva janma karma, vasanas. And that is being said, kriya gunaihi. Whatever actions a person does and every action is done, not only physically but also attitudinal wise through what? One's own gunas. Gunaihi. What guna? Sattva, rajas and tamas. Plus, atma guna is said. Here atma means body. Somebody's body is a baby's body. Somebody is a youth. Somebody is a middle-aged. Somebody is old. Somebody is diseased. And then somebody is a drunk. Somebody is a drug addict. So all these things play a very important part in what a person does. So we are responsible for our own gunas. We are bound by our own past karmas. And what creates the past karmas? Previous past karma. So it is endless. That's why it is said samsara is anadi. But is there any way out? Here two important questions pop up. The first question is we do the actions and that action is over. We even forget what we have done. Most of the time we do not remember what we have done. Perhaps we have uttered abusive words towards somebody. We don't remember. Or we might have uttered very praising words. That also we don't remember. Sometimes we remember a little bit of it. Most of it we don't remember. Then what karmas I have done in my past life? I don't remember anything. None of us remember anything. Then how come those actions bear fruit exactly according to what we have done? What we get, the results will be completely 100% proportionate to what we have done. That is where the question comes that I do not have the capacity. Then who is having? Ishwara is called aparaha. Aparaha means somebody else other than the jivatma. Drishtaha. Definitely we have to conclude, infer if we are thinking rationally. And what is his job? He is the cause. He is called vidhata. He is the person who brings the particular jiva in contact with the particular prarabdha karma. That is what is being said. This is the first question. Because karma cannot bring, we forget what we have done. So there must be a third factor, a third conscious being who is observing whatever we have been doing. And who knows what we have been doing, what we have done and even what we are going to do. And gives appropriate body-mind complex. That is the first answer. Then what is the second question? Perhaps I have done. Maybe because of ignorance. Is there any way out? What is the answer? Yes, definitely there is a way out. So then do I have any free will? Yes, you have a free will. But the free will has to be used not freely but in accordance with the scripture. These are the three points with some quotations. I want to discuss before we close this. After all, only another two more are there, two more mantras. It is the essence of the next mantra is exactly the same. The last mantra, 14th mantra tells us, like Bhagavan Krishna tells us at the end of the Gita, Sarva Dharmaan Parityajya, take complete surrender, refuse in me. You cannot get out of this samsara. That is what he wants to tell. Bhavagrahya. We will deal with that when it comes. Now these three questions. So who brings us in, who joins our karmas with our karmaphala, with the jiva? Second, if I have done something wrong, is there any way out after I realize it? And if there is a way out, what are the conditions? Second question. Third question would be that finally we have to surrender ourselves to God. If we want to get out of this endless samsara saga, let us start with it. So first of all, I want to quote, I have come across beautiful quotations from Garuda Purana. By the way, Garuda Purana is one of the beautiful Puranas. You know, we have got 36 Puranas, 18 called Mukhya Puranas, 18 are called Upa Puranas. This Garuda Purana is a very important Purana. What does it say? Happiness or misery, fear or welfare are definitely the results of one's own actions. And then it goes on. There is a fetus. It lies in the womb with the feet up and the face downwards, being forced out during the birth process. What is the point? It is a fetus, completely innocent, but it doesn't know it is carrying a mountain load of Karmaphala behind it. And then Garuda Purana enters into this most expletive expression, If a person has done exceedingly great Punya, then what happens? He will be born in a house like Bhagwan Krishna says, So it is only the result of great Punya. A person is born in a very fortunate family, he will be only swimming in joy. But the person who has done exceedingly evil actions, Whatever he has done, and then the Garuda Purana continues, Oh Garuda, I am telling you, somebody is born Daridra, means most unfortunate fellow. Always undergoing suffering, added to that, he has become an idiot. He doesn't have the power to discriminate, even to know that he is responsible. Only his mind is always running after evil actions. And therefore he will be enjoying. Bhajanam means he who is enjoying. Of what? Dukkha. Dukkha means suffering. So what else should I tell you? Oh Garuda, this is the essence of what is done. So one becomes poor, sweet, foolish, sinful and miserable by one's own actions. And then Swami Vivekananda, the greatest rationalist as it were, what does he say? In his, especially the fourth line, the fourth shloka in his Song of the Sannyasin, Who sows must reap, they say, and cause must bring the sure effect. Good, good, bad, bad, and none escape the law. But whoso wears a form must wear the chain. Too true, but far beyond, both name and form is Atman, ever free. Know thou art that Sannyasin bold, say Om Sat Om. What is Swami Vivekananda telling? Rarely we sit and then contemplate what Swami Vivekananda is telling. What is he telling? It is true. In everybody's case, Karmaphala applies. Punya brings enjoyable results. Papa brings suffering. Inevitable, true, true. It is very true. Whoever has got a body, his body comes only for the sake of really exhausting one's own Prarabdha Karma. But he says, this is all true. But don't stop here. Too true, but far beyond, both name and form, far beyond any Karma, far beyond any Karmaphala, is the Atman, ever free, never bound. And then, how do I know that I will be free from Samsara? Know thou art that Sannyasin bold, say Om Tat Sat Om. And this is the essence, or this is what Swami Vivekananda is summarizing, the 14th mantra of this 5th chapter. Now the question, or maybe he was the Rishi, who knows? Because, let us not forget, Swami Vekananda was one of the Sapta Rishis. So, he himself might have written Shweta Shvatara, or Mandukya, or Isha Vashya, or Brihadaranyika. We don't know. But he is a Rishi. Rishi means he knows the truth. And he is telling us the truth. So the question comes. Now, what is the question? What was the first question? That who brings about? It is all Ishwara. He is Sarvagna. He is witnessing all our actions. He brings each Jeeva into contact with her own Karmaphala. But the only addenda we have to add at the end is, every human being will not get any Karmaphala. Only those people who have got Ahamkara. I am the doer. Like the Brahmin of that garden. I quoted yesterday, or day before yesterday, in one of the classes. So only such a person, because he feels I am the doer, I must get this Karmaphala. And such a person alone. As I said, a child, a mad person, or animals, they have Ahamkara. But they don't have that deliberative Ahamkara. I am planning to do it. I will scheme and do it. That kind of Ahamkara. If they have, they will get Karmaphala. That is why animals, non-humans are free from Karmphala. Among humans, children and mad people are free from Karmaphala. Now the question comes. The second question, is there any way out? Yes, Holy Mother says here, that if a person had to experience, a ploughshare has to enter into his body and then split it into two. But by God's grace, one can get away with a pinprick. Even Holy Mother is telling, because she is the Ishwara. What is she telling? That Karmaphala cannot go without being experienced. But the quantum of Karma phala can be brought down drastically by surrendering ourselves to the Divine. That is absolutely true. Now, it is very easy. So many people asked me the question. So, can we do that? No, it can be done. But there are certain conditions attached to it. What are the conditions? The first condition is, we must accept. I have done this. I was ignorant. I was foolish. I take all responsibility. That is the first thing. Second, is there any way out? Yes. If you don't accept God, you will have to go through it yourself. But if you turn towards God and say, Lord, I have done this. I am responsible. But out of your infinite mercy, please forgive me. Now the condition comes. God will forgive and He will make you pleasantly overcome that situation. What is the condition? From now onwards, I will never repeat it. That should be the condition. You forgive me, but next time I will again go and do it. God is not going to forgive me. And that is what is being said, He who brings every Jeeva into this condition, that is, Sanyoga means union. Union means joining Purojanma Karmaphala with the present Jeevatma's body and mind. In fact, the result of Purojanma Karma is in this life's Prarabdha Karma, already before birth itself it started. Now the second question is, if we surrender ourselves to God, He can forgive us. And what is the authority? Upanishad is the authority. But Bhagavad Gita sums it up very beautifully in two shlokas. It says here, 9th chapter, 30th, अपिचेत सुद्राचारो भजते मां नन्यभाः साधुरेव समंतव्यह सम्यत् यवसितोहि सहा Even if a person is the worst of the sinners, sinner among all the other sinners, but he who takes refuge in Me, turning towards Me, he takes refuge in Me, he should be considered as a spiritual person, as a divine person, because सम्यत् यवसितोहि सहा That person has turned towards Me, that is the right thing he has done, and he has decided. What did he decide? Two things he decided. From now onwards, I will never again repeat it. And second thing is, I will always be dependent upon God. Means what? Means I will do exactly what God expects me to do and I will never do what God had forbidden me. Where did He forbid you? Where did He enjoin you? Every scripture is God's word. And so, Krishna Bhagawan, He continues, Such a person who takes refuge in God, which means he had changed over, transformation for the better. He turns, as we say in English language, a new turn over a new leaf. What happened? क्षिप्रम् भवति धर्मात्मा Very soon, He will not only be given up, positively He becomes a Dharmatma. And what is the result? शिष्वत् चान्तिम् निगच्छति Retains eternal peace. And then He says, कौंतेया These are not empty words nor only spoken to you. कौंतेया हे अर्जुना प्रति जानिः Go and declare it openly to the whole world. नमे भक्तः प्रणश्यति My devotee can never ever perish. And Ramakrishna has a beautiful conversation. Is there a free will? So we are dealing with the third question that has come. What was the first question? That who brings about the union of our karmaphala with ourselves? Ishwara Second question, is there any way out? Holy Mother says, turn towards God. Never repeat what you have done. And क्षिप्रं भवति धर्मात्मा What is the third one? Do we have really a free will? It looks as though we have Ramakrishna's invaluable expressions. Invaluable because hardly we take any notice. So there was a devotee called Vaidyanath. Ramakrishna is telling. All that you see is the manifestation of God's power. No one can do anything without this power. But what Ramakrishna is telling is even an evil person's doing, the power belongs to God only. The person because of past samskara or ahankara, he misuses God's power, not giving him the credit for it. But you must remember, Ramakrishna continues, there is not an equal manifestation of God's power in everybody. Everything has its own special manifestation. So Vidyasagar once asked me whether God endowed some with greater power than others. I said to him, if there are no greater and lesser manifestations of His power, then why have we taken the trouble to visit you? Have you grown two horns? So it stands to reason that God exists in all beings as the all-pervasive power, but the manifestations of His power are different in different beings. Sir, Vaidyanath asks, I have a doubt. People speak of free will. They say that man can do either good or evil according to his own free will. Is it true? Are we really free to do whatever we like? And this is where Ramakrishna's Upanishadic warning comes out. Master, everything depends on the will of God. The world is His play. He has created all these different things, great and small, strong and weak, good and bad, virtuous and vicious. This is all His maya, His sport. And that is what exactly we have seen. Eko Jalavani Va I think in the very second mantra of this very fifth chapter, a lord is like a fisherman. He throws the net of maya. Net here stands for maya. But it is not maya to torture us. It is His sport, leela. You must have observed that all the trees in a garden are not of the same kind. Beautifully, Sir Ramakrishna gives similes for every teaching for easier grasp. But here is something invaluable teaching of Sir Ramakrishna. As long as a man has not realized God, he thinks he is free. As long as a man has not realized God, he thinks he is free. What does it mean? It means he may think he is free, but really he is not free. It is God Himself. Second sentence. It is God Himself who keeps this error in man. This is an error. Then what is the right thing? That God alone is free. He alone has the freedom. But it is His free will. He is moving me as He wants to move. So who is responsible? God. How does He do it? Through His maya. This error in man. Otherwise, sin would have multiplied. That means what is Ramakrishna telling? If somebody does sin, like that Brahmin, and then goes on telling it is God who has done it, through His Adishta, through Devata called Indra, then sin would have multiplied. Man would not have been afraid of sin. And there would have been no punishment had there been no punishment for it. But do you know the attitude of one who has realized God? He feels I am the machine and thou, O Lord, are the operator. I move as thou movest me. I speak as thou makest me speak. Then if everything happens by God's will, where does free will come in? What is the need for punya and papa, heaven and hell? This was the question put to Ramakrishna. Ramakrishna answers that as long as we believe we have free will, we have to own up the consequences of actions done by us with our free will. So only those who think I have a free will, karmaphala will come to that person. But it is indeed true that at the higher level of comprehension, that means one who has become a Gnani, a person who attains this conviction firmly that everything is God's will, is the one who has attained God-realization. In other words, only a Jeevan Mukta can say everything is God's will. And what are we saying? Everything is my will. We want to do sinful actions, but we don't want to reap the results of the sinful actions. But we definitely want to reap the results of our punya karma. That we don't want to give up. Only the results of our apa karma we would like to give up. So Sri Ramakrishna says that whatever that person Jeevan Mukta does, is simply the act of God and it will only be perfect and right and it will bring welfare to everybody. And then this is beautifully illustrated by a marvelous parable by Sri Ramakrishna. The virtuous weaver. Not only in the Mahabharata, the virtuous Dharmaviyatha, but Sri Ramakrishna, a virtuous weaver. I do not need to remind you, but very briefly, there was a weaver. He was a very virtuous man. He would never do anything wrong, but once some robbers caught him, made him carry the looted goods. When the police came, they knew how to run away. But this man, he was caught, brought in front of the magistrate and he said what had happened. And he said that by Rama's will, I am free. By Rama's will only, he never said those wicked people had made me do carry that robbed money, looted money. He said it is Rama's will. Even those robbers were only robbers. By Rama's will. And the magistrate must have been a good person. We have to remember. There are people who say law is law. We don't understand all these things. You have been caught red-handed. You will be given punishment. Supposing in this case, Sri Ramakrishna's illustration, the magistrate understood and said let him go free. And then when he came out, he said my becoming free is also Rama's will. And people's respect for him increased enormously. He had no regrets. He had nobody to blame. We have to meditate upon this parable. Supposing an officer, a magistrate, who says I don't know all those things. You have been caught and you will have to be put in jail. All right, we are going to put you for two years in jail. What would have been the reaction of the weaver? That is also Rama's will. And what do you think he will be doing in the jail? That is where the fun comes. What is it? Previously, he had to do back-breaking work to earn his livelihood. But now, Her Majesty's or His Majesty's government will provide him with lodging, boarding and everything. So he would have more time to think about his Rama. That is why Ramakrishna says that along with the idea of free will, the concepts of Punya and Papa too shall coexist. So we have raised three questions and answered three questions. I hope you will remember. First question, Ishwara brings us into union with our own Prarabdha Karma. Second, there is a way out. The condition is we should never repeat. We should turn towards God. Surrender ourselves to God. Of course, in one day it will not come. But Kshipram Bhavate Dharmatma. He will never again do anything bad. On the contrary, he will do what is absolutely good. What is the third thing? He realizes man has no free will. Everything is done by him only. And that means the Aham Bhavana is completely removed from him. What Bhavana is there? I am a machine in the hands of God accepting that Bhavana. No other Bhavana is there. And then what would be the consequence? Whatever this person undergoes, even if he has to have throat cancer or any type of somebody is cutting his throat, from his word only comes, only one thing that will come. It is Rama's will. Ramakrishna also quotes the incident from a warrior who was also a great Rama Bhakta. One day his own Mohammedan soldier stabbed him because he did not like a Hindu king. And the person was dying. And his colleagues rushed and then they asked, tell us who killed you, stabbed you. We will give appropriate punishment. And he laughed and said, it was Rama who killed me. It was Rama. This would be the attitude until the body is dropped. That is the attitude of every Jeevan Mukta. With this, we will now enter into the next, last but one, 13th mantra. So the question that comes now is, how to turn towards God? Is there a God? How to turn towards God? That question we raised earlier, is being elaborately answered in this 13th mantra. What is it telling? Anadi Anantam. There is one. Call Him Ishwara. Call Him God. Call Him Brahman. Call Him Father in Heaven. Call Him Allah. Call Him by whatever name. It doesn't matter. God is only one and there cannot be two Gods. And what are these characteristics? Anadi Anantam. He is beginningless and He is endless. Whatever is beginningless must be only endless. What does it mean? It means He is eternal. Eternal being cannot have a beginning or an end. And then what happens? In this Samsara, He who created this Ghana Samsara, difficult Samsara, Vishwasya Srashtaram, He is the creator. Srishti Sthithi Vinashanam, Shakti Bhute Sanatane, Gunashraye Gunamayi, Narayani Namostute. Vishwasya. Isha Vasyam Idam Sarvam. He is the creator. In fact, He Himself is manifesting just as we manifest in the form of the entire dream world. From God's point of view, this is called dream world. Not real. What is dream world? There is no real world. Only seeming world. That is called Mithya world. So this entire what we call waking state is also a Mithya world only. What does He say? Vishwasya Srashtaram. The creator of this entire universe. What universe? How vast is this universe? How many billions of galaxies? We cannot even imagine one galaxy. Billions and billions of galaxies are there. Some astronomers are also positing a fact. Perhaps there are not many universes, but there is a mirror. And in the mirror, just imagine, suppose you have a lot of mirrors, like previously in barbershops, it used to be full of mirrors. And then when you look at it, endless you in endless rooms, endless barbers, endless heads, you will be seeing. And if you go on seeing, really there is no end. So some people are positing the idea perhaps it is having a mirror effect, reflection effect. Whatever be the truth, this cosmos cannot be even imagined. But He is the creator. That means what? He is the manifester. And what is this world? Aneka roopam, infinite number of forms, roopas, infinite number of names, so that we can distinguish one from the other. Same also, infinite number of qualities, one petaled, two petaled, three, four, multiple, one thousand petaled, lotus, etc., etc., infinite number of forms, infinite number of gunas, roopa, nama, guna. And then the fact that is He different from this world? No. Vishwasya ekam pariveshti taram. He is enveloped. If you recollect, whether it is Narayana Suktam or Purusha Suktam, the idea is what? The whole universe. And in this, any head you see, that is God, Vishnu. Any hand, God's hand. Any ear, God's ears. Any legs, only an infinitesimal part of the, an infinitesimal part. That was the idea. In the previous verse we have seen, eleventh verse, that is valagra. Vala means hair. Split it into hundred. And that hundredth part, again you split it into another hundred. That means a billionth, billionth part of that hair. That is how a Jeeva looks. But, Angushta Matraha, Ravi Prabhavan, He is glowing like the midday sun, even though we are thinking He is small, because of the body. What is the parimana of Jeeva? In a mosquito's, in an amoeba's body, only very soon. But, that doesn't apply to your consciousness, Jeevatma. Jeevatma is infinite. So that is being said, Vishwasya ekam pariveshti taram. He is only manifesting, like clay pervading, every single part. In fact, there is no part, it is only Nama. It is only a misnomer, a name, name and form, and quality. But really speaking, other than clay, there is nothing else. And, we have to, by knowing Gnatva, Evam Gnatva, that word, Ekam is there, not Evam is not there. We have to supply. Evam Gnatva, knowing the Lord, knowing what, that, I do not exist, you do not exist, the world doesn't exist, then what about everything? Everything is God. Sarvam Vishnumayam Jagatam. Evam, Evam Gnatva, one who realizes, not intellectual knowledge, but actually, Sarvapapaihi Mutsyate, then alone, he understands, Aham Brahmasmi, and for such a person, just as a person, thinking that he was bound by a thousand ropes, in his dream, as soon as somebody wakes him up, immediately he realizes, he was not in bondage, he was never in bondage, he will never be in bondage, that was just his daydream or night dream. I am that pure conscious being, Evam Mutsyate, immediately, as soon as he wakes up, to this knowledge, that I am Brahman, Mutsyate Sarvapashaihi, knowing the Lord, in the midst of the chaos, a beautiful word is used, Kalila, this is not the first time, we have also come in the earlier chapter, also the word Kalila, Kalila also is the name, when a fetus, even before the fetus is born, that is also in a very indistinguishable form, Kalila means very confusing, this is what we call a virile pool, very difficult to come out of it, but the Samsara is compared to a Kalila, Virile pool, Viram Krishna's favorite illustration will be Vishalakshir, Virile pool, that is, once a cart enters into it, nobody, no cart can come out, because it is so deep, a deep hole is there, and he will not be able to come out, but is there any way? Yes, knowing the Lord, in the midst of this chaos, that means Samsara is nothing, but it is only God, knowing that Samsara doesn't exist, that is why Mithya Jagat, Brahma Satyam, God alone is real, Jagat Mithya, this world doesn't exist, doesn't mean that it is not there, it means what we see and label it as the world, is none other than Brahman only, and so what about me? So, Jeevaha Brahma Eva Na Aparaha, Jeeva is none other than Brahman, but you have to extend, this world also is none other than Brahman, but not in this form, with Nama Rupa Guna, it is not Brahman, it is a manifestation of Brahman, with knowledge, it is only Brahman, because Brahman is Ekaha, Brahman is Nityaha, Brahman is Anantaha, Brahman is Anadi, this is what we have to understand, so the compassionate Lord alone, who unites the individual to the results of his actions, is also the cause for his liberation, it is he who bestows his grace, and how does his grace come? In two forms, God's grace inevitably comes to us in two forms, what is the first form? It comes in the form of the teachings of our Guru, God's grace immediately brings Guru, and who is a Guru? God's grace, in the form that we can contact, we can relate, we can serve, we can ask questions, and what does he speak? Nothing but pure scripture, that is God's knowledge, this is the first point, what is the second form of God's grace? It slowly transforms us, inspires us, it destroys all the obstacles, as we have seen in the life of Totapuri Maharaj, even though he was not realizing, he thought that I am doing sadhana, I am progressing, but the Divine Mother made him understand, that the desire for sadhana, first of all, the very human body, very hefty, healthy, strong, Punjabi human body, and then a mind endowed with sattva guna, a mind which has developed a yearning for God realization, and the obtainment of a great brahmajnani as a Guru, and rigorous training under the Guru for several years, until a person can meditate completely naked, even in the freezing cold, or in what is called torturous heat, either way, and what about the inner problems, kama, krodha, lobha, moha, madha, matsarya, and one who has been completely saved, not even one hint, whether this person looks very beautiful, I would like to live with this person, no kama, no krodha, most important problem is kama only, whether it is for food, whether it is for beauty, whether it is for wealth, or for sense enjoyment, all are kama, and that kama, it will be thousand fold increasing, by the grace of God, not thousand fold, billion fold it will increase, but first of all, not many desires, only one desire, secondly, what is the desire? I want to go to my mother's house, mana chalo nija niketane. I realize I am wandering in a foreigner's dress, in a foreign country, and I want to go to my mana chalo nija niketane, otherwise, jabe ki hey din, shall all my days, O Lord, go in vain, I have already spent, no more, that's why Rama Krishna used to cry, O Mother, another day has passed, and I have not seen, so, that is how, through God's grace, human birth, God's grace, desire for liberation, and favorable environment, and by God's grace, complete removal of kama, krodha, etc., and at the end, giving the self-satisfaction, I have achieved everything, that is also Mother's will, a child must run here and there, then only it will feel, I have done a lot of job, work, hard work, I deserve mukti, then, that alone, all this comes as a result of God's grace. Then Sri Ramakrishna touched the hearts of people on 1st January 1886, and uttered those greatest blessings, chaitanya hok, may your spiritual consciousness be awake, and God consciousness be awake, what an infallible result of that touch, people had visions, people had bhavas, people had lot of different experiences, because a pure soul, with the greatest love, and pure motive, touched them in the most pure way, thinking that I am not touching, but my Divine Mother is touching, and that would be the journey's end. Just as in the outside world, the individual initially finds only chaos and confusion within, not in the beginning, in the beginning, the most marvellous place, I want to see what is happening, and enjoy it, then only he finds, it is only nothing but confusion and chaos, Kalila, then he turns, then the inward journey starts, it is more difficult, and obstacle written, but he goes on, and by God's grace, he meets the Lord, the creator of all, whom he then recognises, as this entire world, in everybody, as Kumara, Kumari, Puman, Stri, Vriddhaha, as everybody, and then he knows, I am also God, I am the Self, I am worthless, I am deathless, and then forever he is liberated from the cycle of birth and death, and then that is what is being said in the final mantra of this fifth chapter, Those people, those who know this Deva, this Divine Lord, what happens? They give up this body, what does it mean? Not that they die, not that they kill, give up means what? Give up the agnanis view, that I am the body, I am the mind, that is all, body is there, body is not there, mind is there, mind is not there, is not a problem, problem is only I am the body, I am the mind, what type of Lord? Shivam, he is auspicious, what type of Lord? Bhava, Abhava, Karam, he can create, he can also dissolve, he can make manifest, he can also make unmanifest, Bhava, Abhava, he can bring something into being, and he can also take back into non-being, non-being means don't think, non-existence, non-being means unmanifest, and then Kala, Sarga, Karam, he had endowed this person with Shodasha Kalas, I will come to that, we dealt actually with it in the Krishna Upanishad, Bhava, Grahya, that means he understands only one thing, this Jeevatma loves me, he doesn't want anything else, and then Anidakhyam, he is beyond the Sthula Sharira, Sukshma Sharira, and Karan Sharira, so those who know this God, who can be realized only through devotion, who is a divide of a body, who creates and destroys the world, who is pure, who projects the 16 parts, that those persons, knowing the Divine Lord, they attain Mukti, knowing the Divine Lord, how? By feeling, I am not the body, and I am not the mind, that is what he says. This is what Swami Vivekananda wants to tell us, by giving, any sincere spiritual person's prayer will be like the Prahlada's prayer taken from the Vishnu Purana, या प्रीतिर विवेकानाम् विषयेशु अनपायिने त्वाम् अनुस्मरतः सामे हृदयान् मापसर्पतु that deathless love, which the ignorant have, are the fleeting objects of the senses. As I keep meditating on you, may I not, may not that love slip away from my heart. That means, may I always be loving and devoted towards you. There is nothing else. And then, Sri Ramakrishna goes into ecstasy, like Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He says, that only God's grace, he says, only, O God, pray, give me knowledge, give me devotion, and reveal yourself to me. And Sri Ramakrishna said, repeat his name, and sins will disappear. Thus you will destroy lust, anger, the desire for creature comforts. And then he says, a poet has compared devotion to a tiger. Just like the tiger devours animals, devotion alone can swallow up all the archenemies of man, like kama, krodha, lobha, moha, madha, matsarya. And a devotee asks, we have passions, and why should God create passions? He says, the impulse of lust should be turned into the desire to have intercourse with Atman, etc., etc. Then Sri Ramakrishna says, that single-pointed devotion and faith is the only key to God realization. Love, devotion, and faith in God is the only way. There is no other way. Then Krishna Upanishad says, this Kalasarga Karam has nothing to do with hearts. There are five, what are the sixteen aspects? What are those? Shodasya Kalapurna. Five elements, bhutas, faith, shraddha, prana, indriyas, mind, strength, food, penance, mantra, realms of experience, and go back to the Krishna Upanishad, sixth, last question, fourth mantra. So, having given up all identity with the body, such a person, what does he do? He completely becomes a realized soul, he becomes a Mukta Purusha. This is the most marvelous chapter having fourteen mantras. What are the effects of these? Fourteen mantras are there. So, first it starts with that Brahman is beyond anybody's imagination. But both vidya and avidya are there. And avidya prepares us for vidya and vidya releases us. ksharam tu avidya amrutam tu vidya vidya vidya ishate estu so anyaha In the immutable, infinite supreme Brahman remain hidden the two, knowledge and ignorance. Ignorance leads to worldliness and knowledge to immortality. Brahman controls both knowledge and ignorance because both help a person evolve towards God. That is the idea. Don't think that God will ever damn us. In the second is telling God is everything. God is everybody. Everybody is God. God is everything. yo yonim yonim adi tishtati ekaha He is the non-dual Brahman who rules over everybody. And then He is the Jalavan. He is the Ishwara sarva-bhutana prideshaya arjuna tishtati brahman sarva-bhutani entrarudhani mayaya He is running this show called the Samsara. He is the script writer. He is the director. He is the producer. He is the actors and actresses. He is the stage of the drama. He is the audience. He is the critic. He is everything other than Him. Nobody is there. And that is reinforced in the fourth mantra sarva-disha, udvam, adasya, teriya He is there above, below, left, right, inside, outside. But He is only manifesting as the Jeeva. This Jeeva appears to be very small because of the body and mind. Angushta matra, but ravitulya roopaha He is really no less than that bright sun. And then in the thirteenth we have seen that anadhyanantam kalilasyamathye vishvasya srashtaram aneka roopam vishvasya ekam parivesthitaram nathva demam uchyate arvapashayi He who knows the Lord, who is without beginning or end, who stands in the midst of the chaos of this Samsara, who is the creator of all things and endowed with many forms, He who knows that radiant divine being, the sole pervader of the universe, is forever released from all his fears. And then in the last 14th mantra, He is called bhavagrahim anidakhyam bhavabhavakaram shivam kalasargakaram devam evaduhu te juhuhu tanum. Those who know Him, who can be realized by the pure heart, who is called incorporeal, who is the cause of creation and destruction, who is all good and the creator of the 16 parts, those who realize the luminous Lord are freed forever from Samsara. With this, we completed the 5th chapter, 14th mantras. From next week, we enter into the 6th and last chapter of the Shweta Shwetara Upanishad. Om Jananem Sharadaam Deveem Ramakrishnam Jagadgurum Padu Padme Tayo Sritva Pranamaame Muhur Mahuhu May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti. Jai Ramakrishna.
[[Category:Svetasvatara Upanishad]]

Svetasvatara Upanishad Lecture 36 on 02 July 2023

2023-07-10T00:28:05Z

Sevak123: /* Full Transcript (Not Corrected) */ changed manachalo to mana chalo ,,nijo niketane . Separated janne ki hey din

== Full Transcript (Not Corrected) ==
We have been studying in the last class the 12th mantra of the 5th chapter of the Shwetashvatara Upanishad. This is a beautiful Upanishad and especially in this 5th chapter, the fact that each one of us are responsible for our own fate, what we call karma phala, prarabdha in this life. No one else is responsible. In fact, to put it even better, we are Brahmas. Each one of us are creating our own world and it has no similarity to the other person's world. The most astonishing fact of this statement is, every creature, that is, every creature who thinks I am the doer, so naturally this doesn't apply to animals, insects, children, madcaps, etc. Anybody who thinks I am the doer is subjected to the result of one's own actions. But the astonishing fact is each one of us are Brahmas. We create our own world. We maintain our own world. We destroy our own world. So that is the first fact. The second fact is each one of us are living in our own peculiar individual world and we don't know what the other person's world is. Once somebody had written a very beautiful book. In fact, it is not a writing. It is full of photographs. What does it show? It shows that a child is sitting in a room at the feet of his dad and his mother and father are sitting there. So the child, his view of father, mother and the entire world is completely incomprehensible to father and mother. The world of the wife is incomprehensible to the husband. The world of the husband is incomprehensible to the world of the wife. So each one of us are living in our own peculiar world. Can we understand it better through any analogy? Yes, dream. Even if a thousand people of us are living in the same room, go to bed and we have our own dreams, there is no resemblance. Every one of us are living in our own created world. So the fact that exactly the same thing happens in the waking world we have to infer from the example of the dream. So that is what this twelfth mantra is symbolizing. This is what he says, the Rishi, Shweta Shvatara Rishi, sthulani, sukshmani, bahuni chaiva, rupani, dehi, swagunaihi, vrunoti, kriyagunaihi, atmagunaihi, chatesham. These three, one and a half lines, point out the nature of each one of us. We create, sthulani. If I am fat, if I am gross, my own creation. If I am subtle, my own creation. Means both my body and mind and everybody's bodies and minds are each person's creations. Bahuni chaiva, I may be a mosquito, I may be an amoeba, I may be an Indra, I may be a Brahma in Brahmaloka. How does it happen? Rupani, these are all different forms for exhausting our own karma phala. And that's why we are called dehi. Here dehi means one who identifies totally with the Deha. So how does he manifest in these forms? In fact, the word used by the Upanishad here, vrunoti, chooses. He doesn't want. A billion, billion choices are there. He rejects all of them. He only opts for this particular one. What makes him do it? His own purva janma karma, vasanas. And that is being said, kriya gunaihi. Whatever actions a person does and every action is done, not only physically but also attitudinal wise through what? One's own gunas. Gunaihi. What guna? Sattva, rajas and tamas. Plus, atma guna is said. Here atma means body. Somebody's body is a baby's body. Somebody is a youth. Somebody is a middle-aged. Somebody is old. Somebody is diseased. And then somebody is a drunk. Somebody is a drug addict. So all these things play a very important part in what a person does. So we are responsible for our own gunas. We are bound by our own past karmas. And what creates the past karmas? Previous past karma. So it is endless. That's why it is said samsara is anadi. But is there any way out? Here two important questions pop up. The first question is we do the actions and that action is over. We even forget what we have done. Most of the time we do not remember what we have done. Perhaps we have uttered abusive words towards somebody. We don't remember. Or we might have uttered very praising words. That also we don't remember. Sometimes we remember a little bit of it. Most of it we don't remember. Then what karmas I have done in my past life? I don't remember anything. None of us remember anything. Then how come those actions bear fruit exactly according to what we have done? What we get, the results will be completely 100% proportionate to what we have done. That is where the question comes that I do not have the capacity. Then who is having? Ishwara is called aparaha. Aparaha means somebody else other than the jivatma. Drishtaha. Definitely we have to conclude, infer if we are thinking rationally. And what is his job? He is the cause. He is called vidhata. He is the person who brings the particular jiva in contact with the particular prarabdha karma. That is what is being said. This is the first question. Because karma cannot bring, we forget what we have done. So there must be a third factor, a third conscious being who is observing whatever we have been doing. And who knows what we have been doing, what we have done and even what we are going to do. And gives appropriate body-mind complex. That is the first answer. Then what is the second question? Perhaps I have done. Maybe because of ignorance. Is there any way out? What is the answer? Yes, definitely there is a way out. So then do I have any free will? Yes, you have a free will. But the free will has to be used not freely but in accordance with the scripture. These are the three points with some quotations. I want to discuss before we close this. After all, only another two more are there, two more mantras. It is the essence of the next mantra is exactly the same. The last mantra, 14th mantra tells us, like Bhagavan Krishna tells us at the end of the Gita, Sarva Dharmaan Parityajya, take complete surrender, refuse in me. You cannot get out of this samsara. That is what he wants to tell. Bhavagrahya. We will deal with that when it comes. Now these three questions. So who brings us in, who joins our karmas with our karma phala, with the jiva? Second, if I have done something wrong, is there any way out after I realize it? And if there is a way out, what are the conditions? Second question. Third question would be that finally we have to surrender ourselves to God. If we want to get out of this endless samsara saga, let us start with it. So first of all, I want to quote, I have come across beautiful quotations from Garuda Purana. By the way, Garuda Purana is one of the beautiful Puranas. You know, we have got 36 Puranas, 18 called Mukhya Puranas, 18 are called Upa Puranas. This Garuda Purana is a very important Purana. What does it say? Happiness or misery, fear or welfare are definitely the results of one's own actions. And then it goes on. There is a fetus. It lies in the womb with the feet up and the face downwards, being forced out during the birth process. What is the point? It is a fetus, completely innocent, but it doesn't know it is carrying a mountain load of Karmaphala behind it. And then Garuda Purana enters into this most expletive expression, If a person has done exceedingly great Punya, then what happens? He will be born in a house like Bhagwan Krishna says, So it is only the result of great Punya. A person is born in a very fortunate family, he will be only swimming in joy. But the person who has done exceedingly evil actions, Whatever he has done, And then the Garuda Purana continues, Oh Garuda, I am telling you, somebody is born Dharidra, means most unfortunate fellow. Always undergoing suffering, added to that, he has become an idiot. He doesn't have the power to discriminate, even to know that he is responsible. Only his mind is always running after evil actions. And therefore he will be enjoying. Bhajanam means he who is enjoying. Of what? Dukkha. Dukkha means suffering. So what else should I tell you? Oh Garuda, this is the essence of what is done. So one becomes poor, sweet, foolish, sinful and miserable by one's own actions. And then Swami Vekananda, the greatest rationalist as it were, what does he say? In his, especially the fourth line, the fourth shloka in his Song of the Sannyasin, Who sows must reap, they say, and cause must bring the sure effect. Good, good, bad, bad, and none escape the law. But whoso wears a form must wear the chain. Too true, but far beyond, both name and form is Atman, ever free. Know thou art that Sannyasin bold, say Om Sat Om. What is Swami Vekananda telling? Rarely we sit and then contemplate what Swami Vekananda is telling. What is he telling? It is true. In everybody's case, Karma phala applies. Punya brings enjoyable results. Papa brings suffering. Inevitable, true, true. It is very true. Whoever has got a body, his body comes only for the sake of really exhausting one's own Prarabdha Karma. But he says, this is all true. But don't stop here. Too true, but far beyond, both name and form, far beyond any Karma, far beyond any Karma phala, is the Atman, ever free, never bound. And then, how do I know that I will be free from Samsara? Know thou art that Sannyasin bold, say Om Tat Sat Om. And this is the essence, or this is what Swami Vekananda is summarizing, the 14th mantra of this 5th chapter. Now the question, or maybe he was the Rishi, who knows? Because, let us not forget, Swami Vekananda was one of the Sapta Rishis. So, he himself might have written Shweta Shvatara, or Mandukya, or Isha Vashya, or Brihadaranyika. We don't know. But he is a Rishi. Rishi means he knows the truth. And he is telling us the truth. So the question comes. Now, what is the question? What was the first question? That who brings about? It is all Ishwara. He is Sarvagna. He is witnessing all our actions. He brings each Jeeva into contact with her own Karma phala. But the only addenda we have to add at the end is, every human being will not get any Karma phala. Only those people who have got Ahamkara. I am the doer. Like the Brahmin of that garden. I quoted yesterday, or day before yesterday, in one of the classes. So only such a person, because he feels I am the doer, I must get this Karma phala. And such a person alone. As I said, a child, a mad person, or animals, they have Ahamkara. But they don't have that deliberative Ahamkara. I am planning to do it. I will scheme and do it. That kind of Ahamkara. If they have, they will get Karma phala. That is why animals, non-humans are free from Karma phala. Among humans, children and mad people are free from Karma phala. Now the question comes. The second question, is there any way out? Yes, Holy Mother says here, that if a person had to experience, a ploughshare has to enter into his body and then split it into two. But by God's grace, one can get away with a pinprick. Even Holy Mother is telling, because she is the Ishwara. What is she telling? That Karma phala cannot go without being experienced. But the quantum of Karma phala can be brought down drastically by surrendering ourselves to the Divine. That is absolutely true. Now, it is very easy. So many people asked me the question. So, can we do that? No, it can be done. But there are certain conditions attached to it. What are the conditions? The first condition is, we must accept. I have done this. I was ignorant. I was foolish. I take all responsibility. That is the first thing. Second, is there any way out? Yes. If you don't accept God, you will have to go through it yourself. But if you turn towards God and say, Lord, I have done this. I am responsible. But out of your infinite mercy, please forgive me. Now the condition comes. God will forgive and He will make you pleasantly overcome that situation. What is the condition? From now onwards, I will never repeat it. That should be the condition. You forgive me, but next time I will again go and do it. God is not going to forgive me. And that is what is being said, He who brings every Jeeva into this condition, that is, Sanyoga means union. Union means joining Purojanma Karma Phala with the present Jeevatma's body and mind. In fact, the result of Purojanma Karma is in this life's Prarabdha Karma, already before birth itself it started. Now the second question is, if we surrender ourselves to God, He can forgive us. And what is the authority? Upanishad is the authority. But Bhagavad Gita sums it up very beautifully in two shlokas. It says here, 9th chapter, 30th, अपिचेत सुद्राचारो भजते मां नन्यभाः साधुरेव समंतव्यह सम्यत् यवसितोहि सहा Even if a person is the worst of the sinners, sinner among all the other sinners, but he who takes refuge in Me, turning towards Me, he takes refuge in Me, he should be considered as a spiritual person, as a divine person, because सम्यत् यवसितोहि सहा That person has turned towards Me, that is the right thing he has done, and he has decided. What did he decide? Two things he decided. From now onwards, I will never again repeat it. And second thing is, I will always be dependent upon God. Means what? Means I will do exactly what God expects me to do and I will never do what God had forbidden me. Where did He forbid you? Where did He enjoin you? Every scripture is God's word. And so, Krishna Bhagawan, He continues, Such a person who takes refuge in God, which means he had changed over, transformation for the better. He turns, as we say in English language, a new turn over a new leaf. What happened? क्षिप्रम् भवति धर्मात्मा Very soon, He will not only be given up, positively He becomes a Dharmatma. And what is the result? शिष्वत् चान्तिम् निगच्छति Retains eternal peace. And then He says, कौंतेया These are not empty words nor only spoken to you. कौंतेया हे अर्जुना प्रति जानिः Go and declare it openly to the whole world. नमे भक्तः प्रणश्यति My devotee can never ever perish. And the Ramakrishna is a beautiful conversation. Is there a free will? So we are dealing with the third question that has come. What was the first question? That who brings about the union of our karma phala with ourselves? Ishwara Second question, is there any way out? Holy Mother says, turn towards God. Never repeat what you have done. And क्षिप्रं भवति धर्मात्मा What is the third one? Do we have really a free will? It looks as though we have. Ramakrishna's invaluable expressions. Invaluable because hardly we take any notice. So there was a devotee called Vaidyanath. Ramakrishna is telling. All that you see is the manifestation of God's power. No one can do anything without this power. But what Ramakrishna is telling is even an evil person's doing, the power belongs to God only. The person because of past samskara or ahankara, he misuses God's power, not giving him the credit for it. But you must remember, Ramakrishna continues, there is not an equal manifestation of God's power in everybody. Everything has its own special manifestation. So Vidyasagar once asked me whether God endowed some with greater power than others. I said to him, if there are no greater and lesser manifestations of His power, then why have we taken the trouble to visit you? Have you grown two horns? So it stands to reason that God exists in all beings as the all-pervasive power, but the manifestations of His power are different in different beings. Sir, Vaidyanath asks, I have a doubt. People speak of free will. They say that man can do either good or evil according to his own free will. Is it true? Are we really free to do whatever we like? And this is where Ramakrishna's Upanishadic warning comes out. Master, everything depends on the will of God. The world is His play. He has created all these different things, great and small, strong and weak, good and bad, virtuous and vicious. This is all His maya, His sport. And that is what exactly we have seen. Eko Jalavani Va I think in the very second mantra of this very fifth chapter, a lord is like a fisherman. He throws the net of maya. Net here stands for maya. But it is not maya to torture us. It is His sport, leela. You must have observed that all the trees in a garden are not of the same kind. Beautifully, Sir Ramakrishna gives similes for every teaching for easier grasp. But here is something invaluable teaching of Sir Ramakrishna. As long as a man has not realized God, he thinks he is free. As long as a man has not realized God, he thinks he is free. What does it mean? It means he may think he is free, but really he is not free. It is God Himself. Second sentence. It is God Himself who keeps this error in man. This is an error. Then what is the right thing? That God alone is free. He alone has the freedom. But it is His free will. He is moving me as He wants to move. So who is responsible? God. How does He do it? Through His maya. This error in man. Otherwise, sin would have multiplied. That means what is Ramakrishna telling? If somebody does sin, like that Brahmin, and then goes on telling it is God who has done it, through His Adishta, through Devata called Indra, then sin would have multiplied. Man would not have been afraid of sin. And there would have been no punishment had there been no punishment for it. But do you know the attitude of one who has realized God? He feels I am the machine and thou, O Lord, are the operator. I move as thou movest me. I speak as thou makest me speak. Then if everything happens by God's will, where does free will come in? What is the need for punya and papa, heaven and hell? This was the question put to Ramakrishna. Ramakrishna answers that as long as we believe we have free will, we have to own up the consequences of actions done by us with our free will. So only those who think I have a free will, karma phala will come to that person. But it is indeed true that at the higher level of comprehension, that means one who has become a Gnani, a person who attains this conviction firmly that everything is God's will, is the one who has attained God-realization. In other words, only a Jeevan Mukta can say everything is God's will. And what are we saying? Everything is my will. We want to do sinful actions, but we don't want to reap the results of the sinful actions. But we definitely want to reap the results of our punya karma. That we don't want to give up. Only the results of our apa karma we would like to give up. So Sri Ramakrishna says that whatever that person Jeevan Mukta does, is simply the act of God and it will only be perfect and right and it will bring welfare to everybody. And then this is beautifully illustrated by a marvelous parable by Sri Ramakrishna. The virtuous weaver. Not only in the Mahabharata, the virtuous Dharmaviyatha, but Sri Ramakrishna, a virtuous weaver. I do not need to remind you, but very briefly, there was a weaver. He was a very virtuous man. He would never do anything wrong, but once some robbers caught him, made him carry the looted goods. When the police came, they knew how to run away. But this man, he was caught, brought in front of the magistrate and he said what had happened. And he said that by Rama's will, I am free. By Rama's will only, he never said those wicked people had made me do carry that robbed money, looted money. He said it is Rama's will. Even those robbers were only robbers. By Rama's will. And the magistrate must have been a good person. We have to remember. There are people who say law is law. We don't understand all these things. You have been caught red-handed. You will be given punishment. Supposing in this case, Sri Ramakrishna's illustration, the magistrate understood and said let him go free. And then when he came out, he said my becoming free is also Rama's will. And people's respect for him increased enormously. He had no regrets. He had nobody to blame. We have to meditate upon this parable. Supposing an officer, a magistrate, who says I don't know all those things. You have been caught and you will have to be put in jail. All right, we are going to put you for two years in jail. What would have been the reaction of the weaver? That is also Rama's will. And what do you think he will be doing in the jail? That is where the fun comes. What is it? Previously, he had to do back-breaking work to earn his livelihood. But now, Her Majesty's or His Majesty's government will provide him with lodging, boarding and everything. So he would have more time to think about his Rama. That is why Ramakrishna says that along with the idea of free will, the concepts of Punya and Papa too shall coexist. So we have raised three questions and answered three questions. I hope you will remember. First question, Ishwara brings us into union with our own Prarabdha Karma. Second, there is a way out. The condition is we should never repeat. We should turn towards God. Surrender ourselves to God. Of course, in one day it will not come. But Kshipram Bhavate Dharmatma. He will never again do anything bad. On the contrary, he will do what is absolutely good. What is the third thing? He realizes man has no free will. Everything is done by him only. And that means the Aham Bhavana is completely removed from him. What Bhavana is there? I am a machine in the hands of God accepting that Bhavana. No other Bhavana is there. And then what would be the consequence? Whatever this person undergoes, even if he has to have throat cancer or any type of somebody is cutting his throat, from his word only comes, only one thing that will come. It is Rama's will. Ramakrishna also quotes the incident from a warrior who was also a great Rama Bhakta. One day his own Mohammedan soldier stabbed him because he did not like a Hindu king. And the person was dying. And his colleagues rushed and then they asked, tell us who killed you, stabbed you. We will give appropriate punishment. And he laughed and said, it was Rama who killed me. It was Rama. This would be the attitude until the body is dropped. That is the attitude of every Jeevan Mukta. With this, we will now enter into the next, last but one, 13th mantra. So the question that comes now is, how to turn towards God? Is there a God? How to turn towards God? That question we raised earlier, is being elaborately answered in this 13th mantra. What is it telling? Anadi Anantam. There is one. Call Him Ishwara. Call Him God. Call Him Brahman. Call Him Father in Heaven. Call Him Allah. Call Him by whatever name. It doesn't matter. God is only one and there cannot be two Gods. And what are these characteristics? Anadi Anantam. He is beginningless and He is endless. Whatever is beginningless must be only endless. What does it mean? It means He is eternal. Eternal being cannot have a beginning or an end. And then what happens? In this Samsara, He who created this Ghana Samsara, difficult Samsara, Vishwasya Srashtaram, He is the creator. Srishti Sthithi Vinashanam, Srikthi Bhute Sanatane, Gunashtriye Gunamayi, Narayani Namostuti. Vishwasya. Isha Vasyam Itahum Sarvam. He is the creator. In fact, He Himself is manifesting just as we manifest in the form of the entire dream world. From God's point of view, this is called dream world. Not real. What is dream world? There is no real world. Only seeming world. That is called Mithya world. So this entire what we call waking state is also a Mithya world only. What does He say? Vishwasya Srashtaram. The creator of the entire this universe. What universe? How vast is this universe? How many billions of galaxies? We cannot even imagine one galaxy. Billions and billions of galaxies are there. Some astronomers are also positing a fact. Perhaps there are not many universes, but there is a mirror. And in the mirror, just imagine, suppose you have a lot of mirrors, like previously in barbershops, it used to be full of mirrors. And then when you look at it, endless you in endless rooms, endless barbers, endless heads, you will be seeing. And if you go on seeing, really there is no end. So some people are positing the idea perhaps it is having a mirror effect, reflection effect. Whatever be the truth, this cosmos cannot be even imagined. But He is the creator. That means what? He is the manifester. And what is this world? Aneka roopam, infinite number of forms, roopas, infinite number of names, so that we can distinguish one from the other. Same also, infinite number of qualities, one petaled, two petaled, three, four, multiple, one thousand petaled, lotus, etc., etc., infinite number of forms, infinite number of gunas, roopa, nama, guna. And then the fact that is He different from this world? No. Vishwasya ekam pariveshti taram. He is enveloped. If you recollect, whether it is Narayana Suktam or Purusha Suktam, the idea is what? The whole universe. And in this, any head you see, that is God, Vishnu. Any hand, God's hand. Any ear, God's ears. Any legs, only an infinitesimal part of the, an infinitesimal part. That was the idea. In the previous verse we have seen, eleventh verse, that is valagra. Vala means hair. Split it into hundred. And that hundredth part, again you split it into another hundred. That means a billionth, billionth part of that hair. That is how a Jeeva looks. But, Angushta Matraha, Ravi Prabhavan, He is glowing like the midday sun, even though we are thinking He is small, because of the body. What is the parimana of Jeeva? In a mosquito's, in an amoeba's body, only very soon. But, that doesn't apply to your consciousness, Jeevatma. Jeevatma is infinite. So that is being said, Vishwasya ekam pariveshti taram. He is only manifesting, like clay pervading, every single part. In fact, there is no part, it is only Nama. It is only a misnomer, a name, name and form, and quality. But really speaking, other than clay, there is nothing else. And, we have to, by knowing Gnatva, Evam Gnatva, that word, Ekam is there, not Evam is not there. We have to supply. Evam Gnatva, knowing the Lord, knowing what, that, I do not exist, you do not exist, the world doesn't exist, then what about everything? Everything is God. Sarvam Vishnumayam Jagatam. Evam, Evam Gnatva, one who realizes, not intellectual knowledge, but actually, Sarvapapaihi Mutsyate, then alone, he understands, Aham Brahmasmi, and for such a person, just as a person, thinking that he was bound by a thousand ropes, in his dream, as soon as somebody wakes him up, immediately he realizes, he was not in bondage, he was never in bondage, he will never be in bondage, that was just his daydream or night dream. I am that pure conscious being, Evam Mutsyate, immediately, as soon as he wakes up, to this knowledge, that I am Brahman, Mutsyate Sarvapashaihi, knowing the Lord, in the midst of the chaos, a beautiful word is used, Kalila, this is not the first time, we have also come in the earlier chapter, also the word Kalila, Kalila also is the name, when a fetus, even before the fetus is born, that is also in a very indistinguishable form, Kalila means very confusing, this is what we call a virile pool, very difficult to come out of it, but the Samsara is compared to a Kalila, Virile pool, Viram Krishna's favorite illustration will be Vishalakshir, Virile pool, that is, once a cart enters into it, nobody, no cart can come out, because it is so deep, a deep hole is there, and he will not be able to come out, but is there any way? Yes, knowing the Lord, in the midst of this chaos, that means Samsara is nothing, but it is only God, knowing that Samsara doesn't exist, that is why Mithya Jagat, Brahma Satyam, God alone is real, Jagat Mithya, this world doesn't exist, doesn't mean that it is not there, it means what we see and label it as the world, is none other than Brahman only, and so what about me? So, Jeevaha Brahma Eva Na Aparaha, Jeeva is none other than Brahman, but you have to extend, this world also is none other than Brahman, but not in this form, with Nama Rupa Guna, it is not Brahman, it is a manifestation of Brahman, with knowledge, it is only Brahman, because Brahman is Ekaha, Brahman is Nityaha, Brahman is Anantaha, Brahman is Anadi, this is what we have to understand, so the compassionate Lord alone, who unites the individual to the results of his actions, is also the cause for his liberation, it is he who bestows his grace, and how does his grace come? In two forms, God's grace inevitably comes to us in two forms, what is the first form? It comes in the form of the teachings of our Guru, God's grace immediately brings Guru, and who is a Guru? God's grace, in the form that we can contact, we can relate, we can serve, we can ask questions, and what does he speak? Nothing but pure scripture, that is God's knowledge, this is the first point, what is the second form of God's grace? It slowly transforms us, inspires us, it destroys all the obstacles, as we have seen in the life of Totapuri Maharaj, even though he was not realizing, he thought that I am doing sadhana, I am progressing, but the Divine Mother made him understand, that the desire for sadhana, first of all, the very human body, very hefty, healthy, strong, Punjabi human body, and then a mind endowed with sattva guna, a mind which has developed a yearning for God realization, and the obtainment of a great brahmajnani as a Guru, and rigorous training under the Guru for several years, until a person can meditate completely naked, even in the freezing cold, or in what is called torturous heat, either way, and what about the inner problems, kama, krodha, loba, moha, madha, matsarya, and one who has been completely saved, not even one hint, whether this person looks very beautiful, I would like to live with this person, no kama, no krodha, most important problem is kama only, whether it is for food, whether it is for beauty, whether it is for wealth, or for sense enjoyment, all are kama, and that kama, it will be thousand fold increasing, by the grace of God, not thousand fold, billion fold it will increase, but first of all, not many desires, only one desire, secondly, what is the desire? I want to go to my mother's house, mana chalo nija niketane. I realize I am wandering in a foreigner's dress, in a foreign country, and I want to go to my mana chalo nija niketane, otherwise, jabe ki hey din, shall all my days, O Lord, go in vain, I have already spent, no more, that's why Rama Krishna used to cry, O Mother, another day has passed, and I have not seen, so, that is how, through God's grace, human birth, God's grace, desire for liberation, and favorable environment, and by God's grace, complete removal of kama, krodha, etc., and at the end, giving the self-satisfaction, I have achieved everything, that is also Mother's will, a child must run here and there, then only it will feel, I have done a lot of job, work, hard work, I deserve mukti, then, that alone, all this comes as a result of God's grace. Then Sri Ramakrishna touched the hearts of people on 1st January 1886, and uttered those greatest blessings, chaitanya hok, may your spiritual consciousness be awake, and God consciousness be awake, what an infallible result of that touch, people had visions, people had bhavas, people had lot of different experiences, because a pure soul, with the greatest love, and pure motive, touched them in the most pure way, thinking that I am not touching, but my Divine Mother is touching, and that would be the journey's end. Just as in the outside world, the individual initially finds only chaos and confusion within, not in the beginning, in the beginning, the most marvellous place, I want to see what is happening, and enjoy it, then only he finds, it is only nothing but confusion and chaos, Kalila, then he turns, then the inward journey starts, it is more difficult, and obstacle written, but he goes on, and by God's grace, he meets the Lord, the creator of all, whom he then recognises, as this entire world, in everybody, as Kumara, Kumari, Puman, Stri, Vriddhaha, as everybody, and then he knows, I am also God, I am the Self, I am worthless, I am deathless, and then forever he is liberated from the cycle of birth and death, and then that is what is being said in the final mantra of this fifth chapter, Those people, those who know this Deva, this Divine Lord, what happens? They give up this body, what does it mean? Not that they die, not that they kill, give up means what? Give up the agnanis view, that I am the body, I am the mind, that is all, body is there, body is not there, mind is there, mind is not there, is not a problem, problem is only I am the body, I am the mind, what type of Lord? Shivam, he is auspicious, what type of Lord? Bhava, Abhava, Karam, he can create, he can also dissolve, he can make manifest, he can also make unmanifest, Bhava, Abhava, he can bring something into being, and he can also take back into non-being, non-being means don't think, non-existence, non-being means unmanifest, and then Kala, Sarga, Karam, he had endowed this person with Shodasha Kalas, I will come to that, we dealt actually with it in the Krishna Upanishad, Bhava, Grahya, that means he understands only one thing, this Jeevatma loves me, he doesn't want anything else, and then Anidakhyam, he is beyond the Sthula Sharira, Sukshma Sharira, and Karan Sharira, so those who know this God, who can be realized only through devotion, who is a divide of a body, who creates and destroys the world, who is pure, who projects the 16 parts, that those persons, knowing the Divine Lord, they attain Mukti, knowing the Divine Lord, how? By feeling, I am not the body, and I am not the mind, that is what he says. This is what Swami Vivekananda wants to tell us, by giving, any sincere spiritual person's prayer will be like the Prahlada's prayer taken from the Vishnu Purana, या प्रीतिर विवेकानाम् विषयेशु अनपायिने त्वाम् अनुस्मरतः सामे हृदयान् मापसर्पतु that deathless love, which the ignorant have, are the fleeting objects of the senses. As I keep meditating on you, may I not, may not that love slip away from my heart. That means, may I always be loving and devoted towards you. There is nothing else. And then, Sri Ramakrishna goes into ecstasy, like Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He says, that only God's grace, he says, only, O God, pray, give me knowledge, give me devotion, and reveal yourself to me. And Sri Ramakrishna said, repeat his name, and sins will disappear. Thus you will destroy lust, anger, the desire for creature comforts. And then he says, a poet has compared devotion to a tiger. Just like the tiger devours animals, devotion alone can swallow up all the archenemies of man, like kama, krodha, lobha, moha, madha, matsarya. And a devotee asks, we have passions, and why should God create passions? He says, the impulse of lust should be turned into the desire to have intercourse with Atman, etc., etc. Then Sri Ramakrishna says, that single-pointed devotion and faith is the only key to God realization. Love, devotion, and faith in God is the only way. There is no other way. Then Krishna Upanishad says, this Kalasarga Karam has nothing to do with hearts. There are five, what are the sixteen aspects? What are those? Shodasya Kalapurna. Five elements, bhutas, faith, shraddha, prana, indriyas, mind, strength, food, penance, mantra, realms of experience, and go back to the Krishna Upanishad, sixth, last question, fourth mantra. So, having given up all identity with the body, such a person, what does he do? He completely becomes a realized soul, he becomes a Mukta Purusha. This is the most marvelous chapter having fourteen mantras. What are the effects of these? Fourteen mantras are there. So, first it starts with that Brahman is beyond anybody's imagination. But both vidya and avidya are there. And avidya prepares us for vidya and vidya releases us. ksharam tu avidya amrutam tu vidya vidya vidya ishate estu so anyaha In the immutable, infinite supreme Brahman remain hidden the two, knowledge and ignorance. Ignorance leads to worldliness and knowledge to immortality. Brahman controls both knowledge and ignorance because both help a person evolve towards God. That is the idea. Don't think that God will ever damn us. In the second is telling God is everything. God is everybody. Everybody is God. God is everything. yo yonim yonim adi tishtati ekaha He is the non-dual Brahman who rules over everybody. And then He is the Jalavan. He is the Ishwara sarva-bhutana prideshaya arjuna tishtati brahman sarva-bhutani entrarudhani mayaya He is running this show called the Samsara. He is the script writer. He is the director. He is the producer. He is the actors and actresses. He is the stage of the drama. He is the audience. He is the critic. He is everything other than Him. Nobody is there. And that is reinforced in the fourth mantra sarva-disha, udvam, adasya, teriya He is there above, below, left, right, inside, outside. But He is only manifesting as the Jeeva. This Jeeva appears to be very small because of the body and mind. Angushta matra, but ravitulya roopaha He is really no less than that bright sun. And then in the thirteenth we have seen that anadhyanantam kalilasyamathye vishvasya srashtaram aneka roopam vishvasya ekam parivesthitaram nathva demam uchyate arvapashayi He who knows the Lord, who is without beginning or end, who stands in the midst of the chaos of this Samsara, who is the creator of all things and endowed with many forms, He who knows that radiant divine being, the sole pervader of the universe, is forever released from all his fears. And then in the last 14th mantra, He is called bhavagrahim anidakhyam bhavabhavakaram shivam kalasargakaram devam evaduhu te juhuhu tanum. Those who know Him, who can be realized by the pure heart, who is called incorporeal, who is the cause of creation and destruction, who is all good and the creator of the 16 parts, those who realize the luminous Lord are freed forever from Samsara. With this, we completed the 5th chapter, 14th mantras. From next week, we enter into the 6th and last chapter of the Shweta Shwetara Upanishad. Om Jananem Sharadaam Deveem Ramakrishnam Jagadgurum Padu Padme Tayo Sritva Pranamaame Muhur Mahuhu May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti. Jai Ramakrishna.
[[Category:Svetasvatara Upanishad]]

Svetasvatara Upanishad Lecture 37 on 08 July 2023

2023-07-09T21:49:19Z

Sevak123: Changed several occasions of Khalvitam to Khalvidam, advaitayam to Advitiyam. Added sanskrit word for Esha

== Full Transcript ==
By the grace of God, we have completed the 5th chapter of the Svetasvatara Upanishad and are now entering the final chapter, which consists of 23 mantras. Here is a summary of the main thrust of these mantras:

# God is described as being full of Ananta Kalyana Guna Sagaraha, representing an ocean of infinite auspicious qualities.
# He is the creator, sustainer, and recycler of the universe.
# God, as the creator, does not perform a separate action but manifests Himself as the world. This process has been repeated countless times in the past, and the terms Brahman, Eshwara, Narayana, Rudra, and Shiva are used interchangeably to represent the entirety of the universe. The word Rudra specially occurs here quite a number of times.
# The mantra "Devasya Eshaha Mahima" ( देवस्य एष महिमा )conveys that the whole universe is the glorious manifestation of the Divine Lord. This mantra may have inspired the 10th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, known as Vibhuti Yoga. Vibhuti refers to the expression of divine glory. The mantra emphasizes that the entire universe is nothing but the manifestation of the Divine Lord's glory. In other words, everything, including living and non-living entities, is ultimately an expression of the Divine. This understanding of Mahima or Vibhuti highlights that only God exists and manifests in all things.
# The metaphor of God playing a solitaire game represents His desire to engage with Himself since there is no second entity. It reflects the concept of "Ekameva Advitiyam" (एकम एव अद्वितीयऺ) (there is only one without a second). However, God veils His own awareness and plays as if He doesn't know His true nature. This situation parallels our own experience, where we perceive ourselves as separate from God despite the teachings of Vedanta, Vedas, and Upanishads, which proclaim "Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma" (everything is indeed Brahman).
# There is a way to overcome this perceived separation by worshiping God, transforming our lives, and surrendering to Him. Through His grace and the acquisition of knowledge, our delusions will be dispelled. This process leads us to unite with the Divine, realizing our identity as "Aham Brahmasmi" (I am Brahman), and understanding that "Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma" (everything is indeed Brahman).
# The difference between "Aham Brahmasmi" and "Sarvam Khalvidm Brahma" is explained as follows: When a person attains the knowledge of "Aham Brahmasmi," they are less likely to reincarnate and return to this world. However, by the will of God, some individuals are retained in body and mind to manifest His glory as teachers. This is the basis of the Guru Parampara tradition, where the true knowledge is passed from guru to disciple. This tradition must be preserved to prevent the scriptures from disappearing or being misinterpreted. The power of ideas and the influence of those individuals who may be unknown to the world but possess powerful ideas are highlighted. Their mere presence, breath, and life benefit the entire world. This underscores the ultimate message that the grace of God is ever ready to help us, and through our spiritual practice (sadhana), we receive what God is ready to bestow upon us out of His infinite love. Understanding this principle not only helps us comprehend the teachings of the Svetasvatara Upanishad but also applies to every Upanishad, every scripture that has existed, currently exists, and will exist in the future.

As I mentioned there are 23 mantras are there in the 6th chapter. They are not very complicated mantras. So I am hoping we can progress quite quickly. Here goes the first mantra <blockquote>स्वभावमेके कवयो वदन्ति कालं तथान्ये परिमुह्यमानाः ।

देवस्यैष महिमा तु लोके येनेदं भ्राम्यते ब्रह्मचक्रम् ॥१॥</blockquote>In this first mantra of the last chapter, a special word, Brahma Chakram, is used to refer to the world. Instead of using terms like Samsara or Jagat, the Upanishad suggests using the term Brahma Chakram. This highlights the power of words and how they can make a significant difference. Modern sociologists have recognized the impact of word choices. For example, calling someone an "old fellow" may evoke a sense of depression, while referring to them as a "senior citizen" emphasizes their experience and value, which is particularly valued in Western cultures.

Practical examples of this linguistic influence can be seen in Western societies. For instance, if an elderly person enters a bus where all the seats are occupied, someone is likely to give up their seat out of respect for their seniority. While initially, this may seem respectful, the underlying motivation may be a perception of the elderly person as a potential danger. However, this highlights the power of nomenclature and the impact it has on our perceptions and behavior.

Naming individuals with revered names such as Keshava, Narayana, Vyasa, Uma, Parvati, Sharada, Saraswati, and others carries deeper meaning and significance. These names are associated with gods and goddesses and hold fixed entities in the unconscious. Hearing these names can inspire us to become better individuals. The Bhagavatam illustrates this through the story of Ajamila, where even by uttering the name "Narayana," he attained elevation.

Words carry immense meaning, inspiration, and guidance. They have the potential to uplift and influence us. Therefore, it is essential to remember and chant the names of God. The Upanishad introduces the term Brahma Chakram, meaning the wheel of Brahma, to describe the world. Instead of using terms like Samsara, Brahma, Maya, and Avidya, which we may be familiar with and consider ourselves knowledgeable about, the Upanishad suggests the term Brahma Chakram to emphasize the notion of whirling round and round.

Bhagavan Krishna beautifully describes this concept in the Bhagavad Gita, where He states that Ishwaraha Sarvabhutanam, meaning God is the controller of all beings, and Bhramayan Sarvabhutani, meaning He causes them to whirl in cycles. The term Brahma Chakram implies that the whirling movement of the world is akin to a loving mother rocking her child to bring happiness. Eventually, the child settles down and goes to sleep. This perspective highlights that the whirling nature of the world is an expression of Brahman's power, which ultimately leads to spiritual growth and enlightenment.

With this understanding, the first mantra of the last chapter serves as a reminder and summary of all the preceding five chapters, encapsulating their essence.

In the wheel of delusion, there are two types of people: the learned and the ignorant. Despite their differences, both are trapped in the delusion. The Upanishad uses the term "wheel of delusion" to describe this situation. In the first chapter of the Upanishad, the seekers of Brahman gathered to discuss the cause of the world. Understanding the cause of something grants complete knowledge, as knowing the root cause clarifies all effects. If one sees a pot as a pot, they are limited in their knowledge. But if they recognize that the pot is made of clay, they gain knowledge of all pots, as they realize that all pots are essentially clay. This is ''Sarva Jnanam'', knowledge of the fundamental cause.

Different causes have been proposed for the world, such as Swabhava (nature), Kala (time), and accidents. However, the seekers, who have studied under Svetasvatara Rishi, understand that these causes are part of nature itself. They are not ultimate causes. The Upanishad refers to these seekers as Brahma Jnanis, as they have become realized souls through training, instruction, and practice, even though they have not fully realized the truth.

Various causes have been proposed by different individuals, such as Swabhava (nature) and Kala (time), leading to diverse opinions. However, the seekers studying under Svetasvatara Rishi came to the realization that these causes are all part of nature. Time, law, nature, and accidents are all components of nature and cannot be the ultimate cause. The Brahmarshis, who are called Brahma Jnanis (knowers of Brahman), have attained a level of realization, even though they have not fully realized it. They have received training, instruction, and practice, making them realized souls. Based on their understanding, they draw conclusions.

Learned individuals often propose Swabhava (nature) as the cause of the world. These can include scientists, materialists, and non-believers who attribute everything to nature, excluding the factor of God. However, these individuals are deluded because they fail to recognize the extraordinary intelligence present in the world. For instance, birds construct intricately beautiful nests that surpass human capabilities. Observing the intelligence in nature, such as the design of spider webs, has even influenced human technology, like the development of the internet. The study of birds' flight has inspired advancements in aerospace engineering. Intelligence, consciousness, and life are intertwined in nature. Scientists label nature as lifeless (jada) or inert, yet it is illogical to associate consciousness and inertness. To suggest that something which does not possess a certain quality, such as consciousness, can suddenly acquire it over time from an external source and then manifest as the lowest forms of life, like amoebas, is an unscientific view. This notion lacks scientific basis and is entirely unacceptable.

The first mantra of the last chapter addresses the misguided opinions of the deluded. The enlightened rishis express their realization that some people, due to their ignorance, attribute the world to Swabhava (nature) or Kala (time). However, these different opinions stem from complete delusion (''परिमुह्यमानाः''). They lack knowledge of the truth regarding God, nature, and themselves. The rishis firmly state that the glory of the Divine Lord (devasya esha mahima) is the true essence of this world. The mahima (glory) refers to the manifestation of the Divine Lord, where the formless (nirguna) appears as having qualities (saguna) and the formless (nirakara) appears as having form (sakara). The Divine Lord is infinite, and therefore, His manifestation encompasses infinite names, forms, qualities, colors, and everything else. The world, known as brahma chakram, is continuously rotating due to the power of His glory (mahima).

This is precisely what Lord Krishna conveys in the Bhagavad Gita when he states, "Ishwara sarvabhutani" - the Divine Lord is the controller of all beings. He continues by explaining that He operates the machinery of the world, "hriddeshe arjuna tishtati bhramayan sarvabhutani yantrarudani mayaya" - by whirling all beings within the wheel of the world through His divine maya.

The term "Brahma chakram" refers to the wheel of Brahma, symbolizing the cyclical nature of existence. Like a wheel, where the top becomes the bottom and vice versa, the world goes through endless cycles. The wheel of samsara, or the cycle of birth and death, is considered beginningless (anadi) and endless (ananta). Within this wheel, some beings find liberation and transcend the cycle.

The essence of this mantra is that anyone who perceives anything other than God as the ultimate reality is mistaken. The ultimate truth is that God is the fundamental cause (mula karana). However, an important point arises when discussing cause and effect. Typically, when we consider a cause, we also think of its corresponding effect, and vice versa. But is God subject to the wheel of cause and effect? Is He bound by the cycle of creation and dissolution?

The creation and dissolution of the world fall within the realm of samsara. However, there exists a Creator who initiates this process. Brahman or Ishwara created the brahma chakra, and this wheel is considered an effect (karya). Yet, Brahman or Ishwara transcends this cycle. While there appears to be a relationship between cause and effect, they are interdependent. You cannot speak of a cause without considering its effect, and vice versa. However, this relationship of cause and effect implies duality, and Brahman stands beyond duality.

The mind tends to categorize everything in terms of cause and effect (karya karana). But Brahman is beyond these categories, yet simultaneously manifests within them. This understanding helps us grasp the idea that Brahman is the cause, the world is the effect, and there is a relationship between them. However, these concepts only hold significance as long as the mind operates. When the mind ceases to function, the notions of cause and effect vanish. Everything becomes a unified whole, devoid of separate identities. Even the notion of oneness is a construct of the mind.

In our delusion, some learned individuals argue that the world is a product of inherent nature (svabhava), while others attribute it to time (kala). However, the truth is that this world is the magnificent glory of God. It is through His divine will that the wheel of the world rotates. This serves as the conclusion of the discussion.

Engaging in discussions with fellow seekers is valuable because it allows for vada, a dialogue aimed at seeking truth rather than engaging in arguments or bolstering egos. Through such discussions, we have the opportunity to correct our misconceptions, deepen our understanding, inspire and encourage one another. Cultivating holy company (satsanga) is considered the first commandment for spiritual progress, as it fosters an environment of mutual growth and learning.

This first mantra begins in this manner to reflect the initial discussions among seekers at the beginning of the Upanishad. Seeking the cause of existence, they inquire about their origins, sustenance, and the supporting force behind their existence. Through disciplined spiritual practice (sadhana), they arrive at the right answer - the realization that it is God alone, referred to here as Brahman, Eshaha, or Purusha.

In this context, the remaining 22 mantras focus on the glory of God, which is referred to as Tat in Vedanta philosophy. Previously, the Upanishad discussed the nature of Tvam, meaning "you," and later delved into the nature of Tat, meaning "that." This shift occurs around the 8th or 9th mantra, specifically addressing the Tat aspect. Tat signifies Brahman, which is perceived as something separate or distinct from oneself. However, the ultimate realization is that in the state of ignorance, one may perceive God as separate, but through realization, the truth becomes clear, and the statement "Aham Brahmasmi" emerges naturally. This means "I am Brahman." Furthermore, if a person still possesses a body and mind, they will understand that this body and mind are not theirs alone, but belong to God, who has temporarily entrusted them. At this stage, the individual is no longer a separate individual soul (Jeevatma) but comprehends their true identity. They not only know who they are but also recognize that everything is Brahman, as expressed by the statement "Sarvam Khalvidam Brahman." Mantra 2 expands upon this idea, explaining that the world is nothing but Brahman. <blockquote>येनावृतं नित्यमिदं हि सर्वं ज्ञः कालकारो गुणी सर्वविद् यः ।

तेनेशितं कर्म विवर्ततेह पृथिव्यप्तेजोनिलखानि चिन्त्यम् ॥२॥</blockquote>It originated from Brahman, is sustained by Brahman, and eventually merges back into Brahman. Brahman is the cause, and the world is the effect. This concept is initially taught to beginners in Vedanta, and the ultimate conclusion is that everything is Brahman. The mantra emphasizes that Brahman is the creator, the one who manifests, and the all-pervading essence. Brahman possesses all qualities, is omniscient, and encompasses the entire creation. The mantra highlights the five elements: akasha (space), vayu (air), agni (fire), apaha (water), and prithivi (earth), which are perceived and experienced within the manifested universe. Contemplating upon these elements deepens our understanding and aligns with our experiential reality.

If you ask who I am, I would say I am this body. But what is this body? It is a combination of the five elements. Similarly, the mind is also a combination of the five elements, but it is more subtle, hence referred to as the subtle body. Since the mind is subtle, its cause must also be subtle, and they are known as tanmatras or subtle elements. Now, where did these tanmatras come from? Before their manifestation, time and the pancha bhutas (five elements) did not exist. The creation, known as srishti, involves time, space, and causation. In the Puranic explanation, it is said that Brahma, not to be confused with Brahman, is the creator. Brahma manifests the pancha bhutas by mixing with one another, a process called panchikaranam. This manifestation is the result of that process, and the entire universe is born from it.

What the Upanishad is conveying is that there is one ultimate reality referred to as "he" or "esaha,"(एष) which is none other than Brahman. It pervades everything, creates everything, and is both inside and outside. Nothing exists apart from this ultimate reality. This reality is eternal and pervades everything we experience. Everything in this world is ruled by this Lord, known as Ishwara or God. He is all-knowing because who could know better than the creator himself? He knows himself as everything.

Furthermore, the Upanishad mentions the term "guna," which usually implies good qualities. But here, it signifies that God possesses every quality. All qualities, whether good or evil, happy or unhappy, are manifestations of God. However, a doubt may arise when considering individuals who commit heinous acts like murder. It is important to understand that God is not directly responsible for these acts. In the concept of karma, if someone is a murderer, it is because in their previous life, they committed wrongful actions that require karmic consequences. Death, in this context, is not non-existence but rather another opportunity for the soul to accumulate karma by performing actions, both good and bad.

So that is, I mean, another chance to do anything, whether good or bad, to reform oneself. So God is referred to as "guni," possessing both auspicious (subha) and inauspicious (asubha) qualities. But we must remember that what we perceive as inauspicious or suffering in our current state is actually beneficial in the long run. For example, when a teacher punishes a student or when the police apprehend a thief, it may seem like suffering, but it serves as a means of correction and learning. Similarly, a mother punishing her child is an act of love and guidance. Temporarily, we may perceive these situations as suffering, but ultimately, they turn out to be for our own good. This is because of the concept of prarabdha, the karmic consequences from past actions.

Now, let's delve into the idea of "sarvavid," one who knows everything. The creator must possess complete knowledge to create something. If a person lacks complete knowledge, their creation will be flawed. By the same token, God, as the creator, knows everything and therefore manifests everything. He is in control of the entire world. The world, its activities, and its various mechanisms are willed by God. Just as a person operates various machines, God operates the entire world. It is all within His control.

Everything that we do, whether good or evil, is ultimately willed by God. Even the ignorance we may have is a creation of God. If we question why we are in jail, for example, it is because God has willed it. We mistakenly think that we are separate from God, but in reality, everything is under His control. It is like a dream where the dreamer experiences various actions, but in reality, it is the dreamer who is creating and experiencing them. This understanding helps us realize that everything is happening by the will of God.

Now, let's discuss karma. All actions, whether performed by us or by God, can be classified into three categories: srishti (creation), sthiti (maintenance), and laya (dissolution). Consider the example of hunger. We create the hunger by running around, and the remedy for hunger is food, which we also create. This is the act of creation. Then we enjoy the food, which is the act of maintenance. Finally, the food is consumed, which is the act of dissolution. This cycle of creation, maintenance, and dissolution applies to all actions, and it is what God is constantly engaged in, from beginningless time.

Now, let's look at the instruments God used to perform these actions. Prithvi (earth), apaha (water), tejaha (fire), anilaha (air), and khani (space). These elements together constitute the world, and God uses them to create, maintain, and dissolve. For example, when we are hungry, the element of earth acts as food. When we are thirsty, water becomes the remedy. When we feel cold, heat provides warmth. When we need to breathe, air sustains us. And when we need space to move, space is present. Contemplate on these facts and understand the intricate workings of creation, maintenance, and dissolution orchestrated by God.

Empty space is a term that contains redundant words. Space itself implies emptiness, so there is no need to use the term "empty space." When we refer to space, we inherently understand it as empty. Therefore, it is important to comprehend that everything within oneself is fundamentally empty. We should meditate upon this realization.

The entire universe is composed of the five elements, and I, too, am made up of these five elements. I am a part of the created universe, formed from the five elements. I am sustained with the assistance of these five elements. When the body falls, it returns to its constituent elements, the five elements. Similarly, when the mind attains liberation, it merges back into its subtle components known as tanmatras or subtle elements. This perpetual cycle continues.

This is the essence of the second mantra, which elucidates the nature of perfect knowledge and the disciplines required to attain it. I was once ignorant, but you have taught me about the existence of God, known as Brahman or Ishwara. You explained that this entire universe, including my body and mind, has been created by God using the gross five elements and subtle five elements. Now, how can I return to my true abode? What is the path? What sadhana (spiritual practice) must I undertake to reunite with God, realizing that I am ultimately divine?<blockquote>तत्कर्म कृत्वा विनिवर्त्य भूय- स्तत्त्वस्य तत्वेन समेत्य योगम् ।

एकेन द्वाभ्यां त्रिभिरष्टभिर्वा कालेन चैवात्मगुणैश्च सूक्ष्मैः ॥३॥</blockquote>Mantra three provides a beautiful explanation. It states that after completing the necessary actions and reflecting upon them, one unites various principles with one another. This unity is achieved through association with time and the subtle qualities. What does this mantra convey to us? It tells us that every individual's journey involves performing various actions from the time of creation. After undergoing multiple births, evolving from the tamas guna (mode of darkness) to rajas guna (mode of passion), and finally attaining the sattva guna (mode of goodness), one awakens and realizes that their true parent is God. The desire to return to God arises, but this knowledge can only be attained after fulfilling all the scriptural injunctions (''vidhi'') and prohibitions (''nishedha''). Having experienced everything and feeling content, the characteristic of withdrawal emerges, and one seeks to return to God. This stage is known as vini vartiya, corresponding to the third stage of life known as vanaprastha ashrama (the stage of retirement). Here, one withdraws their attention from the external world and focuses internally, engaging in spiritual practices (''upasana''). This process of internalization involves seeking union with the truth (''tatva'') and becoming one with God (''tatvena''). To achieve this purpose, one must practice yoga and merge their individual consciousness with the universal consciousness.

What is yoga? There are several different definitions. One definition is the attempt to return to the source from which I have come. This is known as yoga. Another definition is the process of letting go of attachments that I have formed. This is the definition provided by Patanjali Rishi: "Yogah chitta vritti nirodaha" – yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind. Initially, I become entangled with ''Prakriti'' (the material nature), identifying myself with the body and mind. I consider myself to be the body and mind, inseparable from them. This is known as samsara, the cycle of birth and death. However, as I gain wisdom, as a Vedantin, I understand that I should withdraw from this identification. This is yoga, the spiritual practice.

What does yoga entail? It involves evolving from a lower state to a higher state, letting go of attachments, and realizing that I have nothing to do with anything. Interestingly, Shankaracharya provides three definitions for the word Upanishad. Upanishad means approaching God or that knowledge without any doubt. The word "satt" is given three meanings: that which loosens the bondage, that which destroys all the bondage or Maya (illusion), and that which makes me realize I am Brahman (the ultimate reality). These three meanings convey the same essence. Loosening the bondage is the first step, followed by completely freeing oneself from it. The journey truly begins after attaining dispassion (vairagya). This is the path of yoga, the spiritual practice.

To reach the truth (tattva), there are four ways: through one (by intense practice), through two (using both effort and surrender), through three (integrating body, mind, and intellect), or through the eight limbs of yoga (as outlined by Patanjali). This requires time and the cultivation of spiritual qualities. The mind becomes subtle through this process, capable of understanding the subconscious and the unconscious aspects of life. The whole life is like the tip of an iceberg, and through yoga, we dive deeper into the universal unconscious. According to psychologists like Jung and Freud, all creatures in the world are connected at the level of the unconscious, the universal unconscious.

Having completed the journey through samsara for a long time, the individual soul (jivatma) examines it and brings together the understanding of the individual self, the soul, and the Supreme Self (paramatma). They are not separate entities. This is done through the association with time and settling the mind, by developing the necessary qualifications (adhikaritva). The foundation of Ashtanga Yoga is Yama and Niyama, the ethical principles, which establish the necessary groundwork. This foundation is called Sukshmaihi Punaischala. With consistent practice, gradually, the individual soul becomes like the Supreme Self. These are profound ideas that we will discuss further in our next class tomorrow.
[[Category:Svetasvatara Upanishad]]

Svetasvatara Upanishad Lecture 01 on 4 March 2023

2023-07-08T16:15:34Z

Sevak123: Changed "Everybody, everybody" to "Everybody"

== Full Transcript(Not Corrected) ==
auṁ jananīṁ śāradāṁ devīṁ rāma-kṛṣṇaṁ jagad-gurum
pāda-padme tayo sṛtvaḥ pranamāmi mūrmukhaḥ
auṁ saha-nāvavatu saha-naubhūnatu
sahavīryam karavāvahai tejasvi nāvadhītamas tu mā vidviṣāvahai
auṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ hāre hē auṁ
By God's grace, we have been able to complete several of the Upanishads.
From today we are starting a new Upanishad.
I am sure you remember, in our last class we have completed the Kena Upanishad,
four chapters and thirty-eight mantras.
So today onwards, Svetāśvatara Upanishad.
How did this name come?
There was supposed to be a Rishi.
It may be his name or it may be his title.
Svetāśvatara.
Sveta means white.
White means pure.
Pure means a mind which knows only God and nothing else.
Therefore he must have got the name or title Svetāśvatara.
Like we say Mahatma Gandhi.
Gandhi is not necessary.
When we talk Mahatmaji did this and that,
then we consider we only mean Mahatma Gandhi.
So Svetāśvatara Upanishad.
And naturally, what is the subject matter?
The subject matter of every Upanishad is exactly the same.
How to convey to us what we are.
And why do we want to know what we are?
Because suffering is inevitable in this life.
Birth is suffering.
Growth is suffering.
Old age is suffering.
Sickness is suffering.
And finally death also is suffering.
Whoever it is, even avatars, incarnations,
if they take birth as any being,
as a fish, as a tortoise,
as a boar or as a human being,
half human being, as human being,
death is inevitable and it is not pleasant.
But not that until death we will be extremely happy,
joyous, life-leading. No.
So every minute we are unhappy.
Why happiness is followed by unhappiness?
Unhappiness is followed by happiness.
And without that we will not know whether we are happy or unhappy.
But all of us long, unconsciously or unconsciously,
we are only travelling towards our own nature.
Every living creature only desires three things.
Let me never die.
Let me never be ignorant.
And let me never suffer.
असतो मा सद्गमय तमसो मा जोतिर्गमय मृत्योर्मा अमृतऺगमय
This consciously or unconsciously,
this is what we are trying to achieve all the time.
And therefore is there any way out?
Now here every Upanishad, Vedanta, crystal clearly tells us
if your nature is not sat-chit-ananda,
that is if you are not immortal,
if you are not all-knowing,
if you are not the nature of bliss,
any amount of effort is not going to make you that.
But if you are that, any amount of maya is not going to stop us.
Either way, what philosophically one terms as teleological urge.
Like a seed, it has an urge.
I must become a plant.
I must become a tree.
I must bear either flowers or fruits or whatever it is.
And then only life becomes meaningful.
Then only I will get what we call fulfillment.
And this is what every living creature is seeking.
No creature wants death.
That is non-existence.
No creature wants ignorance.
And no creature ever wants to suffer even a millisecond.
Naturally the question is,
is it possible to attain eternal life,
infinite life,
eternal infinite joy?
Is it possible?
Categorically the Upanishads, every scripture,
whichever be religion,
that is Kingdom of Heaven or Paradise or Satori, Nirvana or Samadhi or Brahma Sakshatkara,
every religion categorically, emphatically tries to teach us
it is not only possible but it is inevitable.
And this is what Holy Mother used to say,
everybody will be fed.
Maybe some people they get early in the morning
because intelligently they try to obtain.
But it is also possible some lazy fellow will be there
but the mother will not neglect that person.
If necessary, she will tear away that person from toys,
play and drag him, feed him, put him to sleep
because that is what a mother is.
And that is called teleological urge,
only in philosophical language.
So first question is,
can we be eternal?
Can we have all the knowledge?
And can we be all bliss?
Yes.
How is it possible?
Because that is what we really are.
And how to obtain it?
Not by attaining it but by removing the obstacles.
That is why there is a marvelous Vedantic principle,
especially Advaita Vedanta promulgates it, propagates it.
Knowledge doesn't change anything.
Knowledge doesn't produce anything.
Knowledge cannot produce, cannot change.
It can only reveal what already is there.
So if I am not Satchitananda,
knowledge cannot make me Satchitananda.
Whatever I am, that's all that knowledge can reveal to me.
A clay cannot claim,
I will become one day gold or diamond.
Impossible.
Vice versa.
So therefore, here is a question.
Every human being,
especially after going through a long term of unbearable suffering,
every human being puts a question.
I am suffering so much.
I don't want to suffer.
And if there is no way out of suffering,
I would like to die.
I would like to be non-existent.
But if there is any way,
I would like to escape.
Tapatraya abhigatha jignasa.
Is there any way out?
Yes.
That is what Advaita Vedanta Upanishad claims.
The marvellous explanation of the word Upanishad by Shankaracharya
in his Sambandhavahasya,
Rudhikata Upanishad,
which has become popular all over the world,
especially by Vedantins.
He gives three functions of knowledge.
Upa means near.
That which takes us near.
Ni means nisesha,
without any remnant,
without the least possible doubt.
Complete revelation.
Sat, that which loosens the bondage,
destroys the bondage
and reveals to us the truth about ourselves.
This is what you really are.
And it is very logical,
very rational,
if something is bound by a rope for a long time
or even by an iron chain,
in course of time,
it develops rust
and it is very difficult to remove that chain.
What should be done?
We pour some chemicals
so that the rust and other things will be removed.
That is called loosening.
And once it is done,
the chains are totally removed.
And once it is done,
you pull down whatever is covering our true nature.
And this is how the process takes place
and that which helps us to loosen our bondage,
to destroy our bondage
and to reveal our true nature
and whatever does that is called Upanishad.
And so Shweta Shwetara Upanishad is also nothing new.
It does exactly the same thing.
However, there are some fundamental differences
between other Upanishads and Shweta Shwetara Upanishad.
And that is what induced me actually
to take up at this stage.
What are the specialties?
First of all,
Shweta Shwetara Upanishad is not an ancient Upanishad.
It is what we call quite modern.
It is not written very long back,
sufficiently long back,
but not very long back.
That's why many people accept it as modern.
That is the first difference.
Second is, by that time,
Shweta Shwetara Upanishad came to be known
like you know Upanishads are evolving scriptures.
For example,
there is one Sri Ramakrishna Upanishad.
What is the difference between other Upanishads?
Archaic language is not there.
Ideas, even the language itself,
is very difficult to understand Vedic language.
It requires Vedic dictionary,
Vedic terminology,
Vedic explanation
and fortunately,
we had some like Vidyaranya and Shankaracharya,
Ramanujacharya, Madhvacharya,
but there is a problem.
Problem is,
these people,
they are not completely what we call rational.
They claim to be rational,
but they are not really rational.
Whatever they understood,
that alone fanatically they claimed.
This is the only possible meaning
of any particular Upanishad.
No wonder about it,
because even ordinary people,
some of us,
when we are brought up in a household
where Lord Venkateshwara is worshipped
or Kumar Swami or Ganesha
or Durga or Kali
or Shiva or Rama
or Narayana
or Jesus or Buddha,
naturally we are likely to think
we alone are travelling the right path.
Everybody else is,
even if not completely wrong,
at least definitely partially wrong.
So Sri Ramakrishna had come to disabuse.
Once upon a time,
many thousands of years ago,
Bhagavan Krishna had also attempted the same thing.
Crystal clearly He taught,
ये यधा मां प्रपद्यन्ते तान्स्ततैव भजाम्यहं
मम वर्त्मनि अन्मुर्त्तन्ते
मनुष्याः पार्थ सर्वशः
Everybody worships Me
and inevitably worships Me
in exactly the way that person understands Me.
But no need to quarrel.
Everybody is travelling in the right way.
Infinite are the paths.
So infinite paths,
that means you travel any path,
you cannot miss God
because God is everywhere.
That is what we need to understand.
This is the true interpretation of Hinduism.
When I say Hinduism,
when Sri Ramakrishna says Hinduism,
He means Vaidika Dharma.
He doesn't mean by that.
As I explained earlier in some other classes,
Veda means knowledge
and that knowledge is for our good.
And that knowledge is not confined
to the followers of Vedas.
It is confined to anybody
who wants to become better,
anybody who wants to become healthy,
anybody who wants to obtain more happiness.
They have to follow these rules and regulations.
Simple analogy we can give,
comparative analogy.
There are billions of human beings
and everybody's goal
is to first of all
get rid of the disease,
become healthy,
then become strong.
So the rules and regulations
for getting rid of sickness
and for remaining healthy
and for becoming strong
is exactly the same
whether the person is Indian or American
or UK citizen,
French citizen,
it doesn't matter
because body is body.
Everybody has the same constitution.
Everybody has to follow the same
what is called bodily laws, regulations.
And the science of health tells us
one has to take healthy food,
one has to give healthy food
to the mind also
and ultimately
one has to also give spiritual food
because it is a great mistake
most people make.
Man is not consisting of mere body and mind.
There are three bodies,
physical body or external body,
gross body, subtle body
and spiritual body.
If spirituality is neglected
or mind is neglected,
it is like saying
I will only exercise one finger,
one leg,
one part of the eye
just as it remains incomplete,
doesn't do much good.
So also if we do not harmoniously develop
physical health,
intellectual health,
aesthetic health
and spiritual health,
we will be only partially sick persons.
And whatever knowledge,
whatever rules, regulations,
whatever diet,
you know when disease comes,
first find out the cause of the disease,
diagnose.
Secondly, we have to give the appropriate medication.
Even if two persons are suffering
from the same cause,
a wise doctor never prescribes
exactly the same medicine
because there are so many
other variables are there.
Similarly, a Sadguru,
a real Guru,
will not give the same teaching
in general, yes.
In particular, it is a one-to-one relationship
and exact prescription,
what is called tailor-made prescription,
tailor-made breast making,
one has to be given,
then only it will be more effective,
perfectly effective.
And that is what Upanishads claim to do.
Another point we have to remember,
no Upanishad claims
that I will make you God.
If you are God,
you are going to be God
whether you know it or not.
If you are not God,
any amount of effort is not going to make you God.
Then what is the role of the Upanishads?
This is where a crucial question
I am going to answer.
Every Upanishad Swami,
you say, teaches the same thing.
So why should we go through so many Upanishads?
That is the question.
Even studying one Upanishad
or even one chapter
or even sometimes one mantra
is more than sufficient.
Then where is the need
to study everything?
Simple example I will give you.
If somebody has to
want to understand Bhagavad Gita,
how many commentaries he needs?
No commentary.
How many chapters he needs to study?
Not 18 chapters.
How many shlokas he has to mug up
and try to understand?
Only one shloka.
What is that shloka?
But what is the answer to that question I raised?
Why do we need?
Because continuously,
constantly,
with the utmost concentration and devotion,
we need to study the Upanishads.
Why?
Although all Upanishads teach the same thing,
but to reinforce
that essential idea
that I belong to God,
God belongs to me
and there is no difference
between God and me.
In order to understand this,
we will have to study,
meditate,
go on pilgrimage,
do japam,
do worship,
always thinking,
meditating,
worshipping,
speaking with each other,
devotees enjoy.
That is the nature of the devotees.
Until we reach the goal,
repetition is necessary.
And repetition of one
might bring boredom,
monotony.
That's why
repetition,
but in the form of different scriptures,
different Puranas,
different teachings
and different stories
and it will keep us entertained
and prevents monotony.
And so this is how we have to enjoy.
And also,
God has given us the intellect.
Why?
Why only go on repeating like a parrot
the same thing?
Why not enjoy?
Otherwise, Sri Ramakrishna used to give a beautiful example.
Every temple,
they employ some musicians.
Especially there is one,
something called Nadaswara.
So one person,
two persons,
one person will give Shruti.
He only plays the same thing.
But the other person,
he goes through the seven notes,
up, down,
combination
called ragas.
And that is very pleasant.
So Sri Ramakrishna told this
with regard to the Brahmo Samaj.
You people are like that person,
accompanying person
who only plays one raga
again and again and again and again.
It is monotonous.
Sometimes I think of God.
Sometimes I speak of God.
Sometimes I sing of God.
Sometimes I read of God.
Sometimes I listen of God.
Sometimes I dance in the name of God.
I want to enjoy the same sweet
in different ways.
And the more I try to enjoy,
the more I will get so much of Ananda.
So we have to spend our time.
Kala, time, hangs heavy.
But we have the opportunity,
especially nowadays,
internet is the greatest blessing,
provided we use it in the right way.
It is the greatest curse,
provided it is used in the wrong way.
The fault doesn't lie with the internet.
It lies with us who want to use it.
Why did I say?
Because any wonderful talk,
any wonderful song,
anything wonderful,
anywhere in the world,
in the past, present, future,
completely we can access it.
That is very, very, very important for us.
Wherever we are, we can do that.
That opportunity was never there before.
Of course, I would say in the past yuga,
exactly the same thing happened.
It is there.
But now is the wonderful opportunity
at our own time, at our own pace.
And you want to hear for 10 minutes,
15 minutes, 20 minutes, etc.
This is the explanation
why we want to study various scriptures.
We want to enjoy God
in so many different ways.
That is the point.
Now I want to give you a bit of introduction to this
Shweta Shwetra Upanishad.
It also is a marvelous Upanishad.
As I mentioned,
it is not considered as an ancient Upanishad.
And Shankaracharya supposedly had written
a commentary upon it.
Some people accept it.
Some do not accept it.
But it does not matter.
Either Shankaracharya has written
or somebody else in the name of Shankaracharya has written.
So far as it does not confuse us,
it takes us to the same goal.
It helps us in thinking of God
in every aspect,
saguna, nirguna.
That is absolutely fine.
Whether it is Shankara, Ramanuja or Mathwa,
it does not matter.
But we must have that discernment
that whosoever's explanation
is simple, understandable
and helpful in practical life,
that we have to understand it.
So there must have been some people.
There must have been a great Rishi.
And in this instance, he is called Shweta Shwetara.
He was a great Rishi.
A Rishi is one who is a realized soul.
And naturally those who wanted
the knowledge that he realized,
those who are after that type of knowledge,
naturally they are attracted.
Naturally.
There is a natural attraction is there.
Some people, they want to attract.
But if they don't have that,
people may not come.
That is the first failure.
Secondly, even if some people,
say for example, a great musician,
a great singer or instrumentalist,
but everybody will not appreciate.
This is something unique in this world.
If there are 100 musicians,
100 vocalists, 100 instrumentalists
for some peculiar inexplicable reason,
somebody likes one person's way of playing,
singing, other person's others,
there is a wide choice.
So what am I talking?
That you choose which Upanishad you want to study,
which scripture you want to enjoy
and whose explanation gives you the greatest satisfaction
and also the greatest practical help.
We have wide choice.
Earlier days, the girls used to hold a ceremony called Swayamvara.
Now bhaktas have got that Swayamvara.
Ishta Devata is nothing but Swayamvara.
So you can think of God,
you can say to God,
you will dress like this,
you will appear to me with two hands, ten hands, four hands
or whatever way, whichever dress,
it could be yellow, it could be white
and you stand on a lotus
or you stand if you wish on jagged rocks,
doesn't matter.
But I would like to think of you
because whatever gives me enjoyment,
individual taste is what dictates.
This is called Ishta Devata Siddhanta.
So a scripture, a particular path of sadhana,
particular form of God,
particular name of God,
particular dress of God,
particular things associated with that particular God,
all these things, we have been given complete choice,
especially in Hinduism
and that's why it is a supermarket.
You can go to a supermarket
and there is a department called Rama.
Which Rama you want?
You want child Rama, Ramlala.
You want a student Rama.
You want a Yoga Vasishta Rama.
You want a Adhyatma Ramayana Rama.
You want that Rama who went to Dandakaranya
and ultimately went to Sri Lanka,
conquered Ravanasura, brought back Sita
or you want philosopher Rama.
You want the loving eldest brother Rama.
Which Rama you want?
Accordingly, murtis are made
and you can choose.
Similarly Krishna, even better than Rama
because I cannot imagine Rama
dancing with Gopis.
I cannot even imagine him
dancing with Sita, let alone Gopis.
But Krishna, no problem.
How many of you?
Is there any limit?
No limit.
As many of you as you want to dance with me,
you come and dance with me.
I will assume so many forms
and you want Kuchipudi,
I will be Kuchipudi dancer.
You want Bharatanatyam,
I will be Bharatanatyam dancer.
You want Manipuri,
I will be Manipuri dancer.
And whichever you want,
you want modern Russian ballet dancer,
I will be also ballet dancer.
Any form you wish.
This is called Ishta Devata Siddhanta.
No boredom.
One thing I have to accept,
I have to tell you.
There is no religion superior to Hinduism.
You may say that it is fanaticism.
No, I am not talking about fanaticism.
Every religion takes to the same God.
But such a marvellous religion,
especially,
I am a devotee of Lord Venkateshwara.
Early morning,
Sakkare Pongal,
and this Pongal,
and so many other items will come.
No completely different dishes,
including Tirupati Laddu.
Evening, again something separate.
Beginning itself is like that.
And slowly you make your way to Vaikuntha.
Then you will see there
how many varieties of dishes.
And the greatness of Vaikuntha is
that there you will see
that you can digest instantaneously.
I don't even say you digest.
I will say you enjoy through look.
And you will get same satisfaction,
more satisfaction,
then better than eating.
Because if you eat,
you have to digest.
And whatever is indigestible,
you will have to have some attached bathroom.
So many problems are there.
But Vaikuntha, just look,
and you will have tremendous enjoyment.
But if you are a Christian,
I am only making fun, don't mind.
So what will you do?
You will go to after death.
And how do you die?
Like Jesus Christ,
you will be crucified on the cross.
And then God will say,
Sabash, come with me.
And He will give you a huge harp.
And you are supposed to fly,
playing that harp.
God alone knows.
I saw a harp once.
Then I had an idea.
If this is the one,
certainly I don't want to go to Kingdom of Hades.
If I have to carry it 24 hours a day,
it is not desirable at all.
You go to Vaikuntha,
and exclusive face-to-face,
all the 24 hours,
and forever.
So this is the imagination called Ishta Devata.
So let us enjoy these things.
This Shweta Shweta Upanishad
is a modern Upanishad.
What is the speciality?
First of all,
it is not as exclusive
as Advaitic interpretation of the Upanishads.
It combines a lot of the element of Bhakti in it.
And then,
there is a verse there,
says,
Just as a person had tremendous devotion to the Guru,
if the same devotion is directed towards Deva,
calls Deva,
the Divine Lord,
then only,
he will progress in spiritual life.
This is called Bhakti Marka.
So Saguna Brahma Upasana
in the form of especially Bhakti Yoga
is very much emphasized here.
And there are marvelous mantras.
And many of them are containing deep psychological truths.
When the time comes,
I will deal with them.
And this Upanishad contains in total 6 chapters.
And there are 113 mantras are there,
divided not equally,
unequally.
1st chapter has got 16,
2nd chapter 17,
3rd chapter 21,
4th chapter 22,
5th chapter 14,
6th chapter 23.
The 1st chapter contains, as I said, 16 mantras.
This Upanishad is regarded as one of the authoritative works
which formed the Vedanta philosophy.
Its mantras are quoted profusely
in all Vedantic treatises
by virtually every Vedantic teacher.
The peculiarity of this Upanishad is that
it contains passages
that can be interpreted to support dualism,
qualified non-dualism,
and every blessed other system of thought.
Certain verses can also be related
to the Sankhya philosophy of Kapila,
even though there are some acute differences
between the Sankhya school of philosophy
and this Shwetashtra Upanishad.
So here there is a Bhakti,
very strong Bhakti strength,
unlike other Upanishads.
And names like Hara,
Rudra,
Bhagawan,
Agni,
Aditya,
Vayu,
Deva,
other words,
appear frequently in the Shwetashtra Upanishad
denoting the personal God.
This Upanishad identifies the Supreme Brahman with Rudra
who is conceived as the material
and efficient cause of the world
not only as its author
but also as its protector and guide.
Ingredients associated with theism,
that is Bhakti Marga,
like personal God,
devotion to God,
or Bhakti,
are prominent in this Upanishad.
The emphasis is also there on Brahman,
the Absolute,
but it also places equal emphasis on Bhakti,
Saguna Brahman.
So this is the speciality
and that is the Upanishad called Sri Ramakrishna Upanishad.
Every pathway takes us exactly to this same goal
and Shwetashtra Upanishad also overcomes
Sankhya philosophy
divides eternal principles as two,
Purusha and Prakruti.
But in this Shwetashtra,
Prakruti and Purusha are harmonized.
They are not two eternal principles.
This we get in the seventh chapter of the Bhagavad Gita also.
So this Upanishad says
that Pradhana or nature is not an independent entity
but belongs to the Self of the Divine,
Devatma Shakti
and hence God is the possessor of Prakruti.
Another word for Prakruti is Maya
and the maker of Maya is the cause of the world
and this Maya belongs to God
and this Maya consists of three Gunas,
Sattva, Rajas and Tamas.
They are the constituent materials of Prakruti
and the entire universe has come out of Prakruti.
Therefore, every object in this world
is only a combination of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas.
And this is the fact.
Again emphasizing,
maybe Bhagavan Krishna was already familiar with this Shwetashtra.
So he says crystal clearly.
In the seventh he says
the Prakruti, what is called Prakruti,
is my Apara Prakruti,
my lower nature
and Devatma is my consciousness,
is my higher nature.
In this Upanishad,
whose content is taken by the Bhagavad Gita,
the Lord Krishna crystal clearly enumerates.
He says
Daivey Hesha Gunamayi Mama Maya
This Maya is consisting of,
it belongs to me
and it is not possible to overcome the Maya.
Duratyaya
That means will we forever be only stuck in this Maya?
Never be able to get out of it?
No.
The Lord says
Whoever takes refuge in me
Mameva E Prapadyante
Eta Mayam Te Taranti
There are ways.
But you have to tell.
Sri Ramakrishna in his simple words
he is telling this
that don't go and ask Shambhu's servants
how much property he has,
how many houses he has,
how many stock bonds he has.
That means Ramakrishna was very knowledgeable about stock trading.
So he says
you somehow or other
if necessary
by being pushed by the servants
and you go and introduce yourself to the master Shambhu Malik
then he himself will tell you
how many houses, how many gardens,
how many bonds he has,
how much reserve money he has.
Everything he will tell you.
Because the servants also
I don't think any master will tell anybody
any servant
what things he possesses realistically.
So you take refuge in me
and the Maya
not only it will not obstruct you
but it will literally
it will carry you to me.
God is the Mahin,
the maker of the Maya
and from this Maya only came the same world
and the world is a manifestation of God
and one can overcome Maya
by the grace of God alone.
Sri Ramakrishna and Holy Mother
emphatically say this again and again
God can only be realized by His grace
there is no other way
and that is what the Shweta Shwetra Upanishad
emphasizes again and again.
These features of the Shweta Shwetra Upanishad
also allowed great Acharyas
like Ramanuja and Madhva
who are called Bhakti Marga followers
Dvaita Acharyas, Theistic Acharyas
they take the quotations
to support their own views
and they become fanatical
that's where Sri Ramakrishna comes and tells
every Acharya teaches something very nice
just take that part
every Acharya also doesn't teach the truth
there is something which is not ultimate truth
you don't need to take
take it from some other person
I'll give you a small example
Sri Ramakrishna, he is a follower of Shankara
he is a follower of Ramanuja
he is a follower of Madhva
what does he say?
when I am fully conscious
I am a follower of Madhvacharya
Deha Buddhiya Tu Ta Soham
then I will serve you
I will stand with folded hands
I will not dare to transgress your laws
and I am frightened of you
like a servant is frightened of the master
but when the same person
advances to higher level of the mentality
or understanding Naina
then he says
God is like my mother
I am like a child
we are separate but sitting in the lap of the mother
and a mother
there is no mother who doesn't love her child
and there is no mother who neglects her child
everything is completely
taken care of by the mother
I only have to feel that I am a helpless child
and
this is Ramanuja's path
then Ramakrishna says
it is wrong to say
that Saguna Brahma is the highest goal
no, Shankaracharya is right
Advaita is the highest goal
but it is wrong to say
for Shankaracharya
Nainamarga alone can take you to that
Ramanuja is right
surrender yourself
prostrate yourself
take refuge in God
cry like a child
this is called Prapatti Marga
the path of self-surrender
and Ramanujacharya advocates
this Prapatti or Sharanagati Marga
that is what in the Bhagavad Gita we see
Arjuna had done
Sishya means disciple
disciple is one
who gladly submits
to the discipline imposed by the teacher
a teachable person
is called a student
not otherwise
so naturally
Madhava, Ramanuja
they emphatically
dogmatically
emphasize only
what they think
is realism
supporting their views
realism or qualified non-realism
whereas Shankaracharya does
exactly the same opposite
he takes the same mantras
same words
and gives a non-dualistic meaning
and emphasizes that the goal of this
like any other Upanishad
is to prove
that only Brahman exists
Brahman is the sole reality
and no there is no Jeeva
everything is Brahman
the whole universe is nothing but Brahman
so Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda
will not agree with that
are they denying?
no
he says
Sri Ramakrishna says
and what Sri Ramakrishna said
Swami Vivekananda followed
then we hear the words of Swami Vivekananda
we have to always understand
it is not true
Vivekananda
he is only HMV
he is master's voice
a real inspiration
ideas, thoughts, ideals
they belong to Sri Ramakrishna
Sri Ramakrishna is manifesting
in the mind of Narayana Nada
in the form of understanding
and Swami Vivekananda's voice
Swami Vivekananda's expression
Swami Vivekananda's magnetic personality
and his ability
master of the English language
or any other language
it is only for propagating
his master's message
that's why
Swami Vivekananda says
to sister Nivedita
anything good has come from my mouth
it absolutely belongs to Sri Ramakrishna
if nothing
if anything has come out
which is not good
it solely belongs to me
not to Ramakrishna
such humility
such complete self-surrender
and there are instances
when Swami Vivekananda was found
and he was talking in his room
and the hostess heard
distinctly two different voices
next morning when they confronted him
and asked him
who was the other person
he sweetly smiled
sweet smile means
avoiding direct answer
he says
I was talking with myself
was he telling a lie?
no, he was telling the truth
because Ramakrishna is who?
my own Atma
we are not different
they are not two different people
one is the knowledge
another is the expression of the knowledge
instrument of the expression of the knowledge
so Ramakrishna's view is
every teacher is right in some way
not correct in other ways
you take the best of them
and you adopt whatever takes
and that too
with a complete attitude of self-surrender to God
then only you are going to reach the goal
now coming Shankaracharya's Bhashya
this I find is one of the longest Bhashya
Sambandha Bhashya
his introduction runs to pages and pages and pages
so Shankara's introduction to this Upanishad
is a grand illustration of his
broad canvas of arguments
quoting lavishly means
page after page
quotation after quotation
from Shrutis, Smritis, Puranas
Bhagavad Gita etc.
to establish his monistic point of view
but many scholars doubt
whether in fact Shankara had really written a commentary on this Upanishad
but we will not enter into it
let it be anybody
anybody who writes in the name of Shankaracharya
provided he is only placing Shankaracharya's opinions
in his own language
attributing everything to Shankara
it is nothing but Shankara Bhashya
for example
I am trying to explain to you
this Shweta Shweta Upanishad
don't think
Swamitaya Atmananda's commentary
this is nothing but
what I understand by studying
Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vikaranda, Holy Mother
and other teachers also
and I have made a beautiful garland of it
and I am presenting it
so that all of us can enjoy
the real meaning of it
I am not interested in any school of philosophy
I am interested only in presenting
the truth
as we can interpret
in the light of Ramakrishna's life and teachings
in every talk that I do
that's my goal
so let us not go into these controversies
we will try to study this Upanishad as a guide
so that we can see what are the obstacles
we can see what is our goal
we can see what are the pathways
and this Upanishad linguistic wise
language wise
very beautiful
simple
not at all archaic like other Upanishads
it uses simple and lucid language
that propounds inclusiveness
nowadays this world
inclusiveness
is gaining
gained very much in popularity
what does it mean?
when there is a what we call
interfaith meetings
first of all exclusive view
my religion alone is true
every other religion
may be containing some partial truths I concede
but the fullest manifestation
is only in my religion
this is called exclusivism
then the pluralism
there are two varieties of pluralism
the highest type of pluralism says
everybody is trying to express
if a dog barks
if a jackal barks
if a bird cries
if a human baby cries
if a cow also moos
when they are hungry
they mean the same thing
we are hungry
we are thirsty
we want food
that is the only meaning they are conveying
similarly
whoever tells
there is only a practical value
we want to get out of
trita apanasha
that is possible
and every Upanishad's endeavour
is to destroy
loosen and destroy
and reveal the truth
you are never in bondage
you are thinking that you are in bondage
so that is all we require really
so Upanishad is
marvellously synthesising
Sri Ramakrishna's views
that is why I like this Upanishad so much
Swami Vivekananda also quotes from this
so let us not go into the controversies
because if you follow any particular commentary
these controversies are inevitable
so what does this Upanishad teach
in lucid simple language
this Upanishad propounds
inclusiveness
that means
everybody is right
so I was mentioning
higher inclusivism
what is lower inclusivism
they also accept
there are truths
in every religion
but they are incomplete
they are partial
but our religion
allure has the
complete explanation
this is called
lower one and higher one
then there is a
new type of
interfaith meeting
where they adopt
phenomenal view
what is this phenomenal view
that there are some
very intelligent teachers
they say
nobody has any right
to pronounce about any religion
we want to suppose a Christian
wants to talk about Hinduism
for some time
he should practice Hinduism
and he should wear
the shoes of a Hindu
do exactly what the Hindu does
and then only
he will understand
what is the feeling of Hindu
understanding of Hindu
effects of Hinduism
and the
good points in Hinduism
this is called phenomenal view
that is
you actually live for some time
you wear the shoes of
that particular religion
walk with that shoes
for some time
and when you reach
walk for some time
you will have good understanding
provided you are sincere
then every religion
every person has to
follow for some time
then only is exclusivism
lower pluralism
higher pluralism
everything will
inclusivism
everything will disappear
this is called phenomenal view
every religion is real
for the follower
of that particular religion
nobody has got any right
to criticize, to downgrade
or to pull it down
or to compare it with one's own religion
and this is exactly
what Sri Ram Krishna said
everybody's watch is defective
only the sun
maintains the correct watch
right understanding comes
not while we are travelling
but when we reach the goal
become one with the Divine
then we know
from the top of the mountain
we see that various
people all are struggling
all are trying to reach
the top
there is no reference is there
no easy path is there
remember when bhaktas claim
that our path is easy
don't say that
if a yogi
loves yoga
that is the easiest path for him
if a jnani loves
jnana marga
that is the easiest for that person
anybody loves bhakti marga
that is the easiest person
only for him he should not claim
that others are
more difficult paths
that is also a kind of fanaticism
but Ishrita Shethra Upanishad
is I think
more or less is reflecting
what is called
Neo Vedanta as interpreted
by Ram Krishna
and Swami Vivekananda
so this Upanishad teaches the unity
of all souls and the world
in the one supreme reality
treating it as an attempt
to reconcile the different philosophical
and religious views
which prevailed at the time of
its composition
and as I explained earlier
every Upanishad
belongs to a particular
Veda
this Shweta Shethra Upanishad
belongs to what we call
a particular Veda
you know we are familiar
with four Vedas
but we do not remember
that this Yajur Veda
has two recensions
Shukla and Krishna
and this belongs
to Krishna Yajur Veda
and as I said
it contains 113
mantras
and anybody who follows Krishna Yajur Veda
if it is Shukla Yajur Veda
Ishanthi Patha
is Purnamadah Purnamidam
if it is Krishna Yajur Veda
Ishanthi Patha
is what I chanted
Sahana Vavato Sahana Vunato
Sahaveriyam Karavavahai
Tejasvina Hathitamastu
Amavidvisha Vahai
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti
Om, may Brahman protect us both
may Brahman bestow upon us
both the fruit of knowledge
may we both obtain the energy
to acquire that knowledge
may that we
may what we both study
reveal the truth
and may that truth
energize both of us
may we cherish no ill will
towards each other
peace peace three times
I will talk a little
briefly because we have dealt
with the subject before
undertaking any auspicious
activity
we have to pray to God
may this journey be a safe
pleasant less obstacle
and may we
reach our desired
goal with great joy
bounding
jumping from lower joy
to higher joy
for that God's grace is
necessary and God's grace
comes in the form of
both the teacher and the disciples
and only when he blesses
ability to convey
and the ability to understand
both are possible only
by God's grace
understanding is possible by God's grace
endowed with Brahma Tejas
is possible only by God's grace
finally knowing that I am
one with Brahman is only
possible by God's grace
so may both
teacher and the disciple
be blessed by the grace of
God and that is the essence
of this one may we
obtain threefold peace
from the three
sources of affliction
we will talk further things
in our next class.
May Ramakrishna Holy Mother
and Swami Vivekananda
bless us all with Bhakti.
Ramakrishna.

[[Category:Svetasvatara Upanishad]]

Svetasvatara Upanishad Lecture 01 on 4 March 2023

2023-07-08T16:09:15Z

Sevak123: claim > Claimed

== Full Transcript(Not Corrected) ==
auṁ jananīṁ śāradāṁ devīṁ rāma-kṛṣṇaṁ jagad-gurum
pāda-padme tayo sṛtvaḥ pranamāmi mūrmukhaḥ
auṁ saha-nāvavatu saha-naubhūnatu
sahavīryam karavāvahai tejasvi nāvadhītamas tu mā vidviṣāvahai
auṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ hāre hē auṁ
By God's grace, we have been able to complete several of the Upanishads.
From today we are starting a new Upanishad.
I am sure you remember, in our last class we have completed the Kena Upanishad,
four chapters and thirty-eight mantras.
So today onwards, Svetāśvatara Upanishad.
How did this name come?
There was supposed to be a Rishi.
It may be his name or it may be his title.
Svetāśvatara.
Sveta means white.
White means pure.
Pure means a mind which knows only God and nothing else.
Therefore he must have got the name or title Svetāśvatara.
Like we say Mahatma Gandhi.
Gandhi is not necessary.
When we talk Mahatmaji did this and that,
then we consider we only mean Mahatma Gandhi.
So Svetāśvatara Upanishad.
And naturally, what is the subject matter?
The subject matter of every Upanishad is exactly the same.
How to convey to us what we are.
And why do we want to know what we are?
Because suffering is inevitable in this life.
Birth is suffering.
Growth is suffering.
Old age is suffering.
Sickness is suffering.
And finally death also is suffering.
Whoever it is, even avatars, incarnations,
if they take birth as any being,
as a fish, as a tortoise,
as a boar or as a human being,
half human being, as human being,
death is inevitable and it is not pleasant.
But not that until death we will be extremely happy,
joyous, life-leading. No.
So every minute we are unhappy.
Why happiness is followed by unhappiness?
Unhappiness is followed by happiness.
And without that we will not know whether we are happy or unhappy.
But all of us long, unconsciously or unconsciously,
we are only travelling towards our own nature.
Every living creature only desires three things.
Let me never die.
Let me never be ignorant.
And let me never suffer.
असतो मा सद्गमय तमसो मा जोतिर्गमय मृत्योर्मा अमृतऺगमय
This consciously or unconsciously,
this is what we are trying to achieve all the time.
And therefore is there any way out?
Now here every Upanishad, Vedanta, crystal clearly tells us
if your nature is not sat-chit-ananda,
that is if you are not immortal,
if you are not all-knowing,
if you are not the nature of bliss,
any amount of effort is not going to make you that.
But if you are that, any amount of maya is not going to stop us.
Either way, what philosophically one terms as teleological urge.
Like a seed, it has an urge.
I must become a plant.
I must become a tree.
I must bear either flowers or fruits or whatever it is.
And then only life becomes meaningful.
Then only I will get what we call fulfillment.
And this is what every living creature is seeking.
No creature wants death.
That is non-existence.
No creature wants ignorance.
And no creature ever wants to suffer even a millisecond.
Naturally the question is,
is it possible to attain eternal life,
infinite life,
eternal infinite joy?
Is it possible?
Categorically the Upanishads, every scripture,
whichever be religion,
that is Kingdom of Heaven or Paradise or Satori, Nirvana or Samadhi or Brahma Sakshatkara,
every religion categorically, emphatically tries to teach us
it is not only possible but it is inevitable.
And this is what Holy Mother used to say,
everybody will be fed.
Maybe some people they get early in the morning
because intelligently they try to obtain.
But it is also possible some lazy fellow will be there
but the mother will not neglect that person.
If necessary, she will tear away that person from toys,
play and drag him, feed him, put him to sleep
because that is what a mother is.
And that is called teleological urge,
only in philosophical language.
So first question is,
can we be eternal?
Can we have all the knowledge?
And can we be all bliss?
Yes.
How is it possible?
Because that is what we really are.
And how to obtain it?
Not by attaining it but by removing the obstacles.
That is why there is a marvelous Vedantic principle,
especially Advaita Vedanta promulgates it, propagates it.
Knowledge doesn't change anything.
Knowledge doesn't produce anything.
Knowledge cannot produce, cannot change.
It can only reveal what already is there.
So if I am not Satchitananda,
knowledge cannot make me Satchitananda.
Whatever I am, that's all that knowledge can reveal to me.
A clay cannot claim,
I will become one day gold or diamond.
Impossible.
Vice versa.
So therefore, here is a question.
Every human being,
especially after going through a long term of unbearable suffering,
every human being puts a question.
I am suffering so much.
I don't want to suffer.
And if there is no way out of suffering,
I would like to die.
I would like to be non-existent.
But if there is any way,
I would like to escape.
Tapatraya abhigatha jignasa.
Is there any way out?
Yes.
That is what Advaita Vedanta Upanishad claims.
The marvellous explanation of the word Upanishad by Shankaracharya
in his Sambandhavahasya,
Rudhikata Upanishad,
which has become popular all over the world,
especially by Vedantins.
He gives three functions of knowledge.
Upa means near.
That which takes us near.
Ni means nisesha,
without any remnant,
without the least possible doubt.
Complete revelation.
Sat, that which loosens the bondage,
destroys the bondage
and reveals to us the truth about ourselves.
This is what you really are.
And it is very logical,
very rational,
if something is bound by a rope for a long time
or even by an iron chain,
in course of time,
it develops rust
and it is very difficult to remove that chain.
What should be done?
We pour some chemicals
so that the rust and other things will be removed.
That is called loosening.
And once it is done,
the chains are totally removed.
And once it is done,
you pull down whatever is covering our true nature.
And this is how the process takes place
and that which helps us to loosen our bondage,
to destroy our bondage
and to reveal our true nature
and whatever does that is called Upanishad.
And so Shweta Shwetara Upanishad is also nothing new.
It does exactly the same thing.
However, there are some fundamental differences
between other Upanishads and Shweta Shwetara Upanishad.
And that is what induced me actually
to take up at this stage.
What are the specialties?
First of all,
Shweta Shwetara Upanishad is not an ancient Upanishad.
It is what we call quite modern.
It is not written very long back,
sufficiently long back,
but not very long back.
That's why many people accept it as modern.
That is the first difference.
Second is, by that time,
Shweta Shwetara Upanishad came to be known
like you know Upanishads are evolving scriptures.
For example,
there is one Sri Ramakrishna Upanishad.
What is the difference between other Upanishads?
Archaic language is not there.
Ideas, even the language itself,
is very difficult to understand Vedic language.
It requires Vedic dictionary,
Vedic terminology,
Vedic explanation
and fortunately,
we had some like Vidyaranya and Shankaracharya,
Ramanujacharya, Madhvacharya,
but there is a problem.
Problem is,
these people,
they are not completely what we call rational.
They claim to be rational,
but they are not really rational.
Whatever they understood,
that alone fanatically they claimed.
This is the only possible meaning
of any particular Upanishad.
No wonder about it,
because even ordinary people,
some of us,
when we are brought up in a household
where Lord Venkateshwara is worshipped
or Kumar Swami or Ganesha
or Durga or Kali
or Shiva or Rama
or Narayana
or Jesus or Buddha,
naturally we are likely to think
we alone are travelling the right path.
Everybody else is,
even if not completely wrong,
at least definitely partially wrong.
So Sri Ramakrishna had come to disabuse.
Once upon a time,
many thousands of years ago,
Bhagavan Krishna had also attempted the same thing.
Crystal clearly He taught,
ये यधा मां प्रपद्यन्ते तान्स्ततैव भजाम्यहं
मम वर्त्मनि अन्मुर्त्तन्ते
मनुष्याः पार्थ सर्वशः
Everybody worships Me
and inevitably worships Me
in exactly the way that person understands Me.
But no need to quarrel.
Everybody is travelling in the right way.
Infinite are the paths.
So infinite paths,
that means you travel any path,
you cannot miss God
because God is everywhere.
That is what we need to understand.
This is the true interpretation of Hinduism.
When I say Hinduism,
when Sri Ramakrishna says Hinduism,
He means Vaidika Dharma.
He doesn't mean by that.
As I explained earlier in some other classes,
Veda means knowledge
and that knowledge is for our good.
And that knowledge is not confined
to the followers of Vedas.
It is confined to anybody
who wants to become better,
anybody who wants to become healthy,
anybody who wants to obtain more happiness.
They have to follow these rules and regulations.
Simple analogy we can give,
comparative analogy.
There are billions of human beings
and everybody's goal
is to first of all
get rid of the disease,
become healthy,
then become strong.
So the rules and regulations
for getting rid of sickness
and for remaining healthy
and for becoming strong
is exactly the same
whether the person is Indian or American
or UK citizen,
French citizen,
it doesn't matter
because body is body.
Everybody has the same constitution.
Everybody, every body
has to follow the same
what is called bodily laws, regulations.
And the science of health tells us
one has to take healthy food,
one has to give healthy food
to the mind also
and ultimately
one has to also give spiritual food
because it is a great mistake
most people make.
Man is not consisting of mere body and mind.
There are three bodies,
physical body or external body,
gross body, subtle body
and spiritual body.
If spirituality is neglected
or mind is neglected,
it is like saying
I will only exercise one finger,
one leg,
one part of the eye
just as it remains incomplete,
doesn't do much good.
So also if we do not harmoniously develop
physical health,
intellectual health,
aesthetic health
and spiritual health,
we will be only partially sick persons.
And whatever knowledge,
whatever rules, regulations,
whatever diet,
you know when disease comes,
first find out the cause of the disease,
diagnose.
Secondly, we have to give the appropriate medication.
Even if two persons are suffering
from the same cause,
a wise doctor never prescribes
exactly the same medicine
because there are so many
other variables are there.
Similarly, a Sadguru,
a real Guru,
will not give the same teaching
in general, yes.
In particular, it is a one-to-one relationship
and exact prescription,
what is called tailor-made prescription,
tailor-made breast making,
one has to be given,
then only it will be more effective,
perfectly effective.
And that is what Upanishads claim to do.
Another point we have to remember,
no Upanishad claims
that I will make you God.
If you are God,
you are going to be God
whether you know it or not.
If you are not God,
any amount of effort is not going to make you God.
Then what is the role of the Upanishads?
This is where a crucial question
I am going to answer.
Every Upanishad Swami,
you say, teaches the same thing.
So why should we go through so many Upanishads?
That is the question.
Even studying one Upanishad
or even one chapter
or even sometimes one mantra
is more than sufficient.
Then where is the need
to study everything?
Simple example I will give you.
If somebody has to
want to understand Bhagavad Gita,
how many commentaries he needs?
No commentary.
How many chapters he needs to study?
Not 18 chapters.
How many shlokas he has to mug up
and try to understand?
Only one shloka.
What is that shloka?
But what is the answer to that question I raised?
Why do we need?
Because continuously,
constantly,
with the utmost concentration and devotion,
we need to study the Upanishads.
Why?
Although all Upanishads teach the same thing,
but to reinforce
that essential idea
that I belong to God,
God belongs to me
and there is no difference
between God and me.
In order to understand this,
we will have to study,
meditate,
go on pilgrimage,
do japam,
do worship,
always thinking,
meditating,
worshipping,
speaking with each other,
devotees enjoy.
That is the nature of the devotees.
Until we reach the goal,
repetition is necessary.
And repetition of one
might bring boredom,
monotony.
That's why
repetition,
but in the form of different scriptures,
different Puranas,
different teachings
and different stories
and it will keep us entertained
and prevents monotony.
And so this is how we have to enjoy.
And also,
God has given us the intellect.
Why?
Why only go on repeating like a parrot
the same thing?
Why not enjoy?
Otherwise, Sri Ramakrishna used to give a beautiful example.
Every temple,
they employ some musicians.
Especially there is one,
something called Nadaswara.
So one person,
two persons,
one person will give Shruti.
He only plays the same thing.
But the other person,
he goes through the seven notes,
up, down,
combination
called ragas.
And that is very pleasant.
So Sri Ramakrishna told this
with regard to the Brahmo Samaj.
You people are like that person,
accompanying person
who only plays one raga
again and again and again and again.
It is monotonous.
Sometimes I think of God.
Sometimes I speak of God.
Sometimes I sing of God.
Sometimes I read of God.
Sometimes I listen of God.
Sometimes I dance in the name of God.
I want to enjoy the same sweet
in different ways.
And the more I try to enjoy,
the more I will get so much of Ananda.
So we have to spend our time.
Kala, time, hangs heavy.
But we have the opportunity,
especially nowadays,
internet is the greatest blessing,
provided we use it in the right way.
It is the greatest curse,
provided it is used in the wrong way.
The fault doesn't lie with the internet.
It lies with us who want to use it.
Why did I say?
Because any wonderful talk,
any wonderful song,
anything wonderful,
anywhere in the world,
in the past, present, future,
completely we can access it.
That is very, very, very important for us.
Wherever we are, we can do that.
That opportunity was never there before.
Of course, I would say in the past yuga,
exactly the same thing happened.
It is there.
But now is the wonderful opportunity
at our own time, at our own pace.
And you want to hear for 10 minutes,
15 minutes, 20 minutes, etc.
This is the explanation
why we want to study various scriptures.
We want to enjoy God
in so many different ways.
That is the point.
Now I want to give you a bit of introduction to this
Shweta Shwetra Upanishad.
It also is a marvelous Upanishad.
As I mentioned,
it is not considered as an ancient Upanishad.
And Shankaracharya supposedly had written
a commentary upon it.
Some people accept it.
Some do not accept it.
But it does not matter.
Either Shankaracharya has written
or somebody else in the name of Shankaracharya has written.
So far as it does not confuse us,
it takes us to the same goal.
It helps us in thinking of God
in every aspect,
saguna, nirguna.
That is absolutely fine.
Whether it is Shankara, Ramanuja or Mathwa,
it does not matter.
But we must have that discernment
that whosoever's explanation
is simple, understandable
and helpful in practical life,
that we have to understand it.
So there must have been some people.
There must have been a great Rishi.
And in this instance, he is called Shweta Shwetara.
He was a great Rishi.
A Rishi is one who is a realized soul.
And naturally those who wanted
the knowledge that he realized,
those who are after that type of knowledge,
naturally they are attracted.
Naturally.
There is a natural attraction is there.
Some people, they want to attract.
But if they don't have that,
people may not come.
That is the first failure.
Secondly, even if some people,
say for example, a great musician,
a great singer or instrumentalist,
but everybody will not appreciate.
This is something unique in this world.
If there are 100 musicians,
100 vocalists, 100 instrumentalists
for some peculiar inexplicable reason,
somebody likes one person's way of playing,
singing, other person's others,
there is a wide choice.
So what am I talking?
That you choose which Upanishad you want to study,
which scripture you want to enjoy
and whose explanation gives you the greatest satisfaction
and also the greatest practical help.
We have wide choice.
Earlier days, the girls used to hold a ceremony called Swayamvara.
Now bhaktas have got that Swayamvara.
Ishta Devata is nothing but Swayamvara.
So you can think of God,
you can say to God,
you will dress like this,
you will appear to me with two hands, ten hands, four hands
or whatever way, whichever dress,
it could be yellow, it could be white
and you stand on a lotus
or you stand if you wish on jagged rocks,
doesn't matter.
But I would like to think of you
because whatever gives me enjoyment,
individual taste is what dictates.
This is called Ishta Devata Siddhanta.
So a scripture, a particular path of sadhana,
particular form of God,
particular name of God,
particular dress of God,
particular things associated with that particular God,
all these things, we have been given complete choice,
especially in Hinduism
and that's why it is a supermarket.
You can go to a supermarket
and there is a department called Rama.
Which Rama you want?
You want child Rama, Ramlala.
You want a student Rama.
You want a Yoga Vasishta Rama.
You want a Adhyatma Ramayana Rama.
You want that Rama who went to Dandakaranya
and ultimately went to Sri Lanka,
conquered Ravanasura, brought back Sita
or you want philosopher Rama.
You want the loving eldest brother Rama.
Which Rama you want?
Accordingly, murtis are made
and you can choose.
Similarly Krishna, even better than Rama
because I cannot imagine Rama
dancing with Gopis.
I cannot even imagine him
dancing with Sita, let alone Gopis.
But Krishna, no problem.
How many of you?
Is there any limit?
No limit.
As many of you as you want to dance with me,
you come and dance with me.
I will assume so many forms
and you want Kuchipudi,
I will be Kuchipudi dancer.
You want Bharatanatyam,
I will be Bharatanatyam dancer.
You want Manipuri,
I will be Manipuri dancer.
And whichever you want,
you want modern Russian ballet dancer,
I will be also ballet dancer.
Any form you wish.
This is called Ishta Devata Siddhanta.
No boredom.
One thing I have to accept,
I have to tell you.
There is no religion superior to Hinduism.
You may say that it is fanaticism.
No, I am not talking about fanaticism.
Every religion takes to the same God.
But such a marvellous religion,
especially,
I am a devotee of Lord Venkateshwara.
Early morning,
Sakkare Pongal,
and this Pongal,
and so many other items will come.
No completely different dishes,
including Tirupati Laddu.
Evening, again something separate.
Beginning itself is like that.
And slowly you make your way to Vaikuntha.
Then you will see there
how many varieties of dishes.
And the greatness of Vaikuntha is
that there you will see
that you can digest instantaneously.
I don't even say you digest.
I will say you enjoy through look.
And you will get same satisfaction,
more satisfaction,
then better than eating.
Because if you eat,
you have to digest.
And whatever is indigestible,
you will have to have some attached bathroom.
So many problems are there.
But Vaikuntha, just look,
and you will have tremendous enjoyment.
But if you are a Christian,
I am only making fun, don't mind.
So what will you do?
You will go to after death.
And how do you die?
Like Jesus Christ,
you will be crucified on the cross.
And then God will say,
Sabash, come with me.
And He will give you a huge harp.
And you are supposed to fly,
playing that harp.
God alone knows.
I saw a harp once.
Then I had an idea.
If this is the one,
certainly I don't want to go to Kingdom of Hades.
If I have to carry it 24 hours a day,
it is not desirable at all.
You go to Vaikuntha,
and exclusive face-to-face,
all the 24 hours,
and forever.
So this is the imagination called Ishta Devata.
So let us enjoy these things.
This Shweta Shweta Upanishad
is a modern Upanishad.
What is the speciality?
First of all,
it is not as exclusive
as Advaitic interpretation of the Upanishads.
It combines a lot of the element of Bhakti in it.
And then,
there is a verse there,
says,
Just as a person had tremendous devotion to the Guru,
if the same devotion is directed towards Deva,
calls Deva,
the Divine Lord,
then only,
he will progress in spiritual life.
This is called Bhakti Marka.
So Saguna Brahma Upasana
in the form of especially Bhakti Yoga
is very much emphasized here.
And there are marvelous mantras.
And many of them are containing deep psychological truths.
When the time comes,
I will deal with them.
And this Upanishad contains in total 6 chapters.
And there are 113 mantras are there,
divided not equally,
unequally.
1st chapter has got 16,
2nd chapter 17,
3rd chapter 21,
4th chapter 22,
5th chapter 14,
6th chapter 23.
The 1st chapter contains, as I said, 16 mantras.
This Upanishad is regarded as one of the authoritative works
which formed the Vedanta philosophy.
Its mantras are quoted profusely
in all Vedantic treatises
by virtually every Vedantic teacher.
The peculiarity of this Upanishad is that
it contains passages
that can be interpreted to support dualism,
qualified non-dualism,
and every blessed other system of thought.
Certain verses can also be related
to the Sankhya philosophy of Kapila,
even though there are some acute differences
between the Sankhya school of philosophy
and this Shwetashtra Upanishad.
So here there is a Bhakti,
very strong Bhakti strength,
unlike other Upanishads.
And names like Hara,
Rudra,
Bhagawan,
Agni,
Aditya,
Vayu,
Deva,
other words,
appear frequently in the Shwetashtra Upanishad
denoting the personal God.
This Upanishad identifies the Supreme Brahman with Rudra
who is conceived as the material
and efficient cause of the world
not only as its author
but also as its protector and guide.
Ingredients associated with theism,
that is Bhakti Marga,
like personal God,
devotion to God,
or Bhakti,
are prominent in this Upanishad.
The emphasis is also there on Brahman,
the Absolute,
but it also places equal emphasis on Bhakti,
Saguna Brahman.
So this is the speciality
and that is the Upanishad called Sri Ramakrishna Upanishad.
Every pathway takes us exactly to this same goal
and Shwetashtra Upanishad also overcomes
Sankhya philosophy
divides eternal principles as two,
Purusha and Prakruti.
But in this Shwetashtra,
Prakruti and Purusha are harmonized.
They are not two eternal principles.
This we get in the seventh chapter of the Bhagavad Gita also.
So this Upanishad says
that Pradhana or nature is not an independent entity
but belongs to the Self of the Divine,
Devatma Shakti
and hence God is the possessor of Prakruti.
Another word for Prakruti is Maya
and the maker of Maya is the cause of the world
and this Maya belongs to God
and this Maya consists of three Gunas,
Sattva, Rajas and Tamas.
They are the constituent materials of Prakruti
and the entire universe has come out of Prakruti.
Therefore, every object in this world
is only a combination of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas.
And this is the fact.
Again emphasizing,
maybe Bhagavan Krishna was already familiar with this Shwetashtra.
So he says crystal clearly.
In the seventh he says
the Prakruti, what is called Prakruti,
is my Apara Prakruti,
my lower nature
and Devatma is my consciousness,
is my higher nature.
In this Upanishad,
whose content is taken by the Bhagavad Gita,
the Lord Krishna crystal clearly enumerates.
He says
Daivey Hesha Gunamayi Mama Maya
This Maya is consisting of,
it belongs to me
and it is not possible to overcome the Maya.
Duratyaya
That means will we forever be only stuck in this Maya?
Never be able to get out of it?
No.
The Lord says
Whoever takes refuge in me
Mameva E Prapadyante
Eta Mayam Te Taranti
There are ways.
But you have to tell.
Sri Ramakrishna in his simple words
he is telling this
that don't go and ask Shambhu's servants
how much property he has,
how many houses he has,
how many stock bonds he has.
That means Ramakrishna was very knowledgeable about stock trading.
So he says
you somehow or other
if necessary
by being pushed by the servants
and you go and introduce yourself to the master Shambhu Malik
then he himself will tell you
how many houses, how many gardens,
how many bonds he has,
how much reserve money he has.
Everything he will tell you.
Because the servants also
I don't think any master will tell anybody
any servant
what things he possesses realistically.
So you take refuge in me
and the Maya
not only it will not obstruct you
but it will literally
it will carry you to me.
God is the Mahin,
the maker of the Maya
and from this Maya only came the same world
and the world is a manifestation of God
and one can overcome Maya
by the grace of God alone.
Sri Ramakrishna and Holy Mother
emphatically say this again and again
God can only be realized by His grace
there is no other way
and that is what the Shweta Shwetra Upanishad
emphasizes again and again.
These features of the Shweta Shwetra Upanishad
also allowed great Acharyas
like Ramanuja and Madhva
who are called Bhakti Marga followers
Dvaita Acharyas, Theistic Acharyas
they take the quotations
to support their own views
and they become fanatical
that's where Sri Ramakrishna comes and tells
every Acharya teaches something very nice
just take that part
every Acharya also doesn't teach the truth
there is something which is not ultimate truth
you don't need to take
take it from some other person
I'll give you a small example
Sri Ramakrishna, he is a follower of Shankara
he is a follower of Ramanuja
he is a follower of Madhva
what does he say?
when I am fully conscious
I am a follower of Madhvacharya
Deha Buddhiya Tu Ta Soham
then I will serve you
I will stand with folded hands
I will not dare to transgress your laws
and I am frightened of you
like a servant is frightened of the master
but when the same person
advances to higher level of the mentality
or understanding Naina
then he says
God is like my mother
I am like a child
we are separate but sitting in the lap of the mother
and a mother
there is no mother who doesn't love her child
and there is no mother who neglects her child
everything is completely
taken care of by the mother
I only have to feel that I am a helpless child
and
this is Ramanuja's path
then Ramakrishna says
it is wrong to say
that Saguna Brahma is the highest goal
no, Shankaracharya is right
Advaita is the highest goal
but it is wrong to say
for Shankaracharya
Nainamarga alone can take you to that
Ramanuja is right
surrender yourself
prostrate yourself
take refuge in God
cry like a child
this is called Prapatti Marga
the path of self-surrender
and Ramanujacharya advocates
this Prapatti or Sharanagati Marga
that is what in the Bhagavad Gita we see
Arjuna had done
Sishya means disciple
disciple is one
who gladly submits
to the discipline imposed by the teacher
a teachable person
is called a student
not otherwise
so naturally
Madhava, Ramanuja
they emphatically
dogmatically
emphasize only
what they think
is realism
supporting their views
realism or qualified non-realism
whereas Shankaracharya does
exactly the same opposite
he takes the same mantras
same words
and gives a non-dualistic meaning
and emphasizes that the goal of this
like any other Upanishad
is to prove
that only Brahman exists
Brahman is the sole reality
and no there is no Jeeva
everything is Brahman
the whole universe is nothing but Brahman
so Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda
will not agree with that
are they denying?
no
he says
Sri Ramakrishna says
and what Sri Ramakrishna said
Swami Vivekananda followed
then we hear the words of Swami Vivekananda
we have to always understand
it is not true
Vivekananda
he is only HMV
he is master's voice
a real inspiration
ideas, thoughts, ideals
they belong to Sri Ramakrishna
Sri Ramakrishna is manifesting
in the mind of Narayana Nada
in the form of understanding
and Swami Vivekananda's voice
Swami Vivekananda's expression
Swami Vivekananda's magnetic personality
and his ability
master of the English language
or any other language
it is only for propagating
his master's message
that's why
Swami Vivekananda says
to sister Nivedita
anything good has come from my mouth
it absolutely belongs to Sri Ramakrishna
if nothing
if anything has come out
which is not good
it solely belongs to me
not to Ramakrishna
such humility
such complete self-surrender
and there are instances
when Swami Vivekananda was found
and he was talking in his room
and the hostess heard
distinctly two different voices
next morning when they confronted him
and asked him
who was the other person
he sweetly smiled
sweet smile means
avoiding direct answer
he says
I was talking with myself
was he telling a lie?
no, he was telling the truth
because Ramakrishna is who?
my own Atma
we are not different
they are not two different people
one is the knowledge
another is the expression of the knowledge
instrument of the expression of the knowledge
so Ramakrishna's view is
every teacher is right in some way
not correct in other ways
you take the best of them
and you adopt whatever takes
and that too
with a complete attitude of self-surrender to God
then only you are going to reach the goal
now coming Shankaracharya's Bhashya
this I find is one of the longest Bhashya
Sambandha Bhashya
his introduction runs to pages and pages and pages
so Shankara's introduction to this Upanishad
is a grand illustration of his
broad canvas of arguments
quoting lavishly means
page after page
quotation after quotation
from Shrutis, Smritis, Puranas
Bhagavad Gita etc.
to establish his monistic point of view
but many scholars doubt
whether in fact Shankara had really written a commentary on this Upanishad
but we will not enter into it
let it be anybody
anybody who writes in the name of Shankaracharya
provided he is only placing Shankaracharya's opinions
in his own language
attributing everything to Shankara
it is nothing but Shankara Bhashya
for example
I am trying to explain to you
this Shweta Shweta Upanishad
don't think
Swamitaya Atmananda's commentary
this is nothing but
what I understand by studying
Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vikaranda, Holy Mother
and other teachers also
and I have made a beautiful garland of it
and I am presenting it
so that all of us can enjoy
the real meaning of it
I am not interested in any school of philosophy
I am interested only in presenting
the truth
as we can interpret
in the light of Ramakrishna's life and teachings
in every talk that I do
that's my goal
so let us not go into these controversies
we will try to study this Upanishad as a guide
so that we can see what are the obstacles
we can see what is our goal
we can see what are the pathways
and this Upanishad linguistic wise
language wise
very beautiful
simple
not at all archaic like other Upanishads
it uses simple and lucid language
that propounds inclusiveness
nowadays this world
inclusiveness
is gaining
gained very much in popularity
what does it mean?
when there is a what we call
interfaith meetings
first of all exclusive view
my religion alone is true
every other religion
may be containing some partial truths I concede
but the fullest manifestation
is only in my religion
this is called exclusivism
then the pluralism
there are two varieties of pluralism
the highest type of pluralism says
everybody is trying to express
if a dog barks
if a jackal barks
if a bird cries
if a human baby cries
if a cow also moos
when they are hungry
they mean the same thing
we are hungry
we are thirsty
we want food
that is the only meaning they are conveying
similarly
whoever tells
there is only a practical value
we want to get out of
trita apanasha
that is possible
and every Upanishad's endeavour
is to destroy
loosen and destroy
and reveal the truth
you are never in bondage
you are thinking that you are in bondage
so that is all we require really
so Upanishad is
marvellously synthesising
Sri Ramakrishna's views
that is why I like this Upanishad so much
Swami Vivekananda also quotes from this
so let us not go into the controversies
because if you follow any particular commentary
these controversies are inevitable
so what does this Upanishad teach
in lucid simple language
this Upanishad propounds
inclusiveness
that means
everybody is right
so I was mentioning
higher inclusivism
what is lower inclusivism
they also accept
there are truths
in every religion
but they are incomplete
they are partial
but our religion
allure has the
complete explanation
this is called
lower one and higher one
then there is a
new type of
interfaith meeting
where they adopt
phenomenal view
what is this phenomenal view
that there are some
very intelligent teachers
they say
nobody has any right
to pronounce about any religion
we want to suppose a Christian
wants to talk about Hinduism
for some time
he should practice Hinduism
and he should wear
the shoes of a Hindu
do exactly what the Hindu does
and then only
he will understand
what is the feeling of Hindu
understanding of Hindu
effects of Hinduism
and the
good points in Hinduism
this is called phenomenal view
that is
you actually live for some time
you wear the shoes of
that particular religion
walk with that shoes
for some time
and when you reach
walk for some time
you will have good understanding
provided you are sincere
then every religion
every person has to
follow for some time
then only is exclusivism
lower pluralism
higher pluralism
everything will
inclusivism
everything will disappear
this is called phenomenal view
every religion is real
for the follower
of that particular religion
nobody has got any right
to criticize, to downgrade
or to pull it down
or to compare it with one's own religion
and this is exactly
what Sri Ram Krishna said
everybody's watch is defective
only the sun
maintains the correct watch
right understanding comes
not while we are travelling
but when we reach the goal
become one with the Divine
then we know
from the top of the mountain
we see that various
people all are struggling
all are trying to reach
the top
there is no reference is there
no easy path is there
remember when bhaktas claim
that our path is easy
don't say that
if a yogi
loves yoga
that is the easiest path for him
if a jnani loves
jnana marga
that is the easiest for that person
anybody loves bhakti marga
that is the easiest person
only for him he should not claim
that others are
more difficult paths
that is also a kind of fanaticism
but Ishrita Shethra Upanishad
is I think
more or less is reflecting
what is called
Neo Vedanta as interpreted
by Ram Krishna
and Swami Vivekananda
so this Upanishad teaches the unity
of all souls and the world
in the one supreme reality
treating it as an attempt
to reconcile the different philosophical
and religious views
which prevailed at the time of
its composition
and as I explained earlier
every Upanishad
belongs to a particular
Veda
this Shweta Shethra Upanishad
belongs to what we call
a particular Veda
you know we are familiar
with four Vedas
but we do not remember
that this Yajur Veda
has two recensions
Shukla and Krishna
and this belongs
to Krishna Yajur Veda
and as I said
it contains 113
mantras
and anybody who follows Krishna Yajur Veda
if it is Shukla Yajur Veda
Ishanthi Patha
is Purnamadah Purnamidam
if it is Krishna Yajur Veda
Ishanthi Patha
is what I chanted
Sahana Vavato Sahana Vunato
Sahaveriyam Karavavahai
Tejasvina Hathitamastu
Amavidvisha Vahai
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti
Om, may Brahman protect us both
may Brahman bestow upon us
both the fruit of knowledge
may we both obtain the energy
to acquire that knowledge
may that we
may what we both study
reveal the truth
and may that truth
energize both of us
may we cherish no ill will
towards each other
peace peace three times
I will talk a little
briefly because we have dealt
with the subject before
undertaking any auspicious
activity
we have to pray to God
may this journey be a safe
pleasant less obstacle
and may we
reach our desired
goal with great joy
bounding
jumping from lower joy
to higher joy
for that God's grace is
necessary and God's grace
comes in the form of
both the teacher and the disciples
and only when he blesses
ability to convey
and the ability to understand
both are possible only
by God's grace
understanding is possible by God's grace
endowed with Brahma Tejas
is possible only by God's grace
finally knowing that I am
one with Brahman is only
possible by God's grace
so may both
teacher and the disciple
be blessed by the grace of
God and that is the essence
of this one may we
obtain threefold peace
from the three
sources of affliction
we will talk further things
in our next class.
May Ramakrishna Holy Mother
and Swami Vivekananda
bless us all with Bhakti.
Ramakrishna.

[[Category:Svetasvatara Upanishad]]

Svetasvatara Upanishad Lecture 01 on 4 March 2023

2023-07-08T15:59:47Z

Sevak123: Changed "Amritangamaya" spelling in Devnagri: replaced by "Ri" symbol

== Full Transcript(Not Corrected) ==
auṁ jananīṁ śāradāṁ devīṁ rāma-kṛṣṇaṁ jagad-gurum
pāda-padme tayo sṛtvaḥ pranamāmi mūrmukhaḥ
auṁ saha-nāvavatu saha-naubhūnatu
sahavīryam karavāvahai tejasvi nāvadhītamas tu mā vidviṣāvahai
auṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ hāre hē auṁ
By God's grace, we have been able to complete several of the Upanishads.
From today we are starting a new Upanishad.
I am sure you remember, in our last class we have completed the Kena Upanishad,
four chapters and thirty-eight mantras.
So today onwards, Svetāśvatara Upanishad.
How did this name come?
There was supposed to be a Rishi.
It may be his name or it may be his title.
Svetāśvatara.
Sveta means white.
White means pure.
Pure means a mind which knows only God and nothing else.
Therefore he must have got the name or title Svetāśvatara.
Like we say Mahatma Gandhi.
Gandhi is not necessary.
When we talk Mahatmaji did this and that,
then we consider we only mean Mahatma Gandhi.
So Svetāśvatara Upanishad.
And naturally, what is the subject matter?
The subject matter of every Upanishad is exactly the same.
How to convey to us what we are.
And why do we want to know what we are?
Because suffering is inevitable in this life.
Birth is suffering.
Growth is suffering.
Old age is suffering.
Sickness is suffering.
And finally death also is suffering.
Whoever it is, even avatars, incarnations,
if they take birth as any being,
as a fish, as a tortoise,
as a boar or as a human being,
half human being, as human being,
death is inevitable and it is not pleasant.
But not that until death we will be extremely happy,
joyous, life-leading. No.
So every minute we are unhappy.
Why happiness is followed by unhappiness?
Unhappiness is followed by happiness.
And without that we will not know whether we are happy or unhappy.
But all of us long, unconsciously or unconsciously,
we are only travelling towards our own nature.
Every living creature only desires three things.
Let me never die.
Let me never be ignorant.
And let me never suffer.
असतो मा सद्गमय तमसो मा जोतिर्गमय मृत्योर्मा अमृतऺगमय
This consciously or unconsciously,
this is what we are trying to achieve all the time.
And therefore is there any way out?
Now here every Upanishad, Vedanta, crystal clearly tells us
if your nature is not sat-chit-ananda,
that is if you are not immortal,
if you are not all-knowing,
if you are not the nature of bliss,
any amount of effort is not going to make you that.
But if you are that, any amount of maya is not going to stop us.
Either way, what philosophically one terms as teleological urge.
Like a seed, it has an urge.
I must become a plant.
I must become a tree.
I must bear either flowers or fruits or whatever it is.
And then only life becomes meaningful.
Then only I will get what we call fulfillment.
And this is what every living creature is seeking.
No creature wants death.
That is non-existence.
No creature wants ignorance.
And no creature ever wants to suffer even a millisecond.
Naturally the question is,
is it possible to attain eternal life,
infinite life,
eternal infinite joy?
Is it possible?
Categorically the Upanishads, every scripture,
whichever be religion,
that is Kingdom of Heaven or Paradise or Satori, Nirvana or Samadhi or Brahma Sakshatkara,
every religion categorically, emphatically tries to teach us
it is not only possible but it is inevitable.
And this is what Holy Mother used to say,
everybody will be fed.
Maybe some people they get early in the morning
because intelligently they try to obtain.
But it is also possible some lazy fellow will be there
but the mother will not neglect that person.
If necessary, she will tear away that person from toys,
play and drag him, feed him, put him to sleep
because that is what a mother is.
And that is called teleological urge,
only in philosophical language.
So first question is,
can we be eternal?
Can we have all the knowledge?
And can we be all bliss?
Yes.
How is it possible?
Because that is what we really are.
And how to obtain it?
Not by attaining it but by removing the obstacles.
That is why there is a marvelous Vedantic principle,
especially Advaita Vedanta promulgates it, propagates it.
Knowledge doesn't change anything.
Knowledge doesn't produce anything.
Knowledge cannot produce, cannot change.
It can only reveal what already is there.
So if I am not Satchitananda,
knowledge cannot make me Satchitananda.
Whatever I am, that's all that knowledge can reveal to me.
A clay cannot claim,
I will become one day gold or diamond.
Impossible.
Vice versa.
So therefore, here is a question.
Every human being,
especially after going through a long term of unbearable suffering,
every human being puts a question.
I am suffering so much.
I don't want to suffer.
And if there is no way out of suffering,
I would like to die.
I would like to be non-existent.
But if there is any way,
I would like to escape.
Tapatraya abhigatha jignasa.
Is there any way out?
Yes.
That is what Advaita Vedanta Upanishad claims.
The marvellous explanation of the word Upanishad by Shankaracharya
in his Sambandhavahasya,
Rudhikata Upanishad,
which has become popular all over the world,
especially by Vedantins.
He gives three functions of knowledge.
Upa means near.
That which takes us near.
Ni means nisesha,
without any remnant,
without the least possible doubt.
Complete revelation.
Sat, that which loosens the bondage,
destroys the bondage
and reveals to us the truth about ourselves.
This is what you really are.
And it is very logical,
very rational,
if something is bound by a rope for a long time
or even by an iron chain,
in course of time,
it develops rust
and it is very difficult to remove that chain.
What should be done?
We pour some chemicals
so that the rust and other things will be removed.
That is called loosening.
And once it is done,
the chains are totally removed.
And once it is done,
you pull down whatever is covering our true nature.
And this is how the process takes place
and that which helps us to loosen our bondage,
to destroy our bondage
and to reveal our true nature
and whatever does that is called Upanishad.
And so Shweta Shwetara Upanishad is also nothing new.
It does exactly the same thing.
However, there are some fundamental differences
between other Upanishads and Shweta Shwetara Upanishad.
And that is what induced me actually
to take up at this stage.
What are the specialties?
First of all,
Shweta Shwetara Upanishad is not an ancient Upanishad.
It is what we call quite modern.
It is not written very long back,
sufficiently long back,
but not very long back.
That's why many people accept it as modern.
That is the first difference.
Second is, by that time,
Shweta Shwetara Upanishad came to be known
like you know Upanishads are evolving scriptures.
For example,
there is one Sri Ramakrishna Upanishad.
What is the difference between other Upanishads?
Archaic language is not there.
Ideas, even the language itself,
is very difficult to understand Vedic language.
It requires Vedic dictionary,
Vedic terminology,
Vedic explanation
and fortunately,
we had some like Vidyaranya and Shankaracharya,
Ramanujacharya, Madhvacharya,
but there is a problem.
Problem is,
these people,
they are not completely what we call rational.
They claim to be rational,
but they are not really rational.
Whatever they understood,
that alone fanatically they claim.
This is the only possible meaning
of any particular Upanishad.
No wonder about it,
because even ordinary people,
some of us,
when we are brought up in a household
where Lord Venkateshwara is worshipped
or Kumar Swami or Ganesha
or Durga or Kali
or Shiva or Rama
or Narayana
or Jesus or Buddha,
naturally we are likely to think
we alone are travelling the right path.
Everybody else is,
even if not completely wrong,
at least definitely partially wrong.
So Sri Ramakrishna had come to disabuse.
Once upon a time,
many thousands of years ago,
Bhagavan Krishna had also attempted the same thing.
Crystal clearly He taught,
ये यधा मां प्रपद्यन्ते तान्स्ततैव भजाम्यहं
मम वर्त्मनि अन्मुर्त्तन्ते
मनुष्याः पार्थ सर्वशः
Everybody worships Me
and inevitably worships Me
in exactly the way that person understands Me.
But no need to quarrel.
Everybody is travelling in the right way.
Infinite are the paths.
So infinite paths,
that means you travel any path,
you cannot miss God
because God is everywhere.
That is what we need to understand.
This is the true interpretation of Hinduism.
When I say Hinduism,
when Sri Ramakrishna says Hinduism,
He means Vaidika Dharma.
He doesn't mean by that.
As I explained earlier in some other classes,
Veda means knowledge
and that knowledge is for our good.
And that knowledge is not confined
to the followers of Vedas.
It is confined to anybody
who wants to become better,
anybody who wants to become healthy,
anybody who wants to obtain more happiness.
They have to follow these rules and regulations.
Simple analogy we can give,
comparative analogy.
There are billions of human beings
and everybody's goal
is to first of all
get rid of the disease,
become healthy,
then become strong.
So the rules and regulations
for getting rid of sickness
and for remaining healthy
and for becoming strong
is exactly the same
whether the person is Indian or American
or UK citizen,
French citizen,
it doesn't matter
because body is body.
Everybody has the same constitution.
Everybody, every body
has to follow the same
what is called bodily laws, regulations.
And the science of health tells us
one has to take healthy food,
one has to give healthy food
to the mind also
and ultimately
one has to also give spiritual food
because it is a great mistake
most people make.
Man is not consisting of mere body and mind.
There are three bodies,
physical body or external body,
gross body, subtle body
and spiritual body.
If spirituality is neglected
or mind is neglected,
it is like saying
I will only exercise one finger,
one leg,
one part of the eye
just as it remains incomplete,
doesn't do much good.
So also if we do not harmoniously develop
physical health,
intellectual health,
aesthetic health
and spiritual health,
we will be only partially sick persons.
And whatever knowledge,
whatever rules, regulations,
whatever diet,
you know when disease comes,
first find out the cause of the disease,
diagnose.
Secondly, we have to give the appropriate medication.
Even if two persons are suffering
from the same cause,
a wise doctor never prescribes
exactly the same medicine
because there are so many
other variables are there.
Similarly, a Sadguru,
a real Guru,
will not give the same teaching
in general, yes.
In particular, it is a one-to-one relationship
and exact prescription,
what is called tailor-made prescription,
tailor-made breast making,
one has to be given,
then only it will be more effective,
perfectly effective.
And that is what Upanishads claim to do.
Another point we have to remember,
no Upanishad claims
that I will make you God.
If you are God,
you are going to be God
whether you know it or not.
If you are not God,
any amount of effort is not going to make you God.
Then what is the role of the Upanishads?
This is where a crucial question
I am going to answer.
Every Upanishad Swami,
you say, teaches the same thing.
So why should we go through so many Upanishads?
That is the question.
Even studying one Upanishad
or even one chapter
or even sometimes one mantra
is more than sufficient.
Then where is the need
to study everything?
Simple example I will give you.
If somebody has to
want to understand Bhagavad Gita,
how many commentaries he needs?
No commentary.
How many chapters he needs to study?
Not 18 chapters.
How many shlokas he has to mug up
and try to understand?
Only one shloka.
What is that shloka?
But what is the answer to that question I raised?
Why do we need?
Because continuously,
constantly,
with the utmost concentration and devotion,
we need to study the Upanishads.
Why?
Although all Upanishads teach the same thing,
but to reinforce
that essential idea
that I belong to God,
God belongs to me
and there is no difference
between God and me.
In order to understand this,
we will have to study,
meditate,
go on pilgrimage,
do japam,
do worship,
always thinking,
meditating,
worshipping,
speaking with each other,
devotees enjoy.
That is the nature of the devotees.
Until we reach the goal,
repetition is necessary.
And repetition of one
might bring boredom,
monotony.
That's why
repetition,
but in the form of different scriptures,
different Puranas,
different teachings
and different stories
and it will keep us entertained
and prevents monotony.
And so this is how we have to enjoy.
And also,
God has given us the intellect.
Why?
Why only go on repeating like a parrot
the same thing?
Why not enjoy?
Otherwise, Sri Ramakrishna used to give a beautiful example.
Every temple,
they employ some musicians.
Especially there is one,
something called Nadaswara.
So one person,
two persons,
one person will give Shruti.
He only plays the same thing.
But the other person,
he goes through the seven notes,
up, down,
combination
called ragas.
And that is very pleasant.
So Sri Ramakrishna told this
with regard to the Brahmo Samaj.
You people are like that person,
accompanying person
who only plays one raga
again and again and again and again.
It is monotonous.
Sometimes I think of God.
Sometimes I speak of God.
Sometimes I sing of God.
Sometimes I read of God.
Sometimes I listen of God.
Sometimes I dance in the name of God.
I want to enjoy the same sweet
in different ways.
And the more I try to enjoy,
the more I will get so much of Ananda.
So we have to spend our time.
Kala, time, hangs heavy.
But we have the opportunity,
especially nowadays,
internet is the greatest blessing,
provided we use it in the right way.
It is the greatest curse,
provided it is used in the wrong way.
The fault doesn't lie with the internet.
It lies with us who want to use it.
Why did I say?
Because any wonderful talk,
any wonderful song,
anything wonderful,
anywhere in the world,
in the past, present, future,
completely we can access it.
That is very, very, very important for us.
Wherever we are, we can do that.
That opportunity was never there before.
Of course, I would say in the past yuga,
exactly the same thing happened.
It is there.
But now is the wonderful opportunity
at our own time, at our own pace.
And you want to hear for 10 minutes,
15 minutes, 20 minutes, etc.
This is the explanation
why we want to study various scriptures.
We want to enjoy God
in so many different ways.
That is the point.
Now I want to give you a bit of introduction to this
Shweta Shwetra Upanishad.
It also is a marvelous Upanishad.
As I mentioned,
it is not considered as an ancient Upanishad.
And Shankaracharya supposedly had written
a commentary upon it.
Some people accept it.
Some do not accept it.
But it does not matter.
Either Shankaracharya has written
or somebody else in the name of Shankaracharya has written.
So far as it does not confuse us,
it takes us to the same goal.
It helps us in thinking of God
in every aspect,
saguna, nirguna.
That is absolutely fine.
Whether it is Shankara, Ramanuja or Mathwa,
it does not matter.
But we must have that discernment
that whosoever's explanation
is simple, understandable
and helpful in practical life,
that we have to understand it.
So there must have been some people.
There must have been a great Rishi.
And in this instance, he is called Shweta Shwetara.
He was a great Rishi.
A Rishi is one who is a realized soul.
And naturally those who wanted
the knowledge that he realized,
those who are after that type of knowledge,
naturally they are attracted.
Naturally.
There is a natural attraction is there.
Some people, they want to attract.
But if they don't have that,
people may not come.
That is the first failure.
Secondly, even if some people,
say for example, a great musician,
a great singer or instrumentalist,
but everybody will not appreciate.
This is something unique in this world.
If there are 100 musicians,
100 vocalists, 100 instrumentalists
for some peculiar inexplicable reason,
somebody likes one person's way of playing,
singing, other person's others,
there is a wide choice.
So what am I talking?
That you choose which Upanishad you want to study,
which scripture you want to enjoy
and whose explanation gives you the greatest satisfaction
and also the greatest practical help.
We have wide choice.
Earlier days, the girls used to hold a ceremony called Swayamvara.
Now bhaktas have got that Swayamvara.
Ishta Devata is nothing but Swayamvara.
So you can think of God,
you can say to God,
you will dress like this,
you will appear to me with two hands, ten hands, four hands
or whatever way, whichever dress,
it could be yellow, it could be white
and you stand on a lotus
or you stand if you wish on jagged rocks,
doesn't matter.
But I would like to think of you
because whatever gives me enjoyment,
individual taste is what dictates.
This is called Ishta Devata Siddhanta.
So a scripture, a particular path of sadhana,
particular form of God,
particular name of God,
particular dress of God,
particular things associated with that particular God,
all these things, we have been given complete choice,
especially in Hinduism
and that's why it is a supermarket.
You can go to a supermarket
and there is a department called Rama.
Which Rama you want?
You want child Rama, Ramlala.
You want a student Rama.
You want a Yoga Vasishta Rama.
You want a Adhyatma Ramayana Rama.
You want that Rama who went to Dandakaranya
and ultimately went to Sri Lanka,
conquered Ravanasura, brought back Sita
or you want philosopher Rama.
You want the loving eldest brother Rama.
Which Rama you want?
Accordingly, murtis are made
and you can choose.
Similarly Krishna, even better than Rama
because I cannot imagine Rama
dancing with Gopis.
I cannot even imagine him
dancing with Sita, let alone Gopis.
But Krishna, no problem.
How many of you?
Is there any limit?
No limit.
As many of you as you want to dance with me,
you come and dance with me.
I will assume so many forms
and you want Kuchipudi,
I will be Kuchipudi dancer.
You want Bharatanatyam,
I will be Bharatanatyam dancer.
You want Manipuri,
I will be Manipuri dancer.
And whichever you want,
you want modern Russian ballet dancer,
I will be also ballet dancer.
Any form you wish.
This is called Ishta Devata Siddhanta.
No boredom.
One thing I have to accept,
I have to tell you.
There is no religion superior to Hinduism.
You may say that it is fanaticism.
No, I am not talking about fanaticism.
Every religion takes to the same God.
But such a marvellous religion,
especially,
I am a devotee of Lord Venkateshwara.
Early morning,
Sakkare Pongal,
and this Pongal,
and so many other items will come.
No completely different dishes,
including Tirupati Laddu.
Evening, again something separate.
Beginning itself is like that.
And slowly you make your way to Vaikuntha.
Then you will see there
how many varieties of dishes.
And the greatness of Vaikuntha is
that there you will see
that you can digest instantaneously.
I don't even say you digest.
I will say you enjoy through look.
And you will get same satisfaction,
more satisfaction,
then better than eating.
Because if you eat,
you have to digest.
And whatever is indigestible,
you will have to have some attached bathroom.
So many problems are there.
But Vaikuntha, just look,
and you will have tremendous enjoyment.
But if you are a Christian,
I am only making fun, don't mind.
So what will you do?
You will go to after death.
And how do you die?
Like Jesus Christ,
you will be crucified on the cross.
And then God will say,
Sabash, come with me.
And He will give you a huge harp.
And you are supposed to fly,
playing that harp.
God alone knows.
I saw a harp once.
Then I had an idea.
If this is the one,
certainly I don't want to go to Kingdom of Hades.
If I have to carry it 24 hours a day,
it is not desirable at all.
You go to Vaikuntha,
and exclusive face-to-face,
all the 24 hours,
and forever.
So this is the imagination called Ishta Devata.
So let us enjoy these things.
This Shweta Shweta Upanishad
is a modern Upanishad.
What is the speciality?
First of all,
it is not as exclusive
as Advaitic interpretation of the Upanishads.
It combines a lot of the element of Bhakti in it.
And then,
there is a verse there,
says,
Just as a person had tremendous devotion to the Guru,
if the same devotion is directed towards Deva,
calls Deva,
the Divine Lord,
then only,
he will progress in spiritual life.
This is called Bhakti Marka.
So Saguna Brahma Upasana
in the form of especially Bhakti Yoga
is very much emphasized here.
And there are marvelous mantras.
And many of them are containing deep psychological truths.
When the time comes,
I will deal with them.
And this Upanishad contains in total 6 chapters.
And there are 113 mantras are there,
divided not equally,
unequally.
1st chapter has got 16,
2nd chapter 17,
3rd chapter 21,
4th chapter 22,
5th chapter 14,
6th chapter 23.
The 1st chapter contains, as I said, 16 mantras.
This Upanishad is regarded as one of the authoritative works
which formed the Vedanta philosophy.
Its mantras are quoted profusely
in all Vedantic treatises
by virtually every Vedantic teacher.
The peculiarity of this Upanishad is that
it contains passages
that can be interpreted to support dualism,
qualified non-dualism,
and every blessed other system of thought.
Certain verses can also be related
to the Sankhya philosophy of Kapila,
even though there are some acute differences
between the Sankhya school of philosophy
and this Shwetashtra Upanishad.
So here there is a Bhakti,
very strong Bhakti strength,
unlike other Upanishads.
And names like Hara,
Rudra,
Bhagawan,
Agni,
Aditya,
Vayu,
Deva,
other words,
appear frequently in the Shwetashtra Upanishad
denoting the personal God.
This Upanishad identifies the Supreme Brahman with Rudra
who is conceived as the material
and efficient cause of the world
not only as its author
but also as its protector and guide.
Ingredients associated with theism,
that is Bhakti Marga,
like personal God,
devotion to God,
or Bhakti,
are prominent in this Upanishad.
The emphasis is also there on Brahman,
the Absolute,
but it also places equal emphasis on Bhakti,
Saguna Brahman.
So this is the speciality
and that is the Upanishad called Sri Ramakrishna Upanishad.
Every pathway takes us exactly to this same goal
and Shwetashtra Upanishad also overcomes
Sankhya philosophy
divides eternal principles as two,
Purusha and Prakruti.
But in this Shwetashtra,
Prakruti and Purusha are harmonized.
They are not two eternal principles.
This we get in the seventh chapter of the Bhagavad Gita also.
So this Upanishad says
that Pradhana or nature is not an independent entity
but belongs to the Self of the Divine,
Devatma Shakti
and hence God is the possessor of Prakruti.
Another word for Prakruti is Maya
and the maker of Maya is the cause of the world
and this Maya belongs to God
and this Maya consists of three Gunas,
Sattva, Rajas and Tamas.
They are the constituent materials of Prakruti
and the entire universe has come out of Prakruti.
Therefore, every object in this world
is only a combination of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas.
And this is the fact.
Again emphasizing,
maybe Bhagavan Krishna was already familiar with this Shwetashtra.
So he says crystal clearly.
In the seventh he says
the Prakruti, what is called Prakruti,
is my Apara Prakruti,
my lower nature
and Devatma is my consciousness,
is my higher nature.
In this Upanishad,
whose content is taken by the Bhagavad Gita,
the Lord Krishna crystal clearly enumerates.
He says
Daivey Hesha Gunamayi Mama Maya
This Maya is consisting of,
it belongs to me
and it is not possible to overcome the Maya.
Duratyaya
That means will we forever be only stuck in this Maya?
Never be able to get out of it?
No.
The Lord says
Whoever takes refuge in me
Mameva E Prapadyante
Eta Mayam Te Taranti
There are ways.
But you have to tell.
Sri Ramakrishna in his simple words
he is telling this
that don't go and ask Shambhu's servants
how much property he has,
how many houses he has,
how many stock bonds he has.
That means Ramakrishna was very knowledgeable about stock trading.
So he says
you somehow or other
if necessary
by being pushed by the servants
and you go and introduce yourself to the master Shambhu Malik
then he himself will tell you
how many houses, how many gardens,
how many bonds he has,
how much reserve money he has.
Everything he will tell you.
Because the servants also
I don't think any master will tell anybody
any servant
what things he possesses realistically.
So you take refuge in me
and the Maya
not only it will not obstruct you
but it will literally
it will carry you to me.
God is the Mahin,
the maker of the Maya
and from this Maya only came the same world
and the world is a manifestation of God
and one can overcome Maya
by the grace of God alone.
Sri Ramakrishna and Holy Mother
emphatically say this again and again
God can only be realized by His grace
there is no other way
and that is what the Shweta Shwetra Upanishad
emphasizes again and again.
These features of the Shweta Shwetra Upanishad
also allowed great Acharyas
like Ramanuja and Madhva
who are called Bhakti Marga followers
Dvaita Acharyas, Theistic Acharyas
they take the quotations
to support their own views
and they become fanatical
that's where Sri Ramakrishna comes and tells
every Acharya teaches something very nice
just take that part
every Acharya also doesn't teach the truth
there is something which is not ultimate truth
you don't need to take
take it from some other person
I'll give you a small example
Sri Ramakrishna, he is a follower of Shankara
he is a follower of Ramanuja
he is a follower of Madhva
what does he say?
when I am fully conscious
I am a follower of Madhvacharya
Deha Buddhiya Tu Ta Soham
then I will serve you
I will stand with folded hands
I will not dare to transgress your laws
and I am frightened of you
like a servant is frightened of the master
but when the same person
advances to higher level of the mentality
or understanding Naina
then he says
God is like my mother
I am like a child
we are separate but sitting in the lap of the mother
and a mother
there is no mother who doesn't love her child
and there is no mother who neglects her child
everything is completely
taken care of by the mother
I only have to feel that I am a helpless child
and
this is Ramanuja's path
then Ramakrishna says
it is wrong to say
that Saguna Brahma is the highest goal
no, Shankaracharya is right
Advaita is the highest goal
but it is wrong to say
for Shankaracharya
Nainamarga alone can take you to that
Ramanuja is right
surrender yourself
prostrate yourself
take refuge in God
cry like a child
this is called Prapatti Marga
the path of self-surrender
and Ramanujacharya advocates
this Prapatti or Sharanagati Marga
that is what in the Bhagavad Gita we see
Arjuna had done
Sishya means disciple
disciple is one
who gladly submits
to the discipline imposed by the teacher
a teachable person
is called a student
not otherwise
so naturally
Madhava, Ramanuja
they emphatically
dogmatically
emphasize only
what they think
is realism
supporting their views
realism or qualified non-realism
whereas Shankaracharya does
exactly the same opposite
he takes the same mantras
same words
and gives a non-dualistic meaning
and emphasizes that the goal of this
like any other Upanishad
is to prove
that only Brahman exists
Brahman is the sole reality
and no there is no Jeeva
everything is Brahman
the whole universe is nothing but Brahman
so Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda
will not agree with that
are they denying?
no
he says
Sri Ramakrishna says
and what Sri Ramakrishna said
Swami Vivekananda followed
then we hear the words of Swami Vivekananda
we have to always understand
it is not true
Vivekananda
he is only HMV
he is master's voice
a real inspiration
ideas, thoughts, ideals
they belong to Sri Ramakrishna
Sri Ramakrishna is manifesting
in the mind of Narayana Nada
in the form of understanding
and Swami Vivekananda's voice
Swami Vivekananda's expression
Swami Vivekananda's magnetic personality
and his ability
master of the English language
or any other language
it is only for propagating
his master's message
that's why
Swami Vivekananda says
to sister Nivedita
anything good has come from my mouth
it absolutely belongs to Sri Ramakrishna
if nothing
if anything has come out
which is not good
it solely belongs to me
not to Ramakrishna
such humility
such complete self-surrender
and there are instances
when Swami Vivekananda was found
and he was talking in his room
and the hostess heard
distinctly two different voices
next morning when they confronted him
and asked him
who was the other person
he sweetly smiled
sweet smile means
avoiding direct answer
he says
I was talking with myself
was he telling a lie?
no, he was telling the truth
because Ramakrishna is who?
my own Atma
we are not different
they are not two different people
one is the knowledge
another is the expression of the knowledge
instrument of the expression of the knowledge
so Ramakrishna's view is
every teacher is right in some way
not correct in other ways
you take the best of them
and you adopt whatever takes
and that too
with a complete attitude of self-surrender to God
then only you are going to reach the goal
now coming Shankaracharya's Bhashya
this I find is one of the longest Bhashya
Sambandha Bhashya
his introduction runs to pages and pages and pages
so Shankara's introduction to this Upanishad
is a grand illustration of his
broad canvas of arguments
quoting lavishly means
page after page
quotation after quotation
from Shrutis, Smritis, Puranas
Bhagavad Gita etc.
to establish his monistic point of view
but many scholars doubt
whether in fact Shankara had really written a commentary on this Upanishad
but we will not enter into it
let it be anybody
anybody who writes in the name of Shankaracharya
provided he is only placing Shankaracharya's opinions
in his own language
attributing everything to Shankara
it is nothing but Shankara Bhashya
for example
I am trying to explain to you
this Shweta Shweta Upanishad
don't think
Swamitaya Atmananda's commentary
this is nothing but
what I understand by studying
Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vikaranda, Holy Mother
and other teachers also
and I have made a beautiful garland of it
and I am presenting it
so that all of us can enjoy
the real meaning of it
I am not interested in any school of philosophy
I am interested only in presenting
the truth
as we can interpret
in the light of Ramakrishna's life and teachings
in every talk that I do
that's my goal
so let us not go into these controversies
we will try to study this Upanishad as a guide
so that we can see what are the obstacles
we can see what is our goal
we can see what are the pathways
and this Upanishad linguistic wise
language wise
very beautiful
simple
not at all archaic like other Upanishads
it uses simple and lucid language
that propounds inclusiveness
nowadays this world
inclusiveness
is gaining
gained very much in popularity
what does it mean?
when there is a what we call
interfaith meetings
first of all exclusive view
my religion alone is true
every other religion
may be containing some partial truths I concede
but the fullest manifestation
is only in my religion
this is called exclusivism
then the pluralism
there are two varieties of pluralism
the highest type of pluralism says
everybody is trying to express
if a dog barks
if a jackal barks
if a bird cries
if a human baby cries
if a cow also moos
when they are hungry
they mean the same thing
we are hungry
we are thirsty
we want food
that is the only meaning they are conveying
similarly
whoever tells
there is only a practical value
we want to get out of
trita apanasha
that is possible
and every Upanishad's endeavour
is to destroy
loosen and destroy
and reveal the truth
you are never in bondage
you are thinking that you are in bondage
so that is all we require really
so Upanishad is
marvellously synthesising
Sri Ramakrishna's views
that is why I like this Upanishad so much
Swami Vivekananda also quotes from this
so let us not go into the controversies
because if you follow any particular commentary
these controversies are inevitable
so what does this Upanishad teach
in lucid simple language
this Upanishad propounds
inclusiveness
that means
everybody is right
so I was mentioning
higher inclusivism
what is lower inclusivism
they also accept
there are truths
in every religion
but they are incomplete
they are partial
but our religion
allure has the
complete explanation
this is called
lower one and higher one
then there is a
new type of
interfaith meeting
where they adopt
phenomenal view
what is this phenomenal view
that there are some
very intelligent teachers
they say
nobody has any right
to pronounce about any religion
we want to suppose a Christian
wants to talk about Hinduism
for some time
he should practice Hinduism
and he should wear
the shoes of a Hindu
do exactly what the Hindu does
and then only
he will understand
what is the feeling of Hindu
understanding of Hindu
effects of Hinduism
and the
good points in Hinduism
this is called phenomenal view
that is
you actually live for some time
you wear the shoes of
that particular religion
walk with that shoes
for some time
and when you reach
walk for some time
you will have good understanding
provided you are sincere
then every religion
every person has to
follow for some time
then only is exclusivism
lower pluralism
higher pluralism
everything will
inclusivism
everything will disappear
this is called phenomenal view
every religion is real
for the follower
of that particular religion
nobody has got any right
to criticize, to downgrade
or to pull it down
or to compare it with one's own religion
and this is exactly
what Sri Ram Krishna said
everybody's watch is defective
only the sun
maintains the correct watch
right understanding comes
not while we are travelling
but when we reach the goal
become one with the Divine
then we know
from the top of the mountain
we see that various
people all are struggling
all are trying to reach
the top
there is no reference is there
no easy path is there
remember when bhaktas claim
that our path is easy
don't say that
if a yogi
loves yoga
that is the easiest path for him
if a jnani loves
jnana marga
that is the easiest for that person
anybody loves bhakti marga
that is the easiest person
only for him he should not claim
that others are
more difficult paths
that is also a kind of fanaticism
but Ishrita Shethra Upanishad
is I think
more or less is reflecting
what is called
Neo Vedanta as interpreted
by Ram Krishna
and Swami Vivekananda
so this Upanishad teaches the unity
of all souls and the world
in the one supreme reality
treating it as an attempt
to reconcile the different philosophical
and religious views
which prevailed at the time of
its composition
and as I explained earlier
every Upanishad
belongs to a particular
Veda
this Shweta Shethra Upanishad
belongs to what we call
a particular Veda
you know we are familiar
with four Vedas
but we do not remember
that this Yajur Veda
has two recensions
Shukla and Krishna
and this belongs
to Krishna Yajur Veda
and as I said
it contains 113
mantras
and anybody who follows Krishna Yajur Veda
if it is Shukla Yajur Veda
Ishanthi Patha
is Purnamadah Purnamidam
if it is Krishna Yajur Veda
Ishanthi Patha
is what I chanted
Sahana Vavato Sahana Vunato
Sahaveriyam Karavavahai
Tejasvina Hathitamastu
Amavidvisha Vahai
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti
Om, may Brahman protect us both
may Brahman bestow upon us
both the fruit of knowledge
may we both obtain the energy
to acquire that knowledge
may that we
may what we both study
reveal the truth
and may that truth
energize both of us
may we cherish no ill will
towards each other
peace peace three times
I will talk a little
briefly because we have dealt
with the subject before
undertaking any auspicious
activity
we have to pray to God
may this journey be a safe
pleasant less obstacle
and may we
reach our desired
goal with great joy
bounding
jumping from lower joy
to higher joy
for that God's grace is
necessary and God's grace
comes in the form of
both the teacher and the disciples
and only when he blesses
ability to convey
and the ability to understand
both are possible only
by God's grace
understanding is possible by God's grace
endowed with Brahma Tejas
is possible only by God's grace
finally knowing that I am
one with Brahman is only
possible by God's grace
so may both
teacher and the disciple
be blessed by the grace of
God and that is the essence
of this one may we
obtain threefold peace
from the three
sources of affliction
we will talk further things
in our next class.
May Ramakrishna Holy Mother
and Swami Vivekananda
bless us all with Bhakti.
Ramakrishna.

[[Category:Svetasvatara Upanishad]]